ion battery Michael Flynn’s lawyers file sentencing update. TRANSCRIPT: 3/12/19, The Rachel Maddow Show.

Macmillan tressie cottom, author:, this is not only about entering through a side door with assurance, but also in a way that says you should be there, even if you know you're in through the side door, that's what they're trying to save.
Chris Hayes, host of the air: Tressie McMillan Cottom and Alan Giridharadas, you two.
It's here tonight.
The Rachel Mado show starts now.
Good evening, Rachel.
Host: Good evening, Chris.
Thank you, my friend.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for joining us this hour at home.
The Indonesian plane crash at the end of October, Flight 610, killed 189 people.
The investigation into the crash showed that when the pilot tried to lift the plane, they accidentally let the plane land on them.
It was a Boeing 737 MAX 8.
The Boeing 737 is the world's most popular and highest-selling modern passenger aircraft.
This is the new 737.
This is a new level, a new iteration of the absolute main force of the commercial aviation industry.
But on that new plane, something happened shortly after taking off on October.
It is reported that the pilot is basically wrestling with the plane and trying to lift his nose, but an automatic level function on the plane has been fighting them and pushing his nose down.
The pilot on the flight requested permission to return to the airport because of a plane failure, but shortly after making the request, the plane crashed and crashed into the ocean, killing 189 people.
Then this weekend, it's a new iteration of the same type of aircraft, the new 737 MAX 8, and the Boeing 737.
157 people were killed this time.
The situation seems very similar.
Now, the investigation into the crash this weekend in Ethiopia has just begun.
We don't know yet that it will eventually be mapped to the recent crash of another similar aircraft in Indonesia, but the plane crashed in ascending order soon after taking off.
Flight data showed that the aircraft was initially rising normally, then falling, and then rising sharply again at the time of acceleration.
Like the previous crash in Indonesia, the pilot at Ethiopiaradioed returned to the airport this weekend and he was asked to return to the airport where he had just taken off, because he had trouble on that plane.
But soon after the request was conveyed, the plane crashed again, with no survivors and 157 dead.
Now, in every crash, it's the same plane.
Boeing insists the planes are safe.
But after these two accidents, in very similar cases, I mean, in modern times, in the modern era of aviation, there were nearly 350 deaths between them, well-trained commercial pilots driving large commercial aircraft do not crash frequently.
It won't happen, not to mention twice in five months.
You know, maybe it's just a coincidence
The exact same type of new aircraft crashed in a similar situation in just a few months, but now both of these accidents occur in such close proximity, news agencies including. P.
This afternoon's "Dallas Morning Post" is already scanning the United States today. S.
A database of US commercial pilots who can voluntarily report aviation incidents and aviation problems.
It turns out that in this publicly accessible database, there is a whole bunch of reports that American pilots driving American commercial flights are not only concerned about this particular new Boeing aircraft, but the US pilots described the same take-off difficulties in their domestic flights, which is a special problem for them to rise after taking off, when something in the automatic automation system on the plane basically takes over and pulls down the nose, it rises to the cruising height.
This is one of the first officers.
So, basically
Pilot of Boeing 737 MAXThis is a U. S.
Similar inNovember 2018 appeared next Monday.
Quote: three days in three days, up to eight days after leaving overnight. Iwas well-rested.
When we set off, we had strong winds on our right wing.
The plane normally accelerates, and the captain uses the "A" Autopilot after reaching the set speed.
The plane put the nose down in two to three seconds.
Just before the sound of the plane's safety system, I yelled, "Don't sink, don't sink.
The captain immediately disconnected the autopilot and began the climb.
The rest of the plane was safe.
We discussed the take-off in detail, and I reviewed the automation setup and flight overview in my mind, but I can't think of any reason why the plane would tilt down so aggressively.
This is from a deputy.
And one more.
This time, an American captain got it from a pilot who reported a domestic flight in the United States.
Sometime in November 2018.
The captain described a very similar situation.
After the captain described it as flying and climbing in a slight turbulence, the nose of the plane began diving.
Quote: The pilot monitoring system is called "drop", followed by "no sink, no sink" almost immediately ".
Quote: The pilot monitoring system is called descent and then almost immediately "do not sink, do not sink", quote, I immediately disconnected the autopilot and it was merged to resume the climb.
Regarding the MAX 8 nose down, we all think it is appropriate to bring it to your attention.
So in this database, pilots and first officers can report concerns and flight difficulties without worrying about the impact on their own care.
They just post this information and allow it to enter this database.
The outline at that end is actually blunt, quoting B-
737 captain MAX reported that the abnormal Autopilot caused a short lower nasal tone.
I mean, these things are in this public database.
Quote: The plane recline down after engaging the autopilot while taking off.
And, you know, I'm not a trained aviation professional.
Statistically you're not, but aviation safety professionals around the world are responding the same way to all of this news.
As of today, the list of countries suspending all flights of this particular type of Boeing aircraft includes the United StatesK.
China, Singapore, UEA, Oman, Kuwait, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Germany, Australia.
Stop me when you hear enough.
After a group of major European countries began to ban 737Max 8 alone today, the overall security regulator of the entire European Union intervened in the entire EU. U.
They stopped these Boeing flights.
In addition, specific airlines around the world have also begun to stop their flights on their own, regardless of whether their country of origin or destination specifically prohibits them.
I mean, it's a clear reaction anywhere outside the US.
I mean, some countries, including the United States. K.
Not only did they ban these aircraft from taking off and landing, but they even banned them from flying over their airspace, meaning they did not allow them to fly over their airspace.
These flights will be retained-these aircraft will be excluded from their airspace until further notice, even if they do not intend to land in the United StatesK.
However, this is not the domestic way of handling in the United States. the United States has long been the international gold standard, basically the international arbitration of passenger airlines safety standards.
I mean, since all of these global airlines and all of these countries around the world ban these Boeing flights, our FAA is here tonight.
Quote: So far, our review has not shown a systemic performance issue and has not provided a basis for ordering aircraft.
Now, I mean, this can happen at any point in modern American history, right?
I mean, this kind of crisis in the global aviation industry is a technology-driven, surprising external security crisis, and you're not wise to anyone, right?
It just makes you hopeful and hopeful about the ability and the leadership that you have to deal with this crisis at all levels, and pray, right?
You just want-this kind of thing makes you want really good, really smart, really qualified people when such a crisis comes up.
Of course, with this particular crisis now happening at this point in our country, we now have some new concerns in our country, and we may not necessarily have any other presidents present, there are any other presidential governments.
The FAA statement today, for example, said that everything is fine, as far as they know, without worrying.
As you can see from the title, we have marked there in Orange and this statement was made in the name of acting FAA director Daniel K. Elwell.
There's nothing against Sir.
Elwell, but if you think about it, the Trump administration has been in power for more than two years, which is a bit odd, why do we still have an operations administrator at the FAA? I mean, Mr.
Since President Obama's FAA chief left office at the end of his term in January 2018, Elwell has been working there as an agent, more than a year ago.
Again, I have not made any slander against actingmanager himself, but, even now, the reason the Senate has not confirmed the permanent leader of the agency is because President Trump has not officially nominated anyone for the job.
Over the past few days, he said-he is reported to be expected to nominate ADTA executives for the job, but no one has yet been nominated.
This time last year, the man he proposed was his first job option, keeping this in mind, his own private pilot.
President Trump wants to install the person who flies the Trump plane as director of the FAA.
Instead of Air Force One, it's like a plane with "Trump" written on it.
Remember the one running?
I remember when they even tried to launch this product, like you know, something bold, Trump's wise move was, he will use the pilots of his plane to run the FAA.
They even launched an anonymous government official to try to sell journalists on the matter.
Anonymous White House officials say John Dunkin is not only a pilot, he is also in charge of overseeing the Trump presidential campaign.
Oh, he oversees the Trump campaign? Wow.
No one questioned that it was true, but remember that during the campaign, the Trump presidential campaign plane was grounded for a while?
The heat of champagne.
It is like April, April 2016.
The reason why his campaign plane was grounded was because they drove the jet without registration. Oops.
Yes, the director of aviation at Trump's organization, who is in charge of flying aircraft and directing all the aviation operations, making sure that the aircraft is registered, as I don't know, so it can fly legally. this is the person President Trump originally appointed to be in charge of the US $18 billion federal regulator, which oversees the airline's international gold standards.
He is very good at driving my plane, except that it is, well, you know, you see, he is an expert.
He works for me.
It must be the best.
Only the best people
The problem was not solved.
The president wanted to nominate his private pilot to run the FAA at the time, but the nomination was not finally achieved.
But apparently, in terms of his affection for the job, this is the only person he wants.
So, two years after the Trump administration, there is still an acting director, and now, tonight, the FAA is increasingly standing alone on the international stage, saying these Boeing planes are fine.
We don't see any problems here.
Similarly, we have never considered any new issues before this presidency.
But since President Trump took office, the ceo of Boeing has made the point of meeting with the president in the president's private office.
Florence, Marcha-Lago.
Since the outbreak of the crisis, there have been reports today that the same CEO personally lobbied the president over the phone, which undoubtedly reminded him of his name --a-
Lago traveled and told the president that the plane was great, no problem, and definitely should not stop flying in the United States.
No, everything is fine.
Boeing said they were fine.
So far, this is the only statement by the FAA in the world.
Now, this position of the president and the FAA is rejected by non-party members on Capitol Hill and by senators, including Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz, Diana Van Stein and Mitt ·
Today, senators from all over the country issued a number of bipartisan statements against the president, against the FAA, calling on these planes to land in the United States, as they do around the world.
Senator Cruz is responsible for overseeing a key subcommittee with oversight responsibility in the aviation industry.
Senator Cruz said he would hold an emergency hearing to try to resolve the issue.
You may remember another Boeing plane that the Obama administration ordered to stop flying around the United States on 2013.
Do you remember?
That's not 737.
That's Boeing 78.
As early as 2013, all of these planes were grounded under American orders. S.
When there are repeated problems with overheating of batteries and overheating of lithium, the government
Ion battery pack.
In 2013, when the problem arose, President Obama's transportation minister ordered Boeing to shut down all 787 Boeing aircraft.
In the end, the ground failure lasted less than a month.
Boeing has built a new part, a fire compartment, to place these batteries that pass through the collection and are eventually backed up and flown.
The Obama administration's transportation secretary is Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman.
He spoke with The Associated Press today in the context of the new crisis.
He pointed out today that even if the FAA continues to do so, everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about, we will not do anything, even if the FAA refuses to do so, noted Ray LaHood, trump's transportation minister, now Zhao Yilian, has the power to overthrow the FAA and her own Boeing 737 if she wants.
If she feels the need, she can say it herself --
As Minister of Transport.
Ray LaHood spoke to The Associated Press today about this, reminding Transportation Minister Zhao Elaine of her ability to do so, in fact, calling on her to do so with the Boeing 737 aircraft.
So these planes are grounded all over the world.
In some cases, it is not just takeoff and landing, it is even flying over, some countries have closed their airspace on these US aircraft.
Airlines around the world are stopping these Boeing planes.
In some cases today, the airline is flying in the air, and this type of aircraft is flying in the air, and in some cases today, the airline turns these flights to Air flight, let them fly back to where they set off and they will be grounded once they land.
They were not even allowed to complete their flight.
When we were in the United States, we had a president who personally talked to the CEO of the company on this matter. he obviously told him that everything was good and there was nothing to worry about here.
Hey, do you want to play golf next week?
The president's FAA will now be led by the President's pilot from his own private jet, if the president has his way to go on the FAA thing, but he doesn't.
As a comfort, we still do not have a permanent member of this body for more than two years as chair.
The FAA says everything is normal in all these areas.
Don't worry.
Now Congress may act, including congressional Republicans who may.
The transportation minister obviously has the option to take action, although she is the wife of Senate Republican leader Mitchell McConnell, so perhaps it is difficult for her to make such a decision in a political cross.
But another thing you may not have heard of today is that you should know in this crisis.
To be honest, you should know because I think it will curl your hair.
Again, keep in mind that according to these two recent crashes, nearly 350 people have been killed by this type of aircraft.
Based on these accidents, as well as other similar descriptions of US domestic flights by US pilotsS.
The type of aircraft, they have encountered similar problems on these aircraft.
Remember, the problem that pilots at least describe here, their perception of this aircraft seems to have something to do with some sort of automated system, the automatic leveling system on this aircraft, for some reason, when the plane takes off, it has a tendency, or at least an accidental problem, and when the plane should climb, it accidentally
The good news is that Boeing is working on a piece of software that they believe can solve the problems of these aircraft. Good.
The Wall Street Journal has exclusive news this afternoon.
The final result is not good.
But it started here.
Quote: Boeing is making extensive changes to the flight control system of the 737 MAX aircraft, beyond the expectations of many industries familiar with the discussion.
This change will mark a major shift in the way Boeing originally designed the anti-blocking function on the plane.
A company spokesman confirmed that the update will use multiple sensors or data streams in the aircraft's anti-blocking system, rather than the current reliance on a single sensor.
The change was mainly caused by the results of an Indonesian crash investigation into lion Airlines Flight 610 on October.
These preliminary crash findings suggest that erroneous data from a single sensor measuring the angle of the aircraft's nose resulted in a fire prevention system.
A series of incidents plunged the plane into a dangerous dive.
Citing Boeing's expected software fix, the extent to which the flight control system will push down the aircraft head will be limited.
It seems like a good idea.
How long can they get it ready?
According to the exclusive report of the Wall Street Journal today, the FAAS.
Aviation regulators are now expected to demand this change, which will change the software for these Boeing aircraft by the end of next month.
OK, it's still a way, but at least at work, they believe they have a way to solve the unexpected nose diving problem.
You know, why don't you say that?
How long can this thing be ready?
Should it be ready before the Esse plane crashed this week that killed 157 people?
Well, here's the background story about when this thing will be able to roll out. Ready?
In January, software fixes were made for this particular flight control feature, but discussions between the FAA and Boeing continued.
Boeing and FAA officials have different views on the scope of the repair. U. S.
Officials also said the federal government's recent closure had disrupted repair efforts for five weeks.
So everyone enjoys their 35-
The government is closed?
I mean, as a country, you might think we're not getting anything, but it turns out that there's something in the whole world, not just us. We got a five-
They believe that the implementation of the software will solve the unexpected diving problem of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet, during which time the 302 flight of esse Airlines crashed, killing more than one person.
The investigation into the accident is underway, following another 737 MAX 8 accident in Indonesia.
Now, airlines around the world and around the world are stopping these flights, sometimes in the middle of the flights, turning and stopping these flights and stopping these planes, they were even banned from flying over their airspace, sending global passenger aviation into chaos.
Perhaps now the problem is resolved by the end of next month.
But at the same time, here in AmericaS.
Continue to enjoy the flight of the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Don't worry, the president has been talking about it on the phone with the CEO of Boeing.
The president himself understands Aviation.
After all, he has the best pilot you can imagine and he's awesome.
It would be perfect if he could manage the FAA.
I don't know why no one agrees.
Or, you know, maybe Zhao Yilian will solve the problem.
So, you know, it's easy for everyone to be on the government, right, and the people who run the government, the people who work in the government, until things happen, you really need them, you really need them to be great and you really need them to be competent.
Usually in a crisis, it's too late to go back and make sure you already have all the right people and you make good decisions about who should manage things.
But the crisis is now in full swing and, you know, there's a lot going on.
In addition to the news, there are many.
Now there are basically a lot of plates spinning in the air.
The Brexit referendum was held in the United States today. K.
The British Parliament has yet to approve the Brexit plan.
In the next two days, there will be two other big votes, which will determine the fate of what will happen between the EU and our closest overseas ally, the US. K.
