>> i am mark halperin. >> and i am john heilman, and with all due respect to chris christie, there are simpler ways to get the juice out of the orange. ♪ [laughter] >> happy national day, sports fans, and apparently orange juice day. "the new york times" with a report. governor chris christie loves to

live in luxury. in his words, he tries to quote, "squeeze all out of the orange,"and according to inspector general's report, once accused of abuse as attorney general. one reason why the governor was not chosen as mitt romney's running mate, and we promise you this is just the tip. mark my question to you today, is this the beginning of a cascade of ugly stories about him? >> there is no doubt no doubt based on what republicans have said to us about our book that people are going to come after his background. it is unfortunate for him. like mitt romney in the "boston globe," and there is a lot to look at, and we will see how he

handles it. today in london, he handled it by not taking questions. >> you do not need to be reminded of this, but your own reporting suggested this is one reason why mitt romney believes that chris christie will never be the nominee. his background is a mass preview have got his lobbying, and one of his clients was bernie madoff. >> not that bernie madoff? >> that bernie madoff. securities fraud. there are all kinds of things. one of the reasons i thought bridgegate was powerful is that they thought that was the tip of the iceberg. we also know chris christie. we know his modus operandi. >> today, he did not have to answer questions in london. there was some press. he blew them off. the vaccine story that we talked about yesterday, it kind of turned some heads, his statement on that. when he is in iowa and new

hampshire, and someone either enterprise reporting or other he is going to have to start answering, and if he answers them the way he normally does come with the temperament that people are now tired of, it is going to be a problem. i think mitt romney believes and some people believe he is overwhelming. >> he believes that chris christie has been vetted, and that is what mitt romney said back in 2012, but you have never really been vetted i tune you are a presidential candidate. >> is there a doctor in the house? senator rand paul gave an interview about vaccination nation, and the senator revealed what many think is a thin-skinned side, and things got a little awkward. it is what we say in the television business good tv. >> we have to begin by asking did you really say to laura and graham that most vaccines in this country should be voluntary ? >> i think freedom would be

really unusual. i guess i do not understand the point. the whole purpose of doing this is to bring money home. let me finish. let me finish. >> i am sorry. go ahead. >> calm down a bit here, kelly. >> i can tell you are fired up. the reason for that. [laughter] listen. >> listen up, presidential candidates. when you offer a peek at any of the fringe interviews you may have had in the past, the researchers are going to be all over you, which is how we found this interview of senator paul in two, seeming to suggest that vaccines could lead to martial law. >> the first sort of thing you see with martial law is mandates, and they are talking about making it mandatory. i worry because the last flu vaccine we had in the 1970's, more people died from the vaccine than died from the swine flu.

>> oh, boy. i do not know what is softer his voice, his dewy eyess? is that his position on things like vaccines and a lot of other things, or the way he reacts, which, in my observation, is often with a pretty thin skin when the press presses him. >> as you pointed out, the thin-skinned that leads to more digging. he is got positions on things like israel and other things. he has given interviews. this vaccine statement that he made yesterday, where he said i have heard many tragic cases of walking and talking cases with disorders after vaccines and you heard about michele bachmann saying that the hpv vaccines with lead to autism or something else, and she got laughed off the stage. this guy is a doctor. i think these statements are

pretty close to disqualifying. a credible person, a doctor nonetheless. >> the time to pick a president will come by the end of this year and it is this combination of the statements and the way he reacts. his father was the same way. when i interviewed his father on something from the past in particular, his answer was not to be charming or clear or direct, it was to engage in ad hominem attacks, and as was said at the end of that interview with kelly, that the press is unfair to them, and i think with chris christie's biggest vulnerability, the question of his past and with this guy, it is the question of his past and his temperament. >> and his temperament. the pepsi presents iowa poll. we asked 402 likely republican iowa caucus goers if they agree with mike huckabee's pretty recent criticism because they let their daughters listen to ms

. knowles and some thought mike huckabee went to too far. mike huckabee, as he gets ready to launch a presidential campaign, is taking his cultural warrior thing a bit too far. >> if he played beyoncé lyrics for the iowa caucuses, they might think he has a point, but where he has gone too far is seeming to criticize the obama' s' parenting. the mike huckabee spokesperson said that they are exemplary parents, which he has done but on the other hand, he has also been very critical to them listening to the lyrics, so i think he has to stay away from criticizing the obama's or the clintons or anyone for their parenting.

