let's focus on the actual news tonight, mueller. for those -- >> can i -- >> for those americans -- >> that doesn't mean -- >> for those americans who want to know, did the president of the united states try to stop director comey from investigating michael flynn, they may never get that answer because maybe there was not enough evidence to bring a case against it in which case we won't hear anything from director mul eller. >> we don't flow that. many independent councils feel a need for the public interest to report. that's controversial. you are supposed to speak with an indictment. that might prompt a report. i would say, donald trump ran on a pledge of law and order and god help him he is going to get it. mr. mueller is a credible law enforcement official. he is going to get to the bottom of it. he may be pristinely innocent. will accept that if that's what we find. he is sweating bullets now. the next big story is the president has to lawyer up. he needs to lawyer up. right away. the white house counsel doesn't represent donal

who is robert mueller? guest: he is a lifelong career prosecutor, mostly here in washington and the justice department. he spent most of his career working his way up through various u.s. attorney's office, head of the criminal division for the u.s. department of justice under george h.w. bush, and then was deputy attorney general under george w. bush before becoming fbi director. as has been told over the last couple days, he was the longest-serving fbi director since j edgar hoover himself. the first since hoover to complete the 10 year term of an fbi director, and then he was so popular and so respected that he was extended for an additional two years by president obama and a bipartisan act of congress. host: what made him so popular and respected? guest: he is a ramrod straight , former marine straight shooter. in a city that seems like it gets more partisan and more politicized with every passing year, he is completely apolitical, completely nonpartisan, and very well respected on both sides of the ais

a bit more on robert mueller. the 72-year-old served as fbi director for nine years serving republican and democrat presidents. the second longest tenure behind j. edgar hoover. he is widely regarded as a credible law enforcement official. he has a history with the man who succeeded him. james comey. >> in 2004, comey was acting attorney general while his boss john ashcroft. seriously ill in the hospital. comey and mueller worked side by side fighting the bush white house attempt to renew the controversial warrantless wiretap program. they raced to ashcroft's hospital bed when they learned others were rushing to the hospital to renew the order. it was a race to the bedside. comey took very careful notes and felt strongly to make sure justice was done. >> drama at the time. mueller and comey threatened to resign and the white house eventually backed off. one other note. a special counsel is not fully independent and can be fired. without the protection of the independent counsel law, president trump can order rod r

having worked together for years. >> comey's public statements about mueller are glowing. >> and mueller's private statements about comey are glowing, too, i think what happens now the fbi sticks with its counter-intelligence investigation and mueller looks at crime. he looks at money. he looks at obstruction of justice. the fbi is set up as an intelligence agency. that goes against spies and is a criminal law enforcement agency. i think you have to divide the work here. fbi stays on the counter-in tell part, bobby mueller rides to the rescue to save the republicans from criminal abuses of power and obstruction of justice. >> tim weiner, the author of "enemies," pulitzer prize winner. i appreciate it. boy, was i glad you were able to come in here tonight. >>> the way we get special counsels in this country is relatively new. regulations written in 1999 after the statute previously covered independent counsels was allowed to die. we don't have that many examples to look back on to see how this special counsel thing usually goes, we're trying to learn how this process works and what happens

bob mueller served for two terms. >> i want to thank robert mueller, not just for the introduction but because bob has led the bureau during incredibly challenging times. >> mueller has most recently been a visiting professor at stanford. he'll leave those positions to take on this new and important responsibility. gary tuchman, cnn, atlanta. >> lisa monica worked with robert mueller from 2005 to 2009. is he the right person for the job? >> absolutely. there's no one better suited in this country for this role at this time. >> why do you say that? >> because if you look at the authority that the deputy attorney general required here, the person has to be from outside the department of justice and be guided by only doj policy. that's the department of justice policy and the law in exercising his authority. that is the person. bob mueller is the personification of those characteristics. >> in terms of not being partisan, he's down the middle? >> absolutely. he is guided by no party, by no political ideology. he's guided by the facts and the law and will apply those without fear or favor.

