Transcripts For MSNBCW The Last Word With Lawrence ODonnell 20181021

Byebye. Well, today the dictatorship that calls itself the kingdom of saudi arabia insulted the world with its written explanation of how the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the saudi consulate in istanbul. Here is the intelligence insulting written statement by the saudi dictatorship. A statement which in and of itself is an offense against decency and humanity. The statement says, the results of the preliminary investigations revealed that the discussions that took place with the citizen Jamal Khashoggi during his presence in the consulate of the kingdom in istanbul by the suspects did not go as required, and escalated negatively, which led to a fight between them and the citizen Jamal Khashoggi, which aggregated the situation and led to his death. May god rest his soul. In addition to their attempt to conseal what happened and to cover it up, while the investigations are still ongoing in the case with the 18 detainees of saudi nationality, the kingdom expresses its deep regret that the painful outcome and stresses the commitment of the authorities in the kingdom to bring the facts to the public as well as holding all those involved and bringing them to justice by referring them to the Competent Courts in the kingdom of saudi arabia. Now, here is a picture of Jamal Khashoggi. He is obviously physically incapable of being involved in anything that could be called a fight with 15 saudis who flew into istanbul specifically to grab him when he walked into that consulate. Jamal khashoggi was obviously physically incapable of putting up one second of physical resistance to anything, any one of his murderers chose to do to him. Escalated negatively. Its hard to even call this language a lie. It is something far beyond a lie. Jamal khashoggi was incapable of escalating any violence against any of those people who murdered him. Not for one second. The statement says the fight between them and the citizen Jamal Khashoggi, which aggregated the situation led to his death. Apparently they mean to say eggravatted the situation. This poisonous dictatorship which lives in its own bubble, believes it could send those words out of the bubble today. And somewhere in the world they believed they would accept it, that someone somewhere could accept the idea that Jamal Khashoggi aggravated the situation and that led to his death. Saudi arabia does not have anything that the real world would recognize as a court system, but the Saudi Arabian dictators believe they could put out a Statement Today saying that this case could be handled by, quote, the Competent Courts in the kingdom of saudi arabia. There is no such thing. There has never been a Competent Court in saudi arabia. There never will be as long as the dictatorship is in place. And so who in the world who in the world would believe anything anything in the saudi Statement Today . Who would believe that Jamal Khashoggi was capable of aggravating the situation that led to his death . Who would believe that saudi arabia has Competent Courts . Who in the world would believe anything in that statement . I think its a good first step. Its a big step to a lot of people. A lot of people involved. And i think its a great first step. Thats donald trump in arizona tonight in a meeting with defense contractors, when he welcomed this big first step that the Saudi Arabian dictators have made by issuing this statement that is lie from start to finish. It was as if a script writer had placed him in that setting today in the movie of the madness of trump. There he is sitting with the defense contractors who contribute to his campaign and who want to do business with saudi arabia, and he updates the defense contractors on todays news. Saudi arabias been a great ally, but what happened is unacceptable. We are going to see theyve arrested just for the people at the table, a large number of people having to do with the event that took place in turkey and the consulate, the saudi con sue what the. And its a big first step. Its only a first step, but its a big first step. Leading off our discussion now josh, National Political reporter for nbc news. Also joining Us Ambassador robert jordan, former u. S. Ambassador to saudi arabia from 2001 to 2003. And jeremy bash, an Msnbc National Security an lift and former chief of staff at the cia and defense department. I want to get your reaction first to the saudi Statement Today. Lawrence, i hardly know what to say. If it werent so tragic i would recall the famous words of sergeant schultz, i flow nothing know nothing, im not here. Its absolutely astonishing that they would come up with this incredibly lame story. I think if it was probably a fight, i think it was Jamal Khashoggi fighting for his life as they were chopping off his fingers. But thats as closest to a fight i could imagine. It is absolutely outlandish. Its just astonishing they have come up with this. Ambassador, you served as george w. Bushs ambassador to saudi arabia, you were thereafter 9 11 until 2003. If President Trump had asked you to return to saudi arabia as an ambassador, if you were ambassador there tonight what would you have said today in saudi arabia . Well, first thing i would say to President Trump would be our ally in this is the kingdom of saudi arabia is not Mohammed Bin Salman, and i think you need to depersonalize this. We definitely need an alliance with a country like saudi arabia in the midst of a very rough neighborhood in the middle east. But i would caution him against