COUNSEL TO THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE.
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
PETER, YOU WROTE THE BOOK ON
IMPEACHMENT.
IMPEACHMENT. THERE HAS BEEN DISCUSSION FOR
MONTHS NOW ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY
DEMOCRATS WOULD GO IN THIS
DIRECTION.
DIRECTION. THERE HAVE BEEN CALLS FROM MANY
DEMOCRATS.
DEMOCRATS. PUT IN CONTEXT WHAT HAS PLAYED
OUT IN THE LAST 24 TO 36 HOURS
AND THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THIS
PLACES DEMOCRATS ON A COLLISION
COURSE WITH.
COURSE WITH. >> WE HAVE SEEN DEMOCRATS ALL
YEAR BASICALLY TAKE THEIR TIME
LOOKING FOR CREVICES TO WORK
THEIR WAY IN ON AN INVESTIGATION
AND GET MORE INFORMATION THAN
ROBERT MUELLER HAD THAT DIDN’T
END UP PROVING WHAT THEY HOPED
TO PROVE.
TO PROVE. AND THEN JUST LIKE THAT THE
ROCKET FUEL HAS BEEN ADDED AND
THE MISSILES HAS TAKEN OFF.
THE SPEAKER MANAGED TO TURN
AROUND IN A MATTER OF A FEW DAYS
AND SAY NOT ONLY ARE WE GOING TO
LOOK AT THIS, A BETRAYAL OF THE
CONSTITUTION.
CONSTITUTION. DIDN’T JUST SAY WHERE TO LOOK AT
IT.
IT. SHE PUT HER FOOD ON THE PEDAL
AND SAID SHE IS READY TO GO
FORWARD.
FORWARD. >> THIS IS FROM POLITICO.
OBVIOUSLY, NANCY PELOSI COMING
OUT AND ENDORSING AN IMPEACHMENT
INQUIRY IS NEW.
SOME OF THE ATTITUDES FROM THE
DEMOCRATS LAWMAKERS NOTED THAT
SHE LEFT THEM WITHOUT A
TIMEFRAME FOR ACTION,
FRUSTRATING DEMOCRATS WHO HAD
HOPED HER BACKING WOULD INCLUDE
AN URGENT PUSH TO BRING ARTICLES
OF IMPEACHMENT.
OF IMPEACHMENT. I DO NOT SEE STRUCTURAL CHANGES
REPVAL DEMINGS SAID.
IT WAS STRIKING THIS PARTICULAR
STORY WITH UKRAINE APPARENTLY
THE JUSTIFICATION FOR NANCY
PELOSI MAKING THIS DECISION
TODAY, BUT NO SELECT COMMITTEE,
NO SPECIFIC COMMITTEE THAT IS
GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS,
APPARENTLY NO HOUSE VOTE ON
AUTHORIZING AN IMPEACHMENT
INQUIRY, NO CLEAR TIME TABLE
HERE.
HERE. SO PROCEDURELY, IS THERE
ANYTHING THAT CHANGED HERE?
>> I WAS AT THE CAPITOL ALL DAY
TALKING TO HOUSE DEMOCRATS,
HOUSE REPUBLICANS AND MEMBERS OF
THE SENATE.
THE SENATE. THEY SAY SO MUCH ON THE
IMPEACHMENT FRONT REMAINS TBD
AND THAT AS MUCH AS SPEAKER
PELOSI SAID SHE WAS OPENING AN
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AND WILLING
TO PURSUE THE STEPS, THE DETAILS
ARE GOING TO BE WORKED OUT BY
THE HOUSE DEMOCRATS IN THE WEEKS
TO COME.
TO COME. WHAT HAPPENED WAS SO MANY HOUSE
DEMOCRATS CAME TO THE SPEAKER
AND SAID THIS HAS REACHED THE
THRESHOLD FOR IMPEACHMENT.
WE NEED YOU TO MAKE A STATEMENT.
WE NEED HOUSE DEMOCRATS TO MAKE
A FORMAL STATEMENT.
SO POLITICALLY, SHE WAS SHOWING
SOLIDARITY WITH THEM, WHILE
LETTING THE COMMITTEES STILL
WORK OUT THE EXACT PROCESS.
>> IN TERMS OF THAT PROCESS AND
IN TERMS OF DEMOCRATS’
COMMITMENT TO NOT JUST OPENING
AN INKWIRPY, BUT POTENTIALLY
BRINGING ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT
AND HAD SOME KIND OF VOTE ON
IMPEACHMENT, HOW MUCH NOW IN
TERMS OF THEIR POLITICAL
THINKING ON THIS, HOW MUCH IS
GOING TO DEPEND ON WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN THAT TRANSCRIPT IS RELEASED
TOMORROW?
