mr. rosenstein cannot be the person to appoint him. serious doubts have been cast on mr. rosenstein's impartiality for two reasons. first, there are many reports with rodctor comey met rosenstein last week to make a request for more resources for intowith the investigation the trump campaign's ties to russia. that would make the timing of this firing even more suspect. and second, mr. rosenstein signed his name to a highly political memo arguing for director comey's dismissal and made no complaint about the involvement of the attorney general who had recused himself from all matters relating to the russian investigation. in recommending the firing of the man who is leading it. it is hard to believe a seasoned prosecutor without bias would have allowed sessions to be part of this. it is also hard to believe that a seasoned prosecutor would write such a memo which seemed highly political, not in the kind of language, not with the kind of annotations that prosecutors normally write. that facts make it clear the decision to appoint a special prosecutor should go to the highes

rosenstein and mr. comey -- mr. -- and attorney general sessions were involved in this firing when there are so many questions swirling about. they must come before us to answer questions. i hope leader mcconnell will understand the need for that and answer the plea i made this morning about that. furthermore, the fact that mr. rosenstein, which came out after i made my request -- the fact that mr. rosenstein, by all reports, had a meeting with director comey where comey asked for more resources makes it all the more important for rosenstein to come because that might be the reason that he was fired because he was pursuing the investigation in an accelerated way that was very much needed. so what we're seeking, the tone thing we're -- the only thing we are seeking, is that the investigations are carried out in an impartial and independent way, that we get all the facts, that we get to the very bottom of it. all we are seeking is some assurance that the subject of this investigation is not able to influe

mr. rosenstein recommended mr. comey's removal for many of the very reasons that they consistently complained about. two investigations are currently ongoing. the senate intelligence committees' review of active measure and intelligence activities and the fbi investigation disclosed by director comey. today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done, also to let this body and the national security community develop countermeasures in war fighting doctrine to see it doesn't occur again. partisan calls should not delay the considerable work of chairman burr and vice chairman warner, too much is at stake. deputy attorney general rosenstein was just confirmed on a bipartisan vote 94-6. 94-6. that sort of fair consideration should continue when the senate receives an fbi director nominee. as i said yesterday, once the senate receives a nomination to fill the position we'll look forward to a full, fai

mr. rosenstein recommended mr. comey's removal for many of the reasons they consistently complained about. two investigations are currently ongoing. the senate intelligence committee's review of russian active measures and intelligence activities and the f.b.i. investigation disclosed by director comey. today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation which could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done; also to let this body and the national security community develop countermeasures and war-fighting doctrine to see that it doesn't occur again. partisan calls should not delay the considerable work of chairman burr and vice chairman warner. too much is at stake. deputy attorney general rosenstein was just confirmed on a bipartisan vote 94-6. 94-6. and that sort of fair consideration should continue when the senate receives an f.b.i. director nominee. as i said yesterday, once the senate receives a nomination to fill this position, we'll look forwar

mr. rosenstein cannot be the person to appoint him. serious doubts have been cast on mr. rosenstein's impartiality. first come in many reports director coming up with deputy attorney general last week to make a request for more research is towards help with the investigation into the trunk campaigns ties to russia. would make the timing of this tiger even more suspect. to second, mr. rosenstein signed his name to a highly political memo, arguing for director comey's dismissal and made no involvement of the attorney general to recuse himself with more investigation. in recommending the firing of a man he met. ses retired without iis or to allowo citizens -- to be part of this. delivering such a mama which seems highly political and not in the kind of language, not the kind of imitation that prosecutors normally. these facts make it clear thateh decision to the highest ranking civil servant at the theirs.tmef mr. rosen time and other political appointees appointed by the president who they are i supposed to investigate should not be the ones making the call on us -- the pro

