Show: THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O`DONNELL Date: May 25, 2018
JOY REID, MSNBC HOST: I`m Joy Reid in for Lawrence O`Donnell. We have breaking news on the Russia investigation. Just in tonight and it`s something that will likely cause concern inside the Trump White House and inside the immediate family of Donald Trump.
The reporting comes to us from Michael Isikoff of "Yahoo News" and the headlines gets to the point, Trump`s son should be concerned. FBI obtained wiretaps of a Putin ally who met with Trump Jr.
Isikoff reports the FBI obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Aleksandr Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia`s Central Bank, who has forged close ties with American lawmakers and the National Rifle Association that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby`s annual convention in Louisville in May of 2016.
The top Spanish prosecutor said on Friday. The prosecutors saying, quote, "Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI and asked if he was concerned about Torshin`s meetings with Donald Trump Jr. and other American political figures. The Spanish prosecutor replied, quote, "Mr. Trump`s son should be concerned."
Joining us now on the phone is the reporter who broke the story, Michael Isikoff, chief investigative reporter for "Yahoo News." He`s also the co- author of "Russian Roulette."
OK, Michael, so walk us through this a little bit, Jose Grinda, who is investigating Spanish organized crimes. How does he wind up in a story that involves Aleksandr Torshin and Donald Trump Jr.?
MICHAEL ISIKOFF, CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER FOR "YAHOO NEWS" (via telephone): He`s a legendary prosecutor in Spain. He has spent years investigating, prosecuting Russian organized crime figures in his country.
And in one of his investigations in 2013, he has secret wiretaps placed on one of his targets, a guy by the name of Alexander Romanoff, who was a suspected Russian mobster and money launderer.
And they pick up 33 conversations that Romanoff their target has with Aleksandr Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank, a former leader of Vladimir Putin`s party, very tight with Putin.
And in these conversations, Romanoff the suspected mobster refers to Aleksandr Torshin as his godfather. The Spanish police believe they have enough evidence against Mr. Torshin to arrest him when he was believed to be flying in for the birthday party of Romanoff, the suspected mobster.
Torshin never showed, the suspicion was he got tipped off by Russian officials. What`s striking about this is all this happened in 2013, he was a major target of a Russian organized crime, money laundering investigation.
And during this time, Mr. Torshin is traveling back and forth to the United States, forging these ties with various conservative organizations in this country. He`s a life-time member of the NRA and regularly attends its annual conventions.
He`s a regular attendee at National Prayer Breakfasts in Washington. And during the 2016 campaign, we now know he was attempting to broker a summit between then-Candidate Trump and Vladimir Putin.
So, there was an attempt to have a meeting with Trump, it never came off. The plan was to have it at the NRA convention. But Donald Trump Jr. did meet with Mr. Torshin during that time.
So, the point here is that this guy was a major Russian -- target of the Spanish police in money laundering investigations, who is forging all these ties with American political figures. And my only question about the revelation from Mr. Grinda which I reported on, is what took the FBI so long? These wiretaps have been there since 2013.
REID: Really quickly, Michael, is there any evidence that these wiretaps that were picked up by Mr. Grinda as part of his investigation contained Donald Trump Jr.`s voice and if so --
ISIKOFF: No. No. I don`t want to create any confusion about that.
REID: OK.
ISIKOFF: These conversations were in 2013.
REID: OK.
ISIKOFF: The meeting with Donald Trump Jr. is not until 2016.
REID: So, when why is -- why you write that the special counsel may be interested in this information, if it took place before Donald Trump was running for president? Do you have any speculation or reporting on why Mueller would be interested?
ISIKOFF: A couple of things, first of all, this is the first hard indication that the FBI is investigating matters relating to Torshin. There have been suspicions for quite some time about his ties to the NRA and the massive amounts of money the NRA spent during the 2016 election.
Torshin had made multiple contacts through intermediaries with members of the Trump campaign or people close to the Trump campaign. There`s multiple e-mails to that effect. So, this would appear to be, at a minimum, an effort by the FBI to track all the Russian efforts to penetrate the Trump Organization, the Trump campaign, in 2016. And certainly, the overtures of Mr. Torshin would be front and center in that.
REID: Michael Isikoff, thanks very much. Great reporting in "Yahoo News." Appreciating you joining us this evening.
