mr. mueller. >> ok, i am going to make a very brief statement and that will be at. first, if one thing is clear from the meeting we just had, it is that mr. mueller has broad and wide-ranging authority to follow the facts wherever they somed that gives me confidence and should give the american people some confidence because he is a man of great integrity and experience. second, after this meeting it is clear as ever that the intelligence committee in the senate has to continue its work and it should continue. and the need for former director comey to come testify in public soon is as great as ever. thank you.

mr. mueller's investigation? mr. cummings: mueller's a pro. c'mon now. i believe there will be no problem with -- there may be some disagreement, but no problem with us sitting down working with mueller and his assistants and coming up with a plan so we don't interfere with his investigation and we are allowed to do what we have to do. i cannot emphasize it enough, again, when we're dancing with the angels, the question is will we look back, will people look back and say what did you do to make sure our elections were fair, transparent and the way the founding fathers meant for them to be? that's a great threat and i don't want us to lose sight of that. reporter: how much was mr. rosenstein requested to explain why he wrote that memo about comey and who asked him to do it? mr. cummings: i can't answer that. i could answer but i can't answer because it's classified. reporter: mr. reichert was all about it. [laughter] mr. cummings: well, whatever he said -- what did he say? [laughter] reporter: how about joe lieberman and the f.b.i.? mr. cummings: i like j

mr. mueller's investigation. >> i have no doubt. mr. cummings: mueller's a pro. i believe there will be no problem with -- there may be some disagreement, but no problem with us sitting down, working with mueller and his assistants, and coming up with plan so we don't interfere with his investigation and we're allowed to do what we have to do. i cannot emphasize enough, again, when we're dancing with angels, the question is will we look back, will people look back and say what did you do to make sure that our elections were fair, transparent, in the way the founding fathers meant for them to be? that's a grave threat. i don't us to lose sight of that. reporter: how much was mr. rosenstein present to explain why he wrote that memo about comey, and who asked him to do it? mr. cummings: i can't answer that. i could answer but i can't because -- >> the director was here talking all about it. whatever he said. what did he say? i like joe lieberman. i think he's a wonderful man. i have known him for a long time. i think we have to be very, very careful with this electi

mr. mueller's investigation? >> i have absolutely no doubt. mueller is a pro. come on now. i believe that there will be no problem with -- there may be some disagreement, but no problem with us sitting down and working with mueller and his assistants and coming up with a plan so that we don't interfere with his investigation, and we are allowed to do what we have to do. but i cannot emphasize it enough, again, when we're dancing with angels, the question is, will we look back -- will people look back and say, what did you do to make sure our elections were fair, transparent and the way the founding fathers meant for them to be? that's a great threat. i don't want us to lose sight of that. >> very quickly, how much was mr. rosenstein pressed to explain why he wrote that memo about comey and who asked him to do it? >> i can't answer that. i could answer it, but i candidacy answcan't answer it because -- >> issa was just here talking all about it, congressman. >> oh, he did? well, whatever he said. what'd he say? >> congressman, joe lieberman, fbi? >> i like joe lieberman. i t

mr. mueller's investigation. he very much just like totally backed away from kind of ever going there. >> did he tell you that make it was the day, the point at which a new director james comey would be terminate? >> i missed the beginning of his opening statement. i cannot say for sure that he did not say that. >> is at your impression based on the briefing that this has a crush the thresher from the counterintelligence to a criminal matter? >> he stressed this was investigation. he did not go beyond that. he said to say it with prejudice peoples opinion as to the nature of it. he said there still predetermination that someone committed a crime. this is just an investigation. >> a special counsel would negley impact congresses the boat into investigate. >> that was never raised. >> is a understanding rosenstein new comey would be fired before he wrote that memo? >> he said he did comment the president has made such statements already. >> the president said a special counsel would hurt our country terrible? do yo

mr. mueller. the shock to the body is that this is now a criminal investigation and congress' ability to conduct investigations of all things russia has been severely limited, probably in an appropriate fashion. >> you heard there one of the chief criticisms coming from one senator, lindsey graham, that he believes that this appointment of a special counsel will potentially hamper or potentially solve the numerous congressional investigations going on up here on capitol hill. but chairman of the senate committee and on the house side say they will continue their work and their investigations will go on. jake? >> sunlen serfaty, thanks. let's bring in cnn's jeff zeleny. we're going to monitor what is going on at capitol hill. i apologize if i have to interrupt from you. the president could be making a big announcement in naming a new fbi director very soon. any minute, really. >> reporter: indeed, jake. as he told you and other anchors earlier today, he is very close to making a decision and told r