mr. rosenstein has the authority to appoint a special prosecutor right now. he needs no congressional authorization. this would simply be a step he could take, as outlined in the department of justice guidelines and the laws passed after watergate. a special prosecutor is not subject to day-to-day supervision by the attorney general or anyone at the justice department. that means the special prosecutor would have much greater latitude in who he could subpoena, what questions to ask, how to conduct an investigation. this special prosecutor can only be removed for good cause, such as misconduct. there is built in congressional oversight. congress is notified whenever a special counsel is appointed, removed, or finished with the investigation. the appointment of the special prosecutor would be a welcome step in the right direction. it is not the only action that should be taken. there are a great many outstanding questions about the circumstances of director comey's dismissal, the status of the investigation into the cap andaign ties to russia, what the future h

specifically mr. rosenstein and mr. sessions. we need to resolve these two storylines. on something as importantmesttas this we need the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. so, my republican colleagues see the wisdom of value in our request and respond appropriately by the end of the day. thank you, yield the floor. >> saturday, at noon eastern a book tv, military historians discuss their books on world war i at the 2017 writer symposium. speakers include jennifer came with her book, world war i, the american soldier experience. michael nyberg with his book, the path to war, how the first world war created modern america. retired kernel in his book over there, america and the great war. the recipient of this year's colby a war the book waging war, the clash between presidents in congress, 1776 to isis. watch the symposium on saturday at noon eastern on c-span twos book tv. >> sunday and q&a. >> in the comparisons between presidents donald trump and andrew jackson. andrew jackson, southerner. >> i don't think he represents the positive values that jackson

i expressed that concern to mr. rosenstein, and he took it under environment. i think it was important to get leadership of the intelligence community on the record saying they were 100% certain that russians interfered in our election, that agents of the russian spy services. that thisrkable to me administration still denies that happening. i thought it was very appropriate to get mr. mccabe on gets anyd, that if thhe influence from the white house, that he squashes it. important that the vice-chairman and i still have 100% agreement, and that is regardless of what happens with that thece department investigation that is done by the senate intelligence committee continues on its current course as aggressively --we are able to, based on we continue to hold interviews as was noticed last night. we issued our first subpoena. i hope it is our last, because everything else might be voluntary, but in the absence of voluntary participation, we are willing to go to whatever basket of tools we feel is necessary. reporter: did the white house betray the firing accuratel

i expressed that concern to mr. rosenstein and he took that under advisement, i think as well to give it back to the worldwide threat hearing, it's important to get the leadership in the intelligence community on record saying they were 100 sent certain it was russians interfering in our elections and agents of the russian spy service. itis remarkable to me that seems like this administration denies that happened and i thought it was up to. recordmr. mccabe on the if he has any influence from the white house to try to squash his ongoing investigation. >> i think it is important to point out the place the vice-chairman and i still have 100% agreement, and that is thatdless of what happens the investigation done by the committeeelligence will continue on its current course as aggressively as we are able to based on what we have gleaned. interviews to hold as was noticed last night. we issued our first subpoena. i hope it is our last because everything else might be voluntary for top in the absence of voluntary partici

i expressed this concern to mr. rosenstein. i think as well, to pivot back to the threat, it was important to get all of the leadership of the intelligence community on the record again saying they were 100% certain russians interfered in our elections and that there were agents of russian sky services. it is remarkable to me that this administration still denies that happened and i thought it was very appropriate to get mr. ifabe on the record to see there has been any political attempt to squash his investigation. senator burr: i think it's important to point out that the vice chairman and i still have 100% agreement, which is inardless of what happens the justice department or fbi, the investigation in the senate intelligence committee will current course as aggressively as we are able to. we continue to hold interviews. as was noted last night, we issued our first subpoena. i hope it is our last because everything else might be voluntary. absence of voluntary participation, we are willing to go to whatever basket of tools w

