>>> THE PRESIDENT TONIGHT TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO CALL THE
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY A COUP.
HE TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS THEY’RE
COMING AFTER YOUR GUNS, YOUR
RELIGION, YOUR MILITARY, YOUR
RIGHTS AS A CITIZEN.
THIS MORNING HE DEMANDED TO
INTERVIEW AND LEARN EVERYTHING
ABOUT THE SO-CALLED
WHISTLE-BLOWER JUST FOR CLARITY
SAKE HERE, WHISTLE-BLOWERS BY
DEFINITION ARE TO BE PROTECTED.
OVER THE WEEKEND THERE WAS THIS
GEM.
GEM. IF THE DEMOCRATS ARE SUCCESSFUL
IN REMOVING THE PRESIDENT FROM
OFFICE, WHICH THEY WILL NEVER
BE, IT WILL CAUSE A CIVIL
WAR-LIKE FRACTURE.
WAR-LIKE FRACTURE. THEN THERE WAS THIS LAST WEEK
CAPTURED ON CAMERA AT THE UNITED
NATIONS OBTAINED BY BLOOMBERG
NEWS.
NEWS. >> I WANT TO KNOW WHO’S THE
PERSON THAT GAVE -- THE
WHISTLE-BLOWER.
WHISTLE-BLOWER. WHO’S THE PERSON THAT GIVE THE
WHISTLE-BLOWER THE INFORMATION,
BECAUSE THAT’S CLOSE TO A SPY.
YOU KNOW WHAT WE USED TO DO IN
THE OLD DAYS WHEN WE WERE SMART,
RIGHT, WITH SPIES AND TREASON.
WE USED TO HANDLE IT DIFFERENTLY
THAN WE DO NOW.
>> WITH US TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT
IT, PROFESSOR TIMOTHY SNYDER OF
YALE UNIVERSITY.
YALE UNIVERSITY. PROFESSOR SNYDER WAS A MARSHALL
SCHOLAR EDUCATED AT OXFORD.
HE HAPPENS TO BE THE AUTHOR OF
TWO BOX OF NOTE IN THIS AREA,
"ON TYRANNY: TWENTY LESSONS FROM
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY," AND THE
ROAD TO UNFREEDOM, RUSSIA,
EUROPE, AMERICA.
EUROPE, AMERICA. PROFESSOR, WELCOME BACK TO THE
BROADCAST.
BROADCAST. THANK YOU FOR COMING IN.
I WANT TO READ YOU SOME OF THE
WORK TONIGHT OF OUR FRIENDS,
ROBERT COSTA AND PHILIP RUCKER
AT "THE WASHINGTON POST."
AS THE IMPEACHMENT DRAMA HAS
UNFOLDED, A SERIES OF
DISCLOSURES HAS ILLUMINATED
PRESIDENT TRUMP HOW HE’S
COMPELLED THEM TO PURSUE HIS
PERSONAL AND POLITICAL GOALS,
INVESTIGATE HIS ENEMIES, AND
LEND LEGITIMACY TO HIS THEORIES
ABOUT THE 2016 ELECTION.
TRUMP’S MOVES UNDERSCORE HIS
TRANSFORMATION AS PRESIDENT.
HE ARRIVED IN WASHINGTON A
NEOPHYTE, UNCERTAIN THOUSAND
OPERATE THE MACHINERY OF
GOVERNMENT, BUT NOW IN HIS THIRD
YEAR, TRUMP HAS GROWN CONFIDENT
ABOUT EXERCISING POWER, ZPOEFG
OF AIDES, AND ELEVATING THOSE
WHO PROVE THEIR LOYALTY BY
FOLLOWING HIS ORDERS.
PROFESSOR, WHAT IN THERE SPEAKS
TO YOUR THESIS?
>> THERE ARE TWO FUNDAMENTAL
ISSUES HERE.
ISSUES HERE. THE FIRST IS THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES IS SUPPOSED TO
EXECUTE THE LAWS.
IT’S HIS JOB NOT TO PUT HIMSELF
ABOVE THE LAW.