mr. mueller 's investigation. he totally backed away from kind of ever going there. reporter: did he tell you that may 8 was the day the point which he knew f.b.i. director -- senator cassidy: i missed the beginning of his opening statement. i cannot say for sure. reporter: follow-up -- is it your impressioned based on the briefing this has now crossed the threshold from a countertenls to a criminal matter? senator cassidy: he said to go beyond that would prejudice people's opinion. he said there is no predetermination someone committed a crime. this is a investigation. reporter: would this negatively impact congress' ability to independently investigate? senator cassidy: that was never raised. reporter: is it your understanding that rosenstein knew comey was going to be fired before he wrote that memo? senator cassidy: he said the president made such statements already. reporter: has the president said a special counsel could hurt our country terribly, do you agree with that assessment? senator cassidy: i don't think it hurts our country. reporter: what do you make

mr. mueller. >> ok, i am going to make a very brief statement and that will be at. first, if one thing is clear from the meeting we just had, it is that mr. mueller has broad and wide-ranging authority to follow the facts wherever they somed that gives me confidence and should give the american people some confidence because he is a man of great integrity and experience. second, after this meeting it is clear as ever that the intelligence committee in the senate has to continue its work and it should continue. and the need for former director comey to come testify in public soon is as great as ever. thank you. >> next on c-span, president trump holding a joint news conference with colombian president santos and later, house speaker paul ryan and minority leader nancy pelosi holding the weekly briefings discussing the naming of the special counsel. and treasury secretary steve mnuchin testifying before the senate banking committee. "washington journal," live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up friday morning, connecticut democratic congre

mr. mueller -- senator leahy?. >> was just take away. i will go into the briefing itself or the questions and it but i felt before the briefing that the public deserves the oversight by the congress and how russia tries to influence our country is still tries to influence our country could be dangerous robert mahler is a good man and an honest man with integrity i have known him for years. i think that was very critical for him it does not mean that the job is done. >> do they make that independent investigation?. >> they have two different things that congress may not have but the public has every reason to wonder what has happened to our government to be manipulated by russia that does not have our best interest at heart. >> senator?. >> we just got through with a very important briefing with the spent the major role former director into the russian issue one of the issues raised with him is my concern that we have multiplicity of congressional committees investigating the same matter and how could we best coordinate those activities w

mr. mueller. but generally, there will be no secrets as to whether the president has a lawyer. >> matt, a question to you about this procedure, if you can answer it. all we're hearing about mr. mueller is deliberative, hates leaks, likes to hire his own staff. he has already hired two people familiar to him to start off and get office space and get going. and we are also hearing that this will take months, it could take years. and at the end, probably in a non-ashy way he will issue a report. what if along the way he comes up with something that he deems urgent, a clear and present danger, something that the american lawmakers and maybe the american public should know? is there a mechanism for him to raise his hand and say, i have to step out of my investigation -- i'm still going to do that report, but this needs to become public or this needs to be known right away? >> you know, it's a great question. it really is a hard one to answer because this investigation, if it goes to the president of th

mr. mueller's investigation. he very much totally backed away from going there. may 8 he tell you that was the point at which he knew at the art director -- he knew fbi director -- >> i missed the beginning of the opening statements and i cannot say for sure. >> is it your impression that this has crossed the threshold from counterintelligence into a criminal matter. >> he stressed this was an investigation and he is sent go beyond that would prejudice people's opinion. there is no predetermination that somebody has committed a crime. >> will the special counsel negatively impact congress' ability to independently investigate? >> that was never raised. >> is it your understanding that omeynstein kennew c ome was going to be fired before he wrote that memo? he said a special counsel would hurt our country terribly. >> i don't think it hurts our country. >> what do you make of that, that the president knew he was going to fire comey before he had the conversation about writing a memo? >> rosenstein pointed out that no action is final before it is final. you can ima

