mr. schiff indicated support for an independent investigator. if i have that correct. wherever that may lead. no matter what, no person is above the law. no one. i'm not, the president's not. therefore that's what we're looking for is a complete, thorough, and full investigation as to what has happened in the election process, what has happened in terms of the f.b.i. investigation. their a myriad of things that need to be dealt and gone into. that's what we're asking for. mr. cummings: one of the things that -- one of the reasons why we brought up the independent commission is we wanted a commission to have a group, to have the resources, and we also wanted the credibility. we wanted people to have -- the people on this commission to have a long-range view. that is protecting our democracy, making sure as mr. swalwell said letting us know exactly what happened. making sure with the recommendations it will not happen again. but there is one word that everybody keeps saying. credibility with regard to the american people. with the independent counsel, i think you need th

mr. schiff and mr. conaway regarding what it is we includesue, that examining the leaks and methods by which we might be able to prevent that or deter that in the future. anything that compromises the sources of those who gather intelligence on our behalf as a matter of concern. i don't disagree in that regard whatsoever. i disagree about the role of the press. i think the fourth estate has in the past and like our own history of america not in him blemished, it is performing a very important role in the country. host: this is our last collar. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a little bit disappointed. i am a former democrat. i think the party is failing to realize why that happened. a lot of democrats voted republican or independent. when theted in july dnc came outh the the way made hillary clinton become the nominee. they took votes from sanders. sanders requested an investigation. , it very do some pointed should be open and free and we are going so much after the russian thing. our own pa

mr. schiff, and mr. bishop. i want to thank the ranking member of the full committee and the ranking member of the subcommittee and the chairman of the subcommittee for working on this important legislation. with me and the committee staff, i urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 695 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. royce: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and we pass h.r. 1625. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1625 a bill to amend the state department basic authorities act of 1956 to inc

mr. schiff. first point i would like to make is that i shared classified information with the russians while i was director of cia. cia on a routine basis shares classified information with russians on terrimatter it doesn't mean that it becomes unclassified. it means that it retains the classification but is releasable then to russia or to other partners. so that in itself is not unprecedented. i don't flow what was shared or said in the oval office, but if the reports in the press are true that mr. trump decided to spontaneously share some intelligence with the russians, i think he would have basically violated two protocols. and those two protocols are, one, such classified intelligence is not shared with visiting foreign ministers, or local ambassadors. it is shared through intelligence channels because it needs to be handled the right way and it needs to make sure that it is not exposed. he didn't do that, again, if the press charges are accurate. secondly, before sharing any classified inte

mr. schiff. first point i'd like to make is that i shared classified information with the russians while i was director of cia. cia on a routine basis shares classified information with russians on terrorism matters. it doesn't mean that it becomes unclassified. it is releasable to russia or other partners. so that in itself is not unprecedented. and i don't know what was said or shared in the oval office, but if the reports in the press are true that mr. trump decided to spontaneously share some intelligence with the russians, i think he would have basically violated two protocols. and those two protocols are, one is that such intelligence, classified intelligence, is not shared with visiting foreign ministers or local ambassadors. it's shared through intelligence channels because it needs to be handled the right way and it needs to make sure that it is not exposed. he didn't do that, again, if the press charges are accurate. secondly, before sharing any classified intelligence with foreign part

mr. schiff, five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. i want today follow up on a comment i made in the opening statement and that is with respect to the allegations that have been made recently that the president or his aides may have sought to enlist the help of members of the ic or director comey himself to drop the flynn investigation. al have any members of the ic shared with you their concerns that the president was attempting to enlist the help of people within the intelligence community to drop the flynn investigation? >> no, sir. >> are you aware of any efforts the president has made to enlist the support of intelligence community personnel to push back a narrative involving the collusion issue mr. rooney was asking about? >> i'm unaware of it. >> i want to ask you about the allegations concerning the president's meetings in the white house in the oval office with the russians. first what concerns you might have if the allegations are accurate about sharing information that we may have obtained by the intelligence partner, what

mr. schiff have said, they are not done yet. they intend to do it again. what can we learn and how can we prevent it in the future? that's why we must move towards an independent commission. with that, i will be happy to open up to questions. >> and is part of your decision to do both designed to build bipartisan support from republicans who are willing to see a commission than a prosecute? >> well, my colleagues and as well of those in the office of discharge of petition we have this morning comment, let me say that i have been in favor consistently of independent commission much like the 9/11 commission that was established after 9/11 to get to the bottom of this. the american people have their faith restored in their government. i believe that this is the way we can accomplish that by the accomplishment of the independent commission. where ever that may be and that may ultimately be. where ever that may lead, i think no matter what, no person is above the law. no one. i am not the president. therefore, that's who we are looking for is a complete thoroug