TOMORROW? APPARENTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE
WHISTLEBLOWER’S COMPLAINT IS
HEARD?
HEARD? HOW MUCH WILL DICTATE WHETHER
THIS LEADS TO DEMOCRATS HAVING A
VOTE HERE?
VOTE HERE? >> I THINK THOSE ARE THE MOST
IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WILL
DICTATE WHETHER OR NOT THAT
HAPPENS.
HAPPENS. THE TRANSCRIPT, OF COURSE, IS
HELPFUL.
HELPFUL. DEMOCRATS HAVE SAID THAT’S
SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH.
THEY WANT THE FULL COMPLAINT AND
REPORTS SO THEY CAN HAVE ALL THE
FACTS.
FACTS. THEY WANT TO HEAR FROM THE
ACTING DNI DIRECTOR.
HE WANTS TO TALK TO THEM TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON.
I THINK THAT HEARING FROM THE
WHISTLEBLOWER’S BOTH IN THE
HOUSE AND THE SENATE COMMITTEES
WHICH THE WHISTLEBLOWER’S LAWYER
SAID HE WANTS TO TALK TO BOTH
COMMITTEES.
COMMITTEES. I THINK THAT WILL HELP DEMOCRATS
DECIDE THE SEVERITY OF THE
SITUATION AND FIGURE OUT THE
POLITICAL CALCULUS.
POLITICAL CALCULUS. RIGHT NOW AS IT STANDS, THEY
DON’T JUST NOT HAVE A TIMELINE,
BUT THERE IS ENOUGH WIGGLE ROOM
FOR DONALD TRUMP TO CONTINUE
SPINNING THIS AND FOR RUDY
GIULIANI AND REPUBLICANS IN HIS
CORNPER TO CONTINUE SPINNING
THIS.
THIS. HE TWEETED AS MUCH TODAY SAYING
THEY HAVEN’T SEEN THE
TRANSCRIPT.
TRANSCRIPT. THIS IS PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT.
I THINK THOSE WILL BE REALLY
CRITICAL TO THEIR NEXT STEPS
MOVING FORWARD.
MOVING FORWARD. AND CONGRESSWOMAN MAXEEN WATERS
WAS ON EARLIER TONIGHT.
SHE DIDN’T HAVE A CLEAR TIMELINE
TO GIVE THE NETWORK WHEN SHE WAS
GIVING THE INTERVIEW WHICH SHE
SAID QUICKLY VERY MANY TIMES.
>> WE TALK ABOUT THE SIX HOUSE
COMMITTEES THAT HAVE BEEN
WORKING ON TRUMPIVATIONS, THAT
ARE GOING TO BE PART OF THE
BROAD PROCESS THAT NANCY PELOSI
INITIATED TODAY.
INITIATED TODAY. IN TERMS OF PURSUING AN
INVESTIGATION INTO THIS UKRAINE
MATTER, HOW IS THAT GOING TO
WORK IF THERE IS NOT ONE CLEAR
COMMITTEE THAT’S BEEN DEPUTIZED
AND DESIGNATED?
AND DESIGNATED? HOW WILL THAT WORK FUNCTIONALLY?
>> FIRST, STEVE, I THINK IT’S
IMPORTANT TO TAKE A STEP BACK
AND NOTE THAT THIS IS THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT, MOST CONSEQUENTIAL
IMPEACHMENT IN OUR HISTORY,
BECAUSE NEVER BEFORE HAS AN
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY ACTUALLY
DEALT WITH FOREIGN INTERFERENCE
IN THE UNITED STATES ELECTION
AND DEALT WITH A NATIONAL
SECURITY ISSUE IN WHICH THE
SECURITY INTERESTS OF THE UNITED
STATES HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED.
IF YOU LOOK AT TWO OTHER
IMPEACHMENT SITUATIONS, THEY
WERE ON MUCH MORE PROZAIC
MUNDANE ISSUES.
MUNDANE ISSUES. THAT’S POINT NUMBER ONE.
I THINK POINT NUMBER TWO STHATD
THIS IS A MUCH MORE SEVERE AND
SIGNIFICANT ISSUE THAN EVEN THE
RUSSIAN SITUATION THAT WAS
EXPOSED LAST YEAR RELATED TO THE
2016 CAMPAIGN, BECAUSE IN THIS
CASE, THE PRESIDENT DIRECTLY HAD
A CONVERSATION WITH THE FOREIGN
HEAD OF STATE, WHICH WASN’T
KPAKTDLY CLEAR THAT IT HAPPENED
IN THE RUSSIAN SITUATION.
BECAUSE HE IS PRESIDENT, HE
ACTUALLY HAD THINGS THAT THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT HAS TO