trump presidency. then george washington university law school professor jonathan turley on the firing of james comey by president trump. president trump: he was not doing a good job, very simple. he was not doing a good job. host: that was president trump's reaction on why he decided to fire james comey, reporting this morning includes the fact while this decision was made on monday, it was the white house chief strategist, steve bannon, who questioned if the timing was right. also "the washington post" reporting this morning that the man behind the memo that started the process, steve rosenstein, who just got the job of deputy attorney general, threatened to resign over reports of how he was being perceived in this firing. there are other aspects this morning about the firing of the f.b.i. director, james comey, including what it does for that investigation at the f.b.i. over russia and the 2016 election.

we're going to talk about all those aspects this morning, and we want to hear from you. here's how you can let us know about your thoughts, if you support or oppose director comey's firing. 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. or independents, 202-748-8002. you can also let us know your thoughts about the firing of james comey on our social immediate media platform. @cspanwj is how to twoot your thoughts this morning. if you want to post on facebook, you can do so at facebook.com/cspan. the f.b.i. has an acting director, that's andrew mccabe, set to testify today before the senate intelligence committee. the papers this morning also talk about potential people to serve as interim director of the f.b.i. in light of the firing. pictures also included in the "washington journal" street this morning, they include adam lee, an agent in charge of the richmond office, michael

anderson, in charge of the chicago office, andrew mccabe, which you just heard, serving as acting director, and he was the deputy f.b.i. director der james comey, william evanina, serving as counterintelligence executive at the office of the director of national intelligence, and paul abbate, in charge of criminal and cyber crimes at the f.b.i., also potentially could serve as next director. some of the people also highlighted in other papers about possibly serving, new jersey governor chris christie, soon-to-be retiring congressional member from south carolina, trey gaudy, and milwaukee county sheriff david clark, amongst the people that have been listed as far as potential replacement. also, the story in the "washington times" says that the list also includes the potential next director of the f.b.i., steven cook, a former police officer and federal prosecutor that mr. sessions brought on to combat crime. another choice that could be popular among f.b.i. agents is

former representative mike rogers of michigan. he's the former agent who later served as chairman of the house intelligence committee. his name popped up in the last search for an f.b.i. director, and he won the endorsement of the f.b.i. agents association. that's one aspect of the story. this stems from the firing of james comey. we'll get other papers to see what they bring, but we want to hear your thoughts on the firing and what you think about it, the f.b.i., overall what it does for what happens in washington, especially as work goes on in the house and senate over things like tax reform and healthcare, what it might do for the status of investigations into russia and the elections, all those things up. 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8002 for independents. you can post on our platforms, @cspanwj on twitter. republican line up first,

manassas, virginia, sam, go ahead, what do you think about the firing? caller: well, i'm glad he's fired. but let me say this. if it wasn't for comey, trump probably would have got elected. if he did what he was supposed to do and indict hillary clinton, they would have put another nominee in and probably would have won. let me say something else about schumer's independent council. schumer is the best thing that ever happened to the republican party. i mean, you realize that because of schumer, the next supreme court nominee only needs 51 votes. that means ted cruz could be the next supreme court nominee. i got my popcorn and tea ready for that. what i'm trying to say, these guys are screwing up -- democrats are screwing up left and right to benefit republicans. i'm glad he's fired. the guy was a loose cannon. i'm just glad he's fired. that's all i have to say. host: joe from north carolina, our line for democrats. good morning.

caller: yes. host: you're on. caller: i object to the firing of mr. comey. but i am humiliated and angry about the picture of my president in the oval office with two russian operatives of vladimir putin. we don't have to be humiliated as americans. mr. trump can do whatever he wants to do, and i believe our out on top in the end. but people out here are getting angry over this in your face kind of business with donald trump. he needs to stop this. host: so, joe, when it comes to the firing of director comey, why specifically do you oppose it? caller: the one reason why,

that the man was involved in an investigation of our president as as much transparency the system will allow being both legislative executive and judicial. and he was doing nothing under the rug. he was doing nothing illegal that can be pointed out. so where's the malfeasance that results in his firing, being only the second f.b.i. director fired in the history of the agency. this is ridiculous, and the humiliation has got to stop. host: joe in north carolina giving his thoughts this morning. a couple of things he said about director comey, the lead headline of "the washington post" this morning that the director was seeking more resources for that probe that the f.b.i. was conducting into russia and the elections.

