Doors. Lets start on a busy afternoon with two nbc reports. Kristen welker at the white house, and Greta Van Susteren is here with legal an less. Give us more on how the white house and rnc are whiting back today. Reporter a number of talking points on display, chris. And were getting them from the president himself. Yesterday, he was remarkably silent and restrained in his reaction to all of this. But today, he was back on twitter. Lets take a look at his tweet and we can analyze it on the other side. The president tweeted this morning, despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication. And wow, comey is a leaker. Expect that last part to get a lot of attention from the president and from his surrogates. Remember, hes always said that the key issue in this entire russia probe has to do with leaking. The other point thats raised, though, by his tweet early this morning, is a question about how james comey can be a liar and also fully vin y vindicate the president at the same time. President trump will hoelzld a s conference later today. In the meantime, the president s staff going back into campaign mode. Take a look at what his surrogates had to say earlier today, chris. So wait a mine to a columbia law professor, because he wasnt man enough to give the notes directly to the media. The president never informed, directed or suggested that mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including the president never suggested that mr. Comey let flynn go. Reporter so Deputy Press SecretarySarah Huckabee sanders trying to dismiss that question with a little bit of a joke there. But the bottom line is, a lot of people want to know if the president was being truthful when he said that there were tapes of his discussions with james comey and if there are tapes, why not produce them now to prove all of those points that you heard her surrogates making. Well ask that president later on today. Were going to be looking for that News Conference. In the meantime, greta, you have on one hand the politics of this, of the decision. Were going to go after comey and not let this testimony just lie. But let me start with the legal part of this, because as Pete Williams has said, look, hes going to file a complaint with the doj. The doj handles things within the government. They dont handle things that are by people who used to work for the government and who, if there is some sort of problem with the leak, he didnt do it while he was even employed by the government. So what do you make of this as a legal strategy . Chris, assuming theres nothing classified thats been leaked, and i see nothing to indicate its classified, is he didnt work at the government at the time he did it. While it may have been cowardly to do it through the professor at columbia university, i dont see a legal problem. The president is just fighting back. If the president wants to jam him, which would drag out for a long time but have virtually no effect on comey, is he would file a bar complaint and complain that way against him. I dont see comey in trouble with the Justice Department. He filed this he did this as a citizen after he left government. And i dont see him as having a problem with the bar. But i do see the president as trying to give him a very hard time about it. Is that all there is here, or is this about them not getting how it works . Do you think its possible this was the way to go, that they could accomplish something here . Well, i do think that what he may try to do is persuade mueller two investigainto invesr leaks. Theres been another favorable leak to the New York Times just a short time ago about the memos, to the same reporter, the one that was leaked through the cutout to davis to. Im not suggesting, but if i was investigating, i would take a look. The president has been very critical of leaks. Im sure hes goi to persuade someone to look into whether or not the leaker has been the former deputy former director of the fbi. Im not saying that he is, but i think this president is aggressive enough to look to see whether or not he is. If you look at his business career, he certainly has been aggressive in situations where he feels like hes being wronged. In the meantime, looking at how this testimony affects the investigation Going Forward, lets talk a little about Jeff Sessions reputation, which took a bit of a hit and what kind of pressure is he under now . Hes under a lot of pressure. Hes actually going to be on capitol hill next tuesday talking about the budget of the Justice Department. But hes going to get questioned about this russia probe. As you point out, yesterdays testimony raised new questions with the former fbi director saying that he expected Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the russia probe, but that he couldnt get into details about why. So that raises a whole host of questions. We know that the attorney general did have some contact with the ambassador to russia, so he will likely get questioned about all of that. Whats also interesting, chris, is we know that the president was very frustrated with his attorney general for recusing himself. He thinks that allowed this investigation to bubble up and ultimately to lead to a special counsel. It took his aides days to say that the president does, in fact, have full confidence in his attorney general. That is a point that President Trump might get pressed on today, as well. In the annals of intrigue in the west wing, this relationship between james comey and the president and how it developed certainly is at the top of the list. But greta, let me go back to you. At the center of this for a lot of people is whether or not there was an obstruction of justice. Where do you think that