Helene Cooper: ‘Kind of Sad’ Obama Admin ‘Saying Now That They Choked’ on Russia

CHUCK TODD: Back now with Endgame. Whiplash this week from President Trump on the Russia story. Now is admitting the meddling, and he tweeted this yesterday, “Since the Obama administration was told way before the 2016 election that the Russians were meddling, why no action? Focus on them, not T!” Helene Cooper, setting that aside, that expose in The Washington Post, and that quote, “I think we choked.”

HELENE COOPER: That’s huge, I mean that’s huge. But I think you look at it, on one hand, you can sort of understand the position that the Obama administration, President Obama would have been in, it would have been seen as so cravenly political if he had come out at that point and said, “Look, it looks as if the Russians are interfering to help then Republican candidate Trump.” But at the same time, that’s why we have leaders, you know? At some point, the American people deserve to have somebody in office who’s only in office for, what, three more months, come out and say without political consideration. And I just think the fact that they’re saying now that they choked is kind of sad.