that was coming, just happening before his firing. also, the caller mentioned that picture of not only president trump, but also the russian foreign minister and russian ambassador in the oval office, a meeting that didn't have the men available to questions from the press, and even as it comes to this photograph, also matt novak off of twitter highlighting the fact that the images that you see of this meeting were provided by the russian state news agency task as other press were not given access to this. that's matt novak highlighting that fact this morning. bill from corpus christi, texas, independent line. hi there, go ahead. caller: good morning, simplet i'm amaze the at both your previous callers. the first one obviously doesn't have any concern for the balance of power in the three branches of government. he wants someone to just be a dictator. the second one, he's upset by a picture? come on. host: as the firing itself,

what do you think about it? caller: do you honestly think trump fired him for something he cared about when it happened? host: so what do you think happened or what do you think is behind the firing? caller: once again, he's impeding the investigation into himself. look at what's occurring and how many republicans have bit the dust when they're connected with this issue. he's continually trying to kill this and says so. he believes that if he puts out these fake tweets that we'll believe him. we don't, and i'm not going to trust anybody he appoints. i've lost complete faith in this president. i don't care who he puts in charge. it's either an independent rosecutor or nothing for me. host: that's bill in corpus christi, texas. opinion page of the "new york times" this morning includes an open letter to the deputy

attorney general, mr. rosenstein, about what happens next, or at least in mile an hour thinking, what should happen next. he says when it comes to the memo that he acceptability initially on the topic of the firing of james comey, the editors write, in any case, the memo is yours, and that's compromised your ability to oversee any investigations into russian meddling. but after attorney general jeff sessions recused himself from these matters because of his own contacts during the campaign with the russians, the power to launch a truly credible investigation has fallen to you and a lofpblete --

host: again, that's an open letter to mr. rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. again, that letter, by the way, the letter that he has sent, there are several letters that have led up to the firing of jim comey. if you go to our website, that's where you can find a copy of the memo that started the process, and read it for yourself. again, that's available to you at c-span.org. jew i can't from north carolina, democrats -- julia from north carolina, democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i oppose this firing of donald trump. f james comey. james comey was getting too close to donald trump, and at's the reason why he fired jim comey. host: why do you think that is? what leads you to believe that? caller: well, the investigation

was getting closer and closer to all the time to donald trump. as far as i'm concerned, donald trump, ryan, and jeff sessions need to come under a firing squad. thank you. have a good day. host: michael from pennsylvania, republican line. good morning. go ahead. caller: how you doing, buddy? host: you're on. go ahead. caller: ok. i think they did the right ing, because i think he go around with the hillary stuff, you know what i mean, he investigated, he investigated, e showed all the things that he apparently did wrong, but he didn't feel it was worth, you know, what's going on anymore with. and i think he was doing the me thing, you know, with

trump and russia and all that. he was just -- i don't know what he was trying to do. i think he's a decent guy. i really do. i think it was just -- there was too much on his head, and, you know, it just -- it was just time. sometimes, you know, it's just time to, you know, time to move on. and i think that's exactly what he did. i'll tell you what, when he flew out of there in that plane yesterday, i bet thaw guy sat back and just said thank goodness. because it was just too much pressure. i don't know whether trump was involved with the russians. but at the same time, he was involved with the russians in other countries when he was in business. he hasn't been a politician for 20 years. he just started.

so, you know, you can say, you know, i mean, maybe he was friends with the guys. i don't know. now you know, i think -- he can relax and, you know, just say, hey, man, i'm the heck out of here. host: jim comey's firing impacts my personal liberty, no, so i don't care, he says. richard rogers saying it's team for a special independent prosecutor to investigate putin's interference with our elections. 17 agencies so say, question mark. ed in clarksburg, west virginia, independent line. hi there. caller: hi. how are you this morning? host: fine, thank you. caller: i support the firing of him. i think the man -- i don't know what he was really trying to do. i really don't. but he was playing hopscotch, just hopping from one dumb, stupid thing to another. he should have been barred by

obama for the way he did hillary, and then -- but other swore got up there and that her husband was sent thousands and thousands of emails, and it was a lie. it was a lie. he should have known that they've been preaching this that he sent letter to huma. he should have stopped that. he knows that. i think that's part of why he was fired. i think the real reason he was fired, he refused to investigate the reach into the white house of who let the newspapers have the information. i personally think the man should have -- everybody says why now? well, why not now? tomorrow, yesterday?

it doesn't make any difference. when you're fired, you're fired. and i think he should have been fired. and the people act like he was a private detective, that only he is investigating this, nobody else is investigating it, just him. the democrats, they whine. they wanted to get rid of him. now they don't. the republicans, they whine. i'm an independent. get rid of him, get somebody else in there, but he was not a private detective. host: gotcha, thanks. the wall street highlights this fact that mr. comey was started to receive daily instead of weekly updates on the investigations looking into russia, beginning at least three weeks ago, according to people with knowledge of the matter, and the progress of the federal bureau of investigation probe, mr. comey was concerned about information showing potential evidence of collusion, according to these --

