i am satisfied that rob mueller can follow the evidence wherever it leads, concluding, not only the trump campaign and possible collusion with the russians, but also the potential obstruction of justice by the president of the united states. there is mounting evidence of obstruction of justice. no conclusion yet that there was, but that evidence needs to be pursued and there are a variety of pieces of evidence. and the firing of director comey could be one of them. >> you are confident the special counsel will look at the firing of comey and whether that was an effort to obstruct justice? >> the special counsel must pursue all of the evidence, whether it is the firing of director comey or memos that were prepared, other documents, and other witnesses that might have knowledge about the interference in the election, the collusion that might have happened with the trump campaign come and potential obstruction. at this point, we are talking about potential and allegations. bob mueller has the guts and back up to stand up to anybody in the department of justice, anyone in the trump administra

i am convinced rob mueller will not. >> thank you very much.'re always welcome on new day. >> let's get to our other breaking story. roger ailes has died. he was ousted with allegations of sexual harassment. on the phone bill carter and also cnn chief political correspondent dana bash. but, bill, our condolences to mr. ailes statement. what more do you know? >> i don't know anymore. obviously we know after he was ousted, you know, he sort of dropped off the radar and people really didn't know what he was up to. we do know he was, you know, a man in his late 70s who was obviously not in the best shape, i guess. a bit overweight. but i didn't know he was ill. so i take this as a sudden move. >> the world from shawn hannity, we just were on the phone with him, is that he had been in decline. and why we don't know yet. the statement from his wife just says that he passed this morning and she remembers roger as a husband to her and a father to his season zachary and a loyal friend to many. she points out he was also a patriot. so dana bash, this man

the trip comes a day after the president reacted to the appointment of rob mueller, former fbi director, now named special counsel over the investigation into russia and the president's campaign. >> the entire thing has been a witchhunt. there's no collusion between myself and my campaign. i can always speak for myself and the russians -- zero. >> reporter: and the search for a new fbi director is intensifying. according to reports, the front-runner is former connecticut senator joe lieberman. certainly a busy weekend ahead for the president. of course we'll keep you updated every step of the way. pamela osborne, nbc10 news. >> thank you. >>> we're following breaking news. sweden's top prosecutor is dropping an investigation against wikileaks founder julian assange. it began seven years ago. assange has been a refugee at the embassy in london to escape extradition in sweden. he's still wanted in britain for jumping bail. >>> back at home, new from overnight, a shooting suspect in bucks county is under arrest. sky force 10 was over the hotel in quakertown where police took brandon grosso

. >> i want to ask you about rob mueller. how significant is that move? >> you could not have picked a man with greater credibility among the fbi agents with whom he once served and whom he once lead with democrats and republicans who respected his integrity when he was testifying and working back in the day he was fbi director or with the general public. i think there's a perception this is a man we can trust with this incredible challenge. >> obstruction of justice, do you think there's a basis for that here? >> it's too early. i suspect there is from the behavior of the president and from the stories that have come out. but before you begin impeachment proceedings you need to really have the evidence. and that's what i think we will now get as mueller as head of the independent counsel and from comey himself when he is finally called to testify. which other journalists and friends of mine, other fbi agents tells me he wants to do. >> what about his tenure as press secretary in the white house and linden b. johnson, it's been five decades since you've d

david: does someone like rob mueller the broad mandate? probably the opposite.having a broad mandate because i gets him the freedom to pursue the investigation in whatever direction it takes. we look back at american history, and it is hard to think of an example where an confinednt counsel was to the area is started at. you look at watergate, he sees me, more recent investigations. the same scope, and that will probably happen that it will focus on the trump /russian connection, but over time, we will see broadening of that mandate. david: there is a relationship between the broadening of the mandate and the length of the investigation. you think of whitewater and how many years that investigation dragged on. you are in washington. the mood seems like to get things moving. what timeline is robert miller working with? thomas: at this point, this thing does look like it has the potential to be somewhat sprawling. that said, i will say this -- robert mueller is an intense, efficient guy and is known to be the first to work in last to leave and he knows the history

