Pelosi Plans to Meet with Democrats on Monday on Trump's Impeachment; Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is Interviewed about Trump's Possible Impeachment; Democratic Presidential Candidates Divided on Impeachment
MARQUARDT: Well, the Mueller report is now out. So, the big question is, what are Democrats going to do with it. The 2020 candidates are facing pressure to take a stance one way or the other on impeaching President Trump. Listen to what 2020 candidate Congressman Tim Ryan told CNN's Jake Tapper earlier today.</s>TAPPER: So you do not support impeachment as of right now, but you want the process to begin, is that -- the investigation process to begin, is that correct?</s>REP. TIM RYAN (D-OH) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's correct. That's correct. Not -- yes, let the process play itself out, and let's educate the American people too, Jake. This is a very nuanced document. Let the American people really see what's going on here. It paints a terrible picture of the president's interactions. The blatant lying that happens and directing people to lie to the public, to lie to lawyers, to lie to the Congress. I mean, it's very detailed and the American people through this process will get up to speed with how this administration has been behaving.</s>MARQUARDT: Ryan's approach there stands at contrast with his 2020 rival, Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is one of the frontrunners and is now stating her views a little more bluntly.</s>SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's my responsibility to speak out. I took an oath to the constitution of the United States and the constitution makes clear that the accountability for the president is lies through Congress, and that's the impeachment process.</s>MARQUARDT: And all of this comes as House Democrats led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are planning to get together tomorrow to figure out their next steps after the Mueller report. So joining me now to discuss all of this are Lynn Sweet, the Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun Times, Siraj Hashmi, a commentary writer and editor for the "Washington Examiner" and of course, our own Mark Preston, CNN's executive editor of political programming. Mark, let's go to you first. We have Ryan in that clip there with Jake, taking really a wait and see approach to impeachment. There's Elizabeth Warren who is really going full bore, saying that impeachment should happen. And then of course, Bernie Sanders actually is rather silent, apparently ignoring the topic right now. So Mark, when you look at this 2020 field, why are they so divided on the subject of impeaching Trump?</s>MARK PRESTON, CNN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL PROGRAMMING: Well, in many ways, if we look, Alex, at the 2020 field and we look at the divide right now in the Democratic Party, this seems to be something that encapsulized it in crystal clear terms. We have strong hunger on the left, the liberal left, who is demanding that Democrats impeach President Trump. Demanding that is going to happen. Now, Elizabeth Warren comes from that wing of the party and she's certainly playing to that wing of the party, but look, she probably believes it as well because she is no fan of Donald Trump. When you talk about Tim Ryan though, his campaign is being run a little bit differently. He's not playing to that moderate centrist Midwest type of Democrat or rather he's playing that. He's not playing to the liberal left. So, you're going to hear the likes of Tim Ryan, perhaps even Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, folks who are playing the middle lane being a little bit more careful. Bernie Sanders though, he is going to have to answer, I'm sure he would love to see President Trump impeached. But there is something to be said about letting this play out in Congress because in some ways, if you do let it play out in Congress, Alex as you know, we could get to impeachment, you just got to do some more investigating certainly from the House committees.</s>MARQUARDT: Right, and those proceedings can go differently in the House and in the Senate. Siraj, what do you think the point of Warren calling for impeachment knowing as she does that even if it made it through the Democratic-controlled House, that the president would not in all likelihood, get convicted by the Republican-controlled Senate. Is she going after the financial boost here from donors? What's her strategy?</s>SIRAJ HASHMI, COMMENTARY WRITER AND EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Well, absolutely. And she's going for whatever grabs headlines in a crowded 2020 Democratic field such as this. You know, Warren is not really a front-runner. I know that you said that before, that she is a frontrunner. She's really tanking in the polls. She's around one or two percent. And by calling out for the impeachment proceedings of President Donald Trump, you know, she's looking to boost her fund-raising and try to get some traction on the ground knowing very well that it's not a bipartisan, let alone popular within the Democratic Party to call for impeaching Donald Trump. Specifically because Democrats actually see a way of getting Trump out of office that doesn't require Congressional intervention. And so Elizabeth Warren just seems to be playing politics rather than playing what's right.</s>MARQUARDT: Right. Switching gears a little bit, Lynn, to the Mueller report. We now have Senator Mitt Romney who's one of the loudest Republican voices saying that he is sickened and appalled by what was revealed in the report. Why don't you think other prominent Republicans are coming out to speak in the wake of the investigation's findings?</s>LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Well here's a few theories in why that might be. That Mitt Romney has political security. He was just elected. He's in a six-year term in what seems to be a safe seat for as long as he wants from Utah. Certainly Republican senators who might be up for re-election in 2020 have political reasons for staying silent. And the Mueller report may just be something other senators want to just avoid if they can. See, Democrats running for 2020 can't really choose to ignore the Mueller report or eventually the question of impeachment. Republican senators don't have to engage if they don't want to. So, this was an issue that Romney wanted to take a leadership role on. He can. He has a very prominent platform. He stands head and shoulders beyond what usually freshmen Republican do because he has more stature than -- and just more ability to get attention when he makes a call. So, he had this platform and he used it.</s>MARQUARDT: Right. It is a very loud platform, of course, as a former nominee for president. Siraj, touching on impeachment again, how much do you think that the chatter helps President Trump, not just in terms of rallying his base, but with Republicans who may not like him, but could get fired up when they hear Democrats talking about this so much?</s>HASHMI: Look, at the end of the day, when it comes to the 2020 presidential election, what helps Trump the most is that he is able to play himself in many ways like a victim, because he is able to be basically Donald Trump versus the world. And when you have Democrats who are calling for the impeachment proceedings of his presidency, you know, you're getting the point where, you know, Democrats are all about the witch hunt. In many ways they are. They're seeking this for political gain. And when Donald Trump is, you know, going back to his supporters and say, hey, this is all political, don't believe it, you know, there are many things in the Mueller report that he can actually gain from and say, you know, there was no collusion. That was the main thing that Democrats were pushing for throughout the entire Mueller investigation. And so when he comes up to the election, you know, there are a lot of things that he can say to his base that will just re-invigorate their support rather than detract anyone away.</s>MARQUARDT: Right, right. Mark, we've seen a new poll from Monmouth University that shows that a clear majority of Americans believe that it's time for Congress to move on from the Mueller report. You have 54 percent saying Congress should move on, 39 say we should keep investigating, two percent saying that it depends. Mark, what do you make of those numbers?</s>PRESTON: I mean, I think everyone is tired, right? I mean, it was a very long fought -- hard fought election through November of 2016. It's been a brutal couple of years for President Trump, not that he hasn't put it upon himself, but the American public feels that. And right now, I think there is this exhaustion level. That's why in many ways Nancy Pelosi is hoping to take care of this just through the House committees because that way, she cannot only be critical of President Trump, but she can also provide cover to her members who are running in 2020, whose constituents don't want to see impeachment.</s>MARQUARDT: All right. Well, Lynn Sweet, Siraj Hashmi, and Mark Preston, thank you very much.</s>HASHMI: Thank you. Happy Easter.</s>MARQUARDT: Thank you, as the same to you. Don't miss the first major candidate event of the 2020 presidential campaign. Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and South Bend, Indiana mayor, Pete Buttigieg. They will all be on the same stage for a back-to-back CNN town hall event. That's tomorrow night starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern time live from New Hampshire right here on CNN. Now, police in New York have arrested a man after a gruesome and deadly attack on two women inside an apartment. The latest details on that, next.