[Chris Cuomo, Cnn:] Thank you very much for watching. It is time now for "CNN TONIGHT" with D. Lemon.
[Don Lemon, Cnn:] Welcome back. You call it fealty, which you're you're right, I'm sure. I'll I just call it hypocrisy. It's a Party of of hypocrites now. And I know that sounds harsh. And people are going to say that I'm being partisan. But I'm not. It's the truth. It's the Party you are exactly right when you say Donald Trump has not changed. What changed are the lawmakers, are the people who somehow came over to his side because they want power or because of fear. They're afraid of him. The people who remain the same and are not afraid of this President are called they're called, what is it? Trump Derangement they have Trump Derangement Syndrome.
[Cuomo:] Never-Trumpers.
[Lemon:] Never-Trumpers. It's like, no, Donald Trump has not changed. You changed. So, what does that say about you that you changed and Donald Trump didn't when you hated him before?
[Cuomo:] Yes, that's the point I'm trying to get to, which is, you know, the idea of he's normalizing corruption.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cuomo:] That assumes that he's trying to put one over on you.
[Lemon:] Right.
[Cuomo:] He isn't.
[Lemon:] He never put one over on you.
[Cuomo:] He sees these things
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cuomo:] as normal. Corruption is normal. He's always done it this way that's why he continues to. Blagojevich didn't do anything wrong, Don, because he didn't get caught doing anything wrong.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cuomo:] What's the big deal?
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cuomo:] That in his mind is legit. I promise you; he's not selling anybody any jive about what he really thinks what he thinks something else. This is his truth.
[Lemon:] Well, this is in aside just about Rob Blagojevich. And I was in Chicago when Rob Blagojevich was governor and when Barack Obama was coming to prominence. And I just come to CNN when he tried to sell that seat. I have to say that Rob Blagojevich did something bad but there are plenty of people even on the Democratic side who believe that what happened to Rob Blagojevich was he should have gone to jail. But that his sentence was harsh. Dick Durbin the senior senator and from Illinois thinks the same thing as well. I'm not here I can't say I'm an anchor. So, I can't say whether, you know, it's true or not. But there plenty of people on the Democratic side I don't know if they thought that his sentence should be commuted. But they thought that his sentence was harsh. So that's just as an aside.
[Cuomo:] Two things.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cuomo:] Two things. One, he fought. OK?
[Lemon:] Right.
[Cuomo:] When you fight the penalties go up. They had to tried him twice. And people may not the like the rule. Dershowitz was arguing that a lot with Roger Stone. If you fight, they throw the book at you. Number two. Let's say his sentence was too harsh. Here's the problem that still remains with this move. Do you know how many people are suffering under too harsh punishments right now? This is the guy they pick and a congressman tonight from the GOP argument
[Lemon:] You will find no argument with me there.
[Cuomo:] This is the president's way of getting
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cuomo:] improper sentencing on the agenda with high-profile pardons of white political class swamp guys from D.C. and elsewhere.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cuomo:] That's how you bring awareness to what's going on with drug sentences all over the country and all other kinds of garden variety felonies and misdemeanors? Give me a break.
[Lemon:] You know that's B.S. That's all B.S. I'm just trying to make the point about whether the sentence is too harsh or not
[Cuomo:] There are a lot of harsh sentences. Why start with him?
[Lemon:] Yes. Well, you make you have a good point. It's good to see you.
[Cuomo:] Good to see you.
