CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview With Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa
Interview
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[16:16:06] JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And we're back with our politics lead.
President Trump slamming his own Justice Department for issuing search warrants to raid the home, hotel and office of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, calling the investigation a, quote, witch hunt and a disgrace, though, legal experts do point out that the move was likely signed off on by the highest levels of his Justice Department and FBI.
Joining me now is Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. She served in the Iraq war and is currently a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator Ernst, thanks so much for joining us.
SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA), SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Thank you, Jake.
TAPPER: I want to ask you about a Syria, but before we do, the president called the legally authorized raid a break in, called it an attack on our nation. Do you see it that way?
ERNST: I would not describe it as that. I do feel that the president believes he was violated. But certainly, I wouldn't describe it as an attack on our nation.
TAPPER: The president also suggested that this is all being carried out by Democrats who are against the Trump administration. Obviously as a factual matter, the people heading this all include Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray who are both Republicans, I could go on and on in terms of the U.S. attorney for the district of New York being a Trump appointee or Robert Mueller being a Republican, et cetera.
What do you say to constituents who hear this kind of falsehood and ask you, do you think that the deep state is trying to bring down the president?
ERNST: Well, I do hear from both sides on this issue. There are a lot of concerns out there. But as far as Iowans are concerned, I let them know, let the investigation go where it will. Follow the evidence. And if there is evidence in another matter, then certainly that should be followed.
But bottom line with the Mueller investigation, what I want to know as a senator is, what was Russia's involvement in our election process? Was there collusion? That's what we need to get to the bottom of. Let's let the investigation go. Let's see where it turns up.
Certainly, at some point, there has to be a conclusion to this investigation and I hope at that time, the results are presented to Congress so we can understand what happened in that 2014 election cycle.
TAPPER: Your comments --
ERNST: Or, excuse me, 2016.
TAPPER: 2016. Your comments to our constituents sounds like your fellow Iowa senior senator from your state, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley.
Take a listen to him earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I think it would be suicide for the president to fire him. I think the less the president said about this whole thing the better off he will be. And I think that Mueller is a person of stature and respected and I respect him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Do you agree with Senator Grassley?
ERNST: I do. I agree with my senior senator. He is the chair of the judiciary. He is a very reasonable man, well-respected by his colleagues and constituents alike. So, I again will state that I think the investigation -- let it go where it needs to go. Follow the evidence.
At some point, though, it does need to come to a conclusion and so we can understand the effects of Russia in our process. And we have another election cycle coming up and we certainly need to learn from what happened in the past and make sure it doesn't happen again.
TAPPER: How concerned are you about President Trump firing either Mueller or your former colleague Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, or Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general?
ERNST: Honestly, I am not that concerned. I don't believe the president would do that. I think that many of us in the Congress have stated that we do believe the investigation needs to continue. And I think the president does heed those words. It is ultimately up to the president. But I don't see him doing that.
TAPPER: The president's tirade yesterday about Michael Cohen and the
raid came during a meeting with his military team and the national security officials to discuss a response to Syria, the president has vowed to respond in the next 24 hours.
[16:20:05] I want you to take a listen to fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If this is not an all-out assault on Assad's capability to deliver chemical weapons, if it is not an effort to degrade his regime, it is a miserable failure. If at the end of the day, he doesn't pay a big price, then President Trump becomes like Obama, weak in the eyes of our enemies and unreliable in the eyes of our allies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Do you agree with Senator Graham that not only does there need to be a military strike, it needs to be one that actually is debilitating. What type of response would you like to see?
ERNST: Well, I would tend to agree with Senator Graham. I do agree.
What we have seen from the Assad regime is unconscionable and we have seen innocent men, women and children killed through the use of chemical weapons. Assad is a war criminal and so, we do need to retaliate in some form or fashion, and it needs to be swift and it needs to be hard. Whether folks like it or not, we are leaders in global security and making sure that we can stabilize that region is very important. It can't be done if the Assad regime continues to use chemical weapons.
TAPPER: Senator John McCain said that he thought president Trump's call to remove all U.S. troops from Syria had possibly or probably in John McCain's view emboldened Assad. Are you concerned with that at all?
ERNST: Well, I am concerned whenever a president or a leader would signal to adversaries a withdrawal plan. I think that is something that should be very close hold. I think that is something we should not be signaling to others who could use that statement against us.
So, I think that we need to follow our military advisers' advice in this concern and if we maintain a presence there, certainly we should do it under their advice. If the president wishes to see a withdrawal, that would be fine as well, as long as it's s done following that advice. But we certainly shouldn't signal it to our adversaries if that is the president's plan.
TAPPER: All right. Senator Joni Ernst from the great state of Iowa, thank you so much.
ERNST: Thank you.
TAPPER: It's always great to have you on, Senator.
ERNST: Thanks, Jake.
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