James Comey Interview Part 1: Telling Trump about the 'dossier'

james comey a polarizing man for a polarized time Hillary Clinton says that he cost her the White House Donald Trump just called him an untruthful slimeball now he's sharing his story about standing at the crossroads of the most controversial election in modern history you say it's a dangerous time in our country I think it is and I chose those words carefully I was worried when I chose the word dangerous first I thought is that an overstatement and I don't think it is why not I worry that the norms at the center of this country we can fight as Americans about guns or taxes or immigration and we always have but what we have in common is a set of norms most importantly the truth and if we lose that if we lose tethering of our leaders to that truth what are we I've talked to a lot of people who've watched you for a long time some of them come out with this storyline on James Comey here was a guy who loved being FBI director he got fired he's angry I get that I mean I get why people would think that that's just not right welcome to election night 2016 what a crazy campaign this has been in his new book a higher loyalty Comey describes the fateful decisions around the 2016 presidential election where were you as the returns were coming in I think I was home that night and the first states are in so let's get right to it you didn't vote no why not I'm the director of the FBI I'm trying to be outside of politics and that I shouldn't be choosing between the candidates look at that George Donald Trump is back in the lead in the state of Pennsylvania I was surprised if he wins Pennsylvania it is president elect Trump all of us are operating in a world where the polls were showing that Donald Trump had no chance he is now going to be the 45th President of the United States the most stunning upset in American political history and what part of you is thinking I helped elect Donald Trump a whole lot of me was thinking oh my god did we have some role in this did we have some impact on the election what does your gut tell you I don't know the answer and in a way I care about the answer and in a way it doesn't matter at all it really wasn't making decisions based on political fortunes on a cold winter day in January call me heads to Trump Tower to meet with the president-elect for the first time were you nervous yes well were you afraid of I'm about to meet with a person who doesn't know me has just been elected president of the United States from my watching him during the campaign could be volatile and I'm about to talk to him about allegations that he was involved with prostitutes in Moscow and that the Russians taped it and have leverage over him it was the first time he met Donald Trump what was your impression he had impressively quaffed hair that looks to be all his I confess I stared at it pretty closely and my reaction was must take a heck of a lot of time in the morning his tie was too long as it always is he looked slightly orange up close with small white half moons under his eyes which I assume are from tanning goggles Comey and a group of intelligence agency heads were about to brief the president-elect about a disturbing report on Russian meddling in the election what was their reaction president-elect Trump's first question was to confirm that it had no impact on the election then the conversation to my surprise moved into a PR conversation about how the Trump team would position this and what they could say about this that's just not done you also said you were struck by what they didn't ask very much no one to my recollection asked so what's coming next from the Russians how might we stop it what's the future look like there was none of that it was all what can we say about what they did and how it affects the election that we just had you said as this was happening you had a flashback to your early days as a prosecutor I had a flashback to my days investigating the Mafia look cosa nostra decades earlier Comey learned about la cosa nostra our thing in Italian as a US Attorney prosecuting the Gambino crime family headed by John Gotti in the Mafia a man is measured by the strength of his loyalty as a distinction between a friend of yours and a friend of ours I felt this effort to make us all and maybe this wasn't their intention but it's the way I felt to me to make us all a Meccano stray we're all part of the messaging we're all part of the effort the bosses at the head of the table we're gonna figure out together how to do this how strange is it for you to sit here and compare the president to a mob boss very strange and I don't do it lightly and I'm not trying to buy that by the way suggest that President Trump is out breaking legs and shaking down shop keepers but instead what I'm talking about is that leadership culture constantly comes back to me when I think about my experience with the Trump administration do you think you should have said something then maybe and I think the reason I didn't I hope is obvious to folks is that I was about to stay behind to talk about allegations of the president being involved with prostitutes in Moscow and I thought that's got to be my focus he was about to tell Trump about the Steele dossier salacious unverified and so explosive that Comey suggested everyone else leave the room which they did how graphic did you get I think as graphic as I needed to be I did not go into the business about people peeing on each other and he interrupted started talking about it you know do I look like a guy who needs hookers I didn't answer that and I just moved on and explained sir I'm not saying that we credit this not saying we believe it we just thought it very important that you know what was the look on his face he was very defensive and started going into a list of people had accused him of touching them improperly sexual assault and how he hadn't done this he hadn't done that he hadn't done that did you tell him that the steel does he had been financed by his political opponents no I didn't I don't even think I used the term steel doughsay I just talked about additional material but did he have a right to know that that had been financed by his political opponents that I don't know the answer to that it wasn't necessary for my goal which is to alert him that we had this information did you believe his denial honestly never thought these words would come out of my mouth but I don't know whether the current president United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013 it's possible but I don't know how weird was that briefing really weird I just wanted to get it done and get out of there right after leaving the meeting Comey began to take notes about Trump's startling behavior fearing that the president-elect might later lie about what was said I had obviously concerns about that earlier having watched him on the campaign that he is someone for whom the truth is not a high-value the story of how James Comey came to have that meeting with Trump begins at an unassuming house in Allendale New Jersey a suburb of New York City how old are you here I think I'm about six in that picture and I was rocking the bangs wasn't working in the 60s either but my mom cut our hair and that's the way she cut it describe what life was like in this house it was fun my father always made it his business to be here for dinner and you'd have to talk about what happened to you during the day but in that house an armed intruder broke in terrifying 16 year-old Comey and his younger brother you say it changed your life how it gave me a tremendous sense of urgency and the preciousness of life and also gave me great great empathy for the victims of crime the boy would grow up to enter the elite of law enforcement Manhattan US Attorney Deputy Attorney General under george w bush and finally director of the FBI it was the job of a lifetime then came the 2016 election where his decisions have been blamed for changing the course of history your critics say this is where your ego got the best of you this was your original sense hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel if you'd like to get more video show highlights and watch live event coverage click on the right over here to subscribe to our channel and don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts thanks for watching

Channel: ABC News

Views: 168,121

Keywords: James Comey, full interview, watch, Trump, dossier, exclusive interview, allegations, prostitutes, Moscow, Russia, George Stephanopoulos, ABC NEWS, A Higher Loyalty, FBI director, investigation, James Comey bok, James Comey Trump

Id: XZCI5aurTWY

Length: 8min 33sec (513 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 18 2018