MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Mathews" - Transcript: "2020 Democratic Debate on CNN."

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KORNACKI: Welcome back to HARDBALL. President Trump`s attorney Rudy Giuliani, who John Bolton reportedly called a hand grenade who`s going to blow everybody up, is in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors for his dealings with Ukraine. Tonight, "The Wall Street Journal" reports that federal prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed former Texas Republican Congressman Pete Sessions in their investigation into Giuliani. The subpoena -- quote -- "seeks documents related to Mr. Giuliani`s business dealings with Ukraine and his involvement in efforts to oust the U.S. ambassador in Kiev, as well as any interactions between Mr. Sessions, Mr. Giuliani, and four of Mr. Giuliani`s associates who were indicted last week on campaign finance and conspiracy counts. Mr. Giuliani is the primary focus of the subpoena." The indictment of two of Giuliani`s associates last week, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, alleged that they engaged in a lobbying effort to get Sessions` assistance in ousting the former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch Sessions says he is cooperating with prosecutors. Meanwhile, Giuliani escalated his battle with House Democrats today, refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena. I`m joined now by Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois. He`s a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman, thank you for joining us. Rudy Giuliani says, not going to cooperate with any subpoenas from your committee or from the House of Representatives that come his way. What do you do next?

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Well, look, it`s no surprise. The White House hasn`t cooperated with any aspect of this investigation for over three years. What we do is, we move forward. Tomorrow, there will be another deposition, and the one the next day. And the committee will make a decision as to who to bring forward, who to subpoena. If they don`t respond, we will take it prudently on a case-by-case basis, on a decision whether to go to court. In the end, I do believe that the courts will recognize, not just on this subpoena, but on all the others, the urgency of this and the national security implications. And they will act accordingly and give Congress its constitutional right of oversight.

KORNACKI: I mean, just when you look at how central Giuliani is to all of the reporting that`s out there, including that testimony yesterday from Fiona Hill, apparently, how important is it ultimately for you to be able to have access to him through either documents or through a personal appearance?

QUIGLEY: Look, on one hand, I think there`s an extraordinary case the president committed a crime, high crimes and misdemeanors, in the public record. We have the texts. We have the transcript. We have the whistle-blower`s complaint. But any other additional evidence will be helpful. Rudy combines it all, though. You`re right. First of all, it`s shadow government and bad foreign policy, a man with little or no expertise, no security clearance working in the shadows and moving forward with national policy. What role is he playing? A personal attorney for the president operating under the State Department? This leads to extraordinary mistakes, one that we`re witnessing in plain view.

KORNACKI: Again, this new reporting tonight from "The Wall Street Journal" about federal prosecutors issuing a subpoena to your former colleague Pete Sessions, but saying that the focus of that subpoena is Giuliani. Is the attention from federal prosecutors that reportedly is now there when it comes to Giuliani, is that going to complicate your work at all?

QUIGLEY: Look, we have dealt with this from day one. Obviously, there were a number of indictments. Three of the people closest to President Trump were indicted and went to jail. So, our goal is not to interfere with lawful prosecutions, but to make sure that they aren`t impaired. So, we have worked well with the Mueller investigation and prosecutors before. It will be our intention to do so as we go forward.

KORNACKI: And, finally, again, the House speaker there announcing just a few minutes ago that there will be no vote in the House floor to formally open an impeachment inquiry. Republicans have been saying this is something they think you should do. I believe Mike Pence, his lawyer said today one of his reasons for not complying, he says, is, you haven`t had this vote. Do you think there is a case for holding the vote?

QUIGLEY: Look, again, the White House hasn`t cooperated. And they have always used any other excuse that was in front of them. I fully believe that, if the House had voted on this, they still wouldn`t comply. And I believe they`re being less than honest with the American public. Obviously, it`s not in the Constitution. It`s not in law. It`s not in the House rules that we go forward this way. I will leave it up to leadership in the House to decide what`s best. But the bottom line, we`re going forward with this investigation regardless of their actions and their attempts to obstruct us.

KORNACKI: Congressman Mike Quigley, thank you for joining us.

QUIGLEY: Any time. Thank you.

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