Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

House Democrats Target President Trump's Entire World; Frantic Search for Survivors after Deadly Tornadoes; '90210' Star Luke Perry Dies at 52 after Stroke; Gov. Jay Inslee (D), Washington, is Interviewed about His Presidential Campaign Fundraising. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired March 05, 2019 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Our goal is to hold the administration accountable. Our goal is to vindicate the rule of law.

[05:59:11] JEROME CORSI, ASSOCIATE OF ROGER STONE: I have giving all this information to the special counselor. It's really harassment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each one will be able to offer us facts and evidence to put the puzzle together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tornadoes ravaged parts of our great state. We lost children, mothers, fathers, neighbors and friends.

LASHAWN WILSON, SURVIVED TORNADO: My son was on top of me. He said, "Mom, I don't want to die." He just held onto the couch for dear life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Here we go. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, March 5, 6 a.m. here in New York.

New this morning, so this is what it means to have congressional oversight. And overnight we learned the White House doesn't like it, doesn't like it one bit.

House Democrats launched a sweeping investigation into the president's orbit, looking at allegations of corruption, obstruction of justice, abuse of power. Requests are in to 81 individuals and entities, including the president's sons. The White House is blasting the probe as disgraceful and abusive and calling it nothing more than a fishing expedition.

CAMEROTA: Also this morning, rescuers continue to search for victims and survivors after that deadly -- the deadly tornadoes in eastern Alabama that killed at least 23 people, including three children. The youngest victim was six years old.

This morning we are learning stories of survivors who lived to tell about how they made it out alive. So let's begin our coverage with CNN's Lauren Fox. She's live on Capitol Hill for us -- Lauren.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, the Democrats are casting a wide net as they start to intensify these investigations on Capitol Hill, where anyone who has been in Trump's orbit is a potential witness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADLER: Our goal is to hold the administration accountable for the obstruction of justice, the abuse of power and the corruption.

FOX (voice-over): House Democrats announcing a sweeping new investigation into President Trump, requesting documents from more than 81 people and entities within the Trump world, including members of the president's family, his businesses, his former aides, advisers and White House staff, his former campaign officials, and companies and organizations that may have been involved in his campaign.

NADLER: This is not a pre-impeachment hearing. If we're going to do anything, you have to have proof.

FOX: The investigation will look into a range of issues, including potential Russian collusion, the firing of former FBI director James Comey, hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels before the election and allegations that the president has abused the office and used it for personal gain.

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I've been very, very clear. There was no collusion. There was no cooperation, no coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

FOX: The White House slamming the probe, calling it, quote, "a disgraceful and abusive investigation into tired, false allegations," adding, quote, "Democrats are not after the truth. They're after the president."

The president indicates he'll cooperate, after spending days criticizing investigations.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I cooperate all the time with everybody. And you know the beautiful thing: no collusion. It's all a hoax.

FOX: Three other top Democrats also requesting documents related to contacts between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, including information about whether Mr. Trump "or any person sought to conceal, obscure or otherwise misrepresent the substance of those communications to shield President Trump from scrutiny."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOX: Well, the president, of course, saying that these are false investigations, that no one should be diving into them. And this all comes as William Barr, the president's new attorney general, says that he will not recuse himself from the Mueller investigation.

And as the president's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, comes once again before the House Intelligence Committee behind closed doors tomorrow -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Lauren. Thank you very much.

Joining us now is John Avlon. He's our CNN senior political analyst.

So John, you can just hear the talking point echoing everywhere now. All of President Trump's supporters are speaking from the same script. Here is Kayleigh McEnany, our old friend who is now the national press secretary of the Trump campaign; and she just spells out the talking point, I think, to a "T."

Here it is. These desperate Democrats know they cannot beat President Trump in 2020, so instead they've embarked on a disgraceful witch-hunt with one singular aim: topple the will of the American people and seize the power that they have zero chance of winning legitimately. So that's what they're now saying about the Nadler and other investigations.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. And look, they're all parroting the same talking points, from Kara Sanders to Kayleigh McEnany on the campaign.

