Lawrence O'Donnell's first panel on the Mueller investigation was lit, laying down truths I didn't hear on any other show all day.
Referring to the Washington Post article about Trump's seething anger over today's events, O'Donnell pointed to the spin offered by Trump lawyer Ty Cobb:
"Throughout the day, the president spoke to his attorneys, multiple times, in response to press inquiries and questions about the process and never revealed any anger, any angst or anger according to Ty Cobb, the president's lawyer. He said the president is focused on diplomatic preparations ahead of the trip to Asia and wanted the country to understand he's fully committed to continuing the course of the special counsel with full coordination."
Whereupon Steve Schmidt laid out the truth with regard to how close to home the Papadopoulis plea in particular hits.
"But at the end of the day, the central fact today is that Paul Manafort indicted and charged, amongst other things, for conspiracy against the United States, was one of the participants in a meeting in a room with Donald Trump Jr., with the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, with the officials and unofficial representatives of the Russian government who were there to deliver negative information, dirt, about the Democratic nominee to the Republican nominee's campaign.
"So, today, this took a giant leap closer to the White House," Schmidt said.
This is the first time all day I've heard anyone actually link it all up. As soon as I heard about Papadopoulis, I knew Trump Junior and Kushner were imperiled, yet no one seemed to want to make the connection.
Perhaps it's because the right wing launched a coordinated counter offensive with the assistance of the White House -- as Schmidt pointed out.
"I think it bears mentioning something we have never really seen before, the intensity of the public misinformation campaign that's deliberate, that's premeditated, that's coming from the podium of the White House. From the press secretary and is being echoed, including in the editorials of some of this nation's historically right-leaning newspapers, and of course, across the conservative television media networks, as well."
From there, the discussion went straight to Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Leni Riefenstahl press shop.
Lawrence: "Steve, I'm so glad you mentioned that because I -- I don't show clips from the White House briefing. I was -- considered a bunch of them to show here tonight. But it is just propagandist lies, a waste of whatever number of seconds to put them up on the screen. Ron, we have never reached that point in the coverage before where what's coming out of the White House press briefing room is arguably a disservice to present."
Klain delivered the death blow.
"Oddly enough, it makes you nostalgic for Richard Nixon because he never sent Ron Ziegler to send out that it's McGovern's fault that Watergate happened. That's what this is. What's crazy about it, Lawrence, obviously untrue, obviously despicable and craziest of all, it is not a defense."
"No matter what Hillary Clinton did, she didn't do anything they said, it doesn't lessen the guilt of Donald Trump and the campaign's guilt for what happened so it's a completely false, completely despicable and irrelevant defense of the Trump campaign," he concluded.
AMEN, gentlemen. That's a lot of truth right there.
First, that the Papadopoulis plea brought the White House into the Russia investigation solidly, without innuendo, especially with regard to that meeting with the Russian lawyer in Trump Tower. Trump Junior and Kushner had best be consulting with their lawyers.
And second, that the White House is coordinating with the conservative media echo chamber to spread disinformation and lies in order to deflect from Trump's guilt.
The house of cards is gonna come down.