The United States will face catastrophic economic and regulatory disruptions. K. and the E. U.
It's still live at the end of this month.
The ongoing political crisis in Venezuela has rapidly evolved into a major humanitarian disaster.
We will be discussing more issues with Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut later this hour.
The college cheating scandal revealed today just wanted-boggling.
If you don't see Chris Hayes's show, his earlier discussion of the show, watch the replay later tonight.
He has a good story about the story.
But today, we see dozens of prosecution and arrest actions announced by the United States. S.
Because there are celebrities, rich people and rich famous universities involved in the scandal, so the law firm in Massachusetts.
You can expect this time to last for a long time, but today is the first day to expose the massive bribery and cheating scandal at top American universities.
Most importantly, the runaway carousel around the president is about to enter one of the most active and dramatic periods to date.
Today, prosecutors sent a notice to the Federal Court of Virginia that they would like Paul manfuto, president of the presidential campaign, to pay $25 million in compensation outside of four candidates.
The judge in that case has sentenced him to one year in prison.
The compensation section, which is $25 million, will not be dealt with by a judge in Virginia until Paul Manafort is sentenced tomorrow by a different federal judge in different jurisdictions in Washington, DC. C.
Manafort sentencing hearing in WashingtonC.
Plan to start at 9: 30 a. m. m. Eastern Time.
Now, in terms of monitoring what's going on there, this is the federal court, so there won't be any cameras in court.
I can tell you that there will be a lot of reporters in court.
You should expect live coverage shortly after the hearing starts tomorrow.
Again, this is Paul Manafort's second federal judgment tomorrow at 9: 30 Eastern time in the morning.
He will face up to 10 years in prison.
Tonight, I 've been told since we aired-that's what was passed on to me a while ago.
I was told that we just got an update from the prosecutor in the special prosecutor's office on the troublesome case of Mike Flynn, Trump's national security adviser.
You will remember that Mike Flynn was basically kicked out of his sentencing hearing by a federal judge who almost warned him if he continued to do so, he won't like the day of his verdict on December.
General Flynn doesn't want to go back and work with some of the prosecutors to see if he can be a better collaborator to see if he can do anything else to mitigate the verdict, the judge was ready to reduce his sentence in the court on December.
General Flynn was finally aware of what the judge was trying to tell him and agreed that he would go back and cooperate further in an effort to further improve his premises before the judge judged him.
That was three months ago.
Tonight is the first time we 've heard from prosecutors what happened between them and Mike Flynn, because on December, in court, his sentence was canceled, a strange and dramatic day.
The status meeting of the Flynn case will be held tomorrow.
We have just started collecting these documents-we have just started collecting them tonight and they will be a prerequisite for Mike Flynntomorrow's sentencing hearing.
We will get more information about this breaking news in a moment.
It's just happening now.
Most importantly, the authorities in the state of New York, interestingly, whether it's the legislature or the law enforcement agency or the attorney general, they're starting to change their state today --
Law enforcement resources for the president and his business.
They started doing it again, just like they put him on the tractor beam.
When you talk about elected federal officials like presidents, state law enforcement doesn't sound as threatening as federal law enforcement.
In this case, don't be so sure, in this case, when it comes to the prospects of the country, the president may have some special problems.
From New York State to even investigate common allegations against him, his family and his business.
So we also have more content on this.
But again, we'll have some breaking news to tell you what's going to happen tomorrow with the president's national security adviser, Mike Flynn, who looks like he might end up facing music.
Tomorrow is the hearing, and then the story. Stay with us.
MADDOW: In the case of a special adviser to Trump's national security adviser, Mike Flynn, we have news this hour.
We 've been keeping an eye on the latest developments in his case in Washington. C. as of tomorrow.
This will be the most substantial update to the Flynn case since the disastrous sentencing hearing on December, which was largely suspended.
In his case, the judge said Flynn had almost betrayed his country.
The judge advised Flynn to consider not being sentenced on the same day, so he should cooperate more and try to improve his situation.
