{"id":1902,"date":"2017-05-14T12:01:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-14T16:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=1902"},"modified":"2017-05-14T12:01:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-14T16:01:18","slug":"meet-the-press-exclusive-sen-graham-says-new-fbi-director-should-be-outside-the-political-lane-calls-on-trump-to-back-off-russia-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2017\/05\/14\/meet-the-press-exclusive-sen-graham-says-new-fbi-director-should-be-outside-the-political-lane-calls-on-trump-to-back-off-russia-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018MEET THE PRESS\u2019 EXCLUSIVE: SEN. GRAHAM SAYS NEW FBI DIRECTOR SHOULD BE \u2018OUTSIDE THE POLITICAL LANE,\u2019 CALLS ON TRUMP TO \u2018BACK OFF\u2019 RUSSIA PROBE"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLUS: Sen. Schumer: Support for new FBI director is \u2018very much related\u2019 to a special prosecutor on Russia <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE: State Sec. Tillerson: \u2018Don’t think there’s any question that the Russians were playing around\u2019 in U.S. election<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

New NBC News\/WSJ Poll: Just 29 percent of Americans approve of Trump\u2019s firing of FBI Director Comey<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

MAY 14, 2017 \u2013 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) <\/strong>exclusively told \u201cMeet the Press\u201d moderator Chuck Todd this morning that the president\u2019s choice for the next F.B.I. director should not be an elected official: \u201cHe has a duty and obligation to pick somebody beyond reproach outside the political lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s now time to pick someone who comes from within the ranks or has such a reputation that has no political background at all that can go into the job on day one,\u201d said Graham when asked about his colleague Sen. John Cornyn\u2019s interview yesterday for the role.<\/p>\n

Sen. Graham also said \u201cthe president needs to back off here and let the investigation go forward\u201d when it comes to looking into Russia\u2019s interference in the U.S. election. Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)<\/strong> told Todd the support for a new F.B.I. director is \u201cvery much related\u201d to a special prosecutor for the Russia probe: \u201cIf you have an independent special prosecutor, then you really have the ability to get to the bottom of this, so it matters in terms of who the F.B.I. director is.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think there’s any question that the Russians were playing around in our electoral processes,\u201d Secretary of State Rex Tillerson <\/strong>exclusively confirmed to Todd. When asked about this in terms of our relationship with Russia, Tillerson said: \u201cWe’re not trying to start with a clean slate. I think terms like having a reset are overused. You cannot reset. You cannot erase the past.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

New NBC News\/Wall Street Journal poll numbers<\/strong><\/a> debuted on this morning\u2019s broadcast, revealing that just 29 percent of Americans approve of the president\u2019s firing of F.B.I. Director James Comey.<\/p>\n

Joining this morning\u2019s roundtable for insight and analysis were Matthew Continetti <\/strong>of the Washington Free Beacon, Hallie Jackson<\/strong> of NBC News, Katty Kay<\/strong> of BBC News and Eugene Robinson<\/strong> of the Washington Post. Axios\u2019 Jim VandeHei<\/strong> also joined the panel for a discussion on a possible staff shake-up within the White House.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read the full transcript of this morning\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more from moderator Chuck Todd throughout the week, sign up for the \u201cFirst Read\u201d newsletter<\/strong><\/a>, and subscribe to the <\/strong>\u201c1947: The Meet The Press Podcast\u201d<\/strong><\/a> for on-demand interviews.<\/p>\n

MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS\u2019 \u201cMEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD\u201d \u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n