CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Sylvia Garcia

Interview

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[09:30:00] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Nadler, quote, refused to postpone to allow additional time to explore discussion and compromise.

Was the Department of Justice trying to reach a compromise with your committee and were Democrats unwilling to compromise?

REP. SYLVIA GARCIA (D-TX): Well, I'm not sure they ever really worked with the committee in good faith. It took months, in fact about two months to even open up any discussions because they had initially refused. Then they began discussions. There were offers, counteroffers and then they just arbitrarily cut it off. So it's not that Chairman Nadler decided to act earlier than he should, it's that they cut it off. There's nothing you can do with someone who changes the goal posts, who does counteroffers, and then ultimately says, well, we don't want to talk anymore and we're not going to produce him, produce the documents, we're not going to let anyone else appear or respond to subpoenas. That's not acting in good faith.

We had no choice. We were forced to do this.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: It's in the polling numbers that many Americans are running out of patience with these investigations. A recent poll, 44 percent of the country now, and this is up from 38 percent, and I'll just read the numbers since you don't have the advantage of seeing this, but 44 percent of the country says Democrats are investigating Trump too much, a little less -- well, a little more than half of that believe they're doing the right amount.

I wonder if you're concerned that you're losing the political appetite for these investigations and that that will hurt you and your colleagues in the next election?

GARCIA: Well, I think we discussed that the last time I was with you and I think there are -- you know, there is a factor of that, that we have to consider. But I think what's important is that this really is not about the polls, it's not about politics, it's not even about this one president, it's about our democracy, it's about the check and balance, it's about the way our entire system works.

If we had everyone start ignoring subpoenas that they got in any court at any level, what would happen to our justice system? What would happen to due process? What would happen to our way of governing? So I think we need to look at the big picture and I really cannot

focus just on a poll. We've got to look at the whole thing.

HARLOW: Congresswoman, I'd like to switch gears to immigration and get your response to an interaction that the president had last night. He was holding a rally in Florida, in the panhandle. And this comes, you know, a day after the horrific Colorado school shooting and a week after the shooting at UNC-Chapel Hill. Here is what the president said when someone in the crowd at the rally thought it was funny to make a joke about shooting immigrants.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I mean when you have 15,000 people marching up and you have hundreds and hundreds of people and you have two or three border security people that are brave and great -- and, don't forget, we don't let them and we can't let them use weapons. We can't. Other countries do. We can't. I would never do that. But how do you stop these people? You can't. There's --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Shoot them.

TRUMP: That's only in the panhandle you can get away with that statement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So what you heard there is someone said "shoot them," and he sort of, you know -- he didn't say, no, no, no. How should he --

SCIUTTO: (INAUDIBLE) --

GARCIA: Well, you know, I just think it's horrible. I just think it's horrible when the president of the United States does not do something to try to stop that kind of discussion and, in fact, almost seems to encourage it. You know, we need more civility in this country and it begins at the White House. And what he did today was frankly shameful.

SCIUTTO: Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, we appreciate you taking the time this morning.

GARCIA: Thank you so much for having me.

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