A Timeline Of Russian Contacts And Tweets

MORE NOW ON THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE DONALD TRUMP JR.
MEETING WITH THE RUSSIAN LAWYER. LET'S BRING IN HEIDI PRZYBYLA
AND JAY NEWTON SMALL. WELCOME TO YOU BOTH.
HEIDI, FIRST TO YOU. WHAT'S THE MOOD LIKE INSIDE THE
WHITE HOUSE? >> I ACTUALLY SPOKE WITH SOMEONE
WHO HAD JUST GOTTEN OFF THE PHONE WITH A SENIOR
ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO AND THEY SAID IT'S
ALL ABOUT DAMAGE CONTROL AT THIS POINT.
FRANKLY THERE'S AN ASPECT OF THIS, ALEX, THAT WE'RE NOT
COVERING WHICH IS I THINK SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST
ANXIOUS AT THIS POINT ARE THE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISERS WHO
ARE WORRIED ABOUT JUST HOW DISTRACTED THE PRESIDENT AND HIS
TOP STAFF ARE WHEN THEY LOOK AT HOT SPOTS LIKE NORTH KOREA.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS A GREAT WORRY TO THEM.
AND WHAT WAS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THIS WEEK WAS THAT YOU STARTED
TO SEE FINALLY SOME CRACKS IN THE REPUBLICAN SUPPORT ON THE
HILL. WHEN YOU SEE MEMBERS LIKE TREY
GOWDY SPEAKING OUT AND SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS WAS A
TURNING POINT WHEN WE LEARNED THAT DONALD TRUMP JR. HAD THIS
MEETING BECAUSE WHAT DID WE LEARN?
THIS WAS A BIG WEEK. THE TRUMP OFFICIALS ACTUALLY
KNEW ABOUT THE RUSSIAN ATTEMPTS TO HELP THEM, THAT THEY WELCOMED
IT, THAT THEY DISCUSSED EVEN TIMING OVER THE SUMMER, THAT
THEY USED THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.
DESPITE WHATEVER HAPPENED, WHETHER THERE WAS NO FOLLOW-UP
OR THERE WAS FOLLOW-UP, THEY DID USE THE INFORMATION THAT THE
RUSSIANS DUMPED IN THE FORM OF WIKILEAKS.
IT WAS VERY EFFECTIVE. AT THE BACK END OF ALL OF IT,
MIKE FLYNN, AT LEAST ATTEMPTED TO REWARD THEM BY DISCUSSING
LIFTING SANCTIONS. >> YEAH.
WELL, YOU MAKE A VERY GOOD POINT BECAUSE REGARDLESS OF WHAT MAY
HAVE BEEN SAID, FOR SOME IT'S REALLY THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING
IN TERMS OF FEWER VOICES COMING TO THE DEFENSE.
WHITE HOUSE RIGHT NOW. JAY, WE'VE GOT THIS STORY ABOUT
TRUMP JUNIOR'S MEETING COMPLETELY OVERSHADOWING THE
PRESIDENT'S TWO EUROPEAN TRIPS. SOME OF HIS AIDES FELT THAT HE
HAD REALLY GOOD DAYS, PARTICULARLY THE DAY IN WARSAW,
POLAND, WITH THAT SCRIPTED SPEECH THAT HE DELIVERED.
DOES IT FEEL LIKE HE'S JUST SNATCHING DEFEAT FROM THE THROES
OF VICTORY HERE? >> NOT TO REPEAT WHAT HEIDI
SAID, BUT CERTAINLY IN TALKING TO THE HILL THAT I'VE HEARD
FROM, ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST COMPLAINTS IS THAT HIS TWEETING
AND THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION ARE HUGE DISTRACTIONS TO EVERY
ATTEMPT AT LEGISLATING THAT THEY HAVE HAD.
THIS WEEK HAS BEEN BY FAR THE WORST.
YOU TALK TO PEOPLE ON THE HILL AND THEY JUST SAY THERE'S
NOTHING THAT'S BREAKING THROUGH, NOTHING THAT'S GETTING DONE AND
ALL THE FOCUS AND ALL THE ATTENTION IS ON THIS SCANDAL
THAT JUST KEEPS GOING AND SNOWBALLING.
THERE IS A HUGE SENSE OF FRUSTRATION.
