Fox News "The Story" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. John Ratcliffe

Interview

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SMITH: This is a Fox News Alert. Just moments ago the House Judiciary Committee announcing it will subpoena Peter Strzok. That's the FBI agent removed from the Russia probe after the discovery of those anti-Trump texts he exchanged with FBI lawyer Lisa Page who was also his lover. If struck were to testify something his lawyer indicated he is willing to do without immunity it could be explosive revealing new details about bias within the Russia probe and the future of the investigation. Congressman John Ratcliffe sits on the House Judiciary Committee, he joins us now. Congressman thank you for your time tonight. So first of all, what do you think of this news he's officially been subpoenaed to testify?

REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE, R-TEXAS: Yes, I knew he was going to appear one way or another. We invited him to appear voluntarily or be subpoenaed. He originally said he would come. Now he's been subpoenaed. Either way, Peter Strzok is a central witness in both the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation and the Trump Russia collusion case that became the Special Counsel matter. And it's important that we have him appear and explain these text messages as well as his actions taken in both of these matters. And so I'm excited about the fact that he will eventually appear and either answer questions or assert his Fifth Amendment rights. Either way, it'll tell us a lot about Peter Strzok.

SMITH: And of course, we've all had a chance to see in here those text messages by now and we know that there was anti-Trump bias in those text messages and a lot of it. However, the I.G. report found that it was not - - there was no evidence of this used in decision-making. What questions do you have for Peter Strzok specifically?

RATCLIFFE: Well, I think that the Inspector General equivocated a little bit from the written word or his written report in his testimony today. He clearly acknowledged that Peter Strzok had an astonishing level of bias as did Lisa Page and teams full of agents and lawyers involved in these matters. He also today indicated that at least one instance Peter Strzok allowed that bias to influence his actions as it related to the recovery of more than 300,000 e-mails on Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner's laptop that were not supposed to be there. So I thought the Inspector General opened the door today to the expansion of the idea that bias really did impact both of these very important investigations. So you know, we all want the opportunity to get to the truth.

You know, I think that Peter Strzok's credibility ultimately will impact not just the Hillary Clinton e-mail matter but the Trump-Russia investigation because, Sandra, the most important thing that you understand here is that Peter Strzok was the person that the FBI put in charge of investigating Donald Trump, the guy that hated Donald Trump as much as anyone who said that not a single American should vote for him, who promised his girlfriend that he would stop it from becoming president, and then talked about getting him impeached once he became president, was the one collecting evidence, making decisions, formulating an investigative plan against Donald Trump. So he needs to come and account for the things that he has said and the things that he has done and we're going to make him do that one way or another.

SMITH: Does that surprise you that Peter Strzok has -- still has a job at the FBI? Obviously, he's been pulled off the investigations but he's still there and he was asked about that -- the FBI Director was asked about that today and they really couldn't comment specifically on what he's doing there, but he's still there.

RATCLIFFE: I think we're all at a loss for why he's still at the FBI. The best way that Chris Wray can defend the 13,000 agents, many of whom are good, brave men and women who go to work every day to keep our country safe, protect us from terrorist threats is to hold accountable the really bad actors. And at this point in time, there's no question about Peter Strzok, the astonishing level of animus bias and hatred really cannot be ever justified or explained.

SMITH: And that bias was not just towards the President and his administration, it was towards Trump supporters as well as revealed in those text messages. Congressman Ratcliffe, thank you for coming on the program tonight.

RATCLIFFE: You bet. Thanks, Sandra.

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