US President Barack Obama faced the press for the first time since his re-election Wednesday when he was grilled over the sex scandal that toppled CIA director David Petraeus and the looming face off with Republicans over increased taxes.
Newly re-elected US President Barack Obama faced reporters Wednesday, declaring that he would not extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and praising General David Petraeus’ “extraordinary career” while asserting that there was no evidence that the resigned CIA chief’s affair had compromised US security interests.
Obama, appearing in his first formal press conference in eight months, declared he is not supposed to meddle in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe of the Petraeus scandal and that he could not predict or prejudge the investigation’s results.
“General Petraeus had an extraordinary career,” Obama said, adding that “people are innocent until proven guilty”.
By Petraeus’ own assessment, the former top commander of US troops in Afghanistan no longer met the standards to run the CIA after having carried on an affair with his biographer.
Obama insists on tax increases for wealthy
The other main subject addressed by the president in his news conference was the looming face-off with Congressional Republicans over the fiscal cliff.
Obama suggested he was willing to negotiate a fix before year-end to avoid the harsh tax hikes and spending cuts programmed for January 1, then seek a comprehensive deal on long-term deficit reduction next year.
He specified that any deal would have to include the maintenance of existing tax breaks for the 98 percent of American households whose incomes are below $250,000 a year, as well as the expiration of tax breaks for wealthier Americans. Many Republicans have rejected the latter point.
“We should not hold the middle class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the wealthy,” he
said.
Obama touched on foreign affairs as well, vowing to press for a diplomatic resolution to Iran’s suspected attempt to build a nuclear weapon while reiterating his insistence that Tehran will never be allowed to acquire a bomb.
“I will try to make a push in the coming months to see if we can open up a dialogue between Iran and - not just us but the international community - to see if we can get this thing resolved,” he said.
Obama also mounted a robust defence of his UN ambassador, Susan Rice, who is said to be a frontrunner to take over from Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. The president said it was “outrageous” for Republican senators to target Rice over her response to the attack on the US consulate in Libya that left four Americans dead.
Obama was referring to statements from Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham that they would try to block any future promotion for Rice.
Rice has done “exemplary work”, Obama said, adding that if the senators have an issue with the administration’s handling of the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate in Benghazi, they should take it up with him.
Obama grilled by press over Petraeus scandal, tax hikes
US President Barack Obama faced the press for the first time since his re-election when he was grilled over the sex scandal that toppled CIA director David Petraeus.
Source: France 24
