Trump news on Youtube Dec 18 2018

President Donald Trump has accused the Democrats and Special Counsel Robert Mueller of staging an investigation into alleged Russian meddling as a way of overturning the results of the 2016 elections

The President on Sunday also sought to turn the attention away from himself by attacking several of his political rivals: his former attorney, Michael Cohen; Hillary Clinton; the FBI; and two former FBI employees

Trump on Sunday assailed Cohen as a 'rat' for turning on him and wrongly claimed the FBI broke into his former lawyer's office

He slammed Jeff Sessions, who resigned the day after the 2018 election at Trump's request, following a months long public and private contention between Trump and Sessions over his recusal from overseeing Mueller's investigation

Trump got in his dig at Sessions in a pair of tweets quoting Daniel Henninger of The Wall Street Journal, who was speaking about Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn

Henninger wrote: 'It looks here as though General Flynn's defenses are incidental to something larger which is for the prosecution to figure out if it can find a path to Donald Trump without quite knowing what that crime might be

It stops looking like prosecution and more looking like a persecution of the President

' Trump added: 'Thank you, people are starting to see and understand what this Witch Hunt is all about

'Jeff Sessions should be ashamed of himself for allowing this total HOAX to get started in the first place!' Sessions has been one of Trump's favorite targets in his railings against the Mueller investigation

And Mueller's office earlier this month said that Flynn's cooperation - including 19 meetings with investigators - was so extensive that he was entitled to avoid prison when he is sentenced next week

Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations during the presidential transition period with the then-Russian ambassador to the United States, will become the first White House official punished in the Special Counsel's ongoing probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election

In court papers Tuesday, he requested probation and community service for his false statements

Trump also claimed the investigation into Russia started before he was elected and that it's a 'Democrat scam

' '.The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, started as the "insurance policy" long before I even got elected, is very bad for our Country

They are Entrapping people for misstatements, lies or unrelated things that took place many years ago

Nothing to do with Collusion.A Democrat Scam!,' he tweeted Sunday afternoon.U.S.intelligence agencies were investigating whether Russia was trying to influence the 2016 election during that year and briefed Trump on the matter after he was elected but before he took office

However, Mueller wasn't appointed as special counsel until May 17, 2017,  after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017

The president also attempted to turn the spotlight on the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton's email server when he wrote: 'Why didn't they break into the DNC to get the Server, or Crooked's office?' Crooked is a term he uses in reference to Clinton

He calls her 'Crooked Hillary Clinton' during his campaign rallies.The FBI investigated Clinton's use of a private email server and found that, while she was 'extremely careless,' then-FBI director James Comey recommended that no charges be filed

A subsequent report from the Department of Justice's watchdog found the FBI was not political in its investigation of Clinton, a charge some Republicans had made particularly after text messages were revealed between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page

The two agents - who were working on the investigation and having an affair - had texted of their hopes Trump would lose the election

Trump has also railed about the text messages between Strzok and Page.'So where are all the missing Text messages between fired FBI agents Peter S and the lovely Lisa Page, his lover

Just reported that they have been erased and wiped clean.What an outrage as the totally compromised and conflicted Witch Hunt moves ever so slowly forward

Want them!,' he wrote on Sunday.The Justice Department's inspector general, in a report released Thursday, found no evidence the FBI intentionally destroyed text messages between Strzok and Page

The inspector general faulted an FBI-wide software failure that has resulted in large portions of FBI text messages not being archived, the Associated Press fact checker found

The report examined a gap in messages from December 2016 through May 2017 from Strzok and Page's phones

The FBI ultimately managed to recover thousands of the messages.Some congressional Republicans had suggested the messages were intentionally deleted

The report from DoJ said there was no evidence of that.On Wednesday, Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in jail for multiple crimes - including bank fraud, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress

Trump has tweeted fast and furious against his former personal attorney since that sentencing

Former FBI director James Comey took to Twitter to slam back at the president and point out it was a 'lawful execution of a search warrant

' 'This is from the President of our country, lying about the lawful execution of a search warrant issued by a federal judge

Shame on Republicans who don't speak up at this moment — for the FBI, the rule of law, and the truth,' he wrote

Trump also argued it was Cohen's job - as his lawyer - to know what was legal and what wasn't

The pressure appears to be on the White House as reports indicated Mueller is close to wrapping up his probe, which is examining whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to affect the 2016 election

In a separate investigation, the Southern District of New York looked into the payoffs to two women who claimed to have affairs with Trump, which he denied

Evidence in both matters was said to be found in the April raid on Cohen's office

In an interview with 'Good Morning America' on Friday, Cohen expressed his wish to 'not be the villain' of the saga and defended himself against the President, who has publicly attacked him numerous times since he pleaded guilty to a 'veritable smorgasbord' of charges in August

The crime that is most perilous for Trump - who is said to be 'privately fretting over impeachment' is Cohen's campaign violation payments

Prosecutors say a figure identified as 'Individual-1' – Trump – 'directed' Cohen to make a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels,

Trump initially denied any payment, but on Thursday put forward the defense that it was his lawyer's job to know the law

'I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law,' Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday

'He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law.It is called 'advice of counsel,' and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made

' But Cohen told Stephanopoulos: 'I don't think there is anybody that believes that

'First of all, nothing at the Trump organization was ever done unless it was run through Mr

Trump.He directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved in these matters

' Trump has reportedly told allies in his closest circle that he is alarmed by the possibility of impeachment, despite publicly stating that he isn't concerned

On Sunday he also tweeted the words of people defending him.'Judge Ken Starr, former Solicitor Generel & Independent Counsel, just stated that, after two years, 'there is no evidence or proof of collusion' & further that 'there is no evidence that there was a campaign financing violation involving the President

'Thank you Judge.@FoxNews,' he wrote.On Thursday, the president was revealed to be the third man who attended a 2015 meeting with Cohen and American Media Inc

boss David Pecker where they forged a plan to keep Trump's alleged affairs out of the press

The meeting, which was referenced in a letter federal prosecutors sent to National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc, included an offer by the company CEO to 'help deal with negative stories about the presidential candidate's relationships with women'

With Trump identified as having been there, it means he was present when a plan was developed that ultimately led to Cohen pleading guilty to a felony and getting three years in jail

It also led to a cooperation agreement with prosecutors in which Pecker - one of Trump's former best friends - would not be prosecuted 'for any crimes' related to campaign finance law resulting from the meeting

AMI gave $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who says she had a 10-month affair with the president, and Cohen was involved in discussions relating to this

That could leave Trump as the odd man out if he continues his denials that he did anything wrong and never 'directed' Cohen to break the law and he is now the only person in the room who claims that the hush money wasn't used to impact the outcome of the election

Pecker agreed to flip - and is still cooperating with federal authorities.In a statement, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District said it agreed not to prosecute AMI after the company admitted 'that it made the $150,000 payment in concert with a candidate's presidential campaign, and in order to ensure that the woman did not publicize damaging allegations about the candidate before the 2016 presidential election'

The news comes amid a spike in talk in Washington about the possibility that the president could be charged with directing a federal crime, even if it is ultimately held that he is immune from such charges due to his office and the Justice Department's prior interpretation of the Constitution that sitting presidents cannot be indicted, only impeached

For more infomation >> Trump claims Mueller probe 'insurance policy' and a Democrat scam and slams ex-AG Jeff Sessions - Duration: 16:54.

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'SNL' Rewind: Matt Damon Hosts, Reprises Kavanaugh Role in Trump 'Wonderful Life' Sketch | THR News - Duration: 2:58.

"But if there's no Muslim ban, what about a potential terrorist attack?"

