comey's dismissal sitting in on mr. trump's interviews with prospective fbi directors and facing attacks for his own role in mr. comey's firing. mr. rosenstein had an up-close view of the tumult. mr. rosenstein appeared conflicted, regretful and emotional according to people who spoke with him at the time. one of the reporters who broke that story this afternoon joins us now, along with some of our favorite reporters and friends. mike schmidt from "the new york times" along with former u.s. attorney joyce vance, jeremy bash, former chief of staff at the cia appeared pentagon, former fbi assistant director frank figlusi and phil rucker. i joked before the show, we also call you guys our honorary co-hosts. mike schmidt, take us through what you and your colleague adam goldman are reporting this afternoon. >> well, we're looking at this eight-day period of time between the firing of comey and the appointment of mueller. and in that time, it's been widely, from the folks we talked to, accepted that rosenstein was really not

comey's dismissal. sitting in on mr.erspective fbi directors and facing attacks informs his own role in mr. comey's firing. mr. rosenstein had an upclose view of the tumult. mr. rosenstein appeared conflicted regretful and emotional according to the people who spoke with him at the time. that is not necessarily new reporting. we knew there was a concern that his truthfulness and integrity by people he has worked with many years at the justice department. so you could understand that there might be some concern. but, also, if it was said sarcastically, is the "new york times" blowing this up out of proportion when you have somebody who is maybe blowing off steam and making jokes just to get through the day? >> >> well, it is well-known as have you indicated that rod rosenstein was not happy about the manner in which jim comey was fired u it's well known when the president asked rod rosenstein to give him a memo summarizing reasons that he the president could use for firing comey. he fired comey and published the memo that

comey to pledge loyalty and end an investigation of a senior aide. that sets the stage for this bombshell report. >> right. look, first of all, rosenstein was thrust into this incredibly turbulent situation. we know from our own reporting that he was telling his friends that he had tracks all over his back because he writes this memo, the president asked him to write, about james comey, clearly he was not a fan of the way comey handled the hillary clinton e-mail situation during the election. he writes it and then suddenly he discovers that the president is using it to validate his decision or as the explainer for his decision to fire comey. so that's why he felt like he had tracks all over his back because he felt like he had been used. so he was upset about that. and maybe he had been used by jeff sessions as well, who knows. but it was clearly he felt used. the piece also points out that -- so there was turmoil from comey, but at the same time he was sitting in on the interviews that the president was having to replace the fbi director and maybe i

we're talking about jim comey and why he got rid of jim comey and why mueller wants to talk to the president about that decision. >> you don't know what bob mueller wants to talk about. >> i believe that bob mueller wants to talk to the president about why he fired jim comey. and that he believes -- >> how do you know this, chris? >> he's pushing you for an interview because he believes he can only get that understanding from the president himself. >> just think about what you said just then. like i said, we're friends. you can only determine, in your view, what the -- the status of the intent is by interviewing the president. >> yes. >> what prevents every u.s. attorney from doing the same thing? you fire somebody, you don't like it, i think there's bad intent, so i interview him. >> he says he removed him because he didn't like the probe and you want to know why. >> if hillary clinton would have fired james comey, would that have been okay? >> would he have been in the middle of an investigation that involved her and threatened her presidency? >> would you think she could not fire him? >>

and just led to the memo of the firing of jim comey.ne of the people that was especially frustrated is andy mccabe. one of the interesting kind of things still going on today is to some extent the war between andy mccabe and rod rosenstein that was very much happening in that meeting has never ended. andy mccabe is being investigated by the u.s. attorney's office in d.c. right now for false statements, he's been fired by the justice department. if you look at, you know, the way he's been handling himself, i do think that he has been trying to tell a story. i'm not speculating who michael's sources are. i suspect there were a lot of people in the room. andy's very much been trying to paint a picture of himself as someone who was fired, retaliated against for political reasons to try to make any kind of indictment as painful a choice as possible for rod rosenstein in the justice department and any trial. >> you're hitting on something very significant, people may remember that mccabe stepped up to replace comey as acting fbi director. he

. >> reporter: josh campbell, a close comey aide, was with him in los angeles when comey learned watching >> they said, we have a letter from the president that was dropped off at the visitors center at fbi headquarters -- >> reporter: visitors center? >> the visitors center indicating you've been fired. they said, there's something else, there's something attached, a lengthy explanation from the deputy attorney general laying out a case against you. >> reporter: was he surprised at rosenstein? >> he was very surprised at rosenstein. not that they were chummy or friends or you would know what to expect because none of this was telegraphed. >> do you think he knew that it was going to be used by the president as the rationale publicly for firing james comey? >> well, i think he had to know it was going to be used in some degree. i don't think that he realized that the president was going to put greyhound bus tracks on his back with that memo. i don't think he realized it was going to be used in that way. >> my memo truthfully reflects my views. i'm not in position to comment on anybody els

that's been taken off now because he fired this nutjob comey. but this was one of the most pressure-filled, insane, you know, periods in modern government history. so it is certainly something that we're still trying to piece together, you know, what happened in private and in public during those crazy days and weeks. >> i want to lift up a little bit here. it feels like everybody got the same disease, george, that james comey had when he tried to handle -- everybody thinks they know better. and you feel as if a lot of people that may have -- may be well intentioned in their motivation have actually made our -- mucked it up even more by trying to act alone. >> act alone and outside the guardrails of procedure. >> mm-hmm. >> the same procedure they're trying to get him to do. >> i understand. >> yeah. >> and we heard this from the podium at cleveland. i alone can fix it. and the i alone can fix it mentality can be, on the part of mr. trump or those who are bitterly opposed to him. and they're both equally wrong. >> leanne, i look add this supreme

realize when i fired james comey it may extend this investigation. he said that on the tape. >> sekulow did not ever prove that nbc edited the interview. >>> former national security adviser michael flynn set to be sentenced on december 18th. he pled guilty over the conversations with the former ambassador. the sentencing suggests the cooperation is coming to an end. >>> chris collins has returned to campaign for re-election while under indictment on federal insider trading charges. the buffalo area republican says the stakes are too high. last month, collins suspended his campaign while the gop looked for a way to replace him. collins was one of president trump's earliest supporters in the 2016 campaign. he is calling the wire fraud charges meritless. >>> the trade war with china may have killed 1 million u.s. jobs. that is according to jack ma. ma runs the biggest chinese company alibaba. he pledged to create 1 million u.s. jobs. that followed a meeting with then president-elect president trump. now ma says his plan is off. the promise was made on

it's chaos after comey is fired.-day stretch between when comey is fired and special counsel is appointed. there's a lot going on in this time that might have been easily misunderstood. >> the comments come in the meetings between rosenstein and mccabe. they don't know each other really well. there's a lot of tension in washington. what was that relationship like between the two? what were they like? >> well, after talking to a variety of different sources, what you see here is partially the fact that the fbi leadership at the time is really devoted to comey, and so when he is fired without any -- with great surprise and drama by the president in early may, mccabe is angry about that. and he's also pressing the deputy attorney general to recuse himself from the investigation because of rosenstein's role in the firing of comey. we all remember he wrote this interesting sort of memo laying out the case for why comey had flouted doj protocols in the handling of the hillary clinton e-mail investigation. that's the pretex

rosenstein volunteered to write the memo that terminated james comey.'t realized the fallout. and he was immediately condemned by democrats and shocked by the. so rosenstein blamed trump, then he sought vengeance and retribution. lou: we are talking about a man who is a little bit off his screw. he's acting erratically as the times reports. he's not understanding the conflicts and he's talking about the 25th amendment. instead of understanding that he himself of course is the person who is highly suspect in any responsible leadership role. gregg: even discussion or soliciting people to wear a wire to record the president is a clear violation of security clearance regulations and it's probably several other crimes as well. so rod rosenstein -- this will end badly for him. he should be fired, he has no business being anywhere near the department of justice building in washington, d.c. and he was part of the russia hoax. and he's been covering it up ever since. lou: that's a heck of a name for a book. "the russia hoax." and i thought about it. chris farrel

