How the GOP Is Reacting to the Papadopoulos Indictment: A Closer Look

-The fallout from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's
decision to indite three former Trump aides continues
to weigh on the Trump administration.
And now the question is, how will the rest
of the Republican Party respond?
For me on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Applause ]
Donald Trump would like nothing more than to engage
in the ceremony and spectacle of being President without
the actual responsibility.
For example, this week the White House held
a Halloween celebration where he entered
to the "Ghostbusters" theme song.
[ "Ghostbusters" theme plays ]
♪ I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts ♪
That's right. Trump ain't afraid of no ghosts.
He even has one in his family.
Father, no!
Don't bust me, father!
[ Scattered applause ]
[ As Trump ] I'm sorry, Eric.
But bustin' makes me feel good.
[ Light laughter ]
[ Normal voice ] But even when it come to the ceremonial duties
of the presidency, Trump is not exactly up to the task.
After he arrived, he handed out candy
to costumed trick-or-treaters,
but watch his super unenthusiastic reaction
to the kid dressed as a dinosaur.
[ "Adams Family" theme plays ]
[ Light laughter ]
Imagine putting on that cool of a costume,
and getting iced by an adult!
Maybe Trump just thought he was hallucinating.
[ As Trump ] Oh, no. It's happening again.
Play it cool, Donnie. Only you see the dinosaur.
Only you see the dinosaur.
[ Normal voice ] Also, compare Trump's reaction
to Melania's.
That's the most emotion she's displayed
since Trump became President.
[ As Melania ] Oh, what a great costume!
It covers your whole face.
You could go anywhere and no one would know it was you.
You could just put it on and walk off the grounds,
get an Uber to the airport,
and take the first flight to Slovenia.
[ Normal voice ] They'd welcome you back!
But maybe Trump was just distracted by
the rapidly escalating Russia probe which has now snared
three of his former aides, including ex-campaign chairman
Paul Manafort, who pled not guilty,
and a foreign-policy advisor, George Papadopoulos,
who pled guilty to lying to the FBI
about his contacts with Russians.
When the news broke, Trump was reportedly holed up
by himself in the White House, watching it on TV.
According to "The Washington Post"...
Wow, that's three more jobs he's not qualified for.
No wonder he was fuming.
He like to pretend to be fun jobs like truck driver
or baseball player or firefighter
or a cowboy.
Of course, those close to Trump rebuffed any suggestion
that Trump was obsessing over the cable news coverage
of the Russia investigation
and insisted that the President was doing his job.
Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb, said...
You know, we might've believed the first part
if the second part hadn't been such an obvious lie.
President work? He might as well have said
Trump was spending all of his time doing cardio
and writing his latest book of sonnets.
[ Light laughter ]
In reality, of course, the indictment of Papadopoulos
is especially damning for Trump.
It shows, for example, that Papadopoulos lied
to the FBI about his contacts with Russians
who promised him "dirt" on Hillary Clinton
and "thousands of e-mails."
Papadopoulos sent this information
to senior campaign officials, including a request
by the Russians to meet with the Trump campaign.
And they apparently knew that what they were doing was shady
because they wanted to keep a low profile.
One campaign official wrote to another..
I love how Trump's team tried to play it cool
and keep things under wraps, and then Trump went
on national television and said this.
-Russia, if you're listening,
I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails
that are missing.
I think you will probably be rewarded mightily
by our press.
-Oh, my God. I would love to play poker
with Donald Trump.
You just know he holds his cards facing out.
[ Light laughter ]
"Donald, okay, here's the plan.
Don't tell anyone we're trying to collude with Russia."
[ As Trump ] Okay, that's great. Slight adjustment to that plan.
What if I go on TV and ask Russia to collude with us
but I'll say, "Russia, if you're listening..."
you know, to play it cool, to be --
So there'll be a nice cool, grey area.
[ Applause ]
[ Normal voice ] And it's not like --
It's not like Trump could easily distance himself
from Papadopoulos now, because during the campaign
he went out of his way to tout him as a member
of his foreign-policy team.
And yet, despite that, Trump and his allies have tried
to insist that they barely knew Papadopoulos.
First, Trump himself tweeted...
I love that he just calls him "George" in that tweet,
because you know he took, like, 15 tries at Papadopoulos.
[ As Trump ] Few people knew George Platypus -- Metropolis.
Hop-on-Popolis. "F" it -- George.
I'll just go "George."
Then there was former Trump campaign advisor
Michael Caputo, who tried to make Papadopoulos sound
like nothing more than an intern.
-I never heard of Papadopoulos.
He never showed up at Trump Tower,
never had any interaction
with any of the campaign leaders around me.
