<i> ( APPLAUSE )</i>
>> Stephen: WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY GUESTS
TONIGHT ARE A TWO-TIME PULITZER PRIZE WINNER AND A NATIONAL
POLITICAL REPORTER FOR "THE WASHINGTON POST" WHO'VE WRITTEN
A NEW BOOK CALLED "PERIL." PLEASE WELCOME BOB WOODWARD AND
ROBERT COSTA! <i> ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ).</i> ♪ ♪ ♪
HEY, BOB, WELCOME BACK. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. HEY, ROBERT. HEY, FELLAS. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. BOB, ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE YOU ON. >> THANK YOU, THANK YOU. >> Stephen: ROBERT, NICE TO
MEET YOU, HAVING YOU ON FOR THE FIRST TIME. I WANT TO SAY, AS I HAVE
CONFESSED ALREADY, I AM NOT FULLY FINISHED WITH THIS BOOK. AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE IT'S NOT A
GOOD READ. IT IS REALLY COMPELLING. IT'S JUST THAT I HAVE TO CLOSE
IT EVERY SO OFTEN TO QUIETLY WEEP. <i> ( LAUGHTER )</i>
AND THEN START IT AGAIN. AND I MEAN THAT SOMEWHAT
SINCERELY, BECAUSE WHAT REALLY IS UPSETTING ABOUT THIS IS NOT
EVEN SO MUCH WHAT YOU'RE REPORTING IN HERE. BECAUSE HAVING READ "FEAR" AND
"RAGE," NOTHING IN HERE IS SURPRISING. WHILE SHOCKING AND UPSETTING,
THE PATH WAS LAID FOR THE BEHAVIOR THAT IS IN THIS BOOK. BUT IT IS-- IT IS-- IT IS
UPSETTING TO READ. AND I WAS WONDERING, WAS IT
UPSETTING TO WRITE? >> YES. WE WERE-- LOOK, THE THEME HERE--
AND IT WAS A DISCOVERY FOR US, THAT THIS WAS A NATIONAL
SECURITY CRISIS. WE'VE KIND OF THOUGHT ALL OF
TRUMP WAS A DOMESTIC PROBLEM POLITICALLY. BUT IN CHINA, RUSSIA, AND IRAN,
THEY SAID, "MY GOD, WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?"
SO THEY WENT ON MILITARY ALERT. AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THE
THREE CALAMITIES THAT CAN BEFALL THE UNITED STATES. FIRST, A WAR WITH A MAJOR POWER,
LIKE CHINA. SECOND IS THE USE OF NUCLEAR
WEAPONS. AND THE THIRD WOULD BE A
QUESTION ABOUT THE LEGITIMACY OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE
PRESIDENCY. AND WE FOUND ALL OF THOSE. AND SO IT WAS-- IT WAS A
SURPRISE, AND IT WAS ONE OF-- THE PROBLEM OF TRUMP EXTENDED
GLOBALLY. AND IF YOU GET INTO WHAT THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS, GENERAL MILLEY, DID, HE SAW
THIS, AND HE'S GETTING INTELLIGENCE THAT THE CHINESE
THINK WE ARE GOING TO ATTACK THEM. AND IF YOU ARE IN THE MILITARY,
THAT'S A NIGHTMARE. THAT IS THE KIND OF HAIR-TRIGGER
ENVIRONMENT WHERE THERE CAN BE A MISTAKE, WHERE, AS MILLEY TOLD
HIS STAFF, YOU WILL HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A FIRST MOVE, PEARL
HARBOR. AND SO, BOTTOM LINE, WE WERE
GOING THROUGH A SECRET NATIONAL SECURITY CRISIS THAT THE PUBLIC
DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT, WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT, AS REPORTERS, AND
WE'RE SUPPOSED TO FIND OUT THOSE THINGS AS THEY HAPPEN. AND THE WORLD DIDN'T KNOW. >> Stephen: YOU KNOW, THE--
THE OATH THAT FEDERAL POLITICIANS TAKE IS TO PRESERVE
