chairman burr: senator heinrich. senator heinrich: mr. comey, prior to january 27 of this year, had you ever had a one-on-one meeting or private dinner with a president of the united states? director comey: no. dinner no. i had two one-on-ones with president obama that i laid out in my testimony. once to talk about law enforcement issues. law enforcement which was an important topic throughout for me and for the president. then once very briefly with him to say goodbye. senator heinrich: were those brief interactions? director comey: no. the ones about law enforcement we spoke for probably over an hour. senator heinrich: how unusual is it to have one-on-one dinner with the president? did that strike you as odd? director comey: yes. so much so that i assumed there would be others. couldn't possibly be having dinner with me alone. senator heinrich: do you have an impression that if you had found -- if you had behaved differently in that dinner and i am quite pleased you did not, but if you had found a way to express some sort of expression

senator heinrich? : why not? director mccabe: first, as i mentioned, i can't talk about conversations director comey may -- nator heinrich: i am talking about your conversations. director mccabe: i think that falls within the scope of issues being vected by the special counsel. it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on those today. senator heinrich: so you are not invoking executive privilege. obviously it's not classified. this is the oversight committee. why would it not be appropriate for you to share that conversation with us? director mccabe: i think i'll let director comey speak for himself tomorrow in front of this committee. senator heinrich: i think your unwillingness to share that conversation is an issue. director coats, you've said as well that it would be inappropriate to answer a simple question about whether the president asked for your assistance in blunting the russia investigation. i don't care how you felt. i am not asking whether you felt pressured. am simply asking did that conversation

chairman burr: senator heinrich. senator heinrich: you talked a lot about the sanctions bill we passed here in the senate. if speaker ryan and the house of representatives doesn't take up that russian sanctions bill, what kind of message do you think that would send to putin? ambassador burns: i think a message of weakness because the senate by a huge margin has teed this up. it's the right thing to do to have a painful type of legislative against the russians. if it's diluted in the house, if the trump administration encourages the house to do that, which is what one hears, then i think the russians will receive a mixed message here, not stiff message which they need to receive. senator heinrich: do you think it will send -- make him more or less likely to interfere in the 2018 and 2020 elections? ambassador burns: i read the trabs script of your hearing with director -- transcript of the hearing with director comey, he told you he thinks it's going to continue until we have better defenses. until we have gone on th

senator heinrich. mr. heinrich: thank you, madam chair. it's great to see you, secretary. i want to start by thanking you for your trip to new mexico. i think it meant a lot to the folks at whip. it certainly meant a lot to the folks at los alamos. i know sandy is looking forward to getting to connect with you at some point as well. i think one thing you've heard from multiple perspectives this morning is the importance of safety and, in my conversations with you, i want to thank you for your commitment to that. because whether it's los alamos, whip, hanford, all these places, worker safety has to be number one. as you know, los alamos, which i believe you visited in may, has long been the nation's center of excellence on plutonium research. is it correct that this budget, f.y. 2018, the request maintains los alamos' central role in the nation's plutonium mission and that it's your intent to stay on schedule and meet the statutory requirements for production? mr. perry: yes. mr. heinrich: that's good to hear. is it also your intention that los alamos continue into the futu

senator heinrich: i think that's a good answer. i'm not sure why it wasn't the answer in the first place. i find it strange that neither you nor deputy attorney general rosenstein brought up performance issues with director comey and f.b.i. director minnesota cabe has refuted any assertions there were performance issues. this is troubling because it appears that the president decided to fire director comey because he was pursuing the russia investigation and had asked you to come up with an excuse. when your assess ofment director comey didn't hold up to public scrutiny, the president finally admitted that he had fired director comey because he was pursuing the russia investigation, i.e. the lester holt interview you claimed that you did not break recusal when participating in director comey's firing but it appears his firing was directly related to russia not departmental mismanagement. how do you square those two things? attorney general sessions: there's a lot in that question. let me say first, within a week so, i believe may 3