And the leaders of the Washington office
of the campaign didn't even know who he was
until his name appeared in the press.
The guy was -- He was the coffee boy.
-If he was the coffee boy, why did Trump call him
an excellent guy?
Presidential candidates don't just give shout-outs
to the coffee boy in interviews.
You never heard Obama say,
[ As Obama ] "Shout-out to my barista, Justin!
Even though he spells my name wrong --
There's no apostrophe, Justin!
[ Laughter ]
It's good coffee, but you're spelling it wrong."
[ Applause ]
[ Normal voice ] Then... there was Fox News host
Sean Hannity who tried to claim that Papadopoulos was too young
and naive to realize what he was doing was wrong.
-As part of the news that came out today,
George Papadopoulos -- he admitted, okay,
he lied to the FBI.
I think he's 29 years old.
-And Millennials love lying to the FBI.
There's even a Snapchat filter for it.
[ Laughter ]
Of course, 29 isn't young.
But Hannity can say it is
because to the average Fox News viewer, 29 is like 6 and a half.
He's just a baby!
He didn't know any better!
[ Light laughter ]
And then, there are the Republicans who try
to claim that Papadopoulos' actions aren't proof of
a broader scheme, just that he as an individual is dumb.
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy called Papadopoulos
"bone-deep stupid" and added...
He got through the same way Trump got elected.
He had some help.
[ Laughter ]
And yet...
[ Applause ]
When you press Trump campaign officials
even just a little bit, they're story starts to change.
For example, another one of those foreign-policy advisors
Trump mentioned, Carter Page, went on MSNBC on Monday
to distance himself from Papadopoulos.
The interview began with some good news,
of sorts, for Page.
-Former foreign-policy advisor of Donald Trump's
presidential campaign, Carter Page, joins me now.
How are you, Carter? -Great to see you.
I'm doing great. -Congratulations for
not being indicted.
[ Laughter ]
-Incidentally, you can find that Hallmark card
in the "For White House Staffers" section.
[ Light laughter ]
During the interview, Page tried to distance himself
from Papadopoulos and the e-mails he was sending
to senior campaign officials about his contacts
with Russians, but his answers weren't all that convincing.
-Were you guys on e-mails chains together,
you and Papadopoulos?
-Look, there's a lot of e-mails
all over the place where you're in a campaign.
-Right, but yes or no? Were you in e-mail chains
with Papadopoulos?
-Probably a few, yeah.
-Were you in e-mail chains with him about Russia?
-It may have come up from time to time.
-Look at Carter Page.
He has all the energy of a Golden Retriever puppy
combined with all the political savvy
of a Golden Retriever puppy.
[ Light laughter ]
So now the question is, with all this damning information
already out there and more surely to come,
what will Republicans in Congress do
because so far, they've been desperate
to avoid the topic altogether.
At a press conference on Monday, several Republican senators
were asked questions by the reporters about the indictments.
See if you can spot Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley trying to
quietly sneak out the door behind the American flag
in the background while reporters shouted questions.
-And that really isn't our job.
That's not our wheelhouse. That's -- that's...
[ Reporters shouting over each other ]
No, if you'll give me...
If -- Will you...
If you would...
-He literally snuck out behind the flags!
I wouldn't be surprised if at the next press conference,
he comes dressed as one just to blend in.
[ Light laughter ]
So Republicans are dodging questions about Mueller.
Meanwhile, an increasingly rabid and unhinged right-wing media
is trying to impugn Mueller's integrity
and lay the groundwork for his firing.
Take former house speaker Newt Gingrich who,
when Mueller was first appointed, said...
Well, you'll never guess how Newt feels now.
On Monday, he slammed Mueller for being too aggressive
in raiding Manafort's house over the summer,
and suggested that Mueller himself
should be investigated by Congress.
-The United States Congress
should open an investigation
to protect the rights of Americans.
You have an out-of-control prosecutor
who was supposed to be looking into Russian collusion,
who -- Think about this --
Paul Manafort voluntarily showed up today, walked in,
turned himself over,
is not a threat to the public,
was not a threat to flee,
yet this summer, the Justice Department
broke into his house at 5:00 in the morning...
-Guns blazing. -...caught he and his wife
in their pajamas...
-Yeah, they're the FBI.
They're gonna kick in the door.
Are you expecting them to slip a note under the door?
[ Laughter ]
Republicans in Congress need to make clear there will be
consequences if Trump tries to undermine Mueller.
The Special Counsel's investigation is clearly
entering a new and intense phase.
It is very threatening to Trump,
and Trump aides are clearly freaking out.
I guess the best thing you can say to them now is...
-Congratulations for not being indicted.
-This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪
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How the GOP Is Reacting to the Papadopoulos Indictment: A Closer Look

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