rob mueller take over as special counsel almost universally accepted here by members of both part advertise and both sides of the capitol. >> and we got an update from the senate intelligence committee on their investigation. what did we learn? >> reporter: richard burr is running that committee. michael flynn had asked last week, there was a deadline for him to submit documents part of their investigation into russian meddling in the lelelection. they subpoenaed him. initially it was a bit confusing that flynn republican had missed the deadline and then people were talking about if he refuses, what is the recourse. they took it back, walked it back a little bit about later after that, said there is still time for flynn to comply. so that too has been diffused at least for the moment. >> kelly o'donnell, yelled we got a pretty are measured response from the white house when it came to the appointment of this special counsel and today donald trump tweeted not quite the same style of response we should say. >> reporter: it sort of went from boiler plate to boiling mad. the first response on t

a lot of members up here have been concerned that if they don't do anything that impedes what rob mueller is trying to do and his investigation is under way. it's worth noting, and we spoke about it, maybe they would back off a little bit as this process moves forward on bob mueller's side of things. the senate intelligence committee and house intelligence committee have made clear that's not the case. they plan on moving forward. how they work together or deconflict is something they are clearly trying to figure out. >> deconflict. phil mattingly, thank you very much. on it, as always, on the hill. >>> we continue with breaking news in the investigation and also into the bombing in manchester, england, this week because we now are hearing who this attacker likely trained with, where he traveled to in the weeks and the months leading up to this atrocity in this pop concert this week. also ahead, the special election is under way in montana after a reporter was allegedly body slammed by one of the candidates. we'll talk to someone who was there, next. at red lobster's seafood trios you don

but none of this would go forward without having a discussion with rob mueller. so count me as very sceptical but we're certainly a long way from making any judgment about that. >> former trump campaign chairman, paul manafort, former trump adviser, carter page they have complied with request from your committee, the house intelligence committee, are you receiving the same documents? >> we certainly want these witnesses to come and testify and at this point i don't want to go into specifics, on public specifics about whether we're getting compliance. >> director of national intelligence dan cotes was asked about the report that president trump asked him to deny any collusion between the trump campaign and russian. he said he didn't think it'll be necessary to characterize my kfrpgss with trump in public but would be willing to speak before the investigation committee. here's the question, will the house intelligence committee ask him to do so? >> i would certainly like to have him come before our committee. i would have to gk the acquiescence of my partner mr. co

that could be a question for rob mueller, the special counsel to look at. expect those questions to continue going forward. >> thanks. more on the larger russia investigation. jessica snyder reports on how it's affecting the efforts to obtain james comey's memos conversations with the president. >> lawmakers are waiting for the fbi to turn over documents, including one where the president allegedly told comey, i hope you can let this go, referring to the investigation into former national security adviser michael flynn. the house oversight and senate judiciary committees demanded that andrew mccabe submit memos or tapes. neither committee have received them. capitol hill investigations into contacts between trump campaign associates and russia continue to ramp up. former trump campaign manager paul manafort submitted 300 documents to the senate intelligence committee containing drafts of speeches, calders, and notes from his time with the campaign. so far, michael flynn isn't cooperating. flynn plans to invoke his fifth amendment rights. his refusal prompte

as we talked about before, if rob mueller said he's a witness and i don't want him to testify in congress in an open setting and confusing the news with his story, then comey will not get his chance and we'll probably be seeing more of these leaks. the interesting thing about your question, chris, about why comey decided not to report this, why he didn't go ahead and alert his superiors, he felt that there was, according to wittes, a need in the fbi for him to stay and protect the entirety of his investigation. that might be influence coming down from sessions, the head of the fbi, or -- excuse me, the attorney general. at that point even if he wasn't confirmed, he had been nominated. he knew he was a close associate and friend and campaign supporter of trump's. but it is really strange to me still why he didn't go to the chairman of the house intelligence committee and the chairman of the senate intelligence committee and bring it to their attention. that's the one thing i think we would all like to hear answered and we don't know if we'll get the chance because we don't know if mueller

