FBI Defends Bureau; Mueller's Partisan Attack Team
LEMON: Conservative media waging war on the FBI and Robert Mueller as the President charges the bureau is in quote, tatters. Let's discuss now CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter is here, legal and national security analyst Asha Rangappa, a former FBI special agent joins me via skype and political commentator Jason Miller, a former Trump senior communications adviser. Good morning to all of you. Asha, I'm going to start with you. Today, FBI Director Ray defended his agency against accusations by Republicans including the President that its agents were allowing political bias to seep into their investigations. What's your reaction to what seems to be a concerted effort, looks like a concerted effort to undermine the FBI and the special counsel's investigation?</s>ASHA RANGAPPA, CNN LEGAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I would say that it doesn't recognize what agents go through to get into the FBI. There is a new monic that we use to do background check with the FBI. This was applied to agents it is called CARLAFBAD. Which stand for Character Associate Reputation Loyalty Ability Finances Bias Alcohol and Drug. So every agent has to be measured against all of those criteria. And biased is one of them. It's important because any kind of bias, whether it is political, religious, racial, will disqualify an agent from getting in, because the whole idea is that agents need to be able to put aside all of their personal feelings in order to approach cases objectively. And it's a very intensive process. So, I would say, you know, this is extreme vetting for FBI agents, and to impugn an entire agency which is 35,000 people, 14,000 agents for what appears to be political reasons, I think really does a disservice to the men and women who are out there, you know, fighting the good fight and really trying to uphold the constitution every day.</s>LEMON: Brian, there has been a huge rise in anti-Mueller and FBI rhetoric from right winged media recently. It's just shocking to watch.</s>BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, yes.</s>LEMON: And, I mean, it's got to be coordinated. Because they're all saying the exact same thing. Some of the same people who praise some of members of the FBI and the FBI not that long ago. Watch this.</s>SEAN HANNITY, FOX HANNITY HOST: Mueller is frankly a disgrace to the American justice system. And has put the country now on the brink of becoming a banana republic.</s>GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYTS: The Mueller investigation is illegitimate and corrupt. And Mueller has been using the FBI as a political weapon. And the FBI has become the America's Secret surveillance, intimidation, harassment, and threats. It's like the old KGB that comes for you in the dark of the night banging through your door.</s>HANNITY: Mueller's stooges literally are doing everything within their power and then some to try and remove President Trump from office.</s>LEMON: Is this concerted effort to discredit Mueller?</s>STELTER: Yes, and remember, this is what President Trump's watching every morning and every night. That is why I think it matters. He is being told on a daily basis going back months, but especially right now, they're out to get you, his investigation is bogus, it is out to reverse the election, they're trying to impeach you, and that message over and over and over again, it must have an impact not just on President Trump, but also on his aids and on his supporters. That is why I think it's so troubling. And I wish, Don, I wish Asha could go on Fox and say what she just said. The problem with shows like Hannity, we're not hearing the other side. We're not hearing the reality of what it's like on the</s>FBI. LEMON: I disagree with you, we are not hearing. We are hearing it. But Fox viewers are not hearing it. People in Alabama and Conservative viewers are not hearing it.</s>STELTER: Hopefully they're hearing all the sides, unfortunately too often, folks on the left and right live in bubbles. On the right now on the right that bubble is an alternative reality. It is very intense right now.</s>LEMON: It's really weird and I wondered, listen, watch Fox all the time, we would talk about it and say why do you watch Fox? You need to know what they're doing. I watched everyone, and now I just -- it's embarrassing.</s>STELTER: And if we get to the point --</s>LEMON: It is embarrassing. I can't watch -- I have many friends over there --</s>STELTER: It will be partly because of this rhetoric. Partly because of this daily drum beat of anti-Mueller.</s>LEMON: I wonder, do you think they know what a disservice they're doing to the American voting public? And I know they're probably going to play this, and this is not personal, you can play it all day long on Fox or whatever show, it's not personal, but one wonders, as a journalist, and some of them are not, some will hosts. I'm not saying anything disparaging, but how they can sit there and do such a disservice to the voting public, because we're supposed to be informing people, and they're not.</s>STELTER: Newt Gingrich is saying there should be an investigation of the investigation. Six months after he praised Mueller. Whether or not they know they're doing a disservice, it is a disservice to the audience. Because after all, Mueller in the case of this one FBI agent who was removed over the summer, he was removed. He is no longer in the investigation.