blindly listening to anything these people say. Ill give you an example. When i arrived in saudi arabia after 9 11 one of the first things i did was to go to prince salman, then prince now king salman, and i asked him how could the hijackers on 9 11 be saudis, and he said these were no saudis whatsoever, this was the israelis that did this. This was a nosaud plot. And it made me realize you cant take at face value any repation they make. Thankfully we had more cooperative heads who worked with us at the time. This king salman was out of outer space 24e7b, and i think this government is in outer space now. Lets listen to the president tonight when he was asked the question do you consider this explanation by the saudis to be credible . Lets listen to this. Do you consider it credible, their explanation . I do. I do. I mean, again, its early. We havent finished early review or investigation, but i think its a very important first step. And it happened sooner than people thought it would happen. Jeremy bash, donald trump saying he takes that written statement to be credible. There are so many things to take apart in it, but one thing thats kind of special for trump is he and his republican friends have spent years screaming about sharia law, screaming about the kind of courts that they have in saudi arabia. And saudi arabia says at the end of that statement, which donald trump now finds credible is that their Competent Courts are going to take care of this. Lawrence, i dont think we are any closer to the truth tonight. And i think the United States has to conduct its own investigation of what happened, and i think we have to rely on our investigative authorities but also our intelligence and our Intelligence Community. And the truth will come out because the congress of the United States as part of its oversight of intelligence will ask the Intelligence Community including our main agencies what do we know about what happened . What do we know about this story thats being put forth tonight . Whats fact, whats fiction . And i think the congress in short order is going to well understand a lot more than we are being told at this hour. I want to go to one more thing that the president said tonight because there is this just affection about the setting he was in tonight, sitting there with defense contractors, the defense contractors who contributed to his campaign. The defense contractors who wants to do business with saudi arabia, no matter who they kill, no matter who they behead, no matter who they torture. Theyre ready to do business with them, and so is trump. Lets listen to what he said about continuing to do business with saudi arabia. In defense we have 110 billion. I would say almost 100 of it would be sitting around this table. I dont want to look over and tell marilyn or dennis, by the way, were going to take 25 billion worth of sales away from you, because that would be a lot of jobs, that would be everything. Ive been working on this with congress. Congress is very interested on this one. I would prefer we dont use as retribution canceling 110 billion worth of work. Josh letterman, in other words he would prefer there be no retribution whatsoever, no price for saudi arabia to pay for this. Certainly not when it comes to arms sales. Thats not really surprising i guess. Because the president was very forthcoming about this even before the saudis came out with their explanation. He said he didnt want to take that step. Heres whats so alarming about what we learned today, lawrence. Lets say for the sake of argument assume that everything the saudis said tonight is the honest truth. Were all talking about how incredulous their story is, but lets talk about it for a second. That means the saudis by their own admission had their Intelligence Service send a team into a foreign country, into a consulate to lie in wait for one of their own citizens, to conduct an extraordinary renditi rendition, got in a fight with him, killed him and then conducted a coverup to dispose of his body in some type of undisclosed fashion while the saudi government continued to tell the world for 17 days that he was alive and had left the consulate. None of that is even remotely acceptable behavior by international standards, even if what the saudis are saying tonight were true. Ambassador jordan, would you expect for saudi arabia to have anything that would resemble a public trial, a public airing of evidence against the people theyre currently detaining . No, absolutely not. It would be conducted in secret. There may be a sentence handed down, perhaps even a death sentence and then it wouldnt surprise me a year or two later after they stay on death row you quietly hear of a pardon, clemency granted perhaps by ramadan by the king. Jamal khashoggis editor at the Washington Post tonight tweeted this. She said khashoggi was a 60yearold man. What sort of equal fight would he have had against 15 other men, and who brings a bone saw to a discussion . The stupidity of the saudi explanation is mindboggling, and jeremy bash, that stupidity donald trump has said tonight he finds believable. And the big question, lawrence, really is whether the u. S. Saudi relationship because although obviously Mohammed Bin Salman bears sort of personal responsibility at this hour for what is happening in the kingdom and for how the kingdom is communicating with the world, there is no alternative to Mohammed Bin Salman, its not like the United States can snap its fingers and say we want somebody else in that vital role as leading that country as the heir apparent