MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Interview with Bennie Thompson

Interview

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VELSHI: Joining us now is the man tasked with getting to the bottom of that, chairman of the January 6th Select Committee, Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson.

Congressman, thank you for joining us.

I know today is a long and busy one for you. It continues. So we appreciate some of your time.

Those -- the testimony of those officers laid waste to the criticism that we have been hearing literally since January 7th that there`s no need for further investigation into this. They -- while you were all under threat, they faced the battery, the medieval battle, that took place.

What did you take away from that today, what did you learn today?

THOMPSON: Well, first of all, Ali, thank you for having me.

VELSHI: My pleasure.

THOMPSON: Let me tell you, we now know who the real heroes of January 6th. It was rank and file law enforcement officers of the Metropolitan Police Department, Capitol Police, as well as the other departments who came and helped defend this Capitol from the rioters.

[21:10:01]

They`re the real heroes. And part of what we wanted to do today was to get on the record what they experienced on the other hand, what they have had to do since that January 6th, and also on your last clip, what is it they would like us to do?

I think the four clips that you heard from the witnesses say it all. We want to know who facilitated this. If individuals came to a peaceful rally on the 6th, why did they bring bear spray, why did they bring all those other weapons with them? If you come into a rally, you`re coming to have a good time.

You shouldn`t have to have Kevlar vests, you shouldn`t to have helmets on and all those other things.

So, what those men brought out today, based on their training as law enforcement, is exactly what the committee needed to hear. We now have a message. We now have a mandate.

But I want to thank them, because we came perilously close to losing this constitutional form of government. They helped preserve our democracy. They gave members enough time to physically get out of the Capitol. They gave members and staff enough time to take cover.

They gave members and staff enough time to take the ballots that they were counting and keep them safe. So we could count them at 3:00 in the morning.

VELSHI: That`s right.

THOMPSON: So we thank them for that.

So it was a tremendous testimony. And I`ve been here for 28 years. And all my 28 years, Ali, I`ve never been in a hearing where the members, everyone there, was riveted by the testimony. It was gut-wrenching, but it was something we felt as a committee we had to do.

VELSHI: You know, you and I have talked since the days you knew you`d be chairing this committee. We discussed the way it would take shape, whether Kevin McCarthy would appoint people, who he would appoint.

There was something about the pin-drop silence, the somberness, the seriousness of this that benefited from the fact that everybody who was listening to that testimony seemed to share a view that, we need to get to the bottom of this and the perpetrators need to be connected to whomever it was who instigated this so it doesn`t happen again.

It seemed like this was purposeful right from the beginning, but Officer Dunn made the point that for those saying it`s not political, it is political. We have to answer that question, that politics got us into this thing on January 6th.

THOMPSON: Well, these people came to Washington on January 6th for a reason. We want to know who financed it. We want to know who helped organize it. We want to make sure that anyone who had anything to do with though rioters who came to Washington on January 6th, we will get that information.

I assure you the people on this committee are absolutely committed to getting to the truth. Truth, Ali, will be the disinfectant for this great country of ours. And we`ll work hard to make sure that we accomplish that.

So we will meet before we adjourn for the August recess. We`ll decide a way forward. But I can assure you that the issuing of subpoenas and other things necessary as we follow up this tough testimony today is in order, and we will be carrying those subpoenas forward.

VELSHI: And the Justice Department has supported your view of that, they cleared the -- in fact, I`ll just read this from "The New York Times." The Justice Department notified former officials this week that they could testify to the various committees investigating the January 6th attack. The letters to former officials leaves unclear whether the select committee investigating the January 6th riot has made such a request.

You`re telling me that you`re prepared to send subpoenas out to get people there. Have you done so yet?

THOMPSON: No, we have not. We appreciate the Justice Department stepping forward. We don`t think anyone should claim executive privilege at any level of government. This is the ability of our committee to do our work. In order to do it, we have to have access to any and all information and any and all individuals who had anything to do with the travesty that occurred on January 6th.

So we are committed. And let me tell you, Democrats and Republicans on this committee are committed to making and identifying everything we possibly can within the scope of the charge that we have as a committee.

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All the facts and circumstances, wherever the facts lead us, we`re prepared to go.

VELSHI: Congressman, thank you for your time tonight. I know you`ve got to get back to work. You and your committee have your work cut out for you.

Bennie Thompson is chairman of the January 6th select committee. We appreciate your time, sir.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

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