- Member of the United StatesHouse of Representatives,

Congressman MorganGriffith was, of course,

taking part in that joint session

when the Capitol wasoverrun by protesters.

He joins us now after a longnight and a dramatic day.

Congressman, thank you somuch for being with us.

Can you, first off,describe what it was like

when you learned what washappening at the Capitol

and your reaction?

- Well, we heard all the noise,

but I had faith in officersof the Capitol Police.

Even though they hadbreached and gotten in,

they were making sure that we were safe.

I was never panicked or afraid,

but I know there were people who were

and you heard the banging on the doors,

you could see that theywere trying to get in.

The Capitol Police then, you know,

evacuated us from the floor

and took us to a undisclosed location

so that we would be in a place

where they could be moresecure about our safety.

I appreciated that.

We waited for hours and then we went back

and did the job of thepeople and finished our work.

- Mitch McConnell called the breach

a security failure, congressman.

And Leader Schumer says he plans

to fire the sergeant-at-arms.

Do you think enough had beendone to prepare for this,

or heaven forbid, a future assault?

- I think we have to reexamineeverything that happened.

Clearly, they weren't prepared for it.

Were they following all the protocols

that have been laid out?

I don't know.

Were they prepared?

I mean, there was some confusion

as to where we were goingfor the undisclosed location,

which seemed they probablyshould've known that.

But this is a decision thatleadership's gonna have to make

as far as the head people go,

but clearly we need tohave a complete review

of everything that we're doing

as far as security is concerned

and we need to take a lookat protests in the Capitol.

We need to have protests,

that's part of ourrepublic and our democracy,

but we also need to make surethat if there's any chance

of a protest becoming violent

that we can protect thegovernment facilities

and make sure that those peoplewho wanna protest peacefully

are able to do so inspite of violent thugs

who may try to take over the protest.

- There's certainly a lotto consider moving forward.

You know, once the Housedid get back into session,

you raised a parliamentary inquiry

that caused a stir among Democrats.

What exactly were you hoping to achieve?

- Well, we need to set theexample for the American public

that we need to tone donethe rhetoric a little bit.

I mean, you hear the Democrats

always talking about the rhetoric

from the president and others,

and Conor Lamb took the floor,

said that those people

who are exercising theirConstitutional right

to challenge objectorsdid not deserve respect

and that lies were being told

on the floor of the United States House.

That's a breach of decorum,it's a breaking in the rules.

Speaker Pelosi ruled that Ididn't get there fast enough

to the mic to make the objection,

but I would note that ConorLamb only had five minutes,

he talked for a minute or so,

I jumped up, went down tothe mic, made the objection,

and he still had severalminutes to object.

So I guess you have to bethere within 30 seconds

or try to anticipate

that somebody's going tosay something inflammatory

that's a breach of decorumbefore they actually say it.

- Hmm.

You know, Congressman Griffith,

there's been widespread fallout tonight.

A number of high profileWhite House resignations,

also talk of impeachment

and invoking the 25th Amendmentto oust the president.

How do you think thecountry should proceed

and does this kinda chatter dash any hope

of Americans unitingunder a new administration

and a new Congress?

- Well, it certainly makes it difficult

for all those people whosupported President Trump,

even though he could've donemore yesterday, in my opinion.

Those people are not gonna take kindly

to him being removed from office.

But if there is somekind of a medical problem

that's going on that we don't know about,

his cabinet and the people whoare closest to him know that,

that's why the 25th Amendment gives them

the power to start that process.

So, you know, if they don't take action,

that is their prerogative.

And, obviously, impeachment at this point,

with less than 13 days togo is just not rational.

You would think our leadership

would wanna look at what makes sense

as opposed to making some kind

of an irrational claim or demand.

- Virginia congressman Morgan Griffith,

we know that you had a long night.

We are so appreciative thatyou've made some time for us

and grateful that you andyour colleagues are safe.

Thanks for being with us today.

- Very great to be with you. Thank you.