Donald Trump Jr Collusion Admission Leaves Jared Kushner Exposed | Rachel Maddow

NOW. GOOD EVENING, RACHEL.
>> GOOD EVENING, CHRIS. THANKS, MY FRIEND.
AND THANKS TO YOU AT HOME FOR JOINING ME THIS HOUR.
SO THIS IS EITHER, UM, THIS IS EITHER THE END OF THINGS, OR
THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET VERY, VERY WEIRD.
IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THINGS GET WEIRD AND THEN THEY END.
BUT ONE OF THOSE TWO THINGS IS DEFINITELY GOING TO HAPPEN NOW.
YOU KNOW, IN A MOVIE, IN A WELL-WRITTEN BOOK ABOUT A
POLITICAL SCANDAL, WHAT JUST HAPPENED TODAY, WHAT WAS JUST
PUBLISHED TODAY WOULD BE THE END OF THE PLOT.
RIGHT? THERE'S BEEN A CONFESSION.
THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO THAT ANYONE IMAGINED AT THE START OF
THE SCANDAL HAS JUST BEEN NOT JUST DOCUMENTED BY INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTING, IT IS NOT CONTESTED TO.
IT IS NOT CONTESTED. IT HAS BEEN ADMITTED TO BY THE
PEOPLE WHO ARE INVOLVED AND WHO ARE IMPLICATED.
THIS IS WHERE PLOTS END, RIGHT? SOMEWHERE IN A PARALLEL
UNIVERSE, SOMEBODY'S BEACH READ NOVEL ABOUT THE BIGGEST AMERICAN
POLITICAL SCANDAL SINCE WATERGATE AND MAYBE THE BIGGEST
POLITICAL SCANDAL EVER, SOMEBODY IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE READING
THIS BOOK HAS JUST FINISHED THEIR BOOK.
IT'S COME TO A TIDY END. NOW THEY'RE THINKING MAYBE
THEY'LL SWITCH TO SCI-FI FOR SOMETHING MORE REALISTIC THE
NEXT TIME. BUT THIS IS NOT A NOVEL.
THIS IS NOT A MOVIE. THIS IS OUR REAL LIFE.
AND NOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT.
WHAT OUGHT TO HAPPEN NEXT, WHAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN NEXT.
NOW THAT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAS ADMITTED THAT THEY WORKED WITH
THE RUSSIANS DURING THE CAMPAIGN.
THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT DID MEDDLE IN OUR ELECTION LAST
YEAR, TO TRY TO HURT HILLARY CLINTON'S CHANCES, TO TRY TO
HELP DONALD TRUMP'S CHANCES. THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN, AFTER ALL
THOSE MONTHS OF DENIALS, ALL OF THOSE VEHEMENT DENIALS, UP TO
AND INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF, THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN NOW
ADMITS THAT IT KNEW THAT RUSSIA WAS MEDDLING IN OUR ELECTION TO
HURT HILLARY CLINTON AND HELP DONALD TRUMP.
THEY NOW ADMIT THAT THEY WERE INFORMED OF THAT FACT EARLY ON,
EVEN BEFORE THE FIRST NEWS REPORTS TO THAT EFFECT.
AND LEARNING THAT THAT WAS HAPPENING, THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN'S
RESPONSE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, WAS THAT THAT TRIED TO HELP THE
RUSSIANS IN ACHIEVING THEIR GOALS.
NOW THAT THAT HAS BEEN CONCEDED, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
I MEAN, AS OF THIS TIME LAST NIGHT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES" IS
REPORTING THAT ITS REPORTERS HAD SEEN DOCUMENTATION THAT
INDICATED THAT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN KNOWINGLY TOOK A
MEETING WITH A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT DURING
THE CAMPAIGN IN AN EFFORT TO TRY TO GET DAMAGING INFORMATION ON
HILLARY CLINTON FROM THE RUSSIANS.
