NEEDS TO BE SUBMITTED. CLEARLY THIS WAS AN ALLEGATION
OF A CRIME, AND I’M SURE IT’S
NOT THE ONLY ONE.
>> I’M GOING TO ASK EVERYBODY TO
STANDBY FOR JUST A MINUTE
BECAUSE I AM HEARING THIS AND
I’M GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT
NOW.
NOW. WE HAVE SOME BREAKING NEWS THAT
IS JUST COMING IN.
THIS IS BEING REPORTED AT THIS
MOMENT BY "THE WASHINGTON POST."
QUOTE, AT LEAST FOUR NATIONAL
SECURITY OFFICIALS WERE SO
ALARMED BY THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION’S ATTEMPTS TO
PRESSURE UKRAINE FOR POLITICAL
PURPOSES THAT THEY RAISED
CONCERNS WITH A WHITE HOUSE
LAWYER BOTH BEFORE AND
IMMEDIATELY AFTER PRESIDENT
TRUMP’S JULY 25th CALL WITH THAT
COUNTRY’S PRESIDENT.
COUNTRY’S PRESIDENT. AGAIN, THIS BEING REPORTED RIGHT
NOW BY "THE WASHINGTON POST."
THEY ALSO REPORT THIS, QUOTE,
THE NATURE AND TIMING OF THE
PREVIOUSLY UNDISCLOSED
PREVIOUSLY UNDISCLOSED DISCUSSIONS INDICATE THAT
OFFICIALS WERE DELIVERING
WARNINGS THROUGH OFFICIAL WHITE
HOUSE CHANNELS EARLIER THAN
PREVIOUSLY UNDERSTOOD.
PREVIOUSLY UNDERSTOOD. AND WE HAVE GREG JAFFY WHO HAS
REPORTED THIS IS JOINING US ON
THE PHONE.
THE PHONE. I’M SORRY, I’M JUST BEING TOLD
THIS THROUGH MY EAR AND TRYING
TO CONVEY.
TO CONVEY. WE JUST READ SORT OF THE
HEADLINE FINDINGS FROM YOUR
STORY HERE.
STORY HERE. BUT ESSENTIALLY YOU ARE LEARNING
AND YOU’RE TELLING US MORE
PEOPLE THAN WE REALIZED RAISED
CONCERNS ABOUT THIS CALL.
>> YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT.
CONCERN HAS BEEN PERCOLATING FOR
A WHILE AMONG SOME PRIOR TO THE
CALL AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER
KIND OF A FLARE GOES UP AND
THERE’S SIGNIFICANT WORRY.
AND SOME FOLKS GO IMMEDIATELY TO
JOHNIZENBERING WHO’S THE
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL LAWYER
TO REGISTER THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT
WHAT HAD HAPPENED ON THE CALL
AND THE DIRECTION OF UKRAINE
POLICY.
POLICY. >> AS THEY REGISTERED THEIR
CONCERNS, DID ANYTHING HAPPEN
THEN?
THEN? >> YOU KNOW, IT’S NOT CLEAR.
IZENBERG, FROM ONE OF OUR
SOURCES GAVE THE INDICATION HE
TOOK IT SERIOUSLY BUT BEYOND
THAT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. >> IS IT YOUR SENSE BECAUSE
OBVIOUSLY THE PRESIDENT AND WE
KNOW OTHER TRANSCRIPTS HAVE
LEAKED OUT IN THE PAST, BUT THE
PRESIDENT HAD CALLS IN THE PAST
WITH FOREIGN LEADERS THAT MAYBE
WERE A LITTLE UNORTHODOX, BUT
WAS IT YOUR SENSE THIS WAS IN
TERMS OF THE ALARM BELLS BEING
SETOFF HERE AND REGISTERED, THAT
THIS WAS UNIQUE IN THAT SENSE?
>> YEAH, THIS WAS DIFFERENT.
I THINK THERE ARE CALLS IT’S
OUTRAGEOUS, CALLS IT’S
SURPRISING AND I THINK WHAT WAS
DIFFERENT HERE IS PEOPLE HEARD
SOMETHING THEY FELT WAS
POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL.
POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL. >> CONGRESSMAN, I KNOW YOU’RE
STILL WITH US AND I’M JUST
CURIOUS.
CURIOUS. WE’RE ALL PROCESSING THIS, I
ASSUME YOU ARE.
BUT WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO
THIS NEWS?
THIS NEWS? >> WELL, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. WHAT HAPPENED WAS A COVER-UP.
THE TAPES OF THE TRANSCRIPTS
WEPT INTO A DEEP VAULT.
