CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) Discusses About Richard Spencer's Claim That President Trump Has No Understanding What It Means To Be In The Military

Interview

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OUTFRONT now, Republican Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana. He's a Member of the House Judiciary Committee. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Hey, thanks for having me. GOLODRYGA: So let me get your reaction to this. A former Navy Secretary says President Trump has no understanding of what it means to be in the military. I mean, that's a pretty stunning allegation.

JOHNSON: It is a pretty stunning statement from the former Secretary of the Navy, but there are some surprising things in that op-ed as well. I just read it myself right before we came on the air. And to me there was surprising statement in there. He admitted that he wanted to do everything he could to try to prevent the President's involvement in this particular case and that's going to raise some eyebrows, I think.

Look, I'm talking to you just a few moments away, a few miles away from Barksdale Air Force Base, the home of the nuclear triad and there's a lot of military folks in my district who love the President. They love him as Commander-in-chief. He's a bit unconventional, that's certainly true, but they have a lot of confidence in him and I think that that's a sentiment that's shared across the military.

What you hear from not only Spencer, but others in the military is how really unprecedented it is for the President to try to intervene in these types of legal situations that as we know are handled separately within the military itself. So that doesn't alarm you?

JOHNSON: Well, he is the commander-in-chief. He's ultimately the authority over all of those military affairs. And I think what the President was concerned about in this particular case is the chilling effect that a conviction would have across all of our military fighting forces, all of those on the front lines without relitigating all of the facts of the Gallagher case.

There were a lot of people who were deeply concerned about how that matter was handled. I think the President was and I think it's his prerogative given to him by the voters of this country to step in and let his opinion be heard on that. So we support him in it.

I think a lot of Members of Congress do as well. There's been a lot of discussion about that case and we'll have to see where all the chips fall on it.

GOLODRYGA: Well, we know the President continues to talk about it. Here's in fact what he said at a rally last night.

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TRUMP: I stuck up for three great warriors against the deep state. I will always stick up for our great fighters. People can sit there in air-conditioned offices and complain, but you know what? It doesn't matter to me whatsoever.

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GOLODRYGA: So Congressman, there you hear the President calling the former Navy secretary who we should he appointed the deep state.

[19:30:03] Is that appropriate? And I mean, at this point, who isn't the deep

state? It appears that anytime somebody speaks out against the president or in a disagreement with the president, they're labeled the deep state.

MIKE: I didn't hear him call any names in that clip, and I wasn't at that rally, but you can gauge by the reaction of the crowd that they support those actions and activities. The president is a president for Special Forces, for anybody who serves in our military and for first responders. He likens himself that way. He takes great pride in it and I think the people of this country do, as well.

He supports our men and women in uniform and he's trying to show that every single day. He's done it by increasing fundings to the military and also defending them as he said in his own words there when he believes they're under assault, and I think that most Americans salute him for that.

GOLODRYGA: Well, it is quite stunning. I just have to read how Spencer closes out his op-ed because the last line is really biting. He says: Our allies need to know that we remain a force for good and to please bear with us as we move through this moment in time.

That almost sounds like a message that Mattis had for troops a couple of years ago when he was defense secretary. That doesn't alarm you either? Do you disagree with Spencer's comment?

JOHNSON: Well, I dis -- I disagree with that comment. I think that our military is respected around the world. We have equipped and armed the military with the funding to do their job. I think America is back and America is strong, and I think that's what the people in this country respond to and understand.

Secretary Esper is the one that let Secretary Spencer go. You know, that's his job, there is a chain of command. I think by Secretary Spencer saying that, he is going outside the chain of command. What he's done with the op-ed is unprecedented.

I mean no disrespect to him. I salute him but --

GOLODRYGA: And he acknowledged his wrongdoing. And Spencer, as you read the op-ed acknowledges that he was wrong in going around and circumventing Esper, Secretary Esper. But let me move on as we have you here in the final few minutes because I want to ask you about the impeachment hearings.

You said that they produced no bombshells, that we obviously have had a lot of new information just over the past 48 hours. We now know the president was aware of the whistle-blower's complaint when he told Ambassador Sondland that there was no quid pro quo and that the aid was, of course, soon released after that.

Doesn't this timing now look extremely suspect to you?

JOHNSON: It doesn't. I don't have a concern about that timing at all. I think the president was very consistent. Look, his mindset was he thought of Ukraine as a corrupt country. It

wasn't just his opinion. That's the opinion of all experts around the world, non-governmental organizations that monitor corrupt nations around the country -- around the world always list Ukraine at the top of that list. He wanted to root out corruption.

He talked to President Zelensky who ran on a similar platform, to drain the swamp, so to speak, in his country. They had a frank discussion about that, and he said to Ambassador Sondland, September 9th, in the phone call you referenced, that he wanted Zelensky to do the right thing. It wasn't about a quid pro quo, that was his own words. He wanted to clarify that everyone understood that.

Look, November 14th, the Ukraine foreign minister came out with his statement and said that the military funding had nothing whatsoever to do with the public statement of anticorruption. They did not see a link between this at all.

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JOHNSON: -- root out corruption.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, one could argue that Ukraine -- one could argue that Ukraine was the weaker of the two parties who desperately needed the help of the president of the United States --

JOHNSON: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: -- and would do anything to get that aid even if they came out with a message saying there was no pressure.

I understand your point. We'll have to leave it there, though. We're out of time and I appreciate you joining us, Congressman. Happy Thanksgiving.

JOHNSON: Same to you. Thanks so much.

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