national security and the fact up there, a criminal probe going on by the justice department with rob muellers not an excuse for not protecting our national security through the house and senate intelligence committee investigations. that is critical that those proceed. >> martha: in terms of the criminal investigation, elizabeth, what do you see them looking into? where do you see the potential crime? >> i think that is yet to be determined. there were reports earlier, testimony before congress, that the fbi's ongoing investigation was not criminal and in nature. we have learned that there may be some criminal investigations that pour into that counterterrorism investigation. i think that is a natural evolution of it. i don't think there is anything particularly new here. i agree with richard that this shouldn't in any way affect the ability of the house and senate intelligence committees to proceed apace. >> martha: in terms of michael flynn, there was a report today, richard, that the white house transition team was aware, are some of them more aware, that there was an investigation going

their jobs independently, objectively and thoroughly and i believe the special counsel, which is rob mueller now, helps them do that. >> wow, a little bipartisanship on capitol hill. meanwhile, senators are participating in a closed door briefing right now with deputy attorney general rod rosenstein on the james comey firing. we're hearing reaction from the president himself on the appointment of the special counsel. he is not happy about it. president trump tweeted, this is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in american history with all the illegal pacts took place in the clinton campaign and obama administration, there was never a special counsel appointed. all this comes as we're following more bombshell reports about michael flynn. reuters is reporting that michael flynn and other advisers to president trump's campaign were in contact with russian officials in at least 18 calls and e-mails during the last seven months of the presidential race. "the new york times" is reporting that flynn told the transition team weeks before the investigation that he was under federal investi

reporter: president said he reported that decision to appoint former fbi director rob utter mueller to look it, he also denounced it as bad for the nation. >> i think it divides the country, i think we have a very divided country because of that and many other things. i can tell you that we want to bring this great country of ours together. i hate to see anything that divides. i am fine with whatever people want to do. but, we have to get back to running this country. reporter: president also responded for first time in person to a memo said to be written by james comey, claims in february meeting president asked comey to drop the investigation into flynn, did he say that. >> no. no. next question. reporter: appointment of robert mueller to takeover the russia se investigation was met with near universal praise on capitol hill. >> this is impeccable credentials. this is an excellent appointment. he was a career prosecutor, he will follow the facts, he will do a thorough investigation. they need to clear the decks. lou: som. reporter: some republicans say there is a danger, he could fee

rob nelson. >> not john mueller. >> will you come with me on this wednesday, may 24th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >>> good morning to you all. we begin with fears of another attack in britain. >> the prime minister there, theresa may raised threat level to critical, the highest which means that, the experts think another attack is imminent. soldiers are deployed to key locations unusual sight in britain where the police are often unarmed. isis claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing outside the manchester arena. >> 22 people were killed in at take. some families are waiting to find out if their loved ones are among the victims. suspected suicide bomber has been identified in his photo. published one front page this morning next to the youngest victim. get more now on the investigation, starting with abc's correspondent in manchester britain is mightier than the sick plots of terrorists. >> reporter: police and interpoll on the hunt for accomplices in the deadliest terror attack on british soil since 2005. >> every explosive device has some degree of stig na chur

rob: we start the day with breaking news. >> reporter: robert mueller will be the investigation, specialounsel appointed by rob rosenstein to investigate alleged russian ties to the trump campaign and meddling in the 2017 election. the decision is, quote, not finding crimes have been committed but requires independent from the normal chain of command catching the white house off guard with little advance notice. the president issuing a defined statement that says, quote, as i stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we know, there was no collusion between my presidency and a foreign entity. i will never stop fighting for the people and issues that matter most to the future of our country. bipartisan reaction on capitol hill, democrats like adam schiff, ranking member of the house intelligence committee supports the move. >> you have a body truly independent and also has all the resources it needs and a single focus on the oversight. >> republican house oversight chairman questions the appointment. >> they are feeling the political heat, watching too much television a