mr. mueller.same level of confidence in congress, senators, representative, republicans and democrats, accept the findings from mr. mueller's investigation without political bias blinding their view? >> that is going to be politics in washington. i think those who know bob mueller, and people from both sides, have already confirmed their confidence in bob mueller. i do believe that the way he will approach it, will undermine that confidence -- under score that confidence, i believe that happy will accept it, they are looking for a timely resolutio. arthel: you know, we are reporting that congressman jason chaffetz said he is set to speak with mr. comey tomorrow ahead of mr. comey's public testimony happening after memorial day, which is before the senate intel commit y there. is there anything to read into that? >> it is a race for every committee to be first to become rerelevant. what is interesting to watch is extend that congress has access to documents. or mueller will ask congress to step bac

mr. mueller's investigation? >> i have absolutely no doubt. mueller's a pro. come on, now. i believe that there will be no problem with -- there may be some disagreement, but no problem with us sitting down, working with mueller and his assistants and coming up with a plan so that we don't interfere with his investigation and we are allowed to do what we have to do. but i cannot emphasize it enough, again, when we're dancing with the angels, the question is will we look back, will people look back and say what did you do to make sure that our elections were fair, transparent, and the way the founding fathers meant for them to be. that's a great threat. and i don't want us to lose sight of that, all right? >> mr. cummings, quickly, how much was mr. rosenstein pressed to explain why he wrote that memo about comey and who asked him to? >> i can't even answer -- i can't answer that. i could answer it, but i can't answer it because -- >> -- was just here talking all about it. >> oh, he did? well, well -- [ laughter ] well, whatever he said. what'd he say? >> -- joe lieberman in

mr. mueller is a perfect choice. but mr. mueller serves at the pleasure of the president.remember, the president could fire him at any time. i want an independent commission that the president cannot touch. congress has to do that. but right now, the republicans have prevented us from getting this bill forward. we now have it on what's called a discharge petition. i have signed on to that to try to get it to have floor -- out of committee, off the floor and before the house. we are fighting a uphill battle for that. i hope the republican leadership after this will understand that an independent commission would be best for the country. >> our intelligence expert, malcolm nance, who really did write the book on russia's effort to -- successful effort to hack our election said on the air tonight during the 8:00 hour, and i hadn't as of yet heard anyone else say it, that jared kushner's security clearance should be pulled. certainly while this investigation focuses more on him by name, while these questions are in the air. is that a proposal you would share? >> well, it's a p

mr. mueller's capacity to investigate. i just don't think it will work.w, i was at the brief in with mr. rosenstein. it's fairly clear to me that mr. mueller is going to have broad authority, resources and he'll be encouraged to let this investigation go where ever the facts lead him. presidents don't do well when they try to contain investigations about their own administrations. we have a pretty recent example of that in american history. so, this is a path i think president trump ought to tread pretty carefully on. >> what was your reaction to rosen stein not necessarily addressing who it was that asked him to rigwrite that memo that to the firing of jim comey? >> what was frustrating because we didn't get a lot of new information, it was clear to me that ark, of course, he knew that mr. comey was going to be fired before the memo was written. and that he was given direction to write the memo. i think the only thing he could say that was original was he claim that is this content was his own content. but this is a p president who now in more than one o

mr. mueller. you will not push him around. as a straight shooter. he will bring some normalcy to this process. that's my final point. we have to let this process play out. it needs to play out. normally what happens when you have investigations, those who are investigated are quiet. the attorney speaks for them. as you know, i'm an attorney. and basically says they're going to operate. that's it. i think that's what we all need to do. let this process play out. we should never forget what started all of this. that is, the 17 intelligence of the united states of america unanimously concluding that the russians tried and to some degree interfered with our elections. we are dancing with angels, the question is what did we do at this moment? what did we do about that? what difference did we make? did we sit back and say, i'm not going to be bothered? or do we do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't happen again? keep in mind, the russians are looking forward to interfering and more election

mr. mueller's?yes, absolutely, and it's very important i think for people to understand just what this means and what it doesn't mean. the house and senate investigations will continue to go forward. we have very important oversight responsibility, and, obviously, if we uncovered facts that we think that prosecutors ought to know about, we would refer that now to the special counsel. in the sense that we may need to coordinate our activities because we have parallel investigations running, we would now work with mr. mueller. so none of this stops what's going on in the house and senate. indeed, if we form an independent commission, that also is a completely separate mission than that by the special counsel. the special counsel will be overseeing the f.b.i. agents who are working the investigation, and the special counsel will be making decisions if it comes to that, whether charges ought to be brought and against whom. >> yang: and what will your committee be asking for with this disclosure that mr.

