Fox News "Sunday Morning Futures" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Jim Jordan
Interview
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BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
President Trump is slamming a New York Times report, claiming that the firing of James Comey prompted the FBI to investigate him, whether he was working on behalf of Russia.
The president calling it the most insulting article that he's ever seen and been written about him.
Joining me right now, in an exclusive interview, is Republican Congressman from Ohio Jim Jordan. He is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. He serves also on the Judiciary Committee.
Good to see you, Congressman. Thanks very much for joining us.
REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OH: You bet. Good to be with you.
BARTIROMO: First off, reaction to my interview with Congressman Jim Himes.
JORDAN: Well, first of all, you were exactly right about the dossier. When the dossier was taken to the court, they didn't tell the court that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee had paid for it. They had some footnote with some convoluted candidate A, campaign B.
It was the most convoluted way you could ever try to describe anything. No one got it. The judge didn't get it. They didn't -- they were not clear with FISA court that one party's campaign had paid for this dossier, put this dossier together, opposition research. They dressed it up, make it look like legitimate intelligence, took it to a secret court to get a warrant to spy on the other campaign.
That wasn't clearing in the dossier. So that was the first thing that I think he was wrong on and you were right about.
BARTIROMO: It seems to me that this whole thing has been set up so neatly, where Jim Comey gets a special counsel in place. It's an active investigation. Robert Mueller is doing this investigation.
And you can't question anything about the behavior of that cabal of people at the top of the FBI in 2016 and their behavior, because it's all under the auspices of, oh, it's an active investigation.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: We can't talk about it.
JORDAN: Yes, they have used that time and time again.
We have had I don't know how many depositions where we have had key people in there, Jim Baker, Lisa Page and others, that we have deposed in our investigation in the Congress. And time and time again, we will ask the question. Oh, no, no, no, can't ask that, might interfere with the Mueller investigation.
And yet think about this. Their first big hearing, their first big hearing, they're bringing in a convicted felon who's the star witness in the Mueller investigation. And yet they're going to have him in an open -- open hearing environment answering questions, Michael Cohen, which I think is strange.
BARTIROMO: So where is the truth? I mean, will you seek the truth?
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: And will there be accountability here?
JORDAN: Well, we hope so. We're going to keep -- we're going to keep pressing. But they're going to continue to do the things that they're doing.
I mean, think about it. Their first big hearing, they're bringing in a convicted felon. You know what one of the things Michael Cohen was convicted of? He's going to prison in two months. Lying to Congress.
And your first big hearing, you're bringing in a guy in front of Congress who's going to prison for lying to Congress. So that's where the Democrats are.
The other thing in the Himes interview is, this idea, the dossier was never verified. James Comey said salacious, unverified.
BARTIROMO: Right.
JORDAN: They didn't check this all out.
And yet they used it as the basis to get a warrant to spy on the Trump campaign.
BARTIROMO: Let me ask you about this New York Times report.
JORDAN: Sure.
BARTIROMO: Of course, the FBI opened an inquiry into whether Trump was secretly working on behalf of Russia.
What prompted this? Your reaction.
JORDAN: Well, the firing of Comey is what prompted it.
Think about -- you got to remember who's involved here and when it happened. The who are Andy McCabe, deputy director of the FBI, who lied three times under oath and has been fired, Lisa Page, who was demoted at the FBI and then left, and Peter Strzok, the deputy head of counterintelligence, who was demoted and then fired from the FBI.
These are the people who were -- who are saying that they launched a counterintelligence investigation into the president. When did they do it? Right after their good buddy Jim Comey was fired.
So, this critical eight-day period between May 9, 2017, when Comey is fired, and May 17, 2017, when Robert Mueller is named special counsel, that's when all this was going on.
And, Maria, the other key thing that was going on this time, this is when Rod Rosenstein is alleged to have told subordinates at the Justice Department he was thinking about wearing a wire to record the president of the United States and contemplating -- these people were contemplating invoking the 25th Amendment and going after the president.
This is when all of this happened. So the who, all these people with a deep bias against the president. And the when, right after Comey is fired is when all this took place.
