the letter came from elijah cummings. do we know, has anybody heard from chaffetz and number two, what's the next step? >> we know that he is still in utah. he will make his way, he had been expecting a call from james comey, the former fbi director about whether or not comey might be willing to testify in front of the oversight committee on wednesday. so we don't have reaction from him on this particular issue. of course, continuing to keep an eye out. there's been at times tension but also cooperation between cummings and chaffetz on this issue. they have at some turns gone to micro phones together, giving joint presentations around things with michael flynn. at times it has touched the trump administration that was problematic for republicans and for reporters of the president, you've sometimes seen the two of them. that would seem to be the case here. simply because cummings put out this letter independently. what we haven't seen is the document itself. that they are referring to. this report of investigation from tho

elijah cummings and republican chris collins are also standing by. let's begin on capitol hill. our congressional correspondent has the latest for us. the bill is out of the house and on its way to the senate. >> reporter: that's right. it's now on to the senate and while certainly members of the house can claim significant legislative victory with this win in getting it through on their side, it's a short-term win for republicans here just the first step in a long process. tonight after seven years of campaigning and promising. >> the bill has passed. >> republicans are taking the first step to deliver on their pledge to repeal and replace obamacare. >> today was a big day but it is just one step in this process. >> thank you for your leadership. >> reporter: house speaker paul ryan taking a short-term victory lap. >> we've got a lot of work to do. but one thing is now clear, republicans are committed to keeping our promise to lift the burden of obamacare from the american people and put in place a better, more patient centered

elijah cummings (d) maryland "and now he stepped over the line. a smoking gun with a lot of dark smoke. and it is very, very unfortunate and i think it is a sad day for our country."(steve) now at 8. explosiv

former national security adviser michael flynn if the allegations are true-- maryland congressman elijah cummings is calling that "obstruction of justice". abc's janai norman has more from northwest and president trump has not personally responded to this has not personally responded to this latest allegation on twitter but he did address recent leaks in general yesterday he tweeted that he "has been asking director comey and other from the beginning, to find the leakers in the intelligence community". we will be keeping a close eye on his twitter account, and will update you on if he starts tweeting about these latest allegations. abc-7 is your place for new developments from the white house. sign up for breaking news alerts at wjla.com slash text. also developing this morning-- another big change could be coming to the white house. according to multiple sources-- the administration is actively looking for candidates to replace sean spicer as press secretary. of the candidates. according to the mercury news in san jose-- fox news host kimberly guilfoyle has had discussions with multiple trump ad

i just -- i don't know enough about it to address it, and you have to ask elijah cummings what it means in the committee. i do know this. that we're very, very proud of elijah cummings and the work that he has done on the government -- government reform committee and also of adam schiff and the work he's doing on the intelligence committee. >> leader pelosi, thank you. i want to go back to the issue of impeachment. do you worry that democrats who use the term impeachment are overplaying their hands and potentially playing into the president's argument when he says things like, this is the greatest witch hunt in the american political history which he tweeted today. >> honestly, honestly. how did you spell witch hunt? i see head council in one of his things. i didn't know exactly what it meant. i liked what senator mccain, he said this morning. no, no, i've been the subject of more -- he didn't say witch hunt but he said i'm -- didn't he say yesterday, the president something like nobody's been subjected to more criticism. really? you're telling me that? he doesn't have thick skin. get s

we add one on one conversation and i know he spoke with elijah cummings as well. he and i, elijah cummings and i, and the democratic committee and the presence of the special counsel didn't say that -- didn't cut it off saying would he never come, he said he wanted to speak to mr. mueller before committing to any sort of public testimony. that seemed it make sense to me and i hope it is fair to represent that mr. cummings understood that as well. i hope that's a fair representation. the other thing is we want to see the documents. we believe congress has a role to play. we also don't want to impede investigation by special counsel. we are trying to find our way without impeding what special counsel is trying to do. >> did comey tell you i wrote those contemporaneous memos with the president? >> no, he didn't. in fact i said, we have heard reports about these documents. are they at the department of justice or are they with him personally? because remember, even the "new york times" reporter who put this stuff, original story out there, no one has seen these docume

the ranking member of the house oversight committee, congressman elijah cummings joins us next.s. and two in the reserves. our 18 year old was in an accident. when i call usaa it was that voice asking me, "is your daughter ok?" that's where i felt relief. it actually helped to know that somebody else cared and wanted make sure that i was okay. that was really great. we're the rivera family, and we will be with usaa for life. usaa. we know what it means to serve. call today to talk about your insurance needs. 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 you now and as your needs change. investment management services from td ameritr