ISIKOFF: Thank you, Joy.
REID: Thank you. And joining us now is David Corn, Washington bureau chief of "Mother Jones," and also a coauthor of the new book "Russian Roulette" with Michael Isikoff. He`s also an MSNBC political analyst. Also, joining us here at the table is MSNBC legal contributor, Danny Cevallos.
All right, let me go to you first, David, lots of Russians, ties stretching back to 2013, which, of course, those who have been following this and your reporting know that`s the year of the Moscow Miss Universe pageant. Why is Aleksandr Torshin important to this story?
DAVID CORN, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, as Mike put it, and we do go into more details in the book. What we`ve seen over the course of the campaign, and even before, are multiple Russia efforts to make contact with American conservatives and with the Trump campaign.
They try with George Papadopoulos, with Carter Page, with Michael Flynn, and we see early here this predating the campaign but leading into the campaign, a concerted effort by Aleksandr Torshin, who also represents a gun rights group in Russia that doesn`t really exist to do anything there, making common cause with gun rights groups in in America, particularly the NRA and attending things like CPAC, the annual conservative gathering.
He`s clearly been on a Russia mission to gain influence within the American conservative movement. To what end? We`re not quite sure. But he moved from that operation into -- or used that operation to try to connect the Trump campaign to either Putin or other people in the kremlin.
So, this is -- you know, it shows that before the Trump campaign operation started, Russia was already trying to influence American politics when Trump came along, they kicked it into high gear.
REID: You know, Danny, the word collusion is thrown around a lot, but I think the word is conspiracy. You have all these players looking for entry into the Trump campaign, sometimes based on relationships that Paul Manafort or Donald Trump and his family may have had.
You now have Rudy Giuliani, who`s representing Donald Trump on tv or real life, it`s not sure which one, he tells the "Associated Press" that Trump`s legal team wants a briefing on the classified information shared with lawmakers about the origins of the FBI investigation into the Russian`s meddling in the 2016 election.
And may take it to the Justice Department as part of an effort to scuttle the ongoing special counsel probe. But what we heard from Michael Isikoff tonight proves that we`re still getting including foreign intelligence on the operations or on the attempts by Russian to infiltrate and others to infiltrate that campaign.
Is there any legal basis whatsoever for the subject of the investigation to get the classified information the way that Rudy Giuliani is trying to do?
DANNY CEVALLOS, MSNBC LEGAL ANALYST: Ordinarily never. The notion that a defense attorney like me could make those demands on a prosecutor before there is any discovery obligation and any indictment when there`s just an investigation, the reality is the DOJ won`t even confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
So, I think criminal defense attorneys and federal public defenders everywhere are watching Rudy Giuliani make these demands upon the Mueller team and think this would never be entertained in any of my cases.
And I should also say that, look, as a defense attorney, confidential informants or CI`s or human sources in many ways are the bane of our clients` existence. But yet even having said that, the notion that we can easily reveal who they are, their identities, based on a demand that is very politically motivated is a scary notion.
These people who are confidential informants are risking their lives in many instances. And to simply demand information about them when we are still in the investigative stage is a dangerous thing and that`s coming from a defense attorney.
REID: It can also be a crime. You have Devin Nunes, who is a sitting member of Congress, sworn to uphold the laws and Constitution of the United States. If, in fact, he is attempting to reveal information about classified sources with the purpose of making that public, with the purpose of burning those sources just to help the president of the United States, could that in theory be a crime?
CEVALLOS: Even the purpose to help the president of the United States, it could absolutely be a crime under the right circumstances. But beyond that as a public policy measure, you will here a whooshing sound as all criminal prosecutions go down the drains that are using confidential informants.
Because it will send a clear message in the intelligence community and in the prosecution, the law enforcement community that if you reveal who you are, we may just reveal who you are to the public if it serves some political advantage.
REID: Yes, absolutely. Let me come back to you for a minute, David Corn. It`s hard to keep track of the players there`s so many Russians coming into the campaign. "New York Times" reporting on a new Michael Cohen meeting, Donald Trump`s fixer also met at Trump Tower with a Russian oligarch 11 days before the inauguration in his office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower. He meets with Victor Vekselberg.
