Transcript of Trump interview with Catherine Herridge

HERRIDGE: After everything that’s happened today, under what circumstances would you allow the White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress about the Special Counsel investigation?

TRUMP: Well, he’s been testifying for so many hours, 30 hours. I allowed him to testify. Nobody else would do that. I did that because it wouldn’t matter to me. He can say whatever he wants to say. I did nothing wrong. I knew that.

And if I thought I did something wrong, I don’t know what I’d do. I wouldn’t have probably let anybody testify. But I let everybody. Again, almost 500 people they interviewed and there’s never been anything like this.

Now, they’ve already testified. I don’t want to go through this — and what’s going to happen when we’re finished with the House? Then we’re going to do another one with the Senate, then we’re going to do another one with somebody else?

Look, I think what they should be focusing on is how did this mess start? How did this whole investigation start, because I think it’s corrupt as hell, and I think what’s happened between Comey and McCabe and Brennan and all of these people — and Strzok and his lover, Lisa Page; there’s tremendous things that people want to find out, and they really want to find it out and I hope they’re going to.

HERRIDGE: Is there a timeline on when the public will see these Russia records declassified?

TRUMP: Yes, I’m going to be allowing declassification pretty soon. I didn’t want to do it originally because I wanted to wait, because I know what they — you know I’ve seen the way they play. They play very dirty. So I decided to do it, and I’m going to be doing if very soon, far more than you would have even thought?

HERRIDGE: May, June, July?

TRUMP: No, soon. I mean whenever they need it. Whenever they need it I’ll be doing it but I will declassifying it. Everything.

HERRIDGE: Director Comey wrote in the New York Times; he called you quote “a moral” and that this has rubbed off on the attorney general and the deputy attorney general.

TRUMP: Well Comey leaked and he lied. He lied in front to Congress. He was sworn testimony, classified information. I did a terrible job. Everybody wanted him fired — you now everybody; Schumer, every Democrat almost, every Republican, almost– probably 100 percent, but I say almost just to say it so there’s no mistake.

But I — I read quotes from Schumer and prior to my firing every wanted him gone. He did a lousy job. He was a terrible director. Terrible. There was dissension in the FBI.

HERRIDGE: Can I ask you a question President Trump?

TRUMP: Yes.

HERRIDGE: If you take Director Comey out of the equation and his actions in 2016 and 2017, would the country be where it is today?

TRUMP: I think that he did a terrible job. I would say he probably, say he probably led some kind of an effort. The word spying has been used. He probably was one of the people leading the effort on spying.

HERRIDGE: That’s a very serious charge to make.

TRUMP: I know, I know, and we’ll find out whether or not it was true, and I think it could very well be true, but we’re going to find out pretty soon.