CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Adam Schiff

Interview

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Well, joining us now is Congressman Adam Schiff who are led the impeachment case against the president in the Senate not so long ago. It may feel like decades.

Chairman Schiff, what's your reaction to what Minority Leader Schumer just said? You're not a member of the Senate but are there any lever the Democrat can actually pull at this point to block a nomination, to slow down the process? Because he's really just talking about people making calls to their senators or Congress people.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Well, first of all, I think he's exactly right. People are in the midst of voting right now in a presidential election. That needs to come first.

[20:10:02]

But look, the Supreme Court is going to decide whether we have the Affordable Care Act. That argument is going to be heard right after the election. So this election may very well determine whether millions of people lose their health care during a pandemic that has now claimed 200,000 American lives.

But that court will also decide whether to overturn Roe v. Wade, whether to allow regulation of our air and water to try to address climate change. So the stakes could not be higher. And for that reason, if the Republicans ignore their own rules and stack the court, then I think Senator Schumer needs to contemplate well, how do you unstack the court? And it's wise for him to make sure that he leaves nothing off the table.

COOPER: Well, Schumer has said everything is on the table if a Trump nominee is confirmed this election year. Senate Democrats won a majority in November. They could push legislation to expand the Supreme Court, the numbers of justices, add additional seats. Is that something you would support?

SCHIFF: Well, look, if they rush through this, if they ignore their own Senate rules, McConnell's own rule in an effort to stack the court, then I do think that Senator Schumer will need to consider, OK, how do we unstack the court after the election? So, you know, I think it is something that he should definitely open. I don't know that he or I or anyone else needs to be certain at this point because really I think the maximum pressure needs to be brought to bear not to violate the Senate rules that Mitch McConnell established.

Not to allow that kind of blatant hypocrisy. And I think that this will really motivate people frankly to go to the polls because they know their health care during a pandemic is at risk if the Republicans are able to stack the court this way.

COOPER: It does seem extremely unlikely that not one, but two more Republicans would vote with Democrats to stop the nominee from getting confirmed. I mean, it isn't just -- you know, isn't it just the reality of politics that elections have consequences? Because clearly the hypocrisy doesn't matter to I guess anybody who's already now switched their positions. SCHIFF: Well, you know, I think the hypocrisy matters to the American

people. It also matters to the American people whether they can keep their health care. So, you know, I think that they will pay a very high price if they betray their own word and do so right in the eve of an election. But nonetheless, if they betray their word and they pay a penalty at the polls but the damage is done because they have forced through and stacked the court, then Senator Schumer will need to figure out, OK, how do we need to unstack the court? What's the remedy here?

Because what Mitch McConnell is doing is now violating his own precedent to the detriment of the country, and I think Senator Schumer will need to figure out, OK, then what's the response? Because there'll have to be one.

COOPER: Earlier today Speaker Pelosi was asked about the possibility that the House could move to impeach President Trump or Attorney General Barr as a way of stalling and preventing the Senate from acting on the nomination if Republicans pushed through a nominee in a lame-duck session. Pelosi said we have our options, we have arrows in our quiver.

Do you have a position on that? I mean, have you discussed any options with the speaker? I mean, would that actually slow things down or would that stop the process?

SCHIFF: You know, I think, Anderson, that's obviously one of the paramount questions, which is, there are a lot of tools that we have on the House. Which ones would be efficacious? So, you know, we haven't had a chance really to discuss this yet. We'll be back in session tomorrow. And that will be at the top of the order of business because, you know, one of the things that I think is really driving support for Joe Biden at the polls is the fact that the president has done such a terrible job handling the pandemic. So many lives have been lost.

And health care is on the ballot. And now with the Supreme Court seat up in the air, with that argument on the Affordable Care Act days after the election, nothing is I think more motivating to voters and to all of us in the House than protecting the health and wellbeing of the American people. So this will be front and center as soon as we come back into session tomorrow.

COOPER: You posted a photo on Instagram, I believe, of you and Justice Ginsburg. And you wrote about an encounter you had with her during the impeachment proceedings. Can you just talk about what happened?

SCHIFF: Yes. Well, you know, I'd say I almost ended my career that night because it was rainy, it was dark, I was rushing into the capital. And I was half way through the door when Ruth Bader Ginsburg was on her way out. And I almost knocked her down. I -- you know, I stopped myself rightly before I collided with her. I said hello to her. She was very gracious. I stepped around her, watched her disappear to the night, and then I looked at a couple of my colleagues waiting in the entryway, and they said, you do realize you almost ended your career? [20:15:07]

And I said, yes, I do. And what's more, it would have been deserved if I knocked her down. That should be the end of my career. But thank goodness I didn't.

COOPER: How will you remember her?

SCHIFF: You know, I -- Anderson, years ago I formed a House caucus on the Judiciary to try to improve relations between the Congress and the courts and invited her to come speak with us. And she was gracious enough to come. And, you know, she was -- you know, this small diminutive person with a giant brain and a giant personality and intellect. And she left such an incredible mark on our society for the better.

And I love how she became this icon. This, you know, RBG, Notorious RBG. I just love it. And no one could have deserved that kind of -- you know, that kind of iconic status than she did because she was such a trailblazer. So I think all of us have a fond place in our heart for her. And she's certainly a blessed memory.

COOPER: Congressman Schiff, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

SCHIFF: Thanks, Anderson.

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