SINCE THEN, "THE TIMES" ITSELF AND A SENIOR TRUMP CAMPAIGN
ADVISER, NAMELY THE PRESIDENT'S ELDEST SON, THEY HAVE PUBLISHED
THAT DOCUMENTATION. THE MEETING IN QUESTION HAPPENED
LAST JUNE. IT PREVIOUSLY HAD BEEN A SECRET
MEETING. THAT SECRET MEETING HAS NOW BEEN
MADE PUBLIC, ALONG WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HOW IT WAS
ARRANGED, VIA AN E-MAIL CHAIN THAT EXPLICITLY SPELLS IT OUT,
MORE EMPHATICALLY THAN ANYONE WOULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED AT THE
START OF THIS SCANDAL. IT SPELLS IT OUT MORE SIMPLY AND
MORE EXPLICITLY THAN ANY FICTION WRITER WOULD HAVE EVER TRIED TO
GET AWAY. THE QUOTES FROM THE E-MAILS ARE
ASTOUNDING. RIGHT, "THE CROWNED PROSECUTOR
OF RUSSIA IS OFFERING TO PROVIDE THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WITH SOME
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION TO INCRIMINATE
HILLARY CLINTON." "VERY HIGH-LEVEL AND SENSITIVE
INFORMATION." "IT'S PART OF RUSSIA AND ITS
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR MR. TRUMP."
THEY GET THAT IN WRITING. THE IMMEDIATE RESPONSE FROM THE
TRUMP CAMPAIGN, 17 MINUTES LATER IS, OH, CAN WE DO A CALL?
AND IT TURNS OUT THEY CAN DO BETTER THAN A CALL.
AND WITHIN A WEEK, A KREMLIN-CONNECTED RUSSIAN
LAWYER, WHO WAS DESCRIBED TO THE CAMPAIGN AS A RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT
LAWYER, AND ALSO, APPARENTLY, HER TRANSLATOR, THEY ARE USHERED
INTO A TOP-LEVEL MEETING WITH THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AT TRUMP
TOWER, ATTENDED BY DONALD TRUMP JR., JARED KUSHNER, THE
PRESIDENT'S SON-IN-LAW, AND PAUL MANAFORT, THE CAMPAIGN CHAIR
MORE. CREDIT TO "THE NEW YORK TIMES"
FOR FORCING THIS INFORMATION OUT INTO THE OPEN, RIGHT?
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY THE END PRODUCT OF A LONG, TOUGH SLOG IN
TERMS OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING.
AT THE SAME TIME, THOUGH, YOU DIDN'T REALLY EXPECT IT TO
ARRIVE ON IS A SILVER PLATTER LIKE THIS, DID YOU?
THEY'RE NOT EVEN SIX MONTHS INTO THIS ADMINISTRATION AND THEY'RE
CONFESSING TO COLLUDING WITH THE RUSSIANS DURING THE CAMPAIGN.
NOW THAT THAT HAS HAPPENED, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE TWO
POSSIBLE PATHS THAT THIS GOES FROM HERE.
I MEAN, AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO LOSE TRACK OF THE BIG PICTURE.
IN ANY NORMAL POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES, WE WOULD BE AT
THE END ALREADY. THIS WOULD BE THE END OF THE
ROAD, WITH THE CLEAR ADMISSION OF GUILT.
THE WORST-WORST-CASE SCENARIO, WE DID IT.
BUT IT TURNS OUT IN REAL LIFE, LIFE GOES ON.
SO THIS IS LIKE, WE'RE STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE PAVEMENT, THE
ROAD, HAS, IN FACT ENDED. BUT NOW WE'VE GOT TO FIND LIKE
LITTLE DEER TRACKS THROUGH THE WADS TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'RE
GOING TO GO FROM HERE NOW THAT WE'VE GOT TO DO OFF-ROAD.
AND I THINK THERE ARE TWO POSSIBLE PATHS IN THE IMMEDIATE
FUTURE IN TERMS OF WHERE WE GO OFF-ROAD.
NOW THAT WE'VE HAD A CONFESSION, WHAT'S NEXT?
I THINK THERE ARE TWO KIND OF HARD-TO-SEE, BUT, I THINK, THE
WHITE HOUSE PROBABLY SEES IT AS A CLEAR CHOICE, AND I THINK WE
SHOULD WATCH FOR BOTH OF THESE STARTING TO BECOME EVIDENT.
