Transcripts For MSNBCW The 11th Hour With Brian Williams 20180718

Tomorrow. The 11th hour gets under way on a tuesday night. Good evening once against from our headquarters in new york. Day 544 of the Trump Administration and following what became a global blow back after taking putins side on election meddling, the president attempted a fix that was quickly broken. On social media as late as this evening, he continued to insist the meeting between president putin and myself was a Great Success except in the fake news media. Before we get to the mistaken word the president said he got wrong yesterday, here now a reminder of what he said in helsinki while standing next to putin yesterday. My people came to me, dan coates came to me and some others, they said they think its russia. I have president putin, he just said its not russia. I will say this. I dont see any reason why it would be. Those words set off alarm bells and brought about changes of treason by seasoned intel vets in this country and resulted in a hastily arranged meeting of the Trump Administration National Security types this morning. Nbc news is reporting it was Vice President mike pence and secretary of state pompeo who urged the president to clarify his comments. One of the anchors assuming the mostardent viewer urged the president to make a correction. Ashley has been reporting on all of this. Trump was particularly rattled by a critical tweet monday from Newt Gingrich. One of the people said gingrich, long a stal wart ally urged the president to clarify his helsinki statement, saying they were the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected immediately. So the white house called the media in to a preexisting meeting he was having with members of congress about taxes and reading off a printed statement, the president said he got a word wrong yesterday. I said the word would instead of wouldnt. And the sentence should have been, and i thought it would be a little bit unclear on the transcript or unclear on the actual video. It should have been i dont see any reason why it wouldnt be russia. Sort of a double negative. So you can put that in. I think that probably clarifies things pretty good by itself. Heres what hes talking about. His original comments alongside putin in helsinki. My people came to me, dan coates came to me and some others and they said they think its russia. I have president putin, he just said its not russia. I will say this. I dont see any reason why it would be. Yesterday the president seemed willing to accept putins denial that the kremlin had nothing to do with our election meddling. The russian state has never interfere and is not going to interfere in the process. President putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. The president made a point of expressing his support for the home team. The 17 intelligence agencies here in the u. S. But then he couldnt help himself and added to his written remarks and left himself some room. I have felt very strongly while russias actions had no impact at all on the outcome of the election, let me be totally clear in saying and i said this many times, i accept our Intelligence Communitys conclusion that russias meddling in the 2016 election took place. Could be other people also. There is a lot of people out there. And then this. In the age of digital photography, cameras caught a glimpse of the statement he was reading from. It shows he crossed out a line about bringing all those who hacked our election to justice and he added there was no collusion, in his own handwriting. He did not offer an explanation of why he waited to correct the record instead of choosing to do so in either of the Fox Interviews he taped after leaving helsinki. The white house continued the pr offensive and sent out a press release with a detailed description of how it is protecting our elections and standing up to russias malign activities, but the damage from helsinki may indeed be done. A piece in the Washington Post by long time conservative columnist george will carry this is striking headline. This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man. Lets bring in the lead off panel. Ashley parker, Pulitzer Prize winning. Long time conservative radio host who is contributing editor and podcast folks for the folks at the Weekly Standard and a former fbi special agent in charge with his bureau in establishing the National Cyber Investigative Task force that gives him a line into the line of questioning. Ashley, i would like to begin with you. Anatomy of a correction. Give us the cliff notes starting on the flight home and the arrival back in the United States. Morning television today and then seeing what we saw on television. So it did really start on the flight home where the president as he always does watched cable news. He had actually been quite pleased with how he felt the summit went and as he watched the coverage that was almost universally negative and there were no people out there defending him and negative from not just the usual critics and the mainstream media, but from republicans including as we wrote, there was a tweet that Newt Gingrich sent that was aired on fox news that the president watches that rattled him. Newt gingrich has been with him through thick and thin. His mood starts to darken and change on the flight home. On the flight home, there was the tiniest bit of a walk