"Well, it was foiled by a team of transgender Navy SEALS."

It was a star-studded cold open for the most recent episode of 'SNL' which saw

Matt Damon return as host. The opening sketch the long-running NBC show offered up a

parody of classic Christmas movie 'It's a Wonderful Life' calling their version

"It's A Wonderful Trump." Alec Baldwin returned as the embattled president who laments

his situation to Clarence the angel, played by Kenan Thompson.

"Sometimes I wish I had never been President."

"A world where you were never President, eh? I think we can arrange that!"

The sketch then continued in an alternate timeline where Trump had lost the election,

resulting in Sarah Huckabee Sanders (portrayed by Aidy Bryant) to have gone into PR

for such reputable companies such as Facebook, Ashley Madison and

"The Romaine Lettuce Association." Ben Stiller made a cameo in the skit as Michael

Cohen, who is facing a prison term in the real world. In the fictional timeline, Trump's

ex-lawyer wasn't convicted, and he called Trump his best friend.

"Every single thing I've done is because you've directed me to do it,

and I hope everyone knows it!"

Matt Damon also reprised his impression of Brett Kavanaugh, who was not nominated

to the Supreme Court in the alternate timeline. Luckily, Damon's Kavanaugh,

who brought along his trusty calendar, was able to see the upside of all of his free time.

"Plus, I have so much more time now to hang out with... with PJ, and Squee,

and Needle Dick Nick and No Means Yes Nate."

And Robert De Niro closed out the star-studded cold open by reprising his impression

of Robert Mueller. Later in the show, host Damon appeared in a sketch taking on the

Westminster Dog show which was actually a pageant to find the best "daddy."

What's a "daddy," you might ask?

"It's like we say, 'any man can be a father, but it takes a hot, middle aged guy

with a big job to be a Daddy.'"

Damon also appeared in a digital short with Cecily Strong, playing parents reflecting

on Christmas and basically pretending that it hadn't completely sucked.

"I can't believe your cousin made the drive."

"I know, it was so nice to see him."

"Why do I have to take it off?"

"Because it's my dinner table in front of my kids!"

The show also made fun of the Academy's search for an Oscar's host in the wake of

Kevin Hart stepping down.

"Kanye West, take one."

"Controversy, bro. You know what I'm saying? I'm tired of staying way out of it.

Best actor? Nuh uh. What about best human, bro? Huh?

My Twitter's never been a problem. Scroll it."

Castmember Pete Davidson also appeared in the Oscar's digital short as Rami Malek

but was otherwise absent from the episode, save for introducing musical guest

Miley Cyrus. Davidson, who has been open about his ongoing struggles with mental

illness, caused concern on Saturday after he posted on Instagram that he "didn't want to

be on this earth anymore."

The actor and comedian has since deleted his Instagram account.

To watch full clips of the sketches from the latest installment of 'SNL,' head to THR.com.

For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

For more infomation >> 'SNL' Rewind: Matt Damon Hosts, Reprises Kavanaugh Role in Trump 'Wonderful Life' Sketch | THR News - Duration: 2:58.

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Coward Who Assaulted Teen Trump Supporter Doesn't Want His Identity Out – Make Him Famous! - Duration: 4:21.

For more infomation >> Coward Who Assaulted Teen Trump Supporter Doesn't Want His Identity Out – Make Him Famous! - Duration: 4:21.

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DONALD TRUMP DROPS NUKE ON THE ENTIRE FBI,THIS IS IT - Duration: 13:30.

DONALD TRUMP DROPS NUKE TO ENTIRE FBI,THIS IS IT

Sunday morning President Trump questioned why the FBI broke into Michael Cohen's office

but didn't break into the DNC to get the server they refused to turn over.

Per TheHill, in January of 2017, the FBI requested direct access to the Democratic National Committee's

(DNC) hacked computer servers but was denied, Director James Comey told lawmakers on Tuesday.

The bureau made "multiple requests at different levels," according to Comey, but ultimately

struck an agreement with the DNC that a "highly respected private company" would get access

and share what it found with investigators.

"We'd always prefer to have access hands-on ourselves if that's possible," Comey said,

noting that he didn't know why the DNC rebuffed the FBI's request.

The director was testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a rare open session

on Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

The DNC and the bureau have been quibbling in news reports over whether the FBI asked

to examine its servers directly.

The DNC told BuzzFeed in a statement published last week that the FBI never requested access

to its servers after they were breached.

But a senior law enforcement official disputed that characterization the following day.

"The FBI repeatedly stressed to DNC officials the necessity of obtaining direct access to

servers and data, only to be rebuffed until well after the initial compromise had been

mitigated," the official said.

"This left the FBI no choice but to rely upon a third party for information.

These actions caused significant delays and inhibited the FBI from addressing the intrusion

earlier."

From Yahoo

President Trump lashed out at the FBI on Sunday morning for failing to search Democratic National

Committee headquarters while investigating Hillary Clinton's emails, an investigation

that ended more than two years ago.

He compared it to the treatment of his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, whose office and residences

were searched by agents in April.

Trump called Cohen a "Rat," but blamed his treachery on his treatment by the FBI.

"Remember, Michael Cohen only became a 'Rat' after the FBI did something which was absolutely

unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started.

They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE!

Why didn't they break into the DNC to get the Server, or Crooked's office?"

Trump wrote.

Contrary to Trump's claims, prosecutors in New York obtained a search warrant after

receiving a referral from Robert Mueller, the special counsel in the Russia probe.

The search was not directly linked to the investigation into Moscow's interference

with the 2016 presidential election, but was based on specific information uncovered by

Mueller's investigators, including communications between Cohen and Trump about hush-money payments

by the then-presidential candidate to women who claimed they had affairs with him.

Prosecutors must meet a high bar to obtain a warrant to target communications between

an attorney and his or her client.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Pauley in New York sentenced Cohen to three

years in prison for various crimes to which he has pleaded guilty, including campaign-finance

violations for the payments to women and making false statements to Congress about plans to

build another

Trump

Tower

in Moscow.

For more infomation >> DONALD TRUMP DROPS NUKE ON THE ENTIRE FBI,THIS IS IT - Duration: 13:30.

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Dershowitz Makes Prediction on Mueller Probe that Will Disappoint Trump's Enemies - Duration: 2:26.

For more infomation >> Dershowitz Makes Prediction on Mueller Probe that Will Disappoint Trump's Enemies - Duration: 2:26.

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Republicans question Comey over newly released FBI file on Trump dossier - Duration: 5:14.

