Mccabe told lawmakers. We start off today with chief White House Correspondent john roberts. Good evening. The timeline of james comeys firing has changed significantly since we learned about it on tuesday. We are learning how upset the president really was with his former fbi director. In an interview with nbc news, President Trump ripped the former fbi director up one side and down the other. He is a showboat, sb 28. The fbi has been in turmoil. Everybody knows that. Take a look at the fbi a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil, less than a year ago. It hasnt recovered. The harsh assessment of james comey drew a sharp response. Frankly i am offended at the president s comments. This is a continuing pattern of disrespecting the men and women who serve in our intelligence community. Speak with the president contradicted the narrative of his own White House Team on the reasons for the firing. On tuesday and wednesday morning, staff and the Vice President said it was Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein who recommended comeys removal. Over the Hillary Clinton email scandal. The president today said he decided to fire comey long before that. Come oh, i was going to fire long before the recommendation. Very good guy, smart guy, the democrats like him. He made a recommendation. Regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey. Why was the account so different than what the president was thinking . I hadnt had the conversation directly with the president to say. I had had several conversations with him but i didnt ask that question directly. Had you already made the decision . President trump et cetera been unhappy with many things regarding comey, among them, that the russia investigation was still making headlines and not enough attention being paid to the leaks of classified information that comey never confirmed in public with the president said he told him in private, that he was not a target of the russia investigation. A dinner was arranged. He wanted to stay on as the fbi had and i said i will consider. We had a very nice dinner and that and he told me you are not under investigation. During the phone call, he said it and then during another phone call. He said it once at dinner and then he said it twice during phone calls. I asked him. I said if its possible, would you let me know, am i under investigation. He said you are not under investigation. Speak of the comments sparked debate whether it was appropriate to even asked. Members of the Judiciary Committee heard the same thing. On tuesday, the president s letter said director comey told him he was not under investigation. Senator feinstein and i heard nothing that contradicted the president s statement. Yesterday the white house dismissed the fbis russia investigation as probably one of the smallest things theyve got going. Appearing before the Senate Intelligence committee today the acting director of the fbi Andrew Mccabe directly contradicted that. Investigation in relation to all the other work youre doing. We consider it a highly significant investigation. There was talk the president might visit the fbi building tomorrow as a show of his commitment to the agency. That has been shelved for the time being. Bret one President Trump was candidate trump, he and others talked about the tarmac meeting between then attorney general Loretta Lynch and former president bill clinton. I think what they fbi did and what the department of justice did, including meeting with her husband the attorney general in the back of an airplane on the tarmac in arizona, i think its disgraceful. I think its a disgrace. Bret lynch and clinton denied they talked about the email investigation but the appearance of impropriety forced lynch to recuse herself and that leads to james comey being put in full control. Earlier reported that the president said he asked director comey over dinner and phone calls whether he was being investigated. How does the white house differentiate between the appearance of impropriety on the tarmac and questions asked to the fbi director. I had a conversation with the Principal Deputy secretary. Sarah Huckabee Sanders points out the differences. The president is james comeys boss. Hes allowed to sit down and have dinner in a conversation with them. There are parameters under the guidelines that allow the president asked the question such as when is it important for the performance of the president s duties. She pointed out that even if comey gave the president of the answer he was looking for, he still fire him and the investigation continues, albeit under different management. Bret john, thanks. The end of james comeys reign over the fbi is not the end of the bureaus investigation into russia in the trunk campaign. That is the word from the acting bureau chief. Catherine herridge is on capitol hill. Thank you. Acting director testified the russia probe is on track and confidence remains high in his old boss. Director comey enjoyed broad support within the fbi and still does to this day. I can confidently tell you the majority, the vast majority of fbi employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to director comey. Testifying at the senates annual National Security hearing, fbi acting director Andrew Mccabe was pressed on morale but this answer contradicts the message the white house seemed to be putting out. Ive heard from a large number of individuals that work at the fbi that said they are very happy with the