I think what Kayleigh did there is a little bit different, though, because she took it a step further, not just repeating the old lines about witch hunts and hoaxes but saying that the Democrats have zero chance of winning an election in 2020 legitimately.

That's a different marker, and I'm going to assume it's not a mistake, and it's kind of a sinister one, frankly.

The White House and the Trump folks are never going to like the fact that there's real oversight now from Democrats. And this is a broad investigation they're conducting on their own, but you don't call into question legitimacy of an election ahead of time, even if you say that impeachment has problems in terms of overturning the will of the people in a previous election.

CAMEROTA: The 81 people and entities that the Judiciary Committee is planning to call is pretty stunning when you look at the names of all of them. I mean, everybody from Allen Weisselberg to Don McGahn -- here we go.

AVLON: There's the scroll.

CAMEROTA: Because there is the scroll. Don Jr., Eric Trump, Rhona Graff, his longtime gatekeeper at the Trump Organization. What happens if some of them don't want to come in?

AVLON: Then you'll have a fight. You're going to have a fight in -- a legal fight over subpoenas and whether they can resist. But this indicates the extent to which the investigations the

president is facing are not just focused on the Russia probe and things being covered by Bob Mueller. Seventeen different investigations that go into his businesses, questions of lying.

This is a really full probe into everything from obstruction of justice to questions of money laundering.

CAMEROTA: That's their whole point, which is they -- What Republicans now say, or at least President Trump supporters, is they can't get him on collusion. This is them trying to cover the fact that Mueller is going to be greatly disappointing, Mueller's report. So this is them now on this fishing expedition.

AVLON: The leading authority on that will be the Mueller report when it comes out, but the issue is, of course, that there are a lot of other questions that have come up that House Republicans effectively held -- carried the water for the president, Democrats say.

And so they're proceeding aggressively with this investigation. I will say overnight Ty Cobb, the president's former lawyer, coming out and calling Bob Mueller an American hero and saying it's not a witch- hunt, contrary to the president's FOX (ph) this morning.

CAMEROTA: We just got that, literally hot off the presses. We have a little portion of this podcast where Ty Cobb speaks. So let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TY COBB, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: I think Bob Mueller is an American hero. I think Bob Mueller is a guy that, you know, even though he came from an arguably privileged background, you know, has backbone of steel. He walked into a firefight in Vietnam to pull out one of his injured colleagues and was appropriately honored for that.

I've known him for 30 years as a prosecutor and a friend, and I think the -- I think the world of Bob Mueller. He is -- he is a very deliberate guy, and he -- but he's also a class act and a very justice-oriented person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: John, I don't think you get a better endorsement than that. What are you hearing in Ty Cobb's words?

AVLON: From the president's own lawyer. You know, it's the opposite of a witch-hunt, a very justice-oriented person. So these are the stakes; and that has the -- that has a force of clarity being from the president's former lawyer.

Also overnight James Comey, former FBI director, writing an op-ed in "The Washington Post" saying, look, the Justice Department could and should release more information than they may typically, because it's in the public interest, citing a number of sources. So look, this is heating up. This is the first time the Trump

administration has faced this kind of oversight and accountability and checks and balances. There are going to be a lot of fights ahead. Let's hope it's all focused on a fight for the truth, not simply partisan food fights.

CAMEROTA: John Avlon, thank you for the analysis -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Happening now, rescue crews in the middle of their search efforts for victims and survivors after that monster tornado, many more tornadoes, in fact, leveled much of Lee County, Alabama. At least 23 people were killed, dozens more hurt in this catastrophic tornado outbreak.

The National Weather Service says the most powerful of those tornadoes was an EF-4 that had winds of 170 miles per hour.

Victor Blackwell is live in Salem, Alabama, with the latest -- Victor.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, after rain overnight and temperatures right now hovering around 30 degrees, it is going to be a damp and cold sift through the bent beams and broken furniture when the teams get back to work now for a third day.

