ou there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ ♪ >> september 11th, 2012, that night christopher stephens and three other americans perished through eight hours of bullets and flames. the bureaucratic smoke screen made benghazi not just a tragedy but a scandal. hello, welcome to fox news reporting. we have been investigating the big questions surrounding benz. how could americans be left so vulnerable in a dangerous place? did their government leave them to die? did the president try to cover up what happened that night. voters re-elected barack

obama but they are not giving him a pass on benz. a recent benghazi. seven out of ten wanted congress to continue investigating. congress has and so have we. we begin with peter who finds one piece of common ground between supporters and critics. both agree to understand benghazi you must go back a few years. >> any clear examination of this matter must begin with this sobering fact. benghazi joins us a long list of tragedies for america hostages taken in tehran in 1979, barracks bombed in 1983. kobart tours in 1996. >> she essentially said to understand benghazi you have to understand a series of terror attacks that occurred before, is she right? >> she is right in terms of understanding the ideology that fuels these attacks.

>> andrew mccarthy is a former federal prosecutor to won a conviction of the blind swhaik in 1990s. >> islamic supremacism is what is behind these attacks. >> the difference between obama administration and its critics the lesson it has heard through that history. >> through the 70s, 80s and 90s united states dealt with terrorism as a crime. what we found is that we were repeatedly attacked and the attacks became more you a diashs. >> and the result was the first september 11th attacks. >> john bolt ton is a fox news contributor. >> it was that attack that made us realize that we were in a war. the way to deal with international terrorism is way to treat as an active

aggression by a hostile power. >> but the rise of barack obama was part of an emphatic turning away from the bush foreign policies. >> bush's global war on terror vanished from the presidential vocabulary, the middle east would be managed through smart diplomacy. >> thank you. >> obama begin what critics called an apology tour, in the june 2009 speech in cairo, he suggested that bush's freedom agenda for the muslim world had been a clumsy overreach. >> no system of government can or should be imposed by one nation, by any others. >> within weeks that have cairo speech came stirrings from the middle east that seemed to catch obama by surprise. america stood by as iran's green revolution was brutally suppressed. then an uprising in tunisia followed by a row volt

egyptian strong man hosni mubarak. arab spring would present the president with a defining policy crisis. in march 2011 he addressed the people in washington. the president was now explaining why he was intervening in a civil war in libya. it was to stop a blood bath in a ported city that most americans had never heard of, a place called benghazi. >> if we waited one more day, benghazi would have suffered a massacre that would have reverberated across the region. i refuse to let that happen. >> but saving benghazi from khadafy was not the end of that story. in a jail cell in southern california, a czech former cooker was working on a scheme that would one day command international attention. it employed a low budget

movie called deserted warrior. he produced it when he was paroled in june 2011. federal authorities would only allow us an interview with him over the phone. >> when you begin to make the film. what was your intent? >> it's just a message. it's coming from the east. >> and what was the nature of that evil? >> is terrorism.... >> when benghazi flamed up at the peak of obama's election campaign, this koptic christian obscured the truth on what happened on the anniversary of 9/11. >> one of the principal unanswered questions where did the story about the mohammad video come from. >> is it imaginable to you you that the president of the united states what story are we going to conduct to explain this. >> the conduct of the

administration during the entire attack is hard for he to understand. >> sometimes disaster strikes suddenly. benghazi gave us plenty of warning -- after the break. m pld to support strong bones. and the brand most recommended by... my doctor. my gynecologist. my pharmacist. citracal. citracal. [ female announcer ] you trust your doctor. doctors trust citracal. [ engine revs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] just when you thought you had experienced performance, a new ride comes along and changes everything. ♪ the 2013 lexus gs,

