CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Interview with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut

Interview

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OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

Senator, thank you for being with me.

All right. So, Senator Burr saying multiple referrals to Mueller. Do you think Cohen is just is the tip of the iceberg here?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I think that there are a lot of people who potentially Congress and it begins with Donald Trump Jr. I sat through the Judiciary Committee proceedings and viewed his statements at the time not only his statements but the way he said it. And I feel then, I feel more strongly now that there were very, very serious questions about his accuracy and his veracity.

As a former prosecutor, I believe Robert Mueller has to review those statements that he made to Judiciary Committee as well as the Intelligence Committee.

BURNETT: Now, you know, obviously, Yahoo News is reporting that he and his sister Ivanka had pursued a Trump Tower deal in Moscow. Michael Cohen is saying he briefed the family, so not just the father but obviously them as well on this Trump Tower development. But -- and to your committee he said, I was looking at the transcript today, he was, quote, peripherally aware of Michael Cohen's efforts to build a tower.

So, do you believe that Donald Trump is in legal peril?

BLUMENTHAL: I think he really is in legal peril. He has very severe exposure right now, not only for what he knew about the Trump Tower development, but also what he said about whether he told his father about the Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016 with Russian agents, what he and his father did together on that Air Force One statement, what he said about the blocked phone numbers on calls surrounding all of these issues.

BURNETT: Right.

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BLUMENTHAL: There are a lot of statements that he made that struck me at the time as very questionable.

BURNETT: All right. So you think he could be in legal peril and you also have Burr saying we have made referrals to the special prosecutor. That's not referral, it's referrals, so multiple people here you're saying you think multiple people lied and he's referred to --

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BLUMENTHAL: Felix Sater also came before our committee and I am certain that Robert Mueller being the by-the-book, methodical, systematic prosecutor that he is, he's looking at Felix Sater testimony because he was intimately involved --

BURNETT: In Trump Tower interaction, yes.

BLUMENTHAL: Exactly, he was the guy in Moscow on the ground in effect, who was in effect introducing Michael Cohen, on behalf of the Trump Organization. And when Donald Trump says it was very legal and very cool, the question is why did he lie the American people thought it as he did during the campaign? And the Russians were complicit in those lies. They have leverage over Trump then and they do now.

BURNETT: OK, the president today you said very cool. I want to read that tweet. He tweets, oh, I get it, I'm a very good developer, happily living my life. When I see our country going in the wrong direction to put it mildly, against all odds, I decided to run for president and continue to run my business very legal and very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail, lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia, put up zero money, zero guarantees, and didn't do the project, witch hunt.

Now, the project never happened. Obviously, somewhere in Russia sounds absurd it was in Moscow and it always was in Moscow and there was ever any question of being anywhere else. But it did never happen, right? It was only a letter of intent, it didn't move forward. Could he have a point?

BLUMENTHAL: The project never happened but not for lack of trying and not for lack of desire. And the point here is that he lied to the American people. He said there were no dealings with Russia well into 2016, when in fact there continued to be and it may never have happened that the project in Moscow went forward, but the Russians knew that he was lying American people, they enabled him and now they have that leverage over him. So, he's compromised.

BURNETT: All right. You have challenged the constitutionality of Matt Whitaker as attorney general, right? Obviously, you've seen to do that. But documents came out today, Whitaker was aware of fraud claims on a Florida company, he's not in the advisory board he was aware of those fraud claims. Obviously, the Justice Department previously said he was not aware of those fraud claims via statement. So, ostensibly they talked to him about it, that's why they put out the statement.

What's your response?

BLUMENTHAL: My response is one more piece of evidence why Matt Whitaker has no business being an acting attorney general.

BURNETT: So, quickly before we go, "The Washington Post" today, they went through every single thing they could find that he's ever said. He said, the president was self-serving in firing Jim Comey, that -- this is Matt Whitaker. Matt Whitaker also said the president should release his tax returns.

Today, the ranking members on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee said, look, he has promised he will follow the regulations when it comes to the Russia probe and it comes to the special counsel.

[19:35:09] Is it possible you've made a mistake, he could be objective?

BLUMENTHAL: These questions, and they're good questions, are exactly the kind of questions that have to resolve through a confirmation process. We've sued Matt Whitaker because there's been no advice and consent. There been no hearings. There has been no opportunity for us to ask those kinds of questions or about his financial dealings on behalf of private entities where severe questions about his integrity have been raised.

So, I'm never one to say that I'm infallible but the advice and consent process required by the Constitution has never been used here.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Senator. I appreciate your time tonight.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

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