CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) Discusses His Vote On Formal Articles Of Impeachment On Wednesday

Interview

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And a lot of it has to do with the President here who wants to be vindicated. He wants to be proven right in all of this, what lawmakers are arguing on Capitol Hill, what you were just talking about. And so that is really where they come to a crossroads where officials in the White House don't want anything to do with Rudy Giuliani and yet the President has him coming here just days after that trip to Ukraine.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kaitlan, and I want to go OUTFRONT now to Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett. Congressman, you're going to have the chance to vote on those formal articles of impeachment on Wednesday as they go before the entire House. How will you vote, sir?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): I will certainly support the articles. I believe they will be approved by an overwhelming majority. And on Wednesday, Donald Trump will be impeached.

BURNETT: So we do know that at least two of your Democratic colleagues plan to vote no on impeachment.

[19:05:01]

Chances are, obviously, that's not going to change the outcome of the vote and Nancy Pelosi has made that extremely clear. Do you though understand how they came to that conclusion or why they're going to vote against these articles based on the evidence you've seen or are you just completely sort of awestruck by their choice?

DOGGETT: Well, I'm not surprised because they voted against the process, the rules that were set to give Republicans and the President a full opportunity to present a defense that they failed to do. There's really been no disagreement by the fact witnesses.

This president confessed to what he did on national television. He is out to seek political assistance from Ukraine, China, Russia, anyone else who will provide it. And if we're to preserve our democracy, we need to act to impeach him.

And certainly if Mitch McConnell continues to take his cues from the White House and there's any victory for the President in the Senate, he won't be able to claim true vindication from a trial that he helped to rig.

BURNETT: So to that point the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does say he's in 'total coordination' with the White House Counsel. We do know he was seen meeting yesterday with the White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. Do you have any problem with that just on its face? Is that OK that they're meeting or --

DOGGETT: Yes. Well, of course, he's been in total coordination all year in refusing to let the Senate debate any legislation of significance approve from the House, whether it was election security, equal pay, our dreamers, protecting our democracy, generally gun safety, all of these things he's held in cue from the White House. And now for him to let the White House direct the terms of the trial completely destroys the function of the separation of powers that our founders envisioned.

All of this is really a question of whether America has degenerated to a point that we have a one strong man rule ignoring the other branches of the government, our democracy is preserved in the wisdom of our founders is preserved in having accountability for all branches of our government.

BURNETT: Have you decided who you'd like to see act as an impeachment manager at the Senate trial? Obviously, you know, someone from the House. It could be Adam Schiff. It could be someone else. Do you support Mr. Schiff or do you prefer another person?

Well, I certainly think Adam Schiff has done an amazing job in his coordination of this committee as Jerry Nadler. And that's why the two of them are the subject of so much attack from the President. The only people that he attacks more than Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler and Nancy Pelosi are those Republicans who choose to deviate from him the slightest, calling them human scum amazingly enough.

And so one can understand though troubled by it, why some Republicans are so fearful of him and unwilling to do what they know the facts demonstrate that this president has corrupted his office, has abused his power and has totally ignored the Congress and its responsibility.

BURNETT: So Congressman, your committee has been trying to get the President's tax returns, which is --

DOGGETT: Yes.

BURNETT: -- that's a crucial thing, especially given that at this point, barring some major development, we know how this travel end in the Senate. So the tax returns could become hugely important. You're trying to get them from the IRS, the Treasury Department, other House committees have also been trying to get them through his banks and his accounting firm.

And the Supreme Court, we've learned, just moments ago was taking up their case as the President had requested, which means that their subpoenas for his tax returns won't be enforced because they're going to look at this case. So the impeachment proceedings will fully play out and those subpoenas will not be enforced during that time frame. Is this a big win for the President?

DOGGETT: No, it's not. And I have to say as a former Texas Supreme Court Justice myself, I can understand why our highest court would want to consider this very important question. Three district courts and three appellate courts have ruled against President Trump.

He actually maintained that as president, he could not only not be brought into court, but he couldn't be investigated. He couldn't be charged with a crime. He was basically immune to any type of prosecution.

The other courts have ruled on the President's own attempt to block his accounting firm from disclosing the same type of information that presidents have disclosed in the past. So it's understandable that the Supreme Court would want to rule on whether we do have only one man rule here or we have the ability of the Congress to hold the President accountable. That's a really important issue.

BURNETT: So, I mean, they're taking up the request as he requested, but you don't see that as a win for him is the bottom line?

[19:10:02]

DOGGETT: No. I certainly would have preferred that they simply let these three court decisions against the President stand. But I can understand why they would want to consider it and frankly I'm very hopeful that they will follow the law. They won't be like the Republicans in the House who couldn't follow the facts.

They will follow the law. They will do what courts in challenges like this before both in the Nixon case and in the Clinton case, they have ruled regardless of who appointed them to office, to follow our Constitution and have realized how really critical this is not just about President Trump but the future of democracy in our country, which has never been more imperiled than at the present time.

BURNETT: Congressman Doggett, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you, sir.

DOGGETT: Thank you, Erin.

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