>>> PAUL MANAFORT’S COOPERATION WITH MUELLER COULD REVEAL ONE OF
THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS IN THE
PROBE.
PROBE. WHAT HAPPENED AT THE TRUMP TOWER
MEETING.
MEETING. MUELLER ASKING FOR ALL THE
RECORDS RELATED TO ANYONE THAT
WOULD KNOW THAT.
THAT INCLUDES DONALD TRUMP’S
FAMILY MEMBERS, SON-IN-LAW JARED
KUSHNER AND DON JUNIOR.
WHILE THEY CAN CLAIM A POLITICAL
IGNORANCE, MANAFORT, HE CAN’T.
DID TRUMP KNOW MORE THAN HE’S
LET ON.
LET ON. NBC REPORTED THAT MANAFORT’S
NOTES ON THE MEETING HAD A
REFERENCE TO POLITICAL
CONTRIBUTIONS OR THE RNC.
BOB MUELLER NOW KNOWS A LOT MORE
THAN WE DO.
HOWARD FINEMAN IS AN NBC NEWS
ANALYST.
ANALYST. DAVID CORN BACK WITH ME.
HOWARD, THE NEWS DOESN’T STOP.
THIS IS A HUGE DEAL ON ITS OWN.
FULL STOP.
FULL STOP. THEN YOU GET WITHIN THE LAST
HOUR WHAT I WAS BREAKING ON OUR
SHOW THAT PAUL MANAFORT DID MORE
THAN ONE PROFFER SESSION WHICH
ANDREW WEISSMAN FOUND USEFUL.
A LOT OF PROSECUTORS SAY HE’S
TOUGH.
TOUGH. WE HEARD FROM TRUMP’S FORMER
LAWYER SAYING HE’S TOO TOUGH OR
UNFAIR.
UNFAIR. WALK US THROUGH THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF THAT OR THE QUESTIONS RAISED.
>> I THINK THIS IS ABOUT THE
MONEY.
MONEY. I THINK WEISSMAN IS GOOD AT
FOLLOWING THAT KIND OF THING.
THAT’S ONE OFRT THE WAYS IN WHIC
HE MADE HIS REPUTATION.
I THINK PART OF WHAT ROBERT
MUELLER IS LOOKING FOR IS PAUL
MANAFORT WAS DIPPING INTO THE
SAME POOL OF OLIGARCH MONEY IN
RUSSIA AND UKRAINE TO RUN HIS
UKRAINE OPERATION.
UKRAINE OPERATION. THEY FELL, THE PROSECUTORS FEEL,
HE CAN HELP THEM FOLLOW THE
MONEY TRAIL TO FIND OUT WHAT
MONEY WAS BEHIND WHATEVER
COLLUSION THERE WAS.
THIS IS MOSTLY ABOUT THE
COLLUSION BRANCH OF THE
INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION. NOT SO MUCH THE OBSTRUCTION BRAN
MP,
MP, -- BRANCH, I THINK.
>> YOU’RE SAYING THAT WHILE PAUL
MANAFORT MAY HAVE TOUCHED FIVE
PLUS DIFFERENT ILLEGAL THINGS,
THE ONE REMAINING THING THAT
MUELLER IS MOST INTERESTED IN IS
WHETHER TO USE THE CASUAL TERM,
DIRTY MONEY THAT TOUCHED ANYONE
WHO MIGHT BE ON THE RECEIVING
END OF RUSSIAN HELP.
>> I THINK THAT’S WHAT THEY
THINK THAT MANAFORT IS MANY THE
POSITION TO KNOW THE MOST ABOUT.
HE’LL ALSO KNOW DETAILS ABOUT
WHO SAID WHAT TO WHOM.
THAT WOULD INVOLVE JARED
KUSHNER, ROGER STONE.
THAT WOULD INVOLVE THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE WAS IN TRUMP TOWER.
HE WAS IN THE BUILDING.
HE WAS MANY THE 26th FLOOR.
THERE’S A LOT HE WOULD HAVE
HEARD.
HEARD. A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS AND A LOT
OF MOMENTS AND A LOT OF ROOMS
THAT MANAFORT WILL BE ASKED
ABOUT.
ABOUT. I DO THINK BECAUSE HE WAS
DRAWING FOR HIS OWN ACTIVITIES
IN UKRAINE FROM THE SAME POOL OF
MONEY THAT THE OLIGARCHS WERE
FILLING, THAT’S ONE OF THE KEY
ASPECTS OF WHAT MUELLER WANTS TO
GO AFTER WITH HIM.
>> DAVID.
>> DAVID. >> THERE’S ONE NAME WE HAVEN’T
TALKED ABOUT ON THIS SHOW.
ONE OF THE TOP OLIGARCHS TO
VLADMIR PUTIN.
