CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview With Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
Interview
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COOPER: We should point out, there is somebody who has probably been more closer to the action of the Trump Organization for a longer period of time than Cohen, that's the chief financial officer who, by the way, has also been given immunity and is cooperating. So, more to come probably on that.
Jim Acosta, thanks very much.
With me now, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, member of the Judiciary Committee.
Senator, thanks for being with us.
So, the judge today saying Cohen's sentence was fully justified to send a message. What message do you think it sends?
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: It sends a couple messages. First of all, the judge indicated that the crime justified this three years, a significant sentence, because it was serious and sophisticated. Second, there were statements in court and there's other evidence that Donald Trump directed the crime. And third, the term, co-conspirator, is beginning to fit Donald Trump like a well-tailored suit.
It may be unindicted co-conspirator. He hasn't been formally charged, but he has been directly implicated in court and in charging documents from the Southern District of New York prosecutor's office that put him at the center of a criminal conspiracy. And there is additional corroborating evidence now forthcoming as you indicated in your excellent summary before from AMI, and that company is owned by one of Donald Trump's closest friends, David Pecker, that says the purpose of that conspiracy was to influence the outcome of the election. It wasn't hush money as Rudy Giuliani has said for simply silencing a
mistress so that he would avoid embarrassment. It was a violation of the campaign finance laws and very possibly other laws like money laundering and bank fraud.
COOPER: You know, an interesting thing that came out in court today, we learned Michael Cohen wasn't alone in an early meeting I think it was in 2015 with David pecker. There was at least one other person from the Trump campaign according to what came out in court and the agreement that AMI has signed that they have said is true. So there's somebody else who was aware of this deal with AMI to help out the Trump campaign.
And there's another executive who wasn't name d today, but an executive number two who also at -- who was told by the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization to pay the money out of a trust. That's where the money that was repaid to Michael Cohen came from. So there's other people, we don't know the identities yet, but who are involved in this.
BLUMENTHAL: Very, very significant, Anderson, that the Trump Organization is directly involved and implicated now. Allen Weisselberg, as you said earlier, is now cooperating. Nobody knows where the money has gone better than he does, as the CFO of the Trump Organization.
And so, that business enterprise is beginning to look like a criminal racketeering enterprise in the classic sense of the word, and the federal authorities could well be going after it with additional indictments of those individuals who were in the room or had other knowledge. And just a really important point here, they can be indicted. There's no constitutional bar to indicting them or Donald Trump's inner circle like his family, and I believe very strongly that the president, himself, can be indicted. There's no constitutional bar to it.
I'm going to be asking the office of legal counsel for an opinion that in effect retracts its prior opinion indicating that the president can not be indicted because I think the president, himself, can be indicted it only to stop the statute of limitations from running.
COOPER: Right. There's a statute of limitations that if he is re- elected, I think the statute of limitations for this would be up in 2021, so if he's re-elected, if you can't indict a sitting president, it would run out.
BLUMENTHAL: I would argue that there's a continuing conspiracy that in effect surmounts this statute of limitations, but that's a hurdle that shouldn't be even raised , if the president is indicted, the charges could be sealed or they could be postponed for court appearances to avoid a burden on the presidency. They could be tried after the president finishes his term of office. Even if they're brought while he is president, as I believe they could well be.
Now, that's an act of discretion by the prosecutors of the Southern District of New York, which we should all be aware is different from the special prosecutor. So this investigation now has a real life of its own outside of the special counsel.
COOPER: Senator Blumenthal, appreciate your time. Thank you.
BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.
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