Baker And Schmidt: It's 'Second Inning Of Robert Mueller Investigation' | MTP Daily

FOR THE NEXT 1262 DAYS OF HIS PRESIDENCY?
>> LET'S BRING IN TWO REPORTERS FROM "THE NEW YORK TIMES" WHO
HAVE BEEN REPORTING ON THESE STORIES OVER THE WEEKEND.
PETER BAKER IS THE CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE
TIMES, AND NBC NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST.
HE JOINS US FROM NEW JERSEY NEAR THE PRESIDENT'S HOME.
AND MICHAEL SUBMIT IS A WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT FOR
"THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND AN M MSNBC NATIONAL SECURITY
CONTRIBUTOR. SO PETER, YOU WERE WRITING UP
THE VICE PRESIDENT'S RESPONSE TO THIS STORY OVER THE WEEKEND.
THE TIMES REPORTING THAT HE'S POSITIONING HIMSELF FOR 2020.
THEY'RE VEHEMENTLY PUSHING BACK ON THIS.
>> WELL, THEY ARE. LOOK, THE VICE PRESIDENT ISN'T
DOING ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE POLITICALLY.
HE'S NOT GOING TO RUN AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP.
THAT'S NOT WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT.
HE'S TALKING ABOUT WHAT IF THE PRESIDENT DOESN'T RUN FOR
RE-ELECTION, I WOULD LIKE TO BE THAT PERSON.
THAT'S IN EFFECT THE MESSAGE THEY'RE SENDING.
IS IT LOOKS BAD TO AN AUDIENCE OF ONE.
THAT WOULD BE THE GUY AT THE TOP WHO THINKS HE IS GOING TO RUN
AGAIN IN 2020. AND ANY SIGN ANYBODY ELSE IS
SEEN AS SOMETHING ELSE OF A BETRAIL.
NOT BECAUSE HE CARES TOO MUCH ABOUT WHAT "THE NEW YORK TIMES"
THINKS OR ANY OF THE RES OF US TO THINK BUT BECAUSE HE WANTS
THE PRESIDENT TO THINK HE'S ON BOARD.
>> HE WAS TWEETING THIS MORNING. HIS ADVISERS WANT HIM TO BE
SILENT IN THE MORNING AND HE'S NOT DOING THAT.
HE'S STILL TWEETING THIS ARCH AND HE'S GOING AFTER THE NEW
YORK TIME. WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE?
>> IT'S RANGE. THERE'S NO GOLF, YOU KNOW, HE'S
OBVIOUSLY BEEN PRETTY ACTIVE TODAY ON TWITTER TWCHLT TWO
FAVORITE TARGET "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND SENATOR RICHARD BLUM
THAT WILL. HE WHE WENT AFTER HIM AGAIN THI
ARCH SAYING HE SHOULD GO ON A LONG VACATION TO VIETNAM SO AT
LEAST HE CAN SAY HE WAS ACTUALLY THERE.
CHIEDING HIM FOR HIS MISLEADING STATEMENTS HE'S MADE IN THE PAST
ABOUT HIS SERVICE DURING VIETNAM.
SO, YOU KNOW, HE'S DOING THE SAME THING HE DOES ON VACATION
THAT HE DOES IN WORK, WHICH IS TO WATCH TELEVISION, TO GET MAD
ABOUT SOMETHING AND TO EXPRESS IT IN A VERY VISCERAL WAY.
>> SO HE'S MAD AND HE'S TWEETING, BUT THE REALITY IS
THIS MUELLER INVESTIGATION, THE STORIES SURROUNDING THIS WHITE
HOUSE ARE JUST NOT GOING AWAY. AND MIKEEL A, YOU HAD A STORY
OVER THE WEEKEND ABOUT HOW BOB MUELLER IS ASKING THE WHITE
HOUSE FOR DOCUMENTING PERTAINING TO MICHAEL FLYNN.
SO HOW FAR OUT ARE WE FROM FORMAL SUBPOENAS?
>> WELL, THIS IS SORT OF THE FIRST STAGE OF THE MUELLER
INVESTIGATIONS INTERACTIONS WITH THE WHITE HOUSE.
THIS IS SORT OF SAYING, LOOK, I'D BE INTERESTED IN THESE
DOCUMENTS, YOU KNOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT HOWIC GET THEM.
BOTH SIDES WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO AVOID A SUBPOENA, ESPECIALLY
THE WHITE HOUSE. THE WHITE HOUSE WOULDN'T LIKE
THE IDEA OF BEING SUBPOENAED BY MUELLER.
MY GUESS AT SOME POINT THEY PROBABLY WILL HAVE TO BE.
BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT LAWYERS ON BOTH SIDES TRY AND WORK OUT.
MUELLER SAYS, LOOK,, I'M INTERESTED IN THIS THING AND THE
WHITE HOUSE SAYS, OH, WE CAN ACCOMMODATE THAT OR WE CAN'T
ACCOMMODATE THAT. AND IT'S THE BEGINNING PROCESS
HERE. YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN LIKE THE
SECOND INNING OF MUELLER'S INVESTIGATION, SO THIS IS A
THING. THE NEXT PHASE WOULD BE
INTERVIEWS AND STUFF LIKE THAT WHERE THEY REALLY START TO TALK
TO PEOPLE AND GATHER AS MANY FACTS AS THEY CAN ABOUT THESE
DIFFERENT AVENUES THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT.
>> ARE PEOPLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE GETTING NERVOUS?
JUST MAYBE THE RANK AND FILE, NOT NECESSARILY ANY OF THOSE AT