elijah cummings has come out of the meeting with rod rosenstein. let's take a listen. >> again, this is not about the briefing but my feelings. it's three parts to this very significant moment in america's history. one, we have a -- an election that was interfered with by the russians. that's got to be looked at. two, we have a situation where there's a question as to whether there was some type of collusion. three, we have to discover and work on whether there was a coverup. i am convinced that the congress has a very significant role, as does the special counsel. and i think that the congress's role is to look forward. to make sure this does not ever happen again. the threat that somebody in russia or some foreign land can dictate who sits in the oval office and determines our policies and our destiny should upset every single one of us as americans. now, i know mr. rosenstein was the u.s. attorney in maryland for over tenyears. i've always known him to be a very honorable pe. i'm very -- i was very pleased, certainly, with the selection of mr. m

that was congressman elijah cummings, democratic congressman of maryland. important to this conversation, the ranking democrat on the house oversight committee. with me to discuss everything we've learned coming out of this important briefing of council members, with house members, is cnn political analyst mark preston and former assistant u.s. attorney nick ackerman. he was part of the team that prosecuted the watergate case. all right, so, nick, first to you, because cummings was asked about it and jackie speier's talking about it as well, which is can congress continue with their investigations while, now that there is a special counsel investigating all of this? democrats say yes. lindsey graham said he doesn't think so. he thinks this has knocked him out of the game. >> lindsey graham is dead wrong. you just have to look at the history and what happened during the watergate case. there was not only the special prosecutor who was investigating the same allegations, but there was also the senate select committee. later on there was the house impeachment

separately, the top democrat on the house oversight committee, elijah cummings said that flynn who duringess to the nation's top secrets appears to have lied during his 2016 security clearance renewal. cummings cites a investigation last year. flynn was an early supporter of candidate trump and was fired as the president's national security adviser after lying to the vice president. about his contacts with russian ambassador sergei kislyak. today new jersey governor chris christie says he warned the president to steer clear of flynn. >> if i were president of the fÑ united states, i would not let flynn in the white house, let alone give him a job. >> reporter: flynn, along with former campaign chair paul manafort, carter page and roger stone are all under scrutiny by the fbi and congress tor their ties to russia. manafort and stone said today that they have complied with congressional requests for documents. flynn is the only one so far to say that he will take the fifth. a tactic the president once denounced on the campaign trail. >> you see the mob takes the fifth. if you're innocent, w

want to bring in elijah cummings of maryland. ranking member of the white house oversight committee. when you hear the cnn report, new york times report that former fbi director james comey, he wrote a note that president trump asked to end the investigation of the national security adviser, former national security adviser, michael flynn, do you see that poe ten recally as obstruction? >> yes. simple as that. i think the president has been -- has had basically -- i hasn't had to answer to anybody, really, up to now. and now he stepped over the line. clearly we've got a smoking done with a lot of dark smoke. and it is very, very unfortunate and i think the same thing for our country. >> cnn is reporting that this memo that was wreten by the fbi director, james comey, says among other things i hope you can let this go, new york times says the memo also says, i hope you can see your way clear of letting this go, michael flynn go, he is a good guy. i hope can you let this go. is that impeachable if it is an obstruction of justice? >

elijah cummings (d) maryland "and now he stepped over the line. clearly we've got a smoking gun with a lot of dark smoke. and it is very, very unfortunate and i think it is a sad day for our country."(steve) now at 8. explosive revelations out of washington tonight. reports that ousted f-b-i director james comey was asked to shut down the investigation... into national security adviser michael flynn.(steve)thank you for joining us i'm steve aveson.(pam) and i'm pam moore. the report stems from memos ... comey kept in order to record any odd or troubling conversations with the president. grant lodes is here now with how this latest episode .. is spurring talks of impeachment. (grant) the president reportedly asked him to end the investigation into national security adviser michael flynn. right after the february oval office meeting-- the president telling the former director-- quote, "i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. he is a good guy. i hope you can let this go."sources saying comey was so appalled by the r