to a king. So there really is nobody else. So the United States is going to have to decide over the next months and years, how and whether in which to rely on saudi arabia, to pursue american interests. To be a counter weight to iran. To be a counter weight to al qaeda. And isis, to be involved in diplomacy involving syria, involving other areas of the middle east that are vital to our interests. I think were going to have to work with saudi arabia, but were going to have to figure out a new way of doing so after this incident. Were hearing as we have in the past, some noises from republican senators objecting to what is being said, and objectsing to what the saudis are saying. Its hard for me to believe that there are any senators in the congress that would actively conduct hearings of any kind of investigation of any part of this as long as the republicans have that power. Its a good question. There are two senators who are on the republican side who have been pretty outspoken about this in the run up to this evening. That would be marco rubio and lindsey graham. And they have really pushed for a hard line, a hard response. There has been discussions about things like trying to block any future arms sales, cutting off discussions with the saudis about a civilian nuclear agreement, whats known as a one, two, three agreement and other steps to try to create some distance from this. But certainly if the president heading into an election is talking about the jobs and money coming into this country as a result of this massive saudi arms deals, it is difficult to see how republicans en masse try to oppose him on that and dont essentially go along with essentially maintaining some version of the status quo. Thank you all for starting this important discussion tonight. Really appreciate it. Thank you. And when we come back after this break, we have more breaking news. Today the Justice Department issued its first criminal charge against a russian for interference in our current election. The 2018 election thats happening right now. And later, why the Houston Chronicle, which endorsed ted cruz in 2012 says its time to get rid of ted cruz and bring in senator beto orourke. An editor from the Houston Chronicle will join us. This is actually under your budget. Its great. Mmhmm. Yeah, and when you move in, geico could help you save on renters insurance man 1 behind wall yep, geico helped me with renters insurance, too um. The walls seem a bit thin. Man 2 behind wall they are and craig practices the accordion every night says the guy who sings karaoke by himself. Im a very shy singer. Youre tone deaf ehh. Should we move on to the next one . Its a great building youll love it here we have mixers every thursday. Geico®. Its easy to switch and save on homeowners and renters insurance. Just a second, we also have the mendez mediation. Brian is going to take the lead just follow his hello. Uh, no i need it right now. Yeah. Success is a numbers game. And youre not going to win if you keep telling yourself to wait. The more often that you choose courage, the more likely youll succeed. The most inspiring minds. The most compelling stories. Download audible. And listen for a change. Download audible. Weve hadfor a long time. Is in San Francisco and halfmeasures havent fixed it. Homelessness doesnt just hurt homeless people. It hurts all of us. Thats why were all voting yes on c. The plan is paid for by corporations that just got a massive tax break. Its time for them to give back by helping all of us to fix our homeless crisis. With more affordable housing. Expanded mentalhealth services. Clean restrooms and safe shelters. Vote yes on c. It helps all of us. In this election year, 2018, donald trump has continued to tell the lie that we have nothing to worry about when it comes to the possibility of russia continuing to interfere in our current 2018 election. Is russia still targeting the u. S. , mr. President . Lets go. Make your way out. Today the Trump Administration office of the director of National Intelligence warned that it is very concerned about, quote, ongoing campaigns by russia to interfere with this years election and the next president ial election. And just as the Trump Administration director of National Intelligence was making that announcement the Trump Administration department of justice announced charges against a russian for conspiracy to defraud the United States by interfering with this years election. It is the first criminal charge by the Justice Department against a russian for interference in this years elections. Prosecutors say that elena waged Information Warfare against the United States of america. According to the criminal complaint russia continues using fake accounts on social media to quote, sew division and discord in the u. S. Political system including by creating social and political polarization, undermining faith in Democratic Institutions and influencing u. S. Elections including the upcoming 2018 midterm election. These federal criminal charges were not brought by special prosecutor Robert Mueller who has been investigating russian interference in the 2016 election. The case is being handled by the Cyber Division of the u. S. Attorneys office in the Eastern District of virginia and the Justice Department National Security divisions Counter Intelligence and expert control section. The woman in charge is believed to be in russia now, and so has not been apprehended by u. S. Authorities. Prosecutors say she been acting as the chief accountant for the criminal operation intended to