[guitar playing gently]
♪ Fuck you, James Comey ♪
♪ I've got nothing else to say ♪
♪ I've got a bad head cold ♪
♪ That just won't go away ♪
♪ So fuck you, James Comey ♪
♪ Just seriously fuck you ♪
♪ Fuck you and your cohorts ♪
♪ I'm so tired of you dudes ♪
♪ I'm so tired of your bullshit ♪
♪ Your presence is a curse ♪
♪ And I hope it comes back to you tenfold ♪
♪ And a thousand times worse ♪
♪ Fuck you, James Comey ♪
♪ You vile sack of poo ♪
♪ You try to act all innocent ♪
♪ But it's easy ♪
-♪ To see through ♪ -He won.
♪ And I'm so tired of this circus... ♪
The guy from The Apprentice
is now president, so that's... cool.
♪ Can't believe we had to fall back... ♪
Maybe Ivanka will tell him what to do.
Everybody says she cares about the environment.
[panting]
♪ Fuck you ♪
He said, "Grab 'em by the pussy."
-♪ Fuck you ♪ -Didn't everyone hear him say,
"You can grab 'em by the pussy"?
♪ Fuck you ♪
♪ James Comey ♪
[John King] When you look around right now,
the Clinton chapter of the Democratic Party is over.
We're gonna be okay.
America will figure this out.
[crying] I can't go to school today, Daddy.
They're gonna kill me.
[woman sniffling]
Are you okay?
I'm fine, sir.
[exhales]
These were so funny a month ago.
We should be looking at likely scenarios now.
Hate crimes spiking. White nationalism.
[McCabe] Maybe he surrounds himself
with people who keep him in check.
I mean, they won't just let him govern by tweeting.
I just...
I keep thinking that we were causal in some of this.
It was razor-thin in some states.
You know what was causal? She ran a horrible campaign.
[Page] What if none of that mattered?
What if we didn't matter?
What if the Russians just handpicked
our next president, and we just fuckin' missed it?
Good morning.
[others] Morning.
I'm the guy who got Donald Trump elected.
We're still responsible for monitoring the Russian threat
and it just got a whole lot worse.
We need to get a better understanding
of what that means today.
Now, what's in the PDB?
-Morning. -Morning.
[woman] Yeah, I saw the fucking memo.
The fuck are you yelling at me for?
I'm not Jim Comey's boss.
That guy couldn't pick me out of a fucking...
[Bob] All the formers are up my ass.
-[Yates] Everyone inside? -They think it's our fault.
[Axelrod] The formers can think whatever they want.
-They aren't here. -Yeah, but you were.
And what you let that fucking guy do is disgusting.
Could be the end of the goddamn republic!
[Yates] Morning. I saw she was leading in Florida,
so I curled up with a romance novel and went to bed.
How much did she win by?
Today is a day to remember that this is a...
politically agnostic institution.
In that spirit, we're gonna welcome
every lawyer sent here by the new administration,
and we're gonna do everything in our power
to ensure their success in serving and protecting
the American people, right?
Meanwhile, we have until January the 20th
to complete the projects that are essential to us
before our tenures here are finished.
What things do we most need to get across the finish line?
♪ slow, somber music ♪
[exhales]
[sighs]
♪♪♪♪♪
[sighs]
[Obama] Okay.
We've been attacked on my watch.
I have to get my arms around that.
I want a complete I.C. assessment
of what just happened: sources, methods.
I have to protect this country for the rest of my term
and... prepare the incoming president
for the threat he's about to face.
Mr. President, what if he is a part of that threat?
Then I really need to get my arms around it.
What are the questions I need to be asking?
Well... how deeply did they penetrate our democracy?
Who in Russia directed the effort?
Did any Americans conspire to help,
and if so, how were they coerced or enticed into doing so?
I want it largely unclassified.
I want it done before I leave office.
John. What's your gut on this?
Mr. President, I don't know enough yet to be sure.
I'm troubled by President-elect Trump's
consistent unwillingness to criticize Putin,
even in private.
That indicates to me some sort of relationship,
some sort of...
coercive pressure being applied. I'm...
trying to limit myself to facts here, but...
I think it's fair to start asking
why Putin would want Donald Trump elected.
I have to believe it's more than just a personal animus
towards Secretary Clinton.
And what does Putin stand to gain by having a friend
-in this office instead of me? -Oh, sir,
at the very least, end to the financial sanctions
you imposed on them for invasion of Crimea.
A weakening of our most critical Western alliances.
They're probably hoping to collapse NATO.
An end to the Iran nuclear deal.
[Brennan] And we'll start to allow drilling for oil
-in the Arctic. -[Clapper] Pathway
for Turkish incursion against the Kurds.
Trade war with China.
And most importantly...
discord.
The U.S. government consumed by hyper-partisanship--
war with itself.
Republicans and Democrats no longer able to govern together.
That was the goal all along.
Until we know better,
we would ask that you give careful thought
to what intel you're going to share
with the incoming administration...
about anything Russia-related.
All I've told him so far is, uh...
"Keep your eyes on North Korea," and...
"Don't hire Michael Flynn."
Obviously, uh, I'll be imposing new sanctions
on Putin for this.
[Obama takes deep breath]
Okay, fellas, thank you.
Jim, can you stay for a minute?
Of course, Mr. President.
Thank you, Pete.
How's your family?
Fine, sir, thank you. Yours?
Shaken.
I have hated this whole year.
The last thing we wanted
was to influence the election in any way.
-I know that. -I'm trying not to prejudge.
I'm trying to be hopeful about the next four years, but...
That's good, because for the next four years,
the Bureau is likely to matter a lot.
Well, um, you'll have to keep it...
pointed in the right direction,
and I'm confident you can do that.
Thank you, sir.
[Rosenstein] Only Jim Comey
could violate department norms, throw an election,
and still get an "attaboy" from the outgoing president.
[phone chimes]
♪ quiet, ominous music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
[Kislyak] Did you see this?
Yes. I saw it.
I-I'm as upset as you are.
I doubt that.
Sanctions strangle my country,
-not yours. -I understand, Mr. Ambassador.
Expelling 35 diplomats, closing two of our properties,
financial hardship.
Mr. Putin, my president,
views these as unwarranted attacks on his people,
and a personal insult.
I understand.
But, please, tell him not to react.
All right?
The president-elect and I
do not support the Obama sanctions.
Just let us get in there.
We'll fix this.
CLAPPER: In tab five you'll find our conclusion,
which is this:
the Russian effort succeeded.
They achieved their aim, the election of Donald Trump,
at minimal cost, without damage to their own interests.
And at this point, they have no real incentive to stop.
[McDonough] Meaning we can expect more
-of this kind of espionage. -This was not espionage.
Espionage connotes, at least to us,
a passive collection of intel.
This was an attack.
[Clapper] And it will be replicated
unless aggressive measures are taken by this government
to stop it.
Did they hack only Democrats?
No, sir, they hacked both parties successfully.
But they only weaponized the info from the DNC.
What else?
Uh, sir, there is more material in that report.
A dossier.
The I.C. did not commission this material,
and it's not integrated into our analysis.
But it comes from a credible source,
and we thought we should brief you on it.
[Clapper] The dossier alleges a long history of financial ties
between Donald Trump and Russia.
Loans from Putin-run banks and Russian oligarchs.
Of particular concern is a long-proposed Trump Tower
in Moscow.
We know that on October the 13th, 2015,
Donald Trump signed a letter of intent
with a Russian billionaire and close Putin ally, Andrey Rozov,
to build the tower,
-money guaranteed by VTB. -[scoffs]
He said a hundred times
on the campaign trail he had no deals with Russia.
He said a lot of things.
There are other points of coercion as well.
The dossier also alleges that in 2013...
♪ slow, dramatic music ♪
-♪♪♪♪♪ -[dialogue inaudible]
And your confidence in this intel?
Nothing in the dossier has been disproven to date.
Okay. [clears throat]
So what's the plan?
We feel a duty to warn the president-elect on all of this.
Even if the allegations are false,
they could be used as leverage over him
by Putin or his cohorts.
And, of course, any public disclosure of them
could be highly impactful to his presidency.
Briefing him tomorrow in New York.
[Clapper] Jim is going to go over
the more salacious material
with Mr. Trump privately to spare the president-elect
any undue embarrassment.
We drew straws.
I lost.
[Johnson] Jim.
Before you go...
When you sit down with Trump tomorrow,
it is vital that you be very careful
how you present this information to him.
I mean very careful.
-You ever met him? -No.
What's your read on him?
Well, the thing about Trump is, he can take a beating,
but he can't actually take a punch.
Meaning if half the country hates him, he doesn't
really give a damn, but if one person insults him,
he never gets past it.
Now, you walk in there and tell him what's in that dossier,
he might think you're trying to leverage him in some way.
He has to be briefed, Jeh.
