this is a moment in american history. >> if indeed the president tried to tell the director of the fbi who worked for him that he should drop an investigation, that's a very serious matter. >> a call for the impeachment of the president of the united states. of america. >> we need the actual documents. we need to hear directly from mr. comey himself. >> why didn't he take action at the time? so there are a lot of unanswered questions. >> this is not a time for republicans to hide. >> three words, obstruction of justice. >> as stunning as the developments of recent days have

been, this one really is a bombshell. >> this could be just the tip of the iceberg. momentous times. i'm jim sciutto in for wolf blitzer today. 1:00 p.m. in new york, 8:00 p.m. in moscow. wherever you're watching from around the world, thank you for joining us today. bipartisan calls for a special prosecutor growing talk among democrat of impeachment. leaks from inside the white house of dismay and confusion. trump administration scrambling to deal with the latest arguably most serious crisis of the trump presidency. the administration denies that president trump asked now fired fbi director james comey to drop the investigation of michael flynn, the former national security advisor to the president. sources close to comey, however, tell cnn that the former fbi director meticulously documented that conversation in a memo composed right after his meeting with the president. as first reported by the "new york times."

the white house has had nos public comment today but at a coast guard commencement ceremony just a few minutes ago, the president took aim at his critics especially the media. >> notici, no politician in his and i say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly. >> a handful of republicans are openly criticizing the president, something we have not seen in numbers with any previous controversy. republican leaders are calling for more information. house speaker paul ryan says that congress will follow the facts wherever they lead. now, the president is receive agoffer of help from an unlikely source. vladimir putin is denying that president trump shared classified information with russian officials. and says that he has the transcript of that meeting to prove it. let's bring in cnn's senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny, conscious greggsal correspondent phil mattingly and

senior international correspondent matthew chance. jeff, what is the latest response from the white house on the comey memo? they're not speaking publicly. are they speaking privately to you? >> jim, we definitely got a sense of the president's mind-set as he gave that commencement speech a little earlier this morning. he is feeling sort of besieged, aggrieved. you pick the word for it here. here at the white house, you know, advisers only have his word to go on here. he said he did not say that to the fbi director. of course, no one else was in the room or the oval office during those apparent conversations. so the white house is still standing by the statement it released last evening saying that the president is taking issue with james comey's characteristicization of that meeting. beyond that, the white house is not saying much at all. what they are trying to do is sort of stop some of these cracks from happening up on capitol hill.

they're trying to either you know, tell republicans to hear them out. they're taking a measure of republicans and they're trying to get them to speak out in defense of this administration, but jim, i can tell you, there's been somewhat of an odd silence here at the white house as well as other parts of this town. many republicans are not coming to this president's defense on this. as one top republican close to the white house told me, this is on him. meaning this is on the president himself. never mind the staff drama that always always plays out. >> this is a rare moment where we don't have tweets from him commenting. the senate intelligence committee asking for these memos, as well. they've invited him once before. he said no that time. do they expect him to accept this time. >> according to staff, they do expect the former fbi director to come and testify. there's an expectation they're

not just requesting a closed hearing, they want an open hearing, too. the former fbi director would like that. that's exactly the forum he wants to speak in. take a listen as senator mark warner, the top democrat on the committee laid out the process that committee will be going through and the stakes. >> i think we're going to have to take this sequentially. let's see if the memos exist. let's see if they are accurate. let's hear the testimony from former director comey. he deserves to tell his story to the american people. but if that all problems what's been reported problems to be true, not sure how we would describe it beyond troubling, concerning, all the other adjectives we've used in the past. this is now a factor of ten. >> the senator not mincing any words there. republicans have taken a

slightly different tone publicly. paul ryan saying people need to calmly look at the facts here. wait for more facts to come. take a sober look at things. i can tell you, jim, behind the scenes, last night was a jarring revelation for many republicans. republicans who have taken no pains to basically rush out and defend the president time after time after time. last night, mostly quiet. mostly cautious. one member texted me last night when i asked why all republicans avoiding our questions. he said bluntly because this looks really bad, jim. >> you might even say crickets for the most part from republicans going overseas now. matthew, you have this very odd offer from the russian president to provide a transcript of meeting between president trump and russian officials. when i saw that, it struck me as something of state sponsored trolling here. do you think the russian president is trying to score some points with this offer? >> it's possible. one motivation for this

