Coming out of former F.B.I. director James Comey’s hearing in front of the Senate Intelligence committee hearing, AirTalk recaps the biggest revelations and brings you legal, historical, neutral and partisan analysis.
"This is very much D.C. vs. Trump. Trump won round 1, the election. He's now being ground down by inside players." @RodStrategies
— AirTalk with Larry Mantle (@AirTalk) June 8, 2017
"I was struck by #Comey. He came off as a guy who was fired, was in exit interview, and laid a lot out." Sean T. Walsh, GOP Strategist (2/2)
— AirTalk with Larry Mantle (@AirTalk) June 8, 2017
"First thing we need is truly independent investigation. We don't have that in Mueller b/c he's under DOJ control." Eric Freedman @HofstraU
— AirTalk with Larry Mantle (@AirTalk) June 8, 2017
"[Trump's] behavior in my view doesn't rise to obstruction but clearly inappropriate to try to influence #Comey." Robert Kaufman @pepperdine
— AirTalk with Larry Mantle (@AirTalk) June 8, 2017
"It's astonishing to me that somehow the president and his team feel vindicated by #ComeyTestimony." @AdamSchiffCA
— AirTalk with Larry Mantle (@AirTalk) June 8, 2017
"Documenting these events contemporaneously was a logical [decision], something FBI agents often do." Ron Hosko former asst FBI director
— AirTalk with Larry Mantle (@AirTalk) June 8, 2017
"You certainly got the impression that #Comey was trying to be the [professional] and Trump was doing things his way." @LaurieLevenson
— AirTalk with Larry Mantle (@AirTalk) June 8, 2017
Guests:
Alex Wayne, White House editor for Bloomberg News; he’s been following the story; he tweets
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies; he is also a former senior Obama adviser in 2008; he tweets
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
Garrett Graff, journalist and author; former editor at Politico Magazine and the Washingtonian; he is the author of “The Threat Matrix: The FBI At War In The Age Of Global Terror” (Back Bay Books, 2012), a biography on former FBI Director and current special prosecutor for the Russian probe, Robert Mueller; he tweets
Eric Freedman, professor of constitutional law at Hofstra University with emphases including separation powers and remedies for presidential misconduct; he recently co-authored the piece “Naming Robert Mueller as special counsel isn't enough — because Trump can get rid of him”
Robert G. Kaufman, public policy professor at Pepperdine where he focuses on U.S. foreign policy, national security and international relations; author of “Dangerous Doctrine: How Obama's Grand Strategy Weakened America” (University Press of Kentucky, 2016)
Adam Schiff, Democratic Congressman from the 28th U.S. Congressional District which includes Burbank, Glendale and West Hollywood; he is the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee
Justin Levitt, professor of law at Loyola Law School and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department under President Obama
John Malcolm, vice president for the Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation; he served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division from 2001 to 2004, where he oversaw sections on computer crime, domestic security along with other areas
Ron Hosko, former assistant director of the FBI from 2012 to 2014; president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization providing assistance to law enforcement officers who are required to defend their official actions in court
Laurie L. Levenson, former federal prosecutor and a professor of law at Loyola Law School