Waching daily Jun 1 2017

INSTEAD WE'RE LEADING WITH THE FBI AND THE INVESTIGATION INTO

RUSSIA. >> GOOD CALL.

THE RUSSIAN QUESTIONS ARE MOUNTING THIS MORNING AS THE

WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT WILL NO LONGER BE ANSWERING THEM.

>> WAIT, WAIT. HOLD ON.

HE SAID THEY'RE NOT GOING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, BUT IF YOU'RE

NOT GOING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS -- I'M SORRY -- JOHN MILLER NEEDS

TO STOP TWEETING ABOUT IT. JOHN MILLER IS STILL TWEETING

ABOUT THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIONS.

HOW DOES TRUMP TWEET ABOUT IT, BUT YET YOU'RE NOT GOING THE

TALK ABOUT IT. >> I THINK LAWYERS ARE GOING TO

SOON CLOSE IN AND GET THAT PHONE FROM HIM.

THEY'RE GOING TO TRY REALLY HARD.

BECAUSE EVERY TIME HE DOES IT CAN AND POSSIBLY WILL BE USED

AGAINST HIM. HE MIGHT WANT TO STOP.

>> IT WILL BE USED AGAINST HIM. >> ANYHOW, A SOURCE CLOSE TO

JAMES COMEY TELLS NBC NEWS THAT THE FIRED FBI DIRECTOR IS,

QUOTE, CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF BY SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT MUELLER

TO TESTIFY BEFORE THE SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE.

THAT TESTIMONY IS EXPECTED TO COME NEXT WEEK DESPITE QUESTIONS

OF WHETHER THE NEWLY-APPOINTED MUELLER WOULD SEEK TO BLOCK

COMEY FROM SPEAKING OUT WHILE THE INVESTIGATION IS ON GOING.

THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL" CITES A SINGLE ANONYMOUS SOURCE WHO

CLAIMS COMEY WILL SAY THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP ASKED HIM TO

BACK OFF THE INVESTIGATION INTO FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR

MICHAEL FLYNN. FLYNN STEPPED DOWN IN FEBRUARY

AFTER "THE WASHINGTON POST" REPORTED THAT HE HAD MISLED VICE

PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WHETHER HE

HAD SPOKEN WITH THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR ABOUT RELIEVING

SANCTIONS. MEANWHILE, SPECIAL COUNSEL

ROBERT MUELLER IS BEGINNING TO STEP UP HIS INVESTIGATION.

ANDREW WEISMANN IS JOINING THE

INVESTIGATION. THIS AFTER THE TRUMP

ADMINISTRATION SAID IT WILL NO LONGER TAKE QUESTIONS ON MATTERS

RELATED TO RUSH. >> DID THE PRESIDENT ENGAGE IN

OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE IN REPEATED MEETINGS WITH JAMES

COMEY? >> OUR JOB, WE ARE FOCUSED IN

THE PRESIDENT'S AGENDA. GOING FORWARD, ALL QUESTIONS ON

THESE MATTERS WILL BE REFERRED TO OUTSIDE COUNSEL, MARC

KASOWITZ. >> FIRST OF ALL, VERY

INTERESTING ON THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL" ARTICLE.

SINGLE COURSE, MY GUESSING IS IT'S A PRETTY GOOD SINGLE

SOURCE. THEY'RE USING WHAT DONALD TRUMP

USED IN RETWEETING AN ARTICLE ABOUT JARED KUSHNER YESTERDAY.

READY FOR TAKEOFF. THE WHITE HOUSE HASN'T SHOWN ANY

SENSE OF DEPTH, ANY INTELLIGENCE AT ALL FROM THE VERY BEGINNING

OF THIS RUSSIAN PROCESS, BUT MUELLER TELLING COMEY HE'S,

QUOTE, READY FOR TAKEOFF. THEN YOU LOOK AT THE PEOPLE HE'S

BRINGING IN TO HELP IN THE INVESTIGATIONS, NOT GOOD NEWS

FOR THE WHITE HOUSE AT ALL AND CERTAINLY NOT GOOD NEWS WHEN YOU

LOOK INTO THE BACKGROUND OF THE INVESTIGATOR, THE ATTORNEY THAT

BOB MUE MUELLER HIRED YESTERDAY >> THERE'S NO GOOD NEWS FOR THE

WHITE HOUSE AT ALL WHENEVER THE WORD RUSSIA COMES UP.

COMEY'S TESTIMONY NEXT WEEK CERTAINLY WILL BE

MUCH-WATCHED TV, FACT-BASED. THERE WILL BE VERY FEW

ADJECTIVES. HE'S A VERY DIRECT GUY.

HE'S CLEARLY BEEN WAITING FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.

AND THE IDEA THAT ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT RUSSIA ARE GOING TO A

DESIGNATED HITTER, LAWYER MARC KASOWITZ.

THAT'S PROBABLY THE BEST THE WHITE HOUSE CAN DO IN TERMS OF

DEFLECTING THE EVERYDAY NIAGARA OF STORIES ABOUT RUSSIA AND THE

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. >> STEVE KORNACKI, THE HOUSE

PANEL ISSUED SEVEN SUBPOENAS. JAMES COMEY GOING TO TESTIFY

NEXT WEEK. THIS IS RELENTLESS FOR THE WHITE

HOUSE. MEANWHILE, THEY'RE DOING THINGS

LIKE YESTERDAY FLIRTING WITH THE IDEA OF RETURNING THOSE TWO

DIPLOMATIC COMPOUNDS THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA KICKED THE

DIPLOMATS OUT OF IN LATE DECEMBER BECAUSE OF THEIR

MEDDLING IN THE ELECTION. WHY WOULD THEY CONTINUE TO DO

THINGS LIKE THIS PUBLICLY THAT SHOWS THEM TAKING THE SIDE OF

RUSSIA? >> I'M THINKING BACK TO WHEN

MUELLER WAS ANNOUNCED AS THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR AND THERE WAS

A SCHOOL OF THO THOUGHT THAT TH WOULD BE GOOD NEWS, AT LEAST IN

THE SHORT TERM FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BECAUSE IT WOULD

TAKE RUSSIA OUT OF THE NEWS, THE INVESTIGATION WOULD GO BEHIND

THE SCENES. GUESS WHAT?

WE CLEARLY HAVEN'T MOVED ON TO OTHER THINGS.

A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE HAS DONE.

YOU TALK ABOUT THE NEWS WITH THE