had these foreign adversaries into the oval office? why would he be so willing to do this? and also willing to tell them that by firing comey, he had alleviated pressure on himself. >> extraordinary reporting. "new york times" reporter michael schmidt, one of three reporters who broke this really blockbuster story. congratulations, michael. really appreciate your time tonight. thank you. >> thanks for having me. >> thank you very much. responses are pouring in to this breaking news. including from the white house. we just got this moments ago from white house press secretary sarah sanders. quote, this is absurd, she says. james comey was fired because he is a disgraced partisan hack and his deputy andrew mccabe who was in charge at the time is a known liar, fired by the fbi, unlike president obama who let russia and other foreign adversaries push america around, president trump has actually been tough on russia. that's the first official quote from the white house. joining us is barbara mcquade, former u.s. attorney from the eastern district of michigan. thanks for joining us. and that response from the white house does not address any of