no good layer would have let lester holt give this interview. many white house aides were against it. here is more of that nbc news exclusive. >> are you angry with mr. comey because of his russia investigation? >> i just want someone that is competent. i'm a big fan of the fbi. as far as i'm concerned, i want that thing to be absolutely done properly. >> let me ask you about your termination letter to mr. comey. you said i graeatly appreciate you informing me on three separate instances i was not under investigation. >> what you said about supporting the idea of investigation, the man who just said that tweeted very recently "it's a total hoax" a taxpayer charade. >> it was set up by the democrats, lester, and it was a way, an excuse for them for losing. there was no collusion. there is no collusion between me and my campaign and the russians. the other thing is the russians did not affect the vote. and everybody seems to think that. if russia or anyone else is trying to interfere with our elections, i think it is a horrible, and i want to get

when the president told lester holt that comey was a showboat and a grandstander. andrea, we should add that the report yesterday that the committee asked jim comey to testify behind closed doors on tuesday, jim comey now a private citizen, the concern by both burr and werner to reporters, no response yet by jim comey. of course they woulded have hav to talk about, andrea. >> we're all going to wait to hear from jim comey whether or not he agrees to testify. but we still haven't heard his part of the conversation. >> reporter: that's right. i have to say, from all parties today concerned on the hill, and we did hear the testimony from his defacto replacement, at least temporarily, andrew mcc e mccabe, who spoke laudingly about jim comey. they have great respect for jim comey. this from the individual who is the deputy fbi director, now the acting fbi director. so a unanimous verdict, put that together with reporting that pete williams has given us from the fbi, speaking to career officers, the rank and file, and even most republicans you talk to in the senate here

and later, the president attacked james comey today in his lester holt interview. but in the same interview, the president defended michael flynn. >> why that worries white house lawyers. that's coming up. call you? tom! name it tom! studies show that toms have the highest average earning potential over their professional lifetime. see? uh, it's a girl. congratulations! two of my girls are toms. i work for ally, finances are my thing. you know, i'm gonna go give birth real quick and then we'll talk, ok? nice baby. let's go. here comes tom #5! nothing, stops us from doing right by our customers. ally. do it right. whoo! look out. ally. do it right. can lead to sleepless nights making you feel helpless. take control of your sleep with unisom® sleeptabs. you fall asleep 33% faster and wake up recharged with all the benefits of a good night's rest. take control of your sleep with unisom®. i need the phone that's where i happen to be... to be the one that rings. i need not to be missed phone calls... to not be missed. i need seamless handoff... canyon software. from rec

and later, the president attacked james comey today in his lester holt interview. but in the same interview, the president defended michael flynn. >> why that worries white house lawyers. that's coming up. trust #1 doctor recommended dulcolax. use dulcolax tablets for gentle dependable relief. suppositories for relief in minutes. and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief. >>> director mccabe, you obviously have several decades of law enforcement experience. is it your experience that people who are innocent of wrongdoing typically need to be reassured that they're not the subject of an investigation? >> no, sir. so beautiful. what shall we call you? tom! name it tom! studies show that toms have the highest average earning potential over their professional lifetime. see? uh, it's a girl. congratulations! two of my girls are toms. i work for ally, finances are my thing. you know, i'm gonna go give birth real quick and then we'll talk, ok? nice baby. let's go. here comes tom #5! nothing, stops us from doing right by

you can see more of lester holt's interview. exclusive interview with the president from the white house on "nightly news." coming up, more white house claims. some poll numbers of how the public views snap chat and the firing. think again. this is the new new york. we are building new airports all across the state. new roads and bridges. new mass transit. new business friendly environment. new lower taxes. and new university partnerships to grow the businesses of tomorrow today. learn more at esd.ny.gov ykeep you sidelined.ng that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. it's just a burst pipe, i co(laugh) it. no. with claim rateguard your rates won't go up just because of a claim. i totally could've - no! switching to allstate is worth it. the shlike a bald penguin. how do i look? [ laughing ] show me the billboard music awards. show me top artist. show me the top hot 100 artist. they give awards fo

until they had sat down with lester holt, president trump had hunkered down. he wasn't making public appearances. we hadn't seen them rough because it's sitting for days. the white house said he's prepping for the meeting next week. it's people who work for the press office and the jar nneka. it's important to know that the information you're getting is accurate. >> let's get to the third question which i think is a tough one, the president said in his interview with lester holt, and we'll see it tonight on other have for him to do. he also reports some of the collateral information, we all know, upthat. r i that he wasn't under investigation. short of getting a statement from comey himself, how are we going to find out if that's true or not? >> get it from comey himself. the president would say, yeah, i'm not sure there's much more to it at that point. >> it occurred, what do you think, in two phone calls about whether this is discussed. you heard the white house say, in their view, they do not believe that is inappropriate. >> it certainly seems a strange co