mueller sided with comey. so the signal you are seeing from rosenstein is that this is a serious investigation. this will remain independent serious investigation. it'll lead wherever it leads. there has been a lot of criticism and a lot of concern inside the fbi that what the -- what the recent events from the white house and firing of james comey could effect the independence of this investigation, wolf? >> major development indeed, robert mueller now special counsel investigating allegations. i want to get more reaction from capitol hill. senator richard blumenthal of connecticut is joining us. senator, react to the news about robert mueller's appointment of special counsel. >> wolf, very solid and significant step. now clarity on details of his mandate, scope of his mission here needs to be clarified. also the resources and independence that he will have. but bob mueller is someone with expertise and experience. the guts and backbone to stand up and speak out against any kind of political influence. i thin

they will get mueller up to speed. it won't take long because he is familiar with the people in the process. he will get up to speed, but the prime decision here, not to forget it, mueller is not leading the investigation. he is coordinating everyone that is working on it day today. just like comey wasn't the investigator. he had an army of people carrying it out. mueller has a responsibility to make sure the investigation is on track, on schedule, they have the resources, they have the resources they want. she has the resources available with the people in the process. he can get up to speed quickly but we've already been assured the fbi has the resources. if they need more, they will get it because we want to get 20 answer. >> bret: one more question and this deals with the comey memos but we are being told there are many memos dealing with the number of different things. one of the things that was talked about last night on my colleague martha maccallum's show with congressman trey gowdy was about the former fbi dir

mueller understands the law. mr. mul eller ran the fbi so we that a democratic president asked him to stay. >> two years under a under president obama. >> he's greatly respected. he now has subpoena power. there was always a question as to whether the house or the senate would use their senate power to investigate the russia hacking and collusion scandal. now we have someone with a great deal of professional ethics who has subpoena power. this is a very different investigation now. this is a serious investigation and he can take it wherever he feels it ought to go. so the whole game has changed and now it's a serious matter. and i'll say this. until the comey memos came out, this wasn't really about president trump. president trump now is at the center of this particular inquiry. in large measure it's because of the way he handled comey. and robert mueller, a man who loves the fbi and is committed to its reputation is the best person to find out why mr. comey kept those records and what those records really mean. >>

cumming and mueller. what donald trump he so know about mueller and comey. bring downo could the president have been preparing their entire lives for this moment." guest: this is, as i said, what they do. they have worked as federal prosecutors, as federal investigators, the head of the most prestigious federal law-enforcement agency in the united states for almost their entire careers. this is territory that is very familiar to them and very unfamiliar to donald trump and many of the people around him who do not have much history with the way that these scandals can unfold in washington. i will say i think one of the most interesting things in this is that because of the deep respect and reputation that bob mueller has in washington, the good news for president trump is if there is no there there, if this is all a strange case of odd coincidences and misunderstandings, bob mueller might be the only person in america who could come out and declare donald trump and his associates innocent and be believed by both parties. host: robert in manchester, maryland,

mueller has bipartisan appeal. president obama asked him to stay on at the helm of the fbi two years beyond the normal ten-year term before james comey took over. most importantly, chris, he is supposed to have more autonomy to run the investigation than anyone else might have. the special counsel regulations say he shall not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official within the justice department. now rosenstein can however request an explanation for any investigation steps he may want to take. mueller will be required to prepare a confidential report to rosenstein at the end of the investigation and the decision to rethere's lease that is left department. >> what will the public know? that was part of the motivation to pick a special counsel. what will it mean? thank you for the reporting. let's bring in the panel. cnn national security analyst matthew rosenberg. he broke the new york teams story of the trump transition team knowing general flynn was under investigation. we'll talk to him about that

