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♪ foreboding music ♪
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♪♪♪
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[footsteps pounding]
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[man panting]
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[reporter] Excuse my breath.
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I just ran out here to,
uh, bring you this news.
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The President
of the United States
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has terminated
the director of the FBI,
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James Comey.
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As we get more here,
we'll bring it to you,
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but at this point,
a bombshell at the White House.
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James Comey is out.
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[chopper rotors whirring]
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[reporter] Well, we've been
watching as James Comey
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got off with his motorcade,
making his way
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from the Westwood offices
of the FBI.
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He got the information
this afternoon
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that he has been relieved
of his duties.
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Comey would become
only the second FBI director
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in the history of the bureau
to be fired.
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I just spoke to a senior
official a short time ago
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who said they had
no idea this was happening.
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The other major
complicating factor here
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is the fact that the FBI
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is investigating
any possible collusion
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between members of
the Trump campaign team
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and Russia, and now the head
of the FBI has been fired.
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[Katyal] I found out
through The New York Times,
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getting an alert on my phone.
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I remember thinking,
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you know,
"Has my phone been hacked?
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Is this a joke?"
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- James.
- [camera shutters clicking]
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[Katyal] The idea that
the president would fire
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an FBI director,
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middle of
the Russia investigation,
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is unthinkable.
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[applause]
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[Graff] This was a target
of an FBI investigation
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trying to choose the person
who was investigating them.
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[man] And what kind
of constitutional problem
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does that present?
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A huge one. [laughs]
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I think everyone realized
that we were
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coming into unprecedented
political territory.
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[helicopter rotors whirring]
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[Weiner] Comey's got
the FBI Gulfstream plane
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out there in Los Angeles.
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There's an O.J. moment
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where you've got a helicopter
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following this plane
down the tarmac.
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[engine whooshes]
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Comey gets into
the plane and settles back,
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uncorks some red wine,
pours it into a paper cup,
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looks down over
the United States
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as evening settles in,
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thinking, "What the hell
just happened?"
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♪♪♪
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♪ dramatic music ♪
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♪♪♪
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[Reagan] I, Ronald Reagan...
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William Jefferson Clinton...
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Do solemnly swear...
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Do solemnly swear...
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♪♪♪
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[Nixon] ...and will,
to the best of my ability...
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[George W. Bush] ...preserve,
protect, and defend...
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[Trump] ...the Constitution
of the United States.
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♪♪♪
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[Colbert] I know
that when you were fired,
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you say in the book
that, uh, when--
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when it was over, you, uh,
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flew back on a plane
to the East Coast...
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- [audience laughs and whoops]
- Drinking Pinot Noir
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out of a paper cup,
so I thought maybe
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we could re-create that
happy moment for you right now.
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[cheers and applause]
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- To the truth.
- Yes, to the truth.
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♪ foreboding music ♪
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Breaking news tonight:
we have our first look
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at fired FBI director
James Comey's much-anticipated
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tell-all book,
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a window into his interactions
with President Trump.
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[reporter] James Comey starts
a media tour
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to promote his new book.
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[anchor] Our guest tonight
is James Comey.
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...former FBI director,
James Comey.
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James Comey.
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[cheers and applause]
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It's all right, y'all.
It's all right.
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[Comey] Our president must
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adhere to the values
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that are the core
of this country,
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the most important being truth.
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This president is
not able to do that.
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He is morally unfit
to be president.
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Comey holds little back.
It is a scathing indictment.
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[anchor] This president is
"untethered to truth
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and institutional values,"
Comey writes.
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[anchor and Comey]
"His leadership
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is transactional,
ego-driven"...
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[Comey] ..."and about
personal loyalty.
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I'm writing at a time of
great anxiety in my country.
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I understand the anxiety.
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Donald Trump's presidency
threatens
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much of what is good
in this nation."
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[Wittes] A lot of people
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were suspicious of Jim
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as a moralistic,
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pious showboater.
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This is nothing more
than a poorly executed
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PR stunt by Comey
to desperately rehabilitate
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- his tattered reputation.
- [reporters] Sarah?
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There's a lot of room
for disagreement about that.
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He is raising a moral and
political and legal alarm...
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- [reporter] Right.
- [Wittes] About the health
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of our institutions--
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about the effect of
our president on them.
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Do you think people tied
to President Trump
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colluded with the Russians?
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"I don't know"
is the honest answer.
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[Trump] This is a big
mistake, this book!
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There is no collusion
with me--
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- [anchors] All right.
- [Trump] And Russia!
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And our Justice Department,
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they have this witch hunt...
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[Graff] Trump is trying
to muddy the legitimacy
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of Bob Mueller's
Russia investigation,
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and to turn this into
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00:06:02,709 --> 00:06:05,333
the public appearance
of a partisan witch hunt.
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One of the biggest political
witch hunts in the history
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- of this country.
- [overlapping voices]
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Robert Mueller
is on a Jihad of some sort.
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[reporter] "Mr. Mueller,
end the witch hunt."
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♪ disconcerting ringing ♪
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♪♪♪
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[Comey] "I don't know whether
the special counsel will find
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criminal wrongdoing
by the president
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or others
who have not been charged
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as of this writing.
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One of the pivotal questions
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I presume Bob Mueller's team
is investigating
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is whether or not,
in firing me,
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President Trump was attempting
to obstruct justice,
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which is a federal crime.
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♪ ominous string music ♪
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I've prosecuted
and overseen many cases
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involving obstruction
of justice,
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but in this case,
I'm a witness."
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♪♪♪
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[Weiner] Comey and Mueller
are confronting
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the most powerful man
on the face of the Earth
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in the most politically charged
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investigation of a president
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in American history.
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These guys aren't pals.
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But they are allies.
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They have worked together
with great effect
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in the past
in confronting
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presidential power when it goes
beyond the scope of the law.
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♪ music darkens ♪
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♪♪♪
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[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,
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the President
of the United States,
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accompanied by Bob Mueller.
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[Carlin] The heart and soul
of the FBI is keeping
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the trust and confidence
of the American people,
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being an investigative agency
that's not corruptible.
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- [Mueller] Mr. President.
- [Carlin] It was a point
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Mueller used to make
when he was director.
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[clears throat]
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I am deeply honored
by the trust
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that President Bush has
shown in nominating me
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to head the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
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Bob Mueller was the symbol
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of a non-partisan individual
who keeps his head down,
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follows the facts
wherever they lead,
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and doesn't care about
making a name for himself.
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The FBI is the foremost
law enforcement agency
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in the world.
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The only political appointee
at the FBI
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is the director of the FBI.
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- [applause]
- Thank you all for coming.
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[Carlin] That's traditionally
been a ten-year term
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to cross two terms
of a president,
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to make it clear
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that the FBI director
shouldn't be accountable
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to one party or the other,
but independent.
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♪♪♪
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Bob Mueller became
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the head of the FBI
a week before
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the September 11th attacks
in 2001.
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And you can imagine what
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his second week
at work was like.
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[static and unintelligible
shouting on radio]
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[cries]
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[static and shouting continues]
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[sirens blare]
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[Graff] On the morning
of September 11th,
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Bob Mueller is getting
his first briefing on al-Qaeda
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when aides interrupt
to tell him
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that the first plane
has hit the World Trade Center.
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[man] What happened?
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It collapsed.
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The top floors collapsed down.
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[Graff] Even as
he's sitting there
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in the briefing on al-Qaeda,
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the idea that that was
the beginning of a terror plot
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was so far-fetched
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that Mueller looks
out the window and says,
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"How could a plane have hit
the World Trade Center
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on such a clear day?"
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- [children speak indistinctly]
- [teacher] Try it again.
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- Ready?
- [Card] The president
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was in Sarasota, Florida,
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for an education event.
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I came up from behind him
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and leaned over and whispered
into his right ear,
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00:10:01,917 --> 00:10:06,458
"A second plane hit
the second tower.
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America is under attack."
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♪ disconcerting music ♪
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[teacher] On the count
of three...
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♪♪♪
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[hose hissing]
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[Bush] Freedom itself
was attacked this morning
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00:10:29,583 --> 00:10:31,291
by a faceless coward.
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00:10:31,375 --> 00:10:33,208
[camera shutters clicking]
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The resolve
of our great nation
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is being tested.
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But make no mistake.
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We will show the world
that we will pass this test.
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God bless.
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[camera shutters clicking]
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♪♪♪
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[Card] On September 14th,
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in the immediate aftermath
of 9/11,
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the president says,
"I want to get
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00:11:00,291 --> 00:11:02,917
the FBI director over here
this morning."
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00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,500
And that sounds like
a very normal expectation.
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00:11:06,583 --> 00:11:08,542
The truth is,
it was not normal.
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00:11:08,625 --> 00:11:10,750
There was a great fear
after Watergate
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00:11:10,834 --> 00:11:13,667
that the president would try
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00:11:13,750 --> 00:11:18,125
to influence
the investigative arm
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00:11:18,208 --> 00:11:19,709
of the government,
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00:11:19,792 --> 00:11:21,750
so after Watergate,
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00:11:21,834 --> 00:11:24,667
FBI directors did not come
to the White House very much
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00:11:24,750 --> 00:11:26,709
to have briefings
with the president.
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But Bob Mueller came over,
and he starts his briefing,
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and it was all about
what they were doing
250
00:11:33,875 --> 00:11:36,125
in terms of
their investigation.
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And the president interrupted
and said,
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"I am very interested
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in learning what
your investigation is finding,
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but of greater concern
to me is,
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what are you doing
to prevent the next attack?"
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♪♪♪
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[reporter] The U.S. House
of Representatives
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is closing offices today
to allow a complete sweep
259
00:11:55,875 --> 00:11:58,458
for traces of anthrax.
260
00:11:58,542 --> 00:12:00,083
[Weiner] We have to remember
261
00:12:00,166 --> 00:12:02,208
what the tension was like
in Washington
262
00:12:02,291 --> 00:12:04,959
in the days and weeks
and months after 9/11.
263
00:12:05,041 --> 00:12:06,583
[reporter] There were
197 people onboard
264
00:12:06,667 --> 00:12:08,834
American Airlines Flight 63.
265
00:12:08,917 --> 00:12:10,458
An unruly passenger
apparently had
266
00:12:10,542 --> 00:12:12,500
an explosive device
in his shoes.
267
00:12:12,583 --> 00:12:14,542
[Weiner] Everyone was convinced
268
00:12:14,625 --> 00:12:17,834
that a second attack
was days or minutes away.
269
00:12:17,917 --> 00:12:19,458
"They've got nuclear weapons.
270
00:12:19,542 --> 00:12:21,208
They've got biological
weapons.
271
00:12:21,291 --> 00:12:22,792
They've got chemical weapons.
They're coming.
272
00:12:22,875 --> 00:12:25,834
The second wave is gonna hit."
273
00:12:25,917 --> 00:12:28,750
Vice President Dick Cheney
held the point of view
274
00:12:28,834 --> 00:12:31,917
that in any time of crisis,
275
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,625
the powers of the presidency
were unitary--
276
00:12:34,709 --> 00:12:37,417
that is,
he encompassed the power
277
00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:40,375
of the Congress
and of the courts in himself.
278
00:12:40,458 --> 00:12:43,583
It was more like a king than
the president we think of.
279
00:12:43,667 --> 00:12:45,542
[applause]
280
00:12:45,625 --> 00:12:47,250
It was a point of view
281
00:12:47,333 --> 00:12:49,834
that would get
President George W. Bush
282
00:12:49,917 --> 00:12:53,208
into a terrible,
terrible situation.
283
00:12:53,291 --> 00:12:55,917
These terrorists
must be pursued,
284
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,250
they must be defeated,
285
00:12:58,333 --> 00:13:00,500
and they must be brought
to justice.
286
00:13:00,583 --> 00:13:03,709
[applause]
287
00:13:04,417 --> 00:13:06,458
[Weiner] In 2002,
288
00:13:06,542 --> 00:13:09,500
to help forewarn of an attack
on the United States,
289
00:13:09,583 --> 00:13:13,375
President Bush orders
the National Security Agency
290
00:13:13,458 --> 00:13:16,125
to basically start spying
291
00:13:16,208 --> 00:13:19,041
on not only the world...
292
00:13:19,125 --> 00:13:20,458
but on Americans.
293
00:13:20,542 --> 00:13:22,250
♪ ominous piano chords ♪
294
00:13:22,333 --> 00:13:24,458
♪♪♪
295
00:13:24,542 --> 00:13:27,959
The program, which authorized
electronic eavesdropping
296
00:13:28,041 --> 00:13:30,375
into people's phone calls
and emails,
297
00:13:30,458 --> 00:13:33,000
is code-named Stellar Wind.
298
00:13:33,083 --> 00:13:34,959
♪♪♪
299
00:13:35,041 --> 00:13:36,709
[Graff] The exact technical
details of it
300
00:13:36,792 --> 00:13:40,917
are still largely opaque
to us,
301
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,250
but it authorized
the surveillance of Americans
302
00:13:44,333 --> 00:13:46,250
inside America.
303
00:13:46,333 --> 00:13:49,709
♪♪♪
304
00:13:49,792 --> 00:13:51,208
[Weiner] This threatens
to shatter
305
00:13:51,291 --> 00:13:53,333
an understanding
that has been in place
306
00:13:53,417 --> 00:13:55,291
since Watergate:
307
00:13:55,375 --> 00:13:59,542
you don't spy on Americans
without a warrant.
308
00:13:59,625 --> 00:14:01,500
[Hatch] I wanna
congratulate you, Mr. Comey,
309
00:14:01,583 --> 00:14:03,333
for being selected
by President Bush
310
00:14:03,417 --> 00:14:06,125
for this important position
in the Justice Department.
311
00:14:06,208 --> 00:14:08,083
[Weiner] At this time,
312
00:14:08,166 --> 00:14:09,834
the rising star
in the Justice Department,
313
00:14:09,917 --> 00:14:12,000
Jim Comey,
is promoted to become
314
00:14:12,083 --> 00:14:14,500
the deputy attorney general
of the United States
315
00:14:14,583 --> 00:14:16,959
above Bob Mueller,
316
00:14:17,041 --> 00:14:19,083
and Comey comes to understand
317
00:14:19,166 --> 00:14:23,250
that there are serious
concerns about Stellar Wind,
318
00:14:23,333 --> 00:14:26,959
emanating in large part
from a lawyer
319
00:14:27,041 --> 00:14:28,667
named Jack Goldsmith.
320
00:14:28,750 --> 00:14:32,583
♪♪♪
321
00:14:32,667 --> 00:14:34,417
[Goldsmith] When I got to
the Office of Legal Counsel
322
00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:36,834
in October of 2003,
323
00:14:36,917 --> 00:14:38,834
I couldn't have imagined
having confrontations
324
00:14:38,917 --> 00:14:41,417
like I had with
the White House.
325
00:14:41,500 --> 00:14:43,041
But there's a natural tension
326
00:14:43,125 --> 00:14:45,625
that's exacerbated in wartime
327
00:14:45,709 --> 00:14:47,375
between, on the one hand,
328
00:14:47,458 --> 00:14:48,959
wanting to do whatever you can
to stop the next attack,
329
00:14:49,041 --> 00:14:51,750
and on the other hand,
ensuring that
330
00:14:51,834 --> 00:14:53,166
the executive branch
complies with the law.
331
00:14:53,250 --> 00:14:55,000
So that tension
was ever present.
332
00:14:55,083 --> 00:14:57,041
It was starkly felt
every day I worked.
333
00:14:57,125 --> 00:14:59,542
[printer hums]
334
00:14:59,625 --> 00:15:03,750
♪♪♪
335
00:15:03,834 --> 00:15:07,500
So the Office of Legal Counsel
basically serves to determine
336
00:15:07,583 --> 00:15:10,500
what is lawful
for the executive branch.
337
00:15:10,583 --> 00:15:12,333
My predecessors had
a conception
338
00:15:12,417 --> 00:15:15,625
of executive power
that was super broad,
339
00:15:15,709 --> 00:15:17,583
and they basically thought
the president could
340
00:15:17,667 --> 00:15:19,458
do whatever he wanted
in wartime
341
00:15:19,542 --> 00:15:21,583
if he thought it was necessary
for national security,
342
00:15:21,667 --> 00:15:24,917
so for two years, the program
had been deemed lawful.
343
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,625
But the entire program
was flawed.
344
00:15:28,709 --> 00:15:30,250
I concluded that
345
00:15:30,333 --> 00:15:32,083
the government
was not fully complying
346
00:15:32,166 --> 00:15:33,583
with the law
347
00:15:33,667 --> 00:15:34,750
that was designed to protect
348
00:15:34,834 --> 00:15:36,458
the privacy of Americans
349
00:15:36,542 --> 00:15:38,417
when it comes
to electronic surveillance.
350
00:15:41,834 --> 00:15:44,458
This results in
an epic confrontation
351
00:15:44,542 --> 00:15:46,208
over civil liberties--
352
00:15:46,291 --> 00:15:49,625
the president and the vice
president on one side,
353
00:15:49,709 --> 00:15:52,125
Jim Comey and Bob Mueller
on the other.
354
00:15:52,208 --> 00:15:54,792
♪♪♪
355
00:15:54,875 --> 00:15:56,875
[Graff] On March 9th,
356
00:15:56,959 --> 00:15:59,208
there's this high-stakes
meeting at the White House
357
00:15:59,291 --> 00:16:01,959
to air the concerns
about the Stellar Wind program.
358
00:16:02,041 --> 00:16:04,125
It's a high-power gathering.
359
00:16:04,208 --> 00:16:07,208
You've got Jim Comey,
FBI Director Robert Mueller,
360
00:16:07,291 --> 00:16:09,667
and head of the Office
of Legal Counsel,
361
00:16:09,750 --> 00:16:11,041
Jack Goldsmith,
362
00:16:11,125 --> 00:16:13,667
versus Vice President Cheney;
363
00:16:13,750 --> 00:16:16,417
Cheney's top legal advisor,
David Addington;
364
00:16:16,500 --> 00:16:19,333
and even White House Chief of
Staff, Andy Card.
365
00:16:19,417 --> 00:16:23,458
There was no one at any of
those meetings that was there
366
00:16:23,542 --> 00:16:27,500
because they wanted to deny
personal liberty,
367
00:16:27,583 --> 00:16:30,542
and they were not trying
to interrupt
368
00:16:30,625 --> 00:16:33,208
private communication.
369
00:16:33,291 --> 00:16:35,125
I can't impress upon you
370
00:16:35,208 --> 00:16:37,333
the reality of dealing
with the change
371
00:16:37,417 --> 00:16:40,000
from an analog world
to a digital world.
372
00:16:40,083 --> 00:16:41,792
[machinery clicks and whirs]
373
00:16:41,875 --> 00:16:43,959
The world changed
before our laws did,
374
00:16:44,041 --> 00:16:47,166
and Stellar Wind took reality
375
00:16:47,250 --> 00:16:48,709
and forced it into the law.
376
00:16:48,792 --> 00:16:50,542
[dial-up modem hissing]
377
00:16:50,625 --> 00:16:52,917
We've got bad things happening
around the world.
378
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,959
We don't want to, eh...
go blind,
379
00:16:55,041 --> 00:16:57,834
and we have to go blind--
we-we'd have to pull the plug
380
00:16:57,917 --> 00:16:59,625
if we don't get it signed.
381
00:17:00,959 --> 00:17:02,458
[Comey] Cheney then
expressed a frustration
382
00:17:02,542 --> 00:17:03,667
that was entirely reasonable.
383
00:17:03,750 --> 00:17:05,834
He pointed out that
384
00:17:05,917 --> 00:17:07,291
the Department of Justice's
Office of Legal Counsel
385
00:17:07,375 --> 00:17:08,875
had written a memo
386
00:17:08,959 --> 00:17:11,000
to support the program
in 2001
387
00:17:11,083 --> 00:17:12,959
and that the attorney general
had repeatedly certified
388
00:17:13,041 --> 00:17:15,125
the program's legality since.
389
00:17:15,208 --> 00:17:18,041
I said the 2001 opinion
was so bad
390
00:17:18,125 --> 00:17:20,291
as to be facially invalid.
391
00:17:20,375 --> 00:17:23,208
No lawyer could rely upon it.
392
00:17:23,291 --> 00:17:26,500
From the windowsill came
Addington's cutting voice:
393
00:17:26,583 --> 00:17:29,250
"I'm a lawyer, and I did."
394
00:17:29,333 --> 00:17:32,291
"No good lawyer," I added.
395
00:17:32,375 --> 00:17:35,125
David Addington said something
to the effect that,
396
00:17:35,208 --> 00:17:37,041
"If you rule that way,
you'll have the blood
397
00:17:37,125 --> 00:17:38,625
of the 100,000 people
who die in the next attack
398
00:17:38,709 --> 00:17:39,709
on your hands."
399
00:17:41,875 --> 00:17:44,083
He wasn't saying that
to scare me.
400
00:17:44,166 --> 00:17:45,625
He really wasn't.
He really believed it.
401
00:17:45,709 --> 00:17:47,125
And I kind of believed it too.
402
00:17:48,125 --> 00:17:50,083
I mean, I was reading
the threat reports.
403
00:17:50,166 --> 00:17:52,166
I was as scared
as anybody else.
404
00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:54,083
And this is all happening
in secret.
405
00:17:54,166 --> 00:17:56,542
It's very tough
in that circumstance
406
00:17:56,625 --> 00:17:59,250
to know exactly
what the right answer is.
407
00:17:59,333 --> 00:18:00,750
But we held.
408
00:18:00,834 --> 00:18:02,542
We held, but it wasn't over.
409
00:18:02,625 --> 00:18:05,458
♪ music builds ♪
410
00:18:08,125 --> 00:18:10,375
[Comey] I met alone with
Attorney General Ashcroft
411
00:18:10,458 --> 00:18:13,500
to tell him in detail about
the problems with the program
412
00:18:13,583 --> 00:18:16,542
and why we could not approve
another extension:
413
00:18:16,625 --> 00:18:17,875
it was an extraordinary
assertion
414
00:18:17,959 --> 00:18:20,000
of presidential power.
415
00:18:20,083 --> 00:18:23,375
The president has serious
substantial powers,
416
00:18:23,458 --> 00:18:25,000
but the president
doesn't have the right
417
00:18:25,083 --> 00:18:26,750
to do whatever he chooses.
418
00:18:26,834 --> 00:18:28,333
No one has that right
419
00:18:28,417 --> 00:18:31,583
in a society
framed by the rule of law.
420
00:18:31,667 --> 00:18:33,333
♪ tense music ♪
421
00:18:33,417 --> 00:18:35,625
And I'm not in a position
to discuss
422
00:18:35,709 --> 00:18:37,542
what my advice was
423
00:18:37,625 --> 00:18:39,417
to the President
of the United States
424
00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:40,625
and his staff.
425
00:18:40,709 --> 00:18:42,208
I think those are things
426
00:18:42,291 --> 00:18:45,083
that are importantly
not discussed publicly.
427
00:18:45,166 --> 00:18:46,875
It's pretty clear
that Jim Comey
428
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:48,208
doesn't have the same feeling.
429
00:18:48,291 --> 00:18:50,041
[Senator speaking]
...why he came off the list?
430
00:18:50,125 --> 00:18:51,875
Did it have anything to do
with the prosecution
431
00:18:51,959 --> 00:18:53,583
of voter fraud cases?
432
00:18:53,667 --> 00:18:55,041
[Sanchez] I would ask
our witness
433
00:18:55,125 --> 00:18:56,250
to please state your name
for the record.
434
00:18:56,333 --> 00:18:57,875
[quietly]
My name's James Comey.
435
00:18:57,959 --> 00:18:59,542
[Sanchez] Can you hit
your microphone, please?
