- The Last Week Tonight show discusses the chaotic events of the past week
- Anderson Cooper snaps at Trump supporter Jeffrey Lord on CNN
- The show refers to the events as "Stupid Watergate"
- Trump reveals highly classified intelligence to Russian officials
- Trump asks former FBI Director James Comey to shut down investigation into Michael Flynn
- Trump gives commencement address and complains about mistreatment
- Special counsel Robert Mueller appointed to investigate Trump campaign's connections to Russia
- Comey tries to avoid personal encounter with Trump
- Trump calls Comey a "nut job" to Russian officials
- FBI investigation identifies a current White House official as a person of interest
- The events of the week are seen as a big deal with multiple investigations and allegations against Trump.

- The scandal involving Trump and Russia is being downplayed as boring by some, including Tucker Carlson.
- Even some Fox hosts are starting to express concern about the situation.
- Members of Trump's own party are avoiding commenting on the scandal.
- Some Republicans, including John McCain, are comparing the scandal to Watergate and mentioning the possibility of impeachment.
- White House lawyers are reportedly researching what a Trump impeachment might look like.
- If Trump were to be impeached, Mike Pence would become president, who is known for his conservative views.
- Impeachment is a long shot due to the Republican majority in the House and Senate.
- Trump has survived previous controversies, suggesting that he may continue as president.
- While the scandal dominates the news, the Trump administration has been making significant policy moves that have gone unnoticed.
- Trump's presidency is being characterized as a "worst baby" that continues to cause harm.

- Trump's national security team briefs him with single-page memos and visual aids to keep his attention
- Trump's name is strategically included in paragraphs to ensure he keeps reading
- The author suggests that Trump's understanding of the world is limited to how it involves himself
- The author questions whether this is real life and suggests that Trump may not be happy in his role as president
- The author compares Trump's previous life to being president and highlights Trump's own comments about missing his old life
- The author refers to the current situation as "Stupid Watergate" and predicts a long period of leaks and allegations
- The author encourages readers to remember that this is not normal and not to believe that it is just politics as usual
- The author contrasts the current situation with a past scandal involving President Obama's choice of mustard on a burger.

- Last Week Tonight discusses the chaotic events of the past week, referring to them as "Stupid Watergate"
- Trump reveals classified intelligence to Russian officials and asks Comey to shut down investigation into Flynn
- Special counsel appointed to investigate Trump campaign's connections to Russia
- Trump calls Comey a "nut job" and FBI investigation identifies White House official as person of interest
- Some Republicans compare scandal to Watergate and mention possibility of impeachment
- Impeachment is unlikely due to Republican majority in House and Senate
- Trump's presidency characterized as causing harm, with limited understanding of world beyond himself
- Author predicts long period of leaks and allegations and urges readers to remember this is not normal

John Oliver discusses the shocking magnitude and potential impact of the latest revelations surrounding the Russia investigation.

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-♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ Tonight, we're going to do something a little bit different, because for 1 week and 1 week only, the show Last Week Tonight is actually going to talk at some length about the last week tonight.

And the reason we unfortunately have to do that is the last 7 days have been absolutely insane.

So much so, that by Friday night, it may have broken Anderson Cooper.

Because, I'll tell you why, because Jeffrey Lord, CNN contributor and die-hard Trump supporter, was in the middle of defending yet another indefensible statement from Trump when Cooper finally snapped.

If he wants to say that, Barack Obama wants to say whatever.

If George Bush says, I looked in his eyes

That is a professional journalist saying of the president, if he took a dump on his desk, you would defend it.

And more importantly, Jeffrey Lords did not immediately answer no.

And look, on a different night, I could probably devote time to why CNN would put themselves in the position of having a professional dump defender constantly on their network, but there is not going to be time, because Tonight, we have to track the latest developments in what we've been calling Stupid Watergate.

A scandal with all the potential ramifications of Watergate, but where everyone involved is stupid and bad at everything.

And given the exhausting pace of this week's event, tonight we are simply gonna try and answer a few basic questions.

--HOWARD LAUGHS --How big a deal is this?

--HOWARD LAUGHS --So, let's begin with question 1, what the fuck is going on?

Can you even remember how this week began?

Because there was actually a big story on Monday that you may have forgotten by now.

Reports President Trump revealed highly classified intelligence to the Russians in the Oval Office.

Sources tell the Washington Post the President was boasting to Russia's foreign minister and ambassador when he divulged the intelligence during an Oval Office meeting last week.

President Trump may have inadvertently revealed code word information, 1 of the highest levels of classification to Russian officials.

And that is the kind of information you shouldn't even share with your closest friends.

Which, of course, in Trump's case, would be the golf caddy he calls Steve, even though his name is Doug.

A bucket of KFC chicken, and the ghost of Roger Ailes.

