John Boehner said told NBC's Savannah Guthrie on Friday that if he was still Speaker of the House, he would call President Trump and tell him that firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is a "very bad idea."
Interview highlights:
- Boehner also thinks the Russia investigation "absolutely" must continue: "I think it’s really important that the American people understand what were the Russians up to and what were the campaigns doing talking to the Russians."
- He wasn't surprised by Paul Ryan's retirement announcement: "I’ve known him a long time. He’s a really really decent, good guy, but he never wanted to be speaker. I had to beat him to death to take my job. Tax reform was his issue … so when it was finished I pretty much well knew he probably would move on."
- On who will take control of the House: "Frankly, it’s a 50/50 proposition."
- James Comey's forthcoming book: "He’s entitled to his opinion. He’s laying out facts as he sees them … All the facts will show up sooner or later and we’ll know exactly what happened and what didn’t happen."
- Trump firing Comey: "I’ve known Jim Comey, he’s a good guy, good public servant but clearly the President had his issues with him and so the President has a right to get rid of people and he did."