Just carefully, Jim.
He has three impulses that drive his decision-making:
spite, spite and spite.
You have to be encouraging.
It's like giving a kid a lollipop before a flu shot.
Yeah.
♪ slow, suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
-Thanks, Jeh. -Yeah.
[tires screeching]
♪♪♪♪♪
Let's remember, we're here simply to lay out the facts.
[door opens]
Good morning.
Mr. President-elect. Jim Clapper.
I know who you are. Saw your testimony yesterday.
You look good on TV.
No, sir. I have a face made for radio.
Please meet Mike Rogers, John Brennan...
[Brennan] Mr. President-elect.
[Clapper] ...and James Comey.
Mr. President-elect.
The Russians' initial objectives were to make Americans doubt
the validity of our electoral process,
and weaken what they saw as the likely presidency
of Secretary Clinton.
In July, once you'd become the nominee,
the Russian objective changed.
At that point, their focus became
helping you become president.
A part of the effort was a social media campaign
using fake Facebook accounts, fake YouTube videos,
false identities on Instagram and Twitter,
all of it tightly coordinated
to duplicate propaganda coming from Russia Today
and Sputnik Radio.
There was also an attempt by the Russians
to attack the voting process itself.
Voter rolls in 21 states were targeted.
Do we have any evidence that their efforts
met with any success?
-No, sir, we don't. -Oh.
Oh, so, then,
there's no actual impact from the meddling.
I think we should be very careful with that word.
Meddling is what my mother-in-law did.
We can also say with a high degree of confidence
that this was not a fishing expedition
conducted by low or even mid-level GRU agents.
This was a Putin-directed effort.
And that can be substantiated by human intelligence,
signal intelligence and cyber forensics.
How dumb were the Democrats not to protect their cyber?
The RNC was a lot smarter than that, a lot tougher.
And you said there was no impact on the results, right?
Sir, we are not given the charter, the authority
or the resources to make a call
on how much the Russians impacted our electoral process.
We were simply tasked with assessing
their methods and objectives,
namely, your election--
a result that is now viewed in Moscow as a success.
Here, too.
We should get ahead of this.
There's information in the unclassified version
that should come from us
as opposed to the unfriendly news outlets.
So, we should start drafting a statement for the press.
"The chiefs of the intel community
have found no evidence that Russian meddling
affected the outcome of the election."
[Clapper] Mr. President-elect,
there is additional material in this assessment,
sensitive material.
We thought that Director Comey
should review it with you more privately.
How private?
Uh, I thought the two of us would be best.
-Can I join? -Entirely up to you, of course.
I just didn't think it was fitting
in front of a larger group.
Just the two of us. Thanks, everybody.
Thank you, sir.
♪ slow, contemplative music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
You've had one hell of a year.
I suppose I have, sir.
I thought you handled the e-mail thing honorably.
First you saved her, but you were tough on her
and they hated you for that, but what choice did you have?
And I've asked.
You've got a great reputation at the Bureau.
People there really like you.
I hope you'll stay on.
-I intend to, sir. -Good.
Did anyone happen to notice what they didn't ask?
"How do we keep the Russians from doing this again?"
Maybe they know.
Mr. President-elect, as Director Clapper mentioned,
there is additional sensitive material in the assessment.
A few caveats. Uh, this-- thank you--
this material was collected by a private intelligence firm
on behalf of private clients.
We have not independently corroborated it.
But its source is a person known to the Bureau
as a reliable former employee of a friendly intelligence service
who collects information from a layered network of sub-sources.
Okay.
On behalf of his clients,
he compiled a dossier of 17 separate reports
on you and your past dealings with Russia.
One of those reports asserts that in 2013,
you spent a night with Russian prostitutes
in a Moscow hotel room, which was secretly videotaped--
There were no prostitutes. There were never prostitutes.
[scoffs]
You'd have to be an idiot to believe something like that.
I am not saying that the FBI believes these accusations.
We simply have a duty to make you aware of them.
Do I look like I need to go there?
Like I need to go to prostitutes?
Again, the Bureau has not passed judgment
on the truth of the allegations.
Our endeavor is to protect you.
The dossier is out there and will become public.
At least two members of Congress have it, as does the press.
-CNN has it. -CNN. Of course.
The Clinton News Network.
The dossier further states that you had the prostitutes
urinate on a bed
that had been slept in by President Obama
-and the first lady. -This is what happens
when you're rich and famous.
It just happens more to me because no one
has ever succeeded like I have.
Women come forward saying I harassed them,
it's never true.
Lady sues me, says I touched her at Mar-a-Lago
with her boyfriend in the room?
But guess what?
The whole thing was her boyfriend was unhappy
with a business deal he and I were in.
I give him what he wants and poof.
She drops her suit.
Summer Zervos says I harassed her on The Apprentice,
kissing her openmouthed and touching her,
and she was so upset and hurt by it.
So why is she inviting me to dinner during the campaign?
Wait.
Another woman says I harassed her on a plane from London,
except the people on the flight say it never happened.
It's all these lies, it's disgraceful,
and they never prove anything.
My ex-wife once said I raped her
in order to get a better settlement out of me.
And then she retracted it.
Can you imagine that?
Accusing the father of her children like that?
It's sad.
So now some guy steps forward, probably paid by Hillary--
people laughed when I first called her Crooked Hillary,
but it stuck 'cause everyone knew it was true;
a lot of people always thought it,
but nobody ever said it till Trump did.
And says the Russians-- it's always the Russians lately,
they're the new boogeyman--
the Russians say...
I needed hookers?
Now, I-I know some people in the Bureau have it in for me.
I could see that, the way they gave Hillary a free pass.
But I'm the president now.
The FBI is not investigating you, sir.
We're always trying to assess what Russia is doing,
and what they might do.
Good.
♪ tense, atmospheric music ♪
If I were Russia, I'd be worried about what Trump might do.
Okay?
My behavior has been unimpeachable.
Do you want to cancel your visit, boss?
-Hmm? -NYO.
You want to cancel?
Oh, no, Shaun, but thanks.
That-That's fine.
-How'd the recital go? -Sir?
Your daughter had a recital last night, right? How'd it go?
Fine. Thank you, sir.
[reporter] According to a statement released
by the Trump transition team today, "The chiefs
of the intel community confirmed this morning
that Russian meddling had no impact whatsoever
on the outcome of the election."
The statement went on to say that while the servers
at the Democratic National Committee
had been penetrated by Russian hackers,
the systems at the Republican National Committee
have proven impregnable.
♪ slow, dramatic music ♪
[Althea] Director Comey's office.
Of course. Please hold.
Sir, the president-elect is on line one.
[McCabe] Boss, BuzzFeed just released
the Steele dossier.
Evening, sir. How are you?
[Trump] I'm very concerned about
the leaking of this phony Russian dossier.
I think it's a disgrace that it could happen,
and I want to know how it did.
Sir, it's not entirely accurate to call it a leak.
This wasn't a government document, it wasn't classified.
It was compiled by private parties and widely distributed
before the FBI ever learned of its existence.
So we really can't call it a leak.
Whatever we call it, I think it's a disgrace.
It shows a great lack of respect for the presidency,
and I think it's a terrible thing.
Maybe that's how Obama did things,
but as soon as I take office, we're gonna run a tighter ship.
-No leaks. -That would be ideal, sir.
I saw you on TV today, on the Hill.
I thought your answers were very sharp.
That's not easy, it's not easy.
People try to trip you up. I hope you're gonna stay on.
That is very much my intention.
Good. Well, good night, Jim.
[Jake Tapper] And the facts
that are competing here are,
what is the truth about what these Russians claim they have
-on the president-elect? -Right.
Is there anything there?
And how much communication was there between the Trump campaign
and Russia, and those are still unknown.
You.
[reporter] Uh, on that intelligence report,
the second part of their conclusion was that
Vladimir Putin ordered it because he was--
Look, if Putin likes Donald Trump,
I consider that an asset, not a liability,
because we have a horrible relationship with Russia.
Russia can help us fight ISIS, which, by the way,
is, number one, tricky.
I mean, if you look at it, this administration created ISIS
by leaving at the wrong time. [inhales sharply]
The void was created, ISIS was formed.
So, if Putin likes Donald Trump, guess what, folks?
That's called an asset, not a liability.
Now, I don't know that I'm gonna get along with Vladimir Putin.
I hope I do. But there's a good chance I won't.
And if I don't, do you honestly believe Hillary
would be tougher on Putin than me?
Give me a break.
Russia will have far greater respect for our country
when I'm leading it, and I believe and I hope--
maybe it won't happen, it's possible.
But I won't be given a little reset button like Hillary.
"Here, press this piece of plastic."
Guy looks at her, he said, "What are you doing?"
There's no reset button.
We're either going to go along or we're not.
Yes.
[Patrice] We really should go to Paris.
-Amen. -No, I mean now.
