ATTACK OF RUSSIA TO THE DEMOCRACY AND THAT HE TRIED TO
OBSTRUCT THE INVESTIGATION.
LET ME GO NOW TO CONGRESSMAN
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY.
HE IS ONE OF THE FOLKS THAT
QUESTIONED THE FORMER SPECIAL
COUNSEL YESTERDAY.
COUNSEL YESTERDAY. AND HE’S SOMEBODY THAT IS NOT
YET READY TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT,
TIME FOR AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY,
CONGRESSMAN.
CONGRESSMAN. GOOD TO SEE YOU.
AND I WANT TO GET, BECAUSE YOU
WERE ONE OF THE FEW DEMOCRATS
THAT SEEMED TO ALSO WANT TO DO
SOME ACCOUNTABILITY WITH
MR. MUELLER.
MR. MUELLER. BUT LET ME START WITH THIS
IMPEACHMENT QUESTION.
IMPEACHMENT QUESTION. WHERE ARE YOU?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. WHERE I AM IS I WANT THE
PRESIDENT REMOVED FROM OFFICE.
SO THE QUESTION IS WHAT’S GOING
TO WORK.
TO WORK. AND I DON’T THINK THAT’S AN
ACADEMIC QUESTION.
ACADEMIC QUESTION. SO, RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY IS MORALLY
BANKRUPT ON THIS SUBJECT, THAT’S
THE POINT, YOU KNOW, ADAM SCHIFF
IS MAKING.
IS MAKING. IMPEACHMENT IS LIKELY TO BE
FRUITFUL OR PRODUCTIVE IN TERMS
OF REMOVING THE PRESIDENT FROM
OFFICE.
OFFICE. BY THE WAY, I DON’T THINK THAT’S
MAKING IT A POLITICAL QUESTION.
I THINK IT’S MAKING AN EFFICACY
QUESTION.
QUESTION. YOU WANT HIM HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
THE MUELLER REPORT IS AN
IMPORTANT STEP IN DOING THAT AND
GETTING IT OUT PUBLICLY IS
CRITICAL BECAUSE WE NEED TO KNOW
WHAT HAPPENED AND THE AMERICAN
PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW WHO THEY’VE
GOT IN THE OVAL OFFICE.
>> I GUESS THE QUESTION IS THIS.
IF YOU DON’T DO IT, WHAT ARE THE
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES? FOR
INSTANCE, IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO
IMPEACH HIM AND HE WINS
RE-ELECTION, REGRET?
RE-ELECTION, REGRET? >> WELL, CAN WE MAKE ONE THING
CLEAR THAT THE HOUSE, YOU KNOW,
IMPEACHING THE PRESIDENT HAS
NOTHING TO DO ULTIMATELY WITH
REMOVING HIM.
REMOVING HIM. THERE’S GOING TO HAVE TO BE A
TRIAL IN THE SENATE.
>> I UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT ISN’T THAT THE POINT?
>> IN OTHER WORDS --
>> I GUESS THE REASON I SAY IT
HERE IS TO ME WHAT WAS MISSING
YESTERDAY, THE MOST DYNAMIC PART
OF THE MUELLER REPORT IS WHEN
THEY START PUTTING THE TIMELINES
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. YOU KNOW, AS THIS HAPPENED AT
TRUMP TOWER, THIS WAS HAPPENING
WITH THE RUSSIAN HACKERS.
WE DIDN’T SEE ANY OF THAT
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY WE WOULD.
>> WELL, IF YOUR POINT IS, IS
THAT WE’RE NOT DOING EVERYTHING
WE CAN TO GET OUT THOSE FACTS TO
THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, I GUESS I
DISAGREE.
DISAGREE. IF YOUR POINT IS THAT THAT WOULD
BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN AN
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY, WHICH, BY
THE WAY, EQUALLY LIKELY TO
BECOME A PARTISAN CIRCUS MORE
AKIN TO THE BRETT KAVANAUGH
HEARINGS THAN A FACT-FINDING
EXERCISE, I THINK THAT’S WORTH
EXAMINING AS WELL.