He discussed a mutual desire to strengthen Russia`s relations with the United States under Trump as president, according to Andrew Intrator. The men also arranged to see one another during the inauguration festivities and days after the inauguration, Mr. Intrator`s private equity firm, Columbus Nova awards Michael Cohen a million-dollar consulting contract. He gives him $580,000. Your thoughts?
CORN: Well, I`m kind of proud of the fact that we at "Mother Jones" last summer reported that Intrator, who is Vekselberg`s cousin, that runs a company here and is affiliated with Vekselberg`s transnational empire, gave $250,000 to the Trump inauguration, a guy who`s never given more than $2,700 before to any political entity and not even a big Republican donor.
So, the cousin of this Russian oligarch is funneling money into Trump`s pockets. Now we learn that on January 9th, 2017, 11 days before Trump`s inauguration, but more importantly three days after the intelligence community releases its assessment saying Russia attacked the United States and did so to help Donald Trump get elected president in 2016.
Three days after that report comes out, Michael Cohen is meeting with Victor Vekselberg, and then three days later he gets a million-dollar contract from Vekselberg`s cousin. It doesn`t pass the smell test.
There`s more to be dug out, of course. Vekselberg, to put the cherry on top of the sundae here, he was sanctioned a couple of weeks ago by the U.S. Treasury Department. This is not a Russian oligarch who you can be proud of.
REID: Yes, and I believe Torshin is also under sanctions.
CORN: Yes, he is too.
REID: Indeed. And so, Danny, we now have more some trouble for Donald Trump Jr. because now we have this potential involvement where the FBI obtained wiretaps with him with a Putin ally who had with Donald Trump Jr., we have that reporting from Michael Isikoff.
And now on top of that, Senator Chris Coons sent a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley saying that he`s deeply concerned that based on new information that we learned this week, Donald Trump Jr. provided false testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee saying he wants to renew his request that he be called to return and appear before the full committee to testify in an open hearing.
What he`s talking about is testimony in which Donald Trump Jr. was asked the following question in front of Congress. Did other foreign governments offer to provide assistance to the Trump campaign? Don Jr. answers none that I know of.
Did other foreign nationals offer to provide assistance to the Trump campaign? No. Did you directly or indirectly seek foreign government or foreign nationals assistance for the Trump campaign? No. Are you aware of anyone else seeking foreign government or foreign national`s assistance for the Trump campaign? I`m not.
Did you ever tell anyone that you or the Trump campaign will be receptive to offers of assistance from foreign governments or foreign nationals? No. And then we just keep hearing about more foreign nationals offering assistance including talking to Donald Trump Jr.
CEVALLOS: Those questions track almost word for word the Federal Election Campaign Act. What they`re seeking to find out is whether or not there were any contributions of any, including in-kind services, pamphlets, anything at all from a foreign government or foreign national.
And if Donald Trump Jr. appeared to answer unequivocally, no, I know nothing about it, I was not involved, then he may have presented false testimony. I want to be very careful what I say here, but it sounds entirely possible.
And if they`re asking him to come back, they`re giving him another opportunity, maybe not out of the goodness of their hearts, but maybe because they want to see just how far he`ll go to try and avoid trouble or if he`ll just take responsibility or what he`ll do when confronted with those same questions again.
REID: Yes. Go on.
CORN: I wanted to say joy in this one segment, look here, we talked about Torshin, Trump Jr. and Victor Vekselberg. For those at home, this can be vexing keeping things in your head. But the bottom line remains, Russia attacked the United States and while that was going on, the Trump campaign tried to collude with Moscow.
They had secret contacts with Putin and Putin`s office, which certainly encourage Putin, and then denied any of this was happening. We have to keep remembering that that`s the big picture that Trump wants to distract us from.
REID: Yes, that and his fixer, Michael Cohen, getting a lot of money attempting to arrange meetings with the boss. David Corn and Danny Cevallos, thank you both for joining us. Have a great weekend.
Coming up, Donald Trump has proven again that he isn`t running the country so much as putting on a reality show. That`s next.
And Donald Trump is one reason that women are running for office in record numbers. One woman who accused the president of sexually inappropriate behavior just won her primary. She will join us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REID: Today Donald Trump allowed 15,000 foreign workers into the United States, including many workers from Mexico. Yes, you heard that right. Donald Trump`s Department of Homeland Security today approved 15,000 seasonal worker visas because the old policy was devastating American industries, like Maryland`s crab industry.