deputy attorney general rob rosenstein chose former fbi director robert mueller for the job. >> a specialounsel mueller will have extraordinary power. he can replace all the agents currently working on the case if he chooses. he has 60 days to put together a team of lawyers to work with him on the case. >> reporter: mueller's appointment is a blow to the white house. >> i am told that the senior staff here at the white house did not get word of this until about 30 minutes before the news was shared with the news media. completely taken off guard. >> reporter: tonight the president issued this statement. "as i have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know. there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. i look forward to this matter concluding quickly." the president made no secret of his wish for the russia investigation to end. >> as trump todd nbc's lester holt, it was on his mind when he decided to fire fbi director james comey. >> in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know? this russia thing with tr

what you can take solace in is that rob rosenstein and bob mueller, these are two impeccable men withr, of integrity and ethics who are not subject to the amateur hour that we have seen in the trump administration thus far. they are going to behind the stage undergo and take an incredibly thorough investigation to what actually happened between the trump officials and trump administration and russian government and will uncover facts and apply the facts to the law and they will not be swayed by any of the other outside influences. i think they both have great reputations. rod rosenstein was the u.s. attorney of maryland for 12 years. he was appointed by a republican and lasted throughout the obama administration through eight years in one of the most democratic states in the country because he is so apolitical and seen as somebody who would not get involved. when that memo came out those of us who knew him knew he was not the person to get the fbi director fired because fbi directors don't get fired by the deputy attorney general. that is not something rod rosenstein would do. by nigh

mueller. reporting live, suzanne kennedy. larry: rob rosenstein is going before the senate today to address lawmakers. he will ask questions -- answer questions about robert mueller and about his part in the james comey firing. autria: a lot is still coming out in this story. we have had new developments every day this week and we are keeping you up to speed on wjla.com. rock 'n roll star chris cornell is dead this morning. the 52-year-old singer is best known as lead singer of soundgarden. he died after a concert in detroit. this family calling the death sudden and unexpected. before the concert, he tweeted this picture of the billboard last night. larry: protests all night long after an officer is a kidded desperate acquitted of killing and unarmed black man. sam: after nine hours of deliberation, jurors found officer betty shelby not guilty. small protests arrested -- acquittal.er the officer shall be had his hands crutcherr, but terence -- she thought terence crutcher was going to get a gun. after the verdict, officer betty shelby r

rob: griff, thanks so much. heather: thanks, griff. former fbi direct or muelleriver commencement speech at private prep school, speaking to graduates in massachusetts, this comes less than two weeks after his appointment at special counsel to overseeing investigation into possible ties between russia and the trump campaign. mueller served as fbi director from 2001 to 2013 under president george w. bush and barack obama. rob: north korean dictator apparent taste for war seemed to have intensified over night. the rogue nation launched another missile and very near their exclusive economic zone. >> we are working with the international community to deal with this issue but the bottom line is it would be catastrophic war if this turns into combat, if we are not able to resolve the situation through diplomatic means. rob: the trump administration ordering a third aircraft carrier, strike force, one of the largest world ships to the western pacific region sending a strong message to dictator kim jong un to knock this off. a hero, fdny firefighter who fought for health

about james comey's note that is think forced the hand of rob rosenstein, getting well respected, well regarded special counsel like robert mueller. >> reaction from capitol hill is pouring in. >> i think he has a long history of honorable service. >> a very solid and significant step toward reaffirming the rule of law. bob mueller is a real pro, he has integrity and guts. >> whatever investigation goes on will have the credibility of bob mueller is former director of the fbi and renowned lawyer. >> the bay area delegation tonight says this is just a first step. a statement from east bay representative eric swalwell says we need a bipartisan-appointed independent commission to investigate what happened. and representative nancy pelosi said he cannot take the place of a truly independent juice commission that is completely bipartisan. >> this does not mean crimes have been committed or that prosecution is warranted. instead he says a special counsel is needed for the american people to have full confidence in the outcome of the investigation. >>> robert mueller got his start as a lawyer right here in the bay area. he worked as lit

