rod rosen stein sent him a memo yesterday. >> that's right. >> and he was fired yesterday. >> rosen stein, who doesn't even know. they weren't even saying his name right. >> that's completely implausible. the idea that somehow he handed him the memo in the morning and jim comey was fired at 5:00 in the afternoon, that's not how human beings work. >> by the way, jeff, to your point, trump said that -- the reporting is trump didn't know the memo was being written. so the first he would have been aware of it is tuesday. sorry to interrupt you. >> explain it. then what is this timing? >> i mean, i don't know. you know, the kellyanne conway, the why not argument, she's right in that he's the president of the united states. he can make decisions when he wants. but if you want this to not be linked to russia, which kellyanne conway says cnn all you do is talk about russia, well, then you can't do it -- doing it now without any seeming other trigger or news that would make this happen, how can you not draw the conclusion? remember, again, jeff sessions, the attorney general, recused himself from

i'm not talking about rod rosen stein. how do the career prosecutors and line agents respond to what has happened tonight? that's going to be a really telling thing to watch. >> yeah, along with our conversations yesterday during our coverage, there's really two ways of looking at all these departments. there are had appointees at the top. top slot, the next two or three down. and then as you mentioned the friends you left behind at the justice department, the people who are there from administration to administration, professional staff, non-partisan. what do you think the impact is going to be? this calls for your opinion. inside the department where you worked? >> i can tell you they are shocked. i talked to former colleagues both inside and outside the justice dent tonight. they are shocked by what happened. there is no one at justice department who lived through something like this before. last time this happened was in the '70s. there was nobody there today that was there for that. what i think what you will see is t

i voted against rod rosen stein.as one of those six because he refused to commit to me that he would appoint a special prosecutor, his only course now, and you can hear the reasons why in this conversation that has just occurred with kellyanne conway, that he needs to reaffirm and redeem the independence of the department of justice. i have confidence in the fbi, if it is given that kind of leader. >> look, i don't want to get too far into the legal weeds here, but a special prosecutor post is over. it expired. what they came up during water gate has expired. and congress didn't renew it. so if you're calling for a special counselor, that would be under the purview of rod rosen stein and the president. that person could still be fired by the president. so how does that help? >> it is a great question and there is no perfect solution here. there are two possible avenues of really making sure that the prosecutor is independent. number one, rod rosen stein can appoint someone and say in effect this person is going to ru

. >> can you tell us -- >> after 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 cam

but certainly we don't know, rod rosen stein just started overseeing this investigation, less than ar now for him to play a role in getting rid of james comey, there's got to be a lot more -- >> hold on, one moment. jeff zeleny, i understand you have the letter? >> reporter: indeed, wolf. we have the pretty brief letter from the president sent this afternoon over to the fbi. let me read couple very interesting portions of this letter. it says, i have accepted the recommendations that you are here by terminated and removed from office effective immediately. he is talking about the recommendations from his own attorney general and deputy attorney general. the second paragraph of the letter. while i greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that i am not under investigation. i nevertheless with the judgment of the department of justice but you are not able to effectively leave the bureau. it is essential we found new leadership of the fbi, public trust and confidence in the vital law enforcement mission. wolf, again, let me underscore the fact that president of the

we understand that rod rosen stein thought this was a good idea to bring in robert mueller to complete the investigation. as you know jeff sessions had to recuse himself from anything dealing with the investigation. >> robert mueller appointed by former president george w bush i believe he took office in the early days after the -- that's a poll we'll be talking about. let's get back to -- in the early days after the september 11th attacks. we saw robert mueller come on to the scene then. he was out of government obviously after leaving that position, but we'll see him back into the time being >> there's been a lot of turmoil as you know going on within the white house. a lawmakers going back and forth overwhat we've seen in the last week or so, we know the president fired james comey for what he of the hillary clinton investigation and since then there have been calls to appoint some special count counsel to look into the possible collusion between the trump campaign and the russians as it affected the outcome of the election >> special prosecutor is different than counsel, that would

. >> deputy attorney general rod rosen stein will being the house tomorrow. will you be seeking specific commitments or assurances from him and also there's been some concern with a special counsel, maybe comey should not testify publicly. do you still believe he should testify publicly. >> i hope that he will testify publicly. there's also some concerns that perhaps the justice department would say we're not going to release the comey memos. eventually they're going to have to. they might as well know that, right? you're going to depend it. but i believe members will have questions about the integrity and the independence of this investigation. it is within the trump appointed justice department. when we were asking for a special prosecutor, now counsel, we were saying it should be appointed by somebody not appointed by president trump. the highest ranking non-trump appointed official there. rosen stein made the appointment. i think he had -- he came in with a strong reputation. the memo he wrote was bizarre. and now maybe he said i'll appoint the prosecutor