IT’S HIS JOB TO KNOW WHAT THE
LAW IS AND EXECUTE IT.
THAT’S FUNDAMENTAL.
THAT’S FUNDAMENTAL. THE SECOND GRATE DANGER HERE HAS
TO DO WITH THE FACTS AND THE
TRUTH.
TRUTH. WHAT WE WERE SEEING IS SOMEONE
WHO BEGAN HIS CAREER AS
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
BY SAYING LOTS OF THINGS THAT
WERE UNTRUE.
WERE UNTRUE. NOW WE’VE MOVED INTO A NEW PHASE
WHERE HE’S OPERATIONALIZING
UNTRUTHS AND MAKING OTHER PEOPLE
REPEAT THEM.
REPEAT THEM. HE MAKES OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD
TO SPREAD A FICTIONAL VERSION OF
WHAPS WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016.
THIS IS FAMILIAR.
THIS IS WHAT AUTHORITARIAN
RULERS DO.
RULERS DO. IT’S WHAT YOU THINK AND FEEL,
IT’S NOT THE TRUTH THAT MATTERS.
THIS IS WHERE A DEMOCRACY STARTS
TO TILT INTO SOMETHING ELSE,
WHICH IS RATHER SCARY.
>> THE BOOK "1984" STARTS WITH
THE CLOCK STRIKING 13.
HOW MANY TIMES A DAY DO YOU AS A
CONSUMER OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
SEE SOMETHING, HEAR SOMETHING
THAT FITS NEATLY INTO ONE OF
YOUR 20 POINTS IN YOUR BOOK, "ON
TYRANNY."
TYRANNY." >> YOU’RE DESCRIBING MY ENTIRE
EXPERIENCE OF LIFE, BRIAN.
THAT’S WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR ME.
I’M A HISTORIAN WHERE EVERYTHING
WENT WRONG.
WENT WRONG. YOU KNOW THAT DEMOCRACY USUALLY
FAILS AND YOU’RE AWARE THAT
PEOPLE ARE VULNERABLE.
YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT
INSTITUTIONS ARE.
INSTITUTIONS ARE. THAT’S WHY THIS WEEK SUCH AN
IMPORTANT WEEK BECAUSE THIS WEEK
IS ABOUT THE CLASH BETWEEN
INSTITUTIONS AND PERSONALITY,
BETWEEN LAW AND SOMEONE WHO
REGARDS HIMSELF AS ABOVE THE
LAW.
LAW. >> IS IT RECOVERABLE?
THAT’S WHAT MOST PEOPLE WANT TO
KNOW, PATRIOTIC, NORMAL,
EVERYDAY AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO
DON’T FEEL LIKE THEY CHOSE A
SIDE IN THIS, IS IT RECOVERABLE
AS I ASKED SOMEBODY SITTING
WHERE YOU ARE THIS WEEK, IS IT
LIKE THE HACKED OFF ARM OF A
STAR FISH, WILL IT REGENERATE?
>> NOT ON ITS OWN.
IT’S A MISTAKE TO AMOUNT TO
EVERYTHING WAS GOOD IN 2016.
IT’S A MISTAKE TO IMAGINE THE
INSTITUTIONS WILL JUST BOUNCE
BACK.
BACK. THEY’RE ONLY GOING TO BOUNCE
BACK IF WE FORCE THEM TO BOUNCE
BACK.
BACK. IT’S GOING TO REQUIRE GOOD WORK.
THERE ARE HOPEFUL SIGNS.
EVERYTHING WE’RE TALK ABOUT WE
KNOW BECAUSE OF GOOD WORK OF
JOURNALISTS.
JOURNALISTS. IF WE’RE GOING TO COME BACK,
IT’S BECAUSE WE KNOW MORE RATHER
THAN LESS ABOUT MR. TRUMP,
BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE RATHER THAN
FEWER INVESTIGATIONS, IT’S
BECAUSE WE RETURNED TO A PLACE
WHERE WE’RE NOT JUST REPEATING