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dentists check most. this is gonna be a very good checkup. i feel it. [ male announcer ] go pro with crest pro-health. my dentist was so proud of my teeth today. after using crest pro-health for a few weeks, i just feel brighter, fresher, cleaner. ♪ ♪ >> bret: welcome back to fox news reporting. we asked the white house for interviews with people in the administration involved in benghazi. we were turned down. many administration officials have testified about the debacle or spoken publicly like the president himself. in addition the state department and congress have released unclassified investigative reports. from these sources and our own exclusive reporting emerges a timeline of disastrous decisions and deadly consequences. we resume our story in the fall of 2011. >> october 20th, 2011, libya -- macaulay culin is

captured and killed is hometown f moammar khadafy is captured and killed. they quickly set up a diplomatic out post in benghazi, rebel stronghold that president obama vowed to save but the violence continues there. says the state department's number two man, gregg hicks. >> you had assassinations and car bombings in benghazi but the assessment was this libyan on libyan. not directed at foreigners. >> bret: americans move into this villa on the west side of the city. inside the walls are four buildings including a large residence where a safe haven is built. you enter sbir lieu a heavy metal grill with heavy locks on it. security at benghazi compound consists of five diplomatic special agents and four members of the february 17th brigade, an islamic militia group.

more than a mile away is what is called the annex. now it is known to be a c.i.a. facility. more security there. based in tripoli but moving around the country is a department of defense site security team with special forces capability. lieutenant colonel andrew wood takes charge on spring of 2012. >> there was uptick of terror attacks in libya? >> that is true. >> bret: despite an average of two security incidents every three days, he and his team are slated to leave in libya by summer's end. march 28th, americans in libya send a cable to secretary of state clinton requesting more security. april 6th, a bomb is tossed over the wall of the benghazi compound, no one is hurt. april 19th, a returning cable signed by clinton says security would actually be scaled back.

clinton will later deny knowing about the exchange. june 6th and ide is placed on the north gated. no one is hurt. the next day the newly named ambassador christopher stephens asks to keep two security teams, the state department ordered to have been removed. his request is denied. june 11th, a convoy transporting the united kingdom's ambassador is ambushed in benghazi. he isn't hurt but two people are. they decided to pull out of benghazi. >> clearly it's a terrorist attack and assassination attempt. >> bret: these skilled operators wood realizes shall increasingly dangerous enemy to americans? >> i think the enemy is growing stronger. >> june 25th, stevens sent another cable warning washington of a

deteriorating situation where libyan extremists are targeting, quote, targeting foreign interests. >> why would stated tell a special forces team it is not needed in a place like benghazi? >> they were trying to tell a better story that was unfolding on the ground. >> bret: left turn boykin was deputy of defense. >> it's because 42 live in a fantasy world. >> bret: which brings us back to hollywood. remember the koppic christian that made the movie. he has renamed the film innocence of bin laden. in late june advertises a screening in los angeles. >> i heard about the promotion of the film which i thought was brilliant. >> steve kline is anti-islamic activist that would be a spokesman for the film? >> flyers were designed to get the attention of the young taliban, al-qaeda kids, wannabes here in

southern california. they have been waited for lack of a better word. >> bret: instead of positive film about bin laden, they are showed the prophet muhammad as a homicidal gay child molester. >> we anticipated they would boil out of the theater and act angry to something of that nature. >> he waited outside in a car with a video camera? >> i dyed my hair black because a lot of characters know who i am. nobody would come into the theater. called up and say there is a bus and nobody showed up. they were really disappointed. >> bret: july 2nd they upload a trailer to the film to youtube. he density it but that he is sam and using an alias violates his probation. but for now in hollywood terms, he is still a nobody

who made a film no one wanted to watch. july 6th, back in libya, the americans are even more concerned about terror attacks. deputy assistant sector diplomatic security charlene lamb tells them they should not make a formal request for an extension of the security team's set to leave in august. >> lam was discouraging to put it mildly why you keep raising these issues, why you keep putting this forward. >> bret: ambassador sfeechbs sends another cable to washington. what we have seen are not random crimes of opportunity but rather targeted and discripple national attacks. less than a week after that cabling, lieutenant colonel wood and military site security team leaves the country. >> how did you feel about the security situation when you left? >> i didn't like it. i said it and my concerns for benghazi. >> stevens is still pushed to increase the u.s.