436
00:18:59,625 --> 00:19:01,333
- Sorry, I've forgotten...
- [Sanchez] There we go.
437
00:19:01,417 --> 00:19:02,667
- I've forgotten the, uh...
- [Sanchez chuckles]
438
00:19:02,750 --> 00:19:04,208
The technology.
My name is James Comey.
439
00:19:04,291 --> 00:19:05,333
I go by Jim Comey.
440
00:19:07,333 --> 00:19:10,792
[man] Now, were you there when
Jim Comey gave his testimony?
441
00:19:10,875 --> 00:19:12,417
Yeah, I was a dutiful staffer
442
00:19:12,500 --> 00:19:13,792
sitting behind, uh,
443
00:19:13,875 --> 00:19:16,750
Senator Charles Schumer.
444
00:19:16,834 --> 00:19:18,792
In the spring of 2007,
445
00:19:18,875 --> 00:19:20,667
I was the chief counsel
to Senator Schumer
446
00:19:20,750 --> 00:19:22,625
on the Judiciary Committee.
447
00:19:22,709 --> 00:19:25,375
We had a-a witness
who was gonna come testify
448
00:19:25,458 --> 00:19:27,250
who had to cancel
at the last minute,
449
00:19:27,333 --> 00:19:30,083
and now we had an open spot.
450
00:19:30,166 --> 00:19:32,083
And I know Jim a long time.
451
00:19:32,166 --> 00:19:33,625
He had been my boss
as a U.S. attorney
452
00:19:33,709 --> 00:19:34,875
when I was
an assistant U.S. attorney
453
00:19:34,959 --> 00:19:36,375
in the southern district.
454
00:19:36,458 --> 00:19:39,625
It also became known to me
455
00:19:39,709 --> 00:19:42,041
that...you know,
there's this other thing
456
00:19:42,125 --> 00:19:44,333
that he has never talked about,
that was only rumored.
457
00:19:44,417 --> 00:19:46,458
So Jim Comey tells me
on the phone
458
00:19:46,542 --> 00:19:49,291
about this, you know,
hitherto, you know,
459
00:19:49,375 --> 00:19:52,041
unexplored and basically
unknown crisis
460
00:19:52,125 --> 00:19:54,208
in the Bush White House
and Justice Department
461
00:19:54,291 --> 00:19:55,625
in a way that made
the hair stand up
462
00:19:55,709 --> 00:19:57,417
on the back of my neck.
463
00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:59,583
[man] And was
the description in the room
464
00:19:59,667 --> 00:20:02,208
as dramatic as it was
on the phone?
465
00:20:02,291 --> 00:20:04,583
It was more dramatic
because there were, uh--
466
00:20:04,667 --> 00:20:07,959
there were senators whose-whose
jaws dropped to the floor.
467
00:20:09,083 --> 00:20:11,458
[inhales deeply]
This was a, uh...
468
00:20:11,542 --> 00:20:14,125
[exhales]
469
00:20:14,208 --> 00:20:17,834
Very memorable, uh...
period in my life--
470
00:20:17,917 --> 00:20:19,166
probably the most
difficult time
471
00:20:19,250 --> 00:20:21,458
in my entire professional life.
472
00:20:21,542 --> 00:20:23,709
In the early part of 2004,
473
00:20:23,792 --> 00:20:26,583
the Office of Legal Counsel,
under my supervision,
474
00:20:26,667 --> 00:20:29,542
was engaged in a reevaluation
both factually and legally
475
00:20:29,625 --> 00:20:31,417
of a particular classified
program.
476
00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:33,500
Just assume--you thought
something was wrong?
477
00:20:33,583 --> 00:20:35,542
- [Comey] Yes.
- Right.
478
00:20:35,625 --> 00:20:38,959
And it was a program that was
renewed on a regular basis
479
00:20:39,041 --> 00:20:41,083
and required signature
by the attorney general
480
00:20:41,166 --> 00:20:43,125
certifying to its legality.
481
00:20:43,208 --> 00:20:44,709
But the attorney general
was taken
482
00:20:44,792 --> 00:20:46,458
to George Washington Hospital,
483
00:20:46,542 --> 00:20:48,625
and I became the acting
attorney general.
484
00:20:48,709 --> 00:20:50,542
And as acting attorney general,
485
00:20:50,625 --> 00:20:53,125
I would not certify
the program,
486
00:20:53,208 --> 00:20:54,375
as to its legality.
487
00:20:56,166 --> 00:20:58,959
[man] During this period,
you were not in good health.
488
00:20:59,041 --> 00:21:01,250
- Could you at least e--
- [laughing]
489
00:21:01,333 --> 00:21:03,625
- [man laughs]
- There were press reports.
490
00:21:03,709 --> 00:21:06,667
I would confirm that I was,
for about ten days,
491
00:21:06,750 --> 00:21:09,542
in intensive care
in the hospital.
492
00:21:09,625 --> 00:21:12,792
And I know--I know of
nothing to contradict those...
493
00:21:12,875 --> 00:21:14,834
[laughing]
Press reports.
494
00:21:14,917 --> 00:21:16,583
[laughs]
495
00:21:16,667 --> 00:21:18,166
[man] Well, thank you
for that--thank you
496
00:21:18,250 --> 00:21:19,750
- for that candor.
- That's--
497
00:21:19,834 --> 00:21:21,667
there's a big
concession for you.
498
00:21:21,750 --> 00:21:24,667
♪ rising woodwind music ♪
499
00:21:24,750 --> 00:21:27,709
[Schumer] Were you present
when Alberto Gonzales visited
500
00:21:27,792 --> 00:21:30,834
Attorney General Ashcroft's
bedside?
501
00:21:30,917 --> 00:21:32,375
[Comey] Yes.
502
00:21:32,458 --> 00:21:34,333
[Schumer] And am I correct
503
00:21:34,417 --> 00:21:36,792
that the conduct
of Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Card
504
00:21:36,875 --> 00:21:39,625
on that evening
troubled you greatly?
505
00:21:39,709 --> 00:21:40,750
[Comey] Yes.
506
00:21:40,834 --> 00:21:42,583
[Schumer] Why?
507
00:21:42,667 --> 00:21:43,583
[inhales]
508
00:21:43,667 --> 00:21:45,417
[sighs]
509
00:21:45,500 --> 00:21:47,041
I-- [stammers]
I'm only hesitating--
510
00:21:47,125 --> 00:21:48,875
and I'm uncomfortable
talking about this,
511
00:21:48,959 --> 00:21:50,583
- but I'll answer the question.
- [Schumer] I understand.
512
00:21:50,667 --> 00:21:52,542
♪♪♪
513
00:21:52,625 --> 00:21:54,250
Wednesday, March the tenth,
514
00:21:54,333 --> 00:21:55,834
the night of
the hospital incident,
515
00:21:55,917 --> 00:21:57,417
at about eight o'clock
that evening,
516
00:21:57,500 --> 00:21:59,750
I was headed home.
517
00:21:59,834 --> 00:22:03,875
My security detail
was driving me, and got a call
518
00:22:03,959 --> 00:22:06,834
from Attorney General
Ashcroft's chief of staff,
519
00:22:06,917 --> 00:22:10,000
telling me that he had gotten
a call from Mrs. Ashcroft
520
00:22:10,083 --> 00:22:12,000
from the hospital.
521
00:22:12,083 --> 00:22:15,083
And Mrs. Ashcroft reported
that a call had come through--
522
00:22:15,166 --> 00:22:17,291
[Schumer] Do you have any idea
who that call was from?
523
00:22:17,375 --> 00:22:19,250
[inhales]
524
00:22:19,333 --> 00:22:21,625
[exhales]
I have some recollection
525
00:22:21,709 --> 00:22:23,959
that the call was from
the president himself,
526
00:22:24,041 --> 00:22:25,333
but I don't know that for sure.
527
00:22:25,417 --> 00:22:27,166
It came from the White House,
528
00:22:27,250 --> 00:22:29,709
and as a result of that call,
529
00:22:29,792 --> 00:22:31,375
Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales were
on their way to the hospital
530
00:22:31,458 --> 00:22:33,333
to see Mr. Ashcroft.
531
00:22:33,417 --> 00:22:35,291
♪ tense music ♪
532
00:22:35,375 --> 00:22:38,166
So I told my security detail
that I needed to get
533
00:22:38,250 --> 00:22:40,834
to George Washington Hospital
immediately.
534
00:22:40,917 --> 00:22:42,500
[wheels squeal, siren blares]
535
00:22:42,583 --> 00:22:44,250
They turned on
the emergency equipment
536
00:22:44,333 --> 00:22:47,041
and drove very quickly.
537
00:22:47,125 --> 00:22:49,667
Immediately called
FBI Director Mueller,
538
00:22:49,750 --> 00:22:52,041
with whom I'd been discussing
this particular matter,
539
00:22:52,125 --> 00:22:54,166
and told him
what was happening.
540
00:22:54,250 --> 00:22:55,542
He said, "I'll meet you at
the hospital right now."
541
00:22:55,625 --> 00:22:57,417
♪♪♪
542
00:22:57,500 --> 00:22:59,041
[Schumer]
What was your concern?
543
00:22:59,125 --> 00:23:01,458
You were in, obviously,
a huge hurry.
544
00:23:01,542 --> 00:23:05,041
[inhales, sighs]
I was concerned that,
545
00:23:05,125 --> 00:23:07,917
given how ill I knew
the attorney general was,
546
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,417
that there might be an effort
to ask him to overrule me
547
00:23:11,500 --> 00:23:14,458
when he was in
no condition to do that.
548
00:23:14,542 --> 00:23:16,542
[siren blaring]
549
00:23:16,625 --> 00:23:19,375
[Graff] You have these
lights-and-siren motorcades
550
00:23:19,458 --> 00:23:22,291
converging
from across Washington.
551
00:23:22,375 --> 00:23:24,834
Comey gets there first.
552
00:23:24,917 --> 00:23:27,417
Comey knows that Mueller
is not going to make it
553
00:23:27,500 --> 00:23:29,333
to the hospital
554
00:23:29,417 --> 00:23:31,625
before White House
Chief of Staff Andy Card
555
00:23:31,709 --> 00:23:34,291
and White House Counsel
Alberto Gonzales.
556
00:23:34,375 --> 00:23:37,208
And Jim Comey, in that moment,
557
00:23:37,291 --> 00:23:40,125
is worried that
the Secret Service agents
558
00:23:40,208 --> 00:23:42,250
who are with Andy Card
559
00:23:42,333 --> 00:23:45,875
might try to remove Comey
from the hospital room.
560
00:23:45,959 --> 00:23:47,959
♪♪♪
561
00:23:48,041 --> 00:23:49,709
[Comey] "While standing
with the FBI special agent,
562
00:23:49,792 --> 00:23:51,792
I called Bob Mueller again
on his cell phone.
563
00:23:51,875 --> 00:23:53,792
He was on his way.
564
00:23:53,875 --> 00:23:56,667
'Bob,' I said, 'I need you
to order your agents
565
00:23:56,750 --> 00:23:58,709
not to permit me to be taken
from Ashcroft's room
566
00:23:58,792 --> 00:24:00,959
under any circumstances.'
567
00:24:01,041 --> 00:24:03,625
Mueller asked me to pass
the phone to the agent.
568
00:24:03,709 --> 00:24:06,792
I stood as the agent listened,
crisply answered, 'Yes, sir,'
569
00:24:06,875 --> 00:24:08,834
and passed the phone back.
570
00:24:08,917 --> 00:24:11,291
The agent looked at me with
a steely expression.
571
00:24:11,375 --> 00:24:13,000
'You will not leave
that room, sir.
572
00:24:13,083 --> 00:24:14,250
This is our scene.'"
573
00:24:14,333 --> 00:24:15,458
♪ dramatic percussion ♪
574
00:24:15,542 --> 00:24:17,500
[sirens fade]
575
00:24:17,583 --> 00:24:19,291
[Graff] Just sort of imagine
what it's like
576
00:24:19,375 --> 00:24:21,333
for those FBI agents
in that moment.
577
00:24:21,417 --> 00:24:24,542
You know,
"Use force if you need to
578
00:24:24,625 --> 00:24:27,583
to resist
the U.S. Secret Service
579
00:24:27,667 --> 00:24:29,709
and the White House
chief of staff."
580
00:24:29,792 --> 00:24:31,959
And it has to be, uh,
581
00:24:32,041 --> 00:24:34,875
one of the most surreal
telephone calls
582
00:24:34,959 --> 00:24:36,959
in American political history.
583
00:24:37,041 --> 00:24:40,333
[medical device beeping
steadily]
584
00:24:40,417 --> 00:24:43,917
[Schumer] And the attorney
general was... [stammers]
585
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,625
What was his condition?
586
00:24:45,709 --> 00:24:48,041
Uh, Mr. Ashcroft was
lying down in the bed.
587
00:24:48,125 --> 00:24:49,875
The room was darkened.
588
00:24:49,959 --> 00:24:52,291
He seemed pretty bad off.
589
00:24:52,375 --> 00:24:53,792
I was shortly joined
590
00:24:53,875 --> 00:24:55,542
by the head of the Office
of Legal Counsel,
591
00:24:55,625 --> 00:24:57,750
Assistant Attorney General
Jack Goldsmith,
592
00:24:57,834 --> 00:25:00,542
and it was only
a matter of minutes
593
00:25:00,625 --> 00:25:03,709
that the door opened,
and in walked,
594
00:25:03,792 --> 00:25:05,542
uh, Mr. Gonzales,
carrying an envelope,
595
00:25:05,625 --> 00:25:07,625
and Mr. Card.
596
00:25:07,709 --> 00:25:09,959
- ♪ tense music ♪
- [door squeaks open]
597
00:25:10,041 --> 00:25:12,000
♪♪♪
598
00:25:12,083 --> 00:25:14,667
[Goldsmith] They seemed
very surprised to see us.
599
00:25:14,750 --> 00:25:16,959
It was a very awkward--
extremely awkward moment.
600
00:25:17,041 --> 00:25:18,834
[indistinct conversation]
601
00:25:18,917 --> 00:25:21,166
They were standing
at the foot of the bed.
602
00:25:21,250 --> 00:25:23,625
In that manila envelope,
Gonzales had the approvals
603
00:25:23,709 --> 00:25:25,834
for the program
without any retraction,
604
00:25:25,917 --> 00:25:27,875
and he asked
the attorney general
605
00:25:27,959 --> 00:25:30,250
would he approve the program
that he essentially approved
606
00:25:30,333 --> 00:25:32,000
for the last two years.
607
00:25:32,083 --> 00:25:35,959
♪♪♪
608
00:25:36,041 --> 00:25:38,000
There was some silence,
609
00:25:38,083 --> 00:25:41,375
and then Ashcroft kind of
lifted himself up off the bed
610
00:25:41,458 --> 00:25:43,208
and he kind of
expanded his chest
611
00:25:43,291 --> 00:25:44,458
and kind of looked at them,
612
00:25:44,542 --> 00:25:47,500
and he came to life
a little bit.
613
00:25:47,583 --> 00:25:50,458
[Comey] And then John Ashcroft
did something that amazed me.
614
00:25:50,542 --> 00:25:51,917
He had been misled
about the scope
615
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:53,709
of the surveillance program,
he said.
616
00:25:53,792 --> 00:25:55,542
He vented that he had
serious concerns
617
00:25:55,625 --> 00:25:57,875
about the legal basis
for parts of the program
618
00:25:57,959 --> 00:25:59,875
now that he understood it.
619
00:25:59,959 --> 00:26:02,208
"But that doesn't matter now,"
he said,
620
00:26:02,291 --> 00:26:04,500
"because I'm not
the attorney general."
621
00:26:04,583 --> 00:26:07,083
With a finger extended from
his shaking left hand,
622
00:26:07,166 --> 00:26:08,959
he pointed at me.
623
00:26:09,041 --> 00:26:10,792
"There is
the attorney general."
624
00:26:10,875 --> 00:26:12,792
♪ resonant music ♪
625
00:26:12,875 --> 00:26:16,041
I don't appreciate the way
Jim Comey talks about it.
626
00:26:16,125 --> 00:26:19,083
His tunnel vision was limited,
627
00:26:19,166 --> 00:26:20,792
so I don't question
628
00:26:20,875 --> 00:26:23,625
how he relates it
from his narrow vision,
629
00:26:23,709 --> 00:26:26,709
but it's very different than
a more realistic
630
00:26:26,792 --> 00:26:29,667
a-and accurate description
of what happened.
631
00:26:29,750 --> 00:26:32,458
The president made
a phone call to the hospital,
632
00:26:32,542 --> 00:26:34,917
and I hear him say
to John Ashcroft--
633
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,166
or Janet Ashcroft--that
Andy Card and Alberto Gonzales
634
00:26:38,250 --> 00:26:40,125
will come over
and bring the documents,
635
00:26:40,208 --> 00:26:41,667
and you can sign them.
636
00:26:41,750 --> 00:26:45,333
And so,
the president says to me,
637
00:26:45,417 --> 00:26:47,667
"He's expecting you.
You can go over there."
638
00:26:47,750 --> 00:26:49,709
And I go out
and get Alberto Gonzales,
639
00:26:49,792 --> 00:26:52,000
and we then go over
to the hospital.
640
00:26:52,083 --> 00:26:54,417
This was not,
"Sign the document!
641
00:26:54,500 --> 00:26:56,041
You've gotta make him
sign the document!"
642
00:26:56,125 --> 00:26:57,917
- [man] No, no--
- This was not that way at all.
643
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,250
[man] But he did--
John Ashcroft didn't turn
644
00:27:00,333 --> 00:27:02,542
to you and say,
"I'm not the attorney general.
645
00:27:02,625 --> 00:27:04,291
- This man is"?
- No, he says, "I'm told
646
00:27:04,375 --> 00:27:06,625
I'm not the attorney general
right now."
647
00:27:06,709 --> 00:27:10,291
I was...upset
at the White House
648
00:27:10,375 --> 00:27:11,834
because I didn't know
649
00:27:11,917 --> 00:27:13,792
the attorney general
wasn't the attorney general.
650
00:27:13,875 --> 00:27:15,625
I was not in a condition
651
00:27:15,709 --> 00:27:18,250
to make the kinds
of decisions that...
652
00:27:18,333 --> 00:27:20,166
um...
653
00:27:20,250 --> 00:27:22,125
I wasn't totally without
an awareness,
654
00:27:22,208 --> 00:27:24,291
but I-I wasn't looking
around the room.
655
00:27:24,375 --> 00:27:27,667
I-I didn't...I didn't...
656
00:27:27,750 --> 00:27:31,583
you know, I had a morphine pump
in one hand.
657
00:27:31,667 --> 00:27:34,625
And I was not attorney general
for a good reason.
658
00:27:34,709 --> 00:27:37,625
[medical devices beeping
and humming]
659
00:27:37,709 --> 00:27:38,750
[Goldsmith] At that point,
they just wanted
660
00:27:38,834 --> 00:27:40,250
to get the hell out of there,
661
00:27:40,333 --> 00:27:42,125
and they said something like,
662
00:27:42,208 --> 00:27:44,542
"Thank you very much, sir.
I hope you feel better."
663
00:27:44,625 --> 00:27:47,125
Mrs. Ashcroft is a small lady,
664
00:27:47,208 --> 00:27:50,333
and...she did something
that really kind of summed up
665
00:27:50,417 --> 00:27:51,750
the way I think
a lot of us felt.
666
00:27:51,834 --> 00:27:53,250
As they were walking
out the door,
667
00:27:53,333 --> 00:27:54,542
she stuck out her tongue
at them
668
00:27:54,625 --> 00:27:58,125
in a very, um, forceful way.
669
00:27:58,208 --> 00:27:59,208
She didn't approve.
670
00:27:59,291 --> 00:28:00,917
♪♪♪
671
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,709
[Schumer] Can you tell us
what happened then?
672
00:28:04,333 --> 00:28:07,125
I was very upset. I was angry.
673
00:28:07,208 --> 00:28:11,250
[Graff] Jim Comey has a strong
sense of right and wrong,
674
00:28:11,333 --> 00:28:12,917
and through his career
675
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:16,291
has not been shy
about sharing that
676
00:28:16,375 --> 00:28:17,917
publicly and vocally.
677
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,959
[Schumer] Tell me
what so upset you.
678
00:28:20,041 --> 00:28:22,166
I thought I'd just witnessed
an effort to take advantage
679
00:28:22,250 --> 00:28:24,125
of a very sick man
680
00:28:24,208 --> 00:28:25,875
who did not have the powers
of the attorney general
681
00:28:25,959 --> 00:28:28,583
because they had been
transferred to me.
682
00:28:28,667 --> 00:28:30,083
[Card] People want
to take these things
683
00:28:30,166 --> 00:28:31,417
and turn them into
Machiavellian games.
684
00:28:31,500 --> 00:28:33,000
It was not.
685
00:28:33,083 --> 00:28:35,000
Yes, the attorney general
had signed off
686
00:28:35,083 --> 00:28:36,542
on it every month.
687
00:28:36,625 --> 00:28:37,750
Yes, there was an expectation
688
00:28:37,834 --> 00:28:39,500
that he'd sign off on it again.
689
00:28:39,583 --> 00:28:41,667
Yes, we were told that
the program would come
690
00:28:41,750 --> 00:28:43,542
to a screeching halt
at midnight
691
00:28:43,625 --> 00:28:45,875
if we didn't have
the document signed.
692
00:28:45,959 --> 00:28:49,709
And I wasn't even
carrying the document.
693
00:28:49,792 --> 00:28:52,417
Alberto Gonzales was.
694
00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:54,333
Who sent you to the hospital?
695
00:28:54,417 --> 00:28:55,709
Senator, what I can say
is we'd had
696
00:28:55,792 --> 00:28:57,959
a very important meeting
at the White House
697
00:28:58,041 --> 00:28:59,417
- over one of the most--
- [Schumer] I didn't ask that.
698
00:28:59,500 --> 00:29:00,750
I didn't ask--you've discussed
the meeting...
699
00:29:00,834 --> 00:29:02,250
I'm answering your question,
Senator.
700
00:29:02,333 --> 00:29:03,500
- [Schumer] Who sent you?
- If I could.
701
00:29:03,583 --> 00:29:05,166
Did anyone tell you to go?
702
00:29:05,250 --> 00:29:06,875
It was one of the most
important programs
703
00:29:06,959 --> 00:29:08,208
for the United States.
It was important--
704
00:29:08,291 --> 00:29:09,792
had been authorized
by the president.
705
00:29:09,875 --> 00:29:12,041
Did the president ask you
to go?
706
00:29:12,125 --> 00:29:13,083
We were there on behalf of the
President of the United States.
707
00:29:13,166 --> 00:29:14,291
I didn't ask you that.
708
00:29:14,375 --> 00:29:15,709
Did the president
ask you to go?
709
00:29:15,792 --> 00:29:17,166
Senator, we were there
on behalf
710
00:29:17,250 --> 00:29:18,417
of the President
of the United States.
711
00:29:18,500 --> 00:29:20,000
Why can't you answer
that question?
712
00:29:20,083 --> 00:29:22,041
That's the answer that
I can give you, Senator.
713
00:29:24,208 --> 00:29:26,458
[Schumer] And you stated
that the next day, Thursday,
714
00:29:26,542 --> 00:29:29,291
was the deadline for
reauthorization of the program.
715
00:29:29,375 --> 00:29:31,250
- Is that right?
- Yes, sir.
716
00:29:31,333 --> 00:29:33,458
Okay.
Can you tell us what happened?
717
00:29:35,125 --> 00:29:37,500
The program was reauthorized
without us,
718
00:29:37,583 --> 00:29:39,917
and without a signature
from the Department of Justice
719
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,583
attesting as to its legality
720
00:29:42,667 --> 00:29:45,834
and, uh, I prepared
a letter of resignation.
