This is a rush transcript from “Sunday Morning Futures," August 2, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Maria Bartiromo.
Straight ahead right here on "Sunday Morning Futures": my exclusive interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as President Trump drops the hammer on TikTok, saying that he will ban the Chinese social media app from operating in the United States, this just one of the several bold actions taken by the administration in recent days to turn up the heat on the Communist Party in Beijing.
Plus: gridlock on Capitol Hill this morning over the next federal aid package, with Speaker Pelosi and the White House still unable to agree on a number during their emergency meeting yesterday.
Coming up, one of the leading GOP voices in the Senate stimulus negotiations, Senator Ron Johnson, is here with an update, as he makes headway in his probe into Hunter Biden and the Obama administration officials on the transition.
This hot on the heels of attorney Barr's House testimony, where he told Congress he will not wait until November to reveal John Durham's findings.
Georgia Congressman Doug Collins took part in that hearing, and he will tell us why he expects criminal indictments coming out of John Durham's criminal investigation.
Also here, we are talking to a New Jersey lawmaker who made headlines when he switched parties. Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew with his assessment of Nancy Pelosi and his former Democrat colleagues.
All that and a lot more, as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures."
And first up this morning: the China challenge, as Beijing's Communist Party pushes to expand its influence over the free world.
According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, 73 percent of Americans now have an unfavorable view of China, up seven points since March.
That has not stopped U.S. companies from investing there, the NBA under fire, for example, this week after an ESPN report said that human rights abuses are happening at their training academies in China's Xinjiang region, this as the United States adds sanctions on China's paramilitary in that region over the brutal treatment of ethnic minority Uyghurs.
Joining me right now with his reaction and the state of affairs right now between the U.S. and China is U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Mr. Secretary, it's great to have you this morning. Thanks very much for being here.
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Maria, it's great to be with you this morning on this important topic.
BARTIROMO: So, I want to start with the U.S. sanctioning the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corporation and two of its officials for their connection to the human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Tell us about this company, its reach, why these sanctions are important in terms of moving the needle on what's taken place.
POMPEO: Well, the risk to the people in that region has been great. I have talked about this as the greatest human rights violation of this century to date.
And what we have attempted to do is make clear to China, if you want to participate on the world stage, you can't engage in behavior like this.
So, we have begun to impose sanctions on the individuals and businesses involved there. This most recent set of sanctions put out by the Department of Treasury will put the businesses operating there on notice they have got to change their behavior. They have got to stop using slave labor. They have got to stop participating in these systems that have been connected to forced sterilizations, forced abortions.
These are terrible, terrible things that are taking place there. And we're going to impose real costs on those businesses. This company is involved in the cotton trade, and so has deep connectivity to Western businesses, including those in the United States.
And we have been very clear. We have told U.S. businesses to take a real deep look into their supply chains. I don't think companies, some brand names here in America, want to be connected to what's taking place there.
BARTIROMO: Well, we mentioned the NBA. We were showing video as you were talking.
This video was shot in 2018, but it clearly shows the Uyghurs being lined up, blindfolded in some cases, being taken somewhere.
Do American companies not understand what has taken place here, for example, the NBA, other companies that want to do a deal? I want to get to Microsoft wanting to acquire TikTok in a moment.
But do you think corporations are getting the national security issues that you have laid out over the last couple of years?
POMPEO: Maria, I think they're starting to become more aware of it, be awakened to the challenges this presents to their brand, to their company, their supply chain.
I think they're starting to see that. But, as we have discussed before, I think all across the world, for an awful long time, we didn't recognize the threats posed to freedom, the authoritarian nature of the regime there. And so we let things go on that we shouldn't.
I'm very hopeful these businesses will evaluate what's going on, and then make the right decisions for their businesses. I'm confident that they will.
BARTIROMO: We have news this morning that Microsoft has put on pause its plans to acquire TikTok, the U.S. operations of this video-sharing app.
Peter Navarro was with us last week on this program. Here's what he said about TikTok. I have got to get your take on this very popular app for young people. Here's Peter Navarro.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER NAVARRO, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF TRADE AND MANUFACTURING POLICY: What the American people have to understand is, all the data that goes into those mobile apps that kids have so much fun with and seem so convenient, it goes right to servers in China, right to the Chinese military, the Chinese Communist Party, and the agencies which want to steal our intellectual property.
Those apps can be used to steal personal and financial information for blackmail and extortion. They can be used to steal business intellectual property and proprietary secrets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: What happened with TikTok, Secretary?
POMPEO: Well, here's what I hope that the American people will come to recognize.
These Chinese software companies doing business in the United States, whether it's TikTok or WeChat -- there are countless more -- as Peter Navarro said, are feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party, their national security apparatus.
Could be their facial recognition patterns. It could be information about their residence, their phone numbers, their friends, who they're connected to. Those -- those are the issues that President Trump has made clear we're going to take care of.
These are true national security issues. They are true privacy issues for the American people. And for a long time, a long time, the United States just said, well, goodness, if we're having fun with it, or if a company can make money off of it, we're going to permit that to happen.
President Trump has said, enough, and we're going to fix it. And so he will take action in the coming days with respect to a broad array of national security risks that are presented by software connected to the Chinese Communist Party.
BARTIROMO: I mean, even if Microsoft were to acquire the U.S. assets of TikTok, can you really believe that the China surveillance is gone from us operations of TikTok?
POMPEO: Maria, I promise you, the president, when he makes his decision, will make sure that everything we have done drives us as close to zero risk for the American people.
That's the mission set that he laid out for all of us when we get -- we began to evaluate this now several months back. We're closing in on a solution. And I think you will see the president's announcement shortly.
BARTIROMO: Secretary, I want to ask you about FBI Director Christopher Wray speaking to the Senate Intel Committee in the last week.
And he warned about China's increased capability to interfere in U.S. elections, saying that these were classified hearings to the Senate Intel Committee, to this week saying that China has developed an ability to interfere with local elections and target members of Congress to influence China policy.
What can you tell us?
POMPEO: Well, Maria, I don't want to say much more than you just described there. The rest of the information is classified.
But make no mistake about it. I talked about this back in February to the National Governors Association. The Chinese Communist Party -- and you saw this with our closure of the consulate in Houston -- is running espionage operations inside the United States and attempting deep-influence targeting of American business leaders, of American congressmen, of city council members.
We saw it happen up to a state senator in Wisconsin. This is a deep effort to conduct influence operations to undermine American democracy and put our nation at risk.
This administration, President Trump, for the first time, has said, this is -- enough of this, we're going to fix this, and has given us all the guidance. And you have seen us act on it, whether it was what we did to the consulate with Houston. You saw the FBI indict several PLA members who were studying here in the United States engaged in activity that was clearly unlawful.
We're taking seriously this threat. We're going to protect the American people from these Chinese influence operations.
BARTIROMO: Well, I mean, this week, Dianne Feinstein praised China as a respectable nation, she said.
Why do some in Congress not say the same thing that you have been saying, that this administration has been communicating? There doesn't seem to be an all-out agreement within the Congress on this.
POMPEO: Maria, I saw the statement from Senator Feinstein. I found it perplexing.
I saw statements from senior American CEOs of the big tech companies this week saying they hadn't heard or seen about intellectual property theft in the United States. That's -- that's crazy talk.
Here's the good news. The good news is, we're getting nearly every member of Congress aligned along the administration's policies on China. When we voted about Hong Kong freedom, there were over 400 votes in the House and nearly every vote in the Senate. The same with respect to what's taking place in Western China, the human rights violations.
I think the tide is turning, I think not only here in the United States, but all across the world. The threat from the Chinese Communist Party is becoming clearer and clearer. And nations that are like-minded all across the world are beginning to come together to rebalance, to push back against this, to protect our freedom and democracy.
I talked at the Nixon Library about this being a battle not between the United States and China, but between authoritarianism and freedom. That's the fight the world needs to be engaged in. I hope we get every member of Congress on board on the side of freedom.
BARTIROMO: I mean, I was particularly struck by Dianne Feinstein, because didn't she have a driver for 20 years that we ended up finding out was a Chinese spy?
POMPEO: We did. You will recall, she meets with some frequency with Foreign Minister Zarif there too. There's something not quite right.
BARTIROMO: Mm-hmm. Well, we will certainly keep watching that.
POMPEO: I mean, and this is not consistent -- this is not consistent with America's national security.
In either case, these are adversaries that intend harm for the citizens of her state of California. And I wish that she would not engage in this kind of rhetoric and these kind of meetings that undermine America's efforts.
BARTIROMO: Yes, there seems to be a new angle here. And that is the Chinese communist government trying to compromise certain Democrat members of Congress who are against President Trump. We will keep watching that.
I want to ask you about how China is using the new security law and what has taken place in Hong Kong now, Secretary, because Hong Kong is now delaying election -- its election for a year.
They're talking about COVID-19 being the issue. Your reaction?
POMPEO: Well, COVID-19 is not the reason for the delay in the election.
The reason for the delay -- there was scheduled to be an election in Hong Kong on September 6. The reason for the delay is that the Chinese Communist Party candidates would be crushed, and the freedom-loving people of Hong Kong would prevail. And the leadership in Beijing simply can't permit that to happen.
Look, this is part of what we're seeing happen all across the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, increased denial of freedom for people in their own country, and then extending that now to people outside of the country.
That national security law can be applied to people all across the world. It has extraterritorial provisions in it, saying that someone who so much as speaks against freedom in Hong Kong has violated the national security law and is under threat from the Chinese Communist Party.
This is this is a new, an increased scope. And it's the kind of thing we have seen as the direction of travel from the Chinese Communist Party under General Secretary Xi.
BARTIROMO: So, I mean, do you expect an election ever in Hong Kong?
I mean, in that speech you referred to at the Nixon Library, you said that we are seeing the tide turn. I mean, you just said that a lot of our allies understand the threat.
Do you believe the U.S. has alliances here? I mean, we know that India has banned those 59 apps. We know that the U.K. has come around in terms of not using Huawei for its 5G. We know what's happened in the South China Sea.
What about Western Europe? What about Spain and Germany and Italy? Do you feel you have got the support from the rest the world?
POMPEO: Well, it's better than it was six months ago and increasing.
I think the whole world sees this. It's not because America asked these countries to engage in activity that pushes back against the Chinese Communist Party that they ought to do it. They ought to do it because it's in their nation's sovereign best interest to do so.
And we're seeing it, whether it's in the Czech Republic, or in Malaysia and Vietnam.
BARTIROMO: Right.
POMPEO: All across the world, countries are coming to understand the challenges that the Chinese Communist Party presents, and that the United States will be there, that the United States will be there to lead this push to ensure that the next century remains a free and democratic century, not one that is governed by the rules of the road laid down by this communist regime.
BARTIROMO: Secretary, I want to move on to Iran, because now we understand that Iran -- Beijing is set to be in the final stages of approving a $400 billion economic and security deal with Tehran.
In addition to the massive infrastructure investments, Forbes is reporting that this agreement is closer cooperation on defense and intelligence- sharing.
What are the implications, Secretary?
POMPEO: Well, it shouldn't surprise you that regimes that don't respect freedom at home and foment national security problems abroad would want to join hands.
We will be sure to enforce all the provisions we have, all the sanctions we have on this Republic of Iran, applied to the Chinese Communist Party and their businesses and state-owned enterprises as well.
And I think countries in the Middle East should see this for what it is as well. China's entry into Iran will destabilize the Middle East. It'll put Israel at risk. It will put the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates at risk as well.
Iran remains the world's largest state sponsor of terror. And to have access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the Chinese Communist Party only compounds that risk for that region.
BARTIROMO: Should we expect new sanctions against Iran?
POMPEO: So, we filed some new sanctions just this Friday. We expanded their -- sanctions on their metals programs.
And then, in October, we have a significant provision of the JCPOA that expires, the first major provision to expire. It'll allow the Chinese and the Russians to sell weapons systems to Iran, and then allow Iran to sell those weapons systems and other arms around the world as well.
The United States has been working since 2018 to try and stop this provision from expiring. And then the United Nations, in just the next handful of days, will present a Security Council resolution aimed at doing just that.
I hope the whole world can understand that allowing Iran to buy and sell weapons is really, really dangerous.
BARTIROMO: Yes, of course.
Secretary, it's good to see you this morning. Thanks very much for being here.
POMPEO: Thank you, Maria. Thank you.
BARTIROMO: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
Attorney General Bill Barr went toe to toe with lawmakers last week in his first appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.
The five-hour hearing got heated at times and covered everything from Russia-gate to the federal response in Portland.
Republican Congressman Doug Collins was among those who questioned A.G. Barr. He joins me now with more.
Congressman, good to see you this morning. Thanks very much for being here.
REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): Good morning, Maria. It's good to see you as well.
BARTIROMO: Well, what a hearing.
First, what struck you most about hearing from A.G. Barr this week?
COLLINS: Well, it would have struck me more if I -- my Democratic colleagues would actually have let him speak.
What struck me the most is that, after you have waited a year-and-a-half to get the attorney general in there, all you wanted to do was do political posturing, and make statements, and then not let him answer.
And if he didn't answer the way you wanted him to -- I mean, it just showed that the Democrats have no desire at the truth. They went over talking points after talking points of peaceful protesters, which we all know are not true in Portland and all over this country.
They went into issues of wanting to investigate the president on the commutation of -- the sentence commutation of Roger Stone. And then, if they just didn't like it, they just lectured him. And then, when he tried to answer, they just wouldn't him answer.
It showed in a capsule what this Congress has been like under Democratic leadership, wasted time, signifying nothing.
BARTIROMO: Actually, we have talked about this before, because, once the Democrats took over the majority in the House of Representatives at the end of 2018, 2019 was all about investigating Donald Trump, right?
You didn't really have -- where were the hearings on China? We have just finished a very important conversation with the secretary of state and how the Chinese Communist Party has a massive espionage campaign in this country. How much did you cover that in your Judiciary Committee this -- the last two years, Congressman?
COLLINS: Not a bit, Maria.
And we have talked about this. And this is the part that just is really disturbing.
Chairman Nadler, again, who had an opportunity to take this committee and to do good things in a bigger scope, when we could do investigations, like actually on China in the espionage and the spying that they have been doing, but also on the theft of intellectual property, and the things that we have been working on for a long time.
And, instead, we chose not to do that. We had well over 100 hours -- think about that -- 100 hours of just simply investigating the president on nonsense hearings at the full committee level. And that's not what the American people are looking for.
And so, when you have had the attorney general there, when they could have asked questions, just like you just did very well with the secretary of state, they could have asked it of the attorney general. They chose not to.
The Democratic Party seems to have a problem admitting that the communist Chinese are infiltrating our country, trying everything they can to steal our intellectual property and infiltrate our businesses and our politics.
They have turned a blind eye to it every time, because all they want is to get at the president and to make anybody who's associated with him look bad.
BARTIROMO: Yes, and we just heard a little of that from the secretary of state.
We're going to zero in more on that, who specifically in Congress is the CCP trying to influence right now, because it seems that there's a lot of influencing going on.
Let's take a short break, Congressman. I want to get into the Russia probe, as well as what's happening in our cities across the country.
Doug Collins is with us this morning.
We will be right back with more on "Sunday Morning Futures."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
We are back with Republican Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia.
And, Congressman, we just talked about A.G. Barr and that hearing this week.
I want to talk about what's happening in our cities across the country. The crime rate is up in your neighborhood in Atlanta, crime rate, shootings up in Chicago, in New York. And, of course, then there is Portland, with this effort to take down federal buildings.
COLLINS: Yes. It's been...
BARTIROMO: What are you doing about it, you and your colleagues?
COLLINS: Well, we're actually trying to bring it to the attention of our Democratic colleagues, because they don't believe it actually seems to exist. They keep talking about peaceful protesters. They keep ignoring it.
And when you have Democratic mayors of Chicago, Portland, and these others, and even here in Atlanta, who are ignoring crime rates -- the crime rate -- the homicide rate in Chicago is up 50 percent, and they're one of the highest in the nation every year.
In Atlanta, the crime rate is up in double digits among murders and aggravated assaults and burglaries. When you see this happening, it gives some implication into something I saw just recently on a study that's coming out that say over 238 police departments who have been polled have seen a decrease recently in their budgets.
This defunding the police movement is actually taking hold. And it's actually causing our cities and municipalities to be unsafe.
But yet, in that Barr hearing, when everything was brought up, they kept talking about peaceful protests.
Real quickly, Maria, here's what you bring to a peaceful protest. You bring a sign, you bring a T-shirt, you bring a hat, a whistle, a noisemaker. You march peacefully. You have civil disobedience.
What you don't bring to a peaceful -- to a peaceful protest is Molotov cocktails, bolt cutters, industrial-grade fireworks, lasers to blind people in the Marshals. That's what they're trying to face. And the Democrats are just ignoring that altogether.
Bill Barr brought that out very well the other day. But we have got a problem in our cities. And they have got to take a look at it.
BARTIROMO: Yes, it's really horrible to look at what has taken place in our cities. We are just tearing the country apart, on top of what we're all dealing with, with COVID.
I want to ask you about one other threat that we have talked a lot about, and that is the tech companies and their dominance, their hearing last week.
Talking about Section 230 is something you have spoken about a lot.
COLLINS: Yes.
BARTIROMO: What is going to be the change in terms of congressional movements against tech on that Section 230 going into the election? Are they going to censor conservative speech going into this presidential election?
COLLINS: Well, they're trying right now.
They did me and Jim and -- Jordan -- and several others recently. I was off for 36 hours, off of Twitter, still with no reason.
I think what's interesting is, this hearing, it finally happened last week, because it was one of the hearings that I actually got started, me and Chairman Nadler and Cicilline and Chairman -- and Mr. Sensenbrenner.
We were the ones that actually instigated -- I was the one that actually instigated the hearings, because we knew that, if you get at antitrust, because of their size, if you look at their market dominance in ads and revenue and content stealing that they have done, that that is the hook to get to Section 230.
Well, if you're out there, and you're watching this morning, and you don't know what Section 230 is, that is what allows these tech folks to hide behind them being able to censor conservatives, them being able to take down what they don't want on their sites, and being able to manipulate from a political perspective what's going on.
They're no longer these small start-up companies that are simply bulletin boards. They're actually publishers. They're content creators and content stealers, by the way, that we actually need to make sure that they're now playing by the same rule as every other media company and content generator does.
And that's where I hope we're having the discussion. We have got to get the Democrats to focus on the fact that we can use antitrust to make sure that this is a fair playing field, because the influence and the scope that they have is amazing.
I have been fighting against this since day one. That's why Paul Gosar and I put out a bill and others put out a bill on Stop the Censorship Act, which goes directly at 230 and makes the necessary changes in 230, while still preserving First Amendment rights for people to comment.
BARTIROMO: Well, you don't have a lot of time before the election -- that's for sure -- to ensure that they play fairly.
Congressman, we will be watching. Thanks for your efforts here. Good to see you this morning, sir.
COLLINS: Maria, it's always good to be with you. Take care.
BARTIROMO: Congressman Doug Collins.
And a very special announcement right now.
I am coming out with a new book this October. I hope you will pick it up. Myself, along with my co-author and collaborator, James Freeman from The Wall Street Journal, have written "The Cost: Trump, China, and American Revival."
It is on sale this October. And you can preorder it today by visiting https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__TheCostBook.com&d=DwICAg&c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&r=tgDLkJy54PfJyWJwul3dKe54qGxqO7b7d5vjo7RcZds&m=mdvOj-9CBUI8I--WvRJPnhHsh7OnyTJ9mQsFe4VwhGU&s=S5M_qW8Ks2R94qPgJctxPiLlnex40s_Pidf0j8RqHpo&e= . James and I are very excited to bring you this book, as we lay out the most extraordinary moments in U.S. history during President Trump's first term.
We examine the president's economic policies, his China challenge, as well as the COVID shutdowns, and the extraordinary amount of resistance President Trump has faced, including potential criminality by wrongdoers.
Pick up "The Cost: Trump, China, and American Revival" by myself and James Freeman. Check it out and preorder today.
We will be right back with Ron Johnson coming up. He will join us on -- with an update on his investigation into the origins of the Russia probe, as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures" right here.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
Lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill tomorrow, looking to break a stalemate on the next coronavirus relief bill, millions of Americans left in the lurch after that extra unemployment benefits expired Friday night. The White House offered a one-week extension. Democrats said, no, that's not enough.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has been on the front lines of these negotiations. He joins me right now.
Senator, it's good to see you this morning. Thanks very much for joining us.
Can you tell us where a phase four agreement stands this morning?
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Well, good morning, Maria.
Well, when Nancy Pelosi passed a $3 trillion -- her HEROES package, literally just a couple of weeks after we had already concluded four other packages worth $2.9 trillion, I pretty well assumed at that point in time that Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats just simply weren't serious about really providing effective relief.
One of the things I have tried to point out is just the macroeconomics of what we have already done; $2.9 trillion is about 13.5 percent of last year's economy. Employment is down 10.5 percent. Economic forecasts are saying that we will see shrinkage in our economy somewhere between 4.6 and 7 percent.
And yet we have already passed 13.5 percent of our economy in terms of relief. And now she wants to tack on another $3 trillion, and basically another 13, 14 percent.
It's just not a serious proposal. And I just made the assumption that they really weren't ever going to negotiate in good faith. And it's really tragic.
I was on the floor of the Senate on Thursday offering a -- to pass something on a unanimous consent basis to extend federal plus-up of unemployment, not at the 600 level -- $600 level that has been very disincentivizing for people to reenter the work force. They said no to that.
And then Martha McSally just -- so, again, we wouldn't leave any people -- anybody in the lurch, offered to just extend the current $600 for a week, so we can negotiate. And they said no to that.
So, I think their obstruction, their unwillingness to really work with us in good faith, I think, is pretty obvious and speaks volumes that they're interested in the election issue.
BARTIROMO: But -- but...
JOHNSON: They think they have got the upper hand right now, and they'd rather not do anything, and not help people, as opposed to having the election issue.
It's very sad. It's very cynical.
BARTIROMO: So, will the -- so, will the GOP have to go along with extending that $600 a week? Other sources told me that there is a conversation about the PPP, putting more money into that program, but making sure that it's only available to small businesses that are hurting.
For example, one lawmaker told me that, if revenue is down year over year by 50 percent, then you're eligible for the PPP. Is that right? And what about that $600? Are you going to ultimately just agree that you have to continue this?
JOHNSON: I hope not, because that $600 is pretty destructive to our economic recovery. If we do nothing, you will -- people will still have and be able to take advantage of state unemployment benefits.
One thing I mentioned on the floor of the Senate, as they were saying no to my unanimous consent request for either a federal plus-up equal to two- thirds of somebody's weekly wage or the $200 flat fee, and give the states the option on that, I pointed out that, in 2009, during the Great Recession, Democrats, when they controlled everything, plussed up unemployment by $25 a week.
So, right now, they're saying, our $200 offer is inadequate. It's eight times higher than what they did in 2009. So, again, they're just simply not serious.
When it comes to PPP, I think that's largely the proposal right now, to make sure that we really direct it to those individuals who truly need it.
What I would tack on to that is a limit on forgiveness, to the extent that people make a profit. If you have taxable income, I think, to the extent you have taxable income, you should pay that portion of the PPP loan back. And if you're a nonprofit, to the extent your net assets increase, you should also pay that PPP loan back, because to the extent that we send a dollar to somebody who doesn't need it, that's a dollar that's not available to an individual or a business that truly does need it.
BARTIROMO: Right.
Senator, we will be watching. These negotiations are ongoing, obviously. And you have got until, I guess, August 7, before you leave again for a recess.
I want to get your take on your other major work. And that is your investigation into the transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration and your investigation into the conflict of interests around Hunter Biden as it relates to Burisma and Ukraine.
We had more evidence this week that the FBI knew that the dossier was garbage, that it was just hearsay and made up in a bar. And yet Jim Comey and his colleagues kept pressing forward to re-up warrants to spy on Carter Page and get a window into the Trump campaign.
Tell me about that and what the latest is on that story. And, by the way, while you're doing your investigation, your colleagues on the left are trying to take you down with a disinformation campaign.
JOHNSON: Well, again, we're trying to assemble a puzzle.
We -- I think we basically know what this picture is, but we're trying to get all the pieces of the puzzle. And, of course, Democrats have a huge advantage of us in our investigation. Some of them know exactly what they did. They know where the balls are hidden. And they have done a pretty effective job hiding the ball.
One of our problems is obtaining documents from these agencies. And, Maria, understand, I mean, I will posit this question to you. How many people in the State Department do you think voted for Hillary Clinton vs. voted for President Trump?
I can't tell you my frustration how difficult it is getting information out of agencies that are supposedly controlled by this administration, but simply aren't.
BARTIROMO: Mm-hmm.
JOHNSON: And so they know exactly what they did. They're being -- they're doing a very good job of delaying our ability to obtain the information.
But we are starting to fill in the pieces of the puzzle here. For example, now we do know that these initial briefings with President Trump were really part and parcel of investigation into President Trump.
BARTIROMO: Right.
JOHNSON: So, what we have done this week is, we issued four letters.
They, of course, got leaked, not by us, but they got leaked. But we are getting far more granular, far more specific in our requests for information as we learn more.
And I'm actually hoping that the White House gets engaged and gets into those agencies and just makes sure that we finally -- that the American people finally get to understand and see the full picture of the corruption in the transition process that occurred.
BARTIROMO: We have copies of those letters. Let's show them on air, because you are asking -- and you sent a letter to Secretary Pompeo. You sent a letter to Secretary Haspel. You sent a letter to Bill Barr.
And you're asking for all records related to Christopher Steele's contact with the State Department. You're asking for records related to meetings or communications between Glenn Simpson and State Department officials.
You also want to know about Stefan Halper and what Stefan Halper was paid. I know that the Office of Net Assessments paid out initially $244,000 to Stefan Halper to write a report on China and Russia.
Can you tell me a little about that?
JOHNSON: Well, again, what we are doing is, we're becoming much more specific in our requests.
