Sen. Lieberman on the 2012 candidate he will vote for: “I don’t yet.”
CNN’s John King spoke with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) about 2012 politics, the latest on the Secret Service scandal and more. A highlight from the interview is below and this full interview will air today at 6 p.m. ET on CNN’s John King, USA.
Please credit all usage of the interview to CNN’s John King, USA
Highlight from Interview
THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED
KING: Want to flow through the political question. You were a Democratic senator, now you’re an Independent. You were a big supporter of John McCain. Who’s Joe Lieberman going to vote for in November for president?
LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, I’m not running for reelection for the senate. I am really enjoying not being in elected politics, and I’m going to carry that right through the top office in the country. And for the first time in my life – in a long time, anyway – I’m just going to go into the voting booth on election day like most every other American, and vote in private for president.
KING: Do you know who you’re going to vote for, even if you won’t tell me?
LIEBERMAN: I don’t yet. No, I’m watching very carefully, and listening carefully. And, as an Independent, like most Independents, I’ll not vote based on party, obviously, but based on who I think will be the person who can best secure the future of our country.
…
KING: You say not in fairness, you can’t conclude that. How about Director Sullivan? Does he have your confidence? Is he doing what it takes that – whether this is systemic, cultural, or just an occasional thing that keeps happening – is he doing what’s necessary to stop it from happening again?
LIEBERMAN: Well, he certainly conducted a quick and tough investigation. The big news, today at our hearing, I think going forward, is that the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security – oversees Secret Service – said that he would conduct his own independent investigation of what happened at Cartagena. So that’s important.
Let me go to Director Sullivan. Basically, he kept saying to us that he believes that what happened in Cartagena was rare. Was the exception. It shocked him. A lot of people, including myself, find it hard to believe that all of a sudden, one night in Cartagena, 13 Secret Service agents went to four different nightclubs or strip clubs and drank to excess and brought women back to their rooms. So we had a bit of a tug of war with the director there, but I urged them, at the end of it, to assume that what he believed was not true. That, in fact, this was a pattern of behavior. And what I mean, John, is that he ought to assume that as he goes forward and takes tough steps to make sure that it never happens again –
KING: And does he have your confidence, going forward?
LIEBERMAN: He does, at this point. He does. I think he’s done a rapid investigation. I think he was a great agent. He’s been a good leader of the Secret Service. And he’s trying real hard to restore public confidence in the Secret Service agency. And I think he still deserves our confidence.
…
###