Fox News "The Ingraham Angle" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Devin Nunes on Protestors

Interview

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INGRAHAM: Trace, thanks so much. And California Congressman House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes was also harassed by this man just a few months earlier. Congressman Nunes joins us now. Congressman, how long was this Stark guy bothering you and have there been any others harassing you in a similar manner because this is an attack to the Democrats, get in your face, hope to provoke you, get an inch from your face or a centimeter from your face, and then see what flies?

SEN. DEVIN NUNES, R-CALIF.: Yeah. They've been doing this to me and many of my colleagues, Laura, for the better part of a year and a half. Anybody who is involved in the Russian investigation and all, we were harassed. This guy in particular actually went to our office numerous times.

He would follow me in. He'll get in my face. He showed up at committee hearings. He even showed up at place downtown in Washington where I was giving a speech one time. And including -- he actually showed up at the airport one time.

And so, we had to have the Capitol Police come several times because he would harass me, he'd harassed our staff. And look, this is not the way we should operate here in the United States of America. People should be frightened about this. Nobody is going to want to do these jobs if you have to deal with guys like this, right?

Like for me, I'm fine. I'll fight back. But look at how many people that maybe you're thinking of becoming a judge or Supreme Court judge or run for office? With these lunatics running around like this, funded by billionaires who should know better, this is not the type of activity we want to see in this country.

INGRAHAM: Well, when you say you're going to fight back, that's the point though, right? You really can't unless they touch you. If they touch you, they can just grab your hand, that's an assault. So then -- if you --

NUNES: Well, what I mean by -- what I mean --

INGRAHAM: -- if you're in legitimate fear of your life, you can respond. Now, look, I mean if someone ever comes up to my family or touches one of my kids, good luck. I mean I'm -- this mother tiger comes out. You're not - - it's not going to happen. OK?

NUNES: Yeah.

INGRAHAM: So, I got -- it doesn't bother -- people like who get in my face, just go ahead. I mean I have plenty of -- even jokes that I can throw back at you. But you are right. This is meant to intimidate people who might not, you know, be like you and I away from politics altogether.

And George Soros, we cannot underestimate the power of his billions of dollars funneling through these David Brock groups and run by David Brock whether it the Media Matters crew or whether it's American Bridge crew. At some point, is there a time to investigate their 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) status? I mean, is this really -- is this the type of legitimate speech or is this just targeted harassment?

NUNES: Well, look. This gets to the heart of campaign finance reform. We last had that under George W. Bush at the beginning of his term. And what this has led to is absolute chaos where billionaires can come in and feed these guys. So, is there's something need to be done about this? Yes. But unfortunately, the Republicans, we're not going to get involved in that type of behavior. And I think the Democrats, until they're taught a lesson, they're not going to change. They see this working.

INGRAHAM: Right.

NUNES: They see that they're protesting, the harassment, all of this, they see it as working. And I hope it backfires this fall and I think a lot of people are slowly waking up to the fact that this is not the type of behavior we should have in our political system.

INGRAHAM: You live in a beautiful state. California is a beautiful state. But it basically has a super majority democrat-controlled of the state legislature, obviously all of the senators, governors, at least for now. The rest of the country, what do we need to learn from California? Because people say what happens in California will come to your state eventually. So what shouldn't people want other than the beach and the beautiful agriculture and all that, the mountains, and so forth, but what else don't the American people not want?

NUNES: What you are seeing happen in California today, Laura, is you're massive homelessness. Because of our weather, because we don't arrest people, because we don't put them in jail, because we let them get away with everything, we have massive homelessness all over the state. And it's really people who are -- it's sad, because they are burned out on drugs, they have got a lot of mental problems.

INGRAHAM: And a lot of illegal immigrants on the streets, correct? There are a lot of illegal immigrants in a lot of the tent villages as well in L.A. and so forth.

NUNES: It's tough to know who they are or whether they are legal or not legal, but I will tell -- people think it's just San Francisco and they hear about the feces on the street which is absolutely disgusting, and it's true. But you see it all over California in any city or town that you go to or visit.

INGRAHAM: Congressman, before we let you go, apparently some of your opponents think it's really funny to put signs around your district written in Russian, OK? Nunes -- means "Nunes got to go," basically. That's what that says. I speak Russian so I can translate the signs for you, but I'm not sure most people in your district are understanding the Russian. So I think the joke -- I not sure the joke is actually going to be very effective there.

NUNES: Well, I think the point of those signs, people understand, is those are also being put up by the same people that are funding this Stark character. So the billionaires are funding protesters, they are funding movement, they are funding crazy building billboards. The best part about that billboard, though, is I have a 98-year-old grandmother who has our family farm here, lives on it. She has been harassed by reporters and other wackos that have shown up on her house. She lives by herself. And the other day she told me she was driving down the freeway and saw some of those signs. She actually thought they were mine. So I think to some degree, they are benefiting me to some degree.

INGRAHAM: That's not a bad picture of you, Congressman. I would take all the facetime you can get there on the billboard. All right, Congressman, we got through a whole interview and we didn't even talk about Rod Rosenstein not one time. That's got to be a record with you. But we'll have it next time. Congressman, thanks so much.

NUNES: Thank you.

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