>>> BECAUSE IT’S A DAY SINCE WE’VE BEEN ON THE AIR THERE’S
NEW BREAKING NEWS TO BRING YOU
TONIGHT.
TONIGHT. THIS TIME IT’S THE "THE NEW YORK
TIMES" THAT’S JUST BROKEN NEWS,
SOME FAIRLY EXPLOSIVE NEWS ABOUT
THE TESTIMONY THAT JUST WRAPPED
UP TODAY FROM LIEUTENANT COLONEL
ALEXANDER VINDMAN WHO’S THE TOP
UKRAINIAN EXPERT ON THE NATIONAL
SECURITY COUNSEL.
SECURITY COUNSEL. WE KNOW BECAUSE "THE NEW YORK
TIMES" WAS THE FIRST TO REPORT
LAST NIGHT ON THE CONTENT OF
COLONEL VINDMAN’S OPENING
STATEMENT.
STATEMENT. WE KNOW HE WAS DUE TO TELL
CONGRESS TODAY IN THE
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS ABOUT
HIS CONCERNS AND THE FACT HE
RAISED AN INTERNAL ALARM AFTER
LISTENING IN ON THE PRESIDENT’S
CALL TO THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE
BECAUSE HE BELIEVED WHAT HE
HEARD WAS IMPROPER AND HE
REPORTED IT UP THE CHAIN OF
COMMAND.
COMMAND. NOW ACCORDING TO "THE NEW YORK
TIMES" WE’VE GOT MORE DETAIL AS
TO WHAT COLONEL VINDMAN
TESTIFIED ABOUT.
TESTIFIED ABOUT. LET ME JUST TELL YOU WHAT THE
LEAD OF THEIR PIECE IS.
QUOTE, LIEUTENANT COLONEL
ALEXANDER VINDMAN TOLD HOUSE
IMPEACHMENT INVESTIGATORS TODAY
THAT THE WHITE HOUSE TRANSCRIPT
OF A JULY CALL BETWEEN PRESIDENT
TRUMP AND UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT
OMITTED CRUCIAL WORDS AND
PHRASES AND THAT HIS ATTEMPTS TO
RESTORE THEM FAILED.
CITING THREE PEOPLE FAMILIAR
WITH THE TESTIMONY, THEY
DESCRIBED THIS BASIC PROCESS.
"THE TIMES" SAYS, QUOTE, THERE’S
NO RECORDING OF THE CALL AND
NOTE TAKING AS WELL AS VOICE
RECOGNITION SOFTWARE BUT NAMES
AND TECHNICAL TERMS ARE
FREQUENTLY MISSED BY THE
SOFTWARE ACCORDING TO PEOPLE
FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER.
AFTER THE CALL TOOK PLACE IN
WHICH COLONEL VINDMAN LISTENED
IN HE WAS GIVEN A HARD COPY OF
THE ROUGH TRANSCRIPT TO MAKE
UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS.
COLONEL VINDMAN WENT THROUGH THE
TRANSCRIPT, MADE CHANGES AND
GAVE HIS WRITTEN EDITS TO HIS
BOSS, TIMOTHY MORRISON, WHO’S
THE CURRENT DIRECTOR OF RUSSIAN
AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS AT THE
SECURITY COUNSEL.
SECURITY COUNSEL. BUT IN TERM OF WHAT VINDMAN
TRIED TO CORRECT IN THAT
TESTIMONY, THIS IS EXPLOSIVE,
THE OMISSIONS COLONEL VINDMAN
SAID INCLUDED PRESIDENT TRUMP’S
ASSERTION THAT THERE WERE
RECORDINGS OF JOE BIDEN
DISCUSSING UKRAINE CORRUPTION
AND AN EXPLICIT MENTION BY
UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT ZELENSKY OF
BURISMA HOLDINGS.
BURISMA HOLDINGS. COLONEL VINDMAN TOLD THE
IMPEACHMENT INVESTIGATORS TODAY
HE TRIED TO CHANGE THE
CONSTRUCTED TRANSCRIPT MADE BY
WHITE HOUSE STAFF TO THOSE
OMISSIONS BUT THOSE TWO
CORRECTIONS WERE NOT MADE.
