08/06/2017 Outside Source

Hello, I'm Ros Atkins, this is Outside Source.

A month ago, the director of the FBI was fired by Donald Trump.

Today, he gave his side of the story.

James Comey gave an extraordinary account of his dealings

with the President in the weeks ahead of his sacking.

It is my judgment that I was fired because of the Russian

investigation, I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavour was

to change the way the Russian investigation was being conducted.

And James Comey used a word some shy away

The administration then chose to defame me

and I am so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them,

and I'm so sorry that the American people were told them.

The White House has been quick to respond.

The president feels completely vindicated and is eager to move

forward with his agenda, with the business of this country, and with

this public cloud removed. And, of course, we can't forget

that voting is under way We'll bring you the exit polls

in just under one hour. The former FBI Director

James Comey gave testimony

to the US Senate today. This is how Glenn Thrush

of the New York Times puts it. "History made, former FBI director

calls a sitting president a liar." Or you could take the view

of Bill O'Reilly. "The President took hits

on Flynn but nothing

that was not already known." Mr Comey answered questions

from the Senate Intelligence And his contact with

Donald Trump was the focus. As was alleged Russian

interference in the US election. by a president for any reason

or for no reason at all. And on May 9th, when I learned

that I had been fired, for that reason, I immediately

came home as a private citizen. But then the explanations,

the shifting explanations, confused me

and increasingly concerned me. They confused me, because

the president and I had had multiple So it confused me when I saw

on television the president saying that he actually fired me

because of the Russia investigation, and learned again from the media

that he was telling privately other parties that my firing had

relieved great pressure I was also confused by the initial

explanation that was offered publicly, that I was fired

because of the decisions I had made That didn't make sense to me

for a whole bunch of reasons, including the time and all the water

that had gone under the bridge since those hard decisions

that had to be made. And although the law required

no reason at all to fire an FBI director, the administration then

chose to defame me by saying that the organisation

was in disarray, that the workforce had lost

confidence in its leader. He was also asked why he thought he

was fired, this was his answer. It is my judgment that I was fired

because of the Russian investigation, I was fired in some

way to change, or the endeavour was to change the way the Russian

investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal, and not

just because it involves me - the nature of the FBI and its work

requires that it not be the subject of political consideration. And on

top of that, you have the Russian investigation itself is vital

because of the threat, and I should have said this area, but it is

obvious, if any Americans were part of helping the Russians do this to

us, that is a very big deal. I am confident that if that is the case,

the director will find that evidence.

Rajini Vaidyanathan was in the hearing.

On the face of it, a bad day for Donald Trump, so how do we explain

that a lot of Republicans seem quite bullish at the end of the testimony?

Well, I think, from the republican perspective, many are saying that,

actually, James Comey's version of events is nothing new, and that some

of the things that he talked about in that hearing, and of course he

released the testimony the day before, just confirmed what we have

already heard. People on the Republican side are not necessarily

jumping to the President's defence, but they did pick some owls, even

during the testimony, about the way James Comey handled this. We might

come to this later, he went to a friend to leak some information

about one of his meetings with President Trump. That was picked up

in the meeting as a question of concern. Also, people said, well, so

many things were leaked during the time in the last few months that

there was concern over the dealings between James Comey and President

Trump, yet the one thing that actually presents Mr Trump in a

positive light, the fact that he is not being investigated as part of

the Russian inquiry, well, that was not believed. Also, I think one of

the wider concerns the Republican side is that they don't see this as

any grounds for a case for impeachment. The Democrats I have

been speaking to here on Capitol Hill say this gives them more of a

case, it emboldens them. Lots of elements to pick up on, before we

talk further, let me show all of you watching what Donald Trump's lawyer

has been saying, he spoke to the media a little while ago.

Contrary to numerous false press accounts, Mr Comey has now finally

confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told President Trump

privately. That is that the president was not under

investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference. The

president never in form or substance directed or suggested that Mr Comey

stop investigating anyone, including the President never suggested that

Mr Comey, quote, let Flynn go, close quote. The president feels

completely vindicated and is eager to continue moving forward with his

agenda, with the business of this country, and with this public cloud

removed. We heard reference to

Michael Flynn there. He was President Trump's

national security advisor. The Senators were particularly

interested in whether Donald Trump asked Mr Comey to drop

the investigation into Mr Flynn. Why didn't you stop and say, Mr

President, this is wrong, I cannot discuss this with you? It's a great

question. Maybe if I were stronger, I would have. I was so stunned by

the conversation that I just took it in, and the only thing I could think

to say, I was playing in my mind, I could remember every word he said, I

was playing in my mind, what should my response be? That is why I

carefully chose the words. Lordy, I hope there are tapes. Ireland is

saying, I agree he is a good guy, as a way of saying, I am not agreeing

with what you asked me to do. Maybe other people would be stronger in

that circumstance, but that is how I conducted myself. I will never have

another opportunity, maybe if I did it again, I would do it differently.

