Christine Quinn speaks with Piers Morgan. (Photo: CNN.com)

Mayoral front-runner Christine Quinn refused to criticize President Obama over reports that the federal government has engaged in widespread monitoring of Americans' Internet activity and telephone calls--arguing that surveillance is crucial to the city's safety.

During an interview last night with CNN's Piers Morgan, Ms. Quinn said that it was still too early to judge what Mr. Morgan described as "the single greatest attack on civil liberties and privacy of Americans I've ever seen."

"Look, I understand how it could look that way," Mr. Quinn responded, but cautioned, "We don't know what this is, 'cause we don't know what we don't know."

Regardless of the federal activity, she said the city has a right to engage in its own surveillance to keep the city safe.

"Now, I also understand, as someone who's an elected official in New York  and wants to be mayor, that in the world we live in, we we have to do monitoring; we have to do surveillance," she said. "If you believe somebody is a legitimate criminal, terrorist, bad guy ... then we need law enforcement to be looking at their information" in a way that protects innocent people who aren't  implicated.

Mr. Morgan asked the mayoral candidate if she would start snooping on his own emails if elected.

"The City of New York, I don't believe has that power or will ever have that power," she answered. "I don't think that's appropriate for the City of New York. But it is appropriate--with the right  balance--for the federal government. But I do want the City of New York to be doing the type of monitoring and surveillance that is within the power of a municipal government, at times working with the federal government. Because the biggest job I'll have as mayor is to keep New Yorkers safe and alive."

It was a very different response from Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, one of Ms. Quinn's challengers, who argued the news represented a "clear threat to civil literates," according to an interview last night posted by NYTrue.com.

"Despite my tremendous respect for the Obama administration, we've seen these very troubling revelations around the Associated Press surveillance, now today more revelations around surveillance of telecommunications. I think this is something we as Americans have to be vigilant about ... it's something we have to struggle for," he said, drawing a parallel to stop-and-frisk, where he said, "We don't have the checks and balances in place to stop it."

He argued that the city's next mayor needs to be "one of the guardians of civil liberties in this country and a strong voice for them. I intend to be that," he said. "But we have to first put our own house in order on the question of stop and frisk.

Congressman Grimm is not pleased. (Photo: Facebook)

As President Barack Obama's opponents pile on in the aftermath of multiple recent controversies--notably his reaction to the Benghazi attacks, revelations that the Internal Revenue Service focused on conservative-aligned nonprofits and the Justice Department's unprecedented snooping on press communications--one local congressman wants it to be known that he is also not pleased.

To wit, Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, released a lengthy statement this afternoon blasting Mr. Obama for "bringing Chicago-style politics to the White House." This style of underhanded rule, Mr. Grimm said, has resulted in a presidency that is “the most secretive, deceptive, and divisive we’ve seen in modern times."

For its part, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has said the administration had no knowledge of the Justice Department's secret efforts to obtain Associated Press reporters' and editors' telephone records, which the news agency slammed as a "massive and unprecedented intrusion."

Regarding the IRS subjecting conservative groups to additional scrutiny, Mr. Obama himself said Monday that he "will not tolerate it." But on questions as to whether his administration politicized its response to the September 11th, 2012 attacks on America's embassy in Benghazi, Libya, Mr. Obama insisted, “There's no 'there' there."

None of that was enough to persuade, Mr. Grimm, of course, whose entire statement ripping into the president can be viewed below:

“President Obama’s legacy is going to be one tarnished by scandal after scandal. This president had an opportunity to unite our country and move it forward better and stronger. Instead, he brought Chicago-style politics to the White House and divided us as a nation.

“Today this president continues to blame Republicans for politicizing Benghazi, when it is his very own administration that covered up the facts. He was slow to react to the IRS targeting conservative Tea Party groups, and today he denies knowledge of the Justice Department seizing the phone records of AP reporters.

“The president claims to be in the dark on one event after another. What are they doing over there? Who’s accountable if it’s not the commander in chief?

“Instead of a legacy of ‘hope and change,’ President Obama will be known for bringing Chicago-style politics to the White House. The most ‘transparent administration in history’ is actually the most secretive, deceptive, and divisive we’ve seen in modern times. This administration has misled the American people one too many times, and it’s time it is held accountable.”

President Barack Obama arriving at JFK this afternoon. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama returned to the city this afternoon for a trio of star-studded fund-raising events.

