Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20170512

Offenses, including mandatory minimum time in prison. And its friday. Mark shields and Ramesh Ponnuru are here to analyze a watershed week for the Trump Administration. 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 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 were 113 days into the trump presidency, with more than 1,300 left until the next inauguration day. At times, its felt like a whirlwind, and this week may have brought the wildest ride yet. Our Lisa Desjardins brings us up to speed. And now i will take your questions. Reporter a roller coast week for the white house ended with more turbulence and questions after reports that allies of fired f. B. I. Director james comey insist he never told President Trump that he was not under investigation the opposite of the president s version. This morning, a tweeting President Trump fired out at the white house, reporters asked press Secretary Sean Spicer if that was meant as a message. That is not a threat. Hes simply stating a fact. Reporter asked repeatedly if there are recording devices in the oval office. Spicer refused to answer. The president has nothing to add. The back and forth and back again this week has been dizzying. It may clear things up to look at the two core issues why was director comey fired . And when was that decision made . First why heres what the president said yesterday to nbc news. 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, its an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. Reporter but just one day earlier wednesday Vice President pence told reporters the issues were a lack of confidence and recommendations from the Justice Department. The American People have to have confidence in the federal bureau of investigation, and because of the actions that the Deputy Attorney general outlined to the president that were endorsed and agreed with by the attorney general, the president made the right decision at the right time. Reporter pence was referencing Deputy Attorney general rod rosenstein. His letter released tuesday centered on charges that comey mishandled the clinton investigation. Nothing about russia. The other rationale for comeys firing it was in the president s letter to comey restoring trust and confidence in the f. B. I. But that was directly countered yesterday by acting f. B. I. Chief andrew mccabe. I can tell you also that director comey enjoyed broad support within the f. B. I. And still does to this day. Reporter at different times, the white house pointed to three Different Reasons for the comey firing. There were also varying descriptions of when and how that decision was made. Heres the president in yesterdays nbc interview. I was going to fire comey my decision. I was going to fire regardless of recommendation. Reporter that is at odds with the previous two days of staff statements. First, press secretary spicer speaking off camera minutes after the comey firing told reporters it was a d. O. J. Decision made by no one at the white house. Wednesday, Vice President pence pointed seven times to the Justice Department recommendation. President trump made the right decision at the right time to accept the recommendation of the Deputy Attorney general and the attorney general, to ask for the termination, to support the termination of the director of the f. B. I. Reporter same day white house spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee sanders implied the Justice Department initiated the idea to fire comey. He did have a conversation with the Deputy Attorney general on monday where they had come to him to express their concerns. Reporter but one day later a change sanders said the president had told her he decided earlier. I went off of the information that i had when i answered your question. Ive since had the conversation with him, right before i walked on today, and he laid it out very clearly, hed already made that decision, hed been thinking about it for months. Tweeted that he is a very active president and its not possible for his surrogates to have perfect accuracy. Press secretary spicer summed up the comey firing this way today. It was always going to be the president s decision, he made a decision in part based on the recommendation. And he is now focused on making sure we have a replacement at the f. B. I. Reporter spicer said there is no set timeline for the president to choose his new f. B. I nominee that it will happen when he finds the right person. For the pbs newshour, im Lisa Desjardins woodruff and we are joined now from the white house by correspondent john yang. So, john, a few other threads we want to pursue right now. One the president was asked earlier this week by senator Lindsey Graham for a letter to certify that to explain what his connections are to russia. Now youve seen that letter, what does it say . Its from his tax attorneys. They looked at the past ten years of his tax returns. They say they show no investments in russia, show no loan payments, Interest Payments to lenders from russia. They say the only income was about 12 million in 2013 for the Miss Universe pageant and the proceeds for a 95 million sale of a florida estate to a russian billionaire. But tax experts say that this is not conclusive, that there are many other ways that the president could have dealings with russia that are not included in this letter. Woodruff now, john, separately, another issue thats come up in all this back and forth weve just heard from lisa has to do with the White House Press briefing, and the president had Something Interesting to say about that today. Hes got an idea