>>> GOOD EVENING FROM NEW YORK. I'M CHRIS HAYES, AND WE ONCE
AGAIN HAVE BREAKING NEWS TONIGHT ABOUT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND
RUSSIA, AND IT IS A DOOZY. "THE WASHINGTON POST" CITING
U.S. OFFICIALS BRIEFED ON INTELLIGENCE REPORTS REPORTING
THAT JARED KUSHNER AND RUSSIA'S AMBASSADOR TO WASHINGTON, SERGEY
KISLYAK, DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY OF SETTING UP A
SECRET AND SECURE COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL BETWEEN TRUMP'S
TRANSITION TEAM AND THE KREMLIN USING RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC
FACILITIES IN AN APPARENT MOVE TO SHIELD THEIR PRE-INAUGURATION
DISCUSSIONS FROM MONITORING. ACCORDING TO THE POST,
AMBASSADOR KISLYAK SAID KUSHNER SUGGESTED USING RUSSIAN
DIPLOMATIC FACILITIES IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTEDLY KISLYAK WAS TAKEN ABACK BY THE
SUGGESTION OF ALLOWING AN AMERICAN TO USE RUSSIAN
COMMUNICATIONS GEAR AT ITS EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.
A PROPOSAL THAT WOULD HAVE CARRIED SECURITY RISKS FOR
MOSCOW AS WELL AS THE TRUMP TEAM.
SO IT APPEARS THAT JARED KUSHNER MET WITH THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR
IN SECRET, REPORTEDLY TO SET UP A BACK CHANNEL POSSIBLY IN
RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC FACILITIES. KUSHNER THEN OMITTED THIS
MEETING ON HIS SF-86 SECURITY CLEARANCE FORM.
AND WHEN HE WAS CALLED ON IT MONTHS LATER IN APRIL OF THIS
YEAR, HIS LAWYERS CALLED IT AN ERROR.
BUT IF KISLYAK'S ACCOUNT IS ACCURATE, HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT
JARED KUSHNER JUST FORGOT ABOUT A CLOAK AND DAGGER MEETING WITH
A FOREIGN AGENT TO SET UP A SECRET BACK CHANNEL?
HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT HIS OMISSION OF THAT MEETING TO U.S.
OFFICIALS WAS SIMPLY AN OVERSIGHT?
JARED KUSHNER COULD HAVE READ ON THE CLEARANCE FORM HE FILLED OUT
THAT KNOWINGLY FALSIFYING OR CONCEALING INFORMATION IS A
FELONY PUNISHABLE BY UP TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON.
JOINING ME NOW BY PHONE IS ONE OF THE AUTHORS OF THAT REPORT,
"WASHINGTON POST" REPORTER GREG MILLER.
GREG, PUT SOME CONTEXT FOR THIS. HOW UNUSUAL IS THIS?
>> IT'S HARD TO EVEN ASSESS HOW UNUSUAL IT IS.
I MEAN I JUST CAN'T THINK OF ANY SCENARIO IN WHICH AN INCOMING
ADMINISTRATION, A SENIOR ADVISER AND, IN FACT, A RELATIVE OF AN
INCOMING PRESIDENT WOULD WANT TO -- WOULD SUGGEST THIS SORT OF
SECRET BACK CHANNEL COMMUNICATION WITH MOSCOW, LET
ALONE DOING SO USING RUSSIAN COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES.
>> WHAT IS THE CONTEXT OF THIS MEETING?
>> WELL, SO IT COMES IN EARLY DECEMBER, SO ABOUT A MONTH AFTER
THE ELECTION. SO THIS IS BEFORE, YOU KNOW, THE
FLYNN MEETINGS THAT -- THE FLYNN CONVERSATIONS GOT THE NATIONAL
SECURITY ADVISER ULTIMATELY PUSHED OUT OF OFFICE.
AND IT'S AT A TIME WHEN BOTH SIDES, RUSSIA AND THE TRUMP
TRANSITION TEAM, ARE SORT OF STILL, YOU KNOW, PREPARING FOR A
WARMING OF RELATIONSHIPS. >> AND DOES THIS MEETING HAPPEN
IN TRUMP TOWER IN NEW YORK? >> YES.
THE MEETING HAPPENED IN TRUMP TOWER ON DECEMBER 1st OR 2nd.
THE WHITE HOUSE HASN'T BEEN CLEAR ON THE SPECIFIC DATE.
AND WE'VE KNOWN ABOUT THAT MEETING FOR QUITE A WHILE.
WE'VE KNOWN THAT KUSHNER AND FLYNN MET WITH KISLYAK THERE AND
THEN. WE DIDN'T KNOWW UNTIL TONIGHT
THAT THEY HAD DISCUSSED IN THAT MEETING SETTING UP A SECURE,
SECRET, SEPARATE CHANNEL FOR COMMUNICATIONS COMING OUT OF
THAT SESSION. >> AND WE KNOW THAT YOUR
REPORTING SUGGESTS BASED ON INTELLIGENCE INTERCEPTS OF A
REPORT ON THE CONVERSATION THAT KISLYAK SENT TO OTHER RUSSIAN
OFFICIALS, IS THAT CORRECT? >> THAT'S RIGHT.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT HERE. SO THIS IS KISLYAK REPORTING
BACK TO MOSCOW. THIS IS NOT THE U.S. MONITORING
THIS MEETING AT TRUMP TOWER, EAVESDROPPING ON U.S. OFF OFFIC
IN THE U.S. THIS IS KISLYAK CALLING MOSCOW
OR COMMUNICATING WITH MOSCOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS DURING THIS
MEETING. OF COURSE WE KNOW PRETTY WELL
NOW THAT KISLYAK AND HIS COMMUNICATIONS ARE UNDER HEAVY
SURVEILLANCE BY THE UNITED STATES.
