The Comey Rule

is now president, so that's... cool.

Maybe Ivanka will tell him what to do.

Everybody says she cares about the environment.

He said, "Grab 'em by the pussy."

"You can grab 'em by the pussy"?

the Clinton chapter of the Democratic Party is over.

We're gonna be okay.

America will figure this out.

I can't go to school today, Daddy. They're gonna kill me.

- Are you okay? - I'm fine, sir.

These were so funny a month ago.

We should be looking at likely scenarios now.

Hate crimes spiking. White nationalism.

Maybe he surrounds himself with people who keep him in check.

I mean, they won't just let him govern by tweeting.

I just...

I keep thinking that we were causal in some of this.

It was razor-thin in some states.

You know what was causal? She ran a horrible campaign.

What if none of that mattered?

What if we didn't matter?

What if the Russians just handpicked

our next president, and we just fuckin' missed it?

- Good morning. - Morning.

I'm the guy who got Donald Trump elected.

We're still responsible for monitoring the Russian threat

and it just got a whole lot worse.

We need to get a better understanding of what that means today.

Now, what's in the PDB?

- Morning. - Morning.

Yeah, I saw the fucking memo.

The fuck are you yelling at me for? I'm not Jim Comey's boss.

That guy couldn't pick me out of a fucking...

All the formers are up my ass.

- Everyone inside? - They think it's our fault.

The formers can think whatever they want.

- They aren't here. - Yeah, but you were.

And what you let that fucking guy do is disgusting.

- Could be the end of the goddamn republic! - Morning.

I saw she was leading in Florida, so I...

curled up with a romance novel and went to bed.

How much did she win by?

Today is a day to remember that this is a...

politically agnostic institution.

In that spirit, we're gonna welcome

every lawyer sent here by the new administration,

and we're gonna do everything in our power

to ensure their success in serving and protecting

the American people, right?

Meanwhile, we have until January the 20th

to complete the projects that are essential to us

before our tenures here are finished.

What things do we most need to get across the finish line?

Okay.

We've been attacked on my watch.

I have to get my arms around that.

I want a complete I.C. assessment of what just happened:

sources, methods.

I have to protect this country for the rest of my term and...

prepare the incoming president for the threat he's about to face.

Mr. President, what if he is a part of that threat?

Then I really need to get my arms around it.

What are the questions I need to be asking?

Well... how deeply did they penetrate our democracy?

Who in Russia directed the effort?

Did any Americans conspire to help,

and if so, how were they coerced or enticed into doing so?

I want it largely unclassified.

I want it done before I leave office.

John.

What's your gut on this?

Mr. President, I don't know enough yet to be sure.

I'm troubled by President-elect Trump's

consistent unwillingness to criticize Putin, even in private.

That indicates to me some sort of relationship,

some sort of...

coercive pressure being applied. I'm...

trying to limit myself to facts here, but...

I think it's fair to start asking

why Putin would want Donald Trump elected.

I have to believe it's more than just a personal animus

towards Secretary Clinton.

And what does Putin stand to gain by having a friend

- in this office instead of me? - Oh, sir, at the very least,

end to the financial sanctions you imposed on them

for invasion of Crimea.

A weakening of our most critical Western alliances.

They're probably hoping to collapse NATO.

An end to the Iran nuclear deal.

And we'll start to allow drilling for oil in the Arctic.

Pathway for Turkish incursion against the Kurds.

Trade war with China.

And most importantly...

discord.

The U.S. government consumed by hyper-partisanship...

war with itself.

Republicans and Democrats no longer able to govern together.

That was the goal all along.

Until we know better,

we would ask that you give careful thought

to what intel you're going to share

with the incoming administration...

about anything Russia-related.

All I've told him so far is, uh...

"Keep your eyes on North Korea," and...

"Don't hire Michael Flynn."

Obviously, uh, I'll be imposing

new sanctions on Putin for this.

Okay, fellas, thank you.

Jim, can you stay for a minute?

Of course, Mr. President.

Thank you, Pete.

- How's your family? - Fine, sir, thank you. Yours?

Shaken.

I have hated this whole year.

The last thing we wanted was to influence the election in any way.

- I know that. - I'm trying not to prejudge.

I'm trying to be hopeful about the next four years, but...

That's good, because for the next four years,

the Bureau is likely to matter a lot.

Well, um, you'll have to keep it...

pointed in the right direction, and I'm confident you can do that.

Thank you, sir.

Only Jim Comey could violate department norms,

throw an election, and still get an "attaboy"

from the outgoing president.

- Did you see this? - Yes. I saw it.

- I... I'm as upset as you are. - I doubt that.

Sanctions strangle my country,

- not yours. - I understand, Mr. Ambassador.

Expelling 35 diplomats, closing two of our properties,

financial hardship.

Mr. Putin, my president,

views these as unwarranted attacks on his people,

- and a personal insult. - I understand.

But, please, tell him not to react.

- All right? - The president-elect and I

do not support the Obama sanctions.

Just let us get in there.

We'll fix this.

In tab five you'll find our conclusion, which is this:

the Russian effort succeeded.

They achieved their aim, the election of Donald Trump,

at minimal cost, without damage to their own interests.

And at this point, they have no real incentive to stop.

Meaning we can expect more of this kind of espionage.

This was not espionage.

Espionage connotes, at least to us,

a passive collection of intel.

This was an attack.

And it will be replicated

unless aggressive measures are taken by this government to stop it.

Did they hack only Democrats?

No, sir, they hacked both parties successfully.

But they only weaponized the info from the DNC.

What else?

Uh, sir, there is more material in that report.

A dossier.

The I.C. did not commission this material,

and it's not integrated into our analysis.

But it comes from a credible source,

and we thought we should brief you on it.

The dossier alleges a long history of financial ties

between Donald Trump and Russia.

Loans from Putin-run banks and Russian oligarchs.

Of particular concern is a long-proposed Trump Tower in Moscow.

We know that on October the 13th, 2015,

Donald Trump signed a letter of intent

with a Russian billionaire and close Putin ally, Andrey Rozov,

to build the tower,

money guaranteed by VTB.

He said a hundred times on the campaign trail

- he had no deals with Russia. - He said a lot of things.

There are other points of coercion as well.

The dossier also alleges that in 2013...

And your confidence in this intel?

Nothing in the dossier has been disproven to date.

Okay.

So what's the plan?

We feel a duty to warn the president-elect on all of this.

Even if the allegations are false,

they could be used as leverage over him by Putin or his cohorts.

And, of course, any public disclosure of them

could be highly impactful to his presidency.

Briefing him tomorrow in New York.

Jim is going to go over the more salacious material

with Mr. Trump privately to spare the president-elect

any undue embarrassment.

We drew straws. I lost.

Jim.

Before you go...