interfere in our election, and the operation was funded by a close oligarch of vladimir putin. The Russian Foreign ministry had no comment today on the criminal charges. Just no comment. When the president of the United States was asked about the criminal charges he threw back a bunch of words at the reporter who asked the question including the words Hillary Clinton, but all of those words amounted to simply i dont care. The Justice Department unleashed an indictment of a Russian National accused of trying to influence of election of 2018. It had nothing to do with my campaign. All of the hackers and everybody you see, nothing to do with my campaign. If the hackers, a lot of them probably liked Hillary Clinton better than me. Now they do. Now they do. But, you know, they go after some hacker in russia, and say, oh, it had nothing to do with my campaign. Do you have any ive already said it. Joining us now, ken dilanian, intelligence and National Security reporter for nbc news, and david corn, Washington Bureau chief for mother jones. Youve been studying this closer than most of us. The president continues to deny that theres any problem, certainly no ongoing problem with the russians interfering in our election. But the Trump Administration still seems to be doing the work of going after the russians interfering. What was stunning about this criminal complaint its not officially an indictment that was released today, 38 pages, was the level of detail about the russian attack on the United States. This is the same conspiracy, the same scheme that attacked the United States in 2016. This woman is an accountant from the organization, from the businesses that funded that work. But what was really i think the significant aspect of the criminal complaint was it said this is continuing today. So the same operation that was in place in 2016 and shaped and influenced the elections in a way that benefitted trump that was designed to benefit trump according to our Intelligence Community, is still ongoing. And as the complaint said, continues to this day and is aimed at the 2018 midterm elections. This is like hear and fire type of stuff. Too bad it was on a friday afternoon, but it really should set off sirens, alarm bells, anything. That the same guys that successfully did this in 2016 are at it and trying to do it again with the midterms. You see the president s response. Lets see if anybody on the republican side in Congress Gives a damn about this. Im not sure id take that bet. Ken dilanian, what do we make of the fact this is not a Robert Mueller prosecution . I think this is part of a larger Justice Department strategy to go after this election, to expose it to the world. Prosecution is a tool here, but not a substitute to take on this stuff, and were not seeing that at all. Donald trump is benefitting from this russian Information Warfare operation. Very clear. Its been going on since 2014. We didnt know about it back then. We know about it now. Hes benefiting and hes not denouncing it. And other parts of his government are doing as far as we can tell very little about it. The Justice Department has decided theyre going to bring criminal charges, and theyve released a lot of detailed intelligence information in this indictment. Theyre showing the russians theyre in their networks, this is nsa hacking exposed here in this indictment. But this woman is never going to face criminal charges, and right now we have very little defense against this manipulation of American Public opinion. And david corn, one of the things theyve discovered is, of course, in the russian invasion of our political discourse, this season, one of the things theyre doing on social media is attacking Robert Mueller. Yes. The Justice Department in its press release tried to play this even and said there was no real ideological vent to what the russians were doing. They attack russians, attack republicans. But all the examples in the republican complaint say theyre really out there to help the far right, and that includes dissing the mueller investigation. Yes, there are a few accounts, a few twitter accounts that say a few things in keeping the liberal response. But again and again its attacking republicans and democrats who dont support trump and also attacking Robert Mueller. Its clear they want to help trump as we get into the midterm elections. And ken, what about the fact that the Justice Department ran this one in kind of the place where this kind of investigation would have occurred if there had never been a special Prosecutors Office . Well, i think thats good news the Justice Department is actually attacking this. Lets not forget exactly what we were talking about here. This was a 35 million operation, incredibly sophisticated. These are people in st. Petersburg, russia, and they had a very sophisticated understanding of american politics, where the fault lines, nfl protesters, lgbt rights, gun rights. And were already divided. Theyre just throwing a match on dry tinder here, and its very effective. And im not sure we have any defense for it at this moment. The woman is apparently in russia. So theres not going to be extradition. Were probably not going to get to a trial in this. So what was their point in putting this out today . To send a message to the russians that they have exposed this conduct and build Public Awareness about it. And frankly, were not sure, why did they only charge her and not other people . Does she have a villa somewhere where she cannot travel to a country where the fbi can snatch her. Theres somewhat of a penalty to be paid here, but also a naming and shaming kind of thing but also to build Public Awareness so people can see what the russians are doing. Ken dilanian, thank you for joining us in this discussion. David corn as well. And when we come back is there anything that republican elected officials fear more than democracy . After walking six miles at an amusement park, bills back needed a vacation from his vacation. So he stepped on the dr. Scholls kiosk. It recommends our best custom fit orthotic to relieve foot, knee, or lower back pain so you can move more. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. Connecting people. Uniting the world. Today, lifechanging technology from abbott is helping hunt them down at their source. Because the faster we can identify new viruses, the faster we can get to stopping them. The most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life. Life. To the fullest. Elected republicans in america from the president on down obviously fear democracy. They fear the will of the voters, and so they try to prevent voters from voting. That is their top campaign strategy, stop democracy. Dodge city, kansas, has 27,000 residents, 60 of whom are hispanic. And now dodge city has zero places to vote. That is zero polling locations in a city of 27,000 people. Local officials have moved the polling place outside of city limits to a location that is more than a mile from the nearest bus stop. Slate is reporting that the office of the secretary of state says there is nothing unusual or discriminatory about the relocation of the site. It is unusual that the person in charge of running elections is actually running in the election for governor and losing in kansas, a state that donald trump won by 21 opponents. Secretary of state chris kobach is trailing by one point at this point, and that is of course a tie, statistical tie. Democratic challenger, laura kelly, it is astonishing that that could be a tie at this point. The New York Times reported today that the Democratic Party of georgia is receiving more than 300 calls a day to their Voter Protection hot line. Today Florida Attorney general eric holder tweeted, republicans keeping people away from the polls in north dakota, georgia, and now kansas. They are afraid of the people they claim they want to represent. Joining our discussion now the executive director of the indivisible project and david corn is back with us. Ezra, it feels like we have never seen anything like this, we have never seen it this bad since the early 1960s, before the Voting Rights act. Yeah, lawrence, look, you are absolutely right. They are terrified of democracy. And theyre terrified theyre going to lose if they play fairly. This is why we see them purging black voters in georgia. We see them preventing nativeamerican voters from voting in north dakota and young voters in texas. These are states theyve got to win. And instead of adapting to an increasingly young electorate, theyre trying to prevent these voters from getting to the voting booths. I dont want people to think the whole system is rigged, the fact of the matter is weve had primary elections, offyear elections, local elections for the last 20 months and weve seen 6, 9, 12point swings against trump supporting republicans despite all the dirty tricks. So it is possible to win, but its not going to happen automatically. Its only going to happen if we put in the work, if we canvas, phone bank, if we text bank. And thats im seeing individual groups across the country do. And david corn, what democrats are seeing are there are new challenges every day about how to enable people to vote. Now presumably in kansas theyre going to have to come up with some sort of Transportation System to get people to that single polling place. You know, we can put this in the grand historical sweep. For 153 years, ever since the end of the civil war its been the top agenda of racists in the south and elsewhere to try to stop africanamericans from voting. And weve seen it again and again and again. Now theyre a little bit more subtle than they used to be. But still what dodge city is doing by not having a single voting place within the town limits, not a single voting place that anyone can even walk to or ride a bike to, putting it outside, thats about as transparent as it gets. What they did in north dakota when they said unless you have a street address you cant vote, well, if youre a nativeamerican living on a reservation, and we know the history there, well, you dont always have a street address. So right away thousands of nativeamerican citizens are not allowed to vote. These are not subtle thing. And when you have the secretary of the state secretaries of state, and where is it in georgia, ohio, and kansas, all involved in these controversies, and many of them running for office themselves, you know, it does get rigged. And i think the way that what ezra said is right. People cant let that put them off, but people need to get mad and realize people dont want you to vote. And whats the best way to fight back . By figuring out how to get to the voting place. Reporting that in a single day more than half a million people, 8 of georgias registered voters were cut from the voter rolls for an estimated 107,000 of those people their removal from the voter rolls was triggered not because they moved or died or went to prison but rather because they decided not to vote in prior elections. And ezra, that is your right to decide not to vote. And purging those rolls has never been its never happened before that if you miss