MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Ron Wyden
Interview
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HAYES: I think that`s probably right. Harry Litman and Mimi Rocah, thanks you both. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, member of the Intelligence Committee joins me now. Your reaction, Senator, to the indictment for lying to Congress and if I`m not mistaken lying to your committee or I guess the House committee of Roger Stone.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: Chris here`s where we are and I don`t think it is just the lies of these Trump lieutenants, it is what they were lying about. And what they were lying about is colluding with the Russians.
HAYES: Right.
WYDEN: Today, of course, it is Stone with WikiLeaks. Before it was Stone
* excuse me -- with Cohen with the Moscow Tower, something I`ve really focused on because I think the money issues are crucial in this, to follow the money questions. Then we have Paul Manafort who is indicted in effect for trying to make polling data available to a Russian spy.
Anybody who`s been through elections like Senators know you really guard polling data. You give up polling data if you`re trying to influence an election. What these folks were doing was colluding with the Russians.
HAYES: Yes. I guess the question is, in terms of the publicly known facts, there`s two possible theories. They were colluding with the Russians and trying to cover it up or this is just an incredibly bumbling group of almost congenitally criminal individuals who just lie and cover up as a matter of course even when they don`t have a crime to cover up. Does that second one seem at all plausible to you?
WYDEN: Well, my sense is that as you look back at these events, the Trump Organization is right at the center of this so there is still a lot more to come. I think one of the things we`re going to be asking about on the Intelligence Committee and this is a public matter or not classified, who is this unnamed individual we heard about today.
This unnamed individual could come out and Bob Mueller`s report and I want to make a little bit of news on your show, Chris. I`m just mystified by this idea that the Mueller report shouldn`t be made public. And I just want to say tonight if there is any effort to keep the Mueller report the truth from the American people, I`m going to lead a fight on the floor of the United States Senate to make sure that that report with appropriate redactions to protect sensitive matters, I`m going to make sure that it gets in the hands of the American people. I don`t think I`ll be the only centers doing it by the way.
HAYES: Do you have the power to do that?
WYDEN: Sure. I mean, when you`re on the Intelligence Committee, you have to protect what are called sources and methods. You know, we don`t compromise on matters that could put at-risk Americans. But you can certainly go to the floor of the United States Senate and make a very aggressive push to make sure that the American people get the truth and you just asked about what`s coming up. That unnamed individual that we heard about today is exactly the kind of question that needs to be addressed for the public.
HAYES: What is your view in both your role as a Senator who has real civil liberties concerns and a strong record on civil liberties and also remember the Senate Intelligence Committee about the status of WikiLeaks because that is going to become an extremely germane issue very, very soon whether it is fundamentally part of a foreign hostile intelligence apparatus or a publisher like say the New York Times.
WYDEN: I`ve had real reservations about putting them in a box. We still have questions with respect to whether or not WikiLeaks engaged in criminal acts specifically. Obviously, I am very troubled about their role with respect to public evidence on their undermining -- trying to undermine American elections, but there are a lot of unanswered questions here.
HAYES: All right, Senator Ron Wyden, we will have you back as this developed and follow up on that pledge to bring this out in the light something that we believe into here as well. Thank you very much.
WYDEN: Thank you.
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