PETE: MORE QUESTIONS AFTER
TRANSCRIPTS OF JAMES COMEY’S
CLOSED DOOR MEETING WITH
LAWMAKERS, THEY WERE OFFICIALLY
RELEASED YESTERDAY AND THE
FORMER FBI DIRECTOR ADMITTING
NEARLY HE COULDN’T RECALL OR
REMEMBER MORE THAN 200 TIMES.
ED: OUR NEXT GUEST WAS IN THE
ROOM FOR COMEY’S TESTIMONY HE’S
A POWER FUNDAMENTAL CHAIRMAN OF
THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
BOB GOODLATTE JOINS US WITH AN
INSIDE LOOK.
GOOD MORNING TO YOU, MR.
CHAIRMAN.
>> GOOD MORNING, GENTLEMEN.
ED: WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST TAKE
AWAY?
>> WELL THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY IS
THAT FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES
COMEY WITH REGARD TO THE TWO
MOST IMPORTANT INVESTIGATIONS
CERTAINLY DURING HIS TENURE AS
FBI DIRECTOR INTO THE CLINTON
E-MAIL MATTER, AND INTO THE
RUSSIA COLLUSION MATTER SAID, AS
YOU’VE NOTED, "I DON’T RECALL"," RUSSIA COLLUSION MATTER SAID, AS
YOU’VE NOTED, "I DON’T RECALL","
I DON’T REMEMBER", OR I
DON’T KNOW 245 TIMES.
THAT IS TRULY STUNNING, SINCE
THE FELLOW WROTE A BOOK ABOUT
ALL OF THIS, YOU’D THINK THAT
HE’D REMEMBER MORE IN TERMS OF
THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WANTED TO
DELVE INTO.
ED: PARDON ME, MR. CHAIRMAN, BUT
IS HE LYING, MISS REMEMBERING SO ED: PARDON ME, MR. CHAIRMAN, BUT
IS HE LYING, MISS REMEMBERING SO
THAT HE DOESN’T GET INTO MORE
HOT WATER WHAT’S YOUR ASSESSMENT
>> AT THIS POINT I DON’T WANT
TO CHARACTERIZE THAT.
OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE HIM COMING
BACK AGAIN A WEEK FROM TOMORROW,
DECEMBER 17, AND WE HAVE A LOT
MORE QUESTIONS FOR HIM AT THAT
TIME, SO I THINK WE SHOULD
RESERVE JUDGMENT ON THAT UNTIL
AFTER WE HAVE HAD THE
OPPORTUNITY TO FINISH OUR
EXAMINATION OF HIM, BUT IT
CERTAINLY IS DISAPPOINTING AND
DISTURBING THAT HE CAN’T ANSWER
OUR QUESTIONS.
PETE: MR. CHAIRMAN YOU’RE
BRINGING HIM BACK.
WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO LEARN THE
SECOND TIME?
WHAT DIDN’T YOU GET THE FIRST
TIME AROUND?
>> WELL WE HAD MANY MANY MANY
PAGES OF QUESTIONS AND SINCE WE
WANT TO SAVE THOSE FOR MR. COMEY
I WON’T GO INTO THAT, BUT WE
WERE NOT ABLE TO ASK ALL OF THE
QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO ASK
REGARDING THESE TWO VERY
IMPORTANT INVESTIGATIONS AND HIS
LEADERSHIP OF THE FBI AND BEAR
IN MIND IN ONE OF THESE
INVESTIGATIONS, WHEN HE WAS
TOTALLY HANDS-ON AND WE KNOW
THAT FROM A WHOLE LOT OF
EVIDENCE AS WELL AS HIS OWN
TESTIMONY, HE DID THINGS IN
CLEAR VIOLATION OF THE FBI
PROTOCOLS AND THE RULES
REGARDING WHAT PROSECUTORS DO
AND WHAT INVESTIGATORS DO AND HE
TOOK AWAY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF AND WHAT INVESTIGATORS DO AND HE
TOOK AWAY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE OF THE DECISION-MAKING
AUTHORITY ABOUT THIS MATTER.
TOTALLY IMPROPER.
PART OF THE REASONS THAT WERE
SET FORTH BY DEPUTY ATTORNEY
GENERAL ROSENSTEIN FOR HIS
FIRING AND YET IN THE OTHER
INVESTIGATION HE WAS RIGHT THERE
WHEN THAT WAS LAUNCHED AS WELL
AND CLAIMS HE DIDN’T EVEN READ
THE INITIAL DOCUMENT THAT
STARTED THAT INVESTIGATION.
ED: WHAT ABOUT HE WAS ASKED
ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEN
PRESIDENT OBAMA IN A FOX
INTERVIEW IN 2016 SAID WELL
HILLARY CLINTON DIDN’T HAVE
CRIMINAL INTENT HERE, IN TERMS
OF THE E-MAIL SERVER AND HE WAS
ASKED BY ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES
WELL WAIT A SECOND WAS THAT
INTERFERING DID YOU THINK ABOUT
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE THERE AND
COMEY SAID NO FROM WHAT WE
UNDERSTAND IN THE TRANSCRIPT IT
SEEMS LIKE A DOUBLE STANDARD
BECAUSE WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP
INTERVENES IN THINGS, EVERYBODY
IS SCREAMING OBSTRUCTION OF
JUSTICE.
HOW DO YOU SQUARE THAT
ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU’VE GOT
LORETTA LYNCH COMING IN WHO WAS
ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER BARACK
OBAMA, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW
FROM HER?
>> WELL THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT
OF OUR INVESTIGATION.
WE SET ABOUT DOING THIS, I AS
CHAIRMAN OF THE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE, TREY GOWDY AS
CHAIRMAN OF THE OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE, OCTOBER A YEAR AGO,
FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING
WHY DECISIONS WERE MADE AND
DECISIONS WERE NOT MADE DURING
THE 2016 ELECTION AND LEADING
INTO 2017, AND THE FACT OF THE
MATTER IS THAT THAT’S A STUNNING
COMPARISON RIGHT THERE BUT THERE MATTER IS THAT THAT’S A STUNNING
COMPARISON RIGHT THERE BUT THERE
ARE LITERALLY A DOZEN OR MORE
SIMILAR COMPARISONS AND THAT’S
WHY WE HAVE BOTH CALLED FOR THE
APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL COUNSEL