>> kentucky republican james comey joins us. he's a member of the house oversight committee. after speaker pelosi announced her impeachment in court earlier this week you called it a political stunt. has anything that's come out over the past 48 hours changed your mind about that assessment? >> not really. i think speaker pelosi overreacted, made an impeachment inquiry as unprecedented to call for without even having the

transcript of the call come hearing from the whistleblower. i think that is a rush to a think it's a disgrace to the constitution. >> host: we now have the white house memo about the call. with the whistleblowers complaint. whatat was your reading of that conversation? did you think what was said was perfect inappropriate? >> guest: this is donald trump were talking about and is not politically correct and he just thinks outside theg box. that something hopefully every americanan has come to understad and somewhat appreciate. but in his conversation with his counterpart of ukraine i did not see anything wrong. the president asked about corruption between the biden family and potentially corrupt ukrainian business. i think the president had every right to ask that question, and the democrats say well, that's collusion with ukraine.

we started this conversation conversation before, collusion withrd russia. if the democrats had not already cried wolf so many times with respect to president trump in the past, then i think this complaint might have more credibility with me until i see something that strikes me as impeachable, i'm going to consider this another political stunt especially the what it c s handled. to call for an impeachment inquiryar without having any testimony from anyone, and is not an impeachment inquiry on the mueller report or collusion with russia or anything pertaining to the campaign and michael cohen. nothing pertaining to his taxes. this is a new thing that just popped up in the decided we'll just have an impeachment inquiry. >> host: a question asked by usa today's editorial board, if the ukraine call was perfect as the president said, why try to bury yet? >> guest: that's a good

question. i think that something the oversight committee or judiciary committee should ask. i think that's fair game, but doesn't warrant a full blown impeachment inquiry at this point? i don't thinkowir so. let's take the fact she officially call for an impeachment inquiry. in my mind nothing has changed. for the past year and half, every committee has been trying to investigate president trump for a menu of different potential crimes. i don't think they found anything. >> host: take us to the house oversight committee. your committee. what's on the menu in your committee? what are your thoughts on that investigation? >> guest: the menu changes every day. it's the daily special with democrats and with the chairman of the committee. supposed toe is look at waste, fraud, and abuse in government. that's something i'm passionate about. that's what has to be on on the

oversight committee when they came to congress. it's become, i hate to quote the president on this but it's become a witch hunt. when you bring people like michael cohen before the committee, right before they go to jail for lying to congress, that in my mind hurt your credibility a little bit. i think there are things the oversight committee can look into with respect to this call from ukraine. >> host: such as what? >> guest: my question is what role is rudy giuliani playing? i think that's a legitimate question. also it's a legitimatek questio, what role was the biden family playing in this? why was hunter biden getting paid from ukraine? ethics rules are clear that family members are not -- or anyone for that matter is- supposed to lobby as foreign agent and you have a severe

conflict of interest. i know democrats are quick to always point out potential conflicts of interest with members of the company staying at the trump hotel. what about the scent of the vice president getting paid by a ukrainian oligarch to do who knows what at a time when relations with the united states and ukraine are somewhat contentious? i think there are a lot of questions that can be asked and oversight. the democrats have a rightht to ask some questions about president trump, butut i think e republicans have a lot of questions. i know jim jordan and mark meadows myself are going to have a lot of questions pertaining to the biden thing. so far i haven't seen anything that the president is right to ask about corruption in his own country and it is a a thing wrg with it. >> host: to circle back on the first question, are you concern rudy giuliani overstepped his role or he should i not had a role at all? >> guest: i don't know.