BARTIROMO: So where does this go now? Nothing came out of that investigation.
JORDAN: There's nothing new. Yes, there's nothing.
These are the same people, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. We know they had this bias. Here -- oh, here's the other interesting thing. On May 18, there's a text message that Peter Strzok sends to Lisa Page where he's contemplating whether he's going to go on the Mueller team, where he says, there's no there there.
So, even up to that point, they knew there was nothing there, because there's been no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. And there never was.
So he knew that. And when he sends that text message, that just underscores the fact that this is the same information and the same people with this deep animus, deep bias against the president.
BARTIROMO: So how is it possible then that we haven't seen anything from the Robert Mueller investigation? Can this go on limitless?
JORDAN: I mean, you would have to ask Robert Mueller.
All I know is, a year-and-a-half now, not one bit of evidence to show any type of coordination, collusion, conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to impact the election.
BARTIROMO: Will William Barr be able to provide oversight over...
JORDAN: Let's hope so. Let's hope so.
BARTIROMO: ... Robert Mueller?
JORDAN: Yes, let's hope so.
And we know Rod Rosenstein is leaving. Here's the one thing we need to do. Rod Rosenstein has yet and it's been three-and-a-half months ago now that The New York Times reported that he's alleged to have said these things.
When we interviewed Jim Baker -- this is the other name that's important -- Jim Baker, former chief counsel at the FBI, before he was demoted and then left, former chief counsel -- he testified to us that he believes what was alleged that Mr. Rosenstein said, he believes it happened. He believes Rod Rosenstein was in fact talking about wearing a wire, was in fact talking about invoking the 25th Amendment.
And we have yet to have Rod Rosenstein in front of our committee to answer our questions, so that the American people can know exactly what was happening, happening at the highest levels of the Justice Department in that critical...
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BARTIROMO: Why not?
JORDAN: I don't know why he won't come.
BARTIROMO: Well, you...
JORDAN: We're going to keep pushing.
BARTIROMO: Well, you got close at the end of last year.
JORDAN: Yes. Yes.
BARTIROMO: And then Paul Ryan didn't want to do it.
JORDAN: Yes, they didn't. And that's unfortunate. We will -- we will see if -- we will see what happens with the Democrats.
I hope they bring him in.
BARTIROMO: Will Barr be forced to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation?
JORDAN: I don't think he should. I mean, he's going to be the new attorney general. I think he's indicated to senators that he's going to allow the Mueller investigation to conclude.
We hope that happens soon, because, again, we haven't -- we haven't seen any type of coordination at all there yet. And I don't think we will, because I don't think there was any.
But I think -- I think he's -- he should be in charge. He's the attorney general. And I think he's told the senators that he will let the Mueller investigation wind down.
BARTIROMO: So, as the ranking member on Oversight, I mean, what is your priority here, knowing the onslaught of investigations coming, knowing the blocking of the president's nominations in terms of judicial nominations as well?
JORDAN: Yes, the -- the priority is always the same. It's the truth.
I mean, we have a constitutional duty to provide oversight, to make sure Americans' tax dollars are being used the way they're supposed to be in the executive branch of our federal government. Our job is the truth.
But I will tell you this. I'm going to defend the president every time I think he's getting a raw deal. And it sure looks like he's getting a raw deal on this whole FBI investigation and what -- what's played out, what the FBI did.
Never forget what happened at the top levels of the FBI, James Comey fired, Andy McCabe, deputy director, fired, James Baker, chief counsel, demoted, then left, Lisa Page, FBI counsel, demoted, then left, and Peter Strzok, deputy head of counterintelligence, demoted, then fired.
These are the top people. When have you ever any other federal agency where that's happened?
BARTIROMO: Right.
JORDAN: These are the people who ran the Clinton investigation, then launched and ran the Russia investigation. These are the same people The New York Times is writing about saying the things that they put together that critical week.
BARTIROMO: Of course, no coincidence there, of course.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: We have been covering it for a year. We understand.
JORDAN: Appreciate it.
BARTIROMO: Congressman, it's good to see you.
JORDAN: Thank you.
BARTIROMO: Thanks very much.
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