Rachel Maddow Cracks Up Trying to Read Transcripts from Trump Indictment: ‘The Neener-Neener Factor Here Is High’
Unsurprisingly, MSNBC had a schadenfreudelicious afternoon after the federal indictment against former President Donald Trump was unsealed, and Rachel Maddow was no exception, cracking up as she attempted to read a particularly damning section of a transcript contained therein.
On Friday, the Department of Justice unsealed a federal indictment against the ex-president with 37 criminal counts spelling out how Trump retained boxes of documents that “included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign counties; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to foreign attack.”
Some of the most shocking allegations in the indictment relate to communications from Trump, his family members, his attorneys, and other staffers acknowledging that he had retained classified information that had not been declassified — plus the now-viral photos showing boxes of documents that allegedly contained classified information, stacked up in bathrooms, ballroom stages, storage rooms, and other nonsecure areas.
Many commentators viewed one transcribed conversation as especially incriminating of the ex-president in which he is reportedly holding up a document he admits is classified, tells the staffers and writers present that they aren’t supposed to see it, and that he could have declassified it as president, but it was too late now. “Now we have a problem,” a staffer reportedly replied.
This transcript was a major cause for mirth among a Friday afternoon MSNBC panel, with Nicolle Wallace saying that it “calls out for a Rachel Maddow dramatic reading of a court filing,” but first highlighting the “kill shot” on page 17 of the indictment, a comment Trump made in 2017 about how it’s illegal to share classified information with people who do not have the appropriate security clearance.
Special counsel Jack Smith was “killing Trump with his own words – sharing classified information is, let me quote, illegal!” said Wallace.
“Yes, and he’s showing that,” replied Maddow, “and he puts that quote in from 2017 at the end of this portion of the indictment where Trump is shown to be giving the information to a member of the press – that’s classified information that he knows is classified. And he does it not just to ‘neener-neener’ him – although the ‘neener-neener’ factor here is high – he does it to show that Trump is aware this is illegal, Trump is aware that this is not some arcane, picayune point of law that nobody has to abide by. This is Trump saying this is serious matter, it’s a matter of law. And so he knew it was wrong when he did it.”
Maddow then said she just had to read the end of the transcript, and read the following, cracking up throughout:
Trump: See, as president, I could have declassified it.
Staffer: Yeah, ha ha.
Trump: Now I can’t. But this is still a secret.
Staffer: Yeah, ha ha. Now we have a problem.
Trump: Isn’t that interesting.
“Yes, you do have a problem,” said Maddow, “because you just acknowledged this is a classified document that you have shown to a staffer with no security clearance, as well as a reporter in the room. Yeah, we have a problem. Yeah, isn’t this interesting.”
Lawrence O’Donnell chimed in to say that “when juries hear people committing crimes on wiretaps, and laughing while they’re committing the crimes, it’s not helpful. The laughter is not a helpful component with the jury.”
“It’s the sort of profile of a sociopath,” said Wallace, adding, “I’m just speaking as a fan of The Wire.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
