AND APPARENTLY SO WILL HE. MATT, BACK TO YOU.
>> PETER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NICOLLE WALLACE IS THE HOST OF
THE 4:00 P.M. HOUR. AND WE HAVE ARI MELBER, OUR
LEGAL CHIEF CORRESPONDENT. JAMES COMEY IS OUT THERE, HE SET
THE TABLE FOR THE SENATORS TO RAISE THE RIGHT HAND, I'M GOING
TO SWEAR YOU BOTH INTO THE SENATE RIGHT NOW.
BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW BASED ON WHAT YOU READ IN THAT OPENING
STATEMENT, NICOLLE, I'LL START WITH YOU, WHAT QUESTION DO YOU
WANT TO MOST ASK JAMES COMEY TODAY?
>> HE MET WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP AND COULDN'T WAIT TO START
TYPING UP HIS REPORT. HE STARTED WORKING ON IT IN THE
CAR. WHAT HAPPENED AT GUT LEVEL TO
JUST BLOW UP ANY SENSE THAT DONALD TRUMP WAS ON THE LEVEL OR
THAT THIS RELATIONSHIP WAS GOING TO BE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO NORMALM
THAT HE COULDN'T WAIT UNTIL HE GOT BACK TO THE OFFICE TO START
TYPING UP A REPORT ABOUT THAT FIRST INTERACTION?
>> ARI, WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHAT'S THE QUESTION TO ASK GYM
COMEY? >> DOES JIM COMEY THINK HE WAS
FIRED BECAUSE OF HIS RESISTANCE TO ALL OF THE CONTACTS HE
DESCRIBES BY DONALD TRUMP, INCLUDING INTERFERING WITH THE
FLYNN INVESTIGATION? >> AND THEN I THINK FOR PEOPLE
WHO ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT POSSIBLE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE,
THAT'S WHERE THEY PUT THE PERIOD ON THE SENTENCE.
YOU'VE GOT THE DEMAND FOR LOYALTY.
YOU'VE GOT, CAN YOU BACK OFF OF AND GET AWAY FROM THE FLYNN
INVESTIGATION. JIM COMEY OR JAMES COMEY DOES NOT AGREE WITH
EITHER OF THOSE THINGS THAT HE'S FIRED.
DOES THAT COMPLETE THE SENTENCE? >> THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT
SAVANNAH POSTED TO CAMALA HARRIS THERE.
WHAT IS OBSTRUCTION IN THE SHORT ANSWER IS IT'S NOT MADE OF
WORDS. IT'S MADE OF WORDS PLUS ACTION.
SO JIM COMEY COULD OUTLINE FURTHER TODAY WHETHER HE THINKS
SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS WERE PUNISHMENT FOR HIS RESISTANCE,
WHAT HE VIEWS IS HIS INTEGRITY. >> NICOLLE, IF YOU READ THAT
STATEMENT, YOU SAY, THIS IS MY TAKE ON IT.
THIS IS A GUY WHO HAPPENED TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES STICKING UP FOR A PAL, MIKE FLYNN, WHO HAD A BAD DAY
THE DAY BEFORE, HE WAS FORCED TO RESIGN, HE'S SAYING TO JAMES
COMEY, HEY, CAN YOU DO US A FAVOR, CAN YOU BACK OFF?
HE'S ALREADY GONE THROUGH A TOUGH TIME.
AS YOU COULD SAY, THIS IS A GUY WHO IS A BUSINESSMAN, DONALD
TRUMP. HE'S USED TO SURROUNDING HIMSELF
WITH LOYAL EMPLOYEES. AND WHAT HE'S DOING HERE, HE'S
DEMANDING LOYALTY FROM A GUY WHO IS IN A KEY JOB.
IT MIGHT BE ICKY, IT MIGHT BE AWKWARD, IT MIGHT BE
INAPPROPRIATE, BUT IT'S NOT ILLEGAL.
>> WELL, IT MAY MAY BE. LISTEN, THIS IS WHERE THE WHITE
HOUSE HAS LANDED. THEY HAVE LANDED ON THE
STUPIDITY DEFENSE. HE JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT
THE FBI IS AN INDEPENDENT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND WAS DOING
WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED. THIS IS WHERE THEY HAVE LANDED.
THIS IS WHERE THEY HAVE LANDED ON FOREIGN POLICY.
HE JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DON'T BLOW THE COVER OF
UNDERCOVER AGENTS. SO HE DIDN'T GET THE INTEL.
HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE TO ASK FOR THE
ARMS OF YOUR PRESS OPERATION AND RAPIDLY RESPOND TO STORIES YOU
DON'T UNDERSTAND. IF THIS IS WHERE THEY HAVE
LANDED, THIS IS WHERE THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS OVER AND
OVER AGAIN. >> LET ME PLAY YOU A QUICK SOUND
BITE, ARI. LISTEN TO THIS.
>> DID YOU, AT ANY TIME, URGE FORMER DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY IN
ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM TO CLOSE OR BACK DOWN ON THE
INVESTIGATION INTO MIKE FLYNN? >> NO.
NO. NEXT QUESTION.
>> YOU HAVE READ THE SEVEN-PAGE STATEMENT, OPENING STATEMENT
FROM JAMES COMEY. IF HE'S TELLING THE TRUTH, CAN
THE PRESIDENT BE TELLING THE TRUTH?
>> NO. I DON'T THINK SO.
THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THERE WAS A VERY CLEAR ASSERTION BY JIM
COMEY. BY THE WAY, HE'S UNDER OATH.
AND THAT GOES TO THE PROBLEM WITH THE SO-CALLED STUPIDITY
DEFENSE. IS THE DEFENSE THAT YOU DID
THESE THINGS, BUT YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING?
OR THAT YOU DIDN'T DO THEM, BECAUSE THAT'S DIFFERENT IF YOU
WERE MISLEADING THE PUBLIC AND POTENTIALLY, AT SOME POINT,
POTENTIALLY INVESTIGATED BODIES. THE PRESIDENT HAS A LOT OF
POWER. THE QUESTION HERE IS WHETHER HE
WENT BEYOND THAT POWER. AND JIM COMEY'S TESTIMONY MIGHT
SHED SOME MORE LIGHT ON