WE KNOW PEOPLE BEGAN TO SCRAMBLE
TO COVER UP WHAT IS APPARENTLY
AN ILLEGAL ACTION BY THE
PRESIDENT WITH REGARD TO THE
CAMPAIGN FINANCING LAWS AS WELL
AS PERHAPS OTHER LAWS DEALING
WITH BRIBERY IN A FOREIGN
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. AND SO WHAT DID THEY DO?
THEY DID A COVER-UP.
NOW, WHO DID IT?
THAT’S WHY WE NEED SUBPOENAS,
NEED THE PRESIDENT TO COME FORTH
TO END HIS STONEWALLING, TO
ALLOW PEOPLE TO DO WHAT THEY
MUST DO, AND THAT IS TO TESTIFY
BEFORE CONGRESS, GET THE FACTS
OUT THERE AND WE’LL SEE WHERE IT
GOES.
GOES. ALWAYS BEEN SAID FOREVER IT’S
THE COVER-UP THAT GETS YOU IN
TROUBLE.
TROUBLE. AND WE KNOW FROM ALL THE
INFORMATION THAT HAS THUS FAR
BEEN FORTHCOMING THAT THERE WAS
AT LEAST A COVER-UP HERE AND
QUITE POSSIBLY IN OTHER PLACES.
>> AND GREG, I WANT TO MAKE SURE
CLEAR ON THE DETAILS HERE.
THE FOLKS WHO RAISED CONCERNS,
EXPRESSED CONCERNS YOU’RE
REPORTING ON, THESE ARE PEOPLE
ON THE CALL, THESE ARE PEOPLE
WHO HEARD ABOUT THE CALL?
>> YEAH, IT WAS A COMBINATION OF
BOTH PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE CALL
OR LISTENING INTO THE CALL AND
PEOPLE WHO HAD HEARD ABOUT IT
WITHIN THE WHITE HOUSE.
SO THE IMMEDIATE KIND OF
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL STAFF.
>> AND FOR FOLKS WHO AREN’T
FAMILIAR HOW THE DIFFERENT SORT
OF FACETS OF THE BUREAUCRACY
SORT OF INTERACT EAR, THE PEOPLE
YOU’RE DESCRIBING, WOULD THESE
BE NATIONAL SECURITY
PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE SORT OF IN
PLACE NO MATTER WHO THE
PRESIDENT IS, NO MATTER WHICH
PARTY CONTROLS THE WHITE HOUSE?
ARE THESE POLITICAL APPOINTEES
YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT HERE?
>> IT’S ACTUALLY A MIX OF BOTH
POLITICAL APPOINTEES AND CAREER
OFFICIALS.
OFFICIALS. >> IT’S BOTH.
AND I SAY IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY
EXPRESSED HERE, DID THEY MAKE
WRITTEN STATEMENTS?
WRITTEN STATEMENTS? ARE THERE RECORDS THAT MIGHT
COME OUT PERTAINING TO THIS AT
ALL?
ALL? >> YEAH, I DON’T KNOW.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT FROM
OUR REPORTING IS THAT THEY WENT
TO THE NSE LAWYER AND DID NOT
PROVIDE WRITTEN STATEMENTS BUT,
YOU KNOW, EXPRESSED CONCERNS
VERBALLY.
VERBALLY. NOW AS TO WHETHER MR. ISENBERG
TOOK NOTES OR TYPED UP A REPORT
I DON’T KNOW.
>> AGAIN, YOU JUST REPORTED THIS
BREAKING NEWS PIECE IN "THE
WASHINGTON POST."
WASHINGTON POST." THANK YOU FOR TAKING A FEW
MINUTES.
MINUTES. WE APPRECIATE IT.
MIEKE EOYANG, I WANT TO GET YOUR
REACTION AS WELL.
>> I THINK BOTH OF THESE
STORIES, WHAT THEY INDICATE IS
IT’S VERY CLEAR THE PRESIDENT’S
ACTIONS ARE ILLEGAL AND THE
WHITE HOUSE HAS KNOWN IT FOR
QUITE SOME TIME.
YOU DON’T GO THROUGH THE EFFORT
TO HIDE THIS TRANSCRIPT IN A
DEEP DARK VAULT AFTER ALL THESE
OFFICIALS EXPRESSED ALARM AND
WHAT THE DOJ INDICTMENTS
UNSEALED TODAY SHOW YOU IS THAT
FOREIGN CAMPAIGN CONTRAPUGZS ARE
A CRIME.
A CRIME. THIS IS FAR FROM A PERFECT CALL.
