MSNBC Morning Joe co-host Willie Geist proved that even a broken clock is right twice a day as the morning show welcomed on House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. After co-host Mika Brzezinski let Schiff get some free swings in against "handpicked" Attorney General William Barr, Geist asked the questions that Schiff should get every time appears for an interview.
"Do you accept the fundamental conclusion in that four-page letter, that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians?" Geist asked. Schiff said that he did, but then contradicted himself, "I've always said there was ample evidence of collusion in the public record. Whether Bob Mueller could prove the crime of conspiracy beyond reasonable doubt would be up to him."
Schiff's goalpost moving from collusion to conspiracy did not go unnoticed. "You said on this show that there's direct evidence of collusion. Were you wrong, now that you've seen the summary of the Special Counsel's report?" Geist pressed. Schiff insisted that there was still ample evidence of collusion, "because I think what you see in the public record is direct evidence," citing various Trump statements from the campaign and the meeting at Trump Tower attended by Trump Jr.
Geist wondered why it was that Schiff had reached this conclusion, but Robert Mueller had not: "So, why do you suspect, Mr. Chairman, Robert Mueller, after two years of investigation, couldn't reach that conclusion for himself." Schiff responded by saying that is why Congress needs to see the full report and speculated that Mueller did not have enough evidence to prove collusion beyond a reasonable doubt. He then switched the conversation to Russian meddling.
The Barr letter states that "The Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign." Schiff was, and still is, wrong about collusion. This has lead many conservatives to insist that he not be invited on TV, but he needs to answer for his multi-year disinformation campaign. Surprisingly, Geist made him, albeit in an unlikely setting.
Here is a transcript for the April 3 interview:
MSNBC
Morning Joe
7:33 AM ET
WILLIE GEIST: Do you accept the fundamental conclusion in that four-page letter, that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians?
SCHIFF: I accept Mueller's conclusion, and I assume Barr wouldn't misrepresent this, that
he could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt the crime of conspiracy. As I said, there is evidence of collusion and corrupt co-mingling of work between the Trump campaign and the Russians. I fully accept that as a prosecutor, he couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that crime. As you know, because I've made this distinction on your show, I’ve always said there was ample evidence of collusion in the public record. Whether Bob Mueller could prove the crime of conspiracy beyond reasonable doubt would be up to him. I'd accept his judgement, and I do.GEIST: Well, you’re right, you said on this show that there’s direct evidence of collusion. Were you wrong, now that you've seen the summary of the Special Counsel's report?
SCHIFF: No, because I think what you see in the public record is direct evidence. When the Russians, through an intermediary, offered dirt on the Clinton campaign as part of what's described as the Russian government effort to help the Trump campaign, and Donald Trump's son who played a pivotal role in the campaign who says, “If it is what you say it is, I'd love it, and sets up a meeting to receive it” that is very direct evidence of collusion.
GEIST: So, why do you suspect, Mr. Chairman, Robert Mueller, after two years of investigation, couldn't reach that conclusion himself?
SCHIFF: Well, we won't know until we get the report, but even looking at that fact pattern, Mueller could conclude that the Trump campaign didn't know that this was, in fact, the Russian government, even though it was portrayed as the Russian government, or that the dirt they got during that meeting wasn't sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt conspiracy or these other interactions with other Russians, with Kilimnik, believed to be linked to Russian intelligence, the offer of polling data, maybe there wasn't a sufficient link that could be proven by beyond a reasonable doubt between Kilimnik and the Russian government. We won't know until we see the report. There is no explaining away the eagerness of the President that he demonstrated publicly, to have Russian help, “Hey Russians, if you're listening, hack Hillary's emails.” There is no doubt that the Russians did in fact hack the Democratic emails. There is no doubt about how the President touted the WikiLeaks releases. All of this is in the public whether it is criminal or not, as I said the other day in committee, it is deeply unpatriotic, unethical, and corrupt.