unexpected offer, we didn't even know there was a transcript as far as i'm aware. but one motivation may be that trump knows very well that any support he offers from the kremlin to president trump isn't going to go down very well in washington. it's going to swo more uncertainty and more chaos. he may have done it on purpose. there is a certain level on which many russians putin included are enjoying this chaos, this political chaos that has gripped the united states and its political system at the moment. they're kind of reveling in it in the media. and that may have been a further sort of contribution to that sense of chaos. but at the same time, it may well be that president putin thought he was genuinely helping president trump because you know, this is somebody who he believes he can have a relationship with, somebody he believes sees the world from his point of view. and he may have genuinely believed that if he offered up this transcript which may or may

not exist, we don't know, then that would genuinely relieve pressure on the u.s. president who is of course, accused of divulging these classified secrets to the russian foreign minister sergei lo lavrov. >> i'll have to put myself i will admit in the group of skeptics on that one. matthew, jeff, phil, thanks very much. many republicans clearly troubled by the new revelations out of the west wing. today house speaker paul ryan tried to reahis members and remind them of their responsibility. >> the point is this. we can't deal with speculation and innuendo. there's clearly a lot of politics being played. our job is to get the facts and be sober about doing that. >> few republicans have been willing to speak publicly today whether to defend the president or to criticize him. republican congressman adam kinzinger is a rare exception.

congressman, credit where credit is due, thank you for accepting our invitation today. >> you bet. thank you. >> right to it, if director comey's account is true, did the president in your view, obstruct justice? >> okay. so i think when it comes to if the account's true, you know, what we've heard is very concerning, very frightening. we haven't seen a memo. we just hear basically part of a memo that was read and it was comey's interpretation. so i think to go to the next step of saying then what? it's pretty early. i do think, look, the american people deserve the answers. what's happened with all this information, it's become, and this is why i think it's time to have an independent investigation. because it's come to the point where anytime something new comes out, the left automatically screams impeachme impeachment. the right says this is a media scandal. this isn't true. the truth is maybe somewhere in the middle. knows. we need actual answers instead

of knee jerk partisanship for everything. it's not about 2018 or 2020. it's the belief in the foundation of the democratic institutions of the united states. >> you're putting it in quite remarkable context there saying that if this account is true, it at least raises the question whether the system of the united states is being challenged here. >> well, if this account is true and again, this is an if. i believe it's been confirmed by multiple sources there is at least a memo that exists. so then how accurate. all kinds of questions. we go on forever. the point is we need to know. we need comey in front of congress to see the memo and we can have the debate about what the next steps or. to hear people on the floor of the house and senate already utter the word impeachment, that is a huge thing to say without all the information. we need the information and that's what we have to do. i think it's time look, there's

some great investigations going on in the house, senate and fbi. they should continue. it's time to begin to talk about an independent group that can come along whether it's a commission or a special prosecutor and investigate this outside of politics. >> let me ask you this because it looks that we're heading in the direction of a he said, he said situation. comey's word against the president's word. and they were the only two people present in the meeting because the president asked, according to comey, for others to leave, including the vice president. i'm going to ask you directly here. if it is he said, he said, whose word do you trust more? >> that's a tough question. i implicitly trust director comey. i believe him to be an honest person. i know people that work in the fbi that know him. i'm not accusing the president of dishonestity in that. we don't know. we haven't heard much from the white house. the point is we need all the information that may -- i think that's going to have to be through something independent because this has become tool

politically toxic. i would caution both sides whether it's my side or the other side, let's not jump to our corners anytime something new comes out. let's try to find out what really happened. stop yelling about impeachment right now. we can't say every new piece of information that comes out is totally facilities and not true. we have to look at this with sober eyes and get to the bottom of it. >> it's fair advice, no question. i want to ask you about what was the other crisis until some 24 hours ago. this is reports confirmed by cnn that the president shared classified information with the russians. in that meeting last week. do you believe the white house has done enough to explain why it did so and has it addressed concerns whether it compromised a key intelligence sharing relationship by doing so? >> no, i haven't heard enough to address that. look, the president is correct when he says he has the right to declassify. that's true. theoretically, a president could have declassified everything