721
00:29:45,917 --> 00:29:47,583
♪ ominous music ♪
722
00:29:47,667 --> 00:29:49,333
♪♪♪
723
00:29:49,417 --> 00:29:51,125
[Schumer] As I understand it,
724
00:29:51,208 --> 00:29:54,500
you believed that others were
also prepared to resign,
725
00:29:54,583 --> 00:29:56,667
not just you.
726
00:29:56,750 --> 00:29:58,291
Yes.
727
00:29:58,375 --> 00:30:00,250
♪♪♪
728
00:30:00,333 --> 00:30:02,959
[Ashcroft] I was prepared
to resign if I felt
729
00:30:03,041 --> 00:30:06,500
that we were condoning
or promoting or facilitating
730
00:30:06,583 --> 00:30:09,458
illegal behavior.
731
00:30:09,542 --> 00:30:11,333
It is not to say that you are
732
00:30:11,417 --> 00:30:12,458
the ultimate arbiter
733
00:30:12,542 --> 00:30:14,166
of what's right and wrong.
734
00:30:15,375 --> 00:30:17,250
[Goldsmith] I started thinking
more about resignation
735
00:30:17,333 --> 00:30:19,500
and trying to figure out
what the principled thing
736
00:30:19,583 --> 00:30:21,959
to do was in this highly
political situation
737
00:30:22,041 --> 00:30:23,667
where there was
a lot of presidential power
738
00:30:23,750 --> 00:30:25,333
to deal with, but there was
also restraints
739
00:30:25,417 --> 00:30:27,166
on presidential power.
740
00:30:27,250 --> 00:30:29,458
And across my desk
741
00:30:29,542 --> 00:30:31,834
was a large portrait
of Elliot Richardson,
742
00:30:31,917 --> 00:30:34,667
the attorney general
under Nixon
743
00:30:34,750 --> 00:30:37,000
who resigned on principle.
744
00:30:37,083 --> 00:30:39,959
He has very thick,
large black glasses,
745
00:30:40,041 --> 00:30:42,291
and his beady little eyes
were staring out of them,
746
00:30:42,375 --> 00:30:44,750
and I grew very close to him
in watching his portrait
747
00:30:44,834 --> 00:30:47,250
and trying to decide
what I should do.
748
00:30:47,333 --> 00:30:50,333
Ultimately, I didn't see how
I could continue to serve
749
00:30:50,417 --> 00:30:53,709
an administration that seemed
indifferent to the law,
750
00:30:53,792 --> 00:30:55,583
so I was prepared to resign,
751
00:30:55,667 --> 00:30:58,834
and a lot of other people
were as well.
752
00:30:58,917 --> 00:31:00,834
[Schumer] How about
your chief of staff?
753
00:31:00,917 --> 00:31:03,291
Yes, he-he was certainly
gonna go when I went.
754
00:31:03,375 --> 00:31:07,083
Right. How about Mr. Ashcroft's
chief of staff?
755
00:31:07,166 --> 00:31:08,834
My understanding was that
he would go as well.
756
00:31:08,917 --> 00:31:11,166
How about Director Mueller?
757
00:31:11,250 --> 00:31:12,375
Yes.
758
00:31:12,458 --> 00:31:15,166
♪♪♪
759
00:31:15,250 --> 00:31:18,208
Literally and figuratively,
George W. Bush blinks,
760
00:31:18,291 --> 00:31:21,959
and he says, "Tell Jim
to make the changes
761
00:31:22,041 --> 00:31:25,583
that he thinks are necessary
to this program."
762
00:31:25,667 --> 00:31:28,625
[Weiner] Bush writes
in his memoir...
763
00:31:28,709 --> 00:31:32,500
that when Mueller and Comey
confronted him
764
00:31:32,583 --> 00:31:35,834
and said they were prepared
to resign on principle,
765
00:31:35,917 --> 00:31:38,542
a thought flashed immediately
through his mind,
766
00:31:38,625 --> 00:31:42,458
and that was the memory of
the Saturday Night Massacre.
767
00:31:42,542 --> 00:31:45,417
[slightly distorted]
President Nixon has discharged
768
00:31:45,500 --> 00:31:49,709
Archibald Cox as Watergate's
special prosecutor.
769
00:31:49,792 --> 00:31:54,000
As a result, Attorney General
Elliot Richardson has resigned,
770
00:31:54,083 --> 00:31:57,291
and when Deputy Attorney
General William Ruckelshaus
771
00:31:57,375 --> 00:32:00,208
refused to carry out orders...
772
00:32:00,291 --> 00:32:02,959
[inhales] From the president,
he was discharged.
773
00:32:04,375 --> 00:32:07,125
And Bush writes, "That was not
a historical experience
774
00:32:07,208 --> 00:32:09,000
I wished to repeat."
775
00:32:09,083 --> 00:32:11,625
You felt lucky
that the country was spared
776
00:32:11,709 --> 00:32:14,208
what was clearly
a constitutional crisis
777
00:32:14,291 --> 00:32:16,208
and a potential
mass resignation,
778
00:32:16,291 --> 00:32:18,041
uh, over principle
779
00:32:18,125 --> 00:32:20,000
by the leading
law enforcement officials
780
00:32:20,083 --> 00:32:22,375
in the country.
781
00:32:22,458 --> 00:32:24,417
[Graff] George W. Bush
didn't think
782
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:26,375
that any president
could survive
783
00:32:26,458 --> 00:32:27,959
the loss of an FBI director.
784
00:32:28,041 --> 00:32:30,208
[helicopter rotors whirring]
785
00:32:30,291 --> 00:32:33,250
Those are words he said to me
a decade ago at this point
786
00:32:33,333 --> 00:32:35,834
but have sort of
rattled around my mind
787
00:32:35,917 --> 00:32:38,000
with sort of a fresh resonance,
788
00:32:38,083 --> 00:32:41,000
you know, as we sort of look at
Jim Comey and Bob Mueller
789
00:32:41,083 --> 00:32:42,750
in the midst
of another showdown
790
00:32:42,834 --> 00:32:44,750
with another president.
791
00:32:44,834 --> 00:32:47,792
♪ percussive music ♪
792
00:32:47,875 --> 00:32:53,000
♪♪♪
793
00:32:53,291 --> 00:32:55,834
[Weiner] On June eighth, 2017,
794
00:32:55,917 --> 00:32:59,500
almost ten years exactly
after his testimony
795
00:32:59,583 --> 00:33:01,792
about the Stellar Wind
confrontation,
796
00:33:01,875 --> 00:33:04,959
here comes Jim Comey
to tell the story
797
00:33:05,041 --> 00:33:07,333
of another
extraordinary confrontation
798
00:33:07,417 --> 00:33:08,625
with a president.
799
00:33:10,709 --> 00:33:13,083
[reporter] Comey delivering
the first public accounting
800
00:33:13,166 --> 00:33:15,458
of his dealings
with President Donald Trump.
801
00:33:15,542 --> 00:33:17,458
[reporter] No word yet on
whether the White House would
802
00:33:17,542 --> 00:33:20,625
claim executive privilege
to block Comey's testimony.
803
00:33:20,709 --> 00:33:22,083
[reporter] He has done
so much damage
804
00:33:22,166 --> 00:33:24,250
to the reputation of the FBI,
805
00:33:24,333 --> 00:33:26,875
and he continues to insert
himself into stories.
806
00:33:26,959 --> 00:33:28,875
[reporter] Nothing
with Jim Comey has been dull
807
00:33:28,959 --> 00:33:30,417
in his past testimonies.
808
00:33:30,500 --> 00:33:33,291
I don't expect this one
to be either.
809
00:33:33,375 --> 00:33:35,250
[Burr] Director Comey,
you're now under oath.
810
00:33:35,333 --> 00:33:36,959
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
811
00:33:37,041 --> 00:33:38,959
Ranking Member Warner,
members of the committee,
812
00:33:39,041 --> 00:33:41,834
thank you for inviting me here
to testify today.
813
00:33:41,917 --> 00:33:46,250
When I was appointed
FBI director in 2013,
814
00:33:46,333 --> 00:33:49,208
I understood that I served at
the pleasure of the president.
815
00:33:50,750 --> 00:33:53,667
But I want the American people
to know this truth:
816
00:33:53,750 --> 00:33:55,417
when I was fired,
817
00:33:55,500 --> 00:33:58,250
the administration chose
to defame me
818
00:33:58,333 --> 00:34:00,875
and, more importantly,
the FBI by saying
819
00:34:00,959 --> 00:34:03,375
that the organization
was in disarray,
820
00:34:03,458 --> 00:34:06,959
that the workforce had
lost confidence in its leader.
821
00:34:07,583 --> 00:34:09,917
Those were lies,
plain and simple.
822
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:13,291
♪♪♪
823
00:34:13,375 --> 00:34:15,500
[Wittes] There were
a lot of terrible things
824
00:34:15,583 --> 00:34:20,458
about the firing,
but it didn't surprise me.
825
00:34:20,542 --> 00:34:22,000
♪ dramatic sting ♪
826
00:34:24,041 --> 00:34:27,125
I run a news
and commentary outlet
827
00:34:27,208 --> 00:34:29,333
that is devoted to, uh,
828
00:34:29,417 --> 00:34:30,792
the space where
829
00:34:30,875 --> 00:34:33,333
national security, law,
and policy
830
00:34:33,417 --> 00:34:34,792
crash into one another.
831
00:34:34,875 --> 00:34:36,750
♪ unsettling music ♪
832
00:34:36,834 --> 00:34:39,750
Two days after the election,
I wrote a piece
833
00:34:39,834 --> 00:34:41,750
specifically warning
834
00:34:41,834 --> 00:34:42,542
that Trump might try
835
00:34:42,625 --> 00:34:43,875
to fire Jim Comey.
836
00:34:43,959 --> 00:34:46,625
♪♪♪
837
00:34:46,709 --> 00:34:50,208
I believed that if you are
an authoritarian personality
838
00:34:50,291 --> 00:34:52,542
in control of the presidency,
839
00:34:52,625 --> 00:34:53,917
you simply cannot be
840
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,375
as authoritarian
as you want to be
841
00:34:56,458 --> 00:34:58,333
if you have independent,
honest law enforcement--
842
00:34:58,417 --> 00:35:00,959
and let me just be candid
about my bias, here:
843
00:35:01,041 --> 00:35:03,542
That is what I think
Jim represents.
844
00:35:03,625 --> 00:35:06,917
Flaws and all, whatever
mistakes he may have made,
845
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,333
he's independent
and he's honest.
846
00:35:09,417 --> 00:35:12,083
[Feinstein] Let me begin
with one overarching question.
847
00:35:12,166 --> 00:35:14,625
Why do you believe
you were fired?
848
00:35:14,709 --> 00:35:16,417
[Comey] There's no doubt that
849
00:35:16,500 --> 00:35:18,375
it's a fair judgment--
it's my judgment--
850
00:35:18,458 --> 00:35:21,417
that I was fired because
of the Russia investigation.
851
00:35:21,500 --> 00:35:23,750
I was fired to change the way
852
00:35:23,834 --> 00:35:25,792
the Russia investigation
was being conducted.
853
00:35:25,875 --> 00:35:28,208
♪ dramatic sting ♪
854
00:35:28,291 --> 00:35:30,083
[Wittes] I wanted to know
855
00:35:30,166 --> 00:35:32,375
that the person
who headed the FBI
856
00:35:32,458 --> 00:35:34,250
would be willing
857
00:35:34,333 --> 00:35:36,667
to stand up to the President
of the United States
858
00:35:36,750 --> 00:35:41,250
as Bob Mueller had been
willing to do in 2004,
859
00:35:41,333 --> 00:35:44,667
because, for reasons
that were specific
860
00:35:44,750 --> 00:35:46,750
to the Russia investigation,
861
00:35:46,834 --> 00:35:49,000
I never doubted
that there would be
862
00:35:49,083 --> 00:35:50,959
a significant confrontation.
863
00:35:51,041 --> 00:35:53,208
♪ ominous music ♪
864
00:35:53,291 --> 00:35:55,250
[Weiner] The Russia
investigation began
865
00:35:55,333 --> 00:35:58,125
very quietly
in the summer of 2016,
866
00:35:58,208 --> 00:36:00,792
when evidence
of Russian interference
867
00:36:00,875 --> 00:36:02,834
in the presidential election
started to emerge.
868
00:36:02,917 --> 00:36:05,000
♪♪♪
869
00:36:05,083 --> 00:36:07,000
[Clapper] There's a long
history of the Russians
870
00:36:07,083 --> 00:36:07,959
interfering in elections--
871
00:36:08,041 --> 00:36:10,000
theirs and other people's.
872
00:36:10,083 --> 00:36:12,917
We have records going back
at least to the '60s
873
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,792
of Russians attempting,
in their ham-handed way,
874
00:36:15,875 --> 00:36:17,417
to influence elections.
875
00:36:18,500 --> 00:36:19,917
[man] Just to play devil's
advocate, I mean,
876
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:21,500
isn't there a variation of this
877
00:36:21,583 --> 00:36:23,750
that we've done to Russia
in the past?
878
00:36:23,834 --> 00:36:26,041
Sure. We've done that.
879
00:36:26,125 --> 00:36:28,083
Uh...I... [stammers softly]
880
00:36:28,166 --> 00:36:30,083
This may seem naive
or altruistic,
881
00:36:30,166 --> 00:36:33,041
but I think
in just about every case,
882
00:36:33,125 --> 00:36:36,250
we were trying to do it because
of the oppressed peoples
883
00:36:36,333 --> 00:36:38,333
of that particular country
or, frankly,
884
00:36:38,417 --> 00:36:41,458
what we thought was in,
you know, best U.S. interests.
885
00:36:41,542 --> 00:36:45,959
But never ever as direct
and aggressive and multifaceted
886
00:36:46,041 --> 00:36:48,875
as what they did in 2016.
887
00:36:48,959 --> 00:36:50,417
[man] Was the big difference
888
00:36:50,500 --> 00:36:52,166
that they weaponized it
and made it public?
889
00:36:52,250 --> 00:36:53,834
Well, the thing was,
it was so different.
890
00:36:53,917 --> 00:36:55,625
It was so active,
891
00:36:55,709 --> 00:36:58,250
particularly using
the enabler of social media.
892
00:36:58,333 --> 00:37:00,625
That was
the big difference here.
893
00:37:00,709 --> 00:37:03,375
Massive use of social media,
894
00:37:03,458 --> 00:37:05,875
which was very sophisticated,
very astute.
895
00:37:05,959 --> 00:37:08,000
They had messages
for everybody--
896
00:37:08,083 --> 00:37:10,250
Black Lives Matter,
white supremacists,
897
00:37:10,333 --> 00:37:12,291
pro-Muslims, anti-Muslims,
898
00:37:12,375 --> 00:37:13,875
pro-gun-control,
anti-gun-control.
899
00:37:13,959 --> 00:37:16,333
It didn't matter.
The Russians went after them.
900
00:37:16,417 --> 00:37:18,041
♪ unsettling music ♪
901
00:37:18,125 --> 00:37:19,917
And their objections,
we believe,
902
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:21,500
evolved over time,
903
00:37:21,583 --> 00:37:23,458
starting with the very strong
personal animus
904
00:37:23,542 --> 00:37:26,500
that Vladimir Putin had
towards Secretary Clinton,
905
00:37:26,583 --> 00:37:28,583
whom he held responsible
for fomenting
906
00:37:28,667 --> 00:37:30,709
what he thought was
a revolution
907
00:37:30,792 --> 00:37:33,291
during the election
in Russia in 2011.
908
00:37:33,375 --> 00:37:35,000
♪♪♪
909
00:37:35,083 --> 00:37:36,959
So the Russians did
all they could
910
00:37:37,041 --> 00:37:38,792
to undermine her.
911
00:37:38,875 --> 00:37:40,959
- [crowd shouting]
- [reporter] A revolt
912
00:37:41,041 --> 00:37:42,333
in the Democratic Party
913
00:37:42,417 --> 00:37:44,166
after hacked emails revealed
914
00:37:44,250 --> 00:37:46,834
the DNC favored Clinton
over Sanders.
915
00:37:46,917 --> 00:37:50,375
Will you people shut up?
Save it for Trump!
916
00:37:50,458 --> 00:37:53,000
[Weiner] Russian intelligence
hacked the DNC
917
00:37:53,083 --> 00:37:55,500
and set the pestilence
of these emails out
918
00:37:55,583 --> 00:37:58,500
into the ecosystem
of American politics.
919
00:37:58,583 --> 00:38:00,542
[reporter] On the eve
of the convention,
920
00:38:00,625 --> 00:38:03,959
WikiLeaks released thousands
of emails from the DNC.
921
00:38:04,041 --> 00:38:07,208
[Weiner] So if you go back
to the Watergate break-in,
922
00:38:07,291 --> 00:38:09,250
a bunch of bad actors
broke into
923
00:38:09,333 --> 00:38:10,792
the Democratic National
Headquarters,
924
00:38:10,875 --> 00:38:12,125
digging up dirt.
925
00:38:12,959 --> 00:38:14,917
Here we are today.
926
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,750
A bunch of bad actors
that happen to be Russians
927
00:38:17,834 --> 00:38:20,166
broke into the Democratic
National Headquarters
928
00:38:20,250 --> 00:38:23,917
to dig up dirt and help
elect Donald Trump.
929
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,542
[Trump] I pledge
930
00:38:25,625 --> 00:38:27,875
that I will be president
for all Americans.
931
00:38:27,959 --> 00:38:30,250
[cheers and applause]
932
00:38:30,333 --> 00:38:34,166
[Weiner] FBI, CIA, and NSA
are on the same page on this,
933
00:38:34,250 --> 00:38:38,625
and frankly, FBI, CIA, and NSA
rarely agree on anything.
934
00:38:38,709 --> 00:38:41,875
So we put together all of
the reporting that we had
935
00:38:41,959 --> 00:38:45,417
on Russian interference
in the run-up to the election,
936
00:38:45,500 --> 00:38:47,291
put it in one document
937
00:38:47,375 --> 00:38:48,667
called the Intelligence
Community Assessment.
938
00:38:48,750 --> 00:38:50,750
♪♪♪
939
00:38:50,834 --> 00:38:54,417
And then we all took a very
low-vis, low-profile
940
00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:57,083
15-SUV column
941
00:38:57,166 --> 00:38:59,083
that took us down
to Trump Tower,
942
00:38:59,166 --> 00:39:00,834
where we briefed out
943
00:39:00,917 --> 00:39:02,250
our Intelligence Community
Assessment
944
00:39:02,333 --> 00:39:03,959
to then-President-Elect Trump
945
00:39:04,041 --> 00:39:05,709
on Friday, January sixth.
946
00:39:05,792 --> 00:39:08,542
♪♪♪
947
00:39:11,041 --> 00:39:12,542
[man] So when you went in
to brief Trump...
948
00:39:12,625 --> 00:39:14,417
uh, set the stage for us.
949
00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:17,542
- What was the room like?
- Well, I don't know.
950
00:39:17,625 --> 00:39:20,625
I guess it was about
a 12x15-size room--
951
00:39:20,709 --> 00:39:22,500
pretty small,
had a conference table
952
00:39:22,583 --> 00:39:25,000
which accommodated,
uh, eight people,
953
00:39:25,083 --> 00:39:27,959
and then about six people
along the side.
954
00:39:29,417 --> 00:39:31,417
I don't remember
the colors of the wall.
955
00:39:31,500 --> 00:39:34,041
♪ tense music ♪
956
00:39:34,125 --> 00:39:35,750
♪♪♪
957
00:39:35,834 --> 00:39:37,333
[Comey] "We walked
in a group,
958
00:39:37,417 --> 00:39:39,417
surrounded
by our security people,
959
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:41,291
and entered
the side-street entrance
960
00:39:41,375 --> 00:39:43,000
for the Trump Tower
residences."
961
00:39:43,083 --> 00:39:45,083
[crowd chattering]
962
00:39:45,166 --> 00:39:47,208
"After all the live-TV images
of job applicants
963
00:39:47,291 --> 00:39:49,250
and dignitaries
coming and going
964
00:39:49,333 --> 00:39:51,375
through the gilded
Fifth Avenue lobby
965
00:39:51,458 --> 00:39:54,875
as though on
a reality TV show,
966
00:39:54,959 --> 00:39:57,208
the leaders of our country's
biggest intelligence agencies
967
00:39:57,291 --> 00:40:00,333
were sneaking in to see
the president-elect.
968
00:40:00,417 --> 00:40:01,917
We were sneaking in
to tell him
969
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,291
what Russia had done to
try to help elect him."
970
00:40:04,375 --> 00:40:06,125
♪ ominous music ♪
971
00:40:06,208 --> 00:40:07,959
[Clapper] The import
972
00:40:08,041 --> 00:40:09,417
of our Intelligence Community
Assessment
973
00:40:09,500 --> 00:40:11,834
really did, uh, cast some doubt
974
00:40:11,917 --> 00:40:14,458
about the legitimacy
of the election,
975
00:40:14,542 --> 00:40:16,500
so we were all a bit
apprehensive
976
00:40:16,583 --> 00:40:20,291
about just what kind of
a reaction we would get.
977
00:40:20,375 --> 00:40:23,000
When we completed
our briefing,
978
00:40:23,083 --> 00:40:25,250
President Elect Trump and
various other staff members
979
00:40:25,333 --> 00:40:27,875
started drafting
a press release,
980
00:40:27,959 --> 00:40:29,875
you know,
before we left the room,
981
00:40:29,959 --> 00:40:32,083
which was kind of unusual.
982
00:40:32,166 --> 00:40:35,250
And what they wanted to say was
that the Russian meddling
983
00:40:35,333 --> 00:40:38,458
had no impact on the election,
984
00:40:38,542 --> 00:40:41,125
and we tried
to point out to them
985
00:40:41,208 --> 00:40:44,709
that we didn't say that.
986
00:40:44,792 --> 00:40:48,417
[Heinrich] The president has
repeatedly talked about
987
00:40:48,500 --> 00:40:51,583
Russia's involvement
as fake news.
988
00:40:51,667 --> 00:40:54,000
Can you talk a little bit
about what you saw
989
00:40:54,083 --> 00:40:55,625
as FBI director?
990
00:40:55,709 --> 00:40:59,250
The Russians interfered
in our election
991
00:40:59,333 --> 00:41:01,083
during the 2016 cycle.
992
00:41:01,166 --> 00:41:02,333
They did it with purpose.
993
00:41:02,417 --> 00:41:04,041
They did it
with sophistication.
994
00:41:04,125 --> 00:41:05,625
It was
an active-measures campaign
995
00:41:05,709 --> 00:41:07,166
driven from the top
of that government.
996
00:41:07,250 --> 00:41:09,417
There is no fuzz on that.
997
00:41:09,500 --> 00:41:12,417
Did the president,
in any of those interactions,
998
00:41:12,500 --> 00:41:15,125
ask you what you should
be doing
999
00:41:15,208 --> 00:41:18,000
to protect America
against Russian interference
1000
00:41:18,083 --> 00:41:19,750
in our election system?
1001
00:41:19,834 --> 00:41:21,750
I don't recall
a conversation like that.
1002
00:41:21,834 --> 00:41:23,542
Never?
1003
00:41:23,625 --> 00:41:24,792
No.
1004
00:41:24,875 --> 00:41:29,417
♪♪♪
1005
00:41:29,500 --> 00:41:31,500
[Schmidt] It's in
the aftermath of that briefing
1006
00:41:31,583 --> 00:41:34,041
that Comey pulls Trump aside
1007
00:41:34,125 --> 00:41:36,375
and tells him about
the dossier,
1008
00:41:36,458 --> 00:41:38,166
this document
that had been compiled
1009
00:41:38,250 --> 00:41:39,959
by a former British spy
1010
00:41:40,041 --> 00:41:42,083
on derogatory information
the Russians had
1011
00:41:42,166 --> 00:41:43,750
about the president.
