fox's catherine herridge has more from washington. 0:00-0:05 washington, d.c. 0:25-0:32 john bolton / former u.s. james kirchick / foreign policy initiative fellow 1:09-1:19 josh earnest / white house press secretary 1:20-1:30 catherine herridge / washington, d.c. / fox news chief intelligence correspondent on cam fox news tag -------------------------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------- ----- -------------------------------- ------------------------ lawmakers from both parties are in agreement - they want an investigation into findings by the intelligence community that russia sought to interfere with the election... but fox news intelligence james clapper is skeptical about one of the key findings - that the russians interfered to help donald trump win. supporters of the president-elect - who has called the report "ridiculous" - say it's not even clear if russia was behind the hacks: bolton says: "to undermine trust and confidence in our constitutionalsystem, i think t vantage of all the potentialvere russians were involved - but clapper's office says

for that, we are joined by catherine herridge. >> reporter: the president-elect settled on john kelly as his pick to lead homeland security. his last government job was the united states southern command which oversees 32 countries in in the caribbean. his portfolio included immigration and drug trafficking. those close to kelly say that experience makes him well versed on southern border issues. when he retired in january, he seemed to check another trump box, emphasizing his work with intelligence and homeland security outside the beltway. >> at least it's been my experience, the further you get away from washington, the better things work. people talk to each other, people actually socialize with each other. they work together. there's no rice bowls. >> reporter: he is widely respected having led forces in western iraq and he understands the human cost of war. in 2010 his son was killed in afghanistan by an ied. kelly rarely speaks about the loss. when he does, he addresses the importance of finishing the mission. >> i think the one thing they would ask is that the cause for which

chief intelligence con correspondent catherine herridge reports. >> i hope we have somebody that can say islamic terrorist. >> i hope they can focus on what's right, not what is politically correct or advantageous to themselves. >> reporter: these two live 60 miles outside seattle. the legacy of his army service includes two bullets in his back and leg. >> when i went down to the ground, he kept shooting me. he ended up putting another five rounds into me. >> i still can't shake the phone call. the phone call was the hardest. sorry. it replays in my head. >> reporter: married six weeks before the attack, they sort through paperwork. >> we had x-rays done. on two instances, we were turned away because we were told the machine was broken. >> reporter: as part of restoring national security, trump promised major changes. >> how many veterans? the right to seek private medical care when they can't get proper service. >> my only fear is if they switch to a privatized system, some of the care at the va facilities could be degraded. i hope they focus on fixing the problems. >> reporter: the

chief intelligence con correspondent catherine herridge reports. >> i hope we have somebody that canislamic terrorist. >> i hope they can focus on what's right, not what is politically correct or advantageous to themselves. >> reporter: these two live 60 miles outside seattle. the legacy of his army service includes two bullets in his back and leg. >> when i went down to the ground, he kept shooting me. he ended up putting another five rounds into me. >> i still can't shake the phone call. the phone call was the hardest. sorry. it replays in my head. >> reporter: married six weeks before the attack, they sort through paperwork. >> we had x-rays done. on two instances, we were turned away because we were told the machine was broken. >> reporter: as part of restoring national security, trump promised major changes. >> how many veterans? the right to seek private medical care when they can't get proper service. >> my only fear is if they switch to a privatized system, some of the care at the va facilities could be degraded. i hope they focus on fixing the problems. >> reporter: the act

chief intelligence con correspondent catherine herridge reports. >> i hope we have somebody that canay islamic terrorist. >> i hope they can focus on what's right, not what is politically correct or advantageous to themselves. >> reporter: these two live 60 miles outside seattle. the legacy of his army service includes two bullets in his back and leg. >> when i went down to the ground, he kept shooting me. he ended up putting another five rounds into me. >> i still can't shake the phone call. the phone call was the hardest. sorry. it replays in my head. >> reporter: married six weeks before the attack, they sort through paperwork. >> we had x-rays done. on two instances, we were turned away because we were told the machine was broken. >> reporter: as part of restoring national security, trump promised major changes. >> how many veterans? the right to seek private medical care when they can't get proper service. >> my only fear is if they switch to a privatized system, some of the care at the va facilities could be degraded. i hope they focus on fixing the problems. >> reporter: the a

catherine herridge introduce us to it the cyber swat team. >> we have is cyber attacks every day. >>re attacked a thousand times a day. >> reporter: he and his time attacked the cyber crisis. from china's breach and office of personal manage thement to north korea's physical destruction of sonny and now russia. >> we never really saw them atta attack before. >> they understand how to configure technology and what technology is required to keep adversorries out and information secure. >> they are the special forces of sign are are security. >> the nra said it was not. >> it was not selected purely. but a conscious effort to attempt and achieve a affect. nkooks said russia uses it for expense're defense and offense. >> they can't get any of if it on the on. and te it is anti- russian. and the team sesured information on the battlefield where the mission is deeply personal. >> in afghanistan they tis mondayled the ied. >> it is a awe man feeling for us. >> and moving shirrer what recommend aegzing >> >> and in the nsa, catherine her edgeems this now agreement reached between the syrian