COLONEL VINDMAN -- DRIVING
FURTHER QUESTIONS HOW OFFICIALS
HANDLED THE CALL AND THE
DECISION TO PUT IT INTO THE
WHITE HOUSE’S MOST CLASSIFIED
COMPUTER SYSTEM AND ALSO DRIVE
QUESTIONS WHETHER THOSE MOVES
WERE MEANT TO CONSEAL THE CALL’S
MOST CONTROVERSIAL ASPECTS.
YEAH, IT WILL.
JOINING US NOW IS MICHAEL
McFALL, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO
RUSSIA.
RUSSIA. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US
TONIGHT.
TONIGHT. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU MAKING
THE TIME.
THE TIME. >> SURE.
>> SURE. GLAD TO BE HERE, RACHEL.
>> COUPLE OF THINGS GOING ON
HERE.
HERE. I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT YOUR
EXPERIENCE WITH COLONEL VINDMAN,
YOUR REACTION TO THE WAY HIS
TESTIMONY WAS TREATED TODAY.
I DO HAVE TO ASK YOUR REACTION
TO THE BREAKING NEWS JUST COMING
OUT FROM "THE NEW YORK TIMES" HE
MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED AND SEEMS
LIKE WAS PROPERLY INVOLVED IN
TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE WHITE
HOUSE TRANSCRIPTS SLASH NOTES OF
THAT CALL WERE ACCURATE BUT WHEN
HE TRIED TO MATERIALLY FILL IN
NOTES LEFT OUT OF THAT
TRANSCRIPT IT WAS REJECTED.
>> I WORKED THREE YEARS AS THE
SENIOR DIRECTOR, LISTENED TO
MANY PHONE CALLS AND MY
DIRECTORS WRITE THE EQUIVALENT,
THEY FREQUENTLY WOULD SIT DOWN
THERE IN THE SITUATION ROOM NEXT
TO THE TRANSCRIBERS SO THE
DIRECTORS WOULD LISTEN AS WELL
AND THEN CORRECT THE RECORD JUST
TO MAKE SURE THEY GET ALL THE
FACTS RIGHT, ESPECIALLY AS YOU
JUST NOTED THE PROPER NOUNS,
RIGHT?
RIGHT? WHO KNOWS WHAT BURISMA?
THERE’S A GUY WHO DOES KNOW WHAT
BURISMA IS, IT’S COLONEL
VINDMAN.
VINDMAN. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE AN OFFICIAL
RECORD.
RECORD. SO THAT WAS LEFT OUT.
IT IS SHOCKING TO ME.
THAT IS NOT STANDARD OPERATING
PROCEDURE.
PROCEDURE. >> IF THERE IS A SCANDAL HERE,
IF THERE IS SOMETHING
POTENTIALLY CRIMINAL HERE IN
TERMS OF THE WHITE HOUSE TRYING
TO BASICALLY LOCK DOWN THE
EVIDENCE ABOUT THE PRESIDENT’S
BEHAVIOR HERE, IMPROPERLY
CLASSIFYING THIS MATERIAL OR
MOVING IT OR MAKING SURE THAT
THE RECORDS WERE NOT CORRECT,
DELIBERATELY TO TRY TO PREVENT
PEOPLE FROM KNOWING EITHER
INSIDE THE GOVERNMENT OR
ULTIMATELY IN THIS KIND OF
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDING KNOWING
AN ACCURATE RECORD OF WHAT
HAPPENED, DO YOU BELIEVE THE
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS WILL BE
ABLE TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF
THAT?
THAT? ARE THESE PROCESSES IN THE WHITE
HOUSE LEAVE ENOUGH OF A TRAIL
THAT INVESTIGATORS WILL BE ABLE
TO FIND IT?
>> I’M NOT SURE, RACHEL.
THAT’S A GREAT QUESTION.
I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER.
IT WOULD BE HARD -- I HAD READ
MULTIPLE TRANSCRIPTS IN MY TIME
AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
IT WOULD BE HARD FOR ME TO
RETRACE LIKE WHO IS THE ONE THAT
ACTUALLY DID IT FINAL EDITS.
USUALLY IT’S THE DIRECTOR IN
CHARGE, RIGHT?
CHARGE, RIGHT? USUALLY IT WOULD BE ME, THE
SENIOR DIRECTOR AND MY
DIRECTORS, THAT IS PEOPLE AT THE
LEVEL THAT COLONEL VINDMAN WAS
SERVING THAT WOULD HAVE THE
FINAL SAY.