stolen by edward snowden too, but no president would do that. it is one thing if you're meeting with your national security team, you went through strategy, said it is beneficial if we reveal this information. whoever supplied it to us gives the okay. that's completely acceptable. that's part of policy and diplomacy. to just willy-nilly throw something out there and potentially burn an ally without having discussed it with your team while technically legally think is problematic snif congressman adam kinzinger, thanks very much for taking the time. >> you bet. take care. >> coming up, a friend and former colleague of james comey will speak to us about those members and a member of the house intelligence committee will give us an update on the russia investigation. plus, does obstruction of justice apply to the accusations against the president? we'll get some legal analysis to help answer those difficult questions and that's next. let's see,

there are the wildcats 'til we die weekenders. the watch me let if fly. this i gotta try weekenders.

then we've got the bendy... ... spendy weekenders. the tranquility awaits. hanging with our mates weekenders and the it's been quite a day... ...so glad we got away weekenders. whatever kind of weekender you are, there's a hilton for you. book your weekend break direct at hilton.com and join the weekenders. a lower a1c is a lot witabout choices.tes but it can be hard sometimes, 'cause different sides of you struggle with which ones to make. well, what if you kept making good ones? then? you could love your numbers. discover once-daily invokana®, a pill used along with diet and exercise to significantly lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. it's proven to lower a1c better than januvia®. invokana® works around the clock by sending some sugar out of your body through the process of urination.

it's not for lowering systolic blood pressure or weight loss, but it may help with both. invokana® may cause dehydration, which could make you feel dizzy or weak when you stand up, so be sure to drink enough water. important side effects to know may include kidney problems, genital yeast infections, changes in urination, or potentially serious urinary tract infections. as is risk of fracture, or increases in cholesterol or potassium. ketoacidosis is a serious condition, which can be life threatening. stop taking invokana® and call your doctor right away if you experience symptoms. or if you have an allergic reaction, with signs like rash, swelling, or difficulty breathing or swallowing. do not take if you have severe liver or kidney problems or are on dialysis. taking with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the choice is yours. ♪ lower your blood sugar with invokana®.

imagine loving your numbers. there's only one invokana®. ask your doctor about it by name. all umm...ed. you wouldn't want your painter to quit part way, i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. you want this color over the whole house? welcome back. we just got an update on the ongoing russia and comey investigation. in addition to the senate intelligence committee requesting these now well reported comey memos, we now have learned that the senate judiciary committee, as well has requested them. and we'll continue to follow to

see whether that request is met. did president donald trump ask the fbi director to stop the investigation of former national security adviser michael flynn? reports of a memo just referenced to that effect from comey combined with trump's admission that the russia investigation was on his mind when he decided to fire comey have been raising serious questions among both democrats and republicans. if proven true, some lawmakers are questioning if trump's actions amount to obstruction of justice. >> in terms of the repercussions even if there were demonstrable evidence of obstruction, you're absolutely right at the end of the day, it's a very practical question for the congress to decide. and i think ultimately, what's at stake is whether members of congress and indeed the country as a whole believe that the president's conduct was country enough if indeed that's what we would find that his removal wouldn't be simply the nullification of the election by other means.

>> cnn contributor steve vladek is a professor at the universe of texas law school. help us understand and put this in layman's terms. does this amount base on what we know to obstruction of justice to make a request to the fbi director to hold off on an active counter intelligence investigation of your former national security adviser. >> jim, it's the right question. it comes very close. the federal statute at issue basically talks about three different requirements. first is there some kind of ongoing criminal investigation in the case of michael flynn, we know there was. second, did the individual at issue here, president trump, do something to interfere with that investigation. for example, here asking the fbi director, you know, to potentially top the investigation. third, was it his intent to interfere with the investigation. that might be where we have wiggle room where we might hear president trump and his advisers

