of peter feldman to be on the consumer product safety commission. on c-span3 at 9:30 a.m., the senate armed services committee considers military command nominations. at 1:30 p.m., university --sident sylvia burrell well burwell is in a conversation with senator bob corker and then health care in rural america at 3:00 p.m. thursday morning, we are live in indianapolis, indiana, for the 42nd stop on the capital cities tour. >> coming up in an hour, eleanor smeal, president of the feminist majority foundation discusses brett kavanaugh's supreme court nomination. at 8:30, judicial watch president tom fitton.

at 9:00 a.m., washington post's fact checker columnist glenn kessler discusses the number of false or misleading claims president trump has made since taking office. ♪ good morning. it is tuesday, september 25, 2018. the senate is in at 10:00 a.m. and the house returns at noon. talk about what still needs to be done, but we begin with a question about the job security of deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. after a day of frenzied media speculation, president trump is set to meet face-to-face with a man who oversees's robert mueller -- overseas robert mueller's russia probe. our question for you, should rod rosenstein be fired?

if you think yes, 202-748-8000 is the number you should call in. if you think no, 202-748-8001. you can also catch up with us on social media. on twitter it is @cspanwj. on facebook it is facebook.com/cspan. a very good tuesday morning to you. you can start calling in now. the lines, yes and no as to whether you think rod rosenstein should be fired. the speculation about his job status has been frenzied since last week when a new york times story reported that early in his job, he discussed invoking the 25th amendment and potentially remove president trump from office and raising the prospect of wearing a wire in his discussions with the president. the media speculation hit a frenzy yesterday. here is some of the headlines this morning about rod rosenstein.

trump summons rosenstein and the implication may be ominous for the deputy attorney general. from the wall street journal, he is out, he is in, rosenstein trump to discuss the future. there is a picture from the white house driveway of rod rosenstein and white house chief of staff john kelly after their brief meeting yesterday at the white house. here is president trump up in new york at the u.n. general assembly meeting. this is president trump from yesterday talking about rod rosenstein. [video clip] >> i am meeting with rod rosenstein on thursday when i get back from all these meetings and we will be meeting at the white house and determining what is going on. andant to have transparency openness and i look forward to meeting with rod at that time. we are going to have a meeting on thursday when i get back.

right now we are meeting with a lot of great people, including president moon. over the next couple of days, we are meeting with many countries. i will be back on thursday and when i get back, we will have a meeting. we are going to have a meeting on thursday when i get back to the white house. host: that was the president yesterday in new york. joined by terry johnson, the justice corresponds in -- correspondent. what went on yesterday amid that couple hours of media speculation during rod rosenstein's trip to the white house? period ofconfusing time for people in and outside the justice department. somebody reported he had already resigned over the weekend. other people telling me he was headed to the white house, where he expected to be fired. he wound up staying at the white

house for over an hour and being walked to his sub, where he got a firm handshake from john kelly on camera. not exactly the kind of thing you would see if someone was on the way out the door. the situation is fluid as for rod rosenstein's job security. i would be comfortable saying he is in the job for now. the situation could change with one tweet from the president. host: do you get a sense what happened yesterday was a case of misinformed sources or the reporting influencing the sequence of events yesterday? guest: i think there were people inside the white house who knew something, but not everything, and people inside the justice department who knew something, but not everything. perhaps they did not understand the personalities of the folks involved. president trump is unpredictable. rod rosenstein is a 28 year veteran of the justice

department and someone not inherently comfortable with politics or maybe assessing the personality of the chief executive of the united states. unfortunately, the reporting yesterday morning reflected all of that hubbub. host: if rod rosenstein does go, this storyse of last week and the way he managed the mother probe or something else? guest: he has been on thin ice ever since you took the job within a matter of a month or a little over a month. rod rosenstein appointed robert mueller to look into the russian interference in the election and whether americans conspired with the russians to do that. the president has personally attacked him in public and private since that time. this new york times story in which the times reported rosenstein had discussed the 25th amendment, arguing the

president may be unfit to serve and rosenstein sarcastically or not floated wearing a wire to record the president inside the white house or the oval office really was a normatively -- enormously damaging to his credibility to the white house. denied the more explosive allegations, that he never took steps to approve or authorize anybody to record the president and he believes based on personal interactions with donald trump that there is no basis to invoke the 25th amendment and remove him from office. noel francisco is the current solicitor general. he is a longtime appellate lawyer in washington and a conservative guy, a friendly, cordial guy and he is in line if rod rosenstein does leave the justice department. no francisco is in line to supervise the special counsel

investigation. law firm, jones david has represented the front campaign in the past and noel francisco has testified before congress and written in the wall street journal opinion page and other places that he is leery of special prosecutors and independent counsels and he thinks the justice department should do that work himself. those writings have given rise to thinking that noel francisco may try to limit the scope of the special counsel investigation. anybody who supervises that probe has the ability to say yes or no before big steps are taken like indictments. on capitol hill and what you are expecting in the coming 40 eight hours ahead of that thursday meeting? guest: democrats were very -- republicansy in the senate seemed concerned,

too. people like susan collins and orrin hatch cautioning the president not to take this step and shake up the justice department now. mitch mcconnell has been telling the white house please do not make big changes at justice before the midterm elections. we will see whether that holds. host: carrie johnson, thank you for taking the time this morning. guest: my pleasure, thank you. host: should rod rosenstein be fired. if you think yes, host: -- 202-748-8000. if you think no, 202-748-8001. be prepared to tell us why you think yes or no. joe in georgia on the line for yes. how are you, joe mccutchen? caller: i am doing great, love c-span. i think he definitely should be fired. i am dedicating the rest of my life to defeating socialism.

they are all against trump. i think it is a witchhunt and i am making a major speech october 9 about getting behind republicans. we have got to win the midterms or trump will be impeached. i think it ought to be disbanded and rosenstein ought to be fired. the head people, they are all against donald trump. i just think the american people are going to demand rosenstein be fired and mueller also because -- i agree with trump. i am 100% trump supporter. i am going to dedicate the rest of my life -- we cannot let america go the way of venezuela and that is what is going to happen if the democrat policies happen. i very much think he ought to be fired and i am glad you guys are bringing it up. host: that is joe in ellijay, georgia.

we will talk to you in about 30 days preview can be a regular caller. we will hear from you in october, joe. robin in georgia on the line for no. guest: i don't think -- caller: i don't think he should be fired and, joe, you are being delusional, like the rest of the trump supporters. donald trump is not hiding the fact he is guilty. he almost confesses daily. it's almost to the point where the only people hiding it are other republicans. he doesn't want to check on him. everybody is lying, but the biggest holder -- liar to ever hold office. he flashes white power signs daily. i am thinking of what will be the end result. --s almost getting to the the justice department is ok as long as it is prosecuting his

enemies. that is not what the justice department was set up for. the justice department is for the people, not donald trump. arefact that republicans standing by him speaks volumes about their morals. they are looking -- making themselves look immoral and lawless. we have to make a decision, do we want to be a lawless country or a country of laws? host: that is robin in georgia. edward of new jersey says rod rosenstein should be fired. caller: good morning. i think rosenstein should definitely be fired. against trump and not only him, there's a lot of folks within that department against trump and they are still fighting the issue hillary .linton lost

i think the house divided cannot stand. , andnk rosenstein, mueller all of them are trying to get him out and put in who they .ould like not just the fact that the new york times piece, but a lot of things like that have been said and if they could have their way, he would have been gone a long time ago. yes, he needs to be fired. host: edward in new jersey. here is one of today's editorial cartoons in the usa today. two elephants standing back to back and one saying rosenstein the otherenies -- -- ng kavanaugh denies he

the judge taking to fox news yesterday to push back on the accusations against him of sexual assault stemming from his time in high school and college. here is a bit of that appearance on fox news last night. [video clip] >> i want a fair process where i can defend my integrity. i know i am telling the truth. i know my lifelong record and i am not going to let false accusations drive me out of the process. i have faith in god and faith in the fairness of the american people. america is about fairness and hearing from both sides. i did not do this or anything resembling this. this is wrong. host: more from that interview later in our program. one story on that interview. in the new york times, the platform of fox news offered

judge kavanaugh a prime opportunity to make his case directly to president trump and his supporters. not only is president trump an avid watcher, but bill shine was -- we will be talking more about brett kavanaugh later in the program. we are focusing on rod rosenstein and his meeting with president trump on thursday. should rod rosenstein be fired. if you think yes, 202-748-8000. .f you think no, 202-748-8001 jack, annapolis, maryland, on the line for no. go ahead. caller: rosenstein is a republican appointed by bush and reappointed by obama. he is a straight shooter. he is not a partisan hack. he is not doing anybody's talking points and the last couple of carpal -- collars talked about him being against

trump. this is not about being for or against trump. it's about the department of justice doing its job in an investigation and the fact is rosenstein, because he is a straight shooter, is overseeing bob mueller and allowing the mueller investigation to go forward. i think being a straight shooter and allowing the investigation to go forward is the way this ought to happen and the president is talking about getting rid of rosenstein because he doesn't want the investigation to go forward. it's just like joseph goebbels in the 19 40's. he who controls the message controls the masses and president trump is talking to fox news and having his minions go out and talk to fox news and uses cnn and the real networks to put out demonstrably false

message and people, like your first couple of callers who acknowledge they are trump supporters are swallowing that message hook, line, and sinker. host: michael up next in houston , texas, on the line for those who say yes. rosensteino believe should be fired. he serves at the pleasure of the president. the american people elected trump to hire people to run the country. i would like to see you do a segment on the first amendment and have a couple of days where the other parties, especially democrats using your station as a platform to voice their opinions. i think it ought to be more diversified and do a couple of days with it. i believe kavanaugh -- i believe the democrats really destroyed this country and i think they are headed toward chaos.

a person is innocent until proven guilty. with the media, and you are guilty until proven innocent. i think you all need to do more study with the amendments and let professionals get in there. the talking heads on other stations, they have had to retract for our five stories in the last month. they put out false accusations with no proof behind it. host: a couple of things you might be interested in, search the c-span archives. we have done segments on this segment and talked to professors and done quite a bit on the constitution and the first amendment in particular. on the way news is fact checked. we are doing a segment later in our program with the washington post fact checker, glenn kessler, to talk about how he does his job. you might be interested in that.

some reaction from capitol hill yesterday to the swirling reports he may have resigned, might be fired, and eventually was still deputy attorney general. here is susan collins, who carrie johnson -- saying yesterday, i am very concerned by reports that deputy attorney general rosenstein will be fired or forced to resign. adam schiff, democrat, the ranking member on the house intelligence committee saying under no circumstances should rod rosenstein resign. this would place the mueller --estigation in even greater mark meadows, conservative republican from north carolina, the latest reports on rosenstein underscores the need for transparency at the department of justice. release the documents. stop the games and show america

the truth about this russia investigation. if they have nothing to hide, they should act like it. we are also going to be talking later in this program with tom fitton of presidential judicial watch specifically about documents being released by the justice department. judicial watch is known for its efforts to file free to vomit for -- freedom of information lawsuits against the justice department and other agencies. your calls in this first segment. linda in mount holly, north carolina on the line for those who say no. caller: i don't think he should be fired. i think he should resign. why go on with -- host: why go on with what? caller: with this facade of ruining the justice department.

