CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

Interview

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COOPER: Easy for him to say back then, not so easy to say when his close associate is on the hot seat and he might have something to actually say.

Joining us, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, Democratic member of the Intelligence Committee. Thanks so much for being with us.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you, Anderson.

COOPER: Roger Stone also took the Fifth Amendment back in September when your committee requested documents. Why do you think he refuses to talk?

WYDEN: To me, Roger Stone is taking the Fifth so he doesn't have to lie under oath in order to protect his longtime friend. And people were asking today on the Hill, what does Roger Stone know?

I think the question is, what does Roger Stone not know? Because you think about WikiLeaks, you think about Russia, you think about financial issues.

These are two people who have been very close personal friends for decades. We've all been reading the stories about these late-night phone calls. I think the reason he's taking the Fifth is you don't want to lie under oath and he is protecting his longtime friend.

COOPER: So, the -- Senator Feinstein does not have subpoena power to force him to hand over documents. Did he actually need to plead the fifth in order not to hand over documents? I thought the fifth was usually about public statements, not necessarily covering documents.

WYDEN: What he was trying to make sure of is that he wasn't going to incriminate his friend. And look, this is part of a pattern. We have seen all of these individuals who have close relationships with Donald Trump, who have been involved with the Russians. And all of them either have lied or stonewalled or in some way were covering up. So, this is a pattern.

COOPER: Is there anything, you know, anybody in Congress can do about it?

WYDEN: You bet. I mean, I'm working very hard for example on following up in other areas, particularly the relationship between the NRA and the Russians. We are getting some documents now, emails and the like. I intend to follow up so we get the financials.

Maria Butina, as you know, has been indicted. So, there are a host of issues to follow up on. I'm also looking at the whole question of this Moscow hotel because I think there are serious questions about whether the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was violated.

COOPER: How much do you think we will know by the end of this week from the Mueller team?

[20:05:03] I mean, obviously, tonight, there is a deadline on Michael Flynn. There maybe more coming off this week on Manafort and others.

WYDEN: Bob Mueller is very methodical. We were waiting by the hour to get a sense of what was happening with Michael Flynn. That's one of the biggest boots to fall.

This is hugely important, because what we want to know is what Michael Flynn was talking to the Russians about before the president was sworn in. We can only have one president at a time. It was a key time because what was at issue was what was going to happen with the Russian sanctions.

I also have some questions about whether Michael Flynn was talking about potential personal favors for the president to be.

COOPER: It's also -- I mean, Michael Flynn was really one of the first people early on. He's been on the hook now with the Mueller team for a long time and what's so fascinating about what we may learn tonight is we really have no idea what information if any he has given to Mueller. But in order to get a deal, he must have some information that was of interest.

WYDEN: The fact that this has gone on so long and seems to be a key building block in the home stretch makes this particularly significant. As you know, there was discussion about Michael Flynn having positions in the Trump administration, vice president. I mean, enormously important positions.

And I have always felt that what Bob Mueller was doing was very methodically going forward with these individuals. There were indictments. There were convictions. But now we are building to the home stretch, the Michael Cohen arrangement last Thursday was particularly important, because it showed that the president hadn't been straight about business connections.

We all know he put out all these tweets. I have no interest in Russia. Finally, I guess the last few days he said well, maybe I had some light conversations about those matters.

COOPER: And they seem more than light clearly. Seems like something he was pursuing for a long time.

Senator Wyden, appreciate your time.

WYDEN: Thanks for having me.

COOPER: Thanks very much.

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