WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY.
MY FIRST GUEST IS KNOWN FOR PLAYING DISTINGUISHED
JOURNALISTS IN "THE NEWSROOM," "GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK," AND
"DUMB AND DUMBER."
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO THE SHOW JEFF DANIELS!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )
>> Stephen: WELL PLAYED!
WELL PLAYED!
YOU GOT THE AUDIENCE RIGHT TO THEIR FEET, MAN.
>> I'M FROM THE THEATER.
>> Stephen: YOU'RE MOSTLY JUST A HOOFER.
FIRST LOVE.
>> FIRST TEN YEARS WERE A MUSICAL, NOTHING BUT A DANCE.
I JUST DANCED ALL THE TIME.
>> Stephen: WELCOME BACK.
NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
>> ANYONE ELSE?
IS HE THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES THIS?
>> Stephen: MY GAMMA USED TO DO THAT, TOO.
>> REMEDIAL WATER DRINKING, YEAH.
>> Stephen: WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD DROWN.
YOU CAN DROWN.
IT'S A DANGEROUS WORLD.
( LAUGHTER ) THE LAST TIME WE WERE TOGETHER
WAS OVER A YEAR AGO.
>> YOU WERE SO GOOD THAT NIGHT.
I MEAN, IT WAS JUST SPECIAL FOR ME, TOO.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: IT'S SURPRISED YOU
LET ME BRING IN CAMERAS.
( LAUGHTER ) AND WE BROADCAST LIVE!
>> WE DID.
>> Stephen: DIDN'T EDIT ANYTHING.
YOU WERE HERE ONE OF THE NIGHTS OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
CONVENTION LAST YEAR AND WE WERE LIVE AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT
POLITICS AND WE WERE LIVE, YOU HAVE TO WATCH WHAT YOU SAID,
IT'S HARD TO CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONAL PUNCHES TODAY BECAUSE
WASHINGTON, HAVE YOU BEEN RECENTLY?
>> I HAVE, YEAH.
IT'S, LIKE, A CITY-WIDE DEPRESSION.
>> Stephen: IT'S AS IF THE SKY IS ALWAYS SLATE GREY DOWN THERE
RIGHT NOW.
>> AND IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT.
THEY'RE ALL GOING, I DIDN'T ELECT HIM.
>> Stephen: AND IT'S NOT LIKE THE SWAMP IS BEING DRAINED,
THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY'RE DEPRESSED ABOUT.
THEY JUST KNOW EVENTUALLY THEY WILL BE CAUGHT UP AS
ACCOMPLICES.
>> OH, YEAH, THEY'RE ALL GOING TO PRISON.
I MEAN, I GO TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, I DON'T COUNT SHEEP.
I JUST RECITE ORANGE JUMPSUITS, PRISON HAIRCUTS.
ORANGE JUMPSUITS, PRISON HAIRCUTS.
>> Stephen: WOW, WOW.
YOU GO TO SLEEP AT NIGHT.
( LAUGHTER ) I'M SO JEALOUS!
YOU GOT TO HOOK A BROTHER UP WITH $5 OF WHATEVER'S GETTING
YOU THERE.
( LAUGHTER ) YOU'RE NO STRANGER TO DRAMA OR
COMEDY.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE TRAGIC COMEDY THAT'S
GOING ON DOWN THERE?
LIKE TODAY, SO MANY THINGS HAPPEN IN A SING DAILY NOW THAT
IT'S VERY HARD TO KEEP TRACK TO HAVE THE THING THAT'S ACTUALLY
MAKING YOUR JAW DROP.
>> IT'S LIKE AN EPISODE OF THE KARDASHIANS IS NORMAL.
IT'S LINING BINGE WATCHING SOMETHING THAT CHANGES.
IF IT WERE A HOLLYWOOD SCRIPT, YOU WOULD GET NOTES ON IT.
YOU WOULD GET SOMEBODY FROM THE JUNIOR EXECUTIVE BEING YOU CAN'T
GET HIS DAUGHTER IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
IT DOESN'T WORK.
>> Stephen: I THINK THAT'S AGAINST THE LAW.
>> AND THE SON-IN-LAW LOOKS LIKE THE SCARECROW FROM THE WIZARD OF
OZ, CAN'T HAVE THAT.
BANNON LOOKS LIKE HE EATS OUT OF A TROUGH.
YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE THAT.
>> Stephen: DON, JR. SOMEHOW KY'S HIS HEAD.
WHY IS HE SO SLIPPERY LOOKING?
I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
>> PRESIDENT BONE SPURS, THURSDAY AT 8:00.
YEAH.
>> Stephen: YEAH.
EI HAWE HAD OMAROSA LAST NIGHT.
I THINK THEY KNOW THE HAMMER IS COMING AND THEY'RE, LIKE, I WAS
OUT BEFORE ANY OF THAT HAPPENED.
>> SERIOUSLY, WHAT THEY DID TO GET HIM INTO THAT OFFICE, FORGET
THE RUSSIANS.
I MEAN, AS A COUNTRY, WE LOST RESPECT, DECENCY, CIVILIZED
BEHAVIOR, INTEGRITY, CLASS, ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY.
