CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono
Interview
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ACOSTA: OK, CNN's Alex Marquardt, thank you very much for that.
And let's get more on all of this with Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, a member of the Armed Services and Judiciary Committees. Of course, we remember that.
Senator Hirono, happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for joining us.
Let's begin...
SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D), HAWAII: Same to you, Jim.
ACOSTA: Yes, thank you.
And let's begin with this remarkable statement. I'm sure this jumped out at you all the way in Honolulu, to see the chief justice, John Roberts, rebuke the president of the United States. What did you make of that today?
HIRONO: I was very delighted that he finally took a position in defense of the independence of the courts, which, by the way, the president has no interest in an independent court. He wants a Republican court, and he has been working very hard to place all of his ideologically motivated Republicans vetted by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation on the courts.
So, I'm really glad that the chief justice finally came out and said, wait a minute. The courts are an independent branch of government. We have checks and balances.
ACOSTA: And this isn't the first time the president has attacked the federal court system.
Why do you think the chief justice chose to speak out now? And what about this sense that, well, yes, the president can make political comments all the time, but that the Supreme Court doesn't always put out statements like this? It is unusual to see a chief justice respond in this way.
HIRONO: Well, these are not normal times and we don't have a president who acts normally. So I don't think we can expect the judiciary and chief justice to also act normally.
I'm very glad that he came out to remind everybody that the judiciary is an independent branch of government. In fact, they are pretty much the last resort for people with complaints and cases that they'd like to have treated fairly .
ACOSTA: Let me ask you this, because you were there as Brett Kavanaugh, now the newest Supreme Court justice, tangled with Democrats on the Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing this year.
HIRONO: Yes.
ACOSTA: And we all remember that explosive hearing. And there were so many explosive exchanges, when now Justice Kavanaugh really sort of aired his own personal feelings.
And they smacked a lot of people as being very partisan. Do you worry the judicial branch is becoming overly politicized? Is there a concern there?
HIRONO: Clearly, I have a concern about the court packing that is going on.
And Judge Kavanaugh in his hearings made it very plain that he's a political operative. He also had said that the sitting president should be immune from either criminal or civil proceedings, and that's music to Trump's ears, who just cares about his own protection.
So I'm very concerned about the court packing that's going on and very concerned that with both Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, but particularly Kavanaugh, who is a political operative on the court, I worry about the independence of the court.
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And I'm glad that Chief Justice Roberts has come out to say and to remind everybody how the court is supposed to operate.
ACOSTA: And let's turn to the Russia investigation.
President Trump has turned over written responses to special counsel Robert Mueller. Do you think these written answers are useful without the opportunity to follow up? Are you disappointed that they are now just dealing with written responses?
HIRONO: Of course I am.
When I was practicing law, you always want to actually question the witness, but it is what it is, and it just raises further concerns for me about any efforts on acting A.G. Whitaker to stymie the Mueller investigation. So it points out various, several things.
First, as you know, I am party to a lawsuit to have the courts make a clear determination that officers such as an attorney general, acting or otherwise, needs to be confirmed by the Senate. That is very clear.
And the second thing is that the Mueller investigation needs to continue. And, therefore, Mitch McConnell should bring the bipartisan bill that was passed out of the Judiciary Committee on the floor of the Senate, so that special counsel, which includes Mueller, can be protected from political firings, et cetera.
ACOSTA: Now, let me ask you this, because the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, you probably saw this, suggested President Trump himself would decide whether or not to answer these additional questions that are expected to come from the special counsel's office.
If the president refuses, what happens then?
HIRONO: I think that it raises a constitutional question as to whether or not the president can refuse, claiming what? Executive privilege? I don't know, because I -- the calling of president -- of the executive privilege is one that probably the courts need to clarify.
So everything that this president does is motivated by concern to protect himself. And I think that we are heading toward a constitutional crisis on any number of levels, including, of course, his appointment of Whitaker as acting attorney general.
ACOSTA: And, of course, if it heads to a constitutional crisis, he may need to rely on some of those justices on the Supreme Court.
HIRONO: Yes.
ACOSTA: Senator Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, wishing everybody out there in Honolulu and across the islands a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for coming on. We appreciate it.
HIRONO: Yes. Happy Thanksgiving. Aloha.
ACOSTA: All right. Aloha.
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