catherine herridge is live in washington. >> yesterday tension between capitol hill and the intelligence community escalated with the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee nunez sending this letter to national director of intelligence, james clapper. the letter asked whether the intelligence community position on russian intent to ensure a trump victory has changed since his november testimony. clapper told lawmakers the russian link to the clinton campaign e-mails is tenuous. >> as far as the wikileaks connection, the evidence there is not as strong and we don't have good insight into the sequencing of releases or when the data may have been provided. >> fox news is told clapper who oversees 17 intelligence agencies is not on the same page as the cia director john brennan and the issue comes down to hackers' intent and whether the evidence supports the analysis that the russian government meddl meddled to help that victory. and they should not be lumped together. short time as the white house spokesman says the president wants the intelligence public. >> when there's f

but we begin tonight with catherine herridge who has had a busy day in washington. catherine? >> late today the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee issuing this statement after the cia said the agency would not send a briefer to capitol hill to debrief about russia's involvement in the election. the committee is deeply concerned that intransigents can manipulate for political purposes. the committee will continue its efforts and will insist -- the cia told the house committee it was too busy with the president's review to help. a former intelligence officers tells fox news that knowing the russian leaders intent would be challenging. >> if you're going after, you have to have someone next to that leader so the idea of finding out intent has to be clearly defined and based on having a human intelligence asset, a spy, inside of the very circle you're trying to collect on. >> whether these investigations on capitol hill and full review requested by president obama, a former senior intelligence officer said the probes are creating a paper trail that will make i

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge. >> reporter: the director of national intelligencee intelligence community is not on the same page as the cia. this comes to understanding the hackers' in tentd and nuance. fox is told the election hacks are lumped into one bucket when they were separate, discrete events from democratic party to clinton campaign e-mails released by wikileaks to probing of state board of elections over data. the probing attacks on the state boards dropped off. nine days after the election, clapper confirmed with congressional testimony adding not the same lev about russia's hand in the clinton campaign e-mails. >> as far as the wikileaks connection, the evidence there is not as strong and we don't have good insight into the sequencing of the releases or when that at a time a may have been provided. >> yesterday tension between capitol hill and the intelligence community ramped up sending this letter to james clapper. it asked whether the intelligence community's position on russian involvement and attempt to favor the election results in favor of trump

catherine herridge joins us live this evening from washington. catherine?> martha, in his last job, general kelly's portfolio included guantanamo immigration and drug trafficking. some say that experience makes his vel versed on southern border issued. when he retirement in january, kelly checked another trump box emphasizing work with intelligence and homeland security outside the beltway. >> at least it's been my experience the further you get from washington the better things work. people actually talk to each other, socialize with each other, work together. there is no rice bowls. >> general kelly is widely respected and understands the human cost of war. in 2010 his son lieutenant robert m. kelly was killed in afghanistan by an ied. he rarely talks about the loss but when he does he talks about finishing the mission for fellow gold star families. >> i think the one thing they would ask is that the cause for which their son or daughter fell be carried through to a successful end, whatever that means. as opposed to this is getting too costly or too much

tonight, catherine herridge reports there's a lot of gray area in what used to be the black and white business of war. >> these guys are sort of the shadow warriors. >> reporter: deep inside the pentagon in the secure facility, the top civilian official is getting the morning brief. the message to the next administration, technology is leveling the battlefield for terrorist groups and nation states like russia. what is the gray zone? >> the blurring of the space between peace and war. >> reporter: what's the operational tempo? >> it's incredibly high. >> reporter: fox news went behind the scenes with her, who first woman to hold the job at a time when the command says 7500 special operations forces are deployed to 97 countries. have you met with the transition team? >> yes. i have. my recommendation is always try to take as clear-eyed a look at the situation as we can. assess the risks. >> reporter: like the russian backed cyber militias who u.s. officials say interfered with the 2016 election cycle. >> if you look back over last decade or two, i think you can see a general trend in r

