>>> THIS MORNING AT 8:08 A.M. ON "FOX & FRIENDS," KELLYANNE
CONWAY SHARED A DIRTY LITTLE
SECRET ABOUT NANCY PELOSI AND
THE DEMOCRATS’ IMPEACHMENT
RESOLUTION.
RESOLUTION. >> GUESS WHAT?
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET.
THEY DON’T HAVE THE VOTES.
>> AND THREE HOURS LATER,
KELLYANNE CONWAY’S LITTLE SECRET
WAS ONCE AGAIN REVEALED, WHICH
IS THAT SHE DOESN’T KNOW
ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING.
AND SO UNDER NANCY PELOSI’S
LEADERSHIP TONIGHT, THE
DEMOCRATS ARE FINALLY FORMALLY
ENGAGED IN THE IMPEACHMENT
PROCESS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP AND
UNIFIED IN THAT PROCESS.
JOINING US NOW IS EZRA KLEIN,
EDITOR AT LARGE AT FOX AND HOST
OF THE NEW PODCAST IMPEACHMENT
EXPLAINED.
EXPLAINED. AND EZRA, IT’S OUR TWO-YEAR
ANNIVERSARY.
ANNIVERSARY. TWO YEARS AGO THAT WE FIRST, YOU
AND I FIRST DISCUSSED THIS
SUBJECT TOGETHER HERE ON THIS
PROGRAM AFTER YOU’D WRITTEN A
LONG AND THOUGHTFUL PIECE ABOUT
IMPEACHMENT AND HOW IT FITS BOTH
IN OUR PSYCHE AND OUR POLITICS.
WE ARE FINALLY HERE.
YOUR REACTION TO WHAT HAPPENED
IN THE HOUSE TODAY.
>> FIRST THE FIRST THING I
THOUGHT WAS THE IMPLICIT THEORY
OF PRESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
BEING PUT FORWARD BY THE
REPUBLICANS WHICH THERE SHOULD
BE NONE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
WHEN A REPUBLICAN IS IN OFFICE
IS PRETTY CONSTITUTIONALLY
SCARY.
SCARY. WHAT GOT PUT FORWARD TODAY WAS
NOT IMPEACHMENT BUT IMPEACHMENT
INQUIRY.
INQUIRY. I THINK YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE
BLIND TO WHAT WAS GOING ON TO AT
LEAST NOT LOOK BOO IT.
REPUBLICANS GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY
TO VOTE FOR A PUBLIC HEARING
PROCESS WHERE THEY WOULD GET
THEIR LEAD ON THE RELEVANT
COMMITTEE WOULD GET 45 MINUTES
TO QUESTION WITNESSES, IT’S I
THINK PRETTY SCARY, AND I THINK
IT FOREVER SHREDS THE IDEA THAT
ANY OF THESE PEOPLE ARE
CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATIVES.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATIVES. AND THE OTHER THING TO WHAT YOU
JUST HAD FROM KELLYANNE CONWAY,
THE WORST BET TO EVER MAKE IN
WASHINGTON IS THAT NANCY PELOSI
HAS NOT COUNTED THE VOTES.
.
. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. THERE IS NOTHING CLEARER THAN
THAT.
THAT. AND IT’S ONE OF THOSE GREAT
LITTLE MOMENTS BECAUSE IT JUST
SHOWS THAT THE ENTIRE KELLYANNE
CONWAY IS JUST AN ACT.
THE WHOLE THING IS JUST THIS
INVENTION.
INVENTION. THERE IS NOTHING IN IT EVER.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE AS WE
GO FORWARD?
GO FORWARD? WE HAVE NOT HEARD ANY
SUBSTANTIVE DEFENSE OF THE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. THE PRESIDENT IS TONIGHT TELLING
"THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER" THAT
HIS ENTIRE DEFENSE IS WHAT THE
PROSECUTION THINKS IS THE ENTIRE
PROSECUTION, WHICH IS THE ROUGH
TRANSCRIPT OF THE CALL.
PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYING HE WANTS
TO HAVE A FIRESIDE CHAT ON TV
WHERE HE READS THE TRANSCRIPT OF
HIS PHONE CALL WITH THE
PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE.
AND THAT IS EXACTLY THE THING
THAT THE DEMOCRATS SAY CONDEMNS
THE PRESIDENT.
THE PRESIDENT. >> I DON’T KNOW, MAN.
WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY TO
THAT?
THAT? THE THING THAT IS THE SCARIEST
PIECE OF ALL THIS TO ME IS NOT
THAT TRUMP DID IT.