was the president who fired comey, white house sources say it was newly minuteed deputy general rosen stein that lost confidence in comey. he was confirmed 14 days ago and assessed the situation and determined comey should be replaced. democrats could not question the man only the timing of the action. >> and the first question administration has to answer is why now? if the administration had objections to the way director comey handled clinton investigation they had those objections and the minute the president got didn't fire him then. why did it happen today. >> and the president showed no reluctance or regret. while i greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions i'm not under investigation i concur with the department of justice you're not able to effectively lead the burro. bob casey among them called them nixonian and saying he was trying to derail investigation by firing comey and insisted rosen stein appoint a special prosecute to oversee the case. and before the ink was dry they're saying it's time to get past the notion trump campaign coluded with russia to ove

but rosen stein doesn't speak for the president who, at the time these events occurred, was applauding them. so -- >> is this a firing in search of a cause? >> i thik in search of rational and it was provided by the deputy attorney general and i am sure believes it as do other people, democrat and republican. but i don't know that donald trump really believes what the deputy attorney general wrote because he was applauding comey when he said that hillary clinton was reckless. he would have liked to have seen her indicted sure, but i don't recall him complaining about comey's words that time. >> and president elect also as a candidate applauding james comey at the time and as president saying he's got a strong backbone. comey was over seeing this russia/trump investigation fired by the people he is investigating now. so who is in charge? >> that is part of what makes this so extraordinary, don and as of tonight, the former depute a edirector is the acting director at the bureau and it's being over seen by ron rosen stein. the person who recommended the firing of comey to the president.

. >> reporter: the president has admitted he was planning to fire comey regardless of rosen stein's recommendation, as comey is invited to testify before congress, this controversy is likely to follow the president abroad. jannay norman channel 6 "action news." >> police are looking for a car involving a school bus in lancaster county. >> during video shows an employee in pennsylvania lifting a student off the ground by his neck. >> reporter: mainly clear across the region, warm and muggy, though, 73 degrees on the bus stop by 6:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m., we're all the way up to 70 degrees, if you're dressing it is kids it's shorts and ts again as we have another hot afternoon. bighaes in the exclusive grads a politician at their commencement today, that is next. n, tonight's special, bd flavors. get our new pork porterhouse, or any steakhouse lunch combo. businessman and former new york city mayor michael bloomberg will be the commencement speaker at the villanova graduation today. the class of 2017 will don their cap and gown for commencement at villanova stadium. you can watch from simmal -- simulcasti

earlier, deputy attorney general rod rosen stein briefed house members. ly >> special prosecutor will have the breadth of scope necessary to follow any and all leads. >> this is about the fight for the soul of our democracy. we cannot afford to lose. >> the president left for the first oversee trip, first stop saudi arabia saturday where he will address a submit of leaders. the battle between good and evil: a new report said the top white house official is a significant person of interest in the russia investigation. >> new castle police have arrested one person in connection with the hit-and-run crash that injured a one-year-old girl. elisha meredith has been charged fleeing the scene of a crime among others. around 10:30 lea was struck twice by the car. second time when she left the scene. police recovered the car about an hour and a half later. >> 15 minutes before it happened, she was running up to me, wrapped her arms around my thigh. i'm glad they they caught him. if they didn't catch him, i would have caught them. >> the child suffered a fractured

white house clearing up conflicting me conflict messages, saying the firing was triggered by rod rosen stein, but those claims direct directly. >> he said he was not under investigation, and including once during a dinner at the white house when trump claims comey asked to keep his job. >> he wanted to stay on as the fbi head, and i said if it's possible, would you let me know, am i under investigation, and he said you are not under investigation. >> acting fbi director testifying before congress, offering more contradictions to white house claims the fbi rank and file lost confidence in the former director. >> director thome enjoyed broad support within the fbi and does to this day. >> and sir, we consider it to be a highly significant investigation. >> mccabe testifying that investigation is forging ahead. >> this is in the best interest of the president. >> mccabe testified if the white house tries to quash or impede the fbi's russ investigation. >>> and sky 7 was near 14th and broadway last night has a handful of people held banners denouncing president trump, and they accuse him of havi

just a few weeks ago rob rosen stein was u.s. attorney for the state of maryland. tonight we are learning he was influential in the recommendation for president trump to fire fbi director james comey. in a three page letter to attorney general jeff sessions deputy attorney general says it is the president's decision whether to fire the fbi director but then lays out reasons to let go of james comey. he says quote i cannot defend the director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of secretary clinton's e-mails and i do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken. the news 4 i-team spoke to him in april as he prepared to leave the job as attorney for state of maryland. >> i have justice employee for 27 years. most of that time i spent here and it has been rewarding. it is rewarding because of two things. number one mission of being able to do the right thing, promote public safety. >> reporter: his letter goes on to say the director was wrong to assert the attorney general's authority on july 5 and announced his

