CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

BLITZER: Very interesting point.

Roger Stone's lawyer may not have had a clue, but you guys certainly did have a clue about what was going on. We're grateful for all your great reporting, guys. Thank you very, very much.

A programming note: Roger Stone will be a guest of Chris Cuomo later tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

[18:15:00]

In the meantime, let's get some more on all the breaking news.

Democratic Congressman Andre Carson of Indiana is joining us. He's a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. We have lots to discuss.

I want to get to Roger Stone in just a moment.

But let me start with the shutdown. The president says that if he doesn't get a fair deal on border security funding over the next three weeks, he's either going to shut down the government again, or he will declare some sort of national emergency and use other funds from the Pentagon or disaster relief to go ahead and build a wall.

Are you willing to negotiate with him and give him some money over the next three weeks for border security, for some sort of wall funding or barrier or fence funding?

REP. ANDRE CARSON (D), INDIANA: Speaker Pelosi is a capable negotiator.

I think that Democrats want what's best for the American people. President Trump cannot get over his obsession with this wall. Today, Wolf, our office, along with the city of Indianapolis, Mayor Hogsett, and other NGOs and nonprofits, held a resources event for folks who have been furloughed and federal employees who haven't received their checks to come and get assistance.

And people are stressed, people are tired, people are fatigued, people have mortgages. And so to come to some kind of agreement or deal is the right thing to do. We have to take the wall out of it.

I think that we could look at a plan that provides technology in the form of radars and sensors, have more Border Patrol agents present. But to build a wall, symbolically, it's wrong. Physically, it's wrong. It's just wrong politically.

BLITZER: All right, let's go to Roger Stone right now, Congressman.

His attorney says -- and I'm quoting now -- "They found no Russian collusion, or they would have charged him with it."

Do you think that's true?

CARSON: Well, I think, if you look at Flynn, you look at Manafort, you look at Cohen, and now Roger Stone, it's clear that there are people in Trump's organization and team who feel as if they are above the law.

It's clear that they are not and they weren't. I'm very careful about using the language of collusion. But, look, to use Director Clapper's language, clearly, there was interaction with WikiLeaks, which has acted as a very hostile non-state intelligence service.

And that concerns me, and it concerns the rest of us on the HPSCI.

BLITZER: Yes. And Mike Pompeo, who's the secretary of state, when he was CIA director in the Trump administration, he says it's time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is, a non-state hostile intelligence service, often abetted by state actors like Russia.

And I know you're on the Intelligence Committee, so you follow that.

The special counsel, Robert Mueller, Congressman, he also writes -- and I'm quoting this in the indictment -- "A senior Trump campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information Organization 1" -- that's WikiLeaks -- "had regarding the Clinton campaign."

Do you have any thoughts on who that senior Trump campaign official is?

CARSON: I have great faith in Director Mueller. He's an accomplished investigator and law enforcement officer, fellow law enforcement officer.

One would think that that would be President Trump himself.

BLITZER: So, you're -- you don't know that for sure, but you suspect...

CARSON: I don't know it for sure, and I'm not saying it definitively.

But, as the investigation unfolds, we shall see.

BLITZER: Yes, we have been hearing that from many of your colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee as well.

The indictment, Congressman, also shows that in August of 2016 Jerome Corsi told Roger Stone about the -- quote -- "Game hackers are not what they're all about," and went on -- Corsi went on to say this.

He said: "Would not hurt to start suggesting HRC," Hillary Rodham Clinton, "old, memory bad, has stroke."

Do you read that as Corsi suggesting messaging in line with the Russian hackers?

CARSON: What I read into it is, someone set on disparaging Hillary Clinton's efforts, her accomplishments and kind of minimizing her.

And I see a degree of sexism. I see an effort to really attack and undermine a very formidable campaign. Unfortunately, in many ways, it was successful.

BLITZER: Roger Stone says he's falsely accused of lying to you and your fellow members of the House Intelligence Committee.

What's your reaction to that? CARSON: Clearly, as I said in the beginning of the talk, that there

are members of the Trump campaign who felt as if they were above the law, and so much that they could even lie to the Intelligence Committee.

But it's clear that anyone who lies to our committee will be met with grave repercussions.

BLITZER: And Adam Schiff, the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, made that clear today.

Congressman Andre Carson, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

CARSON: Always an honor, Wolf. Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source