>> no, the president had lost, 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. but he did have a conversation with the deputy attorney general on monday where they had come to him to express their concerns. the president ask that they put those concerns in writing, which is the letter that you guys have received. reporter: is it the white house's assertion that they decided on his own, after being confirmed, to review comey's performance? >> absolutely. i think most of america had decided on their own that director comey was not the

person that should be leading the f.b.i., as evidenced by the numerous comments that we've seen from democrat members in the house and senate republican members, members of the f.b.i., and people across the board. host: "the washington post," in a tweet last night, talked about stories that would be on the front page today, also adding that there will be 14 bilines added to the stories of the reporting and 30 sources that would be included in the reporting. amongst those information from "the post" about rod rosenstein is this saying that he threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the white house on tuesday evening cast him as the prime mover of the decision to fire jim comey and that the president acted only on his recommendation, said a person close to the white house who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. justice department officials declined to comment. dean up next, maryland, republican line. caller: yes. am i on? host: yes. go ahead. caller: good morning. i agree with president trump

100% for firing comey. and there is a clear reason. ever since he was conducting the investigation of hillary clinton and the emails, it showed that he's unable to distinguish politics from his job, and to do what's the right thing to do. so when he went on and discussed publicly what all the wrongs she had done and then took one step further and decided as if he was the chair of the department of justice that she should not be prosecuted, he's not the prosecutor, he's the main policeman. he's doing the job of investigating, not prosecuting. i think that was what tipped the iceberg for many of us here, and we also thought that, you know, once trump took office, he will never drain the swamp. he will never continue this investigating, albeit all the

numerous judicial watch evidence that was obtained through requests and lawsuits that were pending in federal courts, so we would read judicial watch discoveries, and the press would not cover it, and we were wondering whether trump would ever drain the swamp, and i think he restored the confidence of us who voted for him that he will do what he promised, and he would do, i think, just a wonderful thing to see. host: so caller, when you talk about confidence then, what about democrats and even some republicans expressing concerns over confidence of the status of the investigation by the f.b.i. into sandrureb its activities, or potential activities in the 2016 election? caller: you know, we have to go back and see this whole, when did it russian hacking start? it started when hillary clinton lost the election, and it was the democrats who tried to find an excuse why she lost the election, and all of a sudden it started getting into not why

hillary clinton ran a private server from her house, not whether she was the one who was negligent to allow, not just russians, but chinese and everybody else to hack into sensitive materials, forwarding hem to huma, forwarding to her husband. all these things were wrong in the first place. so now, after trump won, all of a sudden it's the russians who hacked the elections. i'm reading a post, and i'm seeing a lot of people actually becoming a joke. russians are responsible for everything. and it's not true. host: ok. let's hear from a caller in california, palmdale, california, democrats line. joanne, hi. caller: hi, good morning, c-span. you know, i'd just like to say, it's been one disaster after another. this was my president. i supported him. i thought he would do a good

job. but i tell you, it's one disaster after another. firing yates after she -- tries to give him information about a compromise, attacking the press, now then flynn, carrying him like a banner on his shoulder all through with the american people to see, and now this picture of him standing with these russians, and in the white house with those nuclear codes in his pocket, we don't know what this man is doing. we don't know what information they're giving him. it's becoming so scary to just watch this disaster, one after another. host: so specifically to the firing of jim comey, what do you think? caller: i think jim comey should have never been fired. i think jim comey finally, after all that he's been through, not handling it right

with hillary clinton, an f.b.i. person deciding at that point that he was going to do the right thing, and trump couldn't get him to fall in line with sessions and the rest of them, i think jim comey was really stepping up, trying to get to the bottom of this, and i think donald trump said, you know what, if you're not going to play ball, then you have to go, just like all the others that he threw out before those two were brought in. host: "the wall street journal" this morning takes a look at the f.b.i. firing, but what it might do for activities in both house and the senate, focusing on the senate side. just to show you the headline this morning, trump's firing of comey fans partisan flames in congress, leadership in the senate took to the floor to talk about not only the firing, but potentially reaction from the other side, depending on the perspective that's speaking. we'll hear first from the

senate majority leader mitch mcconnell talking about the firing, specifically democratic reaction to it. senator mcconnell: we have now, mr. president, our democratic colleagues complaining about the removal of an f.b.i. director whom they themselves repeatedly and sharply criticized, that removal being done by a man, rod rosenstein, whom they repeatedly and effusively praised. mr. rosenstein recommended mr. comey's removal for many of the very reasons that they consistently complained about. two investigations are currently ongoing. the senate intelligence committee's review of russian active measures and intelligence activities and the f.b.i. investigation disclosed by director comey. today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation.