my question is what role did rudy giulianiio have? it may not be anything serious but to mee of everything i've read about the transcript, the two things that stand out in my mind are out of curiosity, what was rudy giuliani is role and secondly why was biden getting paid by ukraine? at the end of the day, the potential for this to back on the democrats again iss pretty high. just got the mueller report. the mueller report came out and it wasas by all accounts a dad. then without we will get more an opportunity to come before congress and go into greater detail about obstruction of justice, and again it was a dead. thewa democrats clearly what mps president trump if this is been from day one. but in my mind and in the minds of most kentuckians, there have

been no impeachable offenses committed. >> host: it's just after 7:30 a.m. congressman james comber with us until the top of the hour. house scale to be in at 9 a.m. eastern but our phone lines are open for you to call in and ask you questions, give us your comments. scott, seattle, washington, independent. thanks for hanging around center last segment. go ahead with your question or comment. >> caller: where did i begin now? i been hanging on here forow hours. you know, politics is one thing in life is another thing, apparently. it's clear that the only trouble you ever hear about come from the politicians. i think it's maybe, what about this right that we have? can't we assemble as a militia, pick up arms and get rid of rogue governments like the

entire 116th congress? how about that? think about it because we are thinking about it. >> host: are you saying you're think about taking up arms against the government? >> caller: no. we have the right -- >> host: what are you saying? >> caller: -- the right to abolish any branch of t governmt that we feel is being abusive or not operating with our consent. do you understand that? >> host: congressman, i'll let you jump in. >> guest: i think americans will have right and have the ability to judge whether this instance or any of the previous instances with respect to the muellere report or the president's personal life, the voters will have an opportunity to get rid of donald trump in one year. in my mind iye to start an impeachment inquiry at this point in his first term when we are clearly in a reelection

cycle, it's somewhat confusing. because if they are confident that donald trump is a terrible president, if they're confident he is a crop president, then have the right to make that case 12 months -- corrupt president. i personally think it will be elizabeth warren but most people in washington that i talk to think the president will be reelected unless the democrats can impeach him. this is clearly political what they're doing. i don't think there's any need to try to overthrow the government or anything, but i do believe that people have the right to overthrow thepe presidt in onees year. they havee a right to overthrow congress and we will see what happens but right now i think with the presidents legislativep accomplishments, with the strong economy and with the socialist nature that the democrat candidates for president have seems too embrace, i think donad

trump will be reelected unless they consent to find a way, super bowl, to impeach him and i don't see anything that happened this week thate would relate to that silver bullet. >> host: dallas, texas, herman, democrats. goodas morning. >> caller: good morning. my comment is that whenever donald trump is in trouble, and i have watched you or morning show i would have, his defenders deep in him, you know, they do the same thing, defend and attack, defend with it's the senators for the representatives or yourr callers, defend and attack. they never come this unconditional love, he feels invincible. so he keeps crossing lines. that's the frustrating thing. andst then they come back on and when he's in trouble again, they defend and attack.

>> host: what is the lined you are most worried about courts wheree has it cost the light and which one concerns you the most? >> caller: he crossed the line as a candidate. youne know, just started his campaign with the russians and making deals and stuff that he shouldn't have been making thin, and the route his whole presidency. >> host: what do you do you think he should not have made? >> caller: he should not, should not ofop had the people d his sons office from russia talking about making a a deal,u know. and he shouldn't have hadt the call that we're talking about now, this recent thing that is caused, you know, if we had allowed -- the russian think him if he had not jammed up the congress and had not allowed his

people to talk to congress, maybe he wouldn't be in this latest jam. >> guest: i think that's kind of symbolic of some of the democrats mindset in washington, unfortunately. they don't like the president. they really don't knownt anythig that is done criminally wrong. they don't have any evidence of any impeachable offenses that they want to get rid of him. i go back to when the republicans were in controlim of the house and barack obama was president. i wasn't in congress at the time but our base really disliked obama as much as the democrat base dislikes president trump, but never at. one time did the republicansic in congress try to call for an impeachment inquiry. what the republicans tried to do was beat obama at the ballot box, and obviously obama won reelection.

the republicans continued to come in a constitutional way, challenge his policy and initiatives but never once did they abuse the power of the office by trying to call for an impeachment inquiry. i think that it's very unfortunate that we are here talking about impeachment official. i know we've talked about impeachment for the last two yearss but now it's been officially called. and i think the democrats we don't have anything to impeach him for. >> host: about 15 minutes left with congressman comer of kentucky. a reminder the house coming in at 9 a.m. today so we will be ending our show then, take it there for gavel to gavel coverage. frank in fort lauderdale,

