>>> WELCOME BACK. JOIN ING
JOIN ING JOINING US NOW SYDNEY
BLUMENTHAL.
BLUMENTHAL. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> HOW DO THEY HIGHLIGHT U.S.
FOREIGN POLICY?
FOREIGN POLICY? >> JOHN SOLOMON’S WORK, WHICH
LAID OUT THE BEGINNINGS OF WHAT
HAS NOW BECOME AN IMPEACHMENT
INQUIRY INTO PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP WAS NOT JOURNALISM.
IT WAS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A
DISINFORMATION OPERATION.
DISINFORMATION OPERATION. IT WAS FALSE INFORMATION PUT OUT
AS PROPAGANDA TO CREATE A
CERTAIN POLITICAL OUTCOME.
AND THAT’S WHY IT WAS PUT OUT.
THERE’S A GOOD DEAL WE DON’T
KNOW ABOUT IT.
WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE SOURCES OF IT.
WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE MONEY BEHIND IT.
WE CERTAINLY SEE THAT JOHN
SOLOMON IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS
GIULIANI GANG, AND HE HAS MANY
CONNECTIONS TO IT.
LEV PARNAS, GIULIANI’S
ASSOCIATE, WAS HIRED BY SOLOMON
AS A, QUOTE, TRANSLATOR.
PARNAS ALSO WAS HIRED BY
SOLOMON’S LAWYERS, JOE DEGENOVA
AS A, QUOTE, TRANSLATOR WORKING
FOR ANOTHER CLIENT OF THEIRS,
WHO WAS, WE NOW KNOW, ONE OF THE
SOURCES OF HIS MATERIAL, DMITRY
FERTOSH, UKRAINIAN OLIGARCH,
CLOSELY TIED TO VLADIMIR PUTIN
AND RUSH RUSSIAN MAFIA, UNDER
INDICTMENT FOR CORRUPTION IN THE
UNITED STATES AND IS FIGHTING
EXTRADITION.
EXTRADITION. >> SIDNEY, ANY ONE OF THOSE
THINGS SOUNDS BAD.
YOU JUST NAMED LIKE FIVE BAD
THINGS.
THINGS. YOUR REPORTING LAYS IT OUT.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY
FROM ALL OF THIS SUSPICIOUS
SMOKE AND THE MESSAGE
COORDINATION THAT YOU WROTE
ABOUT THAT WE JUST SHOWED WHERE
FOX AND TRUMP AND EVERYONE WANTS
TO BUILD THIS PERSON UP AS IF
THEY’RE AN AWARD-WINNING
JOURNALIST WHEN WHAT YOU’RE
ARGUING IS THEY’RE ASSOCIATED
WITH INDICTED INDIVIDUALS AND
FOREIGN MONEY, TO SOME DEGREE.
AND "THE HILL" HAS PREVIOUSLY
GOTTEN CAUGHT PUBLISHING
MATERIAL THAT WAS SECRETLY
FUNDED TO THE DEGREE THAT
MUELLER WAS INVESTIGATING IT AS
BREAKING FOREIGN LOBBYING LAWS,
WHERE DOES IT ALL LAND FROM
HERE?
HERE? >> WE NEED TO GET TO -- YOU
KNOW, UNPACK EACH OF THE DOLLS
AND JOHN SOLOMON, WHEN WE LOOK
AT HIS WORK, WE SEE GIULIANI
WITH WHOM HE HAD A BUSINESS
DEAL, WAS TRYING TO DEVELOP ONE,
AND WITH WHOM HE IS WORKING HAND
IN GLOVE.
IN GLOVE. AND GIULIANI SENT HIS BOGUS
ARTICLES TO SECRETARY OF STATE
MIKE POMPEO.
MIKE POMPEO. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> IN ORDER TO FIRE U.S.
AMBASSADOR MARIE YOVANOVITCH.
AND THAT WAS A VERY DELIBERATE
DISINFORMATION OPERATION ON
SOLOMON’S PART.
SOLOMON’S PART. >> LET ME ASK YOU THIS.
SO MANY DETAILS THERE ARE, BUT
DO YOU THINK THEY’RE
FUNDAMENTALLY GOOD AT THIS
BECAUSE THEY GOT THIS FAR OR
FUNDAMENTALLY BAD AT IT BECAUSE
IT BLEW UP AND BECAME BASICALLY
THE ROAD TO TRUMP’S IMPEACHMENT?
>> WELL, THEY GOT TRIPPED UP BY
THE PROFESSIONALS ON THE INSIDE
WHO, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTOOD THAT
THIS WAS A VIOLATION OF U.S.
NATIONAL SECURITY, AND THEY WENT
TO ONE OF THEIR OWN, WHO IS THE
WHISTLE-BLOWER, WHO WROTE IT UP.
AND IT’S ONLY BECAUSE OF THAT
THAT WE KNOW ABOUT THIS.
OTHERWISE, THIS MAY WELL HAVE
BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
BEEN SUCCESSFUL. TRUMP HIMSELF IS TRYING TO
REPLICATE WHAT HE DID WITH
HILLARY CLINTON IN 2016 AND THE
EMAILS.
EMAILS. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. THAT’S SUCH AN IMPORTANT POINT I
WANT TO SLOW DOWN ON.
