MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: White House Security Clearances

Interview

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HAYES: Senator Ron Wyden is a Democrat from Oregon who sits on both the  Senate Intelligence and Finance Committees. Senator, there are lots of  folks calling for Jared Kushner to resign. Are you among them?

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Certainly I think  there are a whole host of questions with respect to his financial  entanglements. You know, when you`re doing security clearance reviews,  those kinds of entanglements really almost make you a magnet for blackmail  and foreign efforts to compromise you. So I think it was very appropriate  the action that was taken this week with respect to his security clearance.

HAYES: Wasn`t it too late though? I mean, he`s spent 14 months looking at  the nation`s most sensitive secrets.

WYDEN: What I can tell you is I think Bob Mueller is just getting started.  And it`s on a whole host of issues, for example, the new report that you  all just broke tonight shows that this Russian hacking was a very serious  crime against our country and it was a crime that Donald Trump both cheered  and applauded. And at this point, it`s almost hard to be shocked anymore.  You read about Jared Kushner`s entanglements, you read about the daily  revelation, you try to be very specific on the issues that are most recent  and for example, on the new report that you all are breaking here just in  the last hour or so, what I want to know with respect to that Russian hack  is did any Americans know in advance.

HAYES: You sit on the intelligence committee and so you have access to  classified information and the rest of us don`t. And I`m going to ask you  a question that I think you can answer without betraying that which is are  you confident that the intelligence exists that would allow Mueller to make  a specific case, to make a specific charge against those persons or  entities responsible for the hack?

WYDEN: I can`t comment on the specifics of what Bob Mueller is looking at,  but what I can tell you, Chris, is look at how he has gone about his job.  You have this decorated war hero. He served Democrats and Republicans.  He`s done everything by the book. I`m particularly pleased that he`s  focusing on what I call the follow the money issues because follow the  money is counterintelligence 101. That`s how you compromise people and  unfortunately, the Republicans on the Hill aren`t working on those follow  the money issues. For example, CNN is now running a report that Michael  Cohen who`s the money man for President Trump, he might not even be brought  back to the Senate Intelligence Committee when we were led to believe  earlier that he would be. So the fact is, Bob Mueller works on the  criminal side. It`s our job on the Intelligence Committee to tell the  story to the American people and we`re going to do it.

HAYES: Again, just so if you can answer it this way. Do we know who did  this? Say that. Does the American government know who did this, who  pulled off the hacks?

WYDEN: What I can do is not comment on what Bob Mueller is looking at  specifically. What I can say, however, is that he is going about this  inquiry in the kind of deliberative fashion where I don`t think he`s going  to miss any thinging.

HAYES: Senator Ron Wyden, thanks for your time tonight.

WYDEN: Thanks for having me.

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