Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Durbin: 'You Can't Resign Your Way Out Of Responsibility' | Meet The Press | NBC News

THERE HANGING TOUGH FOR THE

CONSTITUTION.

>> CONGRESSMAN RASKIN, THANK YOU

VERY MUCH.

>>> JOINING ME NOW, THE NUMBER

TWO DEMOCRATIC IN THE SENATE,

DICK DURBIN.

SENATOR DURBIN, WELCOME BACK TO

"MEET THE PRESS."

LET ME START WITH WHAT NANCY

PELOSI SAID ABOUT MITCH

McCONNELLS STATEMENT RIGHT

AFTER HE MADE IT YESTERDAY.

LET ME PLAY IT FOR YOU, SIR.

>> HE WAS HEDGING ALL OVER THE

PLACE.

I DONT KNOW WHETHER IT WAS FOR

DONORS OR WHAT, BUT WHATEVER IT

WAS, IT WAS A VERY DISINGENUOUS

SPEECH.

I SAY THAT REGRETFULLY BECAUSE I

ALWAYS WANT TO BE ABLE TO WORK

WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF THE OTHER

PARTY.

>> DID YOU FIND SENATOR

McCONNELLS REMARKS

DISINGENUOUS?

>> WELL, LET ME SAY, CHUCK, AT

THE OUTSET, TO JAMIE RASKIN AND

HIS TEAM, AN EXTRAORDINARY GOOD

JOB.

IMPORTANTLY IN THE HISTORY OF

OUR COUNTRY, THEY SPOKE UP AT

THE RIGHT MOMENT.

LET ME SAY ANOTHER WORD.

WE WERE NEVER GOING TO REACH 67

VOTES IN THE SENATE WITHOUT

MITCH McCONNELL VOTING GUILTY.

SO HE WENT ON THE FLOOR

AFTERWARDS.

HE BASICALLY GAVE THE SPEECH

THAT JAMIE RASKIN WOULD HAVE

GIVEN TO THE SENATE AND THEN

TRIED TO JUSTIFY HIS VOTE FOR

ACQUITTAL.

IT WASNT GOING TO HAPPEN.

WE WERENT GOING TO REACH 67

WITHOUT HIM.

>> DID YOU FIND HIS REMARKS

DISINGENUOUS, OR DO YOU TAKE HIM

AT HIS WORD ON HIS BELIEF ABOUT

THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF IT?

>> I TELL YOU WHAT, I THINK THAT

ARGUMENT THAT WE CANT IMPEACH

SOMEONE WHO IS OUT OF OFFICE

REALLY BAITS THE QUESTION -- THE

HOUSE MANAGERS MADE THE POINT

EARLY ON.

THAT MEANS THERES SOME PERIOD

IN THE PRESIDENCY WHEN CONGRESS

CANNOT RESPOND QUICKLY ENOUGH

THAT A PRESIDENT CAN GET AWAY

WITH ANYTHING.

I DONT BELIEVE THE FRAMERS WERE

THAT CARELESS IN WRITING THOSE

SECTIONS.

HISTORY TELLS US, AS JAMIE

RASKIN JUST NOTED, THAT WE HAVE

IMPEACHED THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT

OFFICE.

YOU CANT RESIGN YOUR WAY OUT OF

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.

>> IN FACT, I WAS GOING TO SAY,

I DO FEEL LIKE MAYBE WHAT

INADVERTENTLY HAS HAPPENED IS WE

NOW HAVE THIS GAP DURING THE

TRANSITION THAT APPARENTLY

JANUARY 7th TO JANUARY 20th, WE

ARE LUCKY DONALD TRUMP DIDNT DO

ANYTHING.

WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF HE

DID SOMETHING?

IS THERE SUDDENLY NO MECHANISM

TO HAVE REMOVED HIM FROM OFFICE

IF THEY WERENT GOING TO INVOKE

THE 25th AMENDMENT?

>> THATS EXACTLY THE CONCLUSION

THAT MANY OF THE REPUBLICANS

WERE HANGING THEIR HAT ON, THAT

THERE WAS A GRACE PERIOD FOR THE

PRESIDENT, NO MATTER WHAT HE

CHOSE TO DO.

LISTEN, IT GETS DOWN TO THIS,

WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, CHUCK, MANY

OF THE REPUBLICANS WERE VOTING

OUT OF LOYALTY TO DONALD TRUMP.

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW WHAT

DONALD TRUMPS VERSION OF

LOYALTY IS, I HAVE TWO WORDS,

MIKE PENCE.