your retook what i heard from lester holt's exclusive sber view. he admitted among other things, directly asked will james comey if he was under investigation and basically this came in the course of what was in affect job interview for comey. >> if if you have a sense of smell, this stinks. i actually asked james comey if president trump himself was under investigation, and director comey said, i can't answer that. so i don't know what was exchanged between the president and director comey. i will say that this is all the more reason we need an independent commission to get to the bottom of this and to make recommendations. and i can announce right now a second republican has signed on from michigan. so i'm seeking more republicans to work with us. i think a bipartisan path is the best way to find out just what happened with russia's interference. >> to be clear you need a byn bipartisan path. your leverage is limited here. how do you force this equation? how do you make this case beyond making on it television, to execute this case that there sho

he sat down with lester holt. we will bring you portions of that interview but start with the russia collusion probe the president called a charade and his answer suggests he's not even entirely sure there is one. >> is there an investigation under way, an fbi investigation, is that a charade. i don't know if it is an an fbi -- there's so many investigations, i don't know if it's an fbi investigation or if it's congress, the senate. >> james comey testified it was an fbi investigation. >> i think they're also helping the house and senate. you have fbi, house and senate and they have other investigations. >> the president is speaking with nbc's lester holt. no probably object it, the fbi is conducting an investigation. lester holt said director comey testified to it under oath before he was fired. no shortage of news from this interview a fascinating interview we will bring you throughout the program tonight. another headline the president exposing the white house story line about his firing of fbi director james c

i don't know if he meant to do that today to lester holt. but he sure did. >> dave chal onsome speem era people suggested i've seen on sar the two ideas are not muflt exclusive okay yes the president had a long-term decision but he did wait until getting this thing does that jive with what his spoke people were saying. >> yes you can hold two different thoughts about this at the same time about cy teige teeking comey pormtds and the time and circumstances in the the way in which he was fired no doubt about that. but to gloria's point wush the president of the united states put his people out there to speak to the american people on his behalf without the story, without the full story with false information. and so he is undermining the people that are supposed to be speaking to the country on his behalf. that's a huge problem. and by the way in that clip you played of the lester holt interview et cetera prepared to do it again listen to how he separates himself froms his campaign when he says the russia investigation -- i can't -- i'm not ta

and more reaction tonight to lester holt's exclusive interview with president trump. you got to wonder, he showed up. i give trump that. he didn't have much to say that made sense but he did show up for lester. the "hardball" roundtable will be here to discuss it. finally let me finish tonight with trump watch. he won't like this one either. this is "hardball," where the action is. are allergies holding you back? break through your allergies. try new flonase sensimist allergy relief instead of allergy pills. it's more complete allergy relief in a gentle mist experience you'll barely feel. using unique mistpro technology, new flonase sensimist delivers a gentle mist to help block six key inflammatory substances that cause your symptoms. most allergy pills only block one. and six is greater than one. new flonase sensimist changes everything. >>> president trump has signed an executive order establishing a commission to review alleged voter fraud and voter suppression. the presidential commission on election integrity will be spearheaded by vice president pence and focus

i got a great panel to break it down, but before we get to them i want to share part of lester holt's exclusive interview with the president in which he describes interactions with james comey which are now being questioned by people close to the director. >> let me ask you about your termination letter to mr. comey. you write, i greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that i am not under investigation. why did you put that in there? >> because he told me that. i mean he told me that. >> he told you you weren't under investigation with regard to the russian investigation. >> i've heard that from others. >> was it in a phone call? did you meet face to face. >> i had a dinner with him. he wanted to have dinner because he wanted to stay on. >> he asked for the dinner? >> dinner was arranged. i think he asked for the dinner. and he wanted to stay on as the fbi head and i said, you know, we'll consider it and see what happens. but we had a very nice dinner. and at that time he told me, you are not under investigation. which i knew anyway. >> that was one meeting. wh

here's part of that exclusive with nbc's lester holt. >> look, he's a show boat. he's a grand stander. the fbi has been in turmoil. you know that. i know that. everybody knows that. you take a look at the fbi a year ago. it was in virtual turmoil. less than a year ago, it hasn't recovered from that. >> monday you met with the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. >> right. >> did you ask for a recommendation? >> what i did is i was going to fire comey. my decision, it was not -- >> you had made the decision >> i was going to fire comey. there's no good time to do it, by the way. >> because in your letter you said, i accepted their recommendation so you had already made the decision. >> oh, i was going to fire regardless of recommendation. he made a recommendation. he's highly respected. very good guy, very smart guy. the democrats like him. the republicans like him. he made a recommendation. but regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey. >> let me ask you about your termination letter to mr. comey. you write, i greatly appreciate you informing me o

