CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Senator Chris Coons

Interview

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BLITZER: I want to bring in a guest.

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware is joining us right now. He's a member of the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees.

Senator, is the departure of Gary Cohn, the president's top economic adviser, another example of this chaos we have been seeing?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE: Well, Wolf, this is I think just the latest example of how the president's comment that he likes conflict within his staff is an understatement.

I believe Hope Hicks was the fifth communications director in this White House in just over a year to depart. And the idea that Gary Cohn is departing largely over the timing and the deliberation or the lack thereof behind the president's abrupt announcement of large tariffs that will distance us from our key trading partners and close allies is just a reminder that his love of conflict has real consequences.

Dow futures for tomorrow are already down 300 points. The president loves to take credit when the Dow goes up. I wonder if he will take any of the responsibility with the Dow likely going down with Gary Cohn's abrupt departure?

BLITZER: Yes.

He tweeted earlier today: "I still have some people that I want to change." That's the tweet right there.

Do you worry about the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, that he may be included in that group of individuals the president wants to change?

COONS: I do.

The president has repeatedly and publicly harassed, shamed, demeaned the attorney general last summer, as well as over recent weeks. That has brought some real pushback from former Senator Jeff Sessions' close allies here in the Senate, conservatives who contacted the president and said, you should leave the general alone.

He doesn't swear an oath to the president personally. He swears an oath to the Constitution and should be left unharassed as the head of the Department of Justice.

What concerns me is the specific reason the president continues to go after the attorney general. It's because he thinks he shouldn't have recused himself from the Russia investigation and he thinks that Attorney General Sessions should be more aggressively investigating or prosecuting his political opponent in the 2016 campaign, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

BLITZER: The president at that news conference said his administration has been working very hard, in his words, to counteract potential Russian meddling in the November midterm elections and the 2020 presidential elections.

But he also says, seem to be belittling what the Russians did in the 2016 election, saying, yes, maybe they were involved, but other countries were involved, other individuals may have meddled as well. He did not name anyone.

Have you seen any evidence at all that other countries, other individuals other than Russians were engaged or were involved in trying to influence the 2016 presidential election?

COONS: None.

Wolf, there is no evidence that I'm aware of that any foreign entity other than Russia attempted to directly interfere in our 2016 presidential election. In fact, just a few weeks ago, President Trump's own chosen FBI director, CIA director and national security adviser all testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee -- excuse me -- his director of national intelligence -- testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee that it is indisputable that Russia had a broad campaign and did interfere in our 2016 elections and can be expected to do so again.

[18:20:07]

Despite the president's statements, Wolf, there is no evidence that he is taking seriously Russia's interference in our last election or preparing to defend our next election.

In fact, recent reporting by "The New York Times" suggests that a $120 million fund that Congress appropriated to the State Department to push back on Russian meddling and to strengthen democracy hasn't been spent yet. Not one dime.

BLITZER: That money was appropriated back in 2016, $120 million, as

you correctly point out. Nothing has been spent yet.

House Republicans at the same time, they're signaling their intention to wrap up the entire Russia investigation, especially in the House Intelligence Committee. They say the Senate is on the same page. At least the Republicans are saying that.

Could President Trump potentially use this development to try and fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel?

COONS: I hope not.

I have a bipartisan bill that would make it more challenging for the president to fire Robert Mueller. I think it is in the president's best interests, as well as the country's, for Robert Mueller, a seasoned senior federal law enforcement official, a Republican nominated and confirmed to be the FBI director by a Republican president, to complete his investigation, to get to the bottom of this.

But the president could, of course, take advantage of an opportunity here to fire him by replacing the deputy attorney general, after replacing the attorney general. I hope he won't.

I think that would be harmful to rule of law, to our democracy, to our global reputation, and to President Trump himself.

BLITZER: Senator Coons, thanks very much for joining us.

COONS: Thank you, Wolf.

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