that could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done, but also to let this body and the national security community develop counter measures and war-fighting doctrine to see what it doesn't occur again. partisan colleagues should be delay the considerable work. too much is at stake. deputy attorney general rosenstein was just confirmed on a bipartisan vote 94-6. 94-6. and that sort of fair consideration should continue when the senate receives an f.b.i. director. host: that was senator mitch mcconnell from yesterday. "new york times" heighting the work of the senate intelligence committee into the work, saying the committee issued its first subpoena in the russia investigation yesterday,

ordering michael flynn, president trump's former national security advisor, to hand over records of any email, phone calls, meetings, and financial dealings with the ussians -- host: eddie from north carolina, independent line, hi. caller: how you doing? thank you for taking my call. i watch c-span every morning. i'm a 69-year-old vietnam vet, and i oppose him firing comey. i think he's getting too close to the things with the russians. trump to start with, and won the election when somebody's got 2.5 million more votes than you, i don't know how you can win it, but evidently his rich buddies in the electoral college voted him in. and if you'll notice on his administration, all of them

millionaires and billionaires, and they don't know how to relate to the common working man. i mean, there's no way. they've never had to worry about bills, buying clothes for kids, or paying their bills. they've always had the money, and they mostly inherited the money. so they think they're better than average and common working men. and there's a lot more to do .ith russia and trump his son made the statement that the money sure was pouring in from russia, $100 million, and he's making laughingstock of america. the plan in the campaign was all a ply to get the poor and uneducated to vote for him. thank you for taking my call. host: angel in washington state, republican line. go ahead. caller: hey, handsome. you look good as always.

yeah, i think james comey needed to be fired. his wavering back and forth over hillary clinton and then overstepping his authority was embarrassing. it was like trump should have drained it from the swamp immediately after he took office. as far as russia, wikileaks already exposed the c.i.a. using cybertools that can make any cyberdata information true, hello, russia. so how could we trust anything regarding cyberdata or even supposed cyberinterference? i mean, it's ridiculous. host: herbert up next from georgia, democrats line. hi there. caller: good morning, pedro. you know what? we need to stop making this out of being democrat or republican. we should preserve the integrity of any official that works for the taxpayers. and that's when a lot of them don't understand. they are hypocritical, man. they are very hypocritical, the ones who trump -- they the ones rom trump who voted for trump.

if you don't like your employer, you get fired. trump had been lying and administration has been lying to the people, the taxpayers, and the taxpayers, and i don't see why y'all as a media don't call them out on it. when he talk about fake media, you all say we taxpayers, man, we pay your salary and your staff's salary. y'all need to stand up to this man, let him know you're not going dictate to me, me paying your salary, what you want to tell me. host: so, herbert, to the firing of firing james comey, what are your thoughts on that? caller: i oppose that. one thing about it, the guy was there from obama administration. he was appointed. he was a republican. he was appointed to the position. and he had a contract for 10 years. now the investigation being done on him and his family members, all the ones connected to him, then he's doing what the taxpayers want him to do,

because he works for the taxpayers. you don't work for trump, and that's what we need to let all of them know, that you don't work for trump and his administration. you work for us. and if we want transparency out of this administration or any republican or democrat administration, any person, then we want that transparency of the investigation of what you're doing. the man been lying since he been there, and i don't even understand it, and you know what, pedro, look at his old administration, the guys who voted. we don't see no multiculture people. i don't see no hispanics there, no blacks there, i don't see no asian people. this thing, you know, it's causing so much division within the united states democracy of america, and we should demand, as taxpayers, that, hey, you spending our money, and buddy, if you run trump enterprise, then you can do what you want to. host: we got you. we spent the fist half-hour

talking about the f.b.i. director, james comey, being fired this week and getting your thinking on if you support or oppose the firing. so what we ask you to do, pick a line that best represents you, and is then tell us why. tell us why you support it, tell us why you oppose it. do so as democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. nd independents, 202-748-8002. respond on twitter, too, @cpanwj. acebook.com/cspan. if there was any filth on trump, it's still there, one tweeter says. one says the president isn't stupid, he wouldn't have fired him if he didn't have dirt on him. that's why mr. trump won't fire bannon. we talked about the politics behind it, particularly thousand plays out on capitol hill. you heard from the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell.

let's hear from the senate minority leader from new york, and as he talks about not only the firing of jim comey, but also how democrats could respond going forward. >> there are three things that our caucus agreed must happen right away. first, mr. rosenstein should not be the one to appoint a special prosecutor. that responsibility should go to the highest serving career civil servant at the department of justice. second, mr. comey is needed more than ever to testify before the senate. third, attorney general sessions and deputy attorney general rosenstein should brief all senators on these events separately and in a classified setting if necessary, and they should do it soon, because the questions are just swirling about. there are more ever day, almost

every hour. host: that was senator schumer yesterday on the firing of james comey. willie, you are up next in jacksonville, florida, independent line. caller: yes, i oppose the it ng of comey, but effectively ended the investigation, because rosenberg was appointed by trump. you got a better chance of seeing donald trump's taxes than he's been getting a special prosecutor to check on this stuff with russia. it's not going happen, ok? the next f.b.i. director will be in trump's pocket, or the same thing is going to happen to him. so this investigation is over. we're discussing it, but it really doesn't mean anything. now the republicans, you get on to the business of taking care of the country, because the rich obviously don't have enough money.

