ELIZABETH:
BACK WITH ME IS FORMER TRUMP DEP
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER KT
McFARLAND, AND JOINING US IS
FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR JIM
TRUSTY.
FIRST TO YOU, JIM.
YOUR TAKE ON NEWLY-DECLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS RELEASED BY SENATE
JUDICIARY ABOUT THE TRUMP-RUSSIA
PROBE.
>> THERE’S A LOT TO PARSE
THROUGH, THERE’S 11 TRANSCRIPTS,
THERE’S A LOT OF CENTRAL FIGURES
WHOSE STORIES ARE GOING TO BE
MORE COMPLETE NOW.
I THINK, I KIND OF FAST FORWARD
A LITTLE BIT.
I HAVE TO SAY THAT I HAVE NOT
TOTALLY GIVEN UP ON THE NOTION
OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PEOPLE
LIKE JIM COMEY WHO TURNED A
SMALL PORTION OF THE FBI INTO A
POLITICAL WEAPON TO THE EXPENSE
OF A LOT OF PEOPLE INCLUDING
YOUR GUEST HERE, KT.
I THINK THE DURHAM INVESTIGATION
IS STILL ALIVE, IT’S GOING TO BE
VERY INTERESTING NOW THAT HE’S
BEEN GIVEN THAT STATUS AS SENIOR
COUNSEL.
THIS IS A REAL INTEGRITY TEST
FOR MERRICK GARLAND AS ATTORNEY
GENERAL TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT HE
TAKES THE SAME COURSE OF ACTION
THAT BARR DID IN A SPECIAL
COUNSEL REPORT WHICH IS NOT ONLY
RELEASING IT TO CONGRESS, BUT TO
THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I THINK THERE’S GOING TO BE AN
INTERESTING RECKONING HERE IF WE
SEE HOW THE DURHAM INVESTIGATION
TURNS OUT SOMETIME IN EARLY
2021.
ELIZABETH: YEAH.
WE’RE STILL WAITING ON THE
DURHAM INVESTIGATION, KT.
AND GIVEN WHAT JIM TRUSTY WAS
JUST SAYING, KT, LET’S JUMP INTO
THE WAY BACK MACHINE.
LET’S JUMP BACK INTO THE TIME
MACHINE AND GO BACK TO AUGUST OF
2016 WHEN PETER E STRZOK WAS
TEXTING LISA PAGE, AND LISA PAGE
WAS SAYING -- AT THE FBI --
TRUMP IS NEVER GOING TO BE
PRESIDENT, RIGHT, RIGHT?
AND PETER STRZOK SAID, NO, WE’RE
GOING TO STOP HIM.
AND THEN WITHIN A COUPLE MONTHS,
STRZOK WAS TEXTING LISA PAGE
SAYING STUART EVANS AT THE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS SLOWING US
DOWN TRYING TO GET THE FISA
WIRETAP ON CARTER PAGE.
HE’S PUTTING UP A FIGHT.
SO, AND THEN YOU JUST POINTED
OUT, KT, THAT, YEAH, THERE WAS
THAT DEMOCRAT-FUNDED STEELE
DOSSIER THAT WAS BEING USED TO
WIRETAP CARTER PAGE.
SO YOUR TAKE ON THE CONTEXT OF
THAT, KT.
>> WELL, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT
TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE
TIMELINE OF THIS.
BEFORE THE ELECTION THEY
THOUGHT, WELL, TRUMP WILL NEVER
WIN.
BUT ANYWAY, JUST IN CASE, LET’S
SET THE SCENES NOW.
LET’S PUT THE THINGS IN MOTION
JUST IN CASE SO WE CAN THEN TURN
BACK TO THOSE THINGS IF DONALD
TRUMP DOES WIN, AND WE CAN
DESTROY HIS PRESIDENCY.
THEY HAD ALREADY SET THE THING
UP.
THEY PROBABLY DIDN’T NEED TO USE
IT IN THEIR MINDS.
AND EVEN AFTER TRUMP WAS
ELECTED, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN’T
LIKE IT, THEY HAD A RESISTANCE
INTERNALLY, BUT THE REAL THING
STARTED AND IT GOT STEAM AND IT
GOT GOING ONCE JIM COMEY WAS
FIRED.
BEFORE THAT IT WAS MAYBE IN THE
VAULT, COULD USE IT IF THEY
NEEDED IT, BUT THEN ONCE JIM
COMEY WAS FIRED, IT WAS ALL
STEAM AHEAD.
HAVE A SPECIAL COUNSEL, HAVE AN
INVESTIGATION, GO BACK AND LOOK
AT THAT STEELE DOSSIER WHICH WE
KNOW IS A FRAUD.
LET’S GO AFTER EVERYBODY.
I ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY PUT IT
IN JIM COMEY’S LAUGH.
ELIZABETH: SO, JIM, WHAT YOU’RE
SAYING, YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE
INSURANCE POLICY IS PETER STRZOK
AND LISA PAGE WERE TALKING
ABOUT, WAS IT LEAKING THE STEELE
DOSSIER TO THE MEDIA TO DEFLECT
AWAY FROM THE HILLARY CLINTON
E-MAIL SCANDAL?
