we continue to have jim cavanaugh with us, joel rubin, clint watts.to assume that when you have something like this and until we know what the motivating factor is, does the possibility still exist that this might be a terrorist attack, that in addition to this what we call the gold standard response that we heard from erin mclaw enforceme mclaughlin, u.s. intelligence might be involved as well? >> if they think this is more than a criminal act or a stabbing -- as jim mentioned stabbings are more common in the uk as opposed to the united states, but if they've got any hint that this was tied to terrorism, as soon as they have an actual identity for that individual or maybe it's someone they already knew about, they're going to run the databases to see if there's any connection. and the u.s. would quickly come in as an intelligence partner to provide additional information. i think the other part, if this is tied to terrorism, which is why there's such an incredible response right now, is they want to see are there any copycats or other people involved

our next guest, clint watts, worked on the analysis and writes this -- "for russia thus far, biden is to 2020 what hillary clinton was to 2016." here for his exclusive report, the aforementioned clint watts, former fbi special agent, a distinguished research fellow at the foreign policy research institute, author of "messing with the enemy: surviving in a social media world of hackers, terrorists, russians, and fake news." clint, thank you for rolling this out here tonight. thanks for coming on. why focus on these news outlets and not the traditional twitter addresses, the bots and the trolls that drove so much of it in 2016? >> if you look back four years ago compared to now, russia led the way in disinformation and use of social media. we know a lot about this from the mueller report. fast-forward to now. there is so much disinformation out on social media platforms. it's very difficult to parse out what would be russia, iran, or china, two other countries we'll look at in this project, or any domestic influence activity. and so, what's remarkable, when you look at this, going even

clint watts, our guest tonight. >>> coming up, house republicans are preparing to fight what with one democrat says will be blockbuster testimony on wednesday. a preview of the gop's likely impeachment defense when we come back. >>> adam schiff is a corrupt politician who is not giving us due process, lawyers and despite all that, we're kicking their ass. >> that's our president and his preferred line of defense against impeachment these days, and his allies have been out there to back him up. >> the bottom line is this. you know, here we go again. this is witch hunt 2.0. ukraine. okay? but on human growth hormone and steroids. a wild conspiracy theories, lies, hoax again. >> at least one high-ranking republican national security official is expressing very real concerns about the trump administration dealing with ukraine and there she is. at a conference in abu dhabi, former bush 43 adviser condoleezza rice had this to say about rudolph giuliani. quote, what i see right now troubles me. i see a state of conflict between the foreign policy professionals and someone who says he's actin

clint watts, our guest tonight. >>> coming up, house republicans are preparing to fight what with oneys will be blockbuster testimony on wednesday. a preview of the gop's likely impeachment defense when we come back. achment defense when we coe back hi honey, we got in early. yeah, and we brought steve and mark. ♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list sales event. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down, zero due at signing, and a complimentary first month's payment. will it feel like the wheend of a journey?p working, or the beginning of something even better? when you prepare for retirement with pacific life, you can create a lifelong income... so you have the freedom to keep doing whatever is most meaningful to you. a reliable income that lets you retire, without retiring from life. that's the power of pacific. ask your financial professional about pacific life today. why fingerstick when you can scan? with the freestyle libre 14 day system just scan the sensor with your reader, iphone or android and manage your diabetes. with the freestyle libre 14

clint watts, our guest tonight. >>> coming up, house republicans are preparing to fight what with one democrat says will be blockbuster testimony on wednesday. a preview of the gop's likely impeachment defense when we come back. your current plan with thousands of options nationwide from national insurance companies. don't miss the deadline. there are only days remaining in open enrollment. funny thing about health insurance, you don't think about how much you need it until you need it. he's not going to be okay. with so many changes to health insurance plans, are you still sure you have the right fit? having the wrong fit can cost you thousands. from emergencies to just regular life, having the right plan for you can mean all the difference in the care you get and how much you pay. don't worry, sweetheart is going to get better. that's why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. they guarantee you won't find a lower price anywhere for the plans they offer. their new fitscore instantly compares thousands of plans, both on the government exchange and off, to find the one that

msnbc national security analyst clint watts joins me now. e've gone through this before. but there's something extra alarming about now hearing that the intelligence community has already briefed elected officials about what russia is doing. and it's still happening anyway. first of all, clint, how -- do -- what should we read into the fact that the intel community confirmed this almost immediately after fiona hill testified? >> it's not surprising because you could actually see this in overt russian propaganda going back early this past spring. this -- this was repeated in their circles. what i find just alarming is why do this? it -- it just -- you know, i think the question you and i probably had i think it was two and a half years ago i was on meet the press. we talked about -- because often times the president uses russian active measures against his political opponent but the question is was he doing it deliberately? did he know he was doing it? or was information drifting into his orbit that he thought useful so he would accidentally r

