The problem is that during his nomination hearings
HE LIED THAT LET'S ROLL VIDEO 1.
AND IF THERE IS ANY EVIDENCE THAT ANYONE AFFILIATED WITH
THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATED WITH THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT
IN THE COURSE OF THIS CAMPAIGN, WHAT WILL YOU DO?
SENATOR FRANKEN, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY OF THOSE ACTIVITIES.
I HAVE BEEN CALLED AS SURROGATE AT A TIME OR TWO AND I
CAMPAIGN, AND I DID NOT HAVE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE
RUSSIANS AND I'M UNABLE TO COMMENT ON IT.
WHAT HE SAID THERE IS I DIDN'T HAVE COMMUNICATIONS WITH
THE RUSSIANS.
IN LATER VIDEOS HE IS GOING TO TRY TO CHANGE THE QUESTION
HE WAS ASKING, CHANGE HIS RESPONSE TO IT BUT IT WAS VERY CLEAR
THERE, I HAVE COMMUNICATIONS.
HE ALSO TRIED TO DENY THAT HE WAS A SURROGATE.
SESSIONS SURROGATE AND STOP IT AT ABOUT DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
IT'S 1 MILLION SOURCES.
ITíS UNQUESTIONED.
I ACTUALLY THINK WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO INARTFULLY SO
IS THE EXCUSE THAT HE UNLEASHED NOW, ONCE HE IS CAUGHT
RED-HANDED.
I THINK HE WAS TRYING TO SAY I WAS A SURROGATE
FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, THAT'S WHAT THEY CALLED ME
BUT I DO NOT HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH THE RUSSIAN OFFICIALS
IN THAT CONTEXT.
HE DIDN'T SAY THAT THERE.
BUT HE DID INARTFULLY BECAUSE THAT IS THE LAWYERLY
THING YOU SAY SO YOU CAN LATER SAY I WAS NOT LYING BECAUSE HE
KNOWS HE HAD CONTACT WITH THE RUSSIANS BUT HE SCREWED
UP.
IN THAT CONTEXT I HE SAID I GUESS THEY CALLED ME
A SURROGATE AND I DID NOT HAVE ANY CONTACTS WITH THE RUSSIANS.
THAT IS A LIE.
THAT IS AN UNQUESTIONABLE LIDAR
YOU COULD'VE WRAPPED IT UP IN THE END BUT THE WAY HE DID
ITM IT DOESN'T MATTER.
IT COULD'VE BEEN THEY SAY MY PANTS ARE TOO TIGHT BUT I
DIDN'T HAVE CONTACT WITH THE RUSSIANS.
WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PANTS ANYMORE, YOU SAID YOU DID
NOT HAVE CONTACT WITH THE RUSSIANS BUT YOU DID.
THAT WAS ONE OF TWO QUESTIONS.
THERE WAS ALSO A WRITTEN QUESTION - PATRICK LEAHY
ASKED SESSIONS FOR ANSWERS TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS.
ONE OF WHICH INCLUDED THIS TEXT: OUT SEVERAL OF THE
PRESIDENT-ELECT'S NOMINEES OR SENIOR OFFICIALS HAVE RUSSIAN TIES.
HAVE YOU BEEN IN CONTACT WITH ANYONE CONNECTED IN ANY PART
OF THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT ABOUT THE 2016
ELECTION, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER ELECTION DAY?
SESSIONS RESPONDED WITH ONE WORD: NO.
I THINK HE IS GOING
TO ATTEMPT TO SAY THAT HIS MEETINGS WITH THE RUSSIAN
AMBASSADOR DID NOT CONCERN THE CAMPAIGN.
I WOULD'VE PROBABLY EXPANDED MY ANSWER AND PROVIDED SOME
CONTEXT RATHER THAN SIMPLY SAYING NO WHICH SEEMS LIKE
A BLANKET ASSERTION AND THAT OF COURSE I DIDN'T HAVE ANY CONTACT
WITH THEM, BUT THAT IS THE CHANCE THAT HE IS GOING TO TAKE.
IT IS NOT A CLOSE CALL.
HIS MAIN EXCUSE IS OH, AND YOU MEANT IT I MEET WITH THEM?
YEAH I DID.
I JUST MET WITH THEM AS A SENATOR AND NOT AS A TRUMP
SURROGATE.
BUT THAT WASN'T THE QUESTIONS I DIDN'T ASK IT YOU MET WITH
THEM AS A SENATOR A SURROGATE OR WHATEVER ROLE YOU THOUGHT
YOU WERE PLAYING IN YOUR MIND.
NO, THIS MORNING WHEN I CAME IN I WAS PLAYING A CADDY OR I
WAS PLAYING A DOCTOR.
I WAS PLAYING DOCTOR IN MY HEAD.
I MET WITH THEM AS A DOCTOR.
I DON'T CARE, MY QUESTION WAS DID YOU MEET WITH THE RUSSIANS?
AND YOUR UNEQUIVOCAL ANSWER WAS NO.
I DID NOT ME WITH THE RUSSIANS.
THAT IS 100% UNTRUE.
HENCE WE HAVE PERJURY.
EXACTLY.
THAT OF COURSE IS A CRIME THEORETICALLY IF IT IS
PURSUED AND PROSECUTED HE COULD GO TO JAIL FOR LITERALLY
YEARS FOR THIS.
IT SEEMS AT THIS POINT THAT THAT IS
UNLIKELY BUT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE AND WE ARE GOING
TO GO ON TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS TODAY ON THE STORY.