stands . Is it in a different place today than it was before you went into that hearing room yesterday . I think the only thing that happened yesterday, i dont think we got any new information. What is profoundly different yesterday is that rather through anonymous sources, we heard it from the source himself, james comey. So i dont know where the obstruction of justice investigation is going to go. I dont know what was obstructed. I dont know all the facts. But i do know this. If i were the former attorney general of the United States, loretta lynch, my hair would be on fire after what he said about her yesterday. He threw her under the bus big time. Not only did he mention the incident on the tarmac with former president bill clinton, but he also said, and this is astounding, that she was that when he went to talk to her about what to call the investigation of hillary clinton, he said she wanted to call it matter, not investigation. Somewhat suggesting she was helping former secretary of state hillary clinton. What we then heard in a statement later, not directly from her but someone else, is that there had merely been a discussion in the Attorney Generals Office about what to call the investigation, because they all wanted to be on the same page because they didnt want the media to run wild, and apparently, former director comey was agreeable to call it matter, but now hes acting like it was something sinister and a reason to distrust her. And finally, he said theres one other thing why i didnt trust her, but i cant tell you because its classified. He completely threw her under the bus. My hair would be under fire if i were the former attorney general of the United States. Yeah, that was not a good day for her for sure. Greta, kristen, thanks to both of yo. Tune in for on the record tonight, because greta has senat senator on with her. Bill, whats your gut reaction . What did you think when you heard that trumps legal team was going to go after james comey . I remember the clinton legal team going after ken starr. They did someamage to ken tars reputation. But bill clinton had lied under oath to the grand jury, and that came out. I guess i think bob muellers investigation is going to reveal what happened. And people are being too i mean, thats fine to follow all the subplots and interesting flaws. Its like a shakespeare play. It has tragic, comedic relief. At the end of the day, its about trump, the election, and was there collusion with the russians and how inappropriately trump misbehave with comey, did it cross the line to an actual attempt to stifle or corrupt an Ongoing Investigation or was he just nibbling around the edges . People are underestimating how much we will know. Mueller is going to have access to emails and phone records and putting people under oath. And do you think there are taping out thees out there . I dont know. I cant believe there are. Its a little weird for trump to suggest there are. All right. Im going to go back to the tapes, but dan, in your new column you worry about one thing that stood out to you yesterday, and i want to play that. I was concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so i thought it important to document. That combination of things i had never experienced before, but it led me to believe i have to write it down in a very detailed way. What struck you about that out of almost three hours of testimony . Chris, as we both were there in the room, the entire thing was gripping. I think bill is right it was gripping. I dont know how it played back on television in your living rooms, but wow. My neck was getting a cramp from just leaning over and staring the whole time. It was amazing. I think bill is right, you know, this is going to be up to Robert Mueller to tell us what happened here, all the nitty gritty, all the legal stuff. Theres a lot for him to unpack, but the most significant thing was not the legal aspect of what comey was saying, it was what he was saying about the character of the United States, our commander in chief. Basically saying this is not a trustworthy man. He lies. I expected he would lie. I had to take that into consideration. And i didnt have to do that with either of his predecessors, obama or bush. Theres nothing that bob mueller or anybody else can do about that. But i think that gets at the essence of what i think a lot of the criticism of trump is, that they cant trust his character and i think thats why hes having so much trouble with allies and moving things ahead on capitol hill. And that is very clearly how he wound up in this situation with the special prosecutor. You know, it was interesting yesterday, bill, our kasie hunt who spends more time on capitol hill than many members of congress, is saying shes sensing a shift a little bit, i dont want to put words in her mouth, but there are a lot of republicans who now are really nervous. Ider as you talk to fellow republicans what youre hearing about how they see the trajectory of this investigation going . Theyve been trying to deny the obvious, which is they have a president who is not reliable and trustworthy in what he says in the basic sense that he makes up things and lies about things and then defames people he doesnt like. Theyre kind of hoping we can put that aside, pass some good legislation, keep a distance. I mean, i would be more forthright, but theyre elected officials, they have their own balls to juggle in the air. I do think some of them are now saying whoa, boy, can we do this for another 3 1 2 years, kind of pretend we dont have to at some point say is he are we confident in him as president . Do we support him or do we reluctantly work with him as we have to . Or do we keep a real distance and make sure