A stunning dual attack in iran leaves at least 12 dead and 40 wounded, with isis claiming responsibility. 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. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The lemelson foundation. Committed to improving lives through invention, in the u. S. And developing countries. On the web at lemelson. Org. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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 our lead story tonight james comey tells his story. In a prepared statement to the Senate Intelligence committee, released one day ahead of his hearing tomorrow, the former f. B. I. Director details his personal conversations with the president. Nine in total, compared to just two during three years with president obama. Comey describes how mr. Trump asked repeatedly for a pledge of personal loyalty, asked that he drop the investigation into general michael flynn, and complained that allegations surrounding russia were a cloud over his presidency. Comey also confirms that he told President Trump that he was not under investigation himself. Moments ago the president s attorney responded saying the president is pleased that comey has publicly confirmed his private reports that the president was not under investigation in any russia probe. Continuing he wrote, the president feels completely and totally vindicated. There is a lot to unpack in this statement. Were going to walk through it now with reporter matt apuzzo of the New York Times. And, john carlin. He served as assistant attorney general for National Security from 2014 until october of last year. Hes now an attorney in private practice. And lets start with their first meeting on january 6, at trump tower in new york. And, matt, were going im going to ask both of you right now about this. To set a little background. It was new york city, james comey was meeting the president for the first time. He showed up at trump tower to meet the president s National Security team, and then privately, he and the president elect then had a oneonone session where comey shared with mr. Trump information he called it Sensitive Information of a salacious nature that had been gathered as part of the russia investigation. So with that background, here is what james comey goes on to say. They had a meeting here are some specifics now. Beginning with a dinner at the white house three weeks later now, this is january 27, after mr. Trump is president. On that day, the president invited comey over. They dined alone in the green room. And heres how comey describes its. A few minutes later the president said matt apuzzo, how does this square with the reporting youve done . Well, a lot of the a lot of the details here, my colleagues and i have been reporting out here over the last several weeks. But its hard to overstate just the extraordinary nature of the portrait were seeing here. Were really get ago were really getting the back story to the jim comey firing. Were seeing a president who was preoccupied with, as you said, getting the cloud lifted, the cloud of this russia investigation that was become a real liability for the Trump Administration from day one. And the idea that at this private dinner that the president starts their relationship by asking for this loyalty pledge, you just read these memos, you can see comey, his anxiety here in the words. It just its uncomfortable you know, the discomfort he has is palpable. And you can see trump getting more and more frustrated that, you know, why is thissify gooi not doing what im asking . Woodruff john carlin from your perspective what, is the significance over the change of the president asking for loyalty . Well, the f. B. I. Has a unique institutional role, as does the department of justice. And so, because both the f. B. I. And prosecutors in the department of justice may be called upon to investigate potential criminal activity by members of the president s party, by actual members of the administration, and in some circumstances, investigate conduct of a president him or herself, theres been a history where the department has attempted to shield itself from political interference. And there have been times in that history where maintaining that independence has been particularly fraught. Woodruff right. In my tenure as chief of staff at the f. B. I. , and in my time at the department, i cant recall something quite like this. Woodruff and i just want to pick up on later on in that january 27 dinner, alone with with the president in the white house in the green room, mr. Comey writes, he says is that something, john carlin, that was appropriate . Well you can see how the president s demanding loyalty that might be appropriate in some other context of a political campaign, or even worrying parts of the administration. But director comey is very focused, it look likes in that exchange and understands the unique independence that the role of the f. B. I. Director, and the reason why want statute was changed so that want f. B. I. Directors term of years is 10 years, designed to cut across administrations to ensure that the president who appointed the director, that the director would outlast the tenure of that president. And so director comey, i think, is trying to explain in this awkward context why hell be honest, not disloyal in some sense, but loyal ultimately to the constitution and the country. Woodruff well, now i want to turn, both of you, to this i think it was their next meeting, february the 14th, in a meeting in the oval office. Now, this time it was with the president , the Vice President , the attorney general, several