GRIFF: PROBE INTO PRESIDENT
BIDEN’S HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS AS CONGRESS DEMANDING
ANSWERS.
LET’S TURN NOW TO POLITICAL
PANEL WITH US TODAY, ROBINSON
AND KEVIN, DEMOCRAT STRATEGIST
AND FORMER BIDEN SURROGATE,
KEVIN, QUILL, THANK YOU FOR
BEING HERE.
I WANT TO START WITH YOU, KEVIN,
WE LEARNED THIS WEEK BIPARTISAN
EFFORT TO SEE THE DOCUMENTS IN
THE SENATE THREATENING TO HALT
ALL JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS, YOUR
REACTION, YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
>> WELL, I THINK ANY TIME YOU
THREATEN TO HOLD ANY NOMINATION
IS PROBLEMATIC AND WE HAVE SEEN
THIS FROM SENATOR COTTON IN THE
PAST.
THAT HURTS NATIONAL SECURITY AND
THAT HURTS THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
I DO THINK THE SENATORS
ESPECIALLY ON THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE TO DETERMINE WHAT
DOCUMENTS WERE FOUND BOTH IN
WILMINGTON WITH PRESIDENT
BIDEN’S RESIDENCE AS WELL AS
VICE PRESIDENT’S RESIDENCE IN
INDIANA WITH MIKE PENCE AS WELL
AS DOCUMENTS COMING OUT OF
MAR-A-LAGO, 300 SOME DOCUMENTS
FOUND IN FLORIDA.
THEY HAVE RIGHT IN CAPACITY AS
OVERSIGHT TO THOSE DOCUMENTS AND
I THINK THAT’S AN IMPORTANT
THING FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO
HAVE A HAND IN AS WELL.
GRIFF: YOU KNOW, QUILL, I WANT
TO PLAY FOR YOU THE OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE
JAMES COMER HAD THIS TO SAY,
TAKE A LISTEN.
>> FROM AN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
WHO IS LEADING A MAJOR
INVESTIGATION INTO INFLUENCE
PEDDLING WITH THIS
ADMINISTRATION, WE WANT TO KNOW
IF THESE DOCUMENTS -- IF THEY’VE
BEEN USED IN A COMPROMISING WAY.
THIS IS -- THIS THE PROBLEM WITH
THE BIDEN FAMILY.
THEY’VE BEEN INFLUENCED PEDDLING
FOR DECADES AND NOW WE FIND
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS ALL OVER
THE EAST COAST.
GRIFF: WHAT’S YOUR REACTION TO
THAT?
OBVIOUSLY WE HEARD A, YOU HEARD
INTERVIEW WITH DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESSMAN GERRI GARAMENDI AND
THERE’S A DIFFERENCE.
COMER SEES A DIFFERENCE.
>> IT’S DISTURBING THAT THIS IS
THE THING THAT BRINGS DEMOCRATS
AND REPUBLICANS TOGETHER TODAY.
GRIFF: THAT’S A GOOD POINT,
ACTUALLY.
>> BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON THAT.
>> BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT.
LOOK, SOME OF OUR LEADERS AT THE
HIGHEST LEVELS SEEM TO BE TRYING
TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER THEY LEFT
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS ON THE
KITCHEN TABLE OR GARAGE, THAT’S
REALLY CONCERNING.
I THINK RATHER THAN POINTING
FINGERS AND SEEING THIS IS A
DEMOCRATIC ISSUE OR REPUBLICAN
ISSUE WE NEED TO GET A HANDLE
BECAUSE THIS COMPROMISES HIGHLY
SENSITIVE MATERIALS THAT PUT US
AT RISK WITH CHINA AND CONGRESS
ABSOLUTELY HAS THE RIGHT TO
NEGLECT WHAT WAS IN THE
DOCUMENTS.
GRIFF: YOU HAVE THE NATIONAL
ARCHIVES AND RECORDS
ADMINISTRATION NARA WHO I HAVE
LIKENED TO THE CHILDHOOD
LIBRARIAN WHO WAS TOLD HAD A LOT
OF AUTHORITY, BOY, SHE HAS
POWER, NOW YOU HAVE GOING ALL
THE WAY GOING BACK TO JIMMY
CARTER WHO BY THE WAY SIGNED THE
1978 RECORDS ACT FOR WHICH NOW
WE ARE NOW TALKING ABOUT BUT IS
THIS AN OVERREACH TO GO THIS FAR
BACK?
DO WE REALLY NEED TO DO THIS?
>> WELL, I THINK WE HAVE A
OVERCLASSIFICATION PROBLEM IN
THE COUNTRY.
THE FACT THAT THE RULES AND
REGULATIONS REGARDING CLASSIFIED
DO YOU MEANS TO SOME DEGREE HAVE
NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE WORLD WAR
II.
YOU HAVE 4 MILLION AMERICANS WHO
HAVE SOME LEVEL OF CLASSIFIED
ACCESS APPROVAL IN THIS COUNTRY.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE A
REALLY STRONG LOOK.
