JUDY WOODRUFF: There are new developments in the investigation into possible collusion
between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.
John Yang has the latest details.
JOHN YANG: Judy, in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," former acting
FBI Director Andrew McCabe says that after meeting with President Trump about the firing
of James Comey, he decided to launch a criminal investigation in order to protect the inquiry's
integrity.
ANDREW MCCABE, Former Acting FBI Director: I was very concerned that I was able to put
the Russia case on absolutely solid ground in an indelible fashion, that, were I removed
quickly or reassigned or fired, that the case could not be closed or vanish in the night
without a trace.
I wanted to make sure that our case was on solid ground, and if somebody came in behind
me and closed it and tried to walk away from it, they wouldn't be able to do that without
creating a record of why they'd made that decision.
JOHN YANG: To talk about what else McCabe had to say, and other developments in the
Russia probe, we're joined by NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.
Carrie, thanks for being with us.
CARRIE JOHNSON, NPR: Thank you, John.
JOHN YANG: We should say McCabe is promoting his book, which is coming out next week.
And according to CBS News, he also confirmed in that interview a New York Times report
about Justice Department conversations about using the 25th Amendment to declare the president
-- a presidential disability and have him removed.
What more can you tell us about that?
CARRIE JOHNSON: This was a remarkable period, eight days or so inside the Justice Department
and the highest ranks of the FBI after President Trump fired Jim Comey in May 2017.
And the sense of panic and alarm at the DOJ and the FBI was so intense, according to Andrew
McCabe, that they discussed wiretapping someone to go record the president of the United States
about his intentions in firing Comey, whether that was an effort to obstruct the Russia
investigation or -- and/or discuss the 25th Amendment, the possibility of invoking the
25th Amendment to remove the president of the United States.
Now, the Justice Department put out a statement today from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein,
who was in these meetings with McCabe.
Rosenstein said he never authorized anybody to wear a wiretap, and he denies any discussion
of the 25th Amendment, but McCabe is standing by his account.
JOHN YANG: And Rosenstein says he said it sarcastically.
CARRIE JOHNSON: Rosenstein's aides have said that he talked about wiretapping in a sarcastic
manner.
McCabe said it wasn't a joke, according to him.
JOHN YANG: And, also, they were going to recruit members of the Cabinet to help them in declaring
a presidential disability.
CARRIE JOHNSON: The New York Times talked about the idea of getting other members of
the Cabinet or getting a head count in the Cabinet.
Rosenstein says none of that ever happened.
JOHN YANG: Now, the president has replied on Twitter.
He said: "Disgraced FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe pretends to be a poor little angel,
when in fact he was a big part of the crooked Hillary scandal and the Russia hoax, a puppet
for leaking James Comey."
And then Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said it was imperative now
that McCabe appear before the committee to "answer questions about what appears to be,
now more than ever, bias against President Trump."
What is the president and the president's defenders trying to do with this?
CARRIE JOHNSON: Basically, they're raising questions about the integrity of the people
who approved this investigation into Russian election interference and Trump associates.
Remember, John, that people like Michael Flynn, the national -- former national security adviser,
Michael Cohen, the president's former fixer, George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy aide,
and others have pleaded guilty and have been convicted in courts for lying about parts
of this investigation or their financial dealings.
And the president and Lindsey Graham, one of his main allies in Congress, are trying
to discredit parts of this investigation.
JOHN YANG: Talk about lying in the investigation, a judge yesterday said that the preponderance
of the evidence presented by the special counsel's office proved to her that Paul Manafort, the
former chairman of the president's -- the presidential campaign, lied, violated the
plea agreement, and in one case in particular, the -- misled investigators.
What was the -- sort of the more important point that they say he lied about?
CARRIE JOHNSON: The key takeaway here is that the judge determined Paul Manafort, the president's
former Trump -- former campaign chairman, lied about his contact with a business associate
named Konstantin Kilimnik.
Kilimnik, according to the FBI, has been linked to Russian intelligence.
And Manafort met with and had conversations with Kilimnik throughout 2016, including meetings
in August of 2016, while Manafort was still the campaign chairman, when authorities suggest
that he was talking with Kilimnik about polling data and also about a Ukrainian peace plan,
which, for Russia, was an important policy goal, foreign policy goal.
JOHN YANG: And they say -- the special counsel's office says that this presents a larger view
of what we think is going on there, and what we think the motive is here.
CARRIE JOHNSON: They haven't shared much more than that, but it's very tantalizing.
Remember, the mission of the Mueller investigation is to investigate links or coordination between
the people from Russia who attacked the election in the U.S. in 2016 and Americans in Donald
Trump's orbit.
And Paul Manafort was campaign chairman during a central period in 2016.
We now know he was meeting with a figure the FBI has linked to Russian intelligence during
that time.
JOHN YANG: And this judge is going to sentence Paul Manafort.
What does her finding mean for that sentencing?
CARRIE JOHNSON: Yes, Manafort is going to be sentenced March 13 by Judge Amy Berman
Jackson.
She says prosecutors are no longer obligated to seek leniency in the sentencing for Manafort
since he didn't really cooperate.
And he could in fact get an enhancement, an extra penalty, for not taking responsibility
for his actions.
JOHN YANG: Paul Manafort is 69 years old.
Could this mean that he will spend the rest of his life in prison?
CARRIE JOHNSON: It possible, John.
Remember, he is not only 69.
He's suffering from severe gout, depression and anxiety, according to his own lawyers.
Manafort also faces punishment in a separate court in Virginia after a jury there convicted
him of eight counts of financial fraud last year.
JOHN YANG: NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, thanks for walking us through this.
CARRIE JOHNSON: Thank you.