andy mccabe will answer questions.president trump will meet for the first time face to face with russian president vladimir putin. they will meet in the summit in july. >> there is a new controversy from russia from photos. this was a photo put out by the russian news agency, which was allowed to come in and take photos. this after, you know, the standard white house pool was not. so u.s. agencies did not get this photo. the russians did. the white house said it did not believe that the russian government would publish these photos. that is of the president of the united states with the russian ambassador kislyak, who is in the middle of the mess with michael flynn for having the conversation there. the white house said it did not think the russians would publicize that photo. the problem with the russians, someone told jim acosta, is that they lie. joining us now nic robertson. first of all, it is very unusual that a u.s. agency would not be allowed in to take photos and the russians would. but i'm not sure i've seen

i believe he shared this with andy mccabe. andy was in the inner circle. i don't know that for a fact but i believe this if this happened -- >> you think it's likely? >> i think it's highly likely i don't think andy mccabe looked at it that way, either. >> we've all been in situations where someone doesn't directly ask you to do something but you feel that's what they're asking for and if you don't you're going forward at your own risk. let me go back to jake. this issue of why did jim comey not reach out to congress earlier? why now after he's fired and you're learning more as to the answer? >> that's right. the white house has been putting out this pushback asking if this really happened, why didn't he do something able to, let other people know immediately. so i asked the soshsz close to comey about that. i'll read it to you. because it wasn't a very successful effort on the part of the president and comey thought he had pushed back on it. living with this president is about standing up and pushing back. he thought he'd pushed back and was working to re

andy mccabe said the president lost confidence in comey. andy mccabe said that is not true. >> mccabe was the top aide to comey. we can't know for sure what is going on within the fbi. >> and largely -- >> the reporting is right and solid and unanimous. the fbi feels like it is under attack. i know some folks over there. the morale is rock bottom. there is a question of what is going on and what they will do to rescue institution. look, j. edgar hoover was there from 1969. 40 years later, he is still dominating it. that is where the idea of the ten-year term to insulate them from politics. i think people don't understand. this is like the white house butler or something like that. you can be fired or changed around. this is an important institution that is supposed to be held in check and held outside of politics. clearly the president doesn't believe that. >> phil mudd? what is your level of confidence this is done the right way and do you think there needs to be a different level of independence? >> i don't think morale is rock bottom. we

we know andy mccabe will be working as far as running the investigation. into trump and russia. again many, many questions left to be answered. >> and just to be clear jeff seshz sessions recused himself supposedly and why wads he brought in to approve the firing of the guy running the investigation. >> that's a question we've asked for the justice department to answer because he is recused from this investigation. what they're going to say is this decision to fire james comey was outside of the purview of the russia investigation. tha that's not how some on the hill are seeing this. everything to do with james comey effects this investigation and the confidence people have in this investigation which is very important to what the justice department does. >> pam, what are you learning? >> reporter: that not long ago president trump met with then deputy director of the fbi, now acting director of the fbi according to the attorney general, jeff sessions and we learned that the president wasn't necessarily convinced that andy mccabe would be the acting director. he wanted to meet w

not so according to acting fbi director, andy mccabe today. >> is it accurate that the rank and fileer supported director comey? >> no, sir, that is not create. i can tell you that i hold director comey in the absolute highest regard. i have the highest respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity and it has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to work with him. >> so this comes as president trump, today, sat down for an interview with nbc news and said he planned to fire director comey, no matter what, despite any sort of recommendation and he went on to call comey both a showboat and a grandstander. so let's go to capitol hill and talk tour congressional correspondent, sunlen serfaty. we've heard from acting director mccabe. how is the white house reacting to his words today? >> reporter: well, they're in essence, brooke, continuing to say, that's basically not what we've heard coming out of the fbi. and the reason, again, why we're talking about this and why the differ, opinion is so significant is this was primarily one of the central and core