anyway, i want to thank my colleagues senators shaheen kuntz schatz and heinrich for joining me here today. last night senate democrats held the floor well into the night to press republicans on their plan to pass the health care bill. a health care bill that no one in america has seen without holding a single committee hearing or a robust debate on the floor. in my entire career in politics i have never heard of a more radical or more reckless process and to boot senator mcconnell basically confirmed to me last night in a discussion on the floor that he is planning to allow only 10 hours of total debate time for democrats on the bill that what affects one in six of our economy and the lives of millions of americans. i think president trump summed up his health care bill passed with one word, mean. last week at lunch at the white house with republican senators the president reportedly told them that he thought the house passed health care bill was mean for once on the topic of health care my colleagues and i find ourselves agreeing with the president, this bill is mean, very mean. hi

senator martin heinrich of new mexico had with sessions today. listen to this. >> you're invoking executive privilege. >> i'm not able to invoke executive privilege. that's the president's prerogative. >> well, my understanding is that you took an oath. you raised your right hand, here today, and you said that you would solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. and now you're not answering questions. you're impeding this investigation. so my understanding of the legal standard is that you either answer the question, that's the best outcome. you say this is classified, can't answer it here. i'll answer it in closed session. that's bucket number two. bucket number three is to say i'm invoking executive privilege. there is no appropriateness bucket. it is not a legal standard. can you tell me what are these long-standing d. oj rules that protect conversations made in the executive without invoking executive privilege? >> senator, i'm protecting the president's constitutional right by knots giving it away before he

heinrich: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i want to start by thanking senator udall -- the presiding officer: the chamber is in a quorum call. mr. heinrich: i'd ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i want to start by thanking my colleague from new mexico, senator udall, for his advocacy on behalf of the pieces and parts of our health care system that are so important to the state of new mexico, things like rural hospitals, opioid treatment, indian country. he's been an incredible champion on those, and that's part of the reason why both of us come to the floor today, given what's at stake. last month president trump and house republicans rushed through a disastrous health care bill that would leave average new mexico families paying thousands of dollars more for less health coverage. it would destroy the medicaid program as it currently exists in our st

the house intelligence committee democratic congressman adam schiff and democratic senator martin heinrich of the senate intelligence committee. they are standing by live and our correspondents, specialists and guests are also standing by with full coverage of the day's top stories. let's begin with the truly stunning revelations from the fired fbi director james comey. let's go to our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. jim, take us through comey's statement to the senate intelligence committee. >> reporter: well, wolf, today in the simplest terms james comey contradicted the president of the united states. on may 18th when asked whether he had urged comb in any way, shape or form to ease up on the flynn investigation, trump said at a news conference no. he repeated no and then told reporters to move on to the next question. today comby in great detail lays out exactly the opposite scenario, and he also adds that mr. trump demanded the loyalty of one of the nation's top law enforcement officials when the president was in a position to fire that official which, of course, he

heinrich and king and harris, the three democratic senators pushed hard and so far the administration has not given a good answer in terms of press events they can cite for this being withheld. >> bret: here is the exchange with dianne feinstein. >> did you ever discuss director comey's fbi handling of the russian investigations with the president or anyone else? >> atty gen sessions: senator feinstein, that would call for communication between the attorney general and the president, and i'm not able to comment. >> you are not able to answer the question here whether you ever discussed that with him? >> atty gen sessions: that is correct. >> bret: that's correct. >> when he was asked whether he discussed alleged russian meddling with candidate trump, he said he couldn't recall. when he was prompt and on whether he'd gotten a briefing about the alleged russian meddling since he became the attorney general, he said no. i think there is room here for at least one more round of questioning. there's a lot of things he said that i think democrats are going to want to circle back on. he's no

