Transcripts For MSNBCW The Rachel Maddow Show 20170829 01:00

Clearance was a meeting that he took at trump tower during the transition where he hosted the head of another russian bank. Jared kushner met with the head of a russian bank called veb bank. Its a bank but really just an entity of the russian government. The leadership of veb bank is hand picked by lad peer putin and veb banks connections with russian intelligence are not subtle. Sergei gorkov is a graduate of the fsb academy which means he went to kgb grad school. Veb bank was coordination of a spy ring, that was the russian Spying Investigation where carter page was found by the fbi to have been essentially a willing target for those russian spies. At least he was a source of information for those russian spies who were looking for americans to give them investigation to help them with their Spying Efforts against america from their home base in new york where they were ostensibly working for veb bank but really they were spies. So there was the alfa bank servers communicating with the Trump Organization for some reason. Whats that russian bank got to do with anything. Then in the transition theres Jared Kushner meeting with the head of veb bank for some reason. Whats that russian bank got to do with it. Then not long after trump got inaugurated along comes another inexplicable seemingly random intersection between trump world and another russian bank. The next one we learned about was i think the biggest russian bank of all, a bank called Sberbank Which announced in march they hired new counsel to represent them in a civil case that was filed in new york. Sberbank was accused of rigging the granite Mining Industry in rush. In march, sberbank in the middle of the case, they made a lot of eyebrows arch in the legal news when they announced they chosen their new counsel for that long comped expensive case and they said their new counsel was going to be Donald Trumps personal lawyer, marc kazowitz. Ratin right . Marc kasowitz heading followup trumps legal team on the russian investigation. If youre the Lawyer Coordinating Defense for the u president of the United States facing a criminal investigation from the fib while hes serving as the president of the United States, you would think you are too busy to take on other clients. But if there are people wanting to know whats going on in the russian investigation, it may be handy to have conversations undercov the cover of attorneyclient privilege with the lead laush on twyer on the information. Maybe the Alfa Bank Thing was a coincidence. Maybe the veb Jared Kushner meeting was a coincidence. Maybe the sberbank thing was a coinciden coincidence. Maybe it has nothing to do with donald trump and whether or not he has an illicit relationship financial or otherwises with russia which explains why russia tried to hack or election and rig it in his behalf. Maybe none of those bank connections, alfa bank, veb bank, sberbank, maybe none of them have anything to do with the russian involvement to disrupt or election. Y if you want to talk about donald trump, until today the only so spirks Banking Relationship weve known about him recently isnt with any russian bank, its with Deutsche Bank. Deutsche bank is the bank that donald trump owes hundreds of millions of dollars to. Deutsche bank is the bank that departme dealt with donald trump for years when no other banks would. Deutsche bank continued to lend President Trump hundreds of millions of dollars for deals even when he was unable to pay them walk on early loans, and he went so far as to File Lawsuits against Deutsche Bank because she failed to pay them back. There are aspects of the donald trumpDeutsche Bank relationship that have seemed unexplained by the bounds of normal financial Business Dealings. Deutsche bank on the surface appears to have been uncommonly generous to him and forgiving of him. Deutsche bank gave Jared Kushner several hundred millions of dollars in loans right before the election, loans that Jared Kushner personally guaranteed which made it all the more unusual that he failed to disclose those loans of dollars. Deutsche bank has been plagued by its legal liability for a multimillion dollar russia Money Laundering scheme. But you know after today, the Deutsche Bank russian Money Laundering case will no longer be seen as the connection between donald trump and it comes to the russia investigation. There was alfa bank with the server thing, veb bank with the carter page connection and sberbank hiring trumps russia lawyer. Theres all of these russian banks getting strange new Storing Roles in american politics. Theres another one, alfa bank, veb bank, sbe rrbank and anothe one called vtb bank, sanctioned by the u. S. Government as punishment for crimea because this bank is seen as the russian government. Its an arm of the russian government and thats how the u. S. Government views them. In fact if you go to vtbs website tonight, click on about vtb and theyll tell you in exact mathematical terms how theyre controlled by the russian government. The russian government owns and controls 69 of the vtb bank, the Majority Shareholder of the vtb bank is the russian government. What that means in plain english is that putin runs vtb. Putin controls the bank and what it does and what it spends on. And today we learn that up until last year, up until the middle of the president ial campaign vtb bank was lined up and committed to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in financing to build trump tower moscow. The russian government was going to do that deal. Actually even without the knowledge that the financing for this deal was going to come from the russian government, its still a heck of a bombshell. This is not some old deal that happened back in the past that people may have forgotten about. This is not something that trump worked on in the 90s and it fell apart. This is what he was working on in the campaign after he announced he was running for president , months into his president ial campaign when hi was full on running for president he was trying do this deal with the russian government in moscow. Quoting from carols story in f the washington post, trump posted numerous supportive comments about putin on the Campaign Trail Setting