Thursday, on Morning Joe, discussions concerning Jeff Sessions and his contact with a Russian ambassador consumed most of the program. During the 7:00 a.m. Eastern hour, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was grilled to give his opinion of the Sessions situation. McCarthy was asked several times even though he made clear he was just learning of the story himself saying, “I'm just now reading about this myself.” About twenty minutes later, host Mika Brzezinski introduced a misleading clip of this interview.
Brzezinski introduced the clip saying, “Earlier on Morning Joe, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy called for Sessions to recuse himself”
Here’s the clip’s portrayal of the exchange:
MARK HALPERIN: Do you think he should recuse himself from this investigation given this now disclosed meeting?
KEVIN MCCARTHY: I think – the trust of the American people, you recuse yourself in these situations, yes.
HALPERIN: You said- you would urge him to recuse himself?
MCCARTHY: I don't have all the information in front of me. I don't want to prejudge. But I just think for any investigation going forward, you want to make sure everybody trusts the investigation. That there's no doubt within the investigation. It's easier.
HALPERIN: Does that require his recusal?
MCCARTHY: I think it would be easier from that standpoint, yes.
In fact McCarthy did not call for Sessions to recuse himself at all, and made clear several times that he only just learned of this. McCarthy simply said that Sessions, or anyone in a similar position, would make things easier by removing themselves.
From the start of the segment, starting with host Joe Scarborough, the same question was asked five times, in several different ways, until they got the answer they were aiming for. Scarbrough asked, “What is your reaction to the Jeff Sessions news? Should the attorney general recuse himself from any investigation moving forward on Russia?” McCarthy answered, “I'm just now reading about this myself. I could see in his role as senator, yes, meeting with different ambassadors. I just think he needs to clarify what these meetings were and when did he have them.”
Brzezinski then asked, “If you had a meeting with a Russian ambassador and you were supporting a campaign that was swirling with questions about Russia would you disclose that you had that meeting?” McCarthy began with: “Well– in this role, we meet with ambassadors all the time.” He was then interrupted by Brzezinski with an enthusiastic, “Exactly!” McCarthy continued: “At a convention, ambassadors all come to both conventions and they try to get as many members as come through and just say hi . . . You're really not meeting with one per se. I don't see anything very serious– I mean, by the standpoint there is an internal meeting here. But I just think he needs to clarify from what I read in the paper right now.”
Following this, political analyst Mark Halperin began with his line of questioning. Halperin started by asking: “He (Sessions) said if it comes appropriate to recuse, kind of in a tautological way. But– So let me ask you, do you think he should recuse himself from this investigation given this now disclosed meeting?” McCarthy replied, “I think you the– you trust the American people you recuse yourself in these situations. Yes”
Halperin asked again: “You- you said you would urge him to reccuse himself?” McCarthy answered, “I mean– I don't have all of the information in front of me. I don’t want to pre-judge, but I just think for any investigation going forward you want to make sure everybody trusts the investigation that there is no doubt within the investigation-” Interrupting Halperin persisted to ask the same thing again: “Does that require his recusal, congressman?” McCarthy answered the same question again, with, “I think it would be easier from that standpoint, yes.”
Before Brzezinski deceptively referred to the McCarthy-Halperin exchange, there were clips of Bill Clinton and Jeff Sessions spliced together. After the infamous Clinton clip aired, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, a Jeff Sessions clip played with him saying, “I did not have communications with the Russians.” After the spliced clips ended, Brzezinski declared there was “ a similarity there” and drew connections between both of the statements: “You just wonder sometimes why you put something together-- You can take it in. There might be a similarity there, ‘I did not.’”
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This was the full exchange that took place on March 2
MSNBC- Morning Joe
7:30AMMIKA BRZEZINSKI: Let's bring in House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy of California. We want to talk
about --
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Let's talk about Obamacare, second. First though, let’s talk really quickly. What is your reaction to the Jeff Sessions news? Should the attorney general recuse himself from any investigation moving forward on Russia?
KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, I think Sessions in the little clip that I just saw listening to you he said he would recuse himself going forward. But I think– I'm just now reading about this myself. I could see in his role as Senator, yes, meeting with different ambassadors. I just think he needs to clarify what these meetings were and when did he have them.
BRZEZINSKI: If you had a meeting with a Russian ambassador and you were supporting a campaign that was swirling with questions about Russia would you disclose that you had that meeting?
MCCARTHY: Well– in this role, we meet with ambassadors all the time.
BRZEZINSKI: Exactly.
MCCARTHY: Yes, you just say -- at a convention, ambassadors all come to both conventions and they try to get as many members as come through and just say hi. I imagine that is kind of a big room. You're really not meeting with one per se. I don't see anything very serious– I mean, by the standpoint there is an internal meeting here. But I just think he needs to clarify from what I read in the paper right now.
SCARBOROUGH: Mark?
MARK HALPERIN: But he didn't say he would recuse -- he is recusing himself. He said if it comes appropriate to recuse, kind of in a tautological way. But– So let me ask you, do you think he should recuse himself from this investigation given this now disclosed meeting?
MCCARTHY: I think you the– you trust the American people you recuse yourself in these situations. Yes
HALPERIN: He should– you- you said you would urge him to reccuse himself?
MCCARTHY: I mean– I don't have all of the information in front of me. I don’t want to pre-judge, but I just think for any investigation going forward you want to make sure everybody trusts the investigation that there is no doubt within the investigation--
HALPERIN: Does that require his recusal, congressman?
MCCARTHY: I think it would be easier from that standpoint, yes.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: So let me– let's ask about really -- again, this is sort of a side issue regarding personnel which very, very serious. But let's talk about policy that is going to impact the American people at the end of the day. I was sitting, for the first time, I was invited by Elijah Cummings to sit on the democratic side and I was sitting over there. When the President said, basically, let's tackle health all of the Democrats around me just sort of started chuckling saying good luck. And basically said we tried that for two years, it's extraordinarily difficult. How are you guys going to tackle this in a way that is not going to destroy your majority the same way it destroyed the Democrats in '93 and '94 under Hillary Clinton's attempt? And Barack Obama's majority in '09 and '10. How do you guys tackle this without paying a huge political price?
MCCARTHY: Well, the first thing, as you know, Joe, you can't look at just politics when you're trying to solve a problem. ObamaCare in essence was two major items, the exchanges and the expansion of medicaid. If you look at the changes today one-third of this country, 1,022 counties only have one provider and others are pulling out. So we know that is collapsing upon itself. The 23 coops that were created 18 of those have already collapsed. So then when you look at medicaid I had 18 governors in in a bipartisan meeting this week. If you look at the expansion of medicaid in the ten-year window it's going to cost $1 trillion for one year. Well a trillion dollars is the equivalent of about as much as we spend for all discretionary government. So you know, that is not sustainable. So do we ignore the problems looking ahead and let them get bigger? Or do we reach out and try to solve them? And I think when you listen to what the President said, protect preexisting conditions – make a ban on lifetime limits, don't allow them to ban that. And secondly if you're 26 years old and younger you can stay on your parents' plan. Start with a set of principles that government isn't dictating the plan that individuals can go into the market so you build up the marketplace and actually have choice. I mean when you talk to my constituents with medicaid, not every doctor takes it. And think about how long that waiting list is for specialists and you want to spend a trillion on dollars on that health care? Or do you want to find health care that actually for the individual?
SCARBOROUGH: Willie?
GEIST: Leader Mccarthy, it’s Willie Geist, good to see you. Do you agree with your former colleague in the former speaker of the house John Banner where he said last week, that look, let's be honest. Republicans aren't going to actually repeal ObamaCare. That is too big a lift. They will fix it. They will play around the edges and they’ll fix pieces of it. But to fully repeal and then replace it with one giant omni bust bill is not likely and not the way this going to play out.
