MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Interview

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MADDOW:  Ever since the elections, we have seen the president keep even by his standards, I`ll call it an unusually light schedule.  Today, for example, according to the president`s official schedule, the president had two things to do.  Number one, he oversaw the arrival of the White House Christmas tree, a 19 ½ foot all the Frasier fir from North Carolina.  Very nice. 
 
And number two, the only other item on the president`s calendar today was lunch with Vice President Mike Pence, which I`m sure was excellent.  But the president`s whole official say was saying hello to a tree and having lunch.  That was it. 
 
While the president was busy with that today, though, he did at least get this little ping in his inbox.  Three Democratic senator, all of whom are on the Judiciary Committee, today they sued the president and his Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker in federal court.  These three senators are arguing that it is unconstitutional for the president to unilaterally install Matt Whitaker as the nation`s top law enforcement officer without ever having him run through the Senate for confirmation. 
 
Quote: The U.S. Senate has not consented to Mr. Whitaker serving in any office in federal government, let alone the highest office at the Justice Department.  If allowed to stand, Mr. Whitaker`s appointment would create a road map for the evasion of the constitutionally prescribed Senate advice and consent rule. 
 
Joining us here live is Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.  Along with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Mazie Hirono, he filed this lawsuit against Matthew Whitaker and the president today. 
 
Senator, thank you for being here. 
 
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:  Thank you so much, Rachel. 
 
MADDOW:  As senators hour, do you have standing to bring this lawsuit? 
 
BLUMENTHAL:  The president`s end run around the Constitution deprives us of our right to vote, each of us as senators was elected by our people in our state to vote on advising and consenting.  And there is a larger issue also than just our being injured because we`re deprive to have had right to do our job.  It`s also a check and balance which the founders envisioned to apply in exactly this kind of case, where the president appoints someone who is unfit, who lacks qualifications to do the job.
 
And Alexander Hamilton said it on behalf of the founders.  They wanted to prevent the president from appointing people who were of such insignificance and pliancy as to render them obsequious instruments of his pleasure. 
 
MADDOW:  Wow.
 
BLUMENTHAL:  And that`s Matt Whitakers, an instrument of the president`s pleasure, known as his eyes and ears in the Department of Justice, even when he worked for Jeff Sessions, someone who has called the special counsel investigation a hoax and provided roadmap for essentially how to stranglehold.  And so, there is an immense practical significance and harm to us in our inability to advise and consent, to hold hearings, and say whether we approve of this nominee or not. 
 
MADDOW:  If you were successful in this suit, on what sort of time frame would you expect to it unfold?  And what`s the remedy?  Presumably, you`d want Mr. Whitaker removed as acting attorney general.  But would you essentially be expecting his actions as attorney general to be retroactively annulled at that point? 
 
BLUMENTHAL:  Well, that`s an excellent practical question.  Our hope is that there will be a ruling from the court, an order that removes him as acting attorney general or orders the president to withdraw his appointment and that there will be as few practical harms to the Department of Justice and the rule of law as possible, which is why we hope courts will rule as quickly as possible.  We have no control over how speedily they will rule. 
 
MADDOW:  The Justice Department is a robust, large, well-ordered institution into which outsiders have very little vision.  And in part of that, part that of is because ongoing investigations and prosecutions before they`re ready to be made public have to be maintained with some secrecy.  The internal structure and bureaucracy within the Justice Department, we also just don`t see into very well.  So we don`t know very much about what Matt Whitaker has done already since he has been there. 
 
There is a lot of concerns specifically about what he might have done already when it comes to the Mueller investigation.  Now, everybody who I have asked about this says yep, there is no way we can know, we won`t find out about it until long after. 
 
Do you have any either informed suspicions or hard information about what Mr. Whitaker is doing with regard to Mueller? 
 
BLUMENTHAL:  I have some informed suspicions, and I underscore suspicions, because Matt Whitaker has provided a kind of road map for what he thinks should be done to the special counsel investigation.  Namely, kind of death by a thousand cuts, cuts in funding, cuts in authority, cuts in declining subpoenas or indictments. 
 
All of those actions may have been preceding.  You`re absolutely right.  We have no real view into what`s happening in this investigation.  And that is precisely why we want the courts to rule quickly, because Congress is going to be out of town and then out of Session.  And there will be no check and balance unless Rod Rosenstein continues to be in charge of this investigation. 
 
And here`s the other point, that Matt Whitaker is really unqualified for this job by virtue of what he said in the past. 
 
MADDOW:  You said he would never pass the advice and consent test, meaning if he had come before the Senate, he never would have been confirmed? 
 
BLUMENTHAL:  And I believe that he would have been rejected as a nominee, but we`ve never had any hearings.  No senator has ever had the opportunity to ask him what he thinks should happen with the special counsel investigation.  I will be introducing legislation that will require a report with all of the findings and evidence of the special counsel. 
 
In other words, full transparency and disclosure of what`s happening behind those walls if the special counsel is ever fired or forced to resign. 
 
MADDOW:  Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, thank you for explaining that to us tonight, sir.  It`s good to have you. 
 
BLUMENTHAL:  Thank you. 

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