And back then, back then, in the more innocent time of Monday, it felt like there simply could not be a bigger story than that.

This is the most serious charge ever made against a sitting president.

This is the most serious charge ever made against a sitting president of the United States.

Yeah, it turns out Alan Dershowitz was extremely wrong about that.

And I would say it's hard to imagine him being more wrong about anything, but fortunately, we have photographic proof.

But the point is, the point is, that Russian news was buried the very next day by this.

ABC News confirming that shortly after an Oval Office visit in February, Former FBI Director James Comey wrote a memo saying that during that meeting, President Trump asked him to shut down his investigation into National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

And that was a huge deal, because let me give you a quick reminder about why the FBI was investigating Flynn, a man whose overall demeanor says, I only fuck on top of the sheets so I don't ruin the hospital corners.

-♪ ♪ -♪ Michael Flynn was fired after it emerged he discussed U.S.

Sanctions against Russia with Russian officials during the transition, despite denying that to the press, to the FBI, and to Vice President Mike Pence.

Flynn was so floored, Team Trump was repeatedly warned about his baggage by both then-acting AG Sally Yates and President Obama, and even, as reported this week, General Flynn himself.

But Trump kept standing by him anyway, which kind of makes sense in a way, because literally every decision in the Trump administration is the worst possible 1.

Paper or plastic, whichever 1 kills the most birds.

Soup or salad, I'm gonna go with the N-word.

Anyway, let's get back to this week, because on Wednesday, just 4 days ago, which is the equivalent of 150 years in 2017 time.

Donald Trump gave the commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy, and that should have been easy.

Simply lift the cadet spirits and point them towards the future, but Trump inevitably used the speech to, well, I'm fairly sure momentarily forget the word, certainty, and then also, generally whine about how mean people were being to him.

And I say this with great surety, has been treated worse, or more unfairly.

Wait, no politician has been treated worse.

William McKinley was shot by an anarchist.

JFK was, of course, murdered by Ted Cruz's father.

And James Garfield was shot, then, to find the bullet.

Alexander Graham Bell devised a kind of metal detector, which didn't work.

So doctors tried to fish around in his guts for the bullet with unwashed fingers, which just made his infection worse, so he died in horrible pain.

But yeah, Alec Baldwin sometimes does a mean impression of you on TV, so yeah, it's basically the same, isn't it?

Then, then, later that same day, the same day, the Justice Department appointed a special counsel, former FBI head Robert Mueller, to conduct an independent investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia, which is also a massive development that was closely followed by Thursday's news concerning James Comey.

Specifically, his friend's account of the lengths to which Comey went at this post-inauguration meeting to try and avoid a personal encounter with the president.

He's wearing, if you watch the video of it, he's wearing a blue blazer.

And he stands in the part of the room that is as far from Trump as it is physically possible to be, and also against blue drapes that are the same color as his,

He chose that spot because it was, you know, like, almost like a chameleon, you know, camouflaged against the wall.

If you're 6 foot 8, you don't hide by blending into a curtain.

You wear a brown suit, you paste a few leaves to your hand and head and you hope to be mistaken for a tree.

Now, luckily, we somehow escaped Thursday alive.

And on Friday, the president took off for a nine-day overseas trip.

But the wheels of Air Force 1 had barely left the ground when this happened.

The New York Times now reporting that according to a White House document, President Trump in the Oval Office told Russian officials 10 days ago that James Comey, the FBI director, was a, quote, -"nut job." -$1.5 million.

Now, Yeah, that sounds rough, but in Trump's defense, I can kind of see where he's coming from.

And here's the thing, that same document, which the White House did not deny, gave the even more concerning detail that Trump had told his Russian guests, I just fired the head of the FBI, I faced great pressure because of Russia, that's taken off.

And it's almost difficult to believe your ears when you hear something that sounds so audaciously corrupt.

It's like if Hillary Clinton had sent an email with the subject line, -"Sup, I did Benghazi." -$BENGHAZI -$BENGHAZI But...

But wait, wait, Because the week still wasn't quite yet done.

Because almost at the exact same time that the nut job news emerged, there was 1 last startling revelation.

The Washington Post began reporting that the FBI investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign has identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest.

Now, some have suggested that that could be Jared Kushner, but it seems unlikely because while he is technically significant and legally a person, he in no way qualifies as of interest.

He is the least interesting human on Earth.

He is the person equivalent of an empty room painted eggshell.

He's like a white bread sandwich where the middle is just a third slice of white bread.

Or as Mike Pence refers to that, the devil's hoagie.

So, that is the shortest possible summation of the events of this week, Which brings us to our second question, how big a deal is this?

Think about it, going into this week, there were already multiple investigations into Russia's efforts to swing the election and any possible ties to the Trump campaign.