What we expect to get tomorrow in a status report in Flynn's case is how this cooperation is progressing, basically how you feel.
Now, in a new document just submitted this hour, we basically got the news in advance.
What we got was a quick joint status report between the prosecutor and the defense, in which Flynn's defense lawyer basically asked for another 90 days before Mike Flynn was sentenced.
I will read from the file.
Quote: on December 18, 2018, the court held a sentencing hearing on the matter.
The defendant requested that the trial be continued so that he could complete the cooperation and related cases alleged in eastern Virginia.
At this point, the respondent continued to request coordination because the EDVA case was not dealt with and the respondent may provide additional cooperation under the pleadings on this issue.
Accordingly, the respondent requested the parties to provide a 90-day status report.
The government, the prosecutor, does not take a position on the respondent's request for an extension.
However, it is interesting, although it appears to the government that the accused is still able to work with law enforcement authorities and if the EDVA case continues to be tried, he can testify in the EDVA case, otherwise, Flynn's cooperation will be completed.
The special prosecutor's office said they had finished talking to Flynn.
If the defense wants to go for another 90 days, it doesn't matter.
InEDVA's related case is Flynn's former business partner, Bijan Kian, who has been charged-he has been charged with something-some of the same lobbying that Flynn has admitted as his unregistered case.
Now Kian has pleaded guilty and will start trial on July 15.
His lawyer said that he may need to testify and that he may need to continue to cooperate in that case.
The office of the special adviser said a bit, well, maybe.
We don't object if you want another 90 days, but we have finished talking to him.
So charming.
We are now waiting here for the judge's order to respond to this issue.
If the court approves this 90-
Push the nextstatus update to a day request at least June 10.
Bijan Kian will still be tried as planned.
He still won't be on trial at that time, so I don't know why they asked for 90 days instead of 120 days to cover the start of the trial, but we will see.
If the judge agrees, Mike Flynn will continue to work for the next 90 days.
Another status report will be June 10 and will probably be released in the end.
We will keep you posted. Stay with us.
(Commercial) MADDOW: I am grateful to say that the former US is joining us now. S.
A lawyer in northern Alabama.
Joyce, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
I'm glad you're here.
Joyce Vance, former United StatesS.
Lawyer: Thank you for inviting me.
MADDOW: so it wasn't until tomorrow, when the status report was due, that I thought there would be news that Mike Flynn and he might have been sentenced, but it was released in advance.
We got a joint status report from his defense counsel and the prosecutor of the special prosecutor's office.
The bottom line seems to be that Flynn's defense counsel has asked to wait another 90 days before the judge considers going back to the process of sentencing him.
After we 've seen these dramatic hearings-that dramatic hearing on December, we think Flynn will be sentenced and a bit canceled in the middle of the hearing, what do you think about the developments tonight?
Vance: You know, I think General Flynn is very scared of what judgesul did in that situation.
He did not-he made it clear that he was not interested in accepting the prosecution's advice that General Flynn should not serve his sentence in prison.
He made it clear that Flynn should use this opportunity to go back and continue to work together.
So, Flynn makes it very clear here that he wants to have additional time so that he can testify at this trial involving his former business partner, or let the case be judged by a plea agreement, and of course the government says they are agnostic.
In this case, they do not take a position to show that they believe and stick to their suggestion that there is no time for Flynnreceive.
But you can see that there is a bit of an advantage here, and he wants to do his best before going back to court.
MADDOW: along with the government, the prosecutor promised as much as you said to be agnostic, and they said, we don't take a stand on that.
That's what he's asking for, but we're basically done.
Given that the prosecutor is not involved in the process as an opponent at all, would you expect the judge to agree to this request?
This is a very good question.
I guess whether or not the judge is satisfied, it will come down, whether the prosecution has submitted additional information, or whether the judge has changed his mind, or whether he wishes to see Flynn reach the end point for the last time here.
I would say that it is unusual for Rachel, the prosecutor, before the co-operation is completed, before he testified in his last case, to be willing to give trust to colleagues in sentencing.
