if you want to start changing the scope of regulation, i strongly urge subjecting auto dealers and realtors to cfpb regulation. there's not a good principled argument for exempting them. >> thank you. mr. altmire? >> no further questions. >> thank you for coming down to capitol hill and testifying today on this very important manner. with that, committee's adjourn. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> the senate negligence committee took up the -- the organization charged with gathering and analyzing counterterrorism intelligence. before going the nsa, matthew olsen directed the task force overseeing the administration's detainees at the guantanamo bay. a vote is not expected until the senate returns from its august recess. this is an hour and 35 minutes.

>> the hearing will come to order. the process will be as follows. i'll make remarks, the vice chairman makes remarks, and then we'll call on the distinguished senator from south dakota for remarks, and then we will proceed. i trust that is agreeable with everybody. the committee meets today to consider the president's nomination of matt olsen to be the director of the national counterterrorism center. here's currently in the security agency holding a number of senior positions in the department of justice including the national security division and the federal bureau of investigation. mr. olsen appeared as a witness before this committee previously and briefed members and staff over the last several years. i'd like to welcome him back to this committee. i'd like to begin today by discussing the current terrorist threat and the role of what we

call nctc, which mr. olsen will be leading if confirmed. the nctc is the central agency within the united states government dealing with the identification, prevention, disprescription, and -- disruption, and analysis of terrorist threats. it's very important. while it's best known for analyzing terrorism-related intelligence, it also plays an important role in conducting strategic planning for counterterrorism actions across our government. the thrks ctc grew significantly in size, capability, and maturity under michael leiter. its successes and those of the broader counterterrorism community include numerous plots that were tabaretted here at --

thwarted here and abroad. nctc achieved less noticed by equally important advances in the sharing of threat information across the intelligence community, a streamlining, if you will, of intelligence, an improved watch listing capability and greatly improved analytic capability. despite improvements in reforms, especially in response to the findings and recommendations of this committee and others after the christmas day attempted attack by umar, i'm still very concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks against the united states. i believe this is a very critical time. the period leading up to the 10 #th anniversary of -- 10th anniversary of 9/11 is a time of heightened threat. despite pressure against al-qaeda in pakistan including

the successful strike against bin laden, the group remains dangerous. at the same time, the threat from al-qaeda's affiliates has increased and presents particular challenges. i'm especially concerned about the threat to the united states homeland from al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap we call it, as well as safe havens in somalia and elsewhere. this means, at least to me, that this is a crucial time for our counterterrorism establishment to be at full strength and not to be leaderless. nctc is a lynch pin of this establishment so i'm very pleased that the president moved quickly to nominate mr. olsen, an individual serving in the senior intelligence community position today to take the helms of this organization.

... let me take just a moment to read the first paragraph from a letter of support from mr. olsen's nomination written by general keith alexander, that richter of the national security agency. this is a quote. "i am writing to wholeheartedly endorse the nomination of matthew olsen to be the next director of the nctc. matt has served as a national security agency general counsel for the past year and has shown true leadership outstanding judgment and decision making ability. he's been a key part of the agency's effort to provide intelligence that allows our government to counter terrorist threats. in my opinion, matt is superbly qualified to hold this critical intelligence community position,

end of quote. before his current position at the nsa, mr. olsen served in the department of justice for 18 years including 12 years as a federal prosecutor. in a letter of support for mr. olsen's nomination, former attorney general michael mukasey wrote of mr. olsen, and i quote, he was not only an excellent lawyer and manager, but also an exemplary person in dealing with his colleagues. matt has an abundance, every personal and professional quality and skill you could hope to find any nominee to head the nctc. his nomination has my unqualified support. and finally, there is a letter from mike mcconnell, in which he also offers his strongest possible support. as a 44 year veteran serving the

nation as a member of the intelligence community, i have many opportunities to work with professionals of the department of justice. this was particularly true when serving as the director of national security and as the director of the national intelligence. during those years of service i never met or served with a more accomplished or dedicated professional than matt olsen. he understands the icy, its process and procedure and has served with distinction to read well, i can go on and on and i have many pages here. i'm not going to do it. suffice it to say i believe that we have an extraordinarily qualified professional, which can step into the leadership of nctc, and at this very potentially balk period provided with the leadership, it really

