MSNBC "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" INTERVIEW WITH REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN) INTERVIEWER: KEITH OLBERMANN

MR. OLBERMANN: Joining me tonight to help understand these lingering questions, Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen, a member of the Judiciary Committee, who's calling for an investigation of any Bush era lawbreaking.

Thank you for your time tonight, Congressman.

REP. COHEN: Glad to be with you, Keith.

MR. OLBERMANN: What's Congress going to do about this?

REP. COHEN: Congress will respond. I'm on John Conyers' committee and I'm on H.R. 104, which calls for the establishment of a commission to look into war powers and civil liberties. This is what I think we need to have. It would be a nine-member bipartisan commission to look into all aspects of what the Bush-Cheney team has done to invade our civil liberties and our rights and violate our Constitution, if that be where it leads.

MR. OLBERMANN: Do you worry about the old definition of a commission as something that's created to avoid actually getting people arrested on charges for anything?

REP. COHEN: Well, I don't think that's the case here. I know John Conyers and myself and other members of the Judiciary Committee, like Bill Delahunt and Sheila Jackson Lee, who are co-sponsors, want to see answers. I think Speaker Pelosi does too, and I think President Obama does. And while he's voiced concerns, this is January, named for Janus. Janus looks forward, but Janus also looks backwards. And if you don't look back, you don't know what might be hitting you on the other side.

MR. OLBERMANN: How do you penetrate the veil of national security? How do you ensure that veil is not being also used to hide criminality, even in just the maintenance of the veil?

REP. COHEN: It's extremely, extremely difficult to do that. But I think with the new administration, we're a lot closer than we were with the old administration. The old administration really put the veil on. And it was more than a veil; it was a total blackout to Congress where they would not respond to subpoenas or to requests for information.

The Obama administration will be transparent and forthright. And I believe with this appointment that you've just told us about, that we're going to see that there's going to be a whole different perspective at NSA and in all areas of government.

MR. OLBERMANN: Surely, Congressman, to some degree the veil has been maintained because nobody pulled hard enough on it in Congress. The leadership the last two years has not shown a great appetite for pursuing accountability even when it was Congress itself that was flouted or lied to. Why should anybody expect real accountability now, particularly on this issue of wiretapping?

REP. COHEN: Well, I believe that the truth is important. I think Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Conyers are two people that are known for pursuing the truth. And I think that really part of the agenda in Congress the past two years, with the Democrats knowing Bush was president, the important thing was to be able to have a president we could work with. That was so important.

And I think now that we have a president we can work with, we can get some real answers. We can get passed some legislation and we can get to the bottom of some of these issues and not have a veto or have somebody stonewall us. So I think (with) the election and a new era of people wanting change that we've seen in Washington and seen at the polls in November, I think you're going to see a difference.

MR. OLBERMANN: If Mr. Tice is any indicator, one can reveal the tip of the iceberg without actually violating national security laws or national security needs. So what happens if Senator Rockefeller, just to pick him as a name here, or other congressional leaders knew about this sort of manifold panoply of eavesdropping on virtually anybody, or at least the capacity to eavesdrop on anybody? Is it likely that you or anybody in Congress would reveal that part of this equation, if it exists?

REP. COHEN: Well, I don't know what we'll find out, but I think when the truth comes out that it needs to be shared with the American public. I think the American public can and will benefit from the truth and can live with it.

MR. OLBERMANN: Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee, great thanks for your time tonight, sir.

REP. COHEN: You're welcome, Keith.

END.

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