>> well, andy mccabe put it very succinctly today. it will move forward. the men and the women of the f.b.i. will do the right thing. they will continue in their mission, and that includes investigating the russian interference in our democracy and all things associated with that. there is a lot of determination to get to the bottom of this. it was unfortunate that jim is not going to be at the head of this investigation anymore, but they will continue to do what it is they have sworn under oath to do, and this is to pursue this and other investigations to the full extent. >> woodruff:>> brangham: amy je, leon panetta was just telling judy woodruff that he thinks this firing and the way it was handled has undermined the credibility of the probe and any subsequent f.b.i. head is going to face similar pressures from the white house. and he's arguing in essence that a special counsel, a special prosecutor is what's needed to really get this thing done. >> they have certainly strengthened the arguments for a special counsel. i absolutely agree with that. i wou

as andy mccabe sits down, what questions will he be drilled with off the bat, do you believe? >> well, one of the first questions i'm sure they're going to ask him is how he found out that his boss, james comey, was fired. we know how comey found out. he was addressing agents at the los angeles field office when fox news incorrectly reported that he had resigned. and he sort of laughed it off because he knew he hadn't resigned. then he sees cnn and others start reporting that high been fired, and that's when he really found out. so, that is the big question for mccabe. and obviously, the other question is how is this firing going to affect this investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election? that's obviously one of the biggest resource-driven investigations at the fbi. we know comey had asked for more resources. we're going to see what the fbi is doing about trying to get those resources to do this investigation as quickly as possible. >> and mark preston, you know, we expect to hear from the chair of the intel committee, senator burr from north carolina, also the vi

if andy mccabe didn't know and he was the acting director and had access to all the files and beforeeen the acting director and was close to jim comey, i would have thought -- >> sometimes they make those kinds of memoranda available to the inspector general as opposed to other officials as well. >> but this is a criminal investigation going on, wolf. if he thought any crime was committed, he had an obligation to turn it over to the attorneys handling the case. >> we don't know who he turned over those to. will you subpoena them? i assume you want to see them? >> sure. for us to get a full picture -- >> this those memoranda written contemporaneously make the allegations that we've all heard, that's a serious indictment of the president. >> we don't know the full conversation. what were they talking about. i doubt they were talking about the russian investigation because if he had any information on general flynn, the president wouldn't even be talking to him about it. we don't know what it was about, if it was about the conversation with the russian ambassador. there have been accoun

andy mccabe will act as director for the department. comey learning of the firing from news reports blairing on tv screens. the president notified comey with a hand-delivered letter, mr. donald trump took action under the recommendation of the attorney general and ag. the reason for the firing. comey's handling of the remail case t on more than one occasion. >> it took a lot of guts i really disagreed with him. i was not his fan but tell you what, what had he did, he brought back his reputation. he brought it back. he's got to hang tough because a lot of people want him to do the wrong thing. what he did was the right thing. >> not mentioned in the president's letter were any supporting documented released friday the white house the russian investigation into thep election. investigatations that deputip attorney says should be shut down. >> i think firing doesn't effect anything at all in any capacity. the bigger point is what are she going to let it go, it's going on nearly a year, it's getting su heard it time and time again, in the t

also andy mccabe when he testified last week before the senate, he said that no one in the white house had interfered with the investigation. >> maybe if the investigation was proceeding at the fbi, he didn't consider it interference. i mean, i think that this is what my old colleague, don rumsfeld, would call a known unknown, right? you don't know that he didn't turn these over to the fbi agents investigating russia ties. >> well, actually i think what they're saying is he kept it away from the fbi agents. one of the reasons i'm hearing is he kept it away from the fbi agents so as not to intimidate them. i would thought he told his deputy director, andrew mccabe is number two in the fbi. i would have thought if he just came back from the white house and the president tried to influence the investigation, that if anyone, james comey would have told andy mccabe. now also, again, i'm not aware of ever having told the house or the senate intelligence committees, even implied or suggested that there was any interference at all. and also, to be honest with you, i'm not aware of evidence of