AND PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION. AND AGAINST ALL THREATS, FOREIGN
AND DOMESTIC. AND IN A WAY, THAT GREATEST
DOMESTIC THREAT WAS THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF BECAUSE HE WAS
THE LOCUS OF THE LIE THAT ACTUALLY LED TO THE CRISIS ON
JANUARY 6. AND, ROBERT, I WAS WONDERING,
YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN COVERING WASHINGTON FOR YEARS. WHAT WAS THE MOST SHOCKING THING
THAT YOU UNCOVERED IN YOUR RESEARCH FOR THIS BOOK, IN YOUR
REPORTING? >> WELL, BOB MENTIONED HIS THIRD
POINT ABOUT THE PRESIDENCY, AND JUST HOW CLOSE THIS COUNTRY
CAME. WE SPENT NINE MONTHS DOING
NOTHING EXCEPT DIGGING INTO THIS-- HOW CLOSE THE PRESIDENCY
CAME TO MAYBE BEING THROWN TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ON JANUARY 5, THE NIGHT BEFORE
THE INSURRECTION, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS VICE PRESIDENT PENCE
IN THE OVAL OFFICE. AND AS YOU SAID, HE OPENS THE
DOOR LATER THAT NIGHT. HE'S LISTENING TO HIS SUPPORTERS
OUTSIDE, AND HE'S TELLING THE VICE PRESIDENT THAT EVENING,
"WOULDN'T IT BE COOL TO HAVE THE POWER TO NOT CERTIFY AN
ELECTION? WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO DO THAT?"
IT WAS THE ULTIMATE TEMPTATION OF POWER. YOU SAY THIS IS A SYSTEM BASED
ON THE CONSTITUTION. IT IS. BUT THE POWER THAT WAS IN
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S HANDS, IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH WAS USED AND
ALMOST WEAPONIZED, ACCORDING TO OUR REPORTING, AND THE WAY
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ADVISERS SAW THE SITUATION. >> Stephen: I BROKE DOWN IN
THE MONOLOGUE WHAT WAS IN THE EASTMAN MEMO, ESSENTIALLY, THE
STEPSES THAT HAD BEEN LAID OUT FOR VICE PRESIDENT PENCE. THE EXISTENCE OF THAT NEMO, WHAT
DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT HOW SERIOUS OF A THREAT THIS WAS? >> WELL, IT'S VERY SERIOUS,
BECAUSE TRUMP-- I MEAN, STILL TO THIS DAY, IS SAYING THE ELECTION
WAS STOLEN. AND THAT MEMO, THE EASTMAN MEMO,
SAYS, HEY, LOOK, WE HAVE THIS POWER, AND PENCE AS VICE
PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, CAN JUST GET UP THERE
AND SAY, "OH, I'M CONFUSED," OR "I'M NOT GOING TO CERTIFY
BIDEN," AND THROW THIS COUNTRY INTO A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS. >> THIS MEMO WAS PRESENTED TO
THE VICE PRESIDENT'S TEAM. VICE PRESIDENT PENCE IS BEING
PRESSURED TO READ THIS MEMO. ON JANUARY 4, PRESIDENT TRUMP
HAS EASTMAN IN THE OVAL OFFICE AND SAYS-- EASTMAN AND TRUMP
STANDING THERE TALKING TO PENCE "LISTEN TO EASTMAN. FOLLOW EASTMAN'S ADVICE." THIS IS NOT SOME "LAW REVIEW"
ARTICLE BEING PASSED AMONG AIDESES. THIS IS DIRECTLY PRESIDENT TO
V.P. >> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A
QUICK BREAK. DON'T GO ANYWHERE, BECAUSE WHEN
WE COME BACK, I WANT TO ASK BOB AND ROBERT ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE WHO
PERPETRATED THIS LIE? STICK AROUND.
