Polls today in a highstakes president ial election with global implications. And, its friday mark shields and david brooks analyze a whirlwind week of news. All that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump faces new revelations tonight over the investigation of alleged collusion between Campaign Aides and russia. The New York Times reports that the president told Russian Diplomats last week that f. B. I. Director james comey was a real nut job and that firing him removed great pressure on the president over the russia probe. Separately, the Washington Post reports a current senior white house adviser is now a person of interest in the investigation. The stories broke just after the president and first lady boarded air force one and took off for saudi arabia. Its the first stop on a nineday trip to the middle east and europe. For more, we turn first to Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times. , thank you for being here, the story in your newspaper that broke a few hours ago is interesting because its what the president said in that meeting he had with the foreign minister of russia and the Russian Ambassador to the u. S. It is an extraordinary moment this meeting we already knew happened the day after trump fired james comey as fbi director. One of the reenls he fired him he has he b reasons he fired, he got rid ever this, quote, nutd job which has relieved pressure from him. Which its sort of amazing that the president said that to the russians in the oval office. Woodruff and the faculty that of course, it is the russians that are the subject of the trump connection to the russians, of the investigation. Thats right. So theres a tremendous amount of irony here, maybe intentional maybe not. But it also i think most importantly probably reinforces the idea, the russia probe the play a pretty significant factor in the president s decision to dismiss comey. As you know, over the last week since comey was fired weve heard a number of justifications for the firing. And the president has said once that the russia probe played a part but this is another example of the president saying that the russia fbi investigation did play a big role. So this is what gets to the central question here whether theres really something improper in the firing. People have raised the question of whether i. T. Was obstruction of it was obstruction much justice and him bringing up the firing is a different data point here. Woodruff at one point the white house originally saying it had the do with the way jim comey handled the Hillary Clinton email investigation but also referred to russia. I found it striking Mark Mazzetti what the white house had to say that they basically acknowledged that the president said this. And they said at one point once again the real story is that our National Security has been undermined by the leaking of highly private and controversial conversations. Theyre not disputing this was said. No, theyre characterizing it differently, what they were saying is he had been united lot of pressure from the russian investigations, that the investigation had put him under pressure, and hes using this as bargaining chip, saying you guys put me under pressure on this, so lets do a deal, using it as justification or not, thats the white house is saying, although theyre not disputing the contents of away were reported. Other thing Mark Mazzetti, the criticism of originally it has gravitated all the way to he was a quote real nut job. Yeah, we by now know how the president speaks or tweets. So frankly none of that, the characterization sounded off base. You could hear the president making a comment like that. Woodruff Mark Mazzetti for new york city times we thank you vex. We turn to our own White House Correspondent john yang. Separately the Washington Post has a story about a Senior Advisor to the president currently in the white house who is now a, quote, person of interest in this russia investigation. Thats right judy, the significance is someone still in the administration is reported to be a person of interest in this investigation. Before we knew about subpoenas for mike flynn, the fired National Security advisory and for manafort the leader of the campaign. The postsaid their source wouldnt describe that any further give them any more details. There are also indications of the postsaying this investigation is beginning to intensify, moving to a new phase of actually interviewerring witnesses issuing subpoenas, justing a grand jury, and sean spicer responded to the pos story saying any investigation will prove there is no conclusion between the campaign and the other government. Woodruff after the president takes off on air force basair force1. How are they dealing with this . There is an interesting, chaotic beginning to the administration. But the people i talked to, the past two weeks does feel different. Sort of bombshell revelations every day every afternoon, just keeps coming. Now you saw a little bit of a difference in the response this week, which i thought was interesting, when the New York Times broke the story about the comey memo, about saying that the president asked for his loyalty, his personal loyalty. Woodruff right. There was really a paper statement but then that was it. You didnt see anybody going out to defend the president or to give their version on television after that. There was even someone booked, Kellyanne Conway was booked on fox to do that but then cancelled. Woodruff all of its interesting, john yang thank you. Well get the analysis of