CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Mike Quigley
Interview
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BLITZER: We'll stand by with you for Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker, to get her reaction. Adam Schiff is speaking as well.
In the meantime, let's go to a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Democratic congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois, who did some of the questioning today.
Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.
REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL), MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you.
BLITZER: You asked Robert Mueller if he was disturbed by Donald Trump's public encouragement of WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign. Let me play that exchange you had with Mueller.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUIGLEY: "This just came out, WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks," Donald Trump, October 10th, 2016.
"This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable, it tells you the inner heart. You got to read it," Donald Trump, October 12th, 2016.
"This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove," Donald Trump, October 31, 2016.
"Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks," Donald Trump, November 4th, 2016.
Would any of those quotes disturb you, Mr. Director?
ROBERT MUELLER, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: I'm not certain I would say --
QUIGLEY: How do you react to them?
MUELLER: Well, it is probably -- problematic is an understatement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Mueller went on to say, Congressman, he was worried that kind of encouragement could give some hope or some boost to what is and should be illegal activity. What did you make of that response from the former special counsel?
QUIGLEY: It was nice to see him open up. I think he was a little reserved in the rest of this hearing. I think all of this is important to remember, it is also on the heels of my reminding him that, as CIA director, Mr. Pompeo called WikiLeaks a hostile intel agency.
So we have to remember they're dangerous and they're a threat to the American way of life and our security. And here you have the president of the United States praising them and I suppose now calling all of that news fake news.
So I welcomed the special counsel opening up. I think his years of law enforcement reminded him of how dangerous WikiLeaks is and gave him an opportunity to say what the American public needed to hear.
BLITZER: Mueller was clearly disturbed by that kind of behavior from the Trump campaign, Congressman.
But do you think he adequately explained his decision not to prosecute that kind of conduct?
QUIGLEY: I think -- look, I have all of the respect in the world for the special counsel. There is a few things that still trouble me. I thought he bent over backwards, not only not indicting the president of the United States but refusing to come out in terms of whether or not he obstructed.
He clearly could have done that, just as he said, in an abundance of fairness. He doesn't indict his son because he was ignorant of the law and, of course, today he talked about this, he refused to subpoena the president of the United States because of time constraints.
This is the most important investigation of our lifetime. And whether or not the president of the United States gets to decide whether he responds to a subpoena, just because he'll act out poorly and fight this out in a court, that was the wrong choice.
BLITZER: At times it seemed like Mueller wasn't necessarily entirely familiar with sections of the 448-page report.
Do you believe he had full command of the facts?
QUIGLEY: Look, this was a tough day for him. It is not just seven hours in front of an often hostile audience but the first half of this was absolutely brutal. He had my Republican colleagues yelling at him for four and a half minutes and when he attempted to answer --
[17:25:00]
QUIGLEY: -- they would interrupt him.
They were extraordinarily disrespectful to him. They have absolutely no respect for someone who had, coming into this investigation, the highest credibility on a bipartisan basis, a war hero and a true American.
BLITZER: You're among, at least by our count, 93 House Democrats who want to begin formal impeachment proceedings. But most lawmakers in your own party don't want to go down that path, at least not yet.
Do you think Mueller's testimony today changed enough minds in your party to build momentum toward impeachment?
QUIGLEY: I think it begins organically from the public. And obviously we know that only about 3 percent of the American public had read the report before today. So the fact that they got seven hours of reinforcement on that will certainly help.
It takes a long time to move people, to move that needle. Obviously they're concerned about the frontliners in the districts who are people that haven't decided.
And we also have to remember that a lot of this was poisoned by the fact the first time people heard about this report came from the attorney general telling people -- lying to the American public about what was in the report, saying that the president was exonerated.
That is a lot to overcome, never mind that the three years in which the president obstructed the investigation and worked hand in glove with people like Chairman Nunes to defeat every effort to find out what took place.
BLITZER: The president, as you just heard, is taking a victory lap right now. He's saying this whole thing for the Democrats was an embarrassment, a waste of time, the Democrats hurt themselves very badly. He went on and on.
Do you worry that the testimony today from Mueller may have backfired?
QUIGLEY: Look, if all you take from this testimony today was the fact that the Russians attacked our democratic process and that process, they invited, they incorporated the assistance, they got from the Russians into the campaign plan, nobody called the FBI.
In fact, they attacked the FBI. If that helps the president, well, then our country has bigger problems.
BLITZER: You think Mueller's reluctance to go beyond the scope of the report underscores the need to bring in witnesses, like the former White House counsel, for example, Don McGahn?
QUIGLEY: I think it does. I think the bigger part of that -- look, this is the most important investigation report of our lifetime but as important as that is what is not in there and the special counsel referenced the counterintelligence information. Questions of the possibilities of money laundering. Was the president of the United States -- or is the president of the United States compromised?
That affects our national security. So that is why this still has to go forward. The fact that we're obstructed all along and the special counsel
wasn't looking into the financial aspects tells there is still much work to do.
I'd like to bring in the FBI director to get questions. What are they doing on the counterintelligence investigations, where are they and how they are affecting our national security?
BLITZER: So what is your strategy now?
Where do you go from here?
QUIGLEY: Look, every day in this investigation is important. But it is like a football game. When someone said that was the most important play of the game until the next play. The investigation continues because the work really matters. And the issues of counterintelligence should come first.
BLITZER: Congressman Quigley, thanks so much for joining us, Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois.
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