CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Angus King

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

COOPER: More now on the breaking news we touched on at the top, the question of impeachment trial witnesses and the state of the vote count, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. According to a source of the meeting late today, telling his members that the votes were not yet there to block witness testimony.

However, other Senate Republican source tells us that leadership came away from the meeting more confident that they would be able to defeat the witness vote.

Try to get a sense of the state of play, I spoke just before airtime with Senator Angus King, independent of Maine. As you know, he caucuses with Democrats, and, of course, he shares a constituency with Maine's other senator, Republican Susan Collins, who is very much a lawmaker on the spot tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Senator King, yesterday you said you thought there would be five to ten Republicans who would vote for witnesses and documents.

[20:20:06]

I know you talked to Dana Bash today and said it would be a very tight vote. What changed?

SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): I just, you know, was talking to some of my colleagues last night and I just got the feeling that the Republican leader was really putting the pressure on. Although, it now looks like there may be enough votes. I don't know how many there will be.

Originally, I was being optimistic, simply because I thought it was so obvious. I don't know how you vote not to hear from somebody who has --appears to have evidence about the central issue in the case. And I couldn't believe anybody would vote against those -- hearing at least John Bolton. I'm getting all sorts of conflicting signals tonight, but I thought it was going to be a fairly straightforward, then the signals that I was hearing, the sort of mood was, no, we're not going to let any witnesses in.

I think we're just going to have to wait and see. It's going to be on Friday, Anderson. And I think it -- you know, it's either be a very close vote, or I think it will be five or ten. We'll have to wait and see.

COOPER: You think you could still be as many as five or ten? Because I think four is what's needed.

KING: Four is what's needed. I mean, my thinking is -- and I don't want to be a prognosticator here, but my thinking is that once they get to for, I think some people will say, OK, I don't want to explain to my constituents why I didn't want to hear from John Bolton.

COOPER: The idea from Senator James Lankford to allow senators to

read ambassador Bolton's manuscript before making the decision on witnesses, is that something you would agree to?

KING: I like James Lankford. I think he is a very creative guy. I just think that's necessary. I have been saying, before any of the revelations of last weekend, that we should hear from Bolton. He is the guy that knows. Here is what this case is all about.

Remember, Anderson, in the Nixon impeachment, it was about what did the president know, and when did he know it? In this case, it is what did the president do and why did he do it? That is why Bolton is so relevant. He can talk to the question of, what was the president's motivation and doing this?

COOPER: I mean, Bolton was sort of giving a boost, despite there's now obviously an onslaught of folks on Fox News against him, his former colleagues over there and elsewhere against him, but former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly says if Bolton says in a book the president told him Ukraine aid was conditioned on an investigation, that Kelly would believe Bolton. I'm wondering if those comments hold any weight with your Republican colleagues? Have you heard anyone talk about that?

KING: I have not. You're going to have to ask them.

I mean, Bolton is a controversial character, as you know. But I've never -- I've heard people criticize his policy views. I have myself. But I've never heard anyone question whether he was straightforward and honest.

And, you know, part of this process is you attack the credibility of the witness. But I think we're just going to have to hear from him. Now, one way to rebut this would be for the president, himself, to sit down for an under oath televised deposition, as President Clinton did 20 years ago. But, right now -- and, by the way, I don't want to practice law too much right here. I think the president waved the executive privilege argument last night when he said Bolton is lying.

Once the president starts talking about that conversation, then the conversation is available to be discussed. So, we'll have to see how that goes regarding John Bolton's credibility. That's a question, of course. But also, he was also in the room where it happened. I think that's the name of his book.

COOPER: And just finally, the question portion of the trial starts tomorrow. I'm wondering --

KING: Right.

COOPER: -- have you submitted questions for that? Do you know how it will work, or what you are interested in?

KING: I can give you an outline of how it will work. I have submitted questions. As I understand it, it is 16 hours. It will be eight hours tomorrow, eight the next day. And the two sides will alternate. The chief justice said that he was admonishing the lawyers. By the

way, the questions are through the chief justice to the House managers or White House lawyers. They are not to each other. This isn't a debate.

And we don't even get to ask the questions. The deal would be, the chief justice says Senator King has a question to put to the House managers. The page will take the question up, he will read, it and it will alternate back and forth. And that's how I understand the process will unfold.

COOPER: Do you want to tell us what you're going to ask?

KING: No.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: I didn't think he would.

KING: It's your job to ask, and I don't have to answer.

COOPER: That is certainly the case.

Senator King, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

KING: Thank you, Anderson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: News ahead, as well as our preview of the next phase of the trial, before any votes on witnesses, our political legal team is standing by.

We'll be right back.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source