MSNBC "The Beat with Ari Melber" - Transcript Interview with Ted Lieu
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I`m joined now by Congressman Ted Lieu of California, who sits on the
Judiciary Committee, was at that big hearing today, as well as a member of
the committee that will obviously be questioning Attorney General Barr next
month.
Thanks for being here, sir.
REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): Thank you, Ari.
MELBER: Let`s -- we will get to Barr. But let`s start with, given that
you`re on the committee, for folks who didn`t watch all of it, we have
shown some of the substantive excerpts.
What do you think was important that Congress learned that was put on the
record today?
LIEU: Thank you, Ari, for your question.
And let me first say that, as a former prosecutor, it`s always been clear
to me that the only reason we can deprive someone of their freedom and lock
them up in prison is based on the consent of the people.
And that consent is based on our shared understanding that no one is above
the law and that prosecutions are fair and based on the evidence. One of
the greatest dangers to a democracy is if people start believing that
prosecutions are based on politics or based on who the defendant happens to
know.
And, unfortunately, Bill Barr has perverted the Department of Justice,
where friends of Donald Trump gets special favors no one else could. And
what the evidence today showed at the hearing is that Roger Stone got
special favors, according to prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky, that no American
ever could.
He got a reduced sentencing recommendation because Donald Trump went nuts
on Twitter after the first sentencing recommendation was made public by the
Department of Justice.
MELBER: Congressmen, is that a legal term? He went nuts on Twitter?
LIEU: That is a legal term. And we have seen it, unfortunately, happen
quite a bit with this president.
MELBER: Let me play -- because you bring up Stone and what he was in
trouble for.
There were things he was convicted of. So a jury of his peers found them to
be criminal. And there were other things that directly contradict claims
that he and the White House and at the time the Trump campaign had made
about what Mueller was investigating, which is how much foreign
coordination was there.
And even if it didn`t rise the level of a crime, Congress obviously has an
interest in protecting against the foreign interference in our free
democracy.
Take a look at this exchange from today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA): There are dozens of calls between Stone and
the Trump campaign`s top officials, right?
ZELINSKY: That`s correct.
RICHMOND: Witnesses also testified that they were present when Stone spoke
to then candidate Trump, right?
ZELINSKY: Mr. Gates testified to that at trial. Mr. Cohen testified to that
before Congress. And Mr. Manafort told that to the special counsel`s
office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MELBER: I always try to be clear and fair. And so I`m emphasizing that Bob
Mueller did not charge crimes related to that foreign interaction, in
fairness.
Stone is a convict for other reasons. But, from a policy and democracy
view, did you think that exchange and that part of this inquiry is
important to your committee? And, if so, why?
LIEU: Absolutely.
I`m glad you brought up that exchange. This is why we even had this
hearing. It`s because, in 2016, the Russians engaged in a sweeping and
systematic attack on our elections. Roger Stone coordinated with WikiLeaks,
who took the stolen e-mails that the Russian hackers had from the Hillary
Clinton campaign.
And then he coordinated with members of the Trump campaign and spoke to
Donald Trump himself. And then the Trump campaign used these stolen e-
mails. They based their campaign messaging on it. And Roger Stone was then
convicted of multiple crimes, and Bill Barr steps in and lowers the
sentence. That is a perversion of justice.
MELBER: Congressman Lieu, with an inside seat, we appreciate you breaking
it down. And, obviously, we will be coming back to you and your colleagues,
as Mr. Barr does finally have that day of reckoning in your committee,
something I have been emphasizing in our reporting.
It would appear that some of the pressure was working. Thank you,
Congressman.
LIEU: Thank you, Ari.
MELBER: Yes, sir.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source