landmarkcases. friday on the c-span networks , 9:00 a.m. on c-span, the house returns to work on the reauthorization of the federal .viation administration on c-span two at 9:00, the republican national lawyers association national policy conference. at 1:30 five, president trump and angela merkel hold a joint news conference at the white house. israelan3 at 9:45, the defense minister speaks at the washington institute for near east policy on middle east security. at noon, new america hosts a forum on digital data and users rights. coming up in 30 minutes, a look at u.s.-russia relations. wder,uest is william bro

-- capital management and putin critic. also leo shane discusses the , white house's search for a new va secretary. ♪ dick armey good morning -- host: good morning, everyone. to south is waking up and north korean leaders signing a declaration to end the korean war. 50 the five years later. they also committed to a nuclear free korean peninsula. we will begin with this possible pieca declaration to end the kon war. deal between the two countries. what is your reaction to the news this morning? we want to hear from korean war veterans and families. (202) 748-8000. all others, (202) 748-8001.

you can join us on twitter as @cspanwj, or on facebook at facebook.com/c-span. we will get the highlights in just a moment, but let's begin. these are from the guardian. this is what the leaders agreed to. will hold formal talks on establishing a peace treaty, urging to urgently resolve humanitarian issues, and the two sides will work together to ease on theilitary tensions peninsula. starting may 1, all propaganda activities will be halted, and kim to -- excuse me, the south korean leader, president moon, will pay a visit to pyongyang in the fall. those are the highlights of this deal as we are learning this morning, and the two leaders met under the demilitarized zone. the north korean leader kim jong-il and being the first to

beingover -- kim jong-un the first to cross over into south korea, crossing the demilitarized zone around 5:00 a.m. eastern time. let's listen to the north korean leader. the two of them held a joint statement before the reporters. here's what they had to say. to declare --ke andad a historical --, reached a very fruitful in agreement. there will not be any more war on the korean peninsula. a new era of peace has finally opened, and we are declaring that. for a long time, we suffered the divisions and the sorrow and pain. able toved we were overcome. that is why we are standing here today. chairman kim and i have agreed that complete denuclearization will be achieved, and that is

our common goal. we reaffirm that is our goal. denuclearization measures taken by north korea are very significant, a complete denuclearization on the korean peninsula will be starting. and for a complete piece to arrive, south and north korea will collaborate closely. alsoounce that, and declarations of the end of the with a peace treaty, we will totally end the war on the korean peninsula and will establish a sound and solid piece on the korean peninsula. basically, we would like to change the total order on the korean peninsula. wherever we turn our eyes, no more hostility activities will be carried out. host: that was the south korean

leader there, just a couple of hours ago on the demilitarized zone, announcing a goal towards peace and signing a declaration to end the korean war. an armistice was signed in 1953, but technically these two countries have been at war and surly there have been tensions on the border. the korean war started in june 1950, an armistice was signed in 1953. no peace treaty was signed at the end of the war. a 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives and not war. let's listen to the north korean leader and what he had to say, following the south korean leaders remarks. >> i have waited a long time for the two koreas to come together, and we have long waited for this moment happen, all of us. as i stand here today, i can see

we are the same people that cannot be separated. we are compatriots, and it has really brought strong emotions to myself as well. that should people be confronting each other. , ande the same people choose to live in unity. i hope we will be able to live peacefully in the future, as soon as possible, and i also hope that we establish a new have forward. host: kim jong-un, the north korean leader, is there after agreeing to move forward with peace on the korean peninsula and denuclearization. joining us on the phone is the tokyo bureau chief for the washington post. was this expected?

it was expected that they would, with some kind of agreement today, but i think it was not expected that it would , and that itg would take place in such congenial surroundings. i'm very close to the border of pyongyang, watching the summit take place, and it is surprising to see the warm gestures taking place between the leaders of the two koreas today. there were lots of smiles and jokes, and even a hug at the end of the day. having said that, the agreement is very sweeping. it does include the word denuclearization, which is the word donald trump wanted to see when he woke up this morning, but very short on detail. whatplanation of denuclearization means or a pathway of how to get there, so there is certainly a lot of work to be done. host: to work out those details,

talk about that. they don't define denuclearization because why? say? ould north korea very complicated issue, and north korea has traditionally said that means northtion korea and south korea get them rid of nuclear weapons at the same time. they must leave the south korea -- [inaudible] it is attaching these conditions that the u.s. would never agree to. the u.s., for its part, has long said that north korea must unilaterally give up its nuclear and allow this process to be verified with outside inspectors, a high bar that north korea has never been able to agree to.

there are some really big hurdles there. what we have seen today and what we will see at the summit between president trump and kim jong-un that will take place in a few weeks time, as planned, agreements. vague all of the details will have to be worked out by officials over the coming weeks and months. ie bottom line, i think, can't expect kim jong-un to give up his nuclear weapons. he needs these weapons. they give him a lot of legitimacy as the leader of north korea within the country, and they have also enabled him to deter the outside world, to deter the united states in particular. i can't see him getting to a stage where he would actually be willing to give up these nuclear weapons. [indiscernible] get some relief from the sanctions that are hurting his economy, and also because he

feels confident. he feels like he is in a good bargaining position because they had a demonstrated nuclear program and missiles with nuclear warheads. host: what are the sanctions like on north korea right now, and what impact are they having? guest: the sanctions are really approaching a total trade embargo on north korea. all of north korea's key export seafood, theoal, things they sent to the outside world to earn money? they have all been banned i the united nations -- by the united nations. in the past, china has signed on to these sanctions but has not really implemented them. been worriedays about courting the collective north korean regime. [inaudible] by donald trump's words, and

perhaps actually implement in the sanctions, tracking down on trade in north korea to show that they are playing long and there is no need for military action on his doorstep. that the heat is off, the prospective war in asia is receiving. china appears to be easing up already on those sanctions. we are hearing reports that trade restrictions on the border have already been loosened, and kim jong-un is playing along [inaudible]ocess we appreciate your time this morning. thank you. guest: you're welcome. host: we want to get your reaction to the news this morning. the president tweeting around 6:40 a.m. after a furious year of missile launches and nuclear testing, a historic meeting between north and south korea is taking place. good things are happening, but

only time will tell. he follows that up with korean war to end. the united states and all of its great people should now be very proud of what is taking place in korea. we turned to you to get your reaction. tony in florida. good morning, you are on the air. caller: good morning. i just want to say that diplomacy is the answer. we need to protect lives, human beings and the planet earth. with six orrted five presidents, harry truman, eisenhower, john kennedy, lbj, nixon. i think it stopped with ford. war.was an unwinnable we need peace on planet earth. we do not need nuclear wars. thank you. host: tony in florida.

robert in arizona. you're on the air. good morning. caller: good morning, good morning world. adamanton i am so against the military is because the military causes all the problems. here is an explanation of that, ok? look at what is being caused in .ur schools, with the gun please respect people, please respect human life, even to the extent of no abortions, to the extent of people paying attention to their lives. that's create peace by getting rid of all nuclear weapons. be a very good start right now, and stop all of this military excursions all over the planet, because we have to let other people live, and they can live their life the way they want to live their own life.