it's not president trump ruining it, it is the people in there who cannot believe that we people out here in the country are so stupid that we would elect someone other than hillary clinton. line tom in florida on the for those who say yes. good morning. caller: good morning. for people wondering what rosenstein -- who he met with and what was said, i think i know exactly what was discussed in this meeting yesterday and that was, who else was in that meeting he had with andrew wayse when a discussion of to basically enact a coup against an elected president of the united states took place. rosenstein can say he was joking or being sarcastic, but what else was in this conversation

that led to him saying something like that? you worry about the russian interference? how about trying to do a bloodless coup on a democratically elected president and say that president trump is a liar? i have a couple of lies i would like to see you think he be -- number one, your medical bills by $2100. number two, you can keep your doctor. held bye boldface lies obama and he knew they were lies when he said them. thatd an attorney general perpetrated fraud on the investigation of gunrunning in mexico and this has never been resolved. when you call donald trump corrupt, he has a long way to beat the obama administration. host: on the meeting described

in the mccabe memos and the new york times story you brought up, here is what rod rosenstein says about the reporting. he denies he ever contemplated secretly recording trump. "the new york times story is an accurate and factually incorrect . i will no longer comment on the story. let me be clear about this. based on personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th amendment. any suggestion i advocated for the removal of the president is false." earl in california on the line for those who say no. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. -vietnam veteran.

orangehad my 6th agent surgery. i have a big red pill for you to swallow, america. there is about 50,000 indictments. the president is going to fire him. a lot of them will be going to gitmo and they know who they are. i cannot wait, it is about to begin. god bless you and god bless america. host: greg on the line for those who say he should not be fired. go ahead. caller: good morning. 39 year watcher of c-span and let me just say high to a gentleman i have never met, joe mccutchen. rosenstein should not resign. most people forget mr. rosenstein himself is a republican and he also worked on the kenneth starr campaign -- on his staff during bill clinton's

administration and his record is drawn behind republican politics . i think he has done to a point where he looked that trying to have some degree of integrity within the department of justice and most folks, on the donald trump side, with all due respect to them, i just don't understand their mentality in terms of a crooked president who work -- sued people who worked for him and would not pay them and told othery lies and independent media outlets cannot keep up with the lies. the most recent caller brought up president obama. it appears as if former president obama is the biggest liar in the world, but he happened to make a mistake thinking his plan would include them being able to see their

individual doctors. i pray for the country. i am also a vietnam combat veteran. the last caller, i could not figure out what he was saying, but we have a crook in the white house. hopefully mr. rosenstein will not resign. there are so many people who ,rank the kool-aid of this guy who questioned the institutions we believed in since the country started. it's not only with the fbi, but the department of justice and the media, whose only job is to report to the american people the truth. i don't deny politics are involved, but not to the extent where the president has characterized the media as an enemy of the people and you have a network like fox news that has become a propaganda machine for this president. it almost reminds you of what was going on in 1933 with the

fellow who try to conquer the world because his ego was so strong and everybody bought his kool-aid and it almost destroyed a whole country. host: that is greg in florida. taking your calls on the phone lines for those who think rod rosenstein should be fired on thursday or sooner, 202-748-8000 . those who say rod rosenstein should not be fired, 202-748-8001. as carrie johnson of npr pointed out, a lot of focus on noel francisco, the solicitor general because if rod rosenstein is ousted, the oversight of the russia probe would fall to noel francisco. here is the story from rollcall. a former partner of a law firm in washington, he is the next justice department official to oversee the probe.

there's a possible conflict dating from his time at jones day. in his current role, francisco is the top supreme court litigator for the trump administration and has strong .onservative credentials he clerked with antonin scalia and worked in the justice department's office of legal counsel for two years during the bush administration. some concern on the left about knowles francisco. here is a story about no francisco from yesterday after this frenzy of -- over rod rosenstein's job status. me to the unethical trump the unethicalet trump loyalist who will oversee the russia probe if rod rosenstein is fired. here's the latest from noel francisco from his confirmation hearing may 10 of last year, one year after the firing of james

comey and he talked about the separation of powers in that confirmation hearing. [video clip] >> one of the things that makes this country great is we have a constitution -- department bound by the constitution and a separation of powers able to enforce that. my dear mentor, justice scalia would say there are many countries in the world that have bills of rights that are more detailed than ours, more beautifully written, but what they don't have is a system of separated powers that and force that constitution. it would be the greatest honor in my life to stand up as solicitor general because it is that separation of powers with a solicitor general standing on behalf of one branch before the supreme court, another branch, often defending the laws past by this body, a third branch where

those separation of powers principles come together to provide the protections our constitution provides greater than any country in the world. if you want to watch that confirmation hearing in its entirety, you can do that, available in our archives. back to your calls. dolores on the line for those who think rod rosenstein should not be fired. portland, oregon. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i don't think rosenstein should be fired at all and if we all pause and think for a minute back to how the media got trump elected in the first place. we have all these young people up here doing our media, supposedly for the democratic point of view and they are one-sided because they know one side of the story. the news media needs to be more diverse. i think thes story was put --

this story was put out in the media to arouse the passions and get ratings. i think they were going for the ratings because, to suggest that rosenstein tried to get trump and all of that, you have to look at the process that would to doo be instilled something like that. you have to go to thirds the house of representatives -- to overcome the president. -- isea on herself absolutely ridiculous. host: ellicott city, maryland, the line for those who say no. caller: good morning. we always skirt around this. if you ask a trump supporter what they mind if donald trump colluded directly with vladimir putin to win the election, seven or eight out of 10 would say it

was worth it and they would be fine with it. i think that speaks to the topic . if they don't care about the rule of law that appears and they don't care how it happens. rosenstein, jeff sessions, these are trump appointees. they are not barack obama -- and they are his appointees and it concerns me. republicans used to be able to stand on traditional conservative values that i respected. they don't care about ethics, .orals, or the rule of law the courageous ones are the ones stand next toot this person because he is not a republican and definitely not a seenrvative and he has four bankruptcies, three lives -- wives. he is not somebody our children up to.ould look

a lot of folks like me would have supported him if he focused on trying to bring our country together instead of divide us every single day. that is all he seems to want to do is divide the country. host: the president is up and tweeting this morning. he is in new york at the u.s. general assembly meeting. about 50 minutes ago the president tweeting about republican party favorability in the upcoming midterm saying it is the highest it has been in seven years, three points higher than the democrats. the president is citing gallup there and talking about his day ahead and week ahead at the u.n. host: i have no plans to meet rouhani.ident hassan the president at the general assembly meeting and we will be taking you there after our program. he is expected to speak around

10:00, where we will be and he our program and tomorrow, the president expected to chair the un security council meeting as well at the u.n. meeting. plenty more to talk about. back to your phone calls focusing on rod rosenstein. that is who the president will meet with on thursday and the question is what his job status will be. romney in irving, texas, on the line who say the president should not fire rod rosenstein. go ahead. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. the caller a couple of calls ago stole my thunder. from day 1, donald trump office, he has lied. he has lied on a daily basis. he and his walking dead supporters are obsessed with hillary and obama, that we cannot get over that donald trump got elected. donald trump supporters, we are

over it and we are focused on getting this narcissistic , corrupt,tick -- sick vladimir putin-loving president out of office. he has committed treason in helsinki standing next to vladimir putin. he wants to be vladimir putin. he is mentally sick and we are over him getting elected. our focus is getting him out of office. host: kevin is next in burlington, new jersey, on the line for those who say no. thank: good morning and you for taking my call and thanks for c-span. they morning i listened to republicans and i get my morning dose of comedy. first of all -- i am sorry. host: first of all, what, kevin? caller: first of all, no,

rosenstein should not be fired. he should be allowed to continue to oversee mueller and the investigation. second of all, republicans, get over it. you own all three branches of government. third of all, i am sorry, are you talking? host: no, kevin, you just have to turn down your tv. caller: third of all, the hypocrisy coming out of mitch mcconnell would not even give obama a supreme court hearing and now he wants to push all this through. -- hypocrisy is really just the republican party the past two years. .et over it, republicans we are not in office. you have all three branches of government. if something is wrong, it is because of you all. host: this question we have been

asking, should rod rosenstein be fired. also asking on our facebook page, some 2000 american viewers watching across the country and maybe around the world, perhaps listening on the radio app have participated. should rod rosenstein not be fired. fired.ing he should be we will check in on that in 30 minutes. rita in illinois on the line for those who say he should be fired. good morning. caller: good morning. i believe he should be fired and hung from the highest tree for conspiracy against our government and not only does the democratics want socialism, which is an open day for want tom, they eliminate our rights to private property and dissolve family units and the destruction of our

religion, which obama and his speech lately said we do not need a messiah because they are theing the young people for failure of hillary and himself. host: bring us back to rod rosenstein. what do you think the treason is you are referring to? caller: they want to overthrow our government and take the power from him. he is only one finger of the hand of this conspiracy, rosenstein. host: who else is part of the conspiracy you are seeing, rita? techr: the owners of these companies, facebook and all these people, they want a total totalitarian of the world with their inventions. everything we use in our work world and homes, they wanted the power to control the people over

all of this technical stuff they put out. east sandwich, massachusetts on the line for those who say no. good morning. caller: good morning. first of all, thank you for having me on. the people i have listened to this morning, i admire the vets and thank them for service to our country. we are not talking about rod rosenstein. a lot of people are talking about -- going off in different directions. he is working on an investigation that turned up indictments and people who have pled guilty, all of whom -- almost all of whom have been working with the russians. we stick to the central issue here? this is not a witch hunt, there have been so many indictments and so many high office people -- people who hold high office

have pled guilty and they are all related to russia. that is why they have been indicted. i think bob mueller and rod rosenstein are doing a terrific job. i think this will wrap up shortly because we are getting very close to the president in these indictments. i with -- wish people would stick with the issue and look at the real investigation and probably what will come out of it. 7:40 on theabout east coast, about 20 minutes left in this discussion peru to getting your thoughts on phone lines for those who believe yes rod rosenstein should be fired and those are believe no, he should not be fired. we want to keep you updated about the funding for the u.s. government, for the federal government. we are five days away from a potential government shutdown if legislation is not find to continue to fund the government.

congress is set to pass a spending bill that divergence of the shutdown, but there is one obstacle, president trump. republican leaders hope they can get president trump to set aside his frustration about funding for the wall and signed the legislation that funds the military and a host of civilian agencies for the next year. the bill would provide a fix to keep the government running through -- approve the measure with only seven senators voting no. the vote in the house is expected to be closer, with house conservatives expressing displeasure money is included for planned parenthood, but not the wall. gop leaders have said they prefer to resolve the issue 6 election.vember that is the story from the associated press. the vote in the house expected

to take place tomorrow. billion spending package. it extends funding for other parts of the government through december 7. that is the highlight of the house. tomorrow we will be watching that vote closely. sonya has been waiting in forest tales, new york, on the line that say rod rosenstein should not be fired. caller: i don't think he should be fired. the reason is because he is carrying out -- are you talking? host: the reason is why, sonja? he is carrying out an investigation and it should not be interfered. president trump has been trying to do that from the beginning. i think he should continue with this investigation, rod

rosenstein, and he should be allowed to until it is completed and then he should do whatever he wants to do. host: in north carolina, those who say rod rosenstein should be fired, go ahead. caller: yes, i think he should be fired because there's a lot of crookedness going on. he is the one that found what they were going on with strzok and page and all. you never say you are going to wiretap our president. that is wrong. i don't care what president is in there, you don't ever say that if you are that high up with them. yes, he should be fired and for these other people that keep cutting down trump voters, i will vote for trump again and i will vote straight republican because this is getting

ridiculous. i know i am going off and everything, but rosenstein should be fired and they should bring all these documents out and get it over with and done with. we need to know the facts as a taxpayer and i deserve to say that and i don't deserve to be shut down because i voted for trump and i am tired of them calling my president a liar. he is doing everything he said out of any president, including hema, who did not do what said. i voted for obama the first time and i did not the second time and i am getting tired of these people calling my president a liar. host: on the line for those who say no, go ahead. caller: i believe rosenstein should not be fired and all the yes, hear me, this is really important why i am saying no. this is a trap. this is the deep state hail mary

pass. if they can get trump the fire rosenstein, they are going to try to make a case against him and call this up structure and of justice. of justice.on the hammer is about to come down on these people and they will sit in jail cells. before trump was elected, they put their plan in place and after he was elected, they have done nothing but conspire to unseat a duly elected president. if they can do it to a republican president, they can do it to a democratic president. every single american should be extremely concerned about what has taken place recently in our country with the fbi and the department of justice. the is no different than banana republic and let me tell you something, putin is taking

