ARE IN THE WORKS BUT ABOUT WHO
ELSE PRESIDENT TRUMP COULD
REMOVE IN HIS FINAL TWO AND A
HALF MONTHS IN OFFICE.
JOINING ME NOW IS MARK WARNER OF
VIRGINIA, THE VICE CHAIRMAN OF
THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE.
SENATOR, THANK YOU FOR BEING
WITH US THIS MORNING.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME THIS
MORNING.
>> LET ME START WITH THE FIRING
OF SECRETARY ESPER.
YOU HAVE SAID YOU DO NOT WANT
THE PRESIDENT TO FIRE ANY OTHER
NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS OVER
THE NEXT 70 PLUS DAYS.
WHY NOT?
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE ARE,
AS THE LEADER IN UNCHARTERED
TERRITORY, WE’VE NEVER HAD AN
ADMINISTRATION EVEN LOOKING BACK
AT THE CONFLICT BETWEEN
BUSH/GORE WHERE YOU HAVE
ARBITRARY FIRINGS.
AND PRESIDENT TRUMP STILL HAS
ROUGHLY 70 DAYS.
OUR ADVERSARIES KNOW DURING
TRANSITIONS WE MAY HAVE
VULNERABILITIES AND THE IDEA
THAT CLEARLY SECRETARY ESPER
APPEARED TO BE FIRED OUT OF
TRUMP’S FRUSTRATION THAT HE SAID
IT WAS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR
MILITARY FORCES TO BE USED
AGAINST CIVILIANS IN LAWYERFAYET
SQUARE, THE IDEA THAT TRUMP
WOULD TAKE DOWN A DIRECTOR WOULD
BE A BRIDGE TOO FAR IF WE WANT
TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROTECT OUR
COUNTRY’S NATIONAL SECURITY
DURING THIS TRANSITION TIME.
THIS IS, AGAIN, THERE HAS NEVER
BEEN A TIME WHEN A SENIOR
OFFICIAL LIKE THIS HAS BEEN
FIRED DURING A TRANSITION PERIOD
BETWEEN ONE ADMINISTRATION TO
ANOTHER.
>> SENATOR, I THINK YOU KNOW MY
DAY JOB IS COVERING THE WHITE
HOUSE FOR NBC NEWS.
I’VE BEEN COVERING THE PRESIDENT
FOR FOUR YEARS.
ONE OF THE THINGS I’M HEARING
ABOUT NOW FROM PEOPLE IN
WASHINGTON, THOSE IN AND AROUND
THE PRESIDENT’S ORBIT IS
SPECULATION ABOUT OTHERS WHO MAY
END UP FIRED, SPECIFICALLY I
THINK THE NAME HAS BEEN RAISED,
THE FBI DIRECTOR.
I’M WONDERING BASED ON YOUR
ASSESSMENT OF THIS, ARE YOU
CONCERNED OTHERS COULD BE ON THE
CHOPPING BLOCK HERE, AND IF SO,
WHO?
>> I’VE HEARD THOSE RUMORS AS
WELL.
I THINK IT WOULD BE
EXTRAORDINARILY -- AN
EXTRAORDINARY CHALLENGE AND BE
TOTALLY COUNTER TO THE UNITED
STATES NATIONAL SECURITY
INTEREST IF THE DIRECTORS OR ANY
OTHER SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY
OFFICIAL WERE DISMISSED AT THIS
POINT.
WE’RE GOING TO BE HAVING
DIRECTOR HASKEL THIS AFTERNOON.
I’M URGING MY REPUBLICAN
COLLEAGUES WHO STILL HAVE SOME
HEFT WITH THIS WHITE HOUSE TO
WEIGH IN, BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN
EVEN PRIOR TO THE DISMISSAL OF
ESPER AND OTHER RUMORS, WE’VE
SEEN ACTIONS COMING OUT OF THE
WHITE HOUSE AGAINST OUR
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
PROFESSIONALS THAT OUGHT TO
CONCERN US ALL.
AGAIN, ECHOING WHAT
PRESIDENT-ELECT SIDE.
WE’RE PAST THE TIME OF THE
ELECTION WHERE AMERICANS FIRST
AND REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES WHO
HAVE BEEN GOOD PARTNERS, THE
CLEJS COMMUNITY AND OUR
COMMITTEE HAS BEEN ONE BRIGHT
SPOT OF BIPARTISANSHIP.
LET’S NOT HAVE THAT UNDERMINED
IN THE LAST 70 DAYS OF A TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION.
PARTICULARLY WHEN THE PRESIDENT
APPEARS TO BE FIRING THESE FOLKS
OR POTENTIALLY FIRING THESE
FOLKS BECAUSE THEY’VE NOT SIMPLY
BEEN FALLING IN LINE AS TRUMP
WARNED US.
THAT IS NOT THE JOB OF THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
THE JOB OF THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY SPEAKS TRUTH TO POWER.
>> YOU MENTIONED LEANING ON SOME
OF YOUR REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES ON
THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE TO
USE THERE, AS YOU SAID HEFT WITH
THE PRESIDENT TO CONVINCE HIM TO
KEEP SOME OF THE OFFICIALS IN
PLACE.
