MSNBC "The Beat with Ari Melber" - Transcript: "Impeachment caucus grows."
Interview
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JANSING: I`m joined now by Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen, a member of the Judiciary Committee. It`s good to see you Congressman. You have supported impeachment since late 2017. Why do you think that now almost two years later, so many of your colleagues are changing their minds?
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): The Democratic base is very much in favor of impeachment. The Mueller testimony really was eye-opening to some and that it showed clearly that five of the obstruction charges had all the constitutive elements had been met, and that there 10. And so the arguably you had 10 obstructions, but five all the elements were met and that there were over a 100 contacts with Russia in the Trump campaign during the election. And while there might not have been a conspiracy there was cooperation and welcome of the Russian involvement and all those things together, the Democratic base has made a lot of people come out to say they`re for an inquiry. I`m all for an inquiry. I`m pleased to see 135 people there. I think I was second or third in the Congress to come out for impeachment, not for a inquiry. Because I don`t think - while it`s important that we get the facts out there at hearings, and that`s what we can have to really influence and show the public the need to impeach this man. There`s no question he`s committed innumerable impeachable offenses and he should be impeached. We`re beyond the stage of simply having an inquiry. He has basically come out and shown us his violations of the Emoluments Clause, his obstruction of justice and his total disregard for the rule of law that he should be impeached and removed.
JANSING: So you say the Democratic base - the Democratic base is for impeachment. So I want to play what constituents were asking your colleague Katie Porter of California about impeachment at a town hall she had recently.
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REP. KATIE PORTER (D-CA): I believe that the impeachment of Donald Trump is a big mistake. He must be defeated at the ballot box in November 2020. I came out in favor of impeaching Donald Trump, because I believe that no American, especially not a democratically elected President, can be above the rule of law.
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JANSING: So I`m sure you heard the reaction. I mean, this is someone who, I`m sure you know. She beat an incumbent Republican. She flipped that Republican seat in California. So if there is this sort of growing sentiment among the Democratic base that the time has come, how do you move Nancy Pelosi into that category?
COHEN: You know, Katie is a great representative and Nancy`s a great Speaker, but I don`t know how to move Nancy, really. I mean I`m we`re friends and she`s got a - her ear to the ground and she`s listening to different vibrations then I`m listening to when I put my ear to the ground. I just don`t know how to move her on that.
JANSING: What does she tell you and do you ask her that? Do you ask her what are you hearing that I don`t understand?
COHEN: Well, she never I think tells me the full story. I mean, I think that she says and then I agree with her that we`re going to continue to do impeachment inquiry. We`re going to have hearings in the House and Judiciary Committee. We`re going to have one on the emoluments in my Subcommittee in September. There will be other hearings if we can get the witnesses in and we need to proceed in court with our subpoenas and get the evidence - possibly the grand jury testimony that we`re seeking and get McGahn and Lewandowski and all those folks to testify. And as that material comes out, we will go where the facts lead us. And I understand that and I agree with that and that makes sense. But at the same time, we know what they`re going to say, because it`s in the Mueller report. And those facts are that the President obstructed justice. And there`s no question about the Emoluments Clause. Every time he takes in dollars from foreign governments at Trump hotels or Trump Towers and now he`s so blatant that he wants foreign governments to pay him at the Doral. This is just gone too far. And I`m afraid they`ll run out the clock the Trump they`re doing all they can to avoid court hearings. They`re trying to appeal when they lose and they`re going to stall the clock where it`s too late, so that`s why I think we need to just impeach the guy. And he - while he won`t be convicted, it`s important to put him and have the House to its proper deed to say this is wrong. We have a certain line that lines the Constitution of the Constitution has been violated.
JANSING: Congressman Steve Cohen thanks so much for coming on the program.
COHEN: Thanks for having me on. I just want to say John Shimkus who announced he wasn`t running as a Republican, he`s a good guy and it`s a shame the good people like that are leaving and it`s partly because they`re minority and partly, I suspect, because they don`t want to be around this President.
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