Show: THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O`DONNELL Date: July 6, 2016 Guest: David Fahrenthold, Marq Claxton, Maya Lau, Malcolm Nance, Michael Steele, Rick Wilson, David Cay Johnston
STEVE KORNACKI, MSNBC HOST: That`s going to do it for us tonight, we`ll see you again tomorrow, now let`s head over to Lawrence O`Donnell for THE LAST WORD, Lawrence.
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Thank you, Steve, really appreciate it. All right, so, Hillary Clinton went to Atlantic City today to one of the casinos that Donald Trump bankrupted to highlight something Donald Trump never talks about.
His business failures and how they hurt people who made the mistake of doing business with Donald Trump. And in response, Donald Trump took a turn at the microphone at a rally in Cincinnati tonight.
I hesitate to call it a speech because that would imply there was actually some organization to the thoughts that he presented.
And in fact, thoughts might be too strong a word for what we heard from Donald Trump. Imagine, just imagine the frustration of the Trump campaign staff on this day when Hillary Clinton launched such an effective attack on Donald Trump.
Imagine the Trump campaign`s frustration when Donald Trump got up on the stage and actually talked about Chuck Todd more than he talked about Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if you go to your television, you`re about to see live a pretty terrific event right here in Cincinnati.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I hate Saddam Hussein, but he was damn good at killing terrorists.
DAVID CORN, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, MOTHER JONES: It looks like we`re seeing a guy who is unhinged.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Isn`t he supposed to be some kind of amazing businessman?
TRUMP: Have you all seen this? It`s a star. They say it`s the star of David. I have a son-in-law who is Jewish. These are sick people, they`re bad people, that`s not the star of David, that`s just a star.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a rambling variety show.
TRUMP: The Democrats -- oh, there was a mosquito, I don`t want mosquitoes around me.
CLINTON: What in the world happened here?
TRUMP: We like Newt.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: This guy is going to kick over the table.
(CHEERS)
TRUMP: Newt!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It rambles, it wanders.
TRUMP: There`s a guy on "MEET THE PRESS" called sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd. Do you -- does anybody ever --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He made more swipes at Chuck Todd than he did at Hillary Clinton in this speech.
TRUMP: Hillary with the teleprompters every single time.
CLINTON: He bankrupted his companies, not once --
TRUMP: Donald Trump is a bad person.
CLINTON: Not twice --
TRUMP: Donald Trump made a lot of money in Atlantic City, but he hurt the little people. She calls them the little people.
CLINTON: But four times. It is the same scam over and over again.
TRUMP: Isn`t it nice when you don`t read from a speech?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Donald Trump had a job to do tonight in Ohio, and you could tell that he had a job to do, that he had an assignment.
Because the Trump campaign gave him a piece of paper to take on stage with him for his 60-minute speech.
The speech any other candidate would have had 20 or 30 pieces of paper for on which the entire speech would have been written for the candidate, but not Donald Trump.
The campaign gave him just one piece of paper because they knew that`s all he can manage.
That`s all he can handle, one piece of paper. That piece of paper had the message the campaign wanted to drill home tonight and it was a message that no other presidential campaign in history has ever had.
A message about the very sharp criticism that the director of the FBI leveled against Donald Trump`s opponent yesterday.
Donald Trump is the first candidate for president in history who has been handed a public statement from the director of the FBI that is critical of his opponent.
In any other candidate`s hands, that piece of paper would be campaign gold. Donald Trump began by reading some of the things that the FBI director said about Hillary Clinton yesterday.
But he seemed to bore himself with the FBI director`s words and Donald Trump very quickly changed the subject.
To what else? Chuck Todd. Chuck Todd and Saddam Hussein. And Donald Trump actually spent more time talking about Chuck Todd than he spoke about the FBI director or Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There`s a guy on "MEET THE PRESS" called sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd. Do you -- does anybody ever --
(BOOING)
The guy was dying on "MEET THE PRESS" a year ago, a year and a half, a while ago. He was dying, nobody watching "MEET THE PRESS".
I wake up, I turn on the television -- Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein.
(LAUGHTER)
He loves Saddam Hussein. So, that`s the narrative that goes around. I actually put a press release out. And now the people that saw it say that was great, but they`re all liars.
These are bad people. These are bad people. And what I did say -- and what I did say is that he was good at one thing.
He was really good at killing terrorists. He didn`t wait around. Do you think they gave the terrorists trials that lasted 18 years?
And then after 18 years if they had the right lawyer, they erect a statue in honor of the terrorists, right? Not with Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Joining us now, Malcolm Nance, former counterterrorism intelligence officer, combat veteran and an Msnbc contributor.