THE FIRST ONE TO WATCH FOR IS THAT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND THE
TRUMP WHITE HOUSE, MAYBE EVEN THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF, MAY TRY
TO TURN THIS INTO A BIG COUNTER ATTACK, THAT NOT JUST DISTRACTS
FROM WHAT THEY HAVE JUST CONFESSED TO, BUT TRIES TO MAKE
IT INTO A COMPETING SCANDAL THAT HURTS THEIR ENEMIES INSTEAD OF
HURTING THEMSELVES. YOU'RE SEEING THE SEEDS OF SOME
OF THIS ALREADY, IN THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA, REPORTING ON
TODAY'S EVENTS. THIS MEETING BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN
LAWYER AND THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WAS PURPORTEDLY SET UP TO
DISCUSS NEGATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON THAT'S
SOMEHOW RELATED TO RUSSIA. YOU CAN ALREADY SEE THE
CONSERVATIVE MEDIA AND SOME REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
TRYING TO TURN THE NARRATIVE TO, INSTEAD, BE ABOUT HILLARY
CLINTON AND HER CAMPAIGN. OR TO OTHERWISE TURN THE STORY
INSIDE OUT. TOMORROW, THERE'S GOING TO BE A
CONFIRMATION HEARING IN THE SENATE FOR THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION'S NEW NOMINEE TO HEAD THE FBI.
THE MAN THEY WANT TO REPLACE JAMES COMEY, WHO THE PRESIDENT
FIRED, HE SAYS, BECAUSE OF THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION.
IMAGINE THE INTERNAL DYNAMIC THAT HAS TO EXIST INSIDE
SOMEBODY NOMINATED FOR THAT JOB, RIGHT?
ON THE ONE HAND, I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO BECOME HEAD OF THE FBI.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I'VE BEEN ASKED TO BECOME HEAD OF THE FBI,
BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT JUST FIRED THE LAST HEAD OF THE FBI,
BECAUSE OF THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION.
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO MAKE -- GO THROUGH THAT DECISION-MAKING
PROGRESS TO DECIDE, YES, YOU'RE GOING TO ACCEPT THE HONOR OF
THAT NOMINATION. SO WE WILL LEARN A LOT MORE
ABOUT CHRISTOPHER RAY, THE NEW FBI NOMINEE, TOMORROW.
BUT AT THAT CONFIRMATION HEARING TOMORROW, AND ALSO AT THE
UPCOMING SENATE HEARINGS ON THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATITIGATION THATE
EXPECTING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, WATCH FOR REPUBLICAN
SENATORS TO TRY TO MOUNT A COUNTERATTACK ON THE MAIN
NARRATIVE OF THIS SCANDAL. THE RUSSIAN WOMAN WHO CAME TO
TRUMP TOWER AND TOOK THIS MEETING WITH DON JR. AND PAUL
MANAFORT AND JARED KUSHNER, AT THE TIME OF HER VISIT TO THE
UNITED STATES FOR THAT MEETING, SHE WAS WORKING ON A LEGAL CASE.
A LEGAL CASE THAT WAS BEING HANDLED IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT
OF NEW YORK, IT'S RELATED TO RUSSIAN MONEY LAUNDERING ON A
MASSIVE SCALE. THAT CASE LINKS BACK TO A
SCANDAL IN RUSSIA, TO A U.S.-BORN BUSINESSMAN, WHO HAD A
MAJOR INVESTMENT FIRM IN RUSSIA BEFORE THE PUTIN GOVERNMENT
DECIDED TO TURN ON HIM AND BASICALLY EAT HIS BUSINESS.
ULTIMATELY, U.S. SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA RESULTED FROM THAT WHOLE

REPUBLICAN AND THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE AND PARTS OF THE
CONSERVATIVE MEDIA ARE STARTING TO SIGNAL THAT THEY'RE GOING TO
TRY TO MAKE THAT CASE, THAT RUSSIAN SCANDAL, THAT
MONEY-LAUNDERING CASE, THE CASE THAT THIS RUSSIAN LAWYER WAS
INVOLVED IN WHEN SHE CAME TO THAT MEETING, THEY APPEAR TO BE
GEARING UP TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THAT CASE ITSELF, LIKE THAT'S
THE REAL RUSSIA SCANDAL HERE. IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE YET, I
WILL NOT TRY TO MAKE IT MAKE SENSE HEAR ON TV.
BUT IF YOU'RE WATCHING FOR IT, YOU CAN SEE IT.
