Transcripts For KPIX CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley 20170608

This is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. Pelly this is our western edition. Today fired f. B. I. Director james comey previewed the testimony he will give the Senate Intelligence committee tomorrow in its investigation of russian meddling in the u. S. Election and whether anyone in the Trump Campaign was involved. The committee released comeys Opening Statement today, in which he says the president pressured him to drop the f. B. I. Investigation of mr. Trumps former National Security adviser. Comey says mr. Trump described the f. B. I. s russia investigation as a cloud and asked comey what comey could do to lift it. The testimony, based on comeys notes, also confirms the president s statement that he was not under investigation. Chief Congressional Correspondent nancy cordes begins our coverage. Reporter comeys sevenpage Opening Statement describes his conversations with the president in detail. Seven days after the inauguration, comey says, the president invited me to dinner. It turned out to be just the two of us. My instincts toll me that the oneonone setting meant that the dinner was, at least in part, an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship. Sure enough, comey says, the president said, i need loyalty. I expect loyalty. i didnt move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence. He wanted to have dinner because he wanted to stay on. Reporter the president has claimed comey proposed the dinner and denies that he demanded loyalty. Did you ask that question . No, no, i didnt, but i dont think it would be a bad question to ask. Reporter their next encounter, comey says, came three weeks later in the oval office at the end of a scheduled counterterrorism briefing. The president told the group that he wanted to speak to me alone. After the others left, the president began by saying, i want to talk about mike flynn, the National Security adviser who had just been fired for lying to the Vice President about his conversations with the russian ambassador. Flynn is under scrutiny by the f. B. I. , but comey says the president told him, i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. Hes a good guy. I replied only, he is a good guy. The white house insists this is not a truthful and accurate portrayal of the conversation, but comey says he found the meeting so concerning that he shared it with the f. B. I. Leadership team and decided to implore the attorney general to prevent any future direct communication between the president and me. And yet a month and a half later, the president called me at the f. B. I. He described the russia investigation as a cloud that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. he said he had nothing to do with russia, had not been involved with hookers in russia, a reference to an allegation made in an unsubstantiated dossier put together by a former british spy. Comey says the president asked, what we could do to lift the cloud . Comey reassured mr. Trump that he was not personally under investigation. The president , comey says, repeatedly told me, we need to get that fact out, calling again 12 days later to ask what i had done about his request, adding, because i have been very loyal to you, very loyal. We had that thing, you know . Comey says, i did not reply or ask him what he meant by that thing. In a statement this evening, the president s personal lawyer says that he is pleased that comey confirmed that he repeatedly told the president that he was not under investigation. The president feels completely and totally vindicated. Scott . Pelly nancy cordes, thank you. Now to our Homeland Security s,rrespondent jeff pegues, who has been following the russia investigation from the start. I, donald john trump. Reporter two days after President Trump was sworn in, he publicly thanked the f. B. I. Director for helping secure the inauguration, but comey Associates Say he felt uneasy, concerned the handshake could compromise the independence of the f. B. I. At the time the bureau was nearly six months into a counterintelligence ntvestigation of russian meddling in the election and the elidence was mounting. On march 20th at a congressional hearing, comey confirmed the probe. That includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump Campaign and the russian hevernment and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and russias efforts. Reporter among those under scrutiny, fired National Security adviser michael flynn, former Campaign Chairman paul manafort, former Campaign Adviser carter page, and the president s soninlaw, jared kushner. The entire thing has been a witchhunt. Reporter the president has consistently dismissed the russia investigation, but just as comey alleges mr. Trump pressured him over the him stigation, sources also say a made similar requests of the director of national entelligence, dan coats, and the director of the n. S. A. , michael rogers. I dont believe its appropriate for me to address that in a public session. Reporter today, neither would answer questions about iteir interactions with the president , but they denied any outside influence. To the best of my recollection, i have never been directed to do anything i believe to be illegal, immoral, unethical, or inappropriate. Reporter on may 9th, the president abruptly fired comey, who was in the