Rep. Denny Heck On Donald Trump-Russia: There's So Much Smoke Here | Hardball

>>> GOOD EVENING. I'M CHRIS MATTHEWS FROM
WASHINGTON. THE BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK REMAINS
THE INVESTIGATIONS INTO RUSSIA'S MEDDLING IN OUR ELECTION AND THE
RECIPROCAL ROLE PLAYED BY THE TRUMP PEOPLE.
HERE ARE THE LATEST HEADLINES. THE FINANCIAL TIMES REPORTS THAT
THE FBI IS SETTING UP A SPECIAL SECTION BASED HERE IN WASHINGTON
TO COORDINATE ITS INVESTIGATION. ACCORDING TO THE TIMES, THE MOVE
IS A SIGN OF HOW SERIOUSLY THE BUREAU IS TAKING ALLEGATIONS OF
RUSSIAN MEDDLING INTO AMERICAN POLITICS AND IS ALSO AIMED AT
GIVING FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY GREATER VEZABILITY INTO THE
INVESTIGATION AND ITS DETAILS. THERE WILL BE MORE THAN 20
DEDICATED AGENTS WORKING ON THE INVESTIGATION.
THEY WILL BRIEF COMEY ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
MEANWHILE, NBC NEWS HAS CONFIRMED THAT BOMBSHELL
WASHINGTON POST REPORT THAT THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ARRANGED A
SECRET MEETING IN JANUARY, A WEEK BEFORE THE INAUGURATION
BETWEEN BLACKWATER FOUNDER ERIC PRINCE AND A RUSSIAN CLOSE TO
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AS PART OF AN APPARENT EFFORT TO
ESTABLISH A BACK CHANNEL LINE OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MOSCOW AND
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP. THE POST NOTED THAT PRINCE
PRESENTED HIMSELF AS AN UNOFFICIAL ANN VEY FOR TRUMP.
THE BLACKWATER FOUNDER GAVE A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS TO
THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN, AND PRO-TRUMP SUPER PACs LAST YEAR
AND HE'S BEEN SITTING IN THE TRUMP'S TRANSITION OFFICES IN
DECEMBER. A SPOKESPERSON FOR PRINCE
REJECTED THE STORY AND THE WHITE HOUSE CALLED THE SUGGESTION OF A
BACK WATER CHARGE RIDICULOUS. MEANWHILE AS THE INVESTIGATION
MOVES FORWARD, TRUMP PUSHES STORIES THAT DISTRACT ATTENTION
FROM THE INVESTIGATION. YESTERDAY, FOR EXAMPLE,
BLOOMBERG'S ELI LAKE REPORTED, WHITE HOUSE LAWYERS LAST MONTH
LEARNED THAT THE FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER SUSAN RICE
REQUESTED THE IDENTITIES OF U.S. PERSONS IN RAW INTELLIGENCE
REPORTS ON DOZENS OF OCCASIONS THAT CONNECT TO THE TRUMP TRAN
SKPIGS AND CAMPAIGN ACCORDING TO U.S. OFFICIALS FANL WITH THE
MATTER. TODAY, PRESIDENT TRUMP
RE-TWEETED A DRUDGE REPORT HEADLINE ABOUT THAT STORY.
IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA MITCHELL, SUSAN RICE
EXPLAINED THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REQUESTING
INFORMATION ABOUT SOURCES IN INTELLIGENCE REPORTS AND
SURVEILLING POLITICAL OPPONENTS AS PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS ALLEGED.
LET'S WATCH HER. >> THE ALLEGATION THAT SOMEHOW
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS UTILIZED INTELLIGENCE FOR
POLITICAL PURPOSES. THAT'S ABSOLUTELY FALSE.
THERE WERE OCCASIONS WHEN I WOULD RECEIVE A REPORT IN WHICH
A U.S. PERSON WAS REFERRED TO. NAME NOT PROVIDED.
JUST U.S. PERSON. AND SOMETIMES IN THAT CONTEXT,
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE REPORT AND
ASSESS ITS SIGNIFICANCE, IT WAS NECESSARY TO FIND OUT OR REQUEST
THE INFORMATION AS TO WHO THAT U.S. OFFICIAL WAS.
>> WELL, CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF, THE RANKING MEMBER OF
THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE SAID THE WHITE HOUSE IS TRYING
TO CHANGE THE FOCUS AND DIVERT THE INVESTIGATION INTO HIS
CAMPAIGN'S TIES TO RUSSIA. LET'S WATCH THIS.
>> IF ANYONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE HAD A CONCERN ABOUT ANY OF THESE
MATERIALS, THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHARED AND NOT GONE THROUGH THIS
CHARADE THAT WE SAW OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
WHAT PROMPTED THAT? WHAT WAS THE URGENCY THERE WHEN
WE'VE ALREADY ASKED FOR MATERIALS ABOUT INCIDENTAL
COLLECCOLLECTION? AND I HAVE TO THINK THE URGENCY
WAS CREATED AT THAT MONDAY HEARING WHEN JAMES COMEY SAID
NOT ONLY THERE WAS NO TRUTH TO THE PRESIDENT'S CLAIM THAT HE