But, there are now also strong allegations that Trump attempted in some form to influence the investigations.

And we now have a special counsel looking into all of this.

You would almost have to be trying really hard not to see this as a big deal.

And nobody tried harder than some commentators on Fox News.

People are now buying some of this lunacy.

This is a scandal with no video, with no audio, with no sex, with no money, with no dead bodies.

There may be Americans hidden in plain view working on behalf of Russia.

It's literally a fucking Emmy-nominated TV show.

But perhaps my favorite attempt to pour water on This story came from Tucker Carlson, the villain from a direct-to-video Caddyshack sequel who somehow became a real boy.

-♪ ♪ -♪ Tucks tried to Jedi Mind Trick this scandal out of existence.

The world is a very complicated place, Washington especially.

What you think is happening often really isn't happening.

What you think is happening isn't happening.

He's talking to his viewers like a parent whose kids just walked in on them 60-nining.

Oh, this isn't what you think, This isn't what you're looking at.

Your mother and I were just listening to see if there's an echo when you scream into a butt.

I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man

♪ Although, although fascinatingly, as the week went on, even some on Fox were struggling to hold the line.

I've been the first 1 to say, you know, there's a lot of smoke, but I don't see any fire, but now I'm getting a little concerned.

Even I, myself, have gotten to the point where I'm like, what is going on here with this situation?

A Fox host not being able to halt his doubts at bay for 48 hours is pretty much a canary in a coal mine.

But then at this point, Donald Trump is basically waist-deep in dead canaries.

And you can tell how serious this is becoming by the fact that when the news started breaking this week, members of Trump's own party were suddenly hard to find.

We reached out to 20 Republican senators and representatives to appear on this broadcast.

We also reported and requested that someone from the White House join us at any point during our two-hour broadcast to respond to the latest news.

Now, just try and think about how crazy that is.

That's worse attendance than a rap party for the cast of The Jinx.

Now, some Republicans did comment on Trump this week, but not perhaps in the way that the White House would have ideally wanted.

For example, John McCain had this to say.

I think it's reaching the point where it's of Watergate size and scale and a couple of other scandals that you and I have seen.

It's a centipede and the shoe continues to drop.

Yeah, it's like a centipede that keeps dropping shoes.

But it's real, and people wear shoes, so the Trump administration is really more like a human centipede in terms of the amount of shit passing through it and how nauseating watching it really is.

And while McCain was willing to cite Watergate, other Republicans were willing to go even further.

Michigan's Justin Amash today became the first Republican to say the president's actions might merit impeachment.

A member of Trump's own party has raised the specter of impeachment just 4 months into the president's first term.

And it gets worse because when Mother Jones ran an article citing Amash as the first Republican to mention impeachment, a spokeswoman for another Republican, Representative Carlos Cabello of Florida, reached out to say he was actually the first Republican to mention it.

Although, to be fair, to be completely fair here, The very first person to think, oh, God, he should not be president, is probably some unnamed nurse in Queens in the year 1946.

You know, I've been doing this a long time, but this baby is the worst 1 I've ever seen.

And the specter of impeachment is something that some in the White House are reportedly taking seriously.

And after days of incendiary headlines, CNN has learned that White House lawyers are researching what a possible Trump impeachment might look like.

What would a Trump impeachment look like?

I mean, ironically, I imagine at least part of it would involve thousands of Muslims celebrating in New Jersey.

Which brings us to question number 3, where do we go from here?

And if you are hoping for impeachment or a resignation, it is worth taking a quick peek at the presidential line of succession, because Trump going would be fantastic.

But remember, that would give us President Mike Pence.

And let me remind you how our prospective next president sees himself.

I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.

I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican in that order.

Honestly, I would have loved it if he just kept going after, after those 3, I'm a Gemini, I'm a furry, and I'm gluten intolerant in that order.

In Congress, he led efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, he opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, and the ending of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

And championed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

And as governor of Indiana, his most eye-catching accomplishment was the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which could have made it easier for religious conservatives to refuse service to gay couples.

And making matters worse, when he was asked multiple times whether that's what it did, he kept dodging the question, ending in this exchange.

Do you think it should be legal in the state of Indiana to discriminate against gays or lesbians?

Hoosiers don't believe in discrimination?

It sounds like the sound Al Pacino makes when he sneezes.

And by the way, if you're telling yourself, well, maybe Trump's impeachment could take Pence down as well, well, think about what that would mean, because then we'd have President Paul Ryan.

3 words that I always knew I'd have to say, but I didn't really expect to have to say it quite so soon.

The boys are back, and this time, they're girls.

And, you know, if you really want to spin this fantasy out, let's say that Ryan is also somehow sitting on his own impeachable clusterfuck.

