Um, I don't know. What do you guys want
to talk about? Uh... -Oh, I know-- the FBI. Yeah.
-Yeah. Just in case
you decided to spend yesterday in airplane mode,
this is what happened. The U.S. Justice Department had
a major shake-up, and not in a fun,
vibrating-bed kind of way. No, the kind
where you're not sure if the house is gonna
keep standing. Stunning late breaking news. President Trump
has fired James Comey as director of the FBI. Now, I know
what you're thinking. Why did Trump fire Comey when
Comey basically got him elected? That's why. Yeah. Because Trump doesn't want
to be president. This is his revenge. That's exactly why he did it. (cheers and applause) Trump is so angry. "You gave me this job
that I hate. "So now you get the worst
punishment that I can think of: more time at home
with your family." (laughter) "May all of your sons be Erics." (laughter and groaning) So, Trump fired James Comey, the man who happened
to be leading the investigation into whether Trump's campaign
had colluded with Russia to win last year's election. The man who,
as director of the FBI, is supposed
to be politically independent, almost untouchable. People, I'm not going
to sugarcoat this. This is bad for democracy. MAN:<i> President Trump's firing
of FBI director James Comey</i> <i> sending shockwaves
through Washington.</i> Only the second time
in American history a president has taken that step. MAN: Concerns
over a constitutional crisis. -MAN 2:<i> Trump's seismic firing. </i>
-A stunning move. CHRIS MATTHEWS:<i> A little whiff
of fascism tonight.</i> WOMAN: It looks like
a banana republic America, not a democracy. You think this would happen in a third world country. The idea that this happened in
the United States is stunning. This is the kind of thing
that goes on in... Africa! Just say it! Say it! Just say it. "This is the kind of thing
that only happens in Africa!" You don't have
to use euphemisms. "Banana republic,"
or "third world." Just say it! We don't beat around the bush
where I come from. Because we have animals
in the bush. If you beat the bush,
then they come out. We don't... You don't mess
around with beating the bush. You know what I don't get? I don't get
why people still say, "This could never happen
in America." Isn't this the place
where anything is possible? Yeah.
That's what i was told. Yeah. So even Africa is possible
in America. (laughter) First, it's Dictator Trump,
and pretty soon, Bono's gonna be throwing benefit
concerts<i> for</i> the U.S. (laughter and groaning) Now... now Trump claims... He claims
that the firing happened because Comey
treated Hillary unfairly during the e-mail investigation,
which... (audience groaning,
shouting "boo") Oh, you guys, you don't believe
him? You don't believe him? -No!
-I mean, come on, guys. It doesn't make any sense,
all right. That would be like
returning a Fleshlight because your orgasms
were too powerful. "It was too good! Too good!" Because when James Comey reopened
the Hillary investigation a week before the election, basically taking a huge dump
on the shot at the White House, no one was a bigger fan of
that decision than Donald Trump. It took guts for Director Comey to make the move that he made in light of the kind
of opposition he had. He brought back his reputation.
He brought it back. He's got to hang tough
'cause there's a lot of... A lot of people want him
to do the wrong thing. What he did was the right thing. "Which is why
I'm gonna fire him for it." (laughter) "I fire people
who do the right thing! It's why
all my businesses succeed." (laughter) I'm sorry, but that... (applause and cheering) That's straight-up bull(bleep). And the administration also says
that Comey's firing wasn't just Trump's idea,
but it was recommended by Attorney General
Jeff Sessions. Which is also bull(bleep). Because back when Comey
did the things that he presumably
just got fired for, Sessions was Team Comey, too. He had an absolute duty,
in my opinion, 11 days or not, to come forward with
the new information that he has and let the American people
know that, too. You know, FBI Director Comey
did the right thing. When he found new evidence,
he had no choice. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah! You sneaky little liar! (yells) And I... I-I just...