mr. mueller's purview will be the entire russia issue. >> former fbi director bob mueller takes over. tonight, reaction from a stunned white house. barney frank and maxine waters with reaction from democrats, and what this means for the investigation going forward. >> this russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story. >> when "all in" starts right now. >>> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. tonight on the 117th day of the presidency of donald j. trump, the u.s. department of justice has appointed a special counsel to oversee an investigation into the trump campaign's potential ties to russian interference in the american election. the momentous development coming two hours ago. the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein, the man who wrote the memo that the administration initially used to justify president trump's firing of fbi director james comey, announcing he is appointing former fbi director robert mueller to serve in the role of special counsel, to oversee the fbi investigation into russian government influence in the 2016 campaign, and any possible collusion

mr. mueller, i would jealously guard the witness pool. e of the big losers in this decision the public. i think the biggest legal change seems to be that mr. mutualer is going to proceed forward with the idea of a criminal investigation versus a counter-intelligence investigation. >> does that mean the judiciary committee won't be able to get the memos that were requested yesterday? >> i think mr. mueller will tell us what we can get and what we can't. clinton hired an individual lawyer to deal with all things related to ken starr so the white house could conduct its business. if i were the white house i would focus on defending the nation and trying to get his legislative agenda through. >> credit to howard feynman for his appearance there. >> bob bennett was clinton's attorney through the paula jones and monica lewinsky scandals he is a former federaprosecut himself. so with us matthew miller former cefs spesman for the department of justice and msnbc security analyst. gentlemen i have heard it say over the past 48 hours especially presi

mr. president, last night deputy attorney general rod rosenstein appointed former f.b.i. director robert mueller as a special counsel to oversee the investigation into russia's interference in the 2016 elections. this was a very good fers step. -- first step. mr. rosenstein has done the right thing. i applaud his decision for its correctness and courage. a special counsel was much called for in this situation. and former director mueller is the right kind of individual for the job. i now have significantly greater confidence that the investigation will follow the facts wherever they lead. additionally, as special counsel, mr. muller must have broad latitude to pursue the russia investigation. in the appointment order, it stipulates the special counsel is authorized to investigate, quote, any matters that rise directly or indirectly from this investigation, unquote. that's a really important power, given the recent reports about an active f.b.i. investigation into general flynn. i am heartened by the news of mr. muller's appointment, but in no way it diminishes the need tn active role in helping

mr. mueller on a witch-hunt? mr. issa: well, i don't personally believe in witches but, look, the director's job is in fact to go where the fact lead. and he has a reputation. now, all special prosecutors turn over a lot more rocks than anybody else in the executive branch wants. the reason that the old statute, if you will, the kenneth starr statute expired was because of that tendency to turn over rocks even without being asked. i don't think the american people or our president should be concerned. i think that this is somebody who's done a lot of investigations and, yes, he's going to find things beyond the scope that the narrowest interpretation of either republicans or democrats would want. but i think the american people deserve thscope to be as broad as necessary to regain confidence in our elected officials, in our appointed officials, in our elections. all of those -- the deputy a.g. said it very well. his reason for doing this appointment is as much about returning public confidence. he was asked about the

mr. mueller very bewell. there is a tremendous amount of respect for him on capitol hill from people who know him in his prior service to our country. >> why did you bring up the prior comment about a witch hunt, which is what the president said earlier in a tweet. >> whether it is the president or the people most loyal to the president, to people who are the stiffest resisters, opposing his agenda entirely, whether they're in congress or back home in their districts, i think, you know, from the fringes on both sides to everyone in between, it'smportant that we're communicing with everyone so that whatever te of breach of trust that anyone feels, whether it's on the right related to the investigation of secretary clinton or on the left as it relates to, you know, this investigation that is being discussed, i think at the end of the day, it is very important for all americans, as many americans as possible, to have confidence in those findings and conclusions so we can move on from whatever those findings and

