CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Representative Hakeem Jeffries

Interview

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BERMAN: So this morning top Democratic lawmakers are looking for answers. They want to know why only Republicans have been invited to meet tomorrow with Justice Department officials about intelligence source documents.

HARLOW: Joining us is Democratic congressman of New York, Hakeem Jeffries. He is on the Judiciary Committee.

It's nice to have you here. Thanks for joining us.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), NEW YORK: Good morning. Thanks for having.

HARLOW: Good morning. So the White House response when pressed on this, why no Dems in the room, if you're just going to have Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy there from the Republican side, Sarah Sanders says my understanding is they have been the ones requesting this information, but you've got Democrats up in arms. Adam Schiff says this cannot happen, this cannot happen. What say you?

JEFFRIES: Well, Representative Schiff is exactly correct. You know, at the end of the day this is about the fundamental integrity of our democracy, the rule of law and making sure that the White House does not unreasonably intervene in the affairs of an ongoing investigation which is trying to determine whether there was a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia's interference in our election which we all know took place in 2016.

And so it is absolutely and entirely inappropriate for this to proceed without any Democratic presence, and all it will do is continue to enhance the cloud of illegitimacy that right now is hanging over 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

BERMAN: You say this is all about integrity. Do you think Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy who will be in that room are acting without integrity when they walk in to look at that stuff? JEFFRIES: Well, Trey Gowdy is a good man and he's a man of integrity.

I mean, Devin Nunes continues to embarrass himself as the so-called chairman of the Intelligence Committee, but regardless of the personalities of the two individuals, the fact that they are both Republicans, partisan individuals as opposed to an inclusive process where you have Democrats is problematic.

But again, this is all just another big type of distraction connected to the Trump show. We've got to make sure that we uphold the rule of law, but Democrats here on Capitol Hill are going to continue to focus on, you know, better jobs, better wages and better future working on good things and strong economic growth for the American people, as well.

HARLOW: And look, that worked for some Democrats overnight in the primaries, let's talk about the state of Georgia. You've got the Democrat Stacey Abrams there, gubernatorial candidate, making history being the first African-American woman, gubernatorial nominee from a major party in any state.

The "New York Times" had an interesting take on how she ran and won by such a huge 50-point margin. Did she signal she's unlikely to spend much time pleading with rural whites to return to a Democratic Party that they have largely abandoned.

She was able, Congressman, to energize a young, much more diverse group of voters and bring them into the party, bring them to the voter booth. Is it a smart strategy nationally for your party?

JEFFRIES: Well, nationally, you know, in terms of the House Democratic effort to take back the majority here in the House of Representatives, we have to individual districts that we have to run in a very different.

HARLOW: Right.

JEFFRIES: Racially, geographically, regionally, and in terms of the socioeconomic makeup of those districts, what does unify people in terms of the House effort is the focus on good-paying jobs and strong economic growth. I think you'll see that continue.

I think that Stacey is a tremendous candidate, brilliant person, ran a wonderful campaign and actually did well not just in traditionally African-American parts of Georgia, but also ran competitively in the exurbs of Atlanta, one in certain areas and did pretty well in many of the rural parts of the state as well when she wasn't expected to be as competitive.

BERMAN: Congressman, if I can ask you about an issue -- you said issues that can bring us all together. One issue that has brought you all together, and I mean, you on Capitol Hill, seemingly over the last several days is prison reform. You co-sponsored the first step act which passed overwhelmingly the House yesterday. Explain to me why this effort at bipartisanship works where nothing else has?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), NEW YORK: Well, we've got tremendous leadership on both sides of the aisle. Congressman Doug Collins, a conservative Republican from rural Georgia, and Cedric Richmond, the chair of Congressional Black Caucus, Karen Bass from California and many others, all of us are united behind the issue that we have an over criminalization problem in America.

We incarcerate more people in this country than in any other nation in the world and when the failed war on drugs began in the early 1970s, there were less than 350,000 people incarcerated in America. Today there are more than 2.2 million. That's a stain on our democracy and increasingly that has been recognized by people on the left and on the right, by conservatives and progressives, by Democrats and Republicans, and so we were able to come together yesterday and take a meaningful first step toward improving the lives of incarcerated men and women who are in the federal system.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And Congressman, you tweeted this morning that this began in your words dismantling the prison industrial complex. What it doesn't do in any way is address sentencing reform and there are your counterparts in Congress, Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican chair of the Judiciary Committee, says no way this gets to the Senate without addressing sentencing reform.

John Lewis, Cory Booker among others who signed a letter saying this does not go far enough and should not get the support that it did get. The ACLU echoed their sentiment. Do they have a point?

JEFFRIES: Well, approximately 70 percent of House Democrats agreed with the position that the First Step Act was an important step forward in dealing with our mass incarceration problem in America. We've got 180,000 people in the federal system who are currently without hope, without opportunity, without a meaningful pathway forward to transforming themselves, and this piece of legislation will provide them with the education, the vocational training, the mental health counseling, the substance abuse treatment, the re-entry programming that will enable them to transform their lives, will dramatically reduce recidivism, and will save taxpayer dollars. That is an important step in the right direction. Should we do more

to begin to dismantle our mass incarceration epidemic as it relates to sentencing reform? Of course. But s I mentioned, John and Poppy, earlier this mass incarceration epidemic has been with us for almost 50 years. You can't wave a singular legislative magic wand and make it disappear in one shot. It will require sustained effort, sustained intensity, sustained equipment and a meaningful first step.

BERMAN: Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

HARLOW: Thank you.

BERMAN: Congratulations on something bipartisan.

HARLOW: There you go.

BERMAN: We don't see it very often.

JEFFRIES: Thank you very much.

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