With his arms flying around the screen, self-proclaimed politics referee Chuck Todd seemed more like an armchair quarterback shouting plays at the TV during Tuesday’s MTP Daily on MSNBC. Todd was literally up in arms over the apparent utter lack of strategy and prioritization from Congressional Democrats looking to get rid of Trump.
“If it is Tuesday, where is the Democratic Party’s strategery,” he huffed as he began his show.
The cause of his frustration was the fact that Democrats cast a wide net on their fishing expedition, while the White House had thwarted them at every turn and no yardage had been gained (click “expand”):
At the same time, the administration is reportedly rebuffed at least 79 requests from Democrats for documents and other information.
There’s subpoenas for the full Mueller Report, for Trump’s taxes, Trump’s financial records, for White House documents following Don McGahn, Mueller’s star witness, you name it. The administration has not complied. And Republicans in Congress are essentially supporting the stonewall.
So today, Democrats scheduled a hearing for McGahn, it is unclear if he will show up. There are threats of contempt, censure, fines, and jail time just don't seem to be moving the ball on any of these probes.
As a sign of how rough things had gotten, Todd reported that, “rank and file Democrats in the House are urging a second look at impeachment.” “At some point as leader of the Congressional Democrats, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi going to set some parameters as to when are they going to draw the line and where do lines get drawn,” he demanded to know.
After he introduced NBC congressional correspondent Kasie Hunt, Todd seemed to admit that his network “got confused today, how many different requests, subpoenas, investigations that they have out there, they want to open.”
“We have been working on counting all of them all day and we keep worrying that we missed one,” Hunt confirmed. “Because you – we probably have,” added Todd.
Todd really wanted to know when “Democrats [were] going to try to take control of this situation”. He even slammed the judgment of prominent Democratic leaders. “[I]t seems as if congressional Democrats didn't -- I think that Speaker Pelosi and frankly Chairman Cummings and Chairman Schiff and Chairman Nadler all thought, ‘you know, they'll eventually cooperate, they're not going to do this.’ Oh, yes, they are,” he mocked.
Democratic strategist Basil Smikle tried to assure Todd that congressional Democrats had everything under control and were just trying to be methodical. But Todd wasn’t buying it.
“I understand the larger picture is we're trying to do our job holding the executive branch accountable. Pick one,” he snapped after reading off the laundry list of probes and subpoenas one more time. “You got to prioritize. I – I – this is a fight. Does [Pelosi] need to prioritize this?”
I guess like with most of his political takes, CNN Politics editor-at-large Chris Cillizza was dead wrong when he claimed journalists “don’t root for a side. Period.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
MSNBC’s MTP Daily
May 14, 2019
5:00:31 p.m. EasternCHUCK TODD: If it is Tuesday, where is the Democratic Party’s strategery?
(…)
TODD: So Democrats want documents from Mr. Trump's attorneys. Big surprise here, those lawyers have so far balked at the committee's requests. We know what the President's strategy is, on the latest investigation and all of the other Democratic-led inquiries, it’s simply stonewall them at every single turn.
And today, the President cheered his Justice Department’s move to review aspects of the Russian investigation, which came as the President called for an actual investigation or as he calls it a coup attempt to be investigated. At the same time, the administration is reportedly rebuffed at least 79 requests from Democrats for documents and other information.
There’s subpoenas for the full Mueller Report, for Trump’s taxs, Trump’s financial records, for White House documents following Don McGahn, Mueller’s star witness, you name it. The administration has not complied. And Republicans in Congress are essentially supporting the stonewall.
So today, Democrats scheduled a hearing for McGahn, it is unclear if he will show up. There are threats of contempt, censure, fines, and jail time just don't seem to be moving the ball on any of these probes.
Which brings us to this latest NBC News report. Just in the last few hours, that rank and file Democrats in the House are urging a second look at impeachment. And the bigger question is this. At some point as leader of the Congressional Democrats, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi going to set some parameters as to when are they going to draw the line and where do lines get drawn?
(…)
It seems as if the Democrats have – I am – We got confused today, how many different requests, subpoenas, investigations that they have out there, they want to open. There is a singular decision by the White House to essentially don’t cooperate with any of them. At what point is somebody -- Speaker of the House being the most likely person going to basically say, “okay, White House, 60 days or we do this. 60 days or we do that.” At some point, are Democrats going to try to take control of this situation?
KASIE HUNT: Well, Chuck, you can be forgiven for not being able to keep track because there are potentially dozens of them. We have been working on counting all of them all day and we keep worrying that we missed one.
TODD: Because you – we probably have.
(…)
5:08:25 p.m. Eastern
TODD: Kasie, it seems as if Congressional Democrats didn't -- I think that Speaker Pelosi and frankly Chairman Cummings and Chairman Schiff and Chairman Nadler all thought, “you know, they'll eventually cooperate, they're not going to do this.” Oh, yes, they are!
(…)
TODD: But Bazile, I know you made the argument this is has been methodical, but there is – there’s a subpoena for his tax returns, there’s the subpoena for personal records, there’s the subpoena for his lawyers' records, there’s the subpoena to get Mueller, this is what I mean where I'm not -- I understand the larger picture is we're trying to do our job holding the Executive branch accountable. Pick one. You got to prioritize. I – I – this is a fight. Does she need to prioritize this?
(…)