[Lemon:] I've got to run. I got a lot to cover. Thank you, Chris. This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. And if there's anybody who still not absolutely clear on how this administration operates, it's pretty simple. As I just said it's pretty simple with the other thing that people the president didn't change. Donald Trump didn't change. You changed. That's what Chris said. That's what I said. It's really simple. If you cross him, this president, your days are numbered. Right? If you are on team Trump, if you're team Trump or if you could be useful to him in any way, the sky is the limit. OK? So, then, there is Richard Grenell, he is the U.S. Ambassador to Germany. The president confirming tonight that he is naming Grenell acting director of national intelligence. Well, you think it might be a problem that Grenell has zero relevant experience like serving in the intel community or the Senate or senior levels at military. You think that it might be a problem that some Republicans are so outraged the job that he's done the job that he's done as ambassador by his really undiplomatic demeanor, according to them. A source says that there's no way that he could be confirmed to permanent DNI position. That's up for them to decide. The president has given that position now. So, let's see. That's the reason probably he's acting. Acting to see how he how this goes. But you have to wonder just how hard the GOP would actually push back against a president that they just acquitted in the impeachment trial. Rick Grenell is a Trump loyalist. That is no surprise who the president has said was his favorite ambassador. Trump likes his TV appearances and he like his tweets. Former senior White House official says "in the wake of his impeachment victory he is looking for a political who will have his back." That's a quote. And remember this is the director of national intelligence who is supposed to help prevent a catastrophic attack on this country. But we all know how this president feels about his own intelligence community. The outgoing acting DNI Joseph Maguire is still in the dog house for saying that the whistleblower acted in good faith and followed the law. But now, the president has loyalist at the top of the intelligence community, the State Department and the DOJ. That's a big deal. Though he is telling Bill Barr what to do in spite of Barr is not for not very convincing threats to quit. We're going to have more on all of that in just a moment. So, stay tune But that brings me to reports tonight that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was offered a pardon if he said Russia was not involved in the DNC e-mail leak. That is according to the lawyer for Assange who told a court in London that a former GOP Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, who was known as Putin's favorite congressman, visited Assange back in 2017 at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on the instructions of the president to offer a pardon if Assange would play ball. And the denials are rolling in tonight. Rohrabacher putting out a statement saying, "At no time did I talk to President Trump about Julian Assange. Likewise, I was not directed by Trump or anyone else connected with him to meet with Julian Assange." Stephanie Grisham, the press secretary who's never held a press briefing by the way, saying in a statement, "The president barely knows Dana Rohrabacher other than he is an ex-congressman. He's never spoken to him on this subject. Or almost any subject. It is a complete fabrication and a total lie. This is a probably a never, another never-ending hoax and total lie from the DNC." That's from Stephanie Grisham. Yes, this is the old blame the Democrats strategy. Except the president met with Rohrabacher in the Oval Office in 2017 and he endorsed Rohrabacher for reelection in 2018. That is the president seems to be on a campaign not just to fill his administration with loyalists but to reward high-profile friends of friends and people whose cases he has seen on television. The president tweeting today that Rob Blagojevich didn't sell Obama's Senate seat. OK. The audio says otherwise. You sure wanted to. Listen.
[Fmr. Gov. Rod Blagojevich , Illinois:] I've got this thing. And it's [muted] golden. And I'm not just giving it up for [muted] nothing.
[Lemon:] OK. The president going on to try to hang Blagojevich's prosecution on his arch enemy and perceived arch enemy, his perceived arch enemy, I should say, James Comey. Even though here's the fact. The fact is Comey was in private practice at the time Blagojevich at that time. Blagojevich proving today that he knows how to stay on the president's good side with this.
[Blagojevich:] I'm a Trumpocrat.
[Unidentified Male:] A Trumpocrat, that's right.
[Unidentified Female:] Are you going to vote for him?
[Blagojevich:] If I had the ability to vote I'm going to vote for him.
[Lemon:] I'm sure he like that, meaning the president. The fact is that Rob Blagojevich was a poster boy for corruption. Bernard Kerik was a corrupt former NYPD commissioner. Michael Milken was the face of insider trading. And all of them got clemency from this president. Like I said before, so much for his claims that he was a great corruption fighter.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] Ukraine has had a tremendous corruption problem. He wants to end corruption in Ukraine. He is very, very strongly looking into all sorts of corruption. As you know Ukraine is known as a very corrupt country. One of the most in the world. Shockingly. We're investigating corruption and I actually heard Gregg Jarrett and numerous people the other day say I have an obligation to do that. We have to check corruption. We will work together to root out corruption in Ukraine. I probably have a legal obligation, Mr. Attorney, to report corruption.
[Lemon:] And then there is the other side of the coin, the latest victim of this president's post impeachment victory purge of anybody who crossed him on Ukraine. Now it's the Pentagon's top policy official who warned against withholding military aid to Ukraine. The shake down that got the president impeached in the first place, well, resigning today. He said at the Pentagon's request. The president tweeting always with that, the tweeting, right? His thanks to John Rood for his service to the country. But also sharing a story from Bloomberg News reporting that Rood, quote, "faced pressure to resign from some who lost confidence in his ability to carry out the Trump agenda." Nothing says thank you for your service like pressuring someone to resign. In the wake of this, there's a sentencing tomorrow of long-time dirty trickster and Trump crony Roger Stone who was found guilty of lying to Congress and threatening a potential witness. Remember four prosecutors quit that case last week in protest over Barr's intervention, reducing the sentencing recommendation for the president's friend. Now it's all up to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. The president lashing out at her on Twitter. There you go. There are the tweets. But unlike his loyalists in high place he is powerless to control her. Now the question is, what will the judge do tomorrow? It seems like all the president is looking for in a director of national intelligence at this time is someone who will have his back. But is putting an unqualified loyalist in the position put all of us at risk? CNN's Jim Sciutto, the former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, hey both weigh in, next.