appointment of robert mueller was a good one. it does not mean the congress can now say, ok, our job is done, we don't have to investigation this. we really do. reporter: does a special counsel make that independent investigation going forward? senator leahy: we have two different things. special counsel does their investigation. they have tools and abilities that congress might not have, but the american public has every reason to wonder what is happening to our government. are we being manipulated by russia, a country that does not have our best interest at heart, that's what we have to ask. reporter: senator cornyn. reporter: senator cornyn, do you have a mement, sir? -- moment, sir? your takeaway? senator cornyn: we got done with a very important briefing from the deputy attorney general who appointed robert mueller, the forer director of the f.b.i. to head up the investigation into the russian issue. one of the issues i raised with him is my concern that we have multiplicity of congressional committees investigating this sam

will the mueller move tamp it down? >> now three committees want comey to testify about what trump told him making him the most wanted man in washington. this as there are several new damning reports about fired national security adviser michael flynn that add to the crises facing the trump administration. we have it all covered for you this morning. joe johns. let's start with you at the white house. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, brooke. this is a ray of hope for the trump administration to finally put this behind them or the law of unintended consequences at work. how the firing of fbi director james comey could lead a top trump administration official to name bob mueller, a towering figure in american law enforcement to lead the investigation into russian interference in the last election. the white house issuing a statement from president trump responding to the appointment of a special counsel. the president says in part, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know. there was no collusion

>> bob mueller is doing a criminal investigation. the special prosecutor is doing an investigation of criminal allegations that are extremely serious, including possible obstruction of justice. conclusionse no about whether there was, but there are a number of pieces of evidence that indicate there may well have been. the investigation has to follow that evidence wherever it leads. i am satisfied that the deputy attorney general means what he says in the mandate that he gave us that anything related to those allegations can be pursued and must be pursued and that it is more than just counterintelligence. >> do you think he would make a good fbi director? >> what i have said is i am not going to comment until someone is nominated. i believe in general, the nominee for fbi director ought to be someone with a background and expertise and experience in criminal justice, preferably a prosecutor, and ought to have no political connections or ties. and i believe that -- >> are you ruling out joe lieberman? >> i am not, but that is my prefer

mueller. he is widely respected and he'll conduct a fair and thorough investigation. i have full confidence in the counterintelligence side of the matters. >> based on the briefing, senator, is it your belief that this has crossed a threshold from a counterintelligence situation that typically does not result in criminal charges to a criminal matter and that will impede congress' ability to call witnesses and obtain evidence? >> i can't comment on the justice department's efforts. it's now in the hands of a special counsel who i have full confidence in. the counterintelligence matter goes forward. i hope they won't be in conflict with one another and i don't believe they need to be. >> is it your understanding that rosenstein knew that he was going to be fired before he wrote the memo? >> i'm not sure he said that with clarity. >> is an acceptable nomination of lieberman for you? >> i think he can do a fine job. ultimately, that's the president's decision to make. >> appointing a special couns

comey served as deputy attorney general while mueller led the fbi and mueller stood with comey in march 2004 when the bush administration then tried to overrule comey's decision not to extend the domestic surveillance program. that resulted in a confrontation at the hospital room of ailing attorney general john ashcroft which comey testified about before the senate back in 2007. >> i went out in the hallway, spoke to director mueller by phone. he was on his way. he handed the phone to the head of the security detail and director mueller instructed the fbi agents present not to allow me to be removed from the room under any circumstances. >> as i understand it, you believe that others were also prepared to resign, not just you, is that correct? >> yes. >> was one of those director mueller? >> i believe so. you'd have to ask him, but i believe so. >> you had conversations with him about it? >> yes. >> the appointment of robert mueller as special counsel is uniting many lawmakers from both sides of the aisle as they praise the move, including the man over his own probe of the 2016 election