Here we have the government saying that his collaboration is complete, so I think the team at Bob Miller did something we didn't know.
MADDOW: in terms of the news going forward tomorrow, I think we're just waiting for the judge's order now to respond to the joint statement in Flynn, right?
But in the Manafort case, we will hold his second sentencing hearing tomorrow in front of Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D. C. C.
When the sentencing hearing starts tomorrow morning, what should we pay special attention?
Vance: I think the most important result of this sentence is to see if Judge Jackson executed her in D. C.
, At the same time or in a row as the Eastern Virginia verdict.
Does this mean that Manafort will serve two sentences at the same time, basically, or does he have to serve the first sentence and then serve the other sentence?
If she gave him the maximum she could give him, for about ten years he would have to be full after serving his sentence in Virginia, and he looked at the sentences much longer than she looked at together.
This is entirely within her mandate.
Can she decide for herself?
Vance: It's definitely her judgment.
MADDOW: Former United StatesS.
Joyce Vance, a lawyer in Alabama
Joyce, thank you for joining us tonight.
Thank you very much. VANCE: Thanks.
MADDOW: Okay.
There's still a lot to do tonight. Stay with us.
(Business interruption) MADDOW: on January 23, Juan guaydo, Speaker of the National Assembly of Venezuela, declared himself the interim president of the country.
He has indisputable claims about it.
After a bad presidential election, given what the Venezuelan Constitution says you should do in this case, he is the leader of the National Assembly and has him claim to be the country's legitimate president. Now, the U. S.
Not the first country to do so, but in the end the Trump administration decided to back guaydo's claim and formally acknowledged that he was the leader of that country.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said he will sever all diplomatic and political ties with the United States.
He ordered all Americans. S.
Diplomats should leave the country within 72 hours.
The State Council responded that no, basically no, who are you?
They said they had no plans to leave the United States. S.
And will maintain diplomatic relations with interim President Juan guaydo, rather than quoting former President Nicolas Maduro.
On the one hand, America. S.
Draw a line on the beach and make a statement about who they think is the legal leader.
On the other hand, it's a tough response because the people who still control the country are still Nicolas Maduro.
So, a lingering problem for the United StatesS.
Is our diplomat safe there?
Do they have proper security measures?
Given the confrontation between the two countries, we do not recognize that the leader of that country is what he said, will we put them in unnecessary danger?
By the next day the State Department changed its mind and they ordered all non-essential American citizensS.
Government employees left Venezuela.
S. State Department continues to maintain diplomatic presence in Venezuela on a smaller scale.
We have left it there since January 24.
Everything changed last night.
US Secretary of State Mike pompeno announced that,S.
Will withdraw all remaining USS.
This week, the staff of our embassy in Venezuela cited the deteriorating situation in the country.
For nearly a week, there has been no electricity supply in most parts of Venezuela.
The hospital is trying to keep the equipment running.
The food is rotten.
The water distribution system is turned off.
You can only live without water. Even the U. S.
The Caracas embassy does not currently have access to water and electricity.
In particular, there is no electricity, which means that our diplomats are unable to communicate with US headquarters.
Today, the Venezuelan took to the streets again, but it is not clear what will happen next.
What does that mean if we pull all our diplomats out now.
Does this mean that we are in any of the United StatesS.
Any diplomatic efforts in Venezuela?
Senator Chris Murphy of the Foreign Relations Committee is our next guest. Stay with us.
MADDOW: read from this travel consultation, Quote: United States of AmericaS.
The State Department has announced a temporary hold on U. S. military operations. S.
The Venezuelan embassy and diplomatic personnel were evacuated. TheU. S.
The embassy of Caracas does not provide any consular services. Quote:U. S.
Citizens living or traveling in Venezuela should leave Venezuela. Should depart.
This is the State Department's latest travel consultation on Venezuela, where the situation has deteriorated into a disaster.
Now we are joined by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
Thank you, senator, for being with us tonight.
Thank you very much. SEN.
Chris Murphy (D) in Connecticut: of course.
