CNN The Situation Room-Transcript

Interview

CNN The Situation Room-Transcript

BLITZER: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preparing to speak out in the next hour about her recent and controversial visit to Syria.

The Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota went along on that trip. He's the first and only Muslim member of the U.S. Congress. He's joining us in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Congressman, welcome back.

REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: Welcome to be -- thank you for inviting me, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. I want to get that in a moment, but I want your quick reaction, not only as a politician, but as an African- American, to the whole Don Imus uproar. Should he be fired or should he be allowed to keep his job? ELLISON: Well, you know, I am going to demur on that one, but I will say that Don Imus needs to make a heartfelt, sincere demonstration of apology. He needs to communicate to his listeners that he does not hold bigoted views and does not hold African-American women in low esteem.

He has to be clear. He has to be -- he has to repeat it. And he has to make it very clear that, hey, you know, he is not going to belittle or berate people based on who they are.

Now, after he does that, I think that, you know, we need to assess whether his statement is sincere, whether it's heartfelt, and whether we're going to expect to see him make those kind of comments in the future. And, if we don't -- and, if we can be confident that we're not going to see that out of him, then, you know, I think maybe we should look in terms of redemption, look in terms of racial reconciliation.

But, if it looks like he's not quite contrite, I think maybe Mr. Imus needs to go other places.

BLITZER: All right, Congressman, let's talk about the Pelosi visit to the Middle East. You were a member of her delegation. You went to Damascus.

There was criticism, and some criticism from, obviously, the usual sources, but some criticism from some of the not-so-usual sources, including "The Washington Post" editorial page. Among other things, they wrote this: "We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and region diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive; it is foolish."

What was your thinking, as a member of that delegation, in going to -- going to Damascus?

ELLISON: Well, you know, I just disagree with "The Washington Post" on this one.

The fact is that it's very common, very normal for members of Congress to go engage in fact-finding, to go meet with other leaders of other countries to try to ascertain facts, to ask some tough questions, and to move on from there.

I mean, the fact is, there are numerous pieces of legislation, lots of different appropriation questions that require members of Congress to be well-informed on the issues. And, so, that's what we were doing. Three -- three Republican congressmen were in Syria before we ever got there. One was there afterwards. In total, I think about 14 members of Congress have been to Syria in the past few months.

And, so, I think that it's really just a political thing, and I think "The Washington Post" just got it wrong. I mean, they get it right sometimes, but they got it wrong that time. BLITZER: Congressman, I assume you were in all the meetings. Were you in the meeting, for example, with the president, Bashar al- Assad?

ELLISON: Yes, I was.

BLITZER: Did the speaker convey her anger? Because I know she disagrees with a lot of the Syrian policies in Lebanon towards Israel, the situation, obviously, the cross-border incursions into Iraq from the jihadists. Did she convey that anger directly to the Syrian president?

ELLISON: Well, let me tell you, she conveyed the concerns of our country in a professional manner.

Convey anger? I wouldn't say she was demonstrating anger. I would say that she was firm, she was clear, and she was unmistakable in her communication.

BLITZER: I guess the question is, did she leave any sense with the Syrian president that there was a divide over some of these issues between the Democratic majority in the House, as opposed to the White House?

ELLISON: No. As a matter of fact, she said quite clearly that, on the issues of American security and fighting against terrorism, that she -- that we were not divided. She made that statement very clearly.

And I think that any -- no foreign leader that we met was -- was -- walked away with the idea that there was a divided America.

BLITZER: You are the first, and so far only, Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress. What was it like, not only as a congressman, as an American, but as a Muslim, going to the Middle East, visiting these predominantly Muslim countries?

ELLISON: Well, you know, Wolf, you know, as I walked through the city of Old Jerusalem, and I passed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I thought about my mother, who is Catholic.

And we met a man who was the keeper of the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. And, by agreement, that person is a Muslim. So, it was amazing to meet him. He knew about my election. And we talked a little while.

Then I went to the Haram al-Sharif, went to Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. And that was a spiritual, even emotional, experience for me. And I just felt -- it felt incredible to be there.

And, then, of course, you know, just to be able to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, was, for me, a moving, transformative, deeply spiritual experience.

BLITZER: Well, welcome back, Congressman. I'm glad you -- you made the trip and saw some of those religious, historic sites in the Middle East. I'm sure it was very moving for you, and very moving for the rest of the delegation.

ELLISON: Well, I'm sure that it was. You know, the trip was a success. And I just think that, you know, dialogue is a precursor to understanding, and our country needs to do much more of it.

BLITZER: Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, thanks for coming in to THE SITUATION ROOM.

ELLISON: Thank you Wolf.

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