here's abc's bob woodruff. >> as we prepare to leave wyoming hospital, it feels like saying good-byeo a close friend. >> reporter: they're the prophetic words of the late otto warmbier, saying a final good-bye to his graduating class. >> but also a different kind of good-bye, a farewell to something larger than just a friend. >> reporter: just four years later at that same high school it would be his family and friends who would bid him farewell. >> he was just like full of eternal optimism and hope. >> i think he is a gift to all of us. he was one of a kind. he inspired us all. >> reporter: mourners paying their respects to the 22-year-old whose promise seemed limitless. >> to now have the opportunity to explain what type of a guy he was and what he meant to us, each one of us, we're just cause he was just the best gu >> reporter: on display at the funeral, the quiet testimonies of otto's belongings. shoes, his wallet, his passport. relics of a journey that began with hope and ended in horror. >> it's just unacceptable and unthinkable. >> it's a nightmare, really. >> reporter: thous

>> bob woodruff takes us inside a forbidden world. >> right across the river is north korea, and it is absolutely dark. >> the secret talks for otto warmbier's release. what really happened in those 17 months of captivity? >> i have to tell you something publicly.ven't really said >> and what about that mysterious off-limits fifth floor in otto warmbier's hotel? >> every single day, i asked if i could see the place where he's alleged to have taken down that poster. >> don't, the friends who knew him best. their question their outrage and their good-byes. >> that's a video that should be shown. >> you can see his smiling from ear to ear. that's otto. >> good evening, i'm david muir. elizabeth is back next week. tonight, right here, the part of the story you haven't heard. the extraordinary loss for a mother and father who had not seen their son in 17 months. returned to their from north korea with severe brain damage. this evening, that breaking headline out of north korea. they're now saying they did not hurt him. in fact, they claim that they're the victim. tonight, bob woodruff who h

bob woodruff joins us with a preview. how are you? >> good. adrianna: thank you for joining us. will we get any sort of details or enlightenment or insight into to while heed to ot was held captive in north korea? >> a lot of information has been put together, doctors look at his condition when he came back and sadly when he passed away not long ago. they cannot tell exactly what happened inside north korea. was a lack of oxygen in his brain. had brain injury, the brain shrunk because the cells were detained but they do not know why he was denied oxygen, so many ways this can happen, from being suffocated to having something on the top of his head and other injuries. there was no shattered bones and on hiss on the -- wounds body but the answer will not be found out until somebody can get information from north korea, those who witnessed it or participated. adrianna: today, north korea said that they are the biggest victim of this thing, all smear campaign and denied torturing or being cruel to otto. whotalk to kenneth nay was detained, is he insight into what happened during tha

charlie: bob woodruff told us that in terms of the whole investigation, we probably only know 5% to 10%what is out there to determine exactly what happened between the russians and their hacking and the contacts they may have had with americans. mike: coming from bob, that is so fascinating. as you know, he wrote in journals when he was a young metro reporter who pulled off the stories of the century, and in the amazing books he has written. by the way, crazy stat that bob hedward told me is that has written books about 20% of the president's that have ever served. that is how long he has been on the public seat. his theory is the mosaic theory. andfill in the tiles, eventually, you see the picture. that is why we only know the 10%. we have some of the tiles. so many more to come. a report this week that jared kushner, the president's son-in-law, west wing official closed, also behind doors with some staff on the hill. there is so much more to know. and one theory of this is that during the transition, they just were not used to governments. they were not used to public life. charlie, t

. >>> abc news' bob woodruff will delve more into the on the bow warmbier case including his month inrean prison his release and untimely death. you can watch the special report a hostile act on an all new 2020 right here on 6abc tonight at 10 o'clock. >> the wildwood police department has released new details surrounding the investigation into a confrontation involving one of its officers and a resident. the incident was recorded on cell phone as well. the department says officer patrolman lucas bottoms used force after the suspect, kevin piccolo refused to follow his commands. the investigation is now being handled by the cape may county prosecutors' office. piccolo is now charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. he'll be in court july 7th. investigators added that if it's found that officer bottoms' actions were excessive, he will be held accountable. >> the philadelphia police marine unit often rescues folks is it you can in precarious situations on the river. yesterday's call though was a bit different. officers came to the aid of a deer that became stuck in 3 feet o

. >> dennis rodman with michael overnight and let's ing in bob woodruff who traveled to north korea eightu know north korea very well and what the people have gone through there. first of all given what we heard do you think dennis rodman played any role in otto warmbier's release? >> we don't know because we don't know the reaction from within the country but the timing was a little strange which is true. because just when otto was released he went over there. but, you know, this is an interesting story because otto was -- he left because he was in this horrible health condition. the government there probably wanted to get him out before he died there in their country but there was an influence he did had when kenneth bae was released. an american prisoner. >> he has had influence before. >> he has. >> what do you make of this statement from north korea just today saying they deny any cruelty towards otto warmbier and in fact, they say that they're the victims in this? >> well, what do you think? i mean it's really hard to know what's going on inside the country. for them to deny it is q