Republicans are questioning former FBI director James Comey behind closed doors

Monday on a host of Russia probe related issues including a newly released FBI

briefing document related to the origins of the salacious Andy Trump dossier

Kumbi is back on the hill for his second closed-door interview this month with

House lawmakers on the House Judiciary and oversight committees after an

initial appearance in which the Republicans complained he didn't

adequately answer their questions North Carolina Rep mark meadows told reporters

Monday that Republicans plan to focus on in the u FBI document that was released

Friday in response to a Freedom of Information Act and published by

Politico he told reporters he wants cummy to clarify when he first became

aware of the involvement of the Democratic National Committee law firm

Perkins Coie Yee in the opposition research group fusion GPS in the

production of the dossier I want to give him a chance to clarify all that Meadows

said that heavily redacted document details the information regarding the

bureau's Russia investigation that coming serving as FBI director at the

time briefed Trump about shortly after the Republican was elected president the

document once again suggests the FBI was vague in the sourcing of the dossiers

origin as being funded by anti-trump Democrats but Meadows also says he

believes it could conflict with previous statements from coming about what he

knew of the dossiers origins at the time I can't imagine how the director of the

FBI did not know the connection between fusion GPS Perkins Coie II and the DNC

as it related to the infamous dossier Meadows told reporters during an

interview with Fox News Brett Baily or in April Cammie said he first learned

about the existence of the dossier in the fall of 2016 but still didn't know

dot for a fact that the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign had funded the work the

dossier was funded by the DNC and Clinton campaign the FBI

humans vaguely refers to it as being paid for by private clients an FBI

source volunteered highly politically sensitive information on Russian

influence efforts aimed at the u.s. presidential election the memo said

referring to X British intelligence agent Chris Steele who authored the

dossier the memo said the source is an executive of a private business

intelligence firm and a former employee of a friendly Intelligence Service who

has been compensated for previous reporting over the past three years it

also said the source collected this information on behalf of private clients

and was not compensated for it by the FBI

Trump has railed against the FBI for relying in part on a dossier funded by

Trump's political opponents as it began investigating the relationships between

Russia and members of trumps campaign earlier this year come he said during

his book to it he didn't tell the president about the origins of the

dossier during the briefing saying it wasn't necessary Tummie returned for

more Capitol Hill testimony after the prior December 7th session left

lame-duck Republican lawmakers fuming as cumming repeatedly said I don't remember

I don't know and I don't recall when grilled about investigations Republicans

believed were aimed at hurting Trump the questioning covered the FBI's probe of

Hillary Clinton's email server and how a counterintelligence investigation into

Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election morphed into an

all-encompassing probe of Trump's inner circle including the obtaining of FISA

warrants used to spy on American citizens the transcript of the marathon

interview was released on December 8th demonstrating the fired FBI boss lack of

responsiveness and the tension between him and GOP lawmakers Comey also raised

eyebrows when he told MSNBC a week ago that he broke protocol in order to send

FBI agents to interview President Trump's national security adviser

Michael Flynn in 2017 the new details about that fateful interview which led

to criminal charges against Flynn are sure to come up in Monday's interview

the judge handling Flynn's guilty plea has raised new

questions about how the affair was handled asked to describe how two FBI

agents ended up at the White House to interview Flint in January 2017 come e

speaking to MSNBC's Nicole Wallace during a forum discussion last Sunday

said flatly I sent them come he went on to

acknowledge the way the interview was set up not through the White House

counsel's office but arranged directly with Flynn was not standard practice

he called it something I probably wouldn't have done or maybe gotten away

with in a more organized administration

For more infomation >> Republicans question Comey over newly released FBI file on Trump dossier - Duration: 5:14.

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Government Shutdown Looms As Trump Demands $5 Billion Border Wall Budget - Duration: 1:41.

For more infomation >> Government Shutdown Looms As Trump Demands $5 Billion Border Wall Budget - Duration: 1:41.

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TRUMP SENDS STERN WARNING TO HILLARY, MUELLER, OTHERS YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS - Duration: 11:10.

TRUMP SENDS STERN WARNING TO HILLARY, MUELLER, OTHERS - "YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS"

Just when they thought they are finally wining against President Trump, little did they know

Trump already has everything planned out right from the start and he is ready to take anything

they throw at him.

At the end, all their efforts to destroy all of President Trump's success will

become useless.

From New York Post: "in a wide-ranging, exclusive interview with the post, President trump said

that if Democrats launched probe into his administration which he called 'Presidential

harassment', they'd pay a heavy price...", said President Trump.

"i think that would help my campaign.

If they want to play, i will do it.

They will see how devastating those pages are", Trump added.

The pages President Trump is talking about here are the FISA warrant applications and

other documents from Robert Mueller's probe which he (Trump) claims if disclosed would

expose the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Clinton campaign and how they colluded

to set him up.

Seems President Trump has them exactly where he wants them and he's about to make

it

rain

hell on them.

For more infomation >> TRUMP SENDS STERN WARNING TO HILLARY, MUELLER, OTHERS YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS - Duration: 11:10.

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Conservatives Turn On Trump Policy - Duration: 4:00.

For more infomation >> Conservatives Turn On Trump Policy - Duration: 4:00.

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Trump Accuses Alec Baldwin Of Election Rigging - Duration: 7:57.

For more infomation >> Trump Accuses Alec Baldwin Of Election Rigging - Duration: 7:57.

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Bob Woodward - "Fear" in America & President Trump's War on Truth | The Daily Show - Duration: 11:11.

-Welcome to the show. -Thank you. Great to be here.

Can I just tell you, one of my favorite experiences

was, I was doing shows in Washington, D.C.,

and I... I went to eat at a restaurant,

and you were eating at the same restaurant,

and you got up to wa...

you were just leaving the restaurant, I guess,

but it felt like everyone in D.C.,

like, turns to look at you, like,

"That's the guy who could write about us and end our careers."

(laughter)

-You... you've written... -I remember that night.

-My fly was down. -(laughter)

I don't remember, 'cause I was looking at your eyes, Bob.

Okay.

You have written about nine presidents.

It feels like, for a long time,

people always regarded you as Bob Woodward,

the journalist who is impartial, he writes the story as it is.

I mean, you wrote about Nixon as well.

You wrote about nine presidents.

This book feels different, though.

It still feels like you're impartial, but it feels...

it feels like it really, really condemns President Trump.

Because of the evidence.

-(laughter) -Time and time again...

(applause)

...if-if you look, uh,

for... for a summary,

it's a war on truth,

and he's making all these decisions

in foreign policy and the economy,

and... it's not based on facts.

And so I think we're really...

I think this is a pivot moment,

-Right. -and the country needs to come to grips

with what's going on.

And there are gonna be investigations going on

for years, probably.

But here you have a situation where the president...

people who work for him

have to take papers off his desk

in order to prevent him

from beginning a catastrophe.

Like, there was an order about a trade agreement

in South Korea, and you think, "Oh, that's...

just a trade agreement,"

but it's a part of an alliance with South Korea,

-Right. -uh, where we have 28,000

of our troops there,

we have top secret special-access

intelligence programs that allow us to detect

a North Korean missile launch in seven seconds,

and Trump wants to begin that process,

and Gary Cohn, his top economic aide says,

"I have to take that

in order to prevent a calamity."

Now, I have... I've done this for 47 years,

and I've never seen people who felt

there was such an emergency.

This is... this is an interesting idea.

A president who has people around him

who publicly defend him,

but then privately seem to lambaste his every single move.

Because this book is not written as an observation.

You spoke to people who work in the White House,

who work for the president, you have notes,

you have tape recordings.

I'm-I'm constantly amazed,

and-and I struggle to understand

the fact that these people work for him,

and they all seem to know that the emperor has no clothes,

but they tell us that he's wearing Versace.

Yeah. And what you find,

'cause I have the time to really develop relationships

of trust with people who are there,

is the more they know, the closer they are to Trump,

the more they are on the verge

of having a cardiac arrest.

-Because of what he does -Wow.

and what he does not know.

And he will get locked in to these ideas.

Oh, like NATO, that security agreement

-that has kept the peace for 70 years, -Right.

he said, "Oh, we're wasting our money.

We're suckers for doing this."

And finally-- I mean, I never thought this would happen--

the secretary of defense has to tell the president

"Oh, we're doing these things to prevent World War III."

Job one, for a president: prevent World War III.

-Right? -(cheers and applause)

Just to put it in context, can you imagine Dick Cheney,

when he was secretary of defense to Bush, Sr.,

having to tell him, "Oh, by the way,

this is all designed to prevent World War III"?

Inconceivable. When I...

It seems like the very basic understandings

of the presidency and what's happening in the country,

are things that Trump doesn't grasp.

