had tracks all over his back because he writes this memo, the president asked him to write, about james comey, clearly he was not a fan of the way comey handled the hillary clinton e-mail situation during the election. he writes it and then suddenly he discovers that the president is using it to validate his decision or as the explainer for his decision to fire comey. so that's why he felt like he had tracks all over his back because he felt like he had been used. so he was upset about that. and maybe he had been used by jeff sessions as well, who knows. but it was clearly he felt used. the piece also points out that -- so there was turmoil from comey, but at the same time he was sitting in on the interviews that the president was having to replace the fbi director and maybe in the "times" piece kind of implies this, that this gave him another view into how much the president knew or did not know about the way the fbi should operate. we know this over the last year that the president has one view of how the fbi should operate, that is, as his own personal general counsel, versus the -- the co

. >> james comey needs to fire rod rosenstein. if he doesn't, donald trump needs to fire both of them. >> brett kavanaugh is a fantastic man. he was born for the u.s. court, born for it. and it's going to happen. >> the alleged attack is as bad as she says it was, christine blasey ford would have filed charges. >> i thought that the president's tweet was completely inappropriate and wrong. >>> good morning to you, good to have you this saturday. i'm victor blackwell. >> i'm diane gallagher in this morning for christi paul. >> deputy attorney general rod rosenstein first said he will comment no further, and then he commented further. >> yeah. >> that's after there was the reporting that he discussed wearing a wire to record conversations with president trump last year. >> yeah, look, cnn sources have confirmed the story that was first reported now by "the new york times" that in the days after james comey was fired as fbi director, rosenstein also reportedly talked about recruiting cabinet members to help remove trump from office b

the american people, those that are legitimately looking at this election, do you want to do what james comey the democrats want, remember, comey's out there advocating elect democrats because this investigation then drags on. what you want to see is radcliffe and the people, devin nunes, continue on with this investigation, root it out, fix the problem because we have to entrust the fbi but we can't right now until this gets turned around. lou: i don't know when it's going to be turned around. i want to tell you, we had a remark from chuck schumer today saying that the reason the fbi needs to be investigating the kavanaugh accusations, you know, is because the fbi is truth seekers, acting as if there was no question about their integrity, when the leadership of the fbi and department of justice are nothing but a toxic cesspool of political corruption. >> that's why we have to clean it up. my grandfather was a career fbi agent. i grew up in an atmosphere and household that just believed in the integrity there, but when you look at ohr and strzok and page and mccabe, you just start going down

it is information about some pretty key players including james comey, the fbi director back then. >>all text messages from james comey, andrew mccabe, peter strzok, lease page, and bruce orr related to the russia investigation. >> what they are trying to argue and have been trying to argue for, what, almost two years now, is that this was a political investigation from the start. and presumably whatever they have here they're not releasing something that negates that. presumably they have information beyond what we know of in public record that can back that assumption up. >> david axelrod, what do you make of the timing of this decision? first of all to release sensitive fisa, the foreign intelligence surveil ant act information, that's almost unprecedented. >> it is. but so much of this is almost unprecedented. i make of the timing of this that this investigation is reaching its peak. we know that paul manafort has pled fwiguilty and is cooperati with the special counsel. there's a report that michael flynn will be sentenced at the end of november which suggests that we're nearing

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

all of this reportedly happened shortly after james comey was fired. sources say that it's unclear whether rosenstein was serious or just being sarcastic when he made the comment about wearing a wire. the justice department disputing the part about the 25th amendment saying rosenstein didn't even know john kelly at the time. president trump continuing his attacks on the justice department, although not mentioning the "new york times" report or rosenstein. >> we have great people in the department of justice. we have great people. these are people, i really believe, you take a poll, i got to be at 95%. some real bad ones, you saw what happened at the fbi, they're all gone. there's a lingering stench, and we're going to get rid of that too. >> strong words there. nbc news reports that rosenstein said the notion of wearing a wire in a sarcastic way, not necessarily a serious option. the "new york times" reporter says it was not a flippant remark. what does it all mean? >> it's interesting to see who has come out in criticizing mr. rosenstein as a result o

same thing with lyin james comey. the dems all hated him, wanted him out, thought he was disgusting until i fired him.