Rajini, the senators have heard all of this information, what do they do

with it? Well, this is all part of ongoing investigations that are

being conducted here in Congress about whether or not the Trump

campaign had any contacts with the Russians, that they had yielded

influence in some way, and more principally as well about the

connection between the Russians and their hacking of the election last

year. In that hearing, James Comey was an equivocal in saying that he

believed that the Russians did hack the election last year. He said this

was not a case of Republicans or Democrats, this was a case of

Americans who needed to be concerned about the potential for Russia to do

this again. So that is the focus of the inquiries here in the Senate and

the House, but the main event, you could say, is the FBI investigation,

which is being overseen by the special counsel appointed recently,

Robert Muller, a former head of the FBI as well. So lots of

investigations going on, and it could be a long and drawn-out

process. Please stay with us, I want to pick up on one of the things

Rajini referred to. One of the most significant revelations was James

Comey admitting that he had asked a friend to leak details of his

conversation with President Trump about Michael Flynn. The memo was

mentioned multiple times today, here is a couple of them. What was it

about that meeting that led you to determine that you needed to start

putting down a written record? A combination of things. I think the

circumstances, the subject matter and the person I was interacting

with, the circumstances first, I was alone with the President of the

United States, with the President-elect, soon to be

president. The subject matter that I was talking about, matters that

touch on the FBI's core responsibility and relate to the

President-elect personally. And the nature of the person - I was

honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so

I thought it important to document it. That combination of things I had

never experienced before, but it led me to believe I had to write it down

in a details way. Rajini, whatever anyone's politics, impossible to

deny that the former director of the FBI and looked relaxed, what did it

look like? Yes, I should just say that quote that you just played is

staggering, and that felt like a moment in the room that will

certainly be replayed and played again in history. You have

effectively got the former head of the FBI complying that the President

of the United States is a liar. In that room, James Comey came across,

as you say, as very relaxed, he did not hesitate when he was asked

questions by senators from both sides of the political aisle. He had

no notes, and even though he was questioned for a number of hours,

you barely took any sips of water from the glasses on the table in

front of him. I wrote this down, quite a staggering quote amongst all

the others that we have picked apart, but one that is quite

telling, Ros. He said at some point, I remember every word he said, and

you get the impression, Rose, the James Comey is a man who has an

attention to detail. If you read the testimony that was released, where

he described the encounters with the president in great detail, you got

that impression. People watching this, not just where I was, a few

seats behind him, but across America, they might actually think

that James Comey's details and his account could be believable because

of the detail and level at which he went into it. I must stress that the

President's lawyer has come out and denied several areas of that

account, but really this does come down to what Donald Trump said,

President Trump, and what James Comey said. OK, Rajini, appreciate

you taking us through that. In a few minutes, we will be back in

Washington to take some of your questions on the story, so if you

are getting confused, and it is understandable, send them my way.

The e-mail address is on the screen. Any questions on what has been

happening in Washington, DC, you are welcome to send them my way. We will

get some questions answered for you a little bit later.

The day the British liberated the Falklands. By tonight, British

troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. In the heart of

the West German capital, this was Gorby mania at its height, the crowd

packed to see the man who, for them, had raised great hopes of a vision

of Europe. Michael Jackson was not guilty on all charges. The screams

of the crowd testament to his popularity and their faith in his

innocence. As long as they paid to Gozie Ugwu, I will get at there and

take them down the hill. -- to go see me.

I am Ros Atkins with Outside Source, we are live in the BBC newsroom. Our

laid story is that James Comey has testified in the US Senate about his

dealings with President Trump and the alleged Russian interference in

the US election campaign. He says he documented all of his meetings with

Mr Trump because he was concerned the president might lie about them.

The White House has responded, saying the president is not a liar.

Some of the main stories from BBC World Service, first of all, as you

will know, it is the UK general election today, we are into the last

hour of voting, that has been taking place in more than 40,000 polling

stations. A total of 650 Members of Parliament are going to be elected,

and nearly 47 million people are registered to vote. The polls will

close at the end of this programme in about 45 minutes. BBC News will

be broadcasting an election special, we will get the exit polls very

quickly, and whether you are watching in the UK or outside of the

UK, you will see that right here. Let's look at the timeline

that leads us to today's His first clash with Donald Trump

was during the election campaign. Mr Comey had announced the FBI

was dropping an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use

of a private email server. Although there is evidence of

potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified

information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring

such a case. "FBI director said crooked Hillary

compromised our national security." "No charges. Wow!