MCCARTHY: No-- I disagree. We will repeal it and replace it but we will do that through reconciliation. And remember what the ACA did? It empowered the health and human services secretary. 1,400 pages just dealing with the secretary of their empowerment. So we will deal and repeal it, but also replace – health savings account, tax credits, reforming of medicaid. Those type of elements can go through the replacement through reconciliation. The work of Tom Price, the new secretary, he can do a tremendous amount. And then we will move te other bills that take 60 votes. Let the American people decide what is best for moving forward.
(....)
Spliced Clips:
BILL CLINTON: But I want to say one thing to the American people, I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again.
JEFF SESSIONS: I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign.
CLINTON: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
SESSIONS: I didn't – I did not have communications with the Russians.
BRZEZINSKI: So, that -- you just wonder sometimes why you put something together-- You can take it in. There might be a similarity there, I did not. Did attorney general Jeff Sessions commit perjury? So– What is your gut, Mark Halperin, at this point? What’s your gut on the question?
HALPERIN: I want him to speak more about whether he remembered the meetings and didn't think they were important to bring up. I also want to know who else knew besides him about the meeting?
BRZEZINSKI: Right. The Washington Post is out with more. Jeff Sessions had the high ranking Russian official last year when he was a Senator and when a lot of questions about Russia were swirling. In a moment, we'll speak with the man whose question may end Sessions’ career. Senator Al Franken will be joining us, it’s his first interview of the day, right here on Morning Joe. Also, about the same time this Washington Post piece crossed last night , there was this from The New York Times, they went up with a piece entitled Obama officials raced to preserve Russian trail. So we'll get to the other explosive piece of reporting in a moment. Because you know, the fake news Media is so failing, they have nothing to share with us at all, nothing to see. Good morning. It's Thursday, March 2nd. With us live, we have political analyst and executive producer and co-host of show time's The Circus Mark Halperin back with us. Former aid to the George W Bush White House and State Dept’s Elise Jordan. So let’s get everybody caught up another Republican law maker is publicly calling for attorney general Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation. The Washington Post was first to report that Sessions met twice last year with Russia's ambassador to the United States. Including a meeting in Session's senate office in September, weeks after U.S. Officials were briefed on Russia's attempts to interfere in the Presidential election. And this morning, the attorney general said this:
SESSIONS: Well, I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign, and those remarks are unbelievable to me. And are false. And I don't have anything else to say about that so thank you.
>> What about recusing yourself from the agency --
JEFF SESSIONS: Well, I have said whenever it's appropriate, I will recuse myself. There's no doubt about that.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Joe and Willie have updates from around Washington on this. While testifying under oath, we'll get to that, at the confirmation hearing on January 10th, Sessions had an exchange with Democratic Senator Al Franken about reports on Russian ties to the Trump campaign. Listen.
AL FRANKEN: These documents also, allegedly stated, quote, there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government. If it's true, it's obviously extremely serious. And if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do?
SESSIONS: Senator Franken, I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians. And I'm unable to comment.
FRANKEN: Very well.
BRZEZINSKI: I did not have communications with the Russians. He volunteered that. A spokeswoman for the department of justice says there was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer. He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the trump campaign. Not about meetings he took as a Senator and a member of the armed services committee. His office points out he met with many other ambassadors as well. The Wall Street journal reports federal investigators examined the contacts. Though, the status and outcome of that inquiry is unclear. And earlier on Morning Joe, House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy called for Sessions to recuse himself:
HALPERIN: Do you think he should recuse himself from this investigation given this now disclosed meeting?
MCCARTHY: I think – the trust of the American people, you recuse yourself in these situations, yes.
HALPERIN: You said- you would urge him to recuse himself?
MCCARTHY: I don't have all the information in front of me. I don't want to prejudge. But I just think for any investigation going forward, you want to make sure everybody trusts the investigation. That there's no doubt within the investigation. It's easier.
HALPERIN: Does that require his recusal?
MCCARTHY: I think it would be easier from that standpoint, yes.
