Nightly news begins right now. Good evening. The head of the fbi dropped two bombshells over capitol hill today. Both however landing at the white house doorstep. James comey in public testimony joined a growing chorus of intelligence officials and lawmakers rejecting President Trumps tweeted claims of being wiretapped by president obama before the election. I have no information that supports those tweets. And we have looked carefully inside the fbi. The department of justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the department of justice and all its components. Then there was this. That the Trump Campaign has been under an fbi investigation since last summer in connection with russian meddling in the election. The fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian governments efforts to interfere in the 2016 president ial election. And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump Campaign and the russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and russias efforts. Tonight the white house is clinging to the discredited wiretap claim as it works to change the narrative on the russian investigation. A historic day in washington that also includes the first day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee neil gorsuch. We have it all covered starting with nbcs andrea mitchell. Reporter today james comey not only saying theres no evidence to back the president s tweet, claiming president obama had my wired tapped in trump tower, also saying its not even possible. So president obama could not unilaterally order a wiretap of anyone . No president could. Reporter as for mr. Trumps tweet that, this is mccarthyism by the president and presumably the fbi were you engaged in mccarthyism, director comey . I try very hard not to engage in any isms of any kind, including mccarthyism. The british have called the president s position he wiretapped them for obama is nonsense, do you agree . Yes, sir. Reporter the fbi saying theyre investigating possible coordination between the president s campaign and russias hacking of democrats. A lengthy probe that could lead all the way to the white house. Russias motive . Putin hated secretary clinton so much that the flip side of that coin was, he had a clear preference for the person running against the person he hated so much. Reporter comeys appearance, along with nsa director admiral mike rogers, a tale of two hearings. For democrats it was all about russia and the possible Trump Campaign connection. This was in part an inside job. From u. S. Persons. Willing american accomplices, or terribly naive ones, or probably both, who helped the russians attack our country and our democracy. Reporter republicans avoiding russia, instead going after the leaks of classified information, allegedly from current and former intelligence officials. Specifically about fired National Security adviser mike flynn and the russian ambassador. In theory, how would reporters know a u. S. Citizen made a telephone call to an agent or foreign power . Somebody told them who shouldnt have told them. Reporter republicans underscoring the russian hacking did not change the vote count. Do you have any evidence that russia cyber actors changed vote tallies in the state of mish gain . No, i do not, but i would high lie were a foreign intelligence organization, not a Domestic Intelligence organization. Reporter the white house tweeting out that exchange, sparking a realtime fact check from democrats. It says, the nsa and fbi Tell Congress that russia did not influence electoral the electoral process. Is that accurate . Weve offered no opinion, have no view, have no information on potential impact, because its never something that we looked at. Reporter but after comeys rebukes when the white house was asked if the president would apologize to president obama no, were we started a hearing, its still ongoing. Theres a lot of things that arent being covered in this hearing. Lawmakers also asking why the fbi didnt do more to blow the whistle on russias hacking and comey saying if he had to do it all over again, he would have walked over to the dnc himself and banged on the door. Lester . Andrea mitchell starting us off, thanks. Now that the fbi confirms it is looking into possible links between russia and trump associates, the white house today sought to distance itself from some former senior advisers. For more on the possible russian connection that investigators may be looking into, we turn to nbc News White House correspondent hallie jackson. But maybe someday reporter the questions President Trump tried to shake for months arent going anywhere. I have nothing to do with russia. To the best of my knowledge, no person that i deal with does. Reporter director james comey is now confirming an fbi inquiry into trump aides links to the kremlin started last july, months before the election. Thats when headlines swirled surrounding people like Paul Manafort who had business ties to prorussian ukrainians and today is denying any involvement with the russians. Tonight the white house is working to minimize his role. Paul manafort, who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time reporter but for six months, roughly onethird of the campaign manafort served