Fox News "The Story with Martha MacCallum" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Elise Stefanik

Interview

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MACCALLUM: So, also joining me now is Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Congressman, good to have you with us today.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK, R-N.Y.: Good to be with you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: You know, the criticism of Republicans in this -- in this process is that you're leaning on process that you see the things that Congresswoman Demings just talked about in terms of the phone call and the things that -- you know, simply have raised a lot of questions. And that you continually go back to the fact that the whole process is unfair, and therefore, you can't possibly impeach the president. What do you say to that?

STEFANIK: Well, that's incorrect, Martha. As you know, we're leading on substance and we're focused on the facts. As we saw earlier this week, the Democrats' two-star witnesses had no direct knowledge. They were giving instances of hearsay. Sometimes third, fourth, and fifth-hand hearsay.

MACCALLUM: That's true.

STEFANIK: I think this is a very serious process and I think the American public was watching riveted, waiting for a silver bullet, and they didn't have that. I do not believe the president has committed impeachable offenses and the Democrats have not shown that the president has committed impeachable offenses. We are leading on substance and the facts.

MACCALLUM: Let's take a look at a little bit of yesterday. Because you were praised by some for your performance in there going back and forth with Chairman's Schiff. Let's watch a moment of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEFANIK: Mr. Chairman, will you be prohibiting witnesses from answering member's questions as you have in the closed-door depositions?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-CALIF.: The only times I prevented witnesses from answering questions along with their counsel was when it was apparent that members were seeking to out the whistleblower.

STEFANIK: Mr. Chairman, only one member and their staff on this committee has direct knowledge of the identity of the whistleblower.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHIFF: Gentlewoman will suspend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Were you surprised that he said that he had never -- he's never met the whistleblower? Because everybody seems to think that he's in cahoots with the whistleblower and that it was all orchestrated through his office, which may or may not be true, we don't know yet.

STEFANIK: Well, Martha, we know that the whistleblower reached out to Adam Schiff's staff members and coordinated the whistleblower complaint. They help this individual file the whistleblower complaint.

You know, I think it's very interesting that initially, Adam Schiff was adamant about the whistleblower testifying. It only became after it was clear that there was coordination that he no longer wants to hear from the whistleblower.

And I just think it's important for your viewers to know, even after I asked that question of Adam Schiff, within 20 minutes of Republican's questions, Adam Schiff interrupted us. It was not a question about the whistleblower, it was just a question that Adam Schiff did not like.

So, again, we see this continued in closed-door and open hearings that Adam Schiff does not want to have this be a fair process where Republicans are able to ask questions of the witnesses.

MACCALLUM: What's your most important point that you want to get to with Ambassador Yovanovitch tomorrow -- Yovanovitch.

STEFANIK: Well, I think the two most important points for the American public is one: Ukraine received the aid, and number two: there was no investigation into the Bidens under the Trump administration. That's what I focused on in my questions, and I think we're going to see those two facts tomorrow with Ambassador Yovanovitch's testimony.

MACCALLUM: I want to just put something up which is kind of a sidebar, but an ABC analyst Matthew Dowd went after you on Twitter. And I understand that he apologized and I'd like you to fill in the blanks about what happened after this. But, he said, "Elise Stefanik is a perfect example of why just electing someone because they are a woman or a millennial doesn't necessarily get you the leaders that we need."

What did you think when you saw that?

STEFANIK: It's outrageous, it's sexist, and it's inexcusable. And ABC News needs to condemn that statement. This is why more young women don't run for office. And I accepted the apology, but it -- he certainly should have never made that statement.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean, it seems odd to go after you based on your sex or your age. If he has a problem with what you were saying, that seems to be fair game, right?

STEFANIK: That's all right. Talk about the substance, talk about the policy issues. Don't attack the fact that I happen to be a young woman. And I think and I'm proudly an articulate young woman who is searching for the facts and asked substantive questions.

So, you know, Matt Dowd, for a second, I had to ask myself who is that? But I accepted his apology, he apologized pretty quickly as there was -- you know, thousands of people condemning his statement on Twitter.

MACCALLUM: Yes. All right, just interested in what your reaction to that was. Elise Stefanik, Congresswoman, thank you very much. We'll all be watching tomorrow, live coverage throughout the day. Thank you for being here tonight.

STEFANIK: Thank you.

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