But there's always something that people bring up,

and that is, they say, "This is just like Nixon now."

You know? Apart from his knowledge, they're saying, like,

"Oh, the shady dealing, this is just like Nixon."

You actually wrote about Nixon.

You are, in many ways, part of the reason

that Nixon got into the trouble that he got into.

Now, do you think this is similar to Richard Nixon?

We're gonna find out,

and it all depends on the quality of evidence.

And there's a lot of aroma,

there are lots of things going on.

As you're rightly pointing out, wait a minute,

-these are violations of the law. -Right.

When does it get so serious

that the Republicans will wake up?

That's the question.

And they now are the enablers

of Trump in all of this stuff.

And you get to them privately,

and you say, "What do you think?"

And they say "My head hurts so hard."

Tough.

We-we are, you know, this-this...

Look. I mean, just take, uh, in the book,

John Dowd, who was Trump's personal attorney

in the Mueller investigation,

worked with him for eight months closely. Big supporter.

And said, "Okay, you're gonna have to testify

to this Special Counsel Mueller."

And Trump says, "Okay. Uh, I can do that, no problem."

So they do a practice session

and Trump starts making up things, lying,

blows up, and...

-In the practice session. -In the practice session.

And this is his lawyer so you can't testify.

If you testify, you will perjure yourself

and you'll wind up in an orange jumpsuit.

Like the one you picture... (chuckles) Trump in.

-Right. -And, uh, and then,

he finally concludes

that Trump is an effing liar.

I know you're not supposed to say that word on the air.

-Oh, you can say it here. -Oh, you can? Okay.

-You can say it here. Um... -I mean-- okay.

(cheers and applause)

Here's something that you might be able to help me understand.

Because what-what I loved about this book

is that, honestly, it's a retelling of a story.

I don't feel your personal attachment to it.

It is a complete factual telling of a story

and interviews that you have with people.

But from your personal perspective,

from the interactions you've had

with some of the people who work with Trump,

why don't they just move on? They have Pence.

What is the endgame for them?

What do they hope will happen?

Uh, it's survival.

And imagine...

I mean, Meryl Streep, the actress-- great actress--

said just recently,

"Imagine what Donald Trump's 3:00 a.m. is like."

Just think of that. He gets up, and he tweets.

You look at this morning.

He was tweeting from 7:00 to 10:00 or 11:00,

and all about taking defensive positions

-on all of this. -Right.

You know, one of the things from doing nine presidents,

you-you come to the moment when somebody asks you,

"Well, what's the job of the president?"

And my definition of the job of the president

is to figure out the next stage of good

for a majority of people in the country.

-Win a war. Fix the economy. -(cheering and applause)

-We could put a board up here. -Right.

And we would come up with a list.

Not for the base or one party or interest groups.

You know, there really is a next stage of good

-for this country. -Right.

As best I can tell,

in Trump's world and presidency, that never comes up.

It is not addressed.

It's all about the moment of, you know...

-You saw that 20-minute Oval Office piece? -Right, right.

I mean, it's all about Trump and his emotions,

his impulses.

He got to the point of saying,

"Well, I'll close down the government

-and be proud of it. That will be a good thing." -Right.

Well, come on. I mean, he's-he's...

I mean, imagine the head of GM saying that.

"Oh, we'll close down all the plants,

-and I'll be proud of it." -"And I'll take the blame."

So, then, do you think... do you think...

-If you just look at this on the face of it, -Yeah.

one thing we've always said is...

he has earned the nickname the Teflon Don.

It seems like nothing sticks to Donald Trump.

Do you think there's a world where Cohen goes down,

Flynn goes down, Manafort goes down,

Papadopoulos goes down, everybody around him goes down,

and he miraculously comes out unscathed?

Uh, we don't know. But having Cohen,

the personal lawyer for ten years...

We know Cohen taped all kinds of things.

-Right. -In the Nixon case, it was thousands of hours of tapes.

I don't think those exist.

But if there's one witness you want,

it's the president's lawyer, because, you see, in...

when Trump was in New York real "estrate"--

uh, real estate-- they, uh, people would do deals with him.

-Right. -And they called it "the Donald risk,"

taking any arrangement with him.

And what they made sure they did

is they would structure the deal

so he couldn't get his hand...

-hands on the cash flow, on the money. -Wow.

Because he would just take it out,

and they would try to prevent that from happening.

So, the operation...

Uh, saddest moment in journalism

in American politics of the last decade

is we did not get his tax returns.

We should know his tax returns.

If anyone out there has them,

-please let me know. -(laughter)

-(cheering and applause) -Really.

(both laugh)

-Oh, man. Thank you so much for being on the show. -Okay.

-Thank you. -The book is phenomenal.

A true legend. Bob Woodward, everybody.

Fear is available now. Go out and get it.

For more infomation >> Bob Woodward - "Fear" in America & President Trump's War on Truth | The Daily Show - Duration: 11:11.

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In Crazy Rant, Trump Accuses Saturday Night Live Of Colluding With Democrats - Duration: 4:56.

If you were following Donald Trump's Twitter feed this past week and first of all, my condolences

for having to do that, but second of all, you probably know that Donald Trump did not

have a very good weekend and part of the reason he didn't have a good weekend is once again

because of Saturday Night Live, allegedly making fun of him and I say allegedly because

yeah, they were making fun of him, but that's what they're supposed to do.

It's a comedy show, a variety show.

They poke fun at all topics, especially those that are timely, which would fall into the

category of the president of the United States, but nonetheless, Donald Trump got angry about

something that aired on Saturday Night on Saturday, and he tweeted out the following

on Sunday morning.

A real scandal is the one sided coverage hour by hour of networks like NBC and Democrats.

Spin machines like Saturday Night Live.

It is all, nothing less than unfair news coverage and dim commercials should be tested in courts.

Can't be legal.

Only defame and belittle.

Collusion?

Alright, let's start addressing his little non sentence sentences there.

First of all, the one he ended with collusion, does Donald Trump actually think that Saturday

Night Live is somehow working with the DNC to make him look stupid because we don't need

Saturday Night Live for that.

We have your Twitter feed.

We have your public speeches.

We have used struggling to close an umbrella and then saying screw it and leaving it outside

Air Force One.

We do not need any help making you look stupid.

Second, can't be legal.

Should be tested in court.

Are you threatening to sue Saturday Night Live because they skewered you a couple times?

Do you not understand that that is something Saturday Night Live has done to sitting presidents

since they started or they made fun of Gerald Ford as some aloof doofus, Ronald Reagan as

this kind of space case, not knowing what's going on.

George W dot Bush was this an automaton robot, just couldn't figure anything out.

Bill Clinton was a sex crazed maniac on the show.

George W dot Bush.

They portrayed him as borderline, mentally challenged, and Obama they portrayed is almost

too weak to do anything effectively or in some cases too worried about being cool, so

no, you have not gotten it worse than other presidents have from Saturday Night Live and

you are certainly not the first president to ever be mocked by that show.

That is what happens, but if you can't take it, if you're that thin skinned that you are

now wanting to possibly sue them because they're making fun of you, then you picked the wrong

job.

Buddy.

The president of the United States is one of the most criticized and scrutinized people

in this country always has been and always will be.

Why?

Because they're the person that's supposed to be our leader and we need to know pretty

much every facet of their lives.

If they want to go out there and say, I'm going to represent the United States on the

global stage than we need to know everything.

We need to look under every rock.

We need to flip over every rotting log and see what's under there, and that is what's

happening to you.

Saturday Night Live is doing nothing different with the way they portray you and the way

they had portrayed portrayed.

Every president since this show came into existence.