it is not all about commerce. how come we are in a situation now where we see so many homeless people now, and then you try to help them. you want to help anybody? if you want to help anybody, help the planet. the planet can't stand all of this stuff. host: ok. ona.rt's comments in airiz thatcomments this morning south korea and north korea have agreed to end the north korea -- the korean war and implement denuclearization on the peninsula. this week's meeting between the te's decadeseeks long tensions that have flared into geopolitical conflict during the korean war from 1950-1953. a particularly little conflict, it took the lives of an estimated 3-4,000,000 people, civilians, and left

the korean peninsula devastated, particularly in the north, where 25% of the population was expected to be killed. the south korean capital of seoul also suffered devastation. inth korea invaded the south june 1950 and quickly pushed south korean forces to the southeastern tip of the peninsula. eventually, the north korean forces were pushed back past their border, a bloody stage of the conflict after allied forces drove north korean troops to the chinese border, and china entered the conflict in october 1950. the ensuing fighting over the mountainous terrain of north korea was known for its harsh conditions, especially in winter time. for the next two years, the two sides fall to a standstill -- fought to a standstill, roughly

centered on the area of the 38th parallel. -- the uniteda states, north korea, and china agreed to an armistice in july 1953, which south korea refused to sign. armistice halted the military conflict but left the combatants killed technically in a state of war that has lasted to this day. it also created the demilitarized zone that separates north and south korea and is the site of the summit. the end of the korean war, 65 years later, along with efforts to denuclearize and move towards a peace treaty. the president tweeting this morning that this is a good thing for america and south korea. heads theall, who think take here in washington for arms control association tweets out yes, we will see, to the president of the sweet, but

it will be up to you and your team to deliver. don't screw things up. past non-pro and denuclearization deals faltered as a result of war follow through on both sides. patience and persistence and political will are essential for progress. we will share some of the fromion we are getting others this morning as we continue to hear from you. you are letting washington know what you think of the news this morning. tom, and we divided the lines into korean war veterans and families and all others. thomas a korean war veteran in san diego. what he is think about this? tell us your experience there and your reaction to the news? caller: yes. south korean seoul, in 1951. my father was an american serviceman and my mother was korean. he was unable to bring the three of us over, i have a brother and sister, and he eventually --

eventually we were adopted by an american family in 1956. i have been following the korean crisis ever since, and i was hoping that someday they will get things worked out and families would be able to come back to see each other, and i can't tell you how wonderful i feel that families are now going to be able to get back together. i have to confess that i am not a trump fan, and as much as i hate to admit it, i have to give for making this happen, because i think that his tough talk and the sanctions forced the north korean leader to think in a different way, and i glad that it all worked out for the better. one more thing before i leave, i want to say that i enjoy your

show very much. i watch it every morning. i'm retired, so i can get up early every morning and watch you, and i particularly like you , young lady. host: thank you, tom. i appreciate it. george in nashville, tennessee. good morning. your reaction to this news? caller: yes. it seems great in theory, the thing that is happening. but the fear that i have is that south and north korea will get being thend kim dominant factor there, that he will have south korea run us completely out of the peninsula. that is exactly my opinion of him. host: you think that south korea is getting played here? caller: oh, absolutely. this fellow here, everybody can have their own opinion, and i am not a trump fan at all, but it appears to me that every time he

gets in trouble, he gets out by getting something else going. so he seems to be a lucky fellow. host: dena and ohio. good morning to you. are you there? let me try one more time. caller: yes, can you hear me? host: yes we can, that morning. caller: thank you for taking my call and thank you for c-span. i was born on june 25, 1950, the day the war started. my dad was reading about it in the waiting room. in those days, dads were not in.wed to go he was a world war ii veteran. my mother is deceased. it hasmazing to me that taken my entire life for this to come around. i also want to say that i am a donald trump supporter and i

hope he gets some credit. host: anthony in arizona, a korean war veteran. hello. caller: hi, good morning. i would like to say, we all have to keep in mind what former president eisenhower, when he spoke about the military-industrial complex. if you think about all the years since we were surprised on the korean peninsula -- my father served in the korean war. he is deceased. wasirst enlisted assignment in military intelligence in coria, and when i was over there, i applied for officer candidate school, and i retired out of the military as a military intelligence officer dealing with cyber security. you can bring all those things together and say we are dealing with cyber security issues,

north korea is probably one of the agents, the state agents. again, i go back to what president eisenhower said. for 68 years, we have thrown a lot of money that way. guess what? there are not a lot of wars left to fight. if you have any questions for me, i will take them now. host: i will get some other we willlls in, but return to it later on on the washington journal. let's hear from rob, in michigan. it is your turn. good morning. caller: yes. i am glad the peace came, but i think it is a false peace. i think they want to get the u.s. troops out of there. if you have ever been over there, and i have been over there, we have great infrastructure there. i think him, he is a young man, so he does not have to hurry, but once he gets the u.s. troops out of there, and i think he will try and take back the south

part of the country. i think it is inevitable. the people there seem to be fanatics. to believe see it it, but that is all i have to say. host: brendan in maryland. what do you think this morning? caller: how i feel about this whole entire conflict, i feel like it has been going on for years and there is just one civil solution. simple solution. when it comes to the korean war, i feel there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes down to it. i don't know if i have any family members who have served in the armed forces, but from is when it comes to north and south korea, there is a lot of u.s. army personnel stationed over there in south korea. i feel that it could be that one simple solution.

what i feel that solution would be is to do what is right and also try and work together with the south koreans to create peace. i know that is what they want from both sides -- peace. host: all right. some reaction from lawmakers, north korean exports -- experts. the north-south joint statement is impressive, but a full-scale nuclearr korea press -- frick reapplied, one of many commitments made, leaves much work to be done by president trump when he meets with kim jong-un. the firsting, once step is done and even if there are missteps, slow steps, stops, and setbacks, the road toward a different era is now open. changes on its way. so much to talk about. america's role in the encounter between north and south korea will be noted by historian. a congressman from ohio saying deeds not words.

nowhere shows the power of ideas and america as a force for good better. after fighting 1950-1953 to keep south korea free, usa has helped keep the peace on the 38th ever since. -- is south korea is no first world. perhaps north korea can share this peaceful, prosperous future. and we will share some more on the surprise factor on this announcement. the new york times writes today whilethe summit, and says mr. moon's meeting with mr. kim on friday, their first face-to-face talk, is rich with symbolism, mr. kim is not expected to capitulate on mr. trump's key demand -- total and immediate nuclear disarmament. mr. moon's other challenge with mr. trump turns on how best to deal with north korea and its

leader, who is expected to meet with mr. trump in the next few months. the south korean president favors an action for action strategy in which the north takes steps to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and is rewarded for each move with economic benefits and security guarantees. south korean officials said that the entire process could take about two years. teamrump national security , by contrast, has insisted that north korea must grab its weapons programs before any relief from the sanctions that isolate the nation can be granted. -- and that they see substantial dismantlement should be completed much more quickly, perhaps in six months. -- a hotheaded north korean leader with no experience on the global stage. new york times reports that north korea is believed to have 20-60 such nuclear weapons. american intelligence agencies cannot agree on the number. plus, a vast infrastructure, feel production, and weapons

making facilities, many hidden in the mountains are underground. any experts argue that north korea should be asked to hand over an inventory that could be compared with intelligence reports and verified. that would offer a look into whether mr. kim is coming clean, and could take years to implead -- complete. that is in new york. go ahead. caller: yes, good morning. this is so hopeful. no firsthe idea of strikes is such an important thing. of two angryearful persons starting a nuclear war. so aggressive -- what were we doing over there? i think it was more that we were warning russia that this is the edge of the north american continent.