We know at this scene here in Salem, the person who was inside what used to be a trailer here was thrown into the woods. He was taken to the hospital and has since been released, but we know that this will be and still is a search-and-rescue effort on the off chance that a survivor will be found in the piles of what's left.

Now, the county coroner says that he has received no new reports of persons still missing and actually is surprised that the death toll is into the higher, considering the damage and the shortened notice of the storm.

Listen here to LaShawn Wilson. She was with her mother and her son when the storm hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILSON: We all got pushed down flat, we were like dominoes on top of each other. My son was on top of me. He said, "Mom, I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

And I said, "Son, just pray your way through." I said, "Pray your way through."

And at this point, my mom hadn't said anything. I was looking at my husband. I said, "Mom, are you OK?"

She said, "I'm just praying. And I'm just counting on that faith that it will keep us strong. We'll hold together. and we'll make it through."

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: The two bits of good news here: at the height of this aftermath, there were nearly 80 people admitted to hospitals. At CNN's count that's now down to ten.

And on the drive here this morning, there seemed to be more power at homes here. The power teams have been working overnight to get power no those homes. More porch lights lighting that drive to Salem this morning -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Victor Blackwell for us in Salem, thanks so much, Victor.

Joining me now by phone is Jessica Chandler. She survived the storm at a grocery store with her four children. Her boyfriend was at their home, which was destroyed. He was badly injured.

I understand, Jessica, he was just released from the hospital. Tell me his condition this morning. Also tell me how he describes what happened at your house.

JESSICA CHANDLER, SURVIVED TORNADO (via phone): Well, he has a fractured leg. He has broken ribs, puncture wounds, cuts, scrapes, bruises all over him. He's pretty banged up, really sore.

[06:10:12] He said that he heard some loud noises. He didn't even know that there was bad weather in the area. I didn't know, either. He heard some loud noises. He walked to the screen door, where he had -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a tire (ph) on the front porch. He seen the front porch fly up. He said he had just enough time to run like right behind him and dive for the couch. And he held onto the couch for dear life.

And he said he flew up and whenever he finally landed, he landed on a tree. And he immediately got up with the adrenaline rush and ran to find his parents, who were in the home next door to us.

They had just enough time to dive into -- inside their bathtub, and he was able to somewhat unbury -- you know, unbury them. He was able to flag down a truck, and some guys helped him get all the stuff off of his parents so they could get them out safe.

BERMAN: Oh, my. What's the condition of your house at this moment?

CHANDLER: It's gone. It's completely gone. I went and looked at it yesterday. It looks splintered. It looks broken. Our house is not there anymore. It's far away from where it used to be.

BERMAN: We have a picture right now, an aerial image of your house and where it was. And you can see, it's just simply gone. You have four children, ages 11 to four months old.

CHANDLER: Yes.

BERMAN: You were lucky enough not to be at home when the storm hit. Did you ever think of --

CHANDLER: Thank God I was not there with my children. I went to go get my baby formula. I missed it by just minutes.

BERMAN: What would have happened, had you been at home? You thought about that?

CHANDLER: Me and my children would not have survived that. I don't think there's one chance that me and my kids would have survived that.

BERMAN: What's next for you?

CHANDLER: There's a lot of people in the community donating clothes, donating food. I work for an awesome company, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cell phones (ph); and it's like they have helped me so much.

Right now, we're in a hotel for a week. My mom has a GoFundMe page going. I mean, I'm going to take it one step at a time, and we're going to start over. And I'm just thankful for the lives that were spared for my family.

BERMAN: You have what's important. You absolutely have what's important at this point.

CHANDLER: Right. Right.

BERMAN: Did you have any warning? Was there warning before the storm hit?

CHANDLER: I didn't -- my mom told me there was supposed to be bad thunderstorms, possible tornadoes, but, I mean, we hear that quite often whenever, you know, it rains bad down here.

I had no clue what was coming. No clue. I didn't hear sirens or anything. My phone went off right before that. You know, a lot of people don't watch cable any more. They watch Netflix. So we didn't know.

BERMAN: Jessica Chandler, we are so glad that you are OK, your children are OK, your boyfriend, your parents.