. >>> let's turn now to president trump's revealinger lester holt. at the heart of it was the russia investigation. his contention comey told him three times that he was not under investigation. >> was it a phone call? did you meet face to face? >> i had a dinner with him. he wanted to have a dinner because he wanted to stay on. >> he asked -- >> that dinner was arranged. i think he asked for the dinner. and he wanted to stay on as the fbi head and i said, you know, consider t we'll see what happens, but we had a very nice dinner and at that time he told me you are not under investigation. >> we'll have more take aways from lester holt's interview with news 4's tracie potts in a minute. >>> four things we're learning about comey's firing. one current and one former fbi agent says he did not seek dinner. sources say it was requested by the white house and comey would er in that same interview the president said he had planned to fire comey all along. that contradicted previous explanations from the white house. meanwhile, on capitol hill acting fbi di

lester holt interviewed the president in the hour, it just finished at the white house. y with us right here on msnbc and more coming up on nbc nightly news tonight with lester. (vo) pro plan bright mind adult 7+ promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. (ray) the difference has been incredible. she is much more aware. she wants to learn things. (vo) purina pro plan bright mind. nutrition that performs. [team member] yep. now in the wells fargo mobile app [customer] i can access the atm with just my phone? you can request a one-time access code to use the atm. [customer] that's much better! you know, that would come in handy when i'm out for a run. [team member] or, a bike ride. [customer] or, when you left your card in your yesterday pants. [team member] or walking the dog. [customer] or walking your dog. i have a dog. [team member] that is exactly the situation this was invented for. i love walking my dog. [customer] we're dog people. [team member] everyone loves dogs. [customer] that's genius! have you ever just sat down and talked to a dog? p3 plant

it's the same question i put to lester holt.dent seems very proud of the relationships he's built on the foreign stage. on the world stage. and he says at one point the world used to laugh at us but they're not laughing now. does that seem ironic in the wake of the kind of weak he's had? >> certainly there's an element of irony there in terms of the way the world views american domestic politics. when president trump was talking to us on monday night, he was pointing to things like the fight against isis, again the steady parade of isis leaders and various countries whether it be iraq, syria or afghanistan taken off the battlefield in recent weeks as part of his stepped up efforts there. president trump said we'd hear some more about that in the coming weeks. also talked about things like his relationship with president xi of china or president el sisi of egypt. talking about bringing back the american aid worker who's over there. and there's a lot of nuance in all of those cases, obviously, but in the president's mind, those ar

yesterday lester holt asked the president -- >> who believes that, first of all? >> nobody. >> who believes loyalty to the country. that is a lie, another lie by the white house. mika, i talked to people in the intel community yesterday including some of the top people at the fbi over the past two decades, they tell me in no uncertain terms in realtime james comey came back flummoxed, could not believe what the president had asked him to do. david ignatius, they said it was a flat-out lie, the president was delusional for even saying this and said james comey would have never asked for an extension on his term because he had a ten-year term and he knew he had nothing to worry about. >> joe, this is one of those situations where the worst case actually seems to be happening, as i wrote this morning in "the washington post." as we've learned that the original account that was given of the firing of comey was an obfuscation of what the president told us himself was his motivation, clearly going back months to get rid of months to get rid of comey and said specificall

talk about lester holt's interview with donald trump completed a couple hours ago.station. we have to point out, there the president is answering questions on the comey firing and other topics of moment, and speaking of that, the senate has just confirmed the u.s. trade representative nominee, robert leithuser a vote of 86-14. the u.s. trade representative has been confirmed. thank you for watching power lunch. closing bell starts right now. >>> hi, everybody, welcome to the closing bell, i'm kelly evans at the new york stock exchange. >> i'm bill griffeth, snap gets slammed. high ipo profile months ago attracted many at the time, could today's huge selloff scare them away from not only the stock, but the whole market? talking about that coming up with the stock down 21% right now. >> also watching walmart. look out, because the german grocer has a massive expansion planned in the u.s. i just, by the way, thought that was us doeing the snapchat.

