Morning Joe mocks Trump ally Erik Prince’s denial of Russia ties: It’s like ‘Spies Like Us — they’re idiots’

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough laughed incredulously at the news of another Trump associate meeting with a Putin associate during the presidential transition.

Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial Blackwater security firm and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, reportedly took part in a secret meeting with a Russian envoy nine days before the inauguration.

The latest revelation was just too much for the host of "Morning Joe," who broke out into laughter.

"Betsy DeVos? Who are these people? Who are these people?" Scarborough said. "I'm just saying, the Trump people, in general."

Panelist Mark Halperin asked why Prince -- who, like his sister, is a major contributor to the Trump campaign -- would issue a over-the-top denial attacking the intelligence community.

"Because he's stupid, that's why," Scarborough said. "He's stupid. It's like Carter Page. I love the quote from the Russians about Carter Page: He's a blanking idiot. Tell everybody what you told me about these guys. It's from the '80s movie 'Spies Like Us.' They're idiots."

Prince issued a denial through a spokesman, and he claimed the meeting had nothing to do with the Trump transition team and accused intelligence services of losing focus on terrorism by investigating the Republican administration.

"He's not telling the truth," Scarborough said. "He's lying, that's why they're doing it. Anybody that knows transition and knows the players of the transition, and this is all I will say, will tell you that he's lying. That's all I'm going to say, but it is obvious to anybody that knows what happened during the transition, so it will be obvious to the FBI, that he's a liar."