president s decision. Mccabe said morale was down but only after comey recommended against criminal charges for Hillary Clinton and her team for mishandling classified information. There were folks within the agency that were frustrated with the outcome of the Hillary Clinton case and some of those folks were very vocal about the concerns. Has the dismissal of mr. Comey impeded, interrupted, stopped or negatively impacted any of the work, any investigation or anything ongoing at the federal bureau of investigation . Simply put, you cannot stop the men and women of the fbi from doing the right thing, protecting the American People and upholding the constitution. The committees chair focused on the conversation with the fbi director. Did you ever hear director comey tell the president who is not the subject of an investigation . I cant, on any conversations. The senior democrat. For many people, including myself, its hard to avoid the conclusion that the president s decision to remove director comey was related to this investigation. And thats truly unacceptable. Speak of the commanderinchief was singled out. President trumps actions this week cost us an opportunity to get at the truth at least for today. Critics say that mccabe is partisan because his wife took 700,000 for a 2015 state senate run from democrats, including a longtime clinton aide, Virginia Governor terry mcauliffe. The testimony debunked widespread media reports that comey wanted more help for the russia case. I strongly believe the russia investigation is adequately resourced. On calling for a special prosecutor. The fbi will continue to pursue the investigation. To go do you need someone to take this away from you and someone else to do it . No, sir. Take a leadership met with Rod Rosenstein, telling reporters the meeting had been on the books for some time, long before comey was fired and the three men agreed on a way forward so that the congressional and federal probes would not jeopardize each other. The deputy ag will be on the hill . Fox news confirming through a spokesperson for Mitch Mcconnell that they are pulling together a briefing for the entire senate. Target date is next week with the Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein. Senate minority leader senator Chuck Schumer had been hoping for the attorney general as well but he called the briefing next week and important first step. Bret i want to clarify one thing about rosenstein for there was a report that he threatened to quit if the white house didnt clean up the about how things happened. Today he told a reporter straight up that was not true. Thats right. There was wide spread reporting he had threatened to quit because of the characterization of his role in the firing of director comey. He told a local reported here that that didnt happen. Bret thank you. There was also a report he had requested resources that comey had requested more resources resources. That was not true either, according to the testimony of mccabe. President trump has signed an executive order aimed at modernizing and improving the nations computer computer networks. Keeping the country safer from Cyber Security risks. The top american and Russian Diplomats in alaska for a meeting that was supposed to focus on Climate Change. The political uproar in washington over russias involvement in the u. S. Election is overshadowing any talk of global warming. Jonathan hunt is in fairbanks, alaska,. Good evening. During his time on u. S. Soil, the Russian Foreign minister has certainly been happy to show that the Putin Administration stands shoulder to shoulder with the Trump Administration in dismissing the investigation of potential Trump Campaign links to russian officials. As a waste of time. Translator there is not a single, no compelling evidence regarding russias intervention. If you are talking about international affairs, why dont you try to find out the truth and get the facts . A Russian ForeignMinistry Spokeswoman today lambasted u. S. Media outlets for their questions to mr. Lavrov, saying that media is propagandist and manipulated and adding most of the questions concerned russias alleged intervention in the u. S. Election and the dismissal of the fbi director. This indicates the colossal bias of the mass media, the lack of independent thinking and control by certain political groups. There was no oneonone meeting between the secretary of state and the foreign minister today. The focus remaining solely on Group Meetings and issues relevant to the region, with the group signing off on a declaration that states the arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the global average. Secretary tillerson made clear the Trump Administration is still weighing its approach on Climate Change issues. We are not going to rush to make a decision paired we are going to work to make the right decision for the united states. And the fairbanks declaration 2017, the document signed here, is an entirely nonbinding agreement expressing concern but promising no specific actions on Climate Change. Bret jonathan hunt, live in alaska. Thank you. Another major blow tonight for obamacare. One of the nations top insurers is bailing, citing hundreds of billions of dollars in losses. What happens to those customers now. How does this affect President Trumps Health Care Fix . Mike emanuel has some answers from capitol hill. Insurance giant aetna has announced it is withdrawing from Obamacare Exchanges, citing massive losses. 