Mr. Obama's first stop was the West Village home of movie producer Harvey Weinstein and his wife, fashion designer Georgina Chapman, where about 65 people paying between $16,200 and $20,000 gathered around tables draped in white linen to hear the president speak.

Among those spotted in the crowd: Justin Timberlake, decked out in trendy, black-rimmed glasses and slicked-back hair, his wife, actress Jessica Biel, and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, according to pool reports.

In remarks to the group, the president talked about the Boston Marathon bombing and the West, Texas explosion, and how they had brought the nation together.

"Over the last three weeks, month, you know, the country's gone through some tough times," the president reportedly told the audience members, who were served parfait and finger sandwiches.

"Everybody has the same sense that we live in the greatest country on earth, that we've gone through some tough times, but we're resilient and we can overcome whatever challenges are thrown at us. And there's a desire to get outside of the constant squabbling and bickering and positioning and gamesmanship and get to the business of figuring out how do we make sure that the next generation does better than this generation," he reportedly said.

He also spoke about his second term and how his perspective had changed.

"You start thinking about history and start thinking in longer sweeps of time. And you start saying to yourself, the three-and-a-half years you’ve got is not a lot. More than anything, what I will be striving for over the next three-and-a-half years is to see if that spirit we saw in Boston and West Texas, if we can institutionalize that. If we can create a framework where everybody’s working together and moving this country forward," he reportedly said.

The president then headed to a second home, this time in TriBeCa, for a dinner hosted by Alexandra Stanton, a former advisory to ex-Gov. David Paterson, and her husband, Sam Natapoff. Approximately 60 guests paid between $16,200 and $20,000 to attend the event, a Democratic National Committee official said.

The president once again spoke about the recent events, but also spoke about the immigration bill, the escalating situation in Syria, the Middle East peace process, and his goal of "reinvigorating a sense of hope and possibility" for both Israel and the Palestinians.

"Deep down there is still this incredible appetite for peace," he reportedly told the group, while warning that the "window of opportunity is growing smaller by the day."

After dinner, Mr. Obama was set too head to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for a final event with Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, attended by approximately 140 guests paying between $7,500 and $32,400.

Rep. Steve Israel, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair, and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair, are both expected to speak.

The president also caused his usual traffic chaos as his motorcade snaked through Manhattan, with residents and tourists snapping photos and shooting videos from behind police barricades.

Hakeem Jeffries (Photo: Facebook)

Months into his first term, his short time in Washington D.C. has Congressman Hakeem Jeffries convinced the Tea Party is out of control.

"Every day I'm in Washington D.C., I'm focused on two things: battling the Tea Party and standing up for President Obama," Mr. Jeffries, a Democrat, said last night at a Brooklyn fundraiser for his successor, Assemblyman Walter Mosley. "The Tea Party folks, they're off the chain. From my perspective, the right thing to do for the country is to make sure we invest in our economy and we stand up for programs like Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid--and stand up for the most vulnerable people among us."

Mr. Jeffries added that he would take the fight to the whole "crew" of Republican leadership, drawing wild applause from his supporters at the Crown Heights restaurant.

"As opposed to what the other side wants to do, which is to basically balance the budget on the backs of children and seniors, working families and the middle class," he said. "And despite what John Boehner says, despite Paul Ryan, despite that whole crew, we're not going to let it happen."

Since replacing the retired Edolphus Towns, Mr. Jeffries has been appointed to the Budget Committee and Judiciary Committee. Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, one of the GOP's rising stars, chairs the Budget Committee and has aggressively pushed for spending cuts as a way to trigger economic growth.

Mr. Jeffries, needless to say, is no fan of that approach.

John Catsimatidis. (Photo: Getty)

The Greek-born John Catsimatidis is ineligible to run for President of the United States, but that doesn't mean the GOP mayoral candidate hasn't thought about it. Indeed, during yesterday's rowdy event at the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, Mr. Catsimatidis talked extensively about federal policy before proclaiming that he would have defeated President Barack Obama's re-election bid if he were in the race.

"I'm running for mayor, I can't run for president!" he declared. "But let me tell you something, I would have won. I could have beat Obama. Buy me a box of Kleenex."