remember, it was strzok and comey. they worked on the draft in may before the july exxon ner racial. they were changing it from the gross negligence legal term to the more innocuous just careless, just like sandy berger, puts documents in his pants, socks and walks out and says, i'm just being sloppy. really? people put private documents in their pants and they are sloppy. the very same time, the clinton campaign along with the dnc funneling money through a law firm. it wasn't a legal expense. they hire fusion gps to do op research who hired an ex-foreign spy. i thought they weren't supposed to influence our elections. his name is christopher steel and the wife of a high-ranking doj officials, nellie ohr, to put together a campaign op research document against donald trump filled with lies and rumors, never verified nor core roar bore rated. steel himself said, i don't know if any of this is true. maybe 50/50. that was spread throughout the highest levels of our federal government. all these deep state actors like nell

comey the communist. who knew that. amazing. lou: well you always, always bring fresh insight to every one of these issues, congressman. >> comey the communist, who knew. lou: turning to these texts, we've heard from devin nunes, others, chris farrell from judicial watch, as to why there should be no delay for the 20-page documentation for surveillance, there should be no, in their judgment, reason in delay for producing the unredacted texts. but the truth is we've seen, over the past year and a half, nothing but stonewalling by the justice department, the fbi and the intelligence community is on a whole other level. what do you expect to happen? how soon do you expect the president to have these documents produced by the agencies and the department of justice? >> it's hard to say. there was a reason for delay a year and a half ago because it takes a little time. but since then the reason for delay has been to protect the guilty, you know, the names are being redacted to protect the guilty. so that's the reason they're being red

andy is a reference to then deputy director andrew mccabe, who temporarily took over for comey. page replied we need to lock in redacted in a formal chargeable way soon. in his public testimony, strzok did not clarify the text, sending a connection to mueller's work. >> consistent with the department's policy on ongoing investigations, i'm not authorized to discuss ongoing investigations. reporter: the former fbi official strzok and page did not respond to requests for comment. tonight there is no public timeline for the release of the russia records. in the last few minutes, we have gotten new information from a source who is familiar with the timing. they told fox news they expect some records to be released within days or sooner, specifically the fisa application records and bruce ohr302s. they expect text messages from the other fbi officials to come somewhat later just because of the sheer volume involved. lou: the sheer volume and of course, it is a direct, a direct order by the president of the united states to the dni, to the department of justice and fbi. they look to m

i don't want amy comey barrett but i'm all for women getting big jobs.udge kavanaugh is accused of something very specific that we couldn't have obviously read on the resumes of these are extenuating circumstances beyond just the normal resist anybody. >> melissa: it might be the risk of putting a man up for anything right now. >> harris: on that note, we will be right back. slams on his brakes out of nowhere. you do, too, but not in time. hey, no big deal. you've got a good record and liberty mutual won't hold a grudge by raising your rates over one mistake. you hear that, karen? liberty mutual doesn't hold grudges... how mature of them. for drivers with accident forgiveness liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty ♪ >> melissa: we want to bring you a fox news alert right now on the situation with attorney general rod rosenstein in the news that has been around him all morning now and this idea that he went to the white house to potentially either tender his re

remember, it was strzok and comey. they worked on the draft in may before the july exxon ner racial. they were changing it from the gross negligence legal term to the more innocuous just careless, just like sandy berger, puts documents in his pants, socks and walks out and says, i'm just being sloppy. really? people put private documents in their pants and they are sloppy. the very same time, the clinton campaign along with the dnc funneling money through a law firm. it wasn't a legal expense. they hire fusion gps to do op research who hired an ex-foreign spy. i thought they weren't supposed to influence our elections. his name is christopher steel and the wife of a high-ranking doj officials, nellie ohr, to put together a campaign op research document against donald trump filled with lies and rumors, never verified nor core roar bore rated. steel himself said, i don't know if any of this is true. maybe 50/50. that was spread throughout the highest levels of our federal government. all these deep state actors like nell

rod rosenstein's letter to have comey fired to the president. rod rosenstein, everything that happened back then happened for a purpose. he sent that letter according to my sources, it goes right with "the new york times" story. he was very adamant. he was on the president's sidet now we have mccabe. remember, mccabe wrote these then. he didn't write them now. i don't buy the department of justice's explanation that he was just joking around. i also believe that they are trying to trap the president. they are trying to corner him. remember, mccabe is facing a grand jury.he he is a liar and he has been caught lying and he leaked to the media. that's a fact. he is facing the grand jury now. he doesn't want to be the only guy to go down. he wants to take everyone else with him.'t i think the president has no other choice here and the department of justice but to launch a full investigation according to my sources, a complete investigation and thei make his decision after that investigation or if evidence arises that this is what rod rosenstein aske

and all text messages as well related to the russia investigation, from james comey, andrew mccabe, peter strzok, lisa page and bruce ohr, and to do so without redaction. chris farrell and judicial watch have been at the forefront of the fight to expose fbi and doj corruption. he joins us here tonight. >>> also, president trump has warned china to take seriously his intention to balance the trade relationship between our two countries, and for china to end its $600 billion a year theft of u.s. intellectual property. to that end, president trump has just slapped tariffs on another $200 billion of chinese exports to the united states. we will take up the details with white house trade policy director peter navarro tonight. >>> and democrats trying to use a decades-old allegation of sexual assault to derail the nomination of judge brett kavanaugh to the supreme court. in a late-breaking development tonight, hearings for kavanaugh and his accuser are now set for monday. >> he's an outstanding intellect, an outstanding judge, respected by everybody. i wish the democrats could have done this a

almost as much as he hated comey. so much, in fact, he received it, released it, and fired comey, all on the same day last may. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> all right. we have major breaking news. >> the president of the united states has terminated the director of the fbi, james comey. >> reporter: josh campbell, a close comey aide, was with him in los angeles when comey learned watching cnn that he had been fired. >> they said we have a letter from the president that was dropped off at the visitor's center at fbi headquarters. >> visitor's center? >> at the visitor's center, indicating you've been fired. they said there's something else. there's something attached to this letter. there's a lengthy explanation from the deputy attorney general laying out a case against you. >> was he surprised at rosenstein? >> he was very surprised at rosenstein. not that they were chummy or friends. none of this was telegraphed. >> do you think he knew it was going to be used by the president as the rationale, publicly, for firi

because he drafted the memo about james comey.e signed the warrant and is a witness in the inspector general's review. rosenstein figures in the memos drafted by comey's deputy where he allegedly discussed wearing a wire, which he denies, there is focus among the presidents advisors on rosenstein's special counsel and may of 2017, shortly after meuller interviewed with the presidents to be comey's replacement as fbi director. he had been director for 12 years under president bush and president obama. special investigation is well established this point, if rosenstein left, the president can appoint someone else, but they would have to be senate confirmed. frankly, that is getting ahead of ourselves. we will see what really unfolds on thursday, julie. >> julie: whether he resigns or gets fired makes a difference in that change. catherine harris, thank you very much. new word from the white house on the next steps for deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. we could also be hearing from president trump this hour when he heads to a m

donald trump fires jim comey.im comey says, after he's fired, that he pushed for a special counsel and in his book tour he says he needs to be credited with triggering that event. >> right. mark: rosenstein appoints mueller. >> right. mark: i'm a little confused about this as i assume the american people are. rosenstein wrote an extensive memo to the attorney general who passed it onto the president of the united states, and in that memo he cites former attorneys general, former deputies attorneys general, former attorney, former whatever at the department of justice and beyond, condemning comey for what he did in hillary clinton's case in the press conference, right? >> right. mark: well if he's appointing mueller to investigate, among other things, the firing of comey, is that not a conflict of interest? >> a major disqualifying conflict of interest that is actually mandatory under federal regulations. it says shall disqualify yourself. not maybe or should or perhaps, shall. and yet with impunity, rod rosenstein

james comey just left. we have reports about president trump asking james comey for loyalty. how much of a concern is that for you, rod rosenstein react to go this position? >> i think it's an unusual position to find yourself in. only on the job for two weeks when this happened and when comey was fired. blues he had been asked to do a memo about comey's ineptitude in coming out at that hillary clinton press conference and talking about the decision by the fbi not to pursue a prosecution there. and then all of a sudden, that memo which i could have written myself and i agree with 100% is used by donald trump as basically a protectional reason for -- >> cart blanch. >> right. for firing james comey. so he felt used. here he was coming in, taking on a very important job in the justice department, a career doj guy who rose through the ranks up to being a u.s. attorney and then deputy attorney general and all of a sudden he finds himself with this crazy president who has taken a memo that is a serious memo which is absolutely correct and then being used to fire james comey, even

former fbi director james comey just wrote an opinion piece for the "new york times" titled james comey the fbi can do this. quoting now from his op-ed, fbi agents are experts at interviewing people and quickly dispatching leads to their colleagues around the world to follow with additional interviews unless limited in some way by the trump administration, they can speak to scores of people in a few days if necessary. end quote. let's talk about all this. joining me to discuss, shan wu, ryan brownsteen and also katherine rampelt. shan, does this mean that the white house really is in the driver's seat as it pertains to how probings fbi goes? >> let's hope not. a background investigation is actually much broader in scope than the criminal one is. with a criminal investigation, the prosecutor and the agents are very focused, is this really leading to something that we need to put a case and that we can ultimately prove beyond a reasonable doubt. but with a background investigation, you want to get anything that may be relevant to the potential employer. so the idea here that maybe don mcg

that's exactly the basis he used for firing jim comey. it was that jim comey announced the reopening of the hillary clinton investigation too close to the 2016 election. so he of all people would be put between a rock and a hard place if mueller came to him with the need to go forward with an indictment very close to these midterms. another thing i want to point out that michael rightfully notices and puts out in his reporting is this is at a very key time for rod rosenstein. and people who i have talked to today who talked to rod rosenstein around that point say that this is a very kind of erratic time for him. he wanted to be vindicated, not just by people who are criticizing him outside, but people within the justice department who knew jim comey and thought that he made the wrong decision. so it would make sense that he would say something like what do you want the do, andy? should i wear a wire? he wanted to be vindicated, and he would have been in a place of kind of using that sarcasm in a cutthroat way. >> i think the fuse has been

firing that trump then took and used as the rationale for firing comey. from our own reporting and, of course, from the piece in the "times" today that rosenstein was none too pleased about it. so he's actually a witness in this case. so what could also happen, say if there's no firing, is that there could be a recusal, say. he could say, okay, i'm out of it. i'm out of the whole mueller thing and maybe that then goes to francisco. i just don't -- i just don't know. >> in the meantime, everybody is waiting to see what the president of the united states does in the second half. for all we know, fairly soon. everybody stand by. there is an important deadline this hour in the negotiations over a possible hearing where senators will hear directly from the supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh, and christine blasey ford, the woman accusing him of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers. stand by for the very latest. adults are just kids with much, much better toys. [ giggling ] introducing the 2018 c-class sedan, coupe and cabriolet. the thrills keep