>> are you confident that mr. rosenstein can lead the russian investigation? >> i don't think that is up to senator warner and myself to make. the president made a determination that if any point he does not feel he is, a change would be made. reason the dag determined he could not carry out the job he would make a decision. we don't have the luxury of taking who we work with. we work on the pathways that s we accommodate the need work with. one last question. >> have you gotten a response to your subpoena? >> one last question. >> the president told leicester lester holt that he was going to fire director comey whether he had the recommendation or not and called him a show voter and grandstand her. >> i will not speak for senator warner. i will let her do that. i put out a statement on the director's firing. i found him to be one of the most ethical, upright, straightforward individuals i have had the opportunity to work with. he provided our andittee with more access information of the fbi. there were employees who disagreed with how he handled the clinton e

rosenstein recommended mr. comey's removal for many of the various reasons that they consistently complained about. two investigations are currently ongoing. the senate intelligence committee's review of russian active measures and intelligence activities and the fbi investigation disclosed by director comey. today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done, also to let this body and the national security community develop counter measures and war fighting doctrine to see that it doesn't occur again. partisan calls should not delay the considerable work of chairman burr and vice chairman warner. too much is at stake. deputy attorney general rosenstein was just confirmed on a bipartisan vote 94-6. 94-6. and that sort of fair consideration should continue when the senate receives an fbi director nominee. as i said yesterday, once the senate receives a nomination to fill this position, we'll lo

when mr. rosenstein recommended mr. comey's removal for many of the very reasons that they consistently complained about. two investigations are currently ongoing. the senate intelligence committee's review of russian active measures and intelligence activities and the fbi investigation disclosed by director comey. today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done, also to let this body and the national security community develop counter measures and war fighting doctrine to see that it doesn't happen again. partisan calls should not delay the considerable work of chairman burr and vice chairman warner. too much is at stake. deputy attorney general rosenstein was just confirmed on a bipartisan vote 94-6. 94-6. and that sort of fair consideration should continue when the senate receives an fbi director nominee. as i said yesterday, once the senate receives a nomination to fill this position, we'll look

now, i know mr. rosenstein. he was the u.s. attorney in maryland for over 10 years. i've always known him to be a very honorable person, and i'm very -- i was very pleased certainly with the selection of mr. mueller. you will not push him around. he's a straight shooter. and he will, i think, bring some normalcy to this process. that's my final point. we've got to let this process play out. it needs to play out. normally what happens when you have investigations, those who investigate it are quiet. and the attorney speaks warm. as you know i am an attorney. and basically says we're going to cooperate, period, that's it, and i think that's what we all need to do, let this process play out. i think we should never forget what started all of this. that is 17 intelligence entities of the united states of america unanimously concluding that the russians tried and to some degree interfered with our elections. when we are dancing with the angels, the question will be what was -- what did we do at this moment? what did we do about that? what difference did we make? did we si

rosenstein and mr. comey -- mr. -- and attorney general sessions were involved in this firing when there are so many questions swirling about. they must come before us to answer questions. i hope leader mcconnell will understand the need for that and answer the plea i made this morning about that. furthermore, the fact that mr. rosenstein, which came out after i made my request -- the fact that mr. rosenstein, by all reports, had a meeting with director comey where comey asked for more resources makes it all the more important for rosenstein to come because that might be the reason that he was fired because he was pursuing the investigation in an accelerated way that was very much needed. so what we're seeking, the tone thing we're -- the only thing we are seeking, is that the investigations are carried out in an impartial and independent way, that we get all the facts, that we get to the very bottom of it. all we are seeking is some assurance that the subject of this investigation is not able to influe

mr. rosenstein answered yes, i do. if there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor, it is right now. mr. rosenstein already expressed concern that director comey affected the f.b.i. the attorney general has had to recuse himself from being too close to the president for tin vest gaition. if mr. rosenstein believes this investigation must be, quote, fair, free, thorough and politically independent, if he believes as i do that the american people must be able to have faith in the impartiality of this investigation, he must appoint a special prosecutor and get his investigation out of the hands of the f.b.i. and far away from the heavy hand of this administration. mr. rosenstein has the authority to appoint a special prosecutor right now. he needs no congressional authorization. this would simply be a step that he could take as outlined in the department of justice guidelines and in a law passed after watergate to get an independently minded prosecutor insulated from various special prosecutor.