himself apart from his republican rivals for the republican nomination. Remember when trump warned that if Robert Mueller wanted to go looking into any of his Business Dealings that would be crossing a red line because clearly none of those personal financial interests or Business Dealings had anything to do with russia, that would be crossing a red line . Well now we know that his business, the Trump Organization had everything to do with russia, even during the campaign. And we probably should have seen this coming. Back in may we should have seen this coming when Donald Trumps lawyers started hiring their wnn lawyers. Miken cohen has been Donald Trumps lawyer, his personal lawyer at times, a Trump Organization executive and lawyer. When trump started flirting with and running for president in the last election cycle mike. Cohen was his top and most of the time his only political adviser. Michael cohen is close to trump, he is trumps lawyer and he did hire his own lawyer this spring. And he confirmed that the attorneys investigating the russia affair asked him to give testimony and hand over documents. Michael cohens response was no, i wont. The committee subpoenaed him to testify and hand over documents. Hes due to testify next week but apparently today he handed over document to the House Intelligence Committee and some of those documents and a long statement about them found their way to certain reporters and publications upon the handover of these document to congress. And just to reads Between The Lines a little bit, it does not appear that what happened here is Michael Cohen handed stuff over to congress and Congress Leaked it. Im speak in terms of reading Between The Lines. The way that this is phrased and described in the reporting tonight is that Michael Cohen handed this stuff over to the House Intelligence Committee and in so doing gave some of it to reporters and a statement about it to reporters. To put the best possible spin on that information himself before investigators themselves consist Start Chewing on it and putting it u out in their own terms. And in this case the best possible spin is still pretty bad. The bottom line is that while trump was insisting publicly that he had no deals with russia and while he was questioned repeatedly about why he was being so bent over backwards positive about Vladimir Putin and russia throughout the campaign, he never thought to mention and apparently nobody in the Trump Organization or the Trump Campaign thought to mention that during the president ial campaign for five months of the president ial campaign the Trump Organizationwas aggressively over seeing construction. An intent to proceed with the project october twoif. Michael cohen spoke with trump three times directly about the project. Michael cohen also wrote directory to the kremlin, to Vladimir Putins spokesman to ask for direct kremlin help in restarting discussions about the Building Project which by then he said was stalled. The other Trump Organization figure involved in these negotiations is someone weve talked about before named felix seder. A russian bonn excon convicted of a 40 million mafia connected scheme. In 2015 trump in a sworn deposition professed to not be able to recognize felix seder if he had been sitting in that room that day. Its a little hard to believe felix seder had been associated with the Trump Organization for years. Carried a trump Business Card that described himself as Senior Adviser to donald trump even after trump said he wouldnt recognize him if he were in the room. By 2013 apparently felix seder was recognizable again because he was working with Michael Cohen to make the trumpmoscow thing happen and trump was signing off on the letter of intent to move forward with it. Michael cohen i think has to testify to house intel next week. He handed over document to house intel today. His strategy in so doing is to try to spin what hes handed over in the best possible way. It also appears to try to play down the importance of felix seder and his involvement in this project, especially seders comments in the emails that have been handed over to congress now and to some reports in which felix seder brags that theres something about this Real Estate Deal In Moscow that in the end will result in donald trump becoming president of the United States. Quote, our boy can become president of the usa and we can engineer it. I will get all of putins team to buy in on this. I will manage this process. Felix seder wrote to in Michael Cohen. Michael, arranged for ivanka to sit in Vladimir Putins chair at the kremlin. I know how to play it. We will get this done. Michael cohens strategy in releasing these documents to the press involves him playing down whether or not felix seder really could have been sirius serious about that. Over the course of my Business Dealings with fe lakes seder he has sometimes used colorful language and been prone to salesmanship. When the times today went to check out felix seders both that he was so connected he was able to arrange for ivanka trump to sit in putins private chair at his desk in his office at the kremlin. The response from team ivanka was not exactly on brand. Ivanka trump told the times she did in fact take a brief tour of red square and the kremlin when she was in moscow with felix seder but insists she was only there as a tourist. I have to say it does not seem that she had a totally typical tourist experience sbauz quote she said it is possible that she sat in mr. Putins chair. But maybe thats just a coincidence or Dont All Tourist Visitor to the kremlin get to sit in putins chair. Alfa bank, veb bank, sberbank and vtb bank the russian government agreeing to finance to the Tune Millions of dollars to a project that no one admitted to that was happening prior to the campaign. Probably just a coincidence. A lot going on today. Lots happening in the news. Carol joins us next. Stay with us. These days families want to be connected 24 7. New, more Reliable Equipment for your home. And a new culture built around customer service. It all adds up to our most Reliable Network ever. One that keeps you connected to what matters most. Trumprussia investigation is sort of built on stlee ideas, three questions. One is u. S. Intelligence agencies