THE TOP? >> YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE.
MY GUESS IS THAT THEY ARE PRETTY USED TO -- I SENSE FROM TALKING
TO THEM IS THAT THEY'RE PRETTY USED TO THIS.
THIS IS THE DRUM BEAT OF RUSSIA HAS BASICALLY STARTED BEFORE
THEY EVEN CAME TO THE WHITE HOUSE, SO THIS IS NOT NEW TO
THEM. OBVIOUSLY MUELLER IS MORE
SERIOUS THAN NOT HAVING MUELLER BEFORE COMEY WAS FIRED, BUT THIS
IS SOMETHING THEY'VE BEEN LOOKING AT FOR A LONG TIME AND I
GUESS THAT'S WHAT MAKES SOME OF IT INTERESTING IS THEY HAVEN'T
BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DEAL WITH IT BECAUSE IT'S BEEN
GOING ON NOW FOR 200 DAYS WHILE THEY'VE BEEN THERE AND THEY
CAN'T SEEM TO PUT THE ISSUE TO REST.
>> AND HAS MUELLER ASKED FOR DOCUMENTS RELATING NO ANYBODY
ELSE IN THE WHITE HOUSE THAT YOU KNOW OF SO FAR, MICHAEL?
ANYTHING MAYBE FURTHER ON JARED KUSHNER?
>> NO. ALL WE KNOW IS STUFF FOCUSED ON
FLYNN. AND, YOU KNOW, REMEMBER, FLYNN
IS NOT JUST FLYNN'S INTERACTIONS WITH THE RUSSIA AMBASSADOR AND
WHAT THAT MEANT TO HIS TIME AS NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR AND
WHETHER HE LIED TO THE FBI. THOSE ARE ALL ONE ISSUE.
BUT THE OTHER ISSUE IS WHETHER FLYNN WAS WORKING FOR THE
TURKISH GOVERNMENT ILLEGALLY AND WHETHER HE HAD REGISTERED
PROPERLY TO DO WORK FOR THEM AND WAS DOING THAT WORK DURING THE
CAMPAIGN AND WHEN HE WAS NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR.
SO AS MUELLER SORT OF MOVES FORWARD HERE WE START TO REALIZE
HOW COMPLEX AND HOW MANY DIFFERENT THINGS HE IS LOOKING
AT AND SUFFICIENT THAT INCLUDES FINANCIAL STUFF, STUFF THAT
INCLUDES OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE AND, YOU KNOW, STHUF THAT
INCLUDES THE RUSSIA MEDDLING. SO THERE'S A LOT ON HIS PLATE.
>> THERE'S THIS, THERE'S ALSO STAFF POSITIONS IN THE WHITE
HOUSE THAT HAVEN'T BEEN FILLED. THERE'S NO COMMUNICATIONS
DIRECTOR. AFTER SCARAMUCCI WAS OUSTED.
THERE'S A LOT OF TALK, PETER, ABOUT STEVEN MILLER POTENTIALLY
FILLING THAT ROLE. HE WAS THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH
WRITER DURING THE CAPABLE. WE SAW HIM TAKE THE PODIUM IN
THE BRIEFING THE OTHER DAY TO TALK ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND THIS
NEW PROPOSAL THAT THE WHITE HOUSE IS BACKING IN CONGRESS.
IS HE SOMEBODY WHO IS ACTUALLY IN THE RUNNING OR IS THIS JUST A
NAME THAT'S GETTING FLOATED OUT THERE, PETER?
>> WELL, IT DOES SEEM TO BE A REAL POSSIBILITY, BUT THERE IS A
PART OF ME THAT WONDERS WHETHER IT'S JUST NOT A WAY OF PUNKING
THE MEDIA, GIVEN THE SORT OF VERY VIGOROUS WAY HE DEFENDED
THE IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL THE OTHER DAY IN A VERY HEATED
EXCHANGE WITH REPORTERS. THE IDEA THE VERY NEXT DAY OR
TWO THAT HE WOULD BE FLOATED AS A COMMUNCOMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
OF SEEMS LIKE A-HA, JABBY THE PRESIDENT AT SOME POINT.
NO QUESTION HE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOMEBODY OUT THERE WHO IS A
ROBUST AND AGGRESSIVE PROPONENT OF HIS POLICIES, WHO IS WILLING
TO GIVE THE MEDIA WHAT HE BELIEVES THEY SERVE.
THAT'S HOW YOU GET ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S GOOD SIDE IS A
COMMUNICATE OR. AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, STEVEN
MILLER'S BACKGROUND ON THE HILL WAS A A COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR.
SO IT WOULDN'T BE ENTIRELY SURPRISING, BUT HE WOULD BE A
VERY BIG CONTRAST TO, SAY, ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI'S BRIEFING
WHEN HE DPOT UP THERE VERY SMOOTH SAYING I WANT A RESET
BEFORE HIS INTERVIEW WITH THE NEW YORKER.
I THINK STEVE MILLER WOULD NOT BE A RESET IF HE WERE TO BE
BRIEFING VERY OFTEN BECAUSE HE WOULD BE TAKING A MORE PUG NASHS
POINT OF VIEW THAT THE PRESIDENT LIKES.
>> STEVEN MILLER WOULD CERTAINLY BE A REVERSAL BACK TO THE
ANTI-PRESS TIMES IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND DURING THE CAMPAIGN.
PETER BA

Baker And Schmidt: It's 'Second Inning Of Robert Mueller Investigation' | MTP Daily | MSNBC

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