CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro

Interview

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BLITZER: Yes. Certainly, that's an accurate point.

Thank you very much for that, Sara.

Joining us now, Congressman Joaquin Castro. He's a Democrat. He serves on the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committee -- committees.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.

Let me get your reaction. The president of the United States now telling Bloomberg News that he views this entire Russia probe by Robert Mueller, in his words, as an illegal investigation.

How troubling is that to you, and how do you think he's going to act on that conclusion?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D), TEXAS: Obviously, it's very troubling. It's been troubling for a long time.

This president has never liked the fact that there's an investigation going on into how he conducted himself, how his family members and his campaign team conducted themselves in the 2016 elections, and how closely they worked with the Russians who interfered with our presidential elections in 2016 and congressional races.

So it's not a surprise that he's still very much antagonistic towards this thing. But he just better not do anything to take away the power of Bob Mueller to complete this investigation. And that includes firing Jeff Sessions to take control of the investigation.

BLITZER: It sounds like President Trump understands the risks of taking any action before the November midterms, but he wouldn't comment on whether his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is safe after November 6.

Would you view any effort to replace Sessions as a first step in his effort to try to end the Russia probe?

CASTRO: Well, I mean, because of his past statements, then, yes, I would think that firing Jeff Sessions would be an attempt to have some -- a new attorney general come in and get back the power to oversee the Russia investigation.

The problem with that is that President Trump is most likely to pick somebody who is completely loyal to him and who is essentially willing to bury that investigation, I think. So that's the concern of millions of Americans.

And Congress should pass a bill to protect Bob Mueller's investigation. Unfortunately, in this Republican-led Congress, that legislation hasn't gone anywhere.

BLITZER: The president also today said in a tweet that it wasn't his outgoing White House counsel, Don McGahn, who convinced him not to fire Mueller or Sessions.

Is that an admission, though, that he tried to get rid of both of those men? CASTRO: I mean, I think, based on reporting, consistent reporting, it seems like he's been entertaining this idea for a long time.

[18:10:01]

It'll be interesting to see what -- when we find out eventually what Don McGahn told Bob Mueller's team in terms -- most specifically in terms of issues with obstruction of justice, and the president and the Russia investigation.

BLITZER: The president is also now trying to diminish his own words in that NBC interview last year in which he admitted that firing James Comey was done because of the Russia investigation.

You think the president is now realizing how damaging that admission that he delivered on videotape with NBC News and Lester Holt could be for him in the Russia investigation, how damaging it could be potentially as confirmation of obstruction of justice?

CASTRO: Yes, I think that's exactly it.

Look, I think the president went into an interview with Lester Holt and was basically too honest, honest in a way that his lawyers probably told him afterwards could give him real legal trouble and real political trouble.

And so, yes, I think he's trying to backtrack now. But his honest reaction back then, of course, lives on forever on videotape.

BLITZER: When he says Lester Holt and NBC News fudged that videotape to make it look different than it actually was, what's your reaction when you hear an accusation like that, which has no basis in fact?

CASTRO: It's -- I mean, it's just ridiculous.

It's the president really, I think, trying to convince his political base, trying to get them to believe what he wants them to believe, so that they will continue to support him, because it's not based in fact, what he said.

BLITZER: In another tweet, President Trump directed the U.S. Supreme Court now to investigate the FISA court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court. How concerning is that to you?

CASTRO: It's extremely concerning. That's obviously a very -- I'm limited in what I can say about it, but obviously a very important function to make sure that we keep the United States safe.

So the president messing with that process is extremely concerning.

BLITZER: Well, explain what you mean. I know you're on the Intelligence Committee. You can't release classified information, but why are you limited in discussing what the FISA court is all about?

CASTRO: Well, you're right, because the information is classified. They're -- basically what they do, a lot of that is classified.

But suffice it to say that that's part of the process that makes sure that the United States is not vulnerable to people that would -- foreign actors that would do ill will. And so if the president is going to weaken that process somehow or take away powers from it, then that is a very serious thing.

And it's something that needs to be vetted carefully by the Congress, and not just changed on a whim.

BLITZER: If Democrats do win back the majority in the House of Representatives in November -- and you're a member of the House -- what investigations do you plan to pursue? What sort of information will you pursue? You will, as the majority, have subpoena power.

CASTRO: Yes.

I mean, I think, obviously, it's still early to discuss what exactly which investigations will take place. I believe that, over the last two years or so, or really since the president took office, the majority has not conducted robust oversight.

As you know, the Intelligence Committee investigation in the House, for example, on the Russia investigation didn't issue a single subpoena for any travel records, bank records, phone records, absolutely nothing. And so what you will see is Democrats actually putting in the hard work and the thorough work of going in there and doing real investigations.

And we will not only, I think, investigate the Russia issue and the interference in our election, but also investigate the issue of the 500 or so kids who still have not been reunited with their parents, the kids at the border that were separated and how all of that came about, and, of course, other things that are important to the American people.

BLITZER: Well, let's talk about one other thing that is very significant right now.

I want to get your reaction to this truly stunning report in "The Washington Post" that the Trump administration is now denying, denying passport renewals for U.S. citizens along the U.S.-Mexico border on the basis of their birth certificates, with they're now accusing these American citizens, including military personnel, law enforcement personnel, of having fraudulent birth certificates.

They're now saying, if you're Hispanic, Hispanic American, you live along the border, and you want to get your passport renewed, you're going to have trouble getting it renewed. What's your response? Because it is truly a shocking story.

CASTRO: Yes, I mean, I was just shocked when I saw -- when I read the article, the investigation about this.

And this is basically a president and an administration targeting Americans, U.S. citizens, based on their ethnic heritage, going after a group of people and challenging their full rights of citizenship.

[18:15:07]

This is something that every American should be concerned about, because, in this country, over immigration, we often have debates over undocumented immigrants, now, under President Trump, over the number of legal residents that should be here.

This is not about that. This is about a president coming after American citizens based on the color of their skin and their ancestry.

And so, right now, my office is helping a Marine veteran who is not able to get a passport, who's been denied a passport. And so there are other cases like this. And the president, I believe, is intensifying this, because, I mean, we have had cases in the past where this has happened.

In fact, there was a 2009 settlement to fix this. But the Trump administration seems to be ignoring that settlement and targeting Hispanics in Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border.

BLITZER: So what, if anything, can you do to fix this? And if the administration goes ahead and starts denying passport renewals to U.S. citizens, people who were born here in the United States, have birth certificates to confirm that, what, if anything, can you do about that?

CASTRO: Well, we have reached out -- many of us have reached out to the State Department to get an understanding of the scope of this, how many people are affected.

My office had other offices had a call with the State Department today. They couldn't give us an exact number, but said that they would get us that information.

Look, this has to be investigated by the Foreign Affairs Committee that has jurisdiction over the State Department or the Government Oversight Reform Committee. It's got to be investigated in the U.S. Congress.

And if this is egregious, and it's widespread, which we believe that it may be at this point, then we need to do everything possible to stop it.

BLITZER: And you're a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. And keep us up to speed on this development. Appreciate it very much.

CASTRO: Thank you.

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