CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Sen. Angus King (R-ME)

Interview

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BLITZER: Yes, all of which underscores once again elections certainly do have consequences. The Democrats won 40 seats in the House of Representatives. They're now the majority, and they have subpoena power to go after all sorts of information.

Shimon Prokupecz, thank you very, very much.

Joining us now, Senator Angus King. He's an independent. He serves on both the Intelligence and the Armed Services Committees.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: Yes, sir.

BLITZER: Let me get your quick reaction. We will get to Russia in a moment.

Quick reaction to what we just heard from the president. He's open to a two- or three-week temporary deal, provided that you -- that you give him what he calls a prorated down payment on a wall. He wants $5.7 billion. If you prorate it for the year, you heard Kaitlan Collins, our White House correspondent, say that could be $350 million in this temporary measure.

Are you OK with that?

KING: Well, as I understand it, there's -- a there's a proration built in. He's going to get $77 million, because that's what was in the budget from last year.

And what we're talking about is a continuing resolution, which would continue last year's funding. And it's about $25 million a week based on what the appropriation was last year. So there's money. He's given up $100 million by this one-month shutdown that would have otherwise come in.

It's important, Wolf, to realize that the administration last year came to the Congress and said, we need $1.6 billion for border security. It was approved. The Appropriations Committee worked through it. They said, yes, here it is. And then all of a sudden in December, as we're about to keep the

government going, we get this new $5.7 billion sort of parachuted in. There's never been any hearings. There's never been any discussion. There's never been any details about what it is.

[18:15:03]

So what we are talking about today on the floor -- and I was with that group of senators -- is a three-week continuing resolution, take a deep breath, and then let's negotiate a border security agreement.

BLITZER: But will that three-week temporary solution, a temporary solution, include hundreds of millions of dollars for a border wall?

KING: I think it's impossible to say.

You're precluding the ends of the negotiation. I, for one...

BLITZER: The president says that's -- for him, that's -- he needs it.

KING: Well, I, for one, have always said border security is very important. And I'm for it. There's no one who is for open borders.

The Democrats that I have talked to feel the same way. The only question is, where does that money go and what part goes to technology, what part goes to ports of entry, what part goes to a barrier? And there may be places where a barrier makes sense, where that's part of the solution.

And I think that probably would have to be part of a solution.

BLITZER: He says, if you don't work out a deal, he has got, in his words, a lot of alternatives, meaning executive action, meaning a national security declaration, to go without congressional legislation.

What would you do if he does that?

KING: Well, I think, at that point, it's going to be in the courts. And I think that would be very unfortunate.

I mean, one of the problems here, Wolf, is that this is a man who has never dealt with a board of directors, as far as I know. He has been a family-owned company. He never had anybody say no to him.

And the way our system works is, the president proposes, the Congress disposes. The president makes a budget proposal, says what he wants, what his priorities are. And then there's a process in the Congress that comes to some resolution.

He is saying, basically, if I don't get just what I want when I want it, I'm going to go and do something else through an emergency.

I think that's -- there are grave constitutional questions about that. And Justice Jackson in the Korematsu said, why would you give this power to the president? It's extraconstitutional. And let's just take a deep breath with the president and work this out

in the normal course of business.

BLITZER: I know you are deeply involved in this effort to try to reopen the government.

So, bottom line right now, what's going to happen in the next few days?

KING: I think perhaps when they realize that there will be money flowing into the Department of Homeland Security as a result of reopening the government, maybe that will be sufficient.

If he says, I have got to have this big down payment, $300 million or whatever it is, we're back into negotiating in a situation where the president is holding the government hostage.

And I just don't think that's -- one of the worries here, Wolf, and one of the reasons this is so difficult, there's a real concern that, if the president just basically bulls his way through this, gets what he wants, this will become the go-to tactic for the next two years.

We need a debt ceiling increase. OK, if you do that, we have got to change the asylum laws, or next year's budget, it is going to be, you have got to pass my NAFTA bill.

This isn't the way to govern. It's supposed to be a give and take and a negotiation. And the fact that we passed the budget that he wanted for the border back in last year is an indication that the Congress, both parties, can act in good faith.

BLITZER: While I have you, you are on the Intelligence Committee.

Your committee, the Intelligence Committee, issued a subpoena...

KING: Right.

BLITZER: ... to Michael Cohen to come testify, I assume behind closed doors, right?

KING: That's correct.

BLITZER: Behind closed doors. And our Gloria Borger is saying he has accepted that subpoena. He will show up, presumably in February, before he begins his three-year prison sentence in March.

But he is deeply concerned. He rejected the House Oversight Committee's open hearing, because he says he fears for his family's safety, after what the president and Rudy Giuliani have said.

How are you going to deal with that issue of his safety?

KING: Well, I think we have to respect that. And we have to try to take whatever steps are necessary to protect that.

That's -- it gets close to witness intimidation, which isn't in any legal system allowed or proper. So, we're going to have to take that into consideration.

He is subpoenaed. The difference between the House side, he wasn't subpoenaed. He was appearing voluntarily. Now he is subpoenaed. He has no choice but to come. And, hopefully, we're going to be able to get some information from him that he didn't share before.

As Manu said, when he appeared before, he wasn't truthful. And, in fact, that was one of -- his not telling the truth to the -- to our committee is one of the things that he pled guilty to, that he is going to jail for.

BLITZER: Will you release the transcript of that interview after he appears?

KING: I'm going to leave that to Chairman Burr and Ranking Member Warner. I'm not going to make a commitment here. But my whole philosophy through this whole process is, everything should be as public as is reasonably possible.

The other thing, Wolf, we have got to try to work with Mr. Mueller and be sure that we don't impinge or somehow damage the work that they're doing, but I think that can be worked out.

BLITZER: All right, let's hope that there is as much transparency as possible.

KING: That's what I'm going to try to make happen.

[18:20:01]

BLITZER: All right, we're with you.

Senator, thanks very much.

KING: Thank you.

BLITZER: Senator Angus King of Maine.

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