Afterwards, Politicker caught up with Mr. Catsimatidis to ask if he could elaborate on how this hypothetical scenario would have played itself out. He responded by laying out the agenda of a Catsimatidis administration.

"'Independence Day 2020': put a 7-year plan that the United States would be independent of foreign oil in 7 years. And it could be done," he said. "I would seriously look at getting help from the industrial countries that are very, very successful to reimburse us the cost of protecting them. I'm not asking [for] a lot of money. But if it costs us $1.5 trillion for our military and we're protecting Korea and Japan and Saudi Arabia, can't they afford to give us a little bit back? And I really believe that ... Send them a bill!

Although Mr. Catsimatidis himself can't run for president, he expressed hope that perhaps one of his two children--John Jr. or Andrea--might be able to.

"You know, maybe either my son or my daughter," he said. "I hope I live to see it. I could be like Joe Kennedy and say, 'My kids are going to run for president!'"

His son was standing nearby and shrugged when we asked.

(Photo: Getty)

President Barack Obama joined other the United States officials lamenting the passing of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher this morning. In particular, Mr. Obama touted both Ms. Thatcher's humble upbringing and her status as one of the world's "great champions of freedom and liberty."

"With the passing of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend," Mr. Obama said in a statement. "As a grocer’s daughter who rose to become Britain’s first female prime minister, she stands as an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can’t be shattered. As prime minister, she helped restore the confidence and pride that has always been the hallmark of Britain at its best."

Mr. Obama also praised her alliance with former President Ronald Reagan during the contentious Cold War period of American history, adding that Americans can learn from her legacy "as we carry on the work to which she dedicated her life—free peoples standing together, determined to write our own destiny."

"And as an unapologetic supporter of our transatlantic alliance, she knew that with strength and resolve we could win the Cold War and extend freedom’s promise," the president said. “Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history—we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will."

(Photo: Getty)

In a chapel on Rikers Island today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the press shouldn't be irked about being barred from photographing a round of golf between President Barack Obama and Tiger Woods.

"I don't know why the president has to have people watch what he does," said Mr. Bloomberg, responding to a question from CBS's Rich Lamb during a press conference introducing an anti-recidivism program. "He has a right to a vacation. You take a vacation occasionally, you don't work 24/7. He does. He works very hard and he certainly has a right to his private life."

Mr. Obama and Mr. Woods golfed last weekend and some media outlets were frustrated that they were not granted a glimpse of the two together. Indeed, Fox News’ Ed Henry, president of the White House Correspondents Association said they were just asking for "a brief exception, quick access, a quick photo-op on the 18th green.” He added, “It's not about golf—it's about transparency and access in a broader sense.”

But even though Mr. Bloomberg is an avid proponent of being open to the press--he held two question-and-answer sessions today alone--the mayor said Mr. Obama should be allowed a little down time once in a while.

"I don't know why you, the press, have a God-given right to follow him every minute," Mr. Bloomberg said as the reporters in attendance burst into laughter. "You know you're gonna run the picture of when he misses the ball and slices it into the woods. It's hard to argue you'd be fair that way. It doesn't sell any newspapers or minutes. Come on, the guy deserves a chance to have a life and have a vacation. He was away for three days, if I remember, and you know the number of people that travel with the president, it's hard to argue he ever is really away. He does not have a vacation in the same sense that you do where you just forget about it. He's gotta be there all the time and and there's no reason he can't play some golf at the same time."

Charlie Rangel (Photo: Getty)

Earlier today, President Barack Obama held a press conference to decry the upcoming sequestration--steep automatic budget cuts set to occur in just ten days unless a debt deal is reached--as a "meat cleaver"  that will cut essential services and harm the military. And in a subsequent MSNBC interview, veteran Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel weighed in on the topic and took his criticism even further, declaring the entire country "is embarrassed by this whole thing."

"Before it was, 'Protect the top 1 percent and don't increase their tax rates.' Now they're saying, 'If anything else is wrong with the tax system, don't correct it if it means raising revenue,'" Mr. Rangel said, characterizing and dismissing the Republicans' negotiating position. "That doesn't make any sense!"

Arguing that the United States' federal government has already "failed," Mr. Rangel urged the public to look past the negotiations between Senator Majority Leader Harry Read and House Speaker John Boehner. Instead, he called on the country's civic and economic leaders to take the initiative in their own hands.