1012
00:41:43,834 --> 00:41:45,625
♪ eerie piano notes ♪
1013
00:41:45,709 --> 00:41:48,959
[Clapper] The dossier
was not used at all
1014
00:41:49,041 --> 00:41:50,834
to draw on as a source
1015
00:41:50,917 --> 00:41:52,917
for the Intelligence Community
Assessment.
1016
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,959
We did include
1017
00:41:55,041 --> 00:41:57,959
about a page-and-three-quarter
summary of the dossier
1018
00:41:58,041 --> 00:41:59,166
as an appendix,
1019
00:41:59,250 --> 00:42:00,750
but not as an organic part
1020
00:42:00,834 --> 00:42:02,959
of the Intelligence Community
Assessment.
1021
00:42:03,041 --> 00:42:05,959
And we just felt, uh,
the obligation or duty
1022
00:42:06,041 --> 00:42:09,208
to warn the president
that this thing was out there.
1023
00:42:09,291 --> 00:42:11,375
And Jim asked if...
1024
00:42:11,458 --> 00:42:13,583
he said, "I think
it'd be better
1025
00:42:13,667 --> 00:42:16,417
if I did it by myself,"
and I-I was fine with that.
1026
00:42:17,709 --> 00:42:20,041
[Comey] The material included
some wild stuff.
1027
00:42:20,125 --> 00:42:22,458
Among that stuff were
unconfirmed allegations
1028
00:42:22,542 --> 00:42:24,500
that the president-elect
had been engaged
1029
00:42:24,583 --> 00:42:28,041
in unusual sexual activities
with prostitutes in Russia
1030
00:42:28,125 --> 00:42:31,667
while on a trip
to Moscow in 2013.
1031
00:42:31,750 --> 00:42:34,208
Another allegation was
that these activities
1032
00:42:34,291 --> 00:42:36,417
were filmed
by Russian intelligence
1033
00:42:36,500 --> 00:42:38,083
for the possible purpose
of blackmail
1034
00:42:38,166 --> 00:42:40,667
against the president-elect.
1035
00:42:40,750 --> 00:42:42,834
Jim Comey,
and I think rightfully so,
1036
00:42:42,917 --> 00:42:44,375
was concerned about
1037
00:42:44,458 --> 00:42:46,417
the counterintelligence
implications.
1038
00:42:46,500 --> 00:42:48,834
The Russians have
a long history
1039
00:42:48,917 --> 00:42:51,250
and are famous for using
what they call "kompromat"--
1040
00:42:51,333 --> 00:42:53,792
compromising material--
1041
00:42:53,875 --> 00:42:57,375
which they might attempt
to use for leverage.
1042
00:42:57,458 --> 00:43:00,583
[Wittes] The mere fact
that this stuff is out there
1043
00:43:00,667 --> 00:43:02,500
is a problem
1044
00:43:02,583 --> 00:43:05,583
that has to be managed
from a security point of view.
1045
00:43:05,667 --> 00:43:08,625
But Trump responds
1046
00:43:08,709 --> 00:43:12,125
by denying
specific components of it:
1047
00:43:12,208 --> 00:43:15,583
whether he needs
prostitutes or not.
1048
00:43:15,667 --> 00:43:18,333
Trump is the kind of guy who
tries to make his own reality.
1049
00:43:18,417 --> 00:43:20,083
"It never happened,
1050
00:43:20,166 --> 00:43:22,000
I don't know anything
about Russia,
1051
00:43:22,083 --> 00:43:24,000
and I have no business
with Russians."
1052
00:43:24,083 --> 00:43:25,709
♪ dark music ♪
1053
00:43:25,792 --> 00:43:28,291
I think that our
intelligence agencies
1054
00:43:28,375 --> 00:43:32,041
are giving the president advice
that is colored
1055
00:43:32,125 --> 00:43:36,166
by their agenda
and their motivations.
1056
00:43:36,250 --> 00:43:37,834
They began trying to get
1057
00:43:37,917 --> 00:43:41,333
Donald Trump to run
for president in 1988,
1058
00:43:41,417 --> 00:43:43,542
again in 2000,
1059
00:43:43,625 --> 00:43:47,500
again in 2012,
and then finally, in 2016.
1060
00:43:47,583 --> 00:43:50,291
I have worked
for four presidents.
1061
00:43:50,375 --> 00:43:54,250
I think I could only be called
an adviser to three of them:
1062
00:43:54,333 --> 00:43:56,041
Richard Nixon,
1063
00:43:56,125 --> 00:43:57,500
Ronald Reagan,
1064
00:43:57,583 --> 00:43:59,750
and Donald Trump.
1065
00:43:59,834 --> 00:44:01,291
If you are the subject
1066
00:44:01,375 --> 00:44:03,291
of a partisan witch hunt--
1067
00:44:03,375 --> 00:44:05,500
as I think Nixon was,
1068
00:44:05,583 --> 00:44:08,000
as I think Trump now is--
1069
00:44:08,083 --> 00:44:10,500
then I-I think
that you cannot trust
1070
00:44:10,583 --> 00:44:13,125
in the intelligence agencies,
1071
00:44:13,208 --> 00:44:14,750
and I suspect, uh,
1072
00:44:14,834 --> 00:44:16,667
that Mr. Comey was telling
the president
1073
00:44:16,750 --> 00:44:19,834
about the dossier
as a way to threaten him.
1074
00:44:19,917 --> 00:44:21,625
♪♪♪
1075
00:44:21,709 --> 00:44:24,083
[Comey] There was a real chance
that Donald Trump
1076
00:44:24,166 --> 00:44:26,750
would assume I was pulling
a J. Edgar Hoover
1077
00:44:26,834 --> 00:44:28,667
and dangling
the prostitute thing over him
1078
00:44:28,750 --> 00:44:31,250
to gain leverage.
1079
00:44:31,333 --> 00:44:33,208
I decided I could assure
the president-elect
1080
00:44:33,291 --> 00:44:36,583
that the FBI was not currently
investigating him.
1081
00:44:36,667 --> 00:44:38,500
This was literally true
1082
00:44:38,583 --> 00:44:41,083
but could
be misleadingly narrow.
1083
00:44:41,166 --> 00:44:44,583
But I also saw the bigger
danger of the new president,
1084
00:44:44,667 --> 00:44:46,291
who was known to be impulsive,
1085
00:44:46,375 --> 00:44:49,583
going to war against the FBI.
1086
00:44:49,667 --> 00:44:53,208
The FBI director
is so concerned
1087
00:44:53,291 --> 00:44:55,125
by this interaction
1088
00:44:55,208 --> 00:44:58,375
that he gets into the FBI car
1089
00:44:58,458 --> 00:45:00,250
and immediately
memorializes it.
1090
00:45:00,333 --> 00:45:03,458
[keys clacking]
1091
00:45:05,417 --> 00:45:06,750
[Carlin] It's the first memo
1092
00:45:06,834 --> 00:45:09,166
in a series of ones
that Comey made
1093
00:45:09,250 --> 00:45:12,250
about every single interaction
he had with the president.
1094
00:45:12,333 --> 00:45:15,250
[keys clacking]
1095
00:45:15,333 --> 00:45:17,250
♪♪♪
1096
00:45:17,333 --> 00:45:21,583
He's asked, "Why'd you feel
the need to write it down?"
1097
00:45:21,667 --> 00:45:24,500
And he says, "It's because of
the nature of the person."
1098
00:45:24,583 --> 00:45:27,542
[keys clacking]
1099
00:45:27,625 --> 00:45:32,625
♪♪♪
1100
00:45:32,709 --> 00:45:34,583
♪ ominous music building ♪
1101
00:45:34,667 --> 00:45:36,875
♪♪♪
1102
00:45:36,959 --> 00:45:38,834
[reporter] CNN has learned
1103
00:45:38,917 --> 00:45:40,834
that the nation's
top intelligence officials
1104
00:45:40,917 --> 00:45:44,125
provided information to
President-Elect Donald Trump
1105
00:45:44,208 --> 00:45:46,583
about claims
of Russian efforts
1106
00:45:46,667 --> 00:45:49,125
to compromise
President-Elect Trump.
1107
00:45:49,208 --> 00:45:52,041
[reporter] ...including
a claim of sexual activity
1108
00:45:52,125 --> 00:45:55,458
caught on a Moscow hotel room
surveillance camera.
1109
00:45:55,542 --> 00:45:57,583
[crowd talking at once]
1110
00:45:57,667 --> 00:45:58,875
- [Trump] Go ahead.
- [reporter] First of all,
1111
00:45:58,959 --> 00:46:01,000
did the heads of
the intelligence agencies
1112
00:46:01,083 --> 00:46:02,750
provide you with
a two-page summary
1113
00:46:02,834 --> 00:46:04,709
of these unsubstantiated
allegations?
1114
00:46:04,792 --> 00:46:06,333
[Trump] These meetings,
as you know, are confidential,
1115
00:46:06,417 --> 00:46:08,208
classified, so I'm not allowed
1116
00:46:08,291 --> 00:46:10,875
to talk about what went on
in a meeting,
1117
00:46:10,959 --> 00:46:13,667
but I will say
I think it's a disgrace
1118
00:46:13,750 --> 00:46:17,375
that the intelligence agencies
allowed any information
1119
00:46:17,458 --> 00:46:21,041
that turned out to be
so false and fake out,
1120
00:46:21,125 --> 00:46:22,583
and that's something that
1121
00:46:22,667 --> 00:46:24,834
Nazi Germany would've
done and did do.
1122
00:46:24,917 --> 00:46:26,458
- [reporters talking at once]
- [Clapper] He had
1123
00:46:26,542 --> 00:46:28,166
a news conference
1124
00:46:28,250 --> 00:46:30,166
in which he characterized
the intelligence community
1125
00:46:30,250 --> 00:46:31,959
as Nazis,
1126
00:46:32,041 --> 00:46:35,208
blaming us for, uh,
putting out the dossier,
1127
00:46:35,291 --> 00:46:37,834
which was nonsensical.
1128
00:46:37,917 --> 00:46:39,875
The dossier is not
an intelligence document.
1129
00:46:39,959 --> 00:46:41,291
It wasn't classified.
1130
00:46:41,375 --> 00:46:42,667
You know, it had nothing
to do with
1131
00:46:42,750 --> 00:46:44,500
the intelligence community.
1132
00:46:44,583 --> 00:46:46,959
Naive me, I tried to appeal
to his higher instincts,
1133
00:46:47,041 --> 00:46:50,250
I guess, and I asked that
he not refer to, you know,
1134
00:46:50,333 --> 00:46:51,667
the intelligence community
as Nazis.
1135
00:46:51,750 --> 00:46:54,041
[man] What was his reaction?
1136
00:46:54,125 --> 00:46:56,500
Uh, he said, you know,
"Thanks, yeah, they're great,"
1137
00:46:56,583 --> 00:46:59,291
and all that, but his--his i-
main interest was in
1138
00:46:59,375 --> 00:47:02,583
my, uh, issuing a statement
rebutting the, uh, dossier,
1139
00:47:02,667 --> 00:47:05,333
which I-I really couldn't do...
1140
00:47:05,417 --> 00:47:07,208
and didn't.
1141
00:47:07,291 --> 00:47:08,917
- [reporters talking at once]
- Go ahead.
1142
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:11,250
What do you say
to foreign policy experts
1143
00:47:11,333 --> 00:47:14,458
who say you're actually
weakening national security
1144
00:47:14,542 --> 00:47:16,625
by waging this war of words
1145
00:47:16,709 --> 00:47:19,125
against your
U.S. intelligence community?
1146
00:47:19,208 --> 00:47:21,792
[Clapper] And there's actually
a fairly fine line
1147
00:47:21,875 --> 00:47:25,000
between democracy
and autocracy,
1148
00:47:25,083 --> 00:47:26,667
and if we're not sensitive
1149
00:47:26,750 --> 00:47:29,333
and don't protect
those institutions,
1150
00:47:29,417 --> 00:47:31,709
you're in trouble.
1151
00:47:31,792 --> 00:47:33,917
Well, you know,
President Putin
1152
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:36,250
and Russia put out a statement
today that this, uh, fake news
1153
00:47:36,333 --> 00:47:37,792
was indeed fake news.
1154
00:47:37,875 --> 00:47:39,667
They said it totally
never happened.
1155
00:47:39,750 --> 00:47:41,750
[cheers and applause]
1156
00:47:41,834 --> 00:47:45,291
Russia will have much
greater respect
1157
00:47:45,375 --> 00:47:48,000
for our country
when I'm leading it
1158
00:47:48,083 --> 00:47:49,750
than when other people
have led it.
1159
00:47:49,834 --> 00:47:52,959
[cheers and applause]
1160
00:47:53,500 --> 00:47:56,166
[Weiner] The Russians,
in an unbelievable
1161
00:47:56,250 --> 00:47:59,000
and unprecedented attack
on American democracy,
1162
00:47:59,083 --> 00:48:01,667
hacked the election
1163
00:48:01,750 --> 00:48:04,375
with the intent of
throwing it to Trump--
1164
00:48:04,458 --> 00:48:07,375
with the intent of disrupting
American democracy.
1165
00:48:07,458 --> 00:48:09,792
♪♪♪
1166
00:48:09,875 --> 00:48:13,959
Jim Comey, he knows
that the time will come,
1167
00:48:14,041 --> 00:48:18,291
about five minutes after
inauguration,
1168
00:48:18,375 --> 00:48:21,125
that he's gonna be
investigating the White House,
1169
00:48:21,208 --> 00:48:24,125
that he's gonna be
investigating the president,
1170
00:48:24,208 --> 00:48:28,000
and that a terrible
confrontation is in store.
1171
00:48:28,083 --> 00:48:31,959
Please raise your right hand
and repeat after me.
1172
00:48:32,041 --> 00:48:34,792
"I, Donald John Trump
do solemnly swear"...
1173
00:48:34,875 --> 00:48:36,500
♪ dark musical sting ♪
1174
00:48:36,583 --> 00:48:39,709
[thunder rumbles]
1175
00:48:45,291 --> 00:48:47,125
[Goldsmith]
Ever since Watergate,
1176
00:48:47,208 --> 00:48:48,917
the country has recognized
1177
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:51,083
that the Justice Department
and FBI
1178
00:48:51,166 --> 00:48:55,208
have to have some form
of independence
1179
00:48:55,291 --> 00:48:57,166
from the White House
and the president,
1180
00:48:57,250 --> 00:48:59,875
especially when the White House
and the president
1181
00:48:59,959 --> 00:49:02,000
are being investigated.
1182
00:49:02,083 --> 00:49:03,959
So we're already
in a fraught situation
1183
00:49:04,041 --> 00:49:06,417
where the Justice Department
itself is investigating
1184
00:49:06,500 --> 00:49:09,625
the campaign of the president
in a close election,
1185
00:49:09,709 --> 00:49:11,166
but Trump
from the very beginning
1186
00:49:11,250 --> 00:49:13,959
seemed to have an attitude
that was indifferent
1187
00:49:14,041 --> 00:49:16,083
to these independence norms.
1188
00:49:16,166 --> 00:49:19,083
[applause]
1189
00:49:19,166 --> 00:49:21,125
[Trump] Oh, the inauguration
was such a success
1190
00:49:21,208 --> 00:49:23,333
and such a safety success,
1191
00:49:23,417 --> 00:49:25,959
and we wanna thank you all,
because it was really
1192
00:49:26,041 --> 00:49:28,041
a very, very special
experience.
1193
00:49:28,125 --> 00:49:30,333
[Carlin] Right after
the inauguration,
1194
00:49:30,417 --> 00:49:33,709
Trump has the heads of
the law enforcement agencies
1195
00:49:33,792 --> 00:49:36,417
that did security
for his swearing in
1196
00:49:36,500 --> 00:49:38,375
to the White House
for an event,
1197
00:49:38,458 --> 00:49:40,375
and Comey is very concerned
1198
00:49:40,458 --> 00:49:43,333
about being seen on camera
with the president,
1199
00:49:43,417 --> 00:49:45,750
especially when the FBI
is supposed to be insulated
1200
00:49:45,834 --> 00:49:47,417
from politics.
1201
00:49:47,500 --> 00:49:49,458
But Comey,
who's six-foot-eight,
1202
00:49:49,542 --> 00:49:51,083
- is noticed by the president.
- [Trump] Let's, uh...
1203
00:49:51,166 --> 00:49:53,250
oh, and there's--
James, come here,
1204
00:49:53,333 --> 00:49:54,500
will you, please?
1205
00:49:54,583 --> 00:49:56,125
He's become
more famous than me.
1206
00:49:56,208 --> 00:49:57,500
[laughter]
1207
00:49:57,583 --> 00:49:59,709
♪♪♪
1208
00:49:59,792 --> 00:50:01,875
[Comey] My wife, Patrice, has
known me since I was 19.
1209
00:50:01,959 --> 00:50:03,792
Back at our home,
she was watching TV
1210
00:50:03,875 --> 00:50:05,709
and pointing at the screen.
1211
00:50:05,792 --> 00:50:08,417
"That's Jim's
'oh, shit' face."
1212
00:50:08,500 --> 00:50:09,458
Yes, it was.
1213
00:50:09,542 --> 00:50:11,583
[applause]
1214
00:50:11,667 --> 00:50:13,875
[camera shutter clicking]
1215
00:50:13,959 --> 00:50:14,917
♪♪♪
1216
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:16,667
The president leaned in
1217
00:50:16,750 --> 00:50:18,959
and put his mouth
near my right ear.
1218
00:50:19,041 --> 00:50:21,458
"I'm really looking forward
to working with you," he said.
1219
00:50:21,542 --> 00:50:23,500
Unfortunately,
1220
00:50:23,583 --> 00:50:25,667
because of the vantage point
of the TV cameras,
1221
00:50:25,750 --> 00:50:28,166
what many in the world thought
they saw was a kiss.
1222
00:50:28,250 --> 00:50:30,333
[applause]
1223
00:50:30,417 --> 00:50:33,333
[Wittes] To have this
flamboyant display of embrace
1224
00:50:33,417 --> 00:50:35,709
made Jim concerned
about the public confidence
1225
00:50:35,792 --> 00:50:39,083
in the integrity of the FBI
1226
00:50:39,166 --> 00:50:40,166
at a time when
1227
00:50:40,250 --> 00:50:41,875
his own position was,
1228
00:50:41,959 --> 00:50:44,125
in the eyes
of a lot of people,
1229
00:50:44,208 --> 00:50:45,458
politically suspect.
1230
00:50:45,542 --> 00:50:47,625
Jim believed it was an attempt
1231
00:50:47,709 --> 00:50:49,458
to compromise him--
1232
00:50:49,542 --> 00:50:52,291
to make him look political,
1233
00:50:52,375 --> 00:50:56,208
to make him look close
to Trump
1234
00:50:56,291 --> 00:50:59,125
in a fashion
that would further convince
1235
00:50:59,208 --> 00:51:01,166
people who had
supported Hilary Clinton
1236
00:51:01,250 --> 00:51:02,750
that he had put
a thumb on the scale
1237
00:51:02,834 --> 00:51:04,750
during the election
1238
00:51:04,834 --> 00:51:07,625
by his performance in the
Hilary Clinton email matters.
1239
00:51:07,709 --> 00:51:09,583
♪ ominous music building ♪
1240
00:51:09,667 --> 00:51:11,500
♪♪♪
1241
00:51:11,583 --> 00:51:14,500
[crowd chanting and applauding]
1242
00:51:14,583 --> 00:51:17,792
[Clinton] I am running for
president of the United States!
1243
00:51:17,875 --> 00:51:20,542
[cheers and applause]
1244
00:51:22,208 --> 00:51:25,208
[Schmidt] In 2015,
the FBI opened
1245
00:51:25,291 --> 00:51:27,291
the Clinton email
investigation,
1246
00:51:27,375 --> 00:51:31,041
looking at Clinton using
a personal email account
1247
00:51:31,125 --> 00:51:34,041
when she was
secretary of state.
1248
00:51:34,125 --> 00:51:37,083
This was an investigation
that was during the campaign,
1249
00:51:37,166 --> 00:51:40,333
and it was being looked at
in a political lens
1250
00:51:40,417 --> 00:51:42,750
by the country.
1251
00:51:42,834 --> 00:51:46,375
Comey knew that the stakes
were very high, and he felt
1252
00:51:46,458 --> 00:51:48,709
unnerved by some things
the Justice Department had done
1253
00:51:48,792 --> 00:51:50,333
in the course
of the investigation,
1254
00:51:50,417 --> 00:51:51,792
which made him wonder
1255
00:51:51,875 --> 00:51:53,709
whether their
political leanings
1256
00:51:53,792 --> 00:51:56,917
were gonna get in the way
of the investigation.
1257
00:51:57,000 --> 00:51:58,792
Things that looked funky,
1258
00:51:58,875 --> 00:52:00,792
like Loretta Lynch
meeting with Bill Clinton
1259
00:52:00,875 --> 00:52:03,208
on the tarmac in Arizona.
1260
00:52:03,291 --> 00:52:05,542
Okay, what's with this?
1261
00:52:05,625 --> 00:52:08,083
[reporter] Loretta Lynch met
with President Bill Clinton
1262
00:52:08,166 --> 00:52:09,834
on the tarmac
of a Phoenix airport
1263
00:52:09,917 --> 00:52:11,375
for 30 minutes.
1264
00:52:11,458 --> 00:52:13,125
Because of the ongoing
federal investigation
1265
00:52:13,208 --> 00:52:14,959
into Hillary Clinton's emails,
that meeting
1266
00:52:15,041 --> 00:52:16,959
has now become
a major problem.
1267
00:52:17,041 --> 00:52:19,250
[Comey] As the firestorm grew
in the media,
1268
00:52:19,333 --> 00:52:21,667
I paid more attention,
watching it become
1269
00:52:21,750 --> 00:52:23,208
another corrosive
talking point
1270
00:52:23,291 --> 00:52:25,041
about how the Obama
Justice Department
1271
00:52:25,125 --> 00:52:26,542
couldn't be trusted
to complete
1272
00:52:26,625 --> 00:52:28,542
the Clinton
email investigation.
1273
00:52:28,625 --> 00:52:30,125
Mr. Director.
1274
00:52:30,208 --> 00:52:32,166
[Schmidt] Comey felt
that the FBI
1275
00:52:32,250 --> 00:52:34,625
needed to put distance
between itself
1276
00:52:34,709 --> 00:52:37,083
and the Justice Department.
1277
00:52:37,166 --> 00:52:39,166
[Wittes] You have to
understand the relationship.
1278
00:52:39,250 --> 00:52:43,125
The FBI conducts
investigations.
1279
00:52:43,208 --> 00:52:47,583
Justice Department lawyers
then decide
1280
00:52:47,667 --> 00:52:50,625
what charges can
or cannot be brought
1281
00:52:50,709 --> 00:52:54,333
based on those findings.
1282
00:52:54,417 --> 00:52:56,750
[Schmidt] The FBI had
interviewed Hillary Clinton,
1283
00:52:56,834 --> 00:52:58,291
and they'd come
to the conclusion
1284
00:52:58,375 --> 00:53:00,834
that they didn't think
she should be prosecuted,
1285
00:53:00,917 --> 00:53:03,959
but instead of quietly
sending that recommendation
1286
00:53:04,041 --> 00:53:06,000
over to the Justice Department,
1287
00:53:06,083 --> 00:53:08,125
Comey held a press conference.