rosenstein suggesting he was the one behind the faring. we know there's concern from mr. rosenstein pointing to him about the firing. we know there were subpoenas that were sent out to michael flynn associates by a federal grand jury. this is something that almost certainly, probably will be discussed in this classified briefing given dana role on this as well. this comes also as rod rosen stein may come before the senate judiciary commit. he's considering bringing him before the committee. >> do you want rod rosenstein come testify before your committee? >> i haven't said anything along that line. i can say i'm considering that but i'm going to talk to a lot of members before i would make a final decision on that. >> so a bit of news there, considering bringing rod rosenstein before the senate judiciary committee. members of congress want to hear more about what led to james comey's firing. >> certainly they want want to know. manu, thank you. nia, if that were to go forward and there were to be questions asked, we assume these would be questions asked publicly that coul

what mr. rosenstein says is quote the reputation has suffered damage and i can't -- quote the fbi director is never empowered to suplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the justice department. quote we do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information. and he says the dismissal of an fbi director should not be done lightly and he doesn't take this lightly. he still thinks we need to regain quote public and congressional trust if we have a director that pledges n s never repeat them. this is everything to do with the performance of the fbi director -- >> jeff sessions -- >> -- he's not subject of an investigation and we appreciate the time and the platform tonight. >> and finally. jeff sessions who has recused himself, why was he involved in this decision? why was he involved to fire the guy in charge of the russia investigation? >> the attorney general reports to the president of the united states. this had nothing to do with russia. as much as somebody must be getting

mr. president, let's get to the bottom of this for once and for all for the people we represent and for the integrity of our elections and mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: this is a photograph that was taken of president trump and sergei lavrov. the meeting was closed to the american press. the second photo is of mr. trump and the russian ambassador to the united states. his name is sergei kisliov. he was in the oval office to meet with president trump. this ambassador is familiar to many americans. it's familiar to me because president trump's national security advisor michael flynn resigned because of communications he had with this ambassador that he tried to keep secret and misrepresented not only to the american people but to the vice president of the united states. the warm smiles and harty hand -- hardy handshakes s

mr. durbin: this is a photograph that was taken of president trump and sergei lavrov. the meeting was closed to the american press. the second photo is of mr. trump and the russian ambassador to the united states. his name is sergei kisliov. he was in the oval office to meet with president trump. this ambassador is familiar to many americans. it's familiar to me because president trump's national security advisor michael flynn resigned because of communications he had with this ambassador that he tried to keep secret and misrepresented not only to the american people but to the vice president of the united states. the warm smiles and harty hand -- hardy handshakes stand in stark contrast to the way that the white house has treated three department of justice officials, sally yates, bahar, and koim. he asked ms.ates to serve as attorney general, he asked mr. bahar to stay on, and he indicated that mr. koim could stay on as director of the f.b.i. then it appears that each of the three justi

rosenstein will stand up for the integrity of the department of justice and do two things. first, give a public assurance that the investigation of russian collusion in our last presidential election will continue and that the time in the department of justice career official who will be in charge of it until a new director of the fbi found in second, mr. rosenstein as well as senator sessions should be party to choosing a special dem prosecutor. let us choose someone from outside government without ary party label who has demonstrated the expertise necessary to prosecute such challenging situations as this. but then in charge, let them investigate or let the facts lead us to a conclusion to try to stop the short-circuit by dismissing mr. comey as ineffective in terms of serving justice and sadly a sad reflection on american ideals and values. vista president, i yield the floor. >> in the mall may come alive to the floor of the u.s. senate. procedural votes that are 11:00 eastern on the nomination of robert mike hauser to be a straight representative and to try again to rep