"What I'm saying is that it is too important to leave to 535 people. I say that the chambers of commerce, the ecumenical councils, the religious leaders, this is their country and they've given it to the Congress to act in an orderly manner," he explained. "And the Congress has failed. We can't run around blaming Reid and Boehner. What we have to do is blame the members of Congress and blame them by name and not necessarily party. I think it's abundantly clear where the snag is. Everyone knows it. But I don't want it to make it look that partisan. The question is, 'Can we avoid this if people get together?'"

Mr. Rangel was particularly adamant about how American military personnel would view a negotiations breakdown from overseas.

"America deserves better," he concluded. "And our fighting men and women, to have them overseas putting their life on the line for this great country, and listening to these squabbles and these petty fights that they're having. That is un-American in every sense of the word."

(Photo: Getty)

In his State of the Union address last night, President Barack Obama announced a new initiative to protect American citizens and businesses from hack attacks. Cybersecurity, of course, has recently made the news as complex attacks--allegedly linked to the Chinese military--have been waged against both government institutions and the media. President Obama's executive order, which he announced in his speech after the White House sent reporters a preview, aims to curb this activity as well as more pedestrian hacking threats.

"America must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber-attacks," Mr. Obama declared. "We know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private e-mail. We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic control systems. We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy.

To that end, President Obama signed an executive order dedicated to "increasing information sharing, and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy."

Specifically, according to a White House briefing that you can view below, the order "requires Federal agencies to produce unclassified reports of threats to U.S. companies and requires the reports to be shared in a timely manner" and "directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to lead the development of a framework of cybersecurity practices to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure." The executive order also calls on regulatory agencies to review existing cybersecurity regulations to "determine if existing requirements are sufficient, and whether any existing regulations can be eliminated as no longer effective." All of the government agencies and participating "critical infrastructure" companies affected by the order are also required to "incorporate privacy and civil liberties safeguards"in any resulting changes they make.

Along with the plans mandated by his executive order, President Obama also urged Congress to act "by passing legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks." In spite of the president's push to police the digital realm, sadly, it doesn't seem like the White House plans to do anything about pop-up ads.

(photo: whitehouse.gov)

In his State of the Union speech tonight, President Barack Obama addressed many of the most pressing issues on the world stage including the tense diplomatic situations in Iran and North Korea and the War on Terror in Afghanistan.

On the campaign trail, President Obama vowed to pull all American troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. However, shortly after the election, the White House said they would not be able to commit to a specific withdrawal schedule in Afghanistan. Addressing the nation tonight, President Obama returned to his campaign promise and said the remaining U.S. troops in that country would be withdrawn in the next 22 months.

"Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women," President Obama said. "This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. This draw-down will continue.  And by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over."

Though he promised to pull American forces out of Afghanistan, President Obama said some form of U.S. military "commitment" will continue there in the years ahead, as will our battle against al-Qaeda.

"Beyond 2014, America’s commitment to a unified and sovereign Afghanistan will endure, but the nature of our commitment will change," he explained. "We are negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos, and counter-terrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of al-Qaeda and their affiliates."

President President Obama followed his discussion of the War on Terror by addressing another potential national security threat, North Korea, which alarmed many observers with a nuclear weapons test earlier this week. For his part, President Obama vowed to take "firm action" as a result of North Korea's provocations.

"Of course, our challenges don’t end with al Qaeda," said President Obama. "America will continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world’s most dangerous weapons. The regime in North Korea must know that they will only achieve security and prosperity by meeting their international obligations. Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense, and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats."

North Korea isn't the only corner of the world where nuclear weapons are an issue. President Obama continued by talking about the potentially radioactive situation in Iran.

"Likewise, the leaders of Iran must recognize that now is the time for a diplomatic solution, because a coalition stands united in demanding that they meet their obligations, and we will do what is necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon," said the president.

He also said the White House will undertake diplomatic efforts to contain nuclear weapons in countries that aren't as directly antagonistic with the U.S. as North Korean and Iran.

"At the same time, we will engage Russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenals, and continue leading the global effort to secure nuclear materials that could fall into the wrong hands," President Obama said.

Along with Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran, the president previewed some of the messages he plans to broadcast on his upcoming trip to the Middle East.

"In the Middle East, we will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights, and support stable transitions to democracy," the president said. "We will keep the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people, and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian. And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace."