WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees, today joined CNN to discuss former Special Counsel Mueller’s upcoming testimony to Congress, Iran, and the crisis at the U.S. southern border.

“For anyone who knows the history of the conflict in Iraq, that is a chilling statement of either indifference or callousness to the very real risk that a war with Iran would end up being a long, expensive, and painful quagmire. We charged into Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein without a real plan for what would happen if, several months later, the Iraqi people did not rise up as one and embrace us as liberators and then become a model democracy. And, in fact, it became a long and grinding and brutal conflict,” said Senator Coons.

“After the Second World War, the United States reflected on the ways in which we refused to accept refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, an entire ship full of Jewish citizens of Germany who were fleeing Nazi persecution were denied the opportunity to enter the United States. They floated off the East Coast for months and months, and then ultimately were forced to return to Germany, where many were killed. It's because of that incident that we changed our laws to make it possible for people fleeing violence and persecution to come here and seek asylum. We should reflect on that history, again, today. There are thousands of people fleeing the violence and chaos of three countries in Central America,” said Senator Coons.

Video and audio available here. 

Excerpts from the interview:

Sen. Coons on Mueller: I’d want to know, from Robert Mueller, his view on whether or not the President obstructed justice and whether or not, in his opinion, the President could and should be prosecuted after he leaves office.

Sen. Coons on Mueller: Frankly, I'd ask him a lot of questions that led to his reviewing what's already in that report. One of the challenges here is that I think Robert Mueller counted on the American people to read, at least the summaries of, his report. I think when you read them it is striking, it's fairly alarming that the President and his inner circle clearly in at least a half dozen occasions, engaged in all the elements of an obstruction of justice action. And, in the first volume of his report, he lays out in great detail the searching way in which Russia interfered in our last election. The lack of concrete action here in the Congress to ensure that we've secured our next election, the ways in which the Majority Leader has blocked bipartisan bills that would strengthen our election machinery and strengthen the ability of our intelligence community to communicate and coordinate with local elections officials, I think would be concerning and alarming. And my hope is that many more people would focus, would tune into that hearing, than frankly have so far read the Mueller report.  
Sen. Coons on the border crisis: No, we're not. Any parent who sees that image has got to be profoundly disturbed. After the Second World War, the United States reflected on the ways in which we refused to accept refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, an entire ship full of Jewish citizens of Germany who were fleeing Nazi persecution were denied the opportunity to enter the United States. They floated off the East Coast for months and months, and then ultimately were forced to return to Germany, where many were killed. It's because of that incident that we changed our laws to make it possible for people fleeing violence and persecution to come here and seek asylum. We should reflect on that history, again, today. There are thousands of people fleeing the violence and chaos of three countries in Central America. President Trump's budget and his administrative actions freezes and cuts the assistance to those three countries to help them stabilize, to help them combat drug trafficking. When I've met with leaders from those countries, they remind me that it is our insatiable appetite for drugs that is largely driving the violence and chaos in their countries. They welcome our assistance, and I think we should be both providing humanitarian assistance at the border for those who are fleeing that condition and seeking refuge here, and we should be working together to try and stabilize those three countries so that fewer parents take this desperately dangerous journey and risk their lives and their children's lives in trying to reach America.

Sen. Coons on Iran and an exit strategy: Of course, we do. And for anyone who knows the history of the conflict in Iraq, that is a chilling statement of either indifference or callousness to the very real risk that a war with Iran would end up being a long, expensive, and painful quagmire. We charged into Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein without a real plan for what would happen if, several months later, the Iraqi people did not rise up as one, embrace us a liberators and then become a model democracy. And, in fact, it became and long and grinding and brutal conflict. And we did not have an exit strategy for that war. And it concerns me greatly that our President doesn't even think he needs an exit strategy for a war that he is flirting with, starting with Iran.

Sen. Coons on the Senate approving war with Iran: We do. We are having a vigorous debate today about whether or not we're going to proceed to an important annual bill called the National Defense Authorization Act, and whether or not we're going to get a vote on an amendment that would require the President to seek Congressional approval before starting a war with Iran. Of course, the President can act to defend American troops if attacked, but I think it's important that we get every Senator on record on whether or not they're satisfied that President Trump has a clear strategy, has a compelling national interest, and has an exit strategy for a potential conflict with Iran. 

 

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