WAS SURVEILLED OR WIRETAPPED OR WHAT HAVE YOU, BUT ALSO WHEN THE
FBI DIRECTOR SAID THAT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN TEAM WAS UNDER AN FBI
INVESTIGATION. I THINK THIS WAS THE RESPONSE TO
THAT RATHER BREATHTAKING HEARING.
>> CONGRESSMAN DENNY HECK IS A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE. SIMON MARKS, AND DAVID CORNISH,
WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF. CONGRESSMAN, LET ME ASK YOU
ABOUT THIS. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS
INVESTIGATION AND THE FACT THAT COMEY, THE FBI DIRECTOR, IS
REALLY KIND OF FOCUSING ATTENTION, CREATING A SPECIAL
SECTION TO GO INTO WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE TRUMP
PEOPLE? >> SO ONE FORMER FBI AGENT
INDICATED THAT THIS REPRESENTS A SURGE IN RESOURCES.
ANYBODY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRUMP ORBIT THAT WAS INVOLVED IN
RUSSIA FINAL ENTANGLEMENTS PROBABLY WAS CALLING THEIR
LAWYER TODAY, CHRIS. THAT'S WHAT I MAKE OF IT.
>> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THIS OTHER LATER BOMBSHELL STORY,
THAT THERE WAS A MEETING NINE DAYS BEFORE INAUGURATION BETWEEN
THE BLACKWATER FOUNDER, THE BROTHER OF THE PERSON BETSY
DeVOS, OF COURSE WHO WAS NAMED BY TRUMP TO BE SECRETARY OF
EDUCATION, HER BROTHER. THE GUY OVER IN THE SEYCHELLES
WITH THE PUTIN GUY. WHAT IS A HUGE BACKER OF A
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WHO HAS ALREADY BECOME A PRESIDENT-ELECT
DOING FISHING OUT THERE, PUTTING TOGETHER RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA?
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S ILLEGAL, BUT IT CERTAINLY
SUGGESTS MORE ENTANGLEMENT BETWEEN THE TRUMP FOLKS AND THE
PUTIN FOLKS. >> CHRIS, THERE'S SO MUCH SMOKE
HERE. EVERY SMOKE ALARM IN THE HOUSE
IS GOING OFF. THERE'S SO MUCH SMOKE HERE YOU
CAN'T SEE A FE A FOOT IN FRONT YOUR FACE.
LISTEN, THIS THING IS TAKING ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN.
IT'S GATHERING SPEED. IT'S THE SENATE.
IT'S THE FBI WITH NEW RESOURCES AND BY THE WAY I HAVE IT BY WORD
TONIGHT THAT THE HOUSE IS GOING TO GET ITS INVESTIGATION BACK ON
TRACK. THE CHAIR AND THE RANKING
MEMBER, I BELIEVE, ARE NEAR AGREEMENT ON A WITNESS LIST SO
WE CAN ENTER THE AUCTION. AND AS I HAVE SAID ALL ALONG, I
WOULDN'T BE THE SLIGHTEST BIT SURPRISED IF THERE AREN'T ALSO
SOME LOCAL PROSECUTORS LOOKING INTO SOME THINGS LIKE THIS.
>> IS THE CHAIRMAN OF YOUR COMMITTEE HIS OWN MAN?
>> WELL, CHRIS, I AM GOING TO GIVE HIM THE BENEFIT OF THE
DOUBT OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET THIS BACK ON TRACK.
>> OKAY. LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY.
>> I ASKED HIM TO RECUSE HIMSELF.
I THINK THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
BUT RIGHT NOW LET'S FOCUS ON GETTING IT BACK ON TRACK.
>> THE REASON I ASKED THAT IS OBVIOUS.
BUT I ALSO KNOW FROM A FORMER MEMBER OF THE HOUSE WHO IS NOW
IN THE SENATE ONCE TOLD ME THAT WHEN YOU GO INTO MARKUP AND YOU
ACTUALLY HAVE TO WRITE BILLS, YOU CAN SOMETIMES REALIZE THAT
ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES IS IN THE TANK WITH SOME CORPORATION.
THEY BEGIN TO BEHAVE LIKE THEY'RE NOT REALLY THEIR OWN
PERSON. WE'VE SEEN PRETTY ADEQUATE
EVIDENCE THAT MR. NUNES IS NOT HIS OWN PERSON.
WHAT'S HE DOING HANGING AROUND PICKING UP THE LAUNDRY FROM THE
WHITE HOUSE AND TAKING IT BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE AFTER HE'S
CLEANED IT BY SAYING HE'S AN INVESTIGATOR?
HE WASN'T AN INVESTIGATOR. HE WAS A DELIVERY BOY, BRINGING
THIS STUFF BACK THAT THEY GAVE HIM AND SAYING IT WAS NEWS,
ALARMING NEWS. IF THAT ISN'T SHOW BOATING FOR
THE PRESIDENT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WAS? >> I THINK THE BEST THING THAT
CAN BE SAID ABOUT IT IS THAT IT'S HAM HANDED.
I'VE SAID ALL ALONG I FEEL LIKE I'M WATCHING A 3-D MOVIE,
DECEPTION, DEFLECTION, AND DISTRACTION.
THAT'S WHAT HE'S TRYING TO DO. BUT IT'S NOT GOING

Rep. Denny Heck On Donald Trump-Russia: There's So Much Smoke Here | Hardball | MSNBC

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