[laughs softly]
Do you mind if the girls and I go to the Women's March
the day after the inauguration?
Nope. Just don't get arrested.
-Well, I'll try my best. -[chuckles]
[phone ringing]
Hey, Andy.
Boss, Michael Flynn had five phone conversations
with Russian Ambassador Kislyak on December 29th.
Say more.
The conversations took place the day
after POTUS announced the additional sanctions.
We were on Kislyak for all of them.
And, boss, they discussed those sanctions.
Flynn promised to remove them upon taking office.
-Anyone else know? -No.
We have it in a box at the moment.
Keep it there. Thanks, Andy.
[Pence] I-I talked to General Flynn
about, uh, that-that conversation, and actually,
it was initiated when, uh, on-on Christmas Day.
He had sent a text to the Russian ambassador
to express, uh, not only Christmas wishes
but, uh, sympathy for the loss of life
in the airplane crash that took place.
It was strictly coincidental that they had a conversation.
They did not discuss anything having to do
with, uh, the United States' decision to, uh, expel diplomats
or-or, uh, i-impose a censure against Russia.
[John Dickerson] So, did they ever have a conversation
about sanctions ever on those days or any other day?
Those conversations that happened to occur
around the time, uh, that the United States, uh,
took-took action to expel diplomats,
uh, had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions.
It's four siblings, each living in separate homes.
So it's weekly home visits for each kid,
weekly meetings with each set of parents,
court reports, family partnership meetings,
school visits and coordinating with their social workers.
It's all tracking, but yes,
another set of eyes on this one would be great.
No, why would I watch the inauguration?
I didn't even know it was on.
So, courthouse at 2?
♪ somber, suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
-Thanks, Abby. -Thank you, ma'am.
Morning, Sally. How are you?
Another day.
What's up?
We intercepted five phone calls on December 29th
between Sergey Kislyak and Michael Flynn
in which sanction relief was discussed.
The VP was just on television proclaiming that not to be true.
It's true.
The new administration
needs to be alerted about this immediately.
I don't think we can do that at this moment.
-Why not? -Flynn is the subject
of an open investigation by the Bureau.
We need to interview him first.
The Russians have kompromat on the incoming NSA.
That constitutes
a real threat to national security.
We need to know what he knows, Sally.
We also need to alert the...
[dialogue inaudible]
He reminds me of Sammy the Bull.
I see that.
The boss gets absolute power, absolute loyalty,
and no one outside the inner circle counts.
"My soul should burn if I ever betray Cosa Nostra."
Let me think about it.
[cheering and whooping]
We were so close.
A woman president got so close.
I know, baby. I know.
Fucking James Comey.
Ah.
No.
Today is not about that.
[chanting] The people united will never be defeated!
[cheering and applause]
...will never be defeated!
The people united will never be defeated!
The people united
will never be defeated!
The people united
will never be defeated!
The people united will never be defeated!
The people united
will never be defeated!
I do think this raises real questions.
The Logan Act, Erin, has been rarely invoked in our history.
-[Burnett] Yeah. -But it lays down a clear line
that we only have one president at a time
and that American leaders, American citizens,
shouldn't be engaging in their own foreign policy.
Uh, after January 20th, once Trump becomes president,
General Flynn's free to have any contacts he chooses
with foreign governments and their ambassadors.
Uh, but it seems very suspicious that three weeks in advance,
uh, he needed to have a call in order to schedule a call
that wouldn't happen for weeks hence.
-[soft chatter] -[camera shutters clicking]
Thank you all for coming.
We're gonna have a great eight years together.
This is a good room for me because...
law enforcement people all love Trump.
Military people, too.
Probably everyone in this room voted for me.
I won't ask you to raise your hands if you did,
but I guarantee a big portion did.
Because guess what?
We're all on the same wavelength, folks.
So, I want to thank you all for the fantastic job you did
keeping our inaugural events safe.
I know it wasn't easy with all those people.
Biggest inaugural ever, and you know better than anybody
how that's been distorted by the dishonest media.
[inhales sharply] Fake news.
But you did your jobs.
And...
[chuckles] James!
Jim Comey.
FBI director.
♪ tense, atmospheric music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
Let's take some pictures, say hello to each other.
Okay? Where's a good spot? Right here.
[applause]
He's more famous than me.
That's your father's "oh, shit" face.
I know.
Really looking forward to working with you.
Let's take a picture.
Joe. Joe Clancy, Secret Service.
Get up here. Look at... He's the man.
Get over here.
There's been one call.
I talked to, uh, General Flynn about this again last night.
One call. Talked about four subjects.
One was the, uh, loss of life
that occurred in the plane crash that took their military choir.
Two was Christmas and holiday greetings.
Um, three was to facilit...
or to talk about a conference in Syria on ISIS.
And four was to set up a...
to talk about, after the inauguration,
setting up a call
between President Putin and President Trump.
Um, that... I don't believe that that has been set up yet
because the call was to say after...
They did follow up-- I'm sorry-- two days ago
about how to facilitate that call once again.
So, there have been a total of two calls.
-Morning. -[Strzok] Morning.
-Thanks for your time, General. -Not at all. Not at all.
I was just in the Oval.
Have you seen it since we got in?
-I haven't, no. -Oh, you should.
It looks really different now.
President has, uh, quite a knack for interior design.
[Strzok chuckles]
Hi, Jim.
I wanted you to hear it from me personally.
We just sent two agents over to the White House
to interview Mike Flynn.
-You what? -They're in with him now.
Without notifying me first?
Sally, I don't know where this is headed,
but it could be a place where Flynn
or others in the White House are
-in big trouble. -Exactly why chain of command
is so important here.
And if you signed off on the interview,
it could be framed as a final partisan attack
by an Obama appointee on the new president.
-If I do it, it's not. -I want you to stop doing this.
I want you to stop deciding what I do and don't need to know.
You don't get to make those calls for the rest of us.
I'm just trying to get to the truth
with as little political interference as possible.
You worry about the truth part, okay?
I'll handle the rest.
I want to be briefed as soon as they get back.
Of course. Thanks, Sally.
And by the way,
you're an Obama appointee, too.
I'm a lot of things now.
[Flynn] What happened was
it was Christmas Day.
There was a Russian plane went down,
and--
excuse me--
it killed this choir
that I had seen perform when I was in Moscow.
And I wanted to pass along my condolences
to Ambassador Kislyak.
[Strzok] Did you discuss any matters of substance
with the ambassador?
Uh, well, not many. Not many.
I was in the Dominican Republic at the time,
and the, uh, cell reception was not great. [chuckles]
Did you ask him at all about the upcoming UN vote
on the Israeli settlements?
Uh, listen, Sergey,
while I've got you,
um, the upcoming UN vote on the Israeli settlements...
Just in a very general way.
You know, "What's your-- what's your position on this?"
You know, that kind of thing.
I'm... [chuckles]
I'm sure you know all this already.
You-you were probably listening in, right?
[Strzok chuckles]
Did you ask him to have Russia abstain
from the UN vote?
No. I did not.
Any chance that I can
talk you into abstaining or...
Did you ask for help in delaying the vote?
...maybe delaying the vote for a few days?
-No. -Did you discuss with him
any of the new sanctions that the Obama administration
had levied upon Russia as punishment
for Russia's interference in our election?
No. Uh...
In fact, I didn't even know about those at the time.
-Mm-hmm. -Um, I didn't have access
to, uh, television news in the Dominican,
and my-my government-issued BlackBerry wasn't working.
Were you concerned at all about the Russian government,
that they might retaliate for the sanctions,
perhaps escalate tensions between the two countries?
Well, in a-- in a very general way, sure.
-Mm-hmm. -Sure. But, um...
But, like I said, I-- You know, I was learning
about all of this, uh, in real time, so...
Did you ask of the ambassador
that Russia not retaliate in any way to these measures?
[inhales] Uh...
[exhales] No.
Did you say anything along the lines of...
-Just let us get in there. -..."Let us get in there
-and fix this"? -We'll fix this.
"Please don't play tit for tat"? That sort of thing?
So there's no need for him to engage in any sort
-of reciprocal... -Um...
...tit-for-tat response.
Not really. You know-- you know what, I don't remember.
Um, you know, if the subject came up at all,
it-it certainly wasn't, you know,
"Hey, don't do anything."
[chuckles]
I see.
Yeah.
Boss...
interview team is back from the White House.
General Flynn denied the whole thing.
Althea, get me the D.A.G., please.
They used whole sentences from the conversations.
Unless he's recently had a stroke,
he would have to know they were working off a transcript.
Why would he do that?
He's got to know he just lit himself on fire.
Who else was in the room?
Just our two agents and him.
He opted against having White House Counsel there.
How fast can you get me a draft 302?
Within the hour.
I have the D.A.G. on line 1.
Hi, Sally.
[Yates] Thank you for your time, Don.
