carrie cordero, listening to that, how did he handle that? >> the difficulty is that there really was at l3ast from the way that the former director testified today, he felt like there was nobody else that he could go to in the administration to talk to about this. he had attorney general sessions, who is somehow implicated in the investigation to the extent that he would have to be recused. this is the president who asked the f.b.i. director in his executive capacity, he does have to provide him with information if the president asks for it. so he was in a position i think where there was nobody else that he could really discuss this with given the lack of confirmed leadership positions in the department of justice at the time and given the fact that he is directly reporting to the attorney general and ultimately to the president. >> woodruff: george terwilliger, how do you read this? you have the senator saying, why didn't he just speak up in the moment? >> exactly. and frankly, i can't buy the argument that there was no one he could go to.

carrie cordero, i'll start with you. what do you make of that answer that he really didn't have an explanation for leaving the room, whether he thought that was unusual, leaving the oval office when the president wanted to be alone with the then-f.b.i. director, and he didn't seem terribly upset about the fact that the f.b.i. director was concerned the next day when he told him about it? >> right. these memos he's talking about, this long standing department of justice policy has to do with in recent history there was a memo that an attorney general issued that eric holder issued that restrict the contacts between the white house and the justice department and the f.b.i. investigators on ongoing investigations. it was still an odd answer, because given the fact there was this major investigation going on that the attorney general himself knew that he was recused from, it would be unusual why would the president need to hold back the f.b.i. director about something that the attorney general couldn't be present for other t

prosecutors during the watergate scandal, former general counsel to the united states army, and carrie cordero national security lawyer for the justice department and former counsel at the office of the director of national intelligence. carrie, after your time at doj, what is this rule he's citing? >> well, so attorney general sessions was referring to executive privilege, which is a privilege that the president can assert regarding communications with his senior advisers. so it's a longstanding privilege that exists. it's legitimate, and different administrations across political parties always have instances where they assert this privilege, particularly when congress is asking for information. >> but the president didn't assert that, and what is sessions citing instead? >> well, that's right. so in this particular case, and this pertained to, in particular, conversations that -- a conversation that sessions apparently had with the president about the firing of the fbi director. so it really is a very important, specific question. the attorney general was a little bit unclear. on one hand,

. >> our thanks to our law firm, steve vladdic, carry cordero, richard painter. thank you all.eciate your time after a long day. >> coming up, who is telling the truth about the trump/comey conversations when "the 11th hour" continues. shift without a disaster. my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. so i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated so i get a better clean. #1 trusted. #1 awarded. it's got to be tide. discover a new school way to wash! tide pods has 6 times the cleaning power. and new downy protect & refresh conditions fabrics to lock out odors. when you wash with tide and new downy protect and refresh together, they're just better together. that's the new school way to wash. available at walmart. >>> welcome back to our broadcast. president trump's attorney did his very best today to deny some the key claims made by former fbi director james comey. listen to a few things trump's personal lawyer said compared to what comey said. >> the president never suggested that mr. comey, quote, let flynn go, close quote. >> i understood him to be saying what he wanted

. >> our thanks to our law firm, steve vladdic, carry cordero, richard painter. thank you all.ciate your time after a long day. coming up a question of credibility. we'll difficult into who is telling the truth about the trump/comey conversations when "the 11th hour" continues. trulicity is not insulin. it helps activate my body to do what it's supposed to do release its own insulin. trulicity responds when my blood sugar rises. i take it once a week, and it works 24/7. it comes in an easy-to-use pen and i may even lose a little weight. trulicity is a once-weekly injectable prescription medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. trulicity is not insulin. it should not be the first medicine to treat diabetes or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take trulicity if you or a family member has had medullary thyroid cancer, if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to trulicity. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms such as itching

. >> our thanks to our law firm, steve vladdic, carry cordero, richard painter. thank you all.ciate your time after a long day. >> coming up, who is telling the truth about the trump/comey conversations when "the 11th hour" continues. hi. i'm the one clocking in... when you're clocking out. sensing your every move and automatically adjusting to help you stay effortlessly comfortable. there. i can even warm these to help you fall asleep faster. does your bed do that? oh. i don't actually talk. though i'm smart enough to. i'm the new sleep number 360 smart bed. let's meet at a sleep number store. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a medication... ...this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain... ...and protect my joints from further damage. humira has been clinically studied for over 18 years. humira works by targeting and helping to... ...block a specific source... ...of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain and... ...stop further joint damage in many

charlie savage and carrie cordero, thank you so much. from your expertise. >>> up next, how long until the russia investigation starts to erode support, if ever, within the president's loyal base? steve kornacki heads to the big board. for an exceptionally fresh feeling choose philips sonicare diamondclean. hear the difference versus oral b. in a recently published clinical study, philips sonicare diamondclean outperforms oral-b 7000, removing up to 82% more plaque and improving gum health up to 70% more. its sonic technology cleaning deep between teeth. from the most recommended sonic toothbrush brand by dental professionals. switch to philips sonicare today. philips sonicare. save when you buy now. adult 7+ promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs philips sonicare. 7 and older. (ray) the difference has been incredible. she is much more aware. she wants to learn things. (vo) purina pro plan bright mind. nutrition that performs. rumor confirmed. they're playing. -what? -we gotta go. -where? -san francisco. -when? -friday. we gotta