also today, testifying, now the head of the fbi, the acting director, andy mccabe, contradicting the white house today, up on capitol hill in front of this senate intelligence committee. what happened there, when we come back. i love how usaa gives me the and the security just like the marines did. at one point, i did change to a different company with car insurance, and i was not happy with the customer service. we have switched back over and we feel like we're back home now. the process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like you're a part of the family. i love that i can pass the membership to my children, and that they can be protected. we're the williams family, and we're usaa members for life. call usaa today to talk about your insurance needs. i'm claudine and i quit smoking with chantix. smoking's a monkey on my back. it was, it was always controlling your time, your actions, your money. it had me. it had me. i would not be a non-smoker today if it wasn't for chantix. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my

but remember what andy mccabe said yesterday about what the men and women of the fbi will do in this circumstance? they'll just work harder. they'll do better. if there is a case to be made, they will make it. >> frank montoya, appreciate your exper teerks den de laneia and michael schmidt, thanks, guys. >>> this week put republican lawmakers in a bind. is this a temporary setback or a sign of things to come? two heavy weights will debate that. >>> trump declined this week's cover story. one reporter will give us an inside blend of trump's white house. he's back. sean spicer took the podium in item for mellissa mccarthy to do her now prized infamous impression of him. here is a sneak peek. >> ♪ appeal charming ♪ oh, so charming? itself ♪ it's alarming how charming i feel ♪ ♪ i feel so pretty ♪ it's a pretty face, such a pretty thought such a pretty ♪ >> now we will all have that song in our heads for the rest of the show. >> that is, though the case of what "late night" is doing to take on trump's white house. finally the roundtable will wrap up the show by telling me something i don

investigation, director comey had the legal obligation to report that, and yet this week or last week when andy mccabeeputy was testifying, he said that there was no interference at all by the white house or anyone with the investigation, so to me, so far, there's just really a very unseemly rush to diminish the president of the united states, and i could say the same for bernie sanders or hillary clinton. what's happening here is wrong. the leaks violate the law and there's a rush to judgment without regard for common decency. trish: let's not forget this is not just the media, right, that may be rushing to judgment, and you can kind of anticipate and expect that from the media that clearly detests him, but you also have conservative republicans that are sounding the alarm. what do you make of that? >> i'm thinking more backbone and more nerve. the fact is if the president is doing something wrong, fine, acknowledge it. right now there is no evidence of that at all. this is people being afraid of the stampede. you walk down the halls of congress, and 30 reporters running after you. microphones and ca

acting director andy mccabe is a consummate professional with a great represent owtation, and he is backedntegrity and bravery as director comby. >> and president trump's firing letter to comey, he said that comey informed him on three separate occasions that he wasn't under investigation. that seems like an odd thing for an fbi director to tell anybody given that you wouldn't know where the investigation would lead. are you skeptical of that? >> i was not privy to any of those conversations, and i must say that would seem out of character for the director to have done that. >> do you agree, it stounds like you i don't, but i want to make sure i understand this. do you understand with the rosenstein conclusion that comey made grievous mistakes during the clinton investigation? >> that was a complete and thorough investigation and it was handled professionally and it was handled objectively. there was absolutely no political influence with regard to the investigation and, unfortunately, because of the decision made by the attorney general and president clinton to have a private meeting, mr.

from mishandling classified information was unanimous on the case but the new acting fbi director andy mccabe testifying that morale did take a huge hit. >> there were folks within our agency who were frustrated with the outcome of the hillary clinton case and some of those folks were very vocal about that, those concerns. lauren: joining us to talk about it andrew peek, happy friday. >> happy friday, happy mother's day. lauren: thank you. >> one veteran suggesting that both the clinton case and the immunity deals struck during the investigation could be revisited, do you think that could happen? >> yeah, absolutely do if the immunity deals, if the subject of the immunity deals like huma abedin didn't end up to their deal of the bargain. they got immunity in exchange among other things turning over all relevant emails to the government but we find out later that a bunch of the emails from huma abdib were also on anthony weiner's computer. huma abedin didn't live up to her end of the bargain and though it's null and void and we will move forward with the investigation again. nick anything shou