I asked Mary to join us
because she's career DOJ,
and I-I felt it would be prudent
to establish some institutional memory here.
How's everyone settling in?
Oh. We're remaking the place.
Even the Oval.
Have... you seen it?
Well, you should.
The president has a real eye
for interior design. [chuckles softly]
Ah.
What can I do for you?
In the last few days,
several members of this administration,
including the vice president,
have made public comments concerning General Flynn
and his calls with the Russian ambassador
that we now know to be materially untrue.
We believe this is the result
of General Flynn having misled the White House
about the nature and content of those calls.
I see.
Uh, are you permitted to tell me how you know what you know?
We electronically surveil Ambassador Kislyak
as a matter of routine.
So we were on all those calls.
They discussed sanctions,
diplomatic expulsions,
the UN vote on Israeli settlements.
If General Flynn has told the vice president
or anyone else in the administration
that those calls did not touch upon those topics,
then he has told an untruth.
And the vice president has a right to know
that he has been propagating that untruth
in the public square.
What are you planning to do with this?
Y-You gonna notify Congress?
It is not our...
intention to embarrass the White House.
It is our intention to protect the American people.
So, this is close-hold.
But we believe General Flynn is now compromised
with respect to the Russians.
You'll have to explain that to me.
He has lied.
And the Russians know that he has lied.
They undoubtedly have their own recordings
of those conversations.
That gives them leverage over him.
The-the term of art is "kompromat,"
meaning...
they could now blackmail him.
And every single time
another member of this administration
goes on television to say
Flynn and the ambassador did not touch upon those topics
or discuss the sanctions,
the level of kompromat increases.
General Flynn was interviewed this week
by two FBI agents, here at the White House.
Were you aware of that?
No.
How'd he do?
I'm sorry. I'm not at liberty to tell you.
But an investigation is ongoing.
Think we should just fire him?
That is not our call.
Obviously, you don't want
the highest-ranking National Security officer
in the U.S. government to be...
blackmailable by a foreign adversary.
Especially Russia.
Well... [grunts softly]
thanks for bringing this to our attention.
We appreciate it.
Thank you for coming back on such short notice.
Of course.
I reported back to the president
after our meeting yesterday,
and there was one thing we were unclear on.
Why does it matter
if one administration official lies
to another administration official?
[inhales]
[Comey] I want people to sit in the courtyard.
So, tables, umbrellas.
We're gonna build a gym on the mezzanine.
And maybe a day spa?
Done. [chuckles]
[phone rings]
Director Comey's office.
Of course. One moment, please.
Sir, the president is calling.
Thank you.
This is Jim Comey.
[Trump] Hi, Jim.
Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?
Of course, sir.
[phone ringing]
-Hi. -[Comey] Hi.
I can't meet you for dinner tonight.
-Sorry. -Better offer?
No. But definitely a bigger name.
The president.
Oh.
Just the two of you?
I hope not.
Me, too.
♪ slow, suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
[dialogue inaudible]
♪♪♪♪♪
Just the two of us?
Yes, sir.
♪♪♪♪♪
I like that.
People who are on time.
[footsteps approaching]
I think a leader should always be on time.
Good to see you, Mr. President.
I hear things are going very well at the Bureau.
You're gonna love Jeff Sessions.
Very smart.
First senator to endorse me.
Sit.
I look forward to working with him.
He doesn't know I called.
I wanted this to be private, just between us.
Reince Priebus doesn't even know you're here.
They write these things one at a time,
by hand.
Calligraphy.
They write them by hand.
So, what do you want to do?
Sir?
Lots of people want to be director of the FBI.
But I tell everybody how highly I think of you.
I have lots of friends there. [inhales]
Nobody has better relationships with the FBI than I do.
So people would tell me if there was a problem.
But I know you're respected,
which is what I tell people that say I could make a change
if I wanted to.
Press has been very unfair to you.
I know about that.
Nobody gets treated as unfairly as I do.
It's disgraceful.
So I'd understand if you wanted to... walk away,
go back to the private sector.
I know that's attractive.
But, um, I don't think it'd be good for you, personally.
It'd make you look like you'd done something wrong.
Who needs that? [inhales sharply]
I mean, doesn't matter to me that I could make a change.
I, mm...
I get along with everybody.
But I wanted to know what you were thinking about it.
It's true, Mr. President.
You can fire the FBI director at any time,
for any reason or for no reason at all.
But... I want to stay
because I love the Bureau and I love my job
and I believe I'm doing it well.
One thing I never had to think about in the Trump Organization,
because I did so much myself--
You know, people think we were so big, but...
[inhales] truth is, I did everything.
But now I have to rely on people.
I have all these...
idiot advisors around who think they got me elected.
You know who I actually listen to?
TV people.
Because they got to get ratings every day.
White House advisor can guess wrong,
still keep his job.
Not the TV guys.
A lot of smart people in that business.
Well, you can rely on me, sir.
To tell you the--
I need loyalty.
♪ haunting music ♪
I expect...
loyalty.
♪♪♪♪♪
You would think,
being a New Yorker...
I'd be prepared for how nasty this town is.
[inhales]
I mean,
I'm a tough guy, right?
But this town--
they lie about the size of my inauguration--
biggest crowd ever-- and they can't give it to me.
They lie about me mocking some disabled reporter...
[inhales] which I never did.
Like I'm gonna grope
some unattractive woman on an airplane
or pay some porn star to come to my room.
It's all fake news.
And people-- a lot of people--
are saying that.
You know, Hillary never understood
how good I was at getting free media,
which I call "earned media"
because you got to work to get it.
But it was just such a nasty campaign.
There's a very fine book about the political battles
between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson--
Yeah, somebody gave me that book.
It's upstairs.
I'm gonna read it.
They make these jokes about me--
Alec Baldwin-- it's so terrible.
Like I can't read.
Who do they think writes all my best-selling books?
As I see it,
you had three phases with the Hillary e-mail thing.
Phase one, where you saved her
by announcing you weren't gonna prosecute,
which a lot of lawyers have told me was not the right conclusion.
Our investigators spent a year on it before deciding
there was no prosecutable case there.
Well, a lot of smart people, very educated people, disagree.
Alan Dershowitz.
Anyways, then comes Comey Two,
where you did what you had to do by telling Congress
you were reopening the investigation.
Absolutely the right move.
Then comes Comey Three,
where you saved her again,
which she totally misplayed.
And then you get attacked, I think very unfairly,
by the liberal mainstream media.
Partisan CNN.
How do you hold up under the strain?
Same way you do, I imagine.
Family.
Oh, this is luxury.
And I know luxury.
I'm pretty great at interior design.
This is nicer than Mar-a-Lago.
Does your guy McCabe have a problem with me?
No, sir, of course not.
I was pretty rough on him during the campaign.
Andy, like everyone else at the Bureau,
is a professional who puts country first.
Ours is an apolitical culture.
'Cause I'm still very upset about
this golden showers business.
It would bother me if there was even one percent chance
Melania would think it was true.
I'm a germophobe.
I didn't even stay over that night.
People saw that.
You should investigate the allegation
to prove what a lie it is.
Mr. President, we can do that, but you should know
that if we did, it would create a narrative
that we were investigating you personally.
And it's very difficult to prove that something
-didn't happen. -Well, think about it.
Because it would be very hurtful to me and my family.
Of course.
Would you ever like to have your family here for dinner?
-You can. -Mr. President,
I-I think it's in your best interest
that we not socialize too much.
The country needs to know that the FBI
is completely divorced from politics.
Obama was very close with Holder
when Holder was attorney general.
I thought that was a mistake.
He made a lot of them.
We're just starting to dig out from some of his mistakes.
It's unbelievable how much we're accomplishing.
You can make Reince Priebus your contact.
He knows we're meeting here tonight.
The point is...
I need loyalty.
You will always get honesty from me.
That's what I want--
honest loyalty.
You will get that from me.
♪ slow, dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
[engine starts]
♪♪♪♪♪
[Comey] Damn it.
♪♪♪♪♪
[beeping]
Am I overreacting?
No.
No, this is how a mob boss talks.
[Comey chuckles]
A few takeaways--
the independence of the FBI doesn't mean anything to him.
He sees everything in terms of personal loyalty.
He's fixated on the hookers thing.
And he thinks you have a problem with him.
I told him you don't.
Boss, you have to be very careful here.
Memorialize any more conversations you have with him.
There aren't supposed to be any conversations with him.
[McCabe] Did he bring up Michael Flynn at all?
Or acknowledge that we had been to the White House
-to interview Flynn? -[Comey] No.
Possible he was respecting a boundary there?
Hard to say.
He moves so fast from one subject to another,
and so much of what he says is factually and legally incorrect.
It's possible that he thinks the conversation went well
and that I'm solidly on board.
This cannot happen again. It is completely
inappropriate for the two of you to engage like this.
