CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Tom Reed

Interview

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SCIUTTO: The Senate will soon try the president for high crimes and misdemeanors. Joining us now is Republican Congressman Tom Reed of New York. He also serves on the Ways and Means Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining.

REP. TOM REED (R-NY): Good to be with you (ph), Jim.

SCIUTTO: We're on our way to a Senate trial of the president. Since the House impeached -- and you voted, of course, against it -- new evidence has come to light, including documents that show direct communications between the White House and those who were delaying this aid.

We have a new witness, one who has raised his hand, John Bolton. Shouldn't senators be able to see that new evidence before making a decision on the president's guilt or innocence?

REED: Well, you know, I hesitate to tell senators what to do. I think the Senate is going to do its work. I'm glad to see the impeachment moving to the Senate. The sooner this gets addressed and closed, the sooner we can get back to the business of the American people.

HARLOW: Well, let's say you're not advising senators, but just giving your opinion as a sitting member of Congress in the House. What would you do? Isn't more evidence better than less?

REED: If I had ability to do that, I would have done this in the House, I would have done the investigation, I would have gone through the subpoena process, I would have resolved those disputes through the judicial branch and taken the time.

If you're going to use the tool of impeachment -- which is the nuclear option -- you should have done all this background work and foundational work in the House.

SCIUTTO: This, though, you know, is a new approach from a sitting president, is it not? Bill Clinton, during his impeachment, I mean, he certainly fought a lot of things, but did not block all witnesses and documents.

I just wonder as a congressman, you know, sitting, representing your constituents with the power to vote to impeach or not to impeach a president, whether Democrat or Republican, is that a precedent you think you want as a sitting lawmaker, that your constituents want, that a president could say, I'm just not cooperating with Congress, I'm not going to give them anything?

REED: There's always going to be checks and balance and separation of powers and executive privilege arguments to be made. That's why the judicial branch is part of the Constitution.

But, you know, as we deal with impeachment, that is why -- we've only done this three times before in our nation's history. Impeachment should be the last tool. I -- in my opinion, that should be something we don't pursue on a regular basis in the House, and that is where I hope we can get this behind us as soon as possible.

HARLOW: You chair, you co-chair the Problem Solvers Caucus -- REED: I do.

HARLOW: -- a lot of what you do is about trying to find a middle ground. And I just wonder, given all of these documents that we now have that Congress has been handed from Rudy Giuliani's indicted associate Lev Parnas, including text messages showing communication with President Zelensky's aides, about setting up a meeting with Zelensky with Giuliani, at the permission of the president to provide negative information about Joe Biden.

Knowing all of that, that we didn't know, sitting here yesterday morning, do you think it would be prudent and help the Senate make a decision, to have those documents admissible in the Senate trial?

REED: Well, I defer to the Senate in regards to that, and the Senate's going to do what it's going to do and I think --

HARLOW: I -- I know that --

REED: -- you know, as we go through the process, but --

HARLOW: -- I'm just asking you --

REED: Yes.

HARLOW: -- because you're an elected member of Congress --

REED: Sure.

HARLOW: -- does that shed light on some important things here that are relevant?

REED: I still see that there's just not an impeachable offense here. I see the issue of corruption being a legitimate government function of the executive branch in this case.

And when you're dealing with impeachment, the lessons of impeachment from before, there's no legitimate activity -- Nixon breaking into a hotel; in regards to Clinton, lying about sexual activity in the Oval Office -- what is the legitimate government function there by the executive branch? Here, I see a legitimate power of the president at play.

HARLOW: Congressman Tom Reed, sorry it was short. You'll be back soon, we know that --

REED: Always good to be with you.

HARLOW: Thanks for --

REED: Great to be on the show with you.

HARLOW: Thank you for weighing in.

He's right, in saying this is in the Senate's court now.

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