CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Ro Khanna"

Interview

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BLITZER: All right, Jim, thank you. Jim Acosta at the White House.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. He's at the Oversight and Armed Services committees. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. What do you make of the president's refusal to accept the facts about his mistaken Hurricane Dorian forecast?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, Wolf, we're a long way away from when Jimmy Carter promised the country that he would never tell a lie, and the reason this is so disturbing is that there no longer seems to be a common set of facts which we can agree on as a country. And when you don't have a common set of facts, it's very hard to make government work, and this president refuses to even acknowledge basic errors, and that's what people are finding so frustrating.

BLITZER: Let's move on, Congressman. As you know, CNN's Manu Raju, our congressional correspondent has learned that House Democrats are looking right now to widen their impeachment probe when Congress returns to Washington next week. What can you tell us about that?

KHANNA: Well, Jerry Nadler is going to be beginning an impeachment inquiry, a formal inquiry. There are now 130 of us, who are supporting that, and that inquiry is going to look into issues of obstruction of justice, but it's also going to look into issues about the illegal use of the office to have private gain. You know, the vice president's trip in Ireland is a huge concern. Why is he staying in Trump resorts? Why is the president continuing to benefit financially from the use of his office?

BLITZER: Well, on that point, you said it on Oversight Committee. What are Democrats hoping to learn about the president's plan to hold the next G7 summit at his Doral golf resort near Miami?

KHANNA: Wolf, it's really simple. We need to learn whether there was any bidding done. I mean, have they looked at the cost? Have they looked at what this would cost in the president's resort? What other options were considered? I mean, anytime a company plans a conference, you look in multiple bids and you choose the cheapest option. Has that kind of due diligence been done, or is the president just dictating that these events on U.S. Taxpayer money are going to be happening at his private properties.

BLITZER: As you know, Democrats, they're already suing the president over his business interests, that case still tied up in court. Do you think the evidence you gather from this investigation might help your case?

KHANNA: Absolutely. We -- the president actually sued us or the Oversight Committee in his personal capacity saying that the American people didn't have a right to his financial information. He has forgotten that he's president of the United States. I mean, members of Congress, senators and the president have financial disclosure obligations, and that financial information will corroborate a lot of what Michael Cohen testified to now almost a year ago where he said that there was an alleged criminal conspiracy of financial fraud and cover-up, and I think that's what a lot of that financial information could show.

BLITZER: And as you point out, Democrats are looking at the vice president's recent stay at a Trump property in Ireland. In your view, Congressman, did that visit violate the law?

KHANNA: I think it certainly violated the spirit of the law, and it may have violated the letter of the law, but here's what I don't understand. I mean, we have had presidents in this country on a bipartisan basis put their assets in a blind trust and not even want the appearance of impropriety. Why does the president not just say people shouldn't be using or staying in my private property so that he put this to rest? Instead he's doubling down. He wants to increase his brand.

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Remember, this is the reason he ran for president in the first place. He says he didn't think he was going to win. He wanted to build his brand, and now that he's in the White House, he's building his brand, and that should really offend the very essence of American democracy. I mean, being in public office is a public trust. It's not for private profit.

BLITZER: Representative Ro Khanna of California, thanks so much for joining us.

KHANNA: Thanks, Wolf.

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