. >> senator heinrich? >> director mccabe, did director comey ever share details of his conversations with the president with you, in particular did director comey say that the president had asked for his loyalty? >> sir, i'm not going to comment on conversations the director may have had with the president. he'll be here tomorrow, and you'll have the opportunity to ask him that. >> i'm asking you, did you have a conversation like that with mr. comey. >> i've responded that i'm want going to comment on those conversations. >> why not? >> for two reasons. first, as i mentioned, i'm not in a position to talk about conversations that director comey may or may have had with the president -- >> i'm not asking that. i'm asking about conversations that you had with director comey. >> i think those fall within the scope of issues investigated by the special council and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on those today. >> you're not invoking executive privilege and it's not classified. this is the oversig

senator heinrich. >> thank you senator schatz. i'm normally not one given to hyperbole. but in this case i agree with president trump. the house bill that they are basing this on, i know this because i am hearing from constituents each and every day who are scared. who are literally scared for their lives about whether children's healthcare will come from. where there parents long-term care is going to come from. how their cousin is going to get opioid treatment. we had 1.3 million people hospitalized for opioid and heroin emergencies and inpatient care last year in this country. it is an overwhelming epidemic. and the foundation for treatment for opioid is medicaid. like they can hang the prettiest windows on a house with a crumbling foundation that they want. if you do not have medicaid well-funded to be able to deal with the opioid epidemic you cannot deal with the opiate epidemic. we are going to see hospitals that gave up reimbursement rates, close down if they do not have the funding from medicaid. because no one is talking about going back to the reimbursement rat

let's bring back rebekah heinrich and eric schlichter.eems right to look into in question i'm asked questions about this explosive story that says putin directly ordered putin directly order to hack the "washington post" that the u.s. had intelligence deep within russian networks capturing putin's orders. we saw 21 states reporting evidence of russia hacking. it's not nonsense. this is a serious issue. kellyanne conway call that nonsense. it's not. >> it's not nonsense. we have plenty of evidence that shows the russians tried to interfere in the election. what is nonsense is being accusatory towards the administration in saying there is evidence or implying that there is evidence that they are in collusion. liz: allison camarota was specifically asking what is the trump administration doing to stop russia from ever interfering again? that's the question rebekah. >> that's the question but it had a lot of heat behind it was on the heels of asking more questions about collusion. they are connecting the two and it has the effect of making th

chairman and ranking member heinrich, and/or witnesses today. thank you for being as well. as i travel across my home state of new hampshire, i hear from countless families and those on the front lines about how the heroin fentanyl and appeared crisis has devastated community across our state. and i know that many of our colleagues have heard of the i kacts interstates as well. i'm proud that during my time as governor republicans and democrats in new hampshire put our differences aside and cameha together to pass and reauthoriz our states bipartisan medicaid expansion plan. medicaid expansion is providing quality, affordable health coverage to more than 50,000 granite staters including coverage for behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment. experts at said it is the number one tool we have to fight this crisis. we should be coming together here just as we did in my home state, to support those on the front lines and help those who are struggling with addiction. and while members of both parties and the administration have discussed the severity of this crisis,

. >> senatoor heinrich. did the president ask for his loyalty? >> sir, i am not going to comment of conversations that the director had with the president. he will be here testifying tomorrow. >> i am asking you did you have that conversation with director comey. >> i responded that i am not going to comment on it. >> why not? >> two reasons, as i mentioned, i am not in a position to talk about conversations of director comey may or may not. >> i am not asking you that, i am asking of conversations that you have with director comey. >> those matters of issues fallen in the scope and would not be appropriate for me to comment on that today >> so you are not invoking executive privilege and obviously, not classified. why would it not be appropriate for you to share that conversation with us? >> i think i will let director comey speak for himself tomorrow in front of this committee. >> we look forward for that but your unwillingness to share the conversation is an issue. you said as well to answer simple questions whether the president asks your dec

>> senator heinrich, i'm not able to share with this committee, private communications. >> because you'reing executive privilege? >> senator, i'm protecting the president's constitutional right by not giving it away before he has a chance on -- >> you're having it both ways. >> to review it. and secondly, i am telling you the truth in answering your question in saying it's a long-standing policy of the department of justice to not comment -- >> are those policies written? >> even to make sure the president has full opportunity to decide these issues. >> can you share those policies with us? are they written down at the department of justice? >> i believe they are. >> seth: wait. you believe they're written down somewhere? c'mon, mr. attorney general, do these rules really exist? [ laughter and applause ] that's what i thought. so the president's allies are now going around calling for the special counsel to be fired. and republicans are trying to pass a healthcare bill in secret. is there any good news out there for trump? >> june 14th is my birthday. [ laughter ] >> seth: oh, all right.

