CNN Newsroom: Interview with Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)

Interview

Well, Jim, thank you for having me. And I think what I would say on a Saturday afternoon, I wish both of us were not here discussing this topic because it is a former president of the United States who is now suffering or now experiencing indictments practically all over the nation from New York to Washington to Georgia. What the world will see is something that they have never seen before in current history of an American president.

American presidents are held in high esteem. We may disagree with them politically. They run as Republicans and Democrats but the office itself has been held in the highest of esteem. We now have an individual who has been indicted in New York for charges of rape and sexual issues if you will against a woman, or convicted if you will in a civil case -- not convicted but held guilty in a civil case, found to be liable. And we have cases that is still pending in New York and Washington and now in Georgia.

This is a state case. And no federal law or protection that the president needs, and he does have his protection is going to -- I assume -- stop him from going through the normal process that any criminal defendant will go through in the state of Georgia. But I will say, I am saddened to be here discussing this because what it does to the presidency of the United States, and frankly, as someone who was physically in the chamber on January 6th, 2021, saw the fear, saw the guns, heard the gunshot, saw the banging and screaming on the doors to get into the chamber.

I am more stunned that that day did happen and that there couldn't be another respectful way that the former president could have expressed his opposition or his questions about the election. There have been questions about the elections since the time I was elected in the late 1990s. But it was handled in a way that followed the process of this government under the Constitution. He did not.

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Well, it's obviously chilling. We are public servants. I have a great respect for the three branches of government. The legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. We've always felt special in this country because the judiciary has been an independent judiciary for the federal government which Judge Chutkan is a part of, appointed for life. And then we do that so they cannot be subject to (INAUDIBLE) commentary.

I've never seen this as a senior member in the House Judiciary Committee who has been involved in impeachments of judges. I have never seen this kind of outside attack. The former president called her biased and unfair, and gave the inference that she would not be handling his case of four counts of conspiracy under the special counsel fairly. And what does that do? Whether someone is sitting on their couch drinking or however they might be motivated, or others might be motivated, they've been given a signal that she is wrong and she is not right.

I wish for her the best security, the safest way of moving around so that she can do her job, and she has to do her job without comment and she has indicated to the lawyers of Mr. Trump that he is going to be limited in receiving information or information that he might be able to comment on. And that's appropriate.

As it relates to those of us in public office, I would simply say it's chilling for your family. It's chilling for your family. But I thank law enforcement who has really paid attention to this. And even though this individual may have certain issues, we don't know who else is thinking about it. The temperature needs to be brought down and the former president needs to be actively engaged in stopping the hysteria, and egging people on, provoking them to do things that are against the Constitution and the order of this nation. Law and order has to prevail not only for us but for them.

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Jim, isn't that an interesting question? And isn't that a question that none of us expected to be answering in 2023, in the 21st century, when we've been a democracy now for certainly 200 years plus? And we've been a democracy that the world has admired. Now we have a situation where our very laws restrain us. There's the First Amendment. He has First Amendment rights.

As a lawyer, in law school we're always taught that you cannot cry fire in a crowded theater. We have fire right now. We have people who are very tense, we have people who are loyal without question to his movement and his words. We have a dubious situation where we have a president who is attacking presidents, meaning President Biden, who is attacking every judge that has his case before them.

Here's what I would say. I asked the question over and over again. The Republican Party, his colleagues, need to be able to assess whether they are patriots and they are citizens of the United States with allegiance to the Constitution, or whether or not they have a single allegiance to this individual?

Cities have a right to be safe, states have a right to be safe, the people in them have a right to be safe. And if this provocation continues, judges that are sworn to oath to preside over trials fairly, and I imagine they all do -- I may disagree with them but I imagine they all do, then it is important for the Republican Party to be as keenly respectful for the three branches of government as I am. And they should be the ones to quell, to quash his behavior, to silence him. He's a defendant in some and others are civil matters. And so it is important for them to speak up and I'm waiting for them to do so.

Otherwise, I think it is appropriate that the judge be fair, be appropriate as she is, and she will have to handle the case where his lawyers will be limited in what they can publicly comment on and I would imagine it should be as well anything that provides a suggestion that she might be attacked in her duties, or anyone else might be attacked. And that's what I think is important. Where is the voice of my friends in the Republican Party? Where are they? Where's the leadership of the United States House of Representatives and the Senate? Where are they?

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Jim, good to be with you. Thank you for having me.

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