SUSAN PAGE, FRANCO ORDONIEZ, AND GOSH GERSTEIN JOIN ME, THANKS TO
ALL OF YOU FOR BEING WHEN YOU
SAW SUSAN, LET ME START WITH
YOU.
YOU. WE HEARD FROM THE PRESIDENT
TONIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI,
STAUNCHLY RED STATE, STAUNCHLY
PRO TRUMP STATE.
THEY HAVE AN ELECTION THERE NEXT
TUESDAY, THAT’S OSTENSIBLY THE
REASON HE’S THERE.
THOSE CLIPS WE PLAYED WHERE HE
ADDRESSED THE IMPEACHMENT
HEAD-ON, DEMEANED THE PROCESS,
WENT AFTER DEMOCRATS, HE SAID IN
FRONT OF THAT AUDIENCE.
WAS HIS REAL AUDIENCE IN PART
THERE REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS, WAS THIS AN ATTEMPT TO
REMIND THEM THAT THE BASE OF THE
PARTY IS WITH HIM AND
ESSENTIALLY TO DELIVER THE
MESSAGE, YOU DON’T WANT THAT
BASE TURNING ON YOU, DO YOU?
>> THIS HAS BEEN A VERY
SUCCESSFUL ARGUMENT FOR
PRESIDENT TRUMP.
PRESIDENT TRUMP. YOU LOOK AT THE IMPEACHMENT VOTE
WE SAW IN THE HOUSE AND THERE
WERE ZERO REPUBLICAN DEFECTIONS,
EVEN AMONG SOME REPUBLICANS WHO
HAVE BEEN CRITICAL ABOUT TRUMP’S
BEHAVIOR IN THIS MATTER, HAVE
RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, AND
ARE NOT RUNNING FOR REELECTION,
CHOSE NOT TO BREAK WITH THE
PRESIDENT ON THIS VOTE.
THAT IS A SIGN OF THE STRENGTH
THE PRESIDENT CONTINUES TO
COMMAND WITH BASE REPUBLICAN
VOTERS WHO CONTINUE TO SEE THIS
PROCESS AS POLITICAL, OR
DESCRIBED HIS BEHAVIOR AS MAYBE
IT WAS THE WRONG THING TO DO BUT
DOESN’T RISE TO THE LEVEL OF
IMPEACHMENT.
IMPEACHMENT. WE DON’T HAVE AN ARGUMENT THAT
HE DIDN’T DO THESE THINGS, THAT
HE DIDN’T HAVE A CONVERSATION
WITH THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT,
THAT HE DIDN’T RAISE THE ISSUE
OF INVESTIGATIONS AS A QUID PRO
QUO FOR THE RELEASE OF MILITARY
AID.
AID. INSTEAD WE HEAR THIS ARGUMENT
THAT THE PRESIDENT MADE TONIGHT,
THAT IT DOESN’T RISE TO
IMPEACHMENT AND THE DEMOCRATS
ARE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED.
>> JOSH, AGAIN, THIS QUESTION OF
WHETHER THE REPUBLICANS ARE
GOING TO CONTINUE TO STICK WITH
THE PRESIDENT THROUGH THIS
PROCESS, NOT JUST IN THE HOUSE
BUT ULTIMATELY IN A SENATE TRIAL
IF IT COMES TO THAT, THE
QUESTION IS WILL THEY STICK WITH
HIM THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT
REVELATIONS THAT CONTINUE TO
COME OUT?
COME OUT? IT MIGHT BE A GOOD MOMENT, LATE
AT NIGHT HERE AT THE END OF WHAT
HAS BEEN A VERY BUSY WEEK EVEN
BY THE VERY BUSY STANDARDS THAT
WASHINGTON HAS BEEN HELD TO
LATELY, WHAT WERE THE MAJOR
PIECES OF TESTIMONY THAT WERE
PRESENTED THIS WEEK THAT MOVED
THE BALL ON THE QUESTION OF
EVIDENCE THAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE
GOING TO USE AGAINST THE
PRESIDENT HERE?
PRESIDENT HERE? >> ONE YOU POINTED TO EARLIER,
STEVE, THIS THING THAT’S JUST
COME OUT TODAY ABOUT LIEUTENANT
COLONEL VINDMAN BEING TOLD BY A
WHITE HOUSE LAWYER THAT HE
SHOULD NOT DISCUSS THE CONTENTS
OF THE PHONE CALL THAT THE
PRESIDENT HAD, THE FACT THAT THE
PHONE CALL WAS MOVED ONTO THIS
N.I.C.E. SYSTEM, WHICH IS THIS
SORT OF ULTRA-TOP-SECRET SYSTEM
AT THE WHITE HOUSE TO PERHAPS
PREVENT OTHER PEOPLE FROM
LEARNING ABOUT IT.