serving as deputy attorney general for three weeks, rob rosen stein took himself out of overseeing the russia investigation. turning that over to robert mueller. mueller is the former fbi director who served 12 years in the job. i asked him in 2013 about stepping down. >> are you going to miss all this? >> yes, no. great people, great challenge, it's been a great opportunity. >> mueller will have the full authority to investigate the russian matter that any u.s. attorney would, including the power to file federal charges, if it comes to that. since rosen stein was confirmed and since attorney general jeff sessions made decisions to take him out of the investigation. just a week before 9/11, more recently the nfl chose him to handle the ray rice domestic violence case. he's in private law practice, he says he will resign from that firm to avoid any potential conflicts. the investigation will take longer because muller will have to get up to speed on the case. >> the investigation will confirm what he's been saying, there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity, i look forward to this matter concluding quickly. robert muelle

rob: we start the day with breaking news. >> reporter: robert mueller will behe

about james comey's note that is think forced the hand of rob rosenstein, getting well respected, well regarded special counsel like robert mueller. >> reaction from capitol hill is pouring in. >> i think he has a long history of honorable service. >> a very solid and significant step toward reaffirming the rule of law. bob mueller is a real pro, he has integrity and guts. >> whatever investigation goes on will have the credibility of bob mueller is former director of the fbi and renowned lawyer. >> the bay area delegation tonightust a first step. a statement from east bay representative eric swalwell says we need a bipartisan-appointed independent commission to investigate what happened. and representative nancy pelosi said he cannot take the place of a truly independent juice commission that is completely bipartisan. >> this does not mean crimes have been committed or that prosecution is warranted. instead he says a special counsel is needed for the american people to have full confidence in the outcome of the investigation. >>> robert mueller got his start as a lawyer right here in the bay area. he worked as litigate for out o

mueller going to do the same thing? rely on the fbi? will his role be to do whatever rob rosenstein would have done if he had stayed? or will it be a parallel investigation? i suspect robert mueller doesn't even know the answer to that. so having the special counsel will stretch it all out. >> thanks for your analysis on this. coming up, we'll bring you reaction after republican greg are gianforte's victory last night. the victory came hours after body slammed a reporter. america's beverage companies have come together to bring you more ways to help reduce calories from sugar. with more great tasting beverages with less sugar or no sugar at all, smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels, and signs reminding everyone to think balance before choosing their beverages. we know you care about reducing the sugar in your family's diet, and we're working to support your efforts. more beverage choices. smaller portions. less sugar. balanceus.org. oscar mawe went back toig the drawing board... and the cutting board. we removed the added nitrates and nitrites, by-products, and artificial preservatives in all of our meat. ever

mueller at the fbi. so i think it is significant. i think rob rosenstein was obviously aware that you're picking a guy who is very close to jim comey, the fired fbi director. and i don't think that was unintentional. i mean, i think that sends a signal that he is going to essentially continue the aggressive path that comey seems to have been on lately. and if you're wondering whether mueller is going to find comey a credible witness or not about for instance, the conversation february 14th at the white house, i think it's pretty certain that bob mueller is going to think his old friend, jim comey, is credible. >> and one of the stories that david axelrod just mentioned there for a second there are two other stories that are breaking tonight. one is about michael flynn from "the new york times," both are about michael flynn by the way, but from "the new york times," saying that the trump team knew that michael flynn was under investigation. and before the inauguration, flynn made a decision that benefitted turkey and turkey paid him upwards of a

and today rob rosenstein authorized a special counsel to ensure a full and thoreau investigation of the russian efforts. the pick of robert muelleruts a veteran law enforcement official at the helm. he is best known for leading the fbi for is 12 years after the 9/11 attacks. before that he led the investigation of the pan am 103 bombing in 1988. more recently, i conducted a probe of domestic violence in the entful. the white house has denied comey's account. and continues to lash out to those leaking to the press. but some former and current officials believe it is their patriotic duty to expose the truth. it is unclear who at the justice department and fbi may have seen comey's memos. the doj today declined to comment on whether attorney general jeff sessions or rosenstein had read them. sessions was forced to recuse himself from the investigation after revelations of his own contacts with the russian ambassador ser ggei kislyak. but he did may a role in the firing of comey. ser g sergei kislyak is center to the russian investigation. in december, surveillance picked up communications between flynn and kislyak. >> were you conce