it sets no time limits on the mueller investigation. it basically says he can investigate any matter he wants to that arises into the russia matter and the trump campaign and third in his sole discretion he can prosecute federal crimes. it basically makes him the united states attorney for the district of donald j. trump. >> so he can say what is related to russia, what is not. does that me he can impanel a grand jury? does that mean he can recommend or further bring charges? >> yes, and yes. he can prosecute the case. he is in effect the chief prosecutor. he's not merely the top fbi official. he is standing in the shoes of the attorney general tonight. >> balance this in all you've seen in washington. i feel compelled to remind everybody this is day 118 of a new presidency and oh, by the way the first foreign trip is leaving either way friday night. >> and they had thought these two weeks were going to be, as they themselves put it, a graduate seminar on the foreign trip which is fraught with peril for even an experienced foreign polic

when you hear bob mueller's resume, it's just music to my ears. i got to work with him for a number of years as a senator on some very tricky issues in minnesota with recruiting of people from our state to go into other issue. and i was always very impressed with him with president obama and president bush. this is the kind of person we wanted that had served in different administrations, that had the respect of so many people. i think we can just have one moment, even though we've got more breaking news tonight, we can have one moment of some calm that someone is taking this investigation and is going to search for the truth so we can be, again, a country of laws. and that is what our democracy is all about. it has not felt like that as we've been careening from one thing to another to the acting attorney general being fired, the fbi director who is a classmate of mine, by the way, in law school, james comey being fired, to the u.s. attorney in manhattan that could have handled some of this. it just went on and on and on. this is a big de tonight

it doesn't get any better than robert mueller. i also agree i don't think they should have appointed somebody. >> tucker: why did they? >> i think they are feeling the political heat. maybe they are watching too much television and reading too many newspapers. i have not seen any evidence of actual collusion. where is the actual crime they think they need a special prosecutor to prosecute? i haven't seen that. there's been a lot of flailing but that flailing started before january 20. >> tucker: did you expect this? >> i'm very surprised by it. no heads up. i don't think the speaker's office get got a heads up. it cost us out of the blue. >> tucker: we were supposed to have someone from the white house on site from on anr topic, and they canceled. i tried to call over there. you have seen other special prosecutor investigation go far afield from where they started and tied up an entire presidency. it happened to president reagan, president clinton. >> nobody knows what the lanes of the special counsel are going to be and my unders

mueller's purview will be the entire russia issue. >> former fbi director bob mueller takes over. tonight, reaction from a stunned white house. barney frank and maxine waters with reaction from democrats, and what this means for the investigation going forward. >> this russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story. >> when "all in" starts right now. >>> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. tonight on the 117th day of the presidency of donald j. trump, the u.s. department of justice has appointed a special counsel to oversee an investigation into the trump campaign's potential ties to russian interference in the american election. the momentous development coming two hours ago. the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein, the man who wrote the memo that the administration initially used to justify president trump's firing of fbi director james comey, announcing he is appointing former fbi director robert mueller to serve in the role of special counsel, to oversee the fbi investigation into russian government influence in the 2016 campaign, and any possible collusion

direct direct direct director mueller will get to the bottom of it. the truth will come out and he will report based on the evidence he develops and the american people should be and should have the confidence that when he speaks, that is the complete truth and we can be satisfied we got to the bottom of it. >> there's lots of talks about memos and tapes of interactions do you think the special council will get his hands on white tapes if they exist. >> i would hope so. if they do exist than the white house will have to respond. >> i want to talk about the fbi rank and file, so much is made of them and how they're dealing with this and will their own investigation continue alongside this one or not. will it stewart? >> keep in mind robert mueller is at the helm here so he has complete autonomy to decide who he will utilize. my guess is he is going to sit with the agents that conduct the investigation. he's going to be brought up-to-date very, very quickly and my guess is he will rely on continuing to utilize those individuals to continue forward. i wo

if he starts picking on mierl and saying mueller is not doing a good job and mueller is partisan and mueller is out to get him, that's going to be a much tougher sell given mueller's very long record of non-partisan, highly-qualified, highly-honourable service. so this is going to be a long process, but attacking mueller is unlikely to generate much traction beyond trump's core supporters. >> brianna keeler is with us as well. this is how the president defended his decision today to fire the fbi director james comey. listen. >> i respect the move but the entire thing has been a witch hunt, and there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but i can always speak for myself -- and the russians -- zero. i think it divides the country. director comey was very unpopular with most people. i actually thought when i made that decision, and i also got a very, very strong recommendation as you know from the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein, but when i made that decision i actually thought it would be a bipartisan decision. because you look at all of the people on the d

