CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Representative Gregory Meeks
Interview
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HARLOW: Joining us is Congressman Gregory Meeks, he is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Thank you for being here. And I want to get to North Korea in just a moment because this is a very important meeting at the White House. But what also just wrapped up and we just heard from the head of the DHS, Kirstjen Nielsen, about is this election security briefing, all members of Congress were invited to attend this briefing about the Russian meddling in the 2016 election and what can be done to prevent it in the midterms and in 2020. Did you attend the meeting?
REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D), FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: I did not. I've got another meeting set up. I'll have my own private briefing. But was a last minute meeting and the Democratic caucus had a meeting going on and there were several other commitments that I had this morning. So I did not make the meeting this morning but I do intend to get caught up.
BERMAN: We understand only 50 or so members went.
HARLOW: Went.
BERMAN: I mean, given the focus and concerns about election security in general, what does it say to you that so few people, you know, and yourself included, you may have had other commitments, but so few people, so few members --
HARLOW: Didn't go.
BERMAN: -- chose to attend.
MEEKS: Well, I think that it was a meeting that was put together at the last second. It wasn't something that members had advance notice of, and I think that if you're questioning whether or not Russia or other outside governments got involved in our elections in the past, we know that is a fact. And I think that we know that we got to work collectively together to fix this problem.
HARLOW: Just to put a button on it, though, this was the director of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, the director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, pretty significant players, and it's not that it was about whether or not Russia interfered. We know that. It was about what can be done on all levels to prevent future election interference. [10:20:03] We hear a lot of lawmakers, your fellow Democrats going on
and on about this, the importance of securing our election, Republicans and Democrats agree. What does it say that so few were there?
MEEKS: It says that that bill came on -- the meeting came at the last second. We have two crucially very important bills that we will be voting on the floor today. And so there was intense conversation and debate about the banking bill that will be on the floor today and a criminal justice bill that will be on the floor to be voted on today. And so I know that I can -- will catch up and hopefully there will be another closed-door meeting, but I -- we have two very crucial bills that have to be voted on the floor today. So that was my focus.
BERMAN: Let's talk about North Korea. CNN is reporting that White House aides are becoming more skeptical that the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un would even happen. You know, this has to do with the North Korean leader putting some conditions on the talks, maybe the last week.
What do you think needs to happen in your mind before president trump sits down with Kim Jong-un?
MEEKS: Well, I think that, and this has always been my fear. Number one, I know that President Moon has more at stake here than President Trump. And President Moon as I've said on your show before has been the one that's really been the one that tried to pull this together because it's in South Korea's interests to make sure that there is no fighting or there's no nuclear war and North Korea does not have a nuclear weapon.
So that being said, I think that what the president has to do is not just talk about having a show, a TV show, with President Un, but making sure that there is a true working, have the State Department intricately engaged so that you know what you want to act with the North Koreans are asking for also. So that we can have a substantive dialogue and conversation and not just a show.
HARLOW: All right. To be clear, I don't -- I haven't heard the president describe this summit as a television show. But the vice president spoke about it yesterday, and here's what he said.
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PENCE: It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-un to think he could play Donald Trump.
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HARLOW: Are you confident that the president won't get played, in the vice president's words, by Kim Jong-un?
MEEKS: No. No, I'm not. And the reason why I say it's a show because the president has these kinds of meetings where he's done in the White House before with members of Congress. And you say one thing in those kinds of meetings and you walk out and nothing is done. So I have concerns. So -- and being played, no, I am hopeful that the president doesn't get played because everyone wants, you know, North Korea not to have a weapon, but I've seen no evidence of a plan put together by this president to make sure that we are successful when he pulled out of, for example, the JCPOA, which was something where there was sanctioned and nations came together.
And now he wants to go and says he's going to do something else in North Korea, which I don't know what it is, I have not heard a plan. I am very skeptical that he is -- just wants the spectacle of saying that he met with him and other presidents have not. That's what my concern is.
BERMAN: Is he getting played now?
MEEKS: Well, I think that very well he is clearly if he has to pull out or whether he steps up, goes to the meeting, the key is the substance of what takes place in the meeting. I think that President Moon is the one that's trying to keep this thing together. President Moon is the one that first went to North Korea to talk to Kim Jong-un. President Moon is now trying to keep President Trump engaged to try to make sure that something happens.
So if anyone, you know, I kind of hope that as President Moon and the South Koreans will -- as well as the Japanese are involved because the only way that this is going to happen is with their help and their participation.
BERMAN: And we'll see President Moon at the White House very shortly.
Congressman Gregory Meeks from New York, thanks so much for being with us.
HARLOW: Thank you.
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