others being considered are andy mccabe, the former governor of oklahoma, frank keating and richard mcphelingozen protests since president trump was elected. and we have this story for you. the democratic national committee is willing to pump $8 million into a summer resistance. break through your allergies. try new flonase sensimist allergy relief instead of allergy pills. it delivers a gentle mist experience to help block six key inflammatory substances. most allergy pills only block one. new flonase sensimist changes everything. buttrust angie's list to help., [ barks ] visit angieslist.com today. so how old do you want uhh, i was thinking around 70. alright, and before that? you mean after that? no, i'm talking before that. do you have things you want to do before you retire? oh yeah sure... ok, like what? but i thought we were supposed to be talking about investing for retirement? we're absolutely doing that. but there's no law you can't make the most of today. what do you want to do? i'd really like to run with the bulls. wow. yea. hope you're fast. i am. get a portfolio that works for

to have andy mccabe named, that's not going to happen.i'm not sure how we can work with that. but a full director of the fbi must come from outside at this point in time. i want to nominate jim, frankly. >> jim is a great former fbi agent with a distinguished career and i'll let him know that-- of your nomination straight away. [laughter] >> barbara, your thoughts here on next steps? we've listened to chuck schumer, who questioned the integrity of james comey in november, who applauded the excellence, the qualifications of deputy attorney general rod rosenstein as recently as april 24th, a day before he was confirmed to his post. where are we headed? >> well, i'm reminded of when attorney general albert albert gonzales stepped down. and there were allegations then >> there is clearly lots of confidence in director comey and the women knew so ably served the fbi. lauren: donald trump says you're fired to fbi terror james comey. reaction and analysis to this stunning development. good morning, everybody. i'm trained for. nicole: good mornin

it's not going to be any andy mccabe. be in that role for a pretty good while. >> let's talk about who we'll hear from today. some key witnesses, big power players. mccabe you mentioned the acting fbi director. pompeo, cia director. coates, national intelligence director. mike rogers of nsa. tom, who's going to move this story forward? who are you most eager to hear from at this point? >> i think most people are eager to hear from mccabe. i'm interested to hear what he has to say. no question he's going to get a pretty aggressive line of questioning from both sides, frankly. i think that the democrats in particular are going to be asking about the state of the investigation. i think they're going to be pushing mccabe to clarify whether comey had in fact asked for additional resources in the days before his termination. i think there are a lot of the democrats who are really going to try to be building the case that this is watergate all over again. i suspect we're going to see lot of leading questions aimed at building and

i think what the white house ought to do here is just keep ann andy mccabe in the in the job.ighly credible, and he is kpi te competent, she not political, he has experience, and let the mueller move forward. >> didn't he upset the white house with some of his testimony already on the russian investigation. >> he told the truth, that should not be a disqualification. >> john mclaughlin, you have the closest connection as acting cia director with your colleagues at the fbi and other intelligences, bob mueller, you said it is a great choice, but for the special council, but what about for fbi. >> i think they need a professional in that job. the names that have been mentioned are all people that people like myself and jeremy, i'm sure, respect like senator lieberman, fran townsend and others. they can all do the job, but can they do the job in a way that leaves the congress and american public absolutely sure it is absolu insulated from any political pressure. >> and our producer there about the readout, the assessment of that north korean missile launch. they did manage the ree

the head of the fbi now is andy mccabe who was part of the investigation into d.c.'s former mayor vince gray in 2014 and dana boente. he was handling part of this investigation. he's in virginia. you've got three local figures now off the at least temporarily as the special counsel gets on the job. >> he's been working at a local law firm in d.c. he presents a unique person seen as sort of a bipartisan figure which is pretty rare these days in washington. >> robert muller was on the short list of names being rumored to be the next fbi head to replace james comey, getting back to his old job. he's a local figure now replacing other local figures on the russian investigation. >> all right. thank you very much. >> hopefully we'll get back to your story that we interrupted in progress. right now we're going to go live to blayne alexander. she has been covering all of the new developments with the administration. she is live at the white house. hi. >> reporter: good evening to you. keep in mind that this breaking news comes less than 24 hours after reports that the presid

