-Republican California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
has been staunchly defending the Russian government
against accusations they meddled in our election.
In fact, he believes the entire Trump-Russia story is a farce.
So, what makes him so sure?
Also, who the hell is Dana Rohrabacher?
It's time for "The Check In."
[ Cheers and applause ]
Now, you may have heard the news that Congressman Rohrabacher
recently met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
And then he reportedly tried to negotiate a deal
with the White House to pardon Assange
in exchange for WikiLeaks handing over alleged evidence
that would show that Russia was not
behind the hacked DNC e-mails.
So why is Rohrabacher taking this controversial stance?
Well, he's been in Congress since the late 1980s
and has developed a reputation
for being the most Russia-friendly lawmaker,
earning him the nickname "Putin's favorite Congressman."
Although I can't think of anything more haunting
than Vladimir Putin saying, "You are my favorite."
[ Laughter ]
Rohrabacher's fascination with Russia
began early on and in a very strange way.
In the late 1980s, he briefly went to Afghanistan
to spend time with local militants
the Mujahideen,
and their fight against the Soviets.
Yes, that is actually him right there.
Rohrabacher said has said it was there he realized
his fight was against Communism,
not the Russians, who he came to admire.
According to reports at the time, Rohrabacher...
That sounds like the beginning of a weekend
that ends with "Let's never speak of this again."
[ Laughter ]
Rohrabacher was apparently so Russia-friendly
that in 2012, according to reports,
FBI agents sat him down in the Capitol...
And if you're a Russian spy,
Rohrabacher does seem to be the perfect person to recruit.
He's the senior member
of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
who consistently defends Russia in Congress,
and of course he's convinced that the Russia-Trump story
is all a fabrication.
But before we take his word for it,
let's look at what he believes about other things,
like science.
-You know, half the world -- I don't know if you know this --
half the world when they look at the moon,
they see a man in the moon.
But the other half of the world sees what?
A rabbit in the moon.
Again, I think the moon is close by
and whatever we can actually get benefit out of going back there,
we should.
-We don't know what those other cycles were caused by
in the past.
Could be dinosaur flatulence, you know, or who knows.
And what happened when's the CO2 was greater since then and now?
There's been many cycles of up and down warming.
So with that said, I think that we --
we've had a great discussion today.
-You've had a great discussion.
You just basically suggested
global warming was caused by dinosaur farts.
[ Laughter ]
Now, that clip was from 2007,
and Rohrabacher later said
that he was joking when he made that comment.
But it doesn't look like he's changed his mind since then
in terms of his skepticism
about whether carbon dioxide is bad for human health,
which earned him this response from a Democratic Congressman.
-Regarding my friend from California in what he just said,
if he thinks that carbon dioxide
doesn't cause any human health problems,
I invite him to put a plastic bag over his head
and tie it tightly around his neck
and see what happens next.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Now, a part of me thinks
Rohrabacher may have already tried that,
because it would help to explain
this impromptu jam session he engaged reporters in
during a tour of his office back in 2011.
-Over the years, I've written a lot of songs that are sort of --
sort of political songs.
They're sort of patriotic things and things like that.
♪ God bless America ♪
♪ God bless our freedom ♪
♪ And God bless the people who work every day ♪
♪ God bless us all ♪
♪ God bless America ♪
♪ The freest land of all ♪
There you go.
-Would you believe he's only had negative-30 lessons?
[ Laughter ]
Look for that song on Rohrabacher's album,
"Bumper Stickers I saw at Costco."
Seriously, what is this guy smoking?
Well, funny I should ask.
So much for the theory that weed helps you write great music.
Now, Rohrabacher was speaking to
a group of marijuana advocates there,
explaining that he had turned to medical marijuana
to help with his arthritis pain.
And although it's legal in the state he represents,
his outright admission was significant because...
So he's a weed loving, pro-Russia guitar player.
He's basically the guy who ruined
every party I went to in college.
[ Laughter ]
But Rohrabacher seems to be blazing his own trail
when it comes to more than just marijuana,
specifically when it comes to his dealings
with Russian officials and lobbyists.
In fact, his story keeps overlapping with many of
the key players in the current Russia investigation.
As the
when former campaign manager
and current target of the Mueller investigation
Paul Manafort was working...
...in what Rohrabacher described as...
Somehow, "nice little dinner" with Paul Manafort
seems like Mafia slang.
"Take him out for a nice little dinner somewhere by the river."
[ Laughter ]
And Manafort is certainly not the only connection here.
According to other reports, in April of last year,
Rohrabacher traveled to Moscow
and met with the same Russian lawyer and lobbyist
who we now know were at Donald Trump Jr.'s
infamous meeting with Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort
at Trump Tower last summer.
Between that meeting, Manafort, and his defense of Assange,
even some members of Rohrabacher's own party
are wondering who he's really working for.
-Behind closed doors,
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy joked...
When the comment came to light, McCarthy dismissed it as a joke.
-And of course it's a joke.
There have to be at least 12 more people on Putin's payroll.
Jokes aside, the Congressman should probably
rely on U.S. intelligence agencies to to their job
without his interference,
because we all want America to remain...
What's the phrase I'm looking for?
-♪ The freest land of all ♪
-This has been "The Check In."
[ Cheers and applause ]