He's the president-- am I supposed to refuse his call?
He just asked you to put loyalty to him above your duty
to investigate the threat posed by Russia.
I'm aware.
Uh, boss?
He just fired Sally Yates.
♪ slow, somber music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
Ma'am?
Can I get you anything?
Are you asking me if this is a two-Diet-Coke day, Justin?
I guess I am.
I'll be fine.
But you could hand me those couple of books
over there.
Justin...
you ever start to feel shaky...
...go outside...
and look at the buildings up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
They've been here a long time.
And they're gonna be here a long time.
Because what they represent is eternal--
institutions,
the rule of law,
no matter who is in power.
Understand?
I do.
Yes, ma'am.
Go.
[reporter] Sources report that the president
will soon name Rod Rosenstein, U.S. attorney for Baltimore,
to replace Yates as deputy attorney general.
[Poppy Harlow] President Trump telling Fox News in a brand-new
interview he respects Russian President Vladimir Putin.
That's not new.
Here's what is new, the president acknowledges
that Putin may be a killer, but adds,
"We've got a lot of killers."
Even Republicans are perplexed and some of them
have condemned those comments.
Why do you think the president continues to praise Putin?
[Priebus] So...
I understand your dinner with the president went very well.
And that you're interested in staying on.
Yes.
So how does that work, do we make an announcement or...?
That's not really necessary.
As I explained to the president, I already have a ten-year term.
So there's nothing to announce.
Oh, well, I think he wanted to.
But let's talk about how you and I are gonna be working together,
the rules for the FBI director, White House chief of staff.
Did you talk to Denis McDonough often or...?
We talked about policy and operational issues,
specific terror threats.
As I explained to the president, there's a bright line
between DOJ and the White House.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Did you talk to him about the Hillary e-mail thing?
Never, and he wouldn't ask.
We all thought that that was so unfair
how that landed on you, like it was your fault
that she set up her e-mail system illegally.
Or that she decided not to campaign in Michigan.
[laughing]
Listen, uh, are we confidential here?
If you like.
Thank you.
Do you have a FISA order on Mike Flynn?
Reince, that's the bright line
I'm talking about.
Question like that should go to the White House Counsel,
then DOJ leadership, then to me.
Sorry, it's a rookie mistake.
[chuckles]
Do you have a FISA order on Mike Flynn?
No.
Thank you.
Do you want to see the president?
I'm sure he's very busy.
Actually, he likes impromptu meetings.
Uh, DOJ has a no-contact policy with the White House.
-It's really in his best inter-- -I'm sure he'd love to see you.
I'm gonna go see if he's in the Oval.
Can I ask you a question, sir?
Mm-hmm.
What did you guys actually have on Hillary?
Can you keep a secret?
Yeah.
So can I.
[chuckles] Hello, Director.
General.
How are you settling in?
All fine, except for my, uh, my workout routine.
I haven't found time for that lately.
This place has plenty of stairs.
Might just come to that.
He'd love to see you!
Great.
I see you changed the curtains.
Obama's were horrible.
These are the same ones Bill Clinton used.
I wonder how I would've done against Bernie
if you'd charged Hillary like you should have.
How do you think I'd have done against Bernie?
We try to stay out of the political realm, Mr. President.
So how come Andy McCabe's wife ran for office?
Number two guy in the FBI,
taking a million dollars from the Clintons.
A lot of people, very educated people,
said I wasn't rough enough on him.
Does he have a problem with me?
Mr. President, as I told you, Andy is a pro.
I know you'll come to value him, as I do.
Have you done any more thinking about the golden showers thing?
'Cause it would really bother me
if Melania gave that any credibility.
The hookers thing is nonsense,
although Putin once told me
they got the most beautiful hookers in the world there.
But I didn't even stay overnight in Moscow.
I stayed long enough to be nice.
I'm nice to everyone when it's business.
No one here gets that because no one here ever had
to make a business deal.
I sat down for an interview with Bill O'Reilly.
Did you see it?
Yes, sir.
He insults the Russians, and now he owes them an apology
because why is he calling them killers?
And why is he trying to get me to say it
when I'm trying to repair all the damage Obama did
and get along with people again?
So I should say I don't respect the leader
of a major country I'm trying to get along with?
Putin is a strong thinker.
He speaks very powerfully.
And he never sent anyone with a briefcase
and a billion dollars for Iran like Obama did.
That nuclear deal is a disgrace, another thing we have to fix.
If Russia can help us in the region--
and a lot of my military people say
Russia's going to be very key for us there--
why would I want to insult them?
You know, everybody's crying for Ukraine.
The Ukrainians aren't so terrific.
They've tried to invalidate my election.
They're not nice people.
So I gave a good answer.
Really, it was a great answer.
I gave a really great answer.
You think it was a great answer, right?
The first part of your answer was fine, Mr. President,
but not the second part.
We aren't the kind of killers that Putin is.
These aren't the curtains Bill Clinton used.
[Baker] Boss, you cannot keep
having conversations with this man.
[Comey] I'll say it again. He's the president, our boss.
He won't invite me over again.
I really offended him this time.
[McCabe] Did he bring up Michael Flynn?
No, but he brought up you again,
and the Russian hookers and Hillary.
[Baker] This is not tenable, any of it.
[Comey] Let's assume good faith for a second,
that he just doesn't know how a president is supposed
to act with DOJ, and no one around him does, either.
It's our job to help him.
-How do we do that? -You've explained it
-to him clearly? -Yes.
Can we set up a briefing for him? Someone else to explain it?
I'm not sure he's interested.
Have you seen any evidence that he values the rule of law?
None.
Then why are we assuming good faith?
What should I do? Arrest him?
You've had worse ideas.
[announcer] This is CNN breaking news.
[theme music plays]
Our breaking news on CNN,
the national security advisor, Michael Flynn, has resigned.
Flynn's resignation coming in the wake of news
that the Justice Department warned the Trump administration
last month that Flynn misled the administration
about his communications
with the Russian ambassador to the United States,
and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians.
Again, that's our breaking news here on CNN.
I want to get right to all of our correspondents...
[Comey] Mr. President, as you know, tracking
ISIS and its penetration levels
on American soil is a big part of the FBI's mission.
But there are other threats that we don't talk about as much
that are equally dangerous long-term,
requiring an entirely different level
of vigilance and attention.
There is a sophisticated Eastern European terror group--
they call themselves the "Chechen Islamic Brotherhood"--
that has embedded sleeper operatives
in the United States.
These people have been here legally for years.
They speak fluent English and look Caucasian.
They have families and jobs.
And they are time bombs.
We are devoting enormous resources
to monitoring these people.
We try to jam them up where we can on local charges,
in ways that don't show our hand.
We've even tried to flip some,
but they are hard guys, and they are, right now,
quietly preparing with extraordinary patience
and disciplined tradecraft, for something big.
Sir, our partners overseas have picked up chatter
about an attack on an East Coast American city this summer.
The Tsarnaev brothers-- they were Chechen, right?
The, um... They were the Boston Marathon guys.
Yes, but we don't know that
they were connected to The Brotherhood.
The Tsarnaevs lacked the discipline
that this group typically demands.
And we don't yet know the city?
No. We are watching now
to see where they're allocating resources.
Okay.
Thanks, everybody. I want to talk to Jim.
Thanks, everybody.
You know, I wrote a book,
a very, really successful book,
a year before the World Trade Center,
said there's someone named Osama bin Laden,
you ought to take him out, he's big trouble.
I think I wrote 12 books.
Nobody listened to me. Thanks, Jeff.
I want to talk to Jim.
Yes, sir.
That e-mail investigation looked pretty tricky.
Okay, Jared. Thank you.
-It was. -Thank you, Jared.
[door closes]
Did you see my tweet this morning?
I didn't, sir.
I make calls on this beautiful phone
to leaders in Australia or Mexico or wherever,
and I expect those calls to be confidential.
And then, I see leaks in the fake news,
quoting me, saying things I don't even remember saying,
I don't think I even actually said.
And people say I've got one of the world's greatest memories.
The leaks cost Mike Flynn his job,
which I think is very sad.
Making calls was his job.
I want that,
especially with Russia.
But he lied to the vice president so I let him go.
But he really is a good guy.
I have a good guy coming in to replace him.
He enjoys a lot of respect from very smart people, but...
but you know better than anybody
how unfair the fake news can be.
Sir, leaks are terrible.
On our side of the street,
leaks can jeopardize FBI operations,
put lives at risk.
Well, we can start by going after the reporters
that get people to leak.
You know, ten or 15 years ago,
put reporters in jail to find out what they knew.
It worked. It worked on Judy Miller.
I am a fan of pursuing leakers aggressively,
but going after reporters is tricky
for legal reasons, constitutional reasons.
Well, talk to Sessions about it,
see if we can be more aggressive.
You know, they spend a couple of days in jail,
suddenly they're ready to talk.