he has no regrets and it was in the letter from the deputy ag from rosen stein. we just have new information in and that is that we learned from the senate intelligence committee chairman that james comey is not going to be testifying tomorrow as we expected and instead it would be andr andrew mccabe, acting director and of course, ever since this happened yesterday evening, what does that say, rebecca? that now james comey is going away. he will not give testimony and the likes of which we know president trump certainly did not appreciate. >> he will become a private citizen now and he is a private citizen and this isn't necessarily the last we hear of james comey. i think we should expect to hear from him at some point, but he woerpt be in a position as fbi director to be weighing in on this ongoing investigation and he won't be receiving updates on a regular basis on how the investigation is progressing and he won't have any direct oversight or impact into where this investigation goes. it's worth noting that the fbi director is not involved in every investiga

first april 25th, the date that the new deputy attorney general rosen stein was confirmed and tasked with doing a review of the f.b.i. director's conduct last year and whether he still had the capacity to provide leadership to the bureau. he concluded that statement in july of last year, the f.b.i. director had effectively colored outside the lines. he had gone beyond his role as a principal investigator for the u.s. government and put on his hat as a prosecutor recommending against criminal charges. with that act he usurped the powers of his boss, attorney general loretta lynch. the second event that i'm being pointed to is comey's congressional testimony before the senate judiciary committee last week. it was in that testimony that he said in effect i would do it all over again. he said he was faced with a choice last year about going public with the reopening of the clinton email case. he said i could go public or i could conceal it. they said the use of conceal was extremely loaded. the f.b.i. never conceals anything. they properly choose not to discuss ongoing investigations whi

and reporting at cnn has said that as of last friday, rosen stein was not inclined to report a special counsel. so what happened between last friday and tonight? what happened is trump. and we have seen him be quiet on twitter, because perhaps on the advice of counsel. and i'm assuming now that he's getting lawyered up, if he isn't already, that after donald trump started talking about the tapes, after we learned about, you know, and then we learned about the comey memo, et cetera, i think that you read that, if you're rod rosenstein and you think this is getting out of control. and at a certain point, you decide there is nothing else you can do, other than the big thing that you really didn't want to do, because we know how long and wieldy these investigations can get, but he did do what he didn't want to do which is appoint a special counsel. >> there are a lot of people who would like to hear from director comey about the notes he was taking about president trump, we may not hear about that unless he is willing to testify and come forward? >> i do think he should testify, but i thin

rosen stein has currentcurrent put in fundamental doubt.k at attorney general jeff sessions and his so-called self recusal from campaign inquiries including, of course, rush yachlt and with the firing of jam comey that, is all now becoming much more questionable. did sessions violate the recusal? we'll dig in with a legal expert and former fbi special agent. music: "werewolves of london" dude. your crunching's scaring the fish. dude. they're just jealous. new kellogg's raisin bran crunch with crunchy clusters and the taste of apples and strawberries. (excited) i got one! (jokingly) guess we're having cereal for dinner. new kellogg's raisin bran crunch apple strawberry the uncertainties of hep c. wondering, what if? i let go of all those feelings. because i am cured with harvoni. harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. it's been prescribed to more than a quarter million people. and is proven to cure up to 99% of patients who have had no prior treatment with 12 weeks. certain patients can be cured

earlier, deputy attorney general rod rosen stein briefed house members. ly >> special prosecutor will have the breadth of scope necessary to follow any and all leads. >> this is about the fight for the soul of our democracy. we cannot afford to lose. >> the president left for the first oversee trip, first stop saudi arabia saturday where he will address a submit of leaders. the battle between good and evil: a new report said the top white house official is a significant person of interest in the russia investigation. >> new castle police have arrested one person in connection with the hit-and-run crash that injured a one-year-old girl. elisha meredith has been charged fleeing the scene of a crime among others. around 10:30 lea was struck twice by the car. second time when she left the scene. police recovered the car about an hour and a half later. >> 15 minutes before it happened, she was running up to me, wrapped her arms around my thigh. i'm glad they they caught him. if they didn't catch him, i would have caught them. >> the child suffered a fractured

we have heard all sorts of reasons come out from the deputy ag rod rosen stein recommending be he fired the hillary clinton investigation, the president came out and said no, it was my decision. of today we learned the president told russians in the white house that, you know, the pressure was relieved when he fired james comey. this is a huge deal. both the house and the senate have been asking committees have been asking for him to come forward and testify. >> we were not sure, we had not heard whether or not he was going to be. there was question as to whether or not with the special council being appointed would he wait to work along with it? that investigation, as we mentioned here tonight, former fbi director james comey will be testifying in an open session before the senate intelligence committee big news here on this friday. >> one of the interesting things i'm sure they will ask wrote about his conversation with president trump in which the president asked him to shut down the investigation into michael flynn. we'll have more on this at 10:00, 10:30 and 11:00. announcer: today

