CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) is Interviewed About Congress' Impending Impeachment Vote

Interview

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Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee. Congressman, good to have you here.

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Thank you.

CABRERA: This vote by the full House is expected on Wednesday. Can you say with 100 percent confidence that it will happen that day and how are you feeling about it right now?

COHEN: Well, I guess 95 percent confidence. There's always a chance something could happen, but that's the plan. And I feel very confident that it will have sufficient votes to pass and he will be impeached.

CABRERA: Impeachment has put pressure on Democrats in pro-Trump districts as we were just discussing with Jeff and yesterday we learned that New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew is planning to switch parties and actually become a Republican -- news that was welcomed by House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy. Listen to this.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I want to tell Jeff Van Drew that he is welcome in the Republican Party. Not just by me, but by our conference and we would support him and welcome him to join, and any of your viewers out there who are independents or Democrats who are frustrated with what's happening with the rule of law, they're welcome to join us.

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CABRERA: If no Republicans break with their party and at least a couple of Democrats do, are you prepared for a scenario where the only show of bipartisanship on this issue is a vote against impeaching the president?

COHEN: Well, the fist person to try to be bipartisan was Justin Amash. You saw what happened to Justin. He was a Republican and he said he was going to be for impeaching Trump. They kicked him out of the caucus and they stripped him of his committee positions.

So that scared I think some of the Republicans even the ones not running for re-election because they've got another year to remain in that caucus, and that would hurt their potential to help their districts in the next year.

I think Jeff Van Drew is making a serious mistake. I understand that he feels if he votes against impeachment, he'll lose in a Democratic primary, he could, but he got elected with Democratic votes under a Democratic banner which he ran under for 30 years or so.

I think he was a senator and a mayor and a representative and all, and he got Democratic money including Democratic Congressional campaign committee money. And to turn and go to be a Republican, it's kind of strange. It's kind of, you know, I've heard of rats jumping off a sinking ship but very few of them jump on to a sinking ship.

The Republicans are in the minority. For his district, instead of having a Congressman who's in the majority and he gets something done for his district, they're going to have a Congressman in the minority who can't get anything done. The lowest thing that there is in the Congress is somebody in the minority side who is a traitor to the majority. So, this is not good for his district.

CABRERA: So let me ask you, beyond Van Drew and putting him aside, I mean, he may not be the only person who votes no on impeachment. As you know, there were two Democrats previously who voted against even doing the impeachment inquiry. So again, same question. If the only bipartisan vote on impeachment is against impeachment, are you prepared for that?

COHEN: I'm prepared for it, but I think what that says is how bad the Republicans have become, that they can't recognize what are simple facts that the president has admitted to, that he asked a foreign power to get involved in our elections. That is simply verbatim.

It's wrong. He sacrificed our national security for his personal interest and he's jeopardized our elections. He betrayed his oath. That's a fact and they continue to deny him, but that's a fact and the public knows it. And so the shocking thing is, that there isn't any bipartisanship. There's several people retiring who you think would want to at least

be in the history books as being somebody who saw this president for what he is and he's going to be seen in the future as a corrupt president because that's what he is, lying Donald.

He's told more lies than any president in history, of any human being in history and he can't even be on a charitable board, $2 million fine in New York State for having disregarded his oath and duty to abide by his trust in a proper fashion. He took money from a charity --

CABRERA: Regarding the Trump Foundation. Let me ask you though because the president's --

COHEN: Yes, hook money for politics. He took money for business.

CABRERA: -- the president's approval rating is actually going up according to this latest fox news poll compared to, you know, the month before. The approval rating is also higher than Congress' approval rating. How do you explain that?

COHEN: Well, I think the reason it's a little higher is because the stock market is up to a hotspot and the market has gone up. I've been amazed it's continued to go up, but if he can get the China deals, tariff deals done, it will help him, it will help the market.

But the market I think is at a sugar high and has been in a sugar high and it's going to, I think, come down. But that's why his numbers are up, is because of the stock market and certainly not for anything else.

CABRERA: Let's look ahead to the Senate trial. This morning, the chairman of your committee, Jerry Nadler, blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for coordinating with the White House when it comes to the Senate trial. Let's listen.

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REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): The Constitution prescribes a special oath for the senators when they sit as a trial in impeachment.

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They have to pledge to do impartial justice. And here you have the majority leader of the Senate, in effect, the foreman of the jury saying he's going to work hand in glove with the defense attorney.

Now that's a violation of the oath they're about to take and it's a complete subversion of the constitutional scheme.

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CABRERA: Now congressman, in the Clinton impeachment, Tom Daschle who was the Democratic leader in the Senate at the time said his staff was in constant coordination with senior White House officials. Is this different? COHEN: I've heard that, but I haven't read that so I'm not sure. I've

seen people say that wasn't accurate and what they could coordinated on was simply some kind of timing, but Clinton did cooperate with the House in the impeachment inquiry which Trump didn't and I'm not sure what the connections are with Daschle and McConnell.

But the Republicans are saying and Lindsey Graham is saying in the frontend is it's going to be dismissed immediately. There's not going to be a conviction. It's going to be over and done quick. They're not even giving a fig leaf to justice and they're basically saying we've got the vote, we're going to stick together.

I guess Mitt Romney's the only hope for an independent voice over there. We'll see what Senator Romney does. But the facts are clear. He has violated his oath of office and he has jeopardized the election and it's an ongoing enterprise. He told Stephanopoulos --

CABRERA: What if he keeps doing it? What if he keeps doing it? If he is acquitted in the Senate after being impeached in the House, what are Democrats going to do?

COHEN: Well, I hope we just -- I hope we get together our convention and come up with the best nominee that can win and we get together, put our shoulders together and support our nominee and don't get lost on any rabbit trials voting for any Jill Steins or Gary Johnsons and we vote for the Democrat knowing how important it is for the future of the country, the future of the rule of law and democracy, which it is. This is a seminal election.

CABRERA: Okay, Congressman Steve Cohen, I really appreciate you joining us. Thank you and good luck in the week ahead.

COHEN: You're welcome.

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