I WONDER IF AS IT RELATES TO THE
PRESIDENT’S REFUSAL TO CONCEDE
THE ELECTION IF YOU’RE HEARING
SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM YOUR
REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES IN THE
SENATE VERSUS WHAT THEY’RE
SAYING PUBLICLY WHICH IS,
FRANKLY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF
FOUR SENATORS ON THE REPUBLICAN
SIDE WHO HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED
PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN HAS
BEEN LARGELY SILENCED OR DEFENSE
OF THE PRESIDENT.
>> I THINK MY HOPE IS, AT LEAST,
YOU’LL SEE THAT CHANGE OVER THE
COMING DAYS PARTICULARLY AS
GEORGIA AND ARIZONA GET CALLED,
PARTICULARLY AS WE’VE SEEN NO
EVIDENCE PUT FORWARD BY THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AS WE’VE
SEEN THESE FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS
DISMISSED THAT OTHER INDIVIDUALS
WILL SPEAK OUT.
I CAN TELL YOU THE
INTELLIGENCE -- MY REPUBLICAN
COLLEAGUES A VARIETY OF TIMES,
I’M NOT GOING TO SPEAK TO THOSE
AT THIS MOMENT, BUT A VARIETY OF
TIMES OVER THE L.A. COUPLE
MONTHS I THINK HAVE WEIGHED IN
AND WE’VE TRIED TO PROTECT THE
INTEGRITY OF THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY WHEN IT’S BEEN UNDER
ASSAULT AND UNDER ACTIVE ASSAULT
A NUMBER OF TIMES IN THE LAST 60
DAYS.
AND, AGAIN, I’M HOPING WE’VE
KEPT THIS COMMUNITY AND OUR
COMMITTEE BALANCED, BIPARTISAN,
AND ONLY AFTER THE TRUTHS ARE
TOLD, 3 .9% OF THE LAST YEARS.
LET’S FINISH OUT THE LAST 70
DAYS IN THE SAME FASHION.
THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEETS
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS THE VAST
MAJORITY OF TIME.
WE TALK ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY.
I’M PROUD OF THE FACT THAT 90%
OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE
HAPPENING.
>> A FEW OTHER TOPICS TO GET
THROUGH BEFORE WE’RE OUT OF TIME
IN THIS SEGMENT.
"THE NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTING
ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY
IMPLICATIONS OF THE REFUSAL TO
CONCEDE AND WHAT COULD MEAN FOR
THE TRANSITION WITH THE
PRESIDENT-ELECT NOT RECEIVING
THE PRESIDENTIAL DAILY BRIEFING.
NO CLARITY ABOUT HIS TEAM
GETTING ACCESS TO THE
INFORMATION.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THAT DOESN’T
HAPPEN?
>> THAT’S ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE
WE -- A DAY OR TWO MORE IT WILL
GO ON, BUT PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN
NEEDS ACCESS TO THE PRESIDENTIAL
DAILY BRIEF.
IT GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT OF THE
WORLD, AND THE IDEA THAT WE’VE
GOT THIS POLITICAL HACK OVER AT
GSA HOLDING UP THIS PROCESS AS A
TRUMP LOYALIST IS OUTRAGEOUS.
THAT’S THE BAD NEWS.
THE GOOD NEWS IS WE HAVE SEEN
CAREER OFFICIALS TIME AND AGAIN
STAND UP AGAINST THIS
PRESIDENT’S ATTEMPT TO
POLITICIZE THE BUREAUCRACY.
WE SAW YESTERDAY THE HEAD OF
ELECTION SECURITY OUTFIT AT THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RESIGN IN
PROTEST.
>> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THAT.
>> I THINK THE OUTRAGEOUS
EFFORT -- THERE’S PLENTY OF
CAVEATS ON WHAT BARR SAID IN
TERMS OF OPENING DOJ
INVESTIGATIONS.
CLEARLY IT DOESN’T MEET THE
SMELL TEST WITH THE HEAD OF THE
SECURITY.
>> DID IT MEET YOUR STANDARD OF
APPROPRIATENESS?
>> AGAIN, I’VE BEEN DISAPPOINTED
BY ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR
CONSISTENTLY.
HE SEEMED TO BE MORE LOYAL TO
THE PRESIDENT THAN TO RULE OF
LAW IN THIS COUNTRY.
BUT AS WE’VE SEEN, EVERY TIME HE
TAKES THIS ACTION, BOTH CURRENT
AND FORMER DOJ OFFICIALS OF BOTH
PARTIES STAND UP IN MANY WAYS
WHILE WE’RE TREADING AT THE
OUTRAGEOUSNESS OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION.
I HOPE WE CAN ALL TAKE A DEEP
BREATH.
TIME AND AGAIN, I THINK WE’VE
SHOWN OUR INSTITUTIONS ARE
STRONG.
I TELL YOU A WEEK AFTER THE
ELECTION, WE GOT THROUGH THIS IN
A WAY THAT WAS MUCH BETTER THAN
WHAT I ANTICIPATED TWO WEEKS
OUT.
THE INFORMATION PART OF DHS, IT
PERFECTS ELECTION SECURITY.
I THINK THE LONG-TERM
PROFESSIONALS HAVE STOOD STRONG.
WE HAVE TO HAVE THEIR BACK OVER
THE NEXT 70 DAYS AND MAKE SURE
THAT WE PRESSURE THE
ADMINISTRATION TO GO AHEAD WITH
PRESIDENTIAL DAILY BRIEFS AND