CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Denny Heck"

Interview

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KEILAR: Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thank you.

And joining me now is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Democratic Congressman Denny Heck.

Sir, thanks for joining us.

REP. DENNY HECK (D-WA): You're welcome.

KEILAR: Do you agree with Mr. Garamendi? Do you want that vote?

HECK: So, I think what the president wants is for us to talk about this.

The fact of the matter is that there's no requirement in the Constitution or the federal law or the House rules that we take a vote such as this. He would rather us talking about this than, frankly, talking about the underlying act here, which is the issue at hand, namely, his betrayal of his oath, namely, his withholding of military assistance, which threatened our national security, to President Zelensky of Ukraine, in exchange for him to do a political favor to serve the self-interest of the president, when the president said, I would like you to do us a favor now.

But, Brianna, let's step back. The fact of the matter is, all of that aside, there is no requirement that we take this vote. We are in an impeachment inquiry. The speaker has declared it. The committees are functioning thusly. Is there a single person the face of the planet that believes, if we

were to take that vote, there wouldn't be yet another excuse for the president not to comply?

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There would be. This whole sordid affair is nothing but a story of a shakedown and a cover-up. And this is a part of the cover-up.

KEILAR: The administration says it's not cooperating with what it sees as an illegitimate impeachment inquiry.

What is the goal of these new subpoenas? Is it just to build the obstruction case?

HECK: To get to the truth. No, the obstruction is the withholding.

The point of having subpoenas is to get...

KEILAR: But that's what I mean. Clearly, Democrats -- clearly, Democrats know they're not going to comply with subpoenas. So they're expecting this even as they roll out more.

It would be incredibly surprising if the administration complied with this. That said, Democrats are continuing to do that. So, is this at least knowing that this is something that speaks to alleged obstruction?

HECK: Well, refusal to comply with a subpoena, it seems to me, establishes a couple things.

In and of itself, it is obstruction. And, as a matter of fact, as has been pointed out so many times, I believe it was the third article of impeachment against President Nixon was as a result of his failure to comply with a subpoenaed request for documents.

It also seems to me to be an implicit and fairly strong acknowledgement that they have got something to hide.

KEILAR: Are you concerned -- and you bring up the point about obstruction in the -- with President Nixon. Point taken.

However, this -- at this current point in time, we are following the Mueller investigation, where you had alleged obstruction, where the attorney general essentially cleared the president of it, even though Mueller did not.

Do you worry, though, that in the wake of that Americans are actually numb to the possibility of obstruction?

HECK: I think Americans are worried about the future of their country.

I think Americans are worried that we live, not in a banana republic, but that we live in a nation founded on constitutional principle and the rule of law. I think Americans are increasingly concerned about our position on the

international stage, and how many years it's going to take us to dig us out of the hole for acts such as, over the weekend, when the president unlocked and opened the door for Turkey to invade Syria, and to take on our longest allies in the fight against ISIS in that region.

You know, Brianna, I happen to have the privilege to represent Joint Base Lewis-McChord. And I send off troops and I welcome home troops from their deployments on a regular basis.

And let me tell you, it worries me to the core of my being that, for years into the future, our allies, whenever it is we are engaging with them in efforts to do things like stop the spread of ISIS, that what they are going to say to us is, how can we trust you? You turned our back on us when we needed you most.

So I think those are the kinds of things that Americans are worried about, that we do live in a constitutional republic, and not a banana republic.

KEILAR: That is a concern that many Republicans have echoed. You have been hearing your Republican colleagues say that.

When the White House says that the United States does not endorse this attack by Turkey against the Kurds, what is your response to that?

HECK: He unlocked the door and he opened the door.

He knew full well what was going to happen. And, Brianna, the proof is in the pudding. It is happening.

Let us remember that there were thousands and thousands. One estimate is 10,000 Kurdish soldiers lost their lives in the fight against ISIS. And, indeed, Kurdish soldiers are now guarding approximately 10,000 ISIS soldiers.

That's what's at stake here. If they are diverted to defend themselves and the civilians and other Kurds, and those ISIS soldiers escape, we know full well what they will be up. The president said they're going to migrate to Europe. Well, they may do that, but they're also going to engage in the same kind of aggressive violence that they have been committed to over a period of time.

KEILAR: Congressman Denny Heck, thank you so much for joining us today.

HECK: You're welcome, Brianna.

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