WaPo: Donald Trump Seeks Advice On Pardoning Himself, Family Members | Rachel Maddow

BLPZ .
>> YOU KNOW, IT'S WEIRD, I SWEAR I DIDN'T PLAN THIS YOU KNOW HOW
I SAID BEFORE THE COMMERCIAL BREAK THINGS ARE GOING TO START
GOING FAST NOW. SO IN THE COMMERCIAL WE GOT NEW
NEWS FROM "THE WASHINGTON POST." I CAN'T SAY WE DIDN'T SEE THIS
COMING. EVEN AS I WAS WARNING YOU, I
DIDN'T THINK THINGS WOULD GO THIS FAST.
I WAS TELLING PEOPLE IN MY PERSONAL LIFE THAT I THOUGHT WE
WOULD SEE NEWS LIKE THIS BY THE END OF THE SUMMER, BUT WE SEE IT
NOW. WITH WE PUT UP THE STORE.
TRUMP'S LAWYERS SEEK TO UNDERCUT MUELLER'S RUSSIA INVESTIGATION.
THIS HAS JUST BEEN POSTED BY "THE WASHINGTON POST" SOME OF
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LAWYERS ARE EXPLORING THE WAYS TO LIMIT OR
UNDERCUT BOB MUELLER'S RUSSIA INVESTIGATION BUILDING A CASE
AGAINST WHAT THEY BELIEVE ARE MUELLER'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
AND, QUOTE, DISCUSSING THE PRESIDENT'S AUTHORITY TO GRANT
PARDONS. ACCORDING TO TO PEOPLE FAMILIAR
WITH THE EFFORT, TRUMP HAS ASKED HIS ADVISORS ABOUT HIS POWER TO
PAR DON AIDS, FAMILY MEMBERS AND EVEN HIMSELF IN CONNECTION TO
THE PROBE. A SECOND PERSON SAID TRUMP'S
LAWYERS HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING THE PRESIDENT'S PARDONING POWERS
AMONG THEMSELVES. THIS IS FROM THE "THE WASHINGTON
POST" TONIGHT REPORTING THIS OUT.
THEY SAID, WITHOUT A QUOTE, BUT CITING ADVISORS, THAT QUOTE THE
PRESIDENT IS IRRITATED BY THE NOTION THAT BOB MUELLER'S PROBE
COULD REACH INTO HIS AND HIS FAMILY'S FINANCES.
TRUMP HAS BEEN FUMING ABOUT THE PROBE IN RECENT WEEKS AS HE HAS
BEEN INFORMED ABOUT THE LEGAL
QUESTIONS HE AND HIS FAMILY COULD FACE.
HIS PRIMARY FOCUS IS WHY SHOULD HIS DEALS FOR MANY YEARS, HE WAS
DISTURBED AFTER LEARNING THAT BOB MUELLER WOULD BE ABLE TO
ACCESS SEVERAL YEARS OF HIS TAX RETURNS.
AGAIN THIS JUST MOMENTS AGO FROM "THE WASHINGTON POST."
JOINING US NOW IS ONE OF THE STORIES WHO JUST BROKE IT --
EXCUSE ME, WE'RE GETTING ASHLEY PARKER ON THE PHONE RIGHT NOW.
IN TERMS OF THE POST REPORTING HERE.
THEIR HEADLINE IS ABOUT TRYING TO ATTACK MUELLER'S
INVESTIGATION GOING AFTER HIS CONFLICT OF INTERESTS, THE THING
THAT JUMPS OFF THE PAGE IS THE PRESIDENT IS LOOKING AT WHAT HIS
PARDON POWER IS. WE'VE BEEN REPORTING IN RECENT
DAYS ON SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES, SOME OF THE
APPARENT SHAKINESS ON THE PRESIDENT'S LEGAL TEAM BOTH ON
HIS LAWYERS SEEMING SHAKY AND THE WAY THEY'VE BEEN HANDLING
THE PROBE AND PUT STUFF OUT IN THE PUBLIC.
THE POST IS REPORTING TONIGHT THAT THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE LEGAL
TEAM HAS RESIGNED THAT POST. NOW, JOINING US BY PHONE IS ONE
OF THE REPORTERS WHO JUST BROKE THIS STORY IN "THE WASHINGTON
POST," ASHLEY PARKER. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> LET ME ASK YOU FIRST ABOUT THE PARDON DISCUSSIONS YOU GUYS
ARE REPORTING NOW. YOU SAI SAY TRUMP HASAS ASKED
ABOUT HIS POWER TO PARDON AIDS, FAMILY MEMBERS AND HIMSELF.
YOU SAID A SECOND PERSON IS DISCUSSING THE PRESIDENT'S
PARDONING POWERS AMONG THEMSELVES.