VLADMIR PUTIN. PAUL MANAFORT AND HE HAD BEEN
BUSINESS PARTNERS FOR SOME TIME.
THEY HAD A BIT OF FALLING OUT.
BY THE TIME MANAFORT CAME TO RUN
THE TRMP CAMUMP CAMPAIGN, HE OWE
MAYBE AS MUCH AS $30 MILLION.
HE OWED 30 MILLION DOLLAR TO
PUTIN’S CLOSE BUDDY WHILE
RUNNING A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
WE KNOW FOR EARLIER MUELLER
FILINGS THAT HIS PARTNER,
MANAFORT’S PARTNER, A FORMER
RUSSIAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
OFFICER WITH CURRENT TIES TO
RUSSIAN INVERY WELLTELLIGENCE WA
BETWEEN DURING THE CAMPAIGN.
WE DON’T KNOW THE FUEL BREADTH
OF THIS RELATIONSHIP.
PROFFER OFFERS, MUELLER WILL
KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
THAT COULD OPEN UP A WHOLE OTHER
AVENUE OF INVESTIGATION THAT
THOSE ON THE OUTSIDE HAVEN’T
SEEN YET.
SEEN YET. >> THAT THEN GOES TO OUR
ORGANIZING QUESTION FOR THIS
DISCUSSION HERE WHICH IS WHAT
DONALD TRUMP KNOWS OR EXPECTS
PAUL MANAFORT KNOWS.
HOWARD, YOU HAD REPORTED AND
WRITTEN THAT TRUMP WAS NOT
EXPECTING PAUL MANAFORT TO FLIP.
READING FROM YOUR REPORTING
TRUMP SAID HE DECIDED HE WAS NOT
GOING TO FLIP OR SELL HIM OUT
AND HE TOLD FRIENDS THAT MEANT
THINGS WERE GOING GREAT.
ME MAY FEEL DIFFERENT TONIGHT.
I’M WONDERING IF YOU CAN PUT
THAT FROM YOUR REPORTING TO
PARAPHRASE DRAKE ABOUT FEDERAL
COP RATIONCOOP COOPERATION, I’VE
YOU DO FOR FAME.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR FREEDOM?
PAUL MANAFORT HAS DONE SOMETHING
TRUMP DIDN’T EXPECT.
>> I THINK TRUMP WAS -- I THINK
IT’S POSSIBLE THEY MIGHT HAVE
HEARD ABOUT SOME OF THE THE
PROFFER DISCUSSIONS GOING ON BUT
I THINK IN GENERAL, I THINK
TRUMP WAS SURPRISED.
THAT WOULD BE MY GUESS AT THIS
POINT.
POINT. THE KEY THING HERE NOT ONLY THAT
IS THAT MANAFORT CHOSE TO TRUST
MUELLER RATHER THAN TRUMP, THIS
IS AN INFORMERED GUESS HERE THAT
PAUL MANAFORT AND HIS WIFE KATHY
AND THEIR FAMILY HAVE BEEN
THROUGH HELL AND BACK AT THIS
POINT.
POINT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHETHER
MUELLER AND THE FBI AND OTHER
FEDERAL AGENCIES HAVE OFFERED TO
PROTECT PAUL MANAFORT.
I MEAN PHYSICALLY PROTECT.
>> YOU MEAN WITNESS PROTECTION,
WE DON’T HAVE REPORTING ON THAT
YET.
YET. >> I DON’T MEAN SEND THEM TO THE
IDAHO PANHANDLE BUT THERE’S A
LOT OF PEOPLE IN RUSSIA AND
UKRAINE WHO ARE PROBABLY
EXTREMELY UNHAPPY WITH THE FACT
THAT MANAFORT HAS FLIPPED AS
WELL.
WELL. >> WITNESS PROTECTION DOESN’T
HAVE TO BE SIMPLY DISGUISED
IDENTITY.
IDENTITY. IT CAN BE ASSURING THEIR FAMILY
WILL BE LOOKED AFTER.
>> THE POINT IS MANAFORT AT THIS
POINT DECIDED TO PUT HIMSELF IN
THE FULL EMBRACE OF THE FEDERAL
I
I INVESTIGATIVE BUREAUCRACY.
INVESTIGATIVE BUREAUCRACY. THAT’S A POINT WE SHOULD MAKE
HERE BECAUSE HE’S GOT A LOT OF
CONCERNS ON A LOT OF LEVELS AND
PLACES IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
>> I’M FURIOUSLY GOING THROUGH
MY NOTES.
MY NOTES. WE HAD A QUOTE FROM KEVIN
DOWNING, HIS LAWYER AND TO
PARAPHRASE BUT HE SAID HE MADE A
DECISION TODAY THAT HE THOUGHT