>> that does point to something that is mike huckabee, like some of these other guys, it shows their calibration is a little bit off. he went a little too far. he will have to dial it back. >> all right, coming up. to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. the answer row, from dr. ben carson who tells us what he thinks, after this.

♪ >> our guest is an author and a potential candidate, and he has a new book out. dr. ben carson author carson, welcome back. >> thanks, thanks. good to be back. >> so, dr. carson, you have engaged in this important debate about whether this should be optional or whether vaccines should be done being

wishy-washy about whether they should happen, whether they should be forgone by parents. my question is on what evidence do you base your view that parents should have their kids immunized. >> the fortunate thing about medicine and science is when we actually look at data, and we look at evidence and since the immunization program, the incident of many of the communicable diseases has dramatically dropped. almost reaching a point of illumination that is starting to reemerge now as people become less vigilant, and you have to recognize that we also have a number of people coming into the country, sometimes in undocumented fashion, which is exposing our population to diseases which we, perhaps, had under control at one point. >> and is there ambiguity about

being immunized for things like measles? >> well, going back several years, there was a lot of controversy about whether mercury in vaccines was somehow associated with autism. it has been studied very extensively by many reputable researchers, and they have all pretty much concluded that no this is not a valid concern, so when you look at the benefit to risk ratio, it seems pretty obvious that the benefits far outweigh the risks, and when it comes to public policy, recognize that you own your car, but the government mandates that if you are driving it, you have to wear your seat. why do they mandate that? because there is very clear and concise data that that is more than likely going to save your life in an accident then if you do not wear it. >> so, dr., there are a lot of

people who do not agree with that. they believe that the vaccines are harmful. the science, as you say, say this is not the case, and others think this is be an individual choice that it should be allowed for people to make the decisions on their own. the government should never be involved in this. >> well, i would agree with them that it was an individual choice if they were the only ones being affected, but recognize we are all in this together. our children are in this together. we do not live in isolation, so your decision does not affect only you. it is sort of like secondhand smoking. you cannot say it is only affecting me. it is not affecting anyone around me. that is a very selfish point of view to have. this is basically the same statement, where it was said that vaccines should be voluntary, and between doctor and patient, not the government. if we are hearing you right

hearing what you just said, you would say that that view is a selfish point of view on his part. >> i do not necessarily want to talk about what he said to be honest with you, because i am sure if you had an in-depth conversation with him, you'd come away with a very different impression, because he is actually a very reasonable person, but the fact of the matter is we have to understand that there is public policy, and there is health policy that we have to pay attention to. >> dr. carson i am not trying to create a fight between you and rand paul, but this is the second time you have said today that if one were to understand his views in full, one would come away with a different position. he has doubled down, that this is an individual choice, and that there are medical risks him a that parents think outweigh the benefits of getting the vaccines, they should not do it but you said today if someone had that view, it would be

callous and not taking into account public safety. that seems to be his position. are you still saying that despite the clear enunciation of his views that he is being misunderst and he agrees with you? >> i would ask him that question directly and see what he has to say. >> but you have said to us and earlier today that he has misunderstood. i would just give you the choice again. are you saying that he would agree with you or that his position is callous? it seems to me that it is one or the other. >> no, it is not one or the other. i am saying that there is no need for us to sit here and judge when he is saying without sitting him down and asking him, do you believe that it is a selfish thing for someone not to vaccinate themselves and expose others to the risk of disease and as a physician, see what he has to say. >> dr. carson, you are a

physician, and he is a physician, and i will give you another quote that seems to be in context. cases of normal, walking talking children who have wound up with profound disorders after vaccines. do you think there is any basis for that statement? >> there have been many stories like that that have circulated. have i ever encountered one? no. >> so is there a medical basis for his statement? >> i think there probably are people who may make a correlation where one does not exist and then that sort of a knife and catches fire and spreads, and that is probably the source of those things. i am not aware of scientific evidence of any direct correlation.

>> so it is one thing for a talk radio host or a politician who does not have a medical degree to save those things, but i just wonder as a doctor, whether you are troubled that among those who are saying this is senator paul, who is a doctor. >> well, he is retired, i believe as a physician, but everybody is entitled to their opinion. the important thing is for us -- the important thing is for us to make sure that the populace understands that there is no substantial risk and that the benefits are extremely significant and that we have eradicated -- >> in your stance, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it's a medical doctor goes around saying in a public way that vaccines are dangerous and it should be up to the parent not public policy, you are fine with that. you just chalk it up to somebody else's opinion, even if they are a doctor?

