CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Wyden
Interview
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BURNETT: All right, Manu, thank you very much. There's a lot to try to figure out here. I want to go to Senator Ron Wyden, Democratic Member of the Intelligence Committee. So obviously you all have been investigating Russia and team Trump for a long time as well. What's your bottom line, Senator? Do you trust that Attorney General Barr accurately summarized the Mueller report?
SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): Erin, every day that goes by without the American people getting the actual report, the details that you talked about is indicative of a cover-up. The fact of the matter is all people have gotten out of the 400 pages is something less than a hundred words. That's not acceptable. And as a Member of the Intelligence Committee, I can read documents, I'd be going through any redactions if something was necessary to protect National Security, but it is time for the American people to get the facts and not get less than a hundred words.
BURNETT: So you use the word cover-up given your investigation, do you have any proof to back up that claim? What specifically in the four-page summary do you think could be the cover-up or a cover-up?
WYDEN: Well, what is troubling is that at this point there's been a lot of ducking for example on the obstruction of justice issue. What my constituents asked me is they said, "Ron, what would be the one thing that you would want most about the Mueller report and have said I would like to know anything Bob Mueller found that relates to possible obstruction of justice." So we're missing a big chunk of the information on the most crucial issues.
BURNETT: All right, so I want to play for you what the Republican Senator John Kennedy said about Bill Barr today and see if you agree, given what you just said. Here's Senator Kennedy.
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BURNETT: Do you agree he's a straight shooter and do you agree you're going to get as much of the report as he possibly can?
WYDEN: Let's stick to the facts, if you look at what Bob Barr has said with respect to presidential authority, Bob Barr has basically said that a president is almost above the law. I mean he pretty much took a position on ...
BURNETT: On obstruction of justice.
WYDEN: ... yes, he probably took a position on obstruction of justice in his confirmation hearing. So like John Kennedy but I can tell you I don't think Bob Barr's word on these kinds of issues is acceptable when the American people want the real report.
BURNETT: So I want to drill down a little bit on something Manu just said. OK, Mueller's team and a lot of people may not be aware of this, but according to The New York Times Mueller's team they were ready. "This is 400 pages and by the way, Bill Barr, here are multiple summaries of the report." They gave him options. Again, this is according to The New York Times.
Obviously, we know that Bill Barr did not use any of them. He did not work with the Mueller team to edit any of those summaries, you didn't do that. No, he wrote his own. And again, Senator, his reason in part today, "Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the Attorney General decided to release the reports bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately without attempting to summarize the report." I've made it clear where we stand on that, "With the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process.
Do you read anything into the fact that there were multiple summaries and Bill Barr did not choose to, at least, use one of them and work with the Mueller team to edit it?
WYDEN: Well, first of all, the fact that you now have people from the Mueller team going to you all in the press and raising questions about how they feel Bob Barr has not accurately conveyed what they were, that in and of itself ought to be troubling. But the way you resolve all of these differing views is you put it out for the American people to see in an unfiltered way consistent with protecting National Security. And you certainly don't say 70 words or thereabout is sufficient and then you call it a day.
BURNETT: So before we go, Senator, I want to ask you about a development tonight, some breaking news. Michael Cohen, his attorneys are telling lawmakers that Cohen has discovered substantial files on a hard drive that could be helpful to investigators and sort of surprised me because they have this whole FBI raid and I guess there's another drive. I mean it's sort of shocking on its face.
But he is saying a substantial amount of information, he's asking to delay the start of his prison sentence in order to have time to review them and to share them with lawmakers.
[19:10:06]
Should Congress take him up on this deal and allow him to delay his sentence?
WYDEN: I'd have to know more about that, Erin. But let me be clear on the issue today that people are asking about and that's the President's tax returns. President apparently said tonight that he didn't have the inclination, I think those were his words to give out his tax returns. Well this is not a matter of the President's inclinations. This is a matter of federal law under what's called Section 6103, the Internal Revenue Service is required to make those tax returns available to the Ways and Means Committee, also the Finance Committee where I serve and I think that's going to be an important point going forward.
BURNETT: Right, that they shall release them I know is the word that's going to make it pretty hard for Secretary Mnuchin to not do so at least for the timeframe you all have requested. Thank you very much.
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