HE'S GOT NONE OF THAT (BLEEP).
HE'S GOT NONE OF THAT.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) AND YOU LOOK FOR PEOPLE TO BE
LEADERS.
NOT ONLY IS HE THE PRESIDENT OF THE FREE WORLD AND ALL THAT,
BUT, MY GOD, THIS IS NOT -- THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT ANY
COUNTRY WOULD NEED JUST AS FAR AS HUMAN BEINGS, YOU KNOW?
SO I JUST -- GET HIM OUT OF HERE, THROW HIM IN THE BACK OF
THE TRUCK AND TAKE HIM AWAY.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: THE THING ABOUT
IT, F.D.R. SAID THE PRESIDENCY IS ESSENTIALLY A MORAL POSITION
AND, TO HAVE THAT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE PRINCIPLES TO WHICH YOU ARE
TETHERED.
HE REALLY SEEMS LIKE WET FINGER IN THE AIR TO SEE WHICH WAY THE
WIND IS BLOWING, AND I DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHY THE FINGER IS
WET.
I JUST DON'T WANT TO KNOW.
DON'T INVESTIGATE THAT PART.
( LAUGHTER ) LET'S TALK ABOUT PEOPLE
ATTEMPTING LEADERSHIP AND HAVING THEIR OWN FAILURES.
YOU ARE IN THE NEW HULU SERIES "THE LOOMING TOWER," WHICH IS
ABOUT THE LEADUP TO AND THE PEOPLE TRYING TO WARN AGAINST
THE ATTACK THAT AL QUAIDA MADE ON 9/11 HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES.
YOU PLAY A MAN NAMED JOHN O'NEIL.
WHO WAS THAT?
>> HE WAS THE HEAD OF THE COUNTERTERRORISM DIVISION IN THE
F.B.I. IN NEW YORK, AND HE, IN '98 OR SO, HE WAS REALLY ON TO
BIN LADEN.
HE HAD A LUNCH.
HE REALLY THOUGHT THAT GUY WAS HEADING TO SOMETHING, HE DIDN'T
KNOW WHAT, AND NO ONE WOULD LISTEN.
HE WENT TO WASHINGTON, MET WITH RICHARD CLARK WHO DID LISTEN.
AND THE C.I.A. WHO HAD THEIR OWN WAY OF TRYING TO CHASE
BIN LADEN, THE C.I.A. AND THE F.B.I. DIDN'T SHARE INTELLIGENCE
THEN, AND JOHN O'NEIL WAS A GUY WHO CAME IN AND CLEANED OFF
TABLES AND TURNED OVER TEESICS IF HE DIDN'T GET WHAT HE WANTED.
>> Stephen: AS RICHARD CLARK SAID, HE WAS RUNNING AROUND WITH
HIS HAIR ON FIRE SAYING THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN, JOHN O'NEIL WAS
MUCH THE SAME WAY?
>> JOHN O'NEIL SAID, BIN LADEN, HE'S GOING TO DO SOMETHING, WE
DON'T KNOW WHAT, WE HAVE TO GET HIM.
PEOPLE SAID YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, WE'LL COME BACK LATER.
>> Stephen: WE HAVE A CLIP OF JOHN O'NEIL PROBABLY TALKING TO
RICHARD CLARK.
>> I'M PROBABLY SCREAMING.
>> Stephen: JIM?
I WAS GONE AND YOU GOT TALKED INTO (BLEEP).
>> I WASN'T THEIR CALL.
IT WAS THE PRESIDENT'S CALL.
>> BIN LADEN IS LAYING A TRAP.
HE WANTS TO GO TO WAR.
>> JOHN, THE UNITED STATES MILITARY IS THE UNITED STATES
MILITARY.
THIS IS NOT A WAR AL QUAIDA CAN WIN.
>> Stephen: WELL, I TELL YOU THE FIRST THING THAT WILL HAPPEN
AFTER THE BOMBS FALL AND THE DEAD GET CLEARED AWAY, THEY'LL
GET A TON OF NEW RECRUITS.
>> Stephen: NOW WHO IS THAT PLAYING RICHARD CLARK?
>> MICHAEL SCHOOLBARRED.
>> Stephen: THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT MR. CLARK WAS LIKE.
>> I REMEMBER RICHARD CLARK WHEN HE SAT IN FRONT OF CONGRESS AND
SAID YOUR GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED YOU AND WHAT MICHAEL DID IN THIS
SHOW IS REALLY REMARKABLE.
>> Stephen: WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN O'NEIL?
>> WELL, HE GOT KICKED OUT OF THE F.B.I. AFTER A WHILE BECAUSE
HE MADE A COUPLE OF PROCEDURAL MISTAKES, PLUS HE WAS
CONFRONTATIONAL WITH THE F.B.I.
AS WELL.
HE WAS NOT EASY TO GET ALONG WITH.
HIS PARTNERS ADORED HIM BUT KNEW HE WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
THE F.B.I. SAID, YOU HAVE 25 YEARS, RETIRE.
HE SAID I DON'T WANT TO.
THEY SAID, GO.
