Maya Wiley's conversation with Sam Nunberg on Ari was pretty amazing to watch...

[CincyDem]

She's been on the set with him a couple times over the past 3-4 days and point after point, he's been a real prick toward her. In contrast, if you listen to her...she's talking to him like an attorney giving advice to a client she really cares about. When he tossed off the comment that his dad isn't really happy, the way she reframed it to have him consider that maybe his dad wants to see Sam sitting at the Thanksgiving table rather than sitting in a federal prison.

Even Ari seemed to be trying to actually help him - not change his mind ideologically but help him.

I've always thought highly of both Ari and Maya Wiley but it's gone up today. You don't usually get to see these folks in such a human interaction.

[Leghorn21]

1. Thank you, Dem, I had no idea who she is, but she is MAGNIFICENT. So much warmth and

compassion, encompassed in such a brilliant mind...she really is stunning -

Maya Wiley has rocked some worlds today, mine included!!

Thanks again!

[uponit7771]

2. K&R, I thought the same thing that they were being VERY VERY kind to him even knowing he's an

... over racist bastard

[nadine_mn]

5. This! And it produced results

one - he calmed down a bit
two - kept him talking about the "whys" (and away from just random ranting)

and showed that Mueller is really scaring the crap out of people

[calimary]

18. I suspect they're seriously scared because they come from trump-world.

A world where nobody gives a damn what you do as long as you're
A) on TV all the time,
B) famous as all-get-out,
C) pulling all kinds of scams and sneaky shit and double-talking double-dealing stunts, and
D) getting away with everything.

trump has skirted the edge most of his life, doing the shittiest things: stiffing contractors and subcontractors, laundering money, living beyond his means (with all those bankruptcies), and slick-talking like the true conman he is. And he's NEVER paid the price for it. He's NEVER had to face ANY consequences - of any kind. You carry on that long, under those conditions, and you begin to believe that you're never going to have to face any consequences. You'll always get away with it. You'll always get out of it. And pay nothing.

And if, indeed, this is what they're used to, and how it's gone for them so far, while in trump's orbit, NO WONDER they can start to swagger and get cocky and declare, as this turkey did today, that he's not going to jail. HAH! The HELL he isn't! He has nothing to say about it if he's going to defy the special counsel. He IS going to go to jail if he refuses to cooperate. Robert Mueller isn't gonna let him get away with it. And trump & comp have NEVER faced this before. They don't have a template for any of this - where there actually might be some actual consequences for their flagrant dishonesty and criminality. trump's always found a way to buy or otherwise maneuver his way out of the hot seat. Up til now. He's going to find that his air of invincibility will face to nothing. And a bunch of his little pals and cover-up crewmates and excuse-makers and smoke-blowers are gonna go down with him. Or one can hope so, at least.

[OnDoutside]

3. Yes that was an amazing segment.

[nadine_mn]

4. And you could see it was getting through the crazy fog

She was so patient and treated him more respect than he deserved

[BigmanPigman]

6. Well put.

[duforsure]

7. She tried to reason with him

But he couldn't accept it , thinking he's above it all. He's talking more on Erin's show saying more than he should be saying. This fool will be studied in law schools for what not to do. What a fool. His words will come back to haunt him. Another carter Page moment here . Trump must be exploding about now. Stone will be targeted even more.

[Honeycombe8]

8. Why would she bring up his dad? Does she know his dad?

Or was that just a sideways way of saying he doesn't want to risk jail?

[Marcuse]

12. Nunberg brought up the fact that his father opposed his strategy.

[Honeycombe8]

13. +1.nt

[spanone]

9. someone said in another thread, it was like they were talking him off the ledge....

[EffieBlack]

24. That was it

It's easy to not feel any sympathy for this obnoxious racist, but he really does seem to be in serious emotional distress. Ari could have exploited that but his humanity and integrity took over. I'm sure he brought Maya on because he knew she had exactly the right temperament, mindset and skill to deal with him.

As a result, what could have been really ugly, exploitative television turned into something really meaningful. It was an amazing thing to watch.

[Lucinda]

32. +1

[marlakay]

10. Erin is doing a pretty good job to

Staying focused as he was all over the place.

[Cosmocat]

11. I caught the very end, but it was clear Ari

Was Ari was not trying to pile on, but was trying to be compassionate.

[paleotn]

14. Help him?

off to the slammer with him.

[flibbitygiblets]

17. Thank you! If Sam Numbnutsberg is far too stupid to realize he is DEFINITELY going to jail,

who are these people to try and talk him out of it? Let the experience itself teach him some life lessons.

[EffieBlack]

25. Maybe because they're not assholes and recognized that, however reprehensible this man is, he is

in some serious distress and may very likely be having some kind of a breakdown and they weren't going to exploit him or pile on.