rosenstein recommended mr. coley's removal for the same reasons that they consistently complained about. two investigations are currently ongoing. the senate intelligence committee's review of russian active measures and intelligence activities and the investigation disclosed by director comey. today, we will know that here calls for a new investigation, with could only serve to impede the current work -- which could only serve to impede the current work to not only discover what the russians may have done, also to let this body and the national security community to develop countermeasures to see it does not occur again. partisan calls should not cause the work. too much is at stake. general rosenstein was just confirmed on a bipartisan vote 94-6. 94-6. sort of consideration should continue when the senate receives an fbi director nominee. once the yesterday, senate receives a nomination to fill this position, we will avoid zweifel, fair, and finally confirmation process. -- we look forward to a full, fair, an

rosenstein will stand up for the integrity of the united states. give a public assurance that the investigation of russian collusion in our last presidential election will continue and that the department official -- and second mr. rosenstein as well as senator sessions now attorney general sessions should be party to choosing a special prosecutor. let us choose someone from outside government without a party label who has demonstrated the expertise necessary to prosecute gorsuch challenging situations as this. put -- to prosecute such challenging situations as this. try to stop this or short-circuit by dismissing mr. comey is ineffective in terms of serving justice and, sadly, is a sad reflection on american ideals and values. mr. bennet: thank you. mr. president, as you know, last night, president trump fired f.b.i. director james comey. he did this in the middle of an active f.b.i. investigation into possible links between the trump campaign, trump associates and the russian government. this action should worry every member of the senate. and i

mr rosenstein answered, "yes. i do." if there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor, it is right now. mr rosenstein already expressed concern that director comey damaged the integrity of the fbi. the attorney—general has already had to rea ccuse attorney—general has already had to reaccuse himself from the investigation for being too close to the president. if mr rosenstein is true to his word, that he believes this investigation must be, "fair, free, thorough and politically independent." if he believes as i do that the american people must be able to have faith in the impartiality of this investigation, he must point a special prosecutor and get his investigation out of the hands of the fbi and far away from the heavy hand of this administration. mr rosenstein has the authority to appoint a special prosecutor right now. he needs no congressional authorisation. this would simply be a step that he could ta ke would simply be a step that he could take as outlined in the department ofjustice

>> mr. rosenstein talked about why he voted, wrote the memo. the fact he believed what the fbi director did in july was inappropriate. >> was he tasked to write that memo? >> he did not -- i'll let you ask him that question. now that we have a special counsel about all things related to the process of the memo, i think you'll need to talk on mr. mueller about it. i have to go. >> all right. senator lindsey graham talking to reporters. an interesting had distinction he's making between what the investigation by congress would look at versus the investigation from robert mueller as special counsel. our chief legal correspondent is with us. what do you make of that? >> senator graham just made some news there. this is what we would call hearsay because he is describing what mr. rosenstein briefed in a closed session. an unusual closed briefing from the senate. we have heard from trump's defenders and the president that this is a counter intel inquiry. what lindsey graham just said, that it is more like a criminal inquiry. and a report he said does

mr. rosenstein already expressed concern that director comey damage the integrity of the fbi. reporter: the official reason was that he botched the investigation into hillary clinton's emails. >> democratic colleagues complaining about the removal of an fbi director when they themselves repeatedly and sharply criticized that removal being done by a man whom they repeatedly praised. when mr. rosenstein recommended his removal for many of the very reasons that they consistently complained about. reporter: intelligence agencies have spent the last five months trying to determine if there was evidence of russian interference in the election. >> a counter intelligence hearing about if trump officials colluded with the russians. i don't have any evidence of collusion or a crime. the fbi needs to keep looking and do their job. >> sergei lavrov met with -- they dismissed russian claims of influence in the election. >> i'm joined at the big table. he is a veteran of the u.s. state department. it is good to have you back on the show. hours after firing the man that led the investigation

