RACHEL MADDOW (CO-HOST): That mention that he made, which he apparently wasn't joking, where he invited Russia to please hack into U.S. government documents or into Secretary Clinton's to find what he alleges are 30,000 deleted e-mails from her time as secretary of state. That is an unprecedented thing, and that's been a whole separate line of news today outside the Democratic convention in Philly.
BRIAN WILLIAMS (CO-HOST): For a reality check on just what it is we have witness here, we have asked a frequent contributor of ours with impeccable credentials in this area to join us. Malcolm Nance spent 30 years as a counterterrorism and intelligence officer for the U.S. government, special operations, Homeland Security and intelligence agencies, worked as a U.S. Navy code breaker, and is the author of the book “Defeating ISIS.” So Malcolm, here is the question: what is the impact and potential damage of those words Donald Trump used today?
MALCOLM NANCE: To be quite honest, I am really stumped. I mean, this is unprecedented what happened today. I don't believe ever in the history of the United States has a presidential candidate, or anyone in the United States government, ever advocated for a hostile foreign intelligence agency to actually infiltrate or release data that they have stolen -- potentially stolen from a U.S. citizen or a U.S. government facility or server.
And then, to marry that up with the leaks that have happened this week so that they can get information out in a blatantly obvious political warfare/cyber operation that's occurring in the United States. It is Watergate with a cyber twist, as run by the Russian intelligence services. I really just cannot believe that any of this is happening.