mueller's investigation. he very much just like totally backed away from kind of ever going there. >> did he tell you that make it was the day, the point at which a new director james comey would be terminate? >> i missed the beginning of his opening statement. i cannot say for sure that he did not say that. >> is at your impression based on the briefing that this has a crush the thresher from the counterintelligence to a criminal matter? >> he stressed this was investigation. he did not go beyond that. he said to say it with prejudice peoples opinion as to the nature of it. he said there still predetermination that someone committed a crime. this is just an investigation. >> a special counsel would negley impact congresses the boat into investigate. >> that was never raised. >> is a understanding rosenstein new comey would be fired before he wrote that memo? >> he said he did comment the president has made such statements already. >> the president said a special counsel would hurt our country terrible? do yo

robert mueller is now the man in charge. special counsel by deputy attorney general rod rosenstein with russian ties to the campaign of meddling in the 2016 election. the decision was not offending parents have been committed by requires someone be independent from the normal chain of command catching the wte house website with little advance notice. the president responding with the statement as i've stated many times, for investigation will confirm we are doing out there is no collusion between my campaign in any foreign entity. i look forward to the matter concluded quickly. i will never stop fighting for the people and issues that matter most to the future of our country. mueller's appointment receiving wide bipartisan support on capitol hill. top democrat on the senate minority leader chuck schumer saying director mueller has exactly the right kind of individuals for this job. i now have significantly greater confidence and follow the facts wherever they lead. republican house oversight committee jason said by assessing

mueller will severely restrict what we can do. i never got to ask my question specifically about that. but the takeaway i have is that everything he said was that you need to treat this investigation as if it may be a criminal investigation. so i think the biggest legal change seems to be mr. mueller will move forward with the idea of a criminal investigation versus a counter intelligence investigation. there were no facts laid out as to why he would challenge that. but appointing a special counsel has created, i think, a dynamic for congress that will have to be very lee of crossing into that lane. i think we'll tell us what we can do and what we can't. >> so while you're inside, you may not have heard that joe lien lienor lieberman's nail has been mentioned a as top defender. >> they don't have to deal with this. i think joe lieberman is a pillar of credibility. i think he would be a good choice. now you have a special counsel. the new fbi director doesn't have to worry about riding herd over the investigation of the man who app

but so much is in mueller's sole discretion. if he wants to subpoena the tax returns he can do that. he can certainly interview the president and it is not conceivable to me given the scope of this that he will not interview the president, either in a grand jury setting or office setting. >> don, if i may just really quickly which is why just kind of the politics of this right now that there is concern for -- and among trump allies about what this means for the white house because this could go in so many different directions. the notion of collusion between the trump campaign could be small by the time robert mueller is done or maybe nothing. but politically the republicans on the hill are breathing a huge sigh of relief, because they feel like this is off their plate, this is a special prosecutor. >> who knows, but who knows what they may dig up. they may go beyond -- >> and from the arkansas deal to monica lewinsky. >> i want to bring in david gergen, the response was, as i said many times the thorough investigation will show

it doesn't get any better than robert mueller. i also agree i don't think they should have appointed somebody. >> tucker: why did they? >> i think they are feeling the political heat. maybe they are watching too much television and reading too many newspapers. i have not seen any evidence of actual collusion. where is the actual crime they think they need a special prosecutor to prosecute? i haven't seen that. there's been a lot of flailing but that flailing started before january 20. >> tucker: did you expect this? >> i'm very surprised by it. no heads up. i don't think the speaker's office get got a heads up. it cost us out of the blue. >> tucker: we were supposed to have someone from the white house on site from on anr topic, and they canceled. i tried to call over there. you have seen other special prosecutor investigation go far afield from where they started and tied up an entire presidency. it happened to president reagan, president clinton. >> nobody knows what the lanes of the special counsel are going to be and my unders