of his own. He said instead of a daily briefing, there should only be a briefing once every two weeks, and that he should give it. He said he thinks thats a good idea. Woodruff and we dont know whether thats going to take place, yet. One other story about the conflicting reports about a dinner the president had with james comey in late january. Thats right, in the interview with nbcs lester holt, the president said this is a dinner mr. Comey asked for because he wanted to keep his job. Friends of mr. Comeys say that that was actually not the case from his point of view. He says that he was asked to come to the white house for dinner, and he also said comey said that he was asked several times by the president whether he could have his personal loyalty, whether the president would have his personal loyalty. He said all he could promise was that he would have hi his hones. Woodruff a lot to keep track of. John yang, we thank you. Well get another view of the firing of f. B. I. Director comey from former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice right after the news summary. In the days other news a massive cyberattack struck major institutions and companies in more than 70 countries. The Computer Systems were infected with socalled ransomware that demands money in exchange for unlocking data. The malware is believed to have exploited a cyberhacking tool that was used by the National Security agency, that was broken into last year. The United Kingdom was among the hardest hit, forcing its National Health service to close dozens of hospitals and medical centers. Paul davies of independent Television News has this report. Reporter it is a sinister development. The very people we turn to when were sick or injured, themselves under a concerted and highly sophisticated attack. Hospitals and other n. H. S. Organizations realizing something was wrong when someone appeared to take control of their vital Computer Systems. And then this message demanding immediate payment with the threat that invaluable records will be deleted if the money isnt paid. The result is chaos. At the hospitals affected treatment has been postponed and ambulances diverted. Not all hospitals have been targeted, but those that have are widespread. When emma simpson took her son seb for a check on his broken toe they joined the thousands of patients inconvenienced. They said, im really sorry, but the Computer System is down. You will have to go away. You cant have any appointments, it would be dangerous to do so. We cant access any of the files. This doctor described the impact. This would be isolated. We have no access to the records, electronic prescriptions or investigations on patients. Reporter latest information suggests as many at 40 health trusts may now be affected. The message to patients is hardly reassuring. Woodruff two top security firms said most of the infected computers were in russia. The Russian Interior Ministry reported roughly a thousand of its devices were affected. Its still not clear who or what is behind the cyberattack. The u. S. Justice department has issued a directive to federal prosecutors to seek tougher sentences for the vast majority of criminal suspects. The move is a direct reversal of the policy that was put in place under former president obama, which sought to reduce prison oercrowding. Well have more on the impact of the new sentencing directive a little later in the program. The Trump Administration has unveiled its new trade deal with china. As part of the agreement, beijing will lift a 13year ban on u. S. Beef imports. It will also allow u. S. Shipments of liquefied natural gas, and open the Chinese Market to u. S. Credit card companies. Chinese banks in turn will be permitted to enter the u. S. Financial market, but an exact date has yet to be set. U. S. Immigration agents have arrested nearly 1,400 suspected gang members across the u. S. , in a massive sixweek operation. The immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said fewer than a third of those arrested were illegal aliens. About 1,100 people taken into custody are being held on criminal charges. Last night, the agencys acting director said the crackdown is far from over. Let me be clear that these violent criminal street gangs are the biggest threat facing our communities. Today we speak about what we have done the past six weeks. I want to make sure theres no mistake we are not done. Woodruff the crackdown is the largest antigang operation in the agencys history. North koreas parliament sent a rare letter to the u. S. Congress today, protesting new sanctions that the house of representatives passed earlier this month. They target the norths shipping industry, and were in response to its nuclear program. North korea called the measure a heinous act against humanity, and said the u. S. House of representatives should think twice. It was not immediately clear how the letter was sent, since the u. S. And pyongyang have no formal diplomatic relations. Hepatitis c infections have now nearly tripled in the u. S. Thats according to a new report from the centers for Disease Control and prevention. Researchers attribute the increase to the Opioid Epidemic and a spike in heroin use, from the years 2010 to 2015. The highest rates of infections were among people in their 20s who inject drugs. Fiat chrysler is recalling more than a million ram pickup trucks in the u. S. To fix a software glitch. The automaker said the error could prevent side air bags and seatbelts from working during a vehicle rollover. The defect has been blamed for at least one death. And stocks were mixed on wall street today after poor showings by Department Stores and treasury yields. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 23 points to close at 20,896. The nasdaq rose five points, and the s p 500 slipped three. For the week, both the dow and the s p 500 lost a fraction of a percent. The nasdaq rose a fraction of a percent. Still to come on the newshour former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice on pivotal moments in democracys history, amid her take on the latest twists and turns out of the trump white house, what tougher penalties could mean for crime rates, drug use and the prison population, mark shields and Ramesh Ponnuru analyze this tumultuous week of news, and a musician coming to terms with being unconventional. Woodruff now oneonone with Condoleezza Rice. I sat down with the former secretary of state earlier today to discuss trumps abrupt firing of former f. B. I. Director james comey, the investigation into russias meddling in the u. S. Election, and her new book, democracy stories from the long road to freedom. Secretary Condoleezza Rice, thank you for being with us. Pleased to be with you. Woodruff President Trump fired f. B. I. Director james comey this week. You have served at the highest levels of government. Do you believe what the president did at the moment of the russia investigation going on crossed any ethical lines . The president obviously had the authority to relieve the f. B. I. Director. Obviously, these are tenyear terms, so it should be rare that that happens. But i really think, at this point, we need to settle down, step back and let the investigation move forward. I have great confidence that whoever is at the f. B. I. Is going to find a group of career people who are dedicated to a thorough investigation. Intelligence has all of the tools it needs, all the information. Judy, i worry this is starting to erode peoples confidence if our institutions, and we shouldnt have that erosion because we have institutions that can handle even disruption of this kind. But we need to find out what happened. It was a hostile act by a foreign power. We need to find out what happened and let the facts fall where they do. Woodruff well, the president said the investigation should go forward but hes also called it a charade and says it all stems from democrats being angry at the outcome of the election. So he himself has undermind whats going on. Well, for whatever is said, the investigation will go forward, and it will reveal whatever happened there. So my view, and i think its probably shared by a lot of my fellow citizens, is could we get on with this and really find out what happened here . You know, like at Vladimir Putin as somewhos an eye for an eye kind of person. We questioned his legitimacy in 2012, secretary clinton did, rightly, by the way, it was quite fraudulent, so i think hes saying now, im going to show you i can do the same thing, and we shouldnt let him do that. We should have confidence in our institutions. Let them get started, let them get finished, because we have a lot of other work to do on behalf of the American People. Woodruff to get to the bottom of this is going to take time, is going to take an investigation. This country needs to take seriously what president putin has done and his government. We absolutely need to take it seriously. As i said, its a hostile act. But there are ways to handle hostile acts. We say to the russians. We know you did it. At the time of our choosing we, will find a way to punish that bhaimplet but we do have confidence in our institutions. We are not russia. We ever an executive that is constrained, we have a legislature that is real, we have a press that is free. We have courts that are independent. This is not russia. And we dont have to allow him to draw that parallel. Woodruff separate but related question. The attorney general Jeff Sessions had a role in essentially signing off on the decision to fire the director of the f. B. I. At a time when the attorney general had himself recused himself from the russia investigation because of things that had happened before this. You wrote a letter of endorsement for the attorney general. Any concern about that . I still have the highest regard for Jeff Sessions. Look, i cant i dont think any of us know now what the course of eevents actually as it led to this. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what came when from whom. Let the white house speak as to why this unfolded in this way, but i have a lot of confidence in Jeff Sessions. Woodruff at the same time of all this, the president had a meeting in the office with Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and sergei kislyak, at the same time this investigation is under. I dont have a problem with him meeting with the Russian Foreign minister. President putin received secretary tillerson when he was in moscow. It would be reciprocal for the president to receive the foreign minister of russia when hes in washington. We have important things to talk to the russians about, despite their meddling in our elections. I hope theyre talking about a way to eventually end this horrific humanitarian crisis in syria. In that war, the russians have more revving than we do. I hope theyre talking about the fact that if kim jong uns longrange missiles with reach alaska one day they can also reach russia. Woodruff what about the ambassador . The ambassador is always going to accompany the foreign minister. So not everything is abnormal in this situation, and that seemed to be perfectly norm. Woodruff the book, you write with great passion about how important it is for the United States to pursue democracy, democratic