"Face the Nation" on April 23, 2023

Interview

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Well, Margaret, if I would been on this show, just two weeks ago, we wouldn't have been talking about fighting in Sudan, because there wasn't any.

There were special envoys from the U.N., the A.U., the U.S. all negotiating with these two generals, General Hemedti, General Burhan, of the regular army and the paramilitary. I'm still hopeful that they could return to a civilian government. It unwound fast in just the last week. And I'm grateful that our Special Forces have now successfully overnight evacuated the U.S. nationals who work in our embassy in Khartoum.

This is a temporary suspension. It's my hope and theirs that we will be able to return to Khartoum and the situation will stabilize. But, Margaret, this is the same sort of thing that happened in Kyiv in Ukraine, that has happened in other countries, in Yemen and Syria, where, when the fighting gets intense quickly, we rely on our Special Forces to evacuate U.S. nationals who staff an embassy in a country that descends into a war zone.

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Well, Margaret, just a reminder that Sudan is a vast country. It's the third largest country in Africa, a country of 45 million people spread over a huge amount of territory.

Yes, I am concerned about the safety and security of U.S. nationals who've been serving in humanitarian missions or in other ways across the country. There are quite a few U.S.-Sudanese dual nationals in the country, and the U.N. and the U.S. and a number of other countries will do their best to help return to civilian rule, to end the fighting, to support a stabilization in Sudan.

But as for right now, an evacuation through some overland convoy is the most likely path out for folks who work for the U.N. and the World Food Program, for example, who serve other countries in Khartoum and around the country, and for those remaining U.S. nationals who may wish to leave.

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Just a reminder, Margaret, this is a country that for 30 years was under the brutal dictatorship of...

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... Omar al-Bashir. It was on the state sponsor of terrorism list. We don't have deep relationships with the Sudanese military or with the paramilitary force, the RSF.

We have some leverage, in that we provide development assistance, humanitarian relief. But, frankly, these two warring factions have started what may well be a fight to the finish. And we may have limited leverage in the next couple of weeks and months, as they carry out a fight to see who will ultimately be in control of the security of Sudan.

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Look, anyone who comes forward and seeks whistle- blower protection status should be given that status. That's part of what we've put in place over many years, a system that allows career folks who work in different federal agencies the chance to blow the whistle and testify if they see something wrong.

I will remind you, nothing's been presented yet. This person hasn't come forward in any detail. If and when they do, if there's any substance to it, I expect that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, and the ranking member will ensure that they are fairly and appropriately treated.

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I am.

Look, President Biden, from the days he was campaigning to his first days as president, made it clear that he thought restoring the independence of the Department of Justice, removing any political influence for potential investigations was a core value that he brought to this service as president, and I'm confident that that's in no small part why he chose a seasoned circuit court judge, someone with also deep experience at DOJ.

I am confident that Merrick Garland has conducted himself appropriately here.

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No, I don't, Margaret, nor should I. It is an ongoing investigation that, as you say, has been conducted for years. The U.S. attorney here in Delaware is the U.S. attorney who was appointed by the previous administration.

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And, look, if there are any charges ever brought, we'll discuss them at that time. At this point, I think this is a long- going federal investigation, which I hope will reach a conclusion at some point soon.

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Thank you, Margaret.

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