On last night’s 11th Hour with Brian Williams, Brian Williams had a conversation with Terrorism Analyst Malcolm Nance. The first question Williams asked is one that he has repeatedly asked his guests over the past few days, with no one quite able to answer it. Nance shares his concern.
Brian Williams: Malcolm, where is this coming from? Elected officials, former elected officials, bending over backward to give this former adversary Russia the benefit of the doubt?
Malcolm Nance: I’m stupefied that what we appear to have is a crisis of not only honor, but were having a crisis of patriotism here in the United States. I mean, just the number of politicians over the last few days who have stood forward and have apologized essentially for Russia carrying out an activity which is the first time in American history, has literally put the thumb, has quite possibly put the thumb on the scale. And even though we don’t know whether anything actually occurred during the vote, we do know that Russian intelligence hacked an entire wing of the American electorate. But since then what we’re seeing is, what we're seeing is a myriad of people who call themselves patriots literally line up and find excuses to explain why Vladimir Putin would do this or how this is inconsequential. It has never happened in American history before, and everyone who calls themselves a patriot should certainly be concerned about it.
…
Williams then asked about Trump’s relationship with the Intelligence Community.
Williams: Is this any way for Trump to start off a relationship with the Intelligence Community?…
Nance:...The relationship right now with Donald Trump and the Intelligence Community is simple: there is no relationship. And I can tell you personally, I spoke to Kellyanne Conway just two days ago, on Sunday. And I had ten minutes of which to implore to her the importance of the sacrifice, the honor, the dignity of service that Intelligence officers and Military Intelligence people serving around the world today to keep us safe, fighting a brutal and ruthless enemy around this world. And I asked her, I said, could you please impart to your boss that these people are all that stands between us and our enemies? And she assured me that the Trump administration would treat them with respect and dignity. Five minutes after that conversation she went on Face the Nation and called the CIA reports and CIA analysis ludicrous and ridiculous. I mean, that sort of two-facedness towards the people who are giving their lives, in some cases risking their very lives, is a threat to this nation. They have to understand that in almost thirty days they will actually be responsible for the lives and safety of the American public, and if they have this much contempt about the people who are dedicated to saving us, then we’re going to have a very, very rough four years.
You can watch the video clip here: www.msnbc.com/...