CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA)
Interview
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Joining us now, Congressman John Garamendi, a Democrat who serves on the Armed Services Committee.
Congressman, thanks, as usual, for joining us.
REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Sure.
BLITZER: As you heard, House Republicans, they have now released a 100-plus page document, their counter-report, in which they repeat the president's claims of no quid pro quo.
What's your response to their strong defense of the president?
GARAMENDI: Reminds me of the three monkeys, hear no evil, see no evil and, in this case, don't listen to the information that's been given.
There is absolute certainty from all of the witnesses, from all of the evidence that we been able to acquire that the president did engage in bribery. It's there. The Republicans don't want to have an impeachment.
[18:10:09]
And, therefore, they're throwing everything they can against the wall, hoping that something will stick. It won't. And we're going to go forward. There will be an impeachment vote soon.
And the evidence is overwhelming with regard to what the president did, trying to extort, to bribe the president of Ukraine to assist him in his election in a way that, in and of itself, would be illegal.
BLITZER: But the Republicans do have the right to submit their own minority report, their rebuttal to what the Democrats are about to release.
GARAMENDI: Of course they have the right to do it. They have had the right to participate in all of the hearings on equal time to the Democrats in the closed-door depositions, as well as in the hearings.
They have just refused to see the facts that were presented to them. They don't want to have it happen. And, therefore, they turn their back on the facts.
And the reality is, the American public listened to what was going on. They will hear more as the Judiciary Committee moves forward. The Americans are going to learn what impeachment is all about on Wednesday, a very, very important foundational meeting.
And when the president says he doesn't want to participate in it, that's because he has no defense. In his own words, he is convicted.
BLITZER: The ranking Republican, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Doug Collins, he's criticizing the committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, writing this: "This ad hoc, poorly executed impeachment inquiry will provide the Senate with ample justification for expeditiously disposing of it."
What do you say to that?
GARAMENDI: Well, that's exactly what Nunes was saying in the Intelligence Committee hearings. That's their mantra. They're going to keep on doing it.
The reality is, this has been most open process. Keep in mind, the depositions, as is normal in an investigation, are done privately, two weeks of hearings from not participants -- not partisans, but, rather, key government officials that were involved in the Ukraine situation, all of them testifying that there was something very, very wrong that the president was doing.
We can go down through that testimony, Taylor, Hill, on and on, all of them confirming the fact that the president engaged in an attempt to bribe the president of Ukraine in what is clearly within the Constitution. It's treason, bribery, other high crimes and misdemeanors.
We have a clear case of bribery, and, if you care, extortion.
BLITZER: The Republicans are asking the House Intelligence Committee chairman, Adam Schiff, to testify. He's the one who led the House Intelligence Committee investigation.
Should he?
GARAMENDI: No, he should not.
He's not a witness. All he did was to carry out his responsibilities as chairman of the committee gathering the information. And the Republicans did have an opportunity to bring their own witnesses to those two weeks of hearings. The fact of the matter is, they didn't, probably because the president
has continued to stonewall. Information that may have been exculpatory was not available because the president wouldn't release any documents and would not release any of the White House witnesses.
Why? Probably because they had nothing to provide any exculpatory information to the committee. The Republicans simply didn't bring a witness of their own to the hearing.
BLITZER: The independent counsel Ken Starr, who investigated Bill Clinton that led to his impeachment, he was willing to testify before Congress. So, the Republicans now say the guy who led the investigation into Donald Trump, Adam Schiff, he should testify as well.
What do you say to that argument?
GARAMENDI: Apples and oranges.
Ken Starr was a special counsel appointed to carry out the task. Keep in mind that the current Department of Justice refused to investigate. And, in fact, the attorney general, in his own, covered up information, refused to do what a normal attorney general would do, and that is to appoint a counsel.
And, by the way, we did have a special counsel. His name was Robert Mueller, two years of investigation, more than a half-a-dozen obstruction of justice charges in his testimony -- excuse me -- in his written report.
So, yes, we did have. You want a special counsel? Bring Mueller back. But Adam Schiff's job was not a special counsel job and, therefore, his testimony would add nothing.
You want to bring those additional witnesses that testified during the Intelligence Committee open hearings? Bring them back and let them testify. Add others.
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And by the way, let's get the documents. And where is the tape? We had the Nixon tape. Where is the tape of the conversation that the president has his oh-so-perfect conversation with Zelensky? Why hasn't he released that if it's oh so perfect?
BLITZER: Well, is there a tape? Do you know for sure there is a tape?
GARAMENDI: Presumably, somewhere in the super secret server, which, by the way, is not in Ukraine. It happens to be in the White House.
BLITZER: Congressman John Garamendi, thanks so much for joining us.
GARAMENDI: Good to be with you. Thank you.
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