Fox News "The Ingraham Angle" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Lee Zeldin

Interview

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WEBB: If you asked the former intel and law enforcement chiefs slamming President Trump, they'll pretty much say they're doing it to save the country and our standing in the world. But in reality they may be doing the exact opposite and playing right into our enemies' hands.

Joining me now with more is New York Congressman Lee Zeldin. He's a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. And Jamil Jaffer is the director of national security law and policy program at George Mason University. Gentlemen, let's get right into it. Playing into our enemies' hands -- Russia wants to undermine America's faith in its system or constitutional republic. And congressman, it's working in some quarters. Are they playing into his hands, into Putin's hands?

REP. LEE ZELDIN, R-NEW YORK: Absolutely. You're doing Russia's work for them. You're doing our adversary's work for them when internally you have people, whether they're inside our government or they're now recently outside of our government, seeking to undermine our own country, our own democratically elected government. So you're absolutely right. That's a real concern I have.

And it's really one of the reasons why John Brennan shouldn't have a security clearance. You should make an example of him. And if you analyze him and you look at just emotionally, mentally whether or not he has it all together, and also whether he understands rules right now when he's accusing the president of high crimes and misdemeanors after the Helsinki summit and saying there's treason, if you do an analysis on John Brennan, it's important that we're not only making an example of him, we're sending a strong message, but we actually take away his security clearance, because while you have a right to a First Amendment, you do not have a right to a security clearance, especially when you're as unhinged as this man is right now.

WEBB: So let's go right to it. This is video from CNN, Jim Sciutto, asking the question about Putin, Brennan, and the security clearance. Let's play this.

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WEBB: Jamil, your reaction to that.

JAMIL JAFFER, FORMER SENIOR COUNSEL, HOUSE INTEL: Look, David, the problem here is this is a problem of the president's own creation. He didn't need to strip Brennan of his security clearance. Brennan was doing a good enough job on his own making himself look partisan. The president has not continued this conversation, got in the way of his own message about tax cuts, regulatory reform, conservative judges. The president has created this problem for himself. He doesn't need to do this. He needs to stay on message and not worry about John Brennan. John Brennan was doing a good enough job on his own making himself irrelevant.

WEBB: So Lee, there's been some critique about the method in which this played out, that the president, according to some, could have just done it, let it happen, not give John Brennan even a bigger megaphone. But the president said he's elevated him. What do you say?

ZELDIN: First off, I don't think John Brennan should have gotten a security clearance in the first place. This is a man who admitted to voting Communist Party for president of the United States. And now fast forward to currently he's seeking to monetize his position as former CIA director, and as I mentioned earlier, he has become unhinged.

For the president of the United States to make an example of him, he's sending a strong message to others that there are rules, that you do have a right to your First Amendment freedom of speech, you do not have a right to your security clearance. And you also need to follow the rules of the U.S. government. You can't set your own rules on what's right and wrong, because one of the biggest threats if not the biggest threat that we have seen historically as far as access to classified information is when you have an individual gone rogue who is setting their own rules and deciding their own moral compass is one that supersedes and overcomes any type of guidance that the government puts out on John Brennan and anyone like him.

So I think it's important to very publicly make an example that this conduct by this man right now is exactly what disqualifies you and will result in losing your security clearance. I think it's great that he's making a public example of this man.

WEBB: Jamil, the public example, how does this play out in the political world? The intel chiefs, their letters, will this last? Will it have any effect as you see it?

JAFFER: The problem, David, is that the congressman is right to make the point that maybe you want to make an example of somebody. The problem is by making an example of John Brennan, the president has now got bipartisan opposition from all these intelligence officials, 60 former CIA officers. It's going poorly for the president. This is not working. This is an unforced error. It was a tactical mistake. It could have strategic consequences. The president has to get out of his own way and stay on message and not worry about it, not worry about Bob Mueller. That investigation is going to happen. The president should focus on his own message, and focus on that. And listen to his aides who are telling him, by the way, stop doing this stuff. This is not good business.

WEBB: Gentlemen, thank you very much, appreciate it. We'll have to call Vladimir Putin and ask him if he is cheering this on. We'll be right back.

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