i think it will be great for every concession that kim makes in this disarmament, there should be a reward. i like that idea. people are so depressed we go to hospitals and get the benefit -- them benefits, and actually the ,hole thing was to protect them the feeling that they were being attacked by the u.s. this is so hopeful. [inaudible] and to get them benefits. host: gabriel in washington. good morning. caller: hi, how are you? host: good morning. caller: morning. i think it is a great idea, but the northust kim from

at all. i think it is just something that he is doing before he meets president trump, and i think, i do not think it is going to go through. i equate this to the jews trying and the to make peace in the middle east, and i think kim is just doing this for propaganda. i don't trust him. return to this conversation around 8:00 a.m. eastern time. some other headlines for you and program notes, we will begin with that. the president, following on his state visit honoring the french president emmanuel macron etingving a working me with german chancellor angela merkel, and they will hold a joint press conference at 1:35

p.m. eastern time. the new york times notes this. it is on, off, back on. trump is going to britain in july. the white house confirming that yesterday. it will be a working visit, not an official state visit, so that is happening. the president's pick to replace rex tillerson as secretary of state, mike pompeo, was approved yesterday by the senate, confirmed 57-24, and immediately the former congressman got on a plane and set out for a diplomatic trip to a nato conference. at the same time, the white house released this photo yesterday of cia director mike pompeo meeting in north korea over theer kim jong-un easter weekend, a secret meeting. as many of you know, the v.a. secretary nominee, rear admiral ronnie jackson, withdrew his nomination yesterday.

usa today's headline, v.a. shortfalls loom as jackson misses. and more investigation into rear admiral ronnie jackson as well. we also covered the judiciary committee, debating and voting on legislation that would prevent the president from firing special counsel robert mueller. it cleared the committee, but it is unlikely to get a vote on the senate floor. a story in the new york times. senator bob menendez is severely admonished by a senate ethics panel for accepting gifts, and he must repay them, is what the ethics panel had to say. some other news happening in washington. let's get in andrew, in fall river, massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. on the north and south korea what, i think that

trumpeted by acting crazy, lunatic like helps the situation , to at least-un get someone to, you know, to help them out. i am hoping what happens is a long, peaceful solution. it has always been the military conflict, to keep conflicts going. i father was wounded four times in world war ii. my brother served 10 years in the u.s. navy. i served in the navy, and my uncle served 25 years in the corps, on the front lines of north korea and three tours in vietnam. it is time for the military

complex to stop making reasons to go to war so other people can make money. have got to find a way to peace, and war is the last resort. talk all sides and make sure all sides have a voice before we go to war. the same thing goes with israel. israel must give to the palestinians as much as they took to make it, make jerusalem a dual capital for palestinians and israelis. host: i will leave it there, and we will return to this conversation about the breaking news at the top of the hour. in the meantime, william browder joins us, ceo of london-based anditage capital management a vocal critic of russian president vladimir putin. we will discuss u.s.-russia relations. we will be right back. ♪

>> sunday morning on 1968: america in turmoil, we look at the media's role at shaping how americans experienced the events of 50 years ago. our guests, margaret howell -- marvin howell and the director of assurance team center on media, politics, and public policy. and david hume kennerly, a pulitzer prize winning photographer who covered robert kennedy's presidential campaign, the vietnam, and the white house. watch 1960 eight: america in turmoil, at 8:30 a.m. eastern, on c-span's washington journal,

and on american history tv on c-span3. >> sunday night on afterwards, journalist ronald kessler with his book the trump white house: changing the rules of the game. he is interviewed by any thomas of liberty consulting. >> he is like a boxer. he is diverting attention, bobbing and weaving, counterpunching. it is all an act. his top pay for 25 years joined the organization, there were only 25 employees. said, there were two donald trump. the one you see on tv, who makes these outrageous comments to get attention for his brand, and even if it creates negative publicity he is still the center of attention every day, both in conversation enter the media. in there is the other donald trump, the one that insiders

know, who is just the opposite. he is thoughtful, he listens, he is very careful about making decisions. >> watch afterwards at sunday night, 9:00 eastern, on c-span2's book tv. >> washington journal continues. host: back at our table this morning, bill browder of hermitage capital management and a vocal critic of the russian regime. let me show the headline from dq. bill browder -- enemy number one -- putin enemy number one. why? >> the russian government killed my lawyer. he was a russian lawyer living in moscow who uncovered a vast government corruption scheme. they he uncovered it, arrested him, tortured him, and killed him in 2009. hisde a vow to his memory, family, and myself that i would go after the people who killed

him and make them face justice. we now have a piece of legislation called the magnitsky thatpassed in 2012, andses visa sanctions asset freezes on russian officials, and that made putin unbelievably angry, and it made him angry because he understood eventually that the money or those sanctions would get to his money. i think -- that was in 2012, and there have been more and more individual targeted sanctions based on the magnitsky act and the sanctions we created, and the most devastating sanctions came about three weeks ago, in which the u.s. treasury sanctioned seven russian oligarch's, which created -- this was like a neutron bomb going off in moscow. putin sees me as the initiator of this whole thing, the person who has been advocating here in washington and london and brussels and all over the world to impose sanctions, and he does not like that. host: where else is the

magnitsky act on the books? the united states, canada, britain, estonia, latvia, and lithuania, the baltic countries. and we and gibraltar, have several other countries on the boil. denmark, sweden, holland, france, south africa, and the ukraine. host: why did you have a russian lawyer? guest: i had the largest investment business in russia. i lived in moscow for 10 years, i had the hermitage fund, the largest investment fund in russia. then covered corruptions in the companies and exposed it, and all sorts of terrible thing happened to me. i was expelled from the country, they have tried to have me arrested all over the world, threatened me with death, kidnapping, all sorts of terrible things. host: are you in fear of your life? are two things -- mi at risk of being killed? yes. am i in fear?