It's just that we've never had a president as whiny and babyish as you are, to actually

throw a Tantrum, a temper tantrum in public because you don't like that.

They're not being nice

to you.

For more infomation >> In Crazy Rant, Trump Accuses Saturday Night Live Of Colluding With Democrats - Duration: 4:56.

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A Hostless Oscars Night & Donald Trump Jr.'s Christmas Anecdote | The Daily Show - Duration: 6:07.

As you may know, Kevin Hart stepped down

from hosting the Oscars last week.

Although I don't know how you step down from anything

when you're his height.

-(laughter) -And now the Oscars

are trying to find a host

who has no history of offensive tweets.

Which means... nobody.

The Oscars may go without a host.

Published reports say the Academy's considering

scrapping the gig after Kevin Hart stepped down.

The Academy held a board meeting last night,

but so far, no official word on the host position.

The Oscars have gone host-less before,

but not since 1988.

No...!

-(laughter) -The Oscars will have no host.

But who will introduce the person

who introduces the presenter who introduces the nominee?

Who will tell me that Amy Adams is in the audience.

No!

Seriously, sometimes I don't get the Oscars.

It's, like, why does America celebrate the best movies

with the worst TV show?

Like, I don't get it.

Like, if you ask me, they should use this opportunity

to revamp the entire show. Yeah.

Don't have a host. In fact, don't even have a presenter

for the awards, right?

The people in each category should have to announce

who gets their award.

Then we'll really get to see Best Actor. Yeah.

Won't have to give it to someone else.

The winner is... Aw, hell! Yay!

And also, and also, they should change the In Memoriam segment.

Instead of showing the people who died last year,

they should show the people

who they think are gonna die next year.

Then you can enjoy the applause now. Yeah.

Moving on.

The Holland Tunnel.

Right here in New York City.

It's one of the most frustrating tunnels to drive through.

But not everyone hates it for the same reason.

A New Jersey man is taking on the Port Authority.

He is not happy with how they've decked the halls

at the Holland Tunnel,

and he wants the decorations to be changed.

On the New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel,

a reef covers the "O" in Holland perfectly

this time of year,

like it was designed for that spot.

Another reef covers the "U" in "tunnel" snugly.

And then there's the tree.

MAN: You're creeping up inch by inch,

and that tree is just staring at you,

and you go, "How is... how is that not in the right place?"

NEWSMAN: The right place for the tree,

Cory Windelspecht says, is over the preceding "A,"

which would, he says...

...seem to fit a tree shape perfectly.

(laughter)

Yo, yo, ladies, ladies...

find you a man who cares about you as much as this guy cares

about the Holland Tunnel's Christmas decorations.

Now, this guy's been so serious and he's pushed so hard

that the state has said they're actually gonna consider

changing the decorations.

But I can only imagine all the New Jersey bureaucracy

that's gonna be involved, you know?

There's gonna be people in New Jersey being like,

"You've got to fill out form W-7J,"

but because it's Jersey, it's gonna be, like,

on the form: "You got a (bleep) problem, tough buy?"

Followed by form J-2-7, where you explain:

"Wait, you know Little Anthony?

"If yes-- from the old neighborhood?

No kidding. His ma used to make the best chicken cutlets."

Moving on to international news.

Poor Britain, guys.

In 2016, they voted for Brexit,

which was to leave the European Union,

but they can't figure out a way to do it

that doesn't screw themselves.

In fact, this week Theresa May, their prime minister,

offered a Brexit plan that was so unpopular

that her own party held a vote to kick her out of office.

Yeah. Now, she survived that vote,

and the good news actually is, for her,

is that she won, but the bad news is,

is that she has had to promise that as soon as Brexit is done,

she will leave.

Which is a terrible deal for her.

It's basically, "I'll do the worst part of the job,

and then I'll quit."

It's also a bad deal for Britain,

because you don't want someone doing a tough job

if they know they're gonna be fired no matter what happens.

Like, if I was a surgeon and I knew I was getting fired

after I finished a kidney transplant, you better believe

I'm replacing that kidney with a whoopee cushion.

I don't play games.

I'm out! What do you want me to do? I'm out!

I'm gone!

(cheers and applause)

But, but now, but now, in an interesting twist,

Britain might have an out because the European court--

the E.U. court has just ruled that if Britain wants to,

it can cancel Brexit without facing anything repercussions.

Which sounds like a great deal to me.

I wish there were bad decisions I could just magically undo

without any repercussions.

Yeah, but I can't.

And now I'm pregnant.

Moving on. Finally...

Let's talk about Christmas shopping.

It's the only time of the year you're allowed

to fight an old lady for a panini press.

And everyone knows that when it comes to gift giving,

it's the thought that counts.

Well, not everyone knows.

Donald Trump, Jr. is revealing

what Christmas is like in the Trump family.

The president's eldest son said his father is a "regifter."

There was one Christmas where he may or may not have given me

the gift that I had given him the year before

because I monogrammed it.

And he was like, "Oh, yeah, here."

Like, I'm like, "I know you didn't get this."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I gave it to you last year."

(laughs)

Yeah, you laugh now, Don, Jr., but wait until next Christmas

when he tries to re-gift you his subpoenas.

(mimics Trump): "Oh, look, it says you're impeached

and you're going to jail. Merry Christmas, son."

(normal voice): You know, I...

(whooping, cheering)

I don't know... I don't know what's more awkward,

Trump re-gifting something to his son

or the time he gave Melania and Stormy Daniels the same penis.

Oh!

-Oh! -(laughter)

-Oh! -(cheers and applause)

Oh!

-Oh! -(applause)

(mimics Urkel from Family Matters): Did I do that?

For more infomation >> A Hostless Oscars Night & Donald Trump Jr.'s Christmas Anecdote | The Daily Show - Duration: 6:07.

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Trump Swamp Monster Resigns - Duration: 7:54.

For more infomation >> Trump Swamp Monster Resigns - Duration: 7:54.

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Stephen Miller and Rudy Giuliani Try to Defend Trump: A Closer Look - Duration: 7:05.

-So many of President Trump's friends and aides

have abandoned him that the only people left to defend him

are Stephen Miller and Rudy Giuliani.

For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."

[ Cheers and applause ]

Things would be a lot easier for Trump

if he still had Republicans in Congress to protect him.

But now he has to deal with Democrats

as they prepare to take control of the House.

And right now Trump is fighting with them over the budget.

Trump wants money for his border wall,

and Nancy Pelosi has been adamant that he won't get it.

And I'm just gonna guess, from looking at the two of them,

that Pelosi is going to win.

I mean, look at the two of them.

He looks like he had a panic attack in a steam room,

and she looks like Neo from "The Matrix"

if he shopped at Talbots.

She's Tom Cruise. He's "Risky Business."

In fact, Trump is so easy to beat in these situations

that in last week's tense meeting in the Oval Office,

Pelosi called the potential government shutdown

a Trump shutdown, and Trump was annoyed

that Pelosi beat him to the punch.

-I think the American people recognize

that we must keep government open,

that a shutdown is not worth anything

and that you should not have a Trump shutdown.

-Oh, wait a minute. Did you say Trump --

Oh. That's what I'm gonna call it.

-You have your White House. You have the Senate.

-Oh, were you?

Trump's like a guy who gets checkmated in chess

and says, "I was gonna say that."

And then you'd say, "Why would you say that?

You didn't checkmate me."

Then he'd just eat all the pieces.

After Pelosi outwitted Trump in the Oval Office meeting,

the White House got really desperate

and turned to a staffer who has mostly stayed

out of the public eye lately,

and that's senior policy advisor Stephen Miller.

