CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Lou Correa

Interview

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[18:26:14] CABRERA: Talk about killing two birds with one stone, or in this case, three birds. In a single bizarre and questionably timed tweet, President Trump has managed to attack a political rival, side with Kim Jong-un, and undermine his national security team.

Here is the initial tweet from last night. North Korea fired off some small weapons which disturbed some of my people and others, but not me. I have confidence that chairman Kim will keep his promise to me and also smiled when he called swamp-man Joe Biden a low IQ individual and worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?"

Trump later corrected his misspelling of Biden in that tweet.

I want to bring in Democratic Congressman Lou Correa of California. He sits on the homeland security and judiciary committees.

Congressman, your first reaction to this tweet by the President.

REP. LOU CORREA (D), CALIFORNIA: Congressman Correa, Orange County, California. Well, we are used to the President essentially putting together public policy, foreign policy by tweets, but I think the President, I wish him the best of luck. I hope he is better than W. Bush and President Obama in terms of creating a nuclear-free North Korea. Let's hope he is successful.

CABRERA: President Trump and his allies say President Trump's relationship with Kim is a good thing. This President has been able to engage with Kim in a way previous Presidents have been unable to. Do you these that's what this is all about?

CORREA: I think so far the President is still waiting for North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons, to stop those missile tests and they keep coming. So we are still hopeful that there is peace and that nothing happens in that peninsula. But, again, we are hopeful, and we are still waiting to see what happens.

CABRERA: Before we move on to another topic, I do want to just ask you about the second part of the President's tweet. You seem to insinuate Kim's opinion about the 2020 race matters. What do you make of the President welcoming a foreign adversary weighing in on American electoral matters?

CORREA: Well, that's a shocker because the one thing we don't want, the one thing we want to avoid are foreign governments, foreign countries, especially adversaries getting in the middle of American politics. We do not want the Russians, the North Koreans, the Iranians or anybody else meddling in our democracy. That's absolutely unacceptable.

CABRERA: I also want to ask you about the President sending 1500 troops to the Middle East. It is Memorial Day weekend. We are talking about service members putting their lives in harm's way. Now, we are told this is in response to an increased threat from Iran, but the government has yet to share any evidence of that. You are on the house homeland security committee. Have you been privy to this intel and whether it warrants extra troops?

CORREA: We have had some discussions. At the end of the day, I'm very concerned about sending our young men and women to the Middle East. We are putting them in harm's way, and there better be a very good reason for us to put our young men and women in that situation.

Personally, I don't agree with it. I want to keep our troops home where they're safe, where they need to be here at home.

CABRERA: So you are saying the evidence at this point doesn't tell you it's time to send more troops to that area?

CORREA: I am not convinced we need to send troops or ships to the Middle East. We have a presence that is efficient. And again, I have been to too many funerals in my district for young men and women in the Middle East. I don't want to put our young men and women in harm's way. I don't agree.

CABRERA: On other issues of national security, the President's border wall funding took a hit on Friday. A judge ruling department of defense funds could not go to the border wall, that it's congress' job to allocate that money. Trump responded saying the administration is asking now for an expedited appeal. Is this really a win for Democrats?

CORREA: I think it is. Congress has the right to say how this country spends money, not the President. But, of course, we know the President is a very powerful individual that has a lot of power, and he's using it.

But at the end of the day, this is about separation of powers. We in Congress, that is our job say how the money is spent. And at the end of the day, when it comes to the wall, let's talk about regional security. It's not about a border wall.

It's about regional security. It's about working with Mexico, countries in Europe, our allies around the world, like Israel, to make sure that our nation is safe. A wall does absolutely nothing, and we have to recognize that situation.

Now, if the President is concerned about refugees, let's go into Central America, and let's talk about what's causing this wave of refugees. Number one, it's violence in Central America, and number two, lack of economic opportunity.

I just returned from Central America where I found that, you know, when you give individuals the belief that they can essentially earn a living, can stay home and have a job, they'll stay home. And that's what I think we need to focus on, not on building a wall but giving folks in Central America the promise, the hope, of a better life in Central America.

CABRERA: I want to pivot to your responsibility as part of the Judiciary Committee because there was so much talk about impeachment this week and growing calls to begin the impeachment process.

I know, earlier this month, you said it's not time yet to ask the question of impeachment. Do you still feel that same way?

CORREA: Again, this is an issue about the law, that nobody is above the law and Congress has a job of oversight.

And as you know, this last week, two judges agreed with Congress on the Mazars' case and the case of Deutsche Bank, turning over records to Congress. And you know what? Those two judges said Congress has the right to review those records, and that is what we're going do.

And as you know, the President immediately appealed, and those courts said we're going to hear these appeals immediately. So in mid-July, those Courts of Appeal are going to hear the President's arguments on appeal.

But in my opinion, Congress had tremendous wins this week, which were that we, as Congress, on our job as oversight, have a job, have the right to review those financial records.

To me, that's our job, oversight. To make sure that the President and -- that nobody, including the President, is above the law.

CABRERA: What do you need --

CORREA: This was a good week for the Congress. Go ahead.

CABRERA: What more do you need to hear then to make you believe that impeachment inquiry would be warranted?

CORREA: Well, we're doing what we need to do, which is oversight. We're investigating what happened in 2016, what the President has done, and what may happen in 2020.

It's not only about the President, it's also about the Russians. As you know, Secretary Nielsen of Homeland Security was fired moments after she said, Mr. President, the Russians are coming again.

CABRERA: But as you know, your fellow congressman, a Republican, Justin Amash, came out last week and said all he needs to know is what he read in the Mueller report. He believes that it was clear that this president obstructed justice.

And he is even saying that warrants impeachment in order to send the message that Congress will hold the executive branch accountable. And so I'm wondering, do you see it differently than Justin Amash in what you read in the Mueller report?

CORREA: I see it exactly like my colleague, Mr. Amash, sees the situation, which is it's Congress' job to make sure nobody is above the law. And we're continuing to look at these facts. We're going look at all the evidence presented in front of us.

And personally, what I want to see is I want to see the full Mueller report. I want to see Mr. Mueller come before us and testify. I want to know what exactly Mr. Mueller meant in his 400-plus report.

Everybody has opinions. I want to hear it from Mr. Mueller himself before I make that full decision.

CABRERA: And we heard he has been working with the chairman of your committee but that he is suggesting he testify in private, and then the chairman says that a transcript would be released or made public. Is that O.K. with you, or do you think he needs to testify publicly?

CORREA: Well, that's a good first start. A private discussion with Mr. Mueller himself is a great first start. Let's see what comes out of that discussion, and let's move forward.

CABRERA: Congressman Lou Correa, thank you very much. I appreciate your time.

CORREA: Thank you very much.

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