say it wasn't the president's intent to stop the investigation. he wanted director comey to give flynn the benefit of the doubt. that's the gray area where it cops to the statute. >> intent was also the issue with hillary clinton's e-mails, the idea comey referenced this. there's a famous news conference that sharing it you need to have the intent to have compromised it, as well. on the next question then is the question of impeachment because impeachment it seems to me is as much a political question as a allele question. given the standards and practice, could this then be enough to begin the impeachment process in your view from a legal perspective. >> i think, jim, what you said is right. impeachment is so much more a political question than a legal question. it's a question of what the house of representatives concludes is a high crime or misdemeanor within the language of the constitution. and jim, we have precedent here. when bill clinton was impeached

by the house in 1998, the principal charge was obstruction of justice. when the house was considering impeachment articles against then president richard nixon in 1974, one of the pla charges was obstruction of justice. so the house at least historically has treated obstruction as an impeachable offense. i'm not holding my breath this house will do the same right now. it's not because there's not a precedent. >> the difference is it was a democratic-controlled congress in nixon times, republican controlled i believe in clinton's times and here we have party same party in the white house and on the hill. >> and jim, it's a real concern. so there's a real concern that we increasingly have in washington not a separation of powers but a separation of parties. the question is, what is it going to take to impel this particular congress to actually take seriously its independent institutional responsibility to ensure to investigate to ensure that there isn't anything

wrongful taking place in the white house. >> steve vlaaeck, thanks for helping us. i want to talk more about the white house reaction and ongoing congressional actions with mike quigley, a democrat from illinois. mr. congressman, thanks for joining us today. >> glad to be here. >> you heard our legal analyst there. you yourself were an attorney, as well. based on what we know from this memo, does it constitute obstruction of justice by president? >> i think that when you ask the person investigating something to not do it and you're the commander in chief, that is obstruction. but as an old trial attorney, i believe everyone deserves due process. this is just the beginnings of this investigation. i think we need a bipartisan agreement to move forward subpoenaing these memos. the tapes. mr. comey's testimony. let's let the facts come out.

let's discover this with a thoughtful manner. you just talked about impeachment being a political matter. with the polarization that exists in this country right now, i don't think we can let it be a political matter. i think we need to have a bipartisan effort to find out exactly what took place and let the facts follow where they are. let's try to find out so the american public knows exactly what happened. >> as you know, some of your democratic colleagues in the house have discussed the possibility of impeachment, even called for it. do you believe it's too early to discuss that option? >> sure. i think it's too early. i think it's not too early for the republicans to jump on board and understand that we need an independent 9/11 type commission analyzing this. we need an independent prosecutor. they need to be part of this subpoena process. they can't be part of this. clearly, the white house was interfering with this

investigation. with bogus -- bogus claims of wiretapping, trump tower and more. you know, now they have elevated the game by firing the fbi director after he asked for more resources. by threatening, a veiled threat to the same director that there might be tapes here. and now you know, allegations that he was involved in this process that we learned about yesterday. this is the -- this is the grounds for obstruction charges. but there is a process to move forward before we jump to that conclusion. >> let me ask you, at the end of the day, it's political. it's numerical. right? you're the minority party. short of republicans, a sift number of republicans in effect crossing the aisle on this issue, what do democrats plan to do? because without those republicans, you can shout from the bully pulpit but

legislatively, you can't move the process forward. >> yeah, i think what the bully pulpit gives you is an opportunity to address the american public. the american public's pressure on my republican colleagues to look at this matter thoughtfully and analyze it, follow the facts wherever they take us is our best chance. you got to remember, way back to watergate. it wasn't till senators like republican barry goad water went to nixon and said that he would vote for impeachment that the president stepped down. so to answer your question, it's going to be up to the american public. >> we understand that the cia director mom pompeo briefed members of the intelligence committee on the question of what was shared to russian officials by the president regarding intelligence that we've since reported was sourced from israel. have your concerns been allayed about what the president shared and what that sharing put at risk? >> i can't talk about what mr. pompeo discussed with us. my concerns about what the

president shared isn't just that we might have revealed sources and tactics. what's more important to me right now is the fact that we aren't kept safe just by the united states intelligence community. we're kept safe by the collaboration that exists between the u.s. intelligence community and our allies. and if they can't trust our commander in chief with keeping those secrets safe, i'm not sure they're going to want to share anything with us and indeed, we will be less safe. >> congressman mike quigley, thanks for joining us today. >> thank you so much. coming up, congress invites former fbi director james comey to testify on his memos concerning that conversation with the president. when will he speak? some perspective from someone who knows the former fbi director personally. i'll speak with him. and that's next. our exclusive trueseal technology means a strong, reliable bond.

