MSNBC "Now with Alex Warner" - Transcript: Van Hollen Discusses Benghazi

Interview

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen discussed Benghazi on MSNBC's Now with Alex Wagner. Below is a transcript of his interview:

ALEX WAGNER, MSNBC: Joining me now is the Democratic Congressman from Maryland's Eighth Congressional District and the Ranking Member of the Congressional Budget Committee, Chris Van Hollen. Congressman, thanks for joining me on this absurd and yet all-pervasive topic in Republican circles.

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: That sums it up. Good to be with you, Alex.

WAGNER: Let me just first ask you, I mean, do you think the House Select Committee is a power play by Speaker Boehner?

VAN HOLLEN: No, I actually think that Speaker Boehner has gotten backed into this in some ways. For the reasons you just said -- he has infighting within his caucus. You have the fact that the tea party has been pushing very hard for the Special Committee for a long time; outside right-wing Republican groups; and Boehner resisted this for a long time.

And he resisted it because, I think, he understands that this spectacle of a political witch hunt in Washington -- when we've got all these economic issues in front of us, when Republicans refuse to raise the minimum wage -- that that doesn't go over well with the American people. But I think he's now been pushed into it through events. And I think the American people are absolutely fed up and at their boiling point with this. So I think it's only bad news politically for the Republicans, because this is not something that is on the kitchen table for the American public. They're focused on jobs and the economy. And now you've got these guys in Washington doing this political witch hunt, maybe to get Hillary Clinton in 2016 but certainly not to focus on the issues that people care about now.

WAGNER: Congressman, if it is in fact a farce and a witch hunt, are Democrats going to participate in this?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, we're going to oppose the establishment of this. The point you made in the lead in is we've already had thousands and thousands of pages of testimony, four committees in the House, two bipartisan committees in the Senate. So this is a waste of taxpayer money. We'll have to see how they structure the actual Committee going forward. My guess is they'll try and create something that's totally lopsided, that will not have an even number of Republicans and Democrats. So, the Speaker hasn't actually put his proposal forward. But we're very skeptical.

WAGNER: There is some talk that Leader Pelosi might not appoint anybody and there would just be empty seats. Is that a possibility?

VAN HOLLEN: Well that's certainly an option. Because again, this is a political witch hunt. The question will be whether it makes sense to have, you know, Democrats in those seats countering this political witch hunt, or to try and make it clear through their absence that this is just a political charade.

So, let's first see what Republicans actually propose in terms of the shape of this Committee, how many Members, what the rules will be, and then we can reach the kind of judgment that you're asking about.

WAGNER: Congressman, let me ask you just from a political perspective and a strategy perspective, this is obviously something that riles up and motivates the Republican base. They seem to have lost some of that fire given the success of the Affordable Care Act. On the flip side, could this actually, in some ways, be good for Democrats, because of all the reasons you outlined? It serves to highlight just how little the Republican Party stands for at this point, the dearth of policy, the inaction in Congress, the way the House has not pursued anything meaningful in terms of legislation -- but is putting all of its chips down on Benghazi?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, look, from a policy perspective, this is just wrong-headed, because we've seen the facts don't bear out these conspiracy theories. I do think it's a big political mistake for Republicans, because I think, other than the sort of frenzied, tea party right, most Americans understand that we've gotten to the bottom of this, number one. And number two, are focused on these other issues.

It's kind of like the government shutdown last fall -- Speaker Boehner knew that would be a stupid political move, in addition to being bad for the country. And yet the tea party wing in the House of Representatives pushed him into doing it. This is the same thing. He'd been resisting this., now he's going for it. I think it's going to come back to bite Republicans politically, and it's certainly the wrong thing for the country at this time.

WAGNER: Congressman Chris Van Hollen, thank you, as always, for your time.

VAN HOLLEN: Thank you.

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