does deserve a marriage. so, with that, mr. vice chairman, may i ask you to meet your remarks? >> thank you madame churn. mr. olsen, congratulations on being nominated to be the director of the national counterterrorism center. thank you for your service to the country especially in its demanding roles over the last several years. i also welcome your family and thank them for their great support to you and to the country. we appreciate that very much. i also want to just say a special word of thank future michael liter that you were going to be seceding. i talked about this the other day, you and i are great friends, you know the leadership he's provided in some very difficult circumstances. and while we have still had some growing pains at nctc, mike has brought us through some very tough times, and has kind of right and the ship in times it's headed in the wrong direction and i am very appreciative of

mike's leadership and service. mr. olson commodore nomination comes at a critical point in history to fight terrorism. while we have made considerable progress against al qaeda and the fata, we face growing threats as al qaeda continues to spread. in my view, aqap poses the biggest threat and i urge you to make dismantling that were pure primary focus before the strike us successfully cured at home. the past spring brought immense changes to the middle east but it remains unclear what effect this might have on our long term counterterrorism efforts. this on certainty is further complicated by our own the current fiscal condition where the resource constraints were no devotee impacting the national defence and counterterrorism enterprise. a mixed these threats it is critical to the national security that the ncbc perform its mission. you and i talked about some of the feelings leading up to the christmas bombing attempt.

especially the ncbc's an ability to connect the dots. while there has been much progress, a lot of work remains including on the information sharing and the detainee and data retention. where there's an attack on the imminent threat like 12, 25 or times square committee will often be the first point of contact with this committee. we would expect your and garnished judgments to the facts and frank assessments. in the past efforts to control the message for political purposes have resulted in the congress being given little or inaccurate information. that's not pointing a figure of this administration. it's happened in other administrations. as the nctc director, you will be expected to be forthright with this committee, and to push back on any effort to keep information from us. along these same lines, i have shared with you some of my concerns about the recommendations made by the

guantanamo review task force, which you directed. it disturbs me that under your leadership, detainees were transferred or recommended for transfer through yemen for about 2,009, even as the intelligence community warned the administration about this security situation there. we already knew that the former gitmo detainees were in the aqap leadership in yemen, but it was only after aqap's failed christmas day attack that the transfer stopped. in my mind, this was an unacceptable risk for us to take. he mentioned in my office the question on the task force in part because you were guided by the executive order on closing gitmo. i suspect that the one-year deadline for closing gitmo affected task force analysis and decisions. when the only original two options for each detainee for the prosecution or transfer, it seems like there would have been significant pressure to lean towards transfer. i wonder if this explains why,

after the initial task force review, found 92 detainee's suitable for transfer to my second review came up with 40 more transferable detainee's, and another 40 for conditional detention, which at the time was essentially delete transferred. congressman frank wolf of virginia who has expressed similar concerns about the transfer decisions in a letter to the kennedy and some of the interactions he had with you regarding the potential transfer of uighurs into the united states. i am concerned a member of congress thinks that he has been misled. so i think it would be helpful if you explain your interactions with congressman wolf, and you and i talked about this and i want to give you the full opportunity to do that this morning. i urge you to be as forthcoming and direct about this including information provided to or with the help from congress on this issue. ironically in your new position, one of your jobs will be tracking former detainees who have read engaged, including

some recommended for transfer by the task force. i urge you to take a fresh look at any intelligence on gitmo detainee's. given the threat from aqap and a recidivism rate right now over 26%, we are in no position to let any more dangerous detainee's go. unfortunately, the drive to close gitmo has had the immediate and the negative impact of leaving us with few options to detain terrorists outside of afghanistan. as we draw down in afghanistan, we will even lose that option. i'm sure you have seen noting that the united states may be killing terrorists, but we are not trying very hard to capture them. most because gitmo has been taken off the table. capturing and interrogating terrorists remains one of the best ways to get actionable intelligence and prevent future threats. again, mr. olsen, i congratulate you on your nomination, and these issues need to be lean on