mr. schiff. byron: those are fairly measured words. from democrats you will hear about obstruction of justice and impeachment. this is comey's revenge. the story has come out that he did write a memo after every conversation with the president. the message is i have got more. the "new york times" said an associate of comey read part of the memo to the times reporter. meaning comey has distributed this for the purpose of getting it out. we don't know what else there is, this this is pretty bad right there. david: the other big story of the day, it involves of course a dispute between the way general mcmasters saw the meeting and the way certain sources saw that meetinger. >> reported on that meeting later. you know general mcmaster. whom do you believe snow calls the "new york times" report false. would you believe him or the sources that have quoted by the "washington post"? >> i would totally believe general mcmaster. his credibility in washington is almost unparalleled. that's that's why there was bipartisan enthusiasm for his nomina

mr. schiff. first point i'd like to make is i shared classified information with the russians when i was director as cia. cia on a routine basis shares classified information with russians on terrorism matters. doesn't mean it becomes unclassified, it means it retains the classification but is releasable then to russia or other partners, so that in itself is not unprecedented, and i don't know what was shared or said in the oval office, but if the reports in the press are true that mr. trump decided to spontaneously decided to share some intelligence with the russians, i think he would have basically violated two protocols, and those two protocols are, one, is that such intelligence, classified intelligence, is not shared with visiting ambassadors because it needs to be handled the right way and make sure it is not exposed. he didn't do that. again, if the press charges are accurate. secondly, before sharing any classified intelligence with foreign partners, it needs to go back to the originating

mr. schiff, thanks for joining us.r reaction to this news that the justice department has appointed robert mueller as the special counsel in this case. >> well, i think it's a very positive step, and i applaud the choice of bob mueller. i think he's very widely respected by people on both sides of the aisle, immensely bright, capable person. and i think it's the right call. this is not to say that there aren't good, career people at the department of justice that could do this. but nonetheless, i think it will have that much more credibility in the public eye by appointing someone in the special counsel position that has what add degree of independence from the department. still not the full independence that you would have had under the old statute, independent counsel statute, but nonetheless, i think a very solid decision. and i think it ought to help inspire confidence in what the department is doing. >> yang: now, how will this work with the investigations on the hill? will your committee's investigation continue

mr. schiff: because of michael's commitment to always finding a way to yes, he has helped guide hpsci to a round of remarkable legislative success over the past two years. in a city of tacticians, michael's great gift is his ability to look at things strategicically, even while reacting in real time to emerging matters at hand. under his leadership of the hpsci democratic staff, we have passed two successive bipartisan intelligence authorization acts, both of which received multiple and successively larger vote talliths each time they came to the floor. in june, 2015, we passed the u.s.a. freedom act that ended both collection of telephone metadata under section 215 of the patriot act replacing it with a new regime more protective of americans' privacy. and later in 2015 it was included in it was inclouded in the omnibus spending bill. it could not have been timelier. neither bill would have been possible without michael's tireless efforts. he worked on a broad range of issues with a broad range of stake holders in and out of government and these measures were necessary, effective, and -

mr. schiff.st one i would like to make is i shared classified information with the russians while i was director of c.i.a. c.i.a. on a routine basis shares classified information with russians on terrorism matters. it doesn't mean it becomes unclassified. it means that it retains the classification but is released to russia or other partners. so that in itself is not unprecedented. i don't know what was shared or said in the oval office but if the reports in the press are true that mr. trump decided to spontaneously share some intelligence with the russians, i think he would have basically violated two protocols. those two protocols are one is that such intelligence classified intelligence is not shared with visiting foreign minister or local ambassadors. it is shared through intelligence channels and make sure it is not exposed. if the press charges are accurate he didn't do that. secondly, before sharing any classified intelligence with foreign partners, it needs to go back to the originating a

mr. comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information. >>> adam schiff is the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee. in that role he met with former fbi director james comey often. nancy cordes caught up with the congressman at the capitol. >> have you seen this memo and and did you ever discuss with director comey about his concerns about the president? >> i did not see the notes or the me ho or have a conversation about the president ever suggesting that he drop the investigation. this is obviously a very serious charge, the heart of which would be interference or obstruction of the investigation, and when you add it to the allegations of just a few days ago, actually the statement made by the president himself that in the context of james comey wanted to keep his job, the president brought up whether he was a suspect, another deeply troubling allegation. congress needs to bring director comey back to testify, we need to get those notes if they exist, we need to get tapes if they exist, but there is, i think, mounting concern over just h

