Fox News "The Story with Martha MacCallum" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Christina Houlahan
Interview
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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.
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