Stephen Colbert has some fun with the Fox News folks who think Mueller's Flynn memo is good news for Trump

Stephen Colbert has some fun with Mueller skeptics

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

published 6 December 2018

Late Tuesday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed a sentencing memo for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and significant parts of it were redacted. On Wednesday, The Late Show was inspired by Mueller's understatement to debut a new line of Mueller Christmas cards.

In his memo, Mueller noted Flynn's "substantial" help in the Russian collusion investigation and recommended little or no jail time. "My my!" said Stephen Colbert. "He must have given them something really good — if by really good you mean really bad." He speculated on what types of "firsthand" information and documents about the Trump team's contacts with Russian government officials Flynn might have handed over, perhaps including "a note from Trump to Putin: 'Will you collude with me? Check one: Yes or no.'"

"Of course, not everyone thinks Flynn's sentencing recommendation looks damning," Colbert said, playing clips of Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) telling Fox News he thinks the memo is "good news for President Trump" and Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy making a similar argument, getting pushback from co-host Brian Kilmeade. "What does Doocy think is under all those black bars? Just nipples?" Colbert asked. And Rudy Giuliani's "SPECIAL WHATEVER" reaction? "I think Giuliani has entered his mean-girl phase," Colbert said. He went on to mock Giuliani, Trump's 74-year-old cybersecurity adviser, for mistaking a hyperlink he inadvertently created for an invasion of his Twitter feed.

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"Now I'm not saying Flynn flipped on Trump, but today he and Mueller bought matching Christmas pajamas," Jimmy Fallon joked on The Tonight Show. "Last week we learned about Michael Cohen flipping on Trump, now it's Michael Flynn, today Trump was like, 'That's it, deport everyone named Michael.'" He also had some jokes about the memo's heavy redaction — "Trump was like, 'Did he try to highlight using a Sharpie, because I do that all the time. It doesn't work.'" — and some quips about Roger Stone. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.