>> president trump confronts new memos from former f.b.i. director james comey. and he bri a trusted ally onto his legal team. i'm robert costa inside the latest on the russia probe. plus the loomige chall and opportunities in north korea. tonight on "washington week." >> there was no collusion and that's been ao found, you know, by the house intelligence committee. >>resident trumpxpresses confidence that special cbensel ro mueller's investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election will not find collusion by the trump campaign. in a news conference with japanese primete minshinzo abe, trump contests reports that mueller and deputy attorney general rod rosenstein's jobs >> they've been saying i'm going to get rid of them for the last three months. four months. five months. and they're still here. >> the justice department

leases redacted memos from fired f.b.i. director james comey, whileormer new york city mayor rudy giuliani and two other attorneys join president trump's personal legal team.il >> you see that russian sanctions will be coming down. secretary mnuchin will be announcing those on monday. he unitedmbassador to nations, nikki haley, said sanctions would be coming. but the white house walked back that assertion. >> she got ahead of the curb. there might have been some momentary confusion about that. >> and the country says goodbye to former first lady, barbara bush. we discuss it all cordes of cbs news, josh dawsey of the washington post, mara liasson of npr, and vivian salama of nbc news. f thisee is "washington" corporate funding "washington week" is provided by... ♪[music]

>> their leadership is instinctive. they understand tge challen of today and t research technologies of torrow. some call them veterans. we call them part of our team. >> on a cruiseith american cruise lines, you can experience historic destinations along the mississippi river the columbia river, and across the united stes. american cruise lines' fleet of small ships. explore americananarks, local cultures and calm waterways. american cruise lines. proud sponsor of "washington week." a

itional funding is provided by newman's own foundation. donating all panfits from ne own food products to charity and nourishing the common good. the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. ithe ethics and excellen journalism foundation. the corporation for public broadcas and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you! once again, from washington,to moderobert costa. >> good evening. what a rush of news! just in the past 24 hours, the justice departmentea rd memos written by former f.b.i. director james comey.or former new city mayor rudy giuliani joined president trump's legal team. and the democratic national committee filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the russian government, wikileaks and the trump campaign, alleging a conspiracy to support trump

2016 bid. week, lawyersis for the president and his personal attorney, michael cohen, argue against releasing materials that were seized ihis mont a raid by the f.b.i. trump allies on capitolke hill, congressman mark meadows of north carolina, have been ment orning impea contempt of congress for deputy attorney general rod rosenstein unless he handed over those comey memos. but let's begin with breaking ne josh, welcome to "washington week." big story tonight that atlrney gene jeff sessions has warned the white house that heep would down if rod rosenstein, who oversees the mueller probe, the special counsel investigation, is fired. it reall brings up this whole bigger theme. it's not just about the comey memos this week. it's really about the tensions between the white house and the mueller investigation, republicans and the mueller investigation. >> right. and that's the fundamental issue of it.

president trump ha has been at w to some degreh the top lerdleaders of the f.b.i. who he not bid to his will. he has mused about firing rod rosenstein, the deputy attorney geneesl, jeffons, who frustrates him to no end, as we have reportedly seen over and. ov and what happened this time is that the president, again last week, frustrated with the raid on his personal lawyers' apartment, his office, hotel room, says, you know, i might want to fire roden rein. it's what he's said for months. jeff sessions, the attorney general, stepped in and said,f hey,ou do this, i may go too. woat would create a whole domino effect thad be kind of unparalleled in our government. >> how close are we, mara, to that domino effect,atching the coverage of michael cohen and the f.b.i. raid? is the tru administration on the brink of having some kind of -- >> constitution crisis? i think that we're in the a midt

stress test on democratic institutions, maybe not a full-fledged constitutional crisis. but what's amazing about this iv usually y got the legislative branch versus the effective branch. th time it's donald trump at war with pple he appointed. he's got allies in congress p pressure on his own branch of government. that's unheard of. >> nancy, you've been on capitol hill all week. this is really not -- the comey memos aren't part of the comey book tour. it's about congress fighting d.o.j. over document production. where do that who drama stand at this moment? >> well, the problem, if you're a trump ally, ihi that at point, you've learned over and over again you really can't do anything to shrink this investigation or stop it. the only thing t you can to do is discredit the investigation. so you demand document after document from d.o.j., hoping that there's something in those documents that indicates some kind ofn political motivat to starting this probe or at least