back. A tweet said he does believe his Intelligence Community, but we need to look to the future. That gave you the first inkling of what was to come. He got a late start this morning, he was in the residence watching more and getting more frustrated. There was a push by a number of people both inside and outside the white house to get him to make a correction and walk it back. The white house told us these were the president s words, but it was a collaborative effort and the first draft was written by the top policy adviser and speech writer, steven miller. He weighed in and he was even weighing in up until the last minute, scribbling in the trademark sharpy, no collusion and other tweaks he read around 2 00 p. M. Today. Later on in the broadcast, Eugene Robinson was first to go on and witness a hostage tape. Which trump do you believe as a career intel expert . The trump standing next to putin in helsinki or the trump correcting the record today and saying he got a word wrong in helsinki . The one that concerns me the most is the in helsinki. There was no question what he did was confirm the suspicions that intelligence and counter inteligence professionals have. There is something there. There is the possibility of compromise and though people dont want to talk about it, call it a experience theory that he may be acting as an agent of a foreign power. That didnt put to rest the concern. There is going to be more talk about them. Thats not so covert so to speak. Because of the way and what he did and the way he did it standing next to Vladimir Putin. We dont talk about it because it sounds flat out crazy and even those inclined to think that way, its such a deeply scary notion for patriots in this country. I mean first of all, there is an investigation because those suspicions exist. There was a experience amongst americans and members of the Trump Organization or the campaign or the administration to assist the russians in attacking our democracy. Thats a given. The fact is he is the president of the United States. It is the office of the presidency. It is supposed to be the leader of the free world. The idea that he may be an agent or acting as an agent of a foreign power is terrifying. Look at what he knows and the power he possesses. At the same time there is a litany of behaviors that led up to yesterday. What they really did is confirm not just to those who are working the case, but to the world. There is a reason to be suspicious and a reason to be concerned. Charlie sykes, folks on the left are fond of calling fox news state run tv. I want to are the you a portion of the New York Times story. By Tuesday Morning it was clear mr. Trump could not rely on support from even his most diehard allies. On fox and friends, his favorite morning tv program, the host spoke directly into the camera from november when everyone had you losing, you shocked the world. It wasnt because of russia, but the goal was to up end the process. They hate democracy. He went on to say this has to be corrected. The president later corrected it. So charlie, were minds changed today when even members of the president s base saw that statement he read in the cabinet room . Only the minds that wanted to be changed. As a walk back, this was ludicrous. As an excuse, this made the dog ate my homework seem like a brilliant alibi to say i dropped this contraction. What you saw in helsinki was the real donald trump. That was not a gaffe. That was what he thinks that is. His attitude and relationship with Vladimir Putin and in fact whether you want to use the word treason that i think goes too far, it was a betrayal of his own country and the presidency. That was collusion in action that was ironic. What a lot of the folks even at fox were seeing, this was a man who was supposed to be strong. He was supposed to be never apologizing and you saw this craven, sick in the presence of one of the most thuggish dictators in the world. It was a terrible moment for donald trump, but what a pathetic attempt at a walk back. And ashley, where are we on the trump cycle . Heres what i mean. Those who like you watch him so l closely, when he is forced to do a walk back or corrective statement, it is somewhere around 24 hours before he finds himself back to his natural place and his original notion as if the walk back never happened. Did tonights tweet give us any clues . There is a sort of release theory for this president. For that cycle, we are in about the middle. I will explain what i mean. The president gave again a begrudging walk back. His arms were folded which is his default peak reading from the paper. What will happen is that probably the walk back as charlie said is not going to change anything. All of the people who criticized him are unlikely to be swayed by this short of double negative argument. When the coverage tomorrow morning is similarly unflattering, maybe fox news will come around, but i will be surprised if anyone else does an aboutface. The president will grow increasingly frustrated and be angry that he feels he was forced into something by his aides and he didnt agree with it and it was against his gut and he will need to release this steam and we could see some anger and lashing out and return to his true opinions on twitter or in private or public statements. Sometime i would say in the next 24 to 48 hours. Having that time frame is useful. Let me give you a