and the decision was taken by rod rosen stein, who's the assistant now, and here's a quote from him. i determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authorities and appoint special council to assume responsibilities for this matter. it goes on my decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. i've made no such determination. that said, this is the restarting of an investigation. remember, there's an investigation into the united states house, into the united the federal bureau of investigation issued a criminal investigation. now we have the special council of course, this goes back a ways but at least to the firing of the fbi director james comey. james comey has now made the accusation that he wrote in trump asked him to halt the investigation into mike flynn a controversial member of president trump's campaign, who was later made the national security advisor, who was said to have had multiple contacts with the russians. some under circumstances which have been questioned. now there are questions about whether t

. >> deputy attorney general rod rosen stein who wrote the memo the president said was the impetus for firing comey has been invited to brief senators next week. democrats want to ask him about the circumstance leading up to it. >>> ahead on "cbs this morning," president trump's firing of james comey has been compared to we'll talk to cbs news political contributor bob schieffer who covered it. >>> and the trade deal the administration says will reduce america's trade gap with china. the agreement is a result of talks that began following last month's meeting between president trump and chinese president xi jinping. the new deal allows u.s. companies to ship natural gas to china, the u.s. would allow cooked chinese poultry to be sold in this country. >>> critics are calling the expectation tib order a sham. voting rights groups say it will lead to stricter voting requirements making it harder for minorities and them to vote. >> president is deliver i what he promised in this tweet call investigation into voter fraud. he signed an executive order thursday creating a commission on it. >>

and recommendation from deputy attorney general rod rosen stein. >> the reason for the firing what was written by the deputy attorney general? is that why he did it? >> that was the final piece that moved the president to make that quick and decisive action. >> abc news has learned rosenstein was so upset with the white house for putting comey's firing on him that he was on the verge of resigning. democrats are now insisting a special prosecutor take over the russian investigation, even postponing all senate hearings yesterday to make a point. now at least one republican is considering it. abc news washington. lindsay: new at noon, 1 students and a driver are hurt following a terrifying school bus crash st. louis. police say the driver lost control of the bus when it swerved to avoid a crash with an erratic vehicle. the bus went airborne over a guardrail and down an embankment. it crashed into a wooded area. police say one child was thrown from the bus during the crash. the others have minor injuries. the driver had to be extricated. everyone involved is expected to survive. covering m

it's very important to rod rosen stein. the explanation we got as we week went on was this was a meeting of the mind. the president decided he should be fired and he summons sessions and rosenstein and they say we also feel the same way. the president said put it in writing. rosenstein was upset at the way he he -- he was depicted in this. some said he threatened to resign, i think that's not true. robert: if congress is slow walking on some front, a number of white house advoysors claimed that comey lost the support of the f.b.i.'s rank and file. duh during -- but during a senate hearing, acting f.b.i. director andrew mccabe contradicted that assertion. >> i can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority of f.b.i. employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to director comey. robert: so we're seeing mccabe come out and say this investigation goes on into russian interference even as congress may be taking it slow. margaret: he put it in very stark terms, saying, you know, you can't stop the men and wome

tomorrow deputy attorney general rod rosen stein will come to capitol hill to brief all senators on comey's termination. anne-marie? >> hena daniels here in new york. thank you so much, hena. >>> as we mentioned "the new york times" was the first to report details of comey's memo. the discussed what led to the memo. >> look. i've been spending a lot of times over the past few days trying to understand what went on between mr. comey and mr. trump and trying to understand what it was that mr. trump didn't like about mr. comey and what was it about mr. trump that really concerned mr. comey, and in the process of that i learned that there was a series of memos that comey had written about every single interaction with trump because comey was so concerned about what trump may try and do to the fbi. >> well, the times detailed another suggestion by mr. trump to comey. speaking about leaks to the media, mr. trump reportedly floated the idea that mr. comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information. adam schiff is the ranking democrat on the house intelligence

jeff sessions has had to recuse himself from even investigating the russia >> they put this on rod rosen stein> they did but still it's his deputy attorney general, still his office >> 94 to six, he's been in the justice department a long time >> looks like may turn out that he was asked to write to write a letter a few days ago, when i want to fire him i can do it any moment and looks like it wasn't me >> a lot to discussing i wish we could keep this going, it's been wonderful to have you on. >> thank you, guys, pleasure. >>> the question is who's next to run the fbi? comey top deputy andrew mccaine is stepping up. there's other names being floated. roam kelly longest serving police commissioner in new york city history, bente, us attorney for virginia. tray goudy, the south carolina arguing man who led the benghazi committee >> a little bit more on this and we see chris christie's picture up there, whose tempt lead who's in the lead here >> the politically charged interfere would predicted something like that. a lot of oh focus from what we're hearing today from people who are intimately fam