, plus the ranking member of the house oversight and government reform committee, congressman elijah cummings. >> we love elijah. >> especially today. as we continue to dig into the real reasons behind the president's firing of james comey as fbi director. >> he's a show boat, he's a grandstander. >> and there's jim. he's become more famous than me. >> show boat, grantander. mor famous than me. >> show boat, grandstander. >> more famous than me. let it sink in. shouldn't we say we have the lowest price? nope, badda book. badda boom. have you ever stayed with choice hotels? like at a comfort inn? yep. free waffles, can't go wrong. i like it. promote that guy. get the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed. when you book direct at choicehotels.com. book now. imagine if the things you bought every day earned you miles to get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag, 2 united club passes... priority boarding... and 50,000 bonus miles. everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. the united mileageplus explorer card. imagine

e e elijah cummings is joining me now, do you think there needs to be an intelligence briefing for those on the hill? >> no doubt about it, let me be clear, andrea. as far as i'm concerned, this is indefensible. we handle in our committee classified information all of the time. and what the president did is very interesting as i listen to general mcmaster, he never said that the president didn't release classified information. clearly he did. i would say to the american people that this is indefensible. and i say to my republican friends stop circling the wagon around this president, circle your wagons around the united states of america. and put country first. we have to get to the bottom of these mistakes. he did not consult with our security team. we did not consult with our intelligence folks, nor the sources that provided the information, and then he gives it out as if he is just talking in a normal conversation. it just baffles me that the same person that our intelligence community takes the intelligence and gives it to a country that has not been our friend. this is not rocket sc

now from capitol hill, the ranking member of that committee democratic congressman elijah cummings ofurage. i don't know if rod was a republican or appointed yesterday by a reblican he made a courageous choice in a changes the arc of this entire investigation. what's your response? >> i was very pleased with what rod rubenstein did. i've known him well over ten years. keep in mind, he was our u.s. attorney in baltimore. so i've had a lot of dealings with him, and i knew him, and i've always known him, to be an honorable man. as a matter of fact, i count him as someone that i would put in the league with a mueller. and keep in mind, even when president obama came into office, he continued to keep them in the u.s. attorneys office for the entire eight years, that president obama was president. so he enjoys a very favorable reputation in our state, and i just had a feeling that he would do the right thing. i was kind of surprised when that initial letter came out. as a matter of fact, i was shocked, but i think he did the right thing. i have a lot of respect for counsel mueller. i think

separately, the top democrat on the house oversig elijah cummings released a letter who said that flynn who had access to the nation's top secrets appeared to have lied to the security clearance renewal. flynn was an early supporter of candidate trump and was fired in february as the president's national security adviser after lying to the vice president about his contacts with russian ambassador sergei kislyak. today new jersey governor chris christie who originally ran the trump transition said that he warned the president to steer clear of flynn. >> if i were president of the unit, united states i wouldn't let flynn in the white house. >> reporter: roger stone is also under scrutiny by the fbi and congress for their ties to russia. manafort and stone today said they have compliedh congressional requests for documents. flynn is the only one so far to say that he will take the fifth. attacked since the president once denounced on the campaign trail. >> if you're innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment in. >> reporter: tomorrow former cia director john brennan testifies. james

elijah cummings says that he would strongly support it. you're hearing some of the left say that.g said, do you think the president -- president obama might look back at this and say he could give up the ability to receive that? he's making millions of dollars after he's president. >> michael: i'm with degen on this one. i just don't have an issue with going out, making money, you've earned it. where do we draw the line? is to we are all conservatives >> harris: here's the slippery slope that i see. colonel, this affects you because you get a pension. my dad's a colonel. it becomes a slippery slope and a judgment is not always based -- one of the judgment becomes something else and you'll get your pension? you served in a way that i haven't. you deserve it. >> michael: there is fundamental issue here. we penalize people for making money? i have no problem with that, no problem with someone in the military, former congressman, former president, let's be very clear about the conflicts of interest when you're in power or when you still have power through a relative. >> meghan: we hav