Again, you have what's important. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help.

CHANDLER: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: All right. For more information about how you can help the victims of the Alabama tornadoes, go to CNN.com/impact.

CAMEROTA: OK. We have some breaking news. At least 80 people arrested overnight in Sacramento. They were protesting the fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark.

This comes after prosecutors announced they were not filing charges against officers who shot the 22-year-old last March. Officers said they thought Clark had a gun, but it turns out he was holding a cellphone.

BERMAN: This morning the tributes are pouring in for actor Luke Perry. The "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Riverdale" star died Monday after suffering a massive stroke. He was just 52 years old. CNN's Stephanie Elam is live in Los Angeles with the latest -- Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

For fans of Luke Perry, they will be able to see him in his final film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," Quentin Tarantino's film. That's coming out in July.

But for most everyone, Luke Perry will be remembered for that role as Dylan McKay on "Beverly Hills 90210."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID LETTERMAN, FORMER LATE-NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Ladies and gentlemen, please say hello to the hunkiest rebel in Beverly Hill, Luck Perry. Luke.

ELAM (voice-over): Beloved actor Luke Perry died Monday at the age of 52 after suffering a massive stroke. The '90s heartthrob was best known for his role as Dylan McKay on the hit show "Beverly Hills 90210" --

LUKE PERRY, ACTOR: Bye, girls.

ELAM: -- playing the vulnerable bad boy.

PERRY: I just don't believe in winning through intimidation. Unless, of course, I'm doing the intimidating.

ELAM: The popular series catapulting Perry to fame.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's Luke Perry!

ELAM: So much so that in 1991, 10,000 people turned out to see him at an autograph signing, prompting a stampede.

PERRY: They said, "Get in that laundry bin. We'll cover you up." I jumped in. They covered me, and we rolled right out through the crowd. It was -- it was pretty slick, I've got to say.

ELAM: The actor went on to play roles on the big screen, most notably Pike in "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer."

PERRY: Buffy, you're the guy. You are the chosen guy.

ELAM: And his latest role in the teen drama "Riverdale," this time as the father of the show's heartthrob.

PERRY: I'm trying to build us a safe life for you.

[06:15:02] ELAM: Throughout Hollywood, Perry remembered as a guy as cool as the character that made him famous, his "90210" co-star Gabrielle Carteris calling the actor, quote, "a very sensitive soul who was kind, generous and he fought for the underdog."

Actress Sarah Nischelle Gellar posting, quote, "I hope his family knows how many lives he touched."

PERRY: I want to do something with my life. You know, when my time here is up, I don't want to look back and see that I didn't do anything. I see a lot of people that let their life happen to them, and I want to happen to my life. I don't want my life to happen to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And Luke Perry was a very proud Ohioan. And a little-known fact: Senator Sherrod Brown said that they were both from Mansfield, Ohio, and that his father actually delivered Luke Perry. The senator tweeting out that he was very saddened by this loss: "Luke Perry was not only a talented actor but a warm, kind person who made his home state proud" -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: I know. Reading that news, that was a crazy worlds colliding little nugget there.

ELAM: Completely.

CAMEROTA: Yes, just all the different paths that cross in life. Stephanie, thank you very much.

Joining us now is "Entertainment Tonight" host and CNN contributor Nischelle Turner.

Nischelle --

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi.

CAMEROTA: -- look, it was so shocking, obviously --

TURNER: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- to "Beverly Hills 90210" fans, as well as the fans that he's made through his acting in adulthood.

And I know that you were so saddened to hear the news about Luke Perry. We have pictures of you from a time that you interviewed him. You're touching him a lot here, Nischelle. He -- he seems to be attempting to take a picture, and you are kind of pawing at him.

So can you share your memories with us?

TURNER: My adolescent self was really having a good time that day, Alisyn. I mean, I like millions of other, you know, girls my age, fell in love with him on "90210," the bad boy persona.