FINAL SAY. THIS SOUNDS LIKE IT OBVIOUSLY
WASN’T.
WASN’T. BUT WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR
THAT, I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU WOULD
TRACE THAT.
TRACE THAT. I DO THINK IT UNDERSCORES
SOMETHING WE’VE TALKED ABOUT
BEFORE.
BEFORE. IF THIS WAS A PERFECT CALL AND
THERE’S NOTHING TO HIDE, WHY DID
THEY PUT IT ON THIS SUPER SECRET
SERVER?
SERVER? WHY ARE WE NOW LEARNING THAT
THEY DID NOT PUT IN FACTUALLY
CORRECT CORRECTIONS THAT COLONEL
VINDMAN WAS TRYING TO PUT IN THE
OFFICIAL RECORD?
OFFICIAL RECORD? >> ONE OF THE REASONS I WANTED
TO TALK TO YOU TONIGHT, SIR, IS
BECAUSE I KNOW FROM YOUR TWITTER
FEED TODAY YOU SAID YOU SERVED
WITH COLONEL VINDMAN IN MOSKOW.
YOU CALLED HIM A PATRIOT AND A
FIRST RATE MILITARY ATTACHE, ONE
OF THE BEST ON THE TEAM.
I WANT TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO
RESPOND TO THE ATTACKS ON HIM,
FROM SOME OF THE PRESIDENT’S
SUPPORTERS IN CONGRESS
ESSENTIALLY QUESTIONING HIS
PATRIOTISM, DESCRIBING HIM OZ
HAVING SOME SORT OF SUSPECT
LOYALTIES BECAUSE HE’S FROM AN
IMMIGRANT FAMILY.
IMMIGRANT FAMILY. >> FIRST, RACHEL, I WANT TO
THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU ALREADY
SAID ABOUT HIM BEFORE THE BREAK.
SECOND, WE LIVE IN A POLARIZED
SOCIETY.
SOCIETY. HERE AT STANFORD WE STUDY THE
CAUSES OF POLARIZATION.
I PERSONALLY DEAL WITH IT.
I KNOW YOU PERSONALLY DEAL WITH.
I FELT YESTERDAY WE REACHED A
NEW LOW, HOWEVER.
WHEN I SAY WHAT PEOPLE WERE
SAYING ABOUT DUAL LOYALTITIES,
HYPHENATED AG
HYPHENATED AG HYPHENATED
HYPHENATED HYPHENATED ADJECTIVES AND EVEN
ONE SUGGESTION OF ESPIONAGE
BECAUSE HE TALKS TO UKRAINIAN
OFFICIALS, THAT’S IN HIS JOB
DESCRIPTION, BY THE WAY WORKING
AT THE NATIONAL SECURITY
COUNSEL.
COUNSEL. AND I FOUND IT COMPLETELY
OUTRAGEOUS.
OUTRAGEOUS. YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE WE COME TO
THAT PEOPLE THAT SIGN-UP TO
SERVE IN OUR COUNTRY IN HARMS
WAY, IN IRAQ AND ALSO THE
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNSEL AND IN
OUR EMBASSIES AND KIEV AND
MOSKOW, WE’VE DONE THIS BEFORE
AND IT REALLY TROUBLES ME ANYONE
WOULD INSINUATE ANYTHING ABOUT
THAT.
THAT. HE WAS A FIRST RATE MILITARY
OFFICER AND HE WAS OUT STANDING
AND APPOINTED BECAUSE HE IS ONE
OF THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST.
AND THE IDEA THAT SOMEONE WITH
HIS RÉSUMÉ WOULD NOT SERVE THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS JUST
DISGUSTING.
DISGUSTING. IT’S OUTRAGEOUS.
IT’S OUTRAGEOUS. AND I WANT THOSE PEOPLE TO
APOLOGIZE TO REMEMBER WHAT
THEY’RE DOING WHEN THEY TAKE
CHEAP SHOTS AT PEOPLE LIKE
COLONEL VINDMAN WHEN THEY DON’T
KNOW HIS BACKGROUND AND THEY
DON’T KNOW HIS HISTORY.
>> SIR, THANK YOU FOR BEING
HERE.
HERE. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU TAKING
THE TIME.
THE TIME. >> THANKS FOR LETTING ME SAY ALL