and a top democrat on the house intel committee, congressman adam schiff is tweeting. mr. president, if there are tapes relevant to the comey firing, it is because you made them and they should be provided to congress. and the top democrats in the house judiciary and oversight committees also today sending a letter to white house counsel donald mcgahn writing they are compelled to ask whether any such ro recordings do exist. miker sheerer, who sat down with the president nearly 100-minute interview and a four-course dinner on monday. naturally the question is did you feel taped? >> it's funny when we sat down at the meal, he looked at the table, we were in the blue room. and there was a digital recorder by the flower display next to a candle. he says, whose is that? he wasn't sure. it was one of his staffers who put it there. so he was aware when he sat down, you know, where the recording devices were in the room. and we were recording, too. we were recording on our iphones. >> you were recording, everybody was recording. >> there is no secret. if the white house has tapes

last couple of days, representative adam schiff quoted in the new york times, on the democratic intelligence committee, said the report solidified the need for mrcomey to reef lawmakers and they also -- brief lawmakers and they also want to see his note. adam schiff appeared before the cameras yesterday to talk about the latest information on the memo. >> i think we know enough now, there has been enough -- enough alleged to bring the director before our committee. you should come back to the congress and share what he knows in terms of the president's conversation with him on what he knows on any of the russian investigation. i think we ought to ask for the notes that were taken contemporaneously or shortly after those meetings, and if there are any takes as the president alleged though should be obtained by congress. if necessary, we should subpoena them but hopefully we can obtain them voluntarily. on the heels of an allegation that the president himself acknowledged, that he brought up in the context of whether the director would stay on as director and whether he was the subject of an investigation, in the context of reports by the directo

. >> democrat adam schiff on the house intelligence committee is pushing for an independent inquirery into comey's firing. and described mr. trump's stin with comey where he asked if he was being investigated as. >> highly unethical, at a minimum unethical. if if he was trying to impede the investigation in anyway, maybe beyond unethical. but deeply disturbing. >> reporter: in dealing with the comey fallout, the president gave sit-down interviews to fox and nbc but contradicted statements from his own vice president and white house staffment john dickerson seized that as problem-- sees that as problematic. >> this is something that will come back to hurt him in tems of taking up so much of his energy as being the exeun kairter. he really needs to be the decision maker and let other people do the communicating. >> reporter: in the week ahead his first overseas tour. and shape his america first foreign policy. he first heads to saudi arabia on friday and from there flies to israel and rome before attending nato and g-7 summits. >> quijano: errol, thank you. former fbi director james comey was out on the town in washington s

mr. trump pointing out the competition in the middle east. liz: adam schiffccused president trump of deemphasizing human rights in saudi arabia speech. and the president could have slipped him words saying we support women's rights, the right of women to work in the workplace, and things like that. and other rights of other individuals. he could have said in his speech. the question is he was focused on terrorism as a human rights issue; right? >> oh, absolutely. look, i like anyone else believe in reform. we have to be -- lead by example, rather than try to push our values on them. i think they'll come around eventually. and as you said. liz: they need to come around yesterday. >> i agree. but we need to push them by leading them not by demanding. and the other thing is the terror issue. it is critical of the saudis, and i talked to members of the trump administration. the saudis aren't pulling their weight with the refugee crisis, which, by the way, they helped to create. the islamic terror, the very severe form of islam, some teach, i think that that's som

mr. trump issing a agrees from safely gending hdefending son-in-law's character, but adam schiff is voicingoncern over kushner's security clearance. let's listen. >> there is another question about his security clearance and whether he was foorthcoming abot his contacts on that if about these allegations are true and he had discussions with the russians about establishing a back channel and didn't reveal that, that is a real problem. but i do think there ought to be a review of his security clearance to find out whether if he was candid. if not, he kbts can madidn't ma clear answer. >>> now paris. emmanuel macron is preparing with a meeting with vladimir putin. the two will meet at the palace of versailles to mark an art exhibit on peter the great's visit to france 300 years ago. claire sebastien is live following the story. good to have you. which topics will be on the table for these leaders? >> reporter: well, the french president has promised tough talks foe qucusing in about particular on syria. they have backed opposing sides in that conflict and they are also expected to touch on fig