diplomatic presence in that country and soon says hicks. >> according to chris, secretary clinton wanted benghazi converted into a permanent con city went post. timing for this decision was important, chris needed to report before september 30th the end of the fiscal year. >> september 6th, charlotte, north carolina, the democratic national convention. >> without a single american casualty, moammar khadafy is gone and people of libya are free. >> an egyptian america activist blasts an email promoting a 9/11 event with koran burning pastor terry jones. it includes a link to the youtube trailer. september 8th, cairo, a popular islamic broadcaster airs portion of that trailer.

outrage ensued. september 9th as ambassador stevens gets ready to leave, alex hinder son warns that february 17th brigade can't be trusted to protect them. september 10th, benghazi, he arrives in the city. his movements are supposed to be secret. local media are there. that is cause for grave concern on the eve of the anniversary of 9/11. >> bret: coming up america suffers another blow on another 9/11 -- after the break. ♪ when you experience something great, you want to share it. with everyone.

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♪ ♪ >> bret: in the days after september 11th, 2012, obama

administration officials would claim that benghazi was a spontaneous attack carried out by a mob outraged over a youtube video. as you are about to see nobody but nobody in libya was thinking that on this fateful day. >> september 11th, 2012. 6:43 a.m., benghazi, a libyan police officer atop a building next store is caught photographing the inside of the american mission. idea that a libyan cop may be casing the place rattles shawn smith. around noontime he messages a friend, assuming we don't die tonight. we saw one of our police that guard the compound taking pictures. >> 12:11, cairo. u.s. embassy staffers release a statement about the video which has been

shown on egyptian tv. firmly reject the acts that abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others. by late afternoon the cairo embassy is surrounded by protestors voice ago variety of grievances says andrew mccarthy. >> the video was part of a much larger demonstration that open brandishing of the al-qaeda flag, and other things. >> bret: the egyptian crowd storms the embassy. watching from tripoli, gregg hiss number two man in libya reaches out to his boss, ambassador chris stephens? >> chris, are you aware of what is going on in cairo? he said, no, i told him but the embassy had been stormed. they are trying to tear down our flag. he said thanks very much. >> bret: no sign of

benghazi of protests over the video or anything else. 9:00 p.m., ambassador stephens and sean smith retire in the main residence. four diplomatic security officers join them including lead officer scott wickland and alex henderson is at the nearby operations center. >> was there awareness of the youtube video? >> the youtube video was non-event in libya. >> they hear shots, he yells into his radio and sounds an alarm. it's 3:42 p.m. in washington. charlene is lam is on duty at the state department. >> he alerted the quick reaction security team stationed nearby. libyan brigade and embassy in tripoli and security command center in washington. >> they enter the main gate. without warning or

resistance from the february 17th mortars bring brigade. they run into hick's villa yelling. >> greg, greg, the consulate is under attack. he said greg, we are under attack. >> bret: the attackers set the main residence ablaze and safe haven fills with thick, dark smoke. more than a mile away at c.i.a. annex, tyrone woods get their weapons ready. >> they were mobilize ago response team to go to our facility to provide reinforcements. >> bret: 9:59 p.m. as a drone heads towards the compound, they place a caught to washington where it's turning 4:00 in the afternoon. >> i called the operation of the state department to report the attack. >> did you report to anyone in washington that there was a protest in connection

to a youtube video? >>, no the only reported that our mission made through every channel there had been an attack on our consulate. >> bret: 4:05 and internal state department alert reports that the mission is under attack. >> i was notified of the attack shortly after 4:00 p.m. i spoke to the national security advisor tom donilon. he was my first call. i instructed officials to consider every option to break down the doors of the libyan officials to get as much security support as we possibly could. >> state department counter terrorism official wants to dispatch the u.s. american supported team. >> it's designed to do this mission. i notified the white house of my idea. we needed to act now and not wait. >> at the annex, sources tell fox news the c.i.a.

