Scarborough: Brian Williams’ Lies Pale in Comparison to Lies that Led to the Iraq War

SCARBOROUGH: "I saw somebody write yesterday saying a misstatement or exaggeration about a helicopter is far less damning to the future of this country than the reams of misinformation that were reported leading up to the Iraq war, that got us into a decade long war, when a lot of reporters should have been able to ask lot tougher questions."

BRZEZINSKI: "Yeah."

SCARBOROUGH: "And I put myself right there because that's when I first got into this business, right at the top of the list. So again, I think we all have done things that we regret and I'd dare say some people have done things in front of the camera, reporting, making mistakes, not following the story the way they should have followed the story, that probably led to a lot more pain and misery and suffering, than a misstatement or even a lie about where you were in Iraq when you were there. Anyway --"

GEIST: "But to be clear, our business is predicated on integrity and telling the truth and be completely transparent."

SCARBOROUGH: "Right."

GEIST: "No one here is excusing what Brian has done and some have alleged that he has done, but we are just talking about the man right now."

SCARBOROUGH: "Yeah, we’re talking about the man. We are talking about the man and nobody has excuse. And it also --"

BRZEZINSKI: "There's about five debates we could have out of this, but I just don't think we can have them."

SCARBOROUGH: "Yes. Let's just say also along that line, it's also tougher for Brian and it's tougher for any host, any broadcast news anchor because, you know, they read four, five minutes or news, in [toaster] packages, and so much of what they're judged on is intangible. Do you trust them, do you not. I mean, we are here for three hours. We can screw up three times in the first hour and make up for it in hour two, in hour three, and then --. But it is much, much tougher. And you are exactly right, Willie, nobody here is excusing what Brian's done, we are just talking about as friends that we just can't be as objective."