Dan Goldman: Ex-FBI Informant Shows House GOP ‘Operating at the Behest of Russian Intelligence and Vladimir Putin’

COOPER: “With his now is New York Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman, who served as Democratic counsel during the former president’s first impeachment inquiry. First of all, congressman, what is your reaction to this revelation from the Special Counsel David Weiss?”
Goldman: “Well, it’s pretty shocking and especially what it means that has been going on for the last four years, which is that wittingly or unwittingly, House Republicans have been acting as an agent or an asset of Russian intelligence for Vladimir Putin. This whole Burisma thing was debunked during the first impeachment investigation in 2019 by numerous, numerous witnesses, all of whom experts on Ukraine and Russia. And now this three — this 1023 materializes from a purported conversation in 2020 that is treated as gospel by the Republicans. And I would like to know whether or not Sen. Grassley, who had a copy of this 1023 before the FBI ever gave it or Chairman Comer or Chairman Jordan, all of whom were singing the praises of this — the information provided by this source, had any idea whether or not it was completely bogus and was in fact a plant by Russian intelligence, which has been trying to meddle somewhat successfully in our election since 2016.”
COOPER: You’re talking about a 1023. That’s where this information initially was reported in, correct?”
Goldman: “Yes, it’s a report of a interview that a confidential human source will provide to his handlers at the FBI to explain the conversations or the information that he has gathered. The FBI then writes it down very meticulously, so they know exactly what he said. That 1023 is the only evidence — the only evidence — that the Republicans in the House, as part of this impeachment inquiry, have related to these Burisma bribery allegations —“
COOPER: “And they pushed against that information out to the public.”
Goldman: “— which both Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan — oh, they pushed incredibly hard. And Chairman Jordan and Chairman Comer have said that this is the best evidence they have of misconduct by President Biden. In fact, it is no evidence. It is just simply evidence that the Republicans are willing to be used as assets of Russian intelligence, just like Donald Trump was in 2016 and throughout his presidency when he went to a press conference in Helsinki and chose Vladimir Putin’s word over his own intelligence community. That is who we are dealing with. It is now a pervasive disease that has gone through the entire Republican Party, and it needs to be excised immediately.”
COOPER: “So what do you see happening now? I mean, do you think any of this will actually cause Republicans to abandon the impeachment inquiry? Because Comer, the chairman, indicated in the interview last week that the House may not actually hold a vote to impeach the president after his committee releases its report because ‘the math keeps getting worse.’”
Goldman: “Well, look, before this revelation that the one source, the one person with information related to Burisma and any bribery happens to be completely fabricated and as a Russian intelligence scheme, this investigation was going nowhere. It was being debunked right, left and center by every single witness that had come in. It was almost laughable at this point that it was still an ongoing investigation. Now, this should put the nail in the coffin because not only is there no evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden, but it now appears as if the House Republican majority is being used by Russia to interfere in the 2024 election on behalf of Donald Trump. If they continue with this investigation, they are simply doing the work of Vladimir Putin to help Donald Trump win an election in November. That’s where we are.”
COOPER: “It is extraordinary when you think about how much, I mean, oxygen this has taken up by Republicans in the House on Fox News and other right-wing media outlets and radio channels. I mean, it’s extraordinary.”
Goldman: “It’s shocking and it is — for me especially because I led the investigation in 2019 in the first impeachment. And I had all of these State Department witnesses, the National Security Council officials, all Russian and Ukrainian experts coming in and saying, actually, what Joe Biden did in encouraging the prosecutor - in encouraging Ukraine rather, to fire the prosecutor general was bad for Burisma, the company whose board his son was on, because that prosecutor general was not investigating corruption. And in fact, after he left and the next one came in, they then did start investigating Burisma. This has been debunked for years. And the fact that it now is the linchpin of this impeachment investigation, based on a completely bogus lie funneled through a confidential source by Russian intelligence, it tells you the real danger that our Congress is in right now, having been held captive by Donald Trump and now operating at the behest of Russian intelligence and Vladimir Putin.”
COOPER: “It’s incredible. Congressman Goldman, thank you.”