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

stunning new details of chaos following president trump's firing of fbi director, james comey. cnn has learned that the move prompted the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein, to discuss wearing a wire to secretly record the president. >>> invoking the 25th amendment. sources tell cnn that rosenstein also wanted to recruit cabinet members to use the constitutional provision for removing an unfit president from office. >>> deal deadline. cnn has learned that senate judiciary committee republicans are demanding a response by this hour to the counteroffer they made to the woman accusing supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh, of sexual assault, laying out terms for her to testify. >>> and no longer restrained. president trump's tempered response to the kavanaugh allegations gives way to an attack on his accuser that left key gop senator, susan collins, quote, appalled. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news. extraordinary new information about the man overseeing the russia investigation. the deputy attor

he doesn't need cause as rod rosenstein himself had made clear about james comey.an be dismissed anytime for any reason or for no reason. the amazing thing given how much the president hates him is -- and, you know, says it. >> right. >> is that he's still there at all. so i mean does this provide a basis if the president wants to get rid of rod rosenstein for doing so? sure. on the other hand, the president had an adequate basis in his own mind yesterday. so i'm not really sure other than perhaps providing a public text for it whar, what it chang >> let me flip the question this way. what if he doesn't? what message does that send? it almost allows for insubordination like this. it's okay if people are plotting behind his message. it does send a different message. >> it sends exactly the same message as it sends when bob woodward publishes an account of jim mattis getting off the phone with the president, getting a direct order about how to -- what to do in syria, and saying to his staff, we're not going to do any of that. it sends the message that the president c

. >> reporter: it's the clip that's played over and over, that proves that trump fired james comey over the russia

that was in the days immediately after james comey was fired as the fbi director.d rosenstein was deeply concerned about chaos within the administration and also discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th amendment to the constitution to oust mr. trump. let's discuss this and more with our legal and political experts. ron brownstein, how significant is this? >> i think you have to look on two different dimensions. the fact that other administration officials, again, have been reported to be discussing the 25th amendment to remove the president, even if in a preliminary and offhand way, has to reinforce the sentiment among swing voters there needs to be more of a check and balance on him than congress has provided. on the other side, on the question of firing rosenstein, certainly it gives the president more rationale he can kind of put out there before his base. but i agree with what jeffrey said before. i mean i don't know if it changes the long-term calculus very much. firing him before the election i think would be seen by most voters as an effort -

these suggestions in the spring of 2017 shortly after the president had fired then fbi director james comey and the discussions were documented, at least in part in memos, by former fbi deputy director andrew mccabe. those memos are now in the hands of the special counsel, and robert mueller's investigation is being overseen by rod rosenstein. he calls the story, quote, inaccurate and factually incorrect. jim acosta is "outfront" live at the white house for us. jim, what is the president's reaction tonight? >> reporter: you know, kate, it's interesting, the president has had no reaction so far. he has not spoken to reporters, reporters were asking this question as he landed in missouri for a rally later on this evening, and that rally could happen any moment now. and given the fact that the president has been going down this rabbit hole of late to complain about a conspiracy against him, complaining about a deep state, you would think that this rod rosenstein story would fit neatly into that narrative, but the president has not taken advantage of that, his sources or his officials, top offi

"new york times" reports that the remarks were made about a week after james comey was fired. one official who was there says the comment was made sarcastically. he responded by saying i never pursued or authorized reporting the president, and any suggestion that i have ever advocated for the removal of the president is absolutely false. >> john, is it plausibly the role of the deputy attorney general to do something like this? is it legal for someone in that position to secretly record the president, based on concerns he could be unfit to serve? >> conceivably it's legal, but let's remember, rod rosenstein is an extraordinarily good and honorable person, with a long history in the department of justice. he's not going to take it upon himself to why up and go in and talk to the president. if he had any serious conception, he would have to get a brought conception and have a record of why he was seeking to do it. frankly it shocks me as incredible that he would, in all seriousness say he was going to wire up and go in and talk to the president. i just don't believe it. the pres

