MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Jamie Raskin

Interview

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Joining us now is the Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin. He sits on the House Select Committee on January 6 which has subpoenaed 15 people to testify and provide document about their role in, knowledge of the events that day.

Congressman Raskin, a pleasure to see you. Thank you for making time to join us tonight.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): And great to see you, Rachel

MADDOW: I have to ask if the Park Police audio we just played, a very small snippet of about seven hours of audio obtained by CREW today. That was new to us and I think new to the public.

Is it new to you and your colleagues in the investigation?

RASKIN: I never heard that tape before. Certainly, we`ve spoken to Park Police people. The park police were valiant and brave on January 6 and right in the struggle but I haven`t heard that tape from early in the morning. You know, Washington D.C.`s organized on a military basis around a series of circles. That was how the city was designed. And, clearly, the insurrectionists showed up with military plans to attack the police at every point in the district.

MADDOW: In terms of the evolving understanding of the seriousness of that day, some of the other tape we heard today involves park police talking about finding armed people in the crowd arresting people who they found with firearms, going through bags that people were forced to keep out of the sight of the rally at which former President Trump was speaking and people piled up those bags by the hundreds and they were going through those searching them for firearms to the point where they were so overwhelmed they just sent them all apparently out of the area without being able to even search through all of them.

There`s a lot of new information there. A lot of drama about the -- a lot of drama in terms of the park police experience and severity of what was going on there that wasn`t previously known. It made me want to ask you today about what you think the prospects are for the subpoenas your committee has sent. You subpoenaed I think 15 people over the last couple weeks including very high profile people like Steve Bannon and also lower profile people involved in planning the rallies and events. Do you actually expect compliance from the people you`ve subpoenaed?

RASKIN: Absolutely. Somehow during the Trump presidency we slid into this ridiculous nether land where a subpoena from the U.S. Congress could simply be ignored or defied. And we need to get back to basics here.

A subpoena from the United States Congress is about the most serious thing that can show up in your mail box that you can be served with. I wouldn`t want to be anybody who decides to defy the authority of the United States Congress, the first branch of government, the people`s representatives. We are on a very serious investigative mission here, an inquiry to write a complete and comprehensive report to the American people about the attack on Congress, the Capitol, and the counting of Electoral College votes of 2020.

So, we plan to get all the information we`re seeking and people should be aware we have tons of information already from people who are calling in on the tip line, people who are coming forward from police officers, and from information that is online, on Facebook, on Twitter, posting of photographs and so on. We`re just trying to fill in the details now. We are trying to figure out exactly what the connections are between the Trump entourage and Trump White House and the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, different armed insurrectionist groups and who paid for the attack on the U.S. Congress? Because you don`t knock over the Capitol of the United States of America for free.

MADDOW: Provocative point and one we`ll continue to follow with interest as the committee sticks to work. Congressman, because you`re here, because it`s tonight, I have to ask you, we didn`t lose you because you are here talking with me right now, I assuming that means you are not expecting a vote in the next few minutes on the bipartisan infrastructure package in the House.

Do you have any updates, any sense on how this is going to unfold?

RASKIN: We have not been noticed yet for votes this evening. The progressive caucus is meeting as we speak which shows you how seriously I take THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW. I stepped out to join you guys.

But look, the bottom line is we`ve got overwhelming unity within the Democratic Caucus that we need to pass President Biden`s entire economic package, the whole Build Back Better package. What has happened over the course of the week is that the public has seized upon the real problem which is unfortunately over in the Senate and, unfortunately, it`s just two senators and that is why you keep hearing so many members saying, we`ve got 97 or 98 percent of Congress on our side. We want to pass the entire package and stop playing parliamentary games with this (INAUDIBLE) year that he`s there.

We want the entire thing to pass together because we need daycare for working families. And we need child care, tax credit. We need serious climate change progress because we`re in a global emergency now. So, I think that there`s tremendous unity among the Democrats on that and obviously nobody likes to see the legislative process working because there`s a lot of push and pull and back and forth and so on.

But the bottom line analysis, I believe, that the Democratic Party is going to stand with the vast majority of Democrats and Americans as you were pointing out earlier tonight 70 percent, 80 percent of people in the polls in West Virginia and Arizona and all over the country support what`s in the president`s plan.

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So, we will get together and we`ll pass it. I don`t bet against Nancy Pelosi. She is going to land this plane with the help of Chuck Schumer and, of course, because of President Biden`s leadership.

MADDOW: Congressman Jamie Raskin, member of the House Select Committee on January 6th, senior member of the house progressive caucus I will send over a hall pass for you. Sorry to get you out of the meeting tonight. I know you`ll be there late with your colleagues. Thanks for making time to be with us.

RASKIN: I very much appreciate it.

MADDOW: All right. More ahead. Stay with us.

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