AirTalk dives into the latest on the Russia probe, including this morning’s indictment of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and revelations of Democratic ties to the company behind the Trump dossier. We also reflect on last night’s heart-stopping Dodger loss; what did you think of Kevin Spacey’s response to the allegations of sexual misconduct?; and more.
The latest on the Manafort indictment, plus the timeline of the now infamous dossier
On Monday, Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates, were indicted with money laundering, conspiracy against the U.S. and ten other charges, as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference of the presidential election.
In separate news, former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign George Papadopolous said he was guilty of lying to the F.B.I. about being in touch with a Russian professor that had contact with the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, there are further revelations coming in about the infamous dossier on Trump, created by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who had been hired by intelligence firm Fusion GPS. The Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee had given money to GPS for the research. Conservative site Washington Free Beacon had also hired Fusion GPS for unrelated research.
We lay out the timeline on the dossier, and update you on the latest on the indictment.
Guests:
Aaron Blake, senior political reporter for the Washington Post; he tweets
Jens David Ohlin, vice dean and law professor at Cornell University where he focuses on criminal and international law; he tweets
Week in politics: Explaining the Manafort indictment, why the Trump dossier is news again, and what’s to come with tax reform
It was reported last week that special counsel Robert Mueller would be bringing the first set of charges in the investigation into whether the Trump campaign worked with Russian operatives to influence the 2016 election, and the charges are now official as former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort was indicted for tax fraud and money laundering.
Manafort and an associate, Rick Gates, were ordered to surrender themselves to the FBI on Monday morning. Another former Trump campaign adviser admitted to lying to the FBI. We’ll look at the political implications of the indictment and what it means for the Trump administration.
Republicans are expected to finally pull the tarp off of their tax overhaul bill this week. Many questions still remain about what, exactly, is in the bill and how Republicans plan to offset the new tax cuts they’re proposing.
We’ll talk about what it’ll take for the GOP to get the legislation passed and the challenges they’ll face along the way, plus the latest on prototypes for President Trump’s border wall going up along the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego.
Guests:
Bill Burton, Democratic political strategist with the firm SKD Knickerbocker and former deputy White House press secretary for Barack Obama; he tweets
Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets
Kershaw, Dodgers came up short in heartbreaking Game 5 loss
Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros kept hammering away in a wild slugfest that no one saw coming, rallying against Clayton Kershaw and rocking the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-12 in 10 thrilling innings Sunday night for a 3-2 lead in the World Series.
In a tension-filled game of monster momentum swings at pulsating Minute Maid Park, the last one belonged to Alex Bregman. With the packed crowd still standing well past midnight, Bregman hit an RBI single with two outs off Kenley Jansen to win it after 5 hours, 17 minutes.
Wacky and whacky with seven home runs, this perhaps topped Toronto's 15-14 win over the Phillies in 1993 as the craziest World Series game ever.
Here to recap last night’s loss and the rest of the series that took place over the weekend is Jared Diamond.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Jared Diamond, reporter covering the World Series for The Wall Street Journal
Fred Claire, general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1987-1998; he tweets
What did you think of Kevin Spacey’s response to Anthony Rapp’s allegations of sexual misconduct?
In yet another bombshell accusation of sexual misconduct in Hollywood, actor Anthony Rapp says Kevin Spacey made sexual advances towards him at a party in 1986 while they were both performing in Broadway shows.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Rapp says he was 14 at the time and that Spacey, then 26, invited him to his apartment for a party. Rapp says during the evening, Spacey at one point picked him up, put him on a bed, and climbed on top of him. He says he was able to slip away from Spacey before the encounter went any further, but the accusations came as a surprise to many nonetheless. Anthony Rapp currently stars in CBS' show Star Trek: Discovery but is maybe best known for playing Mark Cohen in the original Broadway cast of Rent.
What came as an even bigger surprise to many was when the fiercely private Spacey
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) October 30, 2017
on Twitter, saying that while “I honestly do not remember the encounter” he was “beyond horrified” to hear Rapp’s story and said he owed Rapp “the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
Spacey, whose sexuality has long been a subject of speculation, also chose the tweet to come out publicly as gay for the first time. This angered many on Twitter, including
No no no no no! You do not get to “choose” to hide under the rainbow! Kick rocks! https://t.co/xJDGAxDjxz
— Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) October 30, 2017
, who took issue with the timing of the statement and felt Spacey was trying to direct attention away from the accusations by choosing that time to share his sexuality.
What do you think about the way Spacey responded to the allegations? And what about his choosing to come out in the same statement? How would you respond to an accusation like this if, taking Spacey’s statement at face value, you don’t remember the incident in question?
Guest:
Dominic Patten, senior editor and chief TV critic at Deadline Hollywood; he tweets
The Pentagon’s ‘war’ with the White House
The White House and the military might present a united front, but they don’t always get along.
That’s the tension illustrated by Mark Perry’s “The Pentagon's Wars: The Military's Undeclared War Against America's Presidents,” which explores how the internal conflict between various presidential administrations and military heads shaped U.S. foreign policy decisions.
Using nearly thirty years of interviews, Perry explores how the military led to Obama’s retreat from the “red line” in Syria, the history of Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule and why there’s so much support of Trump within the military now.
We speak with Perry about the inner machinery of the Pentagon- U.S. government relationship, both in past years and today.
Guest:
Mark Perry, military and foreign affairs analyst and author of “The Pentagon's Wars: The Military's Undeclared War Against America's Presidents” (Basic Book, 2017)