. >> reporter: rob rosen stein's role. >> because of the actions to act on the recommendations, takehe recommendation of the deputy attorney general. >> reporter: late there day, a shift. >> frankly, he had been considering letting director comey go since the day he was legislated. >> reporter: now the white house deflecting questions on the revised rational. >> he should have know director comey was not up to the task. >> he has the right to fire for any reason, the problem is inconsistent. >> frankly, i'm offended at the president's comments today. >> reporter: in a senate hearing, the acting fbi director defended the man he replaced. >> director comey enjoyed broad support within the fbi and still does to this day. >> reporter: back at the white house today, a different story again. >> i've heard from countless members of the fbi that are grateful and thankful for the president's decision and i think that, you know, we may have to agree to disagree. >> reporter: sources in the fbi says the president damaged relationships for firing comey like he against that predicting he won't be

rod rosen stein, a career prosecutor who lots of democrats praised. andrew mccabe, the acting fbi director who has a reputation of not being partisan, and the career prosecutors and fbi agents. i think the thing the president needs to do, he's got to talk about this himself, this is not the kind of decision you can make and delegate to sean spicer or a piece of paper. two, he's got to pick somebody to run the fbi who is beyond reproach and do it quickly. in terms of timing, the question i have is why not wait until you have a stellar, sterling person lined up. why the urgency? >> because sally yates testified yesterday and this guy, david ignatius, will blow himself up and his white house and the constitution of the united states because he's a day trader who doesn't like bad headlines. that's my opinion, not your opinion, but it's pretty shocking. i ask you to go back in all your years covering the government to find a decision anymore shocking than this. >> this is one we'll remember where we were when we heard it. it had that kind of impact. the tr

at the same time, deputy attorney general rod rosen stein was picked because he was a career person at, somebody coming in at that perspective might have a difficult task that rob rosenstein was unhappy >> and considering leaving the job at some point because he doesn't like how given the excuse why they fired him. >> our understanding he was dis interest stressed by that. >> the white house folk more on happened or the step-by-step details? is it hypocrisy for the democrats to say now, that it's an outrage for james comey to be fired when so many had problems with him or is it a fair point to bring up because of the russian investigation? is it a fair criticism to say how did you all call for his firing when he had that announcement about hillary clinton's investigation >> i think it's fair point to be making and politically charge. i have to say that director comey brought some of this controversy upon himself >> it's all point to do the white house. that is part of the conversation. >> the white house has a problem with this as well because while the president had a lot of fun the o

will get the same briefing and some of the senators came out with this bombshell revelation that rosen stein said he knew comey was going to be fired before rose enstein ever wrote his mem mroe. >> he learned that the president was going to terminate comey. >> reporter: however, comey was terminated on may 9th, according to multiple spokes people because and only because of rosen sfien's memo. trump's meeting overshadowed by a white house in damage control mode. investigating any trump administration ties to the kremlin. >> the entire thing has been a witch hunt. >> reporter: a big start of the story revolving around michael flynn and ties to fussing flishls. today the chairman of the senate intelligence committee telling reporters flirn is not cooperating so far. republican leadership was skeptical about the need for a russian investigation now changing their tune. >> the appointment of a special counsel i think helps assure people in the justice department that they are going to do their jobs independently. >> democrats have been long calling for an independent investigator. >> fbi -- form

attorney generals blasted the firing of james comey and called on the deputy attorney general, rod rosen steinoint an independent counsel to continue the investigation. washington attorney general joined the push says that they perceive no response to the call so far. so there is a response i talked about that the deputy ag, rod rosenstein sees no need for special investigation or probe now, at least not yet. what do you make of that? >> i respectfully disagree as do my colleagues at the democratic attorney general association. it is clear we are talking about a serious investigation, talking about potential of meddling in a presidential election with the russians. we need a thorough investigation that doesn't have anything to do with politics or partisanship. the only way to do this is do what janet reno did many times in president clinton's tenure, that is to go outside of the department of justice, hire special counsel, special counsel who has not been hired by the president and can't be fired by the president. it is only that type of special counsel who can restore public confidence in the

democrats that recently praised rosen stein integrity only the i'ming of his reaction. >> the oyj thing they had to apps is why now. if they had objected to the way he handled clinton investigation and had objected and the minute president got into office but they didn't fire him then, why did it happen today. >> the president showed no reluctance or regret. while a greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that i'm not under investigation i never the less concur with judgment of the department of justice you are not raibl to effectively lead the burro. pennsylvania senator bob casey among them called it nixonian and they insisted he point a special prosecutor to over seat case. while ink was barely dry white house officials say it's time to get past the notion trump cam pain included with russia to have the suit there's no there, there, it's time to move on. >> now, late last anything to, president vum trump responded to senator chuck shumer cet six by trying that. crying chuck smumer said he does not have confidence comey any longer. this creating a lot of f fall

