MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: "Susan Rice on the impeachment inquiry."

Interview

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KIRSCHNER: Yes, you got to give up somebody who is higher up on the food chain than you. And right above the food chain for Rudy Giuliani is his client, the president.

REID: Glenn Kirschner and Mimi Rocah, thank you guys, both very much. And joining me now is one of the members of Congress who are investigating the President`s actions toward Ukraine Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He`s a member of the House Oversight Committee. And Congressman, with all that you`ve heard today, including testimony from yet another person who`s defying the White House and State Department demand that no one cooperate, people are cooperating, career people are cooperating, have you in your mind heard enough to vote through an impeachment inquiry or articles of impeachment against Donald Trump?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Yes, Joy, I have. The facts, in this case, are not in dispute. The President has threatened national security and abused his office by directing a rogue foreign policy operation to get dirt on his political rival. And Joy, I give you credit. You sounded the alarm about this President`s abuse and compromising our national security months ago. The evidence now is there.

REID: And we`ve had -- thank you for that compliment. And we`ve had a lot of people now drawn in. We have here former Representative Sessions who apparently received a campaign contribution in connection with all of this, has actually been subpoenaed over his interactions with Giuliani and Giuliani associates. Do you expect him to comply with that subpoena? And what if he doesn`t, what should be done?

KHANNA: Well, we need to pursue the law aggressively. I mean, if they do not comply with these subpoenas, they`re breaking the law and we`re going to aggressively pursue court actions where we have been winning. But let`s be clear, their strategy is just to delay, delay, delay. But one thing, Joy, I think all of us should focus on is the President`s action. It`s not just Pete Sessions or Giuliani, this is the President that was at the center of this effort to try to get dirt on Joe Biden and he`s bragged about it on national television. So the facts are there, the House needs to move expeditiously.

REID: And the sort of thought going into these proceedings was that the way to do it would be to have public hearings so the public could also could all come to an understanding of what`s happening. Of course, the downside to that is that Republicans could then add their theatrical to the proceedings and make them more confusing. In the end, do you find that has been more effective to do these behind-closed-door meetings where staff and attorneys are questioning these folks that are now actually coming forward?

KHANNA: I do. First of all, I think more people are willing to cooperate because it`s a behind closed doors. Many of them are true patriots. They are following the law. And this is helping us see the extent of the corruption and the wrongdoing. We already have the facts about the President`s abuse of office. What now Adam Schiff and other committees are doing is really putting together the pieces of the puzzle. And you see that this was a very extensive effort, it involves a lot of people, and the full facts are going to come out.

REID: And I wonder today, there was this caucus meeting that I presume that you were in as well where the Speaker came out and said that she`s not going to allow and the caucus was not going to let Republicans to dictate how this plays out. But I wonder what you think might be a reason not to go ahead and hold the vote. It seems that there`s a lot of evidence on the table, including evidence being put forward by Donald Trump, weirdly enough. So why not go ahead and hold an impeachment inquiry formal vote?

KHANNA: It would be a delay. I mean, we would have debates and distractions. The President would use it to attack more Adam Schiff and the committees. We will have a vote in the House. That vote will be on the articles of impeachment. We certainly have no obligation to have a lengthy debate and more procrastination on something that Speaker is entitled to do under House rules and the Constitution which is begin an investigation.

REID: Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it.

KHANNA: Thank you, Joy.

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