at safelite, we stand behind our work... because the ones you love, sit behind it. (parents whisper jingle) safelite repair, safelite replace. beneful grain free is so healthy... oh! farm-raised chicken! mmm...that's some really good chicken. i don't think i've ever tasted chicken like this. what!? here come the accents. blueberries and pumpkin. wow. that was my favorite bite so far. not even kidding. i mean that was... ...oh! spinach! mmm. that's like three super foods. pretty, uh, well...super. now i got kind of a pumpkin, chicken thing going on... ...whoop! time to wrestle. (avo) new beneful grain free. out with the grain, in with the farm-raised chicken. healthful. flavorful. beneful. ♪ sometimes you want to ♪go. ♪ ♪ where everybody knows your name, ♪ ♪ and they're always glad you came. ♪ ♪ you wanna be where you can see, ♪ ♪ our troubles are all the same. ♪

♪ you wanna be where everybody knows ♪ ♪ your name. i wanti did my ancestrydna and where i came from. and i couldn't wait to get my pie chart. the most shocking result was that i'm 26% native american. i had no idea. just to know this is what i'm made of, this is where my ancestors came from. and i absolutely want to know more about my native american heritage. it's opened up a whole new world for me. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com. whether you're after supreme performance... ♪ advanced intelligence... or breathtaking style... there's a c-class just for you. decisions, decisions, decisions.

lease the c300 sedan for $399 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. we asked people to write down the things they love to do most on these balloons. travel with my daughter. roller derby. ♪ now give up half of 'em. do i have to? this is a tough financial choice we could face when we retire. but, if we start saving even just 1% more of our annual income... we could keep doing all the things we love. prudential. bring your challenges.

former fbi director james comey about some of his encounters with president trump are sending shock waves through washington. now the white house, lawmakers, even the public wants to know more about comey and what he may do next. for that, we're joined by walter mack, a former federal prosecutor, deputy commissioner of the nypd as well as a person friend of comey. thanks for joining us here today. i want to start with this. perhaps our viewers may not know why. but why would he take such detailed notes of a meeting like this with the president? >> well, in many respects, i share with him the same training that every former assistant u.s.

attorney has, which is you never want to be in a situation where you do not have a witness to a conversation with a subject target or anyone else. and if by some means you are required, and you can't bring somebody, an aide or a confidante or an agent or a detective, you are trained to immediately after the meeting sit down and to the very best of your ability write up in some type of a report exactly what happened. >> write it and share it apparently. >> absolutely. share it. it becomes part of the case file. and is information accessible to all of those who are going to evaluate it. >> now, you've heard republicans, a familiar talking point in the last 24 hours has been well, if he was so concerned about the meeting, why didn't he immediately share the contents of this memo. >> well, i think that's a judgment call that you have to give the benefit of the doubt to jim comey because as i -- and i

read the press. i'm a newspaper news person. and i think his position was that he had a group of hard working agents and assessors, evaluators working on it and if in fact, the memo says what, in fact, it's purported to say, this would indelibly impact the brains of those investigators working on the case. it might cause them to react in a negative way. >> he has now been invited to testify before the senate intelligence committee. it's the second time. initially in just in the very wake of the firing, he refuses. my understanding of his thinking at the time was lis be, i'm going to take some time off. et cetera. not a hard no. do you believe he wants to speak in public and be questioned in public more about these memos and the meeting with the president? >> well, i am a friend of jim's although i haven't spoken to him for probably six to eight months anyway. most people who do their job right the way you're trained to

do it as a prosecutor or investigator or whatever, you want to be in a situation where if called upon, you can be as precise and accurate and as objective as you can possibly be. so my view is, i don't think jim comey is the kind of person that looks to get involved in controversy, what have you. but if called upon and required to do so, not have a more accurate scrivener to provide you data. >> if there are no tapes of this conversation, we will be in a he said he said aid situation. the president's word versus director comey's word. who should the person people trust? >> well, you know, i've been a prosecutor for a long time. i have also been a criminal defense attorney for a long time. so it depends what hat i have on and obviously, in my experience tells me you have to do your homework. there's no pri ory view that one person is telling the truth or