team is told to standdown twice. while an independent accountability review board by the state department concluded the c.i.a. officers were not delayed by orders from superiors. either way, 10:07, benghazi time, c.i.a. team leaves the annex bound for the compound. what about help from the pentagon? 10:45 p.m. >> i asked defense is there anything coming. >> bret: short answer was no. >> we went on with our work. >> bret: six man response team from the annex drive the attackers out of the compound. by that time. sean smith is confirmed dead. nobody confirmed ambassador stevens. it's now 5:00 p.m. in washington. defense secretary leon panetta attends his weekly meeting with the president. >> he ordered all available

dod assets to respond. >> bret: none outside libya will. >> the quickest response available was a security team that was located at the embassy in tripoli. >> bret: but they have no plane in tripoli. >> we agreed that we would move forward with chartering a plane to fly a response team to benghazi to provide additional reinforcements. >> bret: 11:10 in benghazi, a. you drone armed only with cameras begins circling above the compound. five minutes later a second wave of attackers arrive. >> annex team withdrew from the facility and second wave of attackers took it over. >> did anybody leave a base anywhere to go to the aid of the people under attack in benghazi, libya before the attack ended? >> no, because the attack ended before they got off the ground. >> as senator graham this

attack lasted eight hours from start to finish. >> there was an initial attack on the facility at benghazi. frankly, we thought that was end of what had occurred there. we had no intelligence that a second attack would take place at the annex two miles away. >> bret: coming up, obama administration is tragically wrong what is happening on the ground. more american blood will spill in benghazi.

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♪ ♪ >> bret: september 11th turns into the 12th, benghazi becomes a modern day alamo. a handful of brave americans facing terrible odds with no help on the way. 5:30 p.m., washington, defense secretary leon panetta finishes his meeting with president obama in the oval office. once back at the pentagon he summons lam and martin democracy and other senior staff to discuss benghazi. that will last more than two hours. back in tripoli gregg hicks is hoping that help is on way nor time to dwell zbliotd we're going to try to pull it off with the resources we have. >> bret: by midnight, 6:00 p.m. washington time, the annex is now under attack. >> second phase commences

after the teams have returned to the annex. they suffer for about an hour and a half probing attacks. >> after two-hour scramble, team tripoli secures that charter plane. among those aboard glen doherty. state department counter terrorism official mark thompson wants to know why the emergency team has not been deployed. >> the reason i was given this was not the time. >> how do you react for that? >> we live by a code. the code says you go after people when they are in peril in the service of their country. >> 12:07, libya, state department issues an internal alert that al-qaeda linked is claiming responsibility for benghazi. by 12:30, twitter posts are calling for attacks on the embassy in tripoli.

>> we now have to take care of ourselves. >> around 1:00 a.m. benghazi, someone using their cellphone redials hicks caller says the ambassador is at the benghazi medical center. >> we learn that the hospital. >> hicks suspects a trap. >> 1:15 a.m., the american chartered plane arrives at benghazi airport. there is a hitch. >> the tripoli team had to stay at the benghazi airport because they have no transport or escort from the libyans. >> the delay would give the terrorists time to set up another lethal assault. 2:00 a.m., tripoli. hicks gets a call from washington where it's now 8:00 p.m. >> secretary of state clinton called me along with her senior staff on the phone. she asked me what was going

on. >> i spoke with our charge in tripoli. i talk with the then libyan national president to press him on greater support. we were reaching out to everyone we could find to get an update on ambassador chris stephens. >> 8:39 p.m., washington, five hours after the attacks begin, secretary of defense panetta wrapping up a meeting at the pentagon officially authorizes a military response of sorts. >> first we ordered a marine fleet anti-terrorism secure team to prepare to deploy to benghazi. a second fast platoon was ordered to prepare to deploy to tripoli. a special 80 operations force training in central europe was ordered to prepare to deploy to signanella. >> prepared to deploy,

prepared to deploy, it's not deployment or going toward benghazi. >> why did it take four and a half hours to start the clock to prepare to deploy? we had people being killed and an ambassador and we didn't know when the attack was going to independent and american military did not respond. >> jon: so what about the house republicans --. >> bret: what about the progress report that department defense officials reacted quickly to the attacks in benghazi? i asked chaffetz about that. >> as i read the report, it said there was no helicopters, armed drones, nothing could have saved the lives of the americans in benghazi. am i reading that correctly? >> that is an interim report. the discussion about what the military did or did not do is not complete. >> bret: 3:00 3:00 amount tripoli, hickss gets a call from the prime minister of