the president made that assertion in an exclusive interview with nbc news aegs lester holt this comes days after pr you have trump fired the fisher director amid a investigation into his 2016 possible ties to russian election meddling. >> absolutely done properly. when i did this now i said, i probably maybe will -- >>> that brf is further fueling controversy tonight. nbc robert handa joins vus from a gather of silicon valley leaders where many are ultimates over what the president is saying and what he is not addressing as well. >> reporter: that's true a large group of bay area leaders were here at the san mateo county drirkt transit building for a summit on the the kecking to the heartland. an outspoken ohio congressman are saying president trump's words only adding skepticism about his actions. >> the fisher has been in turmoil. >> it's not just how many points you get elected by it's your impact on society. >> the congressman helped lead the summit organized by the bay area economic institute. ryan pointed out public confidence in the president is crucial in so many policies and

for now, i'm lester holt.ryone. >>> an extraordinary interview between our colleague lester holt of nbc news and the president of the united states, donald trump. the first interview with the president since his firing of fbi director james comey. some of the highlights, mr. trump telling lester holt that director comey was a, quote, show boat and a grand stander, that the fbi has been in virtual turmoil that the president planned to fire director comey regardless of the recommendations that he got in those two letters, that director comey told the president that he was not under investigation and that director comey wanted to stay on as fbi director. tyler mathson and the "power lunch" lunch gang getting ready to come on the gang. what do you make of this extraordinary interview between our colleague lester holt and the president? this within the going to make questions go away, in fact, it's probably going to raise more questions as lester just concluded with nbc's hali jackson. the president's remarks here

in the president's interview with lester holt mr. trump discussed for the first time his decision to fire the fbi director revealing the true motivation behind his decision even contradicting his own vice president and closest staffers as he offered new details on his conversations with the former fbi chief. he also raised eyebrows when delving into the russia investigation. it began with a stinging and personal rebuke of the now ex-fbi chief. >> look, he's a showboat, a grandstander, the fbi has been in turmoil, you know that, i know that. everybody knows that. you take a look at the fbi a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil. less than a year ago. it hasn't recovered from that. >> monday you met with the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. did you ask for a recommendation? >> what i did is i was going to fire comey. my decision. it was not -- >> you made the decision before -- >> i was going to fire comey. there's no good time to do it by the way. >> in your letter you said i accepted their recommendation. you had already made t

. >> jon: the president just spoke with nbc's lester holt, and here's part of what he had to say. >> you met with the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein, did you ask for a recommendation? >> what i did is i was going to fire comey, my decision. >> you made the decision before they came to you. >> i was going to fire comey. there is no good time to do it, by the way. they were around -- >> you accepted their recommendation but you already made the decision. >> i was going to fire regardless of recommendation. >> jon: so it was not deputy attorney general rod rosenstein, it was the president's, the presence decision. >> and that completely blows out of the water the whole narrative that we were getting from the white house on tuesday. i mean, if they were -- they recommendations were just an add-on, in fact the president was determined to do it anyway before he heard from jeff sessions the attorney general and rod rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, why did the white house release the president's letter and the sessions letter and the rosenstein letter all at the same time? th

host: president trump in his interview there with lester holt. we are asking you as called increase on capitol hill from democrats to have some sort of independentsel investigation outside of the work being done by the senate and house intelligence committees, the judiciary committee as well as the fbi. who do you trust in this? josh meyer is on the phone from politico. let us walk through the current investigations happening now. beginning with the house side. >> good morning. there are several investigations going on and all of them have challenges to put it mildly. on the house side, the investigation has been gearing up in recent months. the senate intelligence committee is also doing an investigation as well as the f dei. all three have some interface with each other but all is the fbi. the two congressional panels will also be calling witnesses. host: why do you say there are challenges? >> you have some serious andrtisan splits and rancor some of the republicans have been quite vocal about saying that they think the focus of the investigat

in an interview with lester holt, yesterday, the president insisted it was all him. it's not the only time the white house struggled to get its story straight. the administration's message can you say daily if not hourly. so who do the person people trust the president or his spokes people or neither? president trump says trust them all, just don't blame them if they get it wrong. he tweeted with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surgates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy wmt more on this, let's bring in "hardball"'s roundtable. a senior writer with the wraug washington post and a senior congressman from tennessee harold ford and msnbc an lest. that's the question. do they have a credibility problem? do you trust everything the white house says whether it comes from the president or the pokes people? is there a point to those press briefings? >> i think they are trying very hard. the president's comments certainly don't inspire confidence, not only in his words or their words. if you are sean spicer or miss huckabee sanders, he basically said