. >> jon: here's elijah cummings. let's listen in. >> jon: the to mac >> this is my feelings. this is a very significant moment in america's history. one, we have an election that was interfered with the russian russians. two, we have a situation where there is question as to whether there was some type of collusion. three, we have to discover if there was a cover-up. i'm convinced that the congress has a very significant local as does the special counsel. i think that congress is role is to look forward, to make sure this does not ever happen again. the threat that somebody in russia or some foreign land could dictate who sits in the oval office and determines our policies and our destiny, should upset every single one of us as americans. i know mr. rosenstein was the u.s. attorney in maryland for 10 years. i was very pleased with the selection of mr. mueller. you will not push him around. as a straight shooter. he will bring some normalcy to this process. that's my final point. we have to let this process play out. it needs to play out. normally what happens when you have in

this is a letter from elijah cummings, a top democrat on the oversight committee. the letter, they're talking about michael flynn, and cummings writes, the oversight committee has in our possession that general flynn lied to the investigators who interviewed him in 2016 as part of his security clearance renewal. that's a letter from cummings to chaffe chaffetz. saying michael flynn lied when he talked to investigators last year. that is part of the ongoing story of what michael flynn did, what he told his superiors and people who were investigating him at the time. all of that part of the reason why michael flynn is now deciding he's going to take the fifth. he's not going to provide documents to the senate intelligence committee that has requested those documents. a source close to flynn telling me earlier today that's just the only prudent course of action for him at this point given all of the news that's swirling around and all the political angst swirling around flynn. he's going to have to take the fifth and refuse to turn over those documents and presumably

elijah cummings right now, the chairman of the house oversight committee.r the accelerating investigation into his campaign and his ties to russia, he even admitted this on national tv. yet two of the committees with jurisdiction, the house oversight committee and the house judiciary committee have not even scheduled a hearing on this unprecedented action. our chairman has issued no subpoenas, not one. report that the president - pressured director comey to drop criminal investigation, drop the criminal investigation of former national security advisor michael flynn. last night, all 33 democrats on the oversight committee and the judiciary committee sent a letter demanding that jim and chaffets and chairman goodlap launch an immediate investigation into president trump and general sessions and top white house aides. given the gravity of the events that have occurred over the past few week, our committee should already be conducting robust and transparent investigations and oversight. it is unacceptable that we continue ignoring these scandals. and that's ex

navid, let's start with the allegation by elijah cummings that they have evidence he lied to the people interviewing him when he was getting a security clearance review. how big a deal is that? >> it's a big deal for two reasons. the first one is the pragmatic one. it's potentially a crime. if he did this knowingly and there was an intent to sort of cover something up here. the second one is, on the counterintelligence side. when someone purposefully misleads something in regards to an sf-86, this form that is a security back ground questionnaire, if you have a counterintelligence officer, it raises a red flag, besides for the obvious reason. it shows potentially an attempt to deceive. and that is a very troubling thing. >> i want to just run down, here are some of the problems flynn currently has in terms when you talk about that sort of deception as a red flag. he did not clear his rt payments. he allegedly didn't disclose those foreign payments in a security clearance interview. didn't register as a foreign agent. and lied about his contacts with the russian ambassador. whether he di

that's the day that jason chaffetz and elijah cummings both came out and said they had reviewed classified pentagon documents and saw that flynn had not disclosed his foreign work for -- foreign payments from russia and turkey while getting a renewal of his security clearance. >> right. >> and they both said they saw no indication that he had complied with the law. so flynn has assembled a group of old friends, loyalists, dinner in a restaurant in northern virginia and afterwards everybody was looking for what was flynn's thinking about trump? you know, was he sticking by him? not only was he sticking by him, he tells some of those there as the dinner is breaking up, yes, i just got a message from the president and he told me to stay strong. now, this could be interpreted in various ways. one is the president is sending a message by saying stay strong, don't buckle, don't say anything that might harm me, or these are two loyal friends who went through a lot during the campaign. flynn stuck with him and he's going to buck up a friend who's on this hard times. >> is it your buddy saying hang

this letter we obtained from top house democrats john con years and elijah cummings. the white house to hand over copies of any recordings, documents, any communications between the president and comey in this matter. so far tonight, wolf, no comment from the white house on this letter. >> brian, if there are recordings, can the president, can president trump delete them? >> it doesn't look like he can, wolf. at least not without permission. presidential records act requires that any conversation eats the white house be archived, any taped conversations be archived, unless the president gets special permission to not submit them to archives. if that exists at the white house, real pressure on the president to save them and turn them over. >> brian todd reporting for us. thank you. coming up, more on the top stories. president trump threatens the fired fbi director saying james comey quote better hope there are no tapes of our conversations. does the president have such recordings? >> what about the recordings? >> that i can't talk about. i won't talk about that. or yo