heinrich, you particularly understand this with the two you have in your state. they wake up every day knowing that they will make a real difference in the world. and i told them the first time i met with them that the greatest job i ever had was being the governor of texas. but after working here, i've come to realize that secretary of energy is officially the coolest job i've ever had, senator. under my leadership our experts at d.o.e. will continue their work for the benefit of every american and our allies alike. as secretary of energy, i'm also a member of the national security council. this council supported by d.o.e. in its mission to keep our nation safe. president trump's fiscal year 2018 budget request for the department of energy provides $28 billion to advance our key missions and focuses -- excuse me, on important investments including ensuring the safety and effectiveness of our nuclear weapons arsenal, protecting our energy infrastructure from cyber attacks and other threats, achieving exscale computing and focusing the amazing network of our natio

thank you very much, senator martin heinrich of new mexico. i'm joid by u.s. congresswoman jackie speier of california, a member of the house intellence committee, and also "the washington post's" phillip bump. jeff sessions refused to say today whether comey's handling of the russia investigation had anything to do with his firing. watch. >> so do you concur with the president that he was going to fire comey regardless of recommendation because the problem was the russian investigation? >> senator feinstein, i guess i'll just have to let his words speak for himself. i'm not sure what was in his mind explicitly when we talked with him. >> did you ever discuss director comey's fbi handling of the russia investigation with the president or anyone else? >> senator feinstein, that would call for a communication between the attorney general and the president. >> i understand that. >> i'm not able to comment on that. >> you are not able to answer the question here, whether you ever discussed that with him? >> that's correct. >> let me go to jackie speier. congresswo

. >> senator heinrich? >> director mccabe, did director comey ever share details of his conversations with the president with you? in particular, did director comey say that the president had asked for his loyalty? >> sir, i'm not going to comment on conversations the director may have had with the president. i know he's here to testify in front of you tomorrow. you'll have an opportunity to ask him those -- >> did you have that conversation with director comey? >> i've responded that i'm not going to comment on those conversations. >> why not? >> because for two reasons. first, the -- as i mentioned, i'm not in a position to talk about conversations that director comey may or may not have had with the president. >> i'm not asking you that. i'm asking about conversations that you had with director comey. >> and i think that those matters also begin to fall within the scope of issues being investigated by the commercial counsel. wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on those today. >> so you're not invok

rektor, martin heinrich, democrat of mexico, served on the committee, he is tweeting out this. your e would like to hear questions for mr. comey before he testifies this morning. can send him your questions via twitter if you would like to do that. you, bars in dc opening comey y for today's hearing, a line around the corner at union pub, waiting to in for ultimate dc event, congressional hearing on c-span. record, on ect the c-span3. here on c-span, you're watching now, we'll bring coverage of the house when they gavel in. 3 right nowo c-span and you will see the room and he sights and sounds without commentary and we will continue to bring you that uninterrupted hearing this morning. it's expected to go three hours 1 p.m. and they will gavel session o into private with mr. comey. those members of the senate intelligence committee and we coverage nue our throughout the day, bringing you reaction from senators, if they camera outside of the hearing room and we will re-air from this morning, as well, go to c-span.org, for details on that. let's hear from darrell, in idaho, indep

senator heinrich and others have raised the issue of longstanding rules. if there are written rules to this effect, would you provide them to the committee, please? >> i will. >> senator cornyn made the point that the whole substance of your recommendation to the president president to dismiss director comey was his unprofessional conduct with respect to the clinton administration, is that correct? >> i supported everything that the deputy attorney general put in his memoranda as good an important of factors to use in determining whether or not he had conducted himself in a way that justified continuing in office. i think it pretty well peeks for itself. the discussion was a bipartisan discussion and began in election time. democrats were very unhappy about the way he conducted himself and in retrospect, i think it was more egregious. >> general, if i may, i don't want to cut you off. >> i'm sorry. >> excuse me. on july seventh when mr. comey made his first announcement about the case, you were on fox news and you said first of all director comey is a skil

