CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Congressman Ted Lieu
Interview
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BLITZER: And I'm sure there will. There will be a lot of disappointment among these conservative Republicans and some leading figures in the conservative news media as well who insisted that a second special counsel was needed because you can't trust the career Justice Department officials to really get the job done.
That was their allegation.
Laura, thank you very much for that report.
Let's talk about all these breaking stories with Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu. He serves on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees.
Congressman, how significant is it that the second special counsel that so many Republicans wanted was denied today by the attorney general?
REP. TED LIEU (D), CALIFORNIA: Thank you, Wolf, for your question.
I think it is significant. This is basically a signal from Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he doesn't think there's a lot there for the appointment of a special counsel. And the Uranium One scandal, whether it's a scandal or not, has been looked at repeatedly.
The Republicans do seem like they want to spend a lot of time trying to impeach Hillary Clinton, but she is not our president. She is a private citizen. They're trying to distract from the special counsel's investigation, and that's what we really need to be focused on.
BLITZER: On the other breaking news that we had at the top of the hour, the special counsel, Robert Mueller, he's looking into information from Rick Gates, who has pled guilty, as you know, on possible collusion, not so interested on what Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman did, but on possible collusion. How significant is that?
LIEU: That is very significant. Keep in mind that Rick Gates was also the deputy campaign manager for the Trump campaign.
He could have seen and heard a lot. He also stayed on with the campaign even after Manafort left. He was in contact with a person known to be a Russian spy and he knew to be a Russian agent. Let's see what Rick Gates says.
There's also reporting today by Reuters that says the Mueller probe is looking into Russian contacts at the Republican National Convention. It's very clear Robert Mueller is looking at the collusion issue actively.
BLITZER: What questions do you have right now about collusion between -- the alleged collusion, I should say, between the Trump campaign and the Russians?
LIEU: Well, we know that George Papadopoulos had advanced knowledge that the Russians had Hillary's e-mails.
Who else in the Trump campaign knew that? We know that George Papadopoulos was communicating with some of the highest levels of the folks at the Trump campaign. Did any of them know about Hillary Clinton's e-mails that Russia had and were going to release, and did they act on that? Because, if they did, then that's conspiracy, that's collusion.
BLITZER: As you know, Reuters is reporting that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, is also investigating Russia's role and possible influence at the 2016 Republican National Convention, when the then Senator Jeff Sessions, now attorney general, met with the Russian ambassador, Kislyak, among others.
What does that tell you?
LIEU: So, there's been 1,000 stories on Russia. It can be quite complicated, but there are three things that are not disputed.
One is that the Russians interfered with the U.S. elections in 2016 and they benefited the Trump campaign. We know the Trump campaign benefited Russia at the Republican National Convention by taking out language favorable to Ukraine and unfavorable to Russia.
And thanks to a free press, we now know there's been communications between the two sides. The issue now is, was there some sort of understanding or quid pro quo between the Trump campaign and the Russians that they would mutually benefit each other?
[18:10:09]
BLITZER: And getting back to the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, now ruling out a second special counsel, at least for now, I want you to listen to what the president's allies have been saying in recent days. Listen to this.
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BLITZER: Well, he did not do that today.
Do you believe, Congressman, the attorney general can survive in light of all that?
LIEU: I do.
I have looked at a lot of the same evidence that these Republicans are alleging, and there's just not a lot "there" there in terms of the scandal, in terms of Hillary Clinton's e-mails. Whether or not anything improper happened, it's been looked at repeatedly.
And then when it comes to the FISA warrant, we know that, from the Democratic memo, the Steele dossier was corroborated by multiple independent sources. That just ends the matter. So it's not clear to me why we need a special counsel to look at that matter again.
I think Attorney General Sessions did absolutely the right thing.
BLITZER: Well, when you say it was corroborated, you don't mean all the salacious details, the allegations in there? Was that corroborated?
LIEU: The parts that were used in the FISA warrant were corroborated.
BLITZER: But none of the salacious details in there?
LIEU: That's correct.
But as we sit here today, no one has actually said the Steele dossier is false. What they have said is, it's salacious. And more and more parts of it keep getting corroborated as time goes along.
BLITZER: What would you do, Congressman, if the president were to fire the attorney general, Jeff Sessions?
LIEU: That would be obstruction of justice. And the only reason he would be doing that is to try to meddle with special counsel Robert Mueller.
That would be an act that would be violative of the rule of law. I think people would take to the streets. And I urge the president not to do it. And, by the way, Senator Lindsey Graham, who you had played, also said the president should not do that as well.
BLITZER: You're talking about firing Jeff Sessions or firing the special counsel, Robert Mueller?
LIEU: Right. Both.
BLITZER: Both. OK.
Congressman Ted Lieu, thanks very much for joining us.
LIEU: Thank you.
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