not. you gatter every bit of information available to you if you're the one to make the judgment. you assess it, you discuss it. you think about it, and then you make your decision. i'm not in that position. i don't know that i would forecast. >> let me ask this in a different way. you know james comey. you are for a number of years. you've worked with him. would eli about a conversation like this. >> it would shock me were he to do so. he would and a different jim comey that i have known and been respected and been a friend of. >> thank you very much. coming up, the white house in damage control mode as they deal with the fallout of controversy after controversy. what staffers are saying about the sphere inside the white house now. that's next. remember here at ally, nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. who's with me? we're like a sports team here at ally. if a sports team had over 7... i'm in. 7,000 players. our plays are a little unorthodox. but to beat the big boys, you need smarter ways to save people money. we know what you want from a financial company

and we'll stop at... nothing to make sure you get it. one, two... and we mean nothing. ♪ ♪ water. every day women around the world spend millions of hours just collecting it. stella artois has partnered with us at water.org to help provide access to clean water to women and their families in the developing world. we can be the generation remembered for ending the global water crisis once and for all. what do you want to be remembered for? ♪ on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates. maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch and you could save $509

on auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. we believe in food that's anaturally beautiful,, fresh and nutritious. so there are no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives in any of the food we sell. we believe in real food. whole foods market. ♪

♪ i'm dr. kelsey mcneely and some day you might be calling me an energy farmer. ♪ energy lives here. your body was made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz is right for you. xeljanz is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can reduce joint pain and swelling in as little as two weeks, and help stop further joint damage. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb,

hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate, and is also available in a once-daily pill. ask about xeljanz xr.

the white house now trying to contain the fallout on yet another you might say self-inflicted wound. the administration denies that president trump asked fbi director james comey to drop the investigation flow former national security adviser michael flynn. sources tell cnn, however, comey meticulously documented that conversation in a memo just after the meeting with the president. we have chief political analyst gloria borger along with politics reporter chris silly za. dana bash. i'm going to begin with you. i've spoken to republicans who last night described a different mood among republicans in response to this as compared with the many previous controversies this administration has come through. in your view, is it different? >> no question. it is different. it is being received differently. it is being taken seriously in a way that we have seen -- not

seen from the many, many other self-inflicted wounds, crisises that have been manufactured from the oval office. and there have been a lot of them. and this is not one that the likes of paul ryan can say, i'm going to shutout the noise. it's not noise. it's real. that's coming from people who are close with donald trump, people inside the white house, people outside the white house. it was an omg moment, no question. however, the big unanswered question, jim, is what this means in real terms. >> right. >> it certainly is knocking the white house off its game, knocking the republican agenda off its game to the point where it's unclear, frankly, whether it can get back on track. but in terms of this particular issue, the next big thing is going to be jim comey's testimony and then that will open up the floodgates for whatever happens next. >> gloria borger, you talked with a friend of president trump. i'm curious, does the president believe that this one is

different? >> i don't know the answer to that. i think these people have sort of given up on donald trump, to be honest with you. and i don't know whether they've said that to him. but let me read to you what this one trump loyalist said to me. he does speak for donald trump quite frequently. he said i always thought that once he understood the weight of the office, he would rise to the occasion. now, i don't. so when you have people who are really close to donald trump saying this, and these people i should also add are in constant touch with trump loyalists inside the white house. and i had another source say to me yesterday that people inside the white house where is discon so lat was the word that he used. he said look, these are the loyalists, not the mercenaries coming in and out. these people are the one who's really care about what happens

to donald trump. at this juncture they have no idea what's going to come next and how the president is going to get out of this. >> chris sa lizza, obviously james comey has an enormous role because of this memo but going forward, he's been invited to testify. that's when he would really have a public bully pulpit to describe this meeting and answer hard questions about it. i understand you've spoken with someone who covered him for years. what sense are you getting. >> our colleague who did a lot of great comey reporting around the u.s. attorneys as well as the alberto gonzales attempt to convince john ashcroft laying in a hospital bed to reup the domestic surveillance program, eric's point is that jim comey has a flair for the dramatic. we saw that in the 2005 debate over the domestic surveillance program. and he expects him to testify and to push for that testimony to be public.