senator heinrich and others have raised the issue of long-standing rules.e are written rules, would you provide them to the committee, please. >> i will. >> thank you very much. now senator cornyn has made the point that director comey's conduct was unprofessional with respect to the clinton campaign? >> i respect everything that the deputy attorney general put in his memoranda as good and important factors to use in determination whether or not he had conducted himself in a way that justified continuing in office. i think it pretty well speaks for itself, and i believe most of it did deal with that. the discussion about his performance was a bipartisan discussion. it began during the election time. democrats were very unhappy about the way he conducted himself and in retrospect, in looking at it, i think it was more egregious than i may have even understood at the time. >> general, if i may, and i don't want to cut you off. >> i'll let you go, sorry. >> excuse me, sir, on july 7th when mr. comey made his first announcement about the case, you were on fox n

those are senate intelligence committee democrats there on your screen. , heinrich of new mexico, senator king is an and the center of west virginia, and a new freshman senator of california. senate republicans led by the chairman of north carolina, of idaho, marco rubio on the committee as well in florida. missouri. senator langford of oklahoma. senator cornyn of texas. part of a leadership team as well. that willthe senators ask questions this morning of mr. comey. has thisngton times headline. one democrat is set to draft articles of impeachment. representative al green, a democrat that says he is drafting articles of impeachment alleging the republican president broke the law and may and must be held accountable. he accused mr. trump of distracting justice when he fired the director and then suggested he did so because of the russian thing. and whether the trump campaign manager anything to do with it. the remedy for obstructing justice is impeachment. coupled with a statement indicated that the president -- the president intended to do what he did. there is also a pro president trump

the attorney general wouldn't answer questions which is frustrating to martin heinrich. >> there is no appropriateness bucket. can you tell me whether these long-standing doj rules that protect conversations made in the executive without invoking executive privilege. >> senator, i protect team the constitutional right by not giving it away before he has a chance to view it. >> there is praise from republicans on the committee and richard burr says all of this is very important because of the gravity of the investigation. back to you. cheryl: out of shapiro from attending the bid efforts to repeal and replace upon the care. trump told lawmakers the health care bill passed in the house as mean and called on senators to make their version trained there. >> the senate is working very, very hard and specifically the folks in this room i appreciate what you're doing to come out with a bill that is going to be a phenomenal bill to the people of our country. generous, kind with hard. cheryl: trumps criticism coming as a surprise after he praised that and lobbied for its approval. lauren: an am

martin heinrich/(d) new mexico> "youre not answering questions. you're impeding this investigation."fornia senator kamala harris noted that sessions repeatedly qualified his answers by saying "to the best of my recollection. "i don't believe that i had any conversations with any russian businessmen or russian nationals. although a lot of people were at the convention and it's conceivable...." "sir, i just have a few minutes...." "well, you let me qualify and if i don't qualify, you'll accuse me of lying, so i need to be correct the best i can. i'm not able....to be rushed this fast, it makes me nervous." (steve) nearly a dozen people sickened at a j-c penny in antioch .... firefighters and a hazmat team responded to reports of an unknown substance. right now we don't know what that substance was. but fire officials say it released at the store. eleven people got sick.... and two people were taken to the hospital. we are tracking the story and will bring you updates as new information come

heinrich blue cross blue shield has requested premium rate. minuteman health, has requested a rate hike of 30% and north carolina, blue cross blue shield is proposing a 22.9% rate increase. there has to be a loophole here in which these premiums don't necessarily need to continue to rise, they can become a bit more affordable and is the g.o.p. able to do that and push tax reform of the same time? >> you are asking so much. there are so much pressure, plus it's behind closed doors. as you point out, the polls don't favor of this. the key thing here, what we have is a situation, obamacare had over performed. now with several of the major insurance companies pulling out, you have the remaining companies pumping up their numbers, increasing what americans have to pay and terms of premiums. that's what's going on. you have obamacare sabotaged, but at the same time, -- >> julie: he's referring to the elderly. >> senator mcconnell is trying to increase subsidies for the poor. is it enough of he appeals to the moderates that once you go to a house con

