00:00 Stephen Colbert I'M YOUR HOST, STEPHEN COLBERT. 00:06 HUGE STORY THAT BROKE JUST MINUTES AGO, LIKE LESS THAN TEN MINUTES AGO, FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY HAS JUST BEEN FIRED BY DONALD TRUMP. 00:17 HUGE, HUGE DONALD TRUMP FANS HERE TONIGHT. 00:23 THAT SHOWS NO GRATITUDE AT ALL. 00:26 I MEAN, DID TRUMP FORGET ABOUT THE HILLARY EMAILS THAT COMEY TALKED ABOUT? 00:31 I MEAN, THANKS FOR THE PRESIDENCY, JIMMY. 00:34 NOW, DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU WHERE THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE SPLITS YOU. 00:40 My heart is thumping. 00:44 My pulse is racing. 00:45 He fired the FBI director who has said under oath that he's investigating the Trump campaign's ties with Russia. 00:52 No rationale has been given yet as to why, but it came on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. 01:02 I think I might know why. 01:04 I think he was fired because Comey couldn't guess the name Rumpelstiltskin. 01:10 Now, Trump sent Comey a letter in which he writes, while I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I, nevertheless, concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau. 01:27 Does everything have to be about him? 01:30 Well, I greatly appreciate you telling me that I am an amazing lover. 01:37 I AM LEAVING YOU FOR A YOUNGER WOMAN ON THE ADVICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 01:42 NOW, WE'LL HAVE MORE ON THIS TOMORROW WHEN THEY SCRAMBLE TO COVER THE WHOLE THING UP. 01:46 BUT, UH, SPEAKING OF COVER-UPS, SPEAKING OF COVER-UPS, THIS WHOLE, UH, TRUMP CAMPAIGN RUSSIA TYPE THING WILL NOT GO AWAY NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES TRUMP TWEETS THAT THE WHOLE THING HAS GONE AWAY. 02:00 UH, THE LATEST IS FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER AND SAM THE EAGLE COSPLAYER MICHAEL FLAME. 02:07 SEE YOU AT COMIC-CON, SIR. 02:10 FLYNN, YOU'LL REMEMBER, WAS FIRED AFTER JUST 24 DAYS BECAUSE HE LIED ABOUT HIS CONNECTIONS TO RUSSIA, AND HE ALSO FAILED TO REPORT MONEY HE RECEIVED FROM RUSSIAN-LINKED COMPANIES, INCLUDING $45,000 FOR ATTENDING A GALA DINNER IN MOSCOW, WHERE HE SAT NEXT TO RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN. 02:28 REALLY NICE DINNER, TOO. 02:29 MAN, THEY PROBABLY HAD A GOOD VIBE. 02:31 NO, NO, NO, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DINNER. 02:33 HE GOT TO CHOOSE BETWEEN CHICKEN, FISH, OR DUFFLE BAG FULL OF UNTRACEABLE CASH. 02:39 THAT'S THE GLUTEN-FREE OPTION. 02:47 YESTERDAY, WE LEARNED THAT DURING THEIR FIRST MEETING AFTER THE ELECTION, OBAMA WARNED TRUMP ABOUT HIRING FLYNN. 02:54 AND IT WAS JUST AS EFFECTIVE AS OBAMA WARNING AMERICA ABOUT HIRING TRUMP. 03:00 HE SEEMS PERSUASIVE. 03:04 HE SEEMS PERSUASIVE, BUT HE JUST COULDN'T SEAL THE DEAL. 03:07 SO, OKAY, SO IF HE DID THAT, WHY DIDN'T TRUMP HEED THIS WARNING? 03:11 SOURCES SAY TRUMP THOUGHT OBAMA WAS JOKING. 03:14 WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD? 03:18 HE'S WORKING FOR THE RUSSIANS AND IT'S ACTUALLY MICHAEL FLYNN IN A CHICKEN COSTUME. 03:24 AND OBAMA WASN'T THE ONLY ONE. 03:25 IN A SENATE HEARING YESTERDAY, FORMER ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL AND FUTURE ROBIN WRITE AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE SALLY YATES SAID SHE ALSO WARNED THE WHITE HOUSE ABOUT FLYNN. 03:36 Sally Yates The Russians also knew that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others, and that created a compromise situation, a situation where the national security adviser essentially could be blackmailed by the Russians. 03:50 Stephen Colbert So Yates told the White House that Flynn was compromised, and he was fired immediately 18 days later. 03:58 THAT'S A LOT OF LAG TIME. 03:59 IF ONLY THERE WAS SOME QUICK CATCH PHRASE TRUMP HAD FOR REMOVING PEOPLE FROM THEIR JOBS. 04:06 OH, I KNOW, YOU'RE NOT MY SON-IN-LAW. 04:12 BUT OUT. 04:21 Sally Yates OUT. 04:21 I DON'T KNOW. 04:22 Stephen Colbert BUT TRUMP'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE TESTIMONY OF SALLY YATES OR THE TESTIMONY OF FORMER INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR JAMES CLAPPER TWEETING, DIRECTOR CLAPPER REITERATED WHAT EVERYBODY, INCLUDING THE FAKE MEDIA, ALREADY KNOWS. 04:34 THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION WITH RUSSIA AND TRUMP. 04:39 MR. PRESIDENT, A LITTLE TIP. 04:41 WHEN YOU PUT NO EVIDENCE IN QUOTES, IT REALLY MAKES YOU SEEM INNOCENT. 04:51 BUT IF YOU... AND TO REALLY DRIVE THE POINT HOME, TRUMP PHOTOSHOPPED THAT TWEET INTO HIS TWITTER BANNER. 05:06 IF YOU'RE GOING TO PHOTOSHOP SOMETHING INTO THIS PICTURE, I'D RECOMMEND MAYBE A BLACK PERSON. 05:12 JUST, JUST PRETEND, JUST PRETEND, REST OF SOUL, PRETEND IT'S A COLLEGE BROCHURE.