CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Joaquin Castro

Interview

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BLITZER: And Pamela Brown reporting for us. Pamela, thanks very much for that report.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas. He's a member of the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Congressman, there's clearly a lot we need to discuss, but I need to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: We're following multiple breaking stories. We're back with

Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas, a member of both the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Congressman, are you satisfied with this new agreement between the Justice Department and the House Judiciary Committee which will allow lawmakers to access additional documents from the Mueller report?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Well, it looks promising. And I haven't seen all the details of it. I've been traveling today. But if the Chairman, Jerry Nadler, is satisfied with it, then I think that it's probably a good agreement.

Now, bear in mind that the Trump administration strategy this whole time has been to dodge and delay and try to not turn over witnesses or turn over documents, so I'm glad that they're finally starting to do that.

BLITZER: What specific information are you hoping the Justice Department grants access to?

CASTRO: Well, the things related to obstruction of justice because I think that's what's most relevant to Congress right now.

And as you know from the Mueller report, Bob Mueller essentially said that he couldn't do anything about any wrongdoing that the President may have committed and that that's the job of Congress. So we need all the information with respect to obstruction, especially.

BLITZER: Let's move on, Congressman. The Justice Department also says that the Attorney General's probe into the origins of the whole Russia investigation will be, in their words, broad in scope and multi-faceted. Have you seen any evidence that the Russia investigation was launched in an improper way?

CASTRO: No, I haven't. And to me, this is an attempt by President Trump to come after the hardworking men and women of the intelligence community.

[17:34:57] I mean, imagine, Wolf, if you had a situation where the FBI had reliable information that a campaign was conspiring or somehow working with or being influenced by the Russian government and they sat on their hands and did absolutely nothing.

That would be, perhaps, an even bigger scandal than what we've been dealing with for the last few years, so, no, I don't think that it was a bogus investigation. But this is a way from President Trump to send a message, that even if you do an earnest investigation on me, you're going to pay the price.

BLITZER: The House Judiciary Committee has been holding hearings today on the Mueller report, including featuring testimony today from a key Watergate witness, John Dean. You support beginning impeachment proceedings. Are the hearings being held in the Judiciary Committee effectively -- effectively -- a substitute for a formal impeachment inquiry?

CASTRO: I don't think that they're a substitute, but I do think that

it represents progress. And it was so interesting. You know, I was born, five weeks, I think, after President Nixon resigned in 1974.

And I always think back about my mom's generation and my dad's generation of baby boomers and how strange it is for people to see something even, I think, worse than Watergate going on now and to see John Dean who played such a central role in that inquiry back again all these years later. It's just bizarre.

BLITZER: Well, do you think what's going, that these are effective ways, right now, or laying the groundwork for a formal impeachment process?

CASTRO: I do. I think that this is part of the process, and I think -- I think that it's a matter of time before we start an impeachment inquiry.

BLITZER: Congressman Castro, thanks so much for joining us.

CASTRO: Thank you.

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