. >> senator hawaiia heinrich. >> has the president discussed your recusing yourself. >> senator heinrichi'm not able to share -- >> because you're invoking executive privilege. >> i'm not able to invoke executive privilege that's the president's prerogative. >> my understanding is that you took an oath. you raised your right hand here today and you said that you would solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. now you're not answering questions. you're impeding this investigation. so my understanding of the legal stand standard is that you arthroanswer thequestion, that's the best outcome. you say this is classified, can't answer it here. i'll answer it in closed session. that's bucket number two. bucket number three is to stay i'm invoking executive privilege. there is no appropriateness bucket. it is not a legal standard. can you tell me what are these long standing doj rules that protect conversations made in the executive without invocabularying executive privilege. >> senator, i'm protecting the president's constitutional right by not giving it away

and thank you all on behalf of ranking member heinrich and myself. a constituent of mine who is now recovering from heroin addiction, i think it's important as we've had this discussion to remember that ultimately this addiction is a disease. it is caused by a chemical reaction in the brain. and it is because people like my constituent, ashley, who woke up one morning to find her husband having overdosed and died next to her, went and got treatment under medicaid expansion, that she has gotten well. and she now is working and she's getting her health insurance through her private employer. she's off of medicaid expansion. and i think it's really important that we also, to acknowledge the comments we've had about the importance of community response, thank the people who have this disease who have stood up, who have identified themselves as people suffering from addiction, have done the hard work of getting better, and then have turned their efforts to make sure that they help with the prevention recovery efforts that we need to undertake. i'm going t

i forgot heinrich himmler was in the netherlands. is that where he died? was so fascinating.ght him in a cheap. he is there. and then this not see soldier comes. then he has to choose between love of country and love of a woman. >> i thought it was beautifully handled. he is an actor is done all these action films and he was dying to do something. he played that very difficult part. very sensitive, as indeed young lily james. >> tell me what you know about kaiser wilhelm. christopher: take mike wallace, i grew up with mike wallace. research is fascinating for me. there was very little on this rather empty man who is so insecure as well as being a narcissist. and we all know well about that. charlie: i read this and i'm asking you, you played lear. did you reach back into your sense of lear? as a portrayal of kaiser wilhelm? >> there is a lot of lear in kaiser wilhelm. he values his medals more than his kingdom. he was just a forked animal. once you brush all the animals -- brush all the honors away you are a forked animal. he is an animal on a spit. lear was a good thing. als

i had forgotten heinrich himmler was in the netherlands. is that where he died?died from an attack on him. christopher: i don't know. i don't remember. charlie: whether it was the netherlands or not. they caught him in a jeep when he was going somewhere. so he is there and this nazi soldier comes then all of a sudden he has to choose between love of country and lovable woman. a classic dilemma. christopher: yes. i thought it was beautifully handled by johnny courtney because he is an actor who has done all of these action films and he is a hell of a lot better than that and he played that very difficult part you described beautifully. indeed as did young lily james. charlie: the woman? christopher: yes, the woman. charlie: tell me what you know about kaiser wilhelm. christopher: there isn't a hell of a lot. research is fascinating for me, but there was very little on this rather empty man who is so insecure as well as being a narcissist and we know all about that. charlie: charlie: i read this and i'm asking you, you played lear. did you reach back into your sens

senator heinrich. >> thank you, madam chair. so sector, i'm always struck with senator king's wisdom, not to mention his nation demeanor. and he said something that stuck with me when he was having a conversation with you today. he said one day seeing is often 30 days of reading. and so i ran back to the office and i will leave this met with you but it gets a little bit of an impression of the savviness because it shows how the donation property is really just a gateway to the existing wilderness, that right now is in a sea of public land, or private land i should say, which is why public access is not possible. and it is my understanding that there is an outside the wilderness boundary location where the local blm and some of the local advocates have hoped to grade and create a parking lot for access into the entire canyon system. but i thought given that you said, what i was off at a boat, that you're out to new mexico, what might really help for both of us is to see it on the ground. so i wanted to extend that invitation and

