do you think the memos, rich, that came out yesterday and of course were instantly leaked hurt the president at all. i don t think so. i think it depends on where you sit on this and how you squint on look at them. he wanted to be investigated. he says look there is a salacious story about me in russia. can you investigate it? because it s not true. and then then he actually tells comey if there are satellites around me who did something wrong with regard to russia i want to know. and i think my read of this memo is what really irritated him was that comey was repeatedly saying you sir aren t under investigation. can you get that out there is enormous cloud on me can you please tell someone that s the case. i think comey didn t do that ultimately was the reason that trump fired him rather than trying to shut down the investigation. we got to get a quick break in. more on michael cohen when we come back. what he reportedly tried to tell melania about stormy daniels. also bre
and then then he actually tells comey if there are satellites around me who did something wrong with regard to russia i want to know. and i think my read of this memo is what really irritated him was that comey was reechtedly saying you, sir aren t under investigation. can you get that out there is enormous cloud on me can you please tell someone that s the case. i think comey didn t do that ultimately was the reason that trump fired him rather than trying to shut down the investigation. we got to get a quick break in. more on michael cohen when we come back. what he reportedly tried to tell melania about stormy daniels. also breaking news about stormy danlts former attorney and whether he is cooperating with prosecutors in the investigation of michael cohen.
i don t know the president well enough to read him well. i think it was first of all, relationship didn t get off to a great start, given the conversation i had to have on january 6th. this didn t improve the relationship because it was very, very awkward. he was asking for something, and i was refusing to give it. again, i don t know him well enough to know how he reacted to that exactly. do you believe the russia investigation played a role? in why i was fired? yes. yes. i ve seen the president say so. let s go to the flynn issue. the senator outlined, i hope you could see your way to letting flynn go. he is a good guy. i hope you can let this go. but you also said in your written remarks, and i quote, that you had understood the president to be requesting that we drop any investigation of
one was, it creates a duty to correct, which i have lived before and you want to be very careful about doing that, second, it s a slippery slope, because if we say the president and the vice president aren t under investigation, what s the principle basis for stopping? so the leadership at justice acting attorney general said you are not going to do that. on march 30th during the phone call about general flynn. you say he abruptly shifted and brought up something you quote/unquote called the mccabe thing. specifically the mccabe thing that you understood it was mccabe s wife received campaign money from what i assume means kerry mcauliffe. yes, sir. very close to the clintons. so had the president at any point in time expressed to you concern, open six, potential opposition to mccabe, i don t like this guy because he got money from someone close to clinton? he had asked me during previous conversations about andy mccabe and said, in essence, how is he going to be
at the fbi, and what was their response? the fbi, during one of the two conversations i m not remembering exactly i think the first, my chief of staff was sitting in front of me and heard my end of the conversation because the president s call was a surprise. i discussed the lifting the cloud and the request with the senior leadership team who, typically, and i think in all the circumstances, was the deputy director, my chief of staff, the general counsel, the deputy director s chief counsel and, i think in a number of circumstances, the number three in the fbi and a few of the conversations included the head of the national security branch. the group of us that lead the fbi when it comes to national security. you have the president of the united states asking you to stop an investigation that is an important investigation. what was the response of your colleagues? i think they were as shocked and troubled by it as i was.