hypothetical. Lets say that yesterday our Deputy Assistant secretary of state for all things russian was in helsinki for a meeting with his or her counterpart with russia. They came out at a press event after that and seemed to take the russian side in a matter of great perhaps existential importance back home. How would that Government Official be treated and viewed by the government if this were, in other words, anyone else in our government, what mechanisms would be triggered . If you look at it from the context that there was this litany of behaviors that existed, there was a good possibility that there would be an investigation under way that could include use of National Security letters to interviews to fisa activity to try to build a case against this individual. If they made a disclosure like that, it would heighten our o wearness that we were on the right track and looking at somebody who could be betraying this country. It was that stunning yesterday in terms of the disclosures made and in terms of the betrayal to this country. In terms of the oath that we all swear to protect and defend the constitution. It would be another straw on the camels back and another piece to the puzzle as we made our way to the investigation. It would not bode well for the subject. Thats bracing to hear if it had been anyone else in government it may trigger a fisa style surveillance of your life. The george will headline was bracing. In your view, what should your fellow conservatives be doing and saying . What do we see about all of this . I wrote a piece that said he was compared to chamberlain. He was in fact a patriotic and serious man. We never had a president behave this way. There are things republicans can do. Perhaps the maximum would be a resolution of censure or a sense of congress. Reasserting our support for what the intelligence has done. I do think this is one of the moments where i think you pulled aside the curtain and all of the rationalizations and all of the enabling of donald trump, this is who he is and despite the fact that he wraps himself in the cloak of patriotism, its always donald trump first. Ashley is right. We have seen this play before. We have seen several things. Yes, donald trump is still going to blow at some point because this is what he really believes. Of course we will see what the republicans do. After charlottesville, huh lots of expressions of concern, but ultimately they fell back into line. This will be an interesting tell whether or not republican dos this even though we really are at this moment where the president of the United States is not reliable in standing up for the United States of america. The man who runs on America First stands in front of Vladimir Putin and sides with putin over the United States of america. If this is not one of the turning points, i dont know what would be. As you know, we had this conversation dozens of times and seen this scenario play out over and over and over again and there is no reason to expect it will be different this time. For may take a congress other than the we know to be existing in washington. Three people who know a lot about this story and care deeply about this story. Our thanks to ashley parker, charlie psychs and frank montoya. Appreciate it. Coming up, we will talk to former cia director leon panetta about what he thinks there is between putin and trump and what he made of the walk back. An update on the attempt in the house of representatives, the aforementioned congress to impeach Deputy Attorney general rod rosen stein. The 11th hour just Getting Started on a tuesday evening. Any paint can change the way a room looks. But only one can change how it feels. Century, from benjamin moore, is the firstever soft touch matte finish paint. Its revolutionary texture unlocks 75 unprecedented colors, each with exquisite depth and richness. Its a difference you can see, touch, and feel. Thats proudly particular. Century. Only at select local paint and hardware stores. Streaming must see tv has never been easier. Century. Paying for things is a breeze. And getting into new places is even simpler. With xfinity mobile, saving money is effortless too. Its the only network that combines americas largest, most reliable 4g lte with the most wifi hotspots. And it can be included with your internet. Which could save you hundreds of dollars a year. Plus, get 150 dollars when you bring in your own phone. Its a new kind of network designed to save you money. Click, call or visit a store today. As the white house continues to deal with the fallout over President Trumps News Conference with Vladimir Putin, former members of the Intelligence Community are continuing to weigh in on this news over the past 48 hours. Well, earlier tonight i had a chance to speak with leon panetta, whose resume may be unmatched in the modern political era, starting with his 16 years in congress representing his california district. He was later omb director and chief of staff in the Clinton White house. He then served as both cia director and secretary of defense under president obama. Hes a man who maintains close ties to Senior Defense officials in this country and with officials in the Intelligence Community. Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for being with us tonight, and id like to begin by asking you if you take the president at his word that he misspoke in one of the multiple times that he sided with the russians . My problem is im not sure what this president s word is. I think it was a poor effort at trying to walk back from what he did in helsinki. It was pretty clear when he spoke in helsinki he was saying what he thought, he was saying what he wanted to say, and as a result of the political explosion in this country and reaction to that he tried obviously to try to walk it back, but i thought he did a poor job at it. He was reading it when you start to parse words like would or wouldnt, you know, it just doesnt really sound like he is honestly trying to say he made a mistake. I think he fought it every bit of the way and it showed. I think the damage has been done, and very frankly, he hasnt repaired the damage with what he did today. Are you worried about the two hours that we may never know about, knowing full well that its quite likely the russians know what was said with just translators in the room and just the two men . Id be very disappointed if we dont know what went on in that room, but that could very well be the case. There is no question in my mind that the russians know what went on in that room. Thats the way they operate. But just the fact that the president of the United States and the leader of russia, our primary adversary, had a closed meeting oneonone without any aides there to explain to the American People what happened in that room, i think really sets a terrible precedent for the presidency of the United States. I think it was a mistake and i think the president s going to pay for it. Does it make things worse for you knowing, a, this president knows more about the degree of meddling than the rest of us because hes had briefings that civilians have not, and, b, he was given a heads up that these 12 most recent indictments were coming before he left on this trip from his own government . Brian, this is this is about the truth. President s who underestimate the American People and think that they can tell them whatever they want to tell them and that the American People will accept any lie that they tell them really does underestimate the American People and weaken himself. I dont think there is any question this president received important briefings time and time again that laid out the case how the russians specifically took steps to interfere with our election process. The Intelligence Community has clearly presented that case. 17 intelligence agencies agree that the russians were involved. In addition to that, you now have 12 indictments of Russian Military officers who were involved in that effort to undermine our election process. There is no question in my mind that the president of the United States knew the truth, and the truth is that the russians were behind this. Its hard to watch the helsinki event and not think that something isnt up, and not think that they dont have something on him, to use a phrase. What do you think at long last it might be . Well, there is no question that there is something here that intimidates the president of the United States. I mean, this was a moment in time when you have a major summit like this where the president of the United States, who is sworn to preserve, protect and defend our constitution, has to defend the interests of the United States of america. Rather than standing up from strength and really telling the russians that it is unacceptable what they did in the crimea, what theyre doing in the ukraine, what theyre doing in syria and what theyre doing against us in our election process, that that is unacceptable. Yes, there are areas we can work with them on but they have to correct their behavior in these other areas. Rather than saying that, this president basically coddled mr. Putin and it was clear that he was intimidated by that situation. Whether the russians have something on this president or not, no one really knows, but the way he behaves, there is a clear signal that the russians have something on him. You called yesterday, barring such things as assassinations and the like, perhaps the worst day of the modern era of the presidency. Former cia director brennan said his behavior was treasonous. Do you use that word . Well, i think i think treasonous is a word, you know, that requires in the law an awful lot to be able to make that case. I think this was more of a case of incompetence. That the president rather than preparing for that kind of highlevel summit, rather than understanding the history behind that kind of summit, rather than reading into the issues, rather than following the advice, im sure, of those around him, his secretary of state, his chief of staff and others, that he had to be strong in that meeting with putin and make clear his objections to what the russians were doing. That is what tells us that a president is prepared in order to engage in that kind of summitry. That didnt happen here because this president refuses to learn and to listen and to do what is necessary. Hed rather operate by his gut instincts. Thats fine if youre a new york developer. It works if youre a new york developer. It does not work if youre president of the United States. Former cia director, former secretary of defense leon panetta with us tonight from california. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you, brian. Coming up, as we continue the political fallout before and after Donald Trumps attempt at damage control, how the putin controversy is playing out far from the nations capital. That and more when we come right back. Heres a simple trueorfalse quiz for you. If youre between age 50 and 85, its important for you to know the truth, so please listen closely. Im alex trebek, and all of the answers are false. So what is true . You can get coverage, regardless of your health, with the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan available through the Colonial Penn program. Whether youre in the best of health or you have high Blood Pressure or other health problems, you can get coverage, with no Health Questions and no medical exam. You cant be turned down for any medical reason. You dont pay a higher rate because of your age. And Coverage Options start at just 9. 95 a month, less than 35 cents a day, and will never increase. Permanent coverage with a permanent rate lock. Call to get your free information. Youll also get this free beneficiary planner. Use this valuable guide to record your Important Information and your final wishes. Its yours free, just for calling. So call now. In plain english, its been a heck of a week and its tuesday, lets not forget, so on nights like this we like to bring in old friends of the smart variety. Not old in age, of course, people weve known a long time. Here they are. Eugene robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Washington Post. Jim warren, veteran print journalist, political commenter. These days, executive editor of the news startup called newsguard that will rate the veracity of all of us in the business, news and information sites. Welcome to you. Gene robinson, you get credit for calling what we witnessed from the cabinet room a hostage video. The printed remarks, kind of the addendum by sharpie. Do you think any minds were changed today . I think some reactions were changed. I think there are republican officials in congress, mostly members of congress, who were critical perhaps before the president s remarks who will now accept them. Like marco rubio, for example. I dont know that his mind was actually changed about what President Trump said, but his his rhetoric has certainly changed. And i think for some Trump Supporters it will be enough. But i to think this was a big deal. I think this is a big deal. Its that moment with the president of the United States and the president of russia, the president of the u. S. Sides with Vladimir Putin over his own intelligence officials and it raises the question in a very real and present way of the enormous power this man has and his questionable loyalties, frankly. I mean, its just i think that gets to people in a kind of different way. Speaking of enormous power of the office, nicolle wallace, former White House Communications director, said today on her broadcast, say nothing of 27 hours. You can get a transcript of your own remarks if youre president in about 60 seconds. Why the 27hour wait and why the need, jim warren, to write there was no collusion on your own remarks, since its something you have worked into every set of remarks youve given . Because presumably he was resisting that for all this time. He didnt want to say what he said. Leon panetta hit it. I also think one should note something Charlie Sykes said just a few minutes ago, which i think reflects, perhaps expectedly, a sort of cynical orthodoxy. Weve seen this before. Weve been here again. Weve had a whole day of cable news about this and that. Weve said a million times this is beyond the pale but nothing has changed. For sure i think in the short term, and judges by some calls i made tonight to Trump Supporters in chicago said they were unchanged. Certainly by looking as i did all day for my new job at websites this got less play than one would think. In janesville, wisconsin, the big story, 20 hike in water bill. Go town to san antonio, a murderer released. Chicago, a house fire. Here in new york city, the downpour today. Waterspouts spotted off brooklyn. At the same time, for all the reasons my good friend mentioned, sykes mentioned earlier why this may be interesting because it may ultimately provide the framework for a legitimate primary run by the republicans by a republican against donald trump. All the same values that somebody like Charlie Sykes sees violated, i think it could prop up a run against the president in a primary. As we know, every time there has been a serious run against an incumbent in 68 in mccarthy, the incumbent has ultimately gone down. Gene, i want to talk about the world order and show you Tucker Carlson and donald trump taped yesterday in helsinki. Here we go. So membership in nato obligates the members to defend any other member that is attacked. Lets say montenegro joined last year, is attacked. Why should my son go to montenegro . I understand what youre saying. Ive asked the question. Montenegro is a very tiny country with theyre very aggressive people. They may get aggressive. Congratulations, youre in world war iii. Gene, how is the world order looking right now . Not the way it looked a few weeks or months or years ago. Turns out it wasnt a compliment that montenegrins are strong people. That was the president of the United States questioning the very reason for nato, article v, which, by the way, has only been invoked once, by guess who, by the United States after 9 11, not by montenegro, right . So it shouldnt be a