CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Jason Crow

Interview

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COOPER: Shimon Prokupecz, appreciate it. Thanks very much.

On January 6th, Colorado Congressman and former Army Ranger, Jason Crow was pinned along with other lawmakers and staffers in the House Gallery. That's a photo of him.

He joins us now. Congressman Crow, good to have you back. So you hear this latest reporting? Just the idea that there could have been some communication is obviously troubling.

Again, unclear what the nature of that communication is or the extent of it or the meaning behind it.

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Yes, thanks for having me back, Anderson. We don't know, I mean, that intent and obviously the details of this, you know, that's going to be part of the investigation.

[20:05:02]

CROW: As your previous guest just said we have the data. The metadata is there, the signals, the pings on the cell phone towers, the firsthand witness accounts.

There's plenty of video footage, closed circuit, TV cameras around the Capitol, that information has been preserved, and the F.B.I. will go through it.

And I remember last time we spoke about a month ago, I said that we would follow a process, we wouldn't jump to conclusions. We wouldn't try to point fingers at folks who would actually look at the facts. We would follow where those facts lead us, and that's exactly what's happening.

The F.B.I. is doing that. They're doing it deliberately, and they will lead to where the facts go.

COOPER: It's also unclear, apparently, some of this may also be, you know, insurrectionists, people who took part in the attack bragging about contacts or talking about contacts with Members of Congress or staff members, again, unclear if they actually have those contacts, or if this is just, you know, people trying to puff themselves up and make them look more important to their, you know, fellow attackers.

CROW: It could be. I mean, it could be all of the above, too, right? I mean, when I sit back and think about this, you know, what's really sad is that I actually wouldn't be surprised if Members of Congress were involved and complicit in some of the riots as you saw the morning --

COOPER: You really wouldn't?

CROW: I wouldn't be, I just wouldn't be, which, you know, that is a sad testament to, you know, the state of affairs in Congress right now, to be honest with you, and the state of affairs in our politics, that there are some depraved people that serve in that chamber, that to this day, incite violence and further conspiracy theories, and shows zero remorse for what happened on January 6th. And actually, that morning, were part of inciting the violence and encouraging people to fight, and they continue to do that.

So, you know, that is sad, but you know, we're going to follow where the facts lead us. The F.B.I. will do that. The D.O.J. will do that, and we'll hold people accountable, whether they're a Member of Congress, or they're not.

COOPER: It's a pretty stunning statement that you feel that there are depraved individuals serving in Congress, you know, in this in this important time in our history. I don't know how I would feel going to work every day in a place where I felt there were depraved people.

CROW: Yes, it's not great, I can tell you that. And, you know, I do want to be clear that I'm not meaning to paint people with a broad brush here. There are overwhelmingly really good people that want to serve, that are trying to do the right thing on both sides of the aisle that are there to work and roll up their sleeves and do the work for the American people. But there are a handful of people that do not belong -- that is the bottom line, and that are a disgrace to their districts, to our country, and obviously to the institution of Congress.

I've been pretty clear about that, you know, I've voted accordingly to censure folks and remove folks from committees, and, you know, continue to speak up because what we can't have happen is for this to become okay.

Right now, you know, we've talked about this before, Anderson, this normalization of stuff, you know, eventually this goes on long enough, and the American people start thinking this is normal.

This is not normal. This is not the way the United States Congress and our government should run, none of it.

And you know, we can't be okay with it, and that's why I'm going to continue to speak up about it.

COOPER: Congressman Crow, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

CROW: Thanks.

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