MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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SCHULTZ: Now, let"s hold it right here for a second. This is where I"m troubled: he just described it as a short conversation, 30, 40 seconds, whatever. Then why did Congressman Sestak embellish it so much and say that he had been offered a job by the White House? Of course, the network across the street, they"re saying this is just like Watergate. Today, a bunch of Republicans sent a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller, asking him to launch an investigation.

One of the Republicans backing this effort is Congressman from California, Darrell Issa, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and he joins us here tonight on THE ED SHOW.

Congressman, good to have you with us.

REP. DARRELL ISSA ®, CALIFORNIA: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: What is--you bet. What is your biggest beef with all this? If it"s a short conversation, if there was no money involved, if it was a volunteer position, what"s the issue here, congressman?

ISSA: First of all, the law doesn"t say volunteer/non-volunteer. A position is a position. These are valuable positions. They"re career enhancing. And they do help advise and steer national policy. Having said that, you said it earlier. Congressman Sestak, Admiral Sestak, has been inconsistent in how he"s characterized what occurred or didn"t occur. It was very different in the beginning and over the last ten weeks.

The White House has spent ten weeks not providing an answer to something that in a page and a half they"ve said everybody does it. Now, the fact is when our committee asked the FBI to investigate this--this is not to investigate this and find a bunch of people guilty. It"s to get the honest facts, make an independent decision, and let"s move on.

The president undoubtedly realizes that this is not the highest level of integrity that he promised the American people. But it came from Rahm, perhaps with his knowledge. He"s got to move on beyond it. The easiest way to move on is take it out of the Congress, take it out of partisan politics. Let the FBI do an investigation, like they did in the travel firing in the Clinton administration.

Now, that was one of those things where when it was all over with, the FBI disagreed with the White House"s independent, or non-independent investigation. But it did bring an end to this thing. People were compensated and we all moved on.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, this just seems to be such a gotcha moment for the Republicans. I mean, on the surface it"s a--now we"re finding out facts that it was just a 30-second passing conversation, running something up the flag pole. There was no official offer made. Doesn"t it--I mean, can you see how many Americans view this as the Republicans are just on the hunt for the president?

ISSA: No, not at all. First of all, integrity is not about how casual it is or whether--

SCHULTZ: Where"s the lack of integrity? Respectfully, congressman, where is the lack of integrity on this? That"s where I"m somewhat miffed on your part.

ISSA: Well, let"s give on example. If you took Congressman Sestak out of a primary and you had a new Senator, if you will, Arlen Specter, who didn"t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of donated Democratic-leaning money in the primary, it would have saved the Democratic National Committee broadly hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Additionally, they would have had a comparatively easy process.

Now that money has been spent. They"re having to re-raise money. Right there hard, federal dollars, dollars you"re not allowed to get by promising anything related to the government, were safe. Clearing--

SCHULTZ: It was an issue of choice.

ISSA: Ed, Ed--clear--clearing the primary, using an offer of a Congressional--through a congressman--of a position of any sort in the government is exactly the kind of corruption you cannot be allowed to have, period. And you know what?

SCHULTZ: You think this is corruption, congressman? Respectfully, you think this is corruption?

ISSA: Ed, you would probably say that the standards of the United States Congress are probably considered by the American people not to be very high when it comes to integrity. But under the last some years ago, Tom Delay was admonished. He was sanctioned for on the House floor saying, if you vote for Medicare Part D, I"ll raise your son money in his primary campaign. Guess what? That was wrong. And that was a whole lot less within the letter of corruption than this was. And yet he was ethically out of bounds.

SCHULTZ: You"re right. There"s a big--wait a second, congressman. Respectfully, there"s a huge difference between Bill Clinton picking up the phone and doing a 30-second conversation with Joe Sestak, and what Tom Delay did on the House floor. I mean, that"s--that"s really apples and oranges. I"m out of time. I really appreciate you coming on. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much for joining us.

ISSA: I"m sorry you don"t consider corruption corruption anymore.

SCHULTZ: I don"t believe this is corruption. I believe this is a congressman--

ISSA: it"s a double standard. It"s just a double standard, once again.

SCHULTZ: All right, good to have you with us, congressman. We"ll do it again. Thanks so much.

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