the cia director, though, if he had known there were concerns about michael flynn, and michael flynn,till wanted michael flynn in the room. should mike pompeo have stepped in and said, hey, i'm not going to do the briefing with him there, is that his decision, phil? >> hell, no. what do you mean concerns? let's be clear about facts and suppositions. the defense department had a security clearance for general flynn for years. he's maintained that security clearance at a top-secret level when he worked for president trump, and he had that security clearance during the briefings from mike pompeo who had been there for a matter of weeks. do you walk into the oval office and say your national security adviser still has a top-secret clearance, but i'm not going to talk to him? the bottom line, john berman, is very simple. this is not a decision for the white house. it's a decision for the defense department that holds the clearance for general flynn. if he maintains a clearance, he gets a briefing. if he doesn't, mike pompeo should say he should leave the room. he no longer has a clearance.

it's a question we've put for michael flynn's attorneys as well. no comment yet from michael flynn's attorneys about these -- this disclosure by these two congressmen. but this comes as michael flynn himself is getting some scrutiny as well on the senate side of the capital, including president trump urging -- allegedly urging the fbi director to back off the investigation of michael flynn. erin, tonight we have learned that the senate judiciary committee wants to look into that aspect of michael flynn as well and whether or not president trump acted improperly in any way in urging the fbi director to back off that investigation of his former national security adviser. so michael flynn is getting a lot of scrutiny from the senate and house side as they look for more information about his role here, erin. >> thank you very much, manu raju. we have a member that will join us in a moment. first, jeff zeleny at the white house. any response to this new and possibly extremely significant news on general flynn? >> reporter: erin, there's no response to t

is michael flynn cooperating with the fbi? >> i think there's a fairly good chance that michael flynn is already cooperating with the fbi. >> that's a wow. we begin this morning of course with the big race happening in the deep south. georgians are headed to the polls as we speak in a special election that has national implications. it is the most expensive house race in american history. are you read for the number? $50 million and it could not be closer. republican candidate karen handel and democrat jon ossoff are now just two tenths of a point apart. the president chiming in via twitter tweeting this morning to try and push karen handel over the top. we'll find out does it hurt, does it help. this guy's got a 36% approval rating right now and you're in luck because we have the best panel in the business to break it down. nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from georgia. this is a district you're in right now that has been red for almost 40 years. what are the real chances it flips today? >> reporter: hi, stephanie. good morning.

, mike flynn, today announced additions to the nsc senior staff. >> reporter: on february 6th, michael flynn joined a briefing at central command. and on february 7th, after a suicide bombing in investigation -- >> general flynn spoke with the afghan national security adviser, to reaffirm our continued support for afghanistan and for our strategic partnership. >> reporter: on that same day, trump denying any connections to russia. "i don't know putin, have no deals in russia, and the haters are going crazy." on february 8th, in an interview with "the washington post," flynn denied discussing u.s. sanctions with russian ambassador sergey kislyak. but the next day, a spokesman for flynn hedging, telling "the post," flynn couldn't be certain that the topic never came up. only after that report did vice president pence supposedly learn that flynn had given him bad information, even though president trump had known that for two weeks. and on february 10th, just days before flynn would be ousted, trump was asked about flynn's connections to russia. >> i don't know about it. i haven't seen it. what

what came up is michael flynn's son, michael flynn jr. came up in this report as well. we know michael flynn, the national security adviser has been looked at in part of the various investigations throughout. is michael flynn jr., his son, a target of the investigation in the house? >> well, michael flynn jr., as you are probably aware is the chief of staff of michael flynn's former company, the intelligence advisory company. his son was the chief of staff. his son would accompany him on most of his business travel, was with him a lot when michael flynn had a formal role in the trump campaign. so, it's fair to say in as much as the investigation is interested in knowing about michael flynn, we have an interest in knowing what his son knows as well. >> i had democratic congressman, your colleague, mike quigley on earlier this week. he told me he would love to see another trump associate, roger stone, testify in public when he comes before the committee. stone said the committee wants him to testify in a closed hearing. why hold testimony like this behind closed doors? li

director comey to take place the day after sally yates has gone to the white house to warn them about michael flynn so the very next day the president wants a dinner alone for director comey and asks for his loyalty and then you flash forward a couple of week. the day after flynn is fired is the day that the president asked comey to drop the flynn investigation. those are not coincidences in my view. the fact that the president effectively cleared the room of other people when he had these conversations i think goes to the president's intent, but we also node to get answered those questions that were asked of rogers and coats today because they provide some of the other context, and that is did the president go to other people to ask them to intervene with director comey because he wasn't having enough success in getting homey to drop the flynn case? >> jeffrey toobin, as you know, a former federal prosecutor. you're also a former federal prosecutor. jeffrey believes it to be obstruction of justice. how high is that bar from your vantage point to go forward with a charge of obstruction of justice?