surprise. He doesnt believe in the postworld war ii world order as established by, you know, and maintained by president s for 70 years. He doesnt believe in it. He believes the world started when donald trump was inaugurated and took the oath of office and the rest of that is all trash. You know 30 seconds when you hear it. Where are we on the timeline of trump . Are we in the middle of the middle . Are we in the beginning of the end . Where are we . I think we are in the formative stage of a possible interesting republican primary run against donald trump, and i think it would serve folks to go out tomorrow if you can get out to waterloo or dubuque, in a place like iowa, fifth year in a row where farm income has gone down, soy beans are tanking, where people actually know big exports of pork go to china, mexico and canada, the same place he slapped tariffs and theyre going to be pretty angry in the midterms and theyre going to vent. Those are a lots of people who up to this point have said we kind of like his moxy. A guy who just did that is jim fallows, who were going to have on this broadcast. Also wrote a critical piece this week on republicans. I would say one quick thing. Where we are is four months before november, before a very important election. If youre looking for a point where you can say maybe its the end of the beginning, that could be november. Thanks to our friends, Eugene Robinson, jim warren. Coming up, the special counsels latest move ahead of the manafort trial in a week. Were back with that after this. T clean as often as youd like. For a quick and convenient clean, try Swiffer Wetjet. Theres no heavy bucket, or mop to wring out, because the absorb and Lock Technology traps dirt and liquid inside the pad. Its safe to use on all finished surfaces tile, laminate and hardwood. And it prevents streaks and hazing better than a micro fiber strip mop, giving you a thorough clean the first time. For a convenient clean, try Swiffer Wetjet with a money back guarantee. Brand power. Helping you buy better. We are back, and the headlines have been about helsinki largely, but its easy to forget the special counsel investigation rolls on. The trial of former Trump Campaign chairman Paul Manafort expected to start just eight days from now. Remember, this is the first trial of the mueller investigation, and today we learned mueller has requested immunity for five potential witnesses who may be called on to testify in this trial. The request did not name them. In fact, it asks that there identities be kept secret to prevent undue harassment or reputational harm in case they arent needed to testify. With us to talk about this tonight, a man who is qualified to do so, guy lewis. Former u. S. Attorney who also worked with robert mueller, james comey and rod rosenstein, among others, during his time at doj. All right, guy, dual question to start you off. Why five requests for immunity and whats the one paragraph viewers guide were going to need in eight days when they gavel this thing to a start . Very interesting, brian, how theyve sort of teed this issue up. I mean, lets think about it. The special counsel has filed a motion to compel, in essence a motion to force five anonymous people to testify. Each one of these people have claimed that if they testify honestly and truthfully that it may subject them to criminal prosecution so theyre exercising their fifth amendment. So, really, when ive done this in the past in cases that i prosecuted, this is like playing with fire when youre a prosecutor. The witness comes in, they dont want to be there, they may have criminal liability themselves, and ive had experiences where its blown up in my face and the witness says, look, you know what, the only reason im saying this is because you and the fbi agents are forcing me to do it. Well, guy, that doesnt sound like the very methodical, orderly special counsel that weve been told about. Well, listen, he is certainly crossing his ts and dotting his is. Hes having his witnesses present. But in many respects, a trial is a lot like a nightly news cast. A lot of times things happen that you dont plan on and cant anticipate, but certainly these witnesses, who really i would want to know about, and if im the defense i would be pounding the table because they have a right to investigate and cross examine the evidence as well. Guy, i heard a gentleman who like you is a former u. S. Attorney say on live tv today, this is what collusion looks like, and he was talking about this russian woman, this maria butina, who has ties to the nra. She appears in court tomorrow. What can you tell us about this case . Where does it fit and how important is it in the scheme of things . Brian, very, very interesting. So, again, back in the old days when i was a prosecutor, we tried some indicted and tried some cuban nationals down here in south florida. It almost looks exactly the same. They were individuals, in this case Russian Nationals, a Russian National student, young lady who has been tasked with reporting information, with infiltrating certain parts of our institutions, maybe our government. Shes reporting clearly shes reporting to this fellow, alexander torshin, who has ties to moscow and is an important russian banker banking official. I would venture to guess that she is being managed by this guy, who it looks like to me is her handler, and maybe there are several