Spokesperson for Family of Murdered Journalist Steven Sotloff Speaks with CBS

Barak Barfi, longtime friend of murdered journalist Steven Sotloff and spokesperson for Sotloff's family, said that the Obama Administration did little to help the family save him from his captors, in an interview that was broadcast live today, Sept. 17, 2014, on CBS THIS MORNING (7:00-9:00 AM).

"We never really believed that the administration was doing anything to help us," Barfi told co-hosts Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King. "We had very, very limited contact with senior officials."

Barfi also said that the administration "shot us down at every opportunity," and that officials "bullied and hectored" Sotloff's parents, and that "they were scared."

Barfi contested claims that the family wasn't threatened, telling CBS THIS MORNING, "I'm hearing that Denis McDonough is saying they weren't threatened - he wasn't in the meeting. John Kerry wasn't in the meetings. The family was in the meetings, and then I was in a subsequent meeting, and I know what I heard."

A transcript of the interview is below.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Let me first say we want to express our condolences to you and the Sotloff family. How are his parents doing?

BARAK BARFI: It's very, very difficult for us at this time. We just cannot accept that we will not see Steven again. We heard from him from the hostages, we saw the other HOSTAGES get out. We just don't understand why these two Americans had to die.

Watch the clip below:

Chris Licht is the Vice President of Programming, CBS News, and Executive Producer of CBS THIS MORNING.

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