CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With California Congressman John Garamendi

Interview

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ACOSTA: That's right. All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much.

Joining me now, Representative John Garamendi. He's a Democrat and a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D), CALIFORNIA: Good to be with you.

ACOSTA: And the Senate Judiciary Committee -- I guess you probably just saw this breaking news in the last hour -- making it clear -- Chuck Grassley is -- that there's not going to be any delaying of this hearing and no investigation into this accusation from Christine Blasey Ford.

In the last hour, I spoke to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who said, if there's no investigation or no other witnesses, it's a sham hearing. And she says that Dr. Ford is being bullied in all of this.

Do you agree?

GARAMENDI: Absolutely.

Just think about this. Women, for decades, have faced this situation. They have always, when they come forward with an accusation of assault or rape, they become the victim in the hearing. And we have got to put a stop to that.

Women across this nation should be outraged at what these white men senators are doing to this woman. This woman needs a fair hearing, as every woman does who brings forth to charge such as Professor Ford is bringing forth. Get the facts out there.

The president is just plain disingenuous when he says, this isn't what the FBI does.

No, Mr. President, this is precisely what the FBI does. It does with every one of your nominations. It did it with this particular -- with Judge Kavanaugh earlier. And new accusations come forward, the FBI does this kind of work all of the time.

ACOSTA: OK, Congressman, I want to bring in Phil Mattingly, if you could just stand by for just one moment.

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ACOSTA: OK, Phil Mattingly, sounds like we're heading towards an impasse in all of this. Thank you very much.

I will go back to Congressman Garamendi.

GARAMENDI: Sure.

ACOSTA: Congressmen, it sounds like both sides are digging in here. The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Chuck Grassley, saying, no, there won't be a delay, and Dr. Ford's legal team saying that is unfair, and it doesn't sound like they're game for that.

What do you have to say all that?

GARAMENDI: Well, several things.

First of all, every women across America who has had any kind of sexual assault knows precisely what is going on here. The man in this case the men, the senators, the male senators who control that committee are playing the game as old as an assault. And that is, the woman is the accused, the women is at fault.

That has to stop. That plain has to stop. And it stops with an investigation. This apparent -- this event apparently took place at a party. Who -- where was that party? What time was the party? Who were the other people that were there? What were the other witnesses that could come forth?

Apparently, there's one gentleman that was said to be involved that said, well, I didn't know anything about it. But he refuses to testify under oath? Well, now, there's an interesting situation. Why would he refused to testify under oath? Because perhaps he wasn't telling the truth in the first place?

And he did write a book about party central at this particular high school. So there's a lot that needs to be understood here.

And, in addition to that, we're dealing with a gentleman -- or a man -- let's just say it's debatable whether he's a gentleman -- that could be on the Supreme Court for the next 30 years. And there are a whole series of issues that his positions raise serious questions about what impact that will have on generations to come.

So let's get down to the facts of, what actually took place, do the investigation, take your time. We have 30 years out ahead from this man, if he is to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. We can take a few more days, we can take a few more weeks. There's not going to be a change in the makeup of the Senate until next January.

So there's plenty of time out ahead to get to the bottom of this. And for every woman in America, they're facing, in their own personal way, a circumstance that they know all about. Every accusation that they would make makes them the victim, not the person that perpetrated the crime.

ACOSTA: And, Congressman, what is it going to be like on Capitol Hill next week if the Senate Judiciary Committee says, you know what, we're not delaying this hearing, and they start voting on this nominee to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court without hearing from Christine Blasey Ford, if her voice is not heard in all this?

GARAMENDI: Well, I would expect to see the women representatives in the House of Representatives rise up in anger and disgust at what the Senate Republican men are doing, ramming through this hearing without an adequate opportunity for Professor Ford to gather together the witnesses that she may need, that the public needs, that the Senate needs, and the investigation that can be done and must be done by the FBI.

I would expect the female members of the House of Representatives, joined in by members such as myself, to march over to the Senate and to protest loudly and clearly on behalf, not only of Professor Ford, but on behalf of the women of America who have faced sexual assault and who have been denied the opportunity for their case to be fairly adjudicated.

ACOSTA: And President Trump, you probably heard what he had to say earlier today. He says, this is a very tough thing for Judge Kavanaugh and his family, and that it's very hard for him to imagine that anything happened.

The president almost rendering his own verdict in all of this. What's your reaction to that?

GARAMENDI: Is this the man that has been accused by 16 women of sexual assault and who was publicly on national, international television suggesting that that's precisely what he does to women?

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Is this the guy that says there's no need for an investigation?

This is the president of the United States. This is the president of the United States, who has a long history of facing this precise issue. And he cannot and should not duck his responsibility for a full and fair investigation of the allegations that have been made by Professor Ford.

ACOSTA: And what is your message to Christine Blasey Ford?

I mean, she may be following this. Her legal team may be following all of this. What is your message to Professor Ford?

GARAMENDI: She should know that she has the support of men and women in the House of Representatives, as well as in the Senate. We have heard from many of those senators.

She should also know that she has become an inspiration for women across this nation who have faced sexual assault, who have feared to come forward. This is a defining moment, a defining moment in the MeToo movement. This is the defining moment in how Americans are going to treat women who have put forth -- who have come forward and alleged sexual assault.

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ACOSTA: But do you think she should meet that moment -- even if she can't get it on the timetable that she wants, even if she can't have supporting witnesses behind her, should she go into that hearing room by herself and face this publicly?

GARAMENDI: Side by side with the person that she accused, without any additional support, without the facts coming forward, without the FBI investigation?

I don't know how to advise her. But I do know this. This is Wednesday, Wednesday evening. We have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and we have Monday. And I would expect the women of America to begin to rise up in anger, and to make it very clear to the senators that this is personal to them. This is personal to the women who know other women that have been assaulted, that have been frightened to go forward because they know that this lady, Ms. Ford, is about to face precisely what they fear in every courtroom, that their accusation is turned on them, and they become the accused.

Now, we can't have that in America any longer. It's gone on too long. And it's time for us to recognize that these are legitimate claims. And, in this case, there is time and there is enough -- enough opportunity for the facts to come forward, for the investigation to be made.

And we will see what comes of that. There clearly -- if this was a party -- and, apparently, it was -- apparently, there were two people in the -- three people in the room. And there were others that may know about what was going on. And we do know from Mr. Judge that it was party central at this school during that period of time.

And we also know from Judge Kavanaugh's own words, his own words in 2005, when he was speaking to the alumni of the school, he said that the word is what happens at this school stays at the school.

And then he went on to smirk. OK, what happened at that school cannot stay at that school. The accusation has come forward. It is serious. In today's climate, it would be a crime. At the age that it took place, it is a serious matter. And it needs to be fully investigated.

And what the -- what Professor Ford decides to do, I cannot say, but I can say that, for the men and women of the House of Representatives, we must rise up in disgust and anger and make certain that our voice is clear.

Get the facts out. Give this woman the benefit of the doubt. Don't treat her as so many women have been treated time after time in courtroom after courtroom. When they come forward with an accusation of sexual assault, they have become the victim in the courtroom. It's got to stop.

ACOSTA: OK.

And, Congressman John Garamendi with some strong words there, thank you very much for all of that. We appreciate it.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

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