Malcolm, there are so many things in that speech that I want to get to. But the first thing I want to do is talk to you about what Donald Trump said about Saddam Hussein and terrorists. Your reaction to that?
MALCOLM NANCE, AUTHOR & FORMER COUNTERTERRORISM INTELLIGENCE OFFICER & COMBAT VETERAN: You know, I think it was the writer Fran Lebowitz who came up with the great saying, think before you speak and read before you think.
This is one circumstance in which clearly Donald Trump has no clue about what he`s talking about with Iraq, Saddam Hussein and treatment of terrorists.
As a matter of fact, one of the most famous incidents or I should say infamous incidents against people who would later become our allies, the popular union of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Democratic Party and other groups up in northern Kurdistan were gassed by Saddam Hussein, as terrorists during a genocidal campaign called the Anfal Campaign in the 1980s.
And this was done because he considered all of those rogue sections of the country, the Turk men, the Assyrians(ph), the Kurds, and he wanted to eliminate what he considered the terrorists from his country.
O`DONNELL: And so, in fact, in Saddam Hussein`s Iraq, there weren`t any of what we now call terrorists.
NANCE: Well, certainly not the people who are Islamic extremist terrorists that we see today. As a matter of fact, weeks before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam put out an all-hands call to the Muslim world asking for anyone to come to Iraq and defend Iraq.
And one of the groups that answered that call was a very small Jordanian group called Tawhid-wal-Jihad or monotheism in holy war.
And it was led by a young man who was a prot‚g‚ of Osama bin Laden called Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
They came from Jordan, set up shop under the controllers, Saddam Fedayeen in the pre-days of any invasion, not very far before the invasion, went to Fallujah, got all the weapons and equipment they can handle.
All the explosives in safe houses they can handle. They let the Americans flow through Iraq, and then in August of that year, 2003, started carrying out massive terrorism which to this day has not ended.
So, Saddam Hussein was a sponsor of terrorism, not a -- he did not kill terrorists in the free world period.
O`DONNELL: Malcolm Nance, thank you very much, we just wanted to start with that fact-checking tonight, really appreciate it, thank you.
NANCE: It`s my pleasure.
O`DONNELL: We`re joined now by Michael Steele; a former Republican Party chairman and an Msnbc political analyst.
And Rick Wilson, the Republican strategist and contributor to the website "Heat Street". Now let`s give Chuck Todd the moment here on "MORNING JOE" this morning that got Donald Trump started tonight.
And I`ve got to say, in an hour-long speech, without Chuck Todd, it would have been half an hour. And so, but let`s --
MICHAEL STEELE, FORMER CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Maybe even 27 --
O`DONNELL: Right --
STEELE: Minutes --
O`DONNELL: So, let`s listen to what Chuck said on "MORNING JOE" that started this whole speech. Let`s listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR, MEET THE PRESS: It was an unbelievable day. It is a -- I am sort of stunned at how badly Donald Trump`s botching, what is to me, a gift.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re saying bringing --
(CROSSTALK)
You`re saying bringing up Saddam Hussein and saying he was really good at killing terrorists.
TODD: It`s not --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It might not be what you want to follow --
TODD: Not on that day --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably not --
TODD: Maybe today, maybe tomorrow --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s head off --
TODD: Maybe tomorrow, praising Saddam Hussein is a good --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
TODD: Idea, but maybe yesterday --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
TODD: I would have -- I would have held --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Michael Steele, it`s not just this praising Saddam Hussein.
STEELE: Right --
O`DONNELL: He is completely wrong about what he`s saying Saddam Hussein did.
STEELE: Yes, I mean, it`s -- you know, the history is a history. The facts are the facts as Mr. Nance laid out very clearly.
Someone who was on the ground and knows very well what was going on at that time.
And I think this is part of an overall narrative that, you know, I`ve said it over and over again, this campaign has to get the grip on the facts, the reality in order to run for president --
O`DONNELL: Michael, you can stop saying it.
STEELE: I just thought --
(CROSSTALK)
O`DONNELL: It`s not -- and you can skip that part. It`s not --
(CROSSTALK)
STEELE: OK --
O`DONNELL: Right? I mean, can we just --
STEELE: Good, all right --
O`DONNELL: Skip that part --
STEELE: So, it was -- OK, I`m with -- I`m with my friend, and so I`ll just skip that part. So --
O`DONNELL: You know what?