he never asked james comey to dismiss this investigation into ousted national security advisor michael flynn. >> the president never in form or substance directed or suggested that mr. comey stop investigating any one, including the president never suggested that mr. comey quote, let flynn go. the president also never told mr. comey, quote, i need loyalty. i expect loyalty, close quote. he never said it in form and he never said it in substance. of course, the office of the president is entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving the administration and from before this president -- and from before this president took office to this day, it is overwhelming clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications. mr. comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers. >> reporter: so you see trump's attorney there making in one case that we should trust comey's testimony when its beneficial to the president and in another

to turn over all information on the clearances for kushner and fired national security adviser michael flynn. >>> attempted breach. homeland security officials saying cyber attackers trying to break into the election systems in 21 states, and the homeland security chief says the effort was personally directed by vladimir putin. are the russians still at it? >>> airport terror attack? a suspect is now being questioned in the stabbing of a police officer in the airplane at flint, michigan. the fbi is investigating whether this was an act of terrorism. >>> and life of luxury. amid signs of new activity in the life of luxury. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> breaking news, a powerful democratic congressman wants the white house to turn over all documents related to the security clearances for the president's senior adviser and son-in-law jared kushner and fired national security adviser michael flynn. congressman elijah cummings questions whether the white house is safeguarding classified information, noting kushner's reported failure to disclose conversations with russian o

on the michael flynn investigation, he said, can you let this go? is that appropriate between the president and the fbi director. >> totally inappropriate. here's why the fbi takes its d independence very seriously. and on this notion that he wasn't personally being investigated, keep in mind, a, there might be the potential things could change and things have already changed in the fact that he was fired and what donald trump has said since then. it doesn't make it illegal for making the comments he did to comey. the question of the big picture here. >> dan, thank you. >>> in the meantime, on capitol hill, james comey will testify first thing in the morning. already tonight, senators responding to what they've seen in his opening remarks. some outrage. we asked what will they ask, mary bruce on the hill tonight. >> reporter: the republican chair of the senate intelligence committee tonight relieved to have comey's testimony out in the open. >> i'm glad to have it early and posted. and i'm sorry i took away from all of you guys the ability to find a

z286oz zwtz y286oy ywty >>> new this morning, questions about former security adviser michael flynn. trips that two top democrats in the house say general flynn may not have been completely forthcoming about on a security clearance application. cnn crime and justice reporter shimon joins us with all the details. >> that's right, john, these are two trips perhaps overseas that it's believed that these congressional leaders believe flynn took back in 2015, one of them over the summer, maybe around june, which was not disclosed at all. later, interestingly enough, he did disclose an october meeting where he went to saudi arabia for some meetings and it appears, at least to these congressional leaders, he did not disclose key details in this security clearance form. we've heard a lot of talk about this security clearance form where it seems consistently some officials now working for the trump administration did not fill out certain contacts they had with foreign officials. in flynn's case, it seems he left out key details about why he was there, who he was visiting, who paid for the trip

michael flynn not disclosing ties to affiliates or others. seems to be a pattern of folks that are not coming clean in terms of ties to russia. we now got flynn fired and mr. manafort now coming forward, why he's taking him so long and those are tquestions that me an other members of the committee want to ask. >> senator, i want to ask you in ways o f the investigation works. i don't want to cast the version of the way i am ask this. i am asking in a position of complete ignorance. don't hate me for asking this way. >> rachel, i am not sure i am going to buy that but fire away. >> this is about banks and money and real estate and money laundering. we have been trying to follow this trail, for example of the veb bank and the ties that its got to vladimir putin and the russian government. we looked at the deutscha bank. we have been trying to follow the trail here. do you have the kind of expertise, and your staff, you got professional staffs that you need to follow the complicated money trails? >> well, first of all, the russians have a play bo