1288
00:53:13,834 --> 00:53:15,375
Good morning.
1289
00:53:15,458 --> 00:53:17,417
This is going to be
an unusual statement
1290
00:53:17,500 --> 00:53:19,375
in at least a couple of ways.
1291
00:53:19,458 --> 00:53:20,875
First, I'm going to include
1292
00:53:20,959 --> 00:53:22,250
more detail about our process
1293
00:53:22,333 --> 00:53:24,125
than I ordinarily would,
1294
00:53:24,208 --> 00:53:25,709
because I think
the American people
1295
00:53:25,792 --> 00:53:27,250
deserve those details
1296
00:53:27,333 --> 00:53:28,959
in a case of intense
public interest.
1297
00:53:31,834 --> 00:53:33,875
[Schmidt] Transparency
had been something
1298
00:53:33,959 --> 00:53:36,542
that had benefited Comey
enormously
1299
00:53:36,625 --> 00:53:41,000
in the run-up to him taking
over as FBI director.
1300
00:53:41,083 --> 00:53:43,667
In the years after he left
the Justice Department
1301
00:53:43,750 --> 00:53:45,291
under the Bush administration,
1302
00:53:45,375 --> 00:53:47,959
he had publicly testified
about a program
1303
00:53:48,041 --> 00:53:49,625
that he thought was illegal.
1304
00:53:49,709 --> 00:53:51,917
[Schumer] Just assume--you
thought something was wrong.
1305
00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:53,750
- Yes.
- [Schumer] Right.
1306
00:53:53,834 --> 00:53:55,709
[Schmidt] And by airing
this out publicly,
1307
00:53:55,792 --> 00:53:57,166
Comey was able to get
1308
00:53:57,250 --> 00:53:59,250
the stain
of the Bush administration
1309
00:53:59,333 --> 00:54:01,291
off of him and make himself
1310
00:54:01,375 --> 00:54:03,041
appear as a whistleblower,
1311
00:54:03,125 --> 00:54:05,667
so when Obama
appoints him
1312
00:54:05,750 --> 00:54:07,333
as FBI director,
1313
00:54:07,417 --> 00:54:09,667
he cites this
in his statement.
1314
00:54:09,750 --> 00:54:12,542
To know Jim Comey is also
to know his fierce independence
1315
00:54:12,625 --> 00:54:15,750
and his deep integrity.
When it's mattered most,
1316
00:54:15,834 --> 00:54:18,500
he joined Bob in standing up
for what he believed was right.
1317
00:54:18,583 --> 00:54:20,792
He was prepared to give up
the job he loved
1318
00:54:20,875 --> 00:54:22,166
rather than be
part of something
1319
00:54:22,250 --> 00:54:23,333
he felt
was fundamentally wrong.
1320
00:54:23,417 --> 00:54:26,000
♪ desolate music ♪
1321
00:54:26,083 --> 00:54:27,458
[Schmidt] So as he comes
1322
00:54:27,542 --> 00:54:28,959
into the Clinton
email investigation,
1323
00:54:29,041 --> 00:54:30,667
transparency is something
1324
00:54:30,750 --> 00:54:33,000
that had really
benefited Comey a lot
1325
00:54:33,083 --> 00:54:34,667
throughout his entire career,
1326
00:54:34,750 --> 00:54:37,250
and as he's faced
with these different decisions,
1327
00:54:37,333 --> 00:54:39,834
he goes back to run
the same play.
1328
00:54:39,917 --> 00:54:42,166
The problem is,
in doing that,
1329
00:54:42,250 --> 00:54:44,458
he really undermined himself.
1330
00:54:46,667 --> 00:54:49,125
Although we did not find
clear evidence
1331
00:54:49,208 --> 00:54:51,000
that Secretary Clinton
or her colleagues
1332
00:54:51,083 --> 00:54:53,083
intended to violate laws
1333
00:54:53,166 --> 00:54:55,750
governing the handling
of classified information,
1334
00:54:55,834 --> 00:54:57,208
there is evidence
1335
00:54:57,291 --> 00:54:58,917
that they were
extremely careless.
1336
00:55:00,333 --> 00:55:03,291
It's awkward
in the extreme.
1337
00:55:03,375 --> 00:55:05,625
Comey made it awkward
in the extreme.
1338
00:55:05,709 --> 00:55:07,750
He gratuitously said
1339
00:55:07,834 --> 00:55:10,709
she had been
"extremely careless"
1340
00:55:10,792 --> 00:55:12,834
in her handling
of classified emails.
1341
00:55:12,917 --> 00:55:16,041
Well, carelessness
is not a federal crime.
1342
00:55:16,125 --> 00:55:19,959
I didn't dissent
from his decision to do it...
1343
00:55:20,041 --> 00:55:21,583
♪ uneasy music ♪
1344
00:55:21,667 --> 00:55:23,291
...but I was very concerned
1345
00:55:23,375 --> 00:55:26,291
about the precedent
that it would set.
1346
00:55:26,375 --> 00:55:27,542
There's something
really horrible
1347
00:55:27,625 --> 00:55:29,750
about having
1348
00:55:29,834 --> 00:55:31,959
a senior
law enforcement official
1349
00:55:32,041 --> 00:55:34,166
evaluating the conduct
of somebody in public
1350
00:55:34,250 --> 00:55:37,291
whom he is not going
to charge, and I have a
1351
00:55:37,375 --> 00:55:40,583
sort of civil liberties anxiety
about that.
1352
00:55:40,667 --> 00:55:44,083
Although there is evidence
of potential violations
1353
00:55:44,166 --> 00:55:45,834
of the statues
regarding the handling
1354
00:55:45,917 --> 00:55:47,458
of classified information,
1355
00:55:47,542 --> 00:55:50,333
our judgment is that
no reasonable prosecutor
1356
00:55:50,417 --> 00:55:52,125
would bring such a case.
1357
00:55:52,208 --> 00:55:53,750
I remember Director Comey--
one of the words
1358
00:55:53,834 --> 00:55:55,417
was "no reasonable prosecutor"
1359
00:55:55,500 --> 00:55:57,625
would, um, file charges.
1360
00:55:57,709 --> 00:56:00,166
The FBI, typically--you do
your investigative report,
1361
00:56:00,250 --> 00:56:02,291
turn it over
to the U.S. Attorney's office,
1362
00:56:02,375 --> 00:56:04,208
or in this case,
to the Department of Justice,
1363
00:56:04,291 --> 00:56:05,875
let them make the decision.
1364
00:56:05,959 --> 00:56:08,083
The July announcement
by Director Comey
1365
00:56:08,166 --> 00:56:10,625
was certainly outside
the normal rulebook,
1366
00:56:10,709 --> 00:56:12,792
and, um, certainly surprised
a lot of people.
1367
00:56:12,875 --> 00:56:15,375
There wasn't any advance
warning that it was coming.
1368
00:56:15,458 --> 00:56:17,291
People have certainly
1369
00:56:17,375 --> 00:56:19,667
lost some confidence
in the FBI over this,
1370
00:56:19,750 --> 00:56:22,166
and it's been a, uh--
a difficult time.
1371
00:56:22,250 --> 00:56:24,792
[crowd clamoring]
1372
00:56:24,875 --> 00:56:26,583
[Trump] When the FBI director
1373
00:56:26,667 --> 00:56:29,458
says that
the secretary of state
1374
00:56:29,542 --> 00:56:33,458
was extremely careless
and negligent
1375
00:56:33,542 --> 00:56:36,834
in handling
our classified secrets,
1376
00:56:36,917 --> 00:56:39,500
I know that these terms
1377
00:56:39,583 --> 00:56:41,208
are minor
1378
00:56:41,291 --> 00:56:43,375
compared to what
she actually did.
1379
00:56:43,458 --> 00:56:45,250
They were just used
1380
00:56:45,333 --> 00:56:48,625
to save her
from facing justice
1381
00:56:48,709 --> 00:56:51,500
for her terrible,
terrible crimes.
1382
00:56:54,458 --> 00:56:57,250
[crowd] Lock her up!
Lock her up!
1383
00:56:57,333 --> 00:56:59,583
Lock her up!
Lock her up!
1384
00:56:59,667 --> 00:57:02,417
Lock her up!
Lock her up!
1385
00:57:02,500 --> 00:57:05,291
[crowd] Lock her up!
Lock her up!
1386
00:57:14,875 --> 00:57:17,417
[Schmidt] Ten days
before the election, Comey
1387
00:57:17,500 --> 00:57:19,792
took another
extraordinary measure.
1388
00:57:19,875 --> 00:57:21,500
He sent a letter to Congress
1389
00:57:21,583 --> 00:57:22,625
saying that the bureau
1390
00:57:22,709 --> 00:57:23,709
had reopened
1391
00:57:23,792 --> 00:57:25,250
the email investigation...
1392
00:57:25,333 --> 00:57:28,291
♪ disquieting music ♪
1393
00:57:28,375 --> 00:57:30,000
As part
of a different case,
1394
00:57:30,083 --> 00:57:31,250
Anthony Weiner,
1395
00:57:31,333 --> 00:57:33,542
the former husband
1396
00:57:33,625 --> 00:57:35,125
of Huma Abedin,
1397
00:57:35,208 --> 00:57:36,917
Hillary's closest aide,
1398
00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:40,417
had provided a laptop
to the authorities,
1399
00:57:40,500 --> 00:57:42,375
and the FBI saw
what they thought
1400
00:57:42,458 --> 00:57:45,959
were Hillary Clinton's emails.
1401
00:57:46,041 --> 00:57:48,500
[Wittes] Once you've said
publicly
1402
00:57:48,583 --> 00:57:50,667
this investigation
was finished,
1403
00:57:50,750 --> 00:57:54,625
the day you make a liar
out of yourself
1404
00:57:54,709 --> 00:57:56,583
and go after new evidence,
1405
00:57:56,667 --> 00:57:58,709
you have some duty to--
1406
00:57:58,792 --> 00:58:01,875
to let people know
about that.
1407
00:58:01,959 --> 00:58:04,834
[Comey] Assuming,
as nearly everyone did,
1408
00:58:04,917 --> 00:58:06,333
that Hillary Clinton
would be elected
1409
00:58:06,417 --> 00:58:07,083
President of the United States
1410
00:58:07,166 --> 00:58:08,333
in less than two weeks,
1411
00:58:08,417 --> 00:58:11,500
what would happen to the FBI
1412
00:58:11,583 --> 00:58:13,375
or her own presidency
1413
00:58:13,458 --> 00:58:15,083
if it later was revealed
1414
00:58:15,166 --> 00:58:16,625
after the fact
1415
00:58:16,709 --> 00:58:18,375
that she was still a subject
1416
00:58:18,458 --> 00:58:20,917
of an FBI investigation?
1417
00:58:21,000 --> 00:58:22,000
[Weiner] Comey feels,
1418
00:58:22,083 --> 00:58:24,375
rightly or wrongly,
1419
00:58:24,458 --> 00:58:26,625
a legal obligation
to inform Congress
1420
00:58:26,709 --> 00:58:29,750
that, indeed,
the needle has moved,
1421
00:58:29,834 --> 00:58:32,709
not knowing whether there's
any "there" there
1422
00:58:32,792 --> 00:58:35,792
within in the emails,
but knowing full well
1423
00:58:35,875 --> 00:58:37,750
that once he sends
this one-page letter,
1424
00:58:37,834 --> 00:58:39,583
the Republicans on the Hill
1425
00:58:39,667 --> 00:58:42,375
will leak it
nanoseconds later.
1426
00:58:42,458 --> 00:58:45,166
Clinton is conceivably doomed.
1427
00:58:45,250 --> 00:58:47,500
It took guts
1428
00:58:47,583 --> 00:58:49,542
for Director Comey
1429
00:58:49,625 --> 00:58:52,000
to make the move
that he made
1430
00:58:52,083 --> 00:58:54,583
in light of the kind
of opposition he had,
1431
00:58:54,667 --> 00:58:56,917
where they're trying
to protect her
1432
00:58:57,000 --> 00:58:58,375
from criminal prosecution.
1433
00:58:58,458 --> 00:59:00,250
You know that.
1434
00:59:00,333 --> 00:59:01,959
[man] You think Comey
made a mistake?
1435
00:59:02,041 --> 00:59:03,166
I do.
1436
00:59:03,250 --> 00:59:04,166
[man] Why?
1437
00:59:04,250 --> 00:59:07,667
The idea that the FBI
1438
00:59:07,750 --> 00:59:10,458
was wading into
the politics of that moment
1439
00:59:10,542 --> 00:59:12,583
is tremendously damaging
1440
00:59:12,667 --> 00:59:14,542
to the reputation
of the FBI.
1441
00:59:14,625 --> 00:59:16,542
[Trump] It took a lot of guts.
1442
00:59:16,625 --> 00:59:18,041
I was not his fan,
1443
00:59:18,125 --> 00:59:20,417
but I'll tell you what.
What he did--
1444
00:59:20,500 --> 00:59:21,875
he brought back
his reputation.
1445
00:59:21,959 --> 00:59:24,125
♪ disquieting music ♪
1446
00:59:24,208 --> 00:59:26,041
♪ dramatic sting ♪
1447
00:59:26,125 --> 00:59:29,208
[Weiner] Comey is in
a very tough position.
1448
00:59:29,291 --> 00:59:30,625
The man in charge
1449
00:59:30,709 --> 00:59:32,458
of the Russia investigation
1450
00:59:32,542 --> 00:59:34,667
is now seen
as a political actor.
1451
00:59:34,750 --> 00:59:37,667
♪ disquieting music ♪
1452
00:59:37,750 --> 00:59:40,583
♪♪♪
1453
00:59:40,667 --> 00:59:42,166
By this time,
1454
00:59:42,250 --> 00:59:44,083
the FBI investigation
1455
00:59:44,166 --> 00:59:46,458
into Russian meddling
1456
00:59:46,542 --> 00:59:48,917
has been going on
for six months.
1457
00:59:49,000 --> 00:59:51,625
It's code-named
"Crossfire Hurricane."
1458
00:59:51,709 --> 00:59:53,458
[Comey] At the heart
of the Russian
1459
00:59:53,542 --> 00:59:55,083
interference campaign
1460
00:59:55,166 --> 00:59:56,834
was the release
of damaging emails
1461
00:59:56,917 --> 00:59:59,500
associated with
the Democratic Party.
1462
00:59:59,583 --> 01:00:01,959
In late July, the FBI learned
1463
01:00:02,041 --> 01:00:04,125
that a Trump campaign
foreign policy advisor
1464
01:00:04,208 --> 01:00:06,667
named George Papadopoulos
1465
01:00:06,750 --> 01:00:09,291
had been discussing obtaining
from the Russian government
1466
01:00:09,375 --> 01:00:11,583
emails damaging
to Hillary Clinton.
1467
01:00:11,667 --> 01:00:13,542
Based on this information,
1468
01:00:13,625 --> 01:00:15,667
the FBI opened
an investigation
1469
01:00:15,750 --> 01:00:18,083
to try to understand
whether Americans,
1470
01:00:18,166 --> 01:00:20,834
including any associated
with the Trump campaign,
1471
01:00:20,917 --> 01:00:23,458
were working in any way
with the Russians
1472
01:00:23,542 --> 01:00:25,291
in their influence effort.
1473
01:00:25,375 --> 01:00:27,542
Comey knows that Flynn,
1474
01:00:27,625 --> 01:00:29,875
the national security advisor
1475
01:00:29,959 --> 01:00:32,792
to President Trump,
has ties to Russia.
1476
01:00:32,875 --> 01:00:35,333
The FBI is looking at him
very closely
1477
01:00:35,417 --> 01:00:39,291
whether he is in any way
under the influence
1478
01:00:39,375 --> 01:00:41,125
of Vladimir Putin.
1479
01:00:41,208 --> 01:00:42,375
[Clapper]
The Russians were going
1480
01:00:42,458 --> 01:00:43,458
to try to co-opt,
1481
01:00:43,542 --> 01:00:44,583
influence, gain leverage--
1482
01:00:44,667 --> 01:00:45,750
whatever they could do.
1483
01:00:45,834 --> 01:00:47,875
They attempted to woo me,
1484
01:00:47,959 --> 01:00:49,875
and I...
1485
01:00:49,959 --> 01:00:52,125
...saw them doing that
with, uh, General Flynn,
1486
01:00:52,208 --> 01:00:54,041
and I just kind of
1487
01:00:54,125 --> 01:00:57,083
offered some fatherly advice
about my own experience.
1488
01:00:57,166 --> 01:01:00,041
[man] And do you think
he took that advice to heart?
1489
01:01:00,125 --> 01:01:01,000
No.
1490
01:01:02,333 --> 01:01:04,291
[Comey] On January 24th,
1491
01:01:04,375 --> 01:01:05,917
as part of
our continuing investigation
1492
01:01:06,000 --> 01:01:07,959
of Russian influence efforts,
1493
01:01:08,041 --> 01:01:10,125
I dispatched two agents
to the White House
1494
01:01:10,208 --> 01:01:11,792
to interview Flynn
about his conversations
1495
01:01:11,875 --> 01:01:13,458
with the Russians.
1496
01:01:13,542 --> 01:01:15,083
He lied to the agents.
1497
01:01:15,166 --> 01:01:18,792
Mike Flynn, for reasons
we do not understand yet,
1498
01:01:18,875 --> 01:01:20,834
lies to the FBI
1499
01:01:20,917 --> 01:01:22,792
about his Russia contacts.
1500
01:01:22,875 --> 01:01:26,375
Lying to the FBI is,
of course, a crime.
1501
01:01:26,458 --> 01:01:28,542
Two days later,
1502
01:01:28,625 --> 01:01:30,083
the acting attorney general,
1503
01:01:30,166 --> 01:01:32,792
Sally Yates,
warns the White House
1504
01:01:32,875 --> 01:01:34,917
that Flynn has lied to the FBI,
1505
01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:37,250
that he is susceptible
to blackmail
1506
01:01:37,333 --> 01:01:38,792
by the Russians.
1507
01:01:40,333 --> 01:01:41,917
The next day,
1508
01:01:42,000 --> 01:01:44,792
the phone rings
in Jim Comey's office.
1509
01:01:44,875 --> 01:01:46,625
The President
of the United States
1510
01:01:46,709 --> 01:01:47,792
would like to have him
for dinner.
1511
01:01:50,208 --> 01:01:53,291
[Heinrich] Mr. Comey, uh,
prior to January 27th
1512
01:01:53,375 --> 01:01:54,875
of this year,
1513
01:01:54,959 --> 01:01:57,125
have you ever had
a private dinner
1514
01:01:57,208 --> 01:02:00,125
with a President
of the United States?
1515
01:02:00,208 --> 01:02:01,125
[Comey] No.
1516
01:02:01,208 --> 01:02:02,959
How unusual is it to have
1517
01:02:03,041 --> 01:02:05,583
a-a one-one-one dinner
1518
01:02:05,667 --> 01:02:08,250
with the president?
Did that strike you as odd?
1519
01:02:08,333 --> 01:02:11,375
Yeah, so much so that I assumed
there would be others,
1520
01:02:11,458 --> 01:02:13,792
that he couldn't possibly
be having dinner with me alone.
1521
01:02:13,875 --> 01:02:16,333
If you had behaved differently
in that dinner,
1522
01:02:16,417 --> 01:02:19,417
do you think you
would have still been fired?
1523
01:02:19,500 --> 01:02:20,625
I don't know.
1524
01:02:20,709 --> 01:02:22,417
I--it--it's impossible to say,
1525
01:02:22,500 --> 01:02:24,000
looking back.
I don't know.
1526
01:02:24,083 --> 01:02:27,000
♪ disquieting music ♪
1527
01:02:27,083 --> 01:02:29,834
♪♪♪
1528
01:02:29,917 --> 01:02:31,792
[Comey] At some point
early on,
1529
01:02:31,875 --> 01:02:33,417
Trump asked bluntly,
1530
01:02:33,500 --> 01:02:35,458
"So what do you want to do?"
1531
01:02:35,542 --> 01:02:37,500
It was an odd question
that I didn't
1532
01:02:37,583 --> 01:02:39,333
entirely understand at first,
1533
01:02:39,417 --> 01:02:40,667
but without waiting
for an answer,
1534
01:02:40,750 --> 01:02:42,041
he launched into a monologue
1535
01:02:42,125 --> 01:02:43,291
that made it crystal-clear
1536
01:02:43,375 --> 01:02:44,625
what he was referring to:
1537
01:02:44,709 --> 01:02:48,083
whether I wanted
to keep my job.
1538
01:02:48,166 --> 01:02:50,208
With a serious look
on his face, he said,
1539
01:02:50,291 --> 01:02:52,417
"I need loyalty.
1540
01:02:52,500 --> 01:02:54,417
I expect loyalty."
1541
01:02:54,500 --> 01:02:57,208
♪♪♪
1542
01:02:57,291 --> 01:02:59,291
During the silence
that followed,
1543
01:02:59,375 --> 01:03:02,000
I didn't move, speak,
1544
01:03:02,083 --> 01:03:04,625
or change my facial expression
in any way.
1545
01:03:04,709 --> 01:03:06,291
♪♪♪
1546
01:03:06,375 --> 01:03:07,834
It's the two of them
1547
01:03:07,917 --> 01:03:10,417
under the chandelier,
alone in the Green Room,
1548
01:03:10,500 --> 01:03:13,333
dining over shrimp scampi,
1549
01:03:13,417 --> 01:03:15,458
and at some point,
1550
01:03:15,542 --> 01:03:19,125
Comey has
an out-of-body experience,
1551
01:03:19,208 --> 01:03:22,834
and he's flashing back
on his early career,
1552
01:03:22,917 --> 01:03:24,542
interrogating,
investigating,
1553
01:03:24,625 --> 01:03:28,291
and prosecuting mafiosi.
1554
01:03:28,375 --> 01:03:30,875
He's looking at the president,
but he's seeing Sammy
1555
01:03:30,959 --> 01:03:32,166
"The Bull" Gravano,
1556
01:03:32,250 --> 01:03:33,500
listening to a don
1557
01:03:33,583 --> 01:03:37,125
saying "I need loyalty.
1558
01:03:37,208 --> 01:03:40,625
I need your loyalty."
1559
01:03:40,709 --> 01:03:43,125
It's gonna make
a great movie.
1560
01:03:43,208 --> 01:03:44,625
[Goldsmith]
It's not surprising
1561
01:03:44,709 --> 01:03:46,959
that a president
would want loyalty
1562
01:03:47,041 --> 01:03:49,166
from a subordinate.
It is extremely surprising,
1563
01:03:49,250 --> 01:03:50,875
and stupid on Trump's part,
1564
01:03:50,959 --> 01:03:54,625
to overtly ask for loyalty
from Comey,
1565
01:03:54,709 --> 01:03:56,125
because first of all,
1566
01:03:56,208 --> 01:03:57,792
it looks like Trump is trying
1567
01:03:57,875 --> 01:04:00,083
to protect himself
from scrutiny.
1568
01:04:00,166 --> 01:04:00,875
Second of all,
1569
01:04:00,959 --> 01:04:02,333
there's no way
1570
01:04:02,417 --> 01:04:04,458
that anyone
in Comey's position,
1571
01:04:04,542 --> 01:04:06,250
and especially Jim Comey,
1572
01:04:06,333 --> 01:04:08,875
can give him the loyalty
that he thinks he needs
1573
01:04:08,959 --> 01:04:10,709
when there's an investigation
going on,
1574
01:04:10,792 --> 01:04:12,250
and Comey's got a job to do,
and he's running
1575
01:04:12,333 --> 01:04:14,333
the FBI.