martin heinrich/-d- new mexico: you are impeding this investigation.but ultimately left frustrated by the attorney general's deflections sen. dianne feinstein: you are not able to answer here?jeff sessions/attorney general: correctand the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, republican senator richard burr, asking sessions to go back to the white house, consult with them, and if they didn't have any objections, and he could come back to the committee and provide those answers that he rufused to earlier today about those private communications with president trump.in washington, i'm kristen holmes. (pam) coming up at ten: disturbing allegations at a bay area high school.. what we know about a reported "kill list" ... targetting one group of students. (steve) then new at ten:a nanny suspected of driving under the influence and crashing through an elementary school fence. what we've learned about a previous run- in with the law. (pam) and next -- also new tonight...a man wears an "ice" jacket near a church... causing confusion.. now that man has been suspended from his job. new

. >> this is an exchange that comey had with senator heinrich of the president is saying one thing ande president is saying one thing. >> a lot of this comes down to who we should believe. do you want to say as to why we should believe you? >> my mother raised me not to say things like this about myself. >> people should look at the whole testimony. when i talk about a witness, you cannot cherry pick, on this he's a dirty rotten liar and you got to take it together and i try to be open and fair. a significant fact to me is so why did he kick everybody out in the oval office, the president, the chief of staff out to talk to me if it was about something else. so that to me as an investigator is a significant fact. >> how compelling is his argument? >> it is a pretty good argument. prosecutors make that argument all the time, you cannot cherry pick of what to believe or whatnot to believe. >> trump's lawyer, marc kasowitz says, well, we believe come comey -- he says comey is lying about trump's demanded loyalty or asked for an end to the flynn investigation, that's the point that comey is

. >> reporter: democrat martin heinrich went further, pressing coats if trump asked him to blunt theestigation. >> you could clear an awful lot up by simply saying "it never happened." >> i don't share-- i do not share with the general public, conversations that i have with the president or many of my colleagues within the administration that i believe are-- should not be shared. >> well, i think your unwillingness to answer a very basic question speaks volumes. >> reporter: independent angus king hammered the intel chiefs for neither answering, nor explaining why they weren't answering. >> is it an invocation of executive privilege? if there is, then let's know about it. if there isn't, answer the questions. >> i stand by the comments i've made. i'm not interested in repeating myself, sir. and i don't mean that in a contentious way. >> well, i do mean it in a contentious way. i don't understand why you're not answering our questions. >> reporter: ultimately, the top two intel chiefs said they were the white house, while deputym attorney general rod rosenstein and acting f.b.i. direc

going hard against senators wyden and heinrich prayed for his part, president trump seemed unconcerned with the events unfolding. meeting in wisconsin with more of what he described as "victims of obamacare." and focusing attention on the jobs left open because workers lack the skills to fill them. the president may know what he thinks is the important issue, tweeting: attorney general lynch made law enforcement decisions. "president taking fire for a statement made by a friend of his. suggested president trump was considering the removal of robert mueller. >> considering terminating the special counsel. >> it drew outrage from democrats. >> i don't think congress would let the president pick his own investigator. mueller is widely respected by people on both sides of the aisle. >> testifying before the senate judiciary committee, rod rosenstein said any demand to fire him would have to pass a high bar. stick a senator, i'm not going to follow any orders and less i believe they are lawful and appropriate. special counsel or mueller may be fired only for good cause. if there were not go

i want the record to show that with what senator heinrich stated. >> that was an interesting moment in the middle of the hearing with attorney general jeff sessions. last week the same committee had testimony from the head of the nsa, admiral rogers and from the director of national intelligence. admiral rogers told the senators repeatedly that he wouldn't answer their questions about whether or not president trump asked him to intervene in the fbi's russia investigation. he said he wouldn't talk to them about it in open session because he considered those sessions classified but he would talk about it in a classified setting. we got this news break where chairman burr announced that last night, admiral rogers came back and briefed them in a classified setting. he briefed members of the senate intelligence committee at a secure skif on capitol hill for almost two hours and presumably told them what he wouldn't tell them last week in open session. here's the interesting part, though. at that same hearing last week, where senators heard from the nsa director mike rogers and he said all t