ok? but this investigation, sir, is over. the special prosecutor has to be appointed by donald trump's man, rosenberg. the next f.b.i. director will probably be the govern from no jersey, his boy. this investigation is over. host: let's go to mel in albany, new york, republican line. caller: hello, sir. i've been listening to this conversation. i've been really up on what's been going. i think what's going on with director comey, his firing, i think what's going on is trump was getting very worried and very nervous that comey was about to catch him with the russia probe. they already have him on tape saying that he would do certain things for the russians. so trump was getting worried. here's the thing. we already know, msnbc is reporting that senate intel mike tee is subpoenaing

flynn for his involvement for russia. this looked like a coverup, watergate all over again. people keep saying that this is not going to go forward. iing about to differ. i think mr. trump will be impeached. if he's not impeached, and if he's impeached, i think he's going to go to jail. think story is not over. caller: i think it's very suspicious on james comey's art about what he did. must be available for consumers that look like you're from any location in the world. i mean, it could be a possibility that it wasn't russia. i'm just saying. thanks for your time. host: if you go to the hill website, they have a running list of republican senators and how they've kind of responded to the firing of jim comey and

where they stand on it. among the list of senators critical or concerned, john booseman of arkansas, richard burr, the senate intelligence committee chairman who said in a statement, "was troubled by timing and reasoning of director comey's termination." bob corker of tennessee saying the case for removal of the federal bureau of investigate laid out by the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein was thorough, his removal at this particular time will raise questions. that's people on the concerned list. there are 23 people listed who are supportive of the president's action when it comes to republican senators. this is roy blount of missouri who said that, many, including myself, have questioned mr. comey's actions more than once over the past year. i believe new leadership at the f.b.i. will restore confidence in the organization. susan collins of maine said that today's announcement is likely the inevitable conclusion of director comey's decision last july to bypass the longstanding protocols of

the justice department and publicly announce the reasons he had decided not to recommend an indictment of hillary clinton and to offer his personal views of mrs. clinton's actions. also quoted, senator john cornyn of texas, the senate's number two republican, said obviously he's been at from the of controversy both among democrats and republicans at different times. there's other people on this list also that kind of weighed in, supporting, opposing, neither is also a category. we're asking you the same, what do you think about the firing, if you support or oppose it, and the line on the screen. rob, new york, independent line. caller: good morning, pedro. i just wanted your listeners to know something, a little background about james comey. he was on the board of hsbc when they laundered money for the drug cartels in mexico. he just stood by and let it happen while he was on the board. he was promoted to the head of the f.b.i., as we all know, by obama. loretta lynch, she was in

charge of prosecuting hsbc. she saw that everybody had fines, that no bankers were ever jailed or charged. so this is just proof that both parties are corrupt, and i think that comey never should have been in the position in the first place, because hsbc is just, you know, they're just an awful company, and they've been doing this stuff to us for years and been getting away from it. host: aside of that, the firing itself, what do you think about it, was it justified in your mind? caller: well, i do, but boy, the timing is bad. i saw him just a couple of weeks ago saying that trump's people were under investigation with their ties to russia. i know donald trump saw that too. the timing is horrible. i can't believe trump shot himself in the foot like did he. but he's not a very smart man, apparently. host: from the "wall street journal" this morning, their editors write a piece, rod rosenstein directing him, saying concern of long-time prosecutors is that mr. comey became a force unto himself.

he didn't tell attorney general loretta lynch until the last minute that he would hold his july press event, exonerating mrs. clinton. his excuse afterward was that ms. lynch was compromised after meeting with bill clinton on an airport tarmac, but what about sally yates, what was she, a potted plant? ost: -- host: kenny in south carolina, republican line. hi there. caller: hi, good morning. i have a lot of respect for mr.

comey. i personally believe he's a good man. i realize he was appointed by a different president, but really not my judgment to make as a citizen. i can have an opinion, but i can't really judge the man because i believe he's intelligent and knows what he's doing. however, from what i've heard on news, heard him talking, that he's saying things that evidently some of the people in parties don't like. and i want to say that, when i had the chance to vote for mr. trump, and what i've seen so far from mr. trump, i really have faith in him, and i really don't think that we should get ourselves all upset about this situation, because mr. trump is doing what i and everyone else in the country elected him to do, and that is to be president. part of being president is

appointing or hiring whoever he wants. we make that judgment about him. so now when we see that he decides to fire somebody just because he didn't do it in a certain time frame, what we want to do is jack up the suspicions, like the democrats are doing, to say, oh, there must be something there. well, whether there's something there -- wasn't there something there also with former president clinton and the attorney general lynch, i believe, met on the tarmac of all places, about a situation. i mean, i guess that was the quietest place to meet. but there's another -- a number of things, maybe we should throw this back in the face of humor. i think people like that, in his calling for a meeting at 9:30 in the morning, constantly bashing our president. host: but kenny, what are the concerns stemming from this

firing, the status of the investigation to russia and whomever the president might appoint to be the head of the f.b.i. and what it does for that investigation, does that show any concerns for you? caller: no, it doesn't, because, see, what's happened is you've seen the democrats getting really upset that they can't find anything, you snow because they know there's nothing. so they're taking this situation, turning it around, and saying that he was fired because it's going to implicate the president. well, i think as smart as the president is, he's not worried about timing or anything. host: ok, let's flare curtis in mississippi, democrats line. caller: hi, good morning. host: good morning. caller: listen, the thing is, right, from the beginning, just like from the beginning like the lady has said, that, you know, then he had opportunity and he wanted to get rid of, you know, f.b.i. man. well, he should have did that.