saying the russian government interfered in the president ial election to try to help trump win. Two, there are allegations about whether the Trump Campaigncolluded with or helped the russians conduct that meddling during the election. And three, there are questions about the absolute denials from our new president that he has anything to do with russia. Beyond that one Beauty Pageant he held there. The reason while his dealings with russia and his statements are of investigative interest is because investigators need to figure out in which theres some way in which shes compromised when it comes to russia. What that means is investigators need to figure out if russia holds something over him. Do they know something, do they have documentation of something that shes done that he would not like them to reveal to the public. Right . Thats the essence of being compromised. Being in a position where for some secret reason you feel the need to ingratiate yourself to a foreign power or at least not say no when they come calling. It boils down to this stuff. The Trump Campaign is alleged to have helped in that effort being investigated. And our now president says hes had nothing to do with russia, nothing. Thats why this is a heck of a bombshell. Top Trump Executive organization asked putin aide for help business deal. Top exec from trumps Real Estate Company emailed putins personal spokesman during the Campaign Last year to ask for help. That is submitted today by a Trump Executive who has been trumps personal lawyer and who served as trumps political adviser for the start of his campaign while he was having trump sign a letter of intent to go forward with trump tower moscow to be financed by a russiagovernment run bank. Joining us now is carol lenning, reporter for the washington post. Thank you for being here. Congratulations on the scoop. You broke this story yesterday about the Trump Organization trying to build a Tower In Moscow early in the campaign. What you report in this story and what the president said about his dealings with russia seem to me to be very much at odds. Do you feel like what youve been able to report really contradict the way the president has characterized his own dealings in russia . I dont think it catches him in a horrid absolute lie. What it shows is that he hasnt been forth right about how eager he was, while a president ial candidate, to let his Trump Organization and his executive Vice President pursue a very potentially lucrative deal in moscow. There are debates about how valuable it would be to him. But i think that theres something bigger behind what weve learned in the story that we broke on sunday night and the news story that we broke this afternoon. I think theres something much bigger in the fabric here and you kind of only learn it as each piece comes. But the bigger thing is while Donald Trumps sort of third son, Michael Cohen, a long time friend, ally, not his son by birth but while this person is working, negotiating a deal in moscow to develop and Spying Investigation<\/a> where carter page was found by the fbi to have been essentially a willing target for those russian spies. At least he was a source of information for those russian spies who were looking for\ramericans to give them investigation to help them with their Spying Efforts<\/a> against america from their home base in new york where they were ostensibly working for veb bank but really they were spies. So there was the alfa bank servers communicating with the Trump Organization<\/a> for some reason. Whats that russian bank got to do with anything. Then in the transition theres Jared Kushner<\/a> meeting with the head of veb bank for some reason. Whats that russian bank got to do with it. Then not long after trump got inaugurated along comes another inexplicable seemingly random intersection between trump world and another russian bank. The next one we learned about was i think the biggest russian bank of all, a bank called Sberbank Which<\/a> announced in march they hired new counsel to represent them in a civil case that was filed in new york. Sberbank was accused of rigging the granite Mining Industry<\/a> in\rrush. In march, sberbank in the middle of the case, they made a lot of eyebrows arch in the legal news when they announced they chosen their new counsel for that long comped expensive case and they said their new counsel was going to be Donald Trumps<\/a> personal lawyer, marc kazowitz. Ratin right . Marc kasowitz heading followup trumps legal team on the russian investigation. If youre the Lawyer Coordinating Defense<\/a> for the u president of the United States<\/a> facing a criminal investigation from the fib while hes serving as the president of the United States<\/a>, you would think you are too busy to take on other clients. But if there are people wanting to know whats going on in the russian investigation, it may be\rhandy to have conversations undercov the cover of attorneyclient privilege with the lead laush on twyer on the information. Maybe the Alfa Bank Thing<\/a> was a coincidence. Maybe the veb Jared Kushner<\/a> meeting was a coincidence. Maybe the sberbank thing was a coinciden coincidence. Maybe it has nothing to do with donald trump and whether or not he has an illicit relationship financial or otherwises with russia which explains why russia tried to hack or election and rig it in his behalf. Maybe none of those bank connections, alfa bank, veb bank, sberbank, maybe none of them have anything to do with the russian involvement to disrupt or election. Y\rif you want to talk about donald trump, until today the only so spirks Banking Relationship<\/a> weve known about him recently isnt with any russian bank, its with Deutsche Bank<\/a>. Deutsche bank is the bank that donald trump owes hundreds of millions of dollars to. Deutsche bank is the bank that departme dealt with donald trump for years when no other banks would. Deutsche bank continued to lend President Trump<\/a> hundreds of millions of dollars for deals even when he was unable to pay them walk on early loans, and he went so far as to File Lawsuits<\/a> against Deutsche Bank<\/a> because she failed to pay them back. There are aspects of the donald trumpDeutsche Bank<\/a> relationship that have seemed unexplained by the bounds