But of course, Donald Trump won`t talk about that because thank to Mexican worker for your summer crab cakes is not in the script. On this issue, the Trump show script hasn`t changed since he came down that escalator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They`re bringing drugs, they`re bringing crime, they`re rapists. These aren`t people. These are animals.
When the MS-13 comes in, when the other gang members come into our country, I referred to them as animals and guess what I always will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Though, he enjoy the presumption of theatrical spontaneity from many who observe him, Donald Trump`s demagoguery is actually quite scripted, calculated and rehearsed. As in Donald Trump literally rehearsed it in the White House.
This from the "Washington Post," in February 2017, Trump huddled with senior advisor, Jared Kushner, and Adviser Stephen Miller in the oval office to talk immigration. Trump reminded them that the crowd loved his rhetoric on immigrants along the campaign trail.
Acting as if he were at a rally, he then read allow a few made-up Hispanic names and described potential crimes they could have committed such as rape and murder. And then the crowds would roar when the criminals were thrown out of the country as they did when he highlighted crimes by illegal immigrants as his rallies, according to a person present for the exchange and another briefed on it later.
Miller and Kushner laughed. Trump read aloud a few made up Hispanic names and described potential crimes they have committed such as rape and murder then the crowds would roar. That is the president of the United States in the oval office producing the Trump show.
The Trump show is why the president of the United States welcomes Americans home from being imprisoned in North Korea with talk of television ratings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think you probably broke the all-time in history television rating for 3:00 in the morning. That I would say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: The Trump show is literally the president of the United States brainstorming about tanking the brand of America`s national security apparatus. Quote, "Trump told one ally this week that he wanted to brand the informant who was trying to help the FBI discover Russian infiltration in the American electoral system as a spy.
Quote, "Believing the more nefarious term would resonate more in the media and with the public." He went on to debut the term, spygate, on Wednesday, despite its previous associations with the 2007 NFL scandal over videotaping coaches.
Now it should be noted that the Trump show is only one part of the unholy trinity of the Trump presidency, but it has proven to be a very effective hand maiden to the other parts, it tends to distract you and draw your focus away from the administrative Trump presidency.
Which has actually devastatingly effective such as the cruel policies enacted by administration hardliners like separating immigrant children from their parents and putting them in, quote, "foster care" or whatever as John Kelly recently put it.
And it enables the continuation of the third part of the Trump presidency, the con. The part Donald Trump actually cares about the most. The part in which he`s shredding the emoluments clause and enriching himself and his family, which is how Jared Kushner found himself in the oval office laughing at the Donald Trump`s racist Bodaville (ph) act.
Joining me now Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Latino, and an MSNBC contributor, and Jennifer Rubin, conservative opinion writer at the "Washington Post" and an MSNBC contributor. Thank you both for being here.
You know, Jennifer, I`ll start with you because the idea of Donald Trump having kind of three presidencies, one of which is the con we see in plain sight that they`re making money and grifting off the presidency. The other is hurting people. They`re deporting people, separating parents from their children. It`s actually really effectively.
Basically, it`s Stephen Miller and the attorney general`s presidency. But comment on the show because the show is effective in way too because it`s aimed at us, the media, opinion writers like you.
JENNIFER RUBIN, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: It`s both as you say artificial and deeply, deeply racist. When you get right down to it, that`s what the Trump campaign was about. It was appealing to working class whites and telling them their problems, economics, social were all about Hispanic, all about illegal immigrants and legal immigrants.
So, when the administration runs out of things to do, which they have after the first year after the tax reform -- tax cuts actually. They haven`t accomplished anything. When they can`t get anything done internationally because the president doesn`t know what he wants or how to get there. They return to their go-to and their go-to is racism.
They go to the well, hoping the American public will become inured to it. And people will say that`s just the president, the way he talks. And because there`s no impetus to change, no pressure from within the party or his electoral base, he`ll keep doing it again and again.
I suggest there`s only one way to stop it, and that is at the ballot box, Hispanics, young people, women, white women, who in the past have been occasional voters, young people have got to turn out and have got to vote in November because throwing these people out is the only way you stop it.