For us, he was kind of like that updated version of a teen idol, you know. And he had that James Dean hair, and he was a bad boy driving a convertible, a kid who was in high school who lived on his own. And he just had a swagger. That's what they call it these days, swagger. Back then we just thought he was the coolest guy in the room.

But you know, to meet him, someone that I, you know, fell in love with when I was a teenager and to know that he was such a good soul and a good guy, I mean, I was just kind of overwhelmed that day, if I'm being honest. I really was.

So, yes, it hit me hard. When someone, you know, that you idolized and that you loved and that you really fangirled over growing up passes away like that, unexpectedly and so young, it does hit you. It hits you right where you live.

CAMEROTA: I totally get it. And 52 years old is too young, and so of course, there are the inevitable questions about his lifestyle. You know, when somebody in Hollywood dies too young, people wonder if there was drug use, if there was alcohol use. Do you know anything? I mean, he looked fit. He looked active. He was working. Do you know anything about his lifestyle?

TURNER: We have not heard anything about -- about that, about the cause of the stroke, about what happened behind it. We just know that it was a massive stroke. We know that, when the paramedics got to his home, he was alert; and then he took a turn for the worse.

We learned -- we know that he was heavily sedated in the days following the stroke and that he never fully regained consciousness. But other than that, we haven't got any other information except that he was surrounded by his family.

So what we've heard throughout Hollywood is just an outpouring of love, from his castmates now to his castmates from "90210" and all of the people that came in contact with him. They all repeat the same thing: a sweet, kind, gentle soul who was gone away too soon.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. I had a chance to interview him, as well, a few years ago; and he was wonderful. Just really down to earth and really nice. I wasn't touching him quite as much as you were in the interview. I don't -- I didn't have an opportunity to.

TURNER: I've got to own that one. I've got to own it. It was a day that my younger self said, "Nischelle, this is it!"

CAMEROTA: Everybody can understand that, Nischelle, and it's so great that you had that moment. And it is so great that he's being remembered so fondly and so warmly as a really great guy. Nischelle, thank you for sharing your photos and memories with us.

TURNER: Absolutely, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: John.

BERMAN: I have to say I was more of a "Melrose Place" guy than a "90210" guy, but my age cohorts, people I know, were shaken by this. I think part of it's the age. I mean, Luke Perry, 52 years old. He's our age, and we remember him from being in high school.

CAMEROTA: Totally. And he hadn't fallen on hard times. He was a working actor. And so that was so sudden, and why did he have a stroke? So we are going to talk to a medical expert about that: what the precursors are, what you can do to try to avoid it, what we can learn from this.

BERMAN: Yes. It's an important discussion.

Overnight a Democratic presidential candidate announced an impressive fundraising haul: one million bucks since announcing just a few days ago. This candidate joins us live in the studio, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:24:00] BERMAN: All right. Political news this morning. The governor of Washington state, Jay Inslee, announced he has raised $1 million in just a few days since he jumped into the 2020 race. He announced on Friday. The campaign says he has supporters from all 50 states.

Joining us now is the Democratic governor from Washington, Jay Inslee. Thank you for being with us.

GOV. JAY INSLEE (D-WA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Congratulations on getting into the race. Congratulations on the fundraising haul.

INSLEE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Look, the last CNN poll, we asked Democratic voters what were the traits they want to see in Democratic candidates., and we ranked them. And the most important trait, according to Democratic voters, 49 percent -- I think we have a graphic of this we can throw up on the screen -- 49 percent said the No. 1 trait they want is a good chance to beat Trump. Why is that you?

INSLEE: Well, I present a perfect vision that is opposite to Donald Trump's.

His is one of pessimism and fear and division. My vision is a growing expansive America that will defeat climate change as the highest priority of the United States. Something that he has said is a hoax.

[06:25:10] This is an urgent matter. We need to have a president who will call forth America to a higher mission statement. And I do believe it is our destiny to defeat climate change and build a new economy. Building a new economy with electric cars in Michigan and wind towers in Iowa and batteries in Nevada and solar power even in my state where I kicked off my campaign.

And so far, as you alluded, people seem to be responding to that vision statement by helping this candidacy.