he doesnt define the Republican Party and the conservative movement. So right now if the republicans on the hill do nothing, trump is the head of the Republican Party, hes the face of the Republican Party. If youre a younger voter in particular, hes kind of it for the republicans. Do you really want that Going Forward . Dont you want to be able to say look, he won, hes president , fine. But we have a different Republican Party here in congress, which has some impressive individuals, a lot of them younger. Thats the future of the Republican Party, not trump. So republicans on the hill need to do some soul searching here. One of the things that struck me yesterday was the twitter. You have james comey sort of waking up in the middle of the night saying oh, the president said there were tapes. And he said it in a tweet. If there are tapes, then i have corroborating testimony essentially. I want to play for you that short excerpt from comey talking about whether there are white house tapes. Ive seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, i hope there are tweets. All i can do is hope. The president surely knows whether he taped me. If he did, my feelings arent hurt. Release all the tapes. Im good with it. You know, dana, i dont know if its real or virtual, but i saw it on twitter, tshirts that say, lordy, i hope there are tapes. Probably somebody is taking them and selling them for 20. Without question, yes. What about that . He keeps finding himself in these situations of his own making, and this is a classic example of that. At some point, doesnt mueller have to say, are there tapes or not . And if there are tapes, hand them over. Im sure that moment has come and being asked. We already know that comeys handed over his files to mueller already. So surely that will occur. I think that line, lordy, i hope there are tapes line will be what future generations remember from this one. That might have been the joseph welch line from the mccarthy hearings. That will come down to it. Knowing what we know of trump, he was almost surely bluffing and trying to intimidate comey at that point, not realizing that comey had kept these me lick lou meticulous notes. Mueller will have the ability to see what emails, i should think, unless theres executive privilege issues, what emails were said after the meetings trump had with him, what did he say to his soninlaw and reince priebus. Its not as if its i am not suggesting youre saying this, but its not as if its tapes or nothing. Theres a lot of in between evidence that mueller in particular and the congress to some degree and house committee, will have access to it. Thats where i think this thing will play out in a way that it will be more well learn much more pretty quickly. I have the impression mueller is moving pretty fast. I was thinking about the number of columns and stories that they could get if there were tapes. Guys, thank you so much. And how about these stunning new revelations about that 25yearold Government Contractor accused of leaking classified information. Was reality winner planning to leak even more classified documents . And the president s attorney very publicly accusing james comey of purgering himself on capitol hill yesterday. Do republicans agree . Ill ask republican congressman mo brooks, next. When you booked this trip, you didnt know we had over 26,000 local activities listed on our app. Or that you could book them right from your phone. A few weeks ago, you still didnt iyou were. Now the only thing you dont know, is why it took you so long to come here. Expedia. Everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. Anyone ever have occasional y constipation,diarrhea, gas or bloating . She does. She does. Help defend against those digestive issues. Take Phillips Colon Health probiotic caps daily with three types of good bacteria. 400 likes . Wow try Phillips Colon Health. P3 its meat, cheese and nuts. I keep my protein interesting. Oh yea, me too. I have cheese and uh these herbs. P3 snacks. The more interesting way to get your protein. If you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,. Isnt it time to let the real you shine through . Maybe its time for Otezla Apremilast . Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,. With reduced redness,. Thickness, and scaliness of plaques. And the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. Dont take otezla if youre allergic to any of its ingredients. Otezla may increase the risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts. Or if these feings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight. And may stop treatment. Side effects may include diarrhea,. Nausea, upper respiratory tract infection. And headache. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Ask your dermatologist about otezla today. Otezla. Show more of you. vo you can pass down a subaru forester. dad shes all yours. vo but you get to keep the memories. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. I think very compelling in his testimony and i think leaving lots of questions to the president , which can only be reconciled if the president is willing to testify under oath. One of the number of democrats now saying that if the president judisagrees with comes testimony, the president should testify under oath. I want to go to republican congressman mo brooks of alabama. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Lets start with the basis of all this. President trumps lawyer has accused james comey of perjury. The president in a tweet this morning, did the same thing. Do you believe james comey purgered himself . I dont know. I wasnt in the conversation. Keep in mind that im a former prosecutor in tuscaloosa, alabama, and to make that kind of a charge against somebody, ive got to have compelling evidence as to who was telling the truth and who was not. But it is very common for people who are in the same kind of event, watching what would normally be the same thing, to have different recollection of bits and pieces. So i dt give too much weight to the normal types of disagreements you have with peoples recollections. So you think this is pure politics . Did the president and his lawyer jump the gun . Im not in a position to express a judgment on the motivations of the president or the president s attorneys. Im not going to say they jumped the gun or didnt jump the gun. I will say i very much appreciated james comey giving his testimony, particularly the parts from a legal perspective that cleared President Trump of any involvement with this alleged russian collusion on the one hand. And confirmed that at least as of now, theres no evidence whatsoever that President Trump has obstructed justice. It seems to me that it made it clear that james comey felt extremely uncomfortable, that he felt there was a request for a quid pro quo. You lay off of this investigation, you leave my friend alone, and you can keep your job. Thats what i heard. Did you hear Something Different . Not at all. I didnt hear those kinds of commands. And lets also bear in mind that the president of the United States, he is the commander in chief, he is the chief executive officer of the executive branch of the government. To that degree, comey is a subordinate employee. So the president of the United States has the right to ask these kind of questions, to bring up these kind of subjects. Thats one thing. What i never heard was a directive for comey to do something wrong, a directive from the president of the United States. And so youre going to have these kind of discussions when youre trying to decide whether procu somne or not. Thats normaln a prosecutori environment. Having said that, the person to talk to would have been in the Justice Department. The fbi doesnt make these decisions to prosecute or not. They gather the evidence, present it to the Justice Department and a u. S. Attorney or attorney general hmake the decisions whether to prosecute. Even if the president wanted comey to do something in a prosecutorial way, comey has no control over that. Now, there is an investigation obviously headed by a man of impeccable credentials, praised by republicans and democrats, and that is mr. Mueller. President trump has suggested there are tapes with his conversations of mr. Comey. If they exist, do you think that special counsel mueller has them already and that will answer some of these questions . I have no idea if tapes exist or not. At this point in time, i have not heard anything from either President Trump or james comey that suggest there was any criminal conduct that occurred during these conversations with exfbi director comey and President Trump, and if thats the case, then thats no reason for the tapes to be published if they exist, because they dont lead to any evidence of criminal activity. Thats why i focus on james comeys comments, that there was no obstruction of justice. The fbi investigation was not impeded in any way, shape, or form on the one hand. And again, President Trump is not a target of any kind of investigation related to russia. So whats the materiality of james comeys comments or President Trumps comments in a legal setting . In a political setting, thats a different arena. Theres lots of folks that want to make hay with this conversation between the two, but thats a different setting, the political arena versus the legal arena. But i heard nothing that suggests that was of any impropriety in that meeting between comey and trump. Republican congressman mo brooks of alabama, thank you. Thank you. President trumps soninlaw Jared Kushner expected to meet face to face with senate intel staffers pushing for answers about his relationship with the russian ambassador. How much of a problem could that cause for the property already under for . vo pro plan bright mind adult 7 promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. ray the difference has been incredible. She is much more aware. She wants to learn things. vo purina pro plan bright mind. Nutrition that performs. Over hereno ver here dog barking whoever threw it has to go get it. Not me somebody will get it. dog barking anyone can dream. Making it a reality is the hard part. From the b2 to the upcoming b21, Northrop Grumman stealth bombers give america an advantage in a turbulent world. And were looking for a few dreamers to join us. [team member] yep. Now in the wells fargo mobile app [customer] i can access the atm with just my phone . You can request a onetime access code to use the atm. [customer] thats much better you know, that would come in handy when im out for a run. [team member] or, a bike ride. [customer] or, when you left your card in your yesterday pants. [team member] or walking the dog. [customer] or walking your dog. I have a dog. [team member] that is exactly the situation this was invented for. I love walking my dog. [customer] were dog people. [team member] everyone loves dogs. [customer] thats genius have you ever just sat down and talked to a dog . Hi. And i know that we have phonaccident forgiveness. Gent, so the incredibly minor accident that i had tonight four weeks without the car. Okay, yup. Good night. With accident forgiveness your rates wont go up just because of an accident. Switching to allstate is worth it. I want to burn the white house down. Those there words allegedly written by nsa contractor reality winner, in a notebook that authorities found inside her home. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez is live in augusta, georgia, where the 25yearold pled not guilty yesterday. Whats the latest, gabe . Reporter hi there, chris. Some explosive allegations from the federal government coming out in court. We had known she was accused of leaking classified information according to the criminal complaint. But yesterday, the u. S. Attorney laid out many more allegations as to why she should not be released on bail. The government now strongly suggests she may have been planning to leak more documents. Chris, here are some of the allegations. They say there is now a missing flash drive that winner allegedly inserted into a computer, a top secret computer when she was with the air force, and that hard drive has not been located. They say in a recorded conversation with her mother, after she had been taken into custody, she said mom, those documents i screwed up, suggesting there were more documents that might be out there. So certainly a lot of questions about this case right now, chris. But the u. S. Government feels that reality winner may have been plan thing for a while. She had a key interest in going overseas. Now, the attorney for winner says that the government is making a mountain out of a mole hill. She pleaded not guilty, so this case is unfolding here in augusta, georgia, chris. Fascinating. Gabe gutierrez, thank you so much. In about an hour, President Trump will be holding a joint News Conference with the president of romania. Its the first chance the press will get to ask him questions about the comey testimony. This morning, in a speech at the department of transportation, he did not address that, trying instead to rally support for his trillion dollar infrastructure plan. It is time at last to put amera first. Americans deserve the best infrastructure anywhere in the world. They deserve roads and bridges that are safe to travel and pipes that deliver clean water into their homes. Now, there are a lot of trump voters who see infrastructure as a priority, with roads we have Rex Tillerson speaking right now im told live. Lets go listen. We call on the kingdom of saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, bahrain, and egypt to ease the blockade against qatar. There are humanitarian consequences to this blockade. Were seeing shortages of food. Families are being forcibly separated, and children pulled out of school. We believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this holy month of ramadan. But they can be addressed immediately. The blockade is impairing u. S. And other International Business activities in the region, and has created a hardship on the people of qatar and the people whose livelihoods depend on commerce with qatar. The blockade is hindering u. S. Military actions in the region and the campaign against isis. We support the efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to this agreement, and progress toward eliminating all forms of support for terrorism, military, financial, moral, or idealogical. The u. S. Will support these mediation effor efforts. In the last few days, i have spoken with many leaders in the region. As i said to all of them, we know youre stronger together. It is clear to me based on these conversations that the elements of a solution are available. The gcc must emerge united and stronger to show the world the gccs resolve in its fight against violence and terrorism, and its commitment to countering the threat from extremism. Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to deescalate the situation and put forth a good faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other. Thank you very much. We were not expecting those commenting from the secretary of state, but obviously it comes at a critical time. We had just heard not so long ago that qatar had said they thought that President Trump and the United States would be critical in solving what has very quickly become an escalating problem with the blockade there by three other gulf area states, including saudi arabia, bahrain and the united arab emirates. So obviously we heard those statements from the secretary of state. Theres going to be more to come on this, but clearly, theres some steps being taken, moving in the direction of trying to resolve what has become a crisis and a lot of accusations about qatar and funding terror. In the meantime, james comey revealing he expected the attorney general himself to recuse himself from the Russian Investigation weeks earlier, because of the reasons that are all classified. What we still do not know about Jeff Sessions involvement with russia. Given the war of words between the former fbi director and the president , should Robert Mueller interview President Trump as part of his investigation . Theres nothing more important to me than my vacation. So when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. Booking. Com gets it. And with their price match, i know im getting the best price every time. Now i can start relaxing even before the vacation begins. Your vacation is very important. Thats why booking. Com makes finding the right hotel for the right price easy. Visit booking. Com now to find out why were booking. Yeah it can seem like triggers pop up everywhere. Luckily theres powerful, 24hour, nondrowsy claritin. It provides relief of symptoms that can be triggered by over 200 different allergens. Live claritin clear. Rays always been different. Last year, he said he was going to dig a hole to china. At t is working with farmers to improve irrigation techniques. Remote moisture sensors use a Reliable Network to tell them when and where to water. So that farmers like ray can compete in big ways. China. Oh. He got there. Thats the power of and. Adult 7 promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. ray the difference has been incredible. She is much more aware. She wants to learn things. vo purina pro plan bright mind. Nutrition that performs. America by simon and garfun [ snoring ]ental [ deep sleep snoring ] the allnew volkswagen atlas. Seats seven, sleeps six. Lifes as big as you make it. If you have moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis like me, and youre talking to your rheumatologist about a medication. This is humira. This is humira helping to relieve my pain. And protect my joints from further damage. Humira has been clinically studied for over 18 years. Humira works by targeting and helping to. Block a specific source. Of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain and. Stop further joint damage in many adults. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas. Where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Talk to your doctor and visit humira. Com this is humira at work. Among the many questions being asked today in the wake of james comeys testimony is who did or did not act appropriately in any dealings with toplevel russians and just how big a threat was russias attempt to interfere in the election . Comey was adamant about the seriousness of the threat. Were talking about a Foreign Government that usingechnical intrusion and othethods tried to shape the way wehink we vote, we act. At is a bigal. And people need to recognize it. Its not about republicans and democrats, theyre coming after america. Which i hope we all love equally. Evan, those are pretty strong comments by jim comey. Whats your impression about how the white house and how congress are addressing this . Well, the white house obviously is engaged in an effort to cover up any wrongdoing that might have been done during the campaign. So thats sort of a given unfortunately. As far as congress is concerned, i think congress is doing what you would expect it to do on the democrat side and on the republican side based on the politics of either side. Now, that allows for more patriotic action on the side of the democrats. And i dont mean to question their sincerity at all. Im happy that the democrats are trying to hold this administration accountable. On the republican side, however, they seem to only be going just as far as the republican voter base will allow them to go. And what i think needs to happen, since they control the whole of congress, both chambers, is they need to show leadership. And sometimes leadership means doing things that are unpopular, but that y know are right. And unfortunately, i dont think were seeing enough of that from republicans in congress. I think were seeing Good Movement in that direction. Very subtle movement. But i think we need a lot more. Nbc has learned that comey told the committee in closed session yesterday, there might have been a third meeting between attorney general sessions and russian officials. And senator susan collins, who is a member of that committee, she said she cant divulge what was said, but she did add this let me say this, the committee is going to be requesting documents and an interview with the attorney general. And there are some unanswered questions. Mark, where do you think this part of it is going . And if Jeff Sessions did have an undisclosed third meeting, what does that mean for the probe . It could be a real problem. What we keep seeing with this administration with respect to reporting requirements, whether what we call the sf86, the National Security questionnaire or testimony before the hill and their confirmation hearings, everything that continually seems to be omitted has to do with russia. So that is the definite counterintelligence problem and its a credibility problem for sure. And it keeps tracing back all the way up the chain to the president. Does it strike you as it did a lot of people yesterday, and i thought it was one of the biggest swipes comey took against the president , he said he never once asked about the status of the russia investigation. He never asked how bad was it . You would think that would be what a president of the United States and the president of the United States, this time being donald trump, would be interested in, whether or not were being attacked by a foreign power. This is a real continuing big problem. Now, i know a lot of people in the public are so eager, especially those who are in opposition to President Trump to have this information come out. I guess i would caution everybody, you know, the United States government and the Intelligence Community, theyre looking into it. Reality winner, leaking a document that didnt add anything to the debate, other than give information to russia as how our Intelligence Community is looking at what the russians did during the 2016 election. People have to be patient to let the Community Work what they need to do. We live in this instant gratification time. So patience isnt in long supply. Meantime, youve got comey, evan, saying he told Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein about these concerns he had with President Trump, about the pressure he felt. Shortly after that, rosenstein recommends the firing of comey. Do you think theres any upshot to this revelation . Well, i think we need to look into exactly that process, the process of comeys firing more i think its possible that rosenstein didnt understand Donald Trumps full motive. We need to look into it and discover more. I think whats unfortunate he hasnt recused himself at this point. Rosenstein, no, he hasnt. We have to give him credit for appointing Robert Mueller as a special counsel. I thi twas evidee of his acting in good ith, perhaps trying to correct