ARE YOU SAYING THE PRESIDENT HAS MADE DECISIONS ABOUT THESE
THINGS? IS THIS BEING FLOATED AS A TRIAL
BALLOON? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE THEY
ARE IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS?
>> SURE. THE WAY IT WAS EXPLAINED TO US
IS CERTAINLY THE PRESIDENT HAS MADE NO DECISIONS.
IT'S MORE THAT THE PRESIDENT IS AN AFFIDAVIT CONSUMER OF NEWS
AND HE'S READING ABOUT BOTH THE EXPANDING RUSSIA PROBE AND ALSO
ABOUT A PRESIDENT'S PARDONING AUTHORITY AND AS PART OF THAT
HE'S BECOME CURIOUS IN UNDERSTANDING WELL, YOU KNOW,
WHAT IS ACTUALLY THE REACH OF MY AUTHORITY AS PRESIDENT?
WHAT COULD I DO? HOW WOULD IT WORK?
HOW WOULD THIS GO? IT WAS HIM DOING HIS DILIGENCE
AND EXPRESSING CURIOSITY, NOT THAT HE'S FLOATED SPECIFIC
NAMES. >> ON THE SPECIFIC QUESTION OF
WHETHER THE PRESIDENT CAN PARDON HIMSELF, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S LIKE A
CLASSIC LAW SCHOOL DEBATE TOPIC. >> YES.
>> DO WE KNOW WHAT KIND OF ADVICE THE PRESIDENT HAS
RECEIVED FROM HIS LAWYERS OR WHICH WAY HIS LAWYERS ARE
LEANING ON THAT QUESTION AS TO WHETHER THEY BELIEVE THE
PRESIDENT CAN ISSUE HIMSELF A PARDON?
>> YOU'RE RIGHT. IT'S A VERY SORT OF CONFUSING
QUESTION AND ONE THAT IT FEELS LIKE FROM US JUST TALKING TO
OUTSIDE LEGAL EXPERTS MAY END UP, IF HE WERE TO EVER DO THAT,
GETTING KICKED TO THE SUPREME COURT.
AS OF NOW WE KNOW IT IS SOMETHING THAT THE PRESIDENT'S
TEAM IS DISCUSSING. I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY HAVE
NECESSARILY REACHED A CONCLUSION.
>> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT ONE OTHER ELEMENT OF YOUR REPORTING
TONIGHT. WHICH IS JUST STUNNING.
I'M GOING TO QUOTE TO YOU WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE IN YOUR PIECE
TONIGHT. SOME REPUBLICANS IN FREQUENT
TOUCH WITH THE WHITE HOUSE SAY THEY VIEWED THE PRESIDENT'S
DECISION TO PUBLICALLY AIR HIS DISAPPOINTMENT WITH ATTORNEY
GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS AS A WARNING SIGN JEFF SESSIONS'S
DAYS WERE NUMBERED. SOME OF THE AIDS WERE STUNNED
WHEN JEFF SESSIONS ANNOUNCED HE WOULD STAY ON AT THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT. IT SOW SOUNDS LIKE WHAT YOU ARE
REPORTING THERE IS THE PRESIDENT INTENDED TO ASK FOR JEFF
SESSIONS'S RESIGNATION. >> I DON'T KNOW THAT THE
PRESIDENT INTENDED TO ASK FOR HIS RESIGNATION.
I THINK IF HE INTENDED TO ASK FOR IT, HE WOULD HAVE DONE IT.
BUT ALSO TALKING TO PEOPLE THE PRESIDENT IS SAVVY, HE KNOWS
WHAT HE'S DOING WHEN HE TALKS TO THE "NEW YORK TIMES" SAYS WHAT
HE SAID ABOUT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND SAYS, YOU CAN PUT THIS ALL ON THE RECORD.
HE ABSOLUTELY KNOWS WHAT THAT MEANS, WHAT SORT OF MESSAGE THAT
IS SENDING. AND THAT IS WHY A LOT OF HIS
SENIOR AIDS, TO BE CLEAR SOME OF THEM DIDN'T KNOW THE PRESIDENT
WAS GOING TO DO THE INTERVIEW. IT'S NOT LIKE IT WAS A WELL
PLANNED OUT STRATEGY. BUT AFTER SEEING THIS, MANY WERE
STUNNED WHEN THEY SAW SESSIONS TODAY SAY HE WAS GOING TO
CONTINUE ON AS ATTORNEY GENERAL. >> IS IT YOUR SENSE, THIS IS
SOMETHING THAT'S NOT TOUCHED ON IN YOUR PIECE AS FAR AS I KNOW.
