NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript Interview with Adam Schiff
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. John Bolton has pulled off a trick that few others have accomplished in partisan Washington, maybe Jim Comey being the other one. Bolton has managed to unite Republicans and Democrats against him. Republicans are angry over what Bolton says about President Trump in his new book. Democrats are angry that he didn't say it sooner, particularly during the House impeachment hearings. Well, joining me now is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, who, of course, oversaw the Trump impeachment hearings. Congressman Schiff, welcome back to Meet the Press. I want to start, first of all, happy Father's Day.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
Happy Father's Day to you and my dad. Thank you.
CHUCK TODD:
Yeah, excellent. Let me start with what we saw over the last 48 hours with the Southern District of New York. Pete Williams is reporting that this, that they know of no motivation having to do with some other case, that this was simply the president wanting to do a favor for a golfing buddy who's currently at the SEC. Do you accept that explanation?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
I can't accept that explanation given the pattern and practice of both the president in seeking to use the justice system to reward friends, punish enemies, protect people he likes, and Bill Barr's willingness to carry that water for the president. Also if you look at Berman's statement himself, Berman apparently has the same skepticism. There's a reason why he included that passage in his statement when he was saying, "I'm not stepping down," that he wanted to ensure that these investigations continued or words along those lines. So Berman clearly had a concern about why he was being pushed out. And given the firings of these inspector generals, given the way that Barr has sought to intervene in cases to help out people like Michael Flynn or Roger Stone and to seek additional punishment for people like Michael Cohen, then you really have to question what's really at the basis of this Friday night attempted massacre and now, a completed one.
CHUCK TODD:
Do you want to see -- should we expect to see Mr. Berman in front of Congress in the next week or two?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
I certainly hope that he will come and testify before Congress. And I know Chairman Nadler intends to investigate this and he should. It's, you know, I think, the most disastrous management of the Justice Department in modern memory. And like so much of what we have seen this administration, it doesn't come as a surprise anymore. But yet it's completely demoralizing to the people in the department and dangerous to the rule of law.
CHUCK TODD:
Have you read Mr. Bolton's book yet, Congressman Schiff?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
I have not. I've certainly read the excerpts that have been published in the newspaper thus far. And there's a tremendous amount to be disturbed about the substance of them. You know, I would put, frankly, at the top of the list the fact that the president of the United States was willing to change tariffs on China if only China would help him get re-elected. Of course, this is a perfect echo of his misconduct with Ukraine. But more than that, we warned during the trial that you could only count on Donald Trump to do what's right for him, not what's right for the country. And John Bolton says that is exactly this president's pattern and practice, that he didn't see a significant national security foreign policy decision made on any other basis than the president's personal or political re-election interest. And of course that's a tragic and dangerous situation for the whole country when a president has that kind of myopic focus on what's right for him and is willing to sacrifice the national interest.
CHUCK TODD:
I know that you wanted to see Mr. Bolton testify. You wanted to see him do it voluntarily. You also, I remember you and I had a conversation before the impeachment trial began, about the issue of Bolton and about why the House chose not to force the situation because you thought that it was better done in the Senate. Do you regret that decision now? Should you have fought harder to get Bolton to testify before you voted on the articles?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
No. I think, indeed, our decision has been vindicated by the fact that we are still in court now over a year later trying to get McGahn to testify. Bolton said he would sue us if we subpoenaed him. We would still be trying to get John Bolton's testimony today. And given that the president was trying to cheat in the upcoming election, we couldn't afford to wait another year to get John Bolton to testify. But more than that, I think what we did is ratified by what we're hearing from the senators. We made the case when we were urging his testimony in the Senate that the senators would one day have to explain why they didn't want to hear from him when they had the opportunity. Well, they have now explained, those that haven't run away from the camera, have explained Trump is guilty. They found him guilty. The House proved him guilty. But they weren't prepared to do anything about it. And so we had the evidence to prove it. We did prove it. But nonetheless, you know, what John Bolton has demonstrated and I think to the length and degree that he indicts Donald Trump, he also indicts himself for cowardice and for greed. Because there were people who did come forward, people like Colonel Vindman and Fiona Hill who risked their careers. And he lacked that basic courage and patriotism. It was only the greed that made him come forward in this book. Because remember, Chuck --
CHUCK TODD:
Do you--
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
-- what his lawyer was saying at the time was that Bolton might damage the presidency or he might violate his own oath and that's why he needed to go to court. But apparently those things have given away to a book deal.
CHUCK TODD:
There is some damning allegations involving China, which you brought up. But there's also things in there involving Turkey, involving Saudi Arabia. These are a lot of things that are in the purview of the House Intelligence Committee. Do you plan on getting Ambassador Bolton to testify soon and go under oath with these allegations?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
We haven't had a chance to read the book, as I mentioned, Chuck. When we do, and we expect we will within the next 24 to 48 hours, like the rest of the country, we will look at what allegations like those involving Turkey and other countries, particularly involving China, need to be fleshed out and exposed to the light of day. And then we'll make our decisions. But, you know, we do need, I think, to expose the length and breadth of this president's depravity and how much it is endangering the country. So those facts are going to need to come out and we are discussing with the speaker and my fellow chairs just how to do that.
CHUCK TODD:
Look, if you don't act now and you sort of wait to act and you wait to see what happens in November, is that too late? If you believe he has done impeachable acts with the Chinese government, can you really wait until after the election to, to put Bolton under oath, to start the process?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
I don't think we should wait if we conclude that there are important things that he says that need to be exposed to the public. The public needs to know exactly what they have in this president. A lot of it is not a surprise. But at the same time, exposure of this president's misconduct is the best way to protect the country. Congress can take steps to protect the country. You know, look, those comments that the president made when only the interpreter and President Xi were in the room, blessing the concentration camps of the Uighurs, it's exactly why we want to know what he said to Putin when he's alone in the room with Putin because he's dealing away our national security. He's dealing away the values of this country, in secret, in order to help himself. And that's just so destructive of everything that this country stands for.
CHUCK TODD:
Congressman Adam Schiff, I've got to leave it there. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, we'll be watching the next couple of days to see what you guys do next regarding Mr. Bolton. Appreciate you coming on and sharing your views. And again--
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
Thank you, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
--happy Father's Day.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF:
You too.
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