(CROSSTALK)
We can just put it on the full screen for the audience, that thing you`ve said 200 times --
STEELE: Several times, yes. So, I have to agree with Chuck, I mean, you have the FBI director giving you -- here is a -- here is a happy welcome cake to the -- to the -- you know, presidential election.
And that`s not the conversation we`re having today. You have Republicans around the country who are itching, talking about this subject.
But that`s not the conversation they`re having because they`re talking about Donald Trump talking about Saddam Hussein.
If this is the cause of this going into this convention coming out of this convention, it`s going to be very difficult to get a campaign on track.
That`s the bottom line at this stage.
O`DONNELL: And he spent much more time tonight talking about the star of David and talking about the tweet that his campaign --
STEELE: Let it go.
O`DONNELL: Sent out. Much more that than about Hillary Clinton. Let`s listen to what he said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It`s a star! And it actually looks like a sheriff`s star, but I don`t know. And behind it, they had money -- oh, but there`s money behind it.
So, actually, they`re racially profiling, they`re profiling, not us, because why are they bringing this up? Why do they bring it up?
So, you have the star, which is fine. You shouldn`t have taken it down, you know, they took the star down. I said, too bad, you should have left it up. I would have rather defended it -- just leave it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Rick Wilson, here, I think he doesn`t even know the language of the discussion, he never once said --
RICK WILSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No --
O`DONNELL: Anti-Semitic or anti-Semite because apparently he doesn`t know what that means. But let`s put up on the screen if we have the tweet that the Trump campaign sent out, which they lifted directly from -- not that, not that tweet.
The one that got this story started, that`s the one that he put out tonight, trying to justify and stay with the tweet.
So, here`s the original one. Lifted directly as we know and has been proven from an anti-Semitic website and an anti-Semitic tweeter.
No confusion about that, Rick. And what he seems to want to communicate is, I absolutely will not back down from this.
And at some point, is it fair to interpret that Donald Trump is saying to the anti-Semitic vote out there, how -- whatever size it is, I am your guy.
WILSON: Well, look, I mean, this is a guy who retweeted them consistently, who relies now on them as part of his -- of his play here.
And the fact of the matter is, this is a guy who founded himself very -- you know, hesitant to denounce the Klan when it was brought to him, hesitate to denounce David Duke.
And now he`s playing games with this and playing footsie with this. It would have been easy to take advantage of a gorgeous slow pitch over the plate from Jim Comey yesterday, and to try to turn yesterday into a day where he was for once on message and not stricken with his usual trumpy and verbal dysentery.
But he spent the last 24 hours blowing the one opportunity he`s going to get to try to litigate what happened with Hillary Clinton yesterday.
And to try to turn, you know, the fact that she wasn`t indicted, perp- walked and mugshoted at least into something to hang his campaign around.
But instead, it`s been Chuck Todd, it`s been a consistent, you know, dig in on the -- on the -- on the star of David on a pile of cash which -- gosh, no one would pick up what that symbolism means.
You know, and the double and triple-down and trying to snatch, you know, defeat from the jaws of what could have been a couple of decent days for him.
You know -- you know, it`s no wonder he`s having trouble finding a vice presidential candidate. So --
O`DONNELL: And Michael, tonight, on this star of David, on that tweet --
STEELE: Yes --
O`DONNELL: He said, he ended up by saying, they should have left it up. His campaign should have left up that tweet.
He would have rather defended and just leave it up. Now, the campaign and Donald Trump, presumably, made the decision this is bad, this tweet is bad.
We`ve got to take it down. And -- but that`s yesterday. Today he says, nothing wrong with it, we should have left it up.
STEELE: I bet probably how that unfolded was he was not a part of the decision to take it down, which is why he made the statement that he did.
Leave it up so I can defend it, but we don`t want you defending that. We don`t want you talking about that. We want you to talk about what Rick was just talking about.
We want you to talk about the 30,000 jobs that were created in the month of June -- we want you -- in May. We want you to talk about the IG report.
There are so many other little bubbles of excitement out there that you can get the base and the party galvanized around, moving into this convention and then out of that convention into a full-throated, you know, argument against Hillary Clinton wanting to be president.
O`DONNELL: And, Rick, Hillary Clinton goes to Atlantic City today, very effective appearance in front of one of the bankrupted casinos.
Tonight is Donald Trump`s chance to respond to Hillary Clinton in Atlantic City. We counted it, 17 seconds he made reference to Atlantic City.
Seventeen seconds with not any real defense about what Hillary Clinton said there today. And instead --
WILSON: Right --
O`DONNELL: He spent all his time as we say, on Chuck Todd, on Saddam Hussein, on the star of David, all of these things.