values, freedom as it pursues its Foreign Policy in the decade to come. Why was it important to you to write this book now . I think ive always wanted to write this book because there is a mystery about democracy. How do people come to trust these abstract institutions, the constitution, rules, courts, elections, to carry out their concerns rather than going to the streets, how does that happen . In the United States you know, i grew up in birmingham, alabama. We werent full citizens. My parents couldnt go to a Movie Theater with me. My dad couldnt register to vote in 1952, yet i remember well and related to the book, standing, being in the car with my uncle on the way back from school, it was election day, and George Wallace was about to be elected governor of alabama and my 6yearold self knew that wasnt good for black people. There were lines and lines of black people voting. So i said, wallace cant win if all these people vote. He said, no, we are minority. He will win. I said, then why do they bher . He said, because they know one day that vote will matter. And ive always seen people around the world doing that, and i think people are attracted to it. So there is a moral case for supporting people who want the same benefits that we have. We are safer when we support Democratic Development as well. Woodruff you were one of the major advocates for Rex Tillerson being hired to be the secretary of state and the president is proposing a 25 cut in the budget of the state department. Are you concerned . Well, i dont think you will see cuts of that magnitude. Lets remember, the administration proposes, be but its the congress that authorizes and appropriates. And i think youre going to have to see some rebalancing, because diplomacy is a very important part of National Security. Now, there are some efficiencies that the state department could achieve, i think theres no doubt about that, and i think the numbers have gone up a lot. There seem to be many more people. So maybe there are efficiencies, but when i look to the department, i look first of all at a thorn service that is Foreign Service that is already a bit stretched. Bob gates said there are more people in military bands than Foreign Service officers. I also see programs that have just rebounded to americas benefit abroad. For instance the president s emergency plan for aids relief and showed compassion and saved the continent from pandemic. The millennial challenge, a Foreign Assistance Program predicated on the idea you get foreign assistance only if youre governing wisely, fighting corruption. Why wouldnt you want to help countries like that . We wanted to raise the defense budget, but we want to be careful we keep our diplomatic tools in tact as well. Woodruff youre confident the things you just described are going to survive. I certainly am going to be out there arguing for them and a lot of people are. You know, in the book, i try to explain to people that democracy promotion isnt all that expensive. When we think of it, one of the regrets i have about iraq and afghanistan, people have come to think of that as democracy promotion, and that was so hard and that was the loss of life and so expensive. I would never have said to president bush, use military force to bring democracy to iraq or afghanistan. We had a security problem in iraq and afghanistan. We used military force to bring down those governments. Then we had to have a view, watt comes after, and we thought it was better to give the iraqi and Afghan People a pathway to democracy. Woodruff but youre describing things i dont hear this administration talking about. Theyre talking about more troops in afghanistan 15 years after well, we may need more troops, but we also you know, we didnt stabilize and win the hearts and minds of ultimately the stability of germany and japan with our military forces alone. We defeated Imperial Japan and we defeated nazi germany, but it was the bet on a democratic germany, on a democratic japan that they would never again threaten their neighbors. Thats what paid off, and now they are firm pillars of international stability. Woodruff last question, human rights, secretary tillerson has spoken out forcefully in the last few days about how in making decisions about u. S. Policy, National Security, that human rights and American Values cant be part of that conversation right now. Well, i heard a little bit more nuanced speech from secretary tillerson on tha. I remember when i gave the speech in egypt in 2005 saying egypt had to leave the world for democracy and reform and people said how can you talk to mubarak . Well, you have to talk to the egyptian or turkish president. You have to talk to people who have bad human rights records. I had to sit with muammar gadhafi, for goodness sakes. Sometimes, policy, you have to deal with people who dont share your values, but with youio always better off to remember that your values and your interests are linked in the long run and thats how americas prospered. And the moral case is that we are the idea. It cant be liberate is right for us and not for them. So the language here will matter. I saw nuance in that speech, but i do want to hear the administration say that americas always going to stand for the voiceless. That is what has made us a great power. Woodruff and are you hearing them say that . These are early days. Woodruff Condoleezza Rice, thank you very much, the book, democracy stories from the long road to freedom. Thank you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump has long put law and order at the top of his white house agenda. But todays move to seek tougher prison sentencing policies