Former President Bill Clinton advised top United Arab Emirates officials on how to address growing U.S. concerns over the acquisition, but later stated "He told them that he didn't know the details about the deal". In a press conference his spokesman Jay Carson stated Clinton "felt that any ports deal should be subject to the full scrutiny process and should also take steps to make ports safer, not maintain the status quo". However, his wife Senator Clinton was publicly opposed to the deal. Clarified in the same interview: "Like Senator Clinton and many others, he is concerned about foreign state ownership of our ports, and, to this end, he is supportive of her legislation," Carson told CNN.