CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Schiff

Interview

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And with me now to talk about this and other topics is the chairman of the Intelligence Committee in the House, Congressman Adam Schiff.

Congressman, what do you make of the audit in Arizona?

It is a sham audit, given that the capitol riot, fueled by the Big Lie that the election was stolen for Donald Trump, was less than four months ago, it just screams -- you know, it's just not credible.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): No, it isn't. I think for those who thought that maybe the danger passed to the democracy when Donald Trump left office, we see that it hasn't passed.

That there are efforts in states like Arizona and around the country to continue to push out the big lie about the election to continue trying to disenfranchise people, to disqualify their votes.

So we are not out of the woods. And we are heading in a very dark direction with these attacks on our democracy.

ACOSTA: And a new report shows that, speaking of that, foreign adversaries like Russia and China weaponized QAnon messaging in the months leading up to the insurrection on January 6th.

You are the chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Were you aware or this? And what is the U.S. doing to counteract it now and going forward?

SCHIFF: There are efforts by foreign nations, bad actors, to propagate some of lies pushed out in the last election by the president but continue to be peddled on QAnon and other conspiracy-based organizations online.

Look, in particular, Russia loves to try to tear at the fabric of our society, try to pit Americans against other Americans.

And to the degree they can help discredit our democracy by amplifying these fictions about the last election, then they're meeting their objectives.

So I think calls on us to be vigilant about the information that we get to be skeptical what we see online.

But also to send a clear message to Russia, China, Iran, anyone else trying to interfere in our domestic politics, that they do so at their peril.

ACOSTA: I want to ask you about the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. is still battling the pandemic.

And there are indications that the supply of COVID-19 vaccines may soon outstrip demand. The daily average of average doses administered have fallen beneath three million.

Given that reality, I want to play what Senator Johnson, on the Republican side, said about vaccines and get your response to that.

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SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI) (on camera): The science tells us that vaccines are 95 percent effective. So if you have a vaccine, what do you care if your neighbor has one or not?

What is it to you? You got a vaccine and science is telling you it's very effective. Why is this big push to make sure everybody gets the vaccine?

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ACOSTA: What is your message to Senator Johnson in response to those comments?

SCHIFF: My message is to sit down with an expert and learn facts here.

The problem is, if we don't get enough people vaccinated, we won't achieve herd immunity, which means the virus will continue to pulse through the society.

And the longer that happens, the more mutations you see, and the more the virus is around to mutate, the greater the odds to break through these vaccines.

That will continue year after year to be fighting these surges of COVID.

So it's very important not just that you get vaccinated but that your friends and family and community and country get vaccinated if we want to put this in the rear-view mirror.

ACOSTA: That's right.

And I want to talk about Armenia because this is a very big story.

President Biden today issued a statement officially calling the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire a genocide.

We remember the lives of those that died in the Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing an taro from ever again occurring.

Writing -- and I'll put this on the screen -- "Each year, we remember the lies of all those who died in the Ottoman-era American genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring."

I know you've been pushing for the U.S. to recognize the massacre as a genocide.

I remember covering President Obama's administration. There was great disappointment he didn't go as far as President Biden is going today.

What is your reaction? How historic is this?

SCHIFF: It is truly historic. I've been at this for a long time and seeking recognition for a quarter of a century and have urged now four presidents to recognize the genocide.

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And I am thrilled. And I spent the entire day with the Armenian community in my district.

And there are a lot of tears of relief that, finally, at the very highest levels of the U.S. government, America is recognizing the trauma that took place, that to claim the lives of so many family members, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

A Holocaust survivor once described the denial of genocide as the last chapter of genocide, a double killing.

So there's enormous relief that finally the truth has been told.

ACOSTA: The Turkish foreign ministry said Biden's statement will open up a deep wound.

What is your response to that? Isn't that concerning that a NATO partner like Turkey has these feelings about this, or do you feel at this point that this needed to be done, no matter the ruffled feathers?

SCHIFF: This needed to be done. And frankly, if the U.S./Turkish relationship is so fragile and so weak that it can't stand our speaking the truth about genocide, it's not much of a relationship.

And we have seen Turkey buying anti-aircraft technology missiles from the Russians that are incompatible with the NATO obligations.

We see Erdogan drifting in a more autocratic direction.

So there are problems in the relationship already. But none that should prevent us from speaking truth to power.

And for the Armenian community right now, in the wake of a war, where Azerbaijan and Turkey made war on the Armenians just months ago, claiming thousands of lives, there's a real fear that a genocide could occur again.

So there's a very contemporary importance here.

ACOSTA: Very big importance.

All right, Congressman Adam Schiff, thank you so much for coming on and talking about this issue. Give our best to the Armenian community in your district. We appreciate it.

SCHIFF: You're welcome. Thank you, Jim.

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