The Full Nunberg

Sam Nunberg likes to talk with reporters. Talk and talk and talk. "Sam is a character. He's always been a character inside Trumpworld," Katy Tur said on MSNBCMonday night. Tur said the same thing Ryan Lizza said on CNN: Nunberg is helpful to reporters, but "he is not someone you would trust without confirming, let's just say."

Nunberg was interviewed by Robert Mueller's office late last month. Then he went on Ari Melber's MSNBC show and said he was "happy to cooperate with them."

That interview was on February 28. At some point afterward, Mueller's office sent Nunberg a subpoena. Nunberg or someone close to him leaked the subpoena over the weekend. Axios and NBC published stories about it. Tur said she spoke with Nunberg about the subpoena on Sunday night, "and he said he was going to comply with it. He never gave any indication that he would not comply with it. I was talking to him at about 10:30, 11 o'clock last night."

Then something happened. "Starting Monday morning," Nunberg told friends that he was going to refuse to cooperate, The Daily Beast reported. Some of those friends "worried Nunberg had been drinking."

The interview circuit

Nunberg spoke with the WashPost's Josh Dawsey, the NYT's Maggie Haberman and others. His first TV interview was with Tur around 2:45pm. He called in to Tur's show... then taped an interview with CNN's Gloria Borger... then Jake Tapper... then NY1's Josh Robin... and I'm sorry if I missed other interviews. He went on camera with Melber at 6pm and Erin Burnett at 7pm. By the end of the Burnett interview, camera crews were camped outside CNN's NYC bureau. At the moment, more interviews are possible on Tuesday morning... I called Nunberg to find out, but his voice mailbox is full...

Where things stand now

In the 7pm hour, he suggested to Burnett that he'd be willing to cooperate. In the 8pm hour, off-camera, Nunberg told Tur and the AP's Jill Colvin and The Atlantic's McKay Coppins that he'll probably eventually cooperate with Mueller. "He just doesn't want to make it easy," Tur tweeted...

Have you EVER seen anything like this? A witness handing his subpoena to a news anchor on live TV? "Sam Nunberg seemed to be imploding before everyone's eyes," Hadas Gold writes in this CNNMoney story. She points out that Nunberg even asked anchors for legal advice...  --> Per Jill Colvin's Monday night story, "Nunberg appeared pleased by his performance, telling the AP that he was 'doing something I've never seen...'" "Nunberg TV is guaranteed to do two things" NYT's Maggie Haberman tweeted: "Nunberg TV is guaranteed to do two things -- aggravate Mueller and infuriate Trump." The meltdown Now an ethical debate is raging in journalism circles. If your source seems drunk or drugged or just plain out of his mind, what is your responsibility? Several of the interviewers expressed concern about Nunberg's personal welfare on Monday... asking if he wanted to reconsider his position... asking if he'd consulted his lawyer... asking about his family... and, in Burnett's case, even asking if he was under the influence. She said at the end of the interview that she smelled alcohol on his breath. But he denied drinking and said "anti-depressants" were the only meds he was on. What do you think? Where's the line in a breaking news situation like this? Here are a few of the reactions I've spotted on social media: Rick Wilson: "Nunberg is building an insanity defense." Jody Avirgan: "I think the networks should stop putting Sam Nunberg on television." Tom Nichols: "He's being subpoenaed by a grand jury looking into the president, shows up at their doorstep, and wants to talk. What are they supposed to say? No?" Kai Ryssdal: "Cable news is debasing itself today." Paul Farhi: "Unless they had clear indications that the dude was impaired somehow, a live interview is kosher. It's not like he didn’t agree to be interviewed. He did. So bring on the questions." Meanwhile, over on Fox... Fox's newscasts covered the Nunberg news, but the pro-Trump talk shows in prime time focused on the Oscars instead. Mark Steyn, filling in for Tucker Carlson at 8pm, led with Oscars outrage (of course) and celebrated the award show's ratings decline. Later in the hour, he downplayed Nunberg's claims by saying "nobody's heard of this Mr. Nunberg." (False.) At 9, Sean Hannity began and ended his show with "HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRISY." Lots of Clinton talk, etc. And Laura Ingraham's lead at 10? "America's resistance media has lost all touch with reality..."  --> Flashback to Sunday's "Reliable Sources:" The "more Mueller discovers, the more Trump's TV boosters have to deny/deny/deny. The worse things look for Trump's inner circle, the worse the deflections get..". THE BOTTOM LINE: Nunberg is stalling CNN's Chris Cuomo tweeted just now: "Saying you won’t comply with a subpoena is foolish but easy. Actually facing the music is hard. This Nunberg will comply..." Bob Mueller is "gearing up" I wonder if President Trump was watching "The Story" at 7pm? If so, he heard Martha MacCallum ask Andrew Napolitano what these developments meant for the Mueller probe. The judge's answer: "It is not going to be over soon. Bob Mueller is not only NOT winding down, he's gearing up. And I think more indictments should be expected." Trump is holding a joint presser on Tuesday President Trump will hold a joint news conference with the Swedish prime minister at 3:30pm ET Tuesday... Late night comics are laughing Colbert to Nunberg on Monday's "Late Show:" "You know Mueller CAN arrest you, right?" This is "like saying EAT ME to Hannibal Lecter. Doesn't work out well."