THE PRESIDENT HAS DONE SOMETHING
SERIOUSLY WRONG HERE.
HE CAN’T SAY THIS IS NOTHING AND
BUSINESS AS USUAL.
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CONSIDERS THIS KIND OF ACTIVITY
A CRIME, AND THEY’VE BEEN TRYING
TO HIDE IT.
>> STEVE, IF I COULD, THE
CONTEXT HERE AND THE TIME LINE
SO OUR VIEWERS CAN UNDERSTAND
WHERE THE WHISTLEBLOWER FITS
INTO THIS.
INTO THIS. "THE POST" IS REPORTING THESE
OFFICIALS RAISED THESE QUESTIONS
SOME BEFORE AND SOME AFTER THE
JULY 25th PHONE CALL.
AND AT SOME POINT LATER THAT
TRANSCRIPT OF THAT CALL WAS PUT
INTO A HIGHLY CLASSIFIED SYSTEM
AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND THEN A LITTLE BIT AFTER
THAT, SOME OF THESE OFFICIALS
WHO HAD HEARD THE CALL DIRECTLY
WENT TO THE WHISTLEBLOWER WHO
WAS A CIA OFFICER AND AT THAT
TIME WAS BACK AT THE CIA, HAD
WORKED IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND
KNEW THESE PEOPLE AND THAT
WHISTLEBLOWER BEGAN GATHERING
THESE ACCOUNTS AND WENT TO THE
CIA LAWYERS, THE CIA GENERAL
COUNCIL WHO THEN CALLED JOHN
ISEBERG, THE TOP LAWYER TAT THE
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL AND
SAID WE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THIS
CALL.
CALL. THEN THEY WENT AND GATHERED
INFORMATION.
INFORMATION. AT THAT POINT THE CIA GENERAL
COUNCIL MADE WHAT SHE CONSIDERED
A CRIMINAL REFERRAL TO THE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ABOUT THAT
CALL, AND THEN SOME TIME LATER
THE WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT CAME
IN.
IN. THAT’S THE TIME LINE, STEVE.
>> GREAT CONTEXT.
THANK YOU, KEN, FOR PROVIDING
THAT.
THAT. ONE MORE QUESTION TO YOU, KEN,
AS WELL.
AS WELL. I WANT TO RETURN TO THE STORY WE
LED WITH THERE AS WELL.
OBVIOUSLY YOU MENTIONED ALL THE
CONNECTIONS TO GIULIANI.
GIULIANI NOT INCLUDED IN THIS
INDICTMENT TODAY.
INDICTMENT TODAY. AGAIN IT’S A CAMPAIGN FINANCE
INDICTMENT.
INDICTMENT. THERE’S ALL SORTS OF
SPECULATION.
SPECULATION. DO YOU HAVE ANY REPORTING, DO
YOU HAVE ANY SENSE IF
PROSECUTORS ARE INTERESTED IN
GIULIANI AT ALL ULTIMATELY HERE?
>> THERE ARE REPORTS OUT THERE,
STEVE, THAT WE HAVE NOT
CONFIRMED.
CONFIRMED. THE WORD WE’RE GETTING IS OF
COURSE THERE IS SCRUTINY OF RUDY
GIULIANI AS A PART OF THIS
INQUIRY.
INQUIRY. HE HAD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW UNDER
INDICTMENT.
INDICTMENT. HE WAS WORKING WITH THEM CLOSELY
IN SOME VERY CONTROVERSIAL
MATTERS.
MATTERS. THERE IS SCRUTINY AND NOTHING TO
SUGGEST YET HE’S A TARGET OF AN
INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION. HE’S NOT SAYING MUCH TODAY, BUT
CERTAINLY WHEN I TALK TO MY
CONGRESSIONAL SOURCES, THAT IS
WHERE THEIR ATTENTION IS FOCUSED
HERE, THE QUESTION OF WHAT WAS
RUDY GIULIANI’S ROLE IN THE
POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS, IN THE
BUSINESS DEALS THEY WERE TRYING
TO ARRANGE.
TO ARRANGE. WHO WAS PAYING FOR RUDY’S TRIP
TO UKRAINE?
TO UKRAINE? AFTER ALL WHAT RUDY WAS DOING IS
AT THE HEART OF THE IMPEACHMENT
INQUIRY, WHICH IS CHARGING
DONALD TRUMP ABUSED HIS POWER TO
PRESSURE THE UKRAINIAN
GOVERNMENT.
GOVERNMENT. HE WAS DOING THAT IN PART
THROUGH RUDY GIULIANI, STEVE.