As Willie Geist noted, on any other morning, this would have been a huge story.
"This is the whistle-blower accusing those at the Department of Homeland Security of downplaying domestic terrorists to fit the president's agenda," he said.
"Yesterday he submitted complaints on actions taken by Kirstjen Nielsen, among others. On the subject of domestic terrorism, the complaint alleges Mr. (Brian) Murphy was instructed by Mr. Wolf and/or Mr. Cuccinelli to modify intelligence assessments to ensure they matched up with the public comments by President Trump on the subject of antifa and anarchists groups.
"He added they needed to specifically modify the section on white supremacy that made the threat appear less severe. Mr. Murphy made disclosures regarding a repeated pattern of abuse of authority, attempted censorship of intelligence analysis and improper administration of an intelligence program related to Russian efforts to influence and undermine U.S. interests. Mr. Wolf instructed Mr. Murphy to cease providing intelligence assessments on the threat of Russian interference by the United States.
"For his part, Mr. Murphy informed Mr. Wolf he would not comply, as doing so would put the country in substantial and specific danger."
They brought on Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut.
"Congressman Himes, you sit on the committee here. These are breathtaking claims in the whistle-blower report. The impeachment of Donald Trump started last year with a simple whistle-blower complaint. So what are we looking at here specifically? You read through these documents. Is it as bad as it appears from the outside?" Geist said.
"In any ordinary presidency, on any given day, this would be moving the needle to an impeachable offense," Himes said.
"Obviously we're going to have Mr. Murphy in front of the committee on the 21st to get the details here. But you have to put this in context. The country spends some $80 billion $80 billion a year on intelligence. That's taxpayer money. It's designed to keep us safe, not designed to make the president feel good. If our viewers think this is another example of the president trying to wake up in the morning to information he likes, remember, here's what's at stake.
"Remember that almost 20 years ago, George Tenant, then director of the CIA, when asked by the administration whether there were weapons of destruction in Iraq, he said, 'It's a slam dunk' because that intelligence had been badly corrupted. What's the wages of that sin? 4,420 dead American soldiers, hundreds of thousands of people dead in Iraq because the intelligence was warped to fit the narrative of the administration.
"So we're not just playing with fire when intelligence becomes politicized, the country becomes less safe and tragedy can ensue."