maryland congressman elijah cummings is calling what the president did come if true, obstruction of justice. >> clearly we have a smoking gun and gunsmoke. unfortunate very and i think a sad day for our country. jay: also, the white house in a statement is firing back, saying the president has never asked mr. comey or anyone else to end any investigation. this is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation. live on capitol hill with the latest, jay korff, abc 7 news. jonathan: jay, responding to another bombshell that the president allegedly disclosed confidential information to the russians during a visit to the white house. today, the national security adviser supported with the president did. listen. >> we don't say what's classified, what's not classified. with the president shared was wholly appropriate. jonathan: all of this as president trump prepares for his first trip abroad as president. that starts friday. it feels like something new every day, doesn't it? your place for new developments. sign up for breaking news text alerts right on your phone by going to wjla.com/

congressman elijah cummings says flynn misled the pentagon about payments from russia, and he apparently mention he met with russian president vladamir putin. meanwhile flynn is invoking the fifth amendment right refusing to comply with subpoena to turn over documents to the senate intelligence committee. >> i'm disappointed. i question whether there is real legal basis to not produce documents. we'll be looking into that. i think the committee will pursue options. >> flynn's attorneys say pleading the fifth is not an admission of wrongdoing. they say, an escalating public frenzy and the appointment of a special prosecutor create aid legally dangerous environment for flynn to cooperate. >> the white house unveiling president trump's budget today calling for deep cuts to entitlements. the plan includes -- $1.7 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade. it would slash medicaid by $800 billion dollars. the food stams program is also on the chopping block. with 10 million expect to lose a big boost for the military, infrastructure, and a new family leave program. >> jury selection resum

floated, senator john cornyn, mike rogers, who has the report of several democrats, including elijah cummingscan who was elected to congress. what's the right play for dems if the president does go the political route on one of these folks? >> well, i don't think they're all in the same category. mike rogers, for instance, would be i think a pick seen as sort of serious with real law enforcement background. but here i think is our challenge as democrats -- nothing, nothing, nothing -- hear me -- will substitute for democrats being laser focused on the american people, the economy, making sure that we have a message going into, you know, the next two years that is a real alternative to the chaos that the gop leadership has turned this country into, to the taking away health care from people to not focusing on jobs to thinking about a tax cut for the wealthy instead of for, you know, the middle class and really something that creates job training and other things to grow the economy. so, that's what democrats have to do. it is so easy to chase this shiny, you know, object of an investigation in

elijah cummings speaking now. >> -- new allegations about president trump, not just every day.t ladies and gentlemen, every hour. yet house republicans have shown repeatedly that they refuse to conduct credible robust oversight over this president. they do as little as humanly possible just to claim that they're doing something. think about this. the president fired the director of the fbi because he was becoming increasingly engaged over if accelerating investigation into his campaign and hi tie to russia. he admitted this on national tv. yet two of the committees with jurisdiction, the house oversight committee and the house judiciary committee have not even scheduled a hearing on this unprecedented action. our chairmen have issued no subpoenas, not one. now we have this explosive report that the president pressured director comey to drop criminal investigation -- drop the criminal investigation of former national security adviser michael flynn. last night all 33 democrats on the oversight committee and the judiciary committee sent a letter demanding that chairman chaffetz an

. >> you hear the lead democrat there in the house oversight and reform committee elijah cummings whot there being so aggressive in what they're saying. they are in part because their base is demanding they hold the president accountable on this. what does it mean that you have now -- there was a question, would the committees on capitol hill pause and let bob mueller get up to speed, ask him for guidelines, where can we go, where shouldn't we go. you see for now on the house and senate side republican-led committees full speed ahead when it comes to pressings not just flynn for documents but other witnesses, as well. >> republicans aren't saying anything close to what elijah cummings just said. put their relative silence aside, it's their actions that matter. both on the house and senate side they are being aggressive and trying to get not just testimony but more importantly documents from michael flynn and to the point where on the senate side, the republican chair of the intelligence committee who many even republicans who wanted to investigate this were quietly rolling their eyes