MANY OF THEM WERE VOTING OUT OF

FEAR, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY

WENT HOME.

I WOULD ASK THEM TO TAKE A

REFLECTION ON THE FUTURE OF

THEIR PARTY WHICH EMBRACES QANON

CON SPEERT AND PROUD BOYS AND

SHUNNING CINDY McCAIN AND BILL

CASSIDY.

WHATS THE FUTURE OF THE

REPUBLICAN PARTY IN THAT

POSTURE?

>> WE HAD TO REPORT THAT CHRIS

COONS VISITED THE HOUSE MANAGERS

AND SAID, LOOK, THIS DRIVE FOR

WITNESSES, IT COULD COST SOME

REPUBLICAN CONVICTION VOTES.

SOME DEMOCRATS ARENT HAPPY WITH

IT.

WAS THERE ENOUGH UNEASE WITH

EXTENDING THIS TRIAL THAT THERE

WAS MOTIVATION TO PULL THE

WITNESS REQUEST BACK?

>> I DONT KNOW WHAT CHRIS DID.

I DIDNT FOLLOW HIM OR ASK HIM.

I SAW THE SAME PRESS ACCOUNTS.

I THINK THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS:

THE EVIDENCE WAS STIPULATED AS

TO WHAT CONGRESSMAN BUTLER SAID.

HAVING BEEN STIPULATED, WE KNEW

EXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS GOING TO

SAY IF SHE WERE CALLED FOR

DEPOSITION.

SO I DONT THINK WE LOST ANY

GROUND.

THE FACTS WERE BEFORE THE

SENATE.

I THINK THE PHYSICAL DEPOSITION

WOULD NOT HAVE MADE A

SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE AND IT

WOULD HAVE DELAYED THE

PROCEEDING.

>> IM CURIOUS.

DO YOU FEEL AS IF, BY

ACCELERATING THE PROCESS

YESTERDAY, IS THERE GOING TO BE

A CONNECTION WITH BEING ABLE TO

SPEED UP NOW AND DEAL WITH THE

PRESIDENTS RELIEF PACKAGE?

WAS THERE ANY COUPLING OF THAT

YESTERDAY OR NOT?

>> WE HAD THIS COMING WEEK, OF

COURSE, AS A RECESS WEEK FOR THE

SENATE, SO WE HAD TIME.

THAT WASNT THE ELEMENT HERE I

DO WANT TO MAKE THIS POINT.

WE ARE WORKING WITH PRESIDENT

BIDEN ON THE PRIORITIES OF THE

AMERICAN PEOPLE, DEALING WITH

THIS PANDEMIC, DEALING WITH THE

ECONOMY, PROVIDING CASH PAYMENTS

TO AMERICAN CITIZENS TO HELP

THEM THROUGH THIS TOUGH PERIOD.

SO WHAT WE DID WITH THIS

IMPEACHMENT TRIAL WAS NOT AT THE

EXPENSE OF PRESIDENT BIDENS

PRIORITIES.

WELL BE RETURNING TO THEM

QUICKLY WHEN WE COME BACK TO

WASHINGTON.

>> DO WE NEED A 9/11-STYLE

COMMISSION STILL ABOUT JANUARY

6th?

>> I CAN TELL YOU, ONE OF THE

THINGS I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO

WAS MAKING THE RECORD FOR

HISTORY AS TO WHAT OCCURRED.

WE STILL HAVE PEOPLE, EVEN AT

THE TRIAL MAKING CLAIMS THAT

ANTIFA WAS REALLY BEHIND IT, NOT

TRUMPS PEOPLE.

THAT WAS REJECTED BY KEVIN

McCARTHY.

ITS BEEN REJECTED BY THE CLEAR

EVIDENCE PRESENTED TO US.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT

SOVIET-STYLE REVISIONISTS ON THE

REPUBLICAN SIDE WHO ARE TRYING

TO BLAME EVERYBODY BUT DONALD

TRUMP HAD A RECORD IN FRONT OF

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT WAS

CLEAR.

I THINK JAMIE RASKIN AND THE

HOUSE MANAGERS MADE THAT RECORD

WITH CLARITY EVEN -- LETS BE

HONEST WITH YOU, EVEN MITCH

McCONNELL ACKNOWLEDGED THAT LAST

NIGHT IN HIS SPEECH.

SO WE HAVE THAT RECORD AND

THATS THE IMPORTANT HISTORIC

RECORD TO SHOW THIS GENERATION

OF DOUBTERS AND ANY FUTURE

GENERATION.

>> IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU THINK