marks the biggest effort yet to dismantle his predecessors criminal Justice Reform legacy. Hari sreenivasan has the story. I have empowered our prosecutors to charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense. As i believe the law requires. It means we are going to meet our responsibility to enforce the law with judgment and fairness. Reporter with that, u. S. Attorney general Jeff Sessions ordered federal prosecutors across the country to revive some of the toughest practices of the decadesold war on drugs. I trust our prosecutors in the field to make good judgments. They deserve to be unhandcuffed and not micromanaged from washington. If you are a drug trafficker, we will not look the other way, we will not be willfully blind to your misconduct. Reporter this memo reverses Obama Administration policies that aimed to lessen the federal prison population by not charging lowlevel, nonviolent drug offenders with long mandatoryminimum sentences. In 2013, then attorney general eric holder told prosecutors to leave drug quantities out of charging documents to cut down on unduly harsh sentences that did not promote Public Safety deterrence and rehabilitation. These directives coincided with u. S. Sentencing commission changes and Obama Administration clemency initiatives that provided Second Chances for lowlevel federal drug offenders. That led to a sharp decline in the federal prison population. In 2013, the federal prison population sat at nearly 220,000. Today, that number stands just under 190,000. In reaction to sessions memo today, former attorney general holder called the move dumb on crime. And republican senator rand paul of kentucky said these new policies will accentuate the injustice of unfairly incarcerating a disproportionate amount of minorities. In march, President Trump created a new National Commission to combat the opioid crisis. Drug abuse has become a crippling problem throughout the United States. Reporter today, sessions listed the Opioid Epidemic and a spike in violence in big cities as reasons for this return of harsher sentences. Drug trafficking is an inherently dangerous and violent business. If you want to collect a drug debt, you cant file a lawsuit in court. You collect it with the barrel of a gun. Reporter in the memo, sessions does leave discretion up to prosecutors to avoid unjust sentences but those exceptions would need to be approved and documented. For more, we are joined by two former directors of the White House Office of National Drug control, known more commonly as the countrys drug czars. Gil kerlikowski served as president obamas drug policy adviser from 2009 to 2014 before becoming commissioner of customs and border patrol. He retired from that post in january. And john walters served as drug czar for all eight years of george w. Bushs presidency. He is the chief operating officer of the hudson institute, a conservative think tank. Thank you both for joining us. John walters, starting with you, dont mandatory minimums handcuff judges, take away some of their discretion and disproportionately affect people who are poor. They traffic more senior level traffickers and try to protect people from this horrible drug epidemic. I think the issue is whether or not well have equity across the system. Some were created for two reasons, one to create equity across the system for serious offenses so some people in some places, shopping judges was not a way to avoid fair and unusual punishment. Two, the sentences were used to create evidence for individuals pending conviction to help break down drug organizations. They worked. We need them now. We have the most deadly drug epidemic in the United States underway. Sreenivasan does this dismantle what you were trying to accomplish in your administration and slow the momentum for what seems to be a bipartisan approach and understanding toward criminal Justice Reform . In some ways it does, but lets separate the Opioid Epidemic. In 2009, when i took office, it was not really on the publics radar screen. These are pills, not smuggled across the country or maferred in a garage. This is driven by our medical practices which, by the way, is governed at the state level. So try to separate out the opioid issue. The heroin issue is different, although it certainly is connected. But if youre a trafficker, a drug trafficker, i couldnt agree more with what the attorney general said because if youre a drug trafficker and indicted by the federal government, its usually for a substantial amount of drugs, so thats important. Gil kerlikowski, i also want to ask, what about the argument Jeff Sessions makes that says this takes the handcuffs off prosecutors. Prosecutors have been complaining for some time that they cant use a large sentences leverage to get the proper information that they need. Well, the large sentence can be helpful, but remember, too, there are finite resources in the department of justice. There is finite jail Space Available to in the federal government. So reserving those space and ereserving those prosecutors for the most serious crimes is very important. I spent almost eight years in the administration, all but four months. I met with a number of u. S. Attorneys and assistant u. S. Attorneys. I didnt hear them complaining about the way they were being dealt with by whats fondly called main justice. Sreenivasan john walters, i want to ask, you mentioned a heroin epidemic and gil seconded that. What about going after the distribution and the manufacture . I mean, i have to show i. D. To get a bottle of nyquil overthecounter, yet a town in West Virginia with a population over 800 can get 300,000 pills