I hate him so... I-I wish Jeff Sessions
had stayed at his old job. I'm just gonna put it out there. -(laughter, cheering, applause)
-I... But, you know, like... You don't need to be a genius
to figure out why Trump really canned Comey. It rhymes with "Russia." Mounting evidence suggests that Comey was fired because
of the president's irritation with the FBI's
Russia investigation. NEWSMAN:<i> ...The</i> New York Times<i>
now reporting</i> <i> Comey had asked
for more resources</i> <i> for the investigation
into Russia</i> <i> just days before he was fired.</i> CNN sources say Comey's firing
comes as subpoenas went out for associates of Michael Flynn. That's right. Michael Flynn... again. Who would have thought this guy
would turn out to be Trump's most costly divorce? Who would have thought? So... Comey wasn't
just any old bureaucrat who Trump fired. Trump fired Comey
just as Comey was starting to actively investigate
Trump's people. Which, you've got to admit, makes Trump look
hella suspicious. Right? That's like breaking up
with your girlfriend right after she asks you
if she can look at your phone. "Hey, honey,
can I see your phone?" "Uh... I don't think
we should be together anymore." "What? -(applause)
-"What are you talking about? I just wanted to see
your phone." "Yeah, it's a normal phone.
We've been growing apart. You're fired." Do you remember... do you
remember how when Trump was, uh, elected...
everyone was worried because he showed autocratic
tendencies? You remember that? Well, this is what the people
were worried about. Because before this, it was
scary but it was still talk. Threatening the press.
Delegitimizing judges. That Mussolini face
that he always makes. (laughter) But what we're seeing here is the difference
between words and actions. It's like the difference between
saying "(bleep) the police" and actually trying
to (bleep) the police. There's a big difference. -(applause)
-And... and here's what makes this
particularly scary. In America... you specifically have
checks and balances for this reason. So if a president makes
a dubious decision like this, you could trust Congress to step in
and do something about it. "Trump, we don't know
if you've done the right thing. We're gonna call in witnesses,
hire a special prosecutor," et cetera, et cetera. That's what happened
in Watergate. But this Congress has shown
they have no intention of holding the president
accountable. It's obviously within the
president's authority and role to do this. I think he made
an important command decision... I think the firing of Comey
couldn't have come soon enough. Today we'll no doubt hear calls
for a new investigation... which could only serve
to impede the current work... They're talking about,
the firing was Nixonian, it has echoes of Watergate... For the people
who are writing those headlines, what's your message to them? My message is, uh,
suck it up and move on. -(groans, jeering)
-Oh. Yeah. And the people at Fox News
were like, "Huh. That's our slogan.
Oh. Ah." Here's the thing,
here's the thing. Democracies
don't go away in a flash. Right? People need to get that
into their minds. You don't just wake up
one morning and tanks are rolling
through the streets. That's not how it works.
It's a slow burn, with many steps along the way. And this is a big step. Without Congress to rely on, Comey was the one person
we trusted to be unbiased. Whether you liked or hated
his decisions, it didn't feel like
he was on anyone's side. But now he's out. And with him,
so is the people's hopes of holding Trump accountable. Comey basically packed
the hopes up in his box, along with his work toothbrush. A lot of people are distraught
by this decision. The other people are Russians. Russia's foreign minister
is sitting down with the U.S. secretary of state
right now. Here's what Sergey Lavrov
had to say when reporters asked him
about Comey's firing. (reporters shouting questions) (with Russian accent):
"You're kidding. "No, really, you're kidding. "Who could have predicted
such a crazy thing, "that we ordered
your president to do? Ha-ha! You're kidding,
you're kidding." (regular voice): Look, I know
it's probably a coincidence, but how bizarre is it that Tillerson
just happened to meet with the Russian
foreign minister today? What's even weirder,
is that Trump also had a meeting
with his counterpart. ♪ ♪ (filtered breathing) TRUMP:
Master. You'll be pleased to know
I've done your bidding. So much bidding,
the best bidding. (speaking Russian)