lester holt is next with nightly news >>> tonight, air rage, an ugly new brawl on a plane, fist flying and airline executives are grilled before congress after that infamous dragging incident, facing demands they treat passengers better. >>> guilty plea from a white police officer, caught on capra shooting a black motorist in the back. tonight a deal that could result in little or no team in prison. >>> racist taunts at the ballpark. controversy as a major league baseball star says he faced a barrage of slurs from fans. >>> knee replacements necessary? should more people opting for a less invasive and less expensive treatment is? >>> and from the heart, new reaction to jimmy kimmel's emotional story about his newborn son. nightly news begins right now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is nbc neat nightly news with lester holt. >>> good evening to our viewers in the west. it seems hardly a week goes by without another viral video reminding us what a pressure cooker airplane cabins have become. this shocking video making the rounds on the same day that u.s. airline

that came after people close to comey pushed back on the president's claim to lester holt that comey told him he wasn't the target of an fbi investigation. >> he told me that. >> you told you you weren't under investigation with regard to the russia investigation? >> i've heard that from others. >> was it in a phone call? did you meet face to face? >> i had a dinner with him. he wanted to have dinner because he wanted to stay on. we had a very nice dinner at the white house. >> he asked for the dinner? >> a dinner was arranged. i think he asked for the dinner. and he wanted to stay on as the fbi head. and i said, i'll, you know, consider. we'll see what happens. but we had a very nice dinner, and at that time he told me, you are not under investigation. >> according to nbc and other news outlets, people close to comey say the reality was very different. during the dinner, quote, comey tried to stay away from the russia investigation. he would say, look, sir, i really can't get into it, and you don't want me to. the former director of national intelligence, james clapper, told andrea

he taped it with lester holt, that removed all doubt. outrageous. >> kelly o'donnell and peter baker and reverend al sharpton, thanks for being with us. up next. credibility gap for the press office. i count on my dell small business advisor for tech advice. with one phone call, i get products that suit my needs and i get back to business. ♪ ♪ when i feel controlled by frequent, unpredictable abdominal pain or discomfort and diarrhea. i tried lifestyle changes and over-the-counter treatments, but my symptoms keep coming back. it turns out i have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that's really frustrating. that's why i talked to my doctor about viberzi... ...a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both abdominal pain and diarrhea at the same time. so i can stay ahead of my symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have no gallbladder, have pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with a

the president told lester holt last week that he had high regard for flynn. >> this man served for many years. he's a general. in my opinion a very good person. >> reporter: the white house says this account first reported by the "new york times" and confirmed by associates of comey is incorrect, the president has never asked mr. comey or any else to end any investigation. the white house officials said in a statement and pointing to a comment made at a senate hearing last week made by the acting fbi director asked if mr. comey's firing as fbi director had interfered with its investigations. >> the work of the men and women of the fbi continues despite any change in circumstances, any decisions. any change in circumstances, any there has been no effort to impede our investigation to date. >> reporter: from all indications the investigation of flynn has never stopped into his contacts with the russians. officials say a federal grand jury has issued sympathies in the case. none of this comes from mr. comey directly. he has yet to say anything publicly since he was fired a week ago tonight

and then lester holt asked him about that.ere's part of the president's interview. >> i actually asked him, yes. i said, if it's possible, would you let me know, am i under investigation? he said, you are not under investigation. >> but he's given sworn testimony that there's an ongoing testimony into the trump campaign and possible collusion with the russian government. you were the centerpiece of the trump campaign. >> all i can tell you -- >> is he being truthful? >> i know that i'm not under investigation. me, personally. i'm not talking about campaigns, i'm not talking about anything else. i'm not under investigation. >> so jim sciutto, should a sitting president even be asking the director of the fbi if he is under investigation in the first place? >> i asked a number of democratic and republican lawmakers today that question. and unanimously they answered no, should not be. because whether it is interference, it certainly smells of interference in that investigation. the other point i would make is this, don. i think it