senator chuck schumer says mr mueller is exactly the right kind of individualfor this.epublicanjason chaffetz calls it a "great selection". anthony zurcher, is in washington. explained the powers robert mueller has and the time frame he is working to? as special counsel, he has broad council, and is technically an employee in thejustice department and can be fired by the attorney general. he still has a wide range of investigatory powers. he will have his own staff, all the material the fbi gather at his disposal. he will be able to bring criminal charges if he sees fit to do so. he's not going to have the same oversight and internaljustice department investigation would have. and then, as far as timeline goes, thatis and then, as far as timeline goes, that is the big question. these independent investigations, special councils can take months and years to unwind. there is no set time line. if you remember another investigation, it took years. watergate took years. the iran hearings took quite a long time. i don't think we will see this wrapped up don't think we will se

mr. mueller will have the tools he needs to look into that question? >> he will certainly have the staffing. this is remarkably difficult, both questions. only incompetent collusion is detectable collusion. it's not that hard to collude without it ever being detectable isall, especially when it entirely common for campaigns to talk to foreign leaders and foreign ambassadors. i was shocked when then senator sessions said he was sure he hadn't met with russian officials. it turned out he did. met with 15 different ambassadors yesterday and i'm not even a senator. are meeting foreign officials all the time. only on rare occasions to the until community have a tape of what was discussed. so only incompetent collusion is detectable. and the issue of what was the motivation for firing comey? was it to derail an investigation. trump's are so erratic and .ontradictory it would be impossible to prove that this president made any decision for any particular purpose because he's never failed to give three contradictory purposes. there could have been collusion. >

mr. mueller will have the tools he needs to look into that question? mr. sherman: he'll certainly have the staffing. look, this is remarkably difficult both questions. i mean, only incompetent collusion is detectable collusion. it's not that hard to collude without it never being detectable at all, especially when it is entirely common for campaigns to talk to foreign leaders and foreign ambassadors . i mean, i was shocked when the then-senator sessions said he was sure he hadn't met with russian officials. turned out he did. i met with 15 different ambassadors yesterday and i'm not even a senator. so campaigns are meeting foreign officials all the time. only on rare occasions does the intel community have a tape what was discussed. it's only incompetent collusion is detectable. and then the issue of what was the motivation for firing comey? was it to derail an investigation? in this case, trump's comments are so erratic and contradictry that they are exculpatory in and of self -- itself. the president has never failed to give three contradictory purposes.

mr. mueller as credible, respected individual.le enough such that whatever his decision on this, which ever way it goes, that both side also respect that decision? >> this is such a bitterly divided country. everything is seen through such a partisan lens at this point. you know, democrats and republicans almost don't see the world in the same way at all. yesterday i did syou did see de and republicans praising mr. mueller, even those who said we didn't need a special counsel, said he is a person that they trusted to get to the bottom of this in a fair and even handed way. so that gives you an indication that the decision will be respected by both sides whether that exists out in the country where people don't know mueller as well is another guess because these are partisan times. >> thinking from an investor point of view, it feels like this buys some time for republicans who would otherwise come out and criticize, that cole whole question of obstruction of justice and whether the president fired james comey for not handling -- f

mr. mueller. i think bob mueller will reach out and engage on setting his priorities.e will set the priorities first. and if i have information i want my information to go before the grand jury first because that's going to be the real record that matters. >> and let me ask you, you were a justice, right, when mr. mueller was the fbi director. so -- oh if i could ask you to hold for just a second. we're getting some pictures now just back from jerusalem. the first ladies of the united states and israel. what they're in is a hospital. this is the medical center in jerusalem. they're going to tour the medical center. they're going to be talking with medical staff. but this is focused on children. they're going to be able to meet some of the children. there's a play area where they do some sort of artistic program there. so there we see first lady melania trump with sara netanyahu for this visit. i wanted to get those live pictures in. if i could go back to you for a second, congress. you work at justice when mueller was the fbi director. give me your sense of what kind o

mr. mueller from democrats and republicans.on has suggested that the american people can trust and confident that mr. mueller will lead an independent investigation. guy: where does this leave mitch mcconnell? duds it leave him with egg on his face? >> what happens now is you have a situation where everyone is going to want to know exactly what mueller digs up, what the results of the conclusion are. now we have a decision where former director comey is able to testify. it is just more answers that need to be brought to life. guy: i expect this is going to be something we're going to be talking about for quite sometime. let's bring more voices into the onversation. good morning. >> good morning. guy: is this a surprise? >> it is a surprise. it was a good surprise. there has been widespread agreement this is a very good decision. it has been a disruptive and disturbing couple of days. i expect this investigation will go on for a very long time. probably through the midterms if not longer. one of the concerns is there is so much