catherine herridge is following it. >> reporter: russian government dismissed reports that vladimir putin was involved and directed the release of hacked e-mails from the democrats. >> translator: you know, i was shocked when i saw this news on the television. i have nothing to add. i think that the stupidity and hopelessness of such an attempt to convince people of this is obvious. >> reporter: fox news has independently confirmed that russian-backed cyber militias back hacking u.s. systems in june 2015. the operation evolved into an effort to interfere in the u.s. election. it was sanctioned by the highest levels of the russian government. the white house spokesman dodged questions on whether the intill ge intelligence statement was code for putin. >> senior most officials in russia would lead me to conclude based on my personal reading and not any knowledge that i have, it's obvious, they were referring to the senior most official in russia. >> reporter: they dismissed other allegations from the white house spokesman that the president-elect knew the hacks would help him. >> it's remar

but first, catherine herridge on a controversial effort to try to give the federal government more say in voting security. good evening. >> reporter: tonight a u.s. government official said the designation is under consideration. no announcement is imminent. new controversy unfolds over a mysterious hacking attack on a state election system. as the campaign entered its final phase, the homeland security department offered resources to secure voting machines and voter registration databases. georgia's secretary of state was among a small group who declined the help. >> i was criticized quite a bit about that. but what they were offering was really out of the box corporate solutions that some states needed. we did not because we were already using our own solution. >> reporter: on election day, the homeland security department did not report unusual cyber activity. according to this letter to homeland security secretary jeh johnson, there was an attempted breech of a georgia secretary of state network linked to a computer with the homeland security address. he writes, at no time has my o

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge sorts it all out for us tonight. >> reporter: a u.s. government source says the director of national intelligence james clapper who oversees the 17 intelligence agencies is not on the same page as cia director john brennan. the issue comes down to the hackers' intent, and whether there is strong evidence that vladimir putin's government meddled to ensure a trump victory. the white house spokesman said today mr. obama warrant obama w assessment public. >> something we'll try to do, the president does believe that we should particularly when it relates to something as central to our democracy, as the conduct of a national election. >> reporter: the timing and targets of the cyber attacks varied widely. the hacks exposed via wikileaks, e-mails belonging to the clinton campaign team and the dnc. another wave of attacks hit voter registration data from safeboards of elections. >> we gave considerable thought to timing out russia with that statement. >> reporter: clapper told lawmakers last month that after the u.s. government publicly blame

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge sorts it all out for us tonight. >> reporter: a u.sgovernment source says the director of national intelligence james clapper who oversees the 17 intelligence agencies is not on the same page as cia director john brennan. the issue comes down to the hackers' intent, and whether there is strong evidence that vladimir putin's government meddled to ensure a trump victory. the white house spokesman said today mr. obama warrant obama w assessment public. >> something we'll try to do, the president does believe that we should particularly when it relates to something as central to our democracy, as the conduct of a national election. >> reporter: the timing and targets of the cyber attacks varied widely. the hacks exposed via wikileaks, e-mails belonging to the clinton campaign team and the dnc. another wave of attacks hit voter registration data from safeboards of elections. >> we gave considerable thought to timing out russia with that statement. >> reporter: clapper told lawmakers last month that after the u.s. government publicly blamed

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has our story. >> reporter: are u.s. systems attacked every day and multiple times a day? >> yes, athey are attacked probably thousand of times a day. >> reporter: they've tackled some of the biggist kries easy, from china's breach of the office of personnel management to north korea's physical destruction of sony's computer networks and now russia. >> adversaries are exploiting areas where we never really saw them attack before. >> reporter: this is an elite group that works with fbi investigators and homeland security. >> they understand how to configure technology and what technology is required to really keep adversaries out and keep information secure. these are like the special forces of cybersecurity. >> reporter: in november, the nsa director said the election hacks were not an accident. >> this was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily. this was a conscious effort by a nation state to attempt to achieve a specific effect. >> dukes could not go beyond that statement but emphasized russia uses cyber fo

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge sorts it all out for us tonight. >> reporter: a u.s. government source says the director of national intelligence james clapper who oversees the 17 intelligence agencies is not on the same page as cia director john brennan. the issue comes down to the hackers' intent, and whether there is strong evidence that vladimir putin's government meddled to ensure a trump victory. the white house spokesman said today mr. obama warrant obama w assessment public. >> something we'll try to do, the president does believe that we should particularly when it relates to something as central to our democracy, as the conduct of a national election. >> reporter: the timing and targets of the cyber attacks varied widely. the hacks exposed via wikileaks, e-mails belonging to the clinton campaign team and the dnc. another wave of attacks hit voter registration data from safeboards of elections. >> we gave considerable thought to timing out russia with that statement. >> reporter: clapper told lawmakers last month that after the u.s. government publicly blame