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. ==raj/take vo== right now at 6: will he be forced out? >>> the situation is not acceptable. >>> right now at 6:00. will he be forced out in new calls for a bay area droesht to step down after misusing campaign funds. >>> the news at 6:00 starts right now good evening thanks for being with us. >>> the top cop in contra costa county face ago firestorm tonight. those calls for him to go come after he admitted to petition spending thousands of dollars in campaign funds on himself. today fellow prosecutors authorized a any confidence vote. nbc bay area joins us from martinez and there is a joining chore us of voices calling for him to walk away. >> reporter: he is jessica this appears to be snowballing. the d. a.'s critics are lining up. i'll tell you they are not holding back. meanwhile, the district attorney here is keeping quiet. >> reporter: mr. peterson. >> contra costa district attorney mark peterson avoided our cameras today. and amid calls for the top cop's firing. >> the grand jur

now we find out from lester holt who said he was thinking about it for a long time. listen to the president describing his view of james comey. >> he's a showboat, grandstander. the fbi has been in turmoil. you know that, i know that. everybody knows that. you take a look at the fbi a year ago. it was in virtual turmoil. less than a year ago. it hasn't recovered from that. >> when you talk to the people who talk to the president about that, he sees russia, russia, trump, russia. and he wants to look into the investigation and charge them. >> he alts did not like when director comey said it made him nauseous to think that he may vd had some sort of influence during the election. this is a president who feels he is constantly under siege, feels unfairly, feels they're out to get him and that is reflected no more than this investigation. he's been criticized from the beginning. he felt like he was under attack. the "time" magazine interview this week where he ee going through tapes of hearings and showing them and commenting on it, he's really obsessive about it. >> obs

he said this to lester holt.ometimes with trump there's a whole lot going on, but if you can pull through the manure, you can find a pony. here's what he said to lester. >> that's quite the visual. >> that's from reagan. you know this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. he actually revealed that when he fired him he was thinking about russia and the investigation and that's the one thing he shouldn't have discussed with the fbi director. >> how about asking three times whether he was under investigation. should he have done that either? i was just saying during the break when my kids used to ask me, am i in trouble, i would know they're in trouble. >> you covered them as a reporter. is it a staffing thing? is it an organization thing? is it too many people having the president's ear or not the power to say to the president, you know what, you shouldn't do this right now or we got to get our stories straight. >> one of the last pieces you said, the people who don't have the power, he's got these

let us know what you think about president trump's interview with nbc's lester holt.nterview sit down, mr. trump's thoughts shared with lester holt on one major issue, former fbi director james comey's character. >> look, he's a show boat, he's a grandstander, the fbi has been in turmoil, you know that, i know that, everybody knows that. think again. this is the new new york. we are building new airports all across the state. new roads and bridges. new mass transit. new business friendly environment. new lower taxes. and new university partnerships to grow the businesses of tomorrow today. learn more at esd.ny.gov standby. hey katy, let me show you how behind schedule we are. yeah. are those the pyrotechnics that are gonna startle me from a distance? yep. and my impractical wardrobe changes, those all set? not even close. oh, this is probably going to shine in your eyes at the worst possible time. perfect. we're looking at a real train wreck here, am i right? wouldn't it be great if everyone said what they meant? the citi® double cash card does. it lets you earn doubl

. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening. whether he was we begin tonight with multiple reports say g president trump's tweet hinting at the possibility he recorded a conversation with "the washington post" broke the story siting unnamed u.s. officials who say the president went off script during his meeting with the russians, sharing classified details about isis capabilities that are so closely held they have not been shared with even close allies. our chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has the developing details for us, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. tonight there is new push back from the white house on this bombshell post report. also confirmed by other outlets which says the president shared highly classified information with the the post siting current and former u.s. officials saying this information came from an ally that provided it under an intelligence sharing agreement. one official tells the post the president revealed more information to the russian ambassador th

lester holt next with nightly news. >> back at 6:00. see you then. >>> breaking news tonight, sources tell nbc news the president's son-in-law and senior white house adviser, jared kushner is under scrutiny by the fbi in the russia investigation. we have developing details. >>> body slam fallout. new controversy after that violent encounter caught on audiotape. a congressional candidate charged with assaulting a reporter. >>> high drama hours before the polls close. >>> scolding allies, a tense confrontation as president trump lectures world leaders standing just feet away. video getting a lot of attention, president trump's move to get to the front of the pack. >>> hospital bill help, the new way patients are finding to pay for surprise medical expenses.