an election you will surrender your right to vote. No, its happening because the republicans in georgia think they might lose, and so theyre not playing fair. Look, there are great organizations working in georgia and elsewhere to ensure these voters can indeed vote. Black voters matter is doing great work in the state as well as other supporting groups. Look, we cant take this sitting down. We need to get voters to the polls and make sure democracy actually functions because it is a participatory sport. And look, part of the battle is for, 18 days from now, we need to get people unite to vote. In some cases, democracy is literally on the ballot. People are voting nor reenfranchising returning citizens. People are voting for automatic voter registration. Trying to get not partisan redistricting path. There are places we can vote to protect and expand democracy. And even if its not on the ballot, even if youre not voting on that specific in the state, theres an opportunity if democrats take the house, the state legislators, governorships, they should embrace democracy. We should see Democratic Leaders coming out for making voting day a National Holiday about theres no reason why in the 21st century, we should be operating on 19th century Democratic Institutions. Lets improve democracy. Democrats have a political opportunity. And when i travel around the country visiting with groups in murfreesboro, tennessee or beaumo beaumont, texas, or arizona, you what i hear is, they want these reforms. Thats what they want today see their elected officials do when they get into office in january 2019. Before we go to break, i have a quick word about these stunning polls, a tie in the governor races in georgia and kansas. Yeah, i mean, but look we have these gerrymandering districts, and theyre coming up with these, you know, phony and fraudulent and antidemocratic methods. Thats what they have to do. So if its that close, anything you can do to repress 50,000 votes, 10,000 votes, even 500 votes could make the difference. And thats why theyre doing it. Ezra levine, david corn, thank you for joining us tonight. Thanks for having me. And up next a very big endorsement in texas for beto orourke for United States senate. Today is the day youre going to get motivated. Get stronger. Get closer. 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For drivers with accident forgiveness Liberty Mutual wont raise their rates because of their first accident. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Democratic Senate candidate beto orourke picked up a big endorsement in his Texas Senate Campaign against incumbent republican ted cruz. The Houston Chronicle endorsed ted cruz when he was elected to the senate six years ago, and now the Houston Chronicle is endorsing ted cruzs opponent, Robert Francis orourke of el paso, texas. Texas has not elected a democrat to the United States senate since 1988 when lloyd benson won his last Reelection Campaign for senate in texas. The Houston Chronicle editorial endorsement of beto orourke did not just make the case for orourke, it condemned senator ted cruz who they endorsed six years ago. Ted cruz, a candidate the chronicle endorsed in 2012 is the junior senator from texas in name only, exhibiting little interest in addressing the needs of his fellow texans during his six years in office. For cruz Public Office is a private quest. The needs of his constituents are secondary. The editorial quoted former Republican House Speaker John Boehner when he described ted cruz as, quote, lucifer in the flesh. The chronicles Editorial Board said, quote, we enthusiastically endorse beto orourke for u. S. Senate. The west texas congressmans command of the issues that matter to this state, his unaffected eloquence, and his eagerness to reach out to all texans make him one of the most impressive candidates this Editorial Board has encountered in many years. Imagine how refreshing it would be to have a u. S. Senator who not only knows the issues but respects the opposition, who takes firm positions but reaches out to those who disagree, who expects to make government work for texas and for the nation. Beto orourke we believe is that senator. After a break well be joined by one of the editors of the Houston Chronicle who joined in that editorial endorsement of beto orourke. 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Progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents. But we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. But we can protect your home and auto connecting people. Uniting the world. So how about some of your opinions on some of the other people running for the highest office in the land . How about ted cruz . Lucifer in the flesh. In washington i have as many democratic friends as i have republican friends. I get along with almost everybody. But i have never worked with a more miserable son of a [ bleep ] in my life. Joining us now the Deputy Editor of the Houston Chronicle. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. And this editorial is extraordinary to me for a couple of reasons. One, youre the same newspaper that endorsed ted cruz for the United States senate six years ago. I dont think ive ever read more disappointment by an endorsing newspaper in the officeholder who they endorsed. Well, the whole process really was guided by something that Kay Bailey Hutchison told us in 2012 as she was the outgoing senator. That being a senator is like a parent, theres always something you have to deal with. And if youre dealing with state like kentucky, idaho, you can go on ideological crusades, and thats fine. But when youre representing texas, it has to be 100 texas. Like the parent of a teenager, were not mad at ted cruz, but we are disappointed. And on the positive side, when youre talking about beto orourke. Youre making the case that. Beto has the ability to go out to where politicians havent gone in years. He listens to people, and creates these sparks of Civic Engagement where folks who have never really talked to each other, but live in the same neighborhoods discuss what they want the public to be like, and what they want their government to be like. And he goes and listens and brings that up to washington. I think thats something that will benefit people, no matter where you are on the political spectrum. And when you go back when youre looking at senator cruz and considering how he failed the state, what would you say were the principle ways in which ted cruz made it impossible for you to endorse him . Well, senator cruz is incredibly smart, hes a smart man, hes ambitious and he has political skill, we saw him use that in 2013 when he shot down the senate over obama care, but we get frustrated and a little disappointed when it comes time to work for texas. For example, after hurricane harvey, we were having difficulty getting a recovery bill are through the house and then the senate. We called on him. Do what you did before. Shut down the senate and help us out, bring attention to this cause. And he did not do that. He fights for himself, he doesnt fight for texas. Were going to be joined by ezra levine who was in our previous segment. One of the things that the editorial acknowledge is that beto orourke is running behind ted cruz in the polls. And the Houston Chronicle is not picking a winner at this time. What is your reading that would have to happen on the ground for the Orourke Campaign to win . I was three years old when texas elected the last democratic senator in 1988, it is a tough state for democrats, that said, the campaign that beto has been running has been absolutely incredible. Indivisible that a big launch 100 days before the election, our electoral work. We were working with groups all over the country, direct canvass and text banks and phone banks. I did a road trip with groups that are trying to elect beto. I was in beaumont texas, with Golden Triangle indivisible on a friday night with groups of people that were doing what evan just described. People that were coming together to try to get beto orourke elected. The next saturday morning i drove to wimberly, texas, so many people turned out for beto, we ran out of doors to knock on about one of the things were seeing in texas. Is that yes, beto is lighting the political system on fire in texas, its not even just him. There there are a lot of very impressive congressional candidates. Julia, oliver and many other congressional candidates who are running of volunteers, to answer your question, what is it going to take to win in texas . Its going to take a lot of work, its going to take doing that canvassing, doing that film making, that texting. Anyone who would like to see this blue wave thats coming, its not coming, its being built drop by drop. We have three weekends left, sign up, find out where youre knocking on doors. This has become personal for me, my family is based in texas. Theyre not really politically active, they havent done any of this Campaign Work before. My sister is leading a canvas for beto in houston this weekend. If she can do it, you can do it to. Latest polls, cnn registered voters intexas, shows a fivepoint gap between them. And sevenpoint gap when you go to likely voters. And what has been the reaction so far, to the paper endorsing beto orourke . There has been a lot of excitement, a lot of traffic in the air. And someone flew a plane over our building with a big banner that says no to beto, no to socialism. And i am pretty sure there are socialists on the ballot though. There is a socialist judge in harris county. Republicans, democrats and i want to take this opportunity to implore people, please, read the endorsements, dont vote straight ticket. Vote for quality judges, no matter whatever party theyre in. If we knock out these incredible jurists, that helps everyone. I have to say it is a wellwritten and well considered editorial on the cruz side of the editorial and the orourke side of the editorial. Evan, thanks very much for joining us. Tonights last word is next. Better. 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And the week is ending, with this trump baby floating over downtown los angeles, marking the spot where politicon is convening at the Convention Center tomorrow. I will need that trump baby blimp to show me exactly where to go when i head down there tomorrow. That is tonights last word, the 11th hour with Brian Williams starts now. Breaking news tonight, a russian has been charged for meddling in the midterms. Just 18 days away. Tonight, what we know about this active and ongoing threat, a clear and present danger to a democratic society, and what the president has to say about it. Also, breaking, saudi arabia finally confirms Jamal Khashoggi has died inside their consulate, in turkey, 18 saudis are in custody tonight, and now, all eyes on this man, the crown prince. And paul manafort, shows up to court in a wheelchair. As his sentencing date is set. The 11th hour, set to begin, on a friday night. Good evening once again on this friday night, from nbc news headquarters here in new york. And my do we have a lot to get to. Day 638 of