[ Thunder crashes ]

Miller has been quiet in the last few weeks,

although he occasionally lurks in the backgrounds of photos

like the White House janitor who's been dead for 30 years.

Yesterday, he went on "Face the Nation"

to aggressively proclaim

that Trump would hold the government hostage

if he doesn't get money for his border wall.

-We are about five days from a potential government shutdown,

and Republican leadership says there's no plan.

What is the President's plan, and will he shut it down

to get this $5 billion in border-wall funding?

-We're going to do whatever is necessary

to build the border wall, to stop this ongoing crisis

of illegal immigration.

-And that means a shutdown?

-If it comes to it, absolutely.

This is a very fundamental issue.

The Democrat Party has a simple choice.

They can either choose to fight for America's working class

or to promote illegal immigration.

You can't do both.

-Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Uh, what the hell's going on with Stephen Miller's hair?

I mean, here he is before that interview.

And here he is during it.

Is that a proceeding hairline?

Does Stephen Miller get a hair hard-on

when he talks about the wall?

"Stephen, did you hear ICE is breaking arrest records?"

"Eww!

Stephen has a hair boner!"

I mean, look at that thing.

It would have been more believable

if he just Charlie Brown'd it.

Is that spray paint, or did he get the inauguration crowd

tattooed on his head?

Trump was forced to turn to Miller

because of the unprecedented turnover in his administration.

For example, after he announced the departure

of his current chief of staff, John Kelly,

Trump said he would replace Kelly with someone

who already works in the White House, Mick Mulvaney.

And the White House said that on top of being chief of staff,

Mulvaney would also keep his current job

as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

and the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

It's getting to the point where there's only going to be

like four people left in this administration

and they're each going to have 30 jobs.

-"I'm pleased to announce that I've appointed Stephen Miller

Secretary of State, Defense, Commerce, head speech writer,

Communications Director, and White House Babadook.

[ Laughter ]

And I have to say... I have to say...

Stephen is so excited about it,

his hair boner is down to his nose."

[ Laughter ]

Trump has lost Republicans in Congress

and Republicans in his own White House,

but, of course, the gravest threat to his presidency so far

came from the man who was, for years, closer to him

than almost anyone else,

and that's his former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

In an interview with ABC, Cohen made clear

that Trump had directed him to break the law

and explained how he'd grown apart from the President.

-I will tell you that the gentleman

that is sitting now in the Oval Office,

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,

is not the Donald Trump that I remember from Trump Tower.

He's a very different individual.

-No, he's not a different individual.

He's just in a different location.

There's not an expression "like a bull in a barn,"

but move it to a china shop, and suddenly everyone's like,

"[Bleep]. Get this bull out of here!"

They're like, "He was fine in the barn."

"This is not a [bleep] barn!"

Now, Trump, for his part...

for his part...

[ Cheers and applause ]

...has insisted that he had nothing to do with the

hush-money payments Cohen made to cover up Trump's affairs.

Trump has also argued that Cohen should have known better,

an argument he repeated in an interview with Fox News.

-Michael Cohen says that he lied in order to protect you.

-Yeah. -What's your response to that?

-Let me tell you.

I never directed him to do anything wrong.

Whatever he did, he did on his own. He's a lawyer.

A lawyer who represents a client

is supposed to do the right thing.

That's why you pay them a lot of money, et cetera, et cetera.

I think, by "et cetera, et cetera,"

you mean because it's illegal.

Only Trump could "et cetera, et cetera" the law.

He pulled an Elaine.

"I met a porn star, went up to my room.

Yada yada yada. I'm an unindicted co-conspirator."

Yet even in the last few days,

Trump's story on this has changed again.

First, Trump insisted he never heard of the payments.

Then he said they were legal.

Then he said it was Cohen's fault.

And now his current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is saying...

So what if it was illegal? Nobody died.

-Here's what Rudy Giuliani, the President's lawyer,

said this week.

"Nobody got killed. Nobody got robbed.

This was not a big crime," Giuliani told The Daily Beast.

And then he added, "I think in two weeks

they'll start with parking tickets that haven't been paid."

-This is ridiculous.

And they're going around with this,

and you're talking about all these other investigations.

I'm telling you, George, they're going to go try

to look for unpaid parking tickets.

-Oh, my God. Rudy managed to out-crazy Stephen Miller.

Congrats, Rudy. You get the hair boner.

[ Laughter ]

Even Trump's closest friends and advisors

are getting as far away from him as they possibly can,

and the only people he has left to defend him

are Rudy Giuliani and Stephen Miller,

and that's because people are starting to realize

a fundamental truth about working for Donald Trump.

You can keep your job or you can keep your dignity, but...

-You can't do both.

-This has been "A Closer Look."

For more infomation >> Stephen Miller and Rudy Giuliani Try to Defend Trump: A Closer Look - Duration: 7:05.

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Trump's New Chief Of Staff Thinks He's A "Terrible Human Being" - Duration: 5:38.

Donald Trump has finally decided on who the next chief of staff for his administration

is going to be, and it's none other than Mick Mulvaney from the office of Management and

budget as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I guess after destroying both of those

agencies, Donald Trump decided that was the guy for his administration and it actually

gets worse because Mulvaney is not just the kind of guy who enacted as corporate policies

over at the CFPB. He also back in 2016, while he was running for Congress called Donald

Trump, a terrible human being. Here is the exact quote. This is from a a campaign debate.

In 2016, we're Mulvaney was running for Congress and he said the following, he said, yes, I'm

supporting Donald Trump. I'm doing so as enthusiastically as I can given the fact that I think he's

a terrible human being, but the choice on the other side is just as bad.

So Trump told us a few days ago actually, the people were just lining up out the door

to be his next chief of staff. He said there were tons of people, at least 10. It's actually

what he said, at least 10 people, but we know from reports that so far everyone that he

had asked turned them down. They didn't want the job. That includes Nick Ayers, Steve Mnuchin,

all kinds of other people from this administration said, yeah, thanks, but no thanks so really

cannot. Contrary to what the president was telling us, nobody was lining up to take this

job because nobody wanted it. Except I guess for Mick Mulvaney and again, the best person

Donald Trump could find for this job is a guy who thinks that he is a terrible human

being. Here's the thing about Mulvaney though. Mulvaney is a hardcore regular style Republican.

You know, he's not as brash as Donald Trump, but he is 100% a corporatist.

He's the kind of guy that's going to do what corporations want him to do. He did that when

he was in Congress. He did it at the CFPB. He's going to do it for the Trump administration,

which could create a little bit more goodwill between Corporate America and the Trump administration

as if they actually needed any of that, but in terms of actual policy, in terms of advising,

you know, foreign policy matters. Mulvaney is going to be a complete disaster. He is

going to be a spineless, yes man for the president, and we're going to see a lot more horrible

policies, probably more horrible tweets coming out of Donald Trump because Mulvaney is not

a stand up guy. He's not the guy to go to. Donald Trump would say, no, you are wrong

about this. We can't do this. Let me explain it to you. Instead, Mulvaney is going to say,

you know what? Yeah, you're right. That's good. Let's do that. Mulvaney is going to

be an absolute disaster, but as long as he continues to not stand up to the president

and blanketly tell him that everything he does is wonderful, then I think he's going

to have a very long tenure as the

chief

of staff.

For more infomation >> Trump's New Chief Of Staff Thinks He's A "Terrible Human Being" - Duration: 5:38.

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Dispelling Myths About Iran, Trump's Bogeyman - Duration: 21:00.

BEN NORTON: It's The Real News Network and I'm Ben Norton.

One of the key elements of the Trump administration's foreign policy has been increasing aggression

against Iran.

