Republicans Already Working To Discredit Donald Trump Russia Probe | Rachel Maddow

>>> DURING WATERGATE, NIXON SUPPORTERS TRIED TO SAY A
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR WAS A PARTISAN DEMOCRAT, A POLITICAL
HIT MAN WHO WAS OUT TO DESTROY THE NIXON PRESIDENCY FOR
POLITICAL REASONS. THE GEORGE W. BUSH
ADMINISTRATION CREATED A LETHAL SCANDAL OF THEIR CLAIMS ABOUT
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN IRAQ.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ ATT THE PENTAGON REPORTEDLY ASKED THE CIA TO
INVESTIGATE THE TOP U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR IN IRAQ WHO TURNED UP
NO EVIDENCE OF SADDAM HAVING ANY WMD.
WHEN THE CIA'S REPORT CAME BACK WITHOUT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO SMEAR
HANS BLIX, PAUL WOLFOWITZ REPORTEDLY WENT THROUGH THE ROOF
IN RESPONSE, HIT THE CEILING. WHEN THE C.I.A. ITSELF SENT AN
ENVOY TO CHECK OUT IF IRAQ WAS PURSUING NUCLEAR MATERIALS IN
AFRICA, THE ENVOY FOUND THAT SADDAM WAS NOT DOING THAT.
THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION NEVERTHELESS SAID HE WAS DOING
THAT. THE BRUSH ADMINISTRATION SAID
THEY FED THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA, DAMAGING MATERIAL ABOUT THAT
ENVOY WHO THE CIA HAD SENT TO AFRICA, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT
HIS WIFE WAS A COVERT OPERATIVE FOR THE CIA.
THEY NAMED HER. THEY OUTED HER.
IN THE ENSUING INVESTIGATION INTO THAT, PATRICK FITZGERALD
GOT APPOINTED AS A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO LOOK INTO THE
OUTING OF THAT C.I.A. AGENT. THE BUSH FOLKS AND THE ALLIES IN
THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA WENT AFTER HIM, TOO.
BILL CRYSTAL WENT ON FOX NEWS AND SAID THIS PATRICK
FITZGERALD, HE'S JUST A PARTISAN.
HE'S JUST OUT TO POLITICALLY WOUND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION.
YOU KNOW, IN THIS CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, WE'RE USED TO
THIS NEW PRESIDENT DOING STUFF HIS OWN WAY.
HE DOES STUFF IN KIND OF A CRAZY WAY FOR POLITICIANS, RIGHT?
BUT GOING AFTER THE INVESTIGATORS WHO ARE LOOKING
INTO A PRESIDENT, OR LOOKING INTO A SCANDAL, TRYING TO SMEAR
THE INVESTIGATORS? THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT ONLY
CRAZY SEEMING PRESIDENTS DO. THAT'S WHAT NORMAL POLITICAL
FIGURES DO AND HAVE DONE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.
WE'RE NOW SEEING A CONCERTED EFFORT ON THE RIGHT TO TRY TO
ATTACK FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY AND FORMER FBI DIRECTOR
ROBERT MUELLER. TRYING TO DESTROY TWO FORMER FBI
DIRECTORS. THAT IS A HARD SELL.
BEYOND THAT, WE'VE ALSO SEEN A TURN IN THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA
JUST IN THE PAST FEW DAYS WHERE THEY HAVE ALSO STARTED TO ATTACK
THE ACTING DIRECTOR NOW OF THE FBI, ANDREW McCABE.
AND NOW HERE'S THE THING TO WATCH THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE
UNITED STATES SENATE. IN THE U.S. SENATE, IT'S THE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE THAT'S SUPPOSEDLY INVESTIGATING
OBSTRUCTION OFION OF JUSTICE. OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, QUESTION
OF AMONG OTHER THINGS WHETHER THE PRESIDENT MIGHT HAVE FIRED
JAMES COMEY TO TRY TO STOP OR PERVERT THE FBI'S OPEN
INVESTIGATION INTO VARIOUS MATTERS RELATED TO RUSSIA.
THIS JUDICIARY COMMITTEE IS APPARENTLY NOT GETTING ITS HANDS
ON THE COMEY MEMO ABOUT HIS INTERACTIONS WITH THE PRESIDENT.
THAT'S GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE SENATE.
THAT'S STRANGE ENOUGH IN ITS OWN RIGHT.
BUT IN TERMS OF THEIR OWN WORK IN THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE,
WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE INVESTIGATING OBSTRUCTION OF
JUSTICE, WE'RE NOW SEEING THE REPUBLICANS ON THAT COMMITTEE
START TO GO AFTER THE INVESTIGATION ITSELF.
IN A WAY THAT HASN'T REALLY BEEN PICKED UP ON.
IT HASN'T REALLY BEEN WIDELY REPORTED TODAY.
BUT IT'S HAPPENING IN PLAIN SIGHT.
REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN OF THAT CRUCIAL COMMITTEE IS CHUCK
GRASSLEY, IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY.
AND SENATOR LINDSAY GRAHAM OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
GRASSLEY AND GRAHAM HAVE SENT A REQUEST TO THE FBI THAT THE FBI
HAND OVER, LOOK AT THIS, ALL FISA WARRANTS AND REQUESTS FOR
FISA WARRANTS THAT THE FBI HAD ISSUED IN THEIR RUSSIA
INVESTIGATION, AND IN THE INVESTIGATION INTO WHETHER OR
NOT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN COLLUDED WITH RUSSIA IN THAT ATTACK.
HAND OVER ALL THE FOREIGN SURVEILLANCE WARRANTS THAT YOU
HAVE ASKED FOR? TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE REQUESTED?
THAT WOULD BE A REALLY REMARKABLE INTRUSION INTO THE
FBI'S INVESTIGATION. THIS IS AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION
INTO THE RUSSIAN ATTACKS. IF IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT
INVESTIGATION, THE FBI HAS TO HAND OVER ALL OF THEIR DRAFT
REQUESTS FOR WARRANTS, ALL OF THEIR REQUESTS FOR WARRANTS, AND
THE RESPONSE THEY GOT FROM THE COURTS, THEY WERE REQUESTING
THOSE WARRANTS FROM, THAT WOULD ESSENTIALLY LAY BARE EVERYTHING
THEY ARE DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM DOING IT.
THIS IS A REMARKABLE REQUEST. WE HAVE POSTED THIS LETTER TO
THE FBI THAT CHUCK GRASSLEY AND LINDSAY GRAHAM JUST REQUESTED
TODAY. WE POSTED IT SO YOU CAN SEE IT
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THIS STUFF.
CHECK THIS OUT. THIS IS WEIRD.
YOU CAN SEE FROM THE WAY THEY'VE WRITTEN IT, THAT NOT ONLY DO
THEY WANT TO BASICALLY ACCESS ALL OF THE CORE MATERIALS FROM
THESE ONGOING FBI INVESTIGATIONS INTO RUSSIA, THESE WARRANTS,
THEY ALSO APPEAR TO BE DRIVING AT THE QUESTION OF WHY THE FBI
STARTED ITS INVESTIGATION INTO POTENTIAL COLLUSION BY THE TRUMP
CAMPAIGN IN THE FIRST PLACE. REMEMBER THAT FBI INVESTIGATION
STARTED LAST SUMMER, LAST JULY. THESE REPUBLICANS ON THE SENATE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ARE NOW ASKING ABOUT WHY YOU STARTED
THAT INVESTIGATION, WHAT YOU HAD, WHAT DID YOU SUBMIT TO THE
COURT, HOW DID YOU GET YOUR WARRANTS.
WHAT THEY APPEAR TO BE UP TO IS BASICALLY TRYING TO DISCREDIT
THE FBI FOR HAVING STARTED THIS INVESTIGATION AT ALL.
WHAT THEY'RE IMPLYING IS THE WHOLE FBI INVESTIGATION ALL
STEMMED FROM THAT DOSSIER OF ALLEGATIONS AGAINST TRUMP AND
HIS CAMPAIGN. THAT ONE THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN
BUZZ FEED IN JANUARY. THEY'RE SAYING, IMPLICITLY, THAT
THAT DOSSIER OF MATERIAL IS UNPROVEN AND SUSPECT, AND THAT
THAT'S WHAT THE FBI'S WHOLE INVESTIGATION IS ALL BASED ON.
THEREFORE, IT'S ALL NONSENSE. PRESIDENT TRUMP IS FLAMBOYANT
AND, YOU KNOW, PRONE TO OUTRAGEOUS SEEMING CONDUCT, LIKE
THREATENING LEGAL ACTION AGAINST HIS POLITICAL OPPONENTS.
HIS REPUBLICAN ALLIES, THOUGH, INCLUDING THOSE WHO ARE
SUPPOSEDLY LEADING SOME OF THE INVESTIGATIONS INTO HIM, THEY
ARE NOT FLAMBOYANT. THEY ARE NOT OUTRAGEOUS IN THE
SAME WAY THAT HE IS. THEY DID THESE THINGS IN SUBTLER
WAYS. BUT JUST DO ME A FAVOR, LOOK AT
THIS LETTER WE JUST POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE TONIGHT.
YOU CAN SEE THERE IN BLACK AND WHITE, AND IN BLUE SIGNATURE AT
THE END, YOU CAN SEE THE SENATE REPUBLICANS BASICALLY TRYING TO
TAKE APART THE FBI FOR HAVING DONE THESE INVESTIGATIONS OF
TRUMP AT ALL. THE ATTACKS ON THE FBI ARE
HAPPENING IN THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA, THEY'RE HAPPENING FROM
THE WHITE HOUSE, THEY'RE NOW HAPPENING IN THE OFFICIAL
CORRESPONDENCE TO THE FBI FROM THE REPUBLICANS IN THE UNITED
STATES SENATE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PARTICIPATING IN THIS
INVESTIGATION ON THEIR OWN TERMS.
HEADS-UP ON THAT, THEY ARE TRYING TO STOP THIS THING IN ITS
TRACKS BEFORE IT C

Republicans Already Working To Discredit Donald Trump Russia Probe | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

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