Fox News "The Story with Martha MacCallum" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Gil Cisneros
Interview
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REP. GIL CISNEROS, D-CALIF.: We thank you.
MACCALLUM: Representative Houlahan, let me start with you. What was your reaction when you read the actual transcript? And do you have any regrets about going forward with your decision in your editorial that you felt this is impeachable before you had actually seen it?
REP. CHRISSY HOULAHAN, D-PENN.: I actually would encourage every American to read the released notes from the conversation, because it's very short, only about 3-1/2 pages.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
HOULAHAN: which represents a 20-minute conversation. And what I would say is our editorial that we put together as a team of seven -- people who have served in the -- in the military and otherwise before, we didn't call for impeachment. We called for -- you know, looking into this and finding out the truth. And I'm grateful that we have the very first step of that with this release of these notes from this conversation.
And I really would encourage every person to read it. It's not 400 and something pages long with the Mueller report was. That's an easy read.
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: No, it's an easy read. We -- you know, we all read of this morning in detail. Read it several times actually, and would recommend that everybody do that and make up their own mind.
Congressman Cisneros, you just heard Senator Graham. He says, take a vote. That's the way it happened in the past, that's the way it should happen now to open this inquiry officially.
CISNEROS: Well, like Chrissy just said, in our op-ed, we encouraged everybody that we needed to start investigations to get to the bottom of this. And that was really what we said needed to be done. And that's really what the Speaker is about doing.
This is going to be hopefully put in the hands of the Intelligence Committee, they'll investigate and they will get to the bottom of this to find out -- you know, what it was the president did. How he enticed a foreign government to get involved in our elections by withholding funds and asking him to investigate one of his potential presidents in the upcoming presidential general election.
MACCALLUM: Do you have the votes to begin that official inquiry if you were to take a vote right now?
CISNEROS: Well, right now it's not about starting an inquiry, it's about getting to the bottom of this and investigating --
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: I thought that what Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that they were -- which opening an official inquiry where her -- was her words. And I think a lot of people want to know, Congressman Houlahan, why not vote on it if there's such a strong feeling about this?
HOULAHAN: So, I think that it's important for people to understand that the -- and Senator Graham did sort of muddle the conversation. There's a difference between an impeachment investigation and articles of impeachment.
And I am happy -- would welcome the opportunity when and if that grave situation comes up, and I would not look forward to that to take a vote -- personal vote on the floor on articles of impeachment.
But first, we need to understand what if anything happened? And I think that we take this the -- our oath of office very, very seriously as members of service, and service, you know, Congresspeople.
This is grave, grave information that if true, we really need to get to the bottom of.
MACCALLUM: All right. This is Tulsi Gabbard today on television. One of your colleagues, also a presidential candidate, here is what she said.
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REP. TULSI GABBARD, D-HI, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you step outside of the bubble here in Washington, and you get to where most folks in the country are. Look, I'm not a lawyer, but I think most people reading through that transcript are not going to find that extremely compelling cause to throw out a president that won an election in 2016.
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MACCALLUM: She's saying when you get out there, and she goes on to criticize the president very dramatically after that, which she, of course, has done before. But she's saying, this is not going to resonate with the American people when they actually read this. Congressman Cisneros?
CISNEROS: Well, first -- well, first of all, this isn't a transcript. It's a summary of a conversation that the president had with the president of Ukraine. And it summarized. We don't know what was left out of this conversation. We don't know -- I mean, you, you, right there, when you read the memorandum, there's fine print and they're saying that this is not a transcript, this is just a summary of the conversation.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
CISNEROS: This is why we are holding hearings, this is why the Intelligence Committee is going to look into this, so we can get to the bottom of this. The things that we do know is that the president withheld funds from an ally that is involved in combat against one of our adversaries -- that being Russia. And he asked them to do a favor for him and look into his potential political candidate in the upcoming general -- presidential general election. That, that --
MACCALLUM: Well, you're drawing your quid pro quo that it would be part of the investigation to figure out whether or not that was there. And the Department of Justice looked at it and said that it did not rise to the level of quid pro quo.
So, that mean, that's part of the investigation, I would assume. It's not a done deal.
CISNEROS: Well, right. And that's not part of -- you know, that's not up to the Department of Justice. The law says that when somebody comes -- the whistleblower reported this, it went to the inspector general. The inspector general thought it was involved enough the raise that he needed to raise the level of this whistleblower.
MACCALLUM: Yes.
CISNEROS: And that information needs to be turned over to Congress. And right now, the administration is preventing that from happening.
MACCALLUM: I think it has been tonight. No, and the whistleblower's complaint is being viewed now by the Intelligence Committee this evening and we expect that it will come out. So, we'll see that -- when it is forthcoming. Great to have both of you with us tonight, Members of Congress Houlahan and Cisneros. Thank you very much for being here.
HOULAHAN: Thank you I appreciate your time.
CISNEROS: Thank you very much. Thank you.
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