CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is Interviewed About the Senate Impeachment Trial

Interview

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I want to go to Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and has been in that room throughout the day.

How do you feel about it so far, Senator? And then I'll ask this in a broader sense, how do you feel things are going? How do you think the impeachment managers are making their case and how do you senators are responding in a room where they are forced to sit without their electronic devices for hours on end?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): It's been compelling testimony, and though I think we all expected these votes to go the way they have, every single Republican voting against the production of documents and witnesses. It still was frankly a gut punch to me to see all of my colleagues, many of which I have great respect for denying the American public a fair trial. You know, these rules are rigged. In the end there may only be one vote on which we get to see any witnesses or any documents.

And so, that's why tonight it's our on chance to have individual votes on some of the most important documents that the White House has been holding secret, and some of the most important testimony that could fill in some of the gaps that apparently exist in some Republicans' minds.

BURNETT: Now, of course, Mitch McConnell did change the resolution, itself, right? You were going to have 24 hours per side to make the arguments, and they were going to be in 12-hour chunks, which would go to 1:00 in the morning. And now, it's going to be eight hours, much more digestible, more people in this nation are going to be able to watch it. You also have documents that the House already produced. They are now required to be made available to senators.

He obviously had put this resolution forward, had to write those things in by hand.

So do you think that was a big victory or is your takeaway still that this is not fair because of the votes that you are going through tonight?

MURPHY: Oh, I don't think that was a victory. I mean, we were all stunned when this rules package came out last night and they had shrunk down the amount of time that the House managers had to two days so that all of this evidence was going to be submitted in the middle of the night. So, to us, that was absolutely stunning.

And even though they hand wrote in changes, we still have this cadence in which what McConnell wants is for the vote on witnesses and documents to come after the presentation by the House managers, to come after the senators' time for question has passed. And so, it's all backwards and seems to be a deliberate attempt to bury all this relevant information.

So, I don't know that we'll make any progress tonight. I don't that we'll get any Republican votes, but I think making this case all throughout the night about the need for a fair trial, I hope it serves a purpose in the end.

BURNETT: So, Senator Susan Collins, you know, obviously, is somebody that I know you Democrats believe that you might be able to get to vote with you on witnesses when that next vote comes as you point, that single up and down vote that you're going to get.

She made it clear today in a statement she was going to table every one of these amendments today, right, no documents, no witnesses today, but she continued, and I want to quote this again, to say: I anticipate that I would conclude that having additional information would be helpful. It is likely I would support a motion to subpoena witnesses at that point in the trial as I did in 1999.

That point being after opening arguments and senatorial questions. Do you think that she is a profile in courage here, or are you just disappointed her?

MURPHY: Well, I mean, why on earth should we wait until after we have the opportunities to ask questions to hear the most important testimony? It just makes no sense. If John Bolton has a really important story to tell, why wouldn't you want him to tell that story before we have an opportunity to ask questions on the record.

And, by the way, It's not just Susan Collins. You need four Republican senators and right now there aren't four Republican senators --

BURNETT: So, you don't think have them -- Mitt Romney, Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, maybe a Cory Gardner, you don't see it right now?

MURPHY: I've been having conversations on the floor today with Republican senators. I'm certainly not confident that there are four votes today. There may be by next week and maybe today's testimony and the arguments we're making will help us get four, but I don't know that we have those four yet.

BURNETT: And what is the mood like in the room? Obviously, as you know, the press is sort inform one corner. They have said things, oh, somebody fell asleep, somebody's passing notes to somebody else. I don't say this to make light it have at all. I say it to set up the question to you.

With no electronic devices hours on hours, are people listening? Are senators learning anything? Are people truly paying attention the way they would if they had an open mind?

MURPHY: Well, I can't speak for the mindset of my colleagues. What I can say is that everybody in that chamber is paying close attention, nobody seems distracted. And for a lot of senators, you know, this is the first time that they are being directly confronted in the chamber with some of this testimony from the House.

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And I think it's really hard for Republicans to see people like Gordon Sondland and Bill Taylor testifying in that Senate chamber and continue to deny that something very wrong didn't happen. But from what I've seen, everybody has been taking this really seriously.

BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate your time, Senator. Thanks very much for being with me. I know you just have a few more minutes and, obviously, you're going back into that room.

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