alice fisher and michael garcia, andy mccabe are interviewing at the justice department down the street from the studio. who knows. that's just the list put out. never know how this stuff will go. >> keep up the great work. we really appreciate you being here. thank you. >> thank you. >> what are your thoughts at home. tweet me at smerconish or go to my facebook page. hit me, katherine, what have you got? how long will it take until we see actual proof on trump colluding with the russians to effect the election. nicholas, a long, long time if some get their wishes and shut this down. that's the short answer. one more if you can quickly. smerconish, comey tapes are a ruse to deflect from the real story. potus does not want to be president and is looking for an out daily. i don't know. i get the impression all of this is something he thrives on. end of the day sees himself as having a productive week. >>> with the fbi directoroused, they're calling for a special prosecutor on the russia question, including michigan's gary peters who is here. >>> and matt drudge warned president trump leak

if he said he did, he puts a lie to andy mccabe who testified he didn't see obstruction and it also raisesthe question of why he is sharing these thoughts with people outside his friends who are now leaking to the press about his thoughts and his memos. why is he saying all of this stuff to people outside and not to members of congress? >> why did he tell his team? he was uncomfortable with what he was hearing. >> it's one thing to hear the people describe them in public. that was a big story. to see the former fbi director in a public hearing directly contradict the president will be a remarkable moment. >> and under oath. everything from whether or not there was a loyalty asked by the president and whether or not the president asked him to drop the flynn investigation which the president publicly denied. >> the president said. three times he said he was not under investigation. james comey will be under oath and rebut him. >> the question is how much does bob muller want him to say and not want to say? i'm sure they will have discussions. >> senator chuck grassley, he tweeted this tonigh

i think an important fact is that the andy mccabe is no right-wing partisan. he's, the target of right-wing ire in the past for having been very close to the clintons in virginia during the whole clinton -- >> i didn't go to law school, but the attorney general who has recused himself from anything involving the russia investigation, but recommended firing the guy leading the russia investigation is now interviewing candidates for interim fbi director, who will take over the russia investigation. somebody has to help me understand why that is not a direct conflict of interest? but from rod rosenstein, this is the memo here, essentially culled from op-ed pieces written by former attorney generals criticizing jim comey. this is not a new research project. and he makes the case -- he doesn't recommend firing him, but he says, you can make a case to fire him. and the attorney general says, lack at what my deputy says, i think you should fire him, mr. president. and then donald trump fires him, in this letter, firing him. it make is no mention of the hillary clinto

>> we can tell that you andy mccabe, acting director, held a call with senior fbi officials today reassuring them amidst this turmoil that everything will move forward, that the bureau will not miss a beat. everyone should stay focused on their work. i can tell you i've spoken to several current and former fbi agents including a senior fbi agent who was overseeing the national security branch who left recently, and they dispute the white house claim that there was bad morale in the fbi under james comey. he said specifically that that is inaccurate. he says that he was widely respected among the rank and file, and that he was a man of integrity. there, of course, were different viewpoints and opinions about how james comey handled the hillary clinton probe and the trump campaign russia probe and some people who felt uncomfortable with how the fbi was thrust into the spotlight, said that is not true that have morale was low. one agent said morale was good when james comey was at the helm and if anything morale has plummeted since his firing. >> pam brown, appreciate those details. more on how

andy mccabe, i've known him a long time, the deputy director and the number two who is now the acting fbi director, he'll make certain the bureau won't miss a beat. i know that he had a secure video teleconference last night with all of his special agents in charge and basically told him to keep the faith and keep doing the work that they're supposed to be doing so i have no doubt that the bureau is going to continue. if there's anything to any of these investigations, the career fbi agents and prosecutors at the department of justice will continue to ferret that out. i'm disappointed, and i know that's just a personal reaction to it. i've spoken to a lot of fbi agents and rank and file as well as folks that are executive managers at headquarters, and they're blown away upon. the bureau is probably split quite evenly 50/50 on whether or not the director had made the right judgment, but no one doubts his moral recht tud. no one doubts that he did what was in the best interest of the united states, people as well as the institution. it is a sad day that he's gone, but a leader has to be