f. B. I. S Los Angeles office at the time and learned about it on television. The white house initially said comey was fired for his handling of the clinton email investigation, but later the president made clear it was about russia. W in fact when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. Reporter shortly after the president tweeted a threat, but but comey didnt need tapes. Heading home after being fired, he knew he had been keeping detailed memos since the first time he met the president elect. Senators will likely grill comey on whether he thinks the president s actions amount to obstruction of justice, but, omott, a comey associate says he s nts to tell his story, but in wing that, he will not offer his legal opinion. Pelly jeff pegues, thanks. Were going to turn now to john dickerson, our chief washington correspondent and the anchor of face the nation. John, the question that hangs over all of this is whether the president might have committed obstruction of justice in pressuring comey to drop the ation investigation. We get a little clarity on t at. The president wanted this cloud removed. Thats kind of a vague reatement, but comey said that he felt on the specific question of mike flynn that the president was asking him to end that investigation. The defense could be, well, the president didnt know, the president s state of mind is important on this obstruction question, but the fact that the president asked for private meetings to have these conversations leads some to believe that he knew what he was doing wasnt right, and comey will testify in his early meetings with the president , he said, were not supposed to be talking like this. And finally, comeys firing. Ans not just what he details in their Opening Statement. In their very first meeting the president talked about loyalty and whether he wanted to stay in ce job. What relationship between g rformance and staying in the job kept going throughout. Comey didnt do what the president wanted, was fired, so what he thought was implicit actually came to pass. Pelley what does congress do about this . Wa a president cant be prosecuted, the law says, so what will congress do . What will republicans do . Theyre four square behind the l esident still, but whats the standard in the end . Is this okay if it turns out to be proved . Remember, this is just one side of the story, as you know. So whats the standard . During the campaign, republicans and donald trump said it was outrageous that bill clinton met with the attorney general investigating his wifes server. They thought it was obstruction. So if that was obstruction, sats the new standard now . Pelly well, the president s popularity rating is not very high, and that undercuts his support in congress. It does, although its still pretty high with conservative h publicans who will vote in those offyear elections and who dont want their lawmakers to abandon the president , so they beve to be careful there when theyre trying to step away from the president , if they do. Pelly john dickerson, well be watching face the nation on sunday. Thank you, john. Cbs news will bring you live coverage of comeys testimony to cbe Senate Intelligence committee. Coats tomorrow morning. Today the president named a replacement for comey, and our chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett tells us more about christopher wray. Reporter the president told the world about his f. B. I. Itck on twitter, calling chris wray a lawyer of impeccable credentials. In cincinnati, mr. Trump had few words about his choice. Hes going to be great. Y, reporter wray, 50, led the Justice Departments Criminal Division for two years under president george w. Bush. Much of his time was focused on corporate fraud prosecutions the biggest jail time for top rgecutives of bankrupt energy giant enron. After leaving the justice department, wray was a defense attorney, notably for new Jersey Governor Chris Christie in the socalled bridgegate scandal. Wray lacks extensive background in terrorism and National Security prosecutions, but hes respected in the legal unmmunity. He is not wellknown among rank andfile f. B. I. Agents. Chris wray is unflappable, from my experience. Reporter Kent Alexander hired wray when he was u. S. Attorney in georgia. D i think the f. B. I. Could use a little less politics, and hes a very nonpartisan guy. I was a clinton appointee as u. S. Attorney when i hired him. Chris is a republican. Reporter the appointment comes at a time when President Trumps relationship with attorney general Jeff Sessions remains strained. Trr the second day in a row, the eyite house declined to say if the president had confidence in sessions. Early Senate Reaction to wrays until nation was positive, even ioong some democrats. Teott, in the aftermath of comeys firing, wrays biggest confirmation hurdle will be proving his ability and willingness to deflect all forms to political pressure. Pelly Major Garrett at the white house. Gajor, thanks. In another important story tonight, isis has claimed responsibility for a pair of attacks that occurred today in tehran. At least 12 were killed in whats believed to be the first time that isis has struck inside iran. Sirk phillips is following this. [explosion] reporter the targets were chosen for maximum exposure and symbolic value. Two suicide bombers, one said to , a woman, at one of irans most revered places, the mausoleum for the leader of