attack the way -- the tragic attack we actually saw in boston? and are there things additionally that could have been done in that interim that might have prevented it? >> reporter: one issue, whether the case presented what one intelligence analyst called a signal to noise problem that so much information is now coming in about so many potential terrorists it's becoming increasingly hard to separate what's important from what's irrelevant. some of the most important information that came was from russian intelligence in 2011 warning about tamerlan tsarnaev, which sources described as vague, but the president said things are improving. >> the russians have been very cooperative with us since the boston bombing. >> and the president's assessment of the fbi's handling of this case so far is already getting just a little bit of pushback from some republicans on capitol hill, who are saying it's just too early to reach any conclusions when the investigation isn't even over,