On Thursday, MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi teed up a softball interview with left-wing California Congresswoman Maxine Waters by wondering: “You think that Donald Trump should be impeached over Russia and anything else – any other discussion distracts us from that investigation. You still hold true to that?”
Predictably, Waters ranted over unproven conspiracy theories about the Trump campaign supposedly colluding with Russia to swing the election: “Yes. I've always said that I believe if we get the investigations that need to be done, if we drill down, we're going to see the connections....And when we see that, he certainly will be eligible for impeachment. I do believe that.”
Rather than push back on her extreme position calling for the impeachment of a president who’s been in office for a matter of weeks, Velshi simply asked: “Are you satisfied that the necessary investigations are going to get underway, these hearings that we’re going to have on March 20, both the Senate and the House?” Waters declared: “Not yet. I'm not satisfied yet. I'm worried about the Republicans who are still standing up for Trump, even in the face of growing information.”
Without specifying any of that “growing information,” she added: “I want the Democrats to be poised with all kind of research and information to do the drilling down that I think is necessary to understand what Trump has done in connection with the Russians to undermine our democracy.”
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Velshi noted that her fellow Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff was “seeking testimony of a former British spy, who wrote an unsubstantiated dossier of alleged collusion between Donald Trump and Russia.” He pressed: “Do you believe anything about that dossier?”
Waters not only found the discredited dossier to be reliable, but she even asserted that salacious unproven accusations in it were “absolutely true”: “Oh, I think it should be taken a look at. I think they should really read it, understand it, analyze it....We already know that the part about the coverage that they have on him with sex actions is supposed to be true. They have said that that’s absolutely true.”
Instead of demanding proof of such claims, Velshi only gently followed up: “You say you know – you think them to be true. How are we all going to find out what is true and what isn't true? I mean, does it help that you think so? Because unless you have information that we don't have, that's an allegation.”
Waters insisted: “Yeah, but you understand that I am saying the investigations must be done....I think that if we do the investigations, that we will find the connections and I do think that impeachment will be necessary.”
Wrapping up the exchange, Velshi promised: “We’ll keep tabs on your progress on this front.”
Here is a full transcript of the March 9 interview:
11:40 AM ET
ALI VELSHI: The first public hearing on Russia's interference in the U.S. elections gets under way in the House Intelligence Committee in 11 days. This happens as top Democrats and Republicans from both the House and the Senate Intelligence Committees travel to CIA headquarters to review raw intelligence on Russia's interference in the U.S. election. Virginia Senator Mark Warner spoke out when he returned.
SEN. MARK WARNER [D-VA]: A lot of what we saw today was the evidence underlying how Russia manipulated the news, how it hacked into the DNC and John Podesta and leaked out in favor of one candidate against another candidate.
ALI VELSHI: Joining me now is California Congresswoman Maxine Waters. She's been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration, particularly on its ties to Russia. Congresswoman, good to see you. You seem to be playing one note on this. You think that Donald Trump should be impeached over Russia and anything else – any other discussion distracts us from that investigation. You still hold true to that?
REP. MAXINE WATERS [D-CA]: Yes. I've always said that I believe if we get the investigations that need to be done, if we drill down, we're going to see the connections. We're going to understand the role that this administration has played during the campaign with Russia. And when we see that, he certainly will be eligible for impeachment. I do believe that.
VELSHI: Are you satisfied that the necessary investigations are going to get underway, these hearings that we’re going to have on March 20, both the Senate and the House?
WATERS: Not yet. I'm not satisfied yet. I'm worried about the Republicans who are still standing up for Trump, even in the face of growing information. And so, I still think the call for an independent commission is credible and that we should do that. Let's see what happens. They're going to do the investigations and I want the Democrats to be poised with all kind of research and information to do the drilling down that I think is necessary to understand what Trump has done in connection with the Russians to undermine our democracy.
VELSHI: Your colleague, Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat on the House panel investigating Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, says he's seeking testimony of a former British spy, who wrote an unsubstantiated dossier of alleged collusion between Donald Trump and Russia. Do you believe anything about that dossier?
WATERS: Oh, I think it should be taken a look at. I think they should really read it, understand it, analyze it, and determine what's fact, what may not be fact. We already know that the part about the coverage that they have on him with sex actions is supposed to be true. They have said that that’s absolutely true. Some other things they kind of allude to. Yes, I think he should go into that dossier and see what's there.
VELSHI: You say you know – you think them to be true. How are we all going to find out what is true and what isn't true? I mean, does it help that you think so? Because unless you have information that we don't have, that's an allegation.
WATERS: Yeah, but you understand that I am saying the investigations must be done, the drilling down must be done. We must get to the facts of what it has been about. I don't think you can do the impeachment just because I think or others think. But I think that if we do the investigations, that we will find the connections and I do think that impeachment will be necessary.
VELSHI: Who will initiate that? Where do you think that’ll come from if there is an impeachment proceeding against the President?
WATERS: Oh, well, if the information comes out, anyone of us will have the resolutions of inquiry. Already you've had one that has been filed, poised, and ready to go.
VELSHI: But it's still a political process, right? You're still going to have to have a number of Republicans who support the concept that they would impeach a Republican president after eight years of trying to get one.
WATERS: Well, let me just say what I really think about that. I think that even the most conservative of the members of Congress, the Republicans who are supporting Trump now, will not continue to stand with him if the facts come out that he was involved in some kind of collusion with Russia. I think that many of them are strong patriots and they are patriotic and that if facts come out to show that he undermined our democracy and he worked with the Kremlin, if he worked with Putin, and if they're involved in not only trying to make sure that Trump got elected and undermine Hillary –
And, as I add to that, that they're all about lifting the sanctions because all of this involvement with oil and gas and those around him who have all these connections with oil and gas. And even the latest proposal that came out from Mr. Cohen, his lawyer, and Mr. Seder, the ex-con that's been involved in developing a proposal that they took to Mr. Flynn, that proposal shows the connection and the involvement. It must be investigated.
And I think there's enough there to make everybody want to drill down and these conservative members won't stand by Mr. Trump when they get the facts to show that he's undermined our democracy, in the interests of having Trump president, who will lift those sanctions and turned a blind eye to his [Putin’s] aggression in the Ukraine. That's what it's all about.
VELSHI: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, thanks for joining us again. We’ll keep tabs on your progress on this front. Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California.
WATERS: Thank you.