a direction or trying to correct a situation that was suboptimal to say the least with the firing of comey. But i think that theres been a lot of criticism of comey. I want to get this in, for not having stood up to President Trump in those engagements. But i think its unfair to mr. Comey, that criticism why . Because comey is acting in part as an employee, if you will, a subordinate of the president. But also hes got Law Enforcement responsibilities. Hes dealing with a man but if he was so concerned that the president was asking him to do something that was potentially illegal, didnt he have an obligation to say to him, thats not how this works, mr. President . Yes and no. This is what i was getting to. If youre comey and you believe that the president is well intentioned and simply needs to be instructed and taught, then i think thats the move you make. But if you realize, i think correctly, that donald trump is a dishonorable man because of his own actions and hes not someone that is going to learn lessons, if thats your belief and you understand he may be trying to block an investigation into his own team, well, then that becomes an investigative issue. And just like comey said yesterday, when the president urged him to stop investigating flynn, he viewed that as of something of investigative interest. So at that point, you go into collection of evidence. And that i think is what was happening. But the bigger thing is the bigger issue is that this isn incredibly difficult situati for anyone to be in, and i think we ought to cut comey slack for that, while recognizing that he was collecting evidence in that moment. Its also clear that he has second guessed himself many times about that. Sure. Again, hind sight 2020. In the meantime, for the people who could potentially influence the president , one of them surely was Jared Kushner. Now, mark, nbc has concerned that the Intelligence Committee expects to hear from him later this month. What details would they be looking for . Well, his contacts with the russians as well. Remember, back in january, i think it was, or march when he filled out his sf86 in january, i believe. He omitted as well his contacts with the russians. Again, we keep going back to the russians. Now, supposedly he got bad advice, and i would say anyone who was assisting him with the filling out of that form probably should have been fired if they werent. But it is incredibly significant as to what the contacts were among the inner circle of the administration and the russians. And we are, were losing a lot of focus. This is becoming a lot of political theater surrounding attacks on the president and everybody else. Were losing sight as james comey said about exactly what role russia played in all this. And just a little bit on something expounding on what evan said. Theres an argument to be made that in fact james comey was a whistleblower by providing access the New York Times of some of his internal memos. You can, if its unclassified, thats the difference between reality winners case and james comeys case, if it is unclassified, there is precedent to show that even providing information to the media can be a protected disclosure. I dont know if james comey that was his intent, but i would give some caution to the white house and President Trumps lawyers, if youre going retaliate against james comey, you may be going into a slippery slope. Well, his stated intent was to get exactly what happened, the appointment of mueller. So obviously whether its a leak situation or whistleblower situation, we know that he clearly had an objective there, as he said. So much more we could talk about, mark, evan. Thank you. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Can democrats capitalize on the white house on the ropes from the russia probe . Well talk strategy with congressman joe crowley, next. Sfx engine revving silence adult 7 promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. ray the difference has been incredible. She is much more aware. She wants to learn things. vo purina pro plan bright mind. Nutrition that performs. You realize the smartest investing idea, isnt just what you invest in, but who you invest with. woman theres a moment of truth. Etes, and now with victoza®, a better moment of proof. Victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill, which didnt get me to my goal. Lowers my a1c better than the leading branded injectable. The one i used to take. Victoza® lowers blood sugar in three ways. And while it isnt for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. Noninsulin victoza® comes in a pen and is taken once a day. announcer victoza® is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not take victoza® if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. Stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck or if you develop any allergic symptoms including itching, rash, or difficulty breathing. Serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis, so stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. Tell your doctor your medical history. Taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. The most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. Nows the time for a better moment of proof. Ask your dtor about ctoza. So republicans are generally siding with james comey regarding his testimony. This investigation seems to be making it impossible to get almost anything else done, its sort of overshadowing everything. Do you think congress should leave this to bob mueller and you guys focus on the investigation . I do think that way in the special counsel. Part of our role is investigative as a checks and balance to the executive branch. We have two committees both