like we wouldn't even be discussing this right now. the thing is, he threats go -- while investigate is investigating or something, and then all of a sudden you're going to say, i don't like him, i'm going get rid of him. another thing i like to say is, if he elect christie or anything like that, then he going to be still in charge. we'll never get to the end of this. we'll never get to the end of it. that's all i have to say, the timing was wrong, and he really helped shot himself in the foot. agree with that other caller. thank you. you have a great day. host: california, we'll hear from mike, independent line. caller: yes, good morning, pedestrian sandrow c-span. good morning, america. i agree with comey's termination. president trump should have purged ever agency of rogue or difficult agents on the very first week. president hillary, i call her, on their first week in office in 1992, she purged 350 people

herself. i think it was 357 in the first week, with no regard to their future or their income or anything. she could care less. and i think it was a missed opportunity, and something is wrong here. president trump has been too nice to everybody. his timing is off. i think someone is influencing -- either ivanka or her husband is pushing him the wrong way, but if it were me, i would put the sheriff from arizona in there to straighten up the mess we got, because i'll tell you, not too many people trust the f.b.i., the n.s.a., or homeland security. i think actually homeland security should be abolished and the f.b.i. expanded with w people, with ethics, and that's about it.

host: ok, mike from california. the "new york times" talks a little bit about behind the scenes of the decision-making process that led up to this firing, saying at first mr. trump have staff scommebs friends kept his thoig a small circle, venting his anger to vice president mike pence, the white house counsel, and son-in-law jared kushner, who told him to dismiss mr. comey. another sounding board was his security.director of

host: that's just a little bit of the reporting from the "new york times" this morning. paul ryan, house speaker, on fox news, not only talked about the firing, but what happens next, also talks about his thoughts on a special prosecutor to take a look into the russia investigation. here it is. >> senator mccain can and a few others are calling for a special prosecutor. obviously democrats are in lock step on calling for that. why is that not a good idea? >> yeah, i don't think that's a good idea. first of all, we have three investigations going on right now. we have a house investigation by our intelligence committee, which is the appropriate committee to do that, i believe. and we have a senate intelligence committee, you just played richard burr, and you have the f.b.i. investigating all things russia. so i don't think that that's a good idea. i think the intelligence committee are the ones that should do this, because don't forget that the methods and sources of our intelligence gathering are also at play here, and we have to be very sensitive so we don't compromise that information as well. so i really do believe that these three investigations are the way to go. let's get them done.

let's see them through. go where the facts may lead. and i do think that director comey was compromised. clearly his superiors in the justice department felt that way. the president made a presidential decision and removed him. host: we showed you that photo earlier on about that meeting in the oval office that took place between the russian ambassador and president trump. there are a couple of tweets that are coming out in light of that meeting. this is politico saying, at least reporting on his part, that vlad my putin personally asked mr. trump to host the foreign minister in the oval office. that being backed up by a reporter of reuters, who sent out a tweet saying the white house spokesman actually confirmed that this story is true. from virginia, republican line. go ahead. you're on. we're talking about the firing of director jim comey and if you support or oppose it. caller: yeah, good morning. this is mike. i'm a republican business owner. and i can tell you that right now i feel like the democrats

are making us look like a bunch of kindergarteners or keystone cops in the world view. basically one day the democrats say that they don't want comey in, the next day, just because of the timing of this firing, they feel like, oh, well, now there's a problem in the white house because of the timing. it's a bunch of baloney. comey should have been fired last year. they first complained about hillary, now they're complaining because he was fired, now it's trump's fault. this is ridiculous. host: what about the perception of the firing in light of the russian -- oh, he's gone. let's go to todd, baltimore, maryland, democrats line. caller: good morning. i oppose what trump did. i have no confidence in this administration at all. i think the timing of firing comey is very suspicious. if we think about it, trump once praised comey for the hailing of the hillary investigation, which is the