i think you know, it would be in an open setting. i think that's now essentially a guarantee. comey has a lot of cards to play here. i can only imagine being in jim comey's head the day he was in los angeles. i guess it's now eight days ago. it feels like 80 days ago but eight days ago when he learned he was fired by watching television flowing what reportedly he knew in the memos, there's a lot more to come here. and the trump white house does not hold the cards. jim comey does. republicans in congress as they decide special prosecutor or not hold the cards. trump is in a defensive crouch more so than usual. >> you hear that word helpless coming out of white house staffers. i'm watching the dow dropping 280 points. we know some of that reaction to these questions about the administration. ohio governor john kasich in a cnn town hall last night spoke specifically about the house speaker, paul ryan, saying he needs to step up. have a listen.

>> frankly, i think he should be more aggressive. i think he should speak out more. this is not a time for republicans to hide. and i also don't think it's a time for democrats to exploit. >> dana bash, that was your twaun hall last night. we saw some relatively milquetoast comments from the house speaker today. but he did say we'll follow the facts. this is a different moment for republicans. are you seeing evidence of that from the house leadership? >> not yet. i think just in the sense that in the very, very shortest of terms, the house speaker didn't say i'm not going to talk about this. i'm so sick of answering questions about the latest scandal out of the white house or the latest controversy out of the white house. that didn't happen. and it is a responsible thing to do to say everybody take a breath. let's actually see the memos. we're trying to get them. we will get them. we'll hear from the former fbi director and so on and so forth.

>> but it really already did strike me sitting in the town hall last night listening to john kasich say weather said that edisappointed as a former house member himself that the house speaker hasn't been more aggressive. you know, that says a lot. he's not the only one to say that. it's not just the house speaker. it's many, many in the rank and file that have tried at least in the case of paul ryan, remember, many times to stand up and speak out when he thought that donald trump did or said thing that was wrong during the campaign and he ended up with political egg on his face when he became the president of the united states. so i think that plus the fact that he still says he wants to try to get his agenda through is why he tries to step back. i think even he realizes they're no agenda to get through if you have a presidency in constant crisis. >> gloria, i hear you wanted to pipe in. >> yeah, if you look back at watergate, for example, republicans weren't exactly

anxious to start lining up against richard nixon either. less than half of them voted for the articles of impeachment on the house judiciary committee. so it's going to take awhile for republicans to start saying, well, mr. president, we think you've got a real issue here. i think they're kind of trying to wait till they see the evidence. but having said that, look, the president doesn't have a lot of friends on capitol hill. and also, he's lost faith in everybody who, would for him, i've been told, according to one source. so you know, this isn't a great situation for him because he feels like he has no one to turn to. and he doesn't have people on capitol hill while they may be saying, oh, mr. president, not be saying this is the end, what they are doing is demuring. you're not getting a lot of republican surrogates out there defending the president vociferously here. >> that's part of the crickets we're hearing

not a lot of criticism or defense either. still ahead, only days before he is scheduled to visit, president trump intel sharing puts israel in a very awkward position. is the relationship damaged? we'll discuss that possibility when we come back. now. the newly advanced gle can see in your blind spot. [ dinosaur roars ] onboard cameras and radar can detect danger all around you. driver assist systems can pull you back into your lane, if drifting. bye chief. bye bobby. and will even help you brake, if necessary. it makes driving less of a production. lease the gle 350 for $579 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. there'try phillips' fiberway to ggood gummies.. they're delicious... and a good source of fiber to help support regularity. mmm. these are good. nice work, phillips'! try phillips' fiber good gummies!

this and it's also a story about people. and while we make more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country we never forget... that your business is our business. the united states postal service. priority: you you need one of these. you wouldn't put up with an umbrella that covers you part way, so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. tell you what, i'll give it to you for half off. (beckin einstein since he hange started eating beneful. the number one ingredient in it is beef. (einstein) the beef is fantastic! (becky) he has enough energy to believe that he can jump high enough to catch a bird. (vo) and now try new beneful grain free, simply made with wholesome ingredients, and no grain. will you be ready when the moment turns romantic? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis.