>> i assume he wrote the letter because he thought that james comey should not be the fbi director. >> who told him to make the assessment? >> do you think -- who do you know who told him? >> i heard somebody had to tell him because he wouldn't have just done it on his own. he came in to be the deputy acting and the first thing he decides to do is write a letter about how jim comey has to go with the fbi? nobody asked him to do it? >> here's the problem. you're making a factual assumption you have no basis to state. >> that's not true, i do have basis. >> has rod rosenstein testified he did this because the president ordered him which is what you said basically? he has not testified to that. >> let's parse it. have i heard rosenstein say i only did this because the president told me to? no. do i believe that rosenstein did this at the direction or suggestion of other people? absolutely. why? nothing else makes sense. >> how do you know that? >> why else would he have -- >> let me give you a for instance because in an election, james comey -- if you want to play the clips of chuck schu

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

interviewed to be fbi director, to take on that job for a second time after the president fired james comey. white house officials have been trying to determine for some time what rosenstein knew about that interview process and why mueller stepped forward and how that in any way factored into his decision to appoint him as special counsel. the final issue that was highlighted by "the new york times" report is the mccabe memos. these memos that were drafted by the former deputy fbi director andrew mccabe and what we know now is the document not only the firing of comey in his conversations with the president but also conversations in mid-may where rosenstein the alleged comment about my ring and just on andrew mccabe in the last few minutes, we've obtained a statement from his spokesperson and it relates directly to the events this morning, and it reads there's nothing more important to the integrity of law enforcement and the rule of law than protecting the investigation of special counsel mueller. if sacrifice personally and professionally to help with the investigation on the proper port

and james comey's fbi allowing unfettered access to raw fisa data that was impermissible. ere was a decision of the fisa court half live redacted but disclosed that indicates comey's fbi gave several private contractors raw access to the fisa information. i think one of those people or entities will be fusion gps. so you have ohr working with weissmann who always stays in' touch with robert mueller. they go back 20 years at least. david: his wife was working for fusion gps which apparently he did not disguise. which makes it even more extraordinary that andrew weissmann is still working on the mueller team, and i wonder if there are others work for mr. mueller who were just as much a part of this cabal. >> i would suspect that's true. they were running the back channel between the fbi and doj while christopher steele is being paid by the russian oligarch who was trying to get mr. ohr to approve his reentry into the country, and being paid by the fbi and being paid by fusion gps. david: one part giuliani was talking about, the other part is talking about the russian collusio

it also came after the president fired james comey as fbi director. the times reports not only did rosenstein suggest secretly recording the president of the united states but he also considered asking cabinet members to invoke the 25th amount to remove the president for being unfit. the deputy attorney general denying that report. he says that "the new york times" story is inaccurate and factually incorrect. i will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources that are obviously biassed against the department and advancing their own personal agenda. let me be clear about this. based on my personal dealings with the president, there's no basis to invoke the 25th amendment. this report comes during a week when we've seen several development in the russia investigation. kevin corke is live in las vegas where the president just started speaking. >> all too afternoon -- listen, david, we hear this idea, by the way, jon, that blockbuster, it's a blockbuster. this is a blockbuster. boy, this was something else. the idea that the times would say

trump's firing of james comey as fbi director plunged the white house into turmoil over the ensuing dayslassified intelligence to russians in the oval office and revelations emerged that mr. trump had asked mr. comey to pledge loyalty and end an investigation into a senior aide. the times also reports, quote, the extreme suggestions show mr. rosenstein's state of mind in