notes on everything going on right now and our justice department and our fbi and he is having himself a really good laugh. thank you. host: sarah sanders was on good morning america this morning and did not say whether the president would fire rod rosenstein or not. the question george stephanopoulos asked, does the president have confidence in rod rosenstein and sarah sanders responding the president has confidence in the system. that is not what i asked, stephanopoulos responded. sanders going on to say i think the conversation -- president wants to have a conversation with rosenstein. that is the reporting from sarah nterview this morning. elaine in st. mary --st. louis, missouri on the line for those who say no. caller: thank you so much for this service. i want to say no, rod rosenstein

should definitely not be fired. what is wrong with gathering information? technology.e age of what better way to illustrate tape?, deceit but with a the idea that we cannot even discuss issues. we should be able to discuss every aspect of the constitution . someone from north carolina said duly elected president. that is hogwash. the electoral college is a joke. we should be discussing getting rid of that system. i don't know why we are afraid to talk about issues. rod rosenstein, c-span did excellent coverage of rod rosenstein. he was talking at some

commencement about two months integrity.just oozed people, i justse wonder what type of america we really are. thank you so much, again, for this outstanding service and remember, everyone, today is your day to make sure you are registered to vote. host: jennifer rubin has a column in today's washington post about the back and forth yesterday over rod rosenstein job status, calling it a roller saying thea day crazy roller coaster of a day was a function of three related phenomena. we have a president unconcerned with the rule of law, the office of the presidency, or political stability. republican members of congress

failed to check his behavior and in some cases abetted his attempts to derail the investigation. third, the sense of confusion is compounded by the 24/7 twitter led media circus in which gossip and rumor are fed to the media in an endless cycle. several hours yesterday there were question marks over rod rosenstein had been resigned or -- had resigned or been fired and he ended up at the justice department yesterday as deputy attorney general, although he had the meeting with president thursday and the question remains whether he will keep his job. kelly, you think you should be fired in orlando, florida. why? caller: absolutely. all these men doing this attack on our president that we voted for because the democrats and republicans have been nothing but criminals for the last 30 years, taking from american

citizens over and over again. finally, donald trump -- a decent man. i have been studying this man for years. when i would read about him, what a psychiatrist would say, they would say this man is so brilliant, every word out of his mouth, he knows what response he is going to get. let's put a man in there that will say god bless america, let's help american citizens and not help globalization. globalization is only going to benefit the wealthy. the only hope we have right now is donald trump. let's not try to hurt him anymore. i believe he was wiretapped when he was trying to get his people together. absolutely, he was spied on. it is proven. if something happens to this man, our whole nation will

collapse. here is my theory. keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. host: carol is in texas on the line for those who say no. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span and the service you do and thank you for taking my call. no, he shouldn't be fired. republicans almost universally calling in today are saying he should be fired and they are the ones who want this investigation to stop. they are also the ones that investigatetarr to bill clinton and ken starr's investigation into the clinton presidency lasted five years. it went on for a long, long time and i think it resulted in may convictions. i think the investigation

mueller is doing and mueller is a fine man, and upstanding man, a veteran with great service to our country. the mueller investigation will be fair, the mueller investigation will root out the truth, which is something we need and i want to remind the republicans of this, he is our president, too. when he stands up and lies, he makes us all look like liars. when he stands up and says racist things, he makes us all look like racists. when he gave that terrible performance in helsinki, he made us all look full list. he is our president and leader, so when he fumbles around and does wrong and incorrect things, he makes us all look bad. thank you for taking my call. ken starrmentioned

and his investigation. ken starr was on this program last week talking about his book, his memoir of the clinton investigation, the whitewater .nd lewinsky investigations you can watch that segment in archives. more reaction from capitol hill, questions about what happened -- happens to the mueller investigation if rod rosenstein were to be fired. ed markey, democrat from massachusetts saying if rosenstein goes, we cannot let congress fire mueller. kiersten gillibrand from new york saying the senate must step up to protect the special counsel and we must pass a bill to protect the investigation. the american people deserve answers about russian interference in our democracy. those tweets coming amid the frenzy of media investigation about rod rosenstein's job status.

the linetexas, next on for those who say he should be fired. caller: yes, good morning. a person asking me which way i thought it was go, i told him i thought it would be a -- it was a trick question. the question is whether he should be fired now. i think he should be fired if for nothing else, signing the pfizer agreement -- pfizer warrant. i think we are not -- fisa warrant. i think we are not too far away from getting to the bottom of this. the president's order of last week to unclassified the documents congress has been looking for for almost two years now will finally let us get to the truth of how the investigation really started.

if you think about it, look at the how in the media and on the ont at the idea of trump classifying documents and saying he is just doing this to help himself and i don't understand -- releasing all the correspondents between the folks, many of whom who have been fired or demoted at this point so we can really see how the connections are between all the things that have been happening since early 2016. in my memory, this is the first havethe media and the left ever been against releasing any kind of information. the pentagon papers, all kind of declassified.

the all the papers and such related to the enhanced interrogation program revealed to the world what the whole process was about and took us -- techniques and they were fine with that. how they could possibly be against releasing documents is amazing to me. as i listen to so many of the weple calling in today, cannot discuss policy differences. it's about thinking this person disagrees with me, they are evil, they are racist, this, that. i voted for donald trump and i will vote for him again. i am not racist or homophobic. i read a lot and study a lot and one of the recent things that floored me, reading a book on george washington -- a pulitzer prize winning book on george

washington -- what we are going through now is not, by any means , the worst kerfuffle, if you will, between two sides of political matters in the united states and i don't mean the civil war. 1392 wasshington in going through something that would be considered as bad or worse, his cabinet, jobless -- thomas jefferson and james madison were against the foundation of the national bank being led by alexander hamilton. they thought hamilton's move for a national bank was a move toward monarchy. we had just gotten free from a monarchy, so they were concerned about that. they were wrong, but that is what they thought. washington sided with hamilton and those forces. they did not even have political parties officially when the united states began. host: thank you for talking

about the history. you were talking about the document release from the justice department. we will talk about the status of the release with tom fitton coming up in about 40 minutes on the washington journal. a couple minutes left in this segment with the question about rod rosenstein job status. stephen has been waiting in michigan on the line for those who say he should not be fired. go ahead. caller: yeah, can you here me? host: yes, sir. caller: ok. as far as i am concerned, rozen --rod rosenstein should not be fired. these are republicans. comey was a republican. what good does it do firing these people because somebody else will fill his shoes. he will not be able to pick through who he wants to investigate him. he is under investigation. as far as i'm concerned, we

should have left him in helsinki . the craziness that has gone on since helsinki, i think we should have let him hit -- hitch a ride with his new buddy, putin. i'm surprised putin didn't come out and take that soccer ball and kick it into the office and tell trump to fetch it. host: bryant is next in texas on the line for those who say no. caller: hello. host: ryan, go ahead. one more chance, we are running out of time this morning. caller: hello? ryan.we lost our last caller in this segment of the washington journal. did want to point out one more editorial on this if you want to take a look. the headline, let him work.

the comments of the potential firing of rod rosenstein. the firing would have serious implications. if you want to read through that. we will return to this topic and others later in our program in our open phones segment. up next on the washington journal, a discussion about the allegations against judge brett kavanaugh. we will be joined by eleanor president of the feminist majority foundation and we will discuss rod rosenstein with tom stanton. >> coming up this weekend am booktv, saturday at 6:15 eastern. the wall street journal's matthew hennessey discusses his book, zero hour for gen x. have the last adult generation can save america from millennials. >> in 1990 the old is millennial

was 16 or 17, google help you get through high school. -- in 1996, the oldest millennial was 16 or 17, google help to get through high school. if you were born after this your whole life was shaped by this technology in a previous generator -- in ways the previous generation never experienced and ways that many of us did not imagine this was possible. and in key ways that makes millennials different from the rest of us. >> then sunday at 2 p.m. eastern, professor francis fujian matan's about his book, identity, the demand for dignity and the politics of resentment. aboutt's the nice thing identity, it can be shaped by education, byls, the way we talk about our shared history and shared values. i think that's an important path that lies ahead of us. afterwards, the

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>> washington journal continues. host: eleanor smeal joins us now, she's a president of the feminist majority foundation and their group is calling for full and impartial investigations into the allegations against brett kavanaugh. before the investigations have been conducted you say you believe the accusers, why? because we know a lot about sexual assault and it's -- it is pattern fitting a pattern. the accusers have nothing to quite courageous to come flowered. they have submitted themselves to lie detector tests and they want a full investigation. should happen. it should be automatic that there's an fbi investigation at this stage. it is done routinely, why, what are they afraid of? brett kavanaugh had that

interview that was aired, here is what he had to say about dr. ford delegations -- allegations. i've never had any sexual or physical activity was dr. ford and i have never sexually assaulted anyone in high school or otherwise. >> why would she make this up? >> what i know is the truth, and the truth is i never sexually assaulted anyone in high school or otherwise. i'm not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps dr. ford at some point in her life, was sexually assaulted by someone in some place. but what i know, is i have never sexually assaulted anyone in high school, or at any time. host: did you catch the interview? guest: it was a pretty staged interview. the issue is really should there be an investigation? alan nunnelee should there be an investigation, but others should be able to testify. should there be

an investigation but other should be able to testify. it might take time, but let's face it, a woman who is making these charges deserves to be taken seriously and have serious attention paid to it. ago, iill was 27 years was in the hearing room at the time. it was grossly unfair. we learned a lot about sexual assault in the last 27 years. , when ihow to conduct say we, the experts know how to conduct impartial investigations. there should already be a for the judiciary committee if there are such allegations. there should be an immediate impartial investigation that is aware of trauma, is trauma informed. people say it was decades ago,

timehis is not the first this has arisen, look at the child-abuse cases, they usually are decades old. when you get to the bottom of it there are witnesses, there are all kinds of ways to investigate something like this. stubborn?ey being so what are they hiding? ofs is big, not just because an accusation, but because this .s a lifetime appointment one at will affect the lives of every woman and man in the united states. host: we want to give the viewers the number to call in, if you oppose brett kavanaugh's ,omination it's (202) 748-8001 if you support the nomination it's (202) 748-8000, if you are not sure it's (202) 748-8002.

eleanor smeal will be with us until the bottom of the hour. do you think dr. ford should have agreed to this hearing on thursday and are the conditions that we now know she will be the one going first, she might be orstioned by outside counsel some sort of counsel for the republican majority, do you think she should have agreed to this? guest: she is given very little choice, and she is determined to be heard. , she should hand have had more options. there should still be an investigation. there's no reason not to. people should let the senate but they do not like this, you are putting her in a tenable position. she feels her civic responsibility to come forth, she has nothing to hide, and she has already submitted herself to a lie detector test. this is where we are.

but it keeps changing, as you well-known. there are now more accusations, more allegations, again, begging for a thorough investigation. host: what do you want to see from democrats on the committee on thursday? guest: i want them to have an intelligent and informed questioning. i think it has to be in such a way that the public begins to gain confidence in the process. as you well know, before this , theoff, -- came up judge's credibility had been challenged by the democrats because he made assertions that ,ome documents already showed and these were misleading , but the reality is there has been trouble with credibility.

