when i was a federal prosecutor, i had people attacking me all the time for prosecutorial decisions i made. and, you know, we can t decline to do the right thing for fear of reaction by the wrong people or by the complicit people. so i think the fbi did the right thing, the necessary thing, and you know what? let the criticism come. yep. that s an interesting point you make, glenn. i want to ask you about this, frank i want to ask david about this. the article s a remarkable read. it s full of detail. michael schmitt, one of the authors of it said they ve really been working on if for a year and a half because they ve had bits and pieces of this information for a year and a half. it says as the fbi officials debated whether to open the investigation, some of them pushed to move quickly before mr. trump appointed a director who might slow down or even end their investigation into russian interference. here is the key sentence to me. many involved in the case viewed russia as the chi
officials in the oval office shortly after he fired mr. comey was revealed days later. i just fired the head of the fbi. he was crazy. a real nut job. mr. trump said according to a document summarizing the meeting, i faced great pressure because of russia. that s taken off. it was an interesting meeting if you recall. u.s. press was not allowed into that meeting. we heard about it afterward. jim comey is a nut job and a crazy guy according to the president of the united states. joining us now, washington bureau chief for mother jones. clen concernener, former federal prosecutor. both are mean naenlts and joining us frank montoia who served as the national counterintelligence executive. this, frank, is a counterintelligence investigation. there are two kinds of investigations that the fbi does. most of what we talk about are criminal investigations. counterintelligence investigations serve a different purpose. what was this for?
in contact with or took direction from the russian government. let s just be clear about that. but one final note that caught our eye in this bombshell new york times report is that fbi officials felt that their decision to open a counterintelligence investigation was validated, when a comment the president made to visiting russian officials in the oval office shortly after he fired mr. comey was revealed days later. i just fired the head of the fbi. he was crazy. a real nut job. mr. trump said according to a document summarizing the meeting, i faced great pressure because of russia. that s taken off. it was an interesting meeting if you recall. u.s. press was not allowed into that meeting. we heard about it afterward. jim comey is a nut job and a crazy guy according to the president of the united states. joining us now, washington bureau chief for mother jones. clen concernener, former federal prosecutor. both are mean naenlts and joining us frank montoia who
the fbi to open a counterintelligence investigation into a presidential candidate or a sitting president. but i can tell you, declining to do it would have been irresponsible and it ultimately would have been dangerous. you know, we in law enforcement, when i was a federal prosecutor, i had people attacking me all the time for prosecutorial decisions i made. and, you know, we can t decline to do the right thing for fear of reaction by the wrong people or by the complicit people. so i think the fbi did the right thing, the necessary thing, and you know what? let the criticism come. yep. that s an interesting point you make, glenn. i want to ask you about this, frank i want to ask david about this. the article s a remarkable read. it s full of detail. michael schmitt, one of the authors of it said they ve really been working on if for a year and a half because they ve had bits and pieces of this information for a year and a half. it says as the fbi officials