CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Ted Lieu

Interview

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BURNETT: All right. Sara, thank you very much.

I want to go to now to Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu. He was there for the questioning.

And you appear in this transcript many times, Congressman, obviously, on the Judiciary Committee. So, I know there were 155 times you asked questions she didn't answer as a committee but I actually want to start with some of what we did learn. You know, your chairman said we learned a lot. Congressman Cicilline last night said you all learned a lot about things before the president took the White House.

So, let me start with one of them this is what I want to start with here is the -- the order to Corey Lewandowski, right go to Corey Lewandowski and tell him to get Jeff Sessions to unrecuse himself, which Sarah just referenced.

So, the transcript reads, Congressman, Chairman Nadler speaks: Sitting here today, do you find it concerning the president asked Mr. Lewandowski to deliver a message to the attorney general? Ms. Hicks: Concerning would not be the word I would use to describe how I view that. Mr. Nadler: Well, in any way problematic? Ms. Hicks: I view it as odd.

What happened at that moment? What do you take away from her saying not concerning but odd?

REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): But, clearly, that was an odd incident. But more than that, it was actually the Trump administration trying to obstruct justice, as the Mueller report points out, basically, Corey Lewandowski was trying to get Jeff Sessions to unrecuse himself from the Russia investigation. And that was to allow Jeff Sessions to have more control over the investigation and the Mueller report lays that out. Hope Hicks basically confirms that that incident in fact happened.

BURNETT: And she just -- why do you think she would say odd and not concerning. She thought concerning that pejorative implications and odd didn't? Or, did you --

LIEU: Yes, that's my reading of why she said it that way. And I just want to note, that there was so much more information she could have given had the Department of Justice and White House officials not objected 155 times to the testimony.

BURNETT: So I want to ask you about something else on the hush money payments. She was asked and she answered -- my questions about some of the payments because they happened -- a part of that story happened again before the election. Payments to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels.

So from the transcript, Congresswoman Jackson Lee asks Hope Hicks: Did Mr. Trump ever direct to you make public payments about the hush money payments during the campaign? Ms. Hicks: I was directed to make a public statement denying that a relationship existed between Mr. Trump and a woman named Karen McDougal.

Jackson Lee follows up: Did you ask the president whether that was true? Ms. Hicks: Not to my recollection.

Do you believe her?

LIEU: I don't believe her, because that was such a huge fact that she was repeating on behalf of Donald Trump. And it turned out to be a massive lie.

Now, we also did ask her about the hush money payments when she realized that it was a lie. She was not able to talk about that, because she got that information while she was at the White House. And they objected to everything about her tenure at the White House.

But she did confirm that essentially Donald Trump directed her to make this massive lie to American people.

[19:35:01] BURNETT: Right, and, of course, Donald Trump knew that was a lie. Whether she followed up or not, he knew that at that time.

So, OK, 155 different times your committee says Hope Hicks did not answer questions yesterday. And this went on and within on a yesterday. And this went on and within on.

So, let me give me another example on this. Trump talking when he tried to have the former White House counsel Don McGahn get red of special counsel Robert Mueller. So, Congressman Deutch asked: Did the president tell you that he was making those calls to Mr. McGahn? Mr. Purpora, one of her lawyers, objection.

Deutch: Did you ever learn Mr. McGahn was considering resigning after that weekend as a result of the president's calls? Objection. And it continues, objection, objection, objection.

LIEU: Erin, I think --

BURNETT: Ii just said it continues objection, objection, objection. You were getting no answers.

LIEU: That is correct.

And I want to say that the unprecedented obstruction by the Trump administration isn't just to the Mueller report. It's to everything. So, for example, we want to find out why is the Trump administration suing to eliminate healthcare coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions, can't get that. We want to know answers about the census questions, can't get that.

And the Hope Hicks testimony, they came up with the absurd claim of absolute immunity which doesn't exist. No courts have ever found it. And just today, the GOP's own star witness at a judiciary hearing said that this absolute immunity does not exist.

BURNETT: So, you know, Republicans say that you and others in your party were making a mockery of the hearing. You know, things like this they point, this is you. On your first day of work at the White House, was it sunny day or cloudy day?

Mr. Purpura directs her, you can answer. Hicks: It was a cloudy.

You: during your tenure at the White House, where would you normally have lunch? Purpura: you can answer. She says, at my desk.

And then you know, you continue to -- well, where was your desk, and then there is objection.

LIEU: Right.

BURNETT: What do you say when he they say you were making a mockery of this?

LIEU: I was pointing out the absurdity of their absolute immunity objections. They wouldn't even allow us to ask where her desk was located. So, I just wanted to test that and see if they would even allow us to ask was it a sunny day or not on the first day of work. That was the one question they really allowed to get through. And that's just highlighting how absurd the absolute immunity claims are.

We are sending this up on litigation. They are getting destroyed in court. We're going to call Hope Hicks back. So, essentially, all she did is basically jacked up her legal fees. She can't escape answering these questions in the future.

BURNETT: So, when the president said she was terrific and did a terrific job you say --

LIEU: Well, she did a terrific job listening to the Department of Justice officials who objected on her behalf. But soon, they're not able to do that because we are going to win this case in court.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Congressman Lieu. I appreciate your time.

LIEU: Thank you.

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