MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Adam Schiff

Interview

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Leading off our discussion tonight is Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff of California. He is the chair of the House Intelligence Committee and he is a member of the January 6th select committee. He was a lead impeachment manager in the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump.

Thank you for joining us tonight, Congressman Schiff.

And as a former legal practitioner yourself standing in those courtrooms, what did you make of this hearing today?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Well, the judge was clearly skeptical of what the Trump lawyers were arguing and for good reason. And I`m particularly pleased that in the quote that you excerpted just now, the court understands exactly what Donald Trump`s lawyers are trying to do, which is delay. The whole point is delay.

They understand as well as we do that it`s the current president who really has the dominance and executive privilege. So they understand. I think the Trump lawyers understand they`re going to lose this litigation, but their whole goal is to draw it out as long as humanly possible. And the judge in that exchange seems to be indicating that the judge knows exactly what they`re doing.

O`DONNELL: I mean, not only does this judge not want to delay the process, she doesn`t want to delay the hearing. She was up constantly interrupting and speeding it along to keep the focus on the actual issues and even from the rhetoric, even at one point telling Donald Trump`s lawyer to tone down his rhetoric. And the judge also seems in full command of every relevant case and every law that`s relevant to what`s being discussed in that hearing today.

SCHIFF: I think that`s right. I think that she could tell that the Trump lawyers were essentially trying to put on a show for the MAGA audience outside the courtroom, and that wasn`t really impressing the judge. That she wants to resolve the issue. She wants to do it in an expeditious way. The law is pretty clear here that where the current president finds that the national interest outweighs an assertion of privilege and the Biden administration has made that finding, that that is the dominant determinant, and for good reason. If you`re not going to waive executive privilege in circumstances where the country and its capitol are attacked and Congress is looking into that attack and trying to protect itself in the future, then it would be almost no circumstance where a waiver was appropriate.

So, clearly, the judge understands the case law and is working no effort to either deflect, to distract, or sensationalize the hearing.

O`DONNELL: So, Liz Cheney, the top Republican on the committee you`re serving on today said the committee has actually had over 150 interviews. Would you say there`s been information revealed in those interviews that would change our understanding of what happened on January 6th and leading up to January 6th?

SCHIFF: I think it`s too early to say. We have gotten a lot of cooperation from people which has not been in the public view. We have, you know, worked quietly behind the scenes at a rather frenetic pace.

[22:10:05]

And, you know, Representative Cheney`s statements also don`t go to the other big area of progress, and that is we`ve gotten really a significant number, thousands and thousands of documents that we still need to go through and are pouring through.

So we`ve made a lot of progress in a short amount of time but I`m not prepared to represent, you know, what kind of conclusions we may reach.

O`DONNELL: In those 150 interviews that we don`t know about, do they include Trump officials who have cooperated with the committee without needing subpoenas?

SCHIFF: They do include people from the former administration. They include people in the private sector. They include people are experts in some of the -- for example, the social media issues that we`re investigating. So they run the gamut.

But I think what has been encouraging to us is because we`ve had the cooperation of people in the public and private sector we know what to ask for. And we know when we demand production of documents and we`re not getting the full truth that we can hold those parties accountable.

O`DONNELL: What are you expecting in tomorrow`s deposition with Jeffrey Clark? And he`s the person at the justice department who was plotting with Donald Trump to first of all have a coup at the justice department and install him as acting attorney general so that he could then publicly allege as acting attorney general that there was a fraudulent election in Georgia and other places. He`s supposed to testify tomorrow.

What are you expecting from that testimony?

SCHIFF: You know, while I can`t confirm the timing of his testimony, I can tell you we`ll be taking his testimony. And we`re interested in he was involved in discussions with the former president, with high ranking justice department officials about efforts to get the Georgia and other states to either withhold the appoint of electors or send alternate slates of electors.

He was also involved in discussions about putting out there that the justice department was investigating massive fraud. And he is I think probably in a singular position to speak to those meetings and discussions both at the White House and within the Justice Department.

So, you know, Congress has heard from a variety of other witnesses who refuse those entreaties by Mr. Clark and the former president. And now we need to go straight to the horse`s mouth.

O`DONNELL: Let`s listen to what Chairman Thompson said today in this interview with Leigh Ann Caldwell about additional subpoenas that he`s already signed.

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REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): I signed the subpoenas.

REPORTER: You`ve already signed. Have they gone out?

THOMPSON: No.

REPORTER: Will they probably go out tomorrow?

THOMPSON: You know.

REPORTER: How many?

THOMPSON: Probably about 20.

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O`DONNELL: Probably 20 subpoenas that have already gone out. What could you tell us about those subpoenas?

SCHIFF: I can tell you that with respect to some witnesses we`re going straight subpoena, where we don`t expect they`re going to cooperate. And in other cases where we`ve been trying to engage in counsel and making too little progress, or we think that individuals are holding back we`re providing subpoenas and demanding information.

So we`re moving very quickly using all of the compulsion we have. We hope and we urge the Justice Department also move quickly on the prosecution of Steve Bannon. We feel that will be very important in its own right to uphold the rule of law and secure his testimony. But we think it also sends an important message to other witnesses that they cannot ignore their lawful responsibilities when they`re subpoenas like they would before any court in the country. They better show up.

O`DONNELL: Congressman Adam Schiff, thank you very much for starting off our discussion tonight. We really appreciate it.

SCHIFF: Thank you.

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