you know, lester holt did it.ey wanted to say, oh, lester holt was interrupting the president. he was badgering him. no, he wasn't. again, he was pushing for clarification for exact language. did comey tell you you are not under investigation. every time you push trump that way he starts fudging. he starts obfuscating. that's the problem. we are living in this environment and the -- with the white house doing this, journalists are trying. i think lester holt did great work. look at the headlines that came out of it. the reason for the firing contradicted. you know, some said, oh, he didn't fact check enough. you could have 57 people sitting across from trump and you couldn't fact check him in real time in that interview. we are trying. we are really trying. the discussions that we had today, the two washington correspondents you had on in a previous segment, both doing fantastic work. but this is a big challenge. you know what, i'm so glad i got to hear carl bernstein put it in perspective about what a tremendous

we begin with lester holt near the white house.wondered if the president would go through with this interview, given the timing. y

he said this to lester holt.trump there's a whole lot going on, but if you can pull through the manure, you can find a pony. here's what he said to lester. >> that's quite the visual. >> that's from reagan. you know this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story. he actually revealed that when he fired him he was thinking about russia and the investigation and that's the one thing he shouldn't have discussed with the fbi director. >> how about asking three times whether he was under investigation. should he have done that either? i was just saying during the break when my kids used to ask me, am i in trouble, i would know they're in trouble. >> you've worked in a lot of white houses, you covered them as a reporter. is it a staffing thing? is it an organization thing? is it too many people having the president's ear or not the power to say to the president, you know what, you shouldn't do this right now or we got to get our stories straight. >> one of the last pieces you said, the people who don't have

and don't do any more interviews with lester holt which then is sent over their cable channel and cnn so they can rip it apart every way and side ways. >> right, right. yep, now, look, my advice would be to use the white house press room with no press. and every day to have someone come in, whether spicer or -- and by the way, i think that sarah has done a very good job under very tough circumstances. >> sean: so has spicer. >> sean, i guess -- is he back today from his military duty?

. >> up next, "nbc nightly news" with lester holt coming to you from jerusalem and we'll see you back here tonight at 11:00. . >>> tonight, from jerusalem, trump in israel. the first sitting president to visit the western wall pushing peace and taking a hard line on iran. >>> taking the fifth, fired national security advisor michael flynn refusing to cooperate with a subpoena and late word a powerful democrat says flynn lieed to investigators about money from russia. >>> was it a hate crime? a campus in shock as a soon to be graduate is stabbed to death. why the fbi is now investigating his accused killer. >>> hearing loss help for millions of all ages. tonight a new push for an over the counter option and a much lower cost. >>> and sea lion scare, the frightening moment a little girl is yanked under water. what the man who shot that heart-stopping video was thinking. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight from jerusalem. >>> good evening from jerusalem. a beautiful historic city and a complicated and troubled land

the president sitting down with nbc's lester holt refuted that, listen. >> did you ask am i under investigation? >> i asked him, yes. i said if it is possible, will you let me know, am i under of education? he said, you are not under investigation. >> he has given sworn testimony that there is an ongoing investigation into the trump campaign and possible collusion with the russian government. you were the centerpiece of the trump campaign -- >> what i can tell you. i know i am not under investigation, me personally. i'm not talking about campaigns or anything else. i am not under investigation. >> jon: there you have it from the president himself, i am not under investigation, he says. >> jenna: what a moment for the president to say, i am not under investigation or feel that he has to answer that question in public. we really have to take steak and where we are right now. again, waiting the white house press briefing. in the meantime, though, there's all this reflection on what has happened in the last 24 hours. in the oval office, what could be described as a very unusual

i'm lester holt.bc news, thank you for watching and good night. >>> johnny depp on trump. talking about orlando bloom about his ex katy perry. >>> pirates mania shuts down hollywood now on "extra". ♪ extra, extra >>> johnny depp in the middle of total pandemonium and mario has got it. from his funny presidential spoof to his fifth time as jack sparrow. and he breaks katy perry news to ex orlando bloom. >> i didn't know she was doing that. >> yeah. >> taking a public swipe at taylor swift? >>> breaking couples news. jim garner's first interview since officially filing divorce from ben. >>> shawn hannity on the death of his father figure roger ailes. >> why didn't you fire me? >> plus, the lost video he he doesn't want you to see. >> don't show it to "extra", "extra". >>> the new date spoof. >> me and jennifer lopez in a dance class. >> wait until you hear who the teachers are. >>> plus, what got julia roberts blushing? >> it is sweet but embarrassing. >>> and renee is with new mr.

here is lester holt. >> good evening, everyone.oming on the air because there has been a deadly incident at an arena in manchester england where pop star arian that grande was holding a concert. there are reports of explosions into this hour, multiple law enforcement officials tell nbc news there are at least 20 people dead, many more injured. we want to go to nbc's kelly ko kelly in the newsroom. what are you hearing. >> this started at 10:30 local time at the end of this