IT’S THAT SOMEWHERE IN THERE I
THINK IT IS ACTUALLY PLAUSIBLE
THAT TRUMP BELIEVES HE DID
NOTHING WRONG, THAT HE BELIEVES
HE IS SO CONFLATED HIS OWN
INTERESTS WITH THAT OF THE
COUNTRY THAT HE BELIEVES IT
WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECTLY FINE,
IN FACT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE
RIGHT THING FOR HIM TO DO AS
PRESIDENT TO TRY TO USE THE
POWER OF HIS OFFICE TO EXTORT
ANOTHER COUNTRY INTO
INVESTIGATING A DOMESTIC
POLITICAL RIVAL BECAUSE HE SAW A
CONSPIRACY THEORY ON "FOX &
FRIENDS," OR WHEREVER IT WAS HE
INITIALLY SAW IT.
I THINK IT’S A REAL PROBLEM.
IT’S ONE THING TO HAVE CYNICAL
PLAYERS IN THE HOUSE WHO ARE IN
A MACHIAVELLIAN WAY KNOWINGLY
BETRAYING THE COUNTRY IN THEIR
OWN INTERESTS.
OWN INTERESTS. THAT’S BAD.
THAT’S BAD. IN SOME WAYS IT’S ALMOST WORST
TO HAVE THE BULL IN THE CHINA
SHOP WHO DOESN’T EVEN REALIZE
WHAT THEY’RE DOING IS WRONG.
THAT’S GENUINELY DANGEROUS,
BECAUSE IN THIS, AS IN SO MANY
THINGS GOING BACK TO THE PIECE
THAT YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT NOW,
ONE OF THE THINGS LURKING BEHIND
ALL OF THIS IS DONALD TRUMP IS
NOT FIT FOR THE JOB THAT HE
HOLDS.
HOLDS. THAT SOMETIMES COMES OUT THROUGH
CORRUPTION.
CORRUPTION. SOMETIMES COMES OUT THROUGH
CORRUPTION AND SOMETIMES THROUGH
INCOMPETENCE AND BAD JUDGMENT
LIKE REAL READ THE CALL IN A
FIRESIDE CHAT BECAUSE IT’S THE
THING THAT HAS LAUNCHED AN
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDING AGAINST
YOU THAT IS ONE OF THE MANY,
MANY THINGS HERE THAT IS SCARY
ABOUT DONALD TRUMP.
THAT’S ANOTHER ONE.
>> A THE TIME WHEN YOU WERE
WRITING TWO YEARS AGO, THE WORRY
THAT WE ALL HAD WAS THAT DONALD
TRUMP COULD FIND HIMSELF IN A
NUCLEAR EXCHANGE WITH NORTH
KOREA AT THAT POINT.
THINGS WERE GOING SO BADLY, AND
HIS BEHAVIOR WAS PUBLICLY SO
ERRATIC ABOUT THAT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS YOU ARGUED
FOR WAS JUST RELAXING A LITTLE
BIT ABOUT IMPEACHMENT.
.
. EVERYONE IN PUBLIC OFFICE WHEN
THEY TALK ABOUT IT, I THINK IT’S
MANDATORY FOR THEM TO SAY THAT
IT’S VERY SAD AND IT’S VERY SAD
THAT IT HAS COME TO THIS.
NO ONE THINKS IT’S GOING TO BE
VERY SAD IF YOU HAVE TO GET RID
OF THE CEO OF BOEING BECAUSE
THEIR PLANES CRASH.
THEY THINK IT’S WHAT YOU DO.
AND YOU’RE MAKING AN ARGUMENT
THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT THIS A
LITTLE BIT MORE THE WAY
CORPORATE AMERICA LOOKS AT
CHANGING CEOs WHEN THEY HAVE TO.
>> OR THE WAY THE FOUNDERS
LOOKED AT IT.
JAMES MADISON SAID THE PRESIDENT
SHOULD BE IMPEACHED FOR REMOVING
MERITORIOUS OFFICERS WANTONLY.
IT WAS TALKED ABOUT OFTEN AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE COUNTRY THAT
IMPEACHMENT WAS THE WAY TO DEAL
WITH AN OUT-OF-CONTROL
EXECUTIVE.
EXECUTIVE. IT WAS NOT CONSIDERED AN
UNBELIEVABLE SCAR THE COUNTRY
WOULD NEVER RECOVER FROM.
AS YOU SAY, WITH THE BOEING
EXAMPLE, THE IDEA THAT THE MOST
POWERFUL PERSON IN THE COUNTRY
WOULD BE THE ONE WITH THE MOST
JOB SECURITY, THAT THERE WOULD
BE NOTHING TO DO IN BETWEEN
ELECTIONS THAT THERE WAS NOTHING
TO DO IS WILD.
THE ONLY REASON THAT DONALD
TRUMP SITS IN THAT CHAIR AT ALL
IS FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS
HE APPEARED ON OUR TELEVISION
SCREENS FOR FIRING PEOPLE FOR
APPARENTLY NOT DOING A GOOD JOB
IN DUMB GAMES.
WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIRE
SOMEONE FOR DOING A TERRIBLE JOB
AND ABUSING POWER AND PUTTING
THE COUNTRY’S LEVERAGE AT RISK
IN ORDER TO FURTHER THEIR OWN