. >> reporter: rosen stein's appointment of robert mueller as special counsel makes this afternoon official investigation. >> if it comes a point where the special counsel feel its might be running in an interfering way with his vfertionz, -- investigation, that's a discussion we'll have to make. >> reporter: in washington, lauren blanchard, fox news. >>> temperatures are going up around the bay area. a look at mount diablo tonight. the green grass is quickly browning and will only accelerate with the heat picking up this weekend. and it just seemed like it was all the green and -- >> it came quick. >> my lawn, too. >> 3ye 3 -- 3 days ago, it was green, are and now with our pattern, it's setting us up with a warm week. we haven't been that warm in the last week or so and leery here we are, in the 90s. the fog having trouble getting back to the coast and you can see it and you know when it gets back, it's creating cooling. the fog will creep back in the coast tomorrow afternoon and evening and sunday, back in earnest. saturday, patchy fog at best. it's 90 in concord. it's relative. right? if

questions on the decision to fire director comey and the reports that the deputy attorney general rosen steinmay have threatened to resign over being made a scapegoat. and then a tense situation out of a new jersey home. police engaged in a deadly standoff with a suspect that now has lasted more than 24 hours. one innocent bystander killed and three officers injured. >>> it's graduation day for very special graduates and we will share their stories with you this morning to inspire us all, and it's coming up on gma. >> thank you, amy. >>> coming up next, a warning about your in-box. michael finney explains what to do if you get a suspicious e-mail. >>> a major california insurance company offering a free ride from lyft to get to the doctor. >>> a live look from the walnut creek camera, and keep on top of weather and how far should pure alpine spring water have to travel from its source to the bottle? ♪ how about less than a mile and a half? crystal geyser is the only major us spring water bottled at the mountain source. i need the phone that's where i happen to be... to be the one that rings.

so we know there was a softening of the white house narrative regarding rosen stein. >> cnn along with other media outlets went to rod rosenstein's house. he lives in maryland this morning to try to ask him the questions about this. and if you have a monitor, sara, you can see that he happily jumped into his vehicle without answering any of the reporters questions. when they asked are you going to resign, do you want to resign and he obviously declined answering any questions there. but is it your sense that rod rosenstein sort of didn't know what he was in store for when he took this job? >> what i understand from my sources is that rosenstein was surprised by the white house narrative coming outputting this all on him and on a memo. the officials from the white house released a memo on tuesday from him laying out the rational behind comey's dismissal and attributed to the handling of the clinton case and said rosenstein began examining comey's conduct two weeks ago. so they put this on him as the prime mover of the decision to fire comey and what i understand is it is absolutely not

develop a communications strategy, and then, you know, you heard all these aides pinning it on rosen steinnd then last night or yesterday to lester holt, he said, oh, no, i was going to fire him no matter what he said. >> can you imagine if he had come out and had that lester holt interview and said right then, i have decided that director comey can no longer stay and then gone through all of the reasons with lester holt. we would still be discussing it today, but we wouldn't have spent the last ten minutes talking about how the people around him -- you can't really trust to say what is going on. like why not have done that interview in the very first place. >> who can you trust? he's the president of the united states, but, i mean, you know, doing dough that to beat up kellyanne conway or the vice president of the united states. they are people at moments of crisis who have to speak to the american people. here people who try to negotiate health care reform and it goes o the senate and then they have to give their word to people. but can anyone trust what they say? >> here's the thing. th

. >> california attorney general is one of 20 attorneys general who sent a letter to rod rosen stein calling the firing of comey a breach of public trust. to be clear, a special council is not the same thing as a special prosecutor. no one can appoint a prosecutor anymore because that law lapsed in 1999. the deputy attorney general can appoint a special council to investigate president trump's ties to russia, and that's what's being asked for. they don't need approval by congress and have the same powers as a normal u.s. attorney, but they may be removed or decision removed by the u.s. attorney general. >> an expert says the white house shifting from comey is causing trouble for the president. and this man says it's not the news media's fault. >> there were plenty of opinions about why the president made, he changed it three days later and that's not the problem with the press. they just need to tell the straight story whenever they get it. you can see more on face the nation after this newscast. the whole question is both a question of policy about how the trump administration is ha