something in therehat you c spin that way. that's what they were hoping for from these comeyth memos. didn't get it. that's why they're still pushing for other documents fromar the of the special counsel probe. >> what's your read, nancy, on congress? who is more influential at this moment, the citol hill leaders like mitch mcconnell, who doesn't want to move on legislation to protect the mueller probe, or is it people he freedomws, kazakhstakaukswho are pushing to act? >> i thinkt's less about power and more about everyone having their rules to play. you've got thehi leade very consistently saying, you know, we're not going to get involved we want to let the investigation play out. president trump should do the same. that's what t ty see ashe line that they should consistently take. but then you've got some of these rabble-rousers, the mark meadows and thens jim jor and the devin nuñezes, saying, no, we're out there, need to fight. we think this entire investigion has metastasized. it's getting too close to the

president and we're gonna fight. heir role. that's something that, you know, really wouldn't work if leadership tried to do it. >> vivian, you're back from mar-a-lago, back in florida, covering president trump all week. you spotted rudy giuliani there, just before he joined the president's legal team. what does his addition mean at this time? >> obviously he's a very competent attorney, very highly respected attorney, back in new york. he also has agt le relationship with people like bob mueller. he knew cey, back from being mayor of new york and they were over in d.o.j. and so he believes that he's coming in sort of bringing ine rapport of an attorney but also someone who can sit with thesmen, look them face to face and say this is the way it's going to be. let's wrap this up right now. he really believes and he's been out there in t last two days, since this news emerged, really saying i'monna wrap this up. i'm gonna get this thing under control and we'ret gonna j finish it. >> the fundamental question for rudy giuliani, though, will be, what isis approach?

the legal team has been besieged byig iing, lots of different strategies. the president's l dyerarted amid some squabbles internally. so what does he do differently? they told the president, listen, this will be over by thanksgiving. then by christmas. by new year's. new it's april and we have rudy giuliani coming in and saying, oh, we're goi to wrap this up soon. what are the president's expectations? can he do anything dferently with bob mueller than any of the other lawyers have done? >> one of the key questions, mara, is will the president actually sit for an interview with mueller? ru giuliani wouldn't giv employee a clear answer. >> there are tons of people saying, don't do it, mr. president, it's just a trap. if you look at histories of how the president behaves when he's deposed, he can perjure himself pretty easily. h sos got all sorts of people saying don't do it.

on the other hand, maybe he inks rudy giuliani can somehow negotiate terms for an interview that will protect him. which is better, to try to shut down the mueller, pro by firing rod rosenstein or something else, or just keep on discrediting mueller, undermining his credibility? so in the end, no matter what he comes up with, you can tell your base, just to dismiss it as fake news. >> i think that's absolutely 100% the strategy. the problem that historically republicans have had a lot of really great things to say about robert mueller, who himself is a republsan. and tha why these arguments -- you know, they may uork with the base, but, know, as the investigation moves closer and closer to the president himself, he h n ensnared his personal lawyer. it becomes more and more difficult for republicans to t mat argument. >> and the personal lawyer is really an important development. i mean, it's now a two-pronged investigation. you have the southern district of new york, probi his

personal lawyer's finances, listening to hisi recordings. mean, they're really exceeding fonald trump's entire life and a lot o it before he became president. what we reported was the president was inclined to do an interview before this raid his house, even with his lawyers saying to him, mr. president, don' do it. exactly as you said, mara, the president wanted to do it. th came in, they seized michael cohen, raided all of hi. proper the president is furious about it. now he is less likely to do it. thfe's a big dnce there. >> and it's not just the president being furious. the president'sttorneys and michael cohen's attorneys are challenging in court whether a federal investigation will be able to access t those materials they seized, including audio recordings. >> sure. ably. and all of this is very unsettling for the president.e that's why brings in rudy giuliani, who he goz way back- with goes way back with. it's a comfort level for him. remember, this is a president who ry much relied in his life, in his previous life, on

nondisclosgrements. now so many elements are coming out to the public. ic bit'sn very unsettling for him. certainly out there with jimng comey tal about his book, that's been something that's been really unsettling for him. but it was reallast week, the raid of cohen's office and home, where all of a sudden he's got this whole rant about the attorney-client pvilege being violated, because ultimately that means he's exposed, vulnable. >> you have this incredible conversation among all these trump associatespeculating on whether or not michael cohen will flip. >> will he flip? >> a lot of reporting out m the, whicns the assumption is that he has something to tell prosecutors. >> there's a fascinating sto in the new york times tonight that michael cohen has had a tough relationship with president. >> treated badly. e ahe said he would t bullet. but he's also be up and down with the president over the last 10 years. >> there are many people who profess their loyalty to trump, who are then treated really bad.

