CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) Discusses Her Statement On The Articles Of Impeachment Going To Be;

Interview

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And I want to go straight now to Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. She sits on the House Judiciary Committee. She's one of five members who also served on this Committee during the Clinton impeachment. And I appreciate your time tonight.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): Thank you.

BURNETT: And obviously you're ready tomorrow night, you'll be giving an opening statement, I presume, along with everyone else on the committee. Do you know yet what you'll say?

LEE: Well, first of all, good evening to all of your viewers and thank you for having me. In addition to having served during the moment of the 1998 impeachment, I knew Leon Jaworski and as well the maiden holder of the seat was the Honorable Barbara Jordan who's involved in the Nixon proceedings.

I think I've gleaned from this whole time of trying to uphold the Constitution and hold a president accountable is that now we're at the point of conscience.

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We're at the point of morality. We're at the point of asking the question of what the American people expect from a person who holds the highest office and the responsibilities of Congress, the duty of Congress to hold this president accountable.

This is not something I campaigned on. This is not something that I wish to be part of the Congress' agenda. But if we are to offer to the American people and the world, it looks at this great democracy for not only inspiration but leadership.

Then, we must hold a president who is willing to sell the national security or to exchange or to ask someone, a foreign entity, to in essence find information or investigate a political opponent and so that is to jeopardize the national security of the American people for his own private or political gain. Then that is a constitutional violation of the law and he must be held accountable.

BURNETT: So according to Manu Raju, there's a group of House Democrats from districts that President Trump won in 2016 and they met yesterday. They wanted to talk about how to avoid a full-on impeachment trial. And a suggestion they had was an official censure of the President that they could vote for that, you could get all of the Democrats to vote for it, you could maybe perhaps get some Democrats.

I know you supported censuring Bill Clinton but not impeaching him, obviously, when you were there for his impeachment trial as a Democrat. Could you get behind that idea this time?

LEE: Well, I think without fully going into the issue of censure during 1998, my whole position was that the acts were not acts of government or interfering with the governance of the nation. They were private matters although criticized and this is far distinctive.

This is high crimes and misdemeanors. These are constitutional crimes. I think it's important for the American people to know that the Constitution is a law. It is the law. And therefore, you can have constitutional crimes, a president has perpetrated a constitutional crime that equate to high crimes and misdemeanors by violating the trust of the American people by abusing his power by offering to have a foreign entity both in the 2016 election when he asked for any Russians listening and wanted them to go get emails, by asking China were they listening and to also go and interfere with the election.

And I consider this a continuing threat to the 2020 election for that reason. There is no room for censure at this time. I certainly welcome members of Congress who have their own opinions to offer different suggestions and I'm sure they will be considered. But right now, we're moving toward the process that we're engaged in which is the articles of impeachment have been offered and we're moving on that process.

I hope, again, that this will be a moral choice for Republicans and Democrats and Independents. It'll be about our nation.

BURNETT: In the obstruction of Congress article, so you've got the two articles; abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. You explained the President did this in part, obstruct, by directing other executive branch agencies to defy lawful subpoenas and withhold the production of documents and records from the committees in response to which the Department of State, Office of OMB, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense refused to produce a single document or record.

I know Democrats say team Trump withheld 12 witnesses you asked for, telling every single employee or former employee not to testify and they withheld 71 documents you asked for. Today, the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo says all of this is counterfactual. Here he is.

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MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: State Department has fully complied with all legal requirements. We will continue to do so. We had a number of officers testify. We've asked every officer who moves forward, who testifies under oath to do so fully, completely, accurately, truthfully and that remains the expectation that I have for both the officers of the State Department as well as for the things that we do to produce documents in response to appropriate congressional oversight.

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BURNETT: Is he lying?

LEE: Let me just say that we can say that that is inaccurate. The Secretary of State knows full well that the witnesses who came before the impeachment inquiry committees came voluntarily. Some of them had their own lawyers. He knows that for a fact.

He knows that Ambassador Taylor flew from Ukraine on his own desire. He knows that the former Ambassador to Ukraine came on her own, that Dr. Hill came on their own and many, many others.

He knows for a fact that the President of the United States unlike any other impeachment including Nixon and Clinton, of course, blocked every White House official and officials that would listen to him. He asked every single one of them not to appear.

And there were many documents that were not presented, particularly in Ambassador Sondland's testimony.

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He clearly said he was not able to access emails.

BURNETT: Yes.

LEE: So the Secretary is creating a distraction. I think this is going to be a time of one's faith, a time of one's love for their country, a time of patriotism, a time of respect for the dignity of the Constitution and democracy. There will be disagreement, I know that.

But the facts are undisputed. Our friends on the other side of the aisle have not disputed one single fact. They have not defended the President. All they've talked about is process.

BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much, congresswoman, as always.

LEE: Thank you for having me.

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