MSNBC "All In with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Ted Lieu

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

HASAN: I hope you`re right. Cynthia Alksne, thank you so much for your insights tonight. I appreciate it.

Democratic Congressman Ted lieu of California is a member of the House Judiciary Committee which oversees the Department of Justice. He was also a house impeachment manager earlier this year. And he joins me now.

Congressman, what Donald Trump tried to do with the aid of the DOJ -- well, some officials in the DOJ was to try and overturn the election. He tried to do a coup, did he not?

REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): He absolutely did when we did a House impeachment trial, I presented their section on the former President`s efforts to overturn the election by pressuring the Department Justice to just make stuff up. We knew there`s a lot of bad things that were happening. We couldn`t get our hands on the evidence. I`m very pleased that Jeffrey Rosen is now stepping forward and providing actual testimony, investigators. And I urge the borrower justice to really look at what Rosen is saying.

HASAN: So, given you agree it was a coup, given the importance of these officials, why would Jeffrey Clark and other DOJ officials called as witnesses at the impeachment trial in the Senate earlier this year? That seems like a huge missed opportunity?

LIEU: Because what would have happened is the Republicans would have objected, and we`re still be doing the impeachment trial right now litigating those objections in court. So, that was a problem. It was sort of the timing of it. We knew the Republicans will object. But when people step forward voluntarily, like Mr. Rosen, then that solves a problem.

I also want to note that I looked at these election laws, from my perspective as a former prosecutor, and 18 United States Code Section 595, query says that it`s a federal crime to use official authority to interfere with or effect a federal election. Jeffrey Clark did that. He should be investigated.

HASAN: And how do democrats prevent Donald Trump from running again given what he`s already done, the damage he`s done to democracy both kind of and not just in a DOJ sense, but physical damage to the building you serve in? Is using the 14th amendment a possibility? And if not, why not?

LIEU: The goal is not to prevent the former president from running again, the goal should be to hold them accountable. Now, last four years, the evidence is overwhelming that he committed obstruction of justice. He also violated federal campaign finance laws, the same law that landed his co- conspirator Michael Cohen in prison. And now, with this attempted coup attempt, I hope the Department of Justice looks at all the evidence and that they do whatever normal investigations they would do for anybody in America, because no one should be above the law, not the President, not the former president.

HASAN: And you`re right. And we`ve heard a lot of Democrats say that. I`m just looking for the action. So, let me just one last question asked you what I ask Cynthia moment ago. Is Merrick Garland, the current A.G., the right guy to hold Donald Trump to account? Some would say he hasn`t been aggressive enough. Where is the grand jury?

LIEU: Merrick Garland has not been Attorney General for all that long. It`s been about half a year so far. So, I`m willing to give him a chance to look at all the evidence. Again, it`s very clear under these federal election laws that you cannot use official authority to interfere with or effect a federal election.

And what I presented on the impeachment trial was very clear that that`s exactly what DOJ officials such as Clark were doing, and it was exactly what the former president was trying to do by pressuring the Department of Justice to overturn the election.

[20:15:27]

HASAN: Indeed, he was. Congressman Ted lieu, thank you so much for your time tonight. I appreciate it.

LIEU: Thank you, Mehdi.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source