obstruction, comey did confirm the reports that donald trump asked him to please let go of the michael flynn investigation after, by the way, flynn had been fired and confirmed other reports that trump asked for, quote, loyalty from comey. so, democrats are going to treat this as a confirmation of the -- of the accusations they've been making now. it was interesting tammy was suggesting this doesn't rise at all to the level of obstruction of justice, and certainly a lot of lawyers say that is exactly correct, which is why you're going to hear a lot of democrats talk about impeachable offenses which could be anything. so trump can claim vindication and certainly the part about comey telling him three times that he wasn't under investigation was true, he can claim that, but democrats are not letting this go. charles: we know they're not going to let it go, matthew. again, corroboration by comey that indeed he was told, he told president trump more than once, on three occasions, he was not the center of an investigation. i guess it might give back to the situation with michael flynn and how you

at any time urge former fbi director james comey to back down or close the investigation into michael flynn? >> no. next egquestion. >> james co a wrote a memo that the president asked him to end the investigation into general michael flynn. >> the possibility of this testimony opening a door to an obstruction of justice charge. >> the most anticipated congressional testimony in decades. >> this is guy with a story to tell. if i were donald trump that would scare me a lot. >> do you swear that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> i do. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> good morning, and welcome to a very special edition of "early start." >> we are just hours away from what promises to be a riveting case on capitol hill. he will testify about his interactions with president trump. even before he takes the oath, comey has already changed the dynamic. intel releasing comey's opening statement a day ahead of time. it confirms the president asked comey to help lift the cloud created by the fbi investigatio

let's talk about the subpoena of michael flynn, what do you think they'll find there? know, i'm not really sure, i know, listen, there's a lot of political football going here and what i will say underlying in all this issue is the fact that the united states doesn't have a uniform policy. there's no policy there, there needs to be a policy. that being said, michael flynn has been subpoenaed, was there some wrong-doings there, has been investigated for some months by the fbi and if folks did something that was criminal or was wrong, they should be held to account and that includes anyone in this country. julie: but here is what i don't understand because it's not like michael flynn wasn't forthright with the administration. i mean, he went to the vice president and explained his history, susan rice apparently had gone to then campaign and candidate president trump before he became elected and explained that there was some reason why he might be able to be blackmailed by russians. none of this was a surprise and when vice president came out and he said he had no idea th

not ok for him to ask the fbi director, the then-fbi director to squash the investigation into michael flynn. he was pretty candidate and his admission that he did not have the presence of mind to convey what he really thought at the time. he decided after that he needed to take notes, he said, because of the nature of the conversations. he says the nature of the person i was dealing with, he even admitted again that it was a little cowardly in his own words the way he handled it. which was not respond. but the way he is tracing is back, suggest he was stunned at the time and now he realizes it was wrong he kept a record of it. he woke up in the middle of the night to try to get this memo to set the record straight. i think that goes to his state of mind. he said he did it through a friend of his. so easily to be intimidated by the president of the united states. i been in situations a little bit like this where you think, why cannot --i didn't i say that? he was honest about it. the important thing is the article of one institution of government, the congress, came out today looking like it

campaign associates were in contact with russian officials, including fired national security adviser michael flynn. by the time comey met with the president in february in the oval office, comey says flynn was in legal jeopardy. >> there was an open f.b.i. criminal investigation of his statements in connection with the russian contacts and the contacts themselves. >> reporter: comey told his senior advisers that the president had asked him to let go of the flynn investigation, but they decide not to inform attorney general jeff sessions. >> we also are aware of facts i caernt discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a russia-related investigation problematic. >> reporter: days later, sessions recused himself from the investigation after it was revealed that he had not disclosed all of his meetings with the russian ambassador. besides flynn, the f.b.i. is now scrutinizing former campaign chairman paul manafort; former campaign adviser carter page; trump confidant, roger stone; and his son-in-law, jared kushner. arkansas senator tom cotton: >> do you believe donald trum