700 million from 2014 the 2016 and another 200 million this year. Aetna announced it will no longer offer individual plants in delaware or nebraska next year. Some have blamed uncertainty on the future of obamacare. There are other fixes we can work on that will help reduce deductibles and improve quality but thats only going to happen if we work across the aisle. Dr. Tom price drew this conclusion. Aetnas decision to withdraw from the Obamacare Exchanges adds to the mountain of evidence that obamacare has failed the American People. The republican push to repeal a new place obamacare has been a hot topic at town Hall Meetings across the country after the house passed its bill. New jersey congressman Tom Macarthur received National Attention after negotiating an amendment with the conservative Freedom Caucus to give states more flexibility with the hope it would address storing premiums. Some of his constituents vented their anger. You have been the single greatest threat to my family macarthur told his constituents hes trying to help them. Stick i dont want you to have to move to another state to get health care. I want every american to be able to afford and get an half Continuous Health care insurance. Democrats have been criticizing republicans for their efforts to scrap obamacare, suggesting would hurt people with preexisting conditions. California democrat senator Kamala Harris earned four pinocchios from the washington post. Shes not the only one talking about doomsday. Its a Major Public Health crisis. While senators would wait for the analysis of the house bill, republican senators continue meetings, seeing if they can find consensus on a plan that will pass in their chamber. Bret mike emanuel, thanks. What do you think . Do you think obamacare will collapse before congress can fix it or replace it . Let me know on twitter at bretbaier. Use the hashtag specialreport. Or on facebook at facebook. Com bretbaiersr. The delay over the confirmation has delayed the trade agenda. Todays vote was 8214. That officially completes the president s cabinet. Former Florida Democratic congresswoman karin brown has been guilty on 18 fraud and tax evasion charges. Brown was accused of illegally siphoning 800,000 from her charity into her own bank account. Lavish parties, trips, shopping. Brown said she did not know what was going on and blamed her former chief of staff who pleaded guilty to corruption charges and testified against her. One clarification. We said earlier that Loretta Lynch had recused herself in that email investigation. She did not officially do that. Essentially she stepped aside, enabling james comey to do what he did in that investigation. Up next, the uproar after an illegal immigrant deported 15 times is accused of nearly killing a 6yearold boy. First, what some of our affiliates are covering. Fox 8 in new orleans. The city moves another statue honoring the confederacy. This morning it was the Jefferson Davis statue which was erected in 1911. Protesters on both sides were present. The mayor says the statues are an inaccurate reflection of the citys past and an affront to the present. Critics say he is waging a war southern heritage. Fox in seattle. Workers fill a hole at the top of a Nuclear Waste storage tunnel with 53 torque loads of dirt. Energy Department Officials say no one was injured and no radiation was released. Critics were saying that the waste is being stored in haphazard condition. Live look at long beach, california, from fox 11. One of the big stories tonight, a shark advisory in effect in long beach. At least four sharks were spotted in the shallow waters off the coast. They are believed to be juvenile great whites. The Fire Department official says the sharks have shown no aggressive behavior, at least so far. That estimate live oak outside the beltway from special report. Well be right finding time to get things done isnt easy. But weve got the Digital Tools to help. Now with xfinitys my account, you can figure things out easily, so you wont even have to call us. Change your wifi password to something you can actually remember, instantly. Add that premium channel, and watch the show everyones talking about, tonight. And the bill you need to pay . Do it in seconds. Because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. Go to xfinity. Com myaccount bret one protester killed and many injured in caracas venezuela. The latest violence between antigovernment demonstrators and government sources backed by militiamen. The death toll in more than a month of street protests is now at least 38. Demonstrators want president Nicolas Maduro out. He wants to hold a special simile to rewrite the nations constitution. At least 24 people are dead and 28 injured in India Following the collapse of the wall during a wedding celebration. The accident happened about 125 miles south of new delhi. Hundreds of guests were outside when a powerful dust storm hit, forcing them indoors. Thats when the wall went down. The power outage hampered rescue efforts. Pentagon intelligence chief says the u. S. And nato must do something very different in afghanistan or that taliban will make new advances. Vincent stewart says fighting is currently at a stalemate but it could tip in the talibans favor. The assessment comes as the president considers a request that thousands more u. S. Troops be sent to afghanistan. A 6yearold boy is in a Southern California hospital tonight after being seriously injured in a drunkendriving crash last wee