MSNBC "All In with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Bennie Thompson
Interview
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The chairman of the January 6 Committee that just issued those subpoenas, Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi joins me now. Congressman, this is a large group of folks just in the last two day. It seems to represent an investigation that is both moving quite quickly and expanding to sort of take in the totality of the run up to January 6. How would you characterize where you are in your investigation?
REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Chris. What I would tell you is we`re in the midst of following the facts and circumstances that got us to January 6th. The 16 individuals we have subpoenaed this week have knowledge as to what occurred before January 6 as well as what occurred on January 6th.
A lot of it is in the public domain. Some of it you shared on your program. But we think it`s incumbent upon the committee to get them on the record in sworn testimony as to what actually occurred and what did they do during that time. So, some of the individuals, the household ones, some of them are not, but this is the body of work that our committee is doing.
As you know, we`ve interviewed over 150 people in this process. So, the people we wanted to talk to directly now are people who we think have evidence as to what really went on in terms of the planning of the Stop to Steal rally that morphed into an insurrection. And we want to see whether or not they actually contributed to that insurrection.
[20:25:07]
HAYES: I want to read to you a quotation from the letter of your committee sent to Mr. McEntee who we just spent a little bit of time on. "You were reportedly present in the Oval Office when Giuliani, Justin Clark, former President Trump and former Vice President Pence discussed the audit process in Georgia and listened as Giuliani suggested, seizing Dominion voting machines because of fraud. According to public accounts, you`re also involved in communications with officials in various federal agencies regarding loyalty to former President Trump. And you specifically discouraged a number of individuals from seeking employment after the election as it would appear to be a concession of President Trump`s defeat."
How central a figure do you view McEntee?
THOMPSON: Oh, there`s no question. He`s part and parcel to this big lie that we`re having to deal with. And part of what you heard and read just then is how all this was created. If you put the line out in front of the public that the machine somehow changed the outcome of the election, or that certain officials in certain parts of the country were not loyal to the president, we have people who are working in this administration who are not loyal to this president.
We are a democracy. So, part of our challenge uh that we are having to address is whether or not what occurred came almost to the point of destroying this great democracy of ours. And if it did, what can we do to protect it. So part of it is getting to the evidence, the phone call made to the secretary of state in Georgia by the president, saying he only needs a few thousand votes and he can beat -- he can take Georgia. All those things bring into question as to was this part of a bigger plan the fact that officials in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania were all put on the pressure to change the outcome of a legitimate election.
Over 60 lawsuits as you know were filed on behalf of trying to change the outcome of the election. A majority of the judges that heard them were Trump-appointed judges who said we can find nothing illegal or improper with the conduct of the election.
So, the people we want to talk to under -- by issuing the subpoenas and under oath, we think have significant information as to what went on. Some of them are suspect. We want to know what went on at the Willard Hotel. We want to know why felons were brought in to assist this effort and those felons who had been pardoned by this president.
So, sometimes you get judged by the company you keep. And some of the company that brought itself to the Stop the Steal rally obviously have records that are suspect.
HAYES: Final question for you quickly here. Friday is the deadline for the first crunch of documents subpoenaed by your committee, requested by your committee from the National Archive. The President has tried to -- the former president has tried to intervene in court despite the fact that President Biden`s administration said there is no executive privilege claim here.
There is no -- there was a hearing earlier. That judge has yet to issue a ruling. What is your expectation of how that process will play out?
THOMPSON: Well, our hopes is that the judge will rule in our favor. It`s clear that we are a duly chartered committee developed by the House of Representatives. But as you know, the Trump history is when you disagree with anything you go to court. So, we`re not surprised. We`re not surprised about the emergency filing he did last night. We appreciate a quick decision by the judge. So, we are confident that we`re on sound footing. And we will get those records that will help us make the case as to what really occurred leading up to January 6th and who participated in the Stop to Steal rally that turned into an insurrection.
HAYES: Congressman Bennie Thompson who`s the chair of that committee, thank you so much.
THOMPSON: Thank you for having me.
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