other Senior Administration officials. At the end of that meeting, the president asked everyone to leave, except for comey. And according to mr. Comeys statement, mr. Trump turned back to the subject of general michael flynn, who had been fired just the day before, and he said matt apuzzo, how does that square with what youve reported . My colleague, michael schmidt, broke that exchange a few weeks ago. But its no less its no less remarkable seeing it i in that full context, seeing the president ask everybody to leave the oval office and speak alone with the head of the f. B. I. And say, you know, let flynn go. Just the very nature people we dont have to be in washington to understand why that makes you know, makes us feel uncomfortable. I mean, anybody who has ever fought a ticket in court, you know, knows that they dont they dont want to feel like the criminal Justice System is rigged for people who are friendly with the politicians. And so if youre at the f. B. I. , yes, you are part of the administration. Youre part of the department of justice. But they just dont see themselves as working for the president when it comes to criminal justice stuff. And as john said, certainly not when the investigation touches on the president s own associates. Woodruff so, continuing that now, this is afterward, the same day, february 14, comey writes he spoke with the attorney general in person. He said the attorney general was one of those who had been asked to leave the Oval Office John carlin, how do we read this . Ill tell you, there have been instances before, lets say in a terrorism incident or a major shooting, in my appearance, where the white house would sometimes reach out directly to the f. B. I. And it raised concerns even when that was the context, and there were usual media calls over to the attorney general to ensure that the department was aware of the contact directly with the white house or with immediate aides to the president. But to have the president of the United States order people out of the room in order to you know, if true. According to this account in order to implore the director of the f. B. I. To drop an investigation of a friend or associate, thats the core of why many of our rules and customs were in place was to prevent exactly that type of conversation or interference from occurring. Woodruff so now, here we are, a month and a half later, this is march 30, the president phones jim comey at the f. B. I. He repeatslet idea of a cloud over his administration because of the russia investigation. H so, matt apuzzo, were back to that same scenario, back and forth, where the president is asking the f. B. I. Director to do something. Yeah. I mean, look, you can see why donald trump might be frustrated, right. Setting aside the fact that hes the president. If youve been told you are not under investigation personally, but yet your administration cant escape the cloud of this investigation, and you kind of just want it to be over, you can see why you would say, hey, what do i have to do to make this go away . If im not under investigation, why cant you just say that . Thats a very human response. But as john said, theres a reason, and theres a process that youre supposed to go through when you reach out on stuff like this. Woodruff and just finally, john, were not showing anymore graphics from the statement, but it was on march 30, there was another phone call where the president again called, complaining about the cloud over his presidency. And in that conversation, he said, if there were some satellite associates of his who did something wrong, it would be good to find that out. But that he hadnt done anything wrong and hoped i would find a way to get it out there. And then he called mr. Comey again on april the 11th, and talked about loyalty, back and forth. He said, ive been very loyal to you. In essence, saying, will you be loyal back to me . And he said at this point, i didnt answer him. And you also, today, finally now, john carlin, have the president s attorney saying the president feels vindicated. Well, i think in those conversations and in that backandforth, you also had director comey informing the president , according to this opening statement, that he had recounted their previous conversation to the thenacting Deputy Attorney general dana bente. When the president called i think the second tiernlg the president referenced and said, should i reach out . And it sounds like director comey tried to say yes, you should, through white House Counsel. And the idea of making a potentially making public the results of an investigation, the appropriate channel, the one thats set up theres actually a memorandum on white house contacts thats designed to ensure that that type of contact takes place lawyer to lawyer, white House Counsel to Deputy Attorney general, to avoid either the actuality of interference with an investigation or the appearance. And you can see this kind of confused backandforth. To meesh the most troubling of the exchanges that are detailed and the rest do provide context for it would be the direct request to end an investigation of an associate, if true, related to the investigation of flynn. Woodruff and, matt apuzzo, finally, very quickly, the fact that director comey made these notes immediately after each one of these meetings or phone calls i think adds to the remarkable nature of all this. Thats right. I mean, you have a you have an f. B. I. Director who cleecial was so uncomfortable with these interactions he felt he had to document them. Not just documented them. This is where he was sitting and this is where he