no. to theow do you travel united states, all over with this threat? guest: i have to be more careful than you if i'm traveling to those countries, but there are protocols i have to put in place to try and minimize that. you can never eliminate the risk of assassination, you can only minimize or make it harder for the people who wish you ill to do something like that. your banking and investment experience in russia is why you are in washington today. commission, what it is, and wire you testifying? guest: the helsinki commission is a congressional commission made up of members of the senate and the house of representatives, certain government officials. its basic job is to look at human rights as they relate to russia. the helsinki commission was the commission that initiated the magnitsky act in 2012, and they have been probably the staunchest defenders of human

by the unitedia states. i have been invited on a specific case that i took an interest in, which is russia has gone after -- russia goes after many people, like myself, hundreds of not thousands -- if not thousands of other people. putin and his regime do it to extract money from people. if someone has a successful business in russia, they try to take over your business and take your money. i was contacted in 2015 by a russian family called -- russian family who had a successful pulp and paper business in russia near st. petersburg, russia. many people, like myself, the russians came to them and tried to take their business away. they refused. their 16-year-old daughter was kidnapped and raped. they finally got her back, and they eventually took over the business and threatened the family with death. the family fled, and the first to latvia,ey went

turkey, and were looking for a country as far away as possible that did not have an extradition treaty with russia where they could be brought back. they went to the little latin american country of guatemala. they settled there, they paid a thefirm to help with immigration documents. mother became a drawing teacher, the father became a math teacher at the high school, and they had another child in guatemala. and the russians tracked them down in guatemala. here is where the story gets twisted. theressians convinced -- is an organization in guatemala, a u.n. organization called u.n. organization set up to fight human rights violations in guatemala. they had done lots of good work in the past, but the russians somehow, and to this day i do not understand it, convinced this organization, this u.s. funded organization, to prosecute the family for passport violations.

they prosecuted the family for passport violations, took away the new child that they had and tried to stick him in an orphanage, and then they sentenced them, the father to 19 years in prison and the mother and daughter to 14 years in prison for passport violations initiated by the russians. the good news, the good news is that the court, the supreme court of guatemala said that these people are victims, not perpetrators, and they should be freed. that came in yesterday. let's pick up there. what happens next, if the court ruled that way? guest: what happens next is the supreme court ruled that way, but the guatemalan court system is sort of played with corruption. the lower court has to ruled that way and let them out of jail. here is where the story gets horrifying. one-sided jail, they do not have

any valid documents anymore. so the guatemalans, in theory, if they wanted to, could send this family back to russia to their deaths. it is a horrifying story, and these people have been living in a nightmare for 10 years and are currently sitting in a prison, not knowing whether they will be released to safety or released to death, and i and here to testify about them. u.s. government funds, this u.s. organization, and there has to be a review of what is going on and why they played a role in this case. the u.s. is one of the largest foreign aid donors to guatemala. we should not be supporting russian vendettas against their enemies. host: the wall street journal editorial this morning, congress should get to the bottom of this outrage in guatemala. the end there message, the helsinki commission is ensuring that the law will be followed this time, but they also need to get to the bottom of what is

happening at cicig. is that why you are testifying? >> i am testifying to tell their story from start to finish, and a you and organization helping? by the way, the organization going after them is on a u.s. sanctions list. where we paying an organization to work with a russian bank on the sanctions list to go after an innocent family who is fleeing persecution in russia? these are absolutely damning, start questions that need to be answered. host: what does that say about russia in this case alone? it tells you one thing, which has been replicated over and over again, which is that the russian government has found ways of exploiting all sorts of -- exploiting and corrupting international institutions. the cicig, what are they doing thing?d in this

it is not just cicig. in my case, the russians have come after me with interpol arrest warrants. interpol is supposed thing? to chase fugitives. so they are going after political enemies of russia? we were able to fix that abuse with many members of congress here and in other places. we ended up finding a big amount of money in the crime that seculated skate -- exploited.sky the russians are poking around everywhere looking for weak spots, we cans that can be corrupted. host: i want to get our viewers involved in the conversation. what questions and comments you have for bill browder? republicans, (202) 748-8000. democrats, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can join us on twitter as well or go to our facebook page. mr. browder, given everything that you just said, what do you

do if you are the president of the united states who has issued sanctions? what else do you do? guest: the sanctions that he just did -- let me back up. i'm usually highly critical of every president and every prime minister everywhere being too weak on russia. the sanctions that were put in place three weeks ago, the oligarch sanctions, to go after the oligarchs and tycoons and russia were devastating. this is the first set of sanctions i've seen from anywhere that hit putin right between the eyes. there were seven oligarchs who were sanctioned out of a list of 200 oligarchs, and the dandridge , the -- damage, the financial damage in russia is unbelievable. people are losing billions. host: howdy you know? guest: look at the stock prices. you can calculate it on your screen. billions and billions. for the first time, we have done something that they can't

retaliate. we cannot lose billions in the same way they are losing billions because we do not have that money in russia. this is the policy. and it was perfectly pitched in my opinion, because the message do,here are 193 more we can which we will do, and because we have crossed the rubicon now to go after these types of people. it was very interesting because putin, who was always full of bluster and anger, did not respond. in a boxing match, he got hit so hard in the head his head is wobbling. he is seeing double right now because we finally figured out a way to hit him between the eyes. i would say that is the perfect response to all the dirty business that russia is doing in the world. my big message is not even to the united states at this point, except to tell members of congress that we finally got them, but go to other countries and say we have to replicate this. host: one of them being the united kingdom, after the

poisoning attack of a former russian agent in their country? indeed, indeed. i have told members of parliament in the u.k. and set a very publicly that if the u.k. does not replicate the u.s. sanctions list, they are laying out the red carpet for more chemical weapons attacks from russia. host: what about the expulsion of russians? 60 were expelled from this country, and the new york times had an article after this poisoning about the oligarchs that have property in london and how london law on the books incentivized the oligarchs to come to that country and invest with real estate. guest: london is the money laundering capital of the world. we think of britain as being as being -- britain as being a very religion in place -- legitimate place, they speak well, have good courts, but they do not enforce laws when it comes to

money laundering. i have seen it or stand in connection with the magnitsky , and it is a shocking mismanagement of criminal justice. host: what more can they do? should they expel these oligarchs? guest: they should do exactly what the u.s. has done, which is imposing visa free shanks and on the oligarchs, and that would be very powerful. host: let's go to jack in rhode island, republican. go ahead. caller: yeah, hi, good morning. we know mr. router is a very wealthy man, and that is fine with us. i have to admit he is probably one of the only very wealthy people that actually goes on tv and takes questions from middle-class americans, upper-middle-class americans. my ancestry happens to be german, like the host. the question i have -- when are

we finally going to resolve these issues with russia? you know, we have been having a cold war,; more conflict with coldfor years -- semi war conflict with them for years. have nuclear weapons that can eliminate the united states. it will eliminate everybody. guest: a great question. who is picking a fight with who? that is the real question. it was not the united states that took over the ukraine, it was not the united states that was carpet bombing children and not the syria, it was united states that she did in the olympics, and not the united states that shot down nh 17. it is not the united states running around the world influencing and bastardizing all elections in every other country, it was russia and vladimir putin. vladimir putin is picking

fights, and the reason he is picking fights is because his economy is the size of the state of new york. this is not an economic superpower, his military budget is 5% of the u.s. military budget, so the only way he can be relevant and a top world leader is by doing all of this nasty stuff. we do not want a war with russia, but we want to contain russia because he is out of control. host: barbara, massachusetts, democrat. you are next. caller: good morning. i'm just calling to thank mr. browder for what he has done over all of these months, and how much clarity and information he has brought to the world through his testimony and through his work. want to try and make a comment that pertains to his future everyone'sell as future action, is because we are not where we were at the or sixng of -- beginning