they will ask tough questions, that's obvious. host: let's have a chat with some of the viewers, patricia is on the line for those who support brett kavanaugh's confirmation in west virginia. go ahead. caller: i want to say that i i don'tbrett kavanaugh, appreciate, as a woman, being told that all women need to be believed no matter what. lie, thewomen democrats have used an 11th hour ploy and used the sexed card, they can't use anything else, they tried to stall it from day one. they are upset because they are used to using the courts, especially the supreme court as an activist place to pass their agenda. and that one person, that we have a constitutional court, not a conservative court, a constitutional court that the law will be enforced, not by

emotion, or feelings like the democrats want to do, and like this woman wants to do. it's by law and order. it, whyell let's face are they not willing to investigate it? the rush to judgment is being pushed by the republicans who, from the beginning, have wanted this to go as fast as possible. this is a two vote majority. only a one-vote majority in the senate judiciary committee. if the minority is never consulted on anything this was not the way it used to pay. this is partisanship out of be, this iso partisanship out of control. the: i want to go back to caller's question on believing the accusation, that believing the accuser should be the default position, here's a tweet

from the independent women's forum yesterday saying that the form takes seriously any and all allegations of sexual conduct and abuse but as an organization committed to fairness and due process we also understand that allegations cannot be accepted as true simply because they are made by a woman. put it this way, i've said it over and over again. the women that have come forwar d, have been willing to submit themselves to lie detector test and want an investigation. they have nothing to hide. as far as the feminist movements position on believing a survivor, it's because the data is overwhelming that the woman who comes forward usually has a very credible story and deserves to be taken seriously and heard. ,ost cases are never reported they are never reported because the women are treated miserably.

they are put on trial if they come forward, not the accused. and we know one thing, the law has not been kind to women who have been victims of rape and sexual assault. they bend over backwards to protect the men. look at what is happening right now with the department of education and the trump administration. they are officiating rules under title ix, giving men who are accused of sexual assault and at -- an edge. when we know something one in five women on campus -- some thing like one in five women on , seriously,ssaulted you're going to college and your attacks, especially in the first year. this is not unusual. instead of the college is taking

responsibility, or the fraternities, or the athletic clubs, and trying to reduce this number they are constantly making it tougher for women to report. and weakening title ix, which is the act that opened the doors to education for women. this is serious. how can anyone defend that? illinois, heford, is on the line for those were not sure -- our callers on the line for those were not sure. caller: it seems to be an 11th see what sticks, because they cannot answer the hard questions which is, kavanaugh was in the white house during 9/11. he was the architect of the patriot act on 9/12. was it prewritten before 9/11?

this should be the question that gets answered. this is a last-minute try on the thatrats to ask questions they cannot ask him a should be asking. guest: will first they did ask are questions -- they did ask hard questions about his role in and the harsh questioning about torture. and he denied any involvement. those memos come out and show that he was involved. he denied any knowledge of judge behavior, which he finally had to resign under sexual harassment charges. yet everyone who was clerking, and he was, seemed to know what was going on. i could go on his statements, that's what i'm saying by a lack of credibility.

and they did ask hard questions. one of the questions they kept asking is for release of his records. they were records under public service, what was his role in various important decisions under the bush administration? but 90% of the records have not been disclosed, and they have pounded on it. one of the senators has gone to court over it. senator blumenthal. so it's not like they are not trying. people act like this is a conspiracy of the democrats, it wasn't. a woman came forth because she felt it was her civic responsibility to release what she thought was a character issue. which is a character issue. and now more women are coming forward. why can't i slow it down? these are the same people who merrick garland's

process stalled for a year. opposed be fair, you brett kavanaugh during the hearings before the accusations came out. guest: absolutely, before yes absolutely. life --jor women's rights group, immigrants rights, the lgt the q community, david and i could go on, there are reasons. -- the lgt b qs community, and every -- and others. originally, women's protections were not in the constitution, we don't need to go back a couple hundred years. we need to go forward. one of the callers just said that she wants the laws interpreted. what has happened is we get a

law on the book, and they water it down. then we have to do it again. i've been doing this for 40 years. two steps forward one step back. affect theot only women of this country, it affects the women of the world. how we treat sexual violence -- women all over the world and our country are watching. by the way, we had a press conference on the need for an investigation. one of the people, the executive director of the d.c. rape crisis center, just in that crisis center alone, calls for help have gone up from 15% to 20% because of the public discussion. women deserve this to be treated in a modern, evidence informed way.

and this judiciary committee majority is prohibiting that. minutes left, previously the net -- the president of the national organization for women, currently the president of the feminist majority foundation, we will take as many of the causes you can. our next caller is in opposition to brett kavanaugh's confirmation, in silver springs, maryland. caller: i wanted to point out several things that have been mentioned already but i think it's important to have it at the forefront. it's telling that somebody people, the republicans and brett kavanaugh himself, do not want to have an investigation that would clear his name. as has been mentioned, dr. ford has nothing to gain from this except exposure to negativity. , especiallythe rush

after merrick garland waited a year and we only had eight on the court. heant to point out that never ties his denials to dr. ford and deborah ramirez. this investigation would clear his name. he's an intelligent man, he supposed to have these wonderful credentials, he fully knows that would clear things up and that would be the end of it. guest: and that's what we're saying. if there's him too an investigation. and it benefits the supreme court's reputation. there's no reason not to. there's absolutely no reason not to. not only do we have does go women who left come forth, but says thereavenatti readthird woman, and i

that maryland montgomery and count -- county investigators say there is another charge. we don't know if any of that is true. host: against brett kavanaugh? yes, maryland county investigators, not sure what that's about but there is no statute of limitations on sexual crimes in montgomery county. almost saying is that every hour, something is changing. there is no question that there has to be an investigation. afraid of? what are they afraid of? and why to speed? the speed? and what is this about? and why don't they release the documents that go to other policy questions? that line for on those who support brett kavanaugh, in maryland. caller: brett kavanaugh has come

out several times and denied that he is ever done any kind of sexual harassment. not just against these two women put against any kind. i don't know how women say he has not denied it to these people. guest: you are right. he has denied it. so do most men. that's not the issue. the issue is why doesn't he agree to and urge a nonpartisan nonbiased trauma informed investigation you go -- investigation? what does he have to fear? you have to admit there's some problem here that has occurred. the way i don't think people realize that this is the role of the fbi. it's the federal bureau of investigation, they have a role in vetting nominees.

why not go slow with your most important nominee, a lifetime apartment on the supreme court? ast: yesterday there was series of protests across the country in a show of solidarity to deborah ramirez and dr. ford. several were arrested, demonstrators sat in the hallways outside of the office of senator susan collins yesterday, the republican from maine wearing shirts that say believe women. and chanting we believe deborah ramirez, we believe dr. ford. were you involved in any of those protest? guest: feminist majority was. we have been involved in a lot of protests this whole. this whole period -- period. we believe these women as amended same should be treated seriously, there should be not only an investigation -- these

-- we believe these women should be treated seriously. and that an investigation should thereowed for -- to -- are also other witnesses, mark judge, people who have evidence who can further the knowledge and inform the senate. guest: least -- host: lisa in war and 10, virginia, on the line for those who are not sure. throw: i would like to shade on the political parties returning people's lives into a circus. like everyone is losing, the public is losing faith in process, anita hill happened so long ago and i was wondering why they don't have a process. and as of thursday when he interviewed people, is -- when

they interviewed people, is it in their? are they winging it? is there additional investigation? what's going to happen? guest: senator feinstein has asked for the fbi investigation, she has been consistent on that from the beginning. and by the way, her lawyers, dr. ford lawyers have said that feinstein's efforts to maintain her weredentiality of exemplary. what happens next, and first we are not sure of this hearing will take place but we think it will on thursday. things that seem to change fast. theyhere along the line say they want a committee vote and a floor vote. for aell has been pushing floor vote. he has said publicly that we have to ram this through, a very unfortunate choice of words.

but they don't seem to want to delay, they want to push it through, hurry, get this nominee on the court. mistake,hat's a big and we will protest it. and hopefully they will slow down. want to talk about what you were talking about in montgomery county, another possible accusation of sexual assault has emerged against brett kavanaugh according to a report by the montgomery county sentinels reporting that a woman spoke to a woman spoke to several investigators about what they say is an incident involving kavanaugh when he was a teenager. the story notes the police say they have not heard anyone bringing such allegations forward. as you noted, if the event of place in montgomery county might precipitate further investigation week as is no statute of limitations. --t: that

that's right. think of all of these problems. this is unbelievable they are saying no investigation. of course there has to be. on theragg, also those line -- also on the line for those not sure about brett kavanaugh from new jersey. what would help us make up your mind? caller: will help me make up my the accusers if have been more credible. it seems to me that eleanor does not want judge kavanaugh confirmed even if he was a saint. it seems that dianne feinstein held onto those allegations for two months, and the democrats game seems to be to delay as long as possible so judge kavanaugh could not be hearing certain cases. so the democrat position can move.

i see the accusations as accusations, but nobody is a saint. as happened in high school, a lot of things happen in high school when people get drunk. the problem is instead of being consistent and logical, we're splitting into two sides and no side is credible given their behavior. where do you start. this is not just high school, there are now accusations in college but that's not what the issue is. this is a lifetime appointment, you need to have character to, in ouryou have opinion, treatment of women is not just a side issue. it's a central issue. right now, women's rights are being discussed in this court frequently. who is this man? .e have a right to know

and the women of come forth have a right to be heard. it is imperative that they have a protocol developed, and they have a vetting for sexual crimes. side personaljust issues, they are central issues. central issues to the treatment of women in our own country and worldwide, because the united states sets the standard. violence against women is at unacceptable levels in our country and horrific and many -- in many others. we should be figuring out how to not how do we create losers and winners, had we have a rational investigation -- how do we have a rational investigation based upon our scientific knowledge at this time. or twoime for just one more calls, liver and is also on that line for those who is not

sure. in georgia. caller: i wasn't sure at the beginning but the more i listen to this woman who evidently is against kavanaugh from the beginning, and i'm surprised you have her on. i really am. arguing that there is a problem with women and sexual harassment. that's not the problem. this is a man that is being withoutd in the media an investigation. without being put on the stand -- stand and being asked questions the way when i should be, and mr. kavanaugh has never said that he did not want an fbi investigation. he is never said that she should not have an investigation.

he has said he is innocent. and he has the right to be innocent until he is proven guilty. .uest: of course but he's also not said that he wants an investigation. he's also not said i will take a lot detector test. 8 -- a lie detector test. he is saying he denies. ok, he denies. it is the job of the senate committee to ask the fbi to do an investigation. that's who normally does it under a vetting process, and to have them hear witnesses. both from the women who are making the allegation and other people who have relevant information. that's what it's about. it's a fair process. on thest call, anne line for those who support brett kavanaugh. caller: here's my theory. ,f dr. ford wants to be heard

and wants to testify, why didn't she go to the courts when the incident happened, file a report , that's when the investigation would have been done. it's not going to be done now. guest: in the first place she was 15 years old. most people don't report. she is now an adult, she watched the process, she did not come forward to testify initially. she came forward to offer information. she wanted to conceal her identity for her safety. ,nd it turns out she was right because once became known she because she and her family have had death threats. that's why it's hard for women to come out. it's a vicious.