have been thinking about this over these last few weeks straight what is next for michael flynn? like to hear flynn's side of it. we still haven't done that. that is the proper thing to do in terms of advice from counsel. so far we don't know, we've never even seen the transcript of his phone conversation with kiss lack, the russian ambassador. there's a tremendous amount of attention this been paid to what michael flynn may or may not have done. there's a lot of innuendo out there from people like john brennan sally davidson, implying he may have been a witting or unwitting agent of the russians. that is extremely serious. but we have yet to see -- not only has he not been charged, no one has told us he aptly -- exactly what the law is that he violated other than what we saw from comey. it appears he may have made false statements to the fbi. that is serious, but thats part of a process approach, that's what ended up doing in scooter libby. in the scooter libb e case, the person who was the source, the league of the information about valerie was richard armitage, not scooter lib

the house intel committee also made a headline today issues the first subpoenas to michael flynn and to the president's personal lawyer, michael cohen as part of their russia probe. >> meanwhile, devin nunes issued seven subpoenas related to whether obama officials unmasked the identities of trump associates captured on surveillance of foreign officials. what happened to nunes recusing himself? let's begin with joe johns. what is the latest, joe? >> well, people are talking about the possibility of james comey, in his own words, talking about conversations he had with the president of the united states, and the memos he wrote about those conversations also indications the white house could bring down saying it will now refer all questions about the russia investigation to the president's lawyer. no indication that the president, though, is going to stop tweeting about it. >> fired fbi director james comey now ready to tell his side of the story. first getting a legal green light from special counsel robert mueller. his test for the senate intelligence committee could come as early as

at any time urge former fbi director james comey to close or back down the investigation into michael flynn? >> no. next question. >> jim comey wrote a memo that president donald trump asked him to end the investigation into general michael flynn. >> the possibility in his testimony of opening the door to an obstruction of justice charge. >> the most anticipated congressional testimony in decades. >> this is a guy with a story to tell. if i were donald trump, that would scare me a lot. >> do you swear that the testimony that you are about to give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? >> i do. >> well, some are calling it the congressional super bowl. good morning, everybody. welcome to "early start." i'm dave briggs. >> and i'm christine romans. it is thursday, june 8th, 4:00 a.m. in the east, and we are just hours away from what promises to be a riveting show on capitol hill. fired fbi director james comey will testify to the senate intelligence committee about his interactions with president trump. now, even before he takes the oath, comey has al

dice que esperaba que dejara la investigaciÓn de michael flynn. a solas, conmigo. pero no es lo que dijo. dijo " espero". dijo que lo habÍa infiltrado a la prensa a travÉs de un amigo. [hablan en inglÉs] reportera: cuestiona por quÉ esa informaciÓn nunca se registrÓ . comey se reunió con los senadores a puertas cerradas. preguntaron segunda esas concesiones con el presidente trump lo hicieron sentir incÓmodo, por quÉ no le hablÓ al mandatario sobre sus investigaciones. el ex director del fbi dijo que en ese momento se sintiÓ perplejo. en el capitolio, lourdes para univisiÓn. jorge: el testimonio de james comey convulsionÓ a todo washington y el capitolio. hicieron ninguna declaraciÓn pÚblica. parece que la casa blanca dijo que el presidente no es un mentiroso. [hablan en inglÉs] reportera: james comey dijo que el presidente era mentiroso. donald trump guardÓ silencio durante todo el dÍa. en un discurso, poco despuÉs de que come testificar, el --comey testificar a, el mandatario no se refiriÓ a lo que pasó. parece que es mentira que trump haya orde

>> he would invoke michael flynn's name and say i'm talking to michael flynn, i would like to see if i could give us information, that kind of treatment, but he never directly said he was working with michael flynn. >> jon: michael flynn is the fired national security advisor, fired by the trump administration about a month into the term. he was a foreign policy advisor to the trump campaign. now you can't go back and double check all this with peter smith because he died ten days after the journal interview. >> that's right, we are not able to follow up with him, but we have been following up with other people who are working with him who had contact with him and we also heard from intel sources that they are looking at the same kinds of things that we've reported on. >> jon: does this say that the trump campaign was colluding with the russians? >> it's hard to say. the trump campaign says if michael flynn was in any way working with peter smith, he was not doing it in an official capacity for the campaign, he was doing it as a private citizen. michael flynn has not answered our que

