MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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REP. RUSH HOLT (D), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, it‘s good to be with you, first of all, Ed.

It‘s not as if we‘re suddenly finding out that there were all sorts of transgressions going on. This has been dribbling out for years. And we learned just last week from the report of the inspectors general from various agencies that for the warrantless eavesdropping, the warrantless wiretapping, it was the vice president‘s office, the vice president himself and his chief counsel, who personally decided who in the country would be briefed on these secret activities. And it was not, by the way, the Congress.

And so, you know, you asked for passion. I mean, this really is serious. It gets at the heart of what a representative democracy is with a Bill of Rights.

This gets at the heart of the relationship between the government and the individual. And we need to reestablish that relationship along the lines that the founders intended.

And you know, there are a lot of people in this country who came here to flee other countries where they feared, you know, the knock on the door in the middle of the night. They feared that their profession, their livelihood, would be ruined by unsubstantiated suspicions. I mean, what we‘ve got here is the CIA deciding on their own, without any oversight, you know, what is appropriate international covert action?

SCHULTZ: Well, the next question...

HOLT: We have the NSA deciding on their own, who are the bad guys whose phones should be tapped?

SCHULTZ: But Congressman, doesn‘t it now sit at the doorsteps of the Obama administration to move forward with this? I mean, where‘s the attorney general? And I know this just came out over the weekend, but do you have some expectations that Mr. Holder is going to be aggressive with this most recent information?

HOLT: You know, all I know is what I read in the paper, and it says that he is now talking about an investigation wind his own circle. That‘s good. But this is something—you know if you‘re going to recapture the in essence of liberty, it means it has to come from all sides.

It has to come from the public. It has to come from the executive branch. It has to come from the congressional branch, as well as from the judiciary. We need, I think, a major, comprehensive investigation of what has gone on.

SCHULTZ: Sure.

HOLT: You know, as I say, there are all these dribs and drabs that have come out over the years, whether it‘s...

SCHULTZ: And finally, I got you on that. And Rush, does this exonerate Nancy Pelosi?

HOLT: You know, everybody keeps bringing that up. This is not what goes on inside the beltway. This is the relationship between the government and the individual.

SCHULTZ: No doubt.

HOLT: You know, any of us who have served on these committees for any length of time can say, well, of course the CIA is into denial and deception. That‘s their business. And unfortunately, that hasn‘t stopped at Capitol Hill.

SCHULTZ: But they‘re not into going off and operating on their own, and doing whatever they want to do and having operations that elected officials don‘t know anything about on these select committees.

Congressman, good to have you with us tonight.

HOLT: They are, but they shouldn‘t be. Thank you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Exactly. Thank you.

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