Information related to the Hillary Clinton email investigation was fake but felt he needed to take action anyway because he was concerned that if the information became public, it would undermine the investigation and the Justice Department itself. Now, this is according to multiple sources, talking to my colleagues, simone and gloria and myself. Now, these concerns were a major factor in comey deciding to publicly declare that the Clinton Probe was over last summer without consulting then attorney general Loretta Lynch. Now, you may remember that earlier this week the Washington Post reported on this intelligence and the doubts about its credibility. The fact that comey felt he had to act, based on russian disinformation, is a stark example of how russias interference impacted the Decision Making at the highest level of the u. S. Government during the 2016 campaign. Now, the russian information at issue claims to show that then attorney general lynch had been compromised in the clinton investigation because emails between then dnc chair Debbie Wasserman shul Wasserman Schultz and a Clinton Campaign operative believed that the fbi investigation would go away. Comey told lawmakers that he was afraid the information would drop and undermine the investigation but he didnt tell lawmakers that he doubted the ac accuracy of the information even in a classified setting. The fbi felt that the validity of the information really didnt matter because if it became public, they had no way to discredit it without burning their sources and methods, brooke. Right. And then we saw jim comey recently testifying up on capitol hill. Lets go back to that moment. I struggled as we got closer to the end of it with the number of things that have gone on, some of which i cant talk about yet, that made me worry that the Department Leadership could not credibly complete the investigation and decline prosecution without grievous damage to the confidence in the justice system. And the capper was im not picking on Loretta Lynch but her meeting with Hillary Clinton on the plane was the capper for me. Lets talk about that moment between president clinton and the former a. G. You heard him talking about it that it was the capper but im told in these classified sessions, comey didnt even mention the plane incident. Instead, he told lawmakers that the russian information was the primary reason he took the unusual step to announce the end of the Clinton Probe. I can tell that you Gloria Borger has heard that there are other issues and factors as well that played into it. Okay. Dana, extraordinary reporting. Thank you. Ive gone eric with me now, someone who has covered the fbi and james comey for years and years. Eric, my question to you is, the fact that comey was inspired to hold this News Conference last july, announcing this into the probe, the Clinton Probe, to beat any leak of the fake russian documents, having covered comey as much as you have, does that decision surprise you . It was a stunner, to be honest. It is . It kind of changes the whole story line. As you say, there was the famous tarmac incident which apparently factored into his decision to go public with this nonindictment indictment of Hillary Clinton that was percolating behind closed doors for the last few months was this cryptic russian information that was really the driving force and there have been reports about that the last few months. Hes been asked about that in Congress Just recently before he was fired and he did not respond. So now the indication, the reporting from dana that not only was this disinformation from russia but that comey and the fbi might have actually known it or did know it is, you know, really bad news for the fbi and for comey. A few weeks after his firing from President Trump, hes been in the news constantly as sort of the standup guy who stood up to the president and got fired for it. Can i say one thing there . Go ahead, dana. Certainly you can look at this as bad news for comey but my sense and the sense of others reporting on this as well is that the way that comey saw it and i think this speaks to the way he saw a lot of other things, is that he was trying to protect the investigation and the Justice Department because, again, the notion that this russian intelligence, fake or not fake, could become public, he was worried would hurt the credibility of Loretta Lynch, then attorney general, and, of course, this investigation. So maybe sort of in retrospect it looked bad but at the time, he thought he was doing the right thing. Right. Weve heard from the good, good friend of comeys who has come out publicly and he said that comey really felt like he was this protector. Right. That was with the department of justice. Erin, from that july News Conference to the Anthony Weiner revelation, if this was any other fbi director in modern history, do you think he or she would have made the same choices and all of those myriad of decisions the way that comey did . Thats a tough one to answer because nothing about this situation with the hillary investigation was normal. Nothing went by the book and certainly comey him seven just blew up the book when he went public with that july press conference and then even more damaging, in the view of Hillary Clinton, is when he sent out a letter 11 days before the election about the Anthony Weiner emails. And this suggestion that this Loretta Lynch and cryptic email was bogus and was used as a pretext to do this, i think they are going to have a lot of means to answer and comey