after a february 14 meeting, the president raise the issue of national security advisor michael flynn who resigned a day earlier. "i hope you can see her weight cleared to letting this go, letting flynn go. he's a good guy. i hope you can let this go." comey stated i understood the president to be requesting that we drop any investigation of flynn in connection with false statements about his conversations with the russian ambassador in december. i did not understand the president to be talking about the broader investigation into russia more possible links to his campaign. comey continues. it was very concerning, giving the fbi's role as an independent investigative agency. fa leadership agreed that it was important not to affect the investigated investigative tea. we concluded there was nothing available to cooperate my account. in march, comey made a public statement. >> i've been authorized by the department of justice to confirm that the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential electio

es un crimen o no porque se confirmÓ que estaba bajo investigaciÓn criminal el general michael flynnciÓnes hoy que es el fbi que estÁ filtrando informaciÓn a la prensa. >> doctor. >> lo interesante va a ser en dos semanas cual es el escaÑo que un republicano tiene que ganar si en noviembre ganan nueva jersey y virginia creo que eso va a significar lo que va a pasar en el 2018 un partido nunca va a condenar uno del mismo partido, pero coinciden en el congreso gracias a este escÁndalo eso va a ser la derrota de donald j.trump. >> ahora quisiera recordar grados agradeciÉndoles a los invitado de estoy estar con nosotros y con ustedes, quisiera recordar algunos puntos mÁs importantes de hoy de james comey en el senado, la administraciÓn donald j.trump mintiÓ sobre mÍ y sobre el fbi eligiÓ difamarnos, escribÍ los informes sobre trump porque estaba preocupado por si mentÍa, supe que iba a necesitar pruebas para defenderme y autoricÉ dijo el ex trecdirector de fbi la fÓn de informes igual a memorÁndum que hacÍa cuando se juntaba con el presidente donald j.trump para provocar una investigaciÓ

ry ryan alizza, in referring to the president, conversations with comey, according to comey and michael flynn. he, then the president, he, the president then said, i hope can you see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. he is a good guy, i hope can you let this go. i replied only that he is a good guy. i did not say i would let this go. what does this tell you about the president and the interaction he had with comey? >> yeah. this is the most important piece of information in the testimony. because this is evidence of the president of the united states telling his fbi director to stop an investigation into one of his advisors, i guess former adviser, at that point. so in the -- from the point of view of obstruction of justice, this is the closest thing to a smoking gun we have. and now comey coming out publicly and saying it is quite important. i say going forward, the question is, what do republicans do with all of this information we know democrats think this is a big deal. democrats are using the terms, obstruction of justice. but everything depends on how republicans i

dan coats reports that he was asked by the president to back off the michael flynn investigation. he will face questions about that. we'll bring it to you live when it happens. >> plus, twin attacks. isis is now claiming it is responsible for the first major attack by isis on iran. stay with us. so you miss the big city? i don't miss much... definitely not the traffic. excuse me, doctor... the genomic data came in. thank you. you can do that kind of analysis? yeah, watson. i can quickly analyze millions of clinical and scientific reports to help you tailor treatment options for the patient's genomic profile. you can do that? even way out here? yes. even way out here. itbut one i think with quesa simple answer. even way out here? we have this need to peek over our neighbor's fence. and once we do, we see wonder waiting. every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. so, the question you asked me. what is the key? it's you. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. no one's surprised tender pie

could intervene with james comey to back off his investigation of former national security adviser michael flynn. unnamed officials tell the "post" it came after a briefing on march 22nd two days after comey said whether the trump campaign colluded with russia. >>> coats decided complying with the president's request to intervene would be inappropriate. cnn reported that the president asked them to deny his campaign cooperated with russia in the 2016 election. both coats and rogers were uncomfortable with the president's request and refused to comply. >>> this morning the white house won't or can't confirm president trump has confidence in his attorney general jeff sessions this as a source close to sessions says the ag offered to resign after a series of heated exchanges between the two men. the frustration brewing since sessions recused himself from the russian probe three months ago starting a chain of events that led to the appointment of robert mueller. more from jim acosta. >> reporter: the white house still cannot say whether president trump has confidence in attorney general jeff session

