{"id":2376,"date":"2018-04-29T12:32:19","date_gmt":"2018-04-29T16:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=2376"},"modified":"2018-04-29T12:32:19","modified_gmt":"2018-04-29T16:32:19","slug":"mtp-exclusive-comey-says-house-intel-report-is-political-document-not-my-understanding-of-what-the-facts-were-before-i-left-the-fbi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2018\/04\/29\/mtp-exclusive-comey-says-house-intel-report-is-political-document-not-my-understanding-of-what-the-facts-were-before-i-left-the-fbi\/","title":{"rendered":"MTP EXCLUSIVE: COMEY SAYS HOUSE INTEL REPORT IS \u2018POLITICAL DOCUMENT,\u2019 \u2018NOT MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE FACTS WERE BEFORE I LEFT THE FBI\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLUS: Comey: \u201cI Don\u2019t Believe\u201d AG Lynch Was Compromised, Can\u2019t \u201cTalk About What Contact Was Made with the Leadership of Justice on That\u201d <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Refuses to Call for Gov. Eric Greitens to Resign Despite Report He Initiated Unwanted Sex Acts: \u201cVoters Voted for Him\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

APRIL 29, 2018 \u2013 In an exclusive live Sunday interview this morning, former FBI Director James Comey<\/strong> tells \u201cMeet the Press\u201d moderator Chuck Todd the House Intelligence Committee report released Friday on its controversial investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which led Republicans to conclude there was no evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign, is \u201ca political document\u201d and \u201cnot my understanding of what the facts were before I left the FBI,\u201d adding the investigation is \u201cjust a wreck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comey, author of \u201cA Higher Loyalty,\u201d said he does not believe Attorney General Loretta Lynch was compromised and cannot discuss \u201cwhat contact with made with the leadership of Justice\u201d about speculation she had reassured the Clintons on the email scandal.<\/p>\n

He also disputed a Washington Examiner report that he told lawmakers that \u201cF.B.I. agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that Flynn had lied to them or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional\u201d during his tenure as director. \u201cAn example of how you can’t believe everything you read in the media,\u201d he added. \u201cNot true.\u201d Watch the full interview,<\/a> including Comey on the Flynn plea deal, the Mueller probe and more.<\/p>\n

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)<\/strong> also joined the broadcast in an exclusive interview, refusing to call on his state\u2019s governor Eric Greitens (R) to resign amidst reporting he initiated unwanted sex acts: \u201cWe have to let the situation play out. \u2026 Voters voted for him. There are two ways to deal with these issues. One is the legal process going on. The other is the legislative process. There’s no reason not to have confidence in both of those.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blunt also addressed the Iran nuclear deal, which President Trump has threatened to pull out of on May 12, the next deadline for the U.S. to recertify Iran\u2019s compliance: \u201cIf we stay in, I would be very much where President Macron, Prime Minister [of France] Macron was, where he said, \u201cWe ought to stay in the deal, but here are the three things that absolutely have to change.\u201d\u201d On the Mueller protection bill that just passed the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, Blunt says \u201cunder no circumstances\u201d is he inclined to support the bill. Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

The show broke down a new report from the Pew Research Center on a big disconnect in America between who we want to be as a country and who we think we actually are. Watch Data Download.<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York Times\u2019 Maureen Dowd<\/strong>, Princeton University\u2019s Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.,<\/strong> NBC News\u2019 Kasie Hunt<\/strong> and The Washington Times\u2019 Stephen Moore<\/strong> joined the program\u2019s roundtable for insight and analysis, including a discussion<\/a> on House Speaker Paul Ryan\u2019s dismissal of the House chaplain. Dowd quipped, \u201cPaul Ryan decided that he didn’t really need a chaplain anymore because the House Republicans have already sold their souls to President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full transcript of this morning\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on\u00a0<\/strong>MeetThePress.com.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

For more from moderator Chuck Todd throughout the week,\u00a0sign up for the \u201cFirst Read\u201d newsletter,<\/a> and subscribe to\u00a0\u201c1947: The Meet the Press\u00a0Podcast\u201d<\/a>\u00a0for on-demand interviews.<\/p>\n

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