We`re not going to appeal to his better side. He doesn`t have a better side. We`re not going to be able to have Congress run oversight so long as the Republicans are in charge. You have to vote these people out. I can`t stress enough to my readers, to your viewers that ultimately this gets determined at the ballot box.
REID: It is stunning to go back and listen to the story of Donald Trump sitting with his senior adviser advisers, the people paid by the taxpayers, talking about immigration reminding them the crowds love it when I come up with these Hispanic names and love when I say I`m going to lock them up and throw them out.
And Donald Trump is caught berating his homeland security director said, Donald Trump wants to deliver a crackdown that looks like the Iraq war. He wants to do shock and awe. He doesn`t realize this is World War I. It`s trench warfare. He wants to show his supporters that he`s hurting people coming into the country from South and Central America.
MARIA TERESA KUMAR, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: People at the border are, for the most part, refugees, women and children fleeing incredible violence that`s rooted by American policy that transferred, you know, a criminal gang from L.A. to Central America. The fact they`ve created this policy where they are separating women and children, this is miller but also the chief of staff, John Kelly.
The challenges that people don`t realize how cruel and the extent this is happening. The fact he`s saying we`re not going to provide shelter as we process the individuals, that is against the Geneva Convention.
I want to go back to what Jennifer said. She`s right. The fact that the Republicans are completely silent on this, the Trump administration right now is basically creating a massive immigration reform by default.
Whereby 2020 if we continue down this course you`re going to have DACA recipients, other people currently here legally with papers undocumented to a tune of close to a million people. That`s unprecedented, Joy.
The fact that Congress is not acting on an immigration reform -- they have plenty of bills to go to the floor, but they decided to hold off because they`re afraid the base won`t turn out in 2018 if they do something humane is abdicating their role of leadership and letting someone rule because he likes ratings. This is more keen unfortunately to an autocrat than a Democratic elected president.
REID: It`s effective in the sense it`s hurting people but the tax cuts don`t work at all -- most of it doesn`t work. The pain is real for people. But one of the other things that they`ve been ineffective at the administrative part of the presidency, is the show.
The wall, they get there`s not going to be a wall, they get it`s a policy that`s ridiculous and not going to happen. The show when Donald Trump says the wall and people scream and yell for it, it cows those Republican members of Congress you`re talk about.
RUBIN: That`s right. He goes to California and views those mock ups of the wall, God knows what those are. He tells his crowds a lie, he says we`re building the wall. We are not building a wall. The last budget prevented them from building a wall.
This is not a dog whistle, it`s a bull horn at this point. We`ve actually gotten to the point where a few -- maybe more ta than a few of the so- called moderate, are trying their best to get a discharge petition for the first time in my lifetime this may succeed. This is the ability to get something onto the floor.
Paul Ryan is deathly afraid of this. He doesn`t want to be seen as giving in to the more moderate people. They`re going to have to take a vote on the floor, which is going to be very interesting.
And I would say one thing, my congressman, Barbara Comstock, one of the most vulnerable Republicans has not signed on to that discharge petition, and that`s the kind of vote that voters have to clue into. How is my Congressman who claims to be independent for the president --
REID: Right.
RUBIN: -- really acting when the hard votes come up.
REID: And, Maria Teresa, you know, we talked about this a lot you and I over the years. What will activate this massive potential wave of Latino voters across the country who voted about almost half of their vote share at this point? When you have the president building his show --
KUMAR: Yes.
REID: -- his TV show literally on the body of brown people on scaring his base and saying they`re MS-13, they`re animals. Using this kind of language and doing it so explicitly, something we really haven`t seen in American politics in a very long time, is that the thing that actually makes this a voting issue that gets these young people to the polls?
KUMAR: Trump was a voting issue in 2016. Let`s be very clear, the biggest misnomer is that Latinos don`t vote. 27 million Latinos are eligible to vote, other 60 million are registered, other 60 million, 79 percent actually went.
The game right now is to actually expand the electoral base so that Latinos can actually basically have a fighting chance. There is such little appetite I have to share with you in making actual smart strategic investments in the community. Because people are afraid that they are not sure how they`re going to vote.
I can tell you that they`re going to vote so that their families and communities are safe, so that they can continue living with the American dream, that they are not racially profiled. The fact the two border patrol -- that are a border patroller agent actually profiled, two American citizens because they were speaking Spanish in the middle of 2018 is abhorrent.
