CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Terrorist Recruitment and Threats from Russia

Interview

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KEILAR: And joining me now to talk more about this, we have Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. She's an Iraq War veteran. She's a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.

Both committees, so you know what's going on here. And you just heard this report from Brian Todd. This idea of these pilots abroad who were sympathizing with ISIS, they'd been doing this or at least one of them had since mid-2014. And we're just now learning about it.

Think about this happening in the U.S. Do you have confidence that if this were happening in the U.S., that U.S. intel and law enforcement would have gotten on it sooner?

REP. TULSI GABBARD (D), HAWAII: Look, I think when you look at how these pilots, how they're saying they were recruited, through social media, we have heard also recently news in different parts of the United States, the reach of ISIS has gotten really predominantly through social media, and again, it goes back to the call to action I and many others have had to crack down on their ability to reach tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people via social media, to recruit them with their radical Islamic ideology.

And you see how they have apparently done this successfully with these pilots. And I think it's safe to say that they are doing the same thing with who knows how many people here in the United States.

KEILAR: Let's talk about this hack that we have seen of OPM. It's like human resources for the federal government. If someone's had a background check, they have gone through OPM. If they work for the government, they go through OPM, 21.5 million current and past employees and their spouses impacted by this.

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At least that's what we know. The number keeps going up, China blamed for this hack. How does the U.S. respond when normally there's some sort of proportional response?

GABBARD: Well, first of all, I think it's important as we look at this so-called H.R. department for the federal government where these breaches took place, I think it's a good thing that the director was forced to resign.

It's unfortunate too often in Washington, people are not held accountable. But it can't stop there. I think you have got to look at the chief information officer. You have got to look at the fact that the breach that began in May of 2014 wasn't detected until a year later, the fact that they didn't have really an I.T. security department until 2013.

And, as you mentioned, this is the department responsible for incredibly private information on all federal employees and their family members and their histories.

KEILAR: Senator Chris Murphy said yesterday he got a letter that said he'd been impacted by this. Have you gotten...

GABBARD: I haven't gotten the letter yet, but I have been through these background checks. I'm quite certain that my information is out there. My staff has gotten letters. Other members of my family have gotten letters, just like these 22 million Americans.

KEILAR: How worried are they?

GABBARD: Well, it's the same concern, I think, of uncertainty that these 22 million Americans across the country are wondering exactly how that information could be used, the depth of it.

And they're talking about not just those whose background checks were done, but their neighbors, their family members, people who they have come into contact with going far back into their lives. So, it's important I think for urgent action to be taken on this, to, one, identify exactly why these breaches were allowed to occur within OPM, to bring in a third party, neutral, objective expert to be able to fix those breaches and to really strengthen the security of this very important information.

KEILAR: Many more questions for you, Congresswoman. Stay with us.

We will be right back with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard after a quick break.

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KEILAR: We're back now with House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committee member Tulsi Gabbard.

Congresswoman Gabbard, we will be back with you in just a moment.

But right now, we're getting a late update on the Iran nuclear talks, the newest deadline in any progress toward a deal.

Our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott, is monitoring the negotiations.

What is the latest, Elise?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Secretary Kerry came out a few hours ago and said there was some progress, but still some more work to do after some very tense and difficult days.

Now the negotiators are going to work through the weekend, see how much more progress they can get. They still do have some work to do. But officials and diplomats tell me it's really they're on the verge of a deal or they're on the verge of coming home, because you have to remember, Brianna, these people have been -- administrators have been working for about two weeks straight now.

The negotiators have been there for 30 days. They're exhausted. So they're really going to have to fish or cut bait. Either they will be on the verge of a deal in the next 24 to 48 hours, or they're probably going to have to come back and reassess.

KEILAR: This is pivotal.

We know the sticking points have been sanctions, how quickly will they be lifted, and then also this idea of inspections. Can the IAEA verify that Iran is not working toward a nuclear weapon? Do we know where specifically the issues are right now? Or is this a real close hold?

LABOTT: They're really nailing down on two key issues. As you mentioned, it's the inspections and that's about resolving old questions about Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Were they building a nuclear bomb? And they want to get access to military bases, scientists. I'm told the supreme leader is really digging his heels in on that. There's also the issue of the U.N. arms embargo. The Iranians want that lifted. The international community is hesitant.

And those are the two issues the Iranians are really staying firm, but also the international community. So for negotiators, the challenge is to come up with language that they can get what they want, but also show that the Iranians aren't caving, because that's really important to them. And that's the art of diplomacy, Brianna.

KEILAR: It is. Elise Labott, thank you so much for your report.

And I want to talk to you about sort of the specifics of the timeline and whether this really is the "take it or leave it" moment for the U.S. But, first, I want to put this into context about how much of a threat Iran is.

We just heard Joe Dunford, General Joe Dunford. He's the nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And he was before Congress and he said, I think Russia is the most dangerous threat to the U.S. He said Russia, then China, then North Korea, and then ISIS.

Where do you think -- you may rearrange those. Tell me if you do. But where do you think Iran fits into this?

GABBARD: Well, I think it's -- I'm not at all surprised to hear him say that Russia is the greatest threat.

They have been for a very long time. And when you look at the thousands of nuclear warheads that they have, it's absolutely understandable, especially with Putin's actions as of late in particular.

North Korea, he mentioned North Korea. This is something that is very close to home for me because of North Korea's continued ballistic missile capabilities development. Hawaii, my home state, lies squarely within their targets. So the need to invest further in ballistic missile defense to protect the people of Hawaii, to protect the West Coast of the mainland United States is critical.

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When you look at Iran, you look at the importance of these negotiations and how much more of a threat Iran will be if they are allowed to gain these nuclear weapon capabilities, I think that is really the point of what's at stake here.

KEILAR: That they could ascend there on that list that he detailed.

So you have this deadline for the Iran nuclear talks. It keeps moving and moving. Extra innings is what one State Department official described this as. Now it's Monday, July 13. Is it time for the U.S. to walk away?

GABBARD: I think it really will depend when -- in their discussions over the next couple of days if they get to a point where it's a decision between no deal or a bad deal

Then I think, absolutely, the United States should walk away. And we should be prepared to do that, because that's really -- the most important thing is not whether or not a deal is done. It's the content and the substance of the deal that matters the most.

KEILAR: Do you think this is really the "take it or leave it" moment here over this weekend? Or is this more the we're frustrated for now, if they decide to go home, we're going home, we're going to reassess, and see what's going on? Will we know?

GABBARD: I think it's hard to say.

I think you could look over the past how many extensions that have been there, the disagreements that have come about, the rhetoric that's been played on both sides, saying, you know, it's either horrible and there's never going to be a deal, or we're very close and we're making progress. I think it's part of their negotiation tactics, maybe. But I

think the point is, is, we remain focused on the content, specifically on these inspections, on making sure that these IAEA inspectors will have this any time/anywhere ability to make sure that Iran is holding to what it has agreed to, that it's no longer developing their nuclear weapon capability, and making sure that that is an enforceable fact.

So, I think that's going to be one of the key sticking points to whether or not this deal will be possible or if it means it's time to walk away.

KEILAR: That the U.S. needs to be able to verify, a very key point.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, thanks so much. Appreciate you being here.

GABBARD: Thank you, Brianna. Aloha.

KEILAR: Aloha.

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