. >>> coming up on "new day," we have congressman john duffy and elijah cummings, also senators angus king and richard blumenthal and former attorney alberto gonzalez, all joining us live. >>> republicans, are they on the same page as president trump? you're talking about the agenda, you're talking about the special investigation. the president says it divided the country but it seems lawmakers believe the opposite, that it's the first time they've agreed on something in this administration. we have republicans and democrats in congress, ahead. i am benedict arnold, the infamous traitor. and i know a thing or two about trading. so i trade with e*trade, where true traders trade on a trademarked trade platform that has all the... get off the computer traitor! i won't. (cannon sound) on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates. maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch and you could save $509 on auto insurance. call for a free quo

jonathan: maryland congressman elijah cummings sent a letter to the white house to turn over any recordings between the president and comey. alison: home appliance problems can be a major headache. >> they said, ma'am, we cannot validate the claim. alison: you may want to check the fine print. 7 on your side jonathan: an update from atlanta -- faster than anyone expected, the northbound lanes of interstate 85 that were destroyed by massive fire six weeks ago will now reopened a month ahead of schedule. the southbound lanes are expected to reopen sometime this weekend. alison: it sounds like a great plan for homeowners, sign up, pay a premium every year, and if something goes wrong with any appliance get it fixed or replaced at no extra charge. jonathan: home buyers love these, thinking everything is taken care of, but are these unwarranted policies worth it. troubleshooter horace holmes joins us with answers. horace: the panicked call from a mother. taylor janssen had just put a load of clothing into the dryer. >> i saw flames from the top. >> she grabbed the fire extinction. department. th

i coates,rdan, ta-nehis elijah cummings, and mayor kasim reed. you are ready to join the ranks. you are finally at your commencement, and i want you to look around and catch it this moment. holdit in your heart, and it in your mind. you are now looking at people you will read about for the trailblazing work they do. you are looking at the faces of friends who will one day ask you for their children. you may even be looking at someone you will grow your family with his one or both of you do not know it right now. it's going to happen. also, look back on the experiences you have already had. remember those first days on the quad moving into the injury -- [applause] senator harris: learning how to navigate that howard run around so you can get that dorm room for sign-up up for a class. i know. remember or even maybe try to late nights ate found theirs and those other late-night at the punch out for lj. ror el ray.- above all, above all, above all, remember you are blessed because wherever you came from, wherever you came from, you now have the gift, of great, great a howard univers

separately the top democrat on the house oversight committee elijah cummings today released a letter saying that flynn, who during his career, had access to the nation's top secrets, appeared to have lied during his 2016 security clearance renewal. cummings cites a department of defense investigation from last year. flynn was an early supporter of candidate trump and was fired in february as the president's national security advisor after lying to the vice president about his contacts with russian ambassador sergey kislyak. today new jersey governor chris christie who initially ran the trump transition said that he warned the president to steer clear of flynn. >> if i were president-elect united states i wouldn't let general flynn in the white house. let alone give him a job. >> reporter: flynn along with former campaign chairman paul manafort, foreign policy advisor carter paige and trump friend roger stone are all under scrutiny by the fbi and congress for their ties to russia. manafort and stone said today that they have complied with congressional requests for flynn is the only o

includes so many republicans and conservatives that they're having trouble staffing so a yates or an elijah cummingshem, i can imagine they're immediately discarded and sometimes there might be some reasons for being suspicious about information brought to you but not all the time. >> sorry, go ahead, gloria. >> no, i was going to say, look, this is all about loyalty with donald trump. he was warned about flynn by his first transition team. he saw flynn misbehave at their original briefing when they got their first briefing, and he said, yeah, i know, but i'm told he said, yeah, i know, but, you know, he was loyal to me and he was the first person with brass on his shoulders that came out and supported me. >> everyone, thank you. >>> coming up, the latest from a white house under scrutiny. the president calls it a witch hunt. the latest on what he and lawmakers on capitol hill are saying about the russia investigation just today. next. ♪ with this level of intelligence... it's a supercomputer. with this grade of protection... it's a fortress. and with this standard of luxury... it's an oasis. the 20

congressman elijah cummings.man cummings, i guess there's so many questions that jump out at me, but you've been into this case for so long, so many months. why do you think trump is so -- his face changes when you bring up russia. he gets angry, defensive. he snarls. what's that about? is that because there's a couple conversations he knows he shouldn't have had? what do you think is going on here? >> keep in mind that the president said that none of his associates had had any contact with the russians. now we see that just about every one of them did. >> yeah. >> i think he feels uncomfortable. one of the things he's very sensitive about, he does want anyone to believe that the russians' interference with the election had any effect on the outcome. you don't even have to get to that question. the fact is that we know for a fact they did interfere with our elections. but i think it's -- i guess it's a paranoia, but one thing i've noticed is that when we tried to get documents with regard to general flynn -- and,