Trump has cozied up with the Saudi regime, but at the same time, has repeatedly called

for the overthrow of Iran's government.

Well, joining us to discuss this is a leading figure in the U.S. peace movement who has

been helping to lead the fight to save the Iran Nuclear Deal.

I'm speaking with Medea Benjamin, who is a co-founder of the women-led peace movement,

Code Pink, and also the author of a book on Iran that expels many of the myths about the

country, called Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Thanks for joining us, Medea.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: Good to be here with you, Ben.

BEN NORTON: So let's talk about Iran as a country before we talk about U.S. policy.

There are a lot of myths about the country.

Of course, there is a lot to criticize.

It is a theocracy, but it's also a democratic country.

In fact, it's probably the most democratic country in the region, or at least one of

them.

They have presidential elections with three fourths voter turnout, which are much bigger

than the U.S.

They certainly have issues repressing women, they have issues repressing worker's rights.

But compared to U.S. allies like Saudi Arabia, as you point out in your book, Iran actually

looks much better.

Why do you think there are so many myths and can you talk about some of the experiences

you've had?

You visited Iran for the first time in 2008 and you visited it several times since then,

and you've seen that some of these myths are really ridiculous.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, I'm glad you start out by saying that it is a problematic government,

because we are working with civil society in Iran.

And depending on what's happening internally in the politics, there's more space or less

space for civil society to try to make reforms and changes in the government.

Right now, is a very difficult time, and there are many people who would be our counterparts

in Iran who are in prison.

But as you say, the U.S. has put forward a very misguided view of Iran.

First of all, they always say it's the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

And when we hear that, we should just say, "Stop, no, not true."

And then, in terms of internally in Iran, there are more avenues for women, for example,

to study, to work.

We are connected with a group of women business people that have enormous businesses.

They have their own, very large factories, their own farms, their own–I'm friends with

a woman who is an architect of some of the largest dams in the country.

So that's sort of something that you don't hear about, that women are so actively involved

in the economy.

There is a myth that the Jewish population is such a repressed population.

Being a member of the Jewish community and an American, when I first went to Iran I was

very concerned about being both.

And as soon as you said that to people, there went, "Oh, first of all, we love America."

And it is a very pro-American population.

And then, they love Jews.

And it's funny, whether it's among these religious Iranians, they're saying, "Oh, we have so

much in common between our religions," and I try not to say I'm a non-practicing Jew.

Or if they're coming from the secular side, they say, "Oh, we love Jewish sense of humor,

Jewish movies, Jewish this."

So that's another myth.

I'm not sure what are the other ones you wanted to bring up, but there are lots of them.

BEN NORTON: Well, and as you point out in your book, Iran has the second largest Jewish

population in the Middle East after Israel.

And what's incredible is you cite a 2014 poll by the ADL, which is a pro-Israel group, and

they have a vested interest in portraying Iran as an evil bogeyman, but they even were

surprised to see that they surveyed anti-Semitic views in the Middle East and found that after

Israel, Iran is the least anti-Semitic country in the region.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: Absolutely.

There's even a designated position for the small population to have a member of parliament.

BEN NORTON: And what's interesting is, in your book, you also talk about how Iranians

are very careful to distinguish the American people from the American government, which

many Americans are actually not.

I mean, some Americans do it, but they're not really privy to doing.

Frequently, especially our politicians, conflate the Iranian people with the Iranian government.

You hear racist rhetoric about how you can't trust Iranians.

And when we hear in Iran, frequently we see on Fox News and conservative media, they'll

show the signs that say Death to America, Death to Israel.

They're not saying Death to the American people, they're saying American government policies,

which as you point out, have destabilized their government, have imposed crippling sanctions

on society that have led to large numbers of civilian deaths, that overthrew Iran's

democratically elected prime minister in 1953.

They have good reason to be very critical and to even despise the American government.

But they always are careful to distinguish it from Americans, like you.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: Yeah.

And maybe that is partly because the Iranian diaspora, and there's so many Iranians that

are living in the United States and in Europe who go back and forth to Iran, and so there

is a lot of American culture that gets infused in Iranian society.

And people are very good at getting around restrictions of the government.

The government restricts things like Facebook and Twitter, and yet it's very easy for Iranians,

and almost all of them do, just get around those restrictions.

So there is a lot of back and forth.

But things have gotten worse on the U.S. end with Trump, because Iran has been put into

the Muslim ban.

And so, in Trump's trying to keep terrorists out of the United States, Iranians who have

never been involved in a terrorist activity against Americans here in the United States,

have been included in that ban, increasing the animosity towards Iranians in the United

States and the equating Iranians with terror.

BEN NORTON: Yeah, let's talk more about the Trump administration's policies, and also

the policies of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

For all of the many criticisms of Obama, who started the war in Yemen, which was launched

by Saudi Arabia, the war in Libya, destroying that government.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: The drone strikes.

BEN NORTON: Absolutely, the drone war.

One of the few positive elements of his foreign policy was an important breakthrough, the

JCPOA, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was an international deal.

Although corporate media outlets have portrayed it as a deal between the U.S. and Iran, it

was much more.

It was a deal between the U.S. and Iran, but the five permanent members of the UN Security

Council.

So that includes China, the largest country in the world, Russia, also France and Britain,

and the European Union and Germany.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: And approved by the Security Council in its totality.

BEN NORTON: Absolutely.

So Obama was part of an international process that brought Europe, Russia and China together,

and they agreed to a deal, a kind of rapprochement with Iran that would lift sanctions.

And these sanctions have crippled the Iranian economy, they've led to large numbers of preventable

deaths from people who can't get medication and other forms of assistance in hospitals.

But the Trump administration tore that deal up.

And still, as of right now, in December 2018, all of the other parties to the agreement

are abiding by it, including Iran.

The United Nations has made it clear that even though Iran doesn't have to continue

staying in the agreement because the U.S. unilaterally violated it, Iran is still abiding

by the agreement.

Can you respond to Trump's destruction, or attempt to derail, this important historic

piece of legislation and why Iran is still abiding by its side of the deal?

MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, it's really tragic for the Iranian people, who put their hopes in

pushing their government to make a deal with the international community, and then to see

that the hardliners inside Iran who said, "Why are you doing that, you can't trust the

U.S." were right, you couldn't trust the U.S.

In comes a new president and unilaterally withdraws from that deal, reimposes sanctions.

And the important thing for people to understand about those sanctions, because we toss around

the word sanctions all the time, you never know how grave these sanctions are and how

crippling they are.

Because it says not only are U.S. businesses prohibited from trading with Iran, but any

other business around the world that wants to trade with Iran cannot use the U.S. dollar,

which is the international currency, and cannot do business with the United States.

And so, it has been devastating for the Iranian economy and it's been devastating for the

other countries who want to continue with the deal.

Now, Iran, the government, wants to continue with the deal if it sees some economic benefits,

which was promised to it.

And that's why the Europeans are scrambling now to come up with a vehicle for allowing

their companies to work with Iran without getting sanctioned by the U.S.

But it's very difficult, and it's not clear whether this is going to function and whether

the Iranian we'll see enough benefit to the economy to justify staying within that deal.

But we have to talk about what is the purpose of the U.S. pulling out, which is to cripple

the Iranian economy and to encourage the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their government.

BEN NORTON: The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former CIA director, who is an anti-Iran hawk

like many people Trump has surrounded himself with, he made that very clear.

He essentially admitted that this is collective punishment, which is illegal under international

law, but that's another point.

Let's talk more about the Trump administration's policies.

Because not only do we have Pompeo, but we also have John Bolton, who is one of the most

cartoonish hawks imaginable.

