-- conflict and compromise -- a c-span original production, exploring the history, traditions, and roles of the uniquely american institutions earlier in -- institutions. 2, on c-span.uary >> james comey back on capitol hill today for a second day of testimony before the house judiciary and oversight and government reform committee's, their year-long investigation into the 2016 presidential election. this was his second visit to capitol hill, 10 days after his first, and he spoke to reporters after the closed-door session wrapped up. >> we have a couple of questions, director comey. mr. comey: great.

i will say a few words and then i will take your questions. you all set? another day of hillary clinton's emails and the steel e dossier come this while the president of the united states fbi, lyingout the about the fbi, and attacking the rule of law and schedule. how does that make sense? republicans used to understand that the actions, words of a president matters, and where are those republicans today? at some point someone has to stand up and in the face of the tweets,fox news, mean stand up for the values of this country and not slink away into retirement, but speak the truth. i find it frustrating to be here entry questions about things that are far less important than the values this country is built

upon. now the take your questions. as ant will it have impact if michael: cooperates -- en --hael coh mr. comey: it undermines the rule of law. this is the president of the united states calling a witness who has cooperated with his own justice department a rat. say that again to yourself at home and remind yourself where we have ended up. this is not about republicans and democrats. this is about what does it mean to be an american. what are the things we care about above our policy disputes, which are important? the values that represent the glue of this country are under attack from things like that. we have to stop being numb to it. whether you are republican or democrat, you need to stand on your feet, overcome your shame, and say something. >> do you think it is just a political exercise? mr. comey: i can't answer is that because i don't know what they are investigating.

the questions about clinton and the steele dossier struck me as more of the same. >> fox news. your handling of the flynn interview, how is it consistent with the investigation, the domestic investigations mr. comey: entirely consistent in my view. what is your next question? >> the domestic investigations operation guide is the roadmap for all agents. there is a special section -- i'm wondering if you feel comfortable with your handling of that. mr. comey: i do, i do, very much so. >> some people have criticized you for failing to remember -- turning the fbi's reputation into being nonpartisan. what would you say to that criticism? mr. comey: they got truthful testimony from me.

sometimes you don't know what form people filled out. that is silliness, and as far as hurting the fbi's reputation, i hope not. we had to make very hard decisions in 2016. i knew we were going to get hurt by it. the question is, how do we reduced the damage? i would rather not be talking to you all, but somebody has to speak up for the rule of law and i hope there was a lot more out there than just me. >> you were telling sally it's about the interview with michael flynn until the day of -- why did you wait until the day of to tell sally yates about that? mr. comey: because i knew if anything came of the interview, the attacks from the trump administration would be that an obama holdover engineered it. i had it to do it separate from her. burning down the entire fbi -- to my shock and horror, they tried to do just that. in the face of silence of people in this building.

>> what was your reaction to the indictment of the former associates of michael flynn turkish lobbying, how much of , that was on your radar? mr. comey: i can't say. >> either one? mr. comey: no reaction, and i can't tell you what i knew. >> director comey, the fbi's revocation has taken a big hit over the last year. do you share any responsibility? mr. comey: no, the fbi's reputation has taken a big hit because the president with his acolytes have lied about it constantly. in the vase of those lies, a lot of people who watch her net work believe that nonsense. that is a tragedy. it will be undone eventually. >> when did you first learn about the steele dossier? mr. comey: sometime in september, i think.

i think it was september 2016. >> the way the public is seeing the fbi, what the president is saying? mr. comey: people who know better, including republican members of this body, should have the courage to stand up and speak the truth, not be cowed by mean tweets or fear of their base. there is a truth, and they are not telling you. the silence is shameful. >> of the republicans in the house next session, do you see any taking that mantle? taking on the president? mr. comey: not yet. to my view, to the everlasting shame, hopefully they will overcome that and expect to their grandchildren what they did today. >> [indiscernible] mr. comey: kind of a vague -- >> in recent days the weight of the flynn investigation has carried a lot of criticism. in your view, should that have been handled differently? how do you defend it from the criticism -- mr. comey: think of what has happened to the republican party. they are up here attacking the fbi's investigation of a guy who

pled guilty to lying to the fbi. he should have been told you can have a lawyer. think of the state of affairs we have ended up in. that is nonsense. i'm proud of the way the fbi conducted itself -- agile and flexible, thoughtful, pursue the leads where you want us to. >> maybe for you or your attorney -- my understanding is that when you shared your members with their legal team, there was a follow-up for the classified containment operation by the bureau. was there spill of classified information? mr. comey: i am not going to talk about something like that. whether you think it is or not i'm not going to talk about it when we are the other. >> more of these -- from president trump about how the investigation, mr. mueller -- more of these tweets from president trump about the investigation from esther mueller's investigation, is that a sign that it is wrapping up? mr. comey: i don't know. on the investigators know that, and we will see. >> there was the report related

to the senate intelligence investigation. did that come as surprising, the findings? mr. comey: i have not had a chance to see it so i cannot comment. >> do you anticipate whwen democrats take control of the hill, again answering some of these questions in public again? >> i love the idea of coming back as great as you are, but i respect to this institution. is is why i'm here cooperating with republicans. i'm not going to thumb my nose at them or the democrats. >> are the substantive changes initiative money from what you were here a year ago and you would want to have another public testimony at all? changing in your view of it that needs to be clarified? mr. comey: if you read the transcript, you will see i am boringly consistent. >> do you have confidence in him? mr. comey: no comment. nice to see you all. thank you.

do you have confidence in him? >> no comment. >> see you all. >> thank you. when the new congress takes office in january it will have diverse est, most freshman class in recent history. new congress, new leaders. c-span startingn january 3. we'll hear n c-span from former federal reserve janet yellen. followed by u.s. strategy in the iddle east and then former f.b.i. director jamesey