. >> not the same issues daes s >> and elijah cummings today. this is so much news. >> we have concern about the committees getting riled up in partisanship but you have the republican chairman subpoenaing and saying no immunity for michael flynn and you better bring those documents. talking about contempt. >> now it makes you wonder bigger picture, gloria, how damaging this is for president trump the white house if his former national security advisor is pleading the fifth, not responding to a subpoena request. >> it doesn't look good and donald trump, we believe, remains friends with flynn. he's an orphrphan to everybody e at the white house but i don't think to the president and today elijah cummings,ing the democrat charged that flynn lied on his security clearance forms and said that he told investigators he was paid by u.s. companies when he travelled to moscow in december of 2015 when we know that he was paid by russian television and that we had only insubstantial associations with foreigners and we know he had dinner with vladimir putin

jason chaffetz, elijah cummings. they both join us now., thank you both for joining us this morning. mr. chairman, let me begin with you. your reaction to the extraordinary meeting between the president and the russian foreign minister, lavrov. you have both the revelation of highly classified information, and then this report in "the new york times" that the president was talking about james comey in the meeting, calling him a nut job and saying the pressure is off. what is your reaction? >> i hope it's not true. i don't know if that was said or not said. i would like the president to beat them over the head with the fact that if they did, the russians, did interfere in any way, shape, or form, how wrong that is and how outraged america is on both sides of the aisle. >> congressman cummings, if you were listening carefully to general mcmaster, it sounds like the president apparently didn't bring up the russian interference. will you demand to see the notes of that meeting? >> we have been asking for -- i want every note that they have, ge

. >> even under subpoena>> elijah cummings and other damage -- democrats have made these demands but they don't have the political power to enforce it and that's why the november 18 election is so important. there is nothing except federal prosecutors that can stop donald trump's administration and outcome except a midterm election and that's what the democrats are banking on. >> democrats are saying president trump's firing of comey is an attempt to derail the fbi investigation into possible ties with russia but the investigation as we've heard is ongoing. why the uproar? i they were in an uproar a long time ago by james comey, they wanted him fired before january, by loretta lynch and she had a conflict of interest with the obama administration. democrats wanted him gone a long time ago. no one is crying about him leaving but the democrats see an opportunity, a political opportunity i think where donald trump is again, clumsily trying to continue the administration. the interesting thing, a few days ago i said watch him, he will flip the script, he will flip it again next week, nex

those are the kind of people who will bring us to where we need to be. >> congressman elijah cummings, the top democrat on the house oversight committee. thank you for being with us tonight. you joined us on short notice. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> i want to bring in nbc presidential historian michael be beschlo beschloss. i get my michael beschloss phone dialing hand just starts acting on its own. for me, obviously, the -- i'm trying to find historical context that helps me understand the magituted of what this means. we only have one previous example of an fbi director being fired. very different circumstances, sessions fired by president krinton over abuse of office claims. the more salient precedent to me seems like, because of the active counterintelligence investigation into this president, seems to me like archibald cox who was the special prosecutor at watergate. is that how you are thinking about it? does that seem apt to you? >> yes. if you and i were talking back in october of 1973 at the -- on the evening that nixon fired archibald cox, i would have said what i wou

elijah cummings and i wrote ledgelation for an independent commission. we think that is the best way to get to the bottom of what happened. >> house minority leader nancy pelosi says we cannot standby and watch a cover-up of the possible collusion with a hostile foreign power to undermine american democracy. and this from senator diane finestein. the next fbi director must be strong, independent, and will receive a fair hearing in the judiciary committee. >>> president trump called senator chuck schumer from new york to tell him he was firing comey. he had this to say. >> mr. president, in all due respect, you are making a very big mistake. and he didn't really answer. and, i have said from the get go i think a special prosecutor is the way to go. but now, with what has happened, it is the only way to go. >> tonight, the president tweeted crying chuck schumer stated recently i do not have confidence in him, james comey any longer then acts so indignant. #draintheswamp. here is a sneak peek at the front page of the new york times. they are dedicated to fi

we talked to representative elijah cummings. he said the possibility of a cover up becomes one of the three prongs of this investigation. i've been talking very recently to the department est justice. they said we have to consider this is part of the authority of the special counsel. it does include the possibility of a cover up, but it's not saying there is an ongoing cover up investigation at this time. >> but, again -- >> it's not saying it's not. >> it is an investigation that is intensifying and expanding with the appointment of former director mueller. you can see where these tentacles would be out there. >> we can see this -- this is something -- yeah, absolutely, i would agree with that. >> any indication at all right now if there is something seriously leading them in that direction, or if this is just a possibility? >> right now what we know is that it's just a possibility. it's not necessarily an act -- there's no active cover up investigation that we know of. we just know that the authority is there. >> i want to bri