MADDOW: Obviously, there's a lot of news right now.
Many local crises.
I mean, the president of the presidential campaign will know tomorrow how long he will be in federal prison.
But as everything goes on, I want to talk to you tonight because you 've told Americans to basically be aware of what's going on in Venezuela and be smart, now, what does his government seem to be doing there.
What do you care about?
What do you think people should pay attention?
Murphy: Well, there were a lot of reports about President Trump asking about military intervention in Venezuela almost a year ago.
It's weird because the president seems to get along well with many other cruel dictators in the world, but for whatever reason, he thinks Nicolas Maduro is the one with whom he will have a different relationship.
Maduro is an illegal ruler.
He stole the election and refused to hold a new free and fair election, but there is no way to overthrow Maduro and usher in a new stable regime. S.
Military intervention. Now, the U. S.
The comments on military intervention have cooled down last week, but there is no doubt that President Trump is very interested in this move in Venezuela, and I think for all of us, it's important to make sure we don't make mistakes there.
When we withdraw our diplomats today, I would like to point out that one of the reasons we did say is that it limits our choices.
Some of them-some think it means military intervention is more difficult for our diplomats there.
MADDOW: you wrote online today that it is important to improve the prospects of the United StatesS.
It could have been an attempt to incite a civil war in Venezuela with Norwegian plans.
When you talk about this kind of scene, you talk about the same thing when you talk about America. S.
Military intervention?
And some third parties.
The party bank filmed the kind of purpose that the US government might be trying to achieve here you describe there?
Do you think they are going to do what you think they will?
Murphy: Well, you know, we made a big call here.
We call it Maduroillegitimate, and we acknowledge that Guaido is the leader of this country and that we do not have a very well thought out plan to carry it out.
One of the issues that I am concerned about is that we have taken humanitarian as a political tool to try to use it as a means to try to promote change, not to really stay single --
Focus on getting humanitarian aid locally.
There is a path, a diplomatic path, but it runs through countries like China, Cuba and Russia that the Trump administration really cannot handle today.
We are in a trade war with China, which basically removes our ability to try to get them on the Venezuelan stage.
The Trump administration has reversed the cooling with Cuba, which, if not, will allow us to talk to Cubans about the way forward.
So, in Venezuela, there are not many people who can work with us to try to land on this planet, and we don't seem to have any other reliable way to deliver on the promise that guaydo will eventually be elected president, then, my concern is, if all the other options are out of consideration, will anyone make a mistake here and then move forward with some sort of military option? MADDOW: Right.
And all of America's latest surprises. S.
After the United States, someone was pulled away from Venezuela. S.
This is at least seen as a sign of concern about the prospect.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, thank you very much for your invitation.
Come back at any time and talk to us about it.
I would be happy to keep a conversation with you on this issue.
Thanks, Rachel.
MADDOW: Okay. Thanks, sir.
Murphy: I 've been told we'll be back in a minute and we'll have the last bit of news. Stay with us.
MADDOW: some of the latest breaking news came from California before we went tonight.
Tonight, NBC 4 in Los Angeles reported that California's new Democratic governor Gavin Newson plans to take administrative action to cancel the death penalty in California.
NBC 4 reports that Governor newsom has been calling up elected officials across the country to basically let them know he will do the job on his ownso.
If this is really what is going to happen, we think we might hear the governor's details at a press conference he asked for at 10: 00. m.
Pacific time tomorrow
If this was what he was going to do, it wouldn't be a completely surprising thing.
Newsom has been teleporting this for a while. He told the “L. A.
The Times recently, when I was elected in the transition, I gave priority to this issue.
I don't want to react to something.
I want to be proactive.
California has been sentenced to death since it voted statewide in 1978.
California is also one of the largest prison systems in the world.
If the report is true, it will change history if the governor is to take administrative action in person to eliminate the death penalty there.
Look at this space.
That's what it is for us tonight.
See you tomorrow.
It's time for "The last word of Lawrence O'Donnell.
Good evening, Lawrence.
This is a report card in a hurry.
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