CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Don Beyer

Interview

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BLITZER: All right, Jim Sciutto, reporting for us. Jim, thank you very much.

Congressman Don Beyer is joining us, he's a Democrat and a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Congressman, I want to get all these issues involving the Director of National Intelligence but let me get your reaction to what the president said over the weekend about your Democratic colleague, Elijah Cummings, the tweets that he posted about Cummings and Baltimore.

REP. DON BEYER (D-VA): Just absolutely reprehensible. I keep hearing back to, "Have you no decency?"

Elijah Cummings has been an extraordinary public servant. I think it is terrible to mock him by calling him King Elijah and it's remarkable that every time Trump talks about "rat-infested," he's talking about a member -- either a city of color or a member of color.

It's -- you know, he's the president for Baltimore and for Maryland, too. He should be bringing us together rather than attacking us and driving us apart.

BLITZER: You know, it is really pretty significant because presumably at least a lot of political pundits suggest the president believes these kind of attacks on Congressman Elijah Cummings will help him politically.

Do you think they will?

BEYER: I certainly hope not. He's racist but I really don't want to believe that America is racist. It certainly is a terrible long-term strategy. Even if it would help somebody in one election, it divides our nation on the worst possible -- on the nation -- on the matter of color alone.

Again, we need healers to lead us, not people who bring out the worst in each of us.

BLITZER: Let me get your thoughts on the Republican colleague, John Ratcliffe, the president's expected nominee to become the next Director of National Intelligence.

Do you believe he is qualified?

BEYER: Absolutely not. I was horrified by the distortions in his presentation with Mueller last week. And it is terrible to think that because he made a splash on national television that he's now qualified to be DNI.

Dan Coats was a remarkable leader, a Republican but a long-time senator and Intelligence Committee; who was ambassador to Germany for three or four years. He had the insight on intelligence for decades before he was appointed to that position.

As Jim Sciutto pointed out, for the other leaders in our community, so to take somebody like John Ratcliffe, I don't think he's a bad guy but he was a prosecutor for a couple of years and a member of Congress. There is no way he has the background to lead DNI.

BLITZER: When Congressman Ratcliffe questioned Robert Mueller the other day, he said he agreed that Russia interfered in 2016 but then he said this -- and let me read it. "I want to find out if Russia interfered with our election by

providing false information through sources to Christopher Steele about a Trump conspiracy that you determined didn't exist."

Does it sound, Congressman, like Ratcliffe accepts the conclusion from Mueller and the intelligence community that the Russians interfered to help Donald Trump?

Does Ratcliffe need to be asked about that?

BEYER: He does need to be asked about that. And if he thinks that Russia interfered, I wish he would talk to Senator Mitch McConnell and let the Senate proceed with all of these good bills to help prevent Russian interference in 2020 and 2022.

BLITZER: On FOX News this Sunday, Ratcliffe said the Mueller report was effectively written by, quote, "Hillary Clinton's de facto legal team."

Do you think he could be confirmed if he doesn't believe the findings of the Mueller report are legitimate?

BEYER: Well, I don't think he should be confirmed, period. But yes, I think that is a reasonable thing. I'm also so glad that Bob Mueller fought back right away and pointed out that -- that is a ridiculous statement.

There are one or two or three people on the whole defense team that had given to Democrats in the past. This was not a Hillary Clinton defense team at all.

BLITZER: Let's turn to impeachment. There is a big debate among Democrats, now 106 of your colleagues support opening some impeachment inquiry. On Friday, members of the House Judiciary Committee said what they would do -- what they are doing is already an impeachment investigation.

Do you think there is a real difference?

BEYER: Oh, I think the investigation is the first major step in the inquiry. I've come out for inquiry. That number is growing every single day. I think we added a number right after the Mueller hearings. And some people push back and say why impeach if its dead on arrival in Mitch McConnell's Senate?

But we just passed a $15 minimum wage; we've passed preserving the pre-exclusion for health care benefit and meaningful immigration reform and universal background checks and we've done a lot of stuff that is dead at the feet of Mitch McConnell. But that doesn't prevent us from trying to make the most perfect union we can.

BLITZER: Do you --

[17:15:00]

BLITZER: -- need that full House of Representatives to formally vote to begin an impeachment inquiry?

BEYER: I do not believe so. I think that is up to the committee chair, specifically the chairman of Judiciary. I don't think that Nancy Pelosi as our Speaker will move aggressively until we get to a working majority, at least among the Democrats.

I was glad to have Justin Amash on board. We'd certainly like to get more Republicans who are aghast at the president's behavior and the crimes he's done in the past and his divisiveness to come on board with us.

BLITZER: You serve on the Ways and Means Committee, Congressman. You filed a lawsuit to get the president's tax returns. Now his lawyers are asking a D.C. federal court to block House Democrats from getting his state tax returns. But your committee hasn't gone that route.

So how do you interpret this move by the president?

BEYER: Oh, I think he's afraid. My understanding is that New York has gone forward and gotten the returns that he's filed in New York. Obviously, we would love to see them but our chairman, Richie Neal, is following the law carefully. This law, 6103, dating back to 1924, gives Ways and Means the right to ask for his tax return but not necessarily the New York returns.

So we're fighting this in the courts. We may lose a battle or two but I'm confident we're going to win in the end at the Supreme Court level, just because the law is clear.

BLITZER: Congressman Don Beyer, thank you so much for joining us.

BEYER: Thank you, Wolf.

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