president pence, kellyanne conway and sanders had all insisted the president fire comey only after rosen stein recommended it. plus, the kremlin trolling the white house with these pictures. the president tells nbc news, what, me, worry? >> but when i spoke with putin he asked me whether or not i would see lavrov. now, should i say no i'm not going to see him? >> let's get right to cnn's senior political commentator and the chief investigative correspondent for yahoo news. as you watched that interview was there anything that changed your mind or clarified to you the position on the white house in firing james comey sm. >> it only further clouded the issue. >> why are you laughing too, david? >> well, i mean, you know, that was an absurd -- these last four -- even with donald trump stuff, these past 48 hours was really extraordinary. i can't help but think that the worst job on the plant is to be a spokes person for donald trump because invariably you get out there on the ledge or on the branch and the branch gets cut off behind you. he's sent people out there to tell a story yesterday and the

. >>> rosen stein gave a to oversee the investigation into possible coordination. here is what lindsay gram said after the briefing. >> a lot of confidence in mr. muller. i think the shot to the body is it's now considered a criminal investigation and congress's ability to conduct investigations of all things russia has been severely limited, probably in an appropriate fashion. it was counter intelligence. it seems to be an investigation. >> the naming of a special prosecutor has implications for how they will proceed. >>> a lot to discuss. you know, for the last two days you have been daying the president should lawyer up and stop tweeting and here he is saying this is a witch hunt. >> how many clients have we all had as lawyers who haven't listen today what we advised them to do? what he said is so foolish, anybody who lived through the age where so many other kinds of witch hunts really occurred to say that he has so much information and fox news basically on his side and other media on his side. i don't feel sorry for him saying that this is a subject of a witc

the recommendation of attorney general jeff sessions and this memo by deputy attorney general rod rosen steind, of course, rosenstein, the case he laid out was almost nothing was new in it. it was all stuff that happened during the campaign. almost immediately, trump sti decided to say, no, i was thinking of firing comey from the day i was elected. donald trump has to make everything about himself. it's kind of incredible. he couldn't keep his own story straight because he started thinking i don't think these guys to get credit for firing comey. only donald trump would think he has to take credit for this and one of the striking things in that interview flist, ed if i had fired him on january 20th it would have overshadowed the inauguration. the key is not what should be in the news, what the big story of the day. what is the right thing to do? what is the right timing for things? donald trump sees the world in terms of how can i get my name out? how can i be the center of attention? i think that is a dangerous way for the leader of the free world to operate. >> julian, you wrote in your arti

statement saying president trump acted based on recommendation from the attorney general and jeff rosen stein. sessions said he would recuse after he failed to disclose meetings with the russian ambassador. and on the front page of the "new york times," i concur with department of justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau. senior white house official tells us the former head of security and director of oval office hand delivered the letter to department of justice. andrew mccabe, deputy director is now acting director. >>> james comey had been set to testify thursday in open session in front of the senate intelligence committee. while in los angeles, he was set to give a speech. but it never happened, as "new york times" reports, mr. comey was addressing a group of fbi employees in los angeles when a television in the background flashed the news that he had been fired. in response, mr. comey laughed saying he thought it was a funny prank. then staff started to scurry in the battlegrouckground and said should step away. he proceeded to shake hands of employees he was speakin

rosen stein appoints a special prosecutor. >> an independent prosecutor should be appointed. >> there needs to be a special prosecutor. >> house democrats called for an independent investigation. >> the necessity of an independent investigation is increasingly being recognized. >> this president cannot oversee an investigation into his own associates. >> that should be clear to everyone regardless of political affiliation, where you are in the justice department. >> it is not a partisan issue. it is an issue of patriotism. >> this is in the best interest of the president, the best interest of the republicans or democrats. i don't care what the stripe is. >> democrats calling for a special prosecutor which gives the question what about the gop? here's the latest on that tonight. >> what are republicans saying about the controversies created by the white house? >> well, anderson, republican leaders are tired of president trump's tweets. paul ryan earlier today was asked about the tweets, the threats to james comey from the one tweet. he didn't want to comment. i won't get into the presi

earlier, deputy attorney general, rod rosen stein, briefed house members on the russia investigation. special prosecutor will have the breds of scope necessary to follow any and all leads. >> this is about the fight for the soul of our democracy. we cannot afford to lose this one. >> the president left for his first overseas trip on friday. his first stop is saudi arabia. saturday, where he'll address the summit of arab and muslim leaders, a draft of the president's sweep calls for coalition against extremism in the battle between good and evil. cbs-3, "eyewitness news." >>> and still ahead on cbs-3 "eyewitness news" this saturday morning. >> if you like fresh new jersey strawberries, this is your time of year. i'm cleve bryan, coming up, why families say the time is ripe to go picking. >> plus, what's better, reduced fat or skim milk or perhaps a full fat kind? we'll tell you why doctors say go for the full fat. how it can help you lose weight and avoid a dangerous disease that's next. >> welcome back, with the warmer weather new jersey grown strawberries are ready for picking and th