two, the investigation into michael flynn and the president asks that he drop that investigation into the president's former national security advisor and as well as james comey himself, the push from the president for james comey to clear the president's name by saying that he is not the president -- the president himself was not under investigation in a couple of key passages that were laid out in james comey's written testimony that was released yesterday really gets into this in some detail. particularly the loyalty ask. this is one key moment from a january 27th dinner in which comey reveals that the president asked for loyalty. he says this anderson a few moments later the president said i need loyalty. i expect loyalty. he said i didn't move, speak or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. we simply looked at each other in silence. the conversation then moved on. but he returned to the subject near the end of our dinner. he asked for, quote, loyalty that comey was not comfortable in giving. this is not the only time this came up in the

>> the investigation of michael flynn.r to director comey that he preferred that investigation concluded. let me finish. >> tucker: i just want to be clear what you are saying, which investigation into michael flynn? which behavior? what was the root allegation? >> it doesn't matter, obstruction of justice is an effort to impede, influence, or prevent an ongoing investigation. >> tucker: for the purpose of corruption. >> incorrect, tucker. it is unlawful -- that is incorrect. it is unlawful to impede, influence or prevent an ongoing investigation. >> tucker: just one moment, this is a meaningful thing, you are a lawyer. so you're saying that the president of the united states does not have a constitutional right to direct investigations by his subordinates, is that what you're saying? >> no, that is not what i'm saying. i said it is unlawful to attempt to impede, obstruct, interfere, or influence an election. it is unlawful for the president to do that with in the fbi. so saying that i want you to drop the investigation, i

to your knowledge was he aware of the concerns about michael flynn prior to or during general flynn's tenure as national ecurity advisor? director comey: i don't -- you're asking including up to the time when flynn was forced to resign? my understanding is that he was. i'm trying to remember where i get that understanding from. i think from acting attorney general yates. senator wyden: former acting attorney general yates testified the concerns about general flynn were discussed with the intelligence community. would that have included anyone at the c.i.a. or dan coats' office, the d.n.i.? director comey: i would assume, yes. senator wyden: michael flynn resigned four days after attorney general sessions was sworn in. do you know if the attorney general was aware of the concerns about michael flynn during that period? director comey: i don't as i sit here. i don't recall that he was. i could be wrong. but i don't remember that he was. senator wyden: finally, let's see if you can give us some sense of who recommended your firing. besides the wlers from the attorney general, deputy atto

noncommittal in his response to michael flynn.ichael flynn will be the harry potter series silver sinks of the investigation in russia. when he is put in front of a committee, that will be the climax of this political saga. host: why do you think james comer, a private citizen now -- james comey, a private citizen disclose theto contents of the memos he took and testified before congress? some point hek at judgment of ethical calls of his own to make. those were his to make. host: ok. some reaction from former attorneys general to james comey's testimony. the hill reports one x attorney general said james comey was failing to do his job, alberto gonzales said attorney general jeff sessions, and james comey have been failing to do their jeff sessions, maybe he did, maybe he inquired as to what was going on but i fault jim comey, gonzales served under president george w. bush radio on cosby on wabc friday, the inspector general general at the department of justice will write a report which i think will be a scathing report condemnin

he has had many interactions with michael flynn. communication with the putin associate ahead of that russian bank and most importantly we know that he tried to establish a line of communication with the russians that apparently was drying to avoid detection by the then-current administration. >> i think it's the senate intelligence committee. >> senate, senate. >> we'll see what happens. much more on the breaking news. stick around. a crayon in my han. i decided to see if there was a way for design to play a... ...positive role in what was going on in the world. there's a jacket that's reflective for visibility... ...a sleeping bag jacket, jackets that turn into tents. i usually do my fashion sketches on the computer. i love drawing on the screen. there's no lag time at all. it feels just like my markers. with fashion, you can dress people and help people. it's really cool to see your work come to life. heri think i might burst..... totally immersed weekenders. whatever kind of weekender you are, there's a hilton for you. book your

that ought to take our blereath away. >> did you order james comey to close the investigation on michael flynnestion. >> the president never suggested that mr. comey let flynn go. >> i have see