is obviously out now but the acting director, mccabe, was also apparently involved in analyzing this and is now on the list for fbi director at the white house. Thats right. You said it perfectly. The book was basically blown up. Eric lichtblau and dana bash, thank you both very much. From that to this. Right now, springtime, class of 2017 at the receiving ends of inspirational commencement speeches. Today, we saw a fiery, passionate, warning call. Hillary clinton back home, delivering the commencement at her ala mater Wellesley College nearly five decades after doing so as valedictorian. There she was back in 1969. She actually ad libbed the speech and calling out a senator at the time who was standing there making a note to students. This year she said the state of politics isnt so different. Drawing parallels to President Trump without actually naming him and she cautioned graduates and perhaps others watching what the future of this current administration. If any of you are nervous about what youll be walking into when you leave the campus, i know that feeling. We were asking urgent questions about whether women, people of color, religious minorities, immigrants would ever be treated with dignity and respect. And by the way, we were furious about the past president ial election. Of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice. [cheers and applause ] after after firing the person running the investigation into him at the department of justice. The advance of technology, the impact of the internet, our fragmented media landscape make it easier than ever to splinter ourselves into echo chambers. We can shut out contrary voices, avoid ever questioning our basic assumptions, extreme views are given powerful microphones. Leaders willing to exploit fear and skepticism have tools at their disposal that were unimaginable when i graduated. And heres what that means to you, the class of 2017. You are graduating at a time when there is a fullfledged assault on truth and reason. When people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society. That is not hyperbole. It is what authoritarian regimes throughout history have done. They attempt to control reality. Not just our laws and our rights and our budgets, but our thoughts and beliefs. John avlon is with me, cnn political analyst and editor and chief of the daily beast. Also, joining me is john phillips. Great to see you all here on this friday afternoon. Im going to kick it off to you first, john avlon. She did not hold back. This is Hillary Clinton speaking to a home town crowd and that constantly questioning, highly calculated completely thrown aside and very revealing and oftentimes funny and sometimes in short supply in her career but very fullthroated, critical about the rise of the Trump Administration without ever naming him by name and the dangers it can represent. It was a very powerful and effective speech and a clear contrast. She was there 48 years ago in an era when president kennedy and king had been assassinated and the parallels she was bringing with nixon, she went on to work on the watergate committee. Right. But what about the way forward for the Democratic Party . Is that a problem for dems listening to her today . No. I dont think so at all. In fact, this is exactly what democrats and what our entire country needed to hear right now. Her getting out there and talking about what she is fighting for and making it clear shes not going anywhere and shes going to stay in this fight but also going back to her roots. Wellesley made her into the woman she is today. So much of her training came from there. I was struck, as you just mentioned, when listening to her speech of the irony. Listening to this 48 years ago, nixon was under the same microscope that trump is dealing with and it was quite the contrast. Especially with memorial day weekend and Everything Else were facing. So adrienne is inspired. John phillips, were you . Im surprised the vegans did not walk out because all she did was serve red meat. Ooh. Way to use that line, phillips. So close to the election, Hillary Clinton presentation weve seen like an oscar speech that goes on way too loong and the dnc orchestra is planning her off the stage because the longer they stay on the stage, the more they suck up the air in the room and theres no room for any other democrats to come forward and establish themselves as the leader of the party. We saw a claw your eyes out race for the dnc chair and a bonkers election and it was all Clinton Sanders debates and Clinton Sanders fights going on. Thats going to continue. You do have the president handing out red electoral maps to reporters still interviewing him in the oval office. But i think i take your point, and adrienne, can you respond to that . With Hillary Clinton still at center stage, how is that clearing the way for the new, younger democratic voices . I dont think Hillary Clinton going back to her ala mater and giving a commencement speech is necessarily getting in the way. But she got very political. She did get very political. This is why shes very good at doing this and getting under Donald Trumps skin. She gave an incredibly inspiring speech at her ala mater reminding girls that if you get knocked down, jump right back up and thats exactly what i think our country needed to hear right now. John . I would just say, you know, the serious core of the speech was about the danger when people in power try to choose their own factses and people get intimidated into silence or straighten up