JOHN BERMAN (CO-HOST): Jeffrey, I want to start with you here --
JEFFREY TOOBIN: Yes, sir.
BERMAN: Because there are those who will say, and I think you will say, it's inappropriate for a president to weigh in or get this involved with an investigation.
TOOBIN: I will say that.
BERMAN: However, it's not illegal. There is nowhere in the Constitution that says the president shall not be involved in a Justice Department investigation.
TOOBIN: Absolutely not. However, starting with the aftermath of Watergate when Richard Nixon ordered investigations of people by the IRS, the government established policies so that in individual enforcement investigations there are specific procedures to be followed between the executive branch, the White House, and the investigative agencies. It is unclear whether these policies were followed precisely or not. The White House counsel is supposed to be involved. The White House counsel appears to have been involved in this process. But the idea that the president of the United States is deciding who is subject to a gag order in an old investigation is just something that's totally inappropriate.
[...]
BERMAN: So Jeffrey, if it is like Watergate, what you're saying, the Watergate comparison might be that the executive branch or the president's office is getting involved with an investigation.
TOOBIN: Yes, and another part of this story is the symbiosis between the Trump White House and Fox News. Because this is a story that has been pushed, pushed, pushed in recent weeks by Fox News, even though it was settled in 2015. I mean, it's an old story. Everybody knows what happened. But because Fox is using it to distract attention from stories they don't want to cover, that's why the president is suddenly engaged.