BERMAN: So more than almost any candidate that I can remember, you have made a single issue the issue in your campaign, which is climate change.

I think for casual observers of the Democratic field, they may look -- look at this and say, the Democratic candidates all pretty much have the same view of climate change, which is that it's a major threat that needs to be addressed. So why are you any better on climate change than any of the other candidates?

INSLEE: Well, I have a unique candidacy for a variety of reasons. No. 1, I am the only candidate who has said forthrightly that this has to be the highest priority of the United States.

And the reason it has to be our first, foremost and paramount duty of the next administration is that we are out of time. And the only way this is going to get done is if we have a president who will really put political capital to get this job done.

So first, I'm the person who said it's a priority. Second, I'm the person who's actually got things done. Look, I'm a governor of the most successful state perhaps in the country, best economy in the country, because we have done things to build our clean energy jobs. We've created a whole wind turbine industry from 0 to $6 billion from my governor's experience.

And the third, look, I've been at this for 20 years. I co-authored a book about this 11 years ago. I've been very active in forming the U.S. Climate Alliance. It now has 21 states involved in it. So I've put a priority on it. I've moved my state and shown progress, and I've got the chops to get this job done.

BERMAN: So you say you're the Democratic candidate who puts this as the No. 1 priority. According to the polls, do you know who doesn't put it as the No. 1 priority? The American people.

Pew Research just did a roll on this. And if you ask ask all voters, Democrats and Republicans, the issue of climate change ranks 17th. If you narrow that down to Democratic voters, it's fifth or sixth behind healthcare, education, environment, which I think could sweep up climate change, Medicare and poor and needy. So it's not the No. 1 issue even among Democratic voters.

INSLEE: It is the No. 1 issue for two reasons. No. 1, in the first four primary states, which we're most interested in at the moment, the Center of American Progress actually just did a poll; and it showed it was ranked as a No. 1 priority, tied with healthcare. That's one thing we need to know.

But the second thing is more important. Look, climate change, if you care about the economy, this is the economy. This is an economic issue.

The fastest growing job in America is solar installer. The second is wind turbine technician. Clean energy jobs are growing twice as fast as the U.S. economy.

So this polling is a bit distracting, if you will, because if people care about the economy, this is a clean energy job creation message. Listen, if you care about national security, this is a big-time national security. The generals and admirals in the intelligence community have told us this, because as deserts swallow the world, you get these mass migrations and political instability.

So it is much more than an environmental issue. It cuts across everything we care about, and that's why people are responding to this message.

BERMAN: The president has declared a national emergency in order to get funding to build his border wall. If it survives Congress, if it survives the court, and there is a precedent for a president declaring such a national emergency, if you, Governor, become president, will you declare a national emergency to fight climate change?

INSLEE: Well, first thing in the answer to that, I want to make sure people understand that he should not be able to do this. This is illegal and unconstitutional under the current rules of the United States.

And this vanity project -- and that's what this wall is, because we do not have a national security, we have a political emergency by Donald Trump, that's it. So I hope the Republicans will stand up and do their job. I hope the courts will.

BERMAN: But if it gets through Congress -- if it gets through Congress and if it gets through the court and there is a precedent, will you use it for climate change?

INSLEE: I would first work with Congress because the best way to do this is to build a national consensus and work with Congress to get that job done.

BERMAN: But you won't rule it out?

INSLEE: No, you can't. If the rules change in the United States democratic process, no president, "R" or "D," can rule out the use of whatever the rules are.

But the way this should be done is by building a mission statement of an economic destiny to build a clean energy economy. We can do this if we have presidential leadership. Look what John F. Kennedy did in going to the moon. That's what we need.

BERMAN: Two questions if I can. The House Judiciary Committee just issued requests from 81 individuals and entities for documents and other information regarding the investigations. How much time do you spend thinking about these investigations and the president?

INSLEE: Not a lot. I'm really glad that we have now a Democratic majority that's going to do its job, I believe, and get to the bottom of all this skullduggery. And it's a long, sordid tale involving this president.