talk about sport like, "yo, man, bob mueller is on track to be one of the greatest of all time, man, coming out of retirement, going after the president. comey was robbed! that dude would have been the goat. came after hillary and trump." "you younguns don't know nothing about federal law enforcement. if j. edgar hoover were around today, man, he would be running circles around their skinny white aases." ( cheers and applause ) "man, (bleep) j. edgar hoover. (bleep) j. edgar hoover. we still don't know who killed kennedy." with the boy, you better watch your mouth. i was cutting your daddy's hair." "all right, man, that's $20. have a good day. god bless. god bless, brother, god bless." ( cheers and applause ) barber shop 5. thank you very much. ( laughter ) now, obviously, a special prosecutor, especially of mueller's stature, essentially puts the white house on notice, and you could tell by the way they reacted last night. >> the white house released a statement saying "there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. i look forward to this matter concluding quickly." >> trevor: wow. you know what? i'm proud of trump. that's a smart

come from a crime-fighting organization, the bank robbing since coming to a counter terrorism, counter intelligence organization. he said that mueller is a very different personality from james comey, the former fbi director. he said that mueller is someone that who will have total control in this investigation. if he requires additional -- airborne. the debate club. he look at what he asks for and he will not take know. in addition, this former fbi executives noted that this is a real win for rod rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. he said that it helps restore some of his credibility because his memo made him, and the words of this official, complicit in the firing of james comey. finally, he feels that there is some significance to the semantics, the language that is being used tonight. they believe that the use of special counsel versus special prosecutor is really kind of a win for the white house because it doesn't have that language that implies that a crime has taken place here, martha. i can say to you on a personal note, having covered robert mueller for their 12 years that he has served as fbi director, he is someone

. >> they can go far afield, rob rosenstein retained power to decide whether to grant an expansion, bob mueller will be judgment involved, then unusual thing for any criminal investigation. >> statutory, and steered in a different direction. >> he will trigger concerns to something bigger. the president also is entitled to an expeditious and responsible conclusion to the investigation on the assumption there is no there there. if there is no there there bob mueller will investigate, decide what to do with what he has, if he finds crime, the he will prosecute them a if not he will announce this is what we looked at, a thorough investigation and we concluded there was no credible evidence of collusion with russian officials by campaign officials in the trump campaign. he has the right and obligation to pursue wrongdoing and bring charges. if he finds that appropriate, by the same token to exonerate to the extent that he determined there is not sufficient evidence. neil: how do you put someone's word against another? the president said he never told comey to back off from flynn, comey insists that

rob malcolm, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> the former cia director john brennan will appear before the house intelligence committee to answer questions. the justice department has appointed robert mueller to lead the investigation and in the investigation into the trump campaign collaborating with russia in the 2016 presidential election. >> reporter: president trump reacting to the third major new story in as many days relating to the administration and the possible connection to russia in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election and beyond. this is the single greatest we chat of a politician -- witchhunt of a politician in american history after the blindsided news that the robert mueller has been appointed as special counsel to investigate the kremlin involvement into the investigation. >> reporter: the president is repeatedly blasting this as a effort to undermine his election victory. despite the mounting effort on both sides of the political aisle to find the truth. >> in no way does this diminish the need for congress to play an active role in helping to get to the bottom of the recent events. >> i have not seen any evidence of actual collusion. where is the actual crime th

