Glares of federal court. What we learned about the manafort trial which will be under way by this time next week. All of it as the 11th hour gets under way on a thursday night. Well, good evening once again from our nbc headquarters here in new york. Day 546 of the Trump Administration. And at the height of the hubbub over helsinki donald trump has invited Vladimir Putin to washington this fall. As the New York Times and others have been saying trump long ago became the First American president even suspected of having any kind of loyalties or obligations to the leader of a foreign power, in this case a full on adversary who hacked our president ial election. And now the president has apparently doubled down. He apparently had his white house aide for National Security extend the invitation to putin. It was not shared, apparently, with those at the top of his administration. So witness this, our own Andrea Mitchell was interviewing dan coats who happens to be the director of National I
Gets under way on a thursday night. Well, good evening once again from our nbc headquarters here in new york. Day 546 of the Trump Administration. And at the height of the hubbub over helsinki donald trump has invited Vladimir Putin to washington this fall. As the New York Times and others have been saying trump long ago became the First American president even suspected of having any kind of loyalties or obligations to the leader of a foreign power, in this case a full on adversary who hacked our president ial election. And now the president has apparently doubled down. He apparently had his white house aide for National Security extend the invitation to putin. It was not shared, apparently, with those at the top of his administration. So witness this, our own Andrea Mitchell was interviewing dan coats who happens to be the director of National Intelligence in aspen, colorado, this afternoon when the news broke, and it was immediately apparent it was news to him. We have some breaking
worst cyber actors, that he was ramping up his criticism. and then on monday he very swiftly responded to the trump-putin comments where specifically the president sided with putin over by name dan coats and the intelligence assessment. and he very quickly came out with a statement while the president was getting on air force one, reasserting that consensus agreement, which he said today had been assessed and reassessed in the last 18 months and is still valid. that it was not just the russians but it was vladimir putin s russians, that all things are decided by the former kgb spymaster at the head of that country. so he was very clear, and he feels that that is his job, as he said, to stand up for the special, that he is not being you know, he wants to keep politics out of intelligence. and he is putting it all on the line. and i have to say he replicated what criss ray did last night
you know, he wants to keep politics out of intelligence. and he is putting it all on the line. and i have to say he replicated what criss ray did last night here in an interview with lester. and these are two law enforcement intelligence officials who really feel they have to stand up for their agencies. andrea, this may call for an opinion on your part but it was lost on none of us who could see you on live television that the white house communication shop, sarah huckabee sanders, tweeted out the invitation to putin while you re sitting there with the director of national intelligence whose word the president seemed to go against. last we saw in helsinki. accident, quirk of history or not? i m not in a position especially at this distance to know. i don t have the sourcing to know exactly what was going through your minds? there s a lot of lack of communication in that shop or