CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Steve Cohen"
Interview
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BLITZER: Yes, there are.
All right, Jim Acosta, thank you.
Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen. He's on the Judiciary Committee that plays a very major role in the impeachment process down the road.
Thanks so much, Congressman, for joining us.
This was an historic and important vote today in the House of Representatives, the first full House vote on the impeachment inquiry. What does it say to you, though, that not a single Republican joined Democrats in voting for this resolution?
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Well, I think it's important that all Democrats but two voted for it. That says we have got strength that Speaker Pelosi has garnered, the facts have encouraged, and that we will have the votes if we do have an impeachment resolution to honestly vote on the matter.
The fact that the Republicans weren't there was a bit surprising. I thought there might have been a few who came over. Justin Amash, who is now an independent, voted for the resolution and told the Republicans the president will be here for a short period of time. You should worry about your place in history and what you're doing now, while the Constitution is being subverted.
Those were important, telling words from Justin Amash. I'm not sure if those Republicans will listen to him. But once they hear the information -- not everybody has heard the information in public, open hearing -- but once the information and the testimony is put in public hearings, and the depositions are released, and the American people hear them for themselves, I think that the constituencies of the Republicans will tell them to vote to impeach Donald Trump, because he has abused his power.
He has corrupted his position, and he has been a person who has betrayed his oath to the Constitution and to the American people, trying to get an ally, Ukraine, leveraging congressionally funded military support to defend themselves against the Russians, and he's using that as a way to try to leverage them to get dirt on his opponent Joe Biden.
It's strictly illegal. It's unconstitutional. It's against his oath of office. And once it's out in public, I think the public will show their congresspeople they need to vote correctly.
[18:15:02]
BLITZER: All right, let's talk about what's happening down the road. As I said, you serve on the Judiciary Committee, which eventually will
introduce articles of impeachment. How soon, Congressman, will you start getting material from the Intelligence Committee, which is, at least right now, leading the inquiry?
COHEN: I think we will get it certainly before Thanksgiving, I suspect maybe the second week of November.
There's no cut -- timeline. But they're going to start to go into public hearings probably in about a week or two. And I think they will be turning information over to the Judiciary Committee to look at, to analyze and to synthesize.
BLITZER: Tim Morrison, a top official on the National Security Council, testified today behind closed doors that he didn't see anything illegal about the president's demands on Ukraine.
But he was also worried about the transcript of that July phone conversation leaking. So, what do you make of that?
COHEN: Well, I think it says that the transcript must be released.
This is not a transcript that has anything in it that releases information that the CIA would want to keep from a foreign power. It's not about our operations and the way we do things with the CIA. And it doesn't have anything about any intelligence officials.
That phone call, which has become a controversy, the president calls it a transcript. It's not a transcript. It's a memorandum of the phone call. The transcript has been locked up. Mr. -- Colonel Vindman said it was not complete, that there were ellipses where there should have been statements and there were things changed.
I would like to see it. And I think the American people should see it. And Donald Trump's claim that it's a perfect phone call, he should want it to be seen.
The fact that he's not releasing it and doesn't want it to be seen has nothing to do with national security, because there's nothing in there about sources and methods. There's information in there that will show that Donald Trump's -- quote, unquote -- "transcript," which is a memorandum, is not complete, was basically a lie to the American people because it omitted certain information. And we need to see it all.
BLITZER: A federal judge here in Washington weighed in today on your committee's fight to hear testimony from Don McGahn, the former White House counsel.
The judge said -- and I'm quoting now -- "We don't live in a world where your status as a former executive branch official somehow shields you or prevents you from giving information."
Are you encouraged to hear that?
COHEN: Very much encouraged. I don't think there's any question but Don McGahn should testify and
will be ordered to testify. It's just an issue of when he testifies, so that we can get the information in time to make a difference.
The Trump team has put up the most specious legal arguments that basically Judge Howell and other judges -- there's been 100 former prosecutors and judges who've written that these arguments are just off the wall.
They are -- they probably wouldn't get you out of law school. And yet they are doing -- they are just throwing up what they can to try to hide information and guard people from testifying to the American public.
If Trump's world is perfect, if he's done nothing wrong, if he didn't obstruct justice, there's no reason not to have McGahn testify.
But McGahn went and talked to Mueller. And Mueller's report made it clear that McGahn was asked to take actions that show obstruction of justice.
And the elements are all there. This man has obstructed justice, and he has abused his power and he's subverted the Constitution, as Barbara Jordan said Nixon had done, and he's done it in spades.
BLITZER: All right, Congressman Steve Cohen, thanks so much for joining us.
COHEN: And go, Nats.
BLITZER: All right. Well, they are the World Series champs.
Thank you very much.
COHEN: Champs.
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