mueller is a former fbi director and served at the u.s. attorney for the northern district of california between 1998 and 2001. >> let's begin our team coverage with abc7 news reporter maggie in the nation's capital. maggie? >> dan and alma, washington is in shock as the white house gets hit with a third bomb shell in just as many days. and now lawmakers and the administration are scrambling to respond. in a week of breaking developments -- >> obviously it's a step in the right direction. >> reporter: a major decision from the department of justice. >> very solid and significant step. >> reporter: the department of justice appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation into russia's interference with the 2016 election, including possible collusion with the trump campaign. the man now leading the investigation, former fbi director robert mueller. >> whatever investigation goes on will have the credibility of bob mueller, former director of the fbi, and a renowned lawyer. >> reporter: now mueller will have all of the authority of

and having the experience of someone like bob mueller, it makes that task easier. we would find it out if not through them, perhaps through congress or the media. it's really difficult to hide anything these days. >> it's good to hear you have trust in the american media. president trump is hours away from his first trip. president trump, will all of his problems at home follow him abroad? ♪ the first-ever lexus lc. experience amazing the first-ever lexus lc. hidden in every swing, every chip, and every putt, is data that can make the difference between winning and losing. the microsoft cloud helps the pga tour turn countless points of data into insights that transform their business and will enhance the game for players and fans. the microsoft cloud turns information into insight. no need with thending thcars.com app when on the lot, scan a vin to pull up all the info you need to help get the price you want. start scanning today. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, isn't it time to let the real you shine through? introducing otezla, apremilast. otez

robert mueller. not just for the introduction, but because bob has led the bureau during incredibly challenging times. >> mueller has most recently been a partner in a private law firm and a visiting professor at stanford. he now will leave those positions to take on this new and important responsibility. gary tuchman, cnn, atlanta. >>> and the cnn analyst worked with mueller, who was his chief of staff in 2009. is he the right person for the job? >> absolutely, there is no one better suited in this country for this role at this time. >> why do you say that? >> because if you look at the authority that the deputy attorney general exercised here and what is required under the statute. the person has to be outside the department of justice, has a reputation for integrity and partial decision-making. and be guided by only doj policy, that is the department of justice policy and the law in exercising his authority. that is the person -- bob mueller is the epitome of those characteristics. >> what in term

you wrote a biography on robert mueller. you wrote an article "what donald trump needs to know about bob mueller and james comey." what's the answer? what does he need to know? >> these are two men who actually have had very parallel lives over the last 20 years. they have risen into the elite ranks of the highest levels of the justice department and worked actually very closely together in the years after 9/11 when james comey was deputy attorney general and bob mueller was fbi director. they have a partnership that's longstanding, deeply trust one another and were really the two central figures in what is now the famous 2004 hospital room incident involving john ashcroft and the bush white house and a showdown over the nsa's terrorist surveillance program. >> tell us more about that. they show up at his hospital room in the middle of the night but go on, tell us about that. >> this was something that unfolded over the first couple of months of 2004, culminating in march when this program known as code name stellar wind was

robert mueller will do a good job. i actually wanted to see an independent investigation, probably an independent commission similar to the 9/11 commission. but now that we have a special counsel, i'm -- i accept that, and i accept that robert mueller will do a good job. >> but a commission would have no legal authority to prosecute. >> i'm sorry? >> a commission would be like, you know, something out of brookings, something out of the truth and justice commission. it wouldn't indict anybody. it wouldn't carry any criminal penalty. why would you be for something that wouldn't catch the bad guys? >> well, chris, up to this point i thought we were talking about a counterintelligence investigation, not a criminal investigation. but now that a special prosecutor has been appointed, it appears maybe they're moving in a different direction. >> well, an fbi investigation is a criminal investigation for spies. you're looking for spies and you put them away for life. what do you mean it's not a criminal investigation? it's catc

former fbi director bob mueller. we'll descri his role and why he is admired on the hill. >> i think it was a good choice when i first heard it. i think we can move forward. >>> breaking news. former fox news chief roger ailes has died. we'll look at the legacy of a man who changed news in america for years to come. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm chris jansing at our msnbc headquarters in new york. right now, president trump this

mueller's purview will be the entire russia issue. >> former fbi director bob mueller takes over. tonight, reaction from a stunned white house.