So if we want to be really smart, we need Americans to basically come up with this, be our allies and let us actually have a fighting chance, but we have to make sure that we`re making this an investments and not shy away from it.
REID: Absolutely. The parties should be warned. Maria Teresa Kumar and Jennifer Rubin, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
And coming up -- thank you. An NBA player`s controversial arrest is back in the headlines this week after a video of the Milwaukee police tasing him over a potential parking infraction was released. It`s just yet another example of everyday racism in America.
Trymaine Lee is just back from Milwaukee. He joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REID: It`s a story that has become depressingly familiar. A confrontation with police over a simple infraction or proceed infraction ends with a black or brown man or woman tased or arrested or sometimes dead.
By now, we know the names Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Stephon Clark, Sandra Bland, and on and on and on.
The videos of these fatal or sometimes just disturbing interactions between black citizens and police have been watched millions of times.
Well, you can now add Milwaukee buck`s rookie Sterling Brown, January 26 arrest to that video list. This week, the Milwaukee Police Department released body cam footage showing how a parking violation outside a Walgreen escalated into Brown being tased, handcuffed and arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIE MALE: Take your hands out of your pockets now.
STERLING BROWN, AMERICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER: Hold on, I got stuff in my hands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down. Anybody get a taser?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taser, taser, taser.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Brown says he knows his story isn`t unique and he plans to use his status as an NBA player to be a voice for the voiceless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: This happens from coast to coast, you know, it`s something that`s being shown more now that technology has advanced. It is something that`s been happening for years and people stories have not been told. People`s stories have not been heard. And I feel like, you know, me doing this it helps a lot.
UINDENTIFIED MALE: You`ve said that you want to -- you know that there are many who don`t have the resources or the platform and you want to be their voice too.
BROWN: Yes, definitely. I feel like it`s my responsibility and there`s something I hold, you know, dearly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: And Brown says he also plans to file -- a civil lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department. Milwaukee`s mayor and the city`s police chief have condemned the officers` actions.
The police chief says members of the department have been disciplined, although he didn`t say how or release the names of those members of his department. The Milwaukee Police Department released the body cam video the same day. The team owners of the National Football League another professional sports organization with a super majority of players will happen to be black approved the policy prohibiting players from kneeling on the field during the national anthem, because could they -- what could they possibly be kneeling about.
Joining us now is Trymaine Lee, an MSNBC Correspondent. Trymaine, thanks for being here.
TRYMAINE LEE, MSNBC CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
REID: You`re just back from Milwaukee. And it was kind of inevitable that eventually police they were going to catch a famous person in this constant way of a violent arrest.
Probably too quickly, a statement by Sterling Brown on Twitter, he said black men shouldn`t have to have their guard up and instantly be on the defensive when seeing a police officer. But it`s our reality and a real problem. There must be neutral respect and both sides have to figure out how to accomplish this, even when that person is a famous NBA player.
LEE: So again, I just got back from Milwaukee. And when you talk to folks on the ground, they`re so used to this. Many of us on the coast or from the south don`t realize that Milwaukee has serious problem, a long history of issue with the police. They are from the highest black male incarceration rate, one of the highest homicide rates in the country, it`s the most (INAUDIBLE) city in this country.
They say it happen every single day, but finally, it took an NBA player getting cuffed and tased for finally some attention to be, you know, showing down what`s happen in the city and for the bucks to respond the way they did, you know, that`s same something today. And they finally released for giving attention of people that matter.
And a fan base that normally just want to see, you jump high, run fast, they are actually, you know, standing up behind what`s happening in this community. That was a big deal.
REID: Yes, any chance just for your reporting that names of the officers are going to be released?
LEE: So far, nothing yet. But, you know, we`ll see
REID: Yes, and maybe in discovery in that lawsuit.
Well, it is sort of ironic that this happens on the same day this video was released on the same day we find out about this new NFL policy which is going to require all players to stand during the national anthem or go in the back, basically not coming out onto the field.
Here is the President of the United States reacting to that. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn`t be playing. You shouldn`t be there. Maybe you shouldn`t be in the country. You have to stand proudly for the national anthem. And the NFL owners did the right thing if that`s what they`ve done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: So you now have the President of the United States weighing in on the private employment policies of the NFL. Interesting this is a league 70 percent African-American.