director james comey actually made it to the senate intelligence committee that he leaked information about a conversation he had with donald trump to a reporter i understood this to be my recollection recorded of my conversation with the president as a private citizen i felt free to share that sort of very important to get it out and there's james comey is second in command andrew mccabe now he also got the can he was fired for leaking information to the wall street journal about the clinton foundation investigation so is this leaking strategy actually intentional in hurting the administration there's certainly some information that points in that direction you have the worst case scenario where the government's own security agency the police department of the government is trying to maintain the power of the current administration and even after they've lost that power they're trying to undermine the new administration you have all these scandals that are just happy to accommodate these leakers and and put out information that are dangerous to the country in certainly dangerous at l

by the way, under article two of our constitution, he didn't even have to like james comey's shoes and he could have fired him for that. rosenstein thought he might be able to persuade kelly and the white house chief of staff to invoke the 25th amendment. two weeks into the job, rod rosenstein wanted to wear a wire, secretly record a sitting president of the united states, invoked the 25th amendment. in otherer words, a silent coup against his boss by him, mccabe, others, all against a duly elected president. we are experiencing tonight a massive constitutional crisis and, frankly, this is designed to set up the president. i'll explain what this is about in a minute. tonight, rod rosenstein, he is publicly denying this report, calling the story inaccurate, factually inaccurate. he wrote, quote, i never pursued or authorized recording the president.y any suggestion that i have ever advocated for the removal of the president is absolutely false. given the numerous sources, "the new york times" remains adamant in their reporting. two of their sources, one is andrew mccabe and another is l

this addition of text messages from james comey and andrew mccabe and bruce ohr. >> the president ofnited states has final say on whether a document is declassified and when that stuff is very close to the vest, what we know from the steel dossier thing and the russia investigation is this is not security classification but a political operation. the more information comes to the american public the better it is for the american public and very good for donald trump as well. heather: we have key democrats saying donald trump is releasing material he knows will benefit him, selectively releasing certain material and what does that tell you? that somebody's worried about it? >> that is right. they must know that is in there and why they don't want it out there. would it be great if this came out 12 months ago. more information is better. if you have an allegation the 2016 election was corrupted by that. i am not sure how much the american people trust the experts in washington dc anymore. >> on both of these issues. >> that is what we are having on monday. >> we need to have you back t

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

back to the book, major, you point this ute that all this happened in the wake of james comey's firing, about you this happened with andy mccabe and also lisa page in the room. how you does that play into the narrative? >> he's certainly suspicious of lisa page, and he has come to be more suspicious of andrew mccabe. he is working on a book himself. there will be his side of the administration that will come out. initially, when this white house spoke about rod rosenstein and andrew mccabe, initially it heaped praise on both of them. it has gone against its own rhetoric in taking the agenda of the president, this newly hostile agenda through parts of the department of justice, even against its own public -- let me do this, alex, from page 28 -- the dichotomy between cannot be possible and it just happened defined trump's first year. it very well may define his second year as well. >> this is the name of the book "mr. trump's wild ride." i have read a lot of it, and we'll talk during the commercial break about that. sfroo i want to get to the other blockbuster story. there's a developme

in, for example, firing james comey, the fbi director, and moreover as to the issue of collusion, whateverhat amorphous crime is that is nowhere in the criminal code, you have no legal right or basis or justification for questioning the president of the united states about a noncrime, i think mueller has come to the realization, he knows if he were to slap the subpoena with a president, the president would move in a motion to quash and that mueller would lose in the federal courts. he might win in district court but in front of the united states district supreme court, mueller knows he would lose. which is now why he's relenting to a few questions in writing of the president about what he may or may not know about collusion, but no questions about obstruction of justice. mark: the president has never appeared before a federal grand jury. bill clinton negotiated an out when he was subpoenaed to appear in front of a federal grand jury by ken starr's group, and turned out to be a disaster because he was lying. what is your take on this? a president cannot be indicted while in office. if a pre