[door opens]
-Mr. President. -Ah, we'll see ya, Reince.
Just-just a minute or two more.
Mike Flynn.
He's a good guy, been through a lot.
He lied to Pence, but he didn't do anything wrong on the calls.
I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go.
He's a good guy.
Maybe he has some judgment issues. I don't know.
[inhales sharply]
But I hope you can let this go.
♪ slow, suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
I agree he's been through a lot.
It's just these leaks.
They're really disgraceful.
He's a Republican. He's always been a Republican.
But he is a D.C. guy.
And the president does not like D.C. guys.
And he doesn't like long briefings. I told you.
General Sessions, can I have a word with you?
Course, Jim.
That can't happen. You're my boss.
You can't get kicked out of the room so he can talk to me alone.
You have to be between me and the president
for the sake of the Bureau.
-[sighs] -General?
That was a fine briefing you gave, Jim.
You know, you really are a good guy.
That's fucking obstruction of justice.
The president just committed a crime in your presence,
and he asked you to break the law.
-I know. -Did you tell the A.G.?
No. Pretty sure he's about to recuse himself on all this.
-That'll go over well. -Yeah.
Boss, uh, I'm uncomfortable with this.
It looks too much like you're being pulled into a conspiracy
by the president of the United States.
Yes, that is his intention. Now what?
Things will settle down once Rod's in place as D.A.G.
He'll normalize our relations across the street
and restrict our contact to the White House.
You sound like a PowerPoint. Rod's not gonna save you.
He's gonna cover his own ass, as he always has.
Do you really not know how screwed you are?
Of course I do.
Well, then stop walking into the Oval
thinking you can outwit this guy.
He's just gonna fire you.
He can't fire me. I'm running the Russia investigation.
-It'd look horrible. -That's ego.
That's fact.
Jim, Jesus. Fact is dead now.
[Sessions] I,
-Rod Rosenstein... -I, Rod Rosenstein...
-...do solemnly swear... -...do solemnly swear...
...that I will support and defend...
...the Constitution of the United States...
-...against all enemies... -...against all enemies...
-...foreign and domestic. -...foreign and domestic.
Looking forward to diving in, Rod.
Discussing department priorities.
Oh, I have prepared a list.
Good. Good.
Tell me, where on that list
would you put firing James Comey?
I certainly
think it's something we should discuss.
Okay.
[Sessions] ...that I will bear true faith...
...that I will bear true faith...
...and allegiance to the same.
That I take this obligation freely...
...without any mental reservation...
...or purpose of evasion.
And that I will well
-and faithfully discharge... -And that I will well
-and faithfully discharge... -...the duties of the office...
[Rosenstein] ...the duties of the office...
[Sessions] ...which I am about to enter.
[Rosenstein] ...which I am about to enter.
[Sessions] So help me God.
-So help me God. -Well done, Rod.
Okay.
♪ slow, suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
He's gonna get his head chopped off.
Isn't he?
We all are.
I'll see you at the ranch.
[alarm clock beeping]
[turns off alarm]
[Comey sighs heavily]
-[pills rattling] -[exhales]
[Comey] I'm not sure I can do this.
[Patrice] Yes, you can.
That one, honey.
[Trump] Listen.
I'm here to tell you,
this Russia thing is a ruse.
It's a ruse.
I don't have any deals in Russia.
I don't have any dealings with Russia.
I could have, very easily,
but I didn't want to carry any debt.
As a businessman, I always had very little debt.
No debt.
Because I believe that's the best way to do business.
Now, tomorrow you'll say,
"Donald Trump wants to get along with Russia.
This is terrible."
It's not terrible-- it's good.
We had Hillary Clinton give Russia 20%...
[Van Jones] ...don't be a bully.
[Trump] ...of uranium in our country.
[Jones] You tell your kids, don't be a bigot.
[Trump] We have a very valuable man, Rex Tillerson,
who's gonna be meeting with them shortly.
And I told him, I said, "I know..."
Greatest thing I could do is shoot that ship
-that's 30 miles offshore... -But he's just a traitor.
But either way...
If we could get along with Russia...
-...he betrayed me. -...it's a positive thing.
♪ slow, somber music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
Boss?
The president's calling for you.
[Trump] Listen, I'm trying to run the country,
and the cloud of this Russia business
is making that very difficult, very tough.
If I didn't have the cloud, we would've won
the health care vote and a lot of people are very upset
about that because that should've gone through.
You know I have nothing
to do with Russia.
I have a letter here from the biggest law firm in D.C.
saying I have no income from Russia.
And I'm going to be filing a personal lawsuit
against the author of this horrible dossier.
And I'm not even sure Steele is his real name.
It sounds like a made-up name to me.
But it's gonna be a huge suit, because the things he said
were very unfair and very painful.
So I want to know what you can do
to lift this Russia cloud.
Mr. President, we are running it down as quickly as we can.
For now it's in your best interest to let us do that work.
You know, nobody knows how many problems I create for Russia.
I'm actually very bad for Russia.
Much tougher on them than Obama.
I'm gonna be commissioning more nukes, newer nukes.
Ours are 40 years old, some of them.
I'm also making sure we're doing more oil drilling,
which Russia hates, but all I get is
Trump, Russia, Trump, Russia-- the same cloud.
And it's very unfair, and very bad for the country.
So I think
there should be a way for you to get out there
that you're not investigating me.
Sir, I was just up on the Hill,
and I told congressional leadership
that we are not investigating you.
I'm trying to make smart deals, tough deals.
And it's incredible how well we're doing.
No one can believe it.
It's probably the best first month
any president ever had.
And it's because I hire all the best people,
only the best.
But I have this cloud hanging over everything.
And now I'm supposed to go to the G7,
so I only hope that you can get out the fact
that I'm not being investigated.
I haven't brought up the McCabe thing,
because you say he's an honorable guy,
but he's very close with Terry McAuliffe
and the Clintons.
And they gave him money.
But you say he's an honorable guy, so...
so I'm trusting you.
Yes, Andy is an honorable person.
Okay.
Thank you, Jim.
-[rapid scribbling] -Boss?
Do you want to go to a diversity recruiting event
at the L.A. field office May 9?
-[rapid scribbling] -[phone thuds]
You're really trying to recreate--
Okay, that's easy.
Your... your grandmother taught me.
-Okay, here we go with that one. -Oh, good.
-And then there's that one. -Ah.
-Thank-thank you. -What's that?
The drama department randomly decided
to do Guys and Dolls.
I'm trying out for Adelaide.
-Oh. -[Patrice speaking quietly]
-Come here. -Ah.
Like that.
Tonight, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions explained
his decision to recuse himself,
and it came from his involvement with the Trump campaign.
He said he felt it was the appropriate thing to do
because of his ties to the campaign.
He made no mention of his meetings
with the Russian ambassador as a factor in this decision.
And he said he did nothing wrong.
[Trump] Jim... just checking
that you did what I asked you to do before?
Get out the fact that I'm not being investigated?
Sir, I passed that request along to Dana Boente,
but I haven't yet heard back from him.
Who's that?
Sir, with General Sessions recused,
Dana Boente is now acting A.G. with respect to this issue.
Well, Jeff shouldn't have recused himself.
It was a dumb thing to do.
Because now every time I sit down
with a foreign leader, it's this cloud.
The Democrats keep bringing it up,
and it's just an excuse for losing the election,
when maybe I just ran a great campaign.
The most effective way for you to handle this is
to have your White House Counsel, Don McGahn,
call the acting A.G. to make all requests.
I have been very loyal to you, very loyal.
We had that... thing, you know?
McGahn should talk to Dana.
Anyway, the reason I called,
they just had the bombings, the Coptic Church.
Three Americans killed by an Egyptian soldier.
A lot of people are very upset.
So I spoke to the Egyptian president.
-I know Obama never-- -Sir, I think
you mean the Jordanian king.
The bombing incident occurred in Jordan.
Just bring the killer to justice.
You're doing a great job, Jim.
♪ slow, somber music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
Smart birds.
You write it all down, boss?
I just noticed...
you can't see the White House from here.
That never bothered me before.
No. I guess you can't.
♪♪♪♪♪
You okay?
[Rosenstein] Jim.
Thanks for coming.
Of course. You settling in okay?
Eh, reasonably.
A few land mines strewn about.
Ha, that's surprising.
I thought I'd stepped on all of them already.
What can I do for you?
I thought you might give me a tutorial.
You know, how to do this job as well as it can be done.
Also, I wanted to know who you thought I should pick
for the Manhattan office.
I'll answer the second question first.
I know the White House is pushing Bob McRaven
for that position, but I think he'd be a disaster.
I have serious questions about his integrity.
Would urge you to talk to Clark Derry.
Clark thinks Bob perjured himself
on a case the Chicago office prosecuted.
Well, that makes things easy.
As to running this office, tell me...