others who are out there doing exactly the same thing. Everyone says its like an episode of the series the americans. Guy lewis, we will have you back. Thank you so much for helping us to explain whats going on these days. Coming up, because the plot lines we follow here each night so often sound like fiction, bestselling author dan silva will be here in a moment to talk kremlin secrets and the kgb when kremlin secrets and the kgb when when we come back. To keep our community safe. Before you do any project big or small, pg e will come out and mark your gas and electric lines so you dont hit them when you dig. Call 811 before you dig, and make sure that you and your neighbors are safe. U. S. Intelligence agencies have unanimously found what is regarded as settled fact. Russia indeed reached dean within our electoral process and an attack that remains under way as we speak at this moment. Its just the most recent effort of theirs in a campaign to infiltrate american politics dating back to the days of the cold war. That is the subject of a new novel, the other woman by best selling author sanl silva who joins us here in our new york studios. Great to see you again. I reckon you and i are pretty close in age and so we have watched the ark of all things First Soviet Union and then russia. You had the great good taste to start writing about it for the last decade or so. You can believe as a person our age how much the conversation is about russia and russians here in the United States of america . I can believe it actually. I wrote my first book dealing with russia in 2008 called moscow rules and i spent a big portion of 2007 in moscow and saint peters berburg. I spent time with russian opposition and journalists living in fear of Vladimir Putin and i came to the conclusion in 2007 that Vladimir Putin and the new russia were a malevolent force. It was a successful novel, but i got a lot of blow back saying i was being too hard on putin and you got it wrong. I didnt get it wrong. I got is write. Another book dealt with russian meddling in british politics. I didnt make tup. They were doing it in western europe. Im only surprised it took so long to do it here in the United States. As people make their way to a brick and mortar bookstore or electronic dealers, give us the viewers guide to this book. What we should know about their tactics and methods that may inform how we take in the news of the day that we will get in purchasing this book. Well, i wrote in this book a very Old Fashioned mole hunt. My hero, gabriel, the head of Israeli Intelligence is looking for a russian mole inserted into russian intelligence. I wrote that Old Fashioned style cold war thriller this year because i think that there are a lot of similarities between what is going on now and the way putin is conducting himself with the way the Old Soviet Union conducted itself. I mean going back to the days of the 20s and the 30s. When a very youthful, paranoid, and aggressive soviet union under lenin and stalin reached out and tampered with the west they did it through black propaganda and murder and mayhem and disinformation campaigns. When Vladimir Putin metsddles i our election and kills someone in the United Kingdom because he is opposed to the regime, he is reaching into an old tool box that these guys have been using for almost a century now. Im afraid they are very good at it. Thats why the thrillers will leave on a cliff. Daniel silva whose name can make a recipe book. You dont need my luck, but best of luck. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. When we come back, warning of the politics of fear. A certain former president critiques the Current Oval Office occupant while never mentioning his name. We are back with that after this. Last thing before we go here tonight, one day after President Trump sided with the leader of an adverse aerial nation, his predecessor was speaking out in defense of democracy at an event marking the 100th birthday of Nelson Mandela in south africa, former president barack obama warned about the rise of bigotry and nationalism. Never mentioning trump by name, the former president outlined his concerns over whats happening in our times. Strong man politics are ascending suddenly. Where by elections and some pretense of democracy are maintained, the form of it, but those in power seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning. Unfortunately too much of Politics Today seems to reject that very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up. They just make stuff up. We see the utter loss of shame hmong political leaders where they are caught in a lie and they double down and lie some more. As people spoke about the triumph of democracy in the 90s, now you are hearing people talk about the end of democracy and the triumph of tribalism and the strong man. We have to resist that cynicism. Because we have been through darker barack obama in south africa. That is our broadcast on a tuesday night. Thank you so very much for being here with us. Good night from nbc news headquarters here in new york. Tonight on all in. I will say this, i dont see any reason why it would be. I came back and said what is the big deal. To try and distinguish the fire storm he started. In a key sentence in my remarks, i said the word would instead of wouldnt. Tonight, the inside story. The growing calls for Republican Leaders to take action