of normal financial Business Dealings<\/a>. Deutsche bank on the surface appears to have been uncommonly\rgenerous to him and forgiving of him. Deutsche bank gave Jared Kushner<\/a> several hundred millions of dollars in loans right before the election, loans that Jared Kushner<\/a> personally guaranteed which made it all the more unusual that he failed to disclose those loans of dollars. Deutsche bank has been plagued by its legal liability for a multimillion dollar russia Money Laundering<\/a> scheme. But you know after today, the Deutsche Bank<\/a> russian Money Laundering<\/a> case will no longer be seen as the connection between donald trump and it comes to the russia investigation. There was alfa bank with the server thing, veb bank with the carter page connection and\rsberbank hiring trumps russia lawyer. Theres all of these russian banks getting strange new Storing Roles<\/a> in american politics. Theres another one, alfa bank, veb bank, sbe rrbank and anothe one called vtb bank, sanctioned by the u. S. Government as punishment for crimea because this bank is seen as the russian government. Its an arm of the russian government and thats how the u. S. Government views them. In fact if you go to vtbs website tonight, click on about vtb and theyll tell you in exact mathematical terms how theyre controlled by the russian government. The russian government owns and controls 69 of the vtb bank, the Majority Shareholder<\/a> of the vtb bank is the russian government. What that means in plain english\ris that putin runs vtb. Putin controls the bank and what it does and what it spends on. And today we learn that up until last year, up until the middle of the president ial campaign vtb bank was lined up and committed to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in financing to build trump tower moscow. The russian government was going to do that deal. Actually even without the knowledge that the financing for this deal was going to come from the russian government, its still a heck of a bombshell. This is not some old deal that happened back in the past that people may have forgotten about. This is not something that trump worked on in the 90s and it fell apart. This is what he was working on in the campaign after he announced he was running for president , months into his president ial campaign when hi was full on running for president he was trying do this deal with the russian government in moscow. Quoting from carols story in f\rthe washington post, trump posted numerous supportive comments about putin on the Campaign Trail Setting<\/a> himself apart from his republican rivals for the republican nomination. Remember when trump warned that if Robert Mueller<\/a> wanted to go looking into any of his Business Dealings<\/a> that would be crossing a red line because clearly none of those personal financial interests or Business Dealings<\/a> had anything to do with russia, that would be crossing a red line . Well now we know that his business, the Trump Organization<\/a> had everything to do with russia, even during the campaign. And we probably should have seen this coming. Back in may we should have seen this coming when Donald Trumps<\/a> lawyers started hiring their wnn lawyers. Miken cohen has been Donald Trumps<\/a> lawyer, his personal lawyer at times, a Trump Organization<\/a> executive and lawyer. When trump started flirting with and running for president in the\rlast election cycle mike. Cohen was his top and most of the time his only political adviser. Michael cohen is close to trump, he is trumps lawyer and he did hire his own lawyer this spring. And he confirmed that the attorneys investigating the russia affair asked him to give testimony and hand over documents. Michael cohens response was no, i wont. The committee subpoenaed him to testify and hand over documents. Hes due to testify next week but apparently today he handed over document to the House Intelligence Committee<\/a> and some of those documents and a long statement about them found their way to certain reporters and publications upon the handover of these document to congress. And just to reads Between The Lines<\/a> a little bit, it does not appear that what happened here is Michael Cohen<\/a> handed stuff over to congress and Congress Leaked<\/a> it. Im speak in terms of reading Between The Lines<\/a>. The way that this is phrased and described in the reporting tonight is that Michael Cohen<\/a> handed this stuff over to the House Intelligence Committee<\/a> and in so doing gave some of it to reporters and a statement about it to reporters. To put the best possible spin on that information himself before investigators themselves consist Start Chewing<\/a> on it and putting it u out in their own terms. And in this case the best possible spin is still pretty bad. The bottom line is that while trump was insisting publicly that he had no deals with russia and while he was questioned repeatedly about why he was being so bent over backwards positive about Vladimir Putin<\/a> and russia throughout the campaign, he never thought to mention and apparently nobody in the Trump Organization<\/a> or the Trump Campaign<\/a> thought to mention that during the president ial campaign for five months of the president ial campaign the Trump Organization<\/a>\rwas aggressively over seeing construction. An intent to proceed with the project october twoif. Michael cohen spoke with trump three times directly about the project. Michael cohen also wrote directory to the kremlin, to Vladimir Putin<\/a>s spokesman to ask for direct kremlin help in restarting discussions about the Building Project<\/a> which by then he said was stalled. The other Trump Organization<\/a> figure involved in these negotiations is someone weve talked about before named felix seder. A russian bonn excon convicted of a 40 million mafia connected scheme. In 2015 trump in a sworn deposition professed to not be able to recognize felix seder if he had been sitting in that room that day. Its a little hard to believe\rfelix seder had been associated with the Trump Organization<\/a> for years. Carried a trump Business Card<\/a> that described himself as Senior Adviser<\/a> to donald trump even after trump said he wouldnt recognize him if he were in the room. By 2013 apparently