And that -- and you saw him holding that piece of paper that he started the speech with. He was holding that piece of paper with the FBI director`s comments on it and you could tell, he couldn`t wait to get it out of his hand.
He just couldn`t wait to get rid of that thing so that he could go do his whatever you call that thing that he did --
WILSON: Exactly --
O`DONNELL: For 50 minutes.
WILSON: Lawrence, the guy has the attention span of a gnat on meth. This is a guy who jumps from subject to subject to subject.
He has no discipline, he has no focus. There is something wrong with Donald Trump`s thought process everyday where he`s got an opportunity to litigate a political case against Hillary Clinton.
And he`s often in every other direction possible and in every other -- every other tangent possible when it comes down to talking about, you know, mosquitoes flying around him.
And the guy has absolutely no personal discipline. It is -- it is -- it is a terrifying prospect if you`re a Republican for the next couple of weeks.
You know, trying to wait and see what happens between now and the convention. These delegates that are getting nervous right now at the convention.
You know, they`ve been held in place by riots and the others. But they`re thinking in themselves, what -- how crazy is the show going to get every day?
O`DONNELL: OK --
WILSON: How nuts is Trump going to be tomorrow? --
(CROSSTALK)
O`DONNELL: Before we close the segment, "Wall Street Journal" reporting tonight that the anti-Trump camp at the convention just needs the backing of 28 of the 112 members of the Convention Rules Committee in order to get a vote of the full convention on possibly --
WILSON: Right --
O`DONNELL: Unbinding the delegates. And they have calculated that there is about 890 delegates who are loyal to Trump, 680 who oppose Trump and 900 delegates who are presumed to be in play.
Michael, according to the "Wall Street Journal" report tonight, there`s a possibility.
STEELE: There`s a possibility, but that`s going to be very hard, because at the end of the day, because he is now in control of this convention and the party, his people will stack on that committee.
So, that`s going to be tough. The RNC also -- the people they put on there are going to have to play with Donald Trump on this.
They can`t break from Trump. The RNC can`t do that. So, that combination alone will put a squash -- it`s going to be hard to get those 28 votes --
O`DONNELL: And I had trouble with following what Trump said tonight, but Don King is not going to be on the committee, right? Don King --
STEELE: No, Don King --
O`DONNELL: He said Don King is going to be a speaker and --
(LAUGHTER)
Bobby Knight -- Rick Wilson, Bobby Knight, is he on the committee or is he a speaker -- he`s a speaker --
STEELE: A speaker.
O`DONNELL: And then the family members are all speakers. Michael Steele - -
STEELE: Yes --
O`DONNELL: And Rick Wilson, thank you both very much --
STEELE: You got it, buddy --
O`DONNELL: For joining us tonight --
STEELE: Thanks, Lawrence --
O`DONNELL: I really appreciate it, thank you. Up next, Hillary Clinton goes to the Trump Taj Mahal and says there is one thing that you should really listen to, one thing that Donald Trump says that everyone really should believe.
And good Trump, bad Trump. Donald Trump`s son Eric usually plays good Trump to Donald Trump`s bad Trump.
Today was a case of bad Trump, bad Trump. And we will have the latest in that investigation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, of the killing of Alton Sterling by police.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O`DONNELL: We have breaking news tonight from Chris Hayes show. And Chris Hayes interview with Bernie Sanders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), VERMONT: I am also on record and will do everything that I can, Chris, and I`m pretty a hard worker at these things, to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president of the United States of America.
Because that would be unmitigated disaster, not only for our country, but for the world. So, I`m going to do that.
I think at the end of the day, there is going to be a coming together and we`re going to go forward together and not only defeat Trump, but defeat him badly.
CHRIS HAYES, MSNBC: So that`s key. So, you`re not denying the reports that there are talks about a possible endorsement?
SANDERS: That`s correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Up next, Hillary Clinton explores the ruins of the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O`DONNELL: Donald Trump, the Casino operator sounded an awful lot like Donald Trump the presidential candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We`re going to make this hotel and casino and resort the most successful in the world, by far. And I look forward to it, we love you. You`re our family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: And a year later, just a year later, Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy on that casino, that`s right. It only took him a year to run it into the ground and that`s a story Hillary Clinton wants American voters to hear.
That`s why she went to Atlantic City today and talked about the casino that Donald Trump promised to make the most successful in the world and then ran it into bankruptcy a year later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Donald Trump says he`s qualified to be president because of his business record. Here is an important thing about how Donald Trump operates.