shipped to it over a few years. Yes, i think pill mills and divirges of synthetic opioids are important. Thats what was happening five or circumstances years ago. Today the death rate is driven by criminally produced synthetic sentinel and heroin. This is killing more people every year than all the names on the Vietnam Veterans memorial. That number is accelerating. Weve lost control of these organizations, and we need to be able to enforce the law. You yourself will have the author of dreamland on this program, the story of the pills and heroin coming together to create this carnage. He notes some of these gangs were parking outside Drug Treatment Centers to give free samples of heroin to people, to readdict them or keep them from getting into treatment. Those people need to go to jail. We need to find a much larger effort. We need to stop talking about there is limited resources in the federal and state system. We need to bring together Public Health efforts to bring people into treatment and stop the flow of this poison. It is killing more americans than all gun and automobile accidents combined and its accelerating. In addition to that, cocaine production out of columbia is going back to the old track days. We are in the midstov facing a perfect storm and were not on top of it. We need Law Enforcement to work as we need treatment to work. Sreenivasan gil kerlikowski, hes pointing to the inflow of drugs from outside. The president proposed a border wall. You were the head of borders and custom. Would the wall work, one hes describing . The border wall wont work. 17,000 people perished as a result of the pills in the United States. Thats considerably more than the heroin coming into the United States. But heroin and fentanyl are very powerful painkillers coming in at our points of entry. People carry it on their persons. People try to conceal it in vehicles. If you wanted to slow that down, you would actually not worry so much about a wall, you would actually give more resources, drugsniffing dogs, technology, at our ports of entry, not between our ports. Sreenivasan john walters, i want to give you a chance to respond. Yeah, i think, look, fentanyl is a change and now one of the driving forces in many of these deaths. But the vast majority of drugs killings americans are coming from overseas, the vast majority of those over the mexican border, the vast majority walk within six feet of a uniformed border agent. This is a significant failure of operations. We need the cooperation of mexicans. We need to do a better job. The deaths in this country will approach 100,000 per year pretty soon and its already staggering. Gil kerlikowski, john walters, thank you both. Woodruff and now, back to the dominant story of the week the f. B. I. Directors firing and the fallout from it with the analysis of shields and ponnuru. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields and National Review Senior Editor Ramesh Ponnuru. David brooks is away. And welcome, gentlemen, both of you. So, mark, any question that the president was within his authority to fire james comey . No. It was within his authority, judy, but this was not amateur hour, this was an incomp hencably incompetent, inept amateur week, beginning and ending with the president. Other people came out with all sorts of faces. Everybody associated with them is diminished, soiled, stained in some way, but this was Donald Trumps total miscalculation. The man who made a National Reputation by saying youre fired didnt have the decency to call the f. B. I. Director in person and publicly humiliated him and embarrassed him by severing him, announcing it on Cable Television as he was speaking to f. B. I. Colleagues in los angeles, and he has thus insured that this will be with this Russian Investigation is now a permanent part of our political landscape. It will affect and influence and be an outline of the 2018 election and perhaps beyond. Woodruff total miscalculation, ramesh . The administration combined two of its hall m reacting to these events with disorganized dishonesty. They began by saying that the firing was a response to the f. B. I. Directors handling to have the clinton email story and the analysis of that handling by the Deputy Attorney general, rod roansstein, but by the end of the week, President Trump said it wasnt about those things. He made his decision before the memo and the decision was motivated by the fact that comey wasnt shutting down the russia investigation, the investigation into the administration and the campaigns ties to russia and, thus, exploded everything people have been saying in the administrations defense earlier in the week. Woodruff so, mark, they had given several different explanations over the course of a few days. What do you believe was behind this . Donald trump. Judy, think about this Robert Mueller was the predecessor at the f. B. I. Before james comey. He was 2001 to 2013 under president s george w. Bush and president barack obama. I dont know how often they had dinner, how often they met privately, but can you imagine Robert Mueller being asked by george w. Bush or barack obama not once, twice but three times, am i the subject of a criminal investigation by your department, by your agency, its unthinkable. Obviously, he wants this to go away. The president wants this whole investigation to go away, and he has guaranteed the following james comey was enormously popular among the f. B. I. Workers, he was somebody who was thoughtful and supportive of his employees and colleagues, and they liked him and he was willing to take criticism for the f. B. I. In spite of the decision he made on Hillary