months ago. we are here now with this radically different information set. now we can go forward -- i was chrisatching cnn, and cuomo was interviewing christopher wylie about what happened with cambridge analytica and all of that, and the totality of rachel maddow's work is incredible. the woman should be on the amount rushmore of media, as far as i am concerned. i want is now to think about ok, there is going to come in and to this, -- come and end to this and psychologically after this. host: let's take that point, because i'm wondering if mr. browder has some thoughts on that. guest: the most important thing you said, and i agree with it, is that the truth is we are in a different place than where we were before, and what always happens in these situations is the truth always comes out in

the end. we will know everything about everything as far as russia is concerned, as far as whether there was a wasn't collusion, it will become clear and transparent. technology has moved faster than regulation, so we have all of these people using all technologies, and we do not know how to control it. i am quite optimistic about all of this crazy stuff that has happened is not going to happen in the future, because we will have figured it out by then and put in controls and regulations so it does not happen in the future. independent.exas, caller: good morning. i nodded next bird on this issue. i am trying to gather more information about the relation -- i am not an expert on this issue. i'm trying to gather more information about the relationship between russia and the united date, and as an independent, i am looking at this, looking at trump, and i have not seen any sort of --

there has not been any evidence of collusion. i think the election was run fair. perhaps russia was trying to get involved one way or the other, but it is not unlike the united states and what we do around the world in influencing policy and elections in other countries. we do meddle in other countrie'' so i don't want the united states to be a hypocrite, if that makes sense. isst: i guess the answer that probably you, me, and all of us watching the show, none of us know for sure what is going on with all of this. discuss from our armchairs whether there was collusion or was not, but the beauty of the american system is that there was enough of the fear that there was that we now

have a special prosecutor, robert mueller who is in place and has powers 1000 times greater than any of us could to wiretap,, subpoena, go and interview people, and i think we will know the answer, whether there was or wasn't. i don't know. i think we will find out the answer, and it will become clear when he gives us that answer. host: anything from what you have learned publicly, in the newspapers like us, that stands out to you in this investigation? to me thats clear russia really got involved in our elections. they got involved through facebook, twitter, hacking, disinformation and information leaking, etc. they got involved. there is no question, and it has been confirmed by everything i know and by people who know a lot more than i do. know is whether that was their own private initiative or whether they did

that in conjunction and collusion with somebody else. we will find out soon enough, but it is absolutely clear to me -- and it is not just us they are messing with. we are doing it in france, germany, the u.k., everywhere, and an industrial scale. host: let's hear from john, pennsylvania, democrat. hi, thank you for c-span. mr. browder, my question to you is about with the russians and everything, a couple comments. number one, to think mueller will follow the money, that is where you can always figure things out, the second point would be the new yorker magazine -- this is a plug, basically. they had a very good article about active measures, the steele dossier, and my concern thatat moving forward is russia, north korea, other rogue states could punch way above their weight because they have become very adept at cyber

warfare, not that we are not but the russians have learned a lot from us and are throwing it back in our face. your comments? guest: as far as cyber warfare goes, what the russians are doing i would not call cyber warfare. i would call it hacking, misinformation, disinformation, which are coming from cutouts and plausibly deniable intermediaries. if russia were to ever think about taking down and electricity grid using cyber warfare, that would be an act of war and the united states has the ability, the cyber abilities with its nato allies to a tally eight -- retaliate in a devastating way and send russia back to the dark ages on a cyber basis. i do not think putin whatever be so stupid as to do that. what putin likes to do is plausibly deniable, guerrilla warfare, asymmetric tactics which cannot be proven to be him

and are sort of poking around the edges, but not hitting the core. that is where everybody -- we all live in a world of innocent until proven guilty and so on and so forth, and putin takes advantage of all that with this stuff. it is requiring us to change our tactics. it is very interesting in the u.k., they now publish, the u.k. government publishes a list of russian lies about different things in relation to the chemical weapons attack in relations to syria, because russia is so openly lying about stuff. no government ever had to do that before. diplomacy has broken down. there is no longer diplomacy in dealing with russia because of these crazy actions. figure it out, but we are effectively dealing with a new type of threat. host: frank, oklahoma, independent. caller: thanks for taking my call. mr. browder, i have been

watching all the news and falling all of this -- following all of this dossier weirdness and the special prosecutor everything. but it appears -- i am agreeing with some talking heads -- that there has been a coup d'etat against our president, trying to him from office. the day of his inauguration, there was rioting in the streets that had been planned long before. can you talk to us about that please? well, there is no coup d'etat. the president of the united states of america is donald trump. he remains president with a solid situation where nothing has changed. i have been in countries and dealt with countries where there is a coup d'etat, and there is none here. what you are talking about is are there some people angry peoplet, there are some who are happy about it. that is the beauty of the

american way, people can say what they think. is any kindnk there of unconstitutional replacement of power here, and that is what makes this country so great, that everyone can say what they want to say and the country can still go on. that is not what happens in africa, asia, and other places where the military comes in and illegally removed the democratically elected president and things like that. that is not happening here. you spoke about the size of the russian economy, not being as big as some people might think. what about vladimir putin's personal wealth? guest: well, it is a lot bigger than trump's. on whose measurement of trump's. worth $220tin is billion. that might sound crazy to you, but he has a 50% stake in almost everybody's personal wealth. he is like the mafia boss, and wanthe came in, he said i

50% from everybody. in doing so, he became the richest man in the world. he does not keep that money in his own name, he keeps it in the name of anna dark -- oligarch trustees, and it is invested host: he went after your company. guest: in the most vicious way you can imagine. we paid $230 million of taxes to the russian government. our offices, took our documents and did in identity theft of our companies, then refunded $230 million in taxes, the single largest tax refund in the history of russia done illegally based on a fraud. discovered by my lawyer, he was tortured and killed. then they put him on trial for

years after they killed him, the first ever trial against a dead man. host: were you in russia when this happened? expelled in 2005. explain the days of expulsion. guest: it was crazy. i had been living in russia for 10 years. i had taken a weekend trip to london. i was flying back to moscow. i was stopped. through the mosque on a national airport. i was sitting in the vip lounge passport to be process. guards grabbed me and took me to the basement, locked me up. i did not know that i was being arrested or deported. they grabbed me

and put me on a flight, deported me and declared me a threat to national security. thank god they deported me or i would be dead. host: mark and indiana. caller: good morning. i was wondering about our guest. 1945, his35 in grandfather was the head of the communist party in the united states. would you like to expand on that. , he went grandfather to russia in 1927 as a labor union organizer. he met my grandmother in russia. my father was born in russia. they returned to america. he ran for president in 1936 and 1940 on the communist ticket. he was put in jail by roosevelt. he was pardoned in 1942 am an expelled from the communist

party for not being a good enough communist. he was persecuted in the era for being a communist. that is my family legacy. i am 54 years old. when i was going through my teenage rebellion, i decided to put on a suit and tie and become a capitalist. that is how i ended up being a capitalist. in the berlin wall came down, i said i'm going to be the biggest capitalists in russia. -- biggest capitalists in russia. william browder. you can go to bi llbrowder.com. break. take a short a return to our early conversation about the end of the korean war, two leaders at a summit on the demilitarized stone have agreed to go forward -- zone have agreed to go forward after an armistice was

signed. >> saturday the annapolis boat festival includes msnbc's chris bobbyws with his book kennedy, a raging spirit. close view of 4 presidents and race in america. and the sand hit machine. the coming age of artificial intelligence. list, a her book the reckoning of trump's first year. and raven rock of the story of the u.s. government's secret plan to save itself while the rest of us died.

