Seconds before the official release of the highly anticipated House Intelligence Committee memo on abuses of power within the FBI, CNN political director David Chalian was furious that it was distracting from Russia’s “attack on our democracy” and heaped praise on Republican Senator John McCain (Ariz.) for a statement condemning the memo
Filling in for John King on Inside Politics, Dana Bash read aloud a statement about the memo from the ailing GOP Senator, who’s back in Arizona:
The latest attacks on the FBI and the Department of Justice serve no American interest — no party’s, no presidents, only Putin's. The American people deserve to know all the facts surrounding Russia's ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why Special Counsel Mueller's investigation must proceed unimpeded. Our nation's elected officials, including the President, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan side shows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin's job for him.
She touted it as “some strong stuff” to which Chalian did his best Chris Matthews-Barack Obama impression, openly thanking McCain “for bringing this back to what this is actually about,” which is “an attack on our democracy” by Russia that Robert Mueller is investigating.
“I have a feeling if John McCain heard the President's words, he might think disgraced or people that should be ashamed of themselves should apply elsewhere, not where Donald Trump is applying. Here is the reality. Gloria is talking about this effort to discredit the Mueller investigation, which is clearly what this is about to Donald Trump, but that’s a month's long effort and this is another data point for him,” Chalian added.
Chalian knocked Trump calling out FBI officials as “another data point...in Donald Trump's efforts to discredit and by the way, the month's-long effort at discredit the Mueller investigation is working.”
Here’s the relevant transcript from CNN’s Inside Politics on February 2:
CNN’s Inside Politics
February 2, 2018
12:09 p.m. EasternDANA BASH: He is back in Arizona dealing with treatment from cancer, but he is speaking out and here’s what he said. He said just now: “The latest attacks on the FBI and the Department of Justice serve no American interest — no party’s, no presidents, only Putin's. The American people deserve to know all the facts surrounding Russia's ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why Special Counsel Mueller's investigation must proceed unimpeded. Our nation's elected officials, including the President, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan side shows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin's job for him.” That is some strong stuff, David Chalian.
DAVID CHALIAN: It sure is, and thank you, John McCain, for bringing this back to what this is actually about.
BASH: What it’s supposed to be about.
CHALIAN: An attack on our democracy. That is actually what — where this all stemmed from. I have a feeling if John McCain heard the President's words, he might think disgraced or people that should be ashamed of themselves should apply elsewhere, not where Donald Trump is applying. Here is the reality. Gloria is talking about this effort to discredit the Mueller investigation, which is clearly what this is about to Donald Trump, but that’s a month's long effort and this is another data point for him. But it — what he is missing here is, to Shimon's point, the severity of what you do when you are saying to your law enforcement agencies that you should be ashamed of yourselves. This isn't just another data point — should not be just another data point in Donald Trump's efforts to discredit and by the way, the month's-long effort at discredit the Mueller investigation is working. It's working with Republicans. It's working to help muddy the waters as Donald Trump wants to. It puts everything in the Russia realm into this partisan lens that John McCain is arguing it should have been.