WHAT STRIKES ME AT THIS IS AS WITH OTHER CASES WHAT WAS
ACTUALLY DONE SO FAR AS FAR AS WE KNOW IS NOT A BIG DEAL,
BUT IT IS THE RIDICULOUS LENGTH THAT THEY WILL GO TO, TO
HIDE THEIR CONTACT WITH RUSSIAN OFFICIALS.
NOT JUST IN HIS CASE BUT OF COURSE MANAFORT HAD HIS
WEIRD THING, WE CAN GO BACK TO THAT AT SOME POINT.
YOU HAD FLYNN PRETENDING HE HAD TALKED ABOUT THINGS HE
TALKED ABOUT AN SESSIONS LYING TO CONCEAL MEETINGS THAT
ARE TOTALLY LEGAL TO HAVE.
THAT IS WHAT IS BIZARRE AT THIS POINT.
WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE MASSIVE SHIFT IN RHETORIC FIRST
SESSIONS PERSONALLY ABOUT RUSSIA, THAT HE USED TO DO
BEFORE HE SIGNED ONTO TERMS CAMPAIGN AND WHAT YOU HEAR
FROM HIM COMING OUT OF THAT ARE IN C AFTER HE MET WITH THE
RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR, IT STARTS TO SEEM EVEN MORE BIZARRE.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT WE SHOULD HAVE AN INVESTIGATION AND
NOT LED BY ONE OF THE CONSPIRATORS WHO IS NOW THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL.
WE WILL OF COURSE GET TO THAT CONCLUSION IN A 2ND.
BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEIR INTENT WAS AND
WE DON'T KNOW WHY THEY LIED ABOUT IT BOTH FLYNN AND
SESSIONS, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT THEY DID ACTIVELY COVER IT UP.
THEREBY LEADING TO THE COMMON SENSE CONCLUSION THAT THEY
ARE TRYING TO HIDE SOMETHING.
THEY WERE EMBARRASSED ABOUT THOSE MEETINGS, SOMETHING
HAPPENED AT THOSE MEETINGS THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT ANYONE
ELSE TO FIND OUT ABOUT AND THEY WOULD RISK PERJURY AND
HENCE THEIR CAREERS, ETC.
TO MAKE SURE YOU DID NOT FIND
OUT THAT THEY MET WITH THE RUSSIANS.
SO NOW
FLYNN
IS GONE AND
HIS CAREER IS GONE BECAUSE HE
LIED ABOUT IT WHEN HE COULD'VE BEEN HONEST ABOUT IT AND
MAYBE SAVED HIS CAREER.
WHAT IN GOD'S GREEN EARTH WERE THEY TALKING ABOUT THAT
THEY DESPERATELY DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO FIND OUT ABOUT AT
THE RISK OF THEIR CAREERS AND IN THIS CASE POSSIBLY EVEN A
CRIMINAL INDICTMENT.
THAT IS A VERY FAIR QUESTION AND THAT IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE
INVESTIGATED.
IS LIKE THEY SAKE, IN SOME CASES AND ESPECIALLY IN POLITICS THE
COVER CAN BE WORSE AND ACTUAL CRIMES I WOULD SAY IF YOU ARE A
MEMBER OF TRUMPS ADMINISTRATION, PROTECT YOUR SELF AND TRUMP.
IF YOU HAD SOME WEIRD CONTACTS COME CLEAN ABOUT IT NOW RATHER
THAN LETTING A MEMBER OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY LEAK, OR
HAVING THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE NEW YORK TIMES INVESTIGATED.
THERE MIGHT NOT BE ANYMORE BUT WE DID FIND OUT TODAY, SO
FAR IT SEEMS FULLY LEGAL, BUT IN ADDITION TO PLANNED MEETING
WITH THE RUSSIAN INVESTOR BACK IN DECEMBER APPARENTLY
JARED KUSHNER WAS INVOLVED IN A MEETING AS WELL.
WE HAVE NO REASON TO PRESENT TO BELIEVE ANYTHING AT LISTEN WORSE
DISCUSS HER LAWS WERE BROKEN BUT TOMORROW WE MIGHT FIND OUT ABOUT
IT THAT I WOULD SAY MAYBE THEY SHOULD PUT ALL OF THEIR CARDS
ON THE TABLE BEFORE BECOMES A MAJOR SCANDAL FOR THEM.
AND I WOULD SAY ONE MORE COMMON SENSE THING.
THE THINGS THAT JOHN JUST TOLD YOU THAT THE COVER-UP IS
WORSE THAN A CRIME SOMETIMES BUT THERE IS A REASON THEY ARE
COVERING UP.
MEETING WITH THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR IS NOT A CRIME.
BUT YOU ARE NOT COVERING IT UP FOR NO REASON.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT MEETING MIGHT BE WORSE THAN THE
COVER-UP.
THAT IS WHAT YOU COVERED IT UP.
DO YOU SEE WHAT I AM SAYING?
THE REASON NIXON GOT IN ALL THAT TROUBLE WAS A COVER-UP OF
WATER GAVE IT THE REASON HE COVERED IT UP IS BECAUSE IT
IS REALLY BAD WHEN YOU BREAK INTO THE OTHER POLITICAL
PARTIES OFFICES AND STEAL THEIR STUFF.
THAT WILL GET YOU IMPEACHED.
THAT IS WHERE THEY COVERED IT UP.