what was the fallout from the firing of comey? how did people react to it? both the president and his team and others within the administration. and so, even if these words were not said in earnest, but were said sarcastically, the very idea that the deputy attorney general is talking like this, it's not normal. it's not a usual thing to happen in an administration, and so i do think it's of some interest, anyway, to the mueller team as they look at whether the comey firing was obstructive or something else. >> and how did all these come out in the first place, other than intrepid reporting. >>> "outfront" next, rosenstein denies the report, but is he telling the truth? his long-time friend and former doj official is "outfront." >>> plus, secretary ben carson has a wild theory about what's behind the allegation against brett kavanaugh. you'll have to hear it to believe it. >>> and ted cruz in a dog fight for his texas senate seat, debating his democratic challenger right now. we're going to take you live to that debate. ...to give you the protein you need wi

comey is right in concept, that, yes, it rises to the top. lot of visibility and insight that manafort has or allegedly has that than the scope could be shifting toward that. i hate to be that annoying person who says "it remains to be seen," but i think we have no idea what next steps are going to be taken, frankly. >> harris: you know what that shines a light onto me, adrienne, is the fact that when all of this was going on with the plea deal and everything, he was being reported with paul manafort, some democrats or like "okay, this is it. we are going to give a smoking gun." actually, we don't know that at all. >> adrienne: we don't. but here's what we do know -- we know that paul manafort is potentially looking at spending the rest of his life in prison. he has every single reason to cooperate with this plea deal. in turn, whatever information, provide whatever information is necessary. because if the strictly plea deal that allows them to spend just a minimal amount of time in prison, it's worth it. he is not a young man. he is looking

comey the communist. who knew that. amazing.: that tbree article the congressman referred to from new york magazine which comey says this, quote, i voted for reagan. i moved from communist to whatever i am now. i'm not sure how to characterize myself politically. he's not the only member of the deep state to have a turn left ward of karl marx. john brennon revealing he was a communist sump theser durin syme cold war. jamejoining us tonight, james hl holstrom, serving three decades in the fbi. >> i never thought when i came back from vietnam there would be a communist that was a head of the cia. lou: this boggles my mind. you know, i grew up on the fbi television show, they were pursuing communist and there's one at the head of the cia and one at the head of the fbi. >> i wonder if comey and brennon were in the same den, like the cub scout den, if they were in the same communist den up in the bronx or something. lou: well, it's -- i don't want to say that i'm convinced of it, but it could be possible they should share a cell goin

trump said he was thinking of the russia investigation when he fired fbi director james comey. remember here that special counsel bob mueller's team has been looking into whether trump's firing of comey amounted to possible obstruction of justice. those comments in that interview are material to that investigation. last night on cnn, jay sekulow argued, however, that there was a longer version of trump's sit-down with holt where the president said he realized that firing comey might not shorten the russia probe. have a listen to his claim. >> we think the entire transcript without question supports that the president realized when he fired james comey, it might actually extend this investigation, and he said that on the tape. >> now, sekulow offered no evidence to back up this claim. let's fact check what he is saying. as a reminder, here's what trump said on tape. you might have seen it many times before in that may 17 interview as it aired on nbc. >> i was going to fire comey. knowing there was no good time to do it. and in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself

criticizing comey's handling of the clinton email investigation. days after removing comey. here is the clip from the extended interview which nbc released. >> he made a recommendation but regardless of recommendation i was going to fire comey. knowing there was no good time to do it. and in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. >> the president isn't offering any evidence to back up his claim about that tape being fudged. we have no evidence that nbc altered that tape. keep in mind he is raising this issue now 15 months after that interview aired. joining us now to discuss, cnn senior political analyst and senior editor for the atlantic rod brownants. ron, the president can't believe the nbc doctored the tip tape. >> who would have thought we would see donald trump channels richard prior. who do you believe me or your lying eyes. we see the consistent pattern of the president of trying to delegislate imize any institution threatening him whether the media,