mr. rosenstein has done the right thing. i applaud his decision for its correctness and courage. a special counsel was much called for in this situation. and former director mueller is the right kind of individual for the job. i now have significantly greater confidence that the investigation will follow the facts wherever they lead. additionally, as special counsel, mr. muller must have broad latitude to pursue the russia investigation. in the appointment order, it stipulates the special counsel is authorized to investigate, quote, any matters that rise directly or indirectly from this investigation, unquote. that's a really important power, given the recent reports about an active f.b.i. investigation into general flynn. i am heartened by the news of mr. muller's appointment, but in no way it diminishes the need tn active role in helping to get to the bottom of recent events. intelligence committee chair burr, ranking member warner should still pursue the congressional investigation into these matters with just as much vigor. that investigates has been proceeding in a -- that i

mr. rosenstein recommended mr. comey's removal for many of the very reasons that they consistently complained about. two investigations are currently ongoing. the senate intelligence committee's review of russian active measures and intelligence activities and the f.b.i. investigation disclosed by director comey. today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation. that could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done, but also to let this body and the national security community develop counter measures and war-fighting doctrine to see what it doesn't occur again. partisan colleagues should be delay the considerable work. too much is at stake. deputy attorney general rosenstein was just confirmed on a bipartisan vote 94-6. 94-6. and that sort of fair consideration should continue when the senate receives an f.b.i. director. host: that was senator mitch mcconnell from yesterday. "new york times" heighting the work of the senate intelligence committee in

mr. rosenstein answered yes, i do. if there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor, it is right now. mr. rosenstein already expressed concern that director comey damaged the integrity of the fbi. the attorney general has already had to recuse himself from the investigation for being too close to the president. if mr. rosenstein is true to his word, that he believed this investigation must be, quote, fair, free, thorough, and politically independent, if he believes as i do that the american people must be able to have faith in the impartiality of this investigation, he must appoint a special prosecutor and get his investigation out of the hands of the fbi and far away from the heavy hand of this administration. mr. rosenstein has the authority to appoint a special prosecutor right now. he needs no congressional authorization. this would simply be a step that he could take as outlined in the department of justice guidelines and in the law passed after watergate to get an independently-minded pr

>> mr. rosenstein was vague on that. he deferred to mr. mueller again, saying he'd probably be looking at that. i don't think it is nefarious. i don't. there is this process where you talk to different people, ask for their inputs. in this case, perhaps a written input. we don't know how the internal dialogues took place. >> is it important to know, given that here was somebody in charge of an investigation and the president fires him while that investigation is ongoing. is it important to know what went spot into the decision? >> those are fair questions. i think we'll understand that. if mr. mueller thinks it is important, and i suppose he will, he's going to ask those questions and report to the american people. i just don't think we know the timeline, the sequence particularly. again, my positn is right now, i don't think there is nefarious intent there. i really don't. >> congressman chris stewart, it's good of you to come out of the meeting to speak with us. >> good to be with you. >>> the polls in iran are set to close at the top of

we saw that with mr. comey's removal. i think the only way that mr. rosenstein can restore the confidence in the department of justice investigation is to name a special prosecutor. >> so, i just want to be precise, senator. you believe the president instructed the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein, to write this letter, this recommendation, even though he, himself, didn't really want to do it. he did it under orders from the president. is that what i'm hearing? >> i don't know what mr. rosenstein's intents were or his involvement from the point of view of how much this reflects his personal views. i am convinced that the president made the decision and asked the department of justice to give him the justification, the legal justification for firing the director. i don't know how much influence was exerted on mr. rosenstein, how much of this is his own work, et cetera. so i don't want to cast any aspersions there. but i am convinced the decision to fire was made by the president of the united states and not based upon the recommendations of the