same reason he's telling us that he's firing comey. you notice he never has nothing ad ever to say about russia. i think he's conning us. i think we noticed a separate investigation. and let's remember, trumpcare is a gift to the rich. we still haven't seen his taxes. and he has the nerve to say to us that he's draining the swamp of special interests, but his administration is from goldman sachs or once worked there. host: when it comes to the investigation of russia, we have three separate tracks of investigations going on currently. why do a special prosecutor on top of all that? caller: well, it will give the american people more confidence if there's a separate special way of handling this, because right now, on either side, we need something special and something that's going to instill more confidence in the american people, because the way it's going, it's going

downhill. scommoip you believe there's a way to conduct that without partisan politics coming into play? caller: well, i'm definitely still partisan politics. let's ask democrats and the republicans have their hands in this special investigation in terms of getting it going. but this one-sided thing mitch mcconnell is trying to do, no, that's no good. host: hot springs, arkansas, shirley. good morning to you on our independent line. you're next. caller: good morning. i've been watching this whole thing for the last few years, very really doesn't like much sense to me because all the people they're investigating used to be under mr. obama's presidential cabinet. and as soon as they changed over and president trump picked , t some of his men from obama

four years he had them, when did they get involved with russia so much that they had to all be investigated? something's covering up, and they're not telling people. host: some thoughts off of facebook this morning. this is charlie saying that the director comey made a lot of mistakes, but if he was going to be fired, it should have taken place when he took office. the timing appears way too suspicious. the president knows the walls are closing in and this is our anxiety and nervousness. ricky saying, does it really matter? those who wanted him fired months ago now want him back. those who wanted him around want him gone now. this is all about party lines and not in the best interest of the country. this man was clearly not fit for the job. he may have once been, but whether he was fired now or a year ago, it was a good thing. jeremy saying i fully support it. the man was obviously too conflicted to do the john

honorably. he has testified twice that there's no evidence of trump-russia collusion. he miah, opposes it, but he wasn't an idiot. he went about trying to salvage his reputation and put the wheels in motion. i expect fireworks in the near future, as well as the nation with deflection. mr. comey is gain, but his work will continue. again, facebook, if you want to post there on facebook.com/cspan. you can also post on our social media pages, or i'm sorry, twitter, @cspanwj. several comments on it this morning, you can add yours to the conversation by doing it one of those two ways. hot springs, arkansas, independent line. shirley, hi. caller: good morning. host: hi, good morning, go ahead. caller: i thought i was talking to you already, and i was wondering why -- host: oh, we already got you. thank you. i appreciate that.

oceanside, new york, republican line. caller: hi, pedro. i do want to thank c-span and "washington journal," because you let everybody get their opinions out there, and it's a great show, probably the best. i just to want say, comey, it's overlong overdue. league out the whole issue, he was extremely sloppy, gross negligence. there was a server in her basement. she could have recuse the herself, handed it to somebody else in the d.o.j. to get the job done properly. it was unprecedented what he did. and hillary should be in a lot of trouble, and i think things will go that way with her, because sessions, with all the corruption with them, we all know, so that's that. comey's gone, great. i heard sheriff joe, he'll never get in there, but sheriff joe would be a very good pick. and we do need to clean house, because it stheems the f.b.i. investigatesed them with russian intelligence telling

them watch these guys, and it's just fell upon deaf ears. and then san bernardino, then orlando, so apparently comey and the f.b.i. wasn't doing too good a job, and neither was clapper. i mean, that guy put it to his head and looks like he lies, and he does the same movement over when he lies. host: ok. california, democrats line. sheer jane. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. thank you so much for having me on. this maximum my drive to work very entertaining. i think we're asking the wrong question, and i think that your opinion would be really valued here. do we really need the f.b.i.? and what other federal organizations should be on the table as far as removal? $19 trillion, and i'm a democrat, $19 trillion is too much, and i think he said that in his promise to voters that he was going to address that situation. so the question is, in the

bigger picture, i mean, what good does this organization really do, and who else can go? what do you think? host: i won't give you my opinion. given what you said about the f.b.i., the comey situation is not a large concern for you, i gather? caller: no, it's just more debt. host: jessica from pittsburgh. hi there. independent line. go ahead. caller: yes, ok, so i'm not for or against the comey firing. i understand it, only because it seems like trump is just looking out for the preservation of themselves and the people around him. ike the people appointed, they kind of didn't really have any background in what they were doing, so i don't really have any high hopes for who they're even going to appoint as the new director of the f.b.i. let's just hope he has some criminal background. only because it just seems like, at the end of the day, trump is rich, fine he wasn't the president, he probably would be able to shut down this

investigation with money. it's not really surprising. i don't know why everybody is so, oh, my gosh, this just happened. it would have happened sooner or later. i guess it would have been better if he just fired him in the beginning, because he should have known that this investigation was going to happen. let's just hope he doesn't get impeached, because i do not want pence to become president. host: the "financial times" this morning takes a look at what might come next as far as heading up the agency. this is a report that, in some corners, mr. comey's firing immediately prompted speculation that mr. trump would try to appoint a trustd ally as a new director. would it be chris christie, who stood by mr. trump's side through the highs and lows of the election and was ultimately rewarded with nothing. or rudy giuliani, the tough talking former new york mayor?