the table and need to be fleshed out because the direct form of contact with this committee is going to be you in so many instances, and we need to certainly have that feeling of trust that we have developed and need to develop stronger over the coming years while you are in this position. so thank you, madam chair. >> thank you mr. vice chairman. now i would like to recognize the distinguished senator from north dakota, chairman of the budget committee and the democratic side, kent conrad. >> mr. chairman, welcome. >> thank you, chairman feinstein. thank you, vice chairman chambliss, senator coats, good to see you in senator wyden, senator udall come senator warner. i'm delighted to be to introduce matt olsen. his parents are from north dakota, people live in a very long time. matt's roots are deep in north

dakota. he returns every chance he gets with his family, his wife and his children, elderly come and meet and will come his sister, susan, is with us as well. as i said, i've known this family for a very long time coming and they are the best that it gets. his father was the chief of staff to the man the white defeated for the united states senate. and so i know how good he really is. van passed away three years ago, but i know he's looking down with a twinkle in his eye today proud of matte and all that he has accomplished. you know, after defeating the boss for the united states senate, i came here with some trepidation of what my relationship might be like with a van and his wife, the treated me with the greatest courtesy over time the cancer

indifference. the highest quality people that our state has to offer, and i believe that the highest quality of people in the country. these are the americans through and through. you're father would be so proud of you at this moment. he would be looking down and saying he has done good. and indeed, you have. users your country with a distinction the justice department, the fbi and national security agency where you are currently the general counsel. you're public service has spent three presidential administrations. that is a notable and impressive accomplishment and speaks volumes about your competency and professionalism. colleagues, matt has already accomplished so much. and now the president has asked him to assume one of the most important and demanding jobs in the intelligence community. the director of the national

counterterrorism center. we all know that the nctc's mention is vital to combat terrorism at home and abroad by analyzing the threat, sharing the information with our partners and integrating all instruments of national power to ensure unity of effort. there is no doubt in my mind that matt has the experience and the character to lead the nctc. but don't just take my word for it. admiral mike mcconnell served as the director of national intelligence and president bush's administration and director of the nsa and the clinton administration. here's what the admiral mcconnell had to say. and i quote. having known and worked with mr. olsen for over four years, i have observed him to be the utmost professional, dedicated to the security of the nation. he understands the intelligence community in the law and the

process needed to keep us safe. he has great respect for the law, our values and the activities needed to ensure the safety of the nation. i have every confidence that if confirmed, mr. olsen will serve the nation, the congress, the administration, and the intelligence community at the highest level of service and performance. colleagues, matt is smart, honest, and he is a true professional and absolute patriots. i can't put it much better than admiral mcconnell. i hope very much this committee will move quickly on his confirmation and our colleagues in the senate will follow suit. it is really my honor to be here with matt olsen. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. appreciate the remarks. i know you have a busy day. much is happening.

so feel free to stay or leave, whichever you wish. >> thank you. thank you very much. mr. olsen, we will now turn to you. part of your remarks senator conrad did this to some extent, but perhaps he would go able further and even ask them to stand up. >> thank you very much, madam chairman and vice-chairman chambliss. i want to thank ev committee for taking the time to consider my nomination this morning. i especially want to thank senator conrad for that very warm and personal introduction. i really appreciate that, and i am grateful to the many members of the committee that i've had the opportunity over the last two weeks to meet and have conversations with. i really appreciate the thoughtful consideration the committee has given to my nomination. at the outset, i want to thank the president for having the confidence to nominate me for

this position and director of national intelligence for supporting me. i am tremendously honored and humbled to be considered for this position. let me also if i may take a moment to express my condolences to the people of norway in the aftermath of the tragic attacks in oslo last week. my grandfather immigrated to north dakota from norway at the age of 16. i have extended family that lives in oslo. i think that these heartbreaking events serve as a reminder to all of us of the importance of working together in the international community to prevent these sorts of fact that terror. i appreciate very much, madam chairman of the opportunity to introduce my family. i sit here today before you because of the support of my family and my friends and my colleagues many of whom are here today. my wife is directly behind me. my children, my daughter elizabeth, my oldest son, nate, my youngest son, will are all

