MSNBC "All In with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Adam Schiff

Interview

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HAYES: Congressman Adam Schiff is a remember of the January 6 Select Committee which has just taken over the House investigation of Donald Trump`s Justice Department. He was the lead impeachment manager in Trump`s first impeachment. He`s the chair of the House Intelligence Committee as well. And he joins me now.

I got to say, I feel like we have a pretty full picture of a lot of the evidence, but there`s a lot more I want to learn. And it just seems like there`s a lot already for your committee to dive into here.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Well, that`s absolutely right. And first of all, I very much agree with Professor Hasen about how close we came to losing our democracy and not merely on the sixth through that failed insurrection but through other means.

And if you think about whether -- you know, if Clark had been successful in becoming the Acting Attorney General, those letters would have gone out to potentially all six states, like Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, etcetera. Those legislators could have acted on those letters saying the Justice Department says this is lawful. (AUDIO GAP) slates of electors and who knows where we would be if we had, you know, lost a few more seats in the House and Kevin McCarthy had been the new speaker, you know, they very well might have overturn the results of the election. And they seem to be doing everything possible to lay the groundwork for that in the next presidential election.

So, look, we do have enormous amount as a committee to look into all the efforts to overturn the election in advance of the election, the efforts after the election, and the events on January 6. None of these things are disconnected from each other.

HAYES: There are two men who to my mind need to be answering questions under oath at length, Jeffrey Clark, Jeffrey Bossert Clark who was one of the key plotters with Donald Trump of what would have been a coup, and Mark Meadows who reporting shows played a close role in fomenting all this as well. These are both -- they`re both private citizens. They don`t have any, you know, I think executive privilege protections. They may try to claim them. But don`t you think we should hear from them under oath?

SCHIFF: Well, I do. Ultimately, the chairman of our subcommittee will make the decision in consultation with all of us about witnesses, but I think their testimony would plainly be relevant. They were participants in the effort to overturn the results of the election. You know, in the case of Mark Meadows, he was a very active participant in pushing out the big lie in which led so demonstrably to the attempted insurrection and the attack on the Capitol.

He`s very much in the know of what the President was doing on that day or failing to do on that day, what the White House knew in advance of January 6 about who was coming to that rally on the mall and what might likely happen. So, yes, these are two, I think, very important witnesses, but ultimatelty, we`ll make that decision as a committee.

[20:15:03]

HAYES: This question might be a bit out of your portfolio, and I don`t want to step on anyone`s toes here, but as I keep watching this, I mean, I just feel like there`s enough for Department of Justice investigation at this point. There is a crime called seditious conspiracy in the U.S. criminal code. You know, and I`ve said this before, if a Chicago alderman was caught on tape saying the exact same thing after an election that Trump said Raffensperger on that Georgia call, just the call, the U.S. Attorney would probably indict the dude by the end of the week. That`s just one data point.

What we have here is obviously a coordinated attempt to steal an election fraudulently. It just seems like if this does not lead to criminal exposure, I guess I just don`t understand the law.

SCHIFF: Well, Chris, I`m very much in agreement. And I also look at that phone call between the former president and the Georgia Secretary of State where the President is saying, you know, can`t you find 11,870 votes, a clear recorded appeal or fraud to overturn the results of the election. And you know, that, to me is the gravamen of an offense and of a criminal investigation.

What the other things that we`re talking about, the efforts to get the Justice Department to weigh in, all of these things, I think, are evidence of the President`s intent to overturn the election that would be relevant in a case out of Georgia. So, yes, I have the same question about you know, is this something the Justice Department is investigating. If it isn`t, why aren`t they? Because if it were you or me, or an alderman in Chicago, or any other city council, state legislative race, etcetera, and you have someone on the phone recorded trying to gin up a phony, you know, 11,000- plus votes, they would be under investigation.

HAYES: Yes, I agree. Congressman Adam Schiff, you guys really have your work cut out for you. I hope you`ll come back soon. Thank you very much.

SCHIFF: Thank you.

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