CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript Interview with Adam Schiff

Interview

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Joining us now, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Adam Schiff.

Congressman, I want to get to all of that in a moment. But let me get your quick reaction to this effort by White House officials right now to undermine the credibility of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert here in the United States. When you hear about these reports, what goes through your mind?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Dr. Fauci is the most respected voice in the country on how we ought to be dealing with this pandemic. And to be trying to sideline him or diminish him or discredit him is just atrocious, but it is so characteristic of Donald Trump.

He can't stand the fact that the American people trust Dr. Fauci and they don't trust Donald Trump, and so, he has to tear him down. But look, we need people more than ever to be able to speak truth to

power to be able to level with the American people about what we're facing with this pandemic, how to get it under control, how to protect ourselves and our families. That's what Dr. Fauci has been trying to do, and by sidelining him, the President is once again interfering with an effective response to this pandemic.

[19:35:24]

BLITZER: Yes, hundreds of Americans are dying every single day and we need an expert like Dr. Fauci to help deal with this. All right, let's get back to the Roger Stone business.

Do you think Robert Mueller does need to testify as Lindsey Graham, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee now wants?

SCHIFF: Well, you know, call me skeptical about Lindsey Graham's motivations, after all, this is the guy who just even before the commutation was announced said that he thought it was a perfectly good idea.

I suspect that all Lindsey Graham wants to do is continue his counterfactual counter narrative that is that Donald Trump was somehow the victim when Donald Trump was the one inviting Russians to help him get elected in the first place.

He was the one making use of this ill-gotten gain, the hacked materials from the Clinton campaign. His associate Roger Stone was the intermediary between Mr. Trump and Russian Intelligence. Stone was directly in communication with Russian Intelligence, and their cut out WikiLeaks that they were publishing this information.

So call me very skeptical about what Lindsey Graham has in mind.

BLITZER: Were you surprised about the clemency that was offered to Roger Stone?

SCHIFF: The President had been telegraphing it for quite some time. But you know, I think my reaction was much the same as many, many Americans which is shocked, on the one hand, not surprised on the other. It is a shockingly corrupt abuse of the President to commute the sentence of someone who not only lied to Congress, not only obstructed the investigation, not only intimidated witnesses, but did so to cover up for the President.

And stone made no secret of the fact that he wanted this relief, and that he was withholding information to protect the President.

So, I mean, it's hard to imagine a more flagrant attack on the rule of law. But of course, we've come to expect nothing less from this craven President.

BLITZER: But the Constitution grants what unlimited authority to a President to issue a clemency, pardons -- is there anything realistic you can do about his decision Friday night? SCHIFF: You know, there are things that we can do to discourage abuse

of the pardon power, and you know, I've introduced a bill, I guess it was last year that would provide that in a case where a President, any President is a witness subject or target of an investigation, and they pardon someone connected to that investigation, and complete investigative files would be provided to Congress.

That way Congress can determine whether it's yet another act of obstruction of justice, and some of those acts may warrant the removal of the President.

I have no illusions about whether Republicans would meet their constitutional duty. They didn't when we provided overwhelming evidence during the impeachment trial, but that is ultimately the remedy. But we can enact by statute deterrence to the abuse of this power.

BLITZER: I want to also ask you about the reported bounties that Russia gave to Taliban fighters to kill U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan. President Trump says he wasn't briefed on that matter. He says, and I'm quoting him now, "The Intelligence people, many of them didn't believe it happened at all." He said, "I think it's a hoax. I think it's a hoax by the newspapers and the Democrats."

You've been briefed by top Intelligence officials. You're a member of the so called Gang of Eight. How strong is this Intelligence? Do you believe the Russians were paying Taliban fighters money to kill American troops?

SCHIFF: Well, I would say the Intelligence is serious enough and credible enough for us to act and as well to demand more from our Intelligence Agencies. But we ought to take steps to protect our troops and we ought to take steps to deter Russia from any further malevolent activity, maligned activities in Afghanistan.

The administration's explanation doesn't hold water. For one thing, they seem to be claiming that it was serious and significant enough to be included in the President's daily brief, but somehow not credible enough for them to actually tell him about it. That makes no sense whatsoever.

And I certainly support the call of some of my colleagues in the Senate to produce that presidential daily brief. Let's see whether it's a hoax as the President says, and they never reported it to him, or in fact, they did report it to him, he just didn't bother to read it, and they didn't want to confront him with it verbally because they were afraid that like so many times in the past, if you bring up Russia, and you suggest that Vladimir Putin doesn't have America's best interests at heart, it's a one way ticket out of the Cabinet.

[19:40:13]

BLITZER: Why is that?

SCHIFF: You know, because the President has this bizarre affinity for Vladimir Putin, other autocrats as well. Where that comes from, we don't know. In fact, we've been trying to find out whether it's because of financial entanglements with people like Putin or Erdogan or Saudi Arabia.

We will ultimately get those records as a result of the Supreme Court decision, but they will be delayed and you know, every day they are delayed, sadly, is another day that the country is at risk, but for whatever reason, he refuses to accept or believe anything ill said about the Russians or Putin and that endangers our country, it endangers us, I think in Afghanistan, it endangers us in Syria, it endangers our allies in Ukraine. And it's just dangerous, I think for America.

BLITZER: Yes, I was in Helsinki at that news conference when he said he believed Putin and not the head of the U.S. Intelligence Community. At the time, it was a pretty extraordinary moment as a lot of us remember.

SCHIFF: And this is, Wolf, this is another echo of that. You're absolutely right. In Helsinki, he took Putin's word over his own Intelligence Agencies, and by what he is saying now about these Intelligence reports on Russian bounties, he is saying, I don't believe my Intelligence Agencies. I think what they tell me is a hoax. I believe Putin and Russia and it's just more of the same sycophancy towards Putin by Donald Trump.

I think he's afraid of Putin. But Putin certainly has him dancing to his fiddle anyway.

BLITZER: Yes, it was a moment for the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats at the time when the President basically ridiculed his assessment, based on the U.S. Intelligence Community, he said, you know, he believed Putin at that time.

All right, Congressman Adam Schiff, the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, thanks as usual for joining us.

SCHIFF: Thank you, Wolf.

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