." >>> we're going to bring in congssman elijah cummings, the top democrat on the house oversight and government reform committee. congressman cummings, thank you for being with us on short notice tonight. appreciate you joining us. >> glad to be with you, rachel. >> let me get your reaction to this news that the white house has fired the fbi director tonight on the recommendation of attorney general jeff sessions. >> rachel, i was shocked. but not really surprised. after hearing sally yates yesterday and, by the way, a -- that's the epitome of a public servant, a person that i know well. phenomenal integrity. to come forth and say the things she said. it's interesting that today, now we move to this subject. i thought she laid out a very clear case and i have to tell you, the timing is interesting. it seems as soon as there is a situation where there is some negative evidence coming forward with regard to the president, suddenly there is what i call a hocus-pocus move. we then move to another subject. and this one is, without a doubt, not only explosive, but i think it also goes to t

elijah cummings and i also wrote legislation to have a independent commission that's the best way to get to the bottom of what happened to make sure we never find ourselves in a mess like this again. >> your colleague ranking intelligence committee member put pout a statement saying the decision by the president have under the investigation by the fbi fore collusion with russia to fire the man over the recommendation on the recommendation of the attorney general who has recused himsz from that investigation raise profound question base whether the white house is brazenly interfering in a criminal matter. congressman, do you see it that way and what is the recourse if so? >> jeff sessions should be noware near the firing ever director comey he was supposed to be recused remember he was supposed to be recused he was asked by the senate if he had any contacts with russia during the election. twice he said no we learned later because of press reporting he had. for him to be involved also raises questions on the judiciary committee where i serve i think we should have jeff sessions before

. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> we have new information tonight about the health of maryland congressman elijah cummingsrding to his office cummings is recovering at johns hopkins hospital after undergoing a heart valve replacement. we're told it was actually a minimally invasive procedure. cummings will remain in the hospital for the next few days. >>> a shakeup in the race to fill montana's house seat left vacant by representative ryan zinke. the president's new interior secretary. >> just hours before a special election got under way this morning the republican candidate for congress greg gianforte was charged with assault accused of body slamming a reporter. it happened during a prescheduled interview with fox news. reporter for the guardian walked up tried to ask him his reaction to the cbo's report on the gop healthcare bill. the reporter was recording and he caught what happened next. take a listen. >> the cbo score because you know you're waiting to make until you saw the bill and it just came out. n going to be time i'm just curious. >> speak with shane please. >> (scuffle). >> sick and tired o

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the ranking member of the house oversight committee, elijah cummings, sending a letter to the chief of that committee about the topic of michael flynn. this is the press release released yesterday, saying that cummingsative elijah sent a letter to jason chaffetz with the excerpt containing that michael flynn might've cummings sent a lied, saying that the oversight committee has in our possession documents that appear to indicate that general flynn lied to investigators who interviewed him in 2016 as part of the security clearance ritual, specifically the committee has obtained a report of investigation dated march 14 .16 showing that general flynn told security clearance investigators that he was paid by u.s. companies when he traveled to moscow and december 20 15 to dine at a gala with russian president vladimir putin. the actual source of the funds for general flynn's trip was not a u.s. company, but the run rush of media propaganda arm, rt. michael flynn denying that, claiming fifth amendment rights. the topic of limits on the power of federal government in your thoughts. anna in ne

elijah cummings is often not famous watergate question what a president from now about this. the weather in on main while he's brought the president but it seems to confiscate russia really kadi thousands of miles of hay. in the middle east that's his focus right now. up but another day of drip drip drip revelations and. it i'm just furthering and deepening. this scandal and this investigation. into possible russian meddling and possible russian collusion. brian thank you for joining us. yeah how does a company police nearly two billion monthly uses. as a challenge to face buchan according to documents leaked to the got a newspaper is a tricky business. the manual is intended for facebook stuff provide guidelines on how to handle violent sexual racist content. a. b. c.'s media correspondent i'm all round and has more. the founder of facebook is nothing if not an idealist. facebook's mission is to make the world more open and connected. this openness comes with dangers. with nearly two billion uses now the sheer volume of content on facebook is proving impossible to control. t