. >> reporter: adam schiff is pushing for an independent inquiry. and he described mr.- >> highly unethical. if he was trying to impde the investigation any way may be beyond unethical, but deeply disturbing. >> reporter: in dealing with the comey fallout, the president gave sit-down interviews to fox and nbc but contradicted statements from his own vice president and white house staff. john dickerson sees that as problematic. >> this is something that will come back to hurt him in terms of just taking up so much of his energy being the communicator. he really need b decision-maker and let other people do the communicating. >> reporter: in the week ahead, president trump will venture on his first overseas tour and shape his america-first foreign policy. he first heads to saudi arabia on friday and from there flies to israel and rome before attending nato and g-7 summits. elaine? >> errol, thank you. >>> the united states and japan have called for an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council tomorrow after north korea conducted another missile test. it was the seent

schiff. >> thank you, elijah. at the outset i want to thank my colleagues, mr. swol and mr. cummings for ro intintroducing.d i want to talk about the commission and what the role of the commission would be as distinguished from an independent counsel and what we're doing in congress. but before i do i want to remark on the extraordinary circumstances that have led up to today. if you look at the russia investigation through the prism of one person, it underscores i think how serious a thoroughly independent and adequate investigation and department of justice and independent counsel truly is. let's start back when michael flynn worked for president obama as the head of the dia. he is essentially fired from that job. some period thereafter he goes to russia with the financial support of russian entities, which the intelligence committee determined is an arm of the kremlin. he doesn't get permission to accept the monies from rt. he apparently or reportedly doesn't disclose the acceptance of those monies. he becomes a surrogate for president trump in the campaign. sometime thereafter and during the transition

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mr. comey. this advisor points to the fact that the acting fbi director andrew mccabe -- yes, please. >> can i interrupt you one second? adam schiff is making a statement about this. let's listen. >> whether he was the subject of investigation in the context of reports by the director, or associates of the director, that he was asked to essentially -- for a loyalty test to the president and now with allegations that the president urged him to essentially drop the investigation of michael flynn, enough is enough. congress really needs to get to the bottom of this. we did have an opportunity to inquire further about the reports of the discussion within the white house with the russian foreign minister and russian ambassador. i don't have much i can share in terms of our discussions on that. i can only say that i remain concerned about allegations that the president shared information with the russians that was not vetted in advance by our intelligence agencies. it's one thing to do this as a product of inter-agency thought and deliberation about information that needs to be shared. it's another thing to do it spontaneously, impetuou

adam schiff said if the president has tapes of his conversations of director comey, it's because the president himself made them. for a president that base lessly accuses of wire taping, that mr. trump would have engaged in such conduct is staggering. the president should provide any such recordings to congress or admit, once again, to have made a threatening statement. the congressman is referring to president trump's unfounded claim that president obama had trump tower wiretapped. back in march, director comey said there was no evidence to back up that claim. aside from a letter, we haven't heard from james comey since the president axed him. abc news now cites sources that say that comey was furious at the lack of respect the white house showed him. remember, he was in los angeles giving a speech to bureau employees when news of his firing flashing on tv screens. that's how he learned of it. president trump and white house officials claim the fbi rank and file lost confidence in director comey as part of the reasoning for the firing. but in a contradiction, the president said that was not true. then there's this from the former justice department official matthew miller. h

mr. comey said actually, it's a big deal and it's never happened. brian: really pushing for impeachment. they are using that buzz term. not everybody like adam schiffook at what was happening on the house floor yesterday. >> i rise today, mr. speaker, to call for the impeachment of the president of the united states of america. for obstruction of justice. >> the big question did, president trump try to block the fbi's russia investigation, commit an impeachable offense? >> are we getting closer and closer to the possibility of yet another impeachment process? steve: it's interesting, amy, while democrats because this came out of nowhere given the comey thing suddenly you are talking about impeachment, according to the mcclatchey papers the democrats are pole testing impeachment. >> they are. actually i read about this. it's not principle, it's politics. they are actually focus grouping would impeaching president trump be good or bad for us as a party? they're not saying good or bad for america. ainsley: don't you have to have reason to impeach. >> you would actually think so. i warn democrats remember bill clinton they impeached him they didn't rem

schiff: so, i just wanted to share a few thoughts on the most recent report. that the president may have asked mr. comey to drop the flynn investigation. if true, this is another disturbing allegation that the president may have engaged in some interference or obstruction of the investigation. i think we know enough now to want to bring the director back to testify. the judiciaryo committee and to share what he knows on any of the russian investigations. i also think that we ought to ask for the notes that were taken contemporaneously or shortly after those meetings and of course if there were any tapes as the president alleged, those should also be obtained by the congress. i think if necessary we should subpoena them. obtain themy we can voluntarily. but on the heels of the investigation met the president himself acknowledged that he brought up in the context. of reports by the director and associates of the director that he was asked essentially 48 loyalty test of the president and now with allegations that the president urged him to essentially drop the investigation of michael flynn. enough