bob mueller. you have that type of son, respectful of theally constitution, dedicated to the task at hand. >> martha: thank you. good to see you. let's bring in catherine herridge, who has been covering this throughout our chief intelligence correspondent come alive in washington tonight. what is the very latest? >> i just got off the phone with a former senior fbi executives. he says to me that mueller is very independent. he is directed. nt is tough as nails. that is a reference to how he handled the transition with the fbi after 9/11 come from a crime-fighting organization, the bank robbing since coming to a counter terrorism, counter intelligence organization. he said that mueller is a very different personality from james comey, the former fbi director. he said that mueller is someone that who will have total control in this investigation. if he requires additional -- airborne. the debate club. he look at what he asks for and he will not take know. in addition, this former fbi executives note

mueller's investigation? >> i have absolutely no doubt. mueller is a pro. come on now. i believe that there will be no problem with -- there may be some disagreement, but no problem with us sitting down and working with mueller and his assistants and coming up with a plan so that we don't interfere with his investigation, and we are allowed to do what we have to do. but i cannot emphasize it enough, again, when we're dancing with angels, the question is, will we look back -- will people look back and say, what did you do to make sure our elections were fair, transparent and the way the founding fathers meant for them to be? that's a great threat. i don't want us to lose sight of that. >> very quickly, how much was mr. rosenstein pressed to explain why he wrote that memo about comey and who asked him to do it? >> i can't answer that. i could answer it, but i candidacy answcan't answer it because -- >> issa was just here talking all about it, congressman. >> oh, he did? well, whatever he said. what'd he say? >> congressman, joe lieberman, fbi? >> i like joe lieberman. i t

so in this case, director mueller or -- excuse me, special counsel mueller, could well say that he does not want jim comey to testify about his conversations with the president if they are part of the investigation. >> peter king, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. appreciate it very much. >> much more on the breaking news. >>> coming up, what are the implications of michael flynn's invoking the fifth amendment. >>> plus north korea's second provocative missile launch in a week. how close is the country to a weapon that could strike the u.s.? there's nothing traditional about my small business so when it comes to technology, i need someone that understands my unique needs. my dell small business advisor has gotten to know our business so well that is feels like he's a part of our team. with one phone call, he sets me up with tailored products and services. and when my advisor is focused on my tech, i can focus on my small business. ♪ ♪ >>> we're following breaking news on the russia investigation as the focus intensifies on the fired national security adviser michael

mueller is in charge, right? >> yes. it takes a lot of power and the juice of the congressional investigations. everybody in congress wants a piece of this which isn't surprising given the proper klifsh tee of members of congress to want to grandstand and insert themselves and get press. the only committee that hasn't asked for comey's notes is the house ag committee. i don't think congress will have much of a say and they haven't proven themselves to be very good investigators. >> bill: the judge will say we won't see the comey memos now. it will go to grand jury. a lot of this information will be kept from us. i take it that kind of cools things out for a while. does it? >> we'll see the comey memos eventually. he is right we won't see them now. i don't think this story dies down. it is possible we see a lull in the pace of the reporting because as you suggest, i think bob mueller will take this private. he is a man not known for leaks. much of the investigation has already taken place for 10 months behind closed doors

