MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript: "GOP pushes back against Democrat claims."

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MATTHEWS: Well, while the Democrats today voted to step towards possible impeachment, they don`t appear to have the support they need on the floor of the House. By NBC`s count, only 135 members of the Congress have expressed public support of an impeachment inquiry of President Trump, an inquiry. That`s still 83-vote short of a majority necessary to even pass a resolution on the floor to begin an inquiry, formally. I`m joined right now by U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Dean from Pennsylvania who serves on the House Judiciary Committee. Congresswoman, thank you for coming. What do we make of the House Judiciary Committee action today, given the fact there`s been no resolution by the House of Representatives or the Democratic majority of the House representatives to begin a formal resolution, to begin a formal process of impeachment?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Chris, thank you for having me on and I was pleased to be a part of today`s process, where we passed a resolution that really set forth the procedure for us moving forward with an impeachment investigation. It`s as clear as that. We have been investigating the wrongdoing of this administration since March, but this really sets forth in a much clearer way the fact that we are in an impeachment investigation. Unfortunately, Ranking Member Collins is just simply wrong. He made some false arguments about the filter through which we are looking at this. This is a really grave, serious moment and I don`t think that the Republican members of our committee should make light of it, that we are in a moment where we have to investigate for purposes of analyzing whether we will bring forward articles of impeachment, the corruption of this president. We`re going beyond the four corners of the Mueller document. I`m very pleased with that. We`re looking now at what the president has done in terms of payoffs, pardons, profiteering. We have to look at the corruption, the obstruction of justice, the lawlessness of this administration. So, what we did today was an important grave step to analyze -- to identify for the American people we are in robust impeachment investigation.

MATTHEWS: But how do you do that without a resolution by the House?

DEAN: That`s not necessary actually, and that historical reference is actually --

MATTHEWS: It`s not?

DEAN: No, it isn`t. We do not need a full vote of the House for us to do our work. In fact, in the Nixon administration, the House Judiciary Committee then without power of subpoena, the rules have changed in the meantime, worked for five to six months investigating President Nixon. So, that`s just a false notion people have that you must have a vote first in the House. We actually have the job, we have the jurisdiction in judiciary to investigate the wrongdoing of this president.

MATTHEWS: I agree with that. There was a lot of investigation leading to Nixon`s impeachment or almost impeachment when he left office, with resignation.

DEAN: Yes.

MATTHEWS: But the fact that actually did, you get into this detail, which was started by Senator Kennedy in the Administrative Practices Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He did all the laying out and the whole thing, and what was done, sure. But the problem you`re facing here is, how do you proceed towards impeachment? Not investigation, not getting a lot of mud on the president`s face. He deserves all of it, you`re doing good work. But why do you call it impeachment if it`s not going to lead to impeachment? How`s it going to get there from your committee to the full house? How does it happen?

DEAN: Let`s be really clear, I take no pride in putting mud on anyone`s face. What I do take very, very seriously is upholding the Constitution, upholding the rule of law and saying that the president is going to be held accountable.

MATTHEWS: Right, but how do you get him impeached?

DEAN: We get the evidence before us, and we get the evidence before the American people. How about paying off mistresses days before a national election for president?

MATTHEWS: OK.

DEAN: How about the profiteering, the violation of the emoluments clause? I`m very happy that we will have next week Cory Lewandowski on the 17th and we -- the obstruction of justice that he was asked to participate in is well-versed in the Mueller report. And then later in this month, we will be looking at the emoluments clause. Imagine having the vice president`s stay at his failing hotel in Ireland at the cost and extra expense to the taxpayers. The founders of our country anticipated --

MATTHEWS: Yes.

DEAN: -- that someone could n possibly hold this office and seek to get rich. This president is seeking payments in violation of both emoluments clauses in our Constitution, and we need to stop it.

MATTHEWS: Why Speaker Pelosi and Majority leader Hoyer saying this is not impeachment?

DEAN: I actually don`t agree with what you`re saying. If you saw Speaker Pelosi and she said this consistently over the course of many months, she said we are legislating, which we are doing and I would love to talk to you about the important legislation we passed this week regarding guns and the environment. We are litigating. You`ve seen we have been in court up holding --

MATTHEWS: OK.

DEAN: -- the rule of law, but we are also so investigating. She says those three things every single time. And what she has said is bring the case to the American people and we will go where those facts take us. If that leads to impeachment, it does.

MATHEWS: OK, thank you. I agree with everything you`re doing except calling it impeachment. It`s not going to happen. But thank you very much, U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania. You`re watching HARDBALL.

DEAN: Thank you.

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