. >> so there's a concern also about the acting fbi director, andy mccabe, and chuck grassley told me earlier that he does not believe he's the right person to lead the agency going forward, because he does not -- he's concerned about his wife's political ties to democrats. so you're seeing some divisions in the republican ranks grappling about what it means going forward. and also, questions about what the white house did here, but uns uncertainty, no real unity on the republican side about what is the next step, wolf. >> that's a good point. let's discuss this with democratic senator ben cardin of maryland joining us. senator, thanks for joining us. >> wolf, it's good to be with you. thank you. >> so you just heard mitch mcconnell say there's too much at stake right now for a new investigation, an independent outside special council or something look those lines. what's your reaction? >>well, the president of the united states has just fired the person who's the head of the principle investigation into criminal wrongdoings involving russia's contacts here in the united states, invol

to see a great encapsulation of what this means, kate, you saw it yesterday in full display when andy mccabeing director, testified before the senate intelligence committee. the way that he took exception with two things that the president and the president's spokespeople have publicly stated about the morale in the fbi. and if you also noticed, the fbi acting director, when asked specifically, did you have -- how many meetings did you have with the president, said i'm not in a position to discuss that, because that is executive privilege that the president deserves. the president just doesn't give you that reciprocity. >> here's the thing about all of this, caitlin, this all comes back to why was he fired. i don't think anybody can really trust any of the answers because there's been so many contradictions in the last 24-48 hours. it's the president's prerogative, you can say, to fire the fbi director, but if you fire the fbi director, i would make the case, you'd better have one good, clear reason and articulate it. the white house has not provided that. everything they've done, the presid

we learned that not long ago, anderson, president trump met with then-deputy director of the fbi andy mccabe, now acting director of the fbi, according to the attorney general jeff saecessions and we learned that the president didn't know that the deputy director would become the acting director. i'm also told by a person familiar with the situation that the attorney general jeff sessions is reviewing potential candidates to take the place of the director of the fbi. we haven't been told any names yet, but that process is under way, because as we know, the firing of james comey has been in the works for a couple of weeks now, ever since rod rosenstein was confirmed in the senate. i'm told by a person that's familiar, that there were various ways that the white house tried to inform james comey that the president was firing him. of course there was the hand delivered letter to fbi headquarters, but as we know director comey was not there and there was an email sent to him about this decision. we're told that comey didn't find out from this letter, he found out by looking up at the television

but remember, you've got andy mccabe, who's the head of the fbi now, saying that there was no effort to obstruct the investigation, you have to balance that, against the fact that you had the attorney general asked to leave the room. perhaps trump knew and was aware to re -- i have asked you now not to be a part of a krves that you can not be a part of. that tells you one of two thing that, the fbi knows that as an investigativive agency that a sure fire way to derail their investigation is to make it public. and number two, if sessions was not a part of that conversation, it talks about the motive that was involved in firing perhaps jim comey later on and more importantly about the motive of having that particular conversation. >> we're going to take a quick break, dana bash has reporting on how some white house allies appear to have trouble over all of this. and my conversation with sally yates with her take for the first time ever on the firing of fbi director comey. do you think the truth on the firing of director comey is known yet? >> i don't think the complete truth is known y

