THE BENEFITS HERE ARE MUTUAL. BY KEEPING TRUMP IN POWER, THE
PARTY REMAINS IN POWER.
JOINING ME NOW IS ONE OF THE
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO WAS IN
THAT ELECTION SECURITY BRIEFING
LAST WEEK, DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESSMAN DENNY HECK OF
WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON. CONGRESSMAN HECK, THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
I WANT TO GET RIGHT TO THAT
MEETING.
MEETING. THANK YOU, SIR.
I WANT TO GET RIGHT TO THAT
MEETING.
MEETING. WHAT I’M INTERESTED IN KNOWING
ABOUT YOUR REPUBLICAN
COLLEAGUES, AND I KNOW THERE’S
LIMITS ON WHAT YOU CAN SAY ABOUT
WHAT YOU ALL WERE TOLD, BUT WHAT
SEEMED TO BE THEIR RESPONSE?
WAS THEIR RESPONSE, IN YOUR
VIEW, ONE OF SAYING THIS IS A
THREAT, WE TAKE IT SERIOUSLY, OR
ONE OF SAYING WE DON’T WANT TO
HEAR THIS.
HEAR THIS. THIS ONLY COULD HURT
REPUBLICANS, DON’T TELL US?
>> WELL, JOY, THANKS FOR THE
QUESTION.
QUESTION. OBVIOUSLY, AS YOU INDICATED, I
CAN NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY
ANYTHING THAT WENT ON IN THE
MEETING.
MEETING. I’M NOT ONE TO CHARACTERIZE THE
UTTERANCES OF MY COLLEAGUES IN A
CLASSIFIED SETTING.
CLASSIFIED SETTING. HOWEVER, THE PAST THREE YEARS
HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTIVE ENOUGH,
HAVE THEY NOT?
AFTER ALL, WE’RE IN A SAME SONG,
SAME VERSE CIRCUMSTANCE HERE.
THE MUELLER REPORT CLEARLY
DOCUMENTED THAT THE RUSSIANS
INTERFERED IN OUR ELECTIONS IN
FURTHERANCE OF DONALD TRUMP,
THEN CANDIDATE’S, ELECTION.
I HAVE SAID REPEATEDLY OVER THE
LAST THREE YEARS WHEN I ASKED DO
I THINK THE RUSSIANS WILL BE
BACK, MY RESPONSE IS, BACK?
I DON’T BELIEVE THEY EVER LEFT.
SO THAT IS WHAT IT IS.
FURTHERMORE, AS OUTRAGEOUS AS
THIS IS, AS VIOLETIVE OF OUR
SECURITY, THE PLAIN FACT OF THE
MATTER, COLD BLOODED CLEAR EYED
FACT, THE REMEDY IS NOVEMBER.
>> WELL, THE REMEDY IS NOVEMBER
IF IT’S A FREE AND FAIR
ELECTION.
ELECTION. LET ME ASK YOU THIS QUESTION AS
SOMEBODY WHO SITS ON THE THE
NELGENCE COMMITTEE IN THE HOUSE.
IS IT TRUE THAT IN GENERAL,
REPUBLICANS BENEFITTED MORE AND
DO BENEFIT MORE FROM RUSSIAN
INTERFERENCE THAN DEMOCRATS?
>> WELL, THEY CERTAINLY DID IN
THE YEAR 2016 WHEN THE RUSSIANS’
EFFORT WAS TO ELECT PRESIDENT
TRUMP AND THE DOWN BALLOT
BENEFIT OF THAT, BUT LISTEN, WE
HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH
OURSELVES, JOY, ABOUT THIS AS
WELL.
WELL. THE RUSSIANS ALSO TAKE IT AS AN
IMPORTANT OBJECTIVE TO DIVIDE US
AND TO SEW DISCONTENT AND
DISUNITY, AND FRANKLY I’MBLUNTLY
DEMOCRAT AND SOMEBODY WHO
WATCHED THE DEBATE, IT SEEMS WE
DON’T NEED A WHOLE LOT OF HELP
IN THAT REGARD, BECAUSE WHAT I
SAW WAS MORE AKIN TO A MIDDLE
SCHOOL FOOD FIGHT THAN AN HONEST
DEBATE ABOUT A FUTURE DIRECTION
FOR OUR COUNTRY AND A VISION FOR
IT AND A STRONGER APPEAL TO OUR
BETTER ANGELS.
BETTER ANGELS. >> SIR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT,
AND I HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF
RESPECT FOR YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO
AS A POLITICAL LEADER, IT
WOULDN’T HELP IF THE DEMOCRATS
WERE 100% UNIFIED IF WE’RE GOING
INTO AN ELECTION IN WHICH A
FOREIGN COUNTRY IS PUTTING ITS
THUMB ON THE SCALE AND
ATTEMPTING TO HELP THE PARTY IN
POWER IN THE SENATE AND THE
PARTY THAT NOW HOLDS THE WHITE
HOUSE TO STAY IN.