This is a guy who cut his teeth supporting the Iraq war.

He also has lobbied for many years for war on Iran.

He has quite the range.

I mean, it's kind of pathological for Bolton.

And we've seen that part of the Trump administration's policy has not only been imposing these crippling

sanctions to try to strangle the economy and force the Iranian people to rise up, but the

Trump administration has also been supporting other militant groups that have been trying

to fight the Iranian government.

Recently, we saw a horrific attack on a military parade in Iran by an Ahwazi Arab separatist

group which has received support from Western governments as well.

The attack was ostensibly targeting a military parade, but several civilians, including children,

were killed in the attack.

But even more egregious than that, we've also seen the Trump administration extend an olive

branch to the MEK, the Mojahedin-e Khalq.

Tell us about what the MEK is and why the Trump administration and John Bolton have

been supporting this bizarre cult.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: It's absolutely astounding that this is the organization that they've

chosen to be supporting as a "viable alternative" to the present government in Iran, because

the MEK has absolutely no base of support inside Iran.

Whether people in Iran hate the Iranian government or like the Iranian government, they hate

the MEK.

Why?

Well, let's look at what the MEK did right after the revolution.

They were part, initially, of trying to overthrow the Shah, but when they lost out, they then

joined with Saddam Hussein in neighboring Iraq and were trained and equipped by Saddam

Hussein to go into Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, which lasted for over eight years, and

a bloody horrible war, and they were blowing up suicide bombers, killing civilians and

siding with the enemy.

So they are seen in Iran as a group that has no legitimacy.

And on top of that, that they are a crazy group, that they are a cult-like group.

And this is not just us saying this, this is the Rand Corporation, this is the U.S.

government, internal documents.

They were chased out of Iraq after the U.S. invasion, and they now have their base in

Albania, which is really like they hold their own people, they're imprisoned.

If you decide, "Uh-oh, I'm seeing through this, this doesn't look good for me anymore,

I want to get out," you can't get out of there.

And they have a reverence to the head of it, Maryam Rajavi, and her husband, who hasn't

been seen in the last seven years, and seems like he died, but they pretend that he's still

alive somewhere.

It is a group that has been on the U.S. terrorist list until 2012, when they got a lot of money,

and it seems like they get Saudi money, to pay off a lot of politicians to get themselves

off that list.

You talked about John Bolton.

It's reported that he's taken 180,000 dollars from the MEK.

But it's also people like Giuliani, like Newt Gingrich, and Democrats as well.

There are a number of different Democrats, and they just had this holiday party in Washington,

DC in the Rayburn building of Congress, where you saw the Democrats like Eliot Engel, who

will be the head of the Foreign Relations Committee in the House, going there to give

his support.

Nancy Pelosi has gone to give her support to the MEK.

So it's very, very bizarre and dangerous.

BEN NORTON: Pelosi has, in fact, Tweeted support for the MEK's ostensibly human rights front

group.

But let's talk a little bit more about the MEK and then let's talk about the Democratic

Party's response and the leadership's response to the Trump administration's unilateral destruction

of the Iran nuclear deal.

Specifically what's incredible with the MEK is they are actually a cult in the sense that

Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, who are a married couple, the new members in the 90s, they refused

to let them get married.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: They had to get divorced.

BEN NORTON: Yeah, they had to get divorced and their loyalty was only to the MEK cult.

They have all these bizarre–for all the criticisms of the Iranian government, and

there are many, including repression of women, MEK has equally backward views on women's

liberation, and as you mentioned, is allied with Saudi Arabia.

So maybe we could talk a bit more about that and how the Democratic Party has failed to

stand up to many of these policies.

We saw leaders of the Democratic Party under Obama actually side with Republicans against

the Iran Nuclear Deal, most infamously Chuck Schumer.

And now, even those who supported the JCPOA have been pretty mute.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, you would think ... Well, first of all, on the MEK, when we confront

these members of Congress and their support for the MEK, they say, "Well, the MEK has

changed."

And they've changed because they've had these great PR firms that they've paid a lot of

money to basically tell the MEK what to say.

And they have all these different front groups.

But you scratch under the surface and it is the MEK and it is this cult group and they

torture people within their own organization who want to leave.

So it is bizarre that so many people in the U.S. government would be supporting the MEK.

But the real question is why isn't the Democratic Party coming out and really criticizing Trump

for having unilaterally withdrawn from a treaty that was working and continues to be working,

and put the U.S. on a collision course with the international community.

And I think it's because "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" kind of thing.

We see now the Saudis working with Israel against Iran.

And so many people in the Democratic Party are still beholden to the Israeli government

and the lobby groups like AIPAC, and the Israeli government is determined to find a way to

overthrow the Iranian regime.

So the Democratic Party, unfortunately, I think through its allegiance to the Israeli

government, doesn't want to speak out against Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal and dangerous

course that could potentially lead to another horrific war in the Middle East.

BEN NORTON: Yeah, and let's conclude.

I want to talk about the prospects of a new war.

The war in Iraq, an illegal invasion in 2003, was absolutely catastrophic.

It led to well over one million deaths and it destabilized the entire region.

Ironically, it actually empowered Iran.

But before the war, we saw that a major U.S. general had actually acknowledged that there

was a list that the Bush administration had drafted of seven countries in five years they

wanted to topple or destabilize.

Many of the countries on that list have been destabilized or overthrown.

Libya, Syria has been largely devastated, Iraq of course, but Iran was always the cherry

on top.

And it seems like John Bolton and the people that Trump has voluntarily surrounded himself

with would love to see a war on Iran.

Of course, it could be even more catastrophic than the war on Iraq.

Do you think that that's a possibility, and if it's not even a possibility, if it's not

realistic, what other forms of indirect warfare is the Trump administration going to wage

on Iran, and how can peace activists here in the United States try to stop and push

for peace and diplomacy?

MEDEA BENJAMIN: I would say that there is a war with Iran going on right now.

And that is, one, through the proxy wars in the region and trying to goad Iran into retaliating.

And the other is sanctions, which is war by other means.

Supposedly, medicines and food are exempt from the sanctions, but they're not because

the banks don't want to deal with Iran.

So we see people who are dying from diseases like cancer diseases because they can't get

their medicines.

We see people who are having a very difficult time making ends meet in Iran right now because

of the sanctions.

So the U.S. is waging war on Iran right now.

Will it get into a hot war?

It could easily happen.

We've already seen the U.S. attacking Iran in Syria and Iran holding back and not countering

that.

But how long will they be able to hold back?

Will the Revolutionary Guards be pushing for retaliation?

The U.S. sanctions and the U.S. strangling of Iran are actually strengthening the Revolutionary

Guards in Iran.

They're hurting the reformists.

And so, things are getting more and more tense.

So I don't think we should sit around and wait and contemplate the possibilities of

getting into a war with Iran.

I think we should think that things are so bad right now, what are we going to do to

move the U.S. in a different direction?

What are we going to do to pressure the Democrats once they're in control of the House next

year, to put forward legislation saying the U.S. should join the Iran Nuclear Deal?

Let us say that we want to have diplomatic relations and trade with Iran.

Let us counter all the efforts to be supporting the MEK.

I think we have a lot of work to do to reverse course and stop a hot war, but also stop the

war that's going on right now.

BEN NORTON: We'll have to end our conversation there.

We were speaking with Medea Benjamin, who is the co-founder of the women-led peace group,

Code Pink, and the author of several books, including Inside Iran: The Real History and

Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Thanks so much for joining us, Medea.

MEDEA BENJAMIN: Thank you.

BEN NORTON: For The Real News Network, I'm Ben Norton.