BOTTOM LINE IS THAT WE DO HAVE
AN ELECTION IN A YEAR.
THE AMERICAN PUBLIC’S GOING TO
GET TO DECIDE WHETHER WE HOLD
THIS PRESIDENT ACCOUNTABLE IN
THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY POSSIBLE,
WHICH IS DEMOCRATICALLY REMOVING
HIM.
HIM. AND I DO THINK IT’S RELEVANT TO
ASK WHAT IS LIKELY TO WORK.
NOW, BY THE WAY, I DON’T WANT TO
MINCE WORDS.
MINCE WORDS. IF YOU ASK ME WHETHER THE
PRESIDENT DESERVES IMPEACHMENT,
YEAH, HE DOES.
WHAT HE DID WAS OUTRAGEOUS,
UNPATRIOTIC, UNETHICAL, FILL IN
THE BLANK.
THE BLANK. I THINK PART OF HAVING MUELLER
UP HERE IS TO LAY THAT OUT.
THE PROBLEM WITH IMPEACHMENT IS
IF EVERYBODY GOES TO THE RED
TEAM, BLUE ACADEMY, DEFCON ONE
AND IT’S UNLIKELY TO BE
PRODUCTIVE IN TERMS OF GETTING
THE FACTS OUT AND PERSUADING
AMERICANS ABOUT WHY WE NEED TO
TAKE THE COUNTRY IN A DIFFERENT
DIRECTION.
DIRECTION. >> ONE OF THE SPECIFIC AREAS YOU
QUESTIONED ROBERT MUELLER ON.
AND IT WAS ON THE ISSUE OF
INTERVIEWING THE PRESIDENT.
LET ME PLAY THE CLIP FIRST.
>> WE WERE ALMOST TOWARDS THE
END OF OUR INVESTIGATION, AND
WE’D HAD LITTLE SUCCESS IN
PUSHING TO GET THE INTERVIEW OF
THE PRESIDENT.
THE PRESIDENT. WE DECIDED THAT WE DID NOT WANT
TO EXERCISE THE SUBPOENA POWERS
BECAUSE THE NECESSITY OF
EXPEDITING THE END OF THE
INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION. >> WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE
PRESIDENT’S WRITTEN RESPONSES,
MR. MUELLER?
MR. MUELLER? >> CERTAINLY NOT AS USEFUL AS
THE INTERVIEW WOULD BE.
>> IN FACT, YOU POINTED OUT, AND
BY MY ACCOUNT THERE WERE MORE
THAN 30 TIMES WHEN THE PRESIDENT
SAID HE DIDN’T RECALL, HE DIDN’T
REMEMBER, NO INDEPENDENT
RECOLLECTION, NO CURRENT
RECOLLECTION.
RECOLLECTION. I TAKE IT BY YOUR ANSWER THAT IT
WASN’T AS HELPFUL.
THAT’S WHY YOU USED WORDS LIKE
INCOMPLETE, IMPRECISE,
INCOMPLETE, IMPRECISE, INADEQUATE, INSUFFICIENT.
INADEQUATE, INSUFFICIENT. IS THAT A FAIR SUMMARY OF WHAT
YOU THOUGHT OF THOSE WRITTEN
ANSWERS?
ANSWERS? >> THAT IS A FAIR SUMMARY.
AND I PRESUME THAT COMES FROM
THE REPORT.
THE REPORT. >> AND YET, SIR, AND I ASK THIS
RESPECTFULLY.
RESPECTFULLY. BY THE WAY, THE PRESIDENT DIDN’T
EVER CLAIM THE FIFTH AMENDMENT,
DID HE?
DID HE? >> I AM NOT GOING TO TALK TO
THAT.
