CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal

Interview

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BLITZER: Suburban Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia.

Evan, thank you very much, Evan Perez reporting.

Joining us now is Senator Richard Blumenthal. He's a Democrat. He serves on both the Judiciary and the Armed Services Committees.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to get to all that stuff in a moment, but let me get your reaction to what we just learned that the president said behind closed doors last night.

CNN did hear an audiotape what the president said. And among other things, he told these evangelical leaders, once again captured on an audio recording -- quote -- "They," meaning the Democrats -- if they become the majority, "They will overturn everything that we have done and they will do it quickly and violently," and he repeated, "and violently. There is violence when you look at Antifa. These are violent people."

Senator, your reaction?

BLUMENTHAL: My reaction is that Donald Trump seems to be taking another page from his Charlottesville playbook, demagoguing and fear- mongering, equating two completely different sides of a political equation. And, in fact, if he's interested in stopping violence, he ought to be talking to law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Department of Justice, rather than degrading and demeaning them.

BLITZER: Because when he says there will be violence, there is violence, they will react quickly and violently, it sounds so ominous.

And this is the president of the United States delivering that kind of warning.

BLUMENTHAL: It's more than ominous. It's designed to achieve a political result, which is to suppress turnout, to create fear and apprehension, and to undermine our democracy.

Very simply, it's totally reprehensible and irresponsible. And I think it is unworthy of the office of president of the United States.

BLITZER: It is pretty startling to hear the president speak, even though it was closed to the press, it was to evangelical leaders. But once again, CNN did hear an audiotape.

(CROSSTALK)

BLUMENTHAL: And thank you to CNN for reporting it, because everything the president of the United States says speaks for the presidency.

BLITZER: Those are pretty ominous words indeed.

Let's get your reaction. Senator Lindsey Graham, he now says it's basically a done deal, that these two men, Sessions and the president, the attorney general, they really can't work together. The president has a right to have anyone in his Cabinet he wants to have.

You heard Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, disagree. He thinks -- he has total confidence in Sessions.

Here's the question, though. If Sessions is gone after the midterm elections, you have confidence the Mueller investigation will continue?

BLUMENTHAL: That's really the pivotal question, Wolf, because the only reason to fire Jeff Sessions is as a precursor or a path to fire Rod Rosenstein and the special counsel, Mueller.

And that's why there would be, as Lindsey Graham said, a year ago in July, holy hell to pay.

BLITZER: Well, he's changed his mind now. But he also says anyone nominated to replace Sessions must promise during Senate confirmation hearings, and including in your judiciary hearing committee, that this individual promise not to interfere, allow Mueller to get the job done, finish his investigation.

BLUMENTHAL: That may be a hope, but I think it is somewhat unrealistic to expect the president of the United States, who says that his major complaint about his attorney general is in effect he failed to protect him, failed to stop an investigation -- he would not tolerate an attorney general who then would allow that investigation to proceed.

And I think, for the sake of American justice and the investigation, allowing someone who is right now an unindicted co-conspirator, as the president is, in very serious criminal wrongdoing, in fact, law- breaking relating to corruption of his own election, would be a grave mistake.

And I agree with the majority leader that Jeff Sessions ought to stay where he is. And I think that a number of my colleagues -- I can tell you this point very bluntly -- I have talked to a number of my Republican colleagues. I think there would be holy hell to pay. It's a red line.

[18:15:12]

BLITZER: Well, do you think, if Sessions is gone, one way or another, either he resigns or -- under pressure -- or the president fires him, a new attorney general could be confirmed by the Senate?

BLUMENTHAL: Never say never, but confirming an attorney general in this United States Senate, I think would be near to impossible, because not only is their personal sympathy for Jeff Sessions having followed the Department of Justice rules.

It wasn't a matter of discretion for Jeff Sessions to recuse himself. Those rules apply to him. He followed them. And the United States Senate isn't going to reward Donald Trump by confirming someone else.

BLITZER: If he were to fire Sessions, the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, would be the acting attorney general. The president has no great love for Rod Rosenstein either. So if he fires him, you move down that chain of command.

Let's talk about Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer. He's trying now -- he's open to the strategy of undermining Mueller and the entire investigation as a witch-hunt, a ruse.

He tells "The New York Times" -- this is Giuliani -- "Mueller is now slightly more distrusted and Trump is a little ahead of the game."

Does this fit into a pattern, the statements he's making and the statements the president has made, of obstruction of justice?

BLUMENTHAL: There is a pattern of obstruction of justice. Right now, there's a credible case of obstruction of justice against the president of the United States. And, of course, the president's implicated in wrongdoing having nothing to do with that charge or collusion.

But Rudy Giuliani has embarked on a pattern of trying to demean and degrade the special prosecutor, try the special prosecutor in the court of public opinion, joining the president's sycophants and surrogates in the United States Congress, some of my colleagues on the House side, who have tried also to discredit the special counsel. It is part of the pattern, and it looks very much like obstruction of

justice.

BLITZER: If President Trump doesn't agree to sit down for an interview with Robert Mueller and his team, do you think the special -- how far do you think Mueller will do go in terms of subpoenaing the president, if necessary?

BLUMENTHAL: In my view, this investigation cannot be completed without an interview or some testimony under oath by the president of the United States.

Right now, he's implicated as a unindicted co-conspirator. There are other charges that could be brought against him. And I have said before, we have talked about it, that he could be indicted, even though he's in office, and the trial postponed. But he has to come before the grand jury by subpoena, if he refuses a voluntary interview.

BLITZER: In that Michael Cohen pleading, he pled guilty, he and the prosecutors, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, they said the president was not indicted, the president was certainly not charged with anything, but they did say he did conspire with Michael Cohen and others for those hush money payments to those two women.

As a result, you say he's an unindicted co-conspirator.

BLUMENTHAL: Correct.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Senator Blumenthal, for joining us.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

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