their backbones and push back. It should transcend the Political Party and its very timely. Whatever the politics inside the Democratic Party, however people want to spin this, that cuts through a lot of the spin in an important way today and i thought it was an effective speech and what folks need to hear right now. I couldnt help, while i was listening to her at Wellesley College, do you think President Trump responds at all to Hillary Clinton on twitter . If im going to predict what he does on twitter, i should be in las vegas and not los angeles. Or an insane asylum. No one else on planet earth has. I thought it was very interesting that in her interview with Christiane Amanpour that she blames her election laws on james comey. Today she compared trump to nixon. I cant wait to hear what she thinks about Anthony Weiner. Oh, its the weiner question. Im two in a row with bringing him up. Im going to leave it there. You came with some zingers, john phillips. John avlon, thank you. Adrienne, thank you as well. Talk about a fullcircle moment for Hillary Clinton at Wellesley College. Jared kushners role in the white house after its revealed that hes under fbi scrutiny and the russia investigation. Well look into that. Also, President Trump praising the victory of a republican who beat up a reporter, didnt admit it and then won the election. Find out whats next. And were now being told that that concert bomber in england made a phone call about 15 minutes before his attack. Well tell you who he called and how police are trying to contain his network. Well be right back. Pcountries thatk mewe traveled,t what is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. So when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. Im everything. Im from all nations. I would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark . Because im everything. And i marked other. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. All umm. Ed. You wouldnt want your painter to quit part way, i think you missed a spot. So when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day . Aleve, live whole not part. You want this color over the whole house . Daily life a guessing game. And bloating made will i have pain and bloating today . My doctor recommended ibgard to manage my ibs. Take control. Ask your doctor about nonprescription ibgard. We have just learned that Ariana Grande who had just left the stage a couple of nights ago when the terrorist who killed 22 and injured many others. Ariana grande wants to hold a benefit concert and return to manchester. The strength and kindness youve shown one another this past week is the exact opposite of the heinous intentions it must take to pull off something as evil as what happened on monday. Shell be returning to perform this concert for the victims and the survivors. Also, Jared Kushner is now under fbi scrutiny, caught up in the ongoing russia investigation. President trumps soninlaw in the spotlight for his interactions with russian officials during the election and during the transition. Investigators say the focus is on the analytics operation which Jared Kushner was very much involved, his relationship with Michael Flynn as well as contact with russian officials. Joining me now is mark geragos. You have all of these democrats coming in saying he should have his security clearance revoked. According to reports ive read, yes, hes a target, but hes not actually accused of any wrongdoing. So is that even fair . No, it probably isnt fair, except that it has been reported that he did not reveal the context when he got the security clearance. Thats a separate basis from the investigation for them to revoke the security clearance. You have to go through certain or jump through certain hoops under the appropriate governmental forms that you fill out. So they could not as a result necessarily of a preliminary investigation revoke it but they could do it if he did not reveal something in the forms that he attests to. And people in washington and investigations get caught up. Its in the forms or failure to disclose. Its not necessarily the actions that you took in the first place. So if you were watching last night, Alan Dershowitz was on. He was suggests that they are actually working backwards on this, that unlike other investigations where you have a crime and thats where you begin and instead they are starting this investigation without a crime. Is that fair . I dont think it is. What hes misunderstanding or comprehending is, show me the crime, the term collusion is an undefinable concept in terms of a statute that it attaches to and tl wouit would be able to st the collusion was more than just that. It was a criminal action taking place. To suggest that this is somehow a premature conclusion, that would be right if they had made a conclusion. What they have done is say, look, weve got an investigation, weve got a special counsel now. Were going to investigate whether or not there is some link or connection or reason why there have been so many misstatements on verifiable facts with regard to russia. Go ahead, mark. Do you want to jump in . Early in my career, in the 90s, i was involved in defending the whitewater defendant Susan Mcdougall and i railed against ken star, for these very same things that Alan Dershowitz was talking about. This is under a different statute. This is now under a special counsel statute because the independent counsel expired in 1999. This statute is triggered when there is some issue of a probable cause or some kind of a