LEE: It`s amazing how divisive this rhetoric has become and this kneeling during the national anthem issue has become. When you think about black fans who many of them made their voices clear last year by saying I`m not watching football and this year is trying to silence the players who by proxy are voicing the concerns that so many of these black fans, you know, feel every single day. The idea that, you watch me every single Sunday catch a football and run fast again, and hit hard, put my life on the line.
But when we say stop killing us in the streets, and conflating in the issue of police violence with whether you`re a patriot or not and support the troupes. It`s not only absurd and so many ways. But it`s kind of par for the course and dialogue we see every day in America will Black folk especially with a Starbucks, whether it`s the Walmart parking lot with a football field, it`s all kind of part and parcel of the same thing.
REID: And we`re going to be talking about this. And we`ve got a special coming up, Chris Hayes, yourself, me, we`re going to do a special on everyday racism, a town hall coming up and it`s going to be next Tuesday. It`s going to focus on issues like this.
Give us a little preview, because you shut a lot of packages for this.
LEE: You know, what`s amazing is whether you`re talking about somebody in New York, or in the Midwest, the south or west coast, the level of frustration, anger that folks experience just every day living while black, the every day forms of racism, well short of the police getting involved, well short the police violence, we`re talking about being racially profiled while getting coffee, while napping on a college campus.
It`s -- it would going to be funny if it wasn`t real life in America.
REID: Yes.
LEE: This is every single day just living white black. And these issues, they go from zero to 100 real quick.
REID: Yes.
LEE: End up with, you know, the possibility of being shot or killed by the police. But folks opened up in e-mail, in Twitter, you know, my travel across the country and just gathering this consensus, I`ve work (ph) consensus that it`s tough being black in America.
REID: Yes.
LEE: A little awhile back.
REID: Yes, absolutely. Well, can`t wait for that. There`s going to be a very important event and Trymaine of course again will join, per se to myself for a special town hall next Tuesday focusing on everyday racism. The same day that Starbucks closes its doors nationwide for training on race. You can watch that town hall on Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Thank you, Trymaine.
And still ahead tonight, Harvey Weinstein was once considered untouchable. Today he was put in handcuffs. And how much has the Me Too Movement driven record numbers of women to run for office. We`ll ask one of Donald Trump`s 17 accusers who`s running for Congress. Stay with us. Who was running for office? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REID: Harvey Weinstein was once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. He`s a regular on the Oscar Red carpets, surrounded by flashing cameras and with even thanks by award winners more often than God in their speeches.
Today, Harvey Weinstein was surrounded by flashing cameras once again. But this time the cameras were waiting to capture him in handcuffs.
Weinstein was arrested and arraigned for two alleged incidents of sexual assault against two different women. He`s charged with first degree rape and third degree rape in one case. And the first degree criminal sex act in a second case. For many in Hollywood, this is a time they never could`ve imagine because powerful men have existed inside would think like a perfectly protected bubble.
But one year ago, dozens of women amplified an online hash tag movement called "Me Too" and accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault. Ninety-five women have now come forward with allegations against him. And his arrest received emotional reactions for many of those accusers.
Asia Argento tweeted, "We, the women, finally have real hope for justice. What took you so long, Harvey?" And Rose McGowan, one of the leaders of the "Me Too Movement" had this message for Weinstein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE MCGOWAN, LEADER, #METOO MOVEMENT: No more tears, not because of you, not anymore. Today we rejoice. Tomorrow will be hard again.
But today we can have a moment for all of us. This is for all of us who`ve been told we are nothing. This is for all of us because we are something and we can be free. It`s a beautiful thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: The "Me Too Movement" has empowered women to come forward and speak out against sexual harassment and assault. Massive women`s marches in 2017 and 2018, millions of women come together to demand legislation that impact human rights.
And this year record numbers of women are running for office at every level of government, from local to federal. And that includes our next guest, Rachel Crooks whose experience with Donald Trump and the Me Too Movement influenced her decision to enter politics and run for a seat in the Ohio, House of Representatives.