I WAS TALKING MOMENTS AGO BEFORE YOUR NEWS CAME OUT ABOUT THE
IMPORTANCE OF THE PRESIDENT HAVING THIS POLITICAL DIVORCE
WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. IT WOULD SEEM TO ME GETTING RID
OF ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS, REPLACING HIM WITH A NEW
ATTORNEY GENERAL, WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD FIRING
ROBERT MUELLER IF THAT WAS THE PRESIDENT'S INTENTION.
WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS RECUSED FROM THE RUSSIA
INVESTIGATION HE CAN HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT ROBERT
MUELLER IS DOING IF THERE WERE A NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL IN PLACE,
THAT WOULD BE AN ATTORNEY GENERAL THAT DIDN'T HAVE A
REASON TO RECUSE, THAT ATTORNEY GENERAL COULD THEN FIRE ROBERT
MUELLER. THAT'S ME DOING THE MATH IN
TERMS OF WHAT I UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW THESE THINGS ARE PUT
TOGETHER. IS THAT POTENTIAL CHAIN OF
EVENTS PART OF THIS CONSIDERATION AS FAR AS YOU KNOW
OR AS FAR AS YOU'RE ABLE TO REPORT IN TERMS OF WHY THE
PRESIDENT AND SESSIONS ARE AT LAGGER HEADS?
>> WELL, THE PRESIDENT AND SESSIONS HAVE BEEN AT LAGGER
HEADS BASICALLY SINCE SESSIONS RECUSED HIMSELF WITH GIVING NO
HEADS UP TO THE PRESIDENT. AND THE PRESIDENT THINKS IT'S
ALWAYS TO FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT. SO I THINK THE PRESIDENT WAS
UPSET WITHITH HIS ATTORNEY GENE STARTING FOR THAT MOMENT AND
THINGS WENT DOWNHILL FROM THERE. SESSIONS RECUSING HIMSELF SET
THE STAGE FOR ROD ROSENSTEIN TO APPOINTMENT MUELLER AND ON AND
ON AND ON. I DO HAVE TO SAY, THIS IS IN OUR
STORY, THE PRESIDENT'S LEGAL TEAM THERE IS AN EFFORT TO
BASICALLY TRY TO LIMIT AND UNDERCUT MUELLER'S PROBE.
AND THEY ARE BUILDING THE CASE QUITE DELIBERATELY, PUBLICALLY
AND PRIVATELY OF BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, AMONG OTHER THINGS TRYING
TO CITE CONFLICT OF INTERESTS OF TRYING TO MAKE THE CASE THAT
MUELLER IS POTENTIALLY EXCEEDING THE REASONABLE SCOPE OF WHAT HE
WAS TASKED TO DO, AND IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, ALTHOUGH
I'M NOT A LAWYER, COULD BE REASONS THE PRESIDENT COULD GIVE
FOR STARTING THE PROCESS TO FIRE THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
>> BECAUSE THERE'S NO REASON FOR YOU TO MAKE A -- JUST SPEAKING
THEORETICALLY HERE, THERE'S NO REASON TO MAKE A CASE AGAINST
WHAT THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IS DOING BECAUSE THE SPECIAL
PROSECUTOR OPERATES INDEPENDENTLY AND CAN'T HAVE HIS
PROBE SHAPED BY PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT IT FROM THE
WHITE HOUSE. THE REASON YOU COME UP WITH
THOSE UNDERCUTTING ARGUMENTS IS TO JUSTIFY HAVING SET A IN TO
FIRE HIM. FASCINATING REPORTER, WASHINGTON
POSTWHOSE BUY LINE ON THIS PIECE.
ASHLEY THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON ZERO NOTICE.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. >> I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
THIS IS A BIG DEAL. THIS HAS JUST BEEN REPORTED BY
"THE WASHINGTON POST" THE LAST FEW MINUTES.
THE HEADLINES SAYS TRUMP'S LAWYERS ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO
UNDERCUT THE MUELLER PROBE. THERE'S NO WAY TO UNDERCUT IT IN
TERMS OF THE WAY THESE THINGS WORK PROCEDURALLY.
IF YOU'RE COMING UP WITH REASONS TO DISCREDIT IT, THOSE ARE
REASONS YOU'RE COMING UP WITH TO EXPLAIN AFTER THE FACT WHY YOU
HAVE FIRED HIM, WHY YOU HAVE PUT SOMEBODY IN PLACE WHO CAN FIRE
HIM. AND THE PRESIDENT ASKING ABOUT
HIS ABILITY TO PARDON HIMSELF, HIS FAMILY AND OTHERS.
SOMETIMES YOU GET SO FAR AWAY FROM THE HISTORICAL PREFERENCE
OF THESE THINGS IS

WaPo: Donald Trump Seeks Advice On Pardoning Himself, Family Members | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

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