>> interesti legal and political development today. the democratic national committee, nancy, decides to suh trump campaign, sue wikileaks, about an conspiracy regarding the 201 election. for so long, you've been chronicling the democrats ruing ahead ofhe midterms. they haven't really been talking about the russia probe. are oey nstarting to take on that issue and put it front and center? >> well, the d.n.c. is, becau the d.n.c., first of all, believes that it lost a lot of money, a lot of credibility as a result of its e-mails beingck by the russians and shared. i mean, just think back to that time a how embarrassing it was to have all of their e-mai about bernie sanders, about hillary clinton, made public right before the convention. it made for a rocky first cple of days, a lot of bad feeling that lingered among bernie sanders' supporters. they're still trying to come back from that. so this was the head d.n.c. saying, you know what? this cost us.

we really had serious damage to our reputation, to our operation. so we're seeking damages. but also, the d.n.c. believesus thata really hasn't paid a price for what it did to meddle in the election. and it believes, you know, yes, the special counsel is investigating. but when you look at tow, you a civil case, we think there's enough there to make the case tt the trump campaign, at the very least, if it wasn't colluding with t russians, it was egging them on. it was benefiting. it was encouraging this operation. there's a lot of communication y now.e know of b and that's what they're gonna try to prove in civil court. >> but i tnk there was rightly some reticence from democrats to talk about this too much. it's a complicated story line. it has figeies in f countries, money transfers. what does the average person even define as collusion? whoers bob mue to an average american, i'm not sure how much some ofhe intricacies of the story really

resonate. what does r,onate, i thior the president's benefit here, is that the economy is doing well. unemployment is low. he's made some inroads on foreign policy, particularly with north korea, it seems. what they s and feel is not this. you can make these arguments, we've done this other people have. there's a lot to see here. but how much of it delves down and is a voting issue for people? sure.t i don't think it is. i think if you look at successful democrats who run in these specialions, they're not talking about russia. they know when you look at the list of issues that voters care about, russia is way down at the bottom. >> and that's the reason some democrats did not like this t ia s lawsuit. they said, hey, wait a minute. we should really be focused on thpecial counsel investigation and this lawsuit only politicizes it. only creates more political overtones. that's the last thingcrhat des need right now. >> we're going to have to turn to breakin so much breaking news. breaking news every hour, it seems, these days. but breaking news tonight not only with josh's story andro

nstein and the trump administration but out of north korea. state mednc there ann plans to suspend nuclear msile tests and close a test site. this happened just days after predident trump confi that c.i.a. director and secretary of state nominee mike pompeo recently huddledh wrth korean leader kim jong-un for a secret meeting, ahead of the planned talks between the president and kim. >> i think mike pompeo will go down as one ofhe great secretaries of state. by the way, het just lrth korea. had a great meeting with kim jong-un. and he got along with him really well, really great. >> vivian, when you think about pompeo right now, he's going to meet with kim. but what does he accomplish in that conversation, that exchange, that maybeo, i kim taking these steps tonight? was it because of the pompeo meetin based on our knowledge

and reporting, or is it because of different actions chinata has n or others in the region have taken? >> there's definitely a number of factors. the south koreans have been working the process with the north k leans for thet couple of months. they were the ones to really push thisor processrd, at a time when things were very precarious with the unitedft states, the death of the american who was brought out of north korea in a coma. president trump firing all kds accusations at kim jong-un, man,ng him little rocket saying he would respond to their testing with fire and fury. for the united states, thi have been going forward in baby steps. there's cautious optimism. i spoke to a couple of folks since this story broke. everybody sees this as going in the right direction, ahead of the planned summit with president trump and kim jong-un in a month or so. however, north korea has promised these things before and have reneg onheir promises so a lot of people are saying, well, pompeo is going the right directious but everyone, play it cool. >> and what are they promising?

to suspend their tests f how long? until they can meet with president trump? north korea just got something reallyanted. pside-by-side meeting with the most powerfulson on the planet, as two equals. so that's something they got. this at least is something that president trump can say hein got advance. they're going to suspend, for now, their tests. they don't really need to do more tests. they just know that they have ao -range missile. they accomplished their goal. now they're ready to sit down. >> what is the strategy here inside the white house? >> the president made a telling joke of the gridiron dinner. he said dealing with a crazy problem. crazy, that's his problem, not mine. inside the white house, what you sense is this is an president on foreign policy. he says, of course i'll meet with president jig kdergarten k. there was a lot of people saying this could go poorly, and it still might. but so far, you've seen north korea say they're going toot gie r missiles.

