Chris Matthews on Monday's Morning Joe tried to talk an agitated Joe Scarborough down from the ledge. In regard to the finding of no collusion in the Mueller report and no prosecution on obstruction, Scarborough peppered the Hardball host with a series of “what about” questions. Finally, an exasperated Matthews dismissed, “Get yourself as a job as special counsel.... [This investigation] was resolved this weekend politically.”
What got Scarborough so worked up? Perhaps it was the casual dismissal and finality of which Matthews talked. He concluded, “So they didn't have him on collusion. That, to me, means there will not be a conviction in the U.S. Senate this year. That's not going to happen.”
He advised Democrats to try and “win elections” instead of impeachment. Matthews added that the party can't “wait around for Uncle Robert to take care of them. Uncle Robert did what he thought he did was right.” The MSNBC anchor concluded, “Right now there's no case for his removal on collusion.”
Scarborough demanded: “If Donald Trump had nothing to worry about all along, why did the President lie about his contacts with Russia repeatedly during the campaign? Why did the Vice President lie about their contacts with Russia in January of 2017?”
That lead to the following exchange:
JOE SCARBOROUGH: How about the meeting on Air Force One where Donald Trump has everybody around him saying, “Okay this is how we'll lie about our meeting with the Russians”?
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Get yourself as a job as special counsel.
After Scarborough pleaded for more investigations, Matthews shrugged and replied, “It was resolved this weekend politically.”
On Sunday, Scarborough said that exoneration or not, Trump is still just a “lying” “Mr. Magoo” character. Also on Sunday, CNN's Wolf Blitzer wondered if impeachment was still possible. On Friday, Matthews was the one who was upset, suffering a meltdown over the lack of bad news in the Mueller report for Trump.
Morning Joe
3/25/19
8:04
CHRIS MATTHEWS: So they didn't have him on collusion. That, to me, means there will not be a conviction in the U.S. Senate this year. That's not going to happen. I doubt — I note that if there's a majority vote in the House for impeachment will be entirely, almost entirely Democrats. You can make a case for obstruction of justice. I made it on the air. But it's all broad daylight behavior by the President. Firing Comey. It was a good case for obstruction of justice. But the, Republicans already know that. They are not supporting impeachment. So, I think the Democrats have to win the election.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: What?
MATTHEWS: They got win the election.
BRZEZINSKI: Oh, I thought you said they are gonna.
MATTHEWS: Waiting around for Uncle Robert to take care of them. Uncle Robert did what he thought he did was right and Barr did what he thought was right with his judgment call. You got to do your own case. Look we watched Nixon go down on evidence.
BRZEZINSKI: Right.
MATTHEWS: The June 23rd tape where it was clearly involved in obstruction. In fact, leading the case for covering it up. We saw the Clinton stuff. We saw how he lied under oath. We had him.
We looked at the evidence, we looked at the facts. Right now there's no case for his removal on collusion. Then we're argue about obstruction of justice for a while. There again, a judgment call. Barr made his judgment over the weekend. The Republicans have made their judgment, yes, yes, yes, but we're not removing him from office. Everybody is going to be partisan on this, let's face it.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: The question is, Chris, that, of course, maybe historians will be sorting through, is if there's no collusion, if there was improper conduct, if Donald Trump —MATTHEWS: Well, there may have been that.
SCARBOROUGH: If Donald Trump had nothing to worry about all along, why did the President lie about his contacts with Russia repeatedly during the campaign? Why did the Vice President lie about their contacts with Russia in January of 2017? Why did the Attorney General lie in front of the United States Senate about his contacts? I mean we can go —
MATTHEWS: Some people are just liars.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Why did they all tell the same lie?
SCARBOROUGH: And that's the thing. They weren't lying about talking to Russians and the other didn’t lie about talking to Venezuelans and another talk about talking to the Chinese. They about talking to Russia.
MATTHEWS: I agree. Let me ask you a question — People behave the way they behave. They don't like being investigated.
SCARBOROUGH: About the same topic!
MATTHEWS: I know! Why did Saddam Hussein claim he had all these weapons and they go hide in a spider hole? He didn't have the weapons.
SCARBOROUGH: He was more afraid of the Shia than he was the United States. I can explain that a lot better than I can explain this, which is why would you continue lying about your contacts with Russia?
MATTHEWS: Two years of looking into it and they can't get it. I agree with you. First of all there's a lot of prima facie evidence there was back and forth meetings. All those meetings, cigar bar at the Trump tower.
SCARBOROUGH: How about the meeting on Air Force One where Donald Trump has everybody around him saying, “Okay this is how we'll lie about our meeting with the Russians”?
MATTHEWS: Get yourself as a job as special counsel.
SCARBOROUGH: There is more of that onion to unpeel.
MATTHEWS: You can make that argument. It was resolved this weekend politically.
