[Bolduan:] President Trump said a lot in his 80-minute speech last night. Did he also unveil a new campaign slogan? Listen to this.
[Donald Trump, Preident Of The United States:] If there's going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.
[Trump:] It just doesn't work that way.
[Bolduan:] The president's clear message to the new Democratic House majority, even before they get started, get off my back. So where do things stand now? Joining me is Democratic woman from California, Karen Bass. She sits on the House Judiciary Committee. Congresswoman, thank you for being here.
[Rep. Karen Bass, , California:] Thanks for having me on.
[Bolduan:] When you heard that last night from President Trump, did you take that as some kind of a threat?
[Bass:] No, I don't take it as a threat. I just take it as another example of him still not understanding how the democratic process works. He said it just doesn't work this way. No, actually it does. There are three co-equal branches of government and one of our primary responsibilities in the House of Representatives and the Senate is to provide oversight over the administration. This is the new reality he is going to have to get used to. I hope somebody sits him down and explains the democratic process.
[Bolduan:] Maybe put another way, the president might be saying that if a Democratic House majority spends the bulk of their time and committee resources on looking into him and his administration with investigations, then they're not going to have time doing anything else.
[Bass:] Well, I think that's exactly not true. We are going to do our responsibility. The thing is, one of the reasons why he's confused is because, for the last two years, there has been no oversight over this administration at all. So he's going to have to get used to that reality. I can guarantee you that the Democratic majority has a very robust, pro-active, positive agenda that we are going to fight for over these next few years. So he's going to see that we can walk and chew gum at the same time.
[Bolduan:] We're all watching as that plays out. Speaking of walking and chewing gum at the same time, your committee has oversight over the Justice Department, of course.
[Bass:] Yes.
[Bolduan:] The acting attorney general, Matt Whittaker, is testifying before your committee on Friday.
[Bass:] Yes.
[Bolduan:] The chairman, Jerry Nadler, has already said he's having a subpoena drafted though in case Whittaker doesn't show up or claims executive privilege to avoid answering some questions.
[Bass:] Right.
[Bolduan:] I do wonder, Congresswoman, why draft the subpoena ahead of time? Do you have an indication he's not going to answer questions?
[Bass:] I think we have to be prepared for that. It's not really clear, because the administration doesn't quite understand the role of the House of Representatives, it's not clear they're going to comply. Secretary Nielsen said she was not going to come before the House Homeland Security Committee. And the chairman, Benny Thompson, had to prepare a subpoena. Before he enacted that subpoena, she did agree to testify. I think it's absolutely right that we need to prepare subpoenas, because we don't know whether this administration plans to cooperate. Hopefully, they will understand the co-equal branches of government before too long and realize it's their obligation to comply when called before the House.
[Bolduan:] I mean, say he shows up, he still has the subpoena drafted. Do you see a scenario where the chairman hands Whittaker a subpoena in the middle of a hearing?
[Bass:] No, I don't. I think if Whittaker comes for goodness sake, I would hope he comes with the intention of being compliant. I don't know whether the chairman would hand him a subpoena right there at the hearing. But you know what? If that's what he needs to do to get them to understand that they need to comply with the way our government operates, then so be it.
[Bolduan:] What do you most want to hear from the acting attorney general or what is your big question right now?
[Bass:] Well, I think the main thing is whether or not he is going to try to block the Mueller report, because we don't know whether or not that report will become available before a new attorney general is sworn in. So I think that's one thing. And then also for him to be accountable for all of the statements that he's made basically saying that a president cannot and should not be held accountable. We need to know, OK, that's what you said on CNN, but now that you're in this position, where do you stand.
[Bolduan:] How confident are you that the Mueller report will be made public?
[Bass:] Well, you know what, I don't know. The question will be whether or not this administration tries to block it from becoming public. I can't imagine that Mueller wouldn't want it to become public, but we will see. We will see if the administration tries to block it and there will be a standoff between the two. I think, at the end of the day, it will become public. It's absolutely critical that it become public. The whole country has been waiting over the last two years, what is going on. And the idea that he would complete the investigation and then it would be squashed, I think there would be a terrible backlash in the country. It would be very unhealthy. So
[Bolduan:] Even from the perspective of Republicans, Senator Chuck Grassley, his point is the American taxpayers paid for this investigation, they should see what comes out of it. He's with you on that.
[Bass:] Absolutely.
[Bolduan:] You are also the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
[Bass:] Yes.
[Bolduan:] You have called for the Virginia governor to resign over the racist photo and his reaction to it, quite frankly.
[Bass:] Yes. That's right.
[Bolduan:] The lieutenant governor Virginia politics is a mess right now because the lieutenant governor is facing a sexual assault allegation that he has vehemently denied. The woman, Vanessa Tyson, is working with the same firm that represented Christine Blasey Ford when she took on Brett Kavanaugh.
[Bass:] Right.
[Bolduan:] I look back, and back then, your campaign put out a statement saying, "I believe you and I'm with you," to Christine Blasey Ford. Should this woman be heard now?
[Bass:] Absolutely, she should be. I don't believe in a double standard at all. I, first of all, think the governor should step down. That's a separate issue. If the lieutenant governor were to assume the governor's position and I don't know what the process is in Virginia but I think she absolutely should be heard. Whatever process is appropriate in Virginia should be followed. Maybe he wouldn't be able to take the seat. Maybe it would have to go to the attorney general. I don't know what the specific situation is, but I do not believe in a double standard and I do believe everybody should be held accountable.
[Bolduan:] Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate your time.
[Bass:] Thank you.
[Bolduan:] Just in for us, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, he says the now Democratically controlled committee, his committee, is expanding the parameters of their investigation to now go beyond Russia. What does that mean? That's next.