>> even doctors are entitled to their opinions, but i say ask him those direct questions and see what he has to say before. >> i look for -- doctor, we have got to go, because we are going to lose the satellite. we look forward to the debate coming up in full and, dr. carson, congratulations on the book, and thank you for joining us. and coming up, get ready for a fine ride like a fine car. ♪

♪ >> our orange juice is all gone, so we are going to bring in one of the few reporters that broke the story about governor christie's voracious appetite for the finer things in life. that was a great story. i want to ask you about the genesis of it, and one of the things embedded in this story,

and we will get to some of the flashier stuff later, but this is the ig report. talk to us about this story, and you do not have to talk about your sources, but what the genesis of this story was like. >> people were paying attention a few weeks ago of chris christie and jerry jones and chris christie said, fine, i will go commercial for the next game, but this is not the first time we will hear this so looking at other events he has done and how he flies, and the jerry jones was the tip of it. >> some people look at the clintons and say they are rich and are hobnobbing. your paper has looked at this. in this case, there are two things that fascinate me that i did not know before. one thing is that he signed into law that it will allow foreign governments to pay for his travel. that is still kind of crazy, and the other is the extent to which he brings a huge entourage with him.

we're not talking specifically about your sources, but how did he pass such pieces of legislation, and what is the justification for people foreign governments and people with business before the state? >> the executive order that he signed there was former governor jim mcgreevey who got in trouble for flying commercial with his wife on a trip to ireland and he also attended a family reunion there. >> at state expense. >> he incurs expenses by taking state troopers and a security detail. we are going to make the rules clearer. >> i have never heard of such a thing foreign leaders. >> reading the executive orders why would you even think to put this production in their? >> did he think in advance how he was going to use that? >> there is an extraordinary

thing in the story where they were saying, look, king abdullah was a friend of the christies. was there any relationship between the two of them before he went over there? >> no, we did not find any pictures of him with the king but we did find pictures of him with bono. >> a solid investigative piece, and they lash out. today, governor christie in london refused to take any questions. you interacted with his indications director and others in his camp. how have they reacted to it? >> their reaction is generally to shut people out, which is what they have done. they canceled these two availabilities today in london. but you do as you do, and you work around it. >> when he has to respond to it, what is a good defense? >> you know, i think he is going

with the friend defense and going with the i am creating business abroad. he has a huge trip to london this week, paid for by a group that he is set up and he has installed a close friend as the president of, and we do not think there is a lot of business interest in the u.k., so why go to the u.k.? why not go to germany or switzerland, where there is? they have business with the state, a lot of them. they cannot give money to chris christie. they can give money to choose new jersey, which helps the presidential campaign. >> you mentioned this friend that now runs choose new jersey. there was some controversy with her and the ig report. i remembered a report about that when he ran the first time. >> this is a very close friend of his who has worked for him for years and they are also neighbor is. in his first race for governor

he was nearly derailed by the revelations he had loaned her $46,000, i believe, without interest, and she also played a part in trying to cover up some of these travel expenses and stalling people looking at them so there is a pattern. we have seen this all before. >> the last thing about this story, and we talked about it and joked about it, his interest in expensive things, and your colleagues talked to him, and we played this quote earlier getting all of the jews -- juice out of the orange. is this something they are worried about? >> we have had some reaction today, suggesting that they feel like the story was a fair hit. i think they would like it if he would stop doing this, stop doing that every time, the five-star hotel every time. >> there were the on the story reactions you had that it was, basically, this is fair.

>> and they were worried when there was that hotel bill. his staff knew. that was all room. some of those hotels are nice hotels. >> yes, those are nice hotels. we both think there'll be more to come, and some of it certainly coming from you. >> everyone should read this story on nytimes.com. >> and when we come back, hillary in my home, brooklyn new york. what will they think of next? ♪

>> no sleep till clinton. it is the latest report. hillary clinton plans to base her campaign, perhaps, right here in the borough next-door in brooklyn, which i assume she is doing because she wants to have -- >> i can think of three good

reasons, including pizza and burgers. and up next, "taking stock." sionara, my friends. ♪

♪ pimm: hello i am pimm fox, and this is what i am taking stock of this february 3, 2015. for the fourth consecutive trading session, brent crude has moved into a bull market. the oil price increase also pushed stocks higher, and the s&p gained more than 1%. the beat vinci executive bob dudley says despite the change in oil prices, don't expect to see $100 per barrel oil for a long time. >> we could go into a period in this decade