CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Senator Richard Blumenthal

Interview

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BLITZER: Sara, lots of major developments unfolding. Thanks for that report. Sara Murray reporting.

Joining us now, Senator Richard Blumenthal. He's a Democrat who serves on the Judiciary and Armed Services Committees.

Senator, lots to discuss, but, first of all, your thoughts on this YouTube shooting.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: My heart and prayers go out to the loved ones of victims, and my thanks to the first-responders.

There are a lot of unanswered questions, but thoughts and prayers, as the Parkland students reminded us so vividly and eloquently, are not enough. The woman who took her own life, the apparent shooter, obviously suffered from some kind of mental illness.

This nation has no higher rate of mental illness than other modern industrialized countries, but we have an off-the-charts number and rate of shootings. And it reminds us that we need to do something about gun violence in America.

BLITZER: Let's turn, Senator, to the developments in the special counsel's investigation.

You have heard our reports. What insight does this Rosenstein memo give you suggesting that Mueller is open to go ahead and investigate a whole bunch of areas involving alleged collusion?

BLUMENTHAL: This memorandum is profoundly significant. It's a clear message that Robert Mueller is at the doors of the Oval Office and he's knocking and he's knocking hard on the issues of collusion, which can no longer even be considered a witch-hunt or a hoax, if there was any basis for the president characterizing it that way.

And there's a footnote in that memo that also alludes to possible obstruction of justice. And, in fact, what we're seeing is the special prosecutor following the money very clearly, whether it relates to the activities of Paul Manafort with respect to Ukraine and Russia, or the activity of the president and his family concerning Deutsche Bank and money laundering there, and the robust and far- reaching investigation that has been authorized by the deputy attorney general, it's going to continue.

And this will bear even more results.

BLITZER: This memo, and we all have copies of it now, huge chunks of it redacted all in black. But the special counsel in this memo said special counsel -- this is Rosenstein -- said the special counsel should investigate whether Paul Manafort -- and I'm quoting now -- "committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials" -- close quote.

Does that imply, Senator, that the Justice Department views collusion as a crime?

BLUMENTHAL: It clearly indicates, Wolf, that collusion is regarded by the Department of Justice as a crime and a serious one and should be under investigation by the special counsel.

There's no question that the special counsel's mandate includes collusion, as well as obstruction of justice. And what we're seeing in fact is obstruction of justice unfolding right before our eyes in real time in many of the president's statements, in his actions such as firing Comey, seeking to fire Mueller, and other kinds of deceptive activities, such as the statement he did after his son participated in that Trump Tower meeting with Russian agents.

That statement was also a lie and deceptive. So, we're seeing that Robert Mueller has the endorsement and support of the professional law enforcers of the Department of Justice in this collusion investigation.

BLITZER: Yes, and let's not forget this memo was written by Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, recused himself.

Does this now, Senator, put the deputy attorney general at risk of being fired?

BLUMENTHAL: It certainly does.

That is a key question, Wolf, because the pressure is mounting. As the special counsel comes closer and closer by the day to the president of the United States, the threat to not only Rod Rosenstein, but the special counsel, will mount.

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That's the reason that I asked the potential successors to Rod Rosenstein to pledge that they would permit Robert Mueller to proceed with his investigation without political interference, would not fire him, would not restrict his budget or the scope of his investigation, because Rod Rosenstein's mandate to the special counsel is profoundly important.

This memorandum really is so significant because it indicates that the deputy attorney general has given that mandate to Robert Mueller and should be supported.

And that's why we have sponsored legislation that would protect the special counsel and why now, more urgently than ever before, that protection is more vitally necessary.

And I'm going to be reaching out to my Republican colleagues, because they have an obligation to stand up and speak out, especially now.

BLITZER: What's your reaction to Alex van der Zwaan's sentence of 30 days in jail and a $20,000 fine? He was sentenced today, the first sentence in this Mueller investigation.

BLUMENTHAL: Compared to the maximum potential penalty, which is years in prison and a much higher fine, it may seem small.

My guess is Robert Mueller would have hoped for a higher penalty, but here's the honest truth. It sends a message that prison and substantial fines are going to be a consequence in this prosecution. And even for a marginal defender like this one, prison time sends a message.

BLITZER: More than a year into his presidency, President Trump still won't say if Vladimir Putin is a friend or foe of the United States. Why can't he give an answer? He was asked that question even when he was sitting today with the leaders of the three Baltic states.

BLUMENTHAL: First, the idea that he has been tougher than other presidents on Vladimir Putin is so laughable -- well, it would be laughable, if it weren't so serious, because the last communication he had with Vladimir Putin was to congratulate him on his victory in a completely sham election.

So the expectation of the American people should be for their president to be cracking down on Russia's continuing attack on us through cyber and disinformation. They are continuing to meddle in our democratic process. They're continuing to threaten the treaty that we have by continuing to develop missiles that violate that treaty.

They are -- ongoing support for aggression in Ukraine. In a variety of fronts, they are continuing to threaten and actually attack the United States, and the need is for the United States and our leader to be much tougher on the Russians than he has been. He applied sanctions only under pressure from Congress. In fact, he resisted actually implementing those sanctions. And I'm going to be pushing, as are many of my colleagues, for a much tougher response to the continuing attack of the Russians through cyber and other means on our democracy, because they're going to repeat what they did in 2016, unless they are forced to pay a real price through sanctions on the oligarchs, cutting down on the money laundering and the flow of their resources into hidden accounts in the Western world.

BLITZER: Senator Richard Blumenthal, thanks so much for joining us.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

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