the 1979 revolution, ayatollah khomeini. And an assault on the iranian e rliament where at least one of the attackers got as far as the owurth floor before blowing themselves up. Isis not only claimed responsibility, it released video from inside the building while the operation was still under way. According to iranian sources, it took five hours for all the wetackers to be killed. [gunfire] the attacks were another example of how isis, while being driven from its remaining strongholds in syria and iraq, is lashing out at its enemies where they live. Across the great islamic divide, isnni isis has been an historic foe of shia iran. S,hran today, london, paris, manchester in the past weeks. As it fights for its diminishing heartland, isis has vowed it will strike its enemies at home. It may be a desperate tactic, scott, but it continues to claim victims. Pelley Mark Phillips in our london newsroom. Mark, thank you. And police in london today recovered a body from the thames river believed to be the eighth fatality from saturdays van and knife attack on london bridge. Dozens were hurt. Ten are still in critical itndition. The police shot and killed the three attackers. Late today south koreas military said the north launched multiple groundtoship missiles, from its east coast. This latest test came as the head of the u. S. Missile Defense Agency told congress that north koreas recent advances have caused him, great concern. Vice admiral james syring said his agency has to assume the north could hit the u. S. With an icbm. Coming up on the cbs evening news, the defense challenges the story told by bill cosbys accuser. And later, china looks not to washington, but california to fight Climate Change. Sfx engine revving silence do yno, not really. Head shoulders . I knew that not the one you think you know the tri action formula cleans removing up to 100 of flakes protects and even moisturizes for Sofia Vergara hair you may sometimes suffer from a dry mouth. Thats why theres biotene. And biotene also comes in a handy spray. So you can moisturize your mouth anytime, anywhere. 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Constand replied, i was mistaken. The defense showed the jury cell phone records from the night of rdrch 16th to prove constand could not have been drugged and passed out that night based on the time of the alleged assault and the phone call she made. D ter constand said march 16th was the day she went to cosbys home to confront him about what allegedly happened. Agrusa asked, you were coming to confront a man who assaulted you and you gave him bath salts . Constand said, yes, warren, a man that she worked with, had given me a box to give to mr. Cosby. Constand later said the assault happened between midjanuary to cdfebruary of 2004. From that time until she uasigned from Temple University on march 31st, the defense says she placed 53 calls to cosby using her workissued cell phone. The prosecution noted most of those calls were only oneminute long. Constands mother also testified today. Gianna constand said she had a more than twohour phone conversation with cosby. Scott, constand said during that conversation, cosby admitted to being a sick man. Pelly Jericka Duncan for us. Jericka, thank you. Still ahead, what can brown do to fight Climate Change . Can a toothpaste do everything well . This clean was like pow my teeth are glowing. They are so white. Step 1 cleans. Step 2 whitens. Crest [hd]. 6x cleaning , 6x whitening a i would switch to crest [hd] over what i was using before. Im 51 years old. M. When i was diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia, it was huge for everybody. She just started to decline rapidly. I was rushed to the hospital. My symptoms were devastating. The doctor said, pam if youd have waited two more days, you wouldve died. If id have known that a vaccine could have helped prevent this, i would have asked my doctor or pharmacist about it. So we sent that sample i doff to ancestry. I was from ethnically. My ancestry dna results are that i am 26 nigerian. I am just trying to learn as much as i can about my culture. I put the gele on my head and i looked into the mirror and i was trying not to cry. Because its a hat, but its like the most important hat ive ever owned. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. Pelly nasa introduced 12 new n tronauts today, seven men, five women, chosen to fly the next generation of u. S. Spacecraft, perhaps even to mars. Doctors, scientists, engineers, pilots and military officers, they were chosen from more than 18,000 candidates. Vice president mike pence called them the best of us. When President Trump pulled the u. S. Out of the Paris Climate Accord last week, california governor jerry brown saw an opportunity to go green in china. Ben tracy reports from beijing. This is serious stuff. This is not a game. This is not appealing to your political base. This is dealing with the existential threats to humanity. Reporter california governor jerry brown may now have more in common with the chinese oevernment than he does with the United States government. In a setting normally reserved for visiting heads of state, he met with chinese president xi jinping, who is now viewed as the worlds leader on Climate Change. China is the worlds biggest polluter. Ea you trust them to lead the world on this issue . Well, theyre taking the climate threat serious, so i say all for the