I SAW THE CONVERSATION YOU HAD
WITH CONGRESSMAN GERAMENDI IN
TERMS OF WHAT HE WAS SAYING
BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT INTENT,
RIGHT, IS THIS JUST A MISTAKEN
ISSUE WHAT WE SEE WITH MIKE
PENCE AND LIKELY JOE BIDEN AND
THE FACT THAT THERE WAS
STONEWALLING FOR A YEAR AND A
HALF, SUBPOENAS ISSUE TODAY GET
THOSE DOCUMENTS BACK THAT WENT
UNHEARD OF OR THROWN OUT FROM
NARA, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE AND I DO THINK YOU HAVE VERY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES BUT
VERY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES BUT
TO QUILL’S POINT --
>> GRIFF: SHOULD THE OUTCOME
POTENTIALLY DISQUALIFY EITHER
BIDEN OR TRUMP FROM RUNNING FOR
PRESIDENT?
>> HERE THE THING WE DON’T KNOW
YET.
IT’S HARD TO DETERMINE THE
INTENT.
MANY IN THE MEDIA AS WELL AS
DEMOCRATIC ALLIES OF PRESIDENT
BIDEN HAVE TRY TODAY PLAY THIS
OFF AS AN HONEST MISTAKE BUT
WHETHER IT IS REGARDLESS OF
WHETHER IT IS OR NOT, THIS IS
SERIOUS AND IT MAY BE A MATTER
OF LOOKING AT WHETHER THERE’S
CASE OF OVERCLASSIFICATION BUT
THEY SEND THE WRONG MESSAGE AT A
VERY TENUOUS MOMENT IN AMERICAN
POLITICS AND ROLE IN THE WORLD
AND WE NEED TO BE PAYING
ATTENTION TO OTHER ISSUES RATHER
THAN FIGURE OUT, POWERFUL GOING
ON EASTER EGG HUNTS FOR
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS.
GRIFF: WE HAVE NOTICE THAT
FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP WHO HAS
ANNOUNCED RELEX OR RUNNING NOW
AGAIN IS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IN THE
LAST FEW HOURS.
HERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF FIRST
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
APPEARANCE, TAKE A LISTEN.
>> THIS IS LIKE ABOUT -- I SAID,
YOU KNOW, I GET TWO YEARS, THEY
SAID HE’S NOT DOING RALLIES,
HE’S NOT CAMPAIGNING, MAYBE HE
HAS-THE STEP.
I’M MORE ANGRY NOW AND MORE
COMMITTED NOW THAN I EVER WAS.
GRIFF: HE’S BACK, KEVIN.
>> HE’S BACK, HE’S BACK, HE’S
BACK ON FACEBOOK, HE’S SEEMINGLY
BACK ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
I THINK THIS IS GOOD THING FOR
DEMOCRATS, YOU KNOW, AS
PRESIDENT BIDEN ALWAYS SAYS
DON’T COMPARE ME TO TO ALMIGHTY
ALTERNATIVE.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THE ENERGY AND
EXCITEMENT IS GONE.
I KNOW HE’S IN NEW HAMPSHIRE,
HE’S HEADED TO SOUTH CAROLINA,
CRITICAL EARLY STATES SO WE WILL
SEE THE CROWDS ARE MUCH SMALLER,
THE ENTHUSIASM ISN’T THERE, THE
ENDORSEMENTS AREN’T REALLY
THERE, WELCOME BACK FORMER
PRESIDENT TRUMP.
GRIFF: YOU TALK ABOUT BIDEN
BEING EXCITED TO HAVE HIM ON THE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
WHEN IS BIDEN ANNOUNCING?
>> I WAS WITH HIM LAST MONTH.
I THINK HE’S FIRED UP TO RUN FOR
REELECTION AND EXCITED TO TAKING
THE FIGHT BACK TO DONALD TRUMP
OR WHOEVER THE REPUBLICAN
NOMINEE IS.
GRIFF: WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE
STATE OF THE UNION.
>> I THINK THAT’S SEVENTH OF
FEBRUARY SO CERTAINLY AFTER
THAT.
GRIFF: QUILL, I TEED YOU UP,
BIDEN-TRUMP MATCHUP, HOW DOES
THAT MATCH OUT?
>> THE REPUBLICANS HAVE A VERY
STRONG FIELD RIGHT NOW THINKING
ABOUT MIKE POMPEO, NIKKI HALEY,
MANY OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE.
LOOK AT CONGRESS AS WELL AND
WHAT THE REPUBLICANS ARE DOING
THERE WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
A CHINA COMMITTEE AND GETTING
ENERGY SECURITY BACK ON TRACK.
THERE IS A STRONG CASE FOR
REPUBLICANS THIS NEXT CYCLE AND
WE HAVE TO LET IT PLAY OUT.
GRIFF: WE ARE OUT OF TIME.
KEVIN, YOU LEFT A NAME OFF OF
THE LIST, YOU MENTIONED RON
DESANTIS.
>> RON DESANTIS AS WELL.
GRIFF: MAKING SURE THAT WAS
INTENTIONAL.
>> IT’S A WIDE FIELD.