monday on landmark cases. new york times versus the united states, known as the pentagon papers case. the new york times and washington post fought the next him and administration to publish a classified history of u.s. military activity in vietnam. the decision restricted the government's power over the press and broadened first amendment protections. represented the new york times in its case against , theyxon and, ted olson watch a landmark cases monday. join the conversation. follow us on c-span. we have resources for background

on each case. the companion book. a link to the constitution center. washington journal continues. host: back here live on this friday morning. the world waking up to the news that at a summit on the demilitarized zone, the two leaders agreed to move forward with a nuclear free korean peninsula. .s an end to the korean war an armistice was signed in 1953 when that war ended. and never signed it. technically they have been at war. signed.what the leaders here are the highlights. they will hold formal talks

establishing a peace treaty between the two, agreed to issues,humanitarian work together to you sharp military tensions on the peninsula. may 1, all propaganda activities will be halted, and the south korean leader will be visiting pyongyang in the fall. president trump, his administration is working to meet with kim jong-un and the end of may,he possibly in june. the president tweeting up this morning three different weeps. -- three different weeps. after a furious year of missile launches and nuclear testing a historic meeting between north and south korea is now taking place. good things are happening but only time will tell. this around 7:50 this morning. goode do not forget the

help that my friend the president of china has given to the united states, particularly at the border of north korea. without him it would have been a much longer much tougher process . as we learned earlier from the washington post the tokyo bureau chief sanctions were having an impact, largely due to china enforcing them. what is your reaction? ,e divided lines as republicans democrats, and independents. familiesr veterans and , we will to hear from you as well. let's go to amsterdam, new york, and independent. good morning to you. seth.t

keep dialing in with your thoughts. twitter oro go to facebook. the jerusalem post this morning with this headline. the world is reacting to this news this morning. we want to know from americans, especially war veterans and your families, what you think of this news and announcement of a possible peace treaty, 65 years later. let's listen to the south korean leader before they signed that declaration after the deal was made. >> chairman kim and i myself would like to declare a declaration. we had an historical meeting and reached an agreement. there will not be any more war on the korean peninsula.

that the longng time we suffered a division. that is why we're standing here today. that a complete denuclearization will be achieved we've reaffirmed that is our goal. denuclearization, measures taken by north korea, complete denuclearization on the korean peninsula will be starting. for a complete piece to arrive, south and north korea will collaborate closely. war, signingf the

the peace treaty. we will in the war on the korean peninsula, and will establish a sound and solid piece on the peninsula, and change the total order on the korean peninsula. wherever we turn our eyes, no more hostility activities will be carried out. the president of south korea speaking to the cameras to move forward with denuclearization on the korean peninsula. here is a little bit of the north korean leader. time to movelong together. we have long awaited for this moment to happen. as i stand here today i can see south and north korea ends are the same people. they cannot be separated. we are compatriots.

brought strong emotions to myself as well. we are not the people that should be confronting each other. we are the same people that should live in unity. i hope that we will be able to leave peacefully as soon as possible. will establish a new passport. >> kim jong-un on a declaration signed between himself and the leader this morning. your reaction. out amcnamara, he tweets development. areas told discussions underway to visit the white house and the next couple weeks to brief the president. this will be a different tone

it. shinzo abe a severe as skeptical of motives. we want to get your reaction. good morning. go ahead. caller: i think the historic event that took place yesterday, i think that started during the korea, theorth olympics. two countries with people participating in the olympics something in and the heavenly's took place. which brought about a change in the hearts of the two leaders

that i don't think the united states had anything to do with that. .his was something created by god almighty. with themething to do leader of china. hope as ronald reagan would say, trust but verify. i hope this will continue for years to come. what is going on with those two people.s, the same it is not what god desires. ost: maybe the newspapers thought that the two leaders met. that is their headline. this moment the picture captured here was the historic one, the

.resident moon of south korea mr. kim became the first north korean leader to cross the border. greg in richfield. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. it is a story. it is great. congratulations to all those involved, including president trump, the leader of china, the olympics take place something. i'm glad to hear a democrat believe in god. we can't sell this short. we can't have the people resisting the president continue to process. let him do some successful things like this. and breaking, russia ready. facilitate peace. caller: i was in the korean war.

started, harry truman said it was just going to be a police action, a police action that killed 4400 men. thank god i got back alive. i could tell you a lot of stories about that. where did you serve? where were you in north korea? book the hidden history of the korean war. read that book. the koreans lost a lot of people in that book to bombs. we are not being told the whole story. host: the new york times has this. the particularly brutal conflict. it took 3-4,000,000 people and

left the korean peninsula devastated, particularly in the north were 25% of the population was believed killed. >> that is true. read the book the hidden history of the korean war. in my private library. i cannot member the name of the author. that tells the truth about the korean war. host: what is your reaction to this news? i hope it reaction is is true. 16 int know how -- i 1945. i don't know how that was settled. we had a north and south korea. in october ofs 1960. host: how old? 21.er:

now.t 89 read that book. you can get it. the hidden history of the korean war. get the truth about it. host: thank you for calling in. , theng us on the phone senior correspondent with -- deutschea welle. a number of reasons, obviously. there is a deadline on the extension for the europeans from trumpriffs president

slapped on aluminum and steel. on whoke president macri was here earlier this week, angela merkel wants to convince him of trumpet is a bad idea to slap these tariffs on european allies. they want a permanent extension from those tariffs. the other issue is iran and the europeans united in their approach. they want the united states to stay in the agreement with iran trying to control iran's nuclear program. president trump is considering to leave that which he has called a terrible deal. after macron was trying to make this point, angela merkel will try to reinforce the korean perspective. host: this visit has been called a working visit. do you know why?

that is a question of personality. mccraw and president trump much of their romance we heard in the last few days is sure but i still think they get along. they have found common ground. grooming that relationship. donald trump is not popular popular -- popular in europe to .ay the least angela merkel cannot do that. ,he is a very sober person focused on facts and details. she is not interested in pomp and circumstance. found athey have working relationship.

i don't think she is to preterm she doesn't get the same lavish treatment as macron. 08 they are doing this as a tactic so mccrone has tried to bring across the european perspective. angela merkel is trying to emphasize that once again. they may be nudging donald trump to a compromise. imagine they will be discussing this announcement today. what is germany's position on that. germany is i think very happy. inre were major concerns europe and germany in particular donald trumps approach might to maybeh korea overreact to the american intoure, or might stumble confrontation.

a major war might break out. what is going on now in korea is good news from the german perspective. germany, and the germans know there is still a long way to go. it took many decades for the germans to be reunited even after the first top-level meetings between politicians from east and west. it took a long time. it took the eastern part of the communist regime to break down, -- like him to a point where we could talk about reunification. those two leaders in korea are meeting is fine. so far the north korean leader hasn't given up much. he has just made some the atmospherend is better but this is not denuclearization yet.