Clinton and a lot of people said it, he said the f. B. I. Is going to follow up one more lead and work harder every day on this case. He guaranteed it would be more pursued by the bureau. Woodruff what do you see as a fallout, ramesh . I think this may be a beginning of an effort by the administration to push a lot of Congressional Republicans somewhere they dont want to go. The prevailing line from republicans, even those well disposed towards President Trump has been, of course, the f. B. I. And, of course, the congressional intense Committee Investigations need to continue. What is coming out of trump world right now is, no, these investigations are an attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of trumps presidency. Its a taxpayer funded charade. If you believe that, it needs to end. Is that something Congressional Republicans will want to accept . I dont think thats something theyll want to try to sell the American People. Woodruff how do you see i . Under tremendous pressure. The committees have to perform. Any foot dragging, the administration will be seen as hiding something, that there is somethig to hide. The president boasting that three times you exculpated me and im firing you. I think it puts pressure there. I think it guarantees any appropriations by an investigating agency will be fast lined and racial. Nobody wants to be seen on that other side. Judy, there are 241 Republican House seats right now. In 2018, theyre all on the ballot. 175 of those members of the 241 have never run for reelection with a republican president in the white house. Theyre used to being on the offensive in the term elections, running against the repeal obamacare, against the administration. Theyre going to have to decide a lot of them. Were looking at losing three dozen house seats by historical standards. They are going to have to decide to establish daylight from this toxic administration. This administration this week was so absolutely misleading, dishonest in its handling of this that the white house at this point doesnt believe its own leaks. It is that bad and its really reached that point. So if you are a republican, you cannot be seen as the side of trying to slow this down, cover it up, hide things. You do have to wonder whether the senate is capable of confirming anybody to the f. B. I. Director position. If that person doesnt have a common administrative record of independence and integrity, i think its going to be hard for them to get the requisite votes. There is a near Senate Margin and i think you will be looking for people like silverman and people respected across the aisle. Woodruff what about marks larger point here that this is really a turning point for this administration in terms of how Congress Sees the administration. We dont know yet about the public. We havent seen any Public Opinion polls yet, significant ones, but what about the congress . I do think that this story is a topic of consuming interest in washington, d. C. I dont know that it is in the country at large, but i do think this is running the risk of isolating this president politically. Theres a reason why Congressional Republicans have not felt it was in their interest to just say these investigations are all legitimate. Theres a reason why the administrations first instinct was to come up with a pretext for dismissing comey and not tie it to the Russian Investigation. So i think its going to be really hard for them to sustain this, particularly when you consider that President Trump remains somebody who, for this early in his presidency, is pretty unpopular. You mean because now its out in the open that the rationale was russia. Thats right, and because trump seems inclined to want to push this argument further and seems to want his surrogates to be making this argument. So, mark, have we learned something new about the president in all of this . Is this the coming together of everything that we already believed . I mean, how do you see this moment . Well, you see the president thinks and acts in very short time frames. Judy, if you wanted to get rid of the f. B. I. Director, there is an established way of doing these things. You get a mutual friend to go to him and say, the president wants your resignation, and well do it on your terms and well exchange letters and there will be a rose garden ceremony and well introduce your successor and you will leave well. Its not donald trump. Either hes scared, anxious or whatever, but he had to do it in a hurry, and he did it in his way. He did it to the point where hes totally discredited if not disabled his own press secretary, and hes totally discredited or partially discredited mike pence, his Vice President , whose reputation is based on his honest necessary and decency. Not on his imagination and great vision, but hes a solid guy. He gets caught in a total lie, pretending that rod rosenstein, two weeks on the job of being Deputy Attorney general, somehow barreled into the white house and said, mr. President , youve got to do it. Rod rosenstein, a reputation of bipartisan respect as being a straight shooter. Hes been used as a pawn in this thing. He was advanced as the reason when he knew he wasnt the reason and now hes got to prove his independence if he hes going to be in charge of this investigation. So hes not going to be no pressure can be applied to him as it appears to be. Again, its going to be down to the debtorment of the white house. Ive seen some analysis this week, ramesh, that people are watching moderate republicans, especially in the senate, to see how they react. What is their calculus . What do they look for as they decide how to