the white house initially hung it on rosenstein's memo. [inaudible] mr. issa: that's one of the questions that came up in there n which the deputy a.g. said let the record speak for itself and i think that's what we have to do. the timeline will be reviewable and in fact will be looked at hat way. again, you know, i for one thought that comey ill-served the american people when he tried to stretch beyond all reason the fourth amendment to hack into your iphones so i had a belief he didn't respect the constitution, had become in love with the camera which is normally for politicians and that he began thinking that he was somehow larger than the f.b.i. director and effectively being the f.b.i. director and the department of justice. the department of justice is the f.b.i. director's boss, not the other way around. reporter: is mr. mueller on a witch-hunt? do you share the president's view? mr. issa: well, i don't personally believe in witches but, look, the director's job is in fact to go where the fact -- facts lead. and he has a reputation. now, all speci

the american people's trust in our criminal justice system is an rosenstein's hands. mr. rosenstein, america depends on you to restore faith in our criminal justice system, which is going to be badly shattered after the administration's actions today. this is part of a deeply troubling pattern from the trump administration. they fired sally yates. fired preek barrara. fire director comey, the very man leading the investigation. this does not seem to be a coincidence. this investigation must be run as far away as possible from this white house and as far away as possible from anyone that president trump has appointed. given the way the president fired director comey, any person who he appoints to lead the russia investigation will be concerned that he or she will meet the same fate as director comey if they run afoul of the administration. the american people need to have faith that an investigation as serious as this one is being conducted impartially, without a shred of bias. the only way the american people can have faith in this investigation is for it to be led by a f

it's one i expressed that to mr. rosenstein. reporter: what do you think he means take it under advisement? >> i think he listened. i felt this was an individual that listened carefully, and i think he's -- vonnie: you've been watching the chair and vice chair of the senate intelligence intel committee, talking about the meeting with the deputy a.g. there's going to be a closed meeting this would not afternoon. we're continuing here. this is bloomberg. ♪ >> 1:00 in washington and 6:00 in london. i am david gura, welcome to bloomberg markets: the trump economy. the acting head of the fbi contradicts what the white house said, that the bureau's rank-and-file have lost confidence in james comey. the deputy u.s. attorney general as a closed-door meeting with senators richard burr and mark warner, the chair and ranking member of the senate intelligence committee. airlines brace for a broader ban all laptops and other electronic devices. a meeting with the department of place in washington. ♪ david: fbi agents not backing comey, h

>> i think mr. rosenstein viewed the whole process as something mr. mueller will speak on, not him. >> are you satisfied with the answers you received about the firing of former fbi director comey? >> mr. rosenstein talked about why he voted -- wrote the memo, the fact that he briefed that what the fbi director did in june was inappropriate, that he stepped out of his lane. >> was he tasked to write that memo? >> he did not. i'll let you ask him that question. now that we have a special counsel about all things related to the process of the memo, i think you'll need to talk to mr. mueller about. i've got to go. >> thank you very much. >> senator lindsey graham with lots of questions. there's been a closed-door meeting with rod rosenstein, the person who appointed the former fbi director robert mueller to be the special counsel in this russia probe and so carl bernstein, tim natali, you guys are still with me. the headline out of that, carl, is that senator graham says it seems no longer will this probe be seen as counterintelligence but as a criminal

i know mr. rosenstein was the u.s. attorney in maryland for 10 years. i was very pleased with the selection of mr. mueller. you will not push him around. as a straight shooter. he will bring some normalcy to this process. that's my final point. we have to let this process play out. it needs to play out. normally what happens when you have investigations, those who are investigated are quiet. the attorney speaks for them. as you know, i'm an attorney. and basically says they're going to operate. that's it. i think that's what we all need to do. let this process play out. we should never forget what started all of this. that is, the 17 intelligence of the united states of america unanimously concluding that the russians tried and to some degree interfered with our elections. we are dancing with angels, the question is what did we do at this moment? what did we do about that? what difference did we make? did we sit back and say, i'm not going to be bothered? or do we do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't happen again? keep in mind, the russian