THAT. >> ALL RIGHT.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT WERE YOU
GOING TO ASK RESPECTIVELY.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU THINK
MUELLER -- THAT YOU WERE
SECOND-GUESSING MUELLER’S
SECOND-GUESSING MUELLER’S DECISION NOT TO SUBPOENA THE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. >> YOU BETTER BELIEVE I AM.
I THINK IT WAS A MISTAKE, BUT I
THINK IT’S IMPORTANT WHAT HE
SAID.
SAID. WHAT HE SAID WAS THAT THEY WERE
BALANCING.
BALANCING. IN FACT, HE DID THIS WITH HIS
HANDS.
HANDS. AND WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO CONVEY
IS THAT THEY WERE BUILDING WHAT
HE CALLED IN THE REPORT
SIGNIFICANT AND SUBSTANTIAL
EVIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT’S
INTENT TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE.
HE WAS BALANCING WHAT THEY
ALREADY HAD WITH THE DELAY
REQUIRED TO POSSIBLY GET MORE
THROUGH AN IN-PERSON INTERVIEW.
I STILL WISH HE HAD PUT THE
PRESIDENT IN A CHAIR, SWORN HIM
IN, AND MADE HIM ANSWER SOME
TOUGH QUESTIONS.
TOUGH QUESTIONS. I THINK WE WILL ALWAYS WISH THAT
HAD HAPPENED.
HAD HAPPENED. BUT THE DIRECTOR’S POINT IS
WORTH LISTENING TO.
HE SAID, PAGE 13, VOLUME II, AND
LOOK AT APPENDIX C TO THE WHOLE
REPORT.
REPORT. HE SAID VERY CLEARLY, THEY
BELIEVE THERE WAS SUFFICIENT AND
SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE OF THE
PRESIDENT’S INTENT.
PRESIDENT’S INTENT. AND SO I THINK WHAT HE’S TRYING
TO SAY IS WE ALREADY HAD IT.
>> YOU KNOW, IT’S INTERESTING,
THOUGH, WHAT MUELLER IS SAYING
ABOUT SUBPOENAING THE PRESIDENT
IN TIME IS SORT OF THE SAME
ARGUMENT BEING MADE ABOUT
IMPEACHMENT VERSUS NO
IMPEACHMENT VERSUS THE 2020
ELECTION.
ELECTION. FAIR?
FAIR? >> YOU KNOW, I THINK IT’S A
LITTLE DIFFERENT.
LITTLE DIFFERENT. I THINK WHAT HE’S SAYING IS
THAT -- WELL, LOOK, HE COULD BE
FORGIVEN FOR THINKING THAT WHEN
HE SENT UP THE REPORT TO THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL THAT THE GUY
WOULD TAKE IT SERIOUSLY AND NOT
ASSEMBLE AND DELAY, AND THAT THE
CONGRESS MIGHT ACTUALLY TAKE IT
SERIOUSLY, TOO, IN BOTH PARTIES
WHICH WOULD BE GREAT.
BECAUSE I THINK BOB MUELLER
COMES FROM A DIFFERENT ERA WHEN
WE USED TO TAKE THIS STUFF MORE
SERIOUSLY DESPITE OUR PARTISAN
DIFFERENCES.
DIFFERENCES. I HAVE TO TELL YOU, SO, I AM
REGRETFUL THAT HE DIDN’T
SUBPOENA THE PRESIDENT.
BUT I AM VERY RESPECTFUL OF THAT
PERSON CAME UP AND TESTIFIED
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. I WANT MY KIDS TO GROW UP TO BE
LIKE BOB MUELLER, AND I HOPE
WE’RE -- I STILL HOPE WE’RE
GENERATING GUYS LIKE BOB MUELLER
WHO WOULD TAKE MORE SERIOUSLY
DESPITE THEIR POLITICAL
AFFILIATIONS THE KINDS OF
FINDINGS HE HAS IN THAT REPORT.
>> CONGRESSMAN SEAN PATRICK