libya. >> it's the saddest phone call i've ever had in my life. he told me that ambassador stephens had passed away. i immediately telephoned washington. >> bret: 4:00 a.m., benghazi. 10:00 p.m. in washington. >> i spoke with president obama later in the evening to bring him up to date to hear his perspective. >> bret: it's the only car between the two that night. >> the secretary of state should have been on the phone with the president to say we have people at risk. >> bret: then clinton issues a statement. did he speits months of security warnings and claims of responsibility by an al-qaeda affiliate, clinton links the attack to the anti-mohammad video produced by the man, some have sought to justify this

vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet. the united states deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. back in benghazi the seven man response team finally gets to leave the benghazi airport bound for the c.i.a. annex. >> within 15 minutes of arriving at the annex facility they came under attack by rocket propelled grenades. >> former navy seals, glen doherty and tyrone woods become the third and fourth americans killed that night. hicks still in tripoli knows he must send another plane to benghazi. >> people in benghazi had been fighting all night. they were tired and

exhausted. >> with hicks in tripoli, a special forces team led by lieutenant colonel steve gibson. >> i had told them to bring our people home. that is what he wanted to do. as colonel gibson and three personnel were getting in the cars, he stopped and called them off. he told me he had not been authorized to goal. >> how did the personnel react to stand down? >>ly quote lieutenant colonel gibson, it's the first time in my career that diplomat has more balls than somebody else in the military. >> he later tells people in congress he was not told to stand down but told to stay in tripoli. gibson's boss is four star carter hamm who with panetta and dempsey. he did meet with congressman chaffetz about

overall lack of military response that night. >> he told me they had proximity and capability but they were not ordered to go. he was stgtd as far as you and i sitting. >> why were they not ordered to respond? >> i think you will find a lot of levers that the president had were note pulled. >> coming up the benghazi and youtube video. was the administration trying to get to the truth or create a smoke screen -- after the break.

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24 hours. zero heartburn. ♪ ♪ >> bret: back in 2008 campaign, barack obama and hillary clinton famously sparred over who was to handle t 2:00 a.m. emergency phone call. as we have seen the call actually came at 3:00 in the afternoon from benghazi libya. now, four americans are dead and new election is just weeks away. >> chief correspondent james rosen reports. >> on september 12th, nsa intercepts communications between two al-qaeda terrorists claiming they participated in the attack and libya station chief reports back to washington on the involvement of militants. finally that same day, bess jones an aide to secretary of state and clinton chief of staff khiashl mills, i

spoke to the libyan ambassador. i told him the group that conducted the attacks is affiliated with islamic terrorists. >> there is no mention of a video in that email. >> republican congressman jason shea fets of it zblut we pulled it and it was the terrorists. >> the rose garden, president obama links the youtube video to murder of four americans in benghazi. >> we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of zbleors they thought they could get away with this about a crackpot, it's not a failure of policy or not the fault of president. it was simply something that got out of control because of a video. >> september 13, washington, d.c., clinton again links the video and benghazi attack. >> the united states government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. it appears to have a deeply

cynical purpose to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage. >> back in california, he is surprised to find himself at the center of such a huge story but is grateful for the public list it as he tells fox's peter boyer. >> thank you very much. thank you very much. >> september 14th, jointed base andrews the bodies of the fallen arrive back home. >> we've seen the assault on our post in benghazi, that took the lives of those brave men. we have seen rage and violence directed at american embassies over an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with. >> the father of slain officer navy seal approaches him. >> she mentioned we're going to have that person arrested and prosecuted

over the video. >> 13 hours later in california, los angeles county sheriffs haul him in on violating his probation. meanwhile, the c.i.a. is circulating talking points about benghazi that administration officials and capitol hill lawmakers can use on the upcoming sunday shows. agency states flatly, we do know that islamic extremists with ties to al-qaeda participated in the attack and the talking points notes that the islamist group has according to published reports claimed credit for the attack. the points himself mentioned the c.i.a. had long warned about the security environment. september 14 and 15, after two days, hundred pages of emails, untold phone calls and meetings, state department, c.i.a. and the white house agree on the 12th and final version of the talking points. all references to al-qaeda and sharia and warnings about security have been deleted from the final product.

