CNN legal analyst says Trump team’s connections to Russia ‘like something out of a spy novel’

CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Tuesday that the issue of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and President Donald Trump's other staffers with ties to Russia is like a fiction thriller. The problem is, it's real.

"New Day" co-host Alisyn Camerota noted that Toobin had said Americans have never seen anything like the conversation former acting Attorney General Sally Yates had with President Donald Trump's White House counsel Don McGahn.

"It is like something out of a spy novel," Toobin began. "The attorney general of the United States going to the lawyer for the president saying the closest national security aide to the president may be under the control of the Russians. Just think about that."

Toobin went on to say that the White House went on to do nothing about it "until the Washington Post embarrasses them by disclosing part of the Flynn problem." It was only then that the White House got rid of Flynn.

"It also illustrates the larger issue that why were so many people involved in the Trump campaign whether it's Manafort, Carter Page or Roger Stone or Mike Flynn, why were they all involved with the Russians? Why did so many of them make false statements about it?" Toobin asked.

Co-host Chris Cuomo repeated a comment he made earlier to Trump supporter Anthony Scaramucci that each time they hear anything about Russia all they hear is "bad for Trump."

"And that's why they cannot separate the two components of this investigation and the president keeps dismissing the Russia investigation is because of his concerns what it means for him politically and that's dangerous because they were effective with what they did," Cuomo said.

Watch the discussion below:

'It's like something out of a spy novel': CNN...by sarahburris