#RiggedSystem." Remember, later on,

Mr Comey announced that the FBI was examining

new emails of Mrs Clinton's, less than two weeks

before the election. Next, let's move on to

when Donald Trump became President. He appointed Michael Flynn

as his national security advisor. Questions quickly arose

about his connections to Russia. James Comey says Mr Trump

invited him to dinner, alone. He says during this dinner

the President said, "I didn't move, speak,

or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward

silence that followed." because the same account had

appeared in the New York Times. It turns out

James Comey had leaked it. the President denied

saying any such thing. Meanwhile, the allegations

about General Flynn continued to leak in the press,

including one that said he'd misled about talks he'd had

with the Russian ambassador. The president was very concerned

that general Flynn had misled the vice president and others. The

evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation, and a

series of other questionable instances, is what led the president

to ask for General Flynn's resignation.

The day after, Mr Comey claims that Mr Trump kept him back

after a meeting and told him, "I hope you can see your way

clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go."

Again, this these lines had been leaked

Here's how Mr Trump responded to a question

Did you at any time ask James Comey to back down

Allegations about key members of President Trump's administration

and links to Russia had been surfacing since the early days

In March, his Attorney-General, Jeff Sessions,

recused himself from any federal inquiries

into the alleged Russian interference in the election.

that claiming he'd not disclosed meetings he'd had

with that same Russian ambassador who met with Michael Flynn.

he admitted he'd made a mistake but said it was an honest one.

This statement from James Comey at a congressional hearing.

The FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is

investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in

the 2016 presidential election. And that includes investigating the

nature of any links between individuals associated with the

Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was

any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts.

It was the first time the FBI had confirmed

Mr Comey has claimed today that in the time that followed,

Mr Trump called him twice to talk about the Russia inquiry.

Then, in May, Mr Comey was fired by letter.

At the time, he claimed that it was because of the deputy

Attorney General's criticism of the handling of the inquiry

But then in a later interview, the President said this.

I was going to fire Comey, my decision. I was going to fire him.

Now one of those articles I showed you, the one on Jeff Sessions

was written by Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post.

Earlier I spoke to her from their newsroom and got her to assess Mr

Comey's statement today. He did not disappoint. He lived up to the hype

of, you know, being someone who was just a master at giving dramatic

testimony. It was remarkable, nearly three hours long, opening remarks in

which he basically accused the Trump administration of the framing him

and the FBI. -- the -- defaming. And putting out information that was all

lies, he said. Some have said that Mr Trump was unfair in his

description of him, and of not telling the truth, and on one level

that will not hurt the president, is it? It is not going to hurt him

amongst his base of supporters who firmly believe that there are people

who are just lobbing accusations and falls and without foundation, and

are doing so with political motives. But what we have here is an

extraordinary showdown of sorts between a well-regarded former FBI

and director and the President of the United States over whether or

not the President of the United States sought to interfere in any

way into an investigation of Russian interference in the presidential

election, and whether or not there was coordination between the Trump

campaign and Russian officials. One of the big takeaways was that Mr

Comey was the source of Bailey got a story which contains details of

conversations that he had had with Mr Trump. You yourself have written

very high impact articles, I wonder what it is like working in

Washington at the moment with this be Reilhac must be and with the

media and your publication right in the middle of it. -- with this

febrile atmosphere. I have never seen anything like it, and never had

such a per and of stories and revelations of almost a daily basis.

You just wonder how long it can go on. Help our viewers around the

world understand what changes because of the day's testimony,

where do we go from here? What changes is, in a sense, the focus

now is in part on whether or not there was obstruction of justice by

the president himself. Jim Comey said he could not answer that

question, it would be up to the special counsel, himself a former

FBI director who was appointed after Jeff Sessions recused himself. In

fact, another remarkable revelation today at the hearing was that Mr

Comey himself leaked these memos in the hope that they would spur the

appointment of a special counsel. And that detail, that he had hoped

to provoke the appointment of a special counsel, does that make

James Comey a political player now, someone who ceases to be above the

political fray? One could reasonably, you know, argue that, I

think, or I can definitely see a debate about that point. I mean, it

was certainly I opening enough for us to want to make that our lead

story during the hearing, once we heard that revelation. You know,

first of all, to acknowledge that he had written these detailed memos

after all of these meetings with the president, then to say that he

purposely shared them with close associates and ask one of them to

get it out to the public and the media through a leak, that was just

stunning. Thank you very much indeed, Ellen Nakashima. We have

tried to bring you up to date on what has happened today, and also

the context that has made it important, but if you want more

information on the story and all the allegations and statements that have

come with it, you can find that wherever you wanted on the BBC News

website or the BBC News app. Let me quickly mention, before we end this

half-hour, something that all of you watching, I am sure, are completely

aware of. Across the UK millions of people

are voting in the general election. Prime Minister Theresa May

cast her vote Every politician is not just seeking

to become a Member of Parliament, whether they are the leader of their

party or not. Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader

of the Opposition, Labour Party Tim Farron is the leader

of the Liberal Democrats. He voted in Kendal

in the north of England. Polling stations will stay open

until 10pm local time. Very soon after they close, a

glorious shot we have of Westminster there and the River Thames, almost

immediately after those polls shut, we get the exit polls, which would

give us simply indications of he is old. You can see those, of course,

on the BBC.