now while seeking the e-mails, he reported with michael flynn. now a central target in the rushing russian investigation. flynn did not respond to questions. but there is another story. the journal creating u.s. officials reports and investigators, this is most important paragraph. have examined reports from intelligence agencies that describe russian hackers discussing how to obtain e-mails from mrs. clinton's server. we do not know whether smith was that intermediary. the journal notes, the reports detailing the russian hackers' discussions were compiled when are mr. smith's group was operating. last july you might remember. >> russia if you're listening, i home you're able to find 30,000 e-mails that are missing. i think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. >> joining me, michael isikoff. i have to say, this story in the "wall street journal" both confusing and opaque. but i would say, the closest reporting has come the detailing an actual nexus between the efforts by russian hackers to hack into dnc computers and anyone in the

to your knowledge, was he aware of the concerns about michael flynn prior to or during general flynn's tenure as national security adviser? mr. comey: including up to the time that flynn was forced to resign? was.derstanding is that he i think from acting attorney general yates. >> former acting attorney general yates testified concerns about general flynn were discussed with the intelligence community. would that have included anyone or dan coats' office? mr. comey: i would assume yes. michael flynn resigned four days after attorney general sessions was sworn in. do you know if the attorney general was aware of the concerns about michael flynn during that period? mr. comey: as i sit here, i don't recall that he was. i could be wrong but i don't remember that he was. >> finally, let's see if you can give us some sense of who , besidesed your firing the letters to the attorney general, deputy attorney general. do you have any information on who may have recommended or been involved in your firing? mr. comey: i don't. >> senator collins. mr. comey, let me begin by thanking you for your v

but michael flynn was there, i think he should be part of the story.cond thing that struck me desire to setthe up a channel. reported tois was be a channel for michael flynn to talk to the russians, supposedly to the russian military, supposedly about syria and other issues. that was the channel. that does not bother me. charlie: what if it was to talk about sanctions? >> that does not even bother me. charlie: what would bother you? >> what bothers me is two things. i want to know why the request for secrecy. what were they trying to hide? in order to make sure you were not seen? >> by the current administration. it could be they were worried about leaks. even the most benign conversation -- maybe that was the reason. maybe they are trying to hide something else. i don't know. but that request for secrecy is something that needed to be looked at. the second question i have is emma was this flynn and kushner's idea that they carried up completely on their own or did they have permission from the president-elect? did they have instruction and permission

some some ways what he's saying is it since president trump was implying he should let michael flynn,n into him 90, flynn, this investigation into him go, not the broader investigation. thank you very much. and we are going to hear that test testimony from james comey tomorrow and it will be all but the question of whether president trump obstructed justice by asking officials not to investigate links with his campaign to russia. today senate officials refused to testify. democrats were pressed the director of national intelligence dan coates on a simple question, had the president asked him to intervene. as i responded to similar questions during my confirmation in a second hearing before the committee, i do not feel it is appropriate for me in the public session in which confidential conversations between the present myself, i do not believe it is appropriate for me to address that ina public appropriate for me to address that in a public session. the director of national intelligence dan coats. for more i spoke earlier with republican senator john barrasso. the defence chiefs in th

oversight committee is pointing to, jared kushner the son-in-law and top white house advisor, and michael flynn were unfit to handle classified information. kushner still at the white house, flynn no longer at the white house, but did stay on the white house staff for 18 days after the concerns about him being central to russian blackmail were essentially raised. the question about jared kushner, this has to do with his failure to disclose foreign contacts initially on his security clearance forms, including four contacts with russian officials. including sergey kislyak and the head of a russian bank that was under u.s. sanctions at that time. now, in this letter that cummings sent to reince priebus white house chief of staff he cites this. it appears mr. kushner allowed his colleagues at the white house and the american people to be misled about his multiple communications with the russian officials. mr. kushner reportedly failed to disclose contacts with dozens of foreign officials on a security clearance application. in any case, it is unclear why mr. kushner continues to have access to clas

the president continued to talk about michael flynn who had resigned the previous date. president then return today the topic of mike flynn, saying he's a good guy and has been through a lot. he repeated he hadn't don't anything wrong in his calls to the russians, but misled the vice president. he then said i hope you can see your way clear to lete letting this go, to letting flynn go. he's a good guy. i replied only that he is a good guy. in fact i had a positive experience dealing with mike flynn when he was a colleague as director of the defense intelligence agency at the beginning of my term at fbi. i did not say i would let this go. the president returned briefly to the problem of leaks. i then got up and left out the door by the grandfather clock, making my way through the large group of people waiting there, including reince priebus and the vice president. i immediately prepared an unclassified memo about the conversation with flynn and discussed the matter with fbi senior leadership. i had understood the president to be requesting that we drop any investigation o