attorney general rob rosenstein last week, and i'm told that rosenstein refuses to discuss whether he had a role. but i do have to say that it's something that special counsel bob mueller will look at. >> some of the conversations with the president, some of them the president asking comey to go easy on the national security advisor. tonight is the deadline for the fbi to turn his memos over. >> reporter: tonight the house oversight committee has not received the documents it requested from fbi director james comey, about his meeting with president trump. the committee chairman jason chaffets. mueller's investigation into russia is taking precedence over congress. >> if he has such a document, that would add credence to his testimony, from his training as a lawyer, he would want to document in writing. >> reporter: michael flynn and lawmakers are turning up the heat on flynn who refused to provide documents to the house intel committee. flynn already invoked his fifth amendment rights, now the senate committee is narrowing his requests with new subpoenasing at thing -- targeting his business. the chair of the committee pledged to do whatever it takes to get flynn's doc

mueller taking over here? this is not just an investigation into possible collusion in between the trump campaign and russia. it's much bigger than that. i see this as a rob silverman report on wmd. if it's about the overall rush in an attempt to influence, it may be had nothing to do with the trump campaign. when you look at some of the things russia was doing to hack into twitter and a social media and create fake news stories -- i actually think this could be very, very useful overall for not just america but for the civilized world to push back against russia in some sort of robert silverman type report that would be accepted in their conclusion. >> i think as you lay that out without a special counsel, president trump could be dealing with this not for weeks or months, but maybe years. you could get a fast investigation to look at everything, john mccain last night as a senior republican said this is becoming something like watergate, drip, drip. the american people are not going to have r investigation if it's done by people who are seen as close to the president, it must be some sort of independent probe appeared to your point, this could be import

>> counterintuitively i think having bob mueller appointed a special counsel might be good for trump because if the investigation doesn't find anything that robs- neil: that investigation could go on a wild. you follow this more closely than i but if this comes up at every briefing, questions are drip drip drip and the president is advised, and a year and a half for that, on the other side, the critics or the leakers setting the story and stage and low opinion poll numbers in the interim. don't tweet, mister president, don't compound it, what does he do? >> trying to battle through it. the bad news is or the good news depending on your perspective, they do not believe it, anything on the washington post they dismiss completely out of hand and sticking with it. neil: backers are firmly committed and stayed that way but this could get away from that agenda. >> it has taken its toll already and his approval rating dropped a few points and that doesn't look, he can't continue to bleed support at the polls and the democrats are against him, always been against him and will never before him but among independents and republicans to the extent this c

, as others have said, bob mueller is so highly respected that he did not feel this would influence the outcome. >> john, what do you think happened? as pamela pointed out. rob rosenstein said a special prosecutor was not needed, right? he said so as recently as last friday, as we understand, telling people he didn't see any. since then we've learned of trump telling classified information in 2 white house and we've learned of comey memos. those are the two big pieces of news that happened between now and friday. >> those are massive bombshells in this accelerating news cycle but i think the presence of the comey memo forces the handled. the calculus has changed on capitol hill. i do think that while this is a great reminder that we are a nation of laws, not men, that clearly rod rosenstein felt it needed to be taken not in coordination with the trump white house. the white house did not send the stabilizing signal. the justice department did. the attorney general has had to recuse himself. the selection of mueller is stabilizing. it will give breathing room. it comes from the heart of the justice dpept, not the trump white house. >> and the trump white hous

mueller public more likely to accept result. >> very positive in terms of the public acceptance. >> dagen given assignment by deputy attorney general, robhouse here in washington, behind closed doors, over the upcoming days james comey oust fbi director has been asked to testify, before the senate, and house as well nothing official there, and dagen i point you to something that is happening here later this afternoon, he at the white house, 3:45 in the afternoon, there is expected to be a press conference between the president, and the president of columbia press conference means questions you saw tweets, we expect to hear from the president on camera day. >> blake burman thank you so much for that reporting i want to bring in, everybody, just tweets with a has been talked about you have special council appointed statement said hoped it would be roughed up in short amount of time not likely, a drag on ed rollins said literally for years with former head of the fbi going through every detail about everything you and anybody associated with you has said. but, again,, i want to is about changing the narrative, but president trump he is not