CNN Newsroom: Interview With Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Interview
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Well, I think the speaker of the House is a very important figure in the Tennessee legislative process, government process. And when they came to the well, he was very much offended by that because he basically controls the well. And I don't think he's had a fondness for either of these two young African-American legislators who've only been up there a couple of months. Probably not for Miss Johnson, either.
They are outspoken and they do their job of representing their constituents. The process with one where I think it got to get beyond the speaker. He had no concept or no imagination to think that this would go nationally and they have the poor image you would put Tennessee in. Tennessee has been -- really it's a shame what's happened because Tennessee is a very poor light.
The governor should have gotten involved himself and the governor certainly should get involved now to make sure that there's not a second error and there's an opportunity for Justin J. Pearson and for Justin Jones to return to the general assembly by votes of their local legislative bodies that there's no problems when they get to Nashville and that they're able to be seated and to work and do their jobs.
Otherwise -- and there certainly shouldn't be any repercussions on the city of Memphis or the city of Nashville for budgets that have been submitted that include projects for stadium improvements in both of our cities and possibly a hospital in Memphis that needs some funding. So it would be just doubling down.
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And making another mistake at that. So I hope the governor will get involved. We don't have Lamar Alexanders and Jim Haslams surrounding more -- Bill Haslams to deal with these issues. Bob Corkers. We've had some great leaders who've been Republicans as well as Democrats over the years. But the Republican moderates, the Bob Corkers, the Alexanders, the Haslams, they're gone.
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Definitely an embarrassment for our state. Many people contact me through e-mails and phone calls saying how they never thought Tennessee was this type of state, that we were different. Now they put us in the bottom rank of states and they just find this to be objectionable, it certainly has a racist appearance. I think it was more of a control issue than racist but it was just too heavy handed.
I wrote the speaker in his suggestion that they had committed a wrong and that they had violated the rules but that it should be dealt with by a censure or by committee assignment restrictions or something to that effect, but no way should it have been an expulsion vote. And when they did that without a hearing -- I mean they had a hearing on the floor but they didn't have a committee meet earlier to listen to the facts and give them an opportunity to speak at that time, and have an opportunity for negotiations.
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They rushed into it, and they rushed into us into a sinkhole.
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I am one of the I believe it's 10 House members and 10 senators which have joined Senator Whitehouse and Representative Johnson in asking Chief Justice Roberts to do an investigation. I think that's the first step we ought to take and the odds of getting an impeachment are -- they're not even slim. They're none. Because it would have to go through the House and Republican leadership would not entertain it. And folks wouldn't be there and there certainly would be a hearing in Judiciary Committee.
I know I appreciate the Congressperson Ocasio-Cortez for her passion, and I thought about it for a second. But after I thought about it, I think after she thought about it, it's just not going to happen. And she said, well, that's where the investigation should take place. The Supreme Court didn't do a very good job on investigating the leak that they had some months ago, but the Judiciary Committee wouldn't look at it.
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They would have to decide they were going to take it up and they are not going to happen in the Judiciary Committee. It will have to happen in the Supreme Court and I think the letter was a good idea and I trust Senator Whitehouse's judgment.
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Well, that absurd. He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He said those weren't cookies, those were offerings I was making into the plate, the church. I mean, it's just not true. He shouldn't have taken those trips. And of course you should have reported him. But he shouldn't have ever taken. The idea you take a cruise through the Southeast Asia, I think he did a trip to Indonesia, the many cruise, New Zealand and some other particular Bohemia club in California.
I mean, this is the lifestyle of the rich and famous. We had other situations like this where Supreme Court justices, one who died, was on a hunting journey paid for by someone else. The Supreme Court needs to get its act together. I have respect, great respect for John Roberts, but he needs to see that the court has the public support. And it won't have the public support unless they get ethical, strong ethical guidelines of disclosure and have sanctions if the disclosures are not fulfilled. And if they take trips that are not in the best interests of justice.
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You're welcome. Happy Easter to you.
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