GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Georgia congressman Doug Collins has emerged in the national spotlight this year as President Donald Trump's biggest defender on the committee that could consider his impeachment.
The attorney and Army chaplain from Gainesville is the highest-ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
Collins said Democrats on the committee are prematurely jumping to conclusions before getting facts from the investigation of independent counsel Robert Mueller.
He thinks Democrats in Congress are trying cram too much detective work into too little time left between now and the upcoming presidential campaign season. He thinks they're doing it to appease the party's base. Collins chatted with 11Alive News in his office Wednesday.
Q: Do you think the investigation is a witch hunt?
A: Much of it is a fishing expedition yes.
Q: So you make it sound like the investigation is not legitimate.
A: I think the investigation is that they don’t like the president, in 2016 they can’t understand why they lost the election... the legitimacy is in question.
Collins said he sees Democrats in Congress trying to duplicate the work of special counsel Robert Mueller, who has had what Collins calls unlimited funds, time and subpoena power to find criminal activity. And, Collins predicts Mueller’s report will exonerate the president.
"I think you're not going to see a collusion which, again, I remind people is not a crime. I don’t think you're going to find obstruction," Collins said. "At the end of the day I think the president is going to be correct in this, and it ends up being an investigation that ended up with people lying and Russians being indicted. Which is fine, we know that there was the meddling in the election."
Q: You said collusion is not a crime
A: It's not
Q: Is it wrong?
A: I think we’re using the word collusion as just something we just don’t like.
Q: I think collusion describes an active embrace
A: I’m not sure the campaign was that together to actually have thought of a plan like that... and I don’t think we’ve seen anything remotely (like that to) lead you into other activities that would not be legal.
Q: Are you satisfied President Trump is not enriching himself or his family while they’re in office?
A: Under everything that’s been settled out, yes. His family is running the business. He’s taken himself out of that business.
Q: In particular, there’s the government of China approving a bunch of patents for Trump’s family after he became president.
A: The question would be, was there something done wrong in China, which china approved this. Ask china.
Q: That answer assumes you would get a straight answer out of China
A: It’s the way you look at it. Did she get the patent because she was Donald Trump’s daughter?
Q: You don’t think it happened because she was his daughter?
A: I guess it depends on how you want to take it.
Collins says he is very aware of the history of the House judiciary committee – which voted to impeach President Nixon in 1974, and to impeach President Clinton 24 years later.
Q: Do you think the investigation that resulted in the impeachment of president Clinton was a legitimate investigation?
A: Only being able to see it from the outside, I couldn’t say either way. I think you had a political dynamic there that’s being played out now.
Q: If that investigation was worthwhile, can’t you say the current investigation is worthwhile?
A: But remember, if you take the premise of your question and say that investigation – which was stirred out of the Starr report, why are we not waiting for the Mueller report?
Q: Do you think Hillary Clinton’s emails still need to be investigated?
A: I do. And I’ll tell you why. It’s not about Ms Clinton. And I know they might be out there saying, oh Doug (Collins) just wants to go back and get Hillary Clinton. No. I’m in the military... If I did what she did, I would not be in office right now. And I would be court martialed in the military.
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