mueller is a former fbi director and served at the u.s. attorney for the northern district of california between 1998 and 2001. >> let's begin our team coverage with abc7 news reporter maggie in the nation's capital. maggie? >> dan and alma, washington is in shock as the white house gets hit with a third bomb shell in just as many days. and now lawmakers and the administration are scrambling to respond. in a week of breaking developments -- >> obviously it's a step in the right direction. >> reporter: a major decision from the department of justice. >> very solid and significant step. >> reporter: the department of justice appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation into russia's interference with the 2016 election, including possible collusion with the trump campaign. the man now leading the investigation, former fbi director robert mueller. >> whatever investigation goes on will have the credibility of bob mueller, former director of the fbi, and a renowned lawyer. >> reporter: now mueller will have all of the authority of

mueller has wide latitude. he can look into any links or coordination with the russian government and individuals associated with the trump campaign as well as any matters that may arise directly or indirectly from the investigation. he has been deputized to step in as the main prosecutor here and as you mentioned, issue subpoenas and convene a grand jury and conduct interviews. he is in charge and take the investigation where he sees fit. >> what is the first step for him as special counsel? we know he has taken a couple people with him from his law firm. >> that is right. he hired two people with him. former law partners. he can also request a budget within 60 days from the justice department. he really try to run this the way he sees fit. he can also choose to keep on other people working on the investigation within the justice department or the fbi. he doesn't have to start from scratch. >> whether he is the host of the reality show or the president of the united states, we know trump likes firing people if

mueller. i think rosenstein is a very dedicated, tough professional. what these people do their job and let's work with them. the speed to the president circled back to his original reasons for firing james comey, that it was a recommendation from rod rosenstein, but rosenstein admitted to senators yesterday, he knew trump wanted comey gone when he wrote a memo justifying it. meanwhile, reuters reporting trump officials had 18 previously undisclosed contacts with russian officials, including the president's visit with russia's foreign minister and ambassador in the oval office last week. and new today as this. u.s. officials criticizing the turkish government over violence at the embassy this week. turkish president was spotted watching the fight where his security staff appeared to attack anti-protesters after police refused to disperse them from a nearby park. >> jon: with the probe heating up into allegations of collusion between president trump's staff and russian officials and the preside

mueller goes far enough here? >> no, but it's a very significant step and we need to get to the truth and this is the way to get to it. >> robert mueller is very well respected here in the bay area and nationwide, can you tell us how this investigation will work? >> from what i have read about director mueller is respected by his peers. >> what does this do to president trump's agenda. he's been taking one body blow after another. does this grind all that to a halt? >> i don't think it grinds it to a halt, but it givens a process where we can govern collectively, congress and the administration, republicans and

president obama then chose james comey to replace robert mueller. in 2013. when james comey began what was supposed to be a ten-year term as fbi director for him. tonight robert mueller is now charged with investigating, among other things, the conversations that donald trump had with fbi director james comey, including the conversation that was revealed yesterday by "the new york times" that james comey described in a memo he wrote after that conversation, the smoking gun in that memo is the quotation of donald trump saying to the fbi director, quote, i hope you can see your way to letting this go, to letting flynn go. he is a good guy. i hope you can let this go." if robert mueller believes that president trump was trying to get the director of the fbi to stop investigating michael flynn, president trump's fired national security adviser, then robert mueller will present evidence of a case of

>> i think director mueller, bob mueller, is a very experienced, savvy person. he's not going to say, ooh, donald trump said a bad thing about me, i'm going to go investigate him harder. he's going to do his job. he's going to follow the evidence. but i think politically, you know, you have a situation where republicans as well as democrats were saluting mueller, and now you have trump by himself attacking this investigation. you know, that's who he is. >> we'll have to wait and see what he says out loud. i guess that happens after 3:00 today. that will be interesting to see. what do we know from history? you, in fact, are a human being who has worked -- >> indeed. >> -- for a -- at that point, it was an independent counsel investigation during the iran contra, but what do we know about these investigations? >> for one thing, they take a long time. it is very hard to assemble a staff, especially in a case where there's a lot of classified information involved. you have to assemble a staff, they have to get security clearances, you have to start assembling docume