comey about the investigation into michael flynn. help us understand what that means. >> well, that was a serious breach in the relationship between the president and the director of the f.b.i. it was at that point that somebody in the room should have made clear that the president ought not to be alone with the director of the f.b.i. and, obviously, no woon did, and i think that was a serious lapse in terms of good discipline at the white house. >> pelley: well, why shouldn't the president be alone with the f.b.i. director? >> well, the director of the f.b.i. is conducting investigations into national security issues, and the president should not be viewed as trying to in any way influence those kinds of and so for that reason, at least the approach in past with other presidents has been to make very sure that the president does not have that kind of one-on-one discussion with the director of the f.b.i., particularly when the director is conducting a very sensitive investigation. that just is not done. >> pelley: what did you see in

democrats are demanding documents be turned over regarding jared kushner and michael flynn. what are you learning? >> reporter: well, don, what they're pointing to are regulations that actually govern how people with access classified intelligence, specifically when there are concerns, credible concerns raised about someone's fitness to obtain classified intelligence that says they should actually have their security clearances suspended while those credible allegations are investigated. now, as we do know, michael flynn, the former national security adviser, was -- there were warnings from sally yates, a former acting attorney general to white house counsel on multiple occasions that michael flynn may have been susceptible to russian blackmail and appears to have misled the president of the united states about his relationship with sergei kislyak. they're saying jared kushner had multiple conversations with russian officials that he left off to get his security clearance. we know his contacts had become of interest to investigators on capitol hill and in bob mueller's speci

campaign associates were in contact with russian officials, including fired national security adviser michael flynn. by the time comey met with the president in february in the oval office comey says flynn was in legal jeopardy. >> there was an open fbi criminal investigation of his statements in connection with the russian contacts and the contacts themselves. >> reporter: comey told his senior advisers that the president had asked him to "let go" of the flynn investigation, but they decided not to inform attorney general jeff sessions. >> we also were aware of facts that i can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a russian-related investigation problematic. >> reporter: days later sessions recused himself from the investigation after it was revealed that he had not disclosed all of his meetings with the russian ambassador. besides flynn the fbi is now scrutinizing chairman paul manafort, former campaign adviser carter page, trump confidant roger stone, and his son-in-law, jared kushner. arkansas senator tom cotton. >> do you believe donald trump colluded with r

one of the quotes from the statement regards mike flynn, michael flynn the former national security advisor who was fired by president trump for lying about his contacts with russians. the president, apparently there a meeting with james comey, at the white house, in february, said some of the following, according to mr. comey. i think we have a graphic here. the president turned to the topic of mike flynn, this is comey saying this, saying he's a good guy, and he has been through a lot. he repeated that flynn hadn't done anything wrong in his calls with the russians but had misled the vice president. he then said, "i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. he is a good guy. i hope you can let this go." comb said, he is only a good guy. where account president be in trouble on that nancy? >> in the details comey has provided he took very interesting action after that conversation. first of all he once again documented the conversation and then he says he prepared an unclassified memo about the conversation and discussed it with fbi senior leadership. he says

what about the obstruction of justice possibly regarding the investigation of michael flynn? it's picking one corner of flynn's -- of comey's statement as a vindication, but there is a heck of a lot more that comey talked about. >> right. but also remember what it is is a window into what matters to the president. obviously what's been driving his moves here for better or worse is this fascination this is all bad for him. counselor, how do you see the stakes today in terms of laying out a case that the president did something wrong? >> well, there are essentially one big thing or two parallel things. one is and the 800-pound gorilla is the flynn matter because it is very hard and the clips you showed has the president saying i did not intervene. comey saying absolutely you did intervene. that's the biggest thing that's been joined. and who are they going to believe. the american people and the senators will determine how this outcome is reviewed. the other thing is this whole cycle of loyalty. the january 6th starts the relationship with loyalty and essentially because he felt