I got subpoena authority that was quite broad. The members of my committee wanted us to first try and get the information on a voluntary basis. We have been doing that for the last month.
But I'm losing my patience. We have given people every opportunity. Personally, I'd be surprised if you didn't start seeing us issue some subpoenas to some individuals in some of these agencies.
But, no, we are -- we have learned more. We have gotten more specific in our requests. Some of our requests are broad, because we just don't know what we don't know. We don't know what we're really asking for. But some of our requests are very specific.
There's probably not that much information. These agencies should be able to get that information. They probably already have it. There's probably classification issues.
BARTIROMO: Right.
JOHNSON: Or they will use classification as an excuse not to give it to us.
But we're pressing for it. I'm -- again, I'm losing my patience. We're going to start compelling some of this probably in the near future.
BARTIROMO: So, in other words, you're going to do subpoenas next week? Will you issue subpoenas next week?
JOHNSON: Well, it wouldn't surprise me if we start issuing subpoenas. It's a real possibility.
BARTIROMO: OK.
In the past, we have spoken about the transition period, with the unmasking. And I have asked you repeatedly, how high up the ladder does it go?
I had a chance to ask Valerie Jarrett that question this past week on "Mornings With Maria" over on FOX Business. I want to play this exchange for you. And then I want to ask you that question again.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Did President Obama direct any of this?
VALERIE JARRETT, FORMER SENIOR PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: That's not how it works. That's not how our investigations work, that we leave that to the intelligence community to bring forward information.
And the dossier, I would imagine, would be one piece of a much bigger puzzle.
And so, if you're saying, is it important to make sure that there isn't influence -- and, actually, the Mueller report didn't conclude that there wasn't any wrongdoing. In fact, he was explicit in saying quite the opposite.
And so I don't think we should read in where...
BARTIROMO: Well...
(CROSSTALK)
JARRETT: ... there hasn't been actually any conclusion to that effect yet.
You're making statements that actually haven't been proven...
(CROSSTALK)
BARTIROMO: Just to be clear -- just to be clear, Robert Mueller said no collusion.
Michael Horowitz, the I.G. of the FBI, said that the dossier was -- quote, unquote -- "an essential piece" of all of this investigating of the Trump campaign. Essential piece was the word Michael Horowitz use.
So, you say it was part of a larger mosaic. We have no evidence of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Senator, this is the first time we have heard from the Obama administration. She said it doesn't work that way.
JOHNSON: Well, you will notice she didn't answer your question.
She just talked about, in general, what the process should be. That's not the process they followed. It is very clear that there was corruption at the highest levels of, certainly, the FBI. We have evidence of it.
I'm looking forward to John Durham wrapping up his investigation. I personally believe that the intelligence community was involved in this thing.
Their initial goal was to exonerate Hillary Clinton, when -- so that she could win the election.
When she lost the election, their goals shifted to first -- first and foremost, I think, sabotaging the Trump administration, which they have done a pretty good job of, also, I think initiating this diversionary operation, the smokescreen to cover up their wrongdoing...
BARTIROMO: Right.
JOHNSON: ... the fact that they -- they used all the awesome powers of their agencies to investigate their political opponent. They didn't want that revealed. It's being revealed right now.
So, again, Valerie Jarrett simply isn't answering the question. That's our job. We need to get the information. But, as I stated earlier, they still have so many of their supporters in these agencies. They are doing a pretty good job at hiding the ball.
It's hard to extract the information. But I'm a pretty tenacious guy.
BARTIROMO: All right, Senator, we know that. And we will be following your investigation.
Thank you, sir, Senator Ron Johnson.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew, not your typical Washington lawmaker. He's the first Democrat in 10 years to switch parties, joining the GOP last December, after being told he had to vote to impeach President Trump, and he didn't want to.
I'm pleased to welcome back to the program Congressman Jeff Van Drew. He sits on the House Homeland Security and Labor and Education committees.
Congressman, good morning to you. It is great to see once again this morning.
REP. JEFF VAN DREW (R-NJ): It's great to see you, Maria.
And before we start, I just have to ask one big favor. I would love to get an autographed copy of that book.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTIROMO: Thank you so much, Congressman. You have a deal. You got a deal, "The Cost."
VAN DREW: Good deal.
BARTIROMO: I'm excited. It's been a great -- a great time putting it together. Thank you, Congressman.
Look, you represent the middle, in my eyes. You're a GOP Congressman, I know that, but you were a Democrat before that. And you have always come on this program and had such practical ideas with everything.