mr. mueller will be dealing with this issue. get to the business of the american people and that includes tax reform and an infrastructure bill. >> i believe, i think i learned this from african-american queen, that the boat can't be steered unless the engine is working. thank you for coming on. >>> up next, everything we know tonight about mike flynn and how he still got job as national security adviser even after telling the trump team that he was under investigation for working with turkey. introducing new depend real fit briefs. now more breathable than ever. in situations like this, there's no time for distractions. it's not enough to think i'm ready. i need to know i'm ready. no matter what lies ahead. get a free sample at depend.com 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 for being hot and 100 years old? we'll take 2! [ laughing ] xfinity x1 gives you exclusive access to the best of the billboard music a

mr. mueller goes far enough here? it's a very significant step and we need to get to the truth and this is the way to get to it. >> robert mueller is very well respected here in the bay area and nationwide, can you tell us how this investigation will work? >> from what i have read about director mueller is respected by his peers. >> what does this do to president trump's agenda. he's been taking one body blow after another. does this grind all that to a halt? >> i don't think it grinds it to a halt, but it givens a process where we can govern collectively, congress and the administration, republicans and

mr. mueller is a perfect choice, but mr. mueller serves at the pleasure of the president. the president could fire him at any time. i warned a commission the at this time cannot touch and congress has to do that. the republicans prevented us from getting this bill forward. we now have it on what's called a discharge petition. i signed on to that to try to get it off the floor and out of committee and off the floor. before the house. we are still fighting an uphill battle for that. i hope the republican leadership will understand an independent commission would be best for the country. >> our expert malcolm nance who did write the book on the successful hacking of the election. jared kushner's clearance should be pulled. certainly while this investigation focusing more on him by name while the questions are in the air. is that a proposal you would share? >> it's a proposal a lot of democrats share and i am trying to make up my mind. on the one hand it gets worse and worse with everything we hear every single day. on the other hand, he hasn't been proven guilty of anything y

so what powers will mr mueller have in this role? appointed by head of the justice department, when an investigation by the department itself might pose a conflict of interest, or if it's believed it's in the "public interest" to appoint one. he has the power to initiate investigations, subpoena records and bring criminal charges. robert mueller will also be able to widen his jurisdiction, although he'd have to ask the attorney general for permission to do so. but not everyone thinks this appointment is a good idea. joining us from washington is ron christie, a former adviser to george w bush. why not? it is important to recognise what is going on in the united states government, it was engaged in a counterintelligence operation to ascertain whether or not the russians had on properly influence the election, the appointment of a special counsel takes it out of the realm of counterintelligence, when there is not a prosecutor involved. —— unproperly. now we have some blue with prosecuting powers. question a lot of republicans ask in wa

mr. mueller. if it is true that there was no collusion, that no u.s. persons in any way worked with the russians to try to undermine our elections, that's great. and the american people should know that and that should be the result of a thorough, broad, independent investigation by mr. mueller and by republicans and democrats here in the congress if we want to get this cloud of controversy of scandal and doubt out from over us, we need to go through this process. i hope the president understands that. i hope he cooperates. i want to get this behind us as well. but we can't do that until we know what actually happened. this has been the longest we could watch and it's just thursday morning, right? with every single curveball every day, every hour, how concerned are you that this noise is really derailing your party's promise and mission to the american voter? >> well, it can be distracting, brooke, but there are many republicans and democrats here in the congress who, even though it doesn't make news every day, are working on issues like tax reform, li

mr. mueller a series of questions in front of the judiciary committee. he couldn't answer any of them.dn't ask who the lead investigator was. i was disappointed with that. i'll keep an open mind and we'll see how this process plays out. >> the president told a few of us reporters today he believes the appointment of a special counsel in this case robert mueller in his words hurts our country terribly. he tweeted calling it a witch hunt. do you consider this investigation a witch hunt? >> what i want is the facts, wolf. we all want the facts. i think the president wants the facts so we can get out there and let the american people know what happened. i want to see the entire memo. i want to know who he talked to when he put that memo together. more importantly, i want to know did fbi director comey, did he memorial lies other conversations surrounding other big events, for example, the day after loretta lynch meets bill clinton on the tarmac last summer. in his discussions with senior justice department officials, did he memorialize those conversations? how about the time when they gave

