The take away here from this exchange is the answer to the first question.
LEON PANETTA: Scott, the coin of the realm for any president is trust. Trust of the American people in the credibility of that president. And when he says the things that he says, in particular, this allegation about wiretapping that has no bit of evidence to support it, it raises concerns about trust in the president.
There is no evidence to support the ongoing claim that the Russians were involved in the election either. Somehow that hasn’t stopped the news media from continuing to run with the story. That there is no evidence continues to undermine the credibility of the news media.
The established news media is dying or dead and they don’t realize it. Continuing with stories like these, the news media perpetuates their irrelevance.