some build walls to keep people out. but these are walls that welcome you in. within these walls, california's educators create safe places for every student to learn and grow. where teachers open minds to history... unleash creativity... and show our kids the future. some build walls to divide us. but the california teachers association knows these are walls that bring us together. because quality public schools build a better california for all of us.

contain the fallout over the comey memo, it's also scrambling to put out a number of other fires. high on the list is the classified intelligence from israel to the russians. we learned this morning that mr. trump spoke to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in a telephone call last night. his office saying the only thing discuss was president trump's upcoming visit to israel. joining me is john kirby. thanks very much. admiral kirby, publicly officials are saying all is well in the relationship. i wonder, though, you've been on trips like this before. will the president and his team get a different, more critical message in private? >> i think it's possible that at lower staff levels they might hear a little bit more. i want to caveat by this by

saying i don't know what the third party nation was that provided this to the white house that was divulged to the russians. it's possible that they could hear it at the lower level. i doubt seriously it would come up in face-to-face meetings with president trump and benjamin netanyahu. it probably would have already occurred by other means but i don't think it will be a major sort of issue when they sit down to talk. >> i notice with interest today, i'm sure you did as well, president vladimir putin, generously offering to provide a transcript of the meeting to help out the president. it struck me that this was state-sponsored trolg state-sponsored trolling by the russian president. >> i'm not sure whether he talks about a transcript or record but i suspect he's enjoying this immensely, this whole issue. he's probably getting a lot out of it and the propaganda machines in russia are probably turning it out as well. it was more tongue in cheek, i

think, rather than a serious offer. anything they would offer or provide, you'd have to take it at complete face value because there's going to be nothing of substance and nothing you can trust coming out from russian records of this meeting to whatever degree they are, they are not going to be trustworthy. >> let me ask you this on intelligence sharing. there's been a lot of questions, will allies be reluctant to share information with the u.s. because it might come out of the president's mouth or in a tweet. >> yeah. >> clearly the relationships are paramount here. these are life and death intelligent-sharing relationships. you've been in the pentagon and state department. can you see circumstances, though, where even an ally might say that this is so sensitive, i can't risk sharing it with my american partners because it might come out in a place we don't want it to? >> that's the real worry. i think -- look, you'll see public comments. i think we've seen some recently where some allies have said it's

not going to affect us. be careful about the public statements but that doesn't mean that in the bowels of these intelligence agencies, people are doing the day -to-day intelligence work, that they are not going to be wary of sharing intelligence information with their american counterparts. i think it's a little too early to tell exactly what effect this d divulgence this will have. they will chalk this up. this will be something that they keep in the back of their mind the next time that they explore the option of sharing sensitive intel with us. >> just a remarkable reality. john kirby, thanks very much. that's it for me today. i'll be back tomorrow filling in for wolf. for our international viewers, "amanpour" is next and brooke

baldwin in the u.s. right after a quick break. tech: when your windshield trust safelite autoglass.. our exclusive trueseal technology means a strong, reliable bond. at safelite, we stand behind our work... because the ones you love, sit behind it. (parents whisper jingle) safelite repair, safelite replace. we danced in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen.man. when i first got on ancestry i was really surprised that i wasn't finding all of these germans in my tree. i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. the big surprise was we're not german at all. 52% of my dna comes from scotland and ireland. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story.

get started for free at ancestry.com. he's a nascar champion who's she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop.

it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you've got to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know.

but we've got the get tdigital tools to help. now with xfinity's my account, you can figure things out easily, so you won't even have to call us. change your wifi password to something you can actually remember, instantly. add that premium channel, and watch the show everyone's talking about, tonight. and the bill you need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount

you're watching cnn. we have breaking news for you this afternoon. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you for being with me. we are expecting to hear from the white house press secretary sean spicer for the very first time since this explosive report and arguably the deepest crisis of donald trump's presidency. this memo from former fbi director james comey that claims the president asked him privately to stop investigating the former national security adviser michael flynn, reportedly saying, quote, i hope you can let this go. congress now demanding any memo along with mr. comey's testimony as lawmakers raise