florida, republican, your next. >> caller: good morning. thank you very much. i listen to the c-span replay last night of the hearing, and i noticed the chairman of the committee, mr. schiff, he kept mentioning a manufactured, what -- dirt, to manufacture dirt that was the objective of president trump. and i thought it was rather prejudicial. i thoughtra the committee should be finding the truth and made up not to already their mind that it's a manufactured thing, which is not true. also, too, what biden did in ukraine was an obstruction of justice where, what trump, the conversation with the president of the ukraine is about the

opening -- reopening the case and trying to find the truth and justice, not about anything manufactured. this all went back to 2016, and muellerrged the investigation, exonerated president trump of any collusion with the russians. but just what happened what biden did in 2016 has not been resolved. >> host: that is frank this morning.reed >> guest: he mentioned adam schiff. i think adam schiff is the least credible member of congress. adam schiff has hadr a bad runs chairman of the house intelligence committee. if you go back to tape, he had evidence, he had 100% proof that donald trump colluded with russia and he never produced it. it was made up. that's a severe loss of

credibility to his leadership, as chairman of the intelligence committee. i take what adam schiff says with a grain of salt. >> host: how do you feel about your chairman, elijah cummings? >> guest: elijah cummings is chairman of the oversight committee. i think elijah cummings is a good person. i think that he wants to do the right thing. i think nancy pelosi the band wants to do the right thing. the problem is these new progressives that the democrats have elected our polling them so far to the left that they can't stop them a and the new progressives are getting so much media coverage. they're enjoying so much popularity from the base that they have caused pelosi and coming to do irrational things that if you look at their career, they never would've done before. i've never agreed with anythingg policy wise pelosi has done. i've never great anything policy was elijah cummings has done but at the end of the day, they are

way over bound in what, what they have a a right, a constitutional right is a-- memr to say about president trump and to call for. we can have hearings. i'm all about having him expect we canha have hearings on this t until you get or evidence, tell you know with a whistleblower was, what their motives were, is that whistleblower in fact, credible? i can't imagine calling for an impeachment inquiry. >> host: brenda, south carolina. good morning. >> caller: i have one question that i would like to ask congressman. well, i feel like everyone has heard the tape, and what i saw the hearing on yesterday, and every time something comes up that donald trump does wrong, it's the democrats, it's the democrats, it's the democrats, and obama, biden, biden.

the situation with biden was explained over and over but they take soundbites and don't tell a whole story. as far as the president, it's not about, democrats not liking donald trump. it's things donald trump does. he shoots himself in the foot every time. one day after the mueller report and hearing he goes and tries to make a deal to get more dirt on another opponent? i mean, it's wrong. it's not a matter of whether we like it or not. we are sick and tired of him doing things he thinks he can get away with because you all republicans don't hold him accountable. >> guest: theld basis of this impeachment inquiry is president trump was trying to get dirt on joe biden. the democrats have been obsessed with trying to get dirt on donald trump over the past year. i mean, that's a hypocritical thing to say from what democrats

are saying history is he was using the power of the presidency to do that. >> guest: the president asked his ukrainian counterpart, you might ought to looking to see if there's anything corrupt that took place with former vice presidents son and this corrupt ukrainian oligarch and his company. i think the president has every right to ask that you want the present to us that, to cut your we give fornt a deeper i'm not crazy by giving for 80 any country but israel, but we do for whatever reason. and if the president is not the correct person to ask about the potential corruption or conflict of interest, then who is? is it the intelligence community? we had a real problembl with intelligence community, for whatever reason, i think there's a bad disconnect between the president, his administration

and with the intelligence community. i know both sides have said a lot of bad things cannot just james comey and jim clapper but a lot of our employees in the intelligence community, television, on fox, cnn, msnbc constantly resizing the president. the the president is constantly criticizing pin. to me that sisters problem. >> host: who's responsible for that? >> guest: i don'tfo know who is responsible for that but i can understand president trump's this trust because in his eyes and my eyes there was no reason to launch the rush investigation to begin with. if we are to investigate more things on president trump any oversight committee i i would like to investigate also what was the genesis of the rush investigation? was it the steele dossier? that was a democrat opposition research from trying to dig up dirt on donald trump, just the same thing the caller said from trump on biden.

