CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) is Interviewed About Trump, Russia and the Intel
Interview
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Joining me now is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup of Ohio. He was at the briefing on Capitol Hill.
Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.
Let me start with just the bigger most important question here -- is the U.S. government doing enough to prepare for all of the Russian election interference that is expected and that, in fact, is already going on?
REP. BRAD WENSTRUP (R-OH): Well, you know, you always wonder if you're doing all that you possibly can, but I think we have taken quite a few steps, especially since 2016. And if you look at the results or the report that we came out, at least on the Republican side from the Intelligence Committee after the investigation on foreign influence, we had a lot of findings and made a lot of recommendations, and it's about seven pages between the findings and recommendations, and a lot of those are being enacted.
And I think that we are taking the steps as best we possibly can. People recognize it's a problem, because quite honestly, it's been a problem since the Soviet Union. Russia has always tried to provide discord or create discord within our country. They've been very successful at that, I'm afraid, especially currently, that they've been able to do that, or we've done it to ourselves in some cases.
So, I do think we're doing a lot. And I think people -- the American people are aware that there's this attempt to try to create discord amongst the American people.
[16:20:06]
TAPPER: Uh-huh.
WENSTRUP: And, you know, I work every day to try to bring us back together and realize what our common enemy is in America.
TAPPER: So, let's talk about the briefing last week because there's a lot of controversy about it. And I have been told there were a lot of individuals at the briefing were surprised when the briefer said that the Russians had a clear preference for President Trump. Some people said that the intelligence is not there. Democrats and Republicans all agree they wanted to see the underlying intelligence underneath that.
But just to take a step back, Putin did interfere in the 2016 election and the conclusion of the intelligence community was that he did so to help President Trump and to hurt Hillary Clinton. He has subsequently admitted that he preferred Trump to Hillary Clinton.
Why would you be so skeptical this time?
WENSTRUP: Well, first of all, I'm not going to talk about anything that happened in a classified setting. I'm sorry that some people tend to want to do that, I guess. But maybe it's my military background, because loose lips sink ships. And I'm not going comment on any of that.
But just as an informed observer, which a lot of Americans are, certainly a lot of your viewers are. I just -- I just would sit back and say I just don't understand why Putin would want to prefer Trump? And let me just give you the reasons why.
I mean, one, Trump has put more sanctions on Russia than we have before. He's increased our military. Why? Because of the threat of Russia.
He's strengthened NATO. Why? Because of the threat of Russia. That's really why NATO was formed -- the Soviet Union and Russia.
He's trying to impede as best he can the Nord Stream 2, which is their energy supply to Europe where they make a lot of money and it feeds their government and their country, and we want to get our energy into Europe.
And so, it seems to me that the president is working against -- against Putin more and more often.
TAPPER: Right.
WENSTRUP: And, you know, if you look back, it was President Obama who told Medvedev, hey, I'll have more flexibility after my election.
TAPPER: Right, dealing with missile defense, yes.
WENSTRUP: It's President Trump who gave the Ukrainians lethal aid, and it was President Obama who did not give them lethal aid.
TAPPER: Right.
WENSTRUP: I understand Obama's not running for president.
TAPPER: Right.
WENSTRUP: But it just doesn't seem to make sense to me that that would be their preference, based on what I'm seeing and what I think the American people can see. TAPPER: So, I appreciate the argument. We heard that argument before.
You say he's strengthened NATO. He certainly has strengthened NATO in terms of getting countries to spend more on their own defense, according to agreements in NATO, but many people would argue he has undermined the NATO alliance in some ways, especially in how he's criticized various allies and praised Putin.
In addition, critics might say President Trump has spread this conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine, not Russia that interfered in the 2016 election, which is not true as you know. He stood next to Putin in Helsinki. He said he backed Putin over U.S. intelligence.
(CROSSTALK)
WENSTRUP: -- as I know.
TAPPER: Yes.
WENSTRUP: Listen, it could --
TAPPER: But you agree that there was though --
WENSTRUP: It would be more than one country that can interfere with our elections, and that has been established. But go on.
But I just want to take it a step further. I was just in Munich at the security conference there.
TAPPER: Uh-huh.
WENSTRUP: And we spoke to the president of NATO and he has talked about how the president's influence has had a great effect on NATO making it stronger.
Now, you may not like some of the things he said and how he went about it, but it's had a positive effect and virtually, every president in my lifetime has said that other countries need to pay their fair share, they just haven't done much about it.
So I would disagree with you on that point. And that would -- that would be coming from the head of NATO himself. So --
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: But I guess the argument is -- I hear what you're saying. I'm --
WENSTRUP: I disagree with you on that one, Jake.
TAPPER: Well, I mean, I think we agree that it's good that other countries are paying more than their fair share -- are paying their fair share, rather, and that President Trump had a lot to do with that, but the question about whether or not he's good for the alliance is what a lot of critics are talking about. But the other picture, though, the other big question is, President
Trump is a major disrupter. I think you and I can agree on that. And one of the results of that and this -- you might disagree with -- is he sows distrust in a lot of American institutions, whether it's the media, whether it's the judiciary, whether it's law enforcement, and he backed -- and Putin backed Trump last time.
So, I guess I don't understand why is it not conceivable to you that potentially they will back him again when it comes to this election interference?
WENSTRUP: Well, again, you know, people want to say that definitively and certainly it was a conclusion of some that Putin backed Trump. And I don't know that I've ever heard Putin say that, but I will say that he's had success in sowing discord, and that's he wants.
And as far as agencies, I don't think you have to look further than what took place in the FISA court, and we've only heard the beginning of that from the inspector general, for him to have distrust in some of these agencies because of the way they conducted themselves in the FISA court.
[16:25:00]
And, you know, 17 errors and omissions? Well, that's a pretty polite way of saying intentional deceit, in my mind, at least what I've seen. And, hopefully, America will get to see more that took place.
So I think this president has a right to have some concerns about what's taking place within agencies. And more of that should come to light in the coming days.
TAPPER: So, that's all the time we have. I'm going to go on Twitter and I'm going to put up Putin explaining how he supported President Trump over Hillary Clinton and why, because he -- I think he said in Helsinki, but we don't have enough time and I don't have the clip available.
Congressman Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, we always appreciate your coming on. Thanks so much.
WENSTRUP: Thanks, Jake. Appreciate it.
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