THEY LEARNED WITH THE EMAILS, IT
WAS NOT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON
ACTUALLY GETTING INDICTED,
RIGHT?
RIGHT? IT WASN’T ABOUT THAT.
IT WAS ABOUT HAVING ENOUGH SMOKE
ENDLESSLY THAT EVEN REASONABLE
PEOPLE, NOT THE CORE HANNITY
AUDIENCE, AND YOU KNOW THIS FROM
THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN
POLITICS, I HEARD SO MANY BAD
THINGS, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE’S
SOMETHING THERE.
SOMETHING THERE. >> TRUMP HAD IDENTIFIED JOE
BIDEN AS HIS LIKELY OPPONENT, AS
THE DEMOCRATIC FRONT-RUNNER AND
MOST FORMIDABLE ADVERSARY, THE
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT, AND HE
WANTED TO DEVELOP SOMETHING THAT
WAS THE FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT OF
HOW THE EMAILS WORKED AGAINST
HILLARY CLINTON IN 2016.
>> THAT’S INTERESTING, SIDNEY.
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE CONNECT THIS
DIRECTLY TO EMAILS.
IT MAY BE OBVIOUS TO YOU BECAUSE
YOU WRITE ABOUT IT AND YOU’RE A
BRIGHT GUY.
BRIGHT GUY. THAT’S NOT WHAT WE’VE HEARD.
BIDEN IS EMAILS 2.0.
>> THIS IS -- THINK ABOUT IT AS
A POLITICAL TACTIC, AS A
STRATEGY.
STRATEGY. TRUMP FELT THAT IT WORKED
BEFORE.
BEFORE. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> HE HAS TAKEN SOME OF THE
MATERIAL THAT WAS DEVELOPED IN
THE FIRST CASE, IN THE HILLARY
CLINTON CASE AND THEN WORKED AT
IT.
IT. AND JOHN SOLOMON HAS BEEN
INVOLVED IN THAT.
>> SIDNEY, BEFORE I LET YOU GO,
I’M GOING TO PLAY OLD-SCHOOL
BLUMENTHAL.
BLUMENTHAL. HERE YOU WERE, AS A WITNESS
AMONG OTHER THINGS.
TAKE A LOOK.
>> DID THE PRESIDENT THEN GIVE
YOU HIS ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED
BETWEEN HIM AND MONICA LEWINSKY?
>> AS I RECALL, HE DID.
>> WHAT DID THE PRESIDENT TELL
YOU?
YOU? >> HE SPOKE FAIRLY RAPIDLY, AS I
RECALL, AT THAT POINT, AND SAID
THAT SHE HAD COME ON TO HIM.
>> CAN YOU DESCRIBE FOR US THE
PRESIDENT’S DEMEANOR WHEN HE
SHARED THIS INFORMATION WITH
YOU?
YOU? >> YES.
>> YES. HE WAS VERY UPSET.
I THOUGHT HE WAS BAD AT ENGLISH.
>> BIG PICTURE, AS SOMEONE WHO
HAS BEEN THROUGH A WHITE HOUSE
WHEN THERE’S BEEN A CRIMINAL
PROBE AND IMPEACHMENT, DIFFERENT
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS, BUT WHAT DO
YOU SEE IN TODAY’S BATTLES AT
THE WHITE HOUSE WHEN WE SEE
MULVANEY AND THE LAWYERS
FIGHTING, WE SEE BOLTON LOOKING
TO TESTIFY, WHAT JUMPS OUT TO
YOU, BIG PICTURE GIVEN THE
UNIQUE EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE?
>> WELL, ONE POINT THAT I WOULD
MAKE IS THAT I WAS A SENIOR
ADVISER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON.
MY TITLE WAS ASSISTANT TO THE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. AND I FULLY COOPERATED AND
TESTIFIED TRUTHFULLY BEFORE THE
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL.
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. AND I COOPERATED AS WELL WITH
THE INDEPENDENT COUNSEL.
AND SO DID MANY OTHER PEOPLE IN
THE WHITE HOUSE, INCLUDING THE
CHIEF OF STAFF, JOHN PODESTA.
AND TODAY I SEE THAT MEMBERS OF
THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF AND THE
ADMINISTRATION ARE NOT
COOPERATING.
COOPERATING. AND I URGE THEM TO COOPERATE AND
TO TESTIFY TRUTHFULLY.
>> WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU THINK IT
SENDS ON THE ISSUE OF THIS
NATIONAL SECURITY IMPORT WHEN
THEY WON’T GO TELL THEIR STORY
TO CONGRESS?
TO CONGRESS? >> IT’S AN OBVIOUS MESSAGE THAT
THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE.
AND THERE’S MORE THAT THERE IS
TO LEARN ABOUT THIS.
THEY KNOW THAT THEY ARE
SHIELDING FROM THE PUBLIC, AND
THEY OUGHT TO TESTIFY.
>> SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL FOR THE
REASONS MENTIONED, QUITE A
UNIQUE GUEST.
UNIQUE GUEST. HOPE YOU WILL COME BACK TO "THE
BEAT."
BEAT." YOUR BOOK "ALL THE POWERS OF