THEY HAVE STARTED TO LOB NEBULOUS ALLEGATIONS ABOUT
WHETHER THERE'S SOME CONNECTION BETWEEN THAT RUSSIAN CASE AND
THE DOSSIER OF UNVERIFIED AND SALACIOUS RAW INTELLIGENCE
REPORTS ABOUT DONALD TRUMP THAT CAUSED SUCH A STIR WHEN IT WAS
FIRST PUBLISHED BY BUZZFEED THIS PAST JANUARY.
REPUBLICANS AND THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA HAVE STARTED TO RAISE
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THERE WAS SOMETHING UNTOWARD OR
SCANDALOUS ABOUT HOW THAT RUSSIAN WOMAN WHO CAME TO TRUMP
TOWER AND TOOK THAT MEETING GOT PERMISSION TO ENTER THE UNITED
STATES LAST SUMMER, TO TAKE PART IN THAT LEGAL CASE ABOUT THE
MONEY LAUNDERING. ON THAT SAME VISIT WHERE SHE
ALSO TOOK THAT MEETING IN TRUMP TOWER.
AND I KNOW THAT IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE THAT WAS A LIST OF DOTS
WITHOUT CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEM.
THAT'S HOW I MEAN TO PUT IT OUT THERE.
THERE IS NO MEANINGFUL COUNTER NARRATIVE AGAINST WHAT HAS JUST
OPINION CONFESSED BY THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN.
BUT, IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE DATA POINTS, IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE
OTHER ISSUES IN THE NEWS, IT APPEARS THAT SOMETHING IS GOING
ON AMONG REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND IN THE TRUMP WHITE
HOUSE, AND IN THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA, THAT THEY ARE ABOUT TO
TRY TO LAND AS A COUNTERPUNCH. AS THEY TRY TO MORPH THE RUSSIA
SCANDAL INVOLVING THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN INTO SOMETHING THAT,
INSTEAD, IS ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON AND THE DNC AND
PRESUMABLY THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.
AND WE THINK THE FBI, AS WELL. WHEN THEY TRY TO MAKE THAT
DOSSIER INTO THE BASIS OF THE WHOLE CASE AGAINST DONALD TRUMP
AND TRY TO LINK THE WHOLE FBI INVESTIGATION TO THAT DOSSIER,
WHERE THEY ARE GOING WITH THAT IS TO TRY TO UNDERMINE, TO TRY
TO CAST ASPERSIONS ON THE FBI INVESTIGATION OF THE
TRUMP/RUSSIA AFFAIR, WHICH CONTINUES TO THIS DAY, BY
CASTING ASPERSIONS ON ITS ORIGINS.
CHUCK GRASSLEY, WHO IS THE SENATOR WHO'S THE CHAIR OF THE
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, HAS BEEN SORT OF THE LEADER IN --
AMONG REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON THAT SUBJECT.
AND HE'S THE ONE WHO'S SIGNALING MOST STRONGLY THAT HE WOULD LIKE
THIS TO BE THE COUNTERNARRATIVE IN THIS STORY.
SO, WATCH FOR THAT. WATCH FOR THAT IN PARTICULAR
TOMORROW, AT THE CHRISTOPHER RAY CONFIRMATION HEARING, WHICH WILL
BE CHAIRED BY CHUCK GRASSLEY. THE CHRISTOPHER RAY CONFIRMATION
HEARING IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT THE RUSSIA SCANDAL, BUT IT
WILL NOW HAVE TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY ABOUT THE RUSSIA
SCANDAL. BECAUSE THE MAGNITUDE OF THAT
SCANDAL NOW AND BECAUSE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THE
FBI JOB PAYMENT VACANT, SO CHRISTOPHER RAY HAD SOMETHING TO
BE NOMINATED TO. SO THAT IS ONE POSSIBLE PATH
THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO GO DOWN. WATCH FOR THE REPUBLICANS, THE
CONSERVATIVE MEDIA, AND THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE HOUSE TO CREA
NEW SCANDAL, TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS LIKE THIS SCANDAL,
THAT HAS SOME OF THE SAME THINGS INVOLVED, THAT CERTAINLY HAS
RUSSIA INVOLVED IN IT. BUT THAT'S ABOUT DEMOCRATS, AND
THAT'S ABOUT THE FBI INSTEAD OF BEING ABOUT THEM.