not many people in washington in the republican party have ever thought i would be the democrat nominee. we always thought it would be elizabeth warren, come all harris -- kamala harris, maybe even bernie sanders. the president had the right in my mind to ask his ukrainian counterpart about potential corruption between a state and ukraine. >> host: here's al franken long island puts it. the democrats are putting our intelligence agency great deibert and the democrats quest to discredit this president. they're weakening the office and his efforts to discuss business and policy with foreign leaders. most of the democratic talking were from hearsay and hypothetical scenarios they put forth. frank in long island texting us. or give us a call like mary in louisiana. republican, go ahead. >> caller: let me wrap this up in a neat package for you.

the democrats hate donald trump because donald trump stands up and fight back. for years the democrat is used to doing anything and say anything and have branded the republicanss as races all down through the years and they rather retire, lay down, rolled over and take it. because they know that most people that most democrats will not vote and go through history and find out the truth about the democrats. okay, and another thing. they tell tales about his children that working in the white house getting paid. they are not getting paid. donald trump to not take his pay, and the pay fsa he has to take him he donates that to charity. >> host: congressman, what do you think? >> guest: i like her attitude, but you know, the thing i will say with respect to this

investigation and i think she alludedlu to that is they have called for so many investigations on the president. how many times can you cry wolf packs it just seems they built up so much hope among their base that the mueller report would be the silver bullet that would lead to impeachment, and when they came out and the testimony was such a dud, i think they just had thrown another hail mary here with respect to this ukrainian phone call. the ukrainian phone call public record, anyone that i've consulted with, they don't see a problem with it. you can argue, well, was it the perfect call between the united states and ukraine? probably not, but the american people didn't want a perfect politically correct president. they want to someone outside the box to disrupt washington d.c. to drain the swamp and that's what we have and asked a

question about corruption and he think he has every right to do that. >> host: time for one or two more phone calls. lisa in massachusetts, independent.sa good morning. >> caller: good morning. i watched the hearings yesterday and had to say just, we've all worked f for people we don't lie and we still do our jobs. but watching that hearing yesterday, how they treated the acting dni yesterday was appalling. the fact is as it relates to trump and this entire two nephews, almost three years, this is nothing short of workplace harassment. if this was us working at our normal course of life in business, in the organization, this is blatant workforce harassment. we elected a president for no other reason than to drain the swamp. he has been nothing that tried to do that, and i can return it seems like there is some sort of roadblock, some sort of

undermining of his vision, which we elected them for, just like our private w bosses. you don't like them, they have a patienton omission, that's their course of action. >> host: give you the final minute. >> guest: i agree with what shee said. america is 50-50 and it was like that under obama, 50% of the american citizenry liked obama, 50% didn't do. it's the same with trump. half the people in america like him, half the people don't like it. but the republicans never tried to impeach obama. we tried to defeat at the ballot box, and if people don't like donald trump, if they don't like his style, if they are embarrassed by how he represents the united states on the fourth stage, then theyta will have a right very soon to get rid of him. and if they don't like how republicans in congress react to the baseless claims of nancy pelosi and adam schiff, then

they will have a replace -- a replace us as well. >> host: regarding holding a town hall in i the next few wee? >> guest: i will have one in lebanon kentucky that a viewer i speak in my congressional district in southern kentucky,, we opened it up for questions. >> host: how would you think this story place in the first congressional district of kentucky? >> guest: 75% of the people in the first congressional district will have the same attitude that the last caller had. they constantly asking what i called why won't the democrats let donald trump lead? why do l they have to call for impeachment everyday? why did investigate him on everything? why don't they just leave him alone and let them do what he said is goingsa to do when he ws a candidate? the president the president enjh popularity and my congressional district but therest are a few that don't like them and they really don't like it. just like all across the united states but i am any pretty pro-trump congressional district in kentucky.

>> host: congressman james comey, come back sometime after recess to chat with us. >> guest: thank you very much for having me. i washington journal continues. host: we welcome back to our desk democratic >> we welcome back to this democrat congressman ted lieu of california. before your political career you worked as a prosecutor here the term quid pro quo has come up a lot this week. our viewers mentioning it seen or not see an the story. can you