BEEN A FRIEND OF MINE FOR A LONG TIME.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
APPRECIATE IT. >> WHY DID YOU FIRE DIRECTOR
COMEY? WHY DID YOU FIRE DIRECTOR COMEY?
>> BECAUSE HE WASN'T DOING A GOOD JOB, VERY SIMPLY.
HE WAS NOT DOING A GOOD JOB. >> DID IT AFFECT YOUR MEETING
WITH THE RUSSIANS TODAY? >> EXCUSE ME.
>> DID IT AFFECT YOUR MEETING WITH THE RUSSIANS TODAY?
>> NOT AT ALL. >> WILL THE NEW FBI DIRECTOR BE
IN CHARGE OF THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION?
>> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, EVERYBODY.
THANK YOU. >> THAT WAS THE EXTENT OF THE
PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS. YOU HEARD THE QUESTION ABOUT HIS
MEETING WITH THE RUSSIANS. THAT'S REFERRING TO HIS MEETING
TODAY WITH SERGEY LAVROV, THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF RUSSIA WHO
WAS VISITING THE WHITE HOUSE. SOME OF THE FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS
ALSO HAVING TO DO WITH THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION THAT JAMES
COMEY AS FBI DIRECTOR WAS LEADING.
THAT INCLUDED A LOOK AT POTENTIAL, POTENTIAL COLLUSION
BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT.
WE WANT TO GO TO NBC'S PETER ALEXANDER, HE'S STANDING BY FOR
US. PETER, DEMOCRATS HAD THEIR
TALKING POINTS, THE WHITE HOUSE HAS THEIR TALKING POINTS ON
THIS. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING?
>> I THINK THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS WHITE HOUSE FLAT FOOTED
LAST NIGHT AFTER THIS NEWS CAME OUT, PRIVATELY AIDES HERE AT THE
WHITE HOUSE DIDN'T ANTICIPATE THE BLOWBACK TO BE AS LARGE AS
IT WAS OVER THE COURSE OF THE EVENING, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE NOT
JUST HEARING FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE
HEARD FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT MOMENTS AGO ON CAPITOL HILL
SAYING THIS WAS THE RIGHT DECISION AT THE RIGHT TIME.
THEY WANT TO TRY AS BEST THEY CAN TO MAKE THIS AS FAR FROM A
POLITICAL DECISION AS POSSIBLE. TO SAY THIS WAS STRICTLY ABOUT
THE INCOMPETENCE IN EFFECT OF JAMES COMEY.
AS YOU SAW THAT WAS AN UNANNOUNCED MEETING WITH HENRY
KISSINGER, NOTABLE GIVEN ALL THE CONVERSATIONS NOW AND DEMOCRATS
SUGGESTING THIS WAS REMINISCENT OF THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE
DURING THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION, HENRY KISSINGER, OF COURSE,
SERVING IN BOTH THE FORD AND NIXON ADMINISTRATIONS AS
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER AND SECRETARY OF STATE.
BE CLEAR, THE WHITE HOUSE WANTED THE PRESIDENT TO GET OUT IN
FRONT OF THIS AT THIS POINT, NOW ALMOST 24 HOURS AFTER THE
ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE. WE HADN'T HEARD FROM HIM IN MORE
THAN FIVE DAYS. HE WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR IN
SIMPLE TERMS THAT JAMES COMEY WAS FIRED FOR NO OTHER REASON
THAN HIS FAILURE TO DO HIS JOB WELL.
LESTER? >> PETER ALEXANDER AT THE WHITE
HOUSE, CHANGES. NBC JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT PETE
WILLIAMS IS IN OUR WASHINGTON BUREAU.
MEMBERS OF THE BUREAU HAD OVERNIGHT TO ABSORB ALL OF THIS.
DOES ANYTHING FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE IN TERMS OF
INVESTIGATIONS AND PROGRESS? >> NO.
THEY'LL STILL GO ON, LESTER. THE PEOPLE WHO WERE WORKING ON
THEM YESTERDAY ARE WORKING ON THEM TODAY.
ANDREW McCABE, THE NOW ACTING FBI DIRECTOR, WAS WELL VERSED IN
THIS INVESTIGATION. SO HE CAN PICK IT UP.
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THIS WILL HAVE SOME LONG-TERM
INFLUENCE, THOUGH, ON THE AGENTS WORKING THE CASE.
WILL THEY THINK THERE IS LESS ENTHUSIASM FOR THIS NOW AT THE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND CLEARLY AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
THERE IS A STRONG FEELING AT THE FBI THAT THE PRETEXT AND THE
ROSENSTEIN MEMO WAS A PRETEXT THAT THE REAL REASON HE WAS
FIRED IS HE WOULDN'T STOP THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION.
>> THE ISSUES HERE, OF COURSE, IS THE TIMELINE.
IS THERE ANY INDICATION THAT THE PRESIDENT MAY BE CLOSE TO NAMING
A REPLACEMENT OR IS THIS TRULY JUST LAND ON HIS LAP?
>> IT TRULY JUST LANDED IN HIS LAP.
ALTHOUGH IT IS TO SOME EXTENT HE INVITED IT.
BUT THEY ALREADY HAVE BEEN TALKING TO POSSIBLE SUCCESSORS,
THEY TALKED TO AT LEAST FIVE PEOPLE, A COUPLE OF SPECIAL
AGENTS IN CHARGE OF FBI OFFICES, AND AN OFFICIAL OF THE OFFICE OF
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND TWO PEOPLE WHO
ARE NOW AT THE FBI, INCLUDING ANDREW McCABE.
SO THEY'RE STARTING TO COME UP WITH NAMES.
THIS UNDOUBTEDLY WILL BE A ROLLING PROCESS.
PEOPLE WILL COME AND GO OFF THAT LIST.
BUT THEY SAY THEY'RE ALREADY WELL INTO THE PROCESS OF
POSSIBLY NOMINATING A SUCCESSOR. >> PETE WILLIAMS IN OUR
WASHINGTON NEWS ROOM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AGAIN, THE PRESIDENT MOMENTS AGO MAKING HIS FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS
ABOUT THE FIRING OF JAMES COMEY, SAYING HE WAS DOING A BAD JOB,
WHEN ASKED BY REPORTERS AS TO WHY HE FIRED HIM.
JUST A REMI,NDER IER I'LL BE SIG DOWN EXCLUSIVELY WITH PRESIDENT
TRUMP TOMORROW AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
YOU CAN SEE OUR INTERVIEW TOMORROW ON "NBC NIGHTLY