this appointment and this decision was made by mr. rosenstein. this was made by this administration and appointments they made. so i think it bodes well to say we are not afraid to look at this whole thing to unveil it and look at the transparency and making sure we allow the american public to see what we have seen and find out the facts we have found out and basically to move on and do the job we need to do. we are talking about tax reform and we're talking about health care. these are serious things we have to address sooner or later, chris. the sooner we get on with this and completed and move on, whatever happens, happens, we can do our job. >> all right. senator joe manchin, i appreciate you being on the show. >> interesting time. stay tuned. >> that's a word for it. brook sd brooke. >> we are all are. gentlemen, thank you. it may be spring, but feels like summer in the east. today could be a record breaker. chad myers has the sweltering forecast next. you don't let anything keep you sidelined. that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of p

yes, i think it was appropriate for all the reasons laid out in mr. rosenstein's memo. counsel,rds to special i think it is an overreaction early on the one hand because there is no evidence of crime, or collusion between russia and the campaign. that said, mr. rosenstein's explanation makes some sense in that this has become an extraordinary large political issue that to take it and give it more independence, hopefully rebuild confidence in the justice department this way and the outcome, so by the way, bob mueller is the perfect choice. his reputation is stellar and his capacity is any good. he will do a good job. i think the people will trust the outcome when it is over. to be honest, while i think it some areach, i think relieved because hopefully we can focus on the important work we had to do that isn't the fbi and russian probe. host: >> c-span's "washington journal," live every day with news and policy issues impact you. saturday morning am a military times pentagon bureau chief discusses the pentagon's progress report on the pricing -- the fight against isis. t

i voted for mr. rosenstein just a few days ago. there are questions i would like to ask him. number one, if this is about the professionalism in the didn't of jutstition by the director of the fbi, why did you not include in yourñr statementÑi anxdÑiñr and one clear that we were going to continue the investigation of the russian collusion so there's a professional reason rather than a political reason. would i have expected that had from mr. roents sglin he was confirmed 94-6, as you point out, your yay vote in favor of him. do you still have confidence in the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein? he's been on job for two weeks. >> i'm shaken on his memorandum, that he would sign off standing up for the good treatment of hillary clinton for events that happened ten months ago and decide this week, yesterday, to ice there that as a basis for terminating james comey really stretches imagination and the fact that he does not say in that that they are going toçó continue the fbi investigation is troublesome as well. >> is that yes or no about confidence in. >> well, let m

he said monday that mr. rosenstein accepted the invitation. also reporting from the wall street journal on this topic, one of the candidates for fbi director, trey gaudi, the congressman from south carolina took himself out of the running on monday. he said the fbi needs director within impeccable credentials and one who can unite the country. >> live to the white house for h statements from presidenteade trump

number one, we've already seen with mr. rosenstein that sometimes when you select somebody that has been a long time career official but you put them in a politically appointed situation where they owe their job to the president of the united states, they can be put in a compromising situation. the situation is untenable because they're essentially leading investigations into their boss and it becomes unworkable. everyone sitting up here trying -- with all due respect to rosenstein, if he knowingly submitted this memo for the purposes of carrying out a ir fooing of jim comey he's in the wrong too. it's also a wrong on his part. >> we're going to take a quick break. our special coverage of the breaking news rolls on. we'll go live to the white house next. >>> woe ear back with the breaking news this evening. president trump firing the director of the fbi james comey with a letter unlike any we've seen from a president of the united states in recent memory at least. we're live at the white house at this late hour and this had

mr. trump told mr. comey, according to the memo. he is a good guy. i hope you can let this go. he did not say anything to mr. trump about curtailing the investigation, only replying, i a agree he is a good guy. >> defending the integrity of the president trump and attacking the accuracy of the memo saying, this is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and mr. comey. joining us now, connecticut, democrat senator who is a member of the judiciary committee. thank you very much for joining us tonight on this important night and i wanted to get your reaction to your reading of that comey memo as presented in the "new york times." >> what you're seeing, lawrence, is actually an obstruction of justice case unfolding in real time. as a fellow alumnus and also a prosecutor, i have written more than a few of those memoranda of conversations and i am willing to bet that there are more of them they will provide more evidence in this case against against donald