1576
01:04:14,417 --> 01:04:16,667
[Comey] I was determined
not to give the president
1577
01:04:16,750 --> 01:04:19,375
any hint of assent
to this demand,
1578
01:04:19,458 --> 01:04:20,875
so I gave silence instead.
1579
01:04:23,083 --> 01:04:25,041
He then returned
to the issue of loyalty,
1580
01:04:25,125 --> 01:04:28,542
saying again,
"I need loyalty."
1581
01:04:29,333 --> 01:04:31,709
I paused again.
1582
01:04:31,792 --> 01:04:35,000
"You will always get honesty
from me," I said.
1583
01:04:35,083 --> 01:04:38,291
He paused.
"That's what I want:
1584
01:04:38,375 --> 01:04:40,625
honest loyalty,"
he said.
1585
01:04:40,709 --> 01:04:43,417
This appeared to satisfy him
as some sort of deal
1586
01:04:43,500 --> 01:04:45,417
in which we were both winners.
1587
01:04:45,500 --> 01:04:49,041
"You will get that
from me," I said.
1588
01:04:49,125 --> 01:04:52,709
Jim has said
that he muffed the situation,
1589
01:04:52,792 --> 01:04:55,959
um, and that he regrets,
in retrospect,
1590
01:04:56,041 --> 01:04:58,375
uh, compromising
with the president
1591
01:04:58,458 --> 01:05:00,750
on "honest loyalty."
1592
01:05:00,834 --> 01:05:02,333
I agree with him.
I think--
1593
01:05:02,417 --> 01:05:04,625
I think, ideally,
1594
01:05:04,709 --> 01:05:07,417
the right way to do it
would've been to say,
1595
01:05:07,500 --> 01:05:09,125
"Nope.
Sorry, Mr. President.
1596
01:05:09,208 --> 01:05:11,166
I cannot oblige you
on the loyalty thing.
1597
01:05:11,250 --> 01:05:13,000
You know. [laughs]
Sorry.
1598
01:05:13,083 --> 01:05:16,041
You know, maybe you have
to fire me now, but,
1599
01:05:16,125 --> 01:05:18,792
like, I don't--loyalty is--
that's just not what I do.
1600
01:05:18,875 --> 01:05:19,959
I have an oath
to the Constitution.
1601
01:05:20,041 --> 01:05:21,250
End of story."
1602
01:05:21,333 --> 01:05:23,625
♪ suspenseful music ♪
1603
01:05:23,709 --> 01:05:26,041
I think it is interesting
1604
01:05:26,125 --> 01:05:29,250
that nobody else has told
a story like this,
1605
01:05:29,333 --> 01:05:31,208
and I doubt very much
it's because
1606
01:05:31,291 --> 01:05:32,667
nobody else
has been asked
1607
01:05:32,750 --> 01:05:35,625
for a loyalty oath,
1608
01:05:35,709 --> 01:05:37,917
and I want to know
1609
01:05:38,000 --> 01:05:40,417
who exactly
in the federal government
1610
01:05:40,500 --> 01:05:41,875
did better than Jim,
1611
01:05:41,959 --> 01:05:43,917
faced one-on-one
with the president,
1612
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:47,625
asked for loyalty.
1613
01:05:47,709 --> 01:05:52,750
♪♪♪
1614
01:05:52,834 --> 01:05:54,542
[reporter] Embattled
national security advisor
1615
01:05:54,625 --> 01:05:56,000
General Michael Flynn
1616
01:05:56,083 --> 01:05:57,792
stepping down Monday night.
1617
01:05:57,875 --> 01:05:59,208
[reporter]
Michael Flynn forced
1618
01:05:59,291 --> 01:06:01,250
to resign for not telling
the truth
1619
01:06:01,333 --> 01:06:03,083
about his contacts
with the Russian ambassador.
1620
01:06:03,166 --> 01:06:04,291
[reporter] The shakeup
comes at a critical time
1621
01:06:04,375 --> 01:06:06,125
for President Trump.
1622
01:06:06,208 --> 01:06:07,542
[reporter] That also
raised questions
1623
01:06:07,625 --> 01:06:09,000
about the relationship
with Russia,
1624
01:06:09,083 --> 01:06:10,417
which still remains
a big question.
1625
01:06:12,792 --> 01:06:14,291
Happy Valentine's Day.
I can sense
1626
01:06:14,375 --> 01:06:15,834
the love in the room.
1627
01:06:15,917 --> 01:06:18,250
Um, I want to address
1628
01:06:18,333 --> 01:06:20,542
the events of last night,
first and foremost.
1629
01:06:20,625 --> 01:06:22,792
The evolving and eroding
level of trust
1630
01:06:22,875 --> 01:06:24,917
as a result
of this situation
1631
01:06:25,000 --> 01:06:26,709
is what led the president
1632
01:06:26,792 --> 01:06:29,375
to ask for General Flynn's
resignation.
1633
01:06:29,458 --> 01:06:32,667
Why would the president,
if he was notified 17 days ago
1634
01:06:32,750 --> 01:06:34,458
that Flynn was
a potential threat
1635
01:06:34,542 --> 01:06:36,000
to blackmail by the Russians,
1636
01:06:36,083 --> 01:06:38,083
why would he be kept on
1637
01:06:38,166 --> 01:06:40,333
for almost three weeks?
1638
01:06:40,417 --> 01:06:44,625
[Graff] Once we understood
that this was a showdown
1639
01:06:44,709 --> 01:06:48,750
that involved lies
from the president's
1640
01:06:48,834 --> 01:06:50,792
national security advisor--
1641
01:06:50,875 --> 01:06:53,709
that's when we began
to move, publicly at least,
1642
01:06:53,792 --> 01:06:55,542
into uncharted territory.
1643
01:06:55,625 --> 01:07:00,000
♪♪♪
1644
01:07:00,083 --> 01:07:01,709
In your estimation,
was General Flynn,
1645
01:07:01,792 --> 01:07:04,959
at that time,
in serious legal jeopardy?
1646
01:07:05,041 --> 01:07:06,667
General Flynn,
at that point in time,
1647
01:07:06,750 --> 01:07:08,417
was in legal jeopardy.
1648
01:07:08,500 --> 01:07:10,875
There was an open
FBI criminal investigation
1649
01:07:10,959 --> 01:07:12,625
of his statements in connection
1650
01:07:12,709 --> 01:07:14,291
with the Russian contacts
1651
01:07:14,375 --> 01:07:16,709
and the contacts themselves.
1652
01:07:16,792 --> 01:07:19,458
And I--I think that is
very significant, because
1653
01:07:19,542 --> 01:07:21,000
on February 14th,
1654
01:07:21,083 --> 01:07:22,458
you were in a meeting,
1655
01:07:22,542 --> 01:07:23,750
and the president asked
1656
01:07:23,834 --> 01:07:26,000
everyone to leave,
1657
01:07:26,083 --> 01:07:28,500
including the attorney general
to leave,
1658
01:07:28,583 --> 01:07:33,417
before he brought up
the matter of General Flynn,
1659
01:07:33,500 --> 01:07:35,709
and have you ever seen
anything like that before?
1660
01:07:35,792 --> 01:07:36,458
No,
1661
01:07:36,542 --> 01:07:37,875
and so I knew
1662
01:07:37,959 --> 01:07:39,333
something was about to happen
1663
01:07:39,417 --> 01:07:40,750
that I needed to pay
1664
01:07:40,834 --> 01:07:41,500
very close attention to.
1665
01:07:41,583 --> 01:07:46,709
♪♪♪
1666
01:07:48,500 --> 01:07:50,333
[Comey] The president
seemed oddly uninterested
1667
01:07:50,417 --> 01:07:52,709
and distracted during
the classified briefing.
1668
01:07:52,792 --> 01:07:54,625
At the end
of this low-energy session,
1669
01:07:54,709 --> 01:07:57,083
he signaled
that the briefing was over.
1670
01:07:57,166 --> 01:07:59,125
Then, pointing at me,
he added,
1671
01:07:59,208 --> 01:08:02,125
"I just want to talk to Jim.
Thanks, everybody."
1672
01:08:02,208 --> 01:08:04,083
The president began
by saying
1673
01:08:04,166 --> 01:08:06,041
General Flynn hadn't done
anything wrong
1674
01:08:06,125 --> 01:08:08,583
in speaking with the Russians.
He then said,
1675
01:08:08,667 --> 01:08:10,959
"I hope you can see
your way clear
1676
01:08:11,041 --> 01:08:13,250
to letting this go,
to letting Flynn go.
1677
01:08:13,333 --> 01:08:16,583
He is a good guy.
I hope you can let this go."
1678
01:08:16,667 --> 01:08:18,583
♪♪♪
1679
01:08:18,667 --> 01:08:20,625
[Warner] Think about it.
1680
01:08:20,709 --> 01:08:22,709
[Warner] The President
of the United States
1681
01:08:22,792 --> 01:08:25,000
asking the FBI director
1682
01:08:25,083 --> 01:08:27,709
to drop
an ongoing investigation.
1683
01:08:27,792 --> 01:08:29,959
Thank you, sir.
1684
01:08:30,041 --> 01:08:31,917
[man] Senator Risch.
1685
01:08:32,000 --> 01:08:34,458
Thank you very much.
You wrote down the words,
1686
01:08:34,542 --> 01:08:36,917
so we can all have the words
in front of us now.
1687
01:08:37,000 --> 01:08:40,000
[Risch] Quote, "I hope--"
this is the president speaking.
1688
01:08:40,083 --> 01:08:42,375
"I hope
you can let this go."
1689
01:08:42,458 --> 01:08:45,000
Now, those are his exact words.
Is that correct?
1690
01:08:45,083 --> 01:08:46,333
- Correct.
- [Risch] Okay.
1691
01:08:46,417 --> 01:08:50,041
He did not direct you
to let it go.
1692
01:08:50,125 --> 01:08:51,792
Not in his words, no.
1693
01:08:51,875 --> 01:08:54,583
[Risch] He did not order you
to let it go.
1694
01:08:54,667 --> 01:08:56,542
Again, those words
are not an order.
1695
01:08:56,625 --> 01:08:57,583
No.
1696
01:08:57,667 --> 01:08:59,208
He said, "I hope."
1697
01:08:59,291 --> 01:09:01,667
The reason I keep saying
"his words" is
1698
01:09:01,750 --> 01:09:04,375
I took it as a direction.
1699
01:09:04,458 --> 01:09:06,375
[Comey] I mean, this is the
President of the United States
1700
01:09:06,458 --> 01:09:08,667
with me alone,
saying "I hope" this.
1701
01:09:08,750 --> 01:09:10,625
I didn't obey that,
but that's the way I took it.
1702
01:09:10,709 --> 01:09:12,500
All right.
1703
01:09:12,583 --> 01:09:15,166
When you have the President
of the United States
1704
01:09:15,250 --> 01:09:17,250
saying to the chief
law enforcement officer,
1705
01:09:17,333 --> 01:09:19,625
"Hey, look the other way
on my guy,"
1706
01:09:19,709 --> 01:09:22,208
that is an enormous
red flag.
1707
01:09:23,083 --> 01:09:25,458
It sure seems
like a cover-up,
1708
01:09:25,542 --> 01:09:27,834
and that is why
we have to start looking
1709
01:09:27,917 --> 01:09:29,917
at obstruction of justice.
1710
01:09:30,000 --> 01:09:31,625
Do you sense that the president
1711
01:09:31,709 --> 01:09:33,041
was trying to obstruct justice,
1712
01:09:33,125 --> 01:09:34,875
or just seek for a way
1713
01:09:34,959 --> 01:09:36,709
for Mike Flynn to save face,
1714
01:09:36,792 --> 01:09:38,625
given he had already
been fired?
1715
01:09:38,709 --> 01:09:41,458
Obstruction of justice
is a technical crime.
1716
01:09:41,542 --> 01:09:44,000
It is something
that requires evidence,
1717
01:09:44,083 --> 01:09:47,041
you know, that stands up
in a court of law.
1718
01:09:47,125 --> 01:09:49,000
[Wittes] Now, there is
no constitutional rule
1719
01:09:49,083 --> 01:09:51,000
that says the president
is not allowed
1720
01:09:51,083 --> 01:09:53,625
to instruct the FBI director
1721
01:09:53,709 --> 01:09:55,583
as to how to conduct
an investigation.
1722
01:09:55,667 --> 01:09:58,834
In fact, he is
constitutionally authorized
1723
01:09:58,917 --> 01:10:01,166
to do exactly that.
1724
01:10:01,250 --> 01:10:02,208
[Goldsmith]
Despite the norms
1725
01:10:02,291 --> 01:10:03,875
about FBI independence,
1726
01:10:03,959 --> 01:10:05,625
he's the chief prosecutor.
1727
01:10:05,709 --> 01:10:07,208
In some sense,
1728
01:10:07,291 --> 01:10:08,667
he is allowed to decide
1729
01:10:08,750 --> 01:10:10,291
who gets prosecuted or not,
1730
01:10:10,375 --> 01:10:12,583
and the paradox
and difficulty here
1731
01:10:12,667 --> 01:10:15,500
is whether the president
was acting
1732
01:10:15,583 --> 01:10:17,375
within his legitimate
constitutional power
1733
01:10:17,458 --> 01:10:19,083
to direct an investigation,
1734
01:10:19,166 --> 01:10:20,875
or whether he crossed
the line somehow,
1735
01:10:20,959 --> 01:10:24,083
if the line can be crossed,
into criminality.
1736
01:10:24,166 --> 01:10:25,709
[Katyal] And so
it looks suspicious,
1737
01:10:25,792 --> 01:10:27,667
but at the end of the day,
1738
01:10:27,750 --> 01:10:30,458
a lot of this does turn
on criminal intent,
1739
01:10:30,542 --> 01:10:32,667
and we'd have to get into,
really,
1740
01:10:32,750 --> 01:10:35,500
what was President Trump's
state of mind at the time,
1741
01:10:35,583 --> 01:10:38,375
which is often
very hard to prove,
1742
01:10:38,458 --> 01:10:40,917
because the prosecutor asks,
"What were you thinking?"
1743
01:10:41,000 --> 01:10:42,542
and the defendant says,
"I'm taking
1744
01:10:42,625 --> 01:10:44,208
my Fifth Amendment rights,"
1745
01:10:44,291 --> 01:10:47,000
and so what you need to do
as a prosecutor
1746
01:10:47,083 --> 01:10:48,458
is look to extrinsic evidence--
1747
01:10:48,542 --> 01:10:50,500
did he talk to other folks,
1748
01:10:50,583 --> 01:10:52,875
what did he say to his
national security advisor,
1749
01:10:52,959 --> 01:10:54,750
does he have
anything written down
1750
01:10:54,834 --> 01:10:56,083
that might bear on this--
1751
01:10:56,166 --> 01:11:00,083
and then start
to build a case.
1752
01:11:00,166 --> 01:11:02,542
This is one of the reasons
why I think
1753
01:11:02,625 --> 01:11:04,375
that as a legal matter,
the claim that Trump
1754
01:11:04,458 --> 01:11:06,417
committed obstruction
of justice is much harder
1755
01:11:06,500 --> 01:11:08,625
than most commentators
have made it seem,
1756
01:11:08,709 --> 01:11:11,959
but it's--the legal matter
is not what's important.
1757
01:11:12,041 --> 01:11:13,291
What's important is that
1758
01:11:13,375 --> 01:11:15,125
the President
of the United States
1759
01:11:15,208 --> 01:11:16,917
was trying to shape
an investigation
1760
01:11:17,000 --> 01:11:18,750
into himself
and his subordinates
1761
01:11:18,834 --> 01:11:20,375
in a way that
1762
01:11:20,458 --> 01:11:22,792
is a complete violation
of all the norms
1763
01:11:22,875 --> 01:11:25,125
that have been put in place
since Watergate.
1764
01:11:25,208 --> 01:11:28,125
♪ mournful music ♪
1765
01:11:28,208 --> 01:11:30,166
♪♪♪
1766
01:11:30,250 --> 01:11:32,125
[Trump] It's all fake news.
1767
01:11:32,208 --> 01:11:34,667
Mike Flynn is a fine person.
1768
01:11:34,750 --> 01:11:36,709
Mike was doing his job.
1769
01:11:36,792 --> 01:11:38,041
He was calling countries
1770
01:11:38,125 --> 01:11:39,375
and his counterparts.
1771
01:11:39,458 --> 01:11:40,709
[reporters clamoring]
1772
01:11:40,792 --> 01:11:42,208
Yes, go ahead.
1773
01:11:42,291 --> 01:11:42,959
[reporter] Can you say
whether you
1774
01:11:43,041 --> 01:11:44,291
are aware that anyone
1775
01:11:44,375 --> 01:11:45,208
who advised your campaign
1776
01:11:45,291 --> 01:11:46,709
had contacts with Russia
1777
01:11:46,792 --> 01:11:47,542
during the course
of the election?
1778
01:11:47,625 --> 01:11:48,625
How many times do I have
1779
01:11:48,709 --> 01:11:50,583
to answer this question?
1780
01:11:50,667 --> 01:11:52,250
- [reporter] Can you just say--
- Russia is a ruse.
1781
01:11:52,333 --> 01:11:53,709
Yeah, I know you have
to get up and ask a question.
1782
01:11:53,792 --> 01:11:55,458
It's so important.
Russia is a ruse.
1783
01:11:55,542 --> 01:11:57,333
I have nothing
to do with Russia.
1784
01:11:57,417 --> 01:11:59,125
To the best of my t--
knowledge,
1785
01:11:59,208 --> 01:12:01,000
no person that I deal with...
1786
01:12:01,083 --> 01:12:04,667
[reporters calling
"Mr. President"]
1787
01:12:04,750 --> 01:12:07,834
♪♪♪
1788
01:12:07,917 --> 01:12:09,041
[reporter]
Jeff Sessions met twice
1789
01:12:09,125 --> 01:12:11,041
with the Russian ambassador
1790
01:12:11,125 --> 01:12:12,000
to the United States
1791
01:12:12,083 --> 01:12:13,083
during last year's
1792
01:12:13,166 --> 01:12:14,625
presidential campaign.
1793
01:12:14,709 --> 01:12:16,291
[reporter]
As attorney general,
1794
01:12:16,375 --> 01:12:17,834
it's Jeff Sessions'
responsibility
1795
01:12:17,917 --> 01:12:19,792
to oversee
any potential investigation
1796
01:12:19,875 --> 01:12:22,750
into the Trump campaign's
relationship with Russia.
1797
01:12:22,834 --> 01:12:24,750
Now, several are suggesting
1798
01:12:24,834 --> 01:12:26,500
that the nation's
chief law enforcement officer
1799
01:12:26,583 --> 01:12:28,500
himself step aside.
1800
01:12:28,583 --> 01:12:30,208
The president
was very concerned
1801
01:12:30,291 --> 01:12:31,458
when he first heard
about this,
1802
01:12:31,542 --> 01:12:33,041
and had
the White House counsel,
1803
01:12:33,125 --> 01:12:34,000
Don McGahn,
1804
01:12:34,083 --> 01:12:35,750
try and lobby Sessions
1805
01:12:35,834 --> 01:12:36,834
not to step aside.
1806
01:12:36,917 --> 01:12:38,792
I have been here
1807
01:12:38,875 --> 01:12:41,333
just three weeks today.
1808
01:12:41,417 --> 01:12:44,917
A lot has been happening, uh,
in this three-week period.
1809
01:12:45,000 --> 01:12:47,250
Ultimately, Sessions said,
"Look, the career folks
1810
01:12:47,333 --> 01:12:48,875
here at the Justice Department
1811
01:12:48,959 --> 01:12:50,458
who advised me on this said
1812
01:12:50,542 --> 01:12:52,375
that I have to not
be involved in this
1813
01:12:52,458 --> 01:12:54,208
because of my role
in the campaign."
1814
01:12:54,291 --> 01:12:56,750
Therefore,
I have recused myself,
1815
01:12:56,834 --> 01:13:00,959
uh, in the matters that deal
with the Trump campaign.
1816
01:13:01,041 --> 01:13:02,417
Jeff Sessions, who is
1817
01:13:02,500 --> 01:13:03,834
a politician
through and through,
1818
01:13:03,917 --> 01:13:06,291
bent to the norms
1819
01:13:06,375 --> 01:13:08,834
of independence
of the department.
1820
01:13:08,917 --> 01:13:10,834
You don't want
the attorney general
1821
01:13:10,917 --> 01:13:13,083
to be conducting
an investigation
1822
01:13:13,166 --> 01:13:15,000
where he has
a conflict of interest.
1823
01:13:15,750 --> 01:13:17,583
So the number two person,
Rod Rosenstein,
1824
01:13:17,667 --> 01:13:19,542
who occupied the position
that Comey had
1825
01:13:19,625 --> 01:13:21,500
when I was in
the Justice Department--
1826
01:13:21,583 --> 01:13:23,083
he was the deputy
attorney general--
1827
01:13:23,166 --> 01:13:24,667
he became,
for the Russia matter,
1828
01:13:24,750 --> 01:13:25,834
the acting attorney general,
1829
01:13:25,917 --> 01:13:27,250
just as Comey had become,
1830
01:13:27,333 --> 01:13:28,792
for the surveillance program
1831
01:13:28,875 --> 01:13:30,250
in 2004,
the acting attorney general,
1832
01:13:30,333 --> 01:13:32,333
and so this actually worked
1833
01:13:32,417 --> 01:13:34,250
the way it was supposed
to work.
1834
01:13:34,333 --> 01:13:36,667
Thank you all.
Take care.
1835
01:13:36,750 --> 01:13:38,792
[Goldsmith] But when
Sessions recused himself,
1836
01:13:38,875 --> 01:13:41,417
Trump became enraged.
1837
01:13:41,500 --> 01:13:43,709
[reporter]
A source is telling CNN
1838
01:13:43,792 --> 01:13:46,291
that the president
was frustrated and angry.
1839
01:13:46,375 --> 01:13:49,542
That led to a fiery meeting
in the Oval Office,
1840
01:13:49,625 --> 01:13:52,375
where there were, quote,
"a lot of expletives."
1841
01:13:52,458 --> 01:13:54,083
[Weiner] The President
of the United States
1842
01:13:54,166 --> 01:13:55,959
is infuriated,
1843
01:13:56,041 --> 01:13:57,667
because he wants loyalty.
1844
01:13:57,750 --> 01:13:59,834
He wants his man
1845
01:13:59,917 --> 01:14:02,125
in charge
of the Russia investigation,
1846
01:14:02,208 --> 01:14:04,458
and he can't have it.
1847
01:14:05,875 --> 01:14:07,750
[reporter] After that angry
White House meeting,
1848
01:14:07,834 --> 01:14:09,667
the president left
for Florida,
1849
01:14:09,750 --> 01:14:11,709
and it was from
his Mar-a-Lago estate
1850
01:14:11,792 --> 01:14:13,625
on Saturday morning
that Trump tweeted out
1851
01:14:13,709 --> 01:14:15,458
that explosive accusation
1852
01:14:15,542 --> 01:14:17,625
that President Obama
ordered the wiretapping
1853
01:14:17,709 --> 01:14:19,291
of his phone
and Trump Tower
1854
01:14:19,375 --> 01:14:21,333
during the campaign.
1855
01:14:21,417 --> 01:14:23,458
[Weiner] Trump is trying
to muddy the waters
1856
01:14:23,542 --> 01:14:25,959
and distract
from the Russia probe.
1857
01:14:26,041 --> 01:14:27,667
Along comes Comey
1858
01:14:27,750 --> 01:14:29,417
to set the record straight
1859
01:14:29,500 --> 01:14:31,250
in a very public way.
1860
01:14:33,083 --> 01:14:34,250
[reporter]
Tomorrow, James Comey
1861
01:14:34,333 --> 01:14:35,917
will publicly answer questions
1862
01:14:36,000 --> 01:14:38,125
about the president's
wiretapping claims.