host: you can read more of that in the "financial times" this morning. next up, patricia, philadelphia, pennsylvania, democrats line. hi there. patricia from philadelphia? caller: yes. host: hi. you're on. caller: thank you. i wanted to say, it started on tv. hen mr. trump in july, asked russia to get those 30,000 emails. and it ended when mr. comey said to senator leahy that discrimination on trump's website makes his job harder. and that ticked him off. and he was fired.

so listen to your tapes again. thank you very much. host: so how do you connect those dots specifically? caller: it's -- it's -- it's right in your face, and you saw it on tv yourself. it was trump running the show, and he's trying to run it still. and it's not working. host: so all this hour will be focused mainly on the f.b.i. firing of jim comey and related issues like russia. one piece of news to show you about healthcare, specifically when it comes to major insurer and the decision they're making. this is aetna saying they're going to exit their a.c.a., the affordable care act program that they've been in. according to a spokesman, they'll not sell individual health plans next year in delaware and nebraska. the announcement came a week after the company said it would stop offering health plans in virginia in 2018, and a month later said it would leave iowa. the cascade of decisions represent a stark turnaround for the nation's third largest

insurer, which initially entered 15 states' marketplace. the last time it decided to slash participation to just four, that was the largest by any health insurer of the healthcare law's marketplaces, which started in 2014 to provide coverage for people who cannot get affordable health benefits through their employers. mark, pennsylvania, republican line. you're next up. caller: good morning. i totally support what donald trump did. i thought comey was the most unbelievably inept person i've ever seen. his policies were all over the place. disclosing information, not disclosing information. he couldn't find people, which is ridiculous, because that's well documented, it's unbelievable. he couldn't even do that. they have no success at the f.b.i. because of this guy. they let terrorists, can't catch terrorists. they can't figure out if he had ties to russia or not, which is ridiculous and should have been investigating for eight months at this point. i mean, let's just get this over with. if there's something there, let's hear it.

if it isn't, put it to bed. they want a special prosecutor because they know that's going to drag out this whole investigation for another year, and they can keep running that narrative that he's guilty of something, which there's no proof at this point that there is. and i wish it would just end, because it's too much. he did the right thing. we need to get somebody that's economy there, that can do the investigation and get them done quickly and efficiently, and that's all i have to say. host: michael on our line for democrats. caller: hi, thank you. many of the callers that have voiced their opinions are talking about the investigation into hillary and this server. that's not the discussion. it's about comey and whether he's investigating ties to russia. by the trump administration. it is a problem when someone is investigating and they are fired. simply. host: so, in your mind, the action was justified by the administration?

caller: it's justified. i mean, action was justified by the administration? it is justified. people will be in opposition of things that don't support them. it is a problem when you fire someone in the middle of an invest ignition. host: katrina, last call on this topic. woodbridge, virginia, democrats line. caller: i am opposed to the comey firing. he was getting too close. republicans are so naive to believe there is nothing going on or they believe it, they don't want to believe it. this is a violation to our democracy. people are nonchalant about it. host: tell me why you believe there -- that mr. comey was getting close. what led you to believe that? he was there are reports

getting daily briefings and things were getting heated. that he was asking for more funding to move it along. what we are hearing is that "white-hot" over not russiable to stop the investigation, that it keeps going on. impeding way of him the investigation. think it has created an opposite effect. overall, i don't think we have the right people in office, or in those positions to pursue it. i am not sure how we are going to move forward. katrina, from woodbridge, virginia. our last call. if you did not get in this hour,

you will have our last hour. we will repeat the question and i give you a chance to give your thoughts on the firing of james comey. two guests talk about that issue. first, heather mcghee. we will hear from her next. will talkathan turley about mr. comey's firing, his thoughts on it and where the issue goes from here. those issues coming up when "washington journal" continues. ♪ this weekend, on c-span 3, the blackat 6:00, women who worked as nurses and spies for the union army. edward bannister,

she became involved on the underground railroad. she was a proud and consistent supporter of the u.s. colored troops. o'mara on, margaret the presidential election of 1968. >> hero after hero is slain and now, robert f kennedy. assassination precipitates a broader, national morning and throws the democratic nomination into more turmoil. >> sunday, lynne cheney discusses president madison's personality, health problems and political career. >> he encountered doctors that told him to exercise.

it is often recommended for people who suffer from epilepsy. >> this month marks john f. kennedy's 100 birthday. his nephew, stephen smith and that was brinkley reflect on the life of the president. he was a decorated combat veteran. he believed in strong military. he had a broader conception about what american identity was. reached across the aisle, launched the peace corps, an incredible program for young people. he started with the alliance for progress and engaged in the space race. tofor our schedule, go www.c-span.org. "washington journal" continues. host: our first guest is heather mcghee.