CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Anthony Brown

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

BLITZER: And later in THE SITUATION ROOM I'll speak live with Congressman Himes and get his explanation why he's now made this dramatic move. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks very much.

And joining us now Congressman Anthony Brown of Maryland. He's a key member of the Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.

REP. ANTHONY G. BROWN (D-MD): Great to be with you.

BLITZER: I want to get your thoughts on the latest developments involving Iran in just a moment but let me get your thoughts on impeachment. You told reporters recently you would vote for impeachment if it eventually came to a formal vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.

But you stopped short of calling for that formal inquiry that Congressman Jim Himes is now supporting.

Why are you reluctant to take that first step?

BROWN: You know, Wolf, right now you've got the Judiciary Committee and Government Oversight Committee and the Intelligence Committee and a number of other committees that are deep in documents and testimony.

Obviously we're trying to get more documents and testimony from the administration. And others who are currently and formerly in the Trump orbit. They're going through a lot of information. And I'm looking to their recommendation.

They are the most informed members of Congress in terms of how close we are to perfecting a case of obstruction of justice. As we and the public read about Mueller's report, what little we have available, certainly it looks -- it appears if there are obstruction of justice charges that could be made.

That's what the Judiciary Committee is looking at and I will support their report, whether it is articles of impeachment or calling for an impeachment proceeding. They're doing a lot of heavy lifting for us.

BLITZER: Turning to Iran, you're on the Armed Services Committee.

Do you think the new sanctions announced today by President Trump will be effective?

BROWN: Not really, Wolf. And the reason I say that is because the sanctions that are already in place are probably squeezing 70 percent to 80 percent of their economy. I think this is more symbolic.

I think the president needs to engage our allies. There has got to be a diplomatic solution to this sort of standoff with Iran. We've escalated our military presence and we've labeled the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group.

And -- but what we need to do, coercion is one thing but you have to have diplomacy. So we have got to look at some of our allies to step in and be that third party intermediary if we're not directly engaged with Iran, because diplomacy is what we need now, coupled with a commitment by the administration to consult with Congress and to seek whatever authorization that they need before they introduce forces in and against Iran.

BLITZER: Do you believe President Trump when he said he doesn't want a war with Iran?

BROWN: I believe that. But I don't think that his actions are consistent with that. What we saw last week was very chaotic. We were on the brink of attack into Iraq, it could have led to 150 deaths, Iranians, I'm not saying that we were not -- we didn't have a right to retaliate. We do. But I'm afraid that the president will stumble into war, the

escalation of forces on the ground, a haphazard way to make a decision, whether to strike or not and the big concern is that we don't know what Iran's response will be.

They may in turn respond, which could then lead to a further exchange of responses, military in every domain, air, land, sea and, as we know, recently, even cyber. So my concern is, let's take a deep breath, Mr. President, engage with allies and stay engaged with Congress and find a diplomatic solution to what the challenges are here with Iran.

BLITZER: In a tweet earlier today, the president suggested that the United States doesn't even need some sort of military presence in the shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf. He noted that China gets 91 percent of its oil from there, from the Strait of Hormuz and Japan 62 percent and the U.S. very little.

Should the U.S. withdraw its forces from that part of the world?

BROWN: Absolutely not. The United States has an interest in the shipping lanes and through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. And while our interest today, let's measure by how much oil we receive from the region, maybe less than it was 10 or --

[17:15:00]

BROWN: -- 20 years ago, we have an interest in freedom of navigation and the use of international airspace and we need to enforce that around the world. So we should not withdraw our forces.

But our forces ought to be there in a -- not in a provocative way but to ensure we are securing international law.

BLITZER: Amidst all the tough talk, the president does say and said it repeatedly in recent days, he's willing to open up talks, direct talks between himself and the leaders in Iran without pre-conditions.

Do you support that?

BROWN: I absolutely do. I think that the president should sit down with Iran. The problem is they're not going to sit down with him. They feel as if they've sat down with not only the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China and came up with the -- what we call the Iran nuclear deal.

So, yes, I think the president should sit down with the Iranians but I also think that he's got to be -- he has to think through, how are you going to get the Iranians to the table.

BLITZER: Congressman Anthony Brown, thank you for joining us.

BROWN: Thanks, Wolf.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source