Asa Hutchinson Homeland Quotations

I don't know whether the Attorney General was responding to a question in a news conference, but that's the reason that Homeland Security is the agency that the President has designated to communicate changes in the threat level. And Secretary Ridge addressed that subsequently. I think it goes to show that there's different voices, and, as we have created the Department, we tried to bring that together so there's one focal point of communication as to the threats that we face and how the public is supposed to respond to it, and that's Homeland Security.

I can certainly say that it was never a consideration in raising the threat level because that's what I was personally involved in. As to whether someone else spoke in terms of trying to get a different reaction, you know, it's a large federal government. But I know in every circumstance, whether it's Justice Department or Homeland Security or the White House, politics was never a consideration from the President on down.