Page 3 - Thomas Rick News Today

Kind of shocked to find there is a system here he doesnt understand. he never had the curiosity to learn about, and now he is supposed to be on top of this system, but the system is actually hedging him in at every step. and he seems to be increasingly panicky. i found myself wondering all day today, were all talking about comey and obstruction of justice. but underneath that there is this investigation, as ana marie cox said, the duck that is swimming along. youve got to wonder whats out there ...

Republicans have stepped forward to in any way defend donald trump. that more stepped forward to say, there are things about james comey i dont like. >> right. >> even they did not say i dont belief james comey. >> they start from the premise that comey is telling the truth even if they criticize him or even as they suggest, i thing one of the strangest things, too, is comey should have been the one to instruct the president in how this -- these things work. you know, paul ryan is going to say, ...

Were joined now by thomas rick, contributing editor at foreign policy magazine and author of the new book "churchill & orwell: the fight for freedom." you are also the author of a piece toward the end of last year asking did i help create a monster, and you were with that monster on the day that he was fired in the white house. tell us about your history with michael flynn and how you helped bring m thkif attention at actually pushed him up the ladder. >> let me be clear. i dont think general fl...

That he has done in the past. i think we need probably to see his income taxes before we do anything else. >> its going to be a long road to get to that. thomas ricks, thank you very much for joining us tonight. really appreciate it. >> youre welcome. coming up, when the president says 100%, how many percent does he really mean? the answer is usually zero. i no longer live with the uncertainties of hep c.

I dont believe james kemme. >> they start from the premise that comey is telling the truth even if they criticize him. even if they suggest -- i think one of the strangest things, too, kemme should have been the one to instruct the president in how these things work. paul ryan is going to say well hes just new at this. how can we expect him to know our laws and our system of government. they are continually enabling him. i was watching you with tom ricks. i love tom ricks. and i was excited when...

They are continually enabling him. i was watching you with tom ricks. i love tom ricks. and i was excited when he said he was on the missic. he made good point about checks and balances but the most importeck or balance is congress. as long as you have ople like paul ryan in charge who are willing to say hes just new at this, give him a chance when we are learning about obstruction of justice at minimum the system isnt working lawrence, its just not. >> i guess its a question of how patient are ...

Comey and obstruction of justice. but underneath that there is this investigation, as ana marie cox said, the duck that is swimming along. youve got to wonder whats out there that has trump so scared. what is it that he knows that he cant tell the american people about russia, about his financial dealings, about things that he has done in the past. i think we need probably to see his income taxes before we do anything else. >> its going to be a long road to get to that. thomas ricks, thank you v...

Being someone different from typical army generals. and i think this will simply sort of result in a lot of tongue-wagging and head shaking in the military. i think petraeus was very interested in working there, and having this sort of quick turnover is not good for them either. >> thomas ricks, contributing editor, foreign policy magazine. thank you so much for your time this afternoon. >> youre welcome. still to come, many have tried. many have failed to woo them. but in this election, the y...

Week, that closed door meeting on the hill regarding benghazi. >> everything we know about this so far is that is simply the speculation. and with the touch of paranoia by people who have been flogging this benghazi issue. there is no reason to think that that has anything to do with what caused david petraeus to leave. >> thank you so much. john harwood, cnbc white house correspondent. thank you, thank you, thank you. we should note here, as we did our last hour as well, that the general is n...

Got a new wife for every war. he had affairs all over the place. so this is a new standard that is being applied somehow. i just wish, what i say in the book is dont fire people for personal indiscretions for what the military calls zipper problems. fire them for not being good at their jobs. thats the standard. >> here is what were hearing, thomas. he wasnt fired. he resigned. >> exactly. >> why did he resign? >> i think out of a deep sense of personal disgrace, a personal honor that he had don...