-- it is vicious. and by the way, worse now because of cyber bullying. so that's why women want to conceal their identity. that did not happen. so now she wants to tell her story and make sure the public has as much information and the senate has as much information as possible about this man who was about to be given a lifetime position in one of the highest -- and one of the highest positions our country has to offer. that is where we are at. we should not be afraid. we should treat it like adults, give it dignity. make sure judge kavanaugh and the women, plural, have the ability to offer their story to investigators. to check out details. doesn't the public want to know what happened? i think they do. and most women, i know you had

women with another opinion and that's fine and could dialogue -- and a good dialogue. but overwhelmingly women who fight against violence against women and the sexual violence community, and there are all kinds of rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, all of which are underfunded have come forward and said this is an important public discussion so we can move forward, and try to reduce violence against women. for: we will end it there now. eleanor smeal is the president of the feminist majority foundation. thank you for your time. next, judicial watch president, tom fitton will join us to discuss the future of rod rosenstein and later glenn kessler will be here to discuss the number of false or misleading claims he has found since president trump took office. we will be right back.

morning, we are live in indianapolis, indiana for the 42nd stop on the 50 capital store. indiana attorney general curtis hill will be our guest during washington journal, starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern. every president would confirm that experience, i will tell this guy off, i will get him. and they go in there and there's something about the office, and the respect that all americans and most foreigners have for that office where you don't feel like bawling out the president or taking him on the way you told your colleagues you were going to do. he was he was in china,

called back in order to run the cia. something he did not want to do acause running the cia was political career killer. he had an aspiration for higher office. and he said that he remembered his father saying if the president of the united states asks you to do something for your country, the answer is yes. his sentiment embodies entire strength of obligation, not to necessarily be a president in his own right, but to hold the presidency up as a charge to hand off to the next person. >> jeffrey ingle, the director of the southern methodist university center for present history, discusses his new book. >> washington journal continues. judicial watch president,

thompson, joins us at the desk. we spent plenty of time discussing her freedom of information lawsuit act, i want to get your sense of the job status of rod rosenstein. do you think he should remain deputy attorney general? >> i don't know. there's a significant challenge for the president. it seems to me there was a breach of trust. for those who have not followed, the new york times reported there were meetings -- or a meeting at the justice department with the fbi, it's unclear where to place. it was top leadership of the doj wasthe fbi, and rosenstein talking about investigating the president of the united states. and rosenstein said something about wearing a wire in the oval office and suggested that others wires, and--wear he talked about invoking the 25th amendment/

host: and rob rosenstein has denied the details of this story. guest: he said he was joking about the wire, he did not deny discussing the 25th amendment. there's a breach of trust their and it's up to the president to figure out if he can trust run rosenstein. i would not want him at the justice department given that conduct. if someone says what is the harm, well, we did not get the wire, we did not get the 25th amendment, but something else was discussed, the special counsel. we did get this harassing special counsel. the other part of the story is that mr. rosenstein was upset as he was drawn into the controversy about the firing of james comey, even though he wrote a memo all but endorsing the firing. he did not like having his name in there. and it looks like in a peek he

said -- he appointed a special counsel to target trump as a result. host: who can president trump trust in his own justice department right now? guest: i don't think he knows we can trust. because he's not allowed to talk to the justice department in a significant way. or least that's what he's been told. he wants to trust his attorney general, but because of the russia scandal, he is upset about what he has done in terms and on a substantial matter the justice department is probably doing no bigger investigation than the russian investigation. and attorney general sessions is overseeing it -- is not overseeing it, rob rosenstein is. and we now know what rod rosenstein's attitude is so there will supposedly be a meeting on thursday. if i were the president i would figure out either if i were firing him, or maybe there's an intermediate step.

if he does fire him there will be significant political consequences, maybe mueller will use this as an excuse to keep an obstruction investigation going. host: would like it the rest of colin if you want to ask questions to talk to tom fitton. for democrats (202) 748-8000, for republicans (202) 748-8001, for independents (202) 748-800./ as folks are calling in, remind us what the status is of that document release that the president wanted of documents related to the russian investigation. guest: it's on pause. he authorized the release of the pfizerbout warren at application, communications with the fbi about the fusion gps group and texts of certain individuals who were involved in the investigation like peter str zok.

are suing specifically for the pfizer warren application and we have already received a portion of them. -- documents show that the they were used to grant a spy wants charge targeting the trump team and those who read the rest of the material, has said that it impacts nationals -- if it doesn't impact national security at should be released. supposedly the justice department was pausing it, saying maybe the eye g --ig should look at things. i wonder if ron rosenstein was on that list. is an important person in the justice department, is the number two official that runs the day-to-day. he's a powerful man in government, and many of the issues the president has with the justice department is

because ron rosenstein is making , onain decisions transparency, on the decision to have this investigation against the decision, and to stonewall. host: greg, from the new orleans on the republican line. caller: it's an honor to be on the same line is this man. i would say 99% of the time, i .ave to say i think he's wrong what should happen to rod is beyond me. it's outrageous that this man has a job because he did not deny it. how did all of these cucks keep

their job as long as they did. going out of their way to destroy this president, and if i can follow up with who could this man trust? i think there may be a handful of people in the administration iscan trust, and one of them not john kelly. i think there are possibly two or three people, and what i personally think needs to happen is that he needs to fire every single one of those sob's. fire basically everyone. that up between not be the end of the world. a lot of folks had an issue with the fbi, comey was fired, andrew mccabe was fired, there's obviously new leadership at the justice department and from top officials there -- and some top officials need to be held accountable for discussions about an effort to overthrow the

president. host: is the president will serve by john kelly? guest: i think so. i think he likes them. anhink mr. kelly brought effective management to the white house and the president appreciates that. , whenms of the politics he make judgment calls for the president on politics, he said -- he is his own best advisor. host: and in virginia, on the democrat line. good morning. caller: i want to make a quick i have not seen this person, but he strikes me as a nuñez type, twisting the truth. i think the bigger picture is a president who so many people have come out and said we need to consider the 25th amendment. there's a reason there are so

many people coming out and saying the same thing and that's what we need to be looking at. there is also so much division in this country already, that has been put out. and to suggest that we just fire everyone, let's look at the real and the the president, way he has divided this nation. guest: i think there are a lot of people who don't like the won that president trump the election, they thought it was hillary clinton's to have and to own. disruptore he is a , it's notmericans appreciated by washington, d.c.. that's why you get these strong reactions from establishment republicans and democrats who don't like him. there's no justification to remove someone from office just because you do not like their tweets. host: for viewers who don't know judicial watch, would you describe your group is a

disruptor? guest: yes because trouble no matter who is in office, we've probably sued the trump administration more than any other organization in the country asking questions about what is going on, specifically on the russia case and other issues important to the american people. host: john is in texas, and independent. good morning. caller: there are people who have been indicted, and convicted of felonies that were associated with the campaign, i don't know what proof you need to know that this guy is a lying, draft dodging, tax cheat. he had no business being elected and he's a scumbag. he can't say anything nice about puerto rico, and the only reason -- they are is because of the tax was a change 20 years ago. and that's why this area so -- host: do you have a question for tom fenton?

--fitton? people are allowed to talk on day? -- aren't they? host: -- thanks. guest: the president may agree that he was joking around and it's not a serious discussion but it might be the proof is in the pudding. what resulted from that meeting and that attitude was the smaller investigation -- this mueller investigation. host: i want to turn to the brett kavanaugh cavitation and concerns by democrats that there ,as not been an investigation an fbi investigation into the allegations of dr. ford and now ms. ramirez as well ahead of the judiciary committee meeting. i don't like a type of investigation that has taken place. those what made the accusations, dr. ford, republicans have been

trying to talk to her for some time and she's refused, now she does not even want to talk to their representative at the hearing. this is a lot of political noise. i would not have objected to a quick fbi interview of someone coming forward like she did. but senator feinstein sat on it for weeks, and i think the conclusion that could be drawn is that senator feinstein vetted the initial charge and she did not do anything. the other answer is that she set on it purposely until after the hearings were over to blow up the confirmation process. you can have a quick investigation but i don't think we need a circus. we should not have filibuster to stop us --smears the confirmation that are of -- of not strong charges against them. host: had to keep this from going -- from being a circus on

thursday? guest: canceled the public hearing. -- cancel the public hearing. theidea that you come in at last minute with these types of allegations that are unprovable, or incapable of being disproved because we already no judge kavanaugh disputes this. at least dr. ford does not have -- corroborating rett evidence. so what does this do but provide an opportunity for more lawlessness? i attended the kavanaugh hearings, they were public two weeks ago. the disruption, and the c-span cameras don't give you an idea just how disruptive the violent leftists were in that hearing. it was loud, they refused to leave, they had to be dragged out by the police and it's unbelievable.

and you have democrats on the committee, brazenly, like senator corker, trying to violate the rules that were put in place after the anita hill hearings to protect witnesses and those is subject to the confirmation. and with endorsements from the entire democratic side. i would not allow a public hearing. this is political gamesmanship and someone has to put a stop to it. host: do you mean cory booker? me, not senator corker, cory booker. host: on the republican line. good morning. caller: ally will go all the way around the world before i ever get my boots on -- a lie will go all the way around the world before i even get my boots on. there are just a big lies already. this woman said trump split the -- another thing is the iraqi war being based on a lie.

i think my concern is that we already have this smear of judge kavanaugh, and his opponents will not let him forget it. they will always pretend it is accurate, and the republicans is , will they allow the smear to be compounded through a circus like urine. for -- dr. ford lawyers are saying she might -- dr. ford's lawyers are saying she might not even testify this week. testimony, they should disallow kavanaugh say his piece and vote. host: on the democrat line. good morning. caller: i want to make a comment on the rod rosenstein situation. i don't think there's any threat or conspiracy against the president of the united states.

the fact of the matter is, he has put himself in the position that he is an. --in. comey alone got him into office, to say now that comey is some kind of operative, trying to go against the president of the united states is nonsensical. guest: will the voters got the president into office, the fbi bent over backwards to protect hillary clinton from the consequences of her illegal behavior, and at the same time they were working with agents of hillary clinton to target with ant trump unprecedented intervention and the campaign by the fbi, and justice department on, his watch. host: linda is in tennessee, and independent. good morning --an independent. good morning. the a: bob corker is senator hit -- is the senator here in tennessee.

and i agree, judge kavanaugh should be pardoned. [indiscernible] thank you. filed an ethics complaint against cory booker based upon the house rule, i would be interested in having a hearing over what cory booker did to throw a monkeywrench into the operations of the senate in such an outrageous way. host: have you heard back on your complaint? what is the process? guest: the senate complaint is a black hole, so we will see what happens. i think it's a challenge for the senate to decide whether or not they will allow senators to say

i'm breaking the rules by putting these documents on the internet, and allowing that to take place. his documents that were records that were given to the committee in confidence by the executive branch. the law protects the confidential nature of those documents and he just brazenly and showsrules contempt for rule of law in that regard. and other members who endorsed that may have actually done something similar and should be held to account. and the question for the senate, and with these hearings as well, is it going to be the rule of law on the rules of the senate or will it be a mob rule approach the way the senate it -- conducts business. from roanoke, virginia, republican. good morning. caller: it's a pleasure talking to tom, i'd on thing most viewers understand exactly what it is you have done as far as being able to -- all the

lawsuits you have had to had just to get paperwork and documents that people are afforded to you and have a right , because theven't congress or the senate refuses to hand it over. so i would like to thank you for the work you've done. rosenstein, i think he should be fired. i'm tired of republicans always taking a backseat. we are trying to look like we are taking the higher ground. do it becausem public perception would be if you fire rosenstein then obviously trump is nefarious and is trying to obstruct the investigation. say to the devil with all of the perception, i think we should have a clean house approach, i think we should get people in there that will do , and job and do it right stop worrying about politicizing

this administration. it's gotten to where this whole country is divided over what they are doing in washington. guest: if it was not for the meal or special counsel i don't think there would be any question about what the president should do about rod rosenstein. it shows why the special counsel is so disruptive to the presidency, because the president cannot make basic personnel moves without worrying about what mueller is going to do. cannot talk to foreign leaders, without thinking about what miller's going to think. and he cannot run his justice department and fbi the way a president ought to be able to do under our constitution. in my view, the key issue is to end the mueller investigation, and shut it down for those reasons. host: the caller was talking about the work you do a judicial watch, specifically the information you have been able to find out about the mueller investigation. guest: we found the justice

department was playing games with the court, as i told you earlier about the application process. we all heard about christopher steele, a spy working for hillary clinton from the k. and we have these fbi document showing that he met with the fbi times.s and was paid 11 so the fbi was paying christopher steele was confirmed and we have a document showing the our foia lawsuit that fbi in november of 2016 cut him off, specifically they named him not to be worthy as a confidential source and told him not to collect any more intelligence on behalf of the fbi. and yet he was consulted with and that is why these are in issue. fbi throughout all of the rules and used this disreputable all of therew out

rules and used this disreputable source. guest: how many people work there? host: about 50. -- host: how many people work there? guest: about 50. i am not a lawyer, but there are several lawyers and we are doing great work exposing what the government is up to. at the end we are an educational foundation, we are trying to tell you what your government is up to buy going to court and giving you the documents that they don't want to give to you, congress, or anyone else. host: that was my next question, how do you pay the $50 -- this 50 people? guest: through contributions. host: nancy is up next, a democrat from new hampshire. caller: i have a couple questions. judicial watch seems to be a real misnomer, you seem to be the bulldog of the republican party. you were nowhere to be found when merrick garland was being denied a hearing and being

obstructed. look atot all government as for the people, by the people, it's all about republican control and having the federal society handpick the supreme court going forward. you tied the hands of obama's administration, you don't represent the judicial and the people. you are there for the republicans. the 990 documents online, there's nothing judicial watch does that's about this country. it's about supporting a conservative and a hard-core conservative agenda. the only things you are going after our democrats. the fact that this man may have molested someone is ok with republican men? i thought your fathers, i don't understand. host: your chance to respond. guest: that's an over-the-top response to someone that leftists do not like.