. >> thank you, senator heinrich. >> thank you, madam chair. so secretary, i'm always struck with senator king. something stuck with me when he was having a conversation with you. he said one day of seeing is better than 30 days of reading. it gives a little bit of an impression because it shows how the donation property is really just the gateway to the existing wilderness. that right now is in a sea of private land, which is why public access is not possible. and it is my understanding that there is an outside the wilderness boundary location where some of the local advocates have hoped to grade and create a parking lot for access into the entire canyon system. but i thought given that you said while i was off at a vote that you were coming out to new mexico, what might really help for both of us is to see it on the ground. and so i wanted to extend that invitation and see if you might be interested in seeing the location on the ground so that we can have sort of commonplace to start in terms of where this goes? >> i would be honored to accep

by the way, i thought that senator heinrich had the best questions today and he made the point that said either you take executive privilege or if it's classified information you don't have to talk about it. otherwise, if you pledge to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then you have no excuse for not answering these questions. having said that, i think that most -- in terms of the news value and the possibility that down the road -- if sessions, if attorney general sessions had answered questions with more specificity, more specifically today and he had gotten something wrong, even if he had misremembered, down the road it might have come down to haunt him. he answered very few questions, so i think politically it doesn't hurt him and it also shields him down the road. >> also, a lot of his answers were, well, i don't remember or, not to my knowledge, which are classic answers when -- >> it sounded like he got cornered in a hallway by some cameras. he knew he was coming, the president knew he was coming. what he kept saying was that he was trying to preserve trum

. >> pelley: senator heinrich, held the attorney general's feet to the fire on this subject. let's have a look at that. >> i am asking about your personal knowledge from this committee which has a constitutional obligation to get to the bottom of this. there are two investigations here. there is a special counsel investigation. there is also a congressional investigation. and you are obstructing that congressional delegation-- investigation by not answering these questions. and i think your silence, like the silence of director coats, like the silence of admiral rogers, speaks volumes. >> i would say that i have consulted with senior career attorneys in this the department-- >> i suspect you have. >> and this is consistent with my duties. >> pelley: so, john dickerson, months and months and months to go in this investigation. >> that's right. and the answers are not going to come from congress if this continues because-- on this question of influencing the investigation or obstruction-- because of this, what jan so nicely explained, unless republicans are willing to charge hi

first this moment with senator heinrich and dan coats.listen. >> you clear an awful lot up by simply saying it did not happen. >> i do not share with the general public conversations that i have with the president or many of my colleagues within the administration that i believe are -- should not be shared. >> i think your unwillingness to answer a very basic question speaks volumes. >> this was the senator asking him to knock down this report the president went auto to him and said, can you get the fbi to back off flynn? what's your interpretation of that exchange? >> well, i think it's painful to watch because it's pretty obvious to anyone who is viewing the testimony that these were national security representatives who are highly placed, who are walking a very tight rope and do not want to necessarily offend the president, but clearly are not going to perjure themselves either. and that is why you heard the kind of response you did and the dance that they all engaged in, which was pretty transparent, i think, to the public. >> yeah. i

. >> reporter: democratic senator martin heinrich accused the attorney general of stonewalling the committee. >> there are two investigations here. there's a special counsel investigation. there's also a congressional investigation. and you are obstructing that congressional delegation -- investigation by not answering these questions. >> reporter: sessions publically pushed back against james comey's contention that he did not respond when comey expressed concern that comey's one on one meeting with the president in the oval office on february 14th was inappropriate. >> i believe it was the next day that he said something, expressed concern about being left alone with the president. that in itself is not problematic. he did not tell me at that time any details about anything that was said that was improper. i affirmed his concern that we should be following the proper guidelines of the department of justice. >> reporter: sessions explained his recusal from the investigation resulted after weeks of consultation with ethics officials and disclosed he did not receive any information about the