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. for watching and good night. i ain't lookin' to compete with you ♪ ♪ beat or cheat or mistreat you ♪ you ♪ ♪ deny, defy or crucify you ♪ ♪ all i really wanna do ♪ ♪ is, baby, be friends with you ♪ >>> right now, on "access hollywood" -- >> with or without you, simon? >> with -- >> one of many questions that's been answered about the new "idol." >> apparently you and and russell crowe are dating. without seen for over a decade now, irwin shares her truth. >> we save the most

lester holt of nbc asked them to ta talk about that. >> he wanted to have dinner. he wanted to stay on. the dinner was arranged. he asked for a dinner. he wanted to stay on as the fbi head. i said i'll consider. we'll see what happens. we had a very nice dinner. at that time, he told me you were not under investigation. he said it once at dinner and twice at phone calls. >> did you call him? >> in one casey called him and one indication he called me. i asked him, yes. if it is possible, would you let me know am i under investigation. he said you are not under investigation. >> so you heard the president acknowledging he had several n conversations with the fbi director and included discussion s and included ongoing investigations. we will be watching to see what he says and does next. christine. dave. >> we will. athena, thank you. details emerging from the private dinner with president trump and the former fbi director. comey is telling friends mr. trump demanded a pledge of loyalty twice during the meal. comey says he declined, but assured the president he would

in an interview with nbc's lester holt the president said comey cleared him. >> we had a nice dinner. and at that time he told me he you are not under investigation. >> reporter: comey has not spoken publicly but the accounts are disputed. and mr. trump asked comey for the loyalty. the president denies that. >> no, no i didn't. i don't think it would be a bad question to ask. i think loyalty to the country. loyalty to the united states is important. i don't know how that got there because i didn't ask that question. >> reporter: today in washington the search for a comey successor begins. with job interviews lead by jeff sessions. sources identified these four candidates including acting director andrew mccabe and texas senator. >> let me tell you we're looking at candidates now what would be spectacular. that's what i want for the fbi. >> reporter: and, of course, when the president said in that interview that loyalty to the country is a good thing. seemingly forgetting that not only has the president taken an oath but so did james comey in his role as fbi director and to serve the c

he pushed back on his claim to lester holt that comey told him he wasn't the target of an fbi investigation. >> he told me. >> he told you, you weren't under investigation. >> yes, and i we heard that from others. >> did you meet face-to-face? >> wanted to have dinner. early on. that dinner was arranged. i think he asked for the dinner. he wanted to stay on as the fbi head and i said, you know, we'll consider it. we'll see what happens, but we had a very nice dinner and at that time he told me, "you are not under questions e investigation." >> according to nbc and other news out. s, the reality was very different, during the dinner, comey tried to stay away from the russia investigation. he would say, look, sir, i really can't get into it and you don't want me to. the former member of intelligence told andrea mitchell at the time of the dinner if january comey expressed a need to him. >> he expressed he had been invited to the white house for dinner with the president and he was uneasy with that because of even compromising the optics, the appearance of independence, sought not only of him

. >> up next, "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. we'll see you back here tonight at 11:00. >>> tonight, it's a terror network at large. the concert bomber's brothers arrested as images purported to show the suspect and the bag that may have held the bomb. our first look at the explosive. >>> new airport screening changes affecting your electronics, your food and even papers you carry on board. what you should know before your next trip. >>> the president and the pope, inside the meeting after their clashes during the campaign. the gifts they exchanged and what they said behind closed doors. >>> medical marijuana and children, tonight, the first large scale study on kids with epilepsy desperate for relief. doctors say the results are life-changing. >>> and a graduation surprise for an amazing mom who attended every class with her son to help him earn his degree. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening. he was no lone wol

that was the president after being interviewed by lester holt on nbc news. that is creating reverberations what the president knew and what kind of blessings he got from the outgoing fbi director, now fired fbi director, james comey. did the man that runs the judiciary committee of the united states senate just confirm just support what the president said? senator grassley is coming up. first, kevin corke at the white house from the fallout from anything comey. sir? >> plenty of it, my friend. first of all, let's be clear about this. critics, neil, will try to pounce on semitic inconsistencies from the white house. they may play a game of got-you as far as the timing is concerns about the loose pronouncements coming from the staff here at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. one thing is clear. the president made his decision to fire the fbi director long before he ultimately pulled the trigger. the tipping point, the memo by the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein. here's what the president had to say about that. he was asked by nbc's lester holt if he thought he