He doesn`t default and go bankrupt as a last resort, he does it over and over again on purpose. Even though he knows he will leave others empty- handed while he keeps the plane, the helicopter, the penthouse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: One of the people that Donald Trump left empty-handed was invited to join Hillary Clinton at the microphone today.
Martin Rosenberg said that Donald Trump refused to pay him for work done installing glass panels at the Trump Taj Mahal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN ROSENBERG, SAYS DONALD TRUMP REFUSED TO PAY HIM FOR WORK DONE ON TRUMP TAJ MAHAL: I am here today to help ensure that this sort of manipulation of people by Trump will not continue on a national stage.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Hillary Clinton did say that there is one thing that Donald Trump says that everyone should believe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: And remember, remember what he promised -- I am going to do for the country what I did for my business.
(BOOING)
Well, we should believe him and make sure he never has the chance to bankrupt America the way he bankrupted his businesses.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Joining us now, David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who has been reporting on the Trump empire for years, he`s now a columnist with the "Daily Beast".
David, the story of Donald Trump in Atlantic City is the one that Hillary Clinton really wants to --
DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, AUTHOR & INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Yes --
O`DONNELL: Drill home to people. I got to say, I learned something today. I didn`t realize that he managed to bankrupt casinos that fast.
JOHNSTON: Yes, Donald overpaid for the Taj, he didn`t pay hundreds of contractors. I was covering Atlantic City at the time for the "Philadelphia Inquirer".
A number of these businesses folded or were in very dire straits and had to get rid of their workers. He mismanaged the business all the way through.
Donald came to Atlantic City and saw essentially a gold mine, he took all the gold that he could and then he left the tailings for everybody else.
There are other operators still there who are successfully running casinos because they know how to actually run a business that`s sustainable.
O`DONNELL: Let`s listen to more about what Hillary Clinton said about what this shows about the way Donald Trump would work as president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: This seems to be his one move. He makes over-the-top promises and says if people trust him, put their faith in him, he`ll deliver for them.
He`ll make them wildly successful. Then everything falls apart, people get hurt, and Donald gets paid.
I want you to understand what he did here in Atlantic City is exactly what he will do if he wins in November. Step one, give a huge tax cut to millionaires like himself.
Step two, add trillions to our national debt. Step three, he suggested we could just default on our national debt like he defaulted on his business debt.
It is the same scam over and over again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: David, I`m not sure if people understand how a businessman can repeatedly do this kind of bankruptcy without apparently affecting his personal finances in a negative way.
JOHNSTON: Well, because Donald is so litigious, remember he`s had about 3,500 lawsuits filed against him.
That people who foolishly bought his stocks and loaned him money, bankers, realized that it was better to make a deal with him than to be caught up in more litigation.
He was able to borrow money for his casino business which was then used to pay off personal debts of his. And by the way, there weren`t four bankruptcies, there were six.
Two of them occurred after Donald was effectively paid to go away, but they were cleaning up the mess that he had left.
So, let`s keep in mind that it was his business that went through six bankruptcies, four of them while he was in control, two of them after he had left the caucus.
O`DONNELL: And David, he offered in his rambling talk tonight no defense whatsoever against any of the charges that Hillary Clinton made today in Atlantic City.
JOHNSTON: Well, that`s not surprising because Donald does not think in policy terms. Donald`s approach to everything is to bring money to him and there`s no sophisticated business analysis by Donald.
Other people were running casinos in ways that I found incredibly impressive in terms of their understanding of customers, how to coax more money out of them without driving them away.
Donald has no understanding of anything like that. And many of the casino executives used to tell me these stories about how he didn`t know anything.
He didn`t even understand how the games worked. And when he lured the biggest gambler in the world to his casino, gambling at the rate of $14 million an hour, Donald was so terrified that he would lose money, he paid someone to watch the game.
Which was absurd. And by the way, he did lose money because the guy didn`t pay off his markers, that`s his debt, and was murdered.
O`DONNELL: Wow, got to get the book. David Cay Johnston`s new book is called "The Making of Donald Trump".
David, thank you very much for joining us tonight, really appreciate it.
JOHNSTON: Thank you.
O`DONNELL: Up next, today was Eric Trump`s turn to attack a reporter trying to do his job and Eric Trump did his father proud with a profanity- laced tirade to the "Washington Post".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My boy, I love you. Come up, Eric, come up. I`ll introduce Eric Trump. Eric Trump did an unbelievable job. He`s doing an unbelievable job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: Eric Trump then spoke for a full 36 seconds tonight on the stage in Cincinnati, just enough time to tell us how much he loves his dad. It was a polite, soft spoken turn at the microphone for Eric Trump.