this doesn't mean that peaceful breakout for real on the korean peninsula. germany is looking at this with a lot of optimism. the germans are ready. embassy in an pyongyang. host: all right. thank you. becourse those leaders will asked about the north korea agreement as well as i ran and other issues when they hold a this news conference afternoon. c-span2 will have coverage of that along with c-span.org. or download the free radio app. back to our conversation with all of you about this announcement. we will go to michigan. hello. caller: hello.

nice to see you. the wonderful news, declaring an end of war, and thanks to the chinese president, and i think it is wonderful. all of them are wonderful people and we should get along including the russians. thanns are worth more words. that is what donald trump always says and that is true. talk they ares to coming to their own piece. that is great news. i think angela merkel should then --mething from from them. republican tweeting out -- the devil is in the details.

north korea must agree to shut down labor camps where christians are tortured and women are raped. carol in houston, texas. you hang up , i would like if you said goodbye caller or something so i know i'm not just talking. my credit goes to the leader of south korea. he gets the credit. peace his platform to get with the north koreans. by a good election margin and he cap did up. he is following through with what he said. i don't think donald trump is deserving of credit. he nearly destroyed them. bomb.eatened a nuclear

it was a terrible mess. host: he took office only a year ago pledging to me with north korea. the summit has had wide approval in south korea. there were fears of military action at the end of last year. papers haveative been supportive of the effort to embark on a diplomatic path. one of the biggest newspaper said the outcome would have wide reaching implications. he must realize this is the last the paper survival, wrote in an editorial on friday. caller: i think we need a lighter hand in this and give them some time to develop this us marching in an

ordering people around. it is a delicate situation. that is all i have to say. a man who credit to ran for president in south korea and said this is what he wanted, and he is following three. the president wants all of the credit. he even won a credit for a successful olympics. host: i will leave it there. for generations the korean war has continued with no feasible end in sight for six decades. the camera regime has pursued nuclear and ballistic missiles, refused to enter negotiations and committed acts of terrorism for anyone who opposes the regime. we must in with our allies and make sure these are not merely a ploy to serve north korea's interests. philip, you served? the 1980's.rved in

i called on the independent line. good morning to everyone in korea. language]foreign this is important. i want to get involved with korean war veterans from the war,this especially the soldierd airmen, who put their lives on the line at that time. i want to put a special shout out for the folks who served, known as the dmz war. all the veterans who served after the korean war. it never really ended. vietnam folks served in , in hard times and a lot of folks died.

american soldiers. served, at the nuclear evaluator, i went to korean ranger school, served on the dmz for a little while. i have been over there three times. did several team spirits. i have seen all that. i had a easy compared to a lot of folks who served there. what is troubling, a lot of marines whooldiers, served on that area, who are hurting now, and can't even get benefits. they can't even get their war benefits. somebody has to do something about it. i have service-connected disabilities. i'm lucky enough to be taking care of. but i have comrades who are not getting their just.

we have to do something about it. i want to say peace to everyone and i'm happy. host: before you go, could you feel the tension on the dmz when you were there? caller: a lot more than just tension my dear. died.e folks that there has a lot that has not been talked about. now that this is an open forum we have, the fact they are coming out now and saying the war is ending. that is all congress needs to know. that -- all the veterans that served, that had comrades dying, alert 24 hours a day had their boots on 24/7, ready to roll. scouts.e dmz

all the nurses. everyone that has served, they have to get their justice. agent orange. it is not talked about much. please come together and do the right thing. they have declared the war is over. let's take care of the veterans on both sides. veterans inese their 60's that served, let them get full veteran benefits. host: got your point. got your point. the only korean war veteran remaining in congress, 13 term representative sam johnson, republican of texas, retires at the end of this year. buffalo, good morning to you. caller: good morning to you.

a veteran. korean war. i was in the third division. triangle in the summer of 53. host: for those who do not know the iron triangle can you tell us what it was? inler: the iron triangle was pyongyang. in the cold war. i think this is a great thing. they bring itthat off. it will be a wonderful thing. i hope that we don't screw it up . i give credit -- i am not a trump supporter. i think he has done a lot of damage to this country. but credit is due. i believe in getting credit

where credit is due. he is taking the right attitude at the present time. i hope they keep john bolton away from the negotiations. that we helped to bring this thing to fruition. how old were you? 20 years old. i'm 85, nearly 86 now. host: and you were serving. what were you doing? caller: i was a rifleman. host: what was the battle like? caller: it was bad. i know what it is like to be in a foxhole. foxhole, totally coming at

us. up all night, shooting all night long. that i willperience never forget, i tell you that. you were there in the summer time? were you there in the winter when the climate was harsh? caller: yeah. i lastedr was -- through the winter of 54. it was cold. the war was over by that time. endedately for me the war when it did. we had to still be running around playing wargames in the snow and everything. survived and i hope

that this thing comes to a good outcome. host: thank you for your service. a korean war veteran. the associated press tweeting out kim jong-un returned ending the summit saw him make history by stepping foot on the south korean peninsula. a picture in the front pages of the paper this morning with the south korea, north korea leader the first to make that step over .he demilitarized zone lisa, you are here. caller: i would like to thank you for allowing me to speak today. i am ecstatic. i'm overjoyed with the unification of north and south korea.

.hat is truly a work of god at the same time i'm saddened. as other nations are unifying i feel like in the united states, being a black female, our country is more divided than ever. that allt is curious these different companies and corporations always do polls on society.s are going in i wonder why nobody is doing polls on how divided our country is. it saddens me. i see other countries, china, they are unified. moving toward unification. russia is unified. it scares me. country is a our catastrophe. if they were unified, if they

were to combine, we are so divided among each other. i'm afraid things would get bad for our country and we would be overwhelmed. i know everybody will say i'm a republican christian or a democratic christian -- we are so divided. i am so happy, god knows i am happy for the koreans. what about in the united states? host: i have to leave it there. we are going to take a short break. we will turn our attention for a new veteran affairs secretary. we will speak with leo shane about that coming up. >> connect with c-span2 personalize information that you get from us. go to c-span.org and sign up for the emailed. the program guide is a daily email with the most current schedule. word for word gives you the most

interesting daily video highlights, with no commentary. book tv newsletter sent weekly is an insider's look at upcoming authors and book festivals. programmingming exploring our nation's past. visit c-span.org and sign up today. >> sunday. >> the news starts to spread. it seems to be swing voters. there is a famous editorial cartoon that comes out with a a, where'sming, "ma, m my pa?" arehe first few episodes all around the concept of we the people. it was an exploration of gender,

nationality, ancestry. we move into the idea of more perfect union. are a couple of episodes about justice, defense. endsit in' h with the blessings of freedom and what that means. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. 19 79 c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. today we bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, public policy events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your

satellite provider. >> washington journal continues. host: leo shane is back at the table this morning to talk about the white house resuming their search for a new secretary of the veterans affairs department. allegations of liberally prescribing pills. let's talk about going forward. who is on the short list? guest: right now a handful of names we are looking at. ronnie jackson was not on the short list last time. it is possible he is looking to areas that are outside the veterans community. pick was a shock to many in the community.