we are a conservative organization that targets republicans and democrats, we often criticize republicans. we are suing the trump administration more than anyone else. host: time for a few more calls. peter, an independent. good morning. caller: i would like to thank nuñez, people like you, and others for bringing out the democratic truth coming to ligh? t. -- the stufftein coming to light with the redaction, he is slow walking stuff. but i'm glad to see you guys are doing something. you guys are heroes in my eyes. goingeen a lot of stuff on in not getting done and i'm

surprised no one is in jail yet. --tom fitton? guest: i think the effort to overthrow president trump is the most significant corruption scandal of our generation and we will spend a lot of time focusing on a. of congress does not want to do the works, if the media does not want to do the work, the media which is largely anti-trump. that's fine but judicial watch will do the heavy lifting and we will do it. we will not be cowed by critics who hate trump, and therefore do not want the rule a lot to protect him. bill come -- in california, on the republican line. caller: before trump nominated anybody to the court, it was known that regardless of who he nominated, they were going to do anything in their power to go after any trump nomination being confirmed to the concerned to te court.

all i have been able to come up with is a single allegation by something that happened 36 years ago when i was in high school. disturbing isst without a shred of corroborating evidence, several democratic members of congress have said that the burden of proof is on kavanaugh to prove his innocence. even though anybody who has served on jury duty has been told that the accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. it reminds me what happened to the due process a couple years ago when a young woman accused several members of that team. without a shred of corroborating evidence the university, the local district attorney judge them guilty purity accusation alone was considered proof of guilt. the burden of proof was on them to prove their innocence.

like our entire system of justice is being turned upside down. i don't know if these members of congress are ignorant of our system of justice, or if they just simply want to reverse our traditional system of justice in which the basic tenant is you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. host: last minute. guest: it is a political process. i hope it would be informed by the legal traditions that you are talking about that the presumption is in essence should be given to judge kavanaugh. there is nothing substantial enough to warrant a public hearing at this point. the accuser of judge kavanaugh does not want to cooperate with the committee. the committee should just move on. frankly, when you have suggestingsenators that judge kavanaugh should not be given the presumption of innocence because he is a conservative judge, it shows you that this is a political show trial that is being set up as

opposed to any real effort to get at the truth and provide justice for either the geek the accusers. host: -- is the president of judicial watch, appreciate your time. up next, we will be joined by washington post fact checker. we will discuss his work since he took office. iran for that discussion. we will be right back. -- stick around for that discussion. we will be right back. ♪ announcer: what does it mean to be american? that is this year's competition question.

we are asking middle and high school students to answer it by producing a short documentary about a constitutional right, national characteristic, or historic event and explain how it defines the american experience. we are awarding $100,000 in total cash prizes, including a grand prize of $5,000. this year's deadline is january 20, 2019. for more information, go to our website. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by americans cable television company. today, we continue to build -- bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court. and public policy events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider.

announcer: thursday morning, live in indianapolis, indiana for the 42nd stop on the c-span bus 50 capitals tour. indiana attorney general will be our guest on the bus during washington journal starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern. washington journal continues. caller: -- host: a conversation about fact checking in the age of president trump or the washington post fact checker since 2011. the world of fact checking now fundamentally different now than it was a little over 600 days ago? guest: no. fact the world of checking, which has been growing. since i first started doing this almost eight years ago. the core of fact checking is to explain complex policy issues. to viewers or readers.

have a politician statement it is designed to unravel the complexity of difficult issues that often politicians speak in code words or short and. the difference for donald trump, we have never encountered a politician, certainly not a president, who routinely says things that are wrong. and even even after he has been fact checked, repeats those wrong things. the one thing we have done that as different as we have now started compiling a list of every factual misstatement the president has made. , one of the main reasons to that is that we just can't keep up with all the things the president says. in that database, gears can find at washington post.com, in his first 601 days in office, president trump has made 5001 .alse or misleading claims

let's focus on false or misleading claims. what is the criteria for making this determination? >> is it factually inaccurate? the fact checker is known for its pinocchio scale. from ae rate things scale of one to four pinocchio spirit for pinocchio's is the worst. it has -- it is a reverse restaurant review. one pinocchio means there is some inaccuracy but it might be mostly true. if it is truly a completely true without a doubt we give a geppetto jack -- check mark. anything within the range of pinocchio's is something that we would put in that database. like i said, the president says so many things that are false or misleading, just recently, one particular day he -- the number was 125. claims, that we can't -- we fact

check there's so a lot of those things are just to synthesis as opposed to a full-fledged fact check with a pinocchio rating. host: how do you do a full fact check of 125 claims in one day?/ guest: with a lot of difficulty appeared i have a team of people that i work with. we divide the days. we alternate days. my colleague, who is -- produced this video and produces facts, that happened to be her day. she spent quite a lot of time compiling, identifying the claims, and then fact checking them. the president repeats a lot of things that are false already. of those were some of his greatest hits. for instance, he says he passed the biggest tax cut in u.s. history. it is really ranks about eight. as a percentage of the gross domestic product. he started building the wall,

no, he has not. he has not been any money for the wall. he has gone some money for extension of a fence. he has not gotten money for his wall or prototypes. those kinds of things. he says those things in the seo he has said that before, here is number 25. we go forward. host: if the viewers have questions about fact checking, now would be a good time to check in. he is with us until the bottom of the hour taking your calls. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. .ndependent (202) 748-8002 take us through the process of fact checking. guest: let's see. aboutially, first of all, half of the claims we fact check our the result of reader inquiries. where readers will contact us and say i heard a politician say this, is this true?

they can contact us through facebook, twitter, email. there is a form that can fill out at the bottom of every fact check. we begin to investigate whether or not there is a semblance of truth to it. often, it involves first doing some research on the internet. trying to find out where the -- where did they get this factoid. we might find a particular think tank article report. it involves contacting the staff of the politician. if not the politician themselves and saying why do you say this, why do you believe this. then, it involves checking with the government data or experts in the field. to assess how accurate that claim is. host: do you find yourself having a lot of philosophical discussions about what is truth? guest: no. clear. truth is pretty says wages aret

growing for the first time and you look at the daytona and know, wages have been growing since 2014, that is pretty clear. host: take us through the most often claim according to the chart that is online in washington post.com. russian collusion was an excuse to the democrats for having lost the election. thatresident repeating repeating this claim 137 times. you have the dates in which he has done that. guest: right. in that case, the president is claiming or suggesting that the whole russia investigation was simply the result of democratic rights. unexpectedly lost election and russiand this idea of collusion as a way to undermine his legitimacy of his election. we know from the facts, these are facts and reports published by republican committees, the

investigation into possible russian collusion began in june 2016. when there was a tip from an fromalian diplomat that campaign aid was talking about how the russians had gained access to hillary clinton emails, democratic emails. it started long before the fbi investigations been -- began long before hillary clinton lost election. easy to prove. on accurate. democrat from pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. that duringnline the -- scandal, there were with complaints against him and kavanaugh, and

that they had notified grassley and feinstein. in july. on the colorak yesterday, who was railing against keith allison, you said they had photographs and video, and the woman went to the doctor for anemia and i don't know how one would get a photograph of anemia. if that is true i would like to hear it. thank you. i'm not really familiar with -- neither of those things are things that we have fact checked. thewe have not fact checked relationship between kavanaugh and krasinski. he has said that he was unaware of allegations that the judge had harassed women in the office.

or in his courtroom. so, i can't comment on that. keith ellison, i am unaware of the issue. host: what do you think of the term fake news? guest: i hate that term. there has been fake news since man learned how to talk. people have been spinning and trying to mislead from the dawn of time. there is not anything new. what is new, is the ability for false information to travel more quickly. it used to be that some people might cost of over a fence about things they heard or about someone or something or other. it would not get much past that neighbor. now, you can put it on a facebook be you can put it in a whatsapp chat. in some countries such as myanmar and india, where false information spread over

social media is led to riots and mass death. that is the concern. it is not fake news, per se, it is the ability of false information to travel rapidly without being stopped or corrected. is a lot of fact checked out there, do you think people truck -- trust the fact checkers today? guest: i can't say. i am on the board of the international fact checking network. which is an international organization of fact checkers from around the world. we have set some core standards that, in order to be verified as a verified member of the ifc and, you have to meet those standards. commitment to nonpartisanship, a commitment to transparency explaining how you reached your research. commitment tothat immediately make corrections if you make a mistake.

everyone makes mistakes. talking abouto your financing and backing. so, that is an effort to have some general standards for fact checking around the globe. every year, those fact checking organizations are re-verified by independent auditors. that are lots of people claim to be fact checkers. i can say that if you are a member of the ifc and and you are a verified member, then, people can actually go and look at the reports and document how these fact checking organizations are living up to those principles. guest: -- host: a republican, good morning. caller: good morning. my concern is that there has scrutiny, any type of and pole vaulting that is done by the washington post. i get real tired of it.

i get more than slightly tired of it. way thatusted with the you people have attacked this president and done everything you can to make him look bad. it is disgusting to me. i used to have faith in the media, i don't anymore. that is sad. i think, you know, the washington post devotes a lot of scrutiny to every president. atan tell you that at least the washington post fact checker, we fact check president obama repeatedly. at least 250 times. he earned for pinocchio's on numerous occasions. that theheck and see white house was not particularly happy with the scrutiny that we devoted to some of president obama's misstatements. with respect, i would say donald trump is in a somewhat different category in that, at least with

obama, when the fact checked him and said he got for pinocchio's, he often did not repeat that purity would stop saying those claims. as would other politicians. mitt romney. jeb bush. john kasich. hillary clinton they generally would stop saying false things once they had been fact checked. the noteworthy thing about president trump is that he will often keep saying it. that is different. it is not aimed particularly at this president. you, there are lots of democratic politicians who have not been happy with the coverage they received in the washington post. i gave for pinocchio's today to overwork, a candidate in -- with senatorebate cruz over the weekend and there is a drunk driving conviction

that he was involved in about 20 years ago, and recently, the police reports can out and they show that he tried to leave the accident. theas asked about that in debate. he flatly said i did not try to leave the accident. you have his memory 20 years later, or you have police reports that document in two different places, a witness saying that o'rourke did try to leave this situation -- the scene of the accident. the witness had to prevent him from leaving the scene of the accident. you weigh those two things and i'm going to go with the police report. you give his office a chance to respond saying here is the police report that i'm looking at, why is that different? guest: yes. usually, we get a response. in this case, i repeatedly contacted his campaign, both by text message and email. never received any response. usually, when we don't get a response from a candidate or

campaign, it means they know that they are in trouble. from michigan. an independent. good morning. only really thing i need to know about this gentleman is that he is from the washington compost. which is 100% liberal, 100% anti-trump in everything that they write. jeff owned by 100% liberal bezos who detests president trump. so, i really think this guy has no credibility whatsoever. all media, including the washington compost, c-span, everyone else is basically in the tank for the liberals, and they kiss obama's but for eight years. host: who do you trust? >> -- caller: not much, i will tell you that. the liberal media is a joke. host: what do you turn on in the

morning to get your news? caller: to be honest, i am an independent. i don't really trust much of any media. so, i look at it all and i am very skeptical. of any of it. i do not use print media at all. i use the internet for some of it. you have to be careful with that too. pretty much everything on tv is liberal. with the exception of fox news. a little bit of fox beard i watch a little bit of everything. i think it is all trash. he is wrong. frankly. tost of all, people have understand there is a difference between editorial pages and the news pages. the washington post editorial probablyould say is socially liberal in its policy,

more conservative. they are big backers of the invasion of iraq for instance. the op-ed page is a mixture of both liberal voices and conservative voices. george, a prominent conservative was on the pages of the washington post, recently passed away for decades. george, another prominent conservative. you have this dynamic where there are a number of prominent conservatives such as george will who do not like president trump. no one would say he is liberal, he is somewhat has turned away from the republican party because of this president. the washington post has gone out and hired other op-ed columnists who defend president trump on our pages. such as hewitt. arerites op-ed's that generally praiseworthy of the president.

