EXCLUSIVE: Priebus: “never felt that there was some kind of collusion or some kind of obstruction situation going on at all in the West Wing”
PLUS: Brennan: Steele Dossier “did not play any role whatsoever” in early intelligence assessments
PLUS: Brennan: Nunes “abused the office of chairmanship”
EXCLUSIVE: Bryant Gumbel: “the protest is about police brutality and has nothing to do with the military or the flag”
FEBRUARY 4, 2018 – In an exclusive interview this morning on “Meet the Press,” former Chief of Staff to President Donald Trump Reince Priebus told moderator Chuck Todd, that “of all the things that we went through in the West Wing, I never felt that the president was going to fire the Special Counsel.”
Priebus added, “I think it was very clear by the president’s own words that he was concerned about the conflicts of interest that he felt that the special counsel had. And he made that very clear. Perhaps someone interpreted that to mean something else. But I know the difference between fire that person, why isn’t that person gone, to what I read in that New York Times’ piece.”
When asked about the Russia probe, Priebus said, “I’ve never felt that there was some sort of collusion or some kind of obstruction situation going on in the West Wing. I never felt that.” Watch the exclusive interview with former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
In his first appearance as an NBC News Senior National Security and Intelligence Analyst, former CIA Director John Brennan told Todd that the Steele Dossier “did not play any role whatsoever” in early intelligence assessments.
When asked about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower, Brennan said it was “foolish” and “irresponsible,” and added “I find it inexplicable in terms of how that meeting took place and interest in part of individuals, very close to Mr. Trump, who wanted to get dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russians.”
Referring to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Brennan said he “has abused the office of the chairmanship” of the House Intel Committee, and that it was “appalling” that he did not allow Democrats on his committee to put out their report as well.
When asked about his successor, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Brennan said “senior members of this Administration who follow Donald Trump’s way of trying to denigrate and condemn everything that happened before them as a way to make them appear that they are doing things better than ever have been previously.” Watch the interview with former CIA Director John Brennan.
Host of HBO’s “Real Sports” Bryant Gumbel exclusively joined “Meet the Press” this morning and, referring to players who have kneeled during the National Anthem, Gumbel told Todd that “the protest is about police brutality and has nothing to do with the military or the flag.” Gumbel was joined by PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor, MSNBC’s Hugh Hewitt, The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson and The Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter on this morning’s roundtable for insight and analysis. Alcindor addressed the release of the House Intelligence Committee memo on surveillance and noted, the “Hashtag, release the memo was way more important than the actual memo.”
Read the full transcript of this morning’s “Meet the Press” on MeetThePress.com.
For more from moderator Chuck Todd throughout the week, sign up for the “First Read” newsletter, and subscribe to “1947: The Meet the Press Podcast” for on-demand interviews.
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NBC NEWS’ “MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD”
“Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” is where newsmakers come to make news — setting the political agenda and spotlighting the impact Washington decision-making has on Americans across the country. It is the #1 most-watched Sunday public affairs show across the board for the 2016-2017 season, reaching more than three million viewers every Sunday and millions more through social, digital and on-demand platforms. “Meet the Press” brings its authority and influencer interviews to MSNBC with “MTP Daily” weekdays at 5 p.m. ET and to the “1947: The Meet the Press Podcast”. It’s the longest-running show in television history, having celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2017 with the launch of its first-ever film festival in collaboration with the American Film Institute this November. Chuck Todd is the political director of NBC News and the moderator of “Meet the Press“; John Reiss is the executive producer.
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