. >> woodruff: president trump is now under scrutiny for possible obstruction of justice, and he's fighting back. that's after reports that special counsel bob mueller has broadened his probe of russian meddling in the election. on twitter today, the president complained: "they made up a phony collusion-with-the russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice. nice." later, mr. trump charged that hillary clinton committed a list of infractions, and was cleared anyway. there's also word that vice president mike pence has hired outside legal counsel to deal with the russia investigations. his office tells "the washington post" that former u.s. attorney richard cullen will handle inquiries from congressional committees and the special counsel. the president hired his own private lawyer last month. we'll examine all of this, and talk to the vice chairman of the senate intelligence committee, senator mark warner, right after the news summary. the u.s. senate today overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against both iran and russia. the overall bill is aimed at iran's missile program. an amendment expands sanctions on ru

much rather see the intelligence committee and bob mueller continue their investigations and come to some conclusions and then let's talk publicly. >> woodruff: gregory craig, a one-man wrecking ball? >> well, i think if he'd had the choice, director comey would have preferred not to have been fired, so i think it's hard to blame his being thurst into the forefront of this discussion and debate because he was fired: that was the decision of president trump. and that's the core issue of obstruction, george, it seems to me, whether the fire was the product of a decision to tried to end the investigation by the president or not. i think the meaning, judy, of what happened today was you got testimony about exchanges between the director of the f.b.i. and the president of the united states that give you flavor and texture and information about what went into the decision to fire mr. comey, which is the obstruction in this case. >> woodruff: carrie cordero, what about just specifically on those three sets of answers that mr. comey gave, i mean, should we read something nefarious into that? >> i do have a slightly different take, which is that the

chris rudy who is a friend of the president's telling judy woodruff on pbs tonight that president trump is thinking about firing the special counsel bobller who is in charge of the russia investigation right now and who is thought to be looking at the possibility of obstruction of justice by the executive branch possibly by the president himself in the course of that investigation. of this discussion now being floated on the eve of the attorney general's testimony in open session tomorrow to the united states senate. this is the first time that he will have testified since he recused himself from overseeing the russia investigation or anything else that relates to the 2016 campaign. >>> joining us is matt miller a former chief spokesman for the justice department. appreciate your time tonight. >> of course. >> so could the president really fire bob mueller? cofire the special counsel? >> yeah, absolutely. could do it one of two ways. he could repeal the regulations under which mueller was appointed and directly fire him. the second way is probably the more likely way and has historical precedent. he could order or ask the attorney gen

. >> woodruff: in a separate hearing, deputy attorney general rod rosenstein pledged to defend special counsel bob mueller's probe of russian meddling in the election. conservative media executive and trump ally christopher ruddy told the newshour last night that the president might be considering firing mueller. but, in exchanges with republican senators susan collins and lindsey graham, rosenstein said he wants to put that speculation "to rest." >> and second, if president trump ordered you to fire the special counsel, what would you do? >> senator, i'm not going to follow any orders unless i believe those are lawful and appropriate orders. under the regulation, special counsel mueller may be fired only for good cause, and i am required to put that cause in writing. >> do you see any reason for cause to fire mr. mueller as of this date? >> no, i do not, senator. >> and that would be your decision if that ever happened, right? >> that's correct. >> woodruff: and we are joined now by capitol hill correspondent lisa desjardins. she was in the room for both of today's senate hearings; and, carrie jo

woodruff: the congressional budget office. >> the congressional budget office score, which show 22 million americans lose insurance. it was the depth of the report that republicans really got thinking about. senator bob corker told me he read it at 4:00 a.m. this morning and asked the c.b.o. to give a briefing today. also, judy, republicans weren't ready. some of them haven't even read this bill, including chuck grassley. he told me he hadn't read it yet. >> woodruff: so given all that, what will it take to get them to 50 votes? >> leadership isn't sure yet, but they have more money to spend. they can spend more money on opioids, health savings accounts, something most republicans agree on, but no one can answer that question, judy, yet. do they decrease the medicaid cuts somehow? unclear. do they shift how they're reforming the social care act? unclear. it's very difficult. they say they can do it, but they obviously haven't figured out how yet. >> woodruff: and finally the real of president trump in all this? >> right. there are question marks about that. some say they were worried this meeting today would be one where he makes republicans feel better but doesn't do anything to change this bill. th