But he sounded a lot more like his father`s son when he called "The Washington Post" today and said this about David Fahrenthold, who has been reporting on Donald Trump`s charitable giving.
Eric Trump began his angry outburst on the phone by invoking the name of Jesus Christ in something other than religious reverence saying, "Why is this guy trying to f---ing kill us?"
That guy, David Fahrenthold joins us now. David, tell us what led to that phone call today.
DAVID FAHRENTHOLD, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, I spent several weeks trying to figure out when Donald Trump, before this big million dollar gift to veterans in May, when he had last given any of his own money to charity.
And so Eric called a whole bunch of charities, more than 200 trying to find any evidence that Trump is given that many of his own money. Eric Trump runs a charity, the Eric Trump Foundation.
I`ve been trying to figure out or maybe if Donald Trump gave money to anyone he gave it to his son`s foundation. So I`ve been pressing Eric Trump and the Eric Trump Foundation for details and, in fact, it found sort of the opposite.
In tax filing it appeared that the Eric Trump Foundation had actually paid $88,000 to his dad`s golf course over the last year. So it was that cover that led Eric Trump to call me today.
O`DONNELL: So, what is the money that goes into the Eric Trump Foundation? Is that Eric Trump`s money? Does he take contributions to his foundation from other people?
FAHRENTHOLD: The Eric Trump foundation is basically funded by golf tournaments that are held at Trump golf courses and the money that comes in from the players is given -- the proceeds go almost all to St. Jude, the Children`s Research Hospital in Memphis.
O`DONNELL: So almost all to St. Jude`s, but some of it gets paid out to some Donald Trump enterprises.
FAHRENTHOLD: That`s right. If you look at the tax filings for 2014, they have to declare in their tax filings when they`ve spent money and given a lot of money to a property that`s owned by a relative of Eric Trump.
And so they said, "Look, we spend $88,000 as a fee charge to use Donald Trump`s course in Leon County. Virginia. Eric Trump took issue with that. He said that actually what the description that was in those tax filings which is accounted and prepared was not accurate and we were wrong to report it. And so he`s calling to complain about that.
O`DONNELL: So, you`re searching for any charitable giving that Donald Trump has actually done, and the Eric Trump Foundation was just one spot to look. What have you found in your global search for Donald Trump charitable giving anywhere?
FAHRENTHOLD: Called 209 charities now and these are charities that have some tie to Donald Trump. He`s praised them. He`s talked about them in his books. He`s appeared at their galas. He`s hosted their galas.
I found one donation between 2008 and this may -- one donation out of trump`s own pocket that was in 2009 it was less -- for less than $10,000. And I`m not entirely sure it`s real. It might be a bookkeeping error.
O`DONNELL: David Fahrenthold, might be a bookkeeping error. We will leave it there for tonight. David, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
FAHRENTHOLD: Thank you.
O`DONNELL: Coming up, it was a fact moving day in Baton Rouge today. Community leaders and love ones making emotional statements about the death of Alton Sterling in a shooting by police. That was followed by a quick response from the governor today and the Justice Department announcing the Justice Department is taking over that investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O`DONNELL: The vice presidential nomination has become the hot potato of Republican politics. Two senators just felt how hot it was today and tossed it away.
Senator Bob Corker and Senator Joni Ernst both came to their senses and said they would like their name withdrawn from consideration for Donald Trump`s running mate, which was unbelievable good news for the always available Newt Gingrich who campaigned with Donald Trump today. And Donald Trump said today that Newt Gingrich would be involved in his administration somehow.
And Chris Christie, of course, is thrilled that the senators dropped out. Chris Christie knows he could never survive the senate confirmation process for attorney general, and so V.P. is Chris Christie`s only hope for getting to hang around with President Trump. Here`s how it looks of the campaign trail today.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boardwalk takedown -- Hillary Clinton delivering a scathing review of Donald Trump`s business practices.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We`re standing in front of the old Trump plaza. Donald Trump once predicted it will be the biggest hit yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s had a lifetime of creating jobs.
CLINTON: Now it`s abandon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lifetime of building buildings.
CLINTON: What in the world happen here?
TRUMP: After we left, it went down the tubes, but that can happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She, of course, trying very hard to undermine his credentials on the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This afternoon, not one, but two people being vetted as possible vice presidents both taking themselves out of consideration.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who does that leave?