the fbi and white house political operations, the fact that the white house would try to enlist andy mccabe and jim comey in some political pushback is something that hasn't historically been done. there's been a respect of the division between those two buildings. mccabe is going to testify on the hill today. andy is kind of a classic comey era fbi agent. he's a career fbi agent, rose quickly through the ranks, he's a lawyer, extremely smart. don't expect to have a lot of hand-wringing when he goes up to the hill. i don't expect him to dwell on the comey firing. he had conversations with his top agents in the past couple days and said we're mission focused, moving forward, we've got a job to do. as mark said, don't expect just because jim comey is gone, that somehow all these agents assigned to the russia case are going to sit on their hands. >> all right. as we wrap up this block, joe, what's your gut at this point? >> my gut is that donald trump has just made a lot more enemies inside the fbi. there were a lot of conservatives inside the fbi and the cia that supported donald trump for th

as of ton the former deputy director of the fbi the andy mccabe is the acting director of bureau and the investigation is still being overseen by the deputy attorney general we were just talking about rod rosenstein, the person that recommended the firing of james comey to the president according to this letter. you know career fisher agents and prosecutors are still working on this case, still moving forward. they are issuing subpoenas as we reported tonight. but of course something of this magnitude happening could have a chilling effect among the investigators as you know don there are frohhing calls particularly from exactic lawmakers for independent prosecutor to take over the investigation. and rosenstein has said previously during his senate confirmation hearing that he would indeed appoint a special prosecutor if -- if enact necessary. i wouldn't be surprised if you continue to see these calls. >> um-hum. pamela, you also have some reporting tonight. regarding grand jury subpoenas have been issued in this fbi russia investigation. what can you tell us about that. >> that's ri

remember what andy mccabe said yesterday about what the men and women of the fbi will do in this circumstance. they'll just work harder. they'll do better. if there's a case to be made, they will make it. >> frank montoya, appreciate your expertise. also ken dilanian and michael schmidt, thanks, guys. >>> coming up, trump's troubling week has put republican lawmakers in a bind. is this a temporary setback or a sign of things to come? plus trump came "time" magazine an after hours interview for this week's cover story. one of the reporters will give us an inside glimpse of trump's white house. and later, he's back. sean spicer took to the podium today just in time for melissa mccarthy to host "saturday night live" tomorrow night and reprise her now infamous impression of him. here is a sneak peek. ♪ i feel charming, oh so charming, it's alarming how charming i feel ♪ ♪ so pretty that i hardly can believe i'm real ♪ ♪ such a pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile ♪ >> now we will all have that song in our head for the rest of the show. that is, though, just a taste of what late n

getting up to speed on what's been done since the investigation opened last july, being briefed by andy mccabe and the top officials there. then he's going to want to build his own team, to take that investigation in progress and make it his own. he's going to want to bring in his own lawyers, write over fbi agents that he trusts arched his team trusts and map out a strategy. and as jeff toobin and others have said, that could take years. in the 1990s in the clinton administration when you had more than half a dozen specially apointed outside counsels, those investigations could go on three, four, five years with unlimited budgets. if that's the guide, the law has changed since then, but if that is the guide it can go almost anywhere mueller wants it to go. >> i want to elaborate on that points. >> yeah. >> he's going to start from absolute scratch. he's going to rent a facility that is suitable for security. he's going to hire a staff who has to have a security clearance. that takes a long time. maybe then he'll have to appoint a grand jury. even if he's full of energy and full of determinati

certainly, the insiders, people inside the fbi, andy mccabe who i have, again, very high regard for,side the fbi. larry thompson, who was a former deputy attorney general and often mentioned as a potential supreme court nominee, a very -- person of great integrity. and let me say to you, you know, the fbi's the nearest thing we have in the united states to a secret police. now, that may be an overly dramatic way of putting it, but not entirely because many of the things -- and, certainly, we've seen this in the director's testimony when he says repeatedly, i can't talk about this. i can't go into detail about this. and he's right. and many things the fbi does that are done in secrecy. and in order to -- you have to have confidence in the leadership and in the director of the fbi for the american people to accept that there is an organization that's acting in their best interests, certainly trying to do that, but yet not entirely open. you have of to have confidence in a person to lead that kind of an organization. and i think people like some of the people being mentioned now -- eliz

