Watch CBS News

Newsmaker Interview: East Bay Congressman Says Impeachment Is Warranted

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- KPIX 5 political correspondent Phil Matier spoke with Bay Area congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) about the impact of the Mueller report on public opinion and whether it will lead to the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Matier in the Morning: Rep. Mark DeSaulnier on the Mueller Report and Congress
KPIX 5's Phil Matier spoke about the Mueller report and the possibility of impeachment with Rep. Mark DeSaulnier. (CBS)

The following is a lightly-edited transcript derived from the first part of that interview.

Phil Matier
Good morning! Joining us is East Bay congressman Mark DeSaulnier. What's it been two or three weeks since the [Mueller report] landed?

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord)
Two weeks.

Matier
What a two weeks it's been huh? What are we going to do now?

Rep. DeSaulnier
I think the American public is just so worn out with controversy with this president. Having read the report twice, I think it's amazing.

Matier
So where do we go with it from here? Do we continue to probe the obstruction of justice? Does it go on the backburner? Realistically, what do you think's going to happen?

Rep. DeSaulnier
Well, I think, on the obstruction, the judiciary committee has been clear and the chair, Jerry Nadler, and when I read the obstruction part of the report, [Mueller] says there are 10 cases that he delineates pretty clearly: firing of Comey, directing McGahn to get rid of the special counsel. So, basically, what Mueller says is ... he didn't believe that they could indict because of a ruling from the legal people at the Department of Justice but he also says there are constitutional ways to do that. So ...

Matier
So are we going to pursue that?

Rep. DeSaulnier
You've got 200 pages of very compelling, researched, legal investigatory work that basically directs the Congress to do its job.

Matier
So do you think we're going to see a move towards impeachment?

Rep. DeSaulnier
I've already supported impeachment. For me it's a matter of principle. This president has lied multiple times. He lied about covering up his affairs. He's lied about directing people to break the law.

Matier
So this is going to be on the front burner in the coming months. You guys are going to keep it out there and we're going to be having the hearings and we're going to do this ...

Rep. DeSaulnier
It's our responsibility to provide oversight and the founders provided equal branch of government for the Congress. The House of Representatives, historically, has that oversight. After the Harding and the Teapot Dome, very specifically, Congress said you can subpoena people, it's the reason why we --

Matier
So we are going to go that way.

Rep. DeSaulnier
We have to, it's our responsibility.

Matier
Do you think the American public wants you to be spending the time on this?

Rep. DeSaulnier
I think so. But irrespective of that the Constitution requires us to do it. There's a reason why there's a constitution.

Matier
Do you see other investigations? Are we going to be looking at President Trump's taxes? Are we going to be asking for business dealings? Security clearances? In other words, is it gonna be obstruction of justice? Or do you think it's going to be a whole myriad of investigations that we're going to be watching?

Rep. DeSaulnier
It's anything that merits looking at. And all of those things you've mentioned, we've already moved on. That's what Congress's job is. We're supposed to pass legislation but we're also supposed to provide oversight.

Matier
So this will be ongoing. Do you see the speaker? Is she in favor of this? I get mixed messages on that.

Rep. DeSaulnier
I think speaker is very much in favor of us providing the oversight. The question is, whether you do it through just hearings or whether you start with impeachment...

Matier
What is the end game of this -- is it impeachment?

Rep. DeSaulnier
It's to find the truth and let the American public see it in open hearings.

Matier
Usually there's a goal for a hearing, right? It's either legislative or something like that.

Rep. DeSaulnier
The goal is to provide oversight and get to the truth.

Matier
Okay, now that we've got to the truth of the investigation, is anybody proposing any legislation on how to handle foreign interference with American campaigns?

Rep. DeSaulnier
The first bill we passed -- HR-1 by John Sarbanes (which) I was a co-author of -- dealt with how we fund our campaigns and how the American public and you, as journalists, tell the American public. A very important component of that is oversight about foreign involvement in social media in the news so if you've got something in social media that you've paid for, and you're from a foreign entity, you have to notify on the social media that you've paid for it.

Matier
Okay. And where does that stand right now?

Rep. DeSaulnier
(Senate majority leader) Mitch McConnell says it's a non-starter.

Matier
All right, so we're getting nowhere fast?

Rep. DeSaulnier
Well, I wouldn't say that. I mean, the House having a majority of Democrats having the majority having Speaker Pelosi in charge, I think we're going to provide oversight that gives the American public confidence. I do think that the American public is worn out with this administration. But having said that, we're citizens of the United States of America, we have a responsibility to get to the truth.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.