IF DEMOCRATS WERE 100% UNIFIED
BUT RUSSIA STILL ATTACKS OUR
ELECTION AND REPUBLICANS LET
THEM IN AND LET THEM HELP AND
TAKE THEIR HELP, THEN WE’RE NOT
JUST TALKING ABOUT DONALD TRUMP
BEING A PROBLEM.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT AN ENTIRE
POLITICAL PARTY THAT IS
ACCEPTING FOREIGN HELP.
UNITY ISN’T GOING TO STOP THAT.
THERE HAS TO BE ACTION.
IS THERE ANY ACTION DEMOCRATS
CAN TAKE TO STOP THAT?
>> WELL, JOY, YOUR POINT IS WELL
TAKEN.
TAKEN. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT
THE ONLY ACTION AND REMEDY THAT
I HAD AVAILABLE TO ME WAS TO
VOTE FOR ONLY THE THIRD TIME IN
THE HISTORY OF OUR GREAT
REPUBLIC TO IMPEACH DONALD
TRUMP.
TRUMP. AND THAT DID NOT SUCCEED.
SO AS A CONSEQUENCE, WE ARE
GOING TO HAVE TO SEEK REMEDY IN
NOVEMBER.
NOVEMBER. AND YES, I DO BELIEVE THAT IF WE
BECOME MORE UNIFIED AT SOME
POINT SOON, I HOPE, THEN WE’RE
GOING TO HAVE A BETTER CHANCE TO
POWER THROUGH THE FACT THAT A
FOREIGN GOVERNMENT IS PUTTING
THEIR THUMB ON THE SCALES.
>> LET’S ASK ABOUT THE SENATOR
SANDERS NEWS AS WELL.
BACK DURING, AS THE MUELLER
REPORT CAME OUT, THOSE OF US WHO
READ IT WILL REMEMBER THE
MUELLER REPORT SAID THE
FOLLOWING ABOUT SANDERS.
BY FEBRUARY, INTERNAL AGENCY
DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO SUPPORT
FOR THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND
OPPOSITION TO CANDIDATE CLINTON,
MAIN IDEA, USE ANY OPPORTUNITY
TO CRITICIZE HILLARY CLINTON AND
THE REST, EXCEPT SANDERS AND
TRUMP.
TRUMP. WE SUPPORT THEM.
WE NOW KNOW THAT SANDERS WAS
BRIEFED THAT RUSSIA IS
ATTEMPTING TO COME IN AND HELP
HIM AS WELL.
HIS STATEMENT WAS THE FOLLOWING,
I DON’T CARE FRANKLY WHO PUTIN
WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT, MY
MESSAGE TO PUTIN IS CLEAR, STAY
OUT OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS.
AS PRESIDENT, I’LL MAKE SURE YOU
DO.
DO. ARE YOU CONCERNED RUSSIA IS
PLAYING A TWO-PART STRATEGY MUCH
AS THEY DID IN THE FRENCH
ELECTIONS TO ALSO HELP THE
POTENTIAL DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE?
>> JOY, I HAVE NEVER STOPPED
BEING CONCERNED ABOUT RUSSIA’S
INTERFERENCE IN OUR ELECTION.
IT LITERALLY KEEPS ME UP AT
NIGHT.
NIGHT. BUT OH, BY THE WAY, LET’S BE
CLEAR.
CLEAR. I DON’T HAVE A DOG IN THIS
FIGHT.
FIGHT. I HAVEN’T PUBLICLY ENDORSED ANY
CANDIDATE.
CANDIDATE. I DID HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE
SENATOR SANDERS’ COMMENT ABOUT
THE BRIEFING HE RECEIVED IN
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN THE 2020
ELECTION, AND I FOUND HIM TO BE
EXTREMELY AUTHENTIC, AND AS A
MATTER OF FACT, WHILE I DON’T
KNOW HIM WELL, I WOULD ASSERT
THIS CATEGORICALLY, YOU WILL
NEVER SEE SENATOR SANDERS CALL A
PRESS CONFERENCE AND ACTIVELY
AND OPENLY SOLICIT RUSSIAN
INTERFERENCE IN OUR ELECTION, AS
WE DID CANDIDATE TRUMP IN 2016.
NOR WILL YOU EVER SEE STAFF
MEMBERS ON HIS BEHALF REPEATEDLY
MEETING WITH MULTIPLE PARTIES ON
BEHALF OF THE RUSSIAN
GOVERNMENT, AS YOU DID CANDIDATE
TRUMP.
TRUMP. >> THAT IS A DISTINCT