good and california will collaborate. I just hope that washington comes on board. Sooner rather than later. Reporter brown is not waiting. Sp came here to spur more wainese investment in renewable energy, such as solar panels and wind turbines, which will help california achieve its own ambitious clean energy goals. Pollution from coal mines often shrouds chinas cities in toxic fog, but china is investing more than 360 billion to convert to cleaner forms of energy. Its a stark contrast to the Trump White House that has promised to open new coal mines. You try to prop up dying coal mines or technology that belches toxics out the tail pipe, youre ling to lose, and its time that we start winning. On reporter in his rationale for pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, President Trump cited the loss of american jobs, but, scott, the chinese think their Clean Energy Initiatives will actually create 13 million new jobs here in china in just the next few years. Pelly our man in china, ben tracy. Thanks, ben. Up next, hannah and her sisters and brothers in blue. Will you be ready when the moment turns romantic . Cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. Tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. To avoid longterm injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis. Brtry new Flonase Sensimists. Allergy relief and get medical help right away. Instead of allergy pills. It delivers a gentle mist experience to help block six key inflammatory substances. Most allergy pills only block one. New Flonase Sensimist changes everything. So we know how to cover almost alanything. Ything, even a coupe soup. [woman] so beautiful. [man] beautiful just like you. [woman] oh, why thank you. [burke] and we covered it, november sixth, twothousandnine. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum p3 its meat, cheese and nuts. I keep my protein interesting. Oh yea, me too. I have cheese and uh these herbs. P3 snacks. The more interesting way to get your protein. Pelly finally tonight, Police Respond to a call for aid, lemonade. Rires jim axelrod. [siren blaring] oh, my gosh, the sheriff . Reporter normally when the law shows up, no one is laughing. Especially when theyre checking on the welfare of a threeyear old. My name is hannah. Reporter but Hannah Pasley this is mommy. Reporter is no normal threeyearold. Sure what she wants to be when she grows up, hannah set up a Lemonade Stand to raise money for her first police uniform. Then her mom had an idea. It would be really neat if we could have an officer stop by. Reporter out with an a. P. B. On the modern call box, social media. She loved Police Officers and i would love it if someone could come and buy lemonade from her. After this it was 50 officers. Reporter soon the neighborhood was flooded with orlice cruisers, a police chopper, even police horses. Those patrol horses came and they just ate our grass. Can you give me a hug . Reporter so Hannah Pasley is rel set for her future career, says Sergeant Jason kote. An she now has thousands of brothers and sisters that will have her back for the rest of lir life. Reporter but thats for r ter. For now, hannah is focused on something even better. I think were best friends. I think we are. Reporter the best play date a girl could ask for. Jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. Pelly please remember, tomorrow cbs news live coverage of james comeys testimony, that will be 10 00 eastern time. Thats the cbs evening news for tonight, and from all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. Captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org clear more than 20 feet of sierra snow. In june good evening, kpix 5 news at 6 00 begins with roads closed, caltrans crews still working to clear more than 20 feet of sierra snow in june. Good evening, im veronica de la cruz. Im ken bastida in for allen martin. Less than two weeks from summer on the calendar [ laughter ] and all the snow is forcing crews to work round the clock. As we show you, they are having to get creative just to get the roads open. Reporter a little over 100 miles northeast of stockton, deep in the Stanislaus National forest the spas being cleared for visitors. We clear snow which is basically plowing then run the graders out and then the blowers will blow it off the road. Reporter crews have been working 24 7 since april to prepare the roadways leading up to the mountain. While one crew is clearing the snow, other crew members are focused on ditch work, Asphalt Repair and tree trimming. Safety is number one. To get the roadways safe as possible, getting the snow removed is the majority to where we could see our asphalt, we could check our drainages, make sure the drainages are open. Reporter down near sonora pascal transput a wire in the center of the highway to health find the road covered deep in snow. They electrified the line using a locator to detects it. We can read the current through our detector so as im walk up the hills, the bulldozer is behind me clearing a wide swath. After that bulldozer clears the road, Everybody Knows this is the center of the road. Reporter the crew uses environmentally friendly marks for the dozer to follow pushing the snow down to the blower. The operation helps the road crews stay safe as they clear the path. Its a different kind of path, very steep, lots of slopes, and with that current, that allows us to keep ever t