but remember, you've got andy mccabe who's the head of the fbi now saying that there was no effort to obstruct the investigation. you have to balance that against the fact that you had the attorney general asked to leave the room, which really signals to you legally speaking that perhaps trump knew and was well aware of the duty to recuse himself from a russia investigation. enter in the story of flynn. and i've asked you not to be part of a conversation that i know you cannot be a part of. those two facts tell you two things. number one, the fbi knows that as an investigative agency the surefire way to impede their own investigation is to make it public. telling -- talking to the president's spokesman would have made it public and would have interfered with it. and number two, if sessions was not a part of that conversation, it talks about the motive that was involved in firing perhaps jim comey later on and more importantly about the motive of having that particular conversation. >> we've got to take a quick break. we're going to continue this important discussion when we come back.

president trump, called comey's number two, andy mccabe. ught him to the white house last night. and after an oval office meeting, he named mccabe the acting fbi director even though in fact mccabe is the one who oversaw the fbi's investigation into hillary clinton's e-mail. matt and savannah. >> thank you very much. >>> we switch gears now. we have the latest on the disturbing deadly case of alleged hazing that has rocked penn state. eight more members of the beta theta pi fraternity were arraigned on tuesday. >> the indictments have revealed a detailed timeline how that fateful night unfolded. we're going to talk to the university president and the district attorney in the case. first, here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: 8:56 p.m., according to the prosecution, the gauntlet begins. surveillance video shows pledges shotgun beers and drink from bottles of vodka. at 10:31 they are visibly intoxicated. at 10:45, prosecutors say timothy piazza is visibly drunkingly walking towards the steps. and brothers heard him fall down the stairs. four bro

mccabe. tell me about him. >> andy is a smart man. he's a good, capable, dedicated public servant., when information was surfaced over the last year that his wife who had run for a local public office here in virginia as a democrat got approximately $700,000 from terry mcall if, very closely aligned with the clintons, there were concerns raised about -- >> 700 grand? >> i think that's the approximate number. there were concerns raised about andy's involvement with the clinton investigation. and apart from whether there was an ethical violation or certainly a legal violation, i think that's being examined by the inspector general. but there is a perception issue. and to me, despite andy's great capability, to me that's disabli disabling for andy to be considered for the director position. certainly a capable man to be acting, to serve in an interim capacity. but i don't see this trump administration inviting him to be the director of the fbi. >> ken, was attorney general sessions in on this at all? i know he wrote that letter, that note that said he concurred with it. he recused him

mccabe be confirmed? >> i don't -- i think andy is in there as an acting.an interim -- >> he's a short-termer? >> yeah. and so i don't know that that needs any kind of senate confirmation. i would be very surprised to see andy nominated or i couldn't imagine that proceeding. because of what -- what's already been said. and even if andy didn't make any missteps, and the appearance enough is i think disqualifying, andy's a very capable guy and can certainly run and is today running the organization. but i would see somebody coming from outside of the organization and my sincere hope is that they pick the right person and that there could be a strong consensus around the person, although, in my own mind i can't imagine anybody wanting this job, because you can expect that a blow torch will be put on you every day to bend you to some particular point of view and the job of director -- >> hey, ron, since you've been speaking the president has tweeted again about this. he says the democrats have said some of the worst things about james comey including the fact t

. >> martha: what he think about andrew mccabe, who was a deputy now and may very well be put forward for that job? >> i don't see andy being put forward for the job. his already been the subject of criticism, questions about his wife running for local office here in d.c. and some money that came from the local governor's office, so i think there are concerns that that may disqualify andy and probably doesn't want to put himself through that. i think you're going to have to look to somebody outside of the organization. it is a very capable guy and the fbi has very capable leaders and rest assured the investigation of russia's influence will go forward. but as mr. rhodes suggested come with the fbi needs in any of their investigations is prosecutor support. that is robust. though any national security letters, they need subpoenas, they need search warrants. they need prosecutors to help get them down that road and is critical that that support continue. >> martha: thank you very much for being here tonight. so back with some new developments that are breaking from the white house, our chief white house correspondent jo