mark shields and david brooks on all this, later in the program. In the days other news, former new york congressman Anthony Weiner pleaded guilty to sending sexually explicit messages to a 15yearold girl. The scandal spilled into the president ial race when the f. B. I. Found some of Hillary Clintons emails on weiners computer. She had sent them to her personal aide, huma abedin, who was then married to weiner at the time. F. B. I. Director james comey then reopened the clinton email investigation, days before the election. She has since blamed her loss partly on that decision. Prosecutors in sweden today dropped their longrunning rape investigation of wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Paul davies of independent Television News reports from london, where assange is holed up in ecuadors embassy. Reporter looking pale after so many years without sunshine, Julian Assange emerged briefly from the embassy thats been his home and prison. There was a gesture that reflected the fact that one investigation into him had been dropped, but rather than celebrating, his words were bitter seven years without charge, while my children grew up without me. That is not something that i can forgive. It is not something i can forget. Reporter his mood not helped by the metropolitan police saying he faced arrest if he leaves his refuge. The saga began in 2010 when wikileaks released vast amounts of american secrets. In november, a Swedish International arrest warrant was issued, following allegations that hed committed sex offenses there. He wad detained in london and jailed, but later bailed when he fought a series of court cases, before eventually losing his extradition battle two years later. Fearing deportation to the u. S. By sweden, he quickly fled to the ecuadorian embassy, where hes been ever since. Thanks, guys. Reporter tonight, he is still there, back out of sight, while his legal team try to negotiate a deal that will allow him to travel to the airport and on to ecuador a deal that this balcony is just six feet above street level, but Julian Assange fears if he steps down where i am, hell be arrested very quickly and put on a plane to america. For now, no sign of a breakthrough in the impasse. The worlds cameras still wait for a departure thats not looking imminent. Woodruff a u. N. Report sheds new light on atrocities committed in south sudan. It says that Government Forces killed 114 people in a single village last year. Others were raped and brutalized. Meanwhile, the president of sudan, omar albashir, will skip an islamic summit in saudi arabia this weekend, that includes President Trump. Sudan is one of six muslim nations included in the trump administrations travel ban. Back in this country, a new york city man has been charged with murder and attempted murder after driving his car into pedestrians in times square. One person was killed, and 22 hurt. Prosecutors say Richard Rojas deliberately drove onto a busy sidewalk on thursday. He allegedly told police that he wanted to kill them all. Investigators are waiting for lab tests on whether he was using drugs. President trump has nominated marine corps general Joseph Dunford to stay on as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The pentagon made the official announcement today. He will continue to serve as a top military adviser to the president and defense secretary. Dunford was first tapped for the job by president obama, and has served in the post since 2015. A federal Appeals Court says that owners of recreational drones will not have to register their devices. The court today struck down a federal Aviation Administration rule. Drone owners said it was too burdensome, while the f. A. A. Said it was to improve safety. The threejudge panel said it is ultimately up to congress to change the law. There is word that Goldman Sachs banker James Donovan has withdrawn as the nominee for deputy treasury secretary. He told the Treasury Department he wants to focus on his family. And on wall street, stocks ended this week on a high note. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained nearly 142 points to close above 20,804. The nasdaq rose 28 points, and the s p 500 added 16. For the week, all three indexes were down a fraction of 1 . Still to come on the newshour an insiders view on how former f. B. I. Director comey tried to distance himself from the president. Iran votes in a closelywatched president ial election. New orleans removes a final monument memorializing its confederate past. And much more. Woodruff we now take a closer look at james comeys final months at the f. B. I. , through the lens of a friend. William brangham sat down with Benjamin Wittes, editorinchief of lawfare. Com, to gain some insight into the former f. B. I. Directors dealings with President Trump during that volatile period of time. William began by asking wittes about the nature of his relationship with comey. Its really simple. Were friends. Weve been friends for a long time. And contrary to a sort of mythology that has developed, im not among his closest friends by any means, or one of his, sort of, intimate advisors. So, i am in no sense talking at his behest. Im talking about it because i read the New York Times story the other day that the president had asked for a loyalty oath from him. And that story put, in frankly, sharply menacing terms, a set of comments and anecdotes that he had told me, and i saw them, in light of that story, very differently that i had seen them before brangham sharply menacing . Yeah, i think so. And so