HE TOOK A JOB AS HEAD OF SECURITY OF THE TWIN TOWERS.
>> Stephen: DID HE SURVIVE?
TWO WEEKS LATER, 9/11 HAPPENED, DID NOT SURVIVE IT.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS, FOR ME, AND SMALL CONSOLATION, ALI SUFAN
WAS JOHN O'NEIL'S PARTNER.
WE DID THE NEW YORK PREMIERE OF THE FIRST EPISODE OR SO.
THE CRITICS ARE ONE THING AND YOU WANT THEM AND WE'RE GETTING
THEM, BUT I WANTED ALI SAFAN, HIS PARTNER, TO LIKE WHAT I DID,
BECAUSE JOHN IS NOT HERE.
HE CAME UP TO ME AND I SAID, OKAY, HERE WE GO.
HE SAID, JEFF, AND HE GIVES ME THIS PIN THAT JOHN O'NEIL --
THEY GAVE THIS OUT AT, I THINK, JOHN O'NEIL'S MEMORIAL, AND
THAT'S WHAT HE GAVE ME AFTER THE PREMIERE, WHICH BEST REVIEW I
COULD GET.
>> Stephen: OH.
IT'S A PIN OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE MAN AND HIS SERVICE TO THE
COUNTRY.
THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.
( APPLAUSE ) DID YOU MEET WITH
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS?
DID YOU TALK TO THEM TO GET A SENSE OF, LIKE, WHAT THAT JOB IS
LIKE AND THE THINGS THAT -- THE BURDEN THAT THEY BEAR?
>> I SAT WITH HIS PARTNERS AS WELLçó AS ALI SUFAN, BUT I SAT
WITH HIS PARTNERS WHO HAD BEEN AROUND THE WORLD WITH JOHN FOR
YEARS, HAD GONE DOWN THE ALLEYS WITH HIM, GUNS DRAWN AND ALL
THAT.
IT WAS LIKE GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL WITH JOHN O'NEIL.
YOU LEARN ABOUT THE GOOD, BAD, STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.
>> Stephen: DID THE PEOPLE TALK AT ALL ABOUT THE KIND OF
THREATS THAT THE UNITED STATES FACES THAT WE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT
WITHOUT VIOLATING ANY CLASSIFIED INFORMATION?
DID IT REASSURE YOU OR WORRY YOU MORE ABOUT THE STATE OF OUR
NATIONAL SECURITY?
>> WHAT REASSURED ME WAS THAT THE F.B.I. AND THE C.I.A., WHICH
I DIDN'T RESEARCH, BUT THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY SERIOUS AND
VERY PROFESSIONAL AND CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THE COUNTRY, ARE
TRUE PATRIOTS, AND THEY LIVE BY THE RULE OF LAW, WHICH IS A
PHRASE WE'RE HEARING NOW, BECAUSE TRUMP DOESN'T
NECESSARILY DO THAT.
BUT THESE GUYS DO, AND THAT DRIVES THEM EVERY SINGLE DAY,
EVERY SINGLE YEAR, EVERY SINGLE ADMINISTRATION, THAT DOESN'T
CHANGE FROM THESE GUYS, AND IT WAS EYE OPENING TO SEE THEIR
DEVOTION, THEIR LIFE AND DEATH DEVOTION TO THAT IDEAL, WHICH IS
FOR THEM THE CONSTITUTION AND THE COUNTRY.
AND IT'S IN THE F.B.I. AND IT'S IN THE C.I.A., AND IT'S IN THOSE
PEOPLE, AND THAT GIVES ME HOPE THAT, WHEN THE CIRCUS GETS DONE
IN THE OVAL OFFICE, HOWEVER THAT FALLS OUT, AND IT WILL FALL OUT
BECAUSE THERE IS NOT THE BEHAVIOR OF AN INNOCENT MAN,
THAT WE WILL HAVE HEROS LIKE SOME PEOPLE IN THE F.B.I. AND
THE C.I.A., LIKE PEOPLE IN CONGRESS WHO ARE WILLING TO STEP
UP AND CHALLENGE THIS GUY, LIKE CHRIS RAY, LIKE ROSENSTEIN, ALL
THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GO, WHO'S GOING TO BE THE HERO?
PAUL RYAN, MITCH McCONNELL?
HOW LONG CAN YOU SIT ON THE TITANIC WHEN YOU CAN SEE THE
ICEBERG COMING?
WHEN ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO STEP UP?
BECAUSE THIS IS NOT JUST FUN AND GAMES AND HANGING ON TO AN
OFFICE BECAUSE WE'RE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THIS IS THE
ONLY WAY WE CAN HANG ON TO IT NOW.
THIS IS THE COUNTRY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, NOT YOUR PARTY.
AND IF YOUR PARTY HAS TO GO DOWN, THEN THAT'S WHAT HAS TO
HAPPEN.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) HERE COMES TWITTER.
>> Stephen: YOU ENJOY THAT.
I DON'T EVEN PAY ATTENTION.
>> STEPHEN: "THE LOOMING TOWER" IS AVAILABLE ON HULU NOW.
JEFF DANIELS, EVERYBODY!
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH KRYSTEN RITTER.