news has confirmed it happened in may of 2017, in the chaotic days after trump fired fbi director james comey. the white house initially said comey was fired because of a damning memo from rosenstein, criticizing his handling of the hillary clinton investigation. >> and somebody like the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein, who everybody across the board has unequivocally said, this guy is a man of upstanding character and essentially the gold standard at the department of justice. >> reporter: but the president soon acknowledged that when he fired comey, he had russia on his mind. >> when i decided to just do it i said to myself, i said, "you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story." >> reporter: in the oval office, the president allegedly bragged to russian officials that he had relieved a great deal of pressure. sources say it all left rosenstein feeling burned, used by the white house and turned into a scapegoat. it was then, we are told, he suggested to justice department officials, including acting fbi director andrew mccabe, that he wear a wire to secretly

he didn't even have to like james comey's shoes and he could have fired him. rosenstein thought he might be able to persuade kelly and the white house chief of staff to invoke the 25th amendment. rod rosenstein wanted to wear a wire and secretly record a sitting president of the united states in both the 25th amendment, a silent coup against his boss by him, mccabe, others, all against a dual elected president. we are experiencing tonight a massive constitutional crisis and, frankly, this is designed to set up the president. i'll explain what this is about in a minute. tonight, rod rosenstein, he is publicly denying this report, calling the story inaccurate, factually inaccurate. he wrote, quote, i never pursued or authorized recording the president. any suggestion that i have ever advocated for the removal of the president is absolutely false. given the numerous sources, "the new york times" remains adamant in their reporting. two of their sources, one is andrew mccabe and another is lisa page, although, lisa page is not on the 25th amendment side of this. we

laughter ) now, at first, i'll admit i was skeptical that there were pictures of robert mueller and james comeynd kissing each other, let alone 100. put we couldn't find anyone but we contacted the white house, and they sent some examples over. here is comey and mueller in times square after world war ii. here's one where james comey was secretly spider-man. and, of course, here they are passionately embracing on a hill of wildflowers. we'll be right back with rob lowe! ( cheers and applause ) i had to quit. n i knew for real this time. that's why i'm using nicorette. only nicorette gum has patented dual-coated technology for great taste. plus intense craving relief. every great why, needs a great how. we're in this together. the splashes the friendships and... the memories it's a journey and petsmart is with you every step of the way. we the people, defined by the moments we share with our families and our friends. doing the things we love. we the people are always stronger when we're together. the 2018 ford expedition the j.d. power highest ranked large suv in initial quality. charmin ultra s

page, as well as text messages from former intelligence officials including former fbi director james comeyse, fired by president trump, and former agent peter strzok and fbi lawyer lisa page. joining us now, cnn crime and justice reporter shimon procue pez. it's not the first time the president has declassified here notable, because a number of these folks are potential witnesses against the president in the russia investigation. >> well, that's exactly right, jim. notable that this investigation is still ongoing, that information will be put out there, will be released before this investigation has essentially concluded. we know that robert mueller, the special counsel, is still very much active, presenting evidence to the grand jury. and what the president here has essentially done is order the fbi, has ordered the department of justice really unprecedented to release these documents and also as you said, the text messages. what he wants out there is relating to carter page. it's the fisa application. many believe this is being done to try to discredit the entire investigation. it's bein

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

director james comey. plump later don't contradicted that. >> when i decided to do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election. >> reporter: in the chaotic days that followed. rosenstein appointed special counsel robert mueller to investigate russian meddling in the 2016 election. as the president lashed out at the justice department, rosenstein defended his agency. >> we're going to do what's required by the rule of law and any kind of threats that anybody makes are not going to affect the way we do our job. >> reporter: in a statement rosenstein called the allegations first reported by the "new york times" inaccurate, factually incorrect. he added, based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th amendment. a former just department official many a meeting confirmed rosenstein made a reference to the president but was sarcastic and never had intention of