I was really impressed.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

27. This was also my take.

[flibbitygiblets]

28. As someone else here said recently, I'll reserve my sympathy for non-traitorous fucks.

Sorry if that makes me cold. But we don't know what is going on with him, and without a qualified medical opinion as to his mental state, I'm not ruling out drugs, fear or plain old assholery.

I'll reserve my sympathy for the dreamers, the elderly, the kids who got killed just for going to school, the uninsured, asylum seekers who had their kids stripped from them, etc. This guy was part of the evil plot to defraud our right to pick people who would never harm the people I just mentioned. FUCK him.

[flibbitygiblets]

29. And by the way, sanctimony is one of the things I hate most about Democrats

And I bet every R agrees with me, which I am NOT happy about.

[EffieBlack]

34. That's fine for you

But for me, sympathy and empathy aren't limited commodities, so I don't feel the need to "reserve" them only for certain people I've deemed deserving of them.

[avebury]

15. It was like they were holding an

intervention for the guy.

[flibbitygiblets]

30. Might be appropriate then; apparently his "friends" thought he'd been drinking (Link below)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-the-fck-former-trump-aide-sam-nunbergs-mueller-meltdown-leaves-friends-petrified?ref=home

[Kurt V.]

16. can we get a link?

no tv here

[ffr]

19. MSNBC link for just Ari's interview

http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/watch-ex-trump-aide-defying-mueller-gets-cross-examined-on-live-tv-1177444419960

[Kurt V.]

41. thanks

[calimary]

20. Welcome to DU, Kurt V.!

I want one, too. I was out working in the garage when the Ari Melber interview aired, and only caught the last half of it. He was on the phone with Katy Tur a couple of hours earlier, and I watched that. And I guess he's been on CNN, too. Being quite the gadabout this Nunberg dude is.

Check Scott Dworkin's twitter feed for a taste of it (scroll down):

Scott Dworkin
‏
Verified account

@funder
Following Following @funder
More
Stop what you’re doing right now and watch this video of Sam Nunberg with @AriMelber. This is the moment he realizes he will go to jail if ignores the Mueller subpoena. #TheBeat #TrumpColluded
3:38 PM - 5 Mar 2018

[Kurt V.]

40. thank you

[ffr]

21. Someone should tell Nunberg that his idol, R. Stone, can turn if he has info on superiors

We've seen this with Mueller's investigation already. Even if Stone is guilty, his not the one going to jail for the rest of his life, if he cooperates.

[oxbow]

22. He is likely having a manic episode

He doesn’t have time to get Mueller the emails but he has time to do half a dozen interviews on CNN and MSNBC? He says he hasn’t looked over the emails but then turns around and says he’s reviewed the emails. They are right to be gentle with him, as he looks to be having a legit episode...I hope friends/family are able to talk him down soon!

[Sophia4]

39. My thought too. Thanks.

Stress can bring different reactions in different people. I hate to use the word manic,but . . . .

[EffieBlack]

23. She was absolutely fabulous, wasn't she?

[Lucky Luciano]

35. Never heard of her before, but she was fantastic.

Very soothing and levelheaded style of speaking.

[Gabi Hayes]

38. He should hire her as his

Psychotherapist

Cause he is mos def psycho

[MaryMagdaline]

26. Ari stepped on his answers a few times

While he was giving substantive information

[kimbutgar]

31. They both seemed to recognize he was in a lot of pain

Now hearing he might have been drunk or on something makes sense.

I hope he’s alive in the next few days. Putin’s way.

[Grammy23]

33. It was obvious the guy was freaked out for some reason.

Whether it was the whole the situation, a psychological break, drunkenness or drug use. Something has him on the edge. Ari and Maya were doing their best to stop him from further damage. Maya patiently and rationally explained how he was in a situation where he can’t decide not to appear and not expect serious consequences. He will lose this fight. It was a surreal moment for sure. He was out on a limb and saying terrible things that could be problematic for him. And the two adults in the room really tried to help him rather than exploit the situation. I like both of them but my opinion went up several notches after seeing the careful way they handled this complicated situation today.

I hope we find out the real deal with Sam. ‘Cause something is up. Now he says he will probably show up on Friday after insisting for hours today that Mueller could stuff the subpoena. So Sam, what gives??

[kskiska]

36. He did call Sarah Huckabee Sanders a fat slob

https://nypost.com/2018/03/05/ex-trump-campaign-adviser-calls-huckabee-sanders-a-fat-slob/

[HipChick]

37. That was uncalled for...he have just said she was a goddamn liar and left it at that..

He ain't no thinny minny himself...

[librechik]

42. yes indeed. Watching true charity and compassion in action in real time.

[Ligyron]

43. That was an amazing, yet bizarre bit of TV.

You don't need to be a trained psychologist to read Sam's body language yesterday - it was all over the place. He was drinking out of that cup like mad.

Ari and Maya seemed quite concerned and even nice to him. How Maya as an AA could be so civil to Sam after the racist crap he's spewed over the years is beyond me. She's a much better person than I am, that's for sure.