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has our story. >> reporter: are u.s. systems attacked every day and multiple times a day? >> yes, athey are attacked probably thousand of times a day. >> reporter: they've tackled some of the biggist kries easy, from china's breach of the office of personnel management to north korea's physical destruction of sony's computer networks and now russia. >> adversaries are exploiting areas where we never really saw them attack before. >> reporter: this is an elite group that works with fbi investigators and homeland security. >> they understand how to configure technology and what technology is required to really keep adversaries out and keep information secure. these are like the special forces of cybersecurity. >> reporter: in november, the nsa director said the election hacks were not an accident. >> this was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily. this was a conscious effort by a nation state to attempt to achieve a specific effect. >> dukes could not go beyond that statement but emphasized russia uses cyber fo

chief correspondent catherine herridge joining us live from washington. good morning, catherine.porter: her team already met with mr. trump's landing team an one of the most pressing challenges is this so-called gray zone where terrorist groups and nation states like russia harness technology to unleash unconventional attacks. what is the gray zone? >> so the gray zone, that is kind of interesting. it's a term that's evolved in the last, i'd say last two or three years actually to describe what i think folks are recognizing as the 21st century's phenomena of the blurring of the space between peace and war. reporter: have to really look far to cite examples from the russian-packed cyber militia urge d.o.t. election cycle and isis use of information warfare to recruit an launch attacks outside of iraq and syria, martha. martha: catherine, this week there was confirmation key isis militants plotting against the u.s. were taken out. what role did the special forces play in that? reporter: based on our priority there is no haier priority than targeting taking out isis leadership as th

intelligence director on the right, james clapper, speaking about cyberattacks are hearing, catherine herridgexplain what is going on. >> reporter: us government sources the director of national intelligence which oversees the intelligence community is not on the same page as the cia and understanding the hackers intent and new ones which fox news is told the election tax are being wrongly lumped into one bucket when they were separate and discrete to include the dnc which raises money for democratic congressional races. clinton campaign emails released through wikileaks and probing of state boards of election to steal voter registration database the intelligence community issued a statement in october on russian involvement, the probing attacks on the state board dropped off. after the election, it was confirmed during congressional testimony, they didn't have the same level of certainty about russia's hand in the clinton campaign emails. >> as far as the wikileaks connection evidence is not as strong and we don't have insight into the sequencing of the releases or when the data may have been

i think at this time, you saw catherine herridge reports yesterday we have a lot of chatter when it comeso terrorists. they like to try to do something when there is transition because they think there is instability. i think this white house and the trump transition team show there is no daylight between the two of them in terms of this handover. i think so far so good when it comes to response. bill: as it should be. scott pruitt, epa what do you know about him? how big of a fight will this be? >> well, i think it's amazing. going to tell you something that i don't think anyone else really thought about yet. because the democrats took that action not too long ago, with the "nuclear option," so that means you don't need 60 senators to confirm nominees anymore, well, now you see a lot of democrats saying they regret that. why? guess what, turnabout is fair play. i think it is amazing that scott pruitt, who wonderful guy. attorney general from oklahoma. does amazing work for oklahoma but also is very helpful to all the other attorney generals, attorneys general working on similar issues. t

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has more on what's possible. >> i'm very hopefult we can put this behind us and finally have somebody that can actually say the word islamic terrorism. >> i hope they can focus on what's doing what's right and not what's politically correct or politically advantageous to themselves. >> now medically retired from the army reserve, sean manning and his wife autumn live 60 miles outside seattle in washington. the legacy of his army service includes two bullets still lodged in his back and leg after nadal has san opened fire in 2009 killing 13 and injuring more than 30 others at ft. hood in texas. >> when i went down to the ground, hassan kept shooting me. he ends up putting another five rounds into me. >> i still can't shake the phone call. the phone call was the hardest. sorry. >> married just six weeks before the attack, they now sort through a mountain of paperwork and navigate the v.a. bureaucracy. >> we've had to have x-rays done. and on two instances we were turned away because we were told the machine was broken down. >> as part

congressionales leaders say they will handle the investigation into it.igatio joining us now the latestt catherine herridgechief's intelligence courss respond. good morning to you.regoodornin >> thank you allisonyou... it's probably best approach toao break it down for people at homh because it's a pretty complicated subject. >> yes. >> as you remember, with thecomp electoral prreocessme, there wee three separate hack attacks. aac there was the attack on dnc andc then the attack on the clintonon campaign e-mail which is we camc to know as wikileaks and then at also the attack on the state boards of election to steal tsta voter registration data in illinois and arizona. arina and the intelligence community has different sets ofet information for each one of these distinct attacks and theyt have a different, um, sort of certainty about the involvemente of russia in each one of these.e what we know from the testimonyi of the nation's intelligenceellc chief is that they have a high level of certainty about thebout attacks on the state b elections.ec but they have much less l certainty about russia involvement