number one has to be the acting secretary. he was brought over to keep things running smoothly. trump said you are doing a great job. it is a pretty small sample size. is someone who is going to be considered. beyond that we have a list of suspects that includes jeff miller, he has done some lobbying work. still a figure in the community. rick perry's name came up two months ago. then, a former member of

concerned veterans for america, a former official with them and a current fox and friends news host. interested to cp goes with that pool and how quickly moves. , he has asion we got candidate in mind, more ready to deal with the rigors of the process. host: who might that be? guest: some of these folks make but the bill, tendency in this white house is to go with the outsider. host: have you heard that could come on a friday? it could come any time. i have been watching twitter pretty much nonstop. we have not gotten any indication.

aftere a lot of folks who ron ejection, the implosion of his nomination are saying please don't rush too quickly. let's take a step back, let's talk to folks who might be appropriate. dr. jackson, well you had a decent reputation before this with some folks on the hill, he didlargely an unknown and not have a lot of defenders when this came up. there were not folks clamoring for him saying he understands the issues. i think as the white house looks ahead they would like to have somebody who has some backers who can step forward and the next some allegations come up, they can say this sounds true, or not true. >> washington can hear right now

from the community. we want to hear from you this morning. retired veterans. what kind of person do you want to see leading veterans affairs? making this harder. washe former v.a. secretary forced out of office over the way town scandal. i'm sure your viewers remember the national controversy that erupted. did they popular did -- did they resource? since then we have seen secretaries come in and work on rehabilitating the public image.

this is another scandal. this is something that was not of the v.a.'s doing. another black eye that makes people say is the v.a. a broken system? they are going to have to convince folks that they are working on the proper reforms. it is a system that can be performed. department.lion even the president saying it may be too big for anybody to fix. that upset a lot of folks. this is a massive government bureaucracy but it is not unfixable. thatar the president say are so many problems, we can't them.is undermines

host: what reforms will be made to the department? >> before secretary shulkin was fired last month, he was working on a big health care package for veterans. i know these bills are still ready to go. i have talked to lawmakers saying given that it may be a while before we have a permanent secretariat, we're still going to move forward and figure out a way to deal with these health care issues. for them to dive into a a lot of big issues. how do we deal with this health care issue? it has been of the heart of a lot of these things.

there is a medical marijuana bill in the house that advocates are pushing for saying there needs to be more research. we are seeing a lot of push and success from congress moving legislation ahead even as the leadership is in disarray. host: we want to hear from our viewers. independents. retired andline for active military. what are your thoughts on the v.a. system, health care system? edward is first. good morning. caller: i'm a democrat. i'm wondering why some veterans say we make too much money, the

v.a. does not take care of all veterans. if you make too much money you are left out. they leave you behind. been one of the big issues. there is a lot of misperceptions about the v.a. and who it serves. 9 million who have any direct conflict with the health care system. there is a lot of anger and concern in the veterans community about the folks who are not eligible because they do not have service-connected disability and they are above minimums for what would be considered poverty. this plays into that larger question of what is v.a.'s role with health care? if you're a veteran who is relatively well-off, does the country have an obligation to take care?

the cost of health care, does it become insurmountable? these are the issues congress is trying to get a hold of. mark, an independent. you are retired military? caller: 100% service connected army veteran combat medics. , you have to be independent for this job. you are in the foxhole fighting you don't ask if you are a republican or democrat. enemy anywayat the you can. when need to turn more and more to our vice president. the veterans have their own board. , overare mature veterans 50, over 60. they can decide the best man.

the president has so much on his mind, he is making impulsive decisions. you don't put a young, whether he is a doctor or not, out of the marine corps. one of thecorps is most disciplined branches. or a navy person. they have to be mature. that is the bottom line. independent and not political. be -- dr. jackson is may is a navy admiral now. there were concerns he doesn't have any real experience at the v.a.. and veterans groups were not consulted i this. this was someone who blindsided them. a lot of them just said who is

this? position risehis above politics in recent years. since they have been a cabinet level position there has never nominee who has received a negative vote. unanimous or been voice votes. when they have a political leaning one way or another, the senate has put that aside. they have held this position as almost nonpartisan. that was part of what seems to be the thinking in this nomination. , verywould be divided bitter fight over whether or not to put him forward. servewill he be able to as the president's doctor? guest: that is the next question. he does not have proof on a lot of these orders to raise

concerns about confirmation. that seems to be punted back to the military. if there are allegations he was drinking on the job, is he qualified to stay in the military? we have been pushing the military, but we have heard congress say we need to take a look at the medical office. host: billy, and independent. asheville.ive in here.band was at the v.a. i understand it is one of the top three. all i can say is my husband got excellent care there, even when he was dying. members of thell

v.a. committees i have seen. i have called everybody. probably everybody in congress and said if you want to know how to do it right, why do you not come out and visit this one? nobody has. host: let's pick up that point. i -- guest: there is a saying if you been to one via you have been to one v.a.. there is so much difference between the sides. some are spectacular. some have their stuff together. then there are ones that are understaffed. this is part of a challenge that faces the v.a. secretary. you are running a nationwide democracy. 375,000 employees.

host: ocean springs mississippi. republican. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> what is your question? host: yes. i am retired military. i get postcards from people that want to give me a wheelchair, back brace, all kinds of medical equipment. i don't have to have a prescription for my primary care doctor. you have to just in this card back in.

anything you think you might need. i would like to see something done about it. they don't need to be contacting people. god it. are you familiar? guest: this is one of the military options given to the military retirees. it has been cited as a model for where the v.a. needs to go because it is more of a voucher system. they can go to any doctor but they have this health insurance. a lot of controversy because you talk about tri-care for life, you are talking a different set of needs and injuries.

you lost a leg, or you have , that ismatic stress to have av.a. wants to core competency to take care of you. for other issues, aging issues or accidents that happen post military, there is this debate of should the v.a. be my central provider for that or should i be able to go to the private care sector? a lot of folks, and i imagine the next v.a. secretary will look at this again. to not voucheray the entire system but give more a free hand to go into the private sector when they want to? host: julie in clayton.

>> i am disabled military. i am also a retired nurse. when i worked, i worked in every kind of hospital setting that you can imagine from community hospitals, to fancy hospitals to county hospitals. i have been to seven different the a's. i have gotten good care at every one of them. they have the best medical .ystem i would hope they would find somebody that has a strong medical background in different medical settings, that understands how the medical system works, and can do the job. hopefully they don't necessarily have to be a military background , but i would want them to have a full knowledge of a medical background. the v.a. system has the best

medical system in the country. i would want somebody that understands the medical system. host: ok. guest: there was a report that made all of this ronnie jackson controversy that said they gave high marks to the v.a. care. that is what we have heard. the care they receive. the issue was the access. how close are the hospitals? this is an ongoing issue. in response to the caller's comments about wanting medical experience, center especially terry shelton was a health-care administrator her work not only outside of the v.a. but as dbas top doctor. -- v.a.'s top doctor. word on what he is going to do next?

talked to him and he is not given a a lot of specifics, but he wants to remain a voice in the veterans community. it is not something he just wants to step away from. a lot of the electronic medical record initiatives he was trying to put in place which would have linked military records, he saw as not just transformative but transformative for the country. to cut between the fight without sharing, so that patients of any sort could go to one hospital or another. it would not surprise me to see him working on that issue and talking about his concerns with privatization, some things we have seen after his dismissal. host: leo shane, following these