Wednesday night after the much anticipated Mueller hearings, MSNBC hosts scrambled to make something new of the testimony. In spite of their bests efforts, nothing they didn’t already know had presented itself. Lawrence O’Donnell and Rachel Maddow decided that in order to really understand the situation, Mueller’s staff also need to testify. Yes, that’s right: More hearings.
O’Donnell began, chatting with Rachel Maddow at the beginning of his show, The Last Word: “Your point is so important about what today's hearings represent and what future hearings could be. Hearing from the Mueller team, as many members of the Mueller team as possible, is really important.” Despite the over 400-page report, Mueller’s statement in June, and his seven-hour long hearing, it seems the liberal media cannot be satisfied.
Clearly disappointed in Mueller’s performance, Maddow noted: “It's clear from his performance he didn't do all this work himself and there were times when maybe the report felt like the work of his staff and not his.” Once a hero that could do no wrong, Maddow criticized Mueller for: “… taking it for granted that whatever the member of congress was reading to him must be in the report. You didn't necessarily have in mind that he had the whole thing in his head.”
This led to her obvious conclusion that they were hearing the wrong testimony—there must be more: “All the more reason for us to hear from the members of his team who did the work when the details of the work and the decision making behind it is really important in terms of what we don't understand as a country.”
O’Donnell then envisioned the perfect hearing: “The best version of a hearing is a minimum of four of these staff people two from volume one, say volume two, and when the questions asked, they could actually decide which is the best one to answer it. Who has the best information for it. They can kind of tag team on answers all in the interest of creating the best possible well of information that the Congress can have.” In other words, whomever can make the president look the worst.
Maddow agreed, stating: “Exactly. I'm sure the prosecutors and the FBI special agents who worked with Robert Mueller are cringing, hearing us talk about this if they haven’t already turned us off because I’m sure it's the last thing they want to do.” At least she is self-aware that no one else wants more hearings.
Even so, Maddow implored: “The other people on that team are going to have to do it. Their service is not yet over, and I’m sure they would love it to be but they all need to help the country understand what they’ve been through.”
It seems that no one will be off the hook until the liberal media gets the answers to fit their pre-constructed narrative.
Here is the transcript from the July 24 episode of The Last Word:
The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
07/25/19
10:00:13 PM ET
LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: I love your job. It's the most important job in the world to me because it makes this job so much easier to follow you. Your point is so important about what today's hearings represent and what future hearings could be. Hearing from the Mueller team as many members of the Mueller team as possible is really important. There was a team, as you know, working exclusively on volume one and another team working exclusively on volume two. They have such a command of the detail of everything in that investigation and their own reactions to it that would be so invaluable to be hearing.
RACHEL MADDOW: Especially today now that we have heard from Robert Mueller. This special counsel's office could not have been convened and could not have sustained itself to the completion of its final report under anyone other than somebody like Robert Mueller with the reputation for integrity and a rigor that he accomplished—that he had grown over the course of his decades in public service. It maybe had to be Robert Mueller who was the name special counsel. It's clear from his performance he didn't do all this work himself and there were times when maybe the report felt like the work of his staff and not his. He was taking it for granted that whatever the member of congress was reading to him must be in the report. You didn't necessarily have in mind that he had the whole thing in his head. All the more reason for us to hear from the members of his team who did the work when the details of the work and the decision making behind it is really important in terms of what we don't understand as a country.
O’DONNELL: The best version of a hearing is a minimum of four of these staff people two from volume one, say volume two, and when the questions asked, they could actually decide which is the best one to answer it. Who has the best information for it. They can kind of tag team on answers all in the interest of creating the best possible well of information that the congress can have.
MADDOW: Exactly. I'm sure the prosecutors and the FBI special agents who worked with Robert Mueller are cringing, hearing us talk about this if they haven’t already turned us off because I’m sure it's the last thing they want to do. But I think honestly if you spent the last 22 months working with Robert Mueller on this critical issue of national importance, I’m sure you do not want Robert Mueller's testimony to be the last word anybody ever hears on this issue from your team. I'm sure you don't want this to revert to Attorney General Barr mischaracterizing your findings and the president calling it names and all those things. To the extent that the work doesn't speak for itself and we all know it doesn't and the people who created this work product ask did this investigation do need to help us understand its implications and what needs to be revealed. The other people on that team are going to have to do it. Their service is not yet over, and I’m sure they would love it to be but they all need to help the country understand what they’ve been through.
