CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries"

Interview

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BLITZER: This clearly was an act of war against Saudi Arabia, the destruction of those oil facilities. Nic Robertson in Riyadh, thank you very much.

Let's get more on this. Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York is joining us. He's a member of the Judiciary Committee and the House Democratic caucus chairman.

Congressman, thanks for joining us. Let's talk about the Corey Lewandowski affair today. What was going on at the Judiciary Committee.

Did you get the answers you wanted from Lewandowski?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Yes, though he was clearly a reluctant witness. He was there to perform for Donald Trump. But he couldn't escape from the factual conclusions that were contained within the Mueller report. Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion for the sole purpose of trying to artificially place Donald Trump at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Mueller report concluded that the Trump campaign at the highest level welcomed that assistance. Subsequent to the launching of a criminal investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian spies, Donald Trump did everything possible to try to obstruct that investigation, including by telling Corey Lewandowski to deliver a message to Jeff Sessions and to instruct Sessions to limit the special counsel's investigation to future acts of electoral interference, thereby trying to evade criminal liability related to the 2016 campaign.

BLITZER: But Congressman, as you well know --

JEFFRIES: That was made clear today in the hearing.

BLITZER: All of those points that you made just now were included in the Mueller report.

And did the American public learn anything new today from Corey Lewandowski?

Because everything you just said we knew going into the hearing.

JEFFRIES: Well, we've understand clearly that we have to bring the 443- or 444-page Mueller report to light. You can't do that with a singular individual, Bob Mueller, or a singular witness testifying today, Corey Lewandowski, because they all play different parts in the story that we have to tell.

The Trump administration clearly doesn't want that story to be told. All we're simply trying to do is to follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and make sure that the truth is presented to the American people.

BLITZER: Did you expect Lewandowski to stall today?

Did the Democrats, you and your colleagues, plan for that?

Did you rehearse for that?

Because it really was a spectacle, as I'm sure you will agree.

JEFFRIES: Well, we understood that Corey Lewandowski was there to try to put on a show for one individual, Donald Trump. He wasn't there to tell the truth.

But the reality is that if we are going to examine the episodes of obstruction of justice and abuse of power and the culture of corruption at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, you have to present fact witnesses to the American people. And that was done today. This is just a small part of the story that we'll have to tell as we move forward.

And so we take seriously our responsibility on the Judiciary Committee to do just that. The House is a separate and coequal branch of government. We don't work for Donald Trump, we work for the American people. And this is information we need to gather and put forward.

BLITZER: As you know, Democrats want to call other witnesses for this impeachment investigation.

Do you worry, though, that Lewandowski set the precedent for not cooperating?

JEFFRIES: Well, Lewandowski portrays himself as a tough guy. He's a likely candidate for a Senate seat in New Hampshire.

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JEFFRIES: And he was there probably to try to launch his senatorial campaign, not necessarily to take seriously his responsibility as a witness to participate in this hearing on behalf of the effort to find the truth for the American people.

But that is OK because the American people can judge Lewandowski based on what they've seen from today in terms of whether he was participating in a cover-up or participating in an effort to reveal information to the American people.

At the same time, we as House Democrats will continue to legislate and continue to work on driving down the high cost of prescription drugs, dealing with the surprise billing issue, protect people with pre- existing conditions and enact a real infrastructure plan.

We can work to get things done while at the same time we're upholding our responsibility to be a check and balance on the out of control executive branch.

BLITZER: Let me get your thoughts on the investigation into the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure.

If the Iranians are, in fact, responsible, how should the United States respond? JEFFRIES: Well, let's first determine whether the Iranians were responsible and we cannot take the word of the Saudis. This is the same group of individuals that butchered a "Washington Post" journalist with a bone saw and then lied about it.

And so we need some objectivity here as opposed to racing to accept the Saudi narrative. And then if we determine this culpability as it relates to Iran, we could evaluate what the proper response will be, whether that is economic, diplomatic or some combination thereof.

BLITZER: Congressman Jeffries, thanks so much for joining us.

JEFFRIES: Thanks, Wolf.

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