here with me. i especially want to acknowledge my mother, merna sitting here on the end, my father, van who is warmly remembered and senator conrad's remarks along with their love and guidance my parents, my mother and father have provided, my sister susan and jennifer, with an example of how to live like beef with honor and integrity and devotion to others and i couldn't be more grateful for them being here today. >> madam chairman and members of the committee, today as we approach the tenth anniversary of al qaeda's attacks on september 11th, it is appropriate to reflect on that day that the nation suffered the single most devastating attacks in the nation's history. it was in the aftermath of that attack on that date that the congress established the national counterterrorism

center. nctc is the primary organization and the federal government for analyzing, integrating and sharing all source intelligence information pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism. in my view, no other organization is as singularly focused on preventing acts of terrorism. a decade after the september 11 attacks, we remain at war with al qaeda and its affiliate's triet thanks to the leaders of this committee and congress and thanks to the work of thousands of dedicated men and women in the intelligence committee including as well as our men and women in uniform across the globe, al qaeda has weakened. at the same time al qaeda and its and gerrans are around the world as well as other terrorist organizations continue to post a very significant threat to our country. confronting this threat and working with focus and resolve to prevent a terrorist attack is

nctc's mission first and foremost. to fulfill the responsibility nctc brings together the wide an array of dedicated and talented professionals, this diverse work force is in my view the greatest asset. in addition, nctc embodies the principle that we all must serve as one team to protect the nation. we must work colavita fi and use every element of the national power to bring a relentless and focused pressure against al qaeda and its adherents as well as other terrorist network some of the globe. i have been privileged to serve as a number of comments made this morning in the leadership positions ticket to the national security during my almost 20 years of a career, government service. as a general counsel of the national security agency i have guided and supported nsa intelligence operations and has

ensured that the agency's activities adhere to the constitution and the laws that govern. -- government's activities and protect liberty and privacy of americans. at the fbi, i was privileged to serve as counsel to director mueller and to a world-class intelligence organization focused on preventing and disrupting potential terrorist plots. as a career official in the department of justice to closely have this committee and in the congress of stand the new national security division of justice and manage the implementation of the landmark changes to the intelligence surveillance act the congress passed in 2008. i also supervised at the guantanamo task force bringing together the national security professionals from across the government to compile a and analyze intelligence information on detainee's. finally, i served for about ten years in the district of columbia as a federal

prosecutor. in that role i learned the value of working as a team with investigators and operators and i learned the fundamentals importance of finding and following the fact wherever they lead. if i'm honored to be confirmed to this position, i can assure you i am committed to forging a strong and cooperative relationship with congress. i believe that based on the years of experience in the career of the government official the congressional oversight is essential to nctc and the conduct of intelligence activities. members of congress and particularly of this committee were in a little perspective to the difficult issues the intelligence committee faces. the role of congress is critical to building the trust of the american people in nctc and the community. if confirmed, i commit to providing full and timely communications and transparency with the congressional oversight committees. in ctc's mission is to protect

the nation from the terrorist attack we must pursue this mission with vigilance and resolve. if confirmed, i pledge to do my very best to err in your trust and to get this effort while. adam julca of oyster, thank you very much for the honor of appearing before you. >> thank you for a much mr. olsen. i'd like the members to know we have received the strongest and the largest collection on behalf of this nominee certainly since i have been on this committee and in the deputy heads of many different agencies. so those letters along with the two letters from congressman frank wolf and the addendum to those letters will be placed in the record. housekeeping duty if i may come if you would answer the following questions yes or no please. do you agree to appear before the committee here or in other

venues when invited? >> yes. >> do you agree to send officials from the nctc and designated staff when in fight? >> yes. >> do you agree to provide documents or other materials requested by the committee in order for them to carry out its oversight and legislative responsibilities? >> yes. >> will do ensure the national counterterrorism center and its officials provide such material to the committee when request? >> yes. >> do you agree to inform and fully briefed to the fullest extent possible all members of this committee of intelligence actions and covert actions rather than only the chairman and vice-chairman? >> yes. >> thank you very much. >> mr. olsen, the ranking member brought up the questions that have been raised by a member of congress. we discussed them in our meeting and in your prepared