TRUMP: I`m not saying its Newt, but if it`s Newt, nobody is going to be beat him in those debates. That`s for sure.
Hillary Clinton said there was nothing more classified on my e-mails.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s what she`s up against. That`s the history.
TRUMP: I heard it, you heard it, we all heard it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After the FBI recommendation yesterday, how did you feel about it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A kind of relieved. I just think it`s overblown.
TRUMP: These are all lies. We say lie, lie, lie, lie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know if my vote would be for Trump, but it definitely takes Hillary off the table.
TRUMP: I`m just tweeting with the star. It`s a star. Could have been a sheriff`s star? Could have been a regular star? They`re racially profiling. They`re profiling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that`s the wrong thing to say. So that definitely one of those things -- again, we got to make sure you`re saying it the right way.
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O`DONNELL: You`re looking at a live shot of the scene of that store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Alton Sterling was killed by police.
Hillary Clinton released a statement tonight on this case, which the Justice Department is now investigating.
Hillary Clinton said, "Too many African-American families mourn the loss of a loved one from a police-involved incident. Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn`t consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin. I am glad the Department of Justice has agreed to a full and thorough review of this shooting. All over America, there are police officers demonstrating how to protect the public without resorting to unnecessary force. We need to learn from and build on those examples."
We will have the latest on the investigation after a break.
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O`DONNELL: This is a live shot at the scene at the store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Alton Sterling was shot by police. That`s the situation there tonight.
The Department of Justice will lead the investigation into that shooting. Police have not released dash cam video or police body cam video of the incident but two cell phone videos have become public. These videos show the shooting from two different angles.
The first was posted yesterday on Facebook. It shows two police officers tackling Alton Sterling and wrestling him to the ground early yesterday morning outside of that store. Then an officer can be heard shouting he`s got a gun. And then one of the officers unholesters his weapon and we hear shots fired on that video.
Police say the incident occurred after the two officers responded to a 911 caller who reported someone matching Alton Sterling`s description threatening someone with a gun.
Today, a second cell phone video recorded by the convenience store owner shows another angle with a much closer look at what happened.
Now, I must warn you that this video we`re about to show you is much more disturbing than the one you just saw. If you watch this video, if you choose to watch it, you will see a man being shot and killed. This is deeply disturbing to watch. It is also crucial and absolutely necessary evidence in understanding what happened there.
You can proceed with this story without watching this, but I just wanted to let you know that this video, which is crucial evidence, is a very difficult thing to watch. Here it is.
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O`DONNELL: Well, apparently we edited the video, so it`s different from what I saw before, which includes more movement and more shots fired while Alton Sterling is lying flat on his back and police officers seem to be -- and removed from his body at that point.
The Coroner`s preliminary autopsy report says Alton Sterling suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and the back. He died at the scenes.
This up-close stills from the store owner`s video shows an officer taking something out of Alton Sterling`s right pocket after the shooting. The store owner says it was a gun. Police have not confirmed that.
The mother of Alton Sterling`s 15-year-old son read an emotional statement this morning.
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QUINYETTA MCMILLON, MOTHER OF ALTON STERLING`S OLDEST SON: The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis.
My son is not the youngest. He is the oldest of his siblings. He is 15 years old. He has to watch this and this was put all over the outlets and everything that was possible to be shown.
As a mother, I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father that I can`t take away from him. He is at an age of understanding. I hurt more for him and his loss.
As a parent, one of the greatest feels is to see your child hurt and know there is nothing you can do about it. What I saw last night from the real citizens of Baton Rouge will forever warm my heart.
We offer a complete community of individuals who will carry this burden and also say it together to ensure that this event will not go unjustice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s right.
MCMILLON: It will not go unnoticed, especially for the future.
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O`DONNELL: Both of the officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave pending the investigation.
NBC`s Gabe Gutierrez spoke with the store owner who recorded some of the video you just saw.
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GABE GUTIERREZ, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Was he acting aggressive in any way towards his officers?
ABDULLAH MUFLAHI, STORE OWNER MANAGER: He just wanted to know what was going on and why are they, you know, why are they coming arresting him. He was asking them, "What I do wrong?" You know, "What`s going on? What I do wrong? Why are you messing with me?"
GUTIERREZ: You said that you saw the officers removed a weapon from him.
MUFLAHI: Out of his pocket after they shot him.
GUTIERREZ: Out of his pocket.
MUFLAHI: Yeah, out of his pocket, yes.
GUTIERREZ: At any point, did you see Mr. Sterling reach for that gun or threaten the officers with that gun?