felix seder was recognizable again because he was working with Michael Cohen<\/a> to make the trumpmoscow thing happen and trump was signing off on the letter of intent to move forward with it. Michael cohen i think has to testify to house intel next week. He handed over document to house intel today. His strategy in so doing is to try to spin what hes handed over in the best possible way. It also appears to try to play down the importance of felix seder and his involvement in this project, especially seders comments in the emails that have been handed over to congress now and to some reports in which felix seder brags that theres something about this Real Estate Deal In Moscow<\/a> that in the end will result in donald\rtrump becoming president of the United States<\/a>. Quote, our boy can become president of the usa and we can engineer it. I will get all of putins team to buy in on this. I will manage this process. Felix seder wrote to in Michael Cohen<\/a>. Michael, arranged for ivanka to sit in Vladimir Putin<\/a>s chair at the kremlin. I know how to play it. We will get this done. Michael cohens strategy in releasing these documents to the press involves him playing down whether or not felix seder really could have been sirius serious about that. Over the course of my Business Dealings<\/a> with fe lakes seder he has sometimes used colorful language and been prone to salesmanship. When the times today went to check out felix seders both\rthat he was so connected he was able to arrange for ivanka trump to sit in putins private chair at his desk in his office at the kremlin. The response from team ivanka was not exactly on brand. Ivanka trump told the times she did in fact take a brief tour of red square and the kremlin when she was in moscow with felix seder but insists she was only there as a tourist. I have to say it does not seem that she had a totally typical tourist experience sbauz quote she said it is possible that she sat in mr. Putins chair. But maybe thats just a coincidence or Dont All Tourist Visitor<\/a> to the kremlin get to sit in putins chair. Alfa bank, veb bank, sberbank\rand vtb bank the russian government agreeing to finance to the Tune Millions<\/a> of dollars to a project that no one admitted to that was happening prior to the campaign. Probably just a coincidence. A lot going on today. Lots happening in the news. Carol joins us next. Stay with us. These days families want to be connected 24 7. New, more Reliable Equipment<\/a> for your home. And a new culture built around customer service. It all adds up to our most Reliable Network<\/a> ever. One that keeps you connected to what matters most. Trumprussia investigation is sort of built on stlee ideas, three questions. One is u. S. Intelligence agencies saying the russian government interfered in the president ial election to try to help trump win. Two, there are allegations about whether the Trump Campaign<\/a>\rcolluded with or helped the russians conduct that meddling during the election. And three, there are questions about the absolute denials from our new president that he has anything to do with russia. Beyond that one Beauty Pageant<\/a> he held there. The reason while his dealings with russia and his statements are of investigative interest is because investigators need to figure out in which theres some way in which shes compromised when it comes to russia. What that means is investigators need to figure out if russia holds something over him. Do they know something, do they have documentation of something that shes done that he would not like them to reveal to the public. Right . Thats the essence of being compromised. Being in a position where for some secret reason you feel the\rneed to ingratiate yourself to a foreign power or at least not say no when they come calling. It boils down to this stuff. The Trump Campaign<\/a> is alleged to have helped in that effort being investigated. And our now president says hes had nothing to do with russia, nothing. Thats why this is a heck of a bombshell. Top Trump Executive<\/a> organization asked putin aide for help business deal. Top exec from trumps Real Estate Company<\/a> emailed putins personal spokesman during the Campaign Last<\/a> year to ask for help. That is submitted today by a Trump Executive<\/a> who has been trumps personal lawyer and who served as trumps political adviser for the start of his campaign while he was having trump sign a letter of intent to go forward with trump tower\rmoscow to be financed by a russiagovernment run bank. Joining us now is carol lenning, reporter for the washington post. Thank you for being here. Congratulations on the scoop. You broke this story yesterday about the Trump Organization<\/a> trying to build a Tower In Moscow<\/a> early in the campaign. What you report in this story and what the president said about his dealings with russia seem to me to be very much at odds. Do you feel like what youve been able to report really contradict the way the president has characterized his own dealings in russia . I dont think it catches him in a horrid absolute lie. What it shows is that he hasnt been forth right about how eager he was, while a president ial candidate, to let his Trump Organization<\/a> and his executive Vice President<\/a> pursue a very\rpotentially lucrative deal in moscow. There are debates about how valuable it would be to him. But i think that theres something bigger behind what weve learned in the story that we broke on sunday night and the news story that we broke this afternoon. I think theres something much bigger in the fabric here and you kind of only learn it as each piece comes. But the bigger thing is while Donald Trumps<\/a> sort of third son, Michael Cohen<\/a>, a long time friend, ally, not his son by birth but while this person is working, negotiating a deal in moscow to develop and License Moscow<\/a> trump tower, a russi russianborn friend of his is saying, hey, if we make this deal the president can get elected. Its going to make him look like such a great incredible negotiator. And hey, im connected in russia and i can get Vladimir Putin<\/a> to\rstart saying nice things about this, you know, kind of distant horse gop hopeful. When we learn in our more recent story that at the same time Michael Cohen<\/a>, this