he is someone who knows that lying to the fbi is a crime. this shouldn't be a surprising situation for him when he finds himself in it. but, look, the white house, as they have for months at this point is fighting a political battle. in some ways politically it is their right to do so. impeachment is a political fight that happens in congress and is determined by the votes of first the house and then the senate. so it is really important from the white house's point of view to undercut the mueller investigation at every turn possible, to frame it as overreach, to frame it as the president likes to say, a witch hunt. so that's sort of been their talking points all along, and they are trying to stick with those. talking points, particularly, i think it is worth remembering that flynn himself has become a little bit of a folk hero among trump's base. he was a big hit on the campaign trail. so this is someone who does have a following within trump's orbit for sure. >> right. >> and, you know, they're trying