i thought about it overnight on fri thursday night, and i decided that the public should know about what he had told me. He really spent an enormous amount of energy in the time that both he and trump were in office, trying to protect the f. B. I. From political interference from the white house. Brangham you described comeys concerns as improper contacts and interferences from a group of people he, comey, did not regard as honorable. What gave you that sense that he didnt view these people were honorable people . It was written on every line in his face. It was evident in the disapproving tone that he took when he described them. Brangham including the president . Oh, very much so. But the color of wallpaper was that these were not honorable people, and that protecting the f. B. I. From them was his day job. Brangham you write about the famous hug, when comey was asked to come, with a bunch of different Law Enforcement agents to the white house, soon after the inauguration. Yeah, so, comey really did not want to go that meeting. And there were a lot of democrats who kind of blame him for trump. So, he was particularly sensitive to the idea of a show of intimacy or closeness with trump. That said, he didnt think he could say no to an invitation from the president , particularly one that went generally to Law Enforcement senior officials. He really wanted to kind of blend in and not be singled out. And hes 68. Brangham so its kind of tough to do that. And when youre 68, its really hard to blend in. And he stands in the part of the room that is as far from trump as is physically possible to be, and also against blue drapes brangham he chose that spot . He chose that spot because it was almost like a chameleon, and then at the end, right at the end, trump singles him out in a fashion that he regarded as sort of calculated to maximally drive home this sensitivity of democratic voters and he extends his hand kind of preemptively, and trump grabs the hand and kind of pulls him into a hug, but the hug is entirely onesided. And comey was just completely disgusted by he thought it was an intentional attempt to compromise him in public, in a way that would sew, and emphasize concerns that half of the electorate had about him and the bureau. Brangham you also recount a story of when rod rosenstein, who is now the Deputy Attorney general, was being nominated or about to have his hearings . Can you explain . Rod rosenstein is a respected career prosecutor whos been in government a long time, and served in both the bush and obama administrations. And i was rather surprised at how unenthusiastic comey was that there was going to be a senateconfirmed Deputy Attorney general. And what he specifically said was and ill never forget it he said, rod is a survivor. Brangham meaning hes lived through democratic and republican administrations. Yeah. And, you know, you dont get to survive that long without making some compromises. And so he said, i have so i have concerns. And i think what he was thinking at that moment was that if i was asked to give a loyalty oath, and the president has done these things to undermine me and to sort of bring me into the fold, what was he asked to do . Brangham what do you make of the criticism that many people have made about comey, that if all of these things were happening to you if you were asked for a loyalty oath, if the president had approached you about dropping the flynn investigation, if you felt like they were treading uncomfortably on your territory why not blow the whistle . Why not quit . Why not raise more hell about this, if it was so bad . Well, so first of all, one possibility is that it was not so bad. That it was and i actually think theres some evidence of this that this was a situation that he thought he was going to have to manage. But that he could handle that. Brangham in the end, why do you think trump fired comey . Trump fired jim comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are donald trump, is a person who tells the truth, is dogged, you cant control and who is as committed as comey is to the institutional independence of an organization that has the power to investigate you. Brangham Benjamin Wittes, thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Woodruff and you can watch williams extended interview with Benjamin Wittes online, at www. Pbs. Org newshour. Woodruff voters in iran went to the polls today in a tightlycontrolled, but still hotlycontested, president ial election. Poll closing times were extended by several hours, as tens of millions headed to the 63,000 polling places throughout the country. Officials reported 70 turnout, and votecounting has now begun Early Saturday Morning there. Npr morning edition cohost Steve Inskeep has been reporting all week from iran, and i spoke with him earlier today. I began by asking him where he was, and to remind us who the main contenders are. I am in hosan rvetion everythingar arshad a very fakous mosque in tehran. It is a polling place that people are behind me waiting to vote and if you were to follow that line it would go out the door down the steps around the corner all the way down to block and off into the darkness. And as ive been driving around the city judy tonight i see lines like this all over the city. Mosques are polling places, stations are polling places for one or both of the candidates, Hassaan Rouhani the incumbent. What did you mean by that . When a president runs for reelection, its really about rerecollection, the people are happy with the job hes done, Hassan Rouhani is