1863
01:14:38,208 --> 01:14:39,500
[reporter]
The setting this time:
1864
01:14:39,583 --> 01:14:41,083
the House Intelligence
Committee.
1865
01:14:41,166 --> 01:14:43,000
It promises
to be a blockbuster.
1866
01:14:43,083 --> 01:14:45,375
[reporter] How directly will
he take on the president
1867
01:14:45,458 --> 01:14:47,458
in open session?
If he does,
1868
01:14:47,542 --> 01:14:50,166
how is the president
gonna respond?
1869
01:14:50,250 --> 01:14:51,875
♪ dramatic music ♪
1870
01:14:51,959 --> 01:14:54,333
[Nunes] The committee
will come to order.
1871
01:14:54,417 --> 01:14:56,083
[Schiff] Director Comey, uh,
1872
01:14:56,166 --> 01:14:58,959
I want to begin
by attempting to put to rest
1873
01:14:59,041 --> 01:15:01,041
several claims
made by the president
1874
01:15:01,125 --> 01:15:02,834
about his predecessor,
1875
01:15:02,917 --> 01:15:04,375
namely, that President Obama
1876
01:15:04,458 --> 01:15:06,417
wiretapped his phones.
1877
01:15:06,500 --> 01:15:08,792
I have no information
that supports those tweets,
1878
01:15:08,875 --> 01:15:11,750
and we have looked carefully
inside the FBI.
1879
01:15:11,834 --> 01:15:13,417
The president accused
1880
01:15:13,500 --> 01:15:15,625
Mr. Obama,
and presumably the FBI,
1881
01:15:15,709 --> 01:15:17,750
of engaging in McCarthyism.
1882
01:15:17,834 --> 01:15:20,083
[Schiff] Were you engaged
in McCarthyism, Director Comey?
1883
01:15:20,166 --> 01:15:22,125
[Comey] I try very hard
not to engage in any isms
1884
01:15:22,208 --> 01:15:23,583
of any kind,
1885
01:15:23,667 --> 01:15:26,375
including--
including McCarthyism.
1886
01:15:26,458 --> 01:15:27,792
[Schiff] The investigation
in the House
1887
01:15:27,875 --> 01:15:29,375
Intelligence Committee
1888
01:15:29,458 --> 01:15:31,625
began as
a bipartisan investigation.
1889
01:15:31,709 --> 01:15:33,333
Um, but then we had
1890
01:15:33,417 --> 01:15:35,625
the open hearing
with James Comey.
1891
01:15:35,709 --> 01:15:37,041
Uh, Director Comey,
you're recognized
1892
01:15:37,125 --> 01:15:38,458
for five minutes.
1893
01:15:38,542 --> 01:15:40,041
[Comey] As you know,
our practice
1894
01:15:40,125 --> 01:15:41,709
is not to confirm
1895
01:15:41,792 --> 01:15:44,250
the existence
of ongoing investigations,
1896
01:15:44,333 --> 01:15:46,792
but in unusual circumstances,
1897
01:15:46,875 --> 01:15:49,500
where it is
in the public interest,
1898
01:15:49,583 --> 01:15:52,291
it may be appropriate
to do so.
1899
01:15:52,375 --> 01:15:54,959
This is one
of those circumstances.
1900
01:15:55,041 --> 01:15:56,792
♪ unsettling music ♪
1901
01:15:56,875 --> 01:15:58,709
[Schiff] He announced
for the first time
1902
01:15:58,792 --> 01:16:00,542
that there had been
a counterintelligence
1903
01:16:00,625 --> 01:16:01,875
investigation
of the Trump campaign
1904
01:16:01,959 --> 01:16:04,792
going on since July.
1905
01:16:04,875 --> 01:16:06,500
I was told thereafter
1906
01:16:06,583 --> 01:16:08,208
that the GOP members
of our committee
1907
01:16:08,291 --> 01:16:09,542
viewed that hearing
1908
01:16:09,625 --> 01:16:11,834
as an unmitigated disaster,
1909
01:16:11,917 --> 01:16:14,083
which was curious to me,
1910
01:16:14,166 --> 01:16:16,458
because it was only a disaster
if you viewed
1911
01:16:16,542 --> 01:16:18,208
as your mission
protecting the president.
1912
01:16:18,291 --> 01:16:20,834
[Weiner] We were attacked
by a hostile power.
1913
01:16:20,917 --> 01:16:23,125
In a normal time,
1914
01:16:23,208 --> 01:16:25,500
the legislative branch
of government
1915
01:16:25,583 --> 01:16:28,834
would say,
"What the hell just happened?"
1916
01:16:28,917 --> 01:16:30,542
[Nunes] Director Comey,
you announced this morning
1917
01:16:30,625 --> 01:16:32,083
that there'll be
an investigation
1918
01:16:32,166 --> 01:16:34,500
into Trump associates.
Do Russians
1919
01:16:34,583 --> 01:16:36,917
historically prefer Republicans
1920
01:16:37,000 --> 01:16:39,458
to win over Democrats?
1921
01:16:39,542 --> 01:16:40,834
I don't know
the answer to that.
1922
01:16:40,917 --> 01:16:41,875
[Nunes] Did the Russians
1923
01:16:41,959 --> 01:16:43,250
prefer Mitt Romney
1924
01:16:43,333 --> 01:16:45,792
over Barack Obama in 2012?
1925
01:16:45,875 --> 01:16:48,083
I never saw a U.S.
intelligence community
1926
01:16:48,166 --> 01:16:49,875
analytic position
on that issue.
1927
01:16:49,959 --> 01:16:51,917
[Nunes] Don't you think
it's ridiculous to say
1928
01:16:52,000 --> 01:16:54,500
that somehow, the Russians,
uh, prefer
1929
01:16:54,583 --> 01:16:57,083
Republicans over--
over Democrats?
1930
01:16:57,166 --> 01:17:00,458
♪♪♪
1931
01:17:00,875 --> 01:17:02,709
[Weiner] With the election
of Donald Trump,
1932
01:17:02,792 --> 01:17:04,000
you got
a Republican president,
1933
01:17:04,083 --> 01:17:05,875
you got a Republican Congress,
1934
01:17:05,959 --> 01:17:07,417
and the Republican Congress
1935
01:17:07,500 --> 01:17:10,750
proves unwilling and unable
1936
01:17:10,834 --> 01:17:13,125
to investigate
the Republican president.
1937
01:17:13,208 --> 01:17:15,166
[Nunes] Director Comey,
do you have any evidence
1938
01:17:15,250 --> 01:17:16,417
at the FBI that any
1939
01:17:16,500 --> 01:17:18,208
current Trump White House
1940
01:17:18,291 --> 01:17:19,500
or administration official
1941
01:17:19,583 --> 01:17:21,208
coordinated with the Russian
1942
01:17:21,291 --> 01:17:23,500
- intelligence services?
- [Comey] That's not something
1943
01:17:23,583 --> 01:17:25,542
I can answer
in an open setting.
1944
01:17:25,625 --> 01:17:27,875
[Nunes] Well, we're conducting
our own investigation here,
1945
01:17:27,959 --> 01:17:29,500
and I know that you're
not going to tell me
1946
01:17:29,583 --> 01:17:31,083
whether or not
you have any evidence,
1947
01:17:31,166 --> 01:17:32,792
but I can tell you that
we don't have any evidence.
1948
01:17:32,875 --> 01:17:35,083
[Nunes] You know, there is
a big gray cloud
1949
01:17:35,166 --> 01:17:36,709
that you have now put over,
1950
01:17:36,792 --> 01:17:37,959
uh, people who have
very important work to do
1951
01:17:38,041 --> 01:17:39,166
to lead this country.
1952
01:17:39,250 --> 01:17:41,458
I understand.
Thank you.
1953
01:17:41,542 --> 01:17:43,959
♪♪♪
1954
01:17:44,041 --> 01:17:46,500
[Katyal] If you think about
the antics of Devin Nunes,
1955
01:17:46,583 --> 01:17:48,625
there's some
deep, deep worry
1956
01:17:48,709 --> 01:17:50,500
that there are people
in Congress
1957
01:17:50,583 --> 01:17:52,417
who don't care
about the law,
1958
01:17:52,500 --> 01:17:54,667
who don't care
about the Constitution,
1959
01:17:54,750 --> 01:17:57,208
and care only
about getting reelected
1960
01:17:57,291 --> 01:17:59,458
and having
their president reelected.
1961
01:17:59,542 --> 01:18:01,125
[Schiff]
Among the majority party,
1962
01:18:01,208 --> 01:18:02,709
there's no interest
in finding out
1963
01:18:02,792 --> 01:18:03,917
what the Russians did,
1964
01:18:04,000 --> 01:18:05,667
or what the Trump campaign did,
1965
01:18:05,750 --> 01:18:07,625
or what they did
in combination.
1966
01:18:07,709 --> 01:18:09,375
That is damning evidence
1967
01:18:09,458 --> 01:18:11,291
that our system is
1968
01:18:11,375 --> 01:18:13,333
cracking in terms
1969
01:18:13,417 --> 01:18:15,542
of its checks and balances.
1970
01:18:15,625 --> 01:18:20,750
♪♪♪
1971
01:18:21,250 --> 01:18:22,667
[Weiner] What you have
1972
01:18:22,750 --> 01:18:24,792
in the House Intelligence
Committee is
1973
01:18:24,875 --> 01:18:27,458
a chairman who has
essentially destroyed
1974
01:18:27,542 --> 01:18:29,250
the checks and balances
1975
01:18:29,333 --> 01:18:30,750
that are written
into the Constitution
1976
01:18:30,834 --> 01:18:33,542
to construct
a Trumpian reality
1977
01:18:33,625 --> 01:18:35,500
around a terrible event.
1978
01:18:35,583 --> 01:18:37,500
And as we sit here today,
1979
01:18:37,583 --> 01:18:39,792
we know
they're coming at us again,
1980
01:18:39,875 --> 01:18:42,083
and we haven't done
a damn thing about it.
1981
01:18:42,166 --> 01:18:45,125
♪♪♪
1982
01:18:45,208 --> 01:18:47,583
[phone rings]
1983
01:19:00,500 --> 01:19:02,417
[Comey] He asked
what we could do
1984
01:19:02,500 --> 01:19:05,166
to lift the cloud.
I responded that we were
1985
01:19:05,250 --> 01:19:07,875
investigating the matter
as quickly as we could.
1986
01:19:07,959 --> 01:19:09,583
The president went on to say
that if there were
1987
01:19:09,667 --> 01:19:11,959
some satellite associates
of his
1988
01:19:12,041 --> 01:19:13,625
who did something wrong,
1989
01:19:13,709 --> 01:19:15,333
it would be good
to find that out,
1990
01:19:15,417 --> 01:19:16,667
but then reemphasized
the problems
1991
01:19:16,750 --> 01:19:18,417
this was causing him
1992
01:19:18,500 --> 01:19:20,166
and said he hoped
I could find a way
1993
01:19:20,250 --> 01:19:22,458
to get out that he wasn't
being investigated.
1994
01:19:22,542 --> 01:19:24,000
[man] Now, I understand
1995
01:19:24,083 --> 01:19:26,500
that you received
a call from Trump as well.
1996
01:19:26,583 --> 01:19:28,875
I--you know, I did.
You know--[laughs]
1997
01:19:28,959 --> 01:19:30,750
Look, God knows
I don't fully understand
1998
01:19:30,834 --> 01:19:32,875
why Donald Trump does
all that he does,
1999
01:19:32,959 --> 01:19:35,458
but there's all sorts of ways
2000
01:19:35,542 --> 01:19:37,583
someone who is in
political office
2001
01:19:37,667 --> 01:19:40,709
can try to put the arm
on someone who's a prosecutor
2002
01:19:40,792 --> 01:19:42,583
or a law enforcement official.
2003
01:19:42,667 --> 01:19:45,208
Someone will say,
"Stop working on that case."
2004
01:19:45,291 --> 01:19:47,750
People can also say,
"Could you open up a case?"
2005
01:19:47,834 --> 01:19:51,333
Now, our jurisdiction
included his properties,
2006
01:19:51,417 --> 01:19:53,250
his residents, bank accounts,
family members--
2007
01:19:53,333 --> 01:19:55,250
I'm not saying that we
were looking
2008
01:19:55,333 --> 01:19:57,125
at any of those things
necessarily,
2009
01:19:57,208 --> 01:20:00,041
but that was what
our ambit included.
2010
01:20:00,125 --> 01:20:02,917
Ordinarily, if someone
of that position
2011
01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:05,208
is gonna be calling
the local prosecutor
2012
01:20:05,291 --> 01:20:07,041
in a jurisdiction
as I described,
2013
01:20:07,125 --> 01:20:08,959
there would've been
some warning about it,
2014
01:20:09,041 --> 01:20:10,500
it would have been set up
through the attorney general--
2015
01:20:10,583 --> 01:20:11,792
I mean, there is protocol
2016
01:20:11,875 --> 01:20:13,792
for precisely the purpose
2017
01:20:13,875 --> 01:20:15,917
of making sure that lines
are not crossed,
2018
01:20:16,000 --> 01:20:17,500
so we considered
whether or not
2019
01:20:17,583 --> 01:20:19,041
I should return the call
2020
01:20:19,125 --> 01:20:20,959
and actually make
a tape recording
2021
01:20:21,041 --> 01:20:22,667
of the phone call
between the sitting
2022
01:20:22,750 --> 01:20:24,125
United States attorney
and the sitting president,
2023
01:20:24,208 --> 01:20:25,500
and we thought that was
a bridge too far.
2024
01:20:25,583 --> 01:20:27,125
That didn't feel right,
2025
01:20:27,208 --> 01:20:29,083
and then we taught--
thought to ourselves
2026
01:20:29,166 --> 01:20:30,542
we could take
contemporaneous notes,
2027
01:20:30,625 --> 01:20:32,917
and I later learned
Jim Comey did.
2028
01:20:33,000 --> 01:20:34,834
[phone ringing]
2029
01:20:34,917 --> 01:20:36,917
Why was there
so much of an instinct
2030
01:20:37,000 --> 01:20:39,291
for people to want
to have a record
2031
01:20:39,375 --> 01:20:42,542
of a conversation
with President Trump?
2032
01:20:42,625 --> 01:20:44,500
[Comey] On the morning
of April 11th,
2033
01:20:44,583 --> 01:20:46,875
the president called to ask
what I had done
2034
01:20:46,959 --> 01:20:49,125
about his request
that I get out
2035
01:20:49,208 --> 01:20:51,125
that he is not personally
under investigation.
2036
01:20:51,208 --> 01:20:54,500
He seemed irritated with me.
Then he added,
2037
01:20:54,583 --> 01:20:57,625
"Because I have been
very loyal to you. Very loyal.
2038
01:20:57,709 --> 01:20:59,041
We had that thing, you know."
2039
01:21:01,208 --> 01:21:02,917
♪♪♪
2040
01:21:03,000 --> 01:21:04,959
You described
two phone calls
2041
01:21:05,041 --> 01:21:06,542
that you received
from President Trump
2042
01:21:06,625 --> 01:21:08,458
where he asked you,
2043
01:21:08,542 --> 01:21:11,792
quote, "to lift the cloud,"
end quote.
2044
01:21:11,875 --> 01:21:13,542
[Feinstein]
Talk for a moment about
2045
01:21:13,625 --> 01:21:15,291
your response to that
2046
01:21:15,375 --> 01:21:17,875
and what impact
you believe that had.
2047
01:21:17,959 --> 01:21:20,875
[Comey]
Well, I didn't do it, and so
2048
01:21:20,959 --> 01:21:23,875
this didn't improve
the relationship.
2049
01:21:23,959 --> 01:21:27,125
[Feinstein] Please go into that
with more detail.
2050
01:21:27,208 --> 01:21:30,166
[Comey] He was frustrated
with the
2051
01:21:30,250 --> 01:21:32,375
Russia investigation
2052
01:21:32,458 --> 01:21:34,875
and something about the way
I was conducting it
2053
01:21:34,959 --> 01:21:36,750
the president felt
2054
01:21:36,834 --> 01:21:39,125
created pressure on him
that he wanted to relieve.
2055
01:21:39,208 --> 01:21:41,375
[Feinstein] After April 11th,
2056
01:21:41,458 --> 01:21:44,959
did he ask you more, ever,
2057
01:21:45,041 --> 01:21:48,125
about the Russia investigation?
2058
01:21:48,208 --> 01:21:49,000
No.
2059
01:21:49,083 --> 01:21:50,291
We never spoke again
2060
01:21:50,375 --> 01:21:51,166
after April 11th.
2061
01:21:54,542 --> 01:21:56,500
♪ grave music ♪
2062
01:21:56,583 --> 01:21:58,000
[Comey] I was in Los Angeles
to attend
2063
01:21:58,083 --> 01:22:00,583
a diversity agent
recruiting event.
2064
01:22:00,667 --> 01:22:02,542
I went early enough
to have time
2065
01:22:02,625 --> 01:22:05,583
to visit the FBI's
Los Angeles field office.
2066
01:22:05,667 --> 01:22:07,208
I met dozens
of LA employees
2067
01:22:07,291 --> 01:22:08,625
standing at their desks,
2068
01:22:08,709 --> 01:22:11,166
and then I stopped.
2069
01:22:11,250 --> 01:22:13,458
On the TV screens
along the back wall,
2070
01:22:13,542 --> 01:22:15,625
I could see "Comey Fired"
2071
01:22:15,709 --> 01:22:17,792
in large letters.
2072
01:22:17,875 --> 01:22:19,417
This is coming on the heels
2073
01:22:19,500 --> 01:22:21,083
of the FBI director being,
2074
01:22:21,166 --> 01:22:22,667
uh, so central
2075
01:22:22,750 --> 01:22:24,208
involved in this, uh,
Russian scandal.
2076
01:22:24,291 --> 01:22:26,208
[Comey] Across three screens,
2077
01:22:26,291 --> 01:22:28,208
displaying three
different news stations,
2078
01:22:28,291 --> 01:22:30,375
I now saw
the same words.
2079
01:22:30,458 --> 01:22:32,583
President Trump acted based on
the clear recommendations
2080
01:22:32,667 --> 01:22:35,083
of deputy attorney general,
2081
01:22:35,166 --> 01:22:36,375
uh, Rod Rosenstein.
2082
01:22:36,458 --> 01:22:38,000
I just got a letter.
2083
01:22:38,083 --> 01:22:39,750
It's a lengthy letter,
a three-page letter,
2084
01:22:39,834 --> 01:22:41,417
from the deputy
attorney general.
2085
01:22:41,500 --> 01:22:42,750
The deputy attorney general
2086
01:22:42,834 --> 01:22:44,208
Rod Rosenstein said,
2087
01:22:44,291 --> 01:22:46,417
"I could not defend
the director.
2088
01:22:46,500 --> 01:22:48,208
James Comey's handling
2089
01:22:48,291 --> 01:22:49,875
of the conclusion
of the investigation
2090
01:22:49,959 --> 01:22:52,208
of Secretary Clinton's emails,
started..."
2091
01:22:52,291 --> 01:22:53,625
[Goldsmith] When Trump
2092
01:22:53,709 --> 01:22:55,041
fired Comey, he gave
2093
01:22:55,125 --> 01:22:56,625
as his first and
ostensible reason,
2094
01:22:56,709 --> 01:22:58,750
a memo that Rosenstein
had written
2095
01:22:58,834 --> 01:23:00,875
that had detailed
2096
01:23:00,959 --> 01:23:03,208
what Rosenstein viewed
as the failings of Comey
2097
01:23:03,291 --> 01:23:04,792
in connection
with the Hillary investigation.
2098
01:23:04,875 --> 01:23:07,041
You remember, that was
that highly dramatic
2099
01:23:07,125 --> 01:23:09,333
press conference that was held
last summer
2100
01:23:09,417 --> 01:23:11,375
where, uh, FBI director Comey
2101
01:23:11,458 --> 01:23:13,375
was quite critical
of Hillary Clinton.
2102
01:23:13,458 --> 01:23:15,667
There's much to question
about what Comey did,
2103
01:23:15,750 --> 01:23:18,208
but that seemed like
it was a memo written
2104
01:23:18,291 --> 01:23:19,834
quickly, and not
very impressively,
2105
01:23:19,917 --> 01:23:21,417
as an excuse to fire Comey.
2106
01:23:21,500 --> 01:23:24,291
There is no way
2107
01:23:24,375 --> 01:23:27,625
that Rod Rosenstein
could have thought
2108
01:23:27,709 --> 01:23:30,333
that Donald Trump
2109
01:23:30,417 --> 01:23:33,166
wanted to fire
the FBI director
2110
01:23:33,250 --> 01:23:35,417
because he had been unfair
2111
01:23:35,500 --> 01:23:36,875
to Hillary Clinton...
2112
01:23:36,959 --> 01:23:38,458
[man] Morning, sir.
How you doing?
2113
01:23:38,542 --> 01:23:40,458
[Wittes] ...Though I'm sure
it reflects
2114
01:23:40,542 --> 01:23:43,500
Rod's honest evaluation
of Jim's performance
2115
01:23:43,583 --> 01:23:45,375
in the Hillary Clinton
email matters.
2116
01:23:49,750 --> 01:23:52,917
♪ somber music ♪
2117
01:23:54,083 --> 01:23:56,458
[Holt] Monday, you met with
the deputy attorney general,
2118
01:23:56,542 --> 01:23:58,041
- Rod Rosenstein.
- [Trump] Right.
2119
01:23:58,125 --> 01:24:00,000
[Holt] Did you ask
for a recommendation?
2120
01:24:00,083 --> 01:24:01,583
Uh, he made
a recommendation,
2121
01:24:01,667 --> 01:24:03,083
but regardless
of recommendation,
2122
01:24:03,166 --> 01:24:06,250
I was going to fire Comey.
My decision.
2123
01:24:06,333 --> 01:24:07,917
- It was not--
- You had made the decision
2124
01:24:08,000 --> 01:24:08,959
before they came in the room?
2125
01:24:09,041 --> 01:24:11,041
I-I was going to fire Comey.
2126
01:24:11,125 --> 01:24:13,875
And, in fact, when I decided
to just do it,
2127
01:24:13,959 --> 01:24:16,125
I said to myself--I said,
"You know,
2128
01:24:16,208 --> 01:24:19,041
this Russia thing
with Trump and Russia
2129
01:24:19,125 --> 01:24:20,083
is a made-up story."
2130
01:24:20,166 --> 01:24:22,041
This was an excuse
2131
01:24:22,125 --> 01:24:23,917
for having lost an election,
and--
2132
01:24:24,000 --> 01:24:26,291
Okay, are you angry
with Mr. Comey
2133
01:24:26,375 --> 01:24:28,125
because of his
Russia investigation?
2134
01:24:28,208 --> 01:24:31,792
I just want somebody
that's competent.
2135
01:24:31,875 --> 01:24:33,417
[Wittes] Trump realized
2136
01:24:33,500 --> 01:24:34,875
that he could not count
2137
01:24:34,959 --> 01:24:36,208
on Jim Comey
2138
01:24:36,291 --> 01:24:37,917
to not investigate him
2139
01:24:38,000 --> 01:24:39,709
and not investigate
his friend,
2140
01:24:39,792 --> 01:24:41,875
and that is why he fired
Jim Comey,
2141
01:24:41,959 --> 01:24:43,959
as he made very clear
2142
01:24:44,041 --> 01:24:46,500
the next day
to the Russian ambassador
2143
01:24:46,583 --> 01:24:47,542
and the foreign minister.