longtime ally of Donald Trumps<\/a>, is reaching out to extremely high ranking friend of Vladimir Putin<\/a>s saying id like your help. Were stalled. We would like to get this deal done, nudge nudge wink wink we know how it works in russia. You need to go to putin. And said wed like your help. So thats a pretty dramatically different thing than what the president has said which is i have zero interest in russia, zero deals, nothing going on there. When felix seder connects this deal to trumps chances at becoming president , is it clear why he sees those two things connected . He said, wow, this will make him\rlook like a great negotiator. Im not sure i get his argument or the credibility of his argument in terms of why he thought these things were connected. s very provocative to see somebody saying were doing this deal and it will result in trump becoming president. Were doing a financial deal and it will result in his winning the election. But i dont get why he was connecting the two ideas. It could have been inkred wbl Braggadocio Commentary<\/a> or somebody doing something a little different. But remember at this time Vladimir Putin<\/a> is pretty angry with the u. S. He views himself on a bit of a Revenge Mission<\/a> and he also wants to look like he has some da taunt. It appears that he thinks he can create a nonadversarial relationship with donald trump. And fe lix seder again, this russianborn broker long connected with donald trump and has introduced him since 2013 to fairly significant russian money men, this guy is saying look, this is good for putin and this is good for you, donald. Hes telling this to Michael Cohen<\/a>. You will look like you have negotiated with one of americas toughest adversaries. It happens that that would also be beneficial to lod mere putvl. It would look like he had a Good Relationship<\/a> with the u. S. It is a bizarre reading of how it would have been greeted had that deal gone through. Just understanding how the News Workings<\/a> and how people were treating trump. This is such a puzzle but the fabric here is absolutely stunning. And i have a feeling theres a lot this feels like the start of a lot of reporting in terms of us getting to understand this part of the campaign. Carol from the washington post, really appreciate your time tonight. Congratulations again on this scoop. Thanks, rachel. The city of hugh stan today has been making hard choices on how to imagine the epic flooding thats innone dated the american city. Weve got an expert to ask about this stuff. That story is ahead. Plus the little bit of news were going to break on the russia dossier. Thats all ahead. Stay with us. Highest in Investor Satisfaction<\/a> with full Service Brokerage<\/a> firms. Again. And online Equity Trades<\/a> are only 4. 95. I mean you cant have low cost and be full service. Its impossible. Its like having your cake and eating it too. Ask your broker if they offer awardwinning full service and low costs. How am i going to explain this . If you dont like their answer, ask again at schwab. 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Com try their mattress for 100 nights with Free Shipping<\/a> and returns. Casper. Havent you ever wanted sowatch your step. Ry . A pilot like you should be serving your country. Youre c. I. A. . Shh. Based on a true story. We need you to deliver stuff for us. Of the c. I. A. s biggest secret. Is this all legal . You trust me . No. On september 29. C. I. A. , d. E. A. Pablo escobar. I made a fortune working for them boys. There are bills blowin around everywhere. Ill rake it up in the mornin. tom cruise. Stop now if you want. Shoot the gringo it gets crazy from here. American made. Rated r. Houston, texas is basically flat. Its americas fourth largest city with an elevation of 50 feet. Houston is in a flat and watery part of the world with the Gulf Of Mexico<\/a> on one side and bayous running all through the city. Since 1960 houston has suffered more deaths an Property Loss<\/a> from flooding than any other locality in the country. And the people of houston has developed ways of trying to keep the water from winning. Today with this huge, huge storm they tried one of their more desperate measures. There are two big dams on the west side of houston that hold by reservoirs, designed to keep water upstream from houston proper, to keep the water from rushing into the flooded bayous in downtown houston. This is how the reservoirs looked before the storm. After the storm the water had begun rising high enough and\rfast enough that officials feared the dams themselves would be overcome. To save the dams to keep holding back the gigantic quantities of water held in those reservoirs, they opened the billways enough to let some of the water out of the reservoirs. In so doing they flooded the neighborhoods in the path of that water that they had to let out then they dont do it gratuitously. They did it in a way to save the dams, save more people. Its a difficult choice that no mayor, no engineer ever wants to have to make. Might have been the best choice they had today in houston, though. How do you imagine a Ka Tas Tro Fie<\/a> like this while not only is it under way it is nod ending anytime soon. What is houstons options right now in responding to the continuing flooding. Were going to be joined next by somebody whose job it is to grapple with these exact questions. Stay with us. con artists. theyll try anything to get your Medicare Card<\/a> number. So they can steal your identity, commit medicare fraud. What can you do . Guard your card . Guard your card . Just like your credit card. Nobody gets my number, unless i know they should have it. To protect your identity, new Medicare Card<\/a>s without Social Security<\/a> numbers will be mailed next year. Visit medicare. Gov fraud stay sharp people you dont let anything lkeep you sidelined. Come on thats why you drink ensure. With 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals. For the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. Ensure, always be you. And right now save 50 on the labor Day Limited Edition<\/a> bed. Explore your Treatment Options<\/a> with specialists who treat only cancer. Every stage. Every day. At Cancer Treatment<\/a> centers of america. Learn more at