YOU HEAR FROM A LOT OF REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SAYING,
LOOK, WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO FIND OUT EVERY CONTACT, GO FIND OUT
EVERY SINGLE THING, DUMP ALL OF THIS INFORMATION BECAUSE THIS
DRIP, DRIP, DRIP THAT'S LASTED THE ENTIRE ARC OF THE PRESIDENCY
IS JUST EATING AWAY AT EVERY SINGLE THING THEY'RE TRYING TO
DO AND IT'S ONLY GETTING LOUDER AND LOUDER AND LOUDER.
IT'S BETTER TO JUST CLEAR THE AIR, NO MATTER HOW BAD THE STORY
IS, LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY AND RESTART AND BEGIN A
SEPARATE CONVERSATION ABOUT TO TRY TO RESTART THE LEGISLATIVE
PROCESS, RESTART THE POLITICAL PROCESS AND THEN HAVE THE
INVESTIGATION ONGOING. BUT IF YOU KEEP HIDING THINGS,
IF YOU KEEP SAYING, NO, NO, THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, THERE'S
NOTHING ELSE AND TWO DAYS LATER SAYING EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT NO
ONE ELSE WAS IN THIS MEETING, NOTHING ELSE WAS HAPPENING, THEN
ALL OF A SUDDEN WE FIND OUT THAT THIS VERY PROMINENT RUSSIAN
LOBBYIST WAS IN THE MEETING AND A COUPLE OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THE
MEETING. SO AS THIS INFORMATION DRIPS
OUT, IT IS SO DAMAGING, THEY JUST WANTING TO GET IT OVER
WITH. >> WHAT ABOUT, HEIDI, THE SENSE
THAT -- OR I GUESS WHAT THE PRESIDENT KNEW OR DID NOT KNOW.
OF COURSE HIS ATTORNEY, JAY SEKULOW, IS SAYING HE DID NOT
KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS MEETING UNTIL EVERYTHING WAS COMING OUT
IN THE NEWS A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO.
IS THAT WIDELY BELIEVED? >> IT'S NOT WIDELY BELIEVED BY
DEMOCRATS. DEMOCRATS LIKE SENATOR
BLUMENTHAL SPEAKING OUT SAYING IT'S TOTALLY NOT CREDIBLE.
THE CHALLENGE HERE IS THAT THE TIMELINE IS VERY DAMNING BECAUSE
WE NOW KNOW, AS WE MAT MATCH UP THESE DATA POINTS, THAT IT WAS
NOT WEEKS, IT WAS NOT DAYS, IT WAS HOURS FROM WHEN THE MEETING
WITH THE RUSSIANS WAS SET TO WHEN THE PRESIDENT STARTED
TWEETING -- OR HAD HIS SPEECH, RATHER, ABOUT POTENTIALLY
DAMAGING INFORMATION ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON.
OF COURSE THEN IT NEVER HAPPENED AND THAT LINES UP PERFECTLY WITH
WHAT DONALD TRUMP JR. SAID WHICH IS THAT THEY DIDN'T IN THAT
MEETING HAVE DAMAGING INFORMATION.
THE TIMING OF IT COMING OUT IN THE SUMMER AFTER THE CONVENTION,
THE TIMING OF WIKILEAKS COMING OUT, THEIR FIRST MAJOR DUMP
WITHIN HOURS OF THE "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD" VIDEOTAPE THAT WAS SO
DAMAGING TO THEN CANDIDATE TRUMP.
SO THE TIMELINE ITSELF IS VERY SUGGESTIVE.
NOW, LET ME MENTION ONE OTHER THING BASED ON MY REPORTING.
WE KNOW ALSO THAT DONALD TRUMP WAS ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY PRESENT
IN TRUMP TOWER THE DAY OF THAT BIG MEETING.
NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HE HAD A LUNCHEON AND WAS WITH PAUL
MANAFORT HOURS BEFORE THAT MEETING.
SO CERTAINLY IF HE WANTED TO BE

A Timeline Of Russian Contacts And Tweets | MSNBC

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