Page 1017 - The Cloud News Today

Investigation disappear, remove the cloud. i think it was absolutely appropriate that director comey refused those requests and obviously he paid the price by being fired. >> reporter: do you think he disclosed any privileged communications by disclosing these memos to the press? >> ive known jim comey and theres very few people that have more respect for protecting sources and methods. and so i dont expect -- i dont accept the presidents lawyers charact characterizati characterization. >> repor...

Describing three separate occasio occasions. the first during a meeting at trump tower on january 6th where he briefed trump about the investigations about the then president-elect and russia. the dossier came up in the phone call which trump lamented the cloud was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. he said he had not been involved with russia or involved with hookers in russia. always an sessumed he was recor in russia. during that call, comey says president trump pressured ...

Scenario to me and its the one comey is offering. >> bret: he says lift the cloud. >> if you look at the context of trumps remarks, this been reported in "the washington post" that the fbi found nothing illegal in flynns conversations with the russians. trump has fired flynn, so he says to the fbi director, come on. you havent found anything. i have fired the guy, can you move on? >> bret: we dont know what flynn told the fbi. if he told the fbi what he told vice president pence that he is at ri...

Privately ask director comey, quote, to see his way clear to letting flynn go. that is a statement that director comey interpreted as a request that he drop the investigation connected to general flynns false statements. think about it. the president of the united states asking the f.b.i. director to drop an ongoing investigation. and after that, the president called the f.b.i. director on two additional occasions march 30th and april 11th and asked him again, quote, to lift the cloud on the rus...

Very specifically about the jeopardy that flynn was in, himself? >> thats how i understood it, yes, sir. >> you hoped you would do away wit. you perceived it as an order, in some of the circumstances? >> yes. >> at the time did you say anything to the president that is not an appropriate request or did you tell the white house counsel that is not an appropriate request, someone needs to go toll the president he cant do these things? >> i didnt, no. >> why? >> i dont know. i think as i said earli...

Wrote this in a way that it was unqualified this committee will get access othat unclassified document. i this i it will be important to our investigation. let me ask you this in closing. how many ongoing investigations at any time does the fbi have? >> tens of thousands. >> tens of thousands. did the president ever ask about any other ongoing investigation? >> no. >> did he ever ask about you trying to interfere on any other investigation? >> no. >> i think, again, this speaks volumes. this doe...

>> thats how i understood it. yes, sir. >> as you perceived it, while he hoped you did away with it, you perceived it as an order, given the setting, the position and some of the circumstances? >> yes. >> at the time, did you say something to the president about, that is not an appropriate request, or did you tell the white house counsel, its not an appropriate request? someone needs to tell the president he cant do these things. >> i didnt, no. >> why? >> i dont know. i think -- as i said earli...

Flynn investigation, if you dont lift the cloud, if you dont clear me publicly, if you dont swear loyalty to me youre not going to have jur job. all of the interactions in and of themselves may or may not be obstruction of justice. when you add that with him carrying through with the threat, firing the fbi director, that i think at least makes a case that under the statute which by the way says whoever engages in a threatening communication to impede a federal investigation is guilty of an offen...

On. the ask was to get it out that i, the president, am not personally under investigation. >> after april 11th, did he ask you more ever about the russia investigation? did he ask you any questions? >> we never spoke again after april 11th. >> you told the president, i would see what we could do. what did you mean? >> it was kind of a cowardly way of trying to avoid telling him, were not going to do that. that i would see what we could do. it was a way of kind of getting off the phone, frankly,...

Himself out of jail. and this is exactly what happened in the watergate case. >> he could become your john dean? >> no. he could become the jim accord. jim accord was the guy who was given 30 years in prison by the judge. and as a result, he didnt want to spend 30 years in jail for richard nixon. >> right. ron klain, your reaction to wh we now know to bdirector comeys opening remarks tomorrow. >> yeah, picking up on that, john dean had the famous phrase in watergate, "the cancer on the presidenc...