i will just say, those are the op-ed pages. know, callges, you me biased, but i think we played pretty straight. host: what about the colors come send about the ownership of the washington post? >> i have met him a couple of occasions. , my understanding, you know, he is civil levels above mine. understanding is that he has no involvement at all and editorial product of the washington post. , he has helped fund a massive expansion the newspaper. , you could see that in the tremendous increasing staff. i do not believe he is involved at all the editorial product. host: andrew is a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning, thanks for taking my call.

are a lot of colors this morning talking about the washington post picking on this president. facts are facts. truths are truths. something, the united nations, it was talking, i believe he was talking about one of the fastest growing economies in the world. i don't think we are. tohink ethiopia is projected grow 8.7% over the next two years. ishink ghana, india, bhutan growing fast. continuesplain why he to say these things that aren't true? and none of his aides say that is not true, you have to keep on track with what you're saying. where are we in growing economies? guest: i don't have the statistics in front of me.

is,, and you, it have to view things in context. is an advancedes economy. i would not compare it directly to an economy like bhutan. what you do is look at a list of advanced industrialized economies and see where the united states ranks against those economies. at the moment, i don't have the statistics in front of me. that there are a number of countries on the list that probably exceed the united states. why does the president say things in an exaggerated form? i have wondered about that. i have -- i believe he is very situational. he believes in what he says at that moment. even though it may be completed contradictory from what he said the day before. you can see from the woodwork book, and other contemporary

accounts, the president is not perceptive -- receptive to information the country takes what he believes. previous caller talked about the ownership of the washington post. jeff bezos, amazon. there have been accounts written has shown him documentation that the amazon contract with the postal service is a moneymaker for the postal service. they have done this at least two occasions. yet, he refuses to believe it. even though his staff has gone out and documented why this is a good deal for the u.s. government. becausees to believe it he does not like the washington post coverage and he associates that with amazon, even though they are not connected in any way. host: 79 times, president has said that african-american unemployment is at the best number in the history of our country. guest: that is an adjusting the data is, you

know, white good in terms of african-american employment. the president will either say it is the best in u.s. history. they have not track it for that long. you can't make such a sweeping claim. the other thing that i find misleading about his comments and the unemployment rate is that when he ran for president he repeatedly said the unemployed meant rate was phony. you could not trust them. the numbers were bogus. they were made up. for thecular, african-american unemployment rate, he had a calculation that he got for pinocchio's for it because he had a calculation where he tripled in employment .ate for african american race when he was campaigning. now that he is president he is taking data that used to say was bogus and misleading and using it to say that he is doing a great job. when it was actually on a downhill slope throughout the

obama administration. and has continued on the same downward slope once he became president. host: glenn kessler with us taking your calls, john and dallas, texas. i appreciate being on. first of all, i want to say that there is nothing on msnbc that is not extremely left wing. it is left-wing democrat all the way. my question is he said that obama.act checking probably, the biggest lie in the history of man was said by obama over and over and over again. that is if you like your health care, you can keep your health care. if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. a one. gave it i don't you give it any more than that. we said we don't know what he meant.

he could have meant something else. guest: he got for pinocchio's for that. we were the first news outnization to call president obama for that comment. during the fact checker was reestablished in 2011. we were not in business for the debate over obama care. in two thousand 9, 2010, the washington post wrote three articles saying president obama's claim that you can keep your plan and that was not sustainable and could not be so, you know, the washington post laid out the information there. when it was apparent, the president's promise was wrong, we gave him for pinocchio's. guest: maryland, independent.

caller: good morning. i have been reading the washington post since the 1950's. i read washington post and new york times and a lot of other stuff every day. i have seen the washington post over the years, it has gone from a fairly, it is a live in democrat liberal newspaper. they never found any kind of a tap -- cap tax cut that they support, it used to be on the editorial page. now, it is in every -- you can read -- if you want to go through it, i would do it online. what's an example of something you saw today or yesterday? caller: i haven't been to the post yet. what i see is everything they is down for trump. ,ou can't find any article

occasionally they do something that is actually worthy, i print out stuff that is worthy of reading. good analysis, something that covers something in a fair way. host: why do you still subscribe? caller: living give you an example. he just said this. this is how they do their fact checking. trump said the unemployment rates for blacks is the best in history. glenn just said because we have 1776,pt it for the entire when trump says that i don't don't to all goodness, i think that, what i think is this, he means as long as we have been keeping records on black unemployment, this is the best it has been. that is what he means. they go to every extreme. they go crazy with stupid stuff. i have 30 years of doing analysis, political, economic, and national security. that was 1.i made.

my other point was that the president has been inconsistent in the way that he has cited the statistics whereas he would say that they were false or misleading, which was a false and misleading statement at the time. guest: -- host: michelle n l a. he did notp said release his taxes because they were under -- they were being audited. has that changed was that a lie? what are you saying on the issue? odds are pretty slim that he will release his taxes give many as are beat up he promised he would and has not. prevent aothing to person from releasing their taxes when they are under audit. president in released his taxes when he was under audit. whether the audit is continuing, whether there was

actually even an audit is unclear. thoses going to be one of political promises that are not going to be kept unless congress actually forces him to reveal his taxes. which is quite possible if there is a democratic congress. --y could easily require release it on their own. they could ask the irs to provide the tax. last call and montpelier, virginia. independent. good morning. thank you both. i appreciate the opportunity. i want to throw in an opinion that follows up with a quote. my opinion on all of this would , themething to the effect notion that an individual can divorce themselves from their political leanings or personal bias is a supernatural notion. i want to follow that up with a quote from beatrice webb. said how silly it is to suppose that facts ever tell their own story.

it is all a matter of arranging them so that they may tell something in the arrangement is a purely subjective process. once again, thank you very much. i am a professional journalist. i have been a professional journalist for more than three decades. opinions onave different political issues, i can assure you that i look at all the facts dispassionately and i do not let any particular bias get in the way of my fact checking. host: who came up with the pinocchio rating system? guest: that was michael dobbs. as launched a fact checker an election-year feature in 2008. and, he is responsible for that. host: follow glenn class layer on twitter. -- glenn kessler on twitter.

also the fact checker on washington post.com. next, open phones to end our program today. any public policy issue you want to talk about. phone lines are yours to do it. phone numbers are on the screen. you can start calling in now. we will be right back. announcer: coming up this weekend, matthew hennessey discusses his book zero hour for gen x. how the last adult generation can save america from millennials >>. the oldest millennial was 16 or 17. google helped you get through high school. if you are a millennial, wikipedia help you get through college. areou are a millennial you what is called a digital native. your whole life has been shaped by this technology in a way that previous generations never experienced. in ways that many of us never imagined was possible.

in key ways, this is the thesis of my book, that makes millennials different from the rest of us. on sunday, 2 p.m., stanford university professor talks about his book identity, the demand for dignity and the politics of resentment. that is the nice thing about identity. it does not have prefix or based on biology. it can be shaped by leaders, shaped by schools, by education, by the way we talk about our shared history and our shared values. i think that is an important task. african-american studies chair carol anderson discusses her book one person, no vote. how voter suppression is destroying our democracy. she is interviewed by democratic congressman jamie raskin of maryland. look at the history of the right to vote, it is been extreme the contested and it has

been violently challenged in many points. >> absolutely. one of the things i talk about is that america is really an aspirational nation. it is in the these aspirations, we the people, we hold these truths to be self-evident. leader of the free world. those kinds of aspirations, it is based on those aspirations and not the hard-core realities where people have fought in order to gain access to their citizenship rights. announcer: watch this weekend on c-span2 book tv. washington journal continues. we end our program in open phones. any public policy issue you want to talk about, phone lines are yours to do it. keep coming in. we will get to your calls in just a second. we want to let you know that after our program is over, we will be taking you write to the

u.n. general smb meeting. it has already started. there is a live shot of what is happening right now the u.n.. president trump expected to speak around 10:15 this morning. the president is already tweeting about his upcoming appearance saying that he will be speaking at the united nations. our country is much stronger and much richer than it was when i took office less than two years ago. we are also much safer, the president also treating out a little earlier today that despite requests, he has no plans to meet with the iranian president. maybe someday in the future, the president said, he said i am sure given -- he is an absolutely lovely man. today at the general assembly, the washington times reporting this morning, noting the presidents schedule. yesterday, he met with leaders in egypt, france, south korea, at the start of the ad's annual united nations gathering. to president also talking

members, leaders from around the world about the issue of combating the global drug crisis saying that international efforts could save millions of lives in that area. plenty from the president expected ahead to the u.n. national security council meeting tomorrow. the president is going to head the meeting up. so he continues to be up in new york. what do you want to talk about? ron is up first in madison, ohio. an independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to get on a minute ago. he is definitely a democrat. i have been listening to this for 83 years. theirmocrats, and all sidekicks, cronies. they will never allow president trump to the president of the united states. anything he says is wrong. misleading.

i have been listening to this for quite a while now. i am afraid what these people are in for a bad downfall. good morning, and thank you. host: logan is next. democrat. good morning. i am a marketing student in douglas. that --eeted out background checks. , he haspened to this done absolutely nothing on anything? he has done absolutely nothing. ? you were an eighth grader in middle school when the shooting happened. color. the if you have a chance, call back. i want to have more of a conversation with you. we will go on to harold in florida. go ahead. caller: i am calling about the

, supreme courtly justice, kavanaugh. i am alling in because retired attorney who has done literally hundreds of jury trials. you read and when watch and go through all the statements, the professors made on california just like anita hill, it is one crazy statement after another. to drive across country, apparently, because she can't fly. then she tells us that she went to hawaii. out that she has got relatives across the country and she had to be two different places within days. obviously, she flew. delays, i mean, it is just unbelievable. i would laugh if i had not gone through this in trial some a time for people saying one thing, but then you are

surprised because it is exactly the opposite of what they said. this is what she is doing, her ballgame is not i want to punish him because he did something, the whole game is i don't want him on the supreme court because it will change everything that is dear to me. host: do you think the hearing will go forward on thursday? i think they have already done damage to the man, and i think it is going to go point, ibut, at this don't even want to speculate because i think he is really upset. i think he is going to be a clarence thomas and cannot out and say this is a high-tech lynching. this is just unfair. laste waiting until the minute and then demanding an fbi investigation. let me wait until the last day. and then demand an investigation which will put it beyond the election. this is insane. host: plenty of reaction i had a

brett kavanaugh's hearing. here is some of the response unit -- yesterday from mitch mcconnell about the latest allegations against judge kavanaugh. >> senate democrats and our allies are trying to destroy a man's personal and professional life on the basis of decades-old allegations that are unsubstantiated and uncorroborated. that, mr. president, is where we are. this is what the so-called resistance has become. a smear campaign, pure and simple. members ofmbedded by the united states senate. democrats and the senate taking to the floor yesterday. this is chuck schumer responding to mitch mcconnell's summit about smear campaigns. >> on the one hand, our

colleagues decry the turmoil. on the other hand, they avoid the careful serious way to get at the allegations. background check investigation by the fbi. for some reason, both the white house and senate republicans are blocking an fbi investigation and questioning its purpose. let me ask our republican friends, president trump, and america, this question. president trump and senate republicans are so certain the allegations against judge kavanaugh are not true, why aren't they welcoming the fbi to look into it. ? mcconnell, you spend five minutes ponte vedra democrats, that shows someone who is in a pickle. that shows someone who is dug in a deep hole. if you really believed these allegations are part of a despicable smear job, leader mcconnell, why don't you call

for an investigation? what are you afraid of?/ what are you hiding? what is judge kavanaugh hiding? nobody knows. people who want the truth will find a truth teller. people who don't want the truth will run away from a truth teller. instead, point fingers of accusation and wild, untethered allegations. that is what leader mcconnell is doing. not a great moment. in our5 minutes left program. we will be taking you up the united nations general assembly meeting in new york at the end of our program today. for the next 15 minutes, phone lines are yours. is on your what mind. denise is in lincoln park, new jersey. a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i was listening to the comments about the media this morning. views, iy own personal

will go out of my way to listen readher viewpoints and to other materials. i will give you a case in point. i think it was a family and the freedom caucus, you rock casted over the weekend. i happened to listen to michele bachmann's speech. she is not necessarily someone that i am in tune with or would follow, i wanted to see what she had to say. i listened to it. i think that people, especially in the age of the internet, have to be discerning consumers of their news. really they have to weigh their decisions. they just can't rely on one source. if they are not going to take the time to it, they will have to live with the consequences. who is really it, as far as has said this or did that, it is the political cycle. we had a president obama with one style, now we have another style.

