MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Robert Mueller
Interview
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O`DONNELL: Tonight, Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Chris Coons, the two senators who last year introduced actual legislation to protect special prosecutor Robert Mueller`s job, released a statement calling on President Trump to let Robert Mueller`s investigation proceed, quote, without impediment.
The senators said, quote: The American people should have confidence in the Department of Justice ability to conduct independent investigations and its commitment to the rule of law. We urge President Trump to allow the special counsel to complete his work without impediment, which is in the best interests of the American people, the president and our nation.
And now, nine Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee have sent letters to high-ranking Justice Department officials saying we ask that you publicly commit to refuse any order or request whether expressed or implied to interfere in the special counsel`s investigation, including but not limited to firing Mr. Mueller, cutting off fund organize resources, limiting staffing, or inhibiting his ability to follow the facts wherever they may lead and hold those accountable who may have broken the law.
Joining us now: Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell from California and Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley from Illinois. They`re both members of the House Intelligence Committee.
All right. Congressman Swalwell, you`ve been a federal prosecutor. What do you make of this attempt in the direct communication with high-level Justice Department officials to preserve Robert Mueller`s job?
REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D), CALIFORNIA: It`s critical right now, Lawrence. We`re at a period of the investigation where it looks like by the witnesses that Bob Mueller and his team continue to interview, that they are getting closer and closer to the president. And this is a very fragile time for the investigation in that the president has told the world, has telegraphed that he wants Bob Mueller gone. And he has allies in Congress who seem to be OK with it.
And so, the best thing that we can do right now is to cement Bob Mueller`s role legislatively. There is legislation to do that on the Senate and on the House side. We should all come together and say that this investigation is important. Not only to hold anyone criminally accountable for what happened in Russian interference, but to show the Russians that we are united and that we will make sure that whether it`s a Russian or an American, if you work to interfere in our election, you will be held accountable. And you`re not going to allow further chaos to occur in our democracy.
O`DONNELL: Congressman Quigley, the Republicans on your committee basically have shut down your committee`s investigation. The Mueller investigation is always running in the background with more powers than any of the congressional committees have had, their subpoena powers, their ability to compel testimony. Now with your committee shut down, it seems to emphasize much more even clearly than ever before the importance of the Mueller investigation.
REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D), ILLINOIS: You know, absolutely. I think Eric and I both signed discharge petitions in the last week asking that this legislation hit the floor to protect the Mueller investigation.
You know, where is leadership? It`s clearly not going to come from Chairman Nunes or the Republicans on the Intel Committee. It has to come from Mr. McCarthy. It`s going to have to come from the speaker of the House.
They`re going to have to step up and put legislation on the floor. And not just issue a few stray statements that they`re concerned about this, or the investigation has to go on. Clearly, this administration did everything it could to obtain power. And clearly, right now, they`re going to do anything they can to maintain that power.
O`DONNELL: Congressman Swalwell, the Judiciary Committee, we got nine Democrats writing those letters. It`s not that long ago that I can imagine in the Senate if something like this happened, it would have been a bipartisan letter from the chairman and the ranking member or it would have been signed by all the members of the committee.
But they do have Thom Tillis, at least. They do have one Republican senator. And that seems to be a different -- a slightly different dynamic from what you`ve encountered in the House which seems purely partisan in the House.
SWALWELL: That`s right, Lawrence. If right now what you`re seeing in the House, it was a road, it would be the president speeding recklessly down it without a stop sign or a cop on the beat. That`s the environment that we are in.
And, you know, I don`t think the Russians ever would have imagined in their wildest dreams that in addition to getting the preferred candidate they wanted elected by helping Donald Trump, that they would also see in our Congress a complete inability to tell the American people how we were so vulnerable, who was responsible, whether the government response was adequate, and to see any reforms be made to prevent it from happening again. And they have somehow achieved that.
And so, that`s why we have to unify. It`s not to only hold Donald Trump and his team accountable if there are criminal violations, but also to show the Russians that we`re unified and we`re going to put up a shield against any future efforts.
O`DONNELL: Congressman Quigley, what do you hear from your Republican counterparts in the cloakroom when the microphones are not on about the possibility of the president firing the special prosecutor, especially with polls out now, recent polls showing the country overwhelmingly supports the special prosecutor finishing his job?
QUIGLEY: I think my Republican colleagues agree with the majority of American people. They want to protect the Mueller investigation. They understand what it means to the rule of law. And, again, you`re seeing a few stray statements, some of them very strong.
Unfortunately, some of those very strong statements come from the Republicans who are leaving the House. So, where is the profiles in courage at a time when this country needs it most? They can get out of this without totally offending their base by saying let the Justice Department do its work.
But right now, where is the House? They`ve shut down the investigation of what Russia did, yet they continued to investigate their own government.
That tells you where they`re at.
O`DONNELL: Congressman Mike Quigley and Congressman Eric Swalwell, thank you both for joining us. Really appreciate it.
SWALWELL: Thanks, Lawrence.
QUIGLEY: Thank you.
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