My conversation with Rachel Crooks after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL CROOKS, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE, OHIO STATE REPRESENTATIVE: I think so many women coming forward to run for office has really been kind of a direct recoil against Trump and his lack of respect for women and wanting to, you know, be part of the positive change that we need.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
REID: And joining us now is Rachel Crooks, who came forward in October of 2016 to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct more than a decade ago. She recently became the first Trump accuser to win an uncontested Democratic primary seat in the Ohio state legislature.
First of all, congratulations on that primary win, Rachel. You raise about $57,500 leading up to the primary, twice as much as any opponent. You ended up running unopposed.
Your Republican opponent, the incumbent Bill Reinecke, who you`ll face in November, he won easily in 2014. Trump carried that district by nearly 26 points. What makes you think that you can win, and do you think the momentum behind your story is what will do it?
CROOKS: Hi, Joy. It`s nice to be here again today. And, yes, I mean I think of course I hope to win. And I think there is momentum for my race and a lot of support coming in across the nation.
But ultimately, you know, this is about my district and what the people in my district need. And fortunately I think they are paying attention to our state government in Ohio and there`s a lot of work to be done. We have some basically a culture of corruption in Columbus unfortunately. So I think that that may obviously play in my favor in the November election.
REID: And it sounds like you`re focusing on local -- focusing your raise on local issues, which is important at smart politics. But how much of your focus is going to be on Donald Trump, on what he represents for Ohio wins, and on what he represents for the country, and frankly what he represents to women and to his potential -- this (inaudible) for the past alleged victims?
CROOKS: Right. Well, you know, part of the reason that I did decide to run was because I felt that there was a lack of integrity in politics. And of course Donald Trump epitomizes that. And those who are complicit in his behavior and actions, you know, are really part of the problem too.
So that was really the motivation for running. But in terms of my election, yes, I`m definitely trying to focus on the local issues and how I can appeal to local voters.
REID: Yes. And you attended the women`s march. And, you know, you know, one of the sort of statistics that kind of confounds Democrats a lot of times in these elections is that white women tend to vote in the majority for Republicans. And that even was the case when they had the opportunity to vote for a woman for president of the United States.
How do you get past that? How do you get white women to vote Democratic, to vote for you?
CROOKS: Well, I do think that, you know, women should be concerned about the lack of representation in politics that we`ve had, right? I mean in my district alone, we have not had a woman represent us. And in the Ohio State House, there`s only 22 percent female.
So I think women`s voices should be heard and, you know, that`s one way to appeal to white women voters. That, you know, men, mostly white men, should not be making all the rules and decisions for us, you know, and that covers things from reproductive rights to just general concerns that women have. So we definitely want more females in office because when you have diverse perspectives, it certainly leads to better outcomes overall.
REID: Well, Rachel Crooks, we certainly wish you luck. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Have a great weekend and best of lack in your campaign.
CROOKS: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure.
REID: Thank you very much. And tonight`s LAST WORD is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REID: If you missed your Lawrence and Rachel fix tonight, have no fear because they are here in tonight`s LAST WORD with some of your favorite handoffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: That does it for us tonight. I had a whole other show.
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Come on over and do your whole other show. Just -- or, you know, you could wait and bequeath them to the museum of broadcasting, all of the scripts that got bumped by breaking news.
I have some breaking news for you from "The New York Times" about the color of lies in the White House. And there`s a hint in the name of the White House, what color the lies are.
MADDOW: Here`s how this is going to go. I`m going to leave your TV screen now, but I`m just going to go up to my office and eat donut holes for a little while because I`m going to be back here live at midnight eastern time. You and I together at midnight will ring in the second government shutdown in two weeks.
O`DONNELL: What if there`s a miracle solution, say, I don`t know, at 10:30 or 11:30.
MADDOW: Then I will take my donut holes and go home --
O`DONNELL: OK.
MADDOW: -- and walk my dog.
O`DONNELL: Save me some donuts.
MADDOW: I will do.
O`DONNELL: OK.
MADDOW: Thank you.
O`DONNELL: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: OK. About the donut holes in Rachel`s office in five minutes, you can Lawrence and Rachel, Monday the special edition of LAST WORD, Monday night at 10 p.m. Eastern. I`m Joy-Ann Reid, I`ll see you tomorrow morning, doubt at all.
At 10 a.m. on AM JOY, THE 11TH HOUR WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS starts now.
END
Copy: Content and programming copyright 2018 MSNBC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2018 ASC Services II Media, LLC. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.