CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Brendan Boyle"
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
REP. BRENDAN BOYLE (D-PA): We have to push forward with impeachment because the facts demand it.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: So, Congressman, Eric Swalwell, your fellow Democrat in the House, told my colleague, John Berman, on Friday that he believes that witness intimidation in and of itself could be an article of impeachment.
And the reason I bring this up is because subsequently over the weekend we've seen the president call for Adam Schiff, of course chair of the House Intel Committee, to be investigated for potential treason. This morning he called for him to possibly be arrested. He accused another U.S. official of spying on him.
Listen to how Congressman Swalwell put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): This national nightmare continues. The president's comments, those are comments intended to intimidate future witnesses. And I do think it should be considered when we draw up articles of impeachment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: He's talking about the comments the president made about how this country used to treat quote/unquote spies. He made nose comments at the U.N.
Do you agree with Swalwell, that these alone, this alone could be an article of impeachment against the president?
BOYLE: What the president has said and done and tweeted over last week and including the last 24 hours is deeply disturbing. I think probably the single most disturbing report that I've seen as a "60 Minutes" report last night that states the actual whistleblower, he or she, is now under federal protection because this whistleblower has legitimate reason to fear for his or her life. The president is endangering the whistleblower, as well as others, with his rhetoric. It's completely irresponsibility. Now, as far as whether or not witness intimidation would be one of the
articles or whether or not there would be three articles of impeachment or seven, that I don't know. I -- I think that's really the work of the relevant committees to determine. I think there are a number of legitimate ways process wise you could go down that road. But I'll leave that to the committee work themselves.
HARLOW: So here is what a number of the president's defenders are pointing to. It is what the Ukrainian president said while he was in New York at the U.N. last week. Let's listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINE: We had, I think, good phone call. It was normal. We spoke about many things. And I -- so I think, and you read it, that nobody pushed it -- pushed me, yes.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In other words, no pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Lindsey Graham, you know, in response to that says this is a political setup. It's hearsay. The whistleblower didn't hear the phone call.
What's your reaction in terms of what will sway Americans? What are you hearing, you're home, from your constituents?
BOYLE: Yes. So two points on this.
First, I feel a great deal of sympathy for Zelensky. Right now he is the leader of a country that is part of it under foreign occupation. The Russian takeover of Crimea, the continual fighting and occupation in eastern Ukraine, isn't something that happened years and years ago. That's the day-to-day existence for the people of Ukraine.
I have tens of thousands of Ukrainian-American constituents who have family members who are living there and are in real peril. So for Zelensky, he and his country, they need this hundreds of millions of dollars of aid. He's doing the best he can, frankly, to stay out of U.S. domestic politics. So that's point number one.
Point number two, because I keep hearing one of the many falsehoods that's being spewed by Trump's defenders is this charge that it's somehow hearsay. The White House released their own summary of the call.
HARLOW: Which is -- which is five pages.
BOYLE: That is what most of this is being based on, not the whistleblower report.
HARLOW: Right.
BOYLE: Not the whistleblower report. It's a very short summary. It's not even the whole thing, by the way. I would really like to know, in those two instances where there are ellipses, I would really like to see the rest of those sentences.
HARLOW: Well --
BOYLE: But by the White House's own admission, the very next sentence after the discussion of Ukraine buying more missiles was, I would like you to do us a favor though. That is quite clear.
HARLOW: I should note that it's five pages. Every American should read it.
BOYLE: Yes.
HARLOW: The White House did come out and comment on the ellipsises. I'd encourage people to look at their comment on that. They said that was not cutting out anything substantive.
But let me end on this, because Lindsey Graham also called on you guys in the House, he said, look, the House of Representatives should take a vote to formally open an impeachment inquiry. Should the House do that? Should there be a formal vote?
BOYLE: It's interesting. I've looked back at the three previous examples that happened in a couple of them, it didn't happen in one other. It's actually not called for in the Constitution or the House rules.
HARLOW: Yes, I know it's not called for --
BOYLE: Yes. So, no, -- so, I mean, I don't --
HARLOW: But the reason that I ask is just, do you think that it would be appropriate given this is such a consequential move?
[09:35:03]
BOYLE: I'm not sure what it would achieve at this point. I think we're actually many innings into this process. A lot of the underlying facts are now already known because the information has been released. So at this point I'm not sure what purpose it would -- it would achieve.
HARLOW: Congressman Brendan Boyle, thank you for being here. I know you have a number of Ukrainian-Americans in your district as well watching this very closely.
BOYLE: Yes.
HARLOW: Appreciate your time this morning. Thanks.
BOYLE: All right.
HARLOW: Up next, joining me, an attorney who was on the prosecution team during Watergate. What does he make of the comparison between this investigation and that, ahead.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source