WE HAVE SEEN THEM LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR IT.
I THINK WE ARE LIKELY ABOUT TO SEE THAT BREAK WIDE OPEN.
PATH ONE. THE OTHER DEER PATH THROUGH THE
WOODS, THE OTHER OFF-ROAD POSSIBILITY THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO
GO DOWN, IS SELF-DEFENSE OF A DIFFERENT KIND, I THINK, FROM
THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE. AS YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN TWO
BIG STORIES, TWO BOMBSHELL STORIES IN THE PAST COUPLE OF
WEEKS ABOUT THE APPEARANCE OF AMERICAN COLLUSION IN THE
RUSSIAN ATTACK ON OUR ELECTION LAST YEAR.
"WALL STREET JOURNAL" WAS FIRST, WITH THEIR REPORT ON THE
ADMITTED EFFORT BY A REPUBLICAN POLITICAL OPERATIVE, WHO'S NOW
DECEASED, TO MAKE CONTACT WITH RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT HACKERS, TO
TRY TO OBTAIN HILLARY CLINTON'S E-MAILS FROM THEM, SO THEY COULD
BE USED AGAINST HER AND FOR TRUMP'S BENEFIT IN THE CAMPAIGN.
NOW, IN THAT CASE, THAT PROJECT TO TRY TO WORK WITH THE RUSSIANS
AGAINST CLINTON, THAT WAS A TRUMP SUPPORTER WHO MOUNTED THAT
EFFORT. THE LINK TO THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN
WAS THAT HE CLAIMED A RELATIONSHIP WITH MIKE FLYNN,
THE TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, AND AT THAT POINT, A
SENIOR ADVISER TO THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN.
MIKE FLYNN NEVER COMMENTED FOR THAT "WALL STREET JOURNAL"
STORY. HE'S NEVER COMMENTED ON THOSE
ALLEGATIONS, BUT THE WHITE HOUSE COMMENTED.
THEY FAIRLY READILY THREW HIM UNDER THE BUS ON THAT ONE.
THE WHITE HOUSE COMMENT TO THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL" ABOUT THAT
STORY IS THAT IF MIKE FLYNN COOPERATED WITH THAT IN ANY WAY,
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER HIS CAPACITY AS A PRIVATE
INDIVIDUAL. MIKE FLYNN WAS A SENIOR ADVISER
TO THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AT THE TIME THAT PROJECT WAS UNDERWAY,
AND THAT PROJECT WAS ONLY ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN.
SO THAT DEFENSE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE BEGGARS BELIEF, BUT IT AT
LEAST KIND OF SHOWS WHAT THEY THINK THEIR OPTIONS ARE.
IT SHOWS THAT THEY WERE WILLING TO LET FLYNN TAKE THE BLAME FOR
THAT RATHER THAN TRYING TO DEFEND THE CONTENT.
NOW, IN THIS SECOND COLLUSION STORY, THEORETICALLY, THEY HAVE
THE SAME CHOICE, RIGHT? YOU CAN DEFEND THE CONDUCT
ITSELF, OR IF YOU CAN'T DEFEND THE CONDUCT, YOU KIND OF HAVE TO
HIVE OFF THE PEOPLE WHO APPEAR TO BE GUILTY OF IT.
HIVE OFF FROM THE PRESIDENT, HIVE OFF FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
THE PEOPLE TO HAVE APPEAR TO HAVE DONE IT.
IT'S VERY HARD TO DO THAT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN
THIS NEWS STORY. IN THAT MEETING IN TRUMP TOWER
LAST JUNE, AND APPARENTLY IN RECEIPT OF THE E-MAIL THAT
DESCRIBED THIS AS A MEETING WITH A RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT EMISSARY
WHO WAS COMING TO THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WITH INFORMATION FROM
THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT TO TRY TO HELP THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN IN ITS
EFFORTS AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON, IN THAT MEETING WERE PAUL
MANAFORT, WHO IS THEN CAMPAIGN CHAIR, JARED KUSHNER, THE
SON-IN-LAW, AND DON TRUMP, THE ELDEST SON.
THERE'S NO WAY TO USE THE EXACT SAME STRATEGY THEY DID WITH MIKE
FLYNN ON THE PREVIOUS COLLUSION STORY, RIGHT?