cancercenter. Com experts rositas family was rescued by boat this afternoon. Its rising way too fast. They live west of houston where in an unprecedented move the Army Corps Of Engineers<\/a> is doing controlled releases from two reservoirs before the storm moves away. Its and efforts to reduce the risk of destructive flooding and lessen the chance of the dams busting. Everything started happening really fast this morning. You werent flooded before\rthen . Not yet, no. The waters were rising but we werent flooded. I understand they have to do what they have to do to save houston but that accelerated the process. They have to do what they have to do to save houston. This is reporting about a family directed affected by the controlled release. Even on day four of this disaster in houston, people who are not flooded yet may yet find theyre flooded tomorrow or the next day as the effects of the storm continue to crescendo and as officials make hard decisions. Joining us is jim black burn, codirector of the speed center. It was established ten years ago to address severe storms and their impact on the gulf coast area. Thank you for joining us toni t tonight. Thank you. Today the army corps of\rengineers decided to ep up the reservoirs. As far as i understand its basically a way to save the dam to preserve the integrity of the reservoirs, to save a greater amount of people. The short term result is that some neighborhoods face new or worsened flooding. Youve studied these things. What do you make of that decision they made today . That decision is based on these dams being evaluated as two of the six most dangerous in the United States<\/a> by the corps. Thats both in terms of risk of failure and the population affected downsteam. Weve never seen this much rain before and they made i think the prudent decision, although very difficult decision to go ahead and begin to release water while also filling up the reservoir. But i dont think the reservoirs are intended to be used at full capacity which is a tragedy because we need every ounce of Flood Control<\/a> that weve got . In terms of the Flood Control<\/a> options, what kind of tools do they have at their disposal . What kind of decisions are they going to be making today, tonight, tomorrow as the storm continues to play out . I think weve got some of the most difficult decisions i would say these are decisions that frankly we will be facing every coastal city in the future. Weve never seen a rain like this. On the other hand, theres a lot of options that houston has never really seriously considered before. Weve always approached flooding from the standpoint of quote unquote controlling it. Primarily with engineer solutions. And there are aare the of nonstructural alternatives. Were going to have to pull out a whole new bag of approaches that require creativity and that require you know really trying to come up with new and different ways of solving these problems. We cannot solve these problems by thinking the way that weve been thinking. Weve got to come up with better, new ideas. Given not only the size of houston but its critical location, things like the\rhouston ship channel and the Oil Refineries<\/a> there and all of the infrastructure there, some of which can be dangerous to human beings and other forms of life when it is put in danger. Given what houston is and whats at risk here, whats been in the way of houston coming up with better decision to deal with flooding . It is striking that a city with that much chemical and oil Infrom Strauk Chur<\/a> is also the most flooded locality in the United States<\/a>. Well i think first of all, its sometimes difficult to get the officials to really envision the magnitude of storms that we actually are foreseeing. Weve foreseen, for example, something that didnt happen in this storm, which would be a hurricane with a large surge, perhaps 20 to 25 feet come in and hitting the houston ship channel. Ive had several people tell me thats unrealistic. If we had modelled and presented the scenario that is unfolding, we would have been accused of\rcoming up with unrealistic future scenarios. One thing is trying to get people to really be open minded about what the risks are. Because i think were really at a time of unprecedented risk with the heat, the Gulf Of Mexico<\/a> is extremely warm, among the warmest if not the warmest of the oceans of the world and it is a virtual heat pump into a hurricane. And that is a huge source of power for these storms. Professor blackburn, i read that since 1989 what they call a hundredyear storm, a storm thats only supposed to happen in 100 years, since 1989 thats happened six times in houston. Are you saying this isnt just a houston issue, this is a Climate Change<\/a> issue in terms of how we anticipate the magnitude of storms and flooding . Its the type of things that theyve been predingt in the sense that our Normal Distribution<\/a> of storms is\rchanging and will be skewing to more severe events. Thats what were seeing. Weve seen two 500year storms in the last ten years in certain parts of town. And i have no idea what this storm is going to evaluate as but certainly way beyond a hundredyear storm. I think the year hundredyear rainfall is virtually meaningless today. And the faederal Emergency Management<\/a> are the ones who come up with this. And i think this affecting everybody in the United States<\/a>. I think houston has a chance to be a trendsetter if are the country in figuring out how to cope and deal with these kind of new unprecedented storm events. But its going to take every bit of creativity that we have. Jim black Busch Codirector<\/a> of the speed center at Rice University<\/a> in houston. Thank you for helping us understand this. This is very sobering coming from you. Really appreciate your taking\rthe time, rachel. All right. Weve got more ahead tonight. Stay with us. A each year sarah climbs 58,007 steps. Thats the height of mount everest. Because each day she chooses to take the stairs. At work, at home. Even on the escalator. That can be hard on her lower body, so now she does it with dr. Scholls orthotics. Clinically proven to relieve and prevent foot, knee or lower back pain, by reducing the shock and stress that travel up her body with every step she takes. So keep on climbing, sarah. Youre killing it. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. Months before sheriff arpaios case even went to trial, the president looked into quashing the arpaio prosecution altogether. Quote, asked Attorney General<\/a> Jeff Sessions<\/a> whether it would be possible for the government to drop the criminal case against arpaio, but the president was advisesd that woud be inappropriate. A short time later, the New York Times<\/a> published its version, reporting that the president brought up the possibility of quashing the arpaio prosecution not just with Attorney General<\/a> Jeff Sessions<\/a> but also with the white House Counsel<\/a>. Okay. Heres my question. If the president asked the a. G. And the white House Counsel<\/a> if they could maybe drop the arpaio prosecution somehow, is that potentially a legal problem for the president . Wheres the line between, hey, im just asking for a friend and obstructing justice . We got some Expert Advice<\/a> on that today. Former u. S. Attorney barbara mcquade. Youve seen her here on our show numerous times. Tonight she tells us that this\rcould be a separate count of Obstruction Of Justice<\/a> against the president if the president tried to interfere with the prosecution thats being investigated in terms of the comey firing. Conceivably that could be investigated or pursued in this case. She also told us this, quote, if sessions or anybody else explained to trump that it is inappropriate to interfere with a criminal investigation before trump attempted to do so with former fbi director james comey, that could help establish that trump understood that what he was doing in firing james comey was illegal. Ah, so in other words, this might get rid of his ignorance defense. If the president was told explicitly that hes really not allowed to interfere in a criminal investigation of joe arpaio, then he was in a position to know explicitly that he shouldnt interfere in the fbi investigation of Michael Flynn<\/a> by pressuring james comey about that. So thats what we heard from former federal prosecutor barbara mcquade. We also asked bob bauer today,\rhe cited the unusual nature of the arpaio pardon coming before sheriff arpaio was even sentences. He told us, quote, Should Thement<\/a> ever face paempt on obstruction related grounds, this will color the case against him because its a pardon that does not meet the standards for granting one in the normal course of events. So, again, asking about the arpaio pardon could be trouble for the president. We also heard from a former top official in the justice department, walter dellinger, who led the office of Legal Counsel<\/a> under president clinton. Walter dellinger told us, quote, no president should be interfering in a criminal prosecution on behalf of friends or supporters. It fundamentally violates equal justice under law. Blunt from walter dellinger. So obviously a pardon is a president ial prerogative, but can a president try to quash a prosecution . Is that legal . It turns out its a good question. So stay tuned on that. We also have some exclusive new reporting tonight on the dossier of alleged russian dirt on President Trump<\/a> and the ten hours of testimony by a key player in the production of that dossier. Weve got that story next. Stay with us. My dads. Grandmas. Aunt stacys. What are the reasons you care for your heart . Qunol coq10 with 3x better absorption has the 1 cardiologist recommended form of coq10 to support heart health. Qunol, the better coq10. And when youod sugar is a replace one meal. Choices. Or snack a day with glucerna. Made with carbsteady. To help minimize blood sugar spikes. You can really feel it. Now with 30 less carbs and sugars. Glucerna. The uncertainties of hep c. Wondering, what if . I let go of all those feelings. Because i am cured with harvoni. Harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of Chronic Hepatitis<\/a> c. Its been prescribed to more\rthan a quarter million people. And is proven to cure up to 99 of patients who have had no prior treatment with 12 weeks. Certain patients can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. Before starting harvoni, your doctor will test to see if youve ever had hepatitis b, which may flare up and cause serious Liver Problems<\/a> during and after harvoni treatment. Tell your doctor if youve ever had hepatitis b, a liver transplant, other liver or kidney problems, hiv or any other medical conditions and about all the medicines you take including herbal supplements. Taking amiodarone with harvoni can cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. Common side effects of harvoni include tiredness, headache and weakness. Ready to let go of hep c . Ask your hep c specialist about harvoni. Last week, the head of the Senate Judiciary<\/a> committee, chuck grassley, got asked by a very persistent, very bright constituent at an iowa town hall. The question that he faced was about the controversial dossier that first detailed collusion between the Trump Campaign<\/a> and\rrussia. The head of the company that commissioned that dossier, the cofounder of fusion gps, glen simpson, he spent ten hours giving a transcribed interview to Judiciary Committee<\/a> staffers recently, all about the dossier. Ten hours of testimony. Afterward, glen simpson said he stands by the dossier. He also said, quote, the committee can release the transcript if it so chooses. The transcript of ten hours of his testimony on the dossier. At that town hall in iowa, senator grassley told his persistent constituent that he was open to releasing that transcript of those ten hours of testimony if his committee voted to do that. Heres what we can report tonight. Judiciary has 11 republicans and nine democrats. We think all nine democrats would likely vote to release that transcript. We reached out to all of them as well as the republicans on the committee. One of the republicans who isnt the chairman, senator orrin hatch of utah, tells us now that he would vote to release that transcript. Quoting from a statement that his office gave us, quote, the","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"https:\/\/vimarsana.com\/images\/vimarsana-bigimage.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240618T12:35:10+00:00"}