...what was your favorite kind of candy as a kid?
[laughs softly] Hmm?
Someone comes into my office to brief me,
they're often scared by the myth of the place.
That limits their effectiveness.
One personal connection, and they relax.
So what was yours?
-Reese's. -Ah.
Mine, too.
Almond Joy was a close second.
Not sure I can imagine asking someone that question.
Why not?
I'm not you.
The job is about protecting people.
Every decision comes back to that.
Everything the entire department does
will run through this office, so you need to be at your best.
You need to eat well, exercise, get enough sleep.
You need to be with your family to recharge yourself.
That goes for all of your staff as well.
Try to get out of the office by 6, 6:30 every night,
because no one will leave before you do,
and you want them spending time with their loved ones.
Workaholics make soulless choices.
That must be why your staff likes you so much.
I just treat 'em like people.
And the president? How do you treat him?
Leaders like that throw you back to first principles.
Hmm.
You just have to keep remembering what they are.
[assistant] Sir, I have the A.G. calling.
Should I ask him what his favorite candy was?
[Rosenstein] The next day,
unbeknownst to me,
the president went to his hotel in New Jersey
with Stephen Miller to write a memo
designed to justify the firing of Jim Comey.
It was called the "Bedminster Memo,"
a four-page screed excoriating Jim.
[Trump] Jim Comey is an Obama guy, okay.
I don't care how much he talks about being a Republican,
he has never protected me because he's an Obama guy,
and he's not on the team.
The president gave it to Don McGahn,
who gave it to General Sessions...
who gave it to me.
And then I was summoned to the White House.
What was your favorite?
As a kid?
I'm sorry?
Nothing.
[quietly] That was stupid.
Rod.
-Don. -Hey.
Mr. President...
I don't think you can send this memo out in its current state.
Why not? It's all true.
It reads like personal animus instead
of a reasoned executive decision--
He lied to me.
He told me he would tell people I wasn't under investigation.
And I was very specific about that.
Very strong and powerful there.
And then he goes to the Senate, and he doesn't say it.
A lot of people told me I should fire him, but I kept him around.
He's not a good guy. He's a dirty guy.
-A bad cop. And he lied to me. -Well, nevertheless,
the language in this memo is fairly incendiary
and very easy to misconstrue.
I think it would be bad for the presidency
and bad for you legally
to-to have this out there.
What parts?
Well, for one, you do not need to mention--
and should not-- the Russia investigation
as grounds for firing Director Comey.
His mishandling of the Hillary e-mails is enough.
He and I had an understanding
about what he was gonna tell people, and he didn't do it.
The Trump-Russia cloud.
He told me he'd lift it and then didn't.
People should know he broke that deal.
[Rosenstein] Sir, you would be exposing yourself
to unnecessary risk here.
Then you write it.
-I can do that. -Great.
Would you put in
the fact that he told me three times
I wasn't under investigation?
It's very important that people understand that.
[Rosenstein] Again, that would be
conflating your decision to fire him
with the Russia investigation,
which is what we're all seeking to avoid.
He's got people thinking I like golden showers.
[inhales] Are you gonna keep anything about it?
Jim Comey takes his fucking initials too seriously.
Stephen keeps me tied to my base,
which a lot of people forget, and then they don't
get reelected.
I don't want your version to go too easy on Comey.
He's a bad guy. He's a dishonest guy.
I understand how you feel, sir.
Fine. Start writing.
But I want Russia in there.
♪ slow, somber music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
[sighs]
[Comey] Thank you for your work.
Thank you. Thanks for being part of what we do.
President Kennedy was touring a NASA facility once
when he came upon a guy pushing a broom.
This was 1962.
And the president asked,
"What do you do here?" And the guy replied,
"I'm putting a man on the Moon."
Exactly. Exactly.
I'm here in L.A. for a diversity recruiting event
where I will try to convince... Is it 500?
-Five hundred and six. -Five hundred and six.
Five hundred and six lawyers and engineers
and business school graduates
that they ought to take a cut in pay
and become special agents with the FBI.
Now, oddly enough,
this isn't a tough sell,
because people fundamentally believe
in the mission of this Bureau.
A mission every one of you...
♪ slow, dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
[dialogue inaudible]
I'm gonna go figure out what's happening.
Uh, but...
Whether or not that's true,
my message to you won't change, so let's just--
Let me j-- I'll finish that. Um...
Every one of you is personally responsible
for protecting the American people
and upholding the Constitution of the United States.
Thank you for doing it so well.
Deirdre?
[man] Director Comey, I have the deputy on the line.
Thank you. Does that mean it's true?
[McCabe] A letter was delivered from the White House, boss.
You've been fired, effective immediately.
I see.
Can you read it to me?
You sure?
Yeah.
"Dear Director Comey,
I have received the attached letters
from the attorney general
and deputy attorney general of the United States
recommending your dismissal as the director
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
I've accepted their recommendation,
and you are hereby terminated and removed from office,
effective immediately.
While I greatly appreciate
you informing me on three separate occasions
that I am not under investigation,
I nevertheless concur
with the judgment of the Department of Justice
that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.
It is essential that we find--"
What do the attachments say? From the A.G. and the D.A.G.
A.G.'s is pretty standard.
-Yeah. The one from Rod? -Two and a half pages.
Read it to me, will you?
-Boss. -Andy,
I can't order you to.
I'm just asking.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation
has long been regarded as our nation's premier--"
Just skip to the gruesome parts.
This whole thing is gruesome, boss.
-[chuckles] -"The current FBI director
is an articulate
and persuasive speaker about leadership
and the immutable principles of the Department of Justice.
He deserves our appreciation for his public service.
As you and I have discussed, however,
I cannot defend the director's handling of the conclusion
of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's e-mails,
and I do not understand his refusal to accept
the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken."
Deirdre, if you would,
I'd like you to conduct the recruiting event for me.
Sure, boss. Course.
♪ slow, somber music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
Well, it's true.
What you've heard.
President has fired me, effective immediately.
Andy McCabe will now be your acting director,
which means you are in very good hands.
The FBI's values are bigger than any single person,
so it's the same mission no matter who's running it,
so I-I have no fear for its future.
What saddens me...
...is leaving you.
The kind of people you are.
Honest.
Fearless.
Independent.
Patriotic.
That...
...I will miss.
I wish you all the best.
♪♪♪♪♪
And?
It is the determination of my team
that it would absolutely be a lawful use of taxpayer funds.
He was traveling on FBI business.
The government is obligated to bring him home.
And the plane has to return to D.C. regardless.
So do his protective and comms teams.
The director wants...
[scoffs softly]
Jim would like to rent a car and drive back.
-No. -Three thousand miles?
There are security issues here.
What if some nut decides to shoot him?
I can't believe we're even having this conversation.
Okay.
Put him on the plane.
♪ slow, somber music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
Thank you for your service, Shaun. And your friendship.
Boss, I have to say it.
You deserve better.
Get home to your family.
Thank you, sir.
[vehicle door opens, closes]
♪♪♪♪♪
What's new?
You tell me.
I had so much more left to do.
[crying]
-♪♪♪♪♪ -[dialogue inaudible]
[reporter] Yes or no, did the president
direct Rod Rosenstein to write this memo on James Comey?
No, the president had lost, uh...
Again, like I said, he'd lost confidence in Director Comey,
and, frankly, he'd been considering
letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected.
Uh, but he did have a conversation,
uh, with the deputy attorney general,
uh, on Monday where they had come to him
to express their concerns.
The president asked that they put those concerns
and their recommendation in writing,
which is the letter that you guys have received.
[reporter] So it's the White House's assertion
that Rod Rosenstein decided on his own
after being confirmed to review Comey's performance?
Absolutely. And I think, uh, most of America
had decided on their own that Director Comey
was not, uh, the person that should be leading the FBI.
[McCabe] In short,
our investigation is beginning to overlap
with the Senate Intel's investigation.
It's creating some issues.
It's our feeling that with public confidence
in both the Bureau and the Senate now compromised,
the best option...
...the only option is the appointment
of a special counsel.
Rod?
[inhales sharply]
Are you okay?
I can't believe
they used me like this.
-But you wrote the memo. -I...
They asked me narrow questions, and I answered them narrowly.
I didn't know that they were going to use me like this.
I...
[inhales deeply]
Is your family okay?
Are you sleeping at all?
The president wants me to say that firing Jim was my idea,
but that is a lie.
And there's no one in here that I can talk to about this.
There's nobody in here that I trust.
I wish I could talk to Jim about this.
He'd understand what I'm dealing with.
It's pretty funny, huh?
[sniffles]
I think he's unwell.
The president.
I think if someone invoked the 25th Amendment,
there would be support from a lot of the cabinet.
Sessions would support it.
Kelly, too. Others.
But you'd need evidence to convince the public.
I should wear a wire next time I'm with him.