THERE'S NO WAY TO SAY THAT IN CASE THAT PAUL MANAFORT AND
JARED KUSHNER AND DONALD TRUMP JR. WERE ACTING IN THEIR
PERSONAL CAPACITY ABOUT THIS MEETING.
WE KNOW FROM WHAT THEY ADMITTED ABOUT THIS MEETING AND FROM THE
FACT THEY WERE ALL IN THE MEETING TOGETHER, WE KNOW THAT
THIS WAS CLEARLY A CAMPAIGN MEETING.
AND SO NONE OF THEM PERSONALLY CAN BE ON THE HOOK WITHOUT THE
CAMPAIGN BEING ON THE HOOK. THAT SAID, IN TERMS OF THEIR
SELF-DEFENSE HERE, AT LEAST PAUL MANAFORT AND DONALD TRUMP JR.,
AT LEAST THEY DON'T HAVE OFFICES IN THE WHITE HOUSE NOW.
AT LEAST THEY ARE NOT CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE ADMINISTRATION.
JARED KUSHNER IS, THOUGH. AND THAT MEANS THE POTENTIAL
LEGAL JEOPARDY THAT MAY ARISE FROM THIS MEETING, IT NOT ONLY
ENTERS THE PRESIDENT'S FAMILY, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING
ABOUT THAT TODAY, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE MIGHT ANTICIPATE ABOUT
THE PRESIDENT'S PSYCHOLOGY, ABOUT DEFENDING HIS ELDEST SON,
IF HE'S GOT REAL LEGAL JEOPARDY HERE.
THE LEGAL JEOPARDY NOT ONLY ENTERS THE PRESIDENT'S IMMEDIATE
FAMILY, IT ALSO ENTERS THE WHITE HOUSE.
BECAUSE JARED KUSHNER STILL A SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER, EVEN
IF THE WHITE HOUSE WOULD NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS TODAY ABOUT
WHETHER OR NOT HE STILL HAS HIS SECURITY CLEARANCE.
BUT THE JARED KUSHNER FACTOR HERE LENDS SOME URGENCY, NOT
ONLY TO WHAT WE EXPECT TO BE A DEFENSE BY THE WHITE HOUSE TO
THESE ABSOLUTELY CATASTROPHIC REVELATIONS TODAY, IT ALSO, FOR
US AS A COUNTRY, LENDS SOME URGENCY TO THE LEGAL SIDE OF
THIS. TO THE QUESTION OF WHETHER AND
HOW THIS IS PROSECUTED. I'LL EXPLAIN THAT IN A JUST A
SECOND WITH CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF, THE TOP DEMOCRAT ON THE
HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE. HE ALSO SPOKE TO THIS TODAY IN A
WAY THAT'S VERY CLEAR AND VERY CHILLING.
>> SERIOUS RISK TO THE COUNTRY, I THINK IS THAT THE RUSSIANS
POSSESS COMPROMISING INFORMATION THAT CAN INFLUENCE THIS
PRESIDENT'S CONDUCT OF AMERICAN POLICY.
THE RUSSIANS KNOW ABOUT THIS MEETING.
THEY WERE BEHIND ORGANIZING THE MEETING.
IF THERE WERE OTHER MEETINGS THAT THE RUSSIANS KNOW ABOUT, IF
THERE WERE OTHER INTERACTIONS WITH THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN THAT THE
RUSSIANS ARE AWARE OF, THAT IS SOMETHING THEY CAN HOLD OVER THE
HEAD OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND OUR PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE O PRESIDENT IS ACTING ON
THEIR BEHALF AND NOT ACTING BECAUSE HE HAS A FEAR THAT THE
RUSSIANS COULD DISCLOSE THINGS THAT COULD HARM HIM OR HIS
FAMILY. >> THE ISSUE IS COERCION.
THE ISSUE IS POTENTIAL COERCION, EXERCISED BY A FOREIGN POWER,
OVER PEOPLE WHO ARE IN VERY POWERFUL JOBS IN THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT RIGHT NOW. EVERYBODY'S EXPECTING THE ROBERT
MUELLER PROBE, SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE, TO MOVE VERY SLOWLY, TO
UNFOLD OVER A PERIOD OF MONTHS AND MAYBE EVEN YEARS.