</s>LEMON: Any time there and also what I wondered if their viewers realize, any time there is a where aboutism and whatever, you know that that is a shiny object because Hillary Clinton is not President. Bill Clinton is no longer President. And these are different times. Especially when it comes to sexual assault and abuse allegations. Even Bill Clinton would not have been stayed in office.</s>STELTER: Clinton's has been replaced finally after 12 months, Robert Mueller is the new bogey man on Fox News.</s>LEMON: Ok. Jason, I want to get you in here, because, do you think the president is taking his cues from the right wing media or is it the other way around, sort of circle or an echo chamber that just keeps going round and round.</s>JASON MILLER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well Don, it comes as a complete surprise, I disagree with you in the entire premise here.</s>LEMON: That is ok.</s>MILLER: During the commercial break, I went and flipped through the several of the largest conservative websites, Breitbart, Daily Collar, News Max, and I didn't see any of their top stories a focus on whether it be the FBI or Mueller. They certainly had other stories they were going into and so, the couple of clips that you showed, there were a couple of Hannity clips and one of the other telecasters over there at Fox News --</s>LEMON: Isn't that kind of proving the point if they're not reporting on this? On the Russia investigation?</s>MILLER: No, but I think there are a couple things that are completely fair game. And this even if you go back to you brought up the Clintons and that as the excuse to go back to Bill Clinton's presidency, but, you know, the Clinton White House very much made it a point to go after Ken Starr and folks who are working with him, to call it a certain ideological leanings and certain political activity.</s>LEMON: I think you're on, you were on the Paul earlier if I am not --</s>MILLER: Not tonight, but I have been.</s>LEMON: And he explained earlier. He explained earlier the difference in that. And I will give you that. That Democrats are using some of the same talking points during the Clinton investigation. Also remember, Robert Mueller is a Republican. Ken Star was a Republican as well. Bill Clinton was a Democratic president, also Ken star worked for the tobacco industry which is very anti-Clinton. So it's --</s>MILLER: Don, you're drifting lanes.</s>LEMON: No, I'm not. It is facts.</s>MILLER: Tobacco industry, come on, let's reel it back in and get back to the point here for minute. The point that I was getting to is if you want to go through and raise an issue with say for the fact that someone has sent a bunch of text messages that are anti-Trump. I think that is very fairgrounds for removing them --</s>LEMON: That is a fair point. And he was removed.</s>MILLER: That is what I was doing. I was giving him credit for going and doing that. I think that is a very fair point. If someone maxed out whether be to Secretary Clinton or to President Trump, I think that is very fair to raise that issue and say wait a minute, this person has contributed $2700 or $5400. I think that is a fair point of criticism, now I think there's one thing that is going on here also and that is the fact that last year, under Director Comey, I think the FBI at least in the eyes of the American public really became highly politicized. I think some of Comey's actions really kind of cast a shadow over a lot of the hard-working men and women at the FBI. I have a number of friends who work at the FBI who really check their Politico --</s>LEMON: What does that have to do with now and Bob Mueller.</s>MILLER: Because what I'm saying is the point, I think it's very fair if folks to want go and make sure that the people who are part of these investigating teams are in fact playing it very nonpartisan. I think that is a very fair point --</s>LEMON: I don't think anyone will disagree with that.</s>STELTER: It's different than saying it's illegitimate. Fox is spreading poison. You're aware of that.</s>MILLER: But, you're making it sound like there's -- you're making it sound like there's a conservative bat signal that is being shot into the sky, and there's some --</s>LEMON: Yeah, it's called satellite or a telephone or text message or an e-mail. Come on, Jason.</s>MILLER: No, don, you're being -- this is the kind of stuff --</s>LEMON: How else would the deep state get in touch with each other if they didn't send out bat signals? Listen, I've got to go. I am two minutes over, and I am in trouble, because they don't to want report on the Russia investigation. They want to give people what they want to hear. Trump supporters don't to want hear about the Russia investigation.</s>ASHA RANGAPPA, CNN LEGAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Don, can I just say --</s>LEMON: Sometimes the truth is a funny thing. Thank you all, I've got to go. When I come back, the President being criticized for planning to attend the opening of the Mississippi civil rights museum. People are protesting, boycotting two African American congressmen are now skipping the event. Fair criticism? We'll discuss next.