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View
Senator
Scott’s
interview
HERE
Transcript
of
Senator
Scott’s
Interview
on
After
the
Bell
with
David
Asman
(February
24,
2016)
David
Asman:
President
Obama's
plan
to
close
down
the
Gitmo
facility
has
run
into
a
mountain
of
opposition.
Many
members
of
Congress
are
really
bothered
about
a
key
piece
of
the
plan
–
transferring
the
detainees
to
prisons
on
U.S.
soil.
You
can
guess
why
that's
a
problem
for
them.
Republican
Senator
from
South
Carolina
Tim
Scott
has
his
own
opinions
on
the
matter.
Senator,
thank
you
so
much
for
joining
us.
First
of
all,
it
is
currently
illegal
for
the president
to
transfer
the
prisoners
from
Gitmo
to
the
U.S.
soil.
Do
you
think
the
president
is
actually
prepared
to
break
the
law
in
order
to
close
Gitmo?
Senator
Tim
Scott:
It
appears
that
he
may
be
indeed.
We
understand
that
the
President
sent
over
a
plan.
I
looked
over
the
plan
for
last
24
hours
and
that
plan
says
nothing
about
how
he
wants
to
accomplish
it.
The
one
thing
that
is
absolutely
certain,
the
law
is
very
clear
today.
It
simply
says
you
cannot
transfer
enemy
combatants
to
domestic
locations,
and
yet
the
President
said
yesterday
that
he
is
looking
for
the
opportunity
to
do
just
that.
I
don’t
understand
what
basis
he
has.
Asman:
Senator,
if
he
does
that
willy-nilly,
and
he
has
done
that
kind
of
thing
before,
and
says
okay,
sue
me,
or
send
it
to
the
Supreme
Court,
the
Supreme
Court,
as
you
well
know,
is
not
a
full
Supreme
Court.
By
the
time
they
get
to
a
full
Supreme
Court,
he
may
be
gone
and
Gitmo
may
be
closed?
Senator
Scott:
Well
good
news
is
that
this
is
not
Republican
or
conservative
issue.
This
is
bipartisan
issue
in
Congress
where
we
saw
overwhelming
majorities
in
the Senate
and
House
maintain
the
law
as
it
has
been.
And
we've
been
able
to
do
that
year
after
year
after
year
because
all
know
no
place
in
America
needs
another
target
on
the
back
of
American
citizens
-
where
thousands
could
lose
their
lives
if
we
move
those
enemy
combatants
to
a
location
near
us.
And
that’s
one
of
the
reasons
why
we
are
thankful
for
this
bipartisan
coalition
of
folks
who
understand
and
appreciate
the
necessity
of
keeping
the
law
very
clear.
Asman:
Alright,
well
one
of
the
things
bothered
a
lot
of
people
watching
the
president
talk
about
his
plans
yesterday was
his
belittling
of
those
who
were
afraid
of
closing
down
Gitmo.
Let's
just
play
a
little
sound
bite
from
that
and
get
your
reaction.
[VIDEO]
President
Obama:
The
public
was
scared
into
thinking
that,
well,
if
we
close
it
somehow
we'll
be
less
safe.
Asman:
Scared
into
thinking.
Isn't
it
possible
we
are
more
safe
with
Gitmo?
Senator
Scott:
Well
there’s
no
doubt
that
we
were
absolutely
more
safe
keeping
those
enemy
combatants
in
Gitmo
for
one
very
specific
reason.
We're
not
afraid
that
he
will
close
it,
we're
afraid
those
terrorists
will
bring
their
friends
to
our neighborhoods.
One
of
the
locations
they're
looking
at
is
in
South
Carolina,
Hanahan,
South
Carolina,
where
it’s
a
medium
security
risk
facility
on
the
Navy
base.
We're
talking
about
bringing
the
world's
worst
terrorists
to
a
neighborhood,
residential
communities,
a
dozen
schools
within
five
miles.
And
what
is
his
plan?
Fulfilling
a
campaign
promise
and
it
is
not
national
security.
There
is
no
reason
for
to
us
have
this
conversation
whatsoever.
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