suspend for now. but it's a concession and a win for the president. and you see a lot of optimism t insi administration that we've got these people at the table. we could do something. i mean, one of the things we had a fundraiser a while back -- we got the audio oft. what president trump said behind closed doors, these people for 25 years, bush, obama, thepo cies, nothing has ever gotten done. i'm not gonna be like t people. >> except for clinton did make a deal with the north koreans and it was t hugeng at the time. >> and it didn't pan out. >> there's optimm. does it translate to a confirmation for pompeo on clinical? >> possibly but he got some very bad news just friday, which is that he is notetoing to a favorable recommendation out of the senate r foreignations committee. and that is unheard of. >> first time in 70 years. >> exactly. because all of the democrats and one republican, rand paul,ave all said they are going to vote against him in committee. the republicaneadership has cards it can play, procedural

moves to get his vote to the floor but it's not aood look, especially when you're talking about the secretary of state. there's thisontanding tradition on capitol hill that senators set their politicalsi views and they rally around the secretary of state nominee, because they wan to sh a unified front to the world in support of theation's biggest diplomat. and that's not happening in this case. >> so all these issues with north korea, pompeo, brings up bigger questions about u.s. foreign policy. as josh was sayins is t president and this administration going on instinct? is there doctrinet play here? there's another issue. unitedbassador to t nations, nikki haley, said sunday that the u.s. would issue sanctions again russiaor their involvement in the chemical attacks on syria. but then, white house economic advisor, larry kudlow, struck a different note, saying perhaps haley hadeen confused. ambassador haley fires back with a statement, telling fox news, wi all due respect, i don't get confused.

president trump later weighed in from florida >> sanctions, as soon as they very much derve it, thats a question. there's been nobodyer tou on russia than president donald lrump. >> yet on capiill, lawmakers are unsure about the administration's position. both on syria and russia. where is this administrationt riw? you have pompeo about to have his confirmation process finalize you have national security avisor john bolten playing major role inside of the west wing. how does this affect the a presiden he makes these decisions? >> i think the fact that he's suei a f policy novice has led him to be a risk taker, outside the box that is something that has appealed to a lot of people who say, you know what? the old way didn't work. let's s where he goes from here. however, patience will wane when weeson't seets. if the north koreans don't really follow through and abandon their nuclear program,

if the syrian war doesn't come to some resolution a al-assad continues to use chemical weapons. this was there was a lot ofsh ck when president trump tweeted mission accomplished after striking syria, they felt it was a bit too hasty. he's just jumping on a whim. >> kudlow, rookie trump advisor. if you've been in the white house for a while, you've learned how to spin the president's changes of because you can't say, obviously, well, the president changed his mind. so he p it on nikki haley, also a big mistake. one that he himself came out and said -- >> is haley's job at risk? >> i don't think haley's job is at risk. no. i think what's so interesting to me about that whole episode, first of all, kudlowze apolo said she was put in a box. the policy changed and nobody told her. that w an absolutely truthful statement. >> why did it chae? >> because president trump decided, as he just said -- he

nydidn't want more sanctions on russia. he said we'll put sanctions on them when theyery much deserve it, meaning they don't deserve it now. he has been reluctant all along to pusvladimir putin and he always steps back to that position, even when his administrationna occasy will get him to agree to expel diplomats or sanction oligarchs. >> that's the entire mental understanding pf hissidency. he will change his mind at any moment. one day he sayse're pulling out of t.p.p., then he says we're back in i 's embraced various health care proposals at different times. he can b swayed really easily. so if someone comes to him and says, we should no longer do these sanctions, russia did not respond to tyria attacks and the president goes, oh, that's interesting, okay, we won't do it. and he, for better and worse -- it cuts in both directions for him -- reallyan change his position on a dime. >> we've got to leave it there. you're so right. whenever you talk to sources,

in this, if you'r administration, you have to talk to president trump, not just talk to staff if you wantea a answer. also this week, former first lady barbara bush passed away. the 92-year-old matriarch of a politica t dynasty, wife and mother of presidents and of a governor. amy and michael, of "in principal" interviewed former president george h.w. bush, the day after his mother died. >> she and i used t kind of needle each other in a friendly way. i was kind of teasing her and she was teasing me. then the doctor walked in to this hospital room. and mother said, do you want to know why. george w is the way he is, doctor? and doctor didn't have any choice. and mother said, because i drank and smoke when i was pregnant with him. >> ha ha! >> ha h and so i knew she was feeling pretty good. >> grace and wit of mrs. bush. for more of that interview, watch "in principal" from many

pbs stations. we'll continue this conversatioo and manyishes and her -- so many issues and her legacy online and in the washington week extra. i'm robert costa. haveee a greatnd! >> funding for "washington week" is provided by... ♪[music] >> their leadership is tstinctive. they understand challenges of today and research the technologies of tomorrow. someall them veterans.

we call them part of our team. >> additional funding is provided by american cruise lines. proud sponsor of "washington week." newman's own foundation, donating all profi o from newman food products to charity and nourishing the common good. the ethics and excellence in journalism foundation. the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our commuties. the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you! >> you're watching pbs.

richard sherman: being a songwriter, i've always been in the wings, listening to great talents singing and performing and expressing my songs, but sometimes it's a kind of a special thing for a writer to directly sing to the people, and this is my chance to do it. it means a great deal to me atbecause in a sense 'm doing is i'm expressing my life to you in an honest way through my songs. ♪ ♪