c.i.a. director david petraeus dismisses the talking points, he would not use them. lastly in the final talking points, no mention of the video only a reference to earlier protests in cairo. 10:32, september 16 the president of libya's general national congress appears on face the nation and says the benghazi attacks were anything about spontaneous. >> they definitely were planned by foreigners. >> on the same day susan rice makes the rounds of all five major talk shows and contradicts the libyan president directly. >> what sparked the recent violence was the airing on the internet of a very hateful, very offensive video. >> president was insulted in front of his own people, his ability to lead his own country was damaged. my jaw dropped and ways embarrassed. >> on september 25 the

president addresses the united nations? >> the crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the muslim world. >> two days later nekula is held without bond. the hunt for the perpetrators make scant progress. the obama administration wants to send the f.b.i. but bureau agents are unable to gain annex grounds for two weeks. hicks believes the libyan president over rice's false accounts orchestrates the delay. >> a friend of mine said he was still steamed about the talk shows two weeks later. it negatively affected the f.b.i. team quickly to benghazi. >> by election day, two-thirds of american voters called benghazi troubling. 44% believing the obama administration had willfully misled the country. yet barack obama handily wins election to a second term in the white house. next day a judge sends

nekula back behind bars. he remains in custody. >> bret: coming up, benghazi, boston and the end of the war on terror. you thought this beach couldn't get any more tempting... ... you thought wrong. seize the summer with up to 50% off hotels at travelocity. when you experience something great, you want to share it. with everyone.

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today more today more than half of american voters say the benghazi scandal weakened their faith in their government. what happened in benghazi and the response to it may have sparked an even wider debate over the war on terror. >> that's not possible for america to simply deploy a team of special force toss capture every terrorist. even when such an approach may be possible. there are places where it would propose profound risks to our troops and local civilians. >> may 23rd, 2013, another

address by the president at the national defense university. >> we lost americans to terrorism at our embassy in beirut and our marine barracks in lebanon, at the world trade center, military facilities in saudi arabia. >> reciting the litany of attacks, he reveals the less on he's learned about terrorism. >> dealt with smartly and proportionally, these threats need not rise to the level we saw on the eve of 9/11. >> he announces plans to take the nation off the war footing we've been on since that day. >> this war, like all wars, must end. >> that's what history advises. >> all wars must end. that's the lesson in history. that's true. usually after somebody wins. >> bush era, john bolton, believes the speech provides a moment of clarity that helps explain the importance of benghazi. >> america's lack of attention as exemplified by the president, its lack of preparation, its

lack of willingness to respond as demonstrated by benghazi. these are all inducements for the terrorist. >> make no mistake, our nation is still threat yented by terrorists, from benghazi, to boston, we've been tragically reminded of that truth. the threat has shifted and evolved from the one that came to our shores on 9/11. >> is it dangerous to down play the threat from outside the u.s. or inside the u.s.? >> there's nothing in the president's speech that suggested we're downplaying anything. >> p.j. crowley served under president obama as an assistant secretary of state. >> what we have to figure out is whether in dealing with this challenge, we'll still confront this from the context of war. >> the problem as bolton sees it, is that the way america dealt with terrorism before 9/11 is what brought us 9/11. and he says, it's what brought us benghazi as well. >> i'm afraid that what would have to happen to get them to

wake up to reality is another major terrorist attack. >> so america's at a crossroads. we must define the nature and scope of this struggle or else it will define us. >> september 11th, 2001, has largely defined america for the better part of a generation. what will the legacy of benghazi be? as we saw in the years before 2001, the lesson the nation takes away from an attack like the one on september 11th, 2012, can make a profound difference for every american. that's all for tonight. thanks for watching. fox news reporting. [ dog barks ] i want to treat mo dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there.

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♪ >> children. >> you save. jo i'm told orwell's 1984 has come to america. >> this big brother has gotten creepier. >> when you call grandma in nebraska, the nsa knows. >> nobody is listening to your telephone calls. >> but government officials do lie. >> does the nsa collect any type of data at all? >> no, sir. >> my fellow libertarians are mad at me. they say i'm not angry enough. >> you know, i don't think this is john stossel. i think it's an imposter. >> but i'm angrier than she is. >> i don't mind. it's not like it's going