in the house and the senate, actually there are two committees, two in the house and two in the senate, that actually have jurisdiction here. So i think its important for the American People that we vet this. But i do think washington needs to get back to walking and chewing gum at the same time and start to address some of the issues that the American People care about. You know, ive been listening to republicans all day, yesterday and today after the testimony. They seem to point out two main things. One is that the president was correct when he said that three times james comey said to him, youre not under investigation. And the other thing they pointed out was he never really stood up to the president. And heres what james comey said about that yesterday. Why dindnt you stop and say mr. President , this is wrong . I cannot discuss this with you. Its a great question. Maybe if i remember stronger, i would have. I was so stunned by the conversation that i justook it in. And yet that conversation happened again and again and again, and critics, even people who like him personally or think that his testimony was credible, have said, you are the head of the fbi. If the president is doing something so inappropriate, certainly something you think might rise to the level of obstruction of justice, why did you not say to him, this is not okay . It answers the first part. I do take note that the president seemed to be more concerned about how this affected him, as to whether he was the subject of an investigation. Not caring, again, whatsoever about the fact that the russians had made this attack upon our government, that he was concerned about whether comey could make it public that he was not the subject of investigation. In terms of comeys answer, though, i think we have to give credit to this that hes being very honest. Hes going on the record and under oath in answering those questions. I think hes also pointing to his own frailty, his own shortcomings that we all must face up to at some point. But here you have the president of the United States, the leader of the free world, who is asking to do something that you know is inappropriate. Maybe the president is naive, as some of my colleagues have represented. You have members of the senate, including paul ryan, saying, look, hes new to this so he doesnt understand. You dont buy it . No. He ran forhis office. You have to rise to the occasion. Yore now the leader of the free world. You need to account appropriateappropriat act appropriate appropriately, understand the consequences you put yourself and others in. He failed to do that here. The president of romainia st to arrive at the white house. The first chance to ask President Trump about the comey testimony yesterday. Thats coming up in our next hour. Will your business be ready when growth presents itself . American express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. Find out how American Express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open. Com. Find out how American Express cards and Services Ready or not, here i come. Ek. anyone can dream. Making it a reality is the hard part. Northrop grumman command and control systems always let you see the complete picture. And were looking for a few dreamers to join us. Be the you who doesnt cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Be the you who shows up in that dress. Who hugs a friend. Who is done with treatments that dont give you clearer skin. Be the you who controls your psoriasis with stelara® just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. Stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. Some serious infections require hospitalization. Before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. Before starting stelara® tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have symptoms such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Always tell your doctor if you have any signs of infection, have had cancer, if you develop any new skin growths or if anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. Alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. Some serious allergic reactions can occur. Do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® or any of its ingredients. Most people using stelara® saw 75 clearer skin and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. Be the you who talks to your dermatologist about stelara®. Tthats why at comcast,t to be connected 24 7. Were always working to make our services more reliable. With technology that can update itself. And advanced Fiber Network infrastructure. New, more Reliable Equipment for your home. And a new culture built around customer service. It all adds up to our most Reliable Network ever. One that keeps you connected to what matters most. Were coming up on the top of the hour. We want you to know that we are waiting for that press conference thats going to happen with President Trump and the president of romania, klaas rohanis. He will be in town for a meeting, but of course the big question will be what did the president think about the testimony by james comey. He tweeted it. He essentially said he lied about everything, or at least he lied during the course of that testimony, and he called him a leaker. This will be the first opportunity for him to say outside the twitterverse exactly what he thinks of it. We expect that this will be, after this meeting, to take place in the oval office. Its about defense, two questions each, from u. S. Reporters. Thats something to look forward to. In the meantime, thats going to wrap up this hou of msnbc live. My colleague katy tur takes over from here. Hi, katy. Hello. We begin with what is to be a very busy afternoon at the white