clint watts, thank you so much for coming on. >> thank you. >>> coming up for us, ahead of this week's public hearings, a smear campaign continues aimed directly at those witnesses seated at the table. more on that when we come back. . with so many changes, do you know if your plan is . still the right fit? having the wrong plan may cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket, and that's why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. with their new fitscore, they compare thousands of plans from national insurance companies to find the right medicare plan that fits you. call or visit healthmarkets to find your fitscore today. in minutes, you can find out if your current plan is the right fit or if there's another one that can get you extra coverage or help save you money. best of all, their service is completely free. does your plan have $0 copays, $0 deductibles, and $0 premiums? if not, maybe it's not the right fit. does it include dental and vision coverage? well, if not, maybe it's not the right fit. how about hearing aid, glasses and gym memberships at no additional cost? ma

joining me now to discuss this piece is clint watts.rmer fbi special agent quotes in this very investigation. we know through the times investigation that fake acts tied to intelligence services in china, iran, and russia directed thousands of tweets at president trump. clint, you wrote a book about his information in the intelligence age. >> we have seen the president, you know, how many times have when seen him take in alternative viewpoints that are not rooted in any reality. imagine if we just looked at the amount of time he stairs at his twitter feed as opposed to briefings, foreign policy, or domestic policy and look at those two numbers if is shocking that the president can be influenced in this way. anyone that can bombard the president's twitter feed or engratiate that. think about how it shapes the president's view and how it impacts our policy, there is four things you tend to believe, that which you see fist, that which you see most, that with a trusted source and that with no rebuttal. it is a reinforcing bubble for the pre

up with me is clint watts, former fbi special agent, now msnbc analyst. professor at nyu law school, clerk for sotomayor. and a daily podcast produced by wnyc studios. kyle cheney covers congress for politico. a week against in the impeachment inquiry. new details on what is at the heart of all of this. that is ukraine. how president trump sees the country may help explain why he was allegedly so willing to use it as a pawn to further his political ambitions. from day one tied to his belief in discredited conspiracy theories about the country's involvement in the 2016 election. it begins with a meeting with three of his top officials quote, they had barely begun their pitch when trump unloaded on them according to current officials with the meeting. in trump's mind, he said the entire leadership colluded with the democrats to undermine his 2016 campaign. they tried to take me down, trump railed. more information on the president's views were shaped from, remember this, robert mueller's investigation. a treasure trove of documents under a freedom of inform

earlier today former fbi special agent clint watts, a frequent guest on this broadcast, he'll be back tomorrow night, said he was among those who briefed senator kennedy on russian election interference in 2017 and he added this. >> we're in very dangerous ground at this point. the whole idea of ukraine was inserted into our country by russia who just attacked us. they're doubling down on the victory. they're advancing it right inside our country again. and how is it happening this time? it's not because people are falling for it. it's because people are willingly advancing that conspiracy. >> okay, then just tonight on cnn, senator john no relation kennedy wanted to clean this all up. >> i was answering one of his questions and he interjected a statement and asked me to react to it. what i heard chris say was he made the statement that only russia had tried to interfere in the election. and i answered the question. that's not what he said. i went back and looked at the transcript. he said, only russia tried to hack the dnc computer. now chris is right. i was wrong. the only evidence

. >> with us for more, clint watts, former fbi special agent, author of "messing with the enemy." and a distinguished research fellow at the foreign policy research institute through which he is about to release his latest study of russian-sponsored news media. we also welcome to the broadcast the veteran journalist john harwood, who covers washington for a living. gentlemen, welcome to you both. clint, i'll start with you as you've been kind enough to share this before it gets released. what does round two show, especially about news coverage of our president? >> it wouldn't be what a lot people particularly on the political left would think, which is, yes, russia wanted donald trump to win going into 2016. vladimir putin will even say that onstage nowadays, but they don't necessarily treat him that great in terms of their state media, and they really have to separate him as two distinction individuals, one, the candidate that's going to run in 2020 versus the head of state. and when you find pretty consistently is it breaks in two different lanes. if he's the candidate, they're

. >> clint watts, former fbi special agent, thor of messing with the enemy.ed research fellow at the foreign policy research institute through which he is about to release his study of russian sponsored news media. we welcomed the editor at large for cnbc who covers washington for a living. gentlemen, welcome to you both. clint, i'll start with you as you have been kind enough to share this before it gets released. what does round two show especially with news coverage about our president? >> it wouldn't be what a lot of people on the political left think. yes, russia wanted donald trump to win going into 2016. vladimir putin will even say that on stage nowadays, but they don't necessarily treat him that great in terms of their state media. and they really have to separate him as two different distinct individuals. one, the candidate donald trump that's going to actually run in 2020 versus the head of state and which you find pretty consistency is brakes in two different lanes. if he's the candidate, they're far more positive toward him. they see him as a can

