CNN "Anderson Cooper 360" - Transcript: Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) is Interviewed About the Impeachment Inquiry and Public Hearings

Interview

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According to the format, the chairman, Congressman Adam Schiff, and the ranking Republican will have 45 minutes to ask questions or have designated staffers do the questioning. Additional similar rounds may be added at the chairman's discretion. Following that, the members will alternate by party each having five minutes of Q&A time. The day is expected to end no later than 4:30.

I want to talk about it now with one of the lawmakers who will be part of the proceedings and the history being made tomorrow, California Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu, member of the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees.

Congressman, thanks for being with us.

Just in terms of the approach from the Democrats, could you give a sense of how planned it is, is there a coordinated effort from the top down where every Democrat has a certain part they are focusing on? What can you say?

REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): Thank you, Anderson, for your question.

We're going to let the witnesses speak for themselves. In this case, Ambassador bill Taylor was hand-picked by the Trump station to go to Ukraine to fix things up and the American people will hear them talk about the president's abuse of power and how the president did this whole pressure campaign to try to bribe Ukrainians to launch two bogus investigations into the DNC server, as well as Biden.

And we're going to have 45 minutes of uninterrupted time for one side and then it will flip to the other side and that gives a lot more time for the American people to get the story in big chunks.

COOPER: So that 45-minute chunk, do you know, is it Adam Schiff doing the questioning or is he going to make a statement and then hand it off to an attorney who's going to be questioning?

LIEU: So, we'll hear opening statements and under the rules of the House passed, either Adam Schiff or one of the staff attorneys can ask questions of Ambassador Bill Taylor as well as of Mr. Kent. I was at the witness deposition for Ambassador Bill Taylor and in that deposition, both Congressman Schiff and staff attorneys asked questions, as well as the Republicans.

And so you're going to have alternating 45-minute blocks and when that is done, then the members of the committee will get to ask five-minute questions.

COOPER: And you said there is opening statements. Is that opening statements by both the ranking Republican and Democrat or by the witness themselves also.

[20:10:03]

LIEU: It is my understanding you'll get both will happen.

COOPER: OK. Both from the witness and the two --

LIEU: That is correct.

COOPER: OK. The Republican central message tomorrow is essentially President

Trump, you know, may have done this but his intentions were pure and there really wasn't a conditionality in the phone call. When you hear that, what do you think?

LIEU: The American people should watch the witnesses and decide for themselves because the witnesses are going to contradict every single Republican talking point. It is very clear that this phone call Donald Trump had with the Ukrainian leader wasn't just a one-off phone call. It was the entire pressure campaign to get Ukrainians to launch two bogus investigations to influence our election and the president used the withholding of critical security aid and dangling an important meeting with the White House in order to bribe Ukrainians to engage in this election interference. That's what all of the witnesses are going to say, not only this week, but also next week, where additional hearings have been announced.

COOPER: How likely is it that, you know, Republicans will, according to a plan, to push and debunk conspiracy theories that it was Ukraine that interfered in the election and not Russia and unsupported claimed about the Bidens, is it a tale of two different committee meetings and Democrats will ask questions and then Republicans will focus on their theories?

LIEU: The difference is you're going to have career diplomats, going to have Trump's own people testifying against him. The American people are going to see that these are witnesses that cannot have the credibility questioned. Bill Taylor is a West Point graduate. He served in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne and you have amazing witnesses that are going to be able to push back on all of the Republican talking points.

And by the way, it was just announced today that the Justice Department is looking at expanding its case against a 13 Russians that interfered in our elections. Those are Russians. They're not Ukrainians.

And our entire intelligence community understands and has said it is the Russians that hacked us in 2016, not the Ukrainians.

COOPER: And this new reporting from "The New York Times" that the president has considered firing the inspector general who he actually appointed. If the president were to actually do that, is that something that could potentially become part of an overall impeachment inquiry?

LIEU: Absolutely. Inspector general's job is to root out fraud and waste and abuse of power, is not to be loyal to the president. And again this is Trump's own hand-picked person that is now trying to tell the truth to the American people, and tomorrow, the American people are going to see a story come out, a narrative that is unchallenged which is the president solicited foreign interference in the campaign and used all of the levers of governmental power and private attorney Rudy Giuliani to extract these bogus examinations in exchange for giving hundreds of million dollars to Ukrainians and an important White House meeting. COOPER: Congressman Lieu, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

LIEU: Thank you, Anderson.

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