as de facto campaign manager. I think they may be trying to protect themselves from what they dont know about Paul Manafort or mike flynn or others around the campaign, but are now known to have had contacts with russians. Reporter the administration has long dismissed carter paige, who visited moscow during the campaign, as just a bit player. And today roger stone, a notorious gop operative, demanded his chance to respond to what he calls smears at the hearing. He cut ties with team trump in 2015, but raised questions with his tweet last summer. Seeming to predict a wikileaks hack aimed at the clinton campaign. I have a back Channel Communications with wikileaks. Reporter to democrats it adds up to this argument, too many connections to be convince dense. To republicans, its a witch hunt with the white house pointing to statements from former Obama Administration officials. But at the time, we had no evidence of such collusion. Reporter it could be years before the investigations complete. Until then its cloud hangs over the trump administration. The shadow of russia looming. Hallie jackson, nbc news, washington. All of this brings us to the subject of President Trumps credibility, which is one of the most important things a president has, especially when a National Crisis arises and the country turns to its commander in chief. Now after a string of unproven claims, will this president struggle to keep the trust of the American Public . Heres nbcs peter alexander. Reporter tonight, for a president whos often loose with the facts, a moment of truth. After being publicly rebuked by the fbi director for his latest unfounded claim. In mr. Trumps insurgent campaign fuelled by promises this one likely got lost. In this journey, i will never lie to you. I will never tell you something i do not believe. Reporter as president those beliefs threat to know undermine his credibility on issues big and small. A white house claim about record crowd size consuming his first day in office. The field was it looked like a million, million and a half people. Reporter assessment photographs disproved. This headscratching comment last month you look at whats happening last night in sweden. Sweden who would believe this, sweden reporter apparent reference to a terror attack, but there wasnt one. The president s demanded an investigation based on his unsubstantiated charge that millions of people voted illegally. Then this false claim about his victory. I guess it was the Biggest Electoral College win since ronald reagan. Reporter but thats just not true. As nbc news pointed out in realtime. Why should Americans Trust you no i was given that information i was just given. We had a very, very big margin. Reporter its nothing new. Mr. Trumps political career was launched on the back of his birther claim against president obama. You are not allowed to be a president if youre not born in this country, he may not have been born in this country. Reporter whats the cumulative effect . When people begin to get skeptical about what a president tells us, it begins to lead to a situation where he is less powerful. Reporter also new tonight, the president s daughter ivanka trump is joining her fathers team here at the white house. A source familiar with ivankas plans tells me she will not have an official title or take salary but she will be moving into an office just above her fathers. Peter alexander at the white house, thanks. For perspective on where this leaves us, im joined by tom brokaw. Youve covered every president since johnson. Today confirmation from the fbi director that the president is pushing a false story and that his campaign has been under investigation now since july. These are not policy, red blue issues, but how do they color everything this administration does and says Going Forward . Youve got to remember this administration is only two months old, its got some very important legislation in the works, and yet everyone is focused on whether the president is telling the truth. First of all, about the wiretapping, which everyone says its not true. And then about any connection they may have with the russians. We dont know that yet. Now, people are beginning to murmur watergate. Its a little too early to do that. That took two years, it was built brick by brick. But in fact, there are a lot of outstanding questions here, lester. Not just about the integrity of the election but the integrity of the president of the united states, who continues to govern by tweet. Which a lot of people find that very hard to believe. But thats the age in which we now live. And well see how this plays out. But its not going to go away any time soon. Tom brokaw, appreciate your perspective, thank you. The other major event today on capitol hill. The senate began confirmation hearings for neil gorsuch, President Trumps nominee for the Supreme Court. But democrats are still seething after the gop refused to hold hearings for former president obamas nominee last year. Nbc news justice correspondent Pete Williams has more. Reporter with a hug and a kiss from his wife for good luck, the hearing for neil gorsuch comes just over a year since president obama nominated federal judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy left by the death of antonin ka scalia. Garland never even got a hearing. Im deeply disappointed that its under these circumstances that we begin our hearings. Reporter democrats said gorsuch must stand up for judges given Donald Trumps stinging tweets about the courts. Demeaning and disparaging comments about the judiciary have shaken the foundations of respect for judicial rulings. Reporter judge gorsuch vowed to be independent, going where the law takes him. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is probably a pretty bad judge, stretching for policy results he prefers, rather than those the law compels. Reporter some scholars say gorsuch could turn out to be further to the right than Justice Scalia was on issues like the rights of criminal defendants. I dont think you can expect to get exact same kind of ideology from neil gorsuch, but republicans and conservatives are going to be very happy with him. Reporter if confirmed he could be on the court by early april, perhaps in time to decide whether President Trumps executive order on immigration is constitutional. Pete williams, nbc news, at the Supreme Court. Tonight nbc news has learned the government is about to announce new restrictions on Electronic Devices banned on board certain overseas flights into the u. S. Nbcs Miguel Almaguer is in our los angeles newsroom with late details. Lester, good evening. One federal official tells nbc news the new temporary electronic restrictions is based on threat intelligence. Tomorrow Homeland Security will officially announce the changes for passengers flying into the u. S. From overseas on certain flights. The temporary rules will restrict some devices to checked bags. In a nowdeleted tweet, Jordanian Airlines warned passengers they would not be able to carry laptops, cameras, and other electron ins but cell phones and medical devices would be exempt. U. S. Officials say laptops have long been a source of concern but declined to be specific about the nature of the threat or how long the restrictions would be in effect. Were told they would not apply to u. S. Airlines, only foreign carriers operating flights from certain countries directly to the u. S. Lester . Miguel almaguer, thank you. Still ahead, speaking out. The kidnapping victim caught on camera jumping from the trunk of a moving car talks exclusively to nbc news about her harrowing ordeal. How something she saw on social media helped her daring escape. The big new twist in the mystery over tom bradys stolen super bowl jersey. Stay wit if youve got a life, you gotta swiffer kevin, meet yourkeviner. Kevin Kevin Kevin KevinKevin Kevin Kevin kevin kevin trusted advice for life. Kevin, hows your mom . Life well planned. See what a Raymond JamesFinancial Advisor can do for you. Hi hey you look good. Thank you, i feel good. It all starts with eating right. Thats why i eat amaz n prunes now. Theyre delicious and help keep my body in balance. I love these. Sunsweet amaz n prunes, the feel good fruit. Lergies with nasal congestion . Find fast relief behind the counter with claritind. [ upbeat music ] strut past that aisle for the allergy relief that starts working in as little as 30 minutes and contains the best oral decongestant. 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That was like the scare yourest thing ive ever had to deal with. Reporter the Nursing Student says she was forced into her own car at gunpoint last tuesday night, outside her apartment. He made me drive him to another side of town, he tried to rob two other couples. Reporter with those attempts failed, britney says he ordered her into the trunk, found her atm card, and gave her an ultimatum. Give me your pin number or ill kill you. Reporter at several atms the card failed. At one he reportedly was able to withdraw 100. In my biggest fear, he was going to drive this car into a river, im going to drown, nobodys going to know im in this trunk. Reporter thats when she made the decision she had to get out. Britney diggs mayo her life to a federal law passed in the year 2000. It says all trunks have to have a release latch just in case somebody is trapped inside. I remember seeing a video on facebook a couple of years ago talking about trunk latches. I got the bright idea to use my insulin pump light. I found the latch, popped the trunk, popped the latch, i stepped out instead of rolling out. Reporter Birmingham Police have a fuzzy image of a suspect, while britney says until hes caught her nightmare will not end. I try to i try to put it in the back of my head so i can just, you know, get through the day. Reporter Kerry Sanders, nbc news, birmingham, alabama. One brave lady. Were back in a moment with twin toddlers whose allnight party has made them a vira wait, wait. I have a question. What is the verizon way . It means its much more expensive. Sprint has always believed in unlimited at a fair price, which is why their unlimited plan is 50 less than verizon and at t rates with only a 1 difference in network reliability. Can you hear that . vo get unlimited plus get hd video and 10 gbs of mobile hotspot. 22. 50 per line for four lines. Thats 50 off for people with hearing loss, verizon and at t rates. Visit sprintrelay. Com. 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