2144
01:24:47,625 --> 01:24:51,250
♪♪♪
2145
01:24:51,333 --> 01:24:52,792
[Schmidt] The thing
about that meeting
2146
01:24:52,875 --> 01:24:54,750
that is sort of
an interesting thing
2147
01:24:54,834 --> 01:24:57,458
of the Trump era is that
everyone remembers it
2148
01:24:57,542 --> 01:25:01,375
because the president
called Comey a nutjob.
2149
01:25:01,458 --> 01:25:03,375
With all the news
Trump makes,
2150
01:25:03,458 --> 01:25:05,500
we tend to follow
the stupid human trick
2151
01:25:05,583 --> 01:25:07,750
and not pay attention
to the more substantive thing,
2152
01:25:07,834 --> 01:25:09,792
the fact that he said
2153
01:25:09,875 --> 01:25:13,250
it relieved pressure on him.
2154
01:25:13,333 --> 01:25:15,792
[Wittes] Ultimately,
this is the story
2155
01:25:15,875 --> 01:25:17,500
about a president
2156
01:25:17,583 --> 01:25:20,375
not getting
the investigative outcomes
2157
01:25:20,458 --> 01:25:22,000
that he wanted,
2158
01:25:22,083 --> 01:25:24,792
and trying to make
law enforcement
2159
01:25:24,875 --> 01:25:28,333
malleable
to his political desires,
2160
01:25:28,417 --> 01:25:32,000
and the--the extreme danger
of that
2161
01:25:32,083 --> 01:25:34,542
should be all
we've been talking about
2162
01:25:34,625 --> 01:25:36,500
for the last year
and a half,
2163
01:25:36,583 --> 01:25:37,875
and it hasn't been,
2164
01:25:37,959 --> 01:25:40,041
and one of the reasons is that
2165
01:25:40,125 --> 01:25:42,959
people have
such mixed feelings about Jim.
2166
01:25:43,041 --> 01:25:44,458
FBI director
2167
01:25:44,542 --> 01:25:45,458
James Comey
2168
01:25:45,542 --> 01:25:46,542
has just been fired
2169
01:25:46,625 --> 01:25:47,625
by Donald Trump.
2170
01:25:47,709 --> 01:25:49,458
[cheering]
2171
01:25:49,542 --> 01:25:51,792
Wow.
Wow...
2172
01:25:51,875 --> 01:25:55,208
Huge, huge Donald Trump fans
here tonight.
2173
01:25:55,291 --> 01:25:58,000
The complicated feelings
2174
01:25:58,083 --> 01:26:00,125
that people have
about Comey
2175
01:26:00,208 --> 01:26:02,000
in relation to Hillary Clinton
2176
01:26:02,083 --> 01:26:05,041
really did muddy that story.
2177
01:26:05,125 --> 01:26:07,834
[Sanders] Frankly, I think
it's kind of sad.
2178
01:26:07,917 --> 01:26:10,250
Here's what Democrats said
not long ago about Comey.
2179
01:26:10,333 --> 01:26:12,166
Harry Reid said Comey
should resign
2180
01:26:12,250 --> 01:26:14,417
and be investigated
by the Senate.
2181
01:26:14,500 --> 01:26:17,083
Senator Chuck Schumer said,
"I don't have confidence
2182
01:26:17,166 --> 01:26:18,834
in him any longer."
And I've heard
2183
01:26:18,917 --> 01:26:21,417
from countless, uh, members
of the FBI
2184
01:26:21,500 --> 01:26:23,792
that are grateful and thankful
for the president's decision.
2185
01:26:23,875 --> 01:26:25,625
[reporter] You personally
2186
01:26:25,709 --> 01:26:30,417
have talked to countless FBI
employees since this happened?
2187
01:26:30,500 --> 01:26:33,041
- [Sanders] Correct.
- I mean, really?
2188
01:26:33,125 --> 01:26:35,041
Like, I mean, really?
Are we be--so are we talking--
2189
01:26:35,125 --> 01:26:36,583
[Sanders] Between, like,
email, text messages,
2190
01:26:36,667 --> 01:26:38,250
- absolutely.
- [reporter] 50?
2191
01:26:38,333 --> 01:26:39,792
- Yes.
- [Wittes] I don't believe
2192
01:26:39,875 --> 01:26:41,250
she heard from anybody
2193
01:26:41,333 --> 01:26:43,250
in the building,
2194
01:26:43,333 --> 01:26:45,083
so I sought,
2195
01:26:45,166 --> 01:26:46,917
under Freedom
of Information Act,
2196
01:26:47,000 --> 01:26:49,709
all statements to staff
2197
01:26:49,792 --> 01:26:51,458
in response to the firing
2198
01:26:51,542 --> 01:26:53,750
in all the field offices,
2199
01:26:53,834 --> 01:26:56,208
in all the divisions.
2200
01:26:56,291 --> 01:26:58,333
If Sarah Huckabee Sanders
was right,
2201
01:26:58,417 --> 01:27:00,500
there would be a kind of
2202
01:27:00,583 --> 01:27:03,458
"ding-dong,
the witch is dead."
2203
01:27:03,542 --> 01:27:06,208
There was not
a single expression
2204
01:27:06,291 --> 01:27:08,834
anywhere
in any of those pages
2205
01:27:08,917 --> 01:27:10,291
that remotely supports
2206
01:27:10,375 --> 01:27:12,625
what Sarah Huckabee Sanders
said.
2207
01:27:12,709 --> 01:27:14,041
People in that building
2208
01:27:14,125 --> 01:27:16,500
knew instinctively
2209
01:27:16,583 --> 01:27:18,792
that the attacks on him
2210
01:27:18,875 --> 01:27:21,709
were a proxy
for an attack on them.
2211
01:27:21,792 --> 01:27:25,166
♪♪♪
2212
01:27:25,250 --> 01:27:27,959
[Weiner] At that point,
the face-to-face meetings
2213
01:27:28,041 --> 01:27:30,333
between Trump and Comey
2214
01:27:30,417 --> 01:27:33,208
are not a matter
of public record,
2215
01:27:33,291 --> 01:27:35,458
but two days
after Comey is fired,
2216
01:27:35,542 --> 01:27:37,500
there's a headline
in The New York Times.
2217
01:27:37,583 --> 01:27:38,875
"In A Private Dinner,
2218
01:27:38,959 --> 01:27:41,041
Trump Demanded Loyalty.
2219
01:27:41,125 --> 01:27:42,709
Comey Demurred."
2220
01:27:45,166 --> 01:27:47,375
[Schmidt] In the aftermath
of Comey being fired,
2221
01:27:47,458 --> 01:27:49,375
it was clear
that some stuff had gone on
2222
01:27:49,458 --> 01:27:51,000
that we didn't know about
between Comey
2223
01:27:51,083 --> 01:27:53,000
and the president,
and the first story
2224
01:27:53,083 --> 01:27:55,333
that I was able to break
about it
2225
01:27:55,417 --> 01:27:58,291
was the loyalty dinner.
2226
01:27:58,375 --> 01:28:00,125
Trump was obviously
very upset,
2227
01:28:00,208 --> 01:28:02,375
and it's in the aftermath
of that story
2228
01:28:02,458 --> 01:28:04,542
that the president tweets
2229
01:28:04,625 --> 01:28:08,083
"Comey better hope
there are not tapes."
2230
01:28:08,166 --> 01:28:09,792
[Comey] President tweeted
on Friday
2231
01:28:09,875 --> 01:28:11,333
after I got fired.
2232
01:28:11,417 --> 01:28:13,709
[Comey] I woke up
in the middle of the night.
2233
01:28:13,792 --> 01:28:15,125
Holy cow.
There might be tapes,
2234
01:28:15,208 --> 01:28:16,750
and if there are tapes,
2235
01:28:16,834 --> 01:28:18,834
it's not just my word
against his
2236
01:28:18,917 --> 01:28:22,000
on the direction to get rid
of the Flynn investigation,
2237
01:28:22,083 --> 01:28:23,625
and so I asked a friend of mine
2238
01:28:23,709 --> 01:28:26,792
to share the content
of the memo with a reporter,
2239
01:28:26,875 --> 01:28:29,041
because I thought
that might prompt
2240
01:28:29,125 --> 01:28:31,000
the appointment
of a special counsel.
2241
01:28:31,083 --> 01:28:32,291
[man] When you received
2242
01:28:32,375 --> 01:28:34,125
the information
about this memo,
2243
01:28:34,208 --> 01:28:36,417
did you realize
what it could lead to?
2244
01:28:36,500 --> 01:28:38,125
Yeah, I mean,
it was pretty clear--
2245
01:28:38,208 --> 01:28:40,792
the significance of it.
Yeah.
2246
01:28:40,875 --> 01:28:43,041
♪♪♪
2247
01:28:43,125 --> 01:28:44,917
We reported
about the Oval Office meeting,
2248
01:28:45,000 --> 01:28:46,000
and the next day,
2249
01:28:46,083 --> 01:28:47,709
Rod Rosenstein
2250
01:28:47,792 --> 01:28:50,750
appoints Mueller
to be the special counsel.
2251
01:28:50,834 --> 01:28:52,959
The White House
blindsided tonight
2252
01:28:53,041 --> 01:28:54,166
as the Department of Justice
2253
01:28:54,250 --> 01:28:56,375
will appoint
a special counsel...
2254
01:28:56,458 --> 01:28:58,792
[reporter] Special Counsel
in the Russia investigation.
2255
01:28:58,875 --> 01:29:00,875
[reporter] That
special counsel will be
2256
01:29:00,959 --> 01:29:03,667
former FBI director
Robert Mueller.
2257
01:29:03,750 --> 01:29:06,375
[reporter] The former
FBI director Robert Mueller.
2258
01:29:06,458 --> 01:29:08,834
♪♪♪
2259
01:29:08,917 --> 01:29:11,875
[man] So it--it isn't
like the firing of Comey
2260
01:29:11,959 --> 01:29:13,542
ended the investigation into--
2261
01:29:13,625 --> 01:29:14,792
No.
If anything,
2262
01:29:14,875 --> 01:29:16,417
you could argue that it
2263
01:29:16,500 --> 01:29:18,417
doubled or tripled the shadow
2264
01:29:18,500 --> 01:29:21,250
over the White House.
2265
01:29:21,333 --> 01:29:23,834
♪ uneasy music ♪
2266
01:29:23,917 --> 01:29:26,250
[Manchin] Sir, uh, do you
believe that Robert Mueller,
2267
01:29:26,333 --> 01:29:28,834
our new special investigator
on Russia,
2268
01:29:28,917 --> 01:29:31,166
will be thorough and complete
without political intervention,
2269
01:29:31,250 --> 01:29:32,458
and would you be confident
2270
01:29:32,542 --> 01:29:34,083
on his findings
and recommendations?
2271
01:29:34,166 --> 01:29:35,458
Yes.
Bob Mueller is one
2272
01:29:35,542 --> 01:29:37,792
of the finest people
and public servants
2273
01:29:37,875 --> 01:29:39,208
this country has ever produced.
2274
01:29:39,291 --> 01:29:41,041
He will do it well.
2275
01:29:41,125 --> 01:29:43,291
He is a dogged,
tough person,
2276
01:29:43,375 --> 01:29:45,250
and you can have
high confidence
2277
01:29:45,333 --> 01:29:47,542
that when it's done,
he's turned over all the rocks.
2278
01:29:47,625 --> 01:29:49,792
[Burr] Director Comey,
thank you once again
2279
01:29:49,875 --> 01:29:51,875
on behalf of the committee.
This hearing's adjourned.
2280
01:29:51,959 --> 01:29:54,250
[Weiner] When the president
fires Jim Comey,
2281
01:29:54,333 --> 01:29:57,625
he thinks if he decapitates
the FBI,
2282
01:29:57,709 --> 01:30:00,125
the FBI will cease
to investigate him.
2283
01:30:00,208 --> 01:30:02,041
He is so wrong.
2284
01:30:02,125 --> 01:30:04,500
♪♪♪
2285
01:30:04,583 --> 01:30:07,834
Bob Mueller can take teams
of FBI agents
2286
01:30:07,917 --> 01:30:11,417
and point them
in a number of directions.
2287
01:30:11,500 --> 01:30:14,375
His mandate is not simply
to look at all things Russia.
2288
01:30:14,458 --> 01:30:18,083
It is to look
at all things criminal.
2289
01:30:18,166 --> 01:30:19,250
[Graff] Like Paul Manafort
2290
01:30:19,333 --> 01:30:20,709
and Rick Gates' indictment
2291
01:30:20,792 --> 01:30:23,792
for money laundering
and past work
2292
01:30:23,875 --> 01:30:26,375
for Russian-backed oligarchs
in Ukraine.
2293
01:30:26,458 --> 01:30:28,750
[Trump] Paul Manafort
is a nice man.
2294
01:30:28,834 --> 01:30:31,083
You look at what's going on
with him--
2295
01:30:31,166 --> 01:30:32,709
it--it's just a sad thing.
2296
01:30:32,792 --> 01:30:33,959
We've seen from Mueller
2297
01:30:34,041 --> 01:30:35,125
that his interests are broad,
2298
01:30:35,208 --> 01:30:37,291
that he is looking
2299
01:30:37,375 --> 01:30:39,083
at many different things,
including
2300
01:30:39,166 --> 01:30:41,709
charging Russians
who were part
2301
01:30:41,792 --> 01:30:43,583
of this influence campaign,
to charging
2302
01:30:43,667 --> 01:30:45,500
folks around the president
2303
01:30:45,583 --> 01:30:47,834
with making false statements
to investigators.
2304
01:30:47,917 --> 01:30:49,542
[Graff] Michael Flynn
ended up pleading guilty.
2305
01:30:49,625 --> 01:30:51,917
This is where we saw
George Papadopoulos
2306
01:30:52,000 --> 01:30:53,125
plead guilty.
2307
01:30:53,208 --> 01:30:54,125
There has been
2308
01:30:54,208 --> 01:30:55,875
absolutely no collusion.
2309
01:30:55,959 --> 01:30:58,166
It's been stated
that they have no collusion.
2310
01:30:58,250 --> 01:31:00,458
At every stage
of his investigation,
2311
01:31:00,542 --> 01:31:02,583
Bob Mueller has surprised us
2312
01:31:02,667 --> 01:31:05,667
by knowing more
and knowing it earlier
2313
01:31:05,750 --> 01:31:07,583
than we possibly imagined.
2314
01:31:07,667 --> 01:31:09,500
[Trump] They have a witch hunt
2315
01:31:09,583 --> 01:31:11,458
against the President
of the United States.
2316
01:31:11,542 --> 01:31:13,166
What's going on
is a disgrace.
2317
01:31:13,250 --> 01:31:14,917
It's an absolute disgrace.
2318
01:31:15,000 --> 01:31:18,750
Investigations
beget investigations,
2319
01:31:18,834 --> 01:31:20,875
so what starts
as a counterintelligence case
2320
01:31:20,959 --> 01:31:23,375
becomes an obstruction
of justice case
2321
01:31:23,458 --> 01:31:25,041
when Comey is fired,
2322
01:31:25,125 --> 01:31:26,208
and it has now
2323
01:31:26,291 --> 01:31:27,959
almost inevitably,
2324
01:31:28,041 --> 01:31:29,583
because you're investigating
Donald Trump,
2325
01:31:29,667 --> 01:31:31,625
become an investigation
2326
01:31:31,709 --> 01:31:35,041
that is fraught
with evidence trails
2327
01:31:35,125 --> 01:31:40,000
and the question
of hush money, and...
2328
01:31:40,083 --> 01:31:41,583
...it could go on
2329
01:31:41,667 --> 01:31:44,792
until long after Trump
has left office.
2330
01:31:44,875 --> 01:31:46,333
[man] Why don't you
just fire Mueller?
2331
01:31:46,417 --> 01:31:47,750
Why don't I just fire Mueller?
2332
01:31:47,834 --> 01:31:48,959
[man] Yeah, just fire
the guy.
2333
01:31:49,041 --> 01:31:50,166
And many people have said,
2334
01:31:50,250 --> 01:31:51,667
"You should fire him."
2335
01:31:51,750 --> 01:31:53,417
So we'll see what happens.
2336
01:31:53,500 --> 01:31:55,500
Uh, I think
it's, uh, disgraceful,
2337
01:31:55,583 --> 01:31:57,917
and so does a lot
of other people.
2338
01:31:58,000 --> 01:31:59,542
This is a pure and simple
2339
01:31:59,625 --> 01:32:01,458
witch hunt.
Thank you very much.
2340
01:32:01,542 --> 01:32:02,917
Thank you.
Thank you.
2341
01:32:03,000 --> 01:32:05,208
[reporters clamoring]
2342
01:32:05,291 --> 01:32:07,583
[Bharara] I saw this
on Twitter just yesterday.
2343
01:32:07,667 --> 01:32:09,458
Someone had the revelation:
"Oh, I--I guess
2344
01:32:09,542 --> 01:32:11,792
much of what goes on
in this country
2345
01:32:11,875 --> 01:32:13,750
at the highest levels
is done on the honor system."
2346
01:32:13,834 --> 01:32:16,333
Yeah, and that's true.
2347
01:32:16,417 --> 01:32:18,125
So when he fired Jim Comey,
2348
01:32:18,208 --> 01:32:19,750
uh, I learned a lesson:
2349
01:32:19,834 --> 01:32:21,959
that this president,
if brought to anger,
2350
01:32:22,041 --> 01:32:23,917
is capable
of firing anyone.
2351
01:32:24,000 --> 01:32:26,041
I think he's capable
of pardoning anyone.
2352
01:32:26,125 --> 01:32:27,542
I think he's capable
2353
01:32:27,625 --> 01:32:29,208
of taking outrageous steps
2354
01:32:29,291 --> 01:32:31,291
if he thinks
that he or his family
2355
01:32:31,375 --> 01:32:33,125
are in the crosshairs.
2356
01:32:33,208 --> 01:32:34,667
Today, the president demanded
2357
01:32:34,750 --> 01:32:37,083
his attorney general,
Jeff Sessions, resign.
2358
01:32:37,166 --> 01:32:39,709
[reporter] We're going to have
a new acting attorney general
2359
01:32:39,792 --> 01:32:42,709
who has been somewhat critical
of the Mueller investigation.
2360
01:32:42,792 --> 01:32:44,125
[reporter]
The president's move
2361
01:32:44,208 --> 01:32:45,417
shifts the focus immediately
2362
01:32:45,500 --> 01:32:46,458
to the Mueller investigation.
2363
01:32:46,542 --> 01:32:48,125
Is it in danger?
2364
01:32:48,208 --> 01:32:49,709
It's kind of
shame--shame on us
2365
01:32:49,792 --> 01:32:51,542
for being so surprised by it,
2366
01:32:51,625 --> 01:32:54,583
and as we tape this,
lots of things have happened
2367
01:32:54,667 --> 01:32:56,250
in, you know,
very recent times,
2368
01:32:56,333 --> 01:32:57,917
so shame on us again
2369
01:32:58,000 --> 01:32:59,250
if we don't realize,
2370
01:32:59,333 --> 01:33:00,792
uh, how close we are
2371
01:33:00,875 --> 01:33:02,333
to yet another
constitutional crisis,
2372
01:33:02,417 --> 01:33:05,959
because, you know any--
any moment,
2373
01:33:06,041 --> 01:33:08,417
if Donald Trump had
his druthers,
2374
01:33:08,500 --> 01:33:12,875
he would do a lot of things
that are inimical to democracy.
2375
01:33:12,959 --> 01:33:16,083
[man] Raise your right hand
and please repeat after me.
2376
01:33:16,166 --> 01:33:18,166
"I, Richard Nixon,
2377
01:33:18,250 --> 01:33:19,750
do solemnly swear..."
2378
01:33:19,834 --> 01:33:22,750
I, Richard Nixon,
do solemnly swear...
2379
01:33:22,834 --> 01:33:25,291
[man] Our whole history
is about
2380
01:33:25,375 --> 01:33:27,667
creating a system
of accountability
2381
01:33:27,750 --> 01:33:30,583
to prevent the rise
2382
01:33:30,667 --> 01:33:33,750
of an autocracy
or a dictatorship.
2383
01:33:33,834 --> 01:33:37,792
If you don't obey the laws
that are put in place
2384
01:33:37,875 --> 01:33:40,333
to keep all of us
on the up-and-up,
2385
01:33:40,417 --> 01:33:42,125
then where are you?
2386
01:33:42,208 --> 01:33:43,667
[Reagan] I, Ronald Reagan,
2387
01:33:43,750 --> 01:33:45,500
do solemnly swear...
2388
01:33:45,583 --> 01:33:47,417
"That I will
faithfully execute
2389
01:33:47,500 --> 01:33:50,125
the office of President
of the United States..."
2390
01:33:50,208 --> 01:33:51,875
That I will faithfully execute
the office
2391
01:33:51,959 --> 01:33:53,959
of President
of the United States...
2392
01:33:54,041 --> 01:33:57,208
If the FBI is not doing it,
who's gonna do it?
2393
01:33:57,291 --> 01:33:58,458
We're not perfect,
2394
01:33:58,542 --> 01:34:02,375
but the institution is solid.
2395
01:34:02,458 --> 01:34:05,583
I-I fear what it would be like
if we didn't have
2396
01:34:05,667 --> 01:34:06,917
the FBI.
2397
01:34:07,000 --> 01:34:09,709
It's not--it's not the enemy.
2398
01:34:09,792 --> 01:34:12,500
I will, to the best
of my ability...
2399
01:34:12,583 --> 01:34:15,125
"Preserve, protect, and defend
2400
01:34:15,208 --> 01:34:16,792
the Constitution
of the United States."
2401
01:34:16,875 --> 01:34:18,208
[man] The question
of whether we
2402
01:34:18,291 --> 01:34:19,792
are still capable
2403
01:34:19,875 --> 01:34:22,667
of holding
the president, uh, accountable
2404
01:34:22,750 --> 01:34:25,709
is an enduring one,
2405
01:34:25,792 --> 01:34:27,709
and I hope
that the American people
2406
01:34:27,792 --> 01:34:30,083
want those
truth-finding mechanisms
2407
01:34:30,166 --> 01:34:32,125
to be able
to do their job
2408
01:34:32,208 --> 01:34:34,166
unimpeded.
2409
01:34:34,250 --> 01:34:36,250
[Trump] Preserve,
protect, and defend
2410
01:34:36,333 --> 01:34:39,250
the Constitution
of the United States.
2411
01:34:39,333 --> 01:34:41,542
Congratulations, Mr. President.
2412
01:34:41,625 --> 01:34:43,125
[Weiner] No free republic
2413
01:34:43,208 --> 01:34:45,083
in the history of civilization
2414
01:34:45,166 --> 01:34:47,083
has lasted longer
than 300 years,
2415
01:34:47,166 --> 01:34:49,333
and that was
the Roman Empire.
2416
01:34:49,417 --> 01:34:53,542
We're on year 242.
2417
01:34:53,625 --> 01:34:55,542
[Weiner] If we're gonna
make it
2418
01:34:55,625 --> 01:34:57,083
to the three-century mark,
2419
01:34:57,166 --> 01:34:58,709
we have to get through this
2420
01:34:58,792 --> 01:35:00,250
in a way in which
2421
01:35:00,333 --> 01:35:01,792
our institutions
2422
01:35:01,875 --> 01:35:03,917
and the rule of law
are strengthened,
2423
01:35:04,000 --> 01:35:06,250
and at the moment,
they are under attack
2424
01:35:06,333 --> 01:35:08,500
by the President
of the United States.
2425
01:35:08,583 --> 01:35:11,542
♪♪♪
2426
01:35:24,458 --> 01:35:27,375
♪ disquieting music ♪
2427
01:35:27,458 --> 01:35:32,583
♪♪♪
180614
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