Do you know who is next in line to the presidency?

-♪ ♪ -() And you're probably assuming, correctly, that that is wrong, but what is the real right answer there?

I can actually tell you, because we would genuinely have President Orrin Hatch at that point.

A man whose every expression says, I take fiber supplements, and frankly, they're not working.

--And look, Hatch is his own separate kind of nightmare.

But before we get lost any further down this paranoid wormhole, Let's just all take a collective breath, because in reality, even though some people have been getting excited this week, impeachment is a long shot for many reasons, not the least of which is, it would require a majority of the House to vote to impeach, and that is currently controlled by Republicans.

And then it would then need two-thirds of the Senate to vote to convict the president, and it is also controlled by Republicans right now.

So the likelihood is that Trump will survive this and continue as president, which shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone.

Why would this be the end of the line for him?

Trump has seemed to reach the end of the line on multiple occasions, only for nothing to happen.

Remember when he hesitated to disavow David Duke?

Wasn't that supposed to be the end of the line?

Or the time he bullied a gold star family?

That had to be the end of the line, right?

We all thought the next stop on that bus was, you guessed it, the end of the fucking line.

But it seems like When it comes to President Trump, he's always approaching the end of the line, but it never seems to come.

As if for him and him alone, the end of the line is drawn by MC fucking Escher.

Following stupid Watergates, every development can be awe-consuming.

It feels like nothing else has happened over the last couple of weeks.

But that is a dangerous thing to believe, because it has.

This administration has made significant moves that have escaped many people's attention.

Jeff Sessions moved to lengthen drug sentences, undoing Obama-era criminal justice reforms.

Just tonight, it came out that Trump is going to propose slashing Medicaid and other safety net benefits.

And tomorrow, in court, the administration may decide to end key Obamacare subsidies, which, if that happens, could immediately unravel the Obamacare insurance markets.

He was the worst baby, and you know, he's still the worst baby now.

And as if all of this wasn't bad enough, which it comfortably is, we are getting some heartbreaking glimpses into how this president operates.

For instance, just this week, again, we learned that this is how his own national security team feels they have to brief him on important global issues.

He likes single page memos and visual aids like maps, charts, graphs, and photos.

National security officials have strategically included Trump's name in, quote, as many paragraphs as we can because he keeps reading if he is mentioned.

Our president can only understand the world to the extent that it involves himself, meaning it is entirely possible that his security briefing reads, the leader of North Trump, Kim Jong Trump, is making an intercontinental ballistic trump.

This could seriously jeopardize not just the region, but also the safety of millions of, oh, God, we're losing you, aren't we?

This can all seem like a terrible work of fiction.

Which actually brings us to our final question, is this real life?

To which the answer is, unfortunately, yes.

And if you are feeling miserable about the situation that we're in right now, the only consolation I may be able to offer you is, I'm not sure that Trump is entirely happy either.

Because yes, you've seen him enjoy the rallies and the attention, and the fact that he can save the president, but I think the most telling photo taken of him so far is this 1.

That was taken on his inauguration day at a luncheon thrown in his honor.

He looks like he's at the funeral for every dog.

And if you think I'm projecting this onto him, just listen to an interview that Trump himself gave around the 100-day mark of his presidency, and tell me if this is a guy who sounds like he's happy with this situation.

This is more work than in my previous life.

This, I like to work, so that's not a problem, but this is actually more work.

Of course being president is harder than your old job!

Your old job was basically having a name, letting other people pay you to use that name, and firing Dee Snider.

Although, I will say this, I now actually have something in common with Donald Trump, because I, too, preferred my previous life before he became president.

Because no matter what, we are in for an agonizingly long period of leaks, allegations, and recriminations, all over a presidential campaign to put a man in power who may not entirely want to be there.

Say what you want about Nixon, at least he wanted the fucking job!

Look, I don't know about you, but this week has drained me.

At the end of last year, we told you to write down, this is not normal, to guard yourself against getting complacent.

I don't think there is much danger of that happening in the foreseeable future, but it is also worth remembering that sentiment just to reassure yourself that you're not going crazy.

And if you are tempted to believe any of what people are saying, that this is all politics, and every president goes through a week like the 1 that we just had early in our administration, let me show you 1 of the things that people were attacking the last president for, at roughly the same point in his first term.

As you all know, President Obama is a real man of the people.

Take a look at him ordering his burger with a very special condiment.

You get, like, a spicy mustard or something like that, or a Dijon mustard, something like that.

And I hope you enjoyed that fancy burger, Mr.

And I would honestly give anything to once again live in a time where the scandal rocking the executive branch was a Fox News host implying that the president likes metrosexual mustard.

And maybe, fingers crossed, 1 day, we can all get there again.

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Stupid Watergate: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)