JIM, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
WAS THAT THE INSURANCE POLICY,
THE STEELE DOSSIER?
>> WELL, THE CONTEXT OF IT
CERTAINLY MAKES IT SOUND LIKE
IT’S A POLITICAL POISON PILL,
SOMETHING THAT COULD BE RELEASED
THAT WOULD KEEP TRUMP FROM BEING
ELECTED.
AND MAKES ME, AGAIN, WANT TO
STEP BACK FOR A QUICK SECOND.
YOU KNOW, INSPECTOR GENERAL
REPORTS, THIS ONE WAS VERY
DAMNING.
IT’S MUCH MORE THAN JUST
MISFEASANCE OR NONFEASANCE, IT’S
MALFEASANCE, AND IT’S A DAMNING
REPORT.
BUT THEY’RE INSTITUTIONALLY
INCOMPLETE.
INSPECTOR GENERALS DON’T DRAW
THE INFERENCES LIKE YOU’RE
ASKING ME TO DRAW RIGHT NOW THAT
MAYBE VERY COMMON SENSE.
THEY LITERALLY LOOK AT THINGS
FROM WHAT DID WE SEE IN WRITING
AND WHAT DID PEOPLE TELL US IN
INTERVIEWS, BUT THAT’S NOT HOW
CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS WORK.
JOHN DURHAM WILL ASK THE HARD
QUESTIONS OF WITNESSES, AND
THEY’LL DRAW INFERENCES, AND
THEY CAN DEVELOP THIS IN A MORE
COMPLETE WAY THAN WHAT’S ALREADY
VERY DAMNING ON THE THE
ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE WITH THE
INSPECTOR GENERAL.
ELIZABETH: KT, WHAT’S REALLY
DISTURBING ABOUT THESE
DOCUMENTS, AGAIN, THEY SHOW THAT
THE FBI AND INTELLIGENCE
OFFICIALS GO INTO THE FISA COURT
TO GET NICE A WIRETAPS -- FISA
WIRETAPS, AND OFTEN THEY DO NOT
HAVE WHAT IS NECESSARY TO GET
THOSE WIRETAPS.
IT’S A BODY OF EVIDENCE CALLED A
WOODS FILE.
BUT -- AND, BY THE WAY, MORE
THAN 90 % OF FISA WIRETAPS ARE
APPROVED.
SO IT’S KIND OF UNNERVING AND
SCARY THAT WE’RE POLITICIZING
THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, AND
IT’S SO EASY TO GET THESE
POWERFUL FISA WIRETAPS WITHOUT
THESE WOODS FILE BODY OF
EVIDENCE.
WHAT DO YOU ASOME.
>> WELL, LOOK, YOU KNOW, IF THEY
CAN GO AFTER THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES, I WAS THE
MOST, ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL
PEOPLE IN AMERICAN FOREIGN
POLICY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
ADMINISTRATION.
IF THEY CAN GO AFTER PEOPLE LIKE
US, THEY CAN GO AFTER ANYBODY
THEY LIKE.
AND, AGAIN, WHAT KIND OF JUSTICE
DO WE HAVE HERE?
AND THE OTHER THING, WE HAVEN’T
SEEN EVERYTHING YET.
MY SOURCES TELL ME THERE’S A
WHOLE TRANCHE OF DOCUMENTS THAT
ARE COMING SUNDAY NIGHT OR
MONDAY, DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS,
FAR MORE EXTENSIVE THAN WHAT
LINDSEY GRAHAM AND THE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE RELEASED TODAY, AND
THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO
ABSOLUTELY SPEAK TO HOW MUCH THE
FBI KNEW, HOW MUCH THE SENIOR
LEADERSHIP KNEW, WHEN DID THEY
KNOW IT AND HOW HOW DID THEY
ABUSE THEIR POSITIONS OF TRUST
AND POWER?
THE OTHER THING --
ELIZABETH:
[INAUDIBLE]
YEAH, GO AHEAD.
>> NO, BUT HERE’S ONE MORE THING
THAT’S WORTH POINTING OUT.
JOE BIDEN IS STARTING TO APPOINT
SOME OF THESE SAME PEOPLE WHO
WERE PART OF THE RESISTANCE, WHO
WERE PART OF THE SENIOR
LEADERSHIP IN THE INTELLIGENCE
AND NATIONAL SECURITY
COMMITTEES.
HE’S STARTING TO APPOINT THEM TO
SENIOR POSITIONS IN THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION.
SO NOT ONLY ARE THESE PEOPLE NOT
GOING TO EVER BE HELD
ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT, THEY’VE BEEN
PROMOTED FOR IT.
ELIZABETH: ALL RIGHT.
KT OR AND JIM, I WISH WE HAD
MORE TIME.
MAYBE YOU GUYS CAN COME BACK ON
MONDAY.
WE’RE GOING TO KEEP DIGGING AND
LOOK FOR THAT DOCUMENT DOWNLOAD