AND THEN THERE’S ALSO SOME
DISAGREEMENT, I THINK, BETWEEN
SOME OF THE WITNESSES, YOU KNOW,
AMBASSADOR SONDLAND HAD SORT OF
DOWNPLAYED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
SOME OF THESE INTERACTIONS, AND
OTHER WITNESSES WHO CAME IN WERE
IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH HIM.
AND THEN HE STARTED TO BACK OFF
FROM SOME OF HIS TESTIMONY.
SO THAT RAISES THE POSSIBILITY
THAT IF WE DO HAVE OPEN
HEARINGS, YOU MIGHT HEAR
DIFFERING STORIES FROM DIFFERENT
WITNESSES.
WITNESSES. AND AT LEAST THE POSSIBILITY OF
SOME DRAMA OR SOME REVELATIONS.
WHETHER THAT’S GOING TO BE
ENOUGH TO CAUSE ANY REPUBLICANS
IN THE HOUSE OR IN THE SENATE TO
CHANGE THEIR VIEWS, I DON’T
KNOW.
KNOW. BUT IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT SOME
REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE ARE
SIGNALING THAT THEY’RE ALREADY
BREAKING TO A DEGREE WITH THE
WHITE HOUSE LINE AND SAYING THAT
THIS WAS NOT A PERFECT PHONE
CALL, BUT IT STILL DOESN’T
AMOUNT TO AN IMPEACHABLE
OFFENSE.
OFFENSE. >> LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THAT,
WHAT YOU’RE MENTIONING, JOSH.
THERE’S AN EMERGING LINE OF
THOUGHT AMONG REPUBLICAN
SENATORS, ACCORDING TO "THE
WASHINGTON POST," A GROWING
NUMBER OF SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE
READY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP USED U.S.
MILITARY AID AS LEVERAGE.
IN THE SHIFTING STRATEGY TO
DEFEND TRUMP, THESE REPUBLICANS
ARE INSISTING THAT THE
PRESIDENT’S ACTION WAS NOT
ILLEGAL AND DOES NOT RISE TO THE
LEVEL OF AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE.
THE PRESIDENT HAS FRUSTRATED
SENATE REPUBLICANS BY SEEMING TO
CHANGE HIS MESSAGING STRATEGY
EVERY DAY RATHER THAN PRESENT A
COHERENT DEFENSE OF HIS ACTIONS.
FRANCO, IT’S INTERESTING BECAUSE
I HAVE GOTTEN THE SENSE FROM
SOME REPUBLICANS, THE ONES WHO
ARE NOT OFFERING THE
FULL-THROATED DEFENSE OF TRUMP,
THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO FIND A
MIDDLE GROUND WHERE THEY CAN
TAKE ISSUE WITH THE CALL AND
SOME OF THESE ACTIONS THAT HAVE
COME TO LIGHT WITH REGARD TO
UKRAINE WITHOUT REACHING THE
POINT WHERE THEY SAY, OKAY, HE
SHOULD BE IMPEACHED, HE SHOULD
BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE.
READING THIS ARTICLE IN "THE
WASHINGTON POST," WHAT STRIKES
ME IS IF THEY TAKE THIS
APPROACH, IT STILL PUTS THEM
DIRECTLY AT ODDS WITH THE
PRESIDENT WHOSE OFFICIAL LINE IS
THIS CALL WAS PERFECT.
>> IT’S A VERY DIFFICULT
POSITION FOR THE REPUBLICANS TO
BE IN.
BE IN. YOU KNOW, THE REPUBLICANS AND
PRESIDENT TRUMP KEEP TALKING
ABOUT THE JULY 25th CALL.
BUT AS JEFF STATED, YOU KNOW,
THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY PEOPLE
COME FORWARD, SO MUCH TESTIMONY,
AND THE CHARGES GO BACK WAY
BEFORE THE JULY 25th CALL.
YOU HAVE AMBASSADOR TAYLOR, YOU
HAVE VINDMAN TALKING ABOUT
CONCERNS ABOUT THIS SHADOW
FOREIGN POLICY, STARTING WELL
BEFORE THEN.
BEFORE THEN. FIONA HILL TALKING ABOUT LAST
YEAR, CONCERNS THAT GIULIANI,
THE PRESIDENT’S PRIVATE
ATTORNEY, KIND OF LEADING THIS
CHARGE TO PUT MORE PRESSURE ON
THE UKRAINE TO DO THIS
INVESTIGATION OF JOE BIDEN AND
HIS SON.
HIS SON. REPUBLICANS CAN NO LONGER, AT
LEAST IT’S MAKING IT MUCH, MUCH
HARDER FOR THEM TO JUST TALK
ABOUT THIS PHONE CALL.
IT’S ALSO BECOMING, AS YOU POINT
OUT, HARDER TO NOT SAY THAT THE
PRESIDENT PUT THIS PRESSURE ON
THE UKRAINE GOVERNMENT.