be there was certainly a case to be made that t james comey here was justification to fire james comey until lester, he told you that the justification over the handling of the hillary clinton n investigatioand of course, he told you amously now that yes, he knew russia was going to be something at would be thought of when it comes to this decision. so that's sort of the game here. i think on one hand, he has real ication to do it and he would get political cover on capitol hill to do it. on the other hand, he could not accept his resignation and put rosenstein more in a box to control the investigation a little bit more. we'll see what happens. >> chuck todd, we'll seyou sunday. thank you. >>> the other major drama in washington is thhe back and forth ovetestimony of supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh's accuser. president trump stepping firmly outside what was a carefully worded republican set of talking points and for e the first turing doubt on her claim kavanaugh sexual assaulted her, questioning why she didn't report it back then. our peter alexander has the latest. >> reporter

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

, it is exhibit b in the obstruction of justice case against him, exhibit a being the firing of james comeyhe would have fired the fbi director in charge of the investigation, he would have fired the attorney general representative in charge of the investigation and, of course, it would be abundantly clear why. jay sekulow removed all doubt this morning when he said if rosenstein is pushed out, that should bring about at least a temporary halt to the mueller investigation. of course, they want to make that halt permanent. so the rule of law is hanging by the balance here, and i think all of this means that congress needs to take up legislation in its last week or weeks to protect bob mueller. mitch mcconnell and paul ryan can no longer make any credible claim that the mueller investigation is anything but at risk. they need to do their job. they need to understand that our role is as a check and balance and a defender of our democracy, and right now they're completely falling down on the job. >> if rosenstein is fired, congressman, do you think potentially he could be a witness in any inves

it was shortly after the firing of james comey.that report is based in part on memos from fired fbi official andrew mccade. he says he does not know how "the new york times" got their hands on the memo. other people think he was behind that. he's coming out with a book come december. also under investigation by the inspector general michael borowitz. there's a grand jury that's reviewing the charges right now. trace gallagher joins us from los angeles with the back story. hi, trace. >> hi, martha. sources tell fox news the meeting took place one week after president trump fired james comey, his fbi director, one day before robert mueller appointed special counsel. told 5-6 people at the meeting including attorney general rod rosenstein, former fbi director andrew mccabe an fbi council lisa page who had the affair with disgraced fbi agent peter strzok. said rosenstein talked about secretly taping the president to expose the chaos in the white house and told mccabe and homeland security john kelly to pursue comic begin proceedings to

we know that james comey leak. we know that andrew mccabe leak.that actually peter strzok and lisa page leaked. we also know that the reporters that they leaked to, know that they leaked and we've got names. we got actually reporters names. i believe that journalism is alive and well. but at the same time we got to make sure that we get rid of this. >> sean: i am told that there's exculpatory evidence in the 302s, gang of eight information, unredacted fisa that they literally, purposely held exculpatory evidence as it relates to papadopoulos, carter page, is that true? >> i can tell you for seeing some the unclassified documents there is more of the story that has not been shared with the fisa court and actually with the american people. at the time is now, we've got to get out there and we are calling on the president hopefully to release those documents. >> sean: thank you both for what you do. when we come back, mandatory evacuations are in effect in the carolinas, elsewhere, he'll looking florence barreling towards the coast. rick reichmuth ha

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

no fan of james comey or the fbi. so he is the one who, if rod rosenstein were to be fired or were to resign would likely take over that investigation. but, if something happened where francisco was, let's say, promoted to deputy attorney general of the united states, then it would fall to a fellow named steve angle the assistant attorney general for the office of legal counsel, a bush administration alum. i think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves in talking about who might take over. because, again, i think if i know the president like i think i do, i think rosenstein's job is safe at least for now. >> trace: okay. roberts is with him staying. john roberts live at the united nations in new york. john, thank you. we should also note you missed the big headline there the south korean president was meeting with president trump and president trump said he would, again, be meeting with north korean leader kim jong un. the location, the time, still yet to be worked out. for some context in all of, this where thing