that's right, mr mueller has sweeping powers not just that's right, mr mueller has sweeping powers notjustso any matters arising from that investigation. this could conceivably include the issue over whether or not mr trump tried to interfere with the ongoing investigation into michael flynn. this was yesterday's story if you remember that far back, when it was alleged he asked mr comey, the then fbi director, to step back from the case. he could go in all sorts of directions. i think it is also important to bear in mind mr mueller is still answerable to the administration in that he has to tell the justice administration in that he has to tell thejustice department if administration in that he has to tell the justice department if they ask what he's doing. and thejustice department can stop this enquiry any time. they could also potentially block charges, though if they did that, given mr muller willett mueller‘s stature and the fact it has been touted as an independent oversight committee would look very bad indeed. donald trump calling it the single biggest witchhunt of a politician in

mr. mueller's investigation. like totally backed away from ever going there. >> did he give you the day of may 8? did he tell you may 8 was the day, the point at which he knew that james comey would be terminated? >> i missed the beginning of his opening statement. i can not say for sure. >> is it your impression based on the briefing this has cross add threshold from a counter intelligence to a criminal matter? >> he stressed this is an investigation. he didn't go beyond that. he said to say that it went beyond that would prejudiced people's opinion as to the nature of it. there's no predetermination that someone committed a crime. >> will the appointment of a special counsel negatively impact congress's ability to investigate? >> that was never raised. >> is it your understanding that rosenstein new that comey would be fired from before he wrote that memo? >> he did comment that the president has made such statements. >> the president has said that a special counsel would hurt our country terribly. do you agree

mr. rosenstein viewed the whole process as something will mueller will speak on, not him. >> what did you think about the explanation? >> mr. rosenstein talked about why he voted, wrote the memo. the fact he believed what the fbi director did in july was inappropriate. >> was he tasked to write that memo? >> he did not -- i'll let you ask him that question. now that we have a special counsel about all things related to the process of the memo, i think you'll need to talk on mr. mueller about it. i have to go. >> all right. senator lindsey graham talking to reporters. an interesting had distinction he's making between what the investigation by congress would look at versus the investigation from robert mueller as special counsel. our chief legal correspondent is with us. what do you make of that? >> senator graham just made some news there. this is what we would call hearsay because he is describing what mr. rosenstein briefed in a closed session. an unusual closed briefing from the senate. we have heard from trump's defenders and the president that this is a counter intel inquiry. what li

mr. mueller is the perfect choice but mr. mueller serves as the pleasure of the president.y time. i warned an independent commission that the president cannot touch congress has to do that we're still fighting an uphill battle for that. i hope that the republican leadership will understand that it would be best for the country. >> malcolm nance that really did write the book on russia's effort to hack our election said on the air tonight during the 8:00 hour and i hadn't as of yet heard anyone else say it, that jared kushner's security clearance should be pulled. is that a proposal you would share? mind to tell you the truth.y on the one hand it gets worse and worse with everything we hear and on the other hand you're innocent until being proven guilty and he hasn't been proven guilty of anything yet so it may be a bit premature but again that's why i think mr. mueller has a job to do and he'll do a good job but the best thing would be an independent commission. it couldn't be knocked down by anybody. do the job and come up with whatever conclusion they can come up with and

mr. mueller understands the law. mr. mul eller ran the fbi so we that a democratic president asked him to stay. >> two years under a under president obama. >> he's greatly respected. he now has subpoena power. there was always a question as to whether the house or the senate would use their senate power to investigate the russia hacking and collusion scandal. now we have someone with a great deal of professional ethics who has subpoena power. this is a very different investigation now. this is a serious investigation and he can take it wherever he feels it ought to go. so the whole game has changed and now it's a serious matter. and i'll say this. until the comey memos came out, this wasn't really about president trump. president trump now is at the center of this particular inquiry. in large measure it's because of the way he handled comey. and robert mueller, a man who loves the fbi and is committed to its reputation is the best person to find out why mr. comey kept those records and what those records really mean. >>