CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: Bowe Bergdahl

Interview

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COSTELLO: Can that trust ever be restored? Joining me now to talk about that, Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.

Good morning.

REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D), ILLINOIS: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, I'll just ask you that simple question, is -- has trust been the Obama administration and Congress permanently broken?

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, if it's broken, it's not been broken over this. The Republicans have been attacking every single thing that the Obama administration has done. But let's be clear, Carol, we are talking about a successful mission, a risky, dangerous mission, not only for Bergdahl, but for the team of special operators who made it happen. And yet the level of anger, the prosecutorial tone taken after this successful mission is inexplicable, really, to me.

I understand this idea that they wanted to be informed, but any leak would have ended the negotiations. And so maybe he should have done better, maybe we should have -- more of us should have been informed. But at the end of the day, I think Chuck Hagel is right, Secretary Hagel, saying we did the right thing and we did it for the right reasons.

COSTELLO: But so much of this controversy could have been avoided if someone in Congress had been consulted with or informed, you know, because this deal was in the works for months and months and months.

SCHAKOWSKY: I want to assure you that if it weren't this, it would have been something else. You know, they've -- Chuck Hagel talked about how offended and disappointed he was that they've -- that some people have actually treated the family so poorly, the mother and father. And then at one point in yesterday's hearing, one of my colleagues, Jackie Speier, said, can we think for a moment how we would be responding if this were our son that was being held? Again, this worked out properly. We brought home the last detainee held captive in Afghanistan. This is good news. They would have found something, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, let me just put it to you this way. Now the situation in Iraq is getting really bad and the United States is being asked to help by the Iraqi government. So, Congress and the Obama administration, I would assume, would want to work together on this problem. But now that there's this trust issue, can't you see that that might rattle some lawmakers, rub them the wrong way, because Congress --

SCHAKOWSKY: Oh, I --

COSTELLO: Congress does need to be informed of these things?

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, first of all, Congress was informed. This was in the works. There were several resolutions in the House and the Senate calling on the president to do everything he could to bring this soldier home. And so there was -- there was information. Not at the very last minute.

But -- and, yes, is there a lack of trust? Yes, there is. And the Republicans have been mistrusting this president from day one. So this is not a new -- a new issue.

On the other hand, I do think, yes, certainly, with Iraq, we need to consult. We need to talk about how we end the fighting in Afghanistan. There are lots of things. And as a member of the Intelligence Committee, I assure you that those things are thoroughly discussed.

COSTELLO: I guess my last question would (AUDIO GAP) easy to say that there's this mistrust there and it's been there forever and it's this side's fault or that side's fault, but at some point doesn't the trust have to be restored, and I guess I'll ask you how you think that can be done.

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, look, Secretary Hagel actually said that he knows that there's mistrust. I think there was concern about the urgency of this mission, the danger of this mission, and the need for it to be done quietly. And so, you know, should he have informed -- is this what it's going to get down to that whether or not they feel that they were told properly? The soldier is home. The mission was successful. No one was hurt. And these -- the Taliban are in Qatar and they are being monitored. Their activities are being limited. This worked out well. Let's celebrate that and move on and, yes, establish better communications.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

SCHAKOWSKY: Thank you, Carol.

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