Then everyone would know.
I could.
I never get searched when I go in there.
No one ever searches me.
I could record him.
It's so crazy in there.
Would it be helpful to you if I...
wore a wire next time I'm with him?
I could record him.
Rod, can I--
Can I get back to you on that?
Yeah, this is it.
Yeah. I just fired the head of the FBI.
He was crazy, a real nutjob.
I faced great pressure because of Russia.
It's taken off now.
You know, fake news...
Fake news.
They keeps talking about, "Election interference,
election interference.
The Russians meddled in our election. Oh, no!"
And I think, first, who cares?
We got the right result.
Right? And second,
what do they think we do to other people's elections?
We invented meddling.
How do you know Putin wasn't our idea?
[laughing]
♪ slow, suspenseful music ♪
[McCabe] Here's what I see.
I see a president launching an attack on this Bureau
to weaken it.
I'm not yet ready to ascribe motives for this.
But when viewed in conjunction
with him inviting two Russian intel operatives into the Oval,
and the firing of Director Comey,
which was designed to slow or stop an ongoing investigation
into Russia's malign activities concerning our election
and our democracy more broadly,
I am forced to make a very disconcerting call.
We have to expand the Crossfire Hurricane investigation
to include the president himself.
When the world learns of this,
the blowback will be immense.
"How dare they investigate a sitting president?"
So let me be clear.
This investigation is about Russia,
period, full stop.
It has always been about Russia's attempt
to undermine our democracy.
Flynn, Manafort, Papadopoulos, Carter Page--
they all put themselves within our line of inquiry.
So has the president.
We have adequate predication to be investigating all of them.
Is everyone clear?
-[door opens] -[Althea] Sir?
The president is calling.
Secured line?
-No, sir. -Thank you.
[door closes]
This is McCabe.
This is Don Trump. How are you?
I'm fine, sir. How are you?
You know, boy, it's incredible.
Such a great thing. People are really happy
about the fact that he's gone.
I mean, it's just remarkable what people are saying.
I received hundreds of messages from FBI people,
how happy they are that I fired him.
People saying things on the media. Have you seen that?
You know, I didn't actually know how hated he was.
What's it like there in the building? Have you seen that?
You need me, sir?
Why would I need you?
[McCabe] People here are very surprised.
But we're trying to get back to work.
Yeah, I really want to come over there to the FBI
and show all my FBI people how much I love them.
So I think it'd be good for me
to come over there, tomorrow or the next day.
Do you think that'd be a good idea?
You're always welcome here, sir.
But I want to know
how he was allowed to fly home on the FBI jet.
I watched that, and I want an investigation opened
into how that happened and who allowed that.
Mr. President, I can look into that for you,
but it's really unnecessary.
I authorized it.
-[slams drawer closed] -What?!
We had an obligation to bring him and his staff home safely,
as well as the flight crew and the plane.
I don't want that. I don't approve that. I don't want that.
Nevertheless, sir, I authorized it.
Well, I want it looked into.
And he's not to be allowed back on FBI property again.
Ever.
You send him his stuff in boxes. Is that clear?
-Yes, sir. -I'm surprised at you.
I'd heard you were part of the Resistance.
Sir?
That you didn't agree with Comey on the Hillary e-mails,
you didn't like his decisions.
No, sir.
I was a part of those decisions.
Oh.
Well, you just make sure
the courtyard is full when I get there.
FBI people love me.
Same feeling I get in North Carolina, which I won so big.
90% of the Bureau voted for me.
Who did you vote for?
Mr. President, I've been a Republican all my life.
I have voted
for every Republican presidential candidate.
But given the circumstances present at the time,
I didn't feel it was appropriate for me to vote in 2016.
You know, your problem is your wife.
She lost her election in Virginia, didn't she?
Yes, she did.
Ask her how it feels to be a loser.
♪ tense, atmospheric music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
We will need to be meticulous here.
I want a documentary record
of everything we find, in indelible fashion
so that if I am removed from office
or otherwise marginalized,
our work will go on unabated.
That is vital.
He can fire me,
but he cannot fire the FBI.
♪♪♪♪♪
Let's begin.
[Charlie Rose] Fired FBI director James Comey says
the president tried to convince him
to end the investigation
of former national security advisor Michael Flynn.
[Norah O'Donnell] The story was first
reported by The New York Times
and then confirmed by CBS News.
James Comey wrote a memo
about an Oval Office meeting with the president.
This was the day after General Flynn was forced to resign.
[Jeff Pegues] The former FBI director
was known for taking detailed notes
of meetings, but these Comey memos
allegedly show a pattern and raise
additional questions about whether
the president was trying to interfere
in the Russia investigation and why.
[reporter] On Friday evening,
the Senate Intelligence Committee announced
that James Comey has agreed
to testify in open session
before the committee.
♪ slow, suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
Hey, boss.
[chuckles] You drove all the way
from Atlanta just to say hello?
Heck no. I'm private sector now.
I flew all the way from Atlanta just to say hello.
-First class. -[chuckles]
It stinks, what the White House is saying--
that you weren't loved and respected inside the Bureau.
I wanted you to hear it from me.
You were.
You still are.
Really wanted to have my opening memorized for this one.
Having trouble this morning.
You'll be fine.
Thanks, Mark. Appreciate it.
[Sarah Sanders] The American people
see right through the blatant lies
of a self-admitted leaker.
...the nickname that Donald Trump has given James Comey,
that nickname being
-"Slimeball." -[Rick Santorum] This is a man
who's a narcissist.
[John Podesta] A horrendous error
of judgment, and he did it,
I think, 'cause he's kind of an arrogant guy
who was trying to protect his own reputation.
-[loud, overlapping chatter] -[camera shutters clicking]
♪ slow, somber music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
[Comey] In conclusion, Senators,
I want the American people to know this truth:
the FBI is honest.
The FBI is strong.
And the FBI is
and always will be independent.
Now, I'd like to take this opportunity
to say something to my former colleagues, if I may.
I am so sorry that I didn't get the chance
to say goodbye to you properly.
It was the honor of my life to serve beside you,
to be part of the FBI family,
and I will miss it for the rest of my life.
Thank you for standing watch.
Thank you
for doing so much good for this country.
Do that good as long as ever you can.
And, Senators, I look forward to your questions.
[camera shutters clicking]
[Rosenstein] He does speak beautifully.
I will give him that.
And he... he shakes hands with all the janitors.
But for all his theatrics, Jim Comey got himself fired,
while I stuck around to keep the ship afloat.
You ever think of that?
Me.
Those people out there may not love me,
but they respect me.
Shouldn't that be enough for a public servant?
Sir, I really should get started.
[clears throat]
I have to get the place ready for the new D.A.G.
Of course.
You know, every day before I come in,
I spend some time outside looking at all the buildings
on this street.
You should do that.
Why's that?
'Cause they've always been here.
Doesn't matter who the president is,
which party is in power.
The institutions, the rule of law.
Nothing ever knocks them down.
That always comforts me.
Good for you.
And it's 3 Musketeers.
My favorite candy bar.
[Rosenstein laughs softly]
I guess this is where Jim Comey would turn around,
help you build those boxes and ask you for your life story.
Yeah, probably.
♪ "America the Beautiful" by Ray Charles ♪
Goddamn showboat.
♪ America ♪
♪ Oh, America ♪
♪ May God thy gold refine ♪
♪ Till ♪
♪ All success ♪
♪ Be nobleness ♪
♪ And ♪
♪ Every gain divined ♪
♪ And you know, when I was in school ♪
♪ We used to sing it something like this, listen here ♪
♪ Oh, beautiful ♪
♪ For spacious skies ♪
♪ For amber waves of grain ♪
♪ For purple mountain ♪
♪ Majesties ♪
♪ Above the fruited plain ♪
♪ But now, wait a minute ♪
♪ I'm talking about ♪
♪ America ♪
♪ Sweet America ♪
♪ You know, God done shed his grace ♪
♪ On thee ♪
♪ He crowned thy good ♪
♪ Yes, he did ♪
♪ In a brotherhood ♪
♪ From sea to ♪
♪ Shining sea ♪
♪ You know, I wish I had somebody to help me sing this ♪
-♪ America ♪ -♪ America ♪
-♪ I love you, America ♪
-♪ God shed his grace ♪ -♪ You see, my God, he done ♪
-♪ Shed his grace on thee ♪ -♪ On thee ♪
♪ And you ought to love him for it ♪
♪ 'Cause he, he, he crowned thy good ♪
♪ He told me he would ♪
♪ With brotherhood ♪
♪ From sea to ♪
-♪ Shining sea ♪ -♪ Shining sea ♪
♪ Oh, Lord, oh, Lord ♪
♪ I thank you, Lord ♪
♪ Shining sea ♪
♪ dramatic, soaring music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪
♪ atmospheric music ♪
♪♪♪♪♪