Alysin Camerota asked Rep. Jerry Nadler if he was feeling frustrated in his attempts to get the Trump administration to comply with House oversight.
"I mean, Chairman, you have since Robert Mueller handed over the Mueller report to the Department of Justice, you have wanted to interview various witnesses, you have wanted to see the unredacted report, you have been denied by the Department of Justice at every turn, and I'm just wondering if today you're feeling outmaneuvered somehow by Bill Barr," she said.
"Well, we're still maneuvering so it's not a question of being outmaneuvered, but the fact of the matter is the report was released in redacted form, the attorney general, Bill Barr, lied about what was in the report twice, and then lied again to the Senate committee, misrepresented what was the in the report. It is very important for the American people and certainly for the members of the Congress to see the unredacted version of the report so they can judge for themselves," Nadler said.
"As I said, the Attorney General Barr has first -- has been acting throughout as a personal attorney for the president, distorting what's in the report, lying about it, frankly, and trying to hold it back so that no one can see the exact magnitude of his lies."
Camerota said she was "sensing" frustration. "On a scale of one to to ten, how frustrated are you this morning?"
"It's not a question of frustration. The law must be vindicated, the American people must know what's going on. Appropriate action, whatever that may be, must be taken and the president must not be permitted to operate a lawless administration and become a king. And we will have to insist on that no matter how long it takes. We cannot allow Donald Trump and his minions to convert a democratic government into what amounts to a monarchy where Congress elected by the people has no real role," Nadler said.
"It sounds like what you're saying a monarchy but by another name, it's a constitutional crisis. Where do you think --"
"The phrase 'constitutional crisis' has been overused, but certainly."
"Certainly it's a constitutional crisis, although I don't like to use that phrase because it's been used for far less dangerous situations. The phrase has been overused."
"I hear you, but do you feel that we are currently in a constitutional crisis, or headed for one?"
"No. No. We are in one. We are in one because the president is disobeying the law, is refusing all information to Congress, which means that -- I mean, when -- when he told the head -- his nominee for the head of Homeland Security to close the border and he said, 'well, that's illegal,' he said, 'don't worry, I will protect you,' that's a lawless administration. We cannot have a lawless administration."