>> WE ALSO KNOW -- I MEAN JUST A DETAIL THAT STRIKES ME AS
IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS MEETING, THAT WAS A PERIOD OF TIME IN
WHICH LOTS OF PEOPLE WERE COMING TO TRUMP TOWER AND GENERALLY
COMING IN THE FRONT, AND THERE WAS A KIND OF ALMOST LIKE C-SPAN
CAMERA IN THAT FRONT LOBBY WHERE YOU COULD BASICALLY SEE THE
COMINGS AND GOINGS. THIS CLEARLY HAPPENED IN A WAY
IN WHICH KISLYAK ENTERED THE BUILDING WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT ON
CAMERA, CORRECT? >> YEAH.
WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF REPORTING ENERGY TRYING TO LOCATE EVIDENCE
OF THIS VISIT, AND YOU'RE RIGHT. SO IT APPEARS IN THIS CASE,
KISLYAK DIDN'T GO THROUGH THE SAME FRONT DOOR THAT SO MANY
OTHER PEOPLE DID TO MEET WITH THIS TRUMP TEAM.
>> SO WHAT IS THE RESPONSE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE OR FROM THE
KUSHNER ATTORNEYS? >> SO A VERY LIMITED RESPONSE
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE ON THIS ONE.
YOU SEE IN OUR STORY THERE IS NO COMMENT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
I CAN ONLY TELL YOU THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT BACK AND FORTH
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. WE GAVE THEM EVERY OPPORTUNITY
TO PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION FOR WHAT HAPPENED HERE, AND THEY
DECLINED TO DO SO ON THE RECORD. >> ONE REALLY INTERESTING DETAIL
IN YOUR STORY IS THAT THE STORY SAYS THAT THIS INFORMATION WAS
FIRST BROUGHT TO YOUR REPORTER'S ATTENTION BY AN ANONYMOUS
LETTER, IS THAT CORRECT? >> YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
SO QUITE SOME TIME AGO, WE GOT THIS LETTER IN THE MAIL.
MY COLLEAGUE ELLEN NAKASHIMA GOT IT.
IT CAME IN HER MAILBOX. IT WAS TYPED.
IT HAD NO SIGNATURE. IT GAVE NO MEANS OF TRACING THIS
BACK TO THE SOURCE, BUT IT HAD A LOT OF INFORMATION IN IT ABOUT
THINGS THAT HAD BEEN HAPPENING IN TRUMP TOWER.
AND IT APPEARED TO BE FROM SOMEBODY INSIDE THE TRANSITION
OR INSIDE TRUMP TOWER WHO WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THIS PERSON
WAS SEEING. AND A LOT OF WHAT'S WRITTEN OR
CONVEYED IN THIS LETTER HAS SORT OF COME -- BECOME TRUE OVER
TIME. IT'S TAKEN A WHILE FOR A LOT OF
THIS STUFF TO SURFACE, INCLUDING THIS DETAIL ABOUT THIS
DISCUSSION OVER A BACK CHANNEL OR A PRIVATE CHANNEL OF
COMMUNICATIONS WITH MOSCOW. >> AGAIN I JUST WANT TO -- I'M
TRYING TO SORT OF BEND OVER TO READ THIS AS CHARITABLY AS
POSSIBLE. SO I MEAN IS IT POSSIBLE THAT
THEY WERE SETTING UP LOTS OF DIFFERENT BACK CHANNELS WITH
LOTS OF DIFFERENT FOREIGN LEADERS?
>> WELL, WE DON'T -- I MEAN I SUPPOSE IT'S POSSIBLE.
CLEARLY THEY WERE IN COMMUNICATION AND MEETING WITH A
LOT OF LEADERS, A LOT OF FOREIGN LEADERS.
MOST OF THEM, AS YOU POINT OUT, WERE COMING THROUGH THE FRONT
DOOR, NOT THE BACK DOOR. THE BEHAVIOR HERE IS PART OF
WHAT'S INTERESTING AND NEWSWORTHY, I THINK, RIGHT?
THE WAY THIS WAS ALL HANDLED. THE CONTEXT HERE, OF COURSE, IS
THAT THESE ARE MEETINGS WITH RUSSIAN OFFICIALS JUST WEEKS
AFTER AN ELECTION THAT RUSSIA HAD SPENT MONTHS IN AN
UNPRECEDENTED SORT OF CAMPAIGN, ATTEMPTING TO UPEND OR INTERFERE
WITH. SO I MEAN IT'S REALLY -- I MEAN
ON THE ONE HAND, YOU CAN ARGUE SOMETIMES THAT IT'S APPROPRIATE
FOR INCOMING ADMINISTRATIONS TO HAVE CONTACT WITH FOREIGN
GOVERNMENTS AND SO FORTH. >> CERTAINLY.
>> BUT THIS WAS EXTRAORDINARY. >> YEAH.
GREG MILLER, REMARKABLE REPO
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