CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Russian Investigation and Dodd-Frank

Interview

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Joining me now to talk about this and much more is Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. He serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is conducting its own investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion.

Well, what's your reaction to the House Intelligence Committee saying that they're pretty much, the Republicans on the committee saying that they're done with interviewing people and the expectation is there are going to be two partisan reports. One from the Democrats, one from the Republicans.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE: Well, Jake, I think like many members, I'm frustrated and disappointed that the House Intelligence Committee did not succeed in completing its investigation in an increasingly divided and partisan committee with Chairman Devin Nunes I think not distinguishing himself, has ultimately ground to a halt.

On the Senate Judiciary Committee, we have also recently struggled. The majority has refused to allow subpoenas for some of the key witnesses that we wanted to have in front of the committee. We haven't yet had public hearings, and Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Feinstein, it's more that their staff have failed to come to agreement about who we're going to have in front of us, what direction we're going to take.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, as you just recognized, continues to make solid progress. And the special counsel Robert Mueller continues to make significant progress. I find those both encouraging. But the Senate Judiciary Committee has the jurisdiction over the firing of the FBI director, over obstruction of justice.

So, we should be farther along than we are and it is truly disappointing that the House Intelligence Committee is hanging up its cleats having not really run the race.

TAPPER: So, you heard the report that Nick Paton Walsh just did about the Prime Minister of the U.K. accusing the Russian of poisoning of this former Russian spy who had defected to the U.K., and his daughter. The statement from the White House today was along the lines of we stand with the U.K. There wasn't any condemnation of Russia.

What's your take on that?

COONS: You can't really stand with the U.K. when the prime minister makes such a forceful and clear statement if you don't also condemn this lethal attack on British soil by the Russians. This is another troubling incident the administration of failing to be clear eyed about the threats to our democracy, to our Western allies presented by Vladimir Putin's Russia. We don't yet have a clear statement from President Trump that says,

they interfered in our 2016 election and here's what we're doing to secure the mechanisms of our own democracy eight months from now.

TAPPER: Why do you think that is?

COONS: It is really puzzling. And it suggests either a refusal by President Trump to take that step because he has too much of an affection for Vladimir Putin, which is striking, given the differences in our systems and his aggression towards the United States, or there's some compromising interest or concern that the president has.

TAPPER: President Trump on that the subject. He pushed back today on a "New York Times" report that he is considering making changes to his legal team. He tweeted, quote: They're doing a great job, meaning his legal team, and have shown conclusively that there was no collusion with Russia, just an excuse for losing.

You serve on the Judiciary Committee. You've been privy to a lot of information. Do you think the president's lawyers have proven there's no collusion?

COONS: I don't think that has been conclusively proven one way or the other. That's exactly why I've introduced a bipartisan bill to make it harder to fire the special counsel. I think Robert Mueller in his investigation is farthest along in that. I don't think the public knows and I don't think -- I'll tell you that I as a member of the Judiciary Committee have not seen conclusive proof one way or the other.

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SEN. CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE: I will tell you that I, as a member the Judiciary Committee, have not seen conclusive proof one way or the other.

And I do think it's in the president's best interest, it is in the country's best interest for us to reach a conclusion here about what did or didn't happen in the 2016 election.

It's also critical that we be investing in the resources to make sure that our states are not open to a likely Russian interference in our 2018 elections.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: So, NBC interviewed Vladimir Putin about the election interference, about which nobody in the intelligence community, none of the officials disagree that that happened. Whether or not there was collusion is another matter.

Take a listen to what Putin had to say about this election interference.

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TAPPER: Your thoughts?

COONS: Jake, that is simply chilling.

That is a reminder of the worst in European history of an anti- Semitism that suggests that Jews aren't really Russians or aren't really citizens of whatever country they're from.

His reference to, oh, they might be not really Russians, Ukrainian, Tatars, or Jews is a revival of some of the worst of the hatred that marked unfortunate chapters, tragic chapters in European history. And I think this is just another reminder of why we ought to be standing up to Vladimir Putin, his violations of human rights, his challenge to Western democracy.

That's a despicable quote. And it's the sort of thing that deserves a strong denunciation from the administration and from members of Congress.

As the co-chair of the Human Rights Caucus, I denounce anyone and Vladimir Putin in particular who suggests that people are not legitimate citizens of parts of the country because of their religious faith.

TAPPER: We only have about a minute left, but I do want to find out what you think of about this. There is a bill to loosen some of the regulations, weaken some of the regulations, depending on your point of view, in the Dodd-Frank banking regulations.

Take a listen to Senator Elizabeth Warren, your colleague. She opposes this measure that you have voted at least support and debate. Take a listen.

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TAPPER: She's talking about you. You're a Democrat that's going to vote for this bill, correct?

COONS: And there are 17 of us in the Democratic Caucus, including Angus King, an independent from Maine and 16 Democrats, who voted last week to proceed to debate this bill.

I'm going to support this bill. And I think we have a difference of opinion about what the purpose is of the bill. There were hearings in the Banking Committee. There have been amendments. There's been markup. We're now going to have a series of votes on the floor.

I believe this is a bill that provides regulatory relief for community banks, for credit unions, for regional banks, but does not affect the core protections of Dodd-Frank.

Obviously, we have a disagreement on policy. I hope this doesn't spill into the sort of partisan warfare within our caucus that I think could put at risk as some of our most vulnerable senators in the 2018 election. And it's my hope that senators will conduct themselves in a way that is respectful of the differences in policy that we see in our caucus.

I will remind you, in 2010, I got elected to the Senate because there was a deep division in the Republican Party between those who were sort of establishment or traditional Republicans and those who were more Tea Party Republicans.

It is my hope that we won't allow ourselves to be deeply divided along ideological lines. I have fought hard for Dodd-Frank in the eight years that I have been a senator and in the years that I have been the ranking member of the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

I will put my record of defending Dodd-Frank up against anybody's.

TAPPER: All right, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, thank you so much your time. We always appreciate it.

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