MUFLAHI: No. No. He -- there were on top of him. I don`t think there`s any way that he would have reached for it.
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O`DONNELL: We`ll have more on this case after a break.
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GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS, (D) LOUISIANA: The footage that I observed of the video that was made available, I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least. There should be no doubt in anybody`s mind that this incident is going to be investigated impartially, professionally and thoroughly by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
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O`DONNELL: Joining us now, Marq Claxton, Director of the Black Law Enforcement Alliance and a retired NYPD detective. Also, Maya Lau, Criminal Justice Reporter at the Baton Rouge Advocate.
Maya, it was a very fast moving day in Baton Rouge today. We saw that the beginning with the news conference of loved ones of Mr. Sterling along with community leaders. Very quickly after that, suddenly the Governor is out there and suddenly the Justice Department investigation. Tell us how it all unfolded today.
MAYA LAU, REPORTER, BATON ROUGE ADVOCATE: I`m sorry. I couldn`t hear your question.
O`DONNELL: Maya, the situation in -- unfolded very quickly today with the .
LAU: Yeah.
O`DONNELL: . with this news conferences that kept following each other. Did you know that these things were going to happen in this sequence that the Governor was going to come out and speak, that the Justice Department was going to make this announcement?
LAU: No, absolutely not. I think it was a surprise. There was a lot of suspense since last night unto what the police were going to do, what the police were going to say, if they were going to release the names of the officers.
So, the fact that -- so quickly that the U.S. Department of Justice was brought in came as somewhat of a surprise, although it seemed like there was a coordinated effort on the part of local law enforcement. Everybody agreed that that was the best thing to do.
O`DONNELL: Marq Claxton, the network standards edited the second video we showed, which is a very disturbing video and so it doesn`t show the gunshots moment and also it doesn`t show what I think at this stage is one of the most important pieces of evidence in the case and that is the way the police officers found the gun in Mr. Sterling`s pocket.
When I heard that they found a gun, what I wanted to know was, how long after they shot did they find the gun? And I think you know why I`d want to know that because that goes to the question of could the gun be planted, that sort of thing.
But what the video shows very clearly, without the video being cut or edited in any way, what it shows very clearly is immediately after the shots were fired, immediately after the shooting started, one of the officers stepped forward, reached right into that pocket and without any cut in the video pulled out what appears to be a gun.
MARQ CLAXTON, DIRECTOR, BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT ALLIANCE: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I`ve seen the video that you`re referencing in its entirety. It`s a longer version and it`s extremely graphic and painful and difficult to watch.
And I concur with you, that the weapon was found immediately after the discharge of the police with their firearm. And I think in large part much of what the frustration and pain and anguish and anger that is being expressed is based on historical precedence. And what the actor Jesse Williams talked about, the inability of police to de-escalate this on and not kill black people during these interactions themselves, very disturbing and troubling.
So, people are reacting not only for Mr. Sterling, but what they`re seeing is Walter Scott and Tamir Rice and Eric Garner, et cetera, and reacting with little faith and confidence and policing and that`s a sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in right now.
O`DONNELL: Maya, does the police department -- we lost our connection to Maya at the scene there.
Marq, based on what we know about it, what`s your analysis of the tactics that we are aware of at this stage that the police used? They had a suspect -- call about a suspect with a gun and they chose to physically move in on him and in effect kind of tackled him as opposed to standing off at some distance possibly with their weapons drawn and giving him orders from a distance.
CLAXTON: What would be very helpful in analyzing the tactics would be the 40 seconds or minute prior to the actual physical contact and I think people need to be aware that the second video that you referenced and played part of actually shows the moment of initial contact by the police officer.
And there lies many of the problems that occur, not only that have occurred and not only in this shooting, that deal with Mr. Sterling, but other situations involved in the discharge of firearms by police, and that is you have to question whether or not you have officer created jeopardy in some of these circumstances.
And by that, I mean where the officers, due to possibly using bad tactics or whatever preconceived notions they might have actually create the environment for them to be required to use deadly physical force.
And that speaks directly to the issue of the necessity for police officers across the nation to focus more on de-escalation, to focus more on service, to focus more on help as opposed to what we have now in the current climate across the nation and that is a more militarized, more warrior mindset in police agency.
So bad tactics can cause lives and good tactics often times will save lives and that includes police officers.
O`DONNELL: Marq Claxton, really appreciated joining us.
CLAXTON: Thank you, Lawrence.
O`DONNELL: I also want to thank Maya, who we lost. We had a connection with her in Baton Rouge.
That is the LAST WORD. Chris Hayes is up next.
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