director james comey. according to trump, "mueller is comey's best friend.ive you a hundred pictures of him and comey hugging and kissing each other." ( laughter ) now, at first, i'll admit i was skeptical that there were pictures of robert mueller and james comey hugging and kissing each other, let alone 100. put we couldn't find anyone but we contacted the white house, and they sent some examples over. here is comey and mueller in times square after world war ii. here's one where james comey was secretly spider-man. and, of course, here they are passionately embracing on a hill of wildflowers. we'll be right back with rob lowe! ( cheers and applause ) i had to quit. n i knew for real this time. that's why i'm using nicorette. only nicorette gum has patented dual-coated technology for great taste. plus intense craving relief. every great why, needs a great how. we're in this together. the splashes the friendships and... the memories it's a journey and petsmart is with you every step of the way. we the people, defined by the moments we share with our familie

, who is the man who recommended firing -- that the president fire james comey. then in the intervening -- at the same time doesn't understand the conflict he has as the man who recommended his firing, appointing a special counsel because he was fired. it's insane. gregg: i talked to so many department of justice officials who worked with rosenstein. not a single one of them have respect for him. rosenstein volunteered torite the memo that terminated james comey. he didn't realized the fallout. and he was immediately condemned by democrats and shocked by the. so rosenstein blamed trump, then he sought vengeance and retribution. lou: we are talng -computer, order pizza. -of course, daniel. -fridge, weather. -clear skies and 75. -trash can, turn on the tv. -my pleasure. -ice dispenser, find me a dog sitter. -okay. -and make ice. -pizza delivered. -what's happened to my son? -i think that's just what people are like now. i mean, with progressive, you can quote your insurance on just about any device. even on social media. he'll be fine. -[ laughs ] -will he? -i don'

james comey knew what edtold congress. not that i will disclose something even 11 days from the election. i will take a look first. during this interviews he never said i'm sorry, i made a mistake the way donald trump will never say i'm sorry i made a mistake the way i'm saying i am sorry, i made a mistake. howie: your critics say you are a big hillary clinton booster, you wrote a book about how she got screwed out of the presidency. that you took on michael cohen's case to use him to get revenge. lanny: there is no question i believe is an extremely divisive and harmful president. when michael cohen came to me, it took me quite a while to listen to him as to why he had changed his mind about donald trump. i took on the representation because he was ready to speak what he felt about donald trump. so certainly that was part of my motive. howie: what was it he said to you that made you decide yes, i want to represent donald trump's former lawyer. lanny: it's a matter of public record. he suddenly saw mr. trump denouncing the

abc news learning any such discussion happened after the president fired james comey. the white house using rosenstein's words as reasoning for the firing. that rattled rosenstein. at the time, he was concerned about the president's erratic behavior. but tonight, there are so many questions, how was this said, and how serious were the suggestions? tonight, rosenstein himself now responding. pierre thomas, leading us off. >> reporter: he's the number two in charge at the justice department, the man who appointed special counsel robert mueller, and who oversees the russia investigation. but tonight, "the new york times" reports deputy attorney general rod rosenstein was so alarmed at president trump's behavior, he once considered secretly recording him and even discussed whether he could convince the cabinet to remove the president from office by invoking the 25th amendment. abc news has confirmed it happened in may of 2017, in the chaotic days after trump fired fbi director james comey. the white house initially said comey was fired because of a damning memo from rosens

a lot of which began unfolding of course just after james comey was fired in the spring of 2017. >> that's exactly right, erica. this was spring 2017, two weeks rod rosenstein was on the job just two weeks, and in several meetings according to the "new york times" rod rosenstein brought up the idea of secretly recording the president, that is, candidates who was potentially up for the fbi job, maybe wearing some kind of a secret recording device or using their phones to perhaps secretly record him. at one point he suggested himself that he may do that, another point it was suggested perhaps the now fired former deputy director andrew mccabe somehow recorded the president. really, you know, what this article sort of points out is that the chaos that was unfolding in the days and the weeks after the former fbi director james comey was fired, the department of justice, rod rosenstein, in a statement denies this, says that the story is inaccurate and factually incorrect. he said that he would not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the departm