current president's term is over we will see another one come in and have another style. , you know, it is clearly demonstrated by our political process. thanks again for taking my call. kessler just had glenn on p was a fact checker. caller: i was listening to him. host: tell me on fact checkers, is there one that you trust more or don't trust? who do you read if you're trying to check a fact that you heard from the president or a member of congress? caller: say it was the president, i have not on this, he was talking about unemployment, i'll probably go to the bureau of labor statistics and check it out there. host: so you want to do it yourself? caller: absolutely. i tend to try to do it myself. once it is someone i found to be reliable. i was listening to comments about the book recently. i want to read it.

i have read several books on president trump. all different viewpoints. some of them -- some love them, some don't. some like him intensely. i want to see what they have to say. i will read it and listen. i would check it out myself. pretty good researcher. i think most people with an internet can find these things out. it is imperative that people know the point of view of their sources. i taught political spectrum as a lesson when i was teaching. there you go. you have to know it. host: thanks for the call. jennifer is next. massachusetts. republican. caller: good morning. checking paranoia, it's ridiculous. on a side note, i imagine dunking your head in baby oil and rubbing it all over my body. host: we will go to john in kansas city, missouri.

good morning. thank you for being here. else wondering if anybody can think of another president who did not get the traditional honeymoon. he is the only one i can think of, current president. thanks. host: jennifer is in florida. republican. caller: good morning. not necessarily republican or democrat. iniously, we have processes play. certain things that should be occurring. i want to know my biggest question is what are those people that are not behaving and are not following the processes, are going to be held accountable. senator feinstein held onto information for a long time

before throwing it out there. now, it is prolonging a process that we have there in place, but nothing is being done. she is not being held accountable. why is this happening? happen we allowing it to eventhis behavior is not fletcher on any level? -- mature on any level? whether a beer publican or democrat they will do things that are vindictive and childish , why aren't there standards or laws that are in place against these people? they can to their job that we hire them to do as their employers. per: speaking of jobs that -- people are employed in, there are questions as to whether rob rosenstein will keep his job as deputy attorney general. the first hour of our program today talking about his upcoming meeting with president trump

after a day of speculation in the media about whether he would be keeping his job. some reports that he resigned, he was being fired. washe end of the day, he still the deputy attorney general. we will see if that continues to be the case on thursday. we ask the question that beginning of our show whether you think rob rosenstein should be fired. also posted a twitter poll and facebook poll about it. on the facebook poll at this point. 58% saying he should not be fired. 32% saying he should be fired. if you want to participate, you facebook.com/c-span. darlene is in gold hill, oregon. a democrat. caller: i wanted to comment on the hearings that are going forward for judge kavanaugh. i want to say that whether senator feinstein brought this forward, five weeks ago, seven

weeks ago, seven days before this, any kind of information that is brought forward about a candidate that is going to go into a position, a lifetime position, we should hear him out. when we hear about that there should be continued background checks, going all the way back to their friends in high school to find out about this party. i was a federal employee. i had a background check. they go back so many years. sometimes, they have to go back farther as their job progresses. this gentleman that wants this position, there is plenty of time, everybody is all worried up,t the election coming the democrats are going to take the seats, that won't go in effect until january. there is plenty of time for this to go on and give these women their day in front of the congress. it is not a court. they are coming before congress to give information.

they can ask questions. professorthe anita hill in 1991, what they did to her. the senators are very same ones were on that committee previously. even though the they had facts and witnesses, we still had this justice on the supreme court. host: that is arlene and oregon. one of the headlines about the upcoming hearing, this from the new york times supreme court fight, those primetime with kavanaugh's tv interview, referencing, of course, they appearance last night by judge kavanaugh on fox news, defending himself against those charges. here is more from that fox news interview last night. i when i was in high school went to an all boys catholic high school. age is a little high school where i was focused on academics and athletics.

going to church every sunday. working on my service projects and friendship. friendship with my classmates and girls from the local all-girls catholic schools. there were parties. age was 18. the seniors were legal and had beer there. people might have had too many beers on occasion. people generally in high school, all of us have done things we look back on in high school and regret or cringe a bit. that is, we are talking about. we are talking about an allegation of sexual assault. i've never sexually assaulted anyone. i did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter. the girls from the school that i went to. i were friends. >> you are saying that you are a virgin? >> that is correct. >> never had sexual intercourse with anyone in high school? >> correct.

many years after, i will leave it at that. many years after. host: that was judge kavanaugh yesterday on fox news. we have a few minutes left in this program today. take your calls and open full --. president trump is in new york speaking at the general assembly. he is expected to speak next after the brazilian prime minister who is speaking right now will -- we will take you there as soon as president trump takes the stage. right now, your calls and open phones. ed in maryland, democrat. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. obvious, the country is so partisan. we had a caller in florida who was a lawyer. obviously, educated, pass the bar. yet, and still, i still here t partisan phrases.

like kellyanne conway put out the term alternative sex. a fact checker that does that. a fact is a fact. one plus one equals two. it does not equal three in any adverse universe. where the president comes out ,nd makes claims that are false his fans will always say that is just him being him. office.es the the office is a presidency of one time, was held the hired standard that higher standards p we have a person who is not presidential. who i would not hire to change my oil. 5 he is running the country. it is not his fault. it is the populists fault. there are people who, this white nationalist movement. i can understand it. i can dig how you feel that way. you cannot, you cannot sacrifice the civility of this nation on

your side winning. politics has become like anyone of the major sports. you pick a team and you stick with it regardless of they are right or wrong. it is the american populace. when -- when terms. like fake news. alternative facts. words, and you don't stop and check for yourself, it is a problem. as a former president said before, the current state of affairs, trump is not president trump. is not the cause of it. he is just the symptom of the way things are going. host: that is and in maryland. steve is in hannover, maryland. caller: good morning. just a comment on the fbi

investigation. the fbi has investigated president trump and his alleged collusion with the russians for two years and they have not come up with anything. how are they going to find something that is 32 years -- 35 years old? the absurd thing would be in today's they find something and a half moment. asks what arer the republicans afraid of. i'm afraid they will be dead by the time they complete this investigation. one more thing. i'm wondering if you ever have thought of not having a democrat line or republican line, or independent line, just three or four lines to call in. the biases are showing. maybe that would eliminate some of the biases here. i'm just trying to look at this as being an honest broker line. ways does it help in some to know some of his political

official -- affiliation when you listen to them? would you prefer to try to figure that out as you're talking to them?/ i'm not sure on that one. it's like when we see equal opportunity and have jobs job -- chosen over gender. and race. i think the next thing on equal opportunity applications of diversity applications are going to be political party. i don't know. --hought i would throw out just throw that out there for you or you are doing a great job, man. we switch up the lines pretty often on the washington journal. were byning, our lines whether you thought he should be fired or whether you thought you should keep his job. keep watching. we do try to switch them up as much as we can. brad is in kentucky. an independent. good morning. brad, you with us?

we will go to marguerite in new york. a democrat. caller: good morning. thank you for inviting me. i would like to talk a little bit about the facts. i think that, now that president paid call girls to have affairs with him and have , these are thend facts. this has really happened. this is not a good thing to have done. i think he -- the point that you make it a process. the fact about that -- judge kavanaugh aside from the he said that there wasbe a drinking culture. there has been a book written about it. his yearbook page. i am not sure whether this

person is going to make the best supreme court justice. luis is next in oregon. democrat. caller: howdy. i just wanted to say , obviously if our president has been documented to over 5000 , and everytruths republican is going along with all of it, does that make republican party a liar's -- the liar's party of america? hosts: that collar reporting to " the washington post" fact checker database. the president has made 5000 false claims. that is showing the cumulative claims over the course of president trump's times and ought -- time in office and is

separated by false and misleading claims day -- by day or by month. you can check out that chart on washington post.com. joe is in new jersey. caller: good morning. american news this morning, and regarding your fact checked her -- fact checker, they were talking about an individual going to skid row. we are paying individuals so they can get up and vote, i would love to check that out. hosts: who is they? caller: i need your fact checker from this morning. hosts: you are saying that he was soliciting people to vote? caller: the story was on one american news that individual lobbyists in los angeles were going to skid row and paying homeless people to get onto the voter rolls for the upcoming

election. i would love to have your fact checker look at that. hosts: who is trying to get the lobbyists to do that? who is conducting this conspiracy? -- it was was a loss a los angeles police story. hosts: kathy is in kentucky, a republican. go ahead. caller: i do not understand why they keep going on and on. i know we are the deplorables according to hillary, but we do have morals. kavanaugh seems to have morals. why do we not check this lady's background? hosts: do you think that has happened since she came out? caller: you do not hear. but was she doing at that party? hosts: in watertown, south

dakota. republican, good morning. hosts: its -- caller: it seems like deja vu. it seems like a democrat activist, kennedy did it as a judge 20 years ago. why do all these democrats come out of the word work at -- one and at the -- woodwork make allegations against someone that is confirmed. i hope this lady is vetted the same way. if she is lying, she should be prosecuted. dianne feinstein should be impeached. every time the liberal democrats do not like somebody, they come back with made-up charges out of the past to try and destroy a good man, and when they are theed not to be true,

accuser faces no penalties. if this woman is lying, they should have a shot of sodium penna fall and a lie detector test. l ande is -- sodium pentaho a lie detector test. if she is lying, she should suffer because to these people -- because these people come out of the woodwork with no responsibility. when they are proved to be liars l, they do not face any repercussions. caller: we are -- host: we are still waiting for president trump to take the stage at the united nations assembly. they brazilian prime minister still going, the president up next. as we are waiting, we did want to note one other story, a story

we have been following. the dallas police department fired an officer who fatally shot her neighbor inside his apartment. the protests about the killing of an unarmed black man in the -- in his own home. the chief announced the ygerination of amber gu after the shooting of botham jean. tensions have been high, and jean had graduated from arkansas and the concern over his death led to protests demanding justice. there were rallies in the streets and it disrupted at least one city council meeting. this story from "the new york times today. pennsylvania.

good morning. caller: i just have one comment on the fact check. i tried to be like c-span, i usually visit five different just tolets per day, see a different spin on things. afact,ct check and politi -- became a great thing, i looked at the funding. facebook is a big contributor, and i am saying, perhaps you have to look like the money and the foundations that support them. host: we will end it there. that will be our last call. we will be back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. we take you live to the u.n. general assembly. president trump is up next. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is respons f