AND YOU KNOW, POLITICALLY, JUST IN TERMS OF OUR CIVIC HEALTH AS
A NATION, THERE'S REASON NOT ONLY TO EXPECT THAT IT WILL MOVE
SLOWLY, BUT TO HOPE THAT IT WOULD MOVE SLOWLY, RIGHT?
TO HOPE JUST FOR OUR ABILITY TO BE RESILIENT AS A COUNTRY IN THE
FACE OF A SCANDAL LIKE THIS. THERE'S REASON TO HOPE THAT THAT
PROBE GOES SLOW. THAT IT IS DELIBERATE.
THAT IT IS CLEAR TO EVERYBODY, WHETHER OR NOT YOU START OFF AS
A TRUMP SUPPORTER OR A TRUMP OPPONENT, THERE'S REASON TO HOPE
THAT THAT PROBE GOES SLOWLY, SO THAT EVERYBODY AGREES THAT NO
STONE HAS BEEN LEFT UNTURNED. THAT THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT
THERE WAS A DILIGENT, THOROUGH DEGREE OF DUE PROCESS.
THAT ALL THE EVIDENCE WAS EXAMINED AND EXPLAINED, EVERY
POSSIBLE INNOCENT EXPLANATION WAS EXPLORED.
EVERY LITTLE BIT OF EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE WAS FULLY HONORED,
RIGHT? IF WE'RE GOING TO GET TO
SOMEWHERE THROUGH THAT INVESTIGATION THAT FEELS LIKE A
RESOLUTION, EVERYBODY HAS TO BE ON BOARD THAT THAT INVESTIGATION
WAS NOT RUSHED, THAT THOSE INVESTIGATORS WERE NOT PUSHED
ALONG BY POLITICAL WINS. RIGHT, THAT THEY DID IT AND
COVERED ALL OF THEIR BASES. YOU WANT EVERYBODY IN THE
COUNTRY TO BELIEVE THAT BY THE TIME THAT INVESTIGATION IS DONE.
BUT, THERE IS ALSO, NOW, DIRECT EVIDENCE, UNCONTESTED EVIDENCE
OF PEOPLE IN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS,
CONSPIRING WITH A FOREIGN ANNIVERSARY TO INFLUENCE OUR
ELECTION. NOW, WHETHER OR NOT THE LIST OF
PEOPLE IN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WHO DID THAT EXTENDS TO AND INCLUDES
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF, IT WOULD APPEAR TO INCLUDE, AT LEAST ONE
PERSON, WHO WAS WORKING NOW AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE WHITE
HOUSE, AS A SENIOR ADVISER, WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR A LOT OF THE
MOST SENSITIVE ASPECTS OF, SAY, AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY.
WE LEARNED ABOUT THIS MEETING WITH A RUSSIAN EMISSARY BETWEEN
DONALD TRUMP JR., PAUL MANAFORT, AND JARED KUSHNER, WHO NOW STILL
WORKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. WE LEARNED ABOUT IT FROM "THE
NEW YORK TIMES." BUT THE RUSSIANS, BEFORE "THE
NEW YORK TIMES" EVER KNEW ABOUT IT, THE RUSSIANS KNEW ABOUT THAT
MEETING, TOO. HAVE THEY USED THAT TO BLACKMAIL
ANYBODY, BEFORE IT BECAME PUBLIC TODAY?
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT IN TERMS OF THE
BEHAVIOR OF THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN, THE BEHAVIOR OF JARED KUSHNER,
THAT THEY ARE USING, OR THAT THEY ARE USE TO BLACKMAIL, TO
EXERT COERCION, IN ORDER TO GET THE UNITED STATES TO DO STUFF
THAT IS NOT IN AMERICA'S INTEREST, BUT IS IN RUSSIA'S
INTEREST, BECAUSE AMERICA KNOWS WHAT THEY DID AND THEY DON'T
WANT IT KNOWN. THAT ISSUE OF POTENTIAL
COERCION, OF RUSSIA HOLDING THIS STUFF, LENDS URGENCY NOT JUST TO
THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING ASPECT TO THIS, BUT ALSO TO THE
QUESTION

Donald Trump Jr Collusion Admission Leaves Jared Kushner Exposed | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

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