up with me is clint watts, former fbi special agent, now msnbc analyst. professor at nyu law school,

here for his exclusive report the aforementioned clint watts, author of "messing with the enemy," survivinga social media world of hackers, russians and fake news. thank you for rolling this out here tonight. thanks for coming on. why focus on these news outlets and not the traditional twitter addresses, the bots and the trolls that drove so much of it in 2016? >> if you look back four years ago compared to now, russia led the way in disinformation and use of social media. we know a lot about this from the mueller report. fast forward to now. there is so much disinformation out on social media platforms. it is very difficult to parse out what would be russia, iran or china. two other countries we'll look at in this product or any domestic activity. when you look at this going back to the last election and as you put very appropriately in the opening here, vladimir putin doesn't hide who they like or who they don't like. if you read who the russian news outlets are putting out, they'll actually signal. they will point such that you can then go look in social media and try to find where that

joining me now, clint watts, national security analyst with particular expertise in this area. he ispaar the author of "messin with the enemy, surviving in a social media of hackers, terrorist, russians, and fake news." you have spoken to congress yourself. you know for a fact these members of a congress, whether they were in the hearings you were in or otherwise have direct information from experts like you. but from people currently within the national security apparatus that russian efforts to hack the election were conducted. >> i have actually been in with senator kennedy before on one of these hearings and it's remarkable to hear him say that because i remember specifically the first time iar testified, ty wanted me to affirm that i saw no indication that votes were changed. this was no -- right after early 2017. we wereft worried votes had bee changed or that the belief that votes had been changed would get out there and it would create massive panic,d right? andma paranoia in this country. >> right. >> they were asking me to confirmn that. but then look at what they're

university associate professor and former fbi special agent and msnbc national security analyst, clint wattsuthor of messing with the enemy, surviving in a social media world of terrorists, hackers and fake news. gentlemen, welcome. we started with him because he was using his platform and reminding us of his comedy to get to a point. that he was exposing the prejudice that people have within them and now it's not that you can do that here and there and smaller groups. you can do it on a massive scale with social media. and darren, you were, you write about this is happening and you know, you say we're thinking of it all wrong. so explain to us when we go on social media and we have our prejudices reenforced in a positive way even, how are we being manipulated? >> well, we've spent the past several years trying to understand just how that happens and how the how the russian state actors are koing doing just that. what they're doing is they are entrenching us in our beliefs. there's a lot of perception i think generally that foreign actors foam anger. but really what they're doing is they're

clint watts joining me by phone, msnbc national security analyst, form former security agents. according to pete williams we think the suspect is a teenager himself. we don't know an identification obviously. but a young man dressed in black. clint, what does that tell you, if anything? >> yeah. at this point they've identified the shooter it seems like and they're either closing in or have it contained, the situation contained. it is worrisome, and i think as soon as they can narrow down or make sure this person's been apprehended. to understand the motivations of the shooter. when you hear the description even though we don't have many details, but someone dressed in all black going into a high school, that immediately harkens back to columbine, some of the other real tragedies we've had in this country. they will then expand out the investigation. it ideologically motivated or -- and then what's the social media presence or connection? so if it's more ideologically motivated you tend to worry about other connections to other people, maybe being part of it. if it's individual

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. >> clint watts, put into context what we heard in the public hearings this week, career officials,that and say what happened. you look at jennifer williams, an aid to mike pence saying she thought that phone call was inappropriate. what we have seen in the transcripts in this testimony of speaking truth to power, people that worked for this government for sometimes three decades in terms of length doing that, thinking that's the right thing to do and the effect that's having on this investigation as a whole. >> it's remarkable when we talk about sondland. taylor, yovanovitch, cooper, hill will be witnesses and then sondland. who do you think will do the worst out there on capitol hill, right? in testimony, these are people with 20 or 30 years experience in the united states government that have served their country both in terms of the institutions and elected officials in the past and never felt the need to do this and now you have a guy that ran hotels who changed his story up and been completely inconsistent. i don't understand how this plays and i think eddie is exactly right.

heidi pryzbola and clint watts. >> we talked about how dispi dispicable is that ron johnson has attackedxperience. >> yeah, there is a riff in the government right now. people after the benefit of the doubt saying whyished and suppos that we all took. and i think eyou're seeing this pretty consistently now. with the d.o.d., the nsc, look at the fbi. they have been decimated by the mueller investigation. now there is a chrwhistle-blowe. if you look at these, the state dlpt be almo department will be almost destroyed. it has all been pushed under the bus, and now you have other elected officials jumping in and doubling down. >> we have seen the military, though. we have seen state department -- public officials, foreign service officials, stand up and be counted and do the right thing. when the white house is telling them they can't testify, they're coming and testifying so the people can hear them. and you know, we -- there is no doubt that barr, pompeo, they have dishonored this country. but there are are some people that stood up to be counted and we should take note of that, and they c