Give us first your assessment from the middle. Give us your assessment of what's going on with this -- this division going on in the Congress.
VAN DREW: Well, first of all, I mean, I do believe in the middle, I have always been moderate to conservative in my viewpoints.
So, examples of that would be, I believe that we have to have a good health care system in the United States of America. And we just can't take away health care, until we have something really good to replace it with, that we have to cover preexisting conditions.
Those are the types of things where I'm in the middle, or that we have child care. With all the changes that have happened with COVID and what's going on in our world and our country, I think, for so many people needing -- and we want to get them out to work. Child care is something that I think the government does need to look at.
But, on the other hand, the complete other extreme is that you see, in New Jersey, for example, I was just reading, that they're literally going to give professional licenses to those that are undocumented, open borders the types of things that we don't believe in and are really extreme.
And there's just a whole host of them in the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party used to be more moderate. It is not now. It has changed. It is a new party.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
VAN DREW: And it is not just political rhetoric, Maria, to say that much of the party is really going towards a socialist bent. They really are.
BARTIROMO: Well, they also want to defund the police.
Has it been hijacked by the likes of AOC and Elizabeth Warren?
VAN DREW: And I will -- let me be clear. I want to be really clear on this.
In any profession, there's one bad apple or a few. But the police, our police force and our emergency folks, what they do is amazing. There are very few examples where people run to danger, very few examples where people put their life on the line, very few examples...
BARTIROMO: Yes.
VAN DREW: ... where they're willing to take that chance.
BARTIROMO: Exactly.
VAN DREW: They keep us safe. They keep us -- they keep our cities safe. Look...
BARTIROMO: Right. And the president -- the president said this week -- the president said this week, you -- one thing you won't hear from me, if I get reelected, is trashing the police.
Stay with us, Jeff Van Drew.
We have got more right after this short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BARTIROMO: We're back with New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew.
Congressman, we were just talking about the division in the Congress. It doesn't help when you have things like Speaker Pelosi, who's supposed to be the speaker of the House of Representatives, but she always trashes her colleagues on the right, which is just -- you can't be the speaker of everybody, if that's what you're going to do.
But, the other day, she said it was the Trump virus. Something so important as the coronavirus that has killed 140,000 Americans, and we have got 40 million people out of work, you would think that everybody was on board with blaming China, knowing that it originated in Wuhan and they covered it up for so long, Congressman.
VAN DREW: Yes, absolutely right. I can't believe she said that. It was so disappointing.
We have to bring people together. It doesn't mean we're all going to agree. But we have to come together for the future of America. It was President Trump who actually put the travel restrictions in early. He was then said that he was racist for doing so. Thank God he did. He saved a lot of lives.
And for her to say that is absolutely outrageous, when we know it was China that didn't give us the information, China that wouldn't let the CDC come in. It was China, God knows, that influenced the WHO to give the wrong information out.
All this information was incorrect that came out initially. And it's probably China who produced the virus in a laboratory. And we don't even really know what's really going on there as well, or whether there's possible mutations.
BARTIROMO: Yes. Wow.
VAN DREW: So, that was a ridiculous and absurd thing to say.
Nobody wants this virus in America.
BARTIROMO: Well...
VAN DREW: And we have to come together to fight it, not to hurt each other.
BARTIROMO: So -- well, what about Joe Biden? Is he going to be the right guy to lead us into a new era with China...
VAN DREW: No.
BARTIROMO: ... knowing that he actually has relationships there, as does his son?
VAN DREW: This China issue is amazingly important. And I'm glad you're focusing in on it.
When it comes to the supply chain, you know what we have to do as we go into the next cycle and to -- after the next election? We have to make sure that we have a supply chain that is our own, that we manufacture our goods, that we're manufacturing our prescription drugs.
You know what was particularly hurtful?
BARTIROMO: Well, that's not a priority of Joe Biden. I know that's not a priority of Joe Biden.
VAN DREW: No, it's not. It's not.
And I don't -- I don't agree with them. We are -- we have been soft on this...
BARTIROMO: Yes.
VAN DREW: ... and have gotten hurt for years, because people haven't stood up.
We're finally standing up. And it's the right thing to do.
BARTIROMO: Congressman, it's great to see you this morning. Please come back soon.
Don't be a stranger, Congressman Jeff Van Drew.
Have a great Sunday, everybody. Thanks for joining us.
I will see you next week on "Mornings With Maria" on FOX Business.
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