was sit expig walked out the door near the grandfather clock and halfway through, this guy knocked on the door. I mean, it is really detailed stuff that is clearly intended for future consultation and to say this isnt just my memory. I sat down and did this in real time. Woodruff we should point out once again the president s attorney has issued a Statement Today saying the president feels vindicated. He, in essence, thanked james comey for repeating the fact, he said, that the president himself was not under investigation. So this will clearly continue. Were going to hear from mr. Comey tomorrow himself. John carlin, matt apuzzo, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Woodruff woodruff so, the release of the comey Statement Today came not long after top intelligence officials appeared before the Senate Intelligence committee. In public session, at least, they declined to discuss conversations with the president about russia, or james comey. Our Lisa Desjardins begins our coverage. Reporter this was supposed to be about fisa the Foreign Surveillance law used to thwart terror attacks. Instead, the Senate Intelligence hearing became a highstakes dance over the russia investigation and President Trump. National Security Agency director Michael Rogers began by saying i have never been directed to do anything i believe to be illegal, immoral, unethical, or inappropriate. And to the best of my recollection during that period, i dont recall ever feeling pressured to do so. Reporter but after that, it was a day of senators questions and intelligence officials sidesteps. Did the president the reports that are out there ask you in any way, shape or form, to back off or downplay the russia investigation . Im not going to discuss the specifics of conversations with the president of the United States. Reporter adding gravity today, a flurry of new headlines overnight the New York Times reported that former f. B. I. Director james comey asked not to be left alone with President Trump, for fear of being pressured; the Washington Post said the president asked the director of National Intelligence to intervene in the f. B. I. s probe of former National Security adviser, michael flynn; that d. N. I. Dan coats was in todays hearing and would not confirm or deny the story. Im willing to come before the committee and tell you what i know and what i dont know. What im not willing to do is to share what i think is confidential information, that ought to be protected, in an open hearing. Reporter Republican Marco Rubio began by defending the president. I actually think, if what is being said to the media is untrue, then it is unfair to the president of the United States. Reporter but in an effort to bolster that view, he got confusion. Is anyone aware of any effort, by anyone, in the white house or elsewhere, to seek advice on how to influence any investigation . My answer is absolutely no, senator. No one has. Anything to add to that . I dont understand the question. Reporter democrat Martin Heinrich went further, pressing coats if trump asked him to blunt the investigation. You could clear an awful lot up by simply saying it never happened. I dont share i do not share with the general public, conversations that i have with the president or many of my colleagues within the administration that i believe are should not be shared. Well, i think your unwillingness to answer a very basic question speaks volumes. Reporter independent angus king hammered the intel chiefs for neither answering, nor explaining why they werent answering. Is it an invocation of executive privilege . If there is, then lets know about it. If there isnt, answer the questions. I stand by the comments ive made. Im not interested in repeating myself, sir. And i dont mean that in a contentious way. Well, i do mean it in a contentious way. I dont understand why youre not answering our questions. Reporter ultimately, the top two intel chiefs said they were the white house, while deputym attorney general Rod Rosenstein and acting f. B. I. Director Andrew Mccabe indicated they dont want to harm the Current Special investigation. As for President Trump himself, he was in cincinnati for an infrastructure event, and avoided all talk of russia or the f. B. I. But online, he did announce Christopher Wray as his nominee for the new f. B. I. Director. Wray is a criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor who headed the Criminal Division at the department of justice. Hes also known for representing new Jersey Governor Chris Christie in his socalled bridgegate scandal. But before any new director starts, the spotlight remains on the man just fired from the job, who testifies on capitol hill tomorrow. Woodruff and lisa joins us now from the capitol. Lisa, it was a rivetting hearing. You talked to some of the senators afterwards. What are they saying . I think theyre actually drawing two conclusion from today, one, judy, democrats feel increasingly that this Trump Administration has a real problem with both the investigation and how it is handling it. Two, the second conclusion, democrats and republicans alike are not just frustrated. Theyre now concerned about the lack of answers that they got today and that theyve been getting in the congressional probe here. I spoke to senator john mccain, a man who you will remember wished he was an expresident right now. He said after walking away from that hearing he felt that the balance of power has clearly shifted to the executive. What theyre saying here, judy, is theyre worried about Congress Power and Congress Responsibility to look into these matters. Woodruf