rosen stein said mueller will have, quote, all appropriate resources to conduct a thorough investigationnted head of the fbi by george w. bush he served from 2001 to 2013. nancy pelosi called the appointment, quote, good first step. in a tweet pelosi continues the call for an independent commission to investigate any connection between the trump administration and russia. today's news has plunged the white house into further disarray. this is the third major development in just as many days, and now lawmakers in the trump administration are scrambling to respond. we get the latest from abc7 news reporter maggie in washington. >> reporter: in a stunning development, the justice department has just named former fbi director robert mueller as special counsel in the ongoing fbi investigation into the trump campaign and russian meddling of the 2016 presidential election. the president has called this investigation a hoax and the white house only got a 30-minute heads up. but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were pressuring acting attorney general rod rosenstein to make the independent app

who is actually there at today's event alongside the president and deputy attorney general rod rosen stein. what's notable. >> i'm going to interrupt you. we'll go to president trump at the memorial. >> what a beautiful introduction. thank you, chuck. that was so nice. that was above and beyond. that's the way i'm going to be with you, too. and it's a great honor. thank you very much. it's a great honor to address america's heroes on this most solemn occasion. words cannot express the depths of our gratitude but i hope that our actions will show you how deeply we care and how strongly we feel about protecting those who protect us. america stands strong with our men and women in blue, believe me, we stand strong together. i want to recognize jim pasco, linda henny, chaplain wiggins and everyone at the fraternal order of police for all that you do to protect the law enforcement of this country and all of our communities. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. as long as i'm president, you will always find an open door to the white house. and you've already found it, believe me.

. >> he asked for this letter from rosen stein or why it came. >> it was dated yesterday. >> thank you ambassador norm eisen and nick akreman, thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. in the middle of all of this, the russian foreign minister just arrived at the white house for a very important meeting with president trump. will the president comment on the firing? the russian foreign minister did. he decided to make a joke about the whole thing. >> did the comey firing cast a shadow on your talks? >> the firing? you are kidding? you are kidding. why weigh yourself down? try aveeno® sheer hydration. its active naturals® oat formula... ...goes on feather light. absorbs in seconds... ...keeps skin healthy looking and soft. aveeno® naturally beautiful results. won't replace the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, you won't have to worry about replacing your car because you'll get the full value back including depreciation. switch and you could save $5

we have deputy attorney general rosen stein talking to the senate.- this is a question i would ask and perhaps we end on this point we're almost out of time. how do you leave a memorandum hanging out there that has now been discredited by the president of the united states? that doesn't restore public faith. ari melber, thank yery mu for more on what happens next, be sure to tune into "the point" this sunday at 5:00 p.m. eastern. his office is next door to mine, booking great guests, don't miss that, 5:00 to 7:00 eastern time. that will wrap up, a very busy week for me. thank you so much for watching, look for me on twitter @ chrisjanuary sichri chrisjansing, deadline white house with nicolle wallace starts right now. >> hi, everyone, imminents threats, with a briefing on threats to the nation not threats made by the country's president. this is no ordinary president. this morning donald trump tweeted this, james comey better hope there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press. you don't need any special security cleara

this comes also as rod rosen stein may come before the senate judiciary commit.idering bringing him before the committee. >> do you want rod rosenstein come testify before your committee? >> i haven't said anything along that line. i can say i'm considering that but i'm going to talk to a lot of members before i would make a final decision on that. >> so a bit of news there, considering bringing rod rosenstein before the senate judiciary committee. members of congress want to hear more about what led to james comey's firing. >> certainly they want want to know. manu, thank you. nia, if that were to go forward and there were to be questions asked, we assume these would be questions asked publicly that could be asked behind closed doors right now from the top republican on the intel committee of rosenstein. >> might be contradictory, might be damaging. this has been a very, very bad week. i said last week i thought it was one of the better weeks with the passage of health care. here you have a week where this president caused all of this. this was his decision to f

rosen stein kickly shot it down.eone in the press actually asked him and sat for an interview said no he is not quitting never threatened to quit. "the washington post the next day before comey was fired he requested more resources for the russia investigation. that's why he got fired. big surprise, "the washington post" wrong again because the acting fbi director andrew mccabe testified the next day that he never heard such a request. and earlier this week, the yeah the post is back, they thought they nailed president trump. they ran a story claiming the president leaked classified information to the russians. during last week's oval office visit. but, people that were actually in the room, now they cited people outside of the white house, they said the people in the room it never happened. also the "new york times," trying to keep up, and they have been spearing trump from day one. earlier this week the paper of record cited a memo from james comey which claims that president trump asked the now former fbi director