respond to this and what the to do . Well, i think that they are going to be nervous. Theyre not going to want to go out on a limb and defend the administration, particularly when the line for the administration keeps changing, and you go out on the limb, the administration might saw that limb out right from behind you. The political pressures on them are going to be intense. Theyre going to want to look for ways to get out from those political pressures, and it could be the end result is it strengthens the case for a special prosecutor and independent commission or select committee of congress. Woodruff mark, i think you said three dozen republican this president will be under 40 favorable. Rameshs point is a good one that bears reflection on, the idea, judy, that the wall street journal editorial page leads its endorsement of firing comey by quoting the president had reacted to the attorney generals initiative in doing it. Theyre supporting donald trump, and theyve got egg all over them. Theyve got poultry farm on their face. To have him say, how about being accused of being a show boat by trump . Now that is tantamount to being called ugly by a frog. Donald trump has never been a shrinking violet before. I didnt know grandstanding was a mortal sin in his lexicon. Woodruff where do you look for this to go in the days to come . I think i would look for the congressional reactions. I dont think a lot of people have been very vocal in response to President Trumps tweeting about tapes woodruff we dont know whether there is a recording system in the white house. Right, but the question is do they try to ride this out or start criticizing the president . Woodruff mark . I think its going to be every man and woman for him or herself and theyre going to realize that their fate, fortune and future is not going to be well served being tied to this president. Woodruff a week that wont be forgotten soon. Mark shields, Ramesh Ponnuru, thank you. Woodruff next, another in our occasional series, my music, giving artists a chance to talk about their work. Tonight, singersongwriter Alynda Segarra of the band hurray for the riff raff, who performed recently at washington d. C. s 9 30 club. Segarra was just 17 years old when she left her home in the bronx in what she said was a search for american music. Now 30, shes returned to her roots in new york with a new album exploring her puerto rican heritage. The people who have gotten me through my life are the weirdoes and the poets. Cause every day is a reminder the rebellious women and the activists. And its getting lonely yeah out of the bottom of a well they were considered the riff raff by people in power and theyre the ones that make history. I am Alynda Segarra, the lead singer of hurray for the riff raff. My path was really unconventional. I knew i was doing bad in school. And i dropped out and i ended up running away. And it was really hard on my family. And i traveled by hitchhiking with friends and riding freight trains because Woody Guthrie rode freight trains and playing music on the street in new orleans because i needed to do something to make money. The new album, the navigator, is about a young girl growing up in a very big city. And she is based off of me, but shes a little bit more of a superhero than i am. Its me realizing what i lost when i ran away from home. Realizing what shame did to me and really trying to get in touch with what it means to be a puerto rican woman. What that means musically. My path of running away, i look back on it now and im like, i could have been killed. And a lot of the journey was me realizing that there were odds stacked against me. And deciding to be okay with not being rich. Saying, i want to make music. I will play in coffee shops. Ill play in houses. Ill play in these tiny places that only 10 people will come. Im going to do it because i believe in art and i believe in what im doing. Ready for the world woodruff great music. And online, we want you to take a look around all the way around a massive landfill outside new dehli, india. Explore our 360 video that lets you adjust your view to see how one of the worlds Fastest Growing economies is dealing with an overwhelming trash problem. You can find that and more at pbs. Org newshour. Altogether, robert costa is and different subject altogether, robert costa is gearing up for Washington Week this evening. Robert, whats on tap . Reporter judy, tonight were going to delve behind the scenes of President Trumps explosive decision to fire f. B. I. Director james comey. Our roundtable of reporters will have the latest on why this story continues to reverberate around washington and how it may impact ongoing investigations into russias meddling in last years election. Thats coming up on Washington Week. Judy . Woodruff tomorrow on pbs newshour weekend continuing coverage of the reactions to President Trumps decision to fire f. B. I. Director james comey, plus how a small african nation became a prized location for military bases. The ceremony illustrated just how many other nations have a military presence in france, italy and japan. Now, add china to the list. To protect its economic interest in the region, china is building its First Overseas Military base here. On track to be completed this year. Thats chinese navy frigate in the harbor. The base seven miles north of where the americans are. Woodruff thats tomorrow on pbs newshour weekend. And well be back, right here, on monday. Thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions 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. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org youre watching pbs