CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Ron Johnson

Interview

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CABRERA: Boris Sanchez at the White House, thank you.

Joining us now is Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin. He's the chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator Johnson, thank you for joining us. And our condolences for the loss of your colleague. I know it's a somber day for everyone there in Washington so let's start our conversation talking about Senator McCain. He served as a senator for more than 30 years. He called it, quote, "the most important job I have had in my life."

What do you see as his defining mark on that governing body?

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R), WISCONSIN: Well, good morning. You know, John obviously was a larger-than-life figure and if there is one word that I think really symbolizes John, in the end it was healing. And he was a feisty guy. You know, you could get in an argument with him pretty fast but then he was one of the first people to really stand up and say OK, let's figure out how we can come together and he's obviously associated with the phrase serving a cause greater than one's self but take a look at his history.

You know, being held in a cage in Vietnam and yet so many years later he almost single-handedly, you know, made that move to improve relationships, to establish diplomatic relationships with Vietnam. He healed the situation. And so I think, you know, yes, this is a very sad moment right now, it's a sad week but it can also be very uplifting.

If you really take a look at what John stood for, he revered this country, he was a patriot, he loved this nation, he realized how important American leadership was in the world, he promoted it tirelessly. I don't think people realize how hard John worked traveling around the world, how well he's respected not only here in the Senate but worldwide.

He was not only a national hero here in America, he was a national hero to so many people that were trapped in tyranny that were seeking freedom. For example, from the Soviet Union. I mean I had the pleasure of traveling with him four times over in the Eastern Europe and he was just a hero in places like Ukraine. And people could not get enough of him, they wanted to shake his hands, they wanted to get photos with him. They shouted out John McCain ceaselessly.

Again, just a larger-than-life figure. This is the time to reflect, to really celebrate a life really well lived?

CABRERA: There are so many reasons to admire this great man and yet the president for so long, nearly two full days, didn't thank him for his service which of course stirred a lot of controversy and then in an interview yesterday with Bloomberg President Trump defended his response to the death of Senator McCain saying he has done everything that they requested. He feels he did not miss a chance to unite the country.

So let me is ask you, did the president miss an opportunity here to unite the country with his handling of McCain's death?

JOHNSON: Well, again, what I want to concentrate on is John's life and what I would really refer all of your listeners to is read John's farewell address and listen to Lindsey Graham's extraordinary speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday. That's what I want to concentrate on.

CABRERA: As we remember your colleague then, let's remember his fight to uphold American values and American institutions as President Trump meantime continues his attacks on the Justice Department saying last night what's happening with the Department of Justice is a disgrace and he says he'll get involved if he has to.

What do you think he means by that, get involved?

JOHNSON: Well, again, if you want to change subjects and talk about what is happening with the FBI and the Department of Justice, I mean, that's a whole another segment. I'm highly concerned about what has been happening. And just the most recent interview by Bruce Ohr with the House should raise all kinds of questions. For my own part, Homeland Security, we are digging into the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal and the FBI's investigation of it.

There are some very serious concerns and one of the problems is it's been taking so long for Congress to get the information which means the American people don't know what happened. So listen, there are some very serious concerns there. We're going to keep working on it but, you know, one of my problems of having a special counsel appointed so early is once you start with active investigation, Congress and the people do not get information on exactly what happened.

[09:10:02] And listen, it's so important --

CABRERA: But --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Let me just stop you for just a second.

JOHNSON: It's so important for us to having a single system of justice.

CABRERA: Let me stop you for a second, though, because --

JOHNSON: We don't have that right now.

CABRERA: I hear what you're saying but are you OK with this president directing the DOJ in their investigations, essentially telling the DOJ to go after his political adversaries? I mean, is this supposed to happen in America?

JOHNSON: I think we really do need to find out exactly what was happening inside the Department of Justice. You know, why informants report to that campaign. I think those are legitimate questions American people need to have an answer to and as the information dribbles out, I for one become more and more concerned about this -- you know, two systems of justice, one for the well connected, the Clintons, Democrats, and one for everybody else.

It's shocking really in terms of the disparity. For example, Dianne Feinstein had a Chinese spy in her office and the FBI went directly and discreetly to her. Compare that to when the FBI handled it when they suspected potentially some in the Trump campaign. They didn't go to Trump. They didn't say here's the problem. Instead they set him up.

So no, there's some real questions about the disparate treatment in terms of the way the FBI handles these things.

CABRERA: Let me --

JOHNSON: And, you know, the people need to understand that.

CABRERA: Let me remind you.

JOHNSON: But again --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Let me remind you what the attorney general said last week as the president started this attack on the Justice Department and specifically pointed the finger at Jeff Sessions saying he wasn't doing the job that he was put in place to do. The attorney general responded with, "While I am attorney general the

actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."

Do you disagree with that statement?

JOHNSON: No. Listen, I'm a Jeff Sessions fan. He's a man of integrity and I hate to see all these things -- you know, those divisions play out in public but again, what I really hate to see in a moment when we're trying to reflect and remember a great American, American hero, I mean, here we are distracted by this again.

So again let's just go back to John McCain. An American hero, very few people would have given up the opportunity to come home and that's exactly what John McCain did and he did serve a cause greater than himself tirelessly as a true patriot and that's really what we need to be concentrating on the next couple of days.

CABRERA: Senator Ron Johnson, I've got to leave it there. Thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Have a good day.

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