CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Attacks on Special Counsel

Interview

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BERMAN: A new statement moments ago from the president of the United States attacking Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. The president calls it a total witch hunt, all caps, with massive conflicts of interest.

Joining me now to discuss is Congressman Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois, who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman, you know what the president is talking about in terms of conflict of interest.

He's talking about former FBI Director Andy McCabe, who was fired over the weekend, 26 hours before his retirement. The Attorney General Jeff Sessions put out a statement that said this, "Both the Office of the Inspector General and the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility reports concluded that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor including under oath on multiple occasions.

Now lacking candor is grounds to be fired. Any FBI agent will tell you that. So, was any, regardless of the president maybe politicizing this, if Andy McCabe lacked candor, should he have been fired?

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D), ILLINOIS: Look, I think what really happened here is they realized he's a witness against them and he fired them, the short time before his retirement they lacked candor. They sped up part of the I.G.'s investigation, carved out an exception for him.

I think it was cowardice. I think it will set in an example. It was telling the rest of the world you mess with us and this is what you get. It's not how you handle an investigation and it's more importantly it's not how you handle people who have dedicated their life to keeping us safe.

BERMAN: But the inspector general is more or less non-partisan, apolitical, the Office of Professional Responsibility is basically as apolitical as you can get. Both the IG and the Office of Professional Responsibility found that he lacked candor, which is a firing offense. Again, aside from the president's Pressure and again, the president has been pressuring for firing McCabe for months, aside from that, those groups did find a problem, correct?

QUIGLEY: It's hard to imagine they didn't feel the pressure from the White House. He testified before us and I thought he was telling us the exact truth. By the way, Mr. Sessions promised under oath, if we're talking about candor, that he was going to recuse himself and it was going to go beyond the Clinton campaigns to involve the Clinton Foundation.

So, whatever reasons they're now finding, those are all within the reasons that Mr. Sessions promised under oath that he would not get involved and here he is firing Mr. McCabe for those very reasons. Notwithstanding the fact that he wasn't candor -- full of candor as he testified under oath. I think he's lied at least now four times.

[09:25:04] BERMAN: OK. That's Jeff Sessions, again. But again, as it pertains to Andrew McCabe, once you get a chance to see the inspector general report and why the inspector general has decided that Andy McCabe lacked candor, do you believe it is a firing offense?

QUIGLEY: I think it is a firing offense. Do I believe that he violated this? Absolutely not. I think it's beyond coincidence if they happened to do it just before he was due to retire.

BERMAN: The timing is a whole separate issue. Do you need to do it 26 hours before full retirement, you know, I certainly know that there is a big dispute there. Let's talk about the president attacking Robert Mueller by name over the weekend, this morning, moments ago, calling it a witch hunt. His attorney says the president is not about to fire the special counsel. How do you see it?

QUIGLEY: Yes, I'd like to think so. Let's remember how this all began, what is it, a year ago the president reads something on Breitbart and tweets out that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower? I mean, this inane set of tweeting makes absolutely no sense.

I believe the president has attempted to fire Mr. Mueller several times. I think that there are a lot of elements of obstruction. Frankly, I think the firing of Mr. McCabe is part of that given the fact that he is a witness in the firing of Mr. Comey and that, I believe, was obstruction.

So, this is just another element. It is of great concern. Again, how do my colleagues react to this. Why aren't we passing legislation to protect this probe, make sure it's allowed to go forward. The majority of the Republicans I've heard talk about this are all those who are walking out the door.

I point to the speaker of the House being extraordinarily silent on this and actually complicit in the obstruction by the House Intelligence Committee.

BERMAN: The speaker of the House put out a statement over the weekend through his spokesperson saying that the speaker believes that the special counsel's investigation should continue. So, that's the speaker's position. You don't believe that's going far enough?

QUIGLEY: No, I don't because he should have passed legislation toward that end. He has been silent up to this point. And when the Senate has talked about passing legislation, the majority leader on the House side is not necessary. Where is it? If you want to protect this probe put your vote where your now supposedly your mouth is.

BERMAN: All right, Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois, thanks so much for being with us. We do appreciate your time, sir.

QUIGLEY: Go Ramblers.

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