CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Oregon Senator Ron Wyden

Interview

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BLITZER: We should point out that Roger Stone did tell CNN today -- quote -- "They got nothing," referring to the prosecutors. We will see what happens on that front.

Shimon, thank you very much.

Let's talk more about all of this, Russia and President Trump.

Senator Ron Wyden is joining us. He's a key Democrat who serves on the Intelligence Committee.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: Thank you.

BLITZER: All right, let's get to that comment, the latest comments from the president in this late interview with CBS News.

An excerpt was just released. The president says he told Vladimir Putin that we can't have any meddling against the United States from Russia.

But just hours before he sat down with CBS News anchor Jeff Glor, the president was asked if Russia is still targeting the United States, and he simply said one word. He said no.

Which version of the president's comments do you believe?

WYDEN: Wolf, the fact is, with the stories changing almost every

couple of hours, the president's credibility on these matters has really shrunk to zero.

What we know is, when it really counted, he didn't stand up to Putin. And I think that what is on the mind of the American people right now.

BLITZER: Why couldn't he simply say at that joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, with Putin standing right next to him, what he said today in this interview with CBS News?

WYDEN: Wolf, you're being logical.

And I think it reflects the fact that what the president actually said are his real feelings. He has never been willing to take Putin on when it counted on these key issues.

And even, apparently, when his staff is explicit about how serious the meddling is, he walked it back.

BLITZER: The president, as you know, at least in public, when he was standing next to Putin, didn't say what he said in the CBS News interview.

But do you trust that, at least in the private two-hour session, the one-on-one session he had with Putin, he was tough on him on election meddling?

WYDEN: There is no reason to believe that he actually was tough.

What we have seen, when you really get a chance to unpack his true feelings, when he speaks spontaneously, when he talks to others who record it, you find that he really thinks that his intelligence agencies, while he's not going to call them wrong in public, he's just going to disagree with them.

[18:15:18]

BLITZER: What information would you want from the president's interpreter, the Russian interpreter, the only other American who was in that room with President Trump and Vladimir Putin, and a Russian interpreter on the Russian side as well?

WYDEN: Well, of course, I would want to know specifically what was discussed with respect to Russian meddling in elections.

Then we want additional information about Crimea, Ukraine. But we have got to have that information with respect to Russia meddling in our elections.

And I have just got one other thing to say on this point. I think my colleagues here in the Congress ought to stop making excuses for our president on this. That's number one.

Number two, we ought to move forward with serious sanctions, so as to hit Putin in the energy sector, in his financial assets. And then the Congress should pass my bill to have every single ballot in America, a paper ballot, so that Putin couldn't hack our elections.

BLITZER: The director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, says the warning signs of more Russian cyber-warfare are similar to the lead-up to the 9/11 attack.

Is this country, the United States of America, Senator, prepared for that? And is President Trump taking steps to keep America safe?

WYDEN: I obviously can't get into classified matters.

But the reality is -- and one of your colleagues in the press, David Sanger, said, cyber is essentially the perfect weapon, practically the omnipresent kind of weapon. So, yes, I really have serious questions about our country's capacity to deal with the array of threats.

And I'm particularly troubled about the fact that, every single time -- you saw what happened in the question of Montenegro, which is a NATO ally. The reason we support the efforts of NATO in Montenegro is that makes it less likely our soldiers will be in harm's way.

Putin made light of that. And I think the way Trump handle it makes conflict there even more likely.

BLITZER: Senator Wyden, thanks so much for joining us.

WYDEN: Thanks for having me.

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