franken and dianne feinstein? these are awful people. they really are awful. there was nothing sincere there will be was nothing authentic. they were playing politics and they didn't care how much they den grade a good man in jeff sessions. >> so much for senatorial courtesy. this has been a tradition in a bipartisan way when a member of our chamber is up for confirmation in has been one member in the modern era of the klu klux klan. that being said, democrats know they are going to lose this one. senator sessions will probably get bipartisan confirmation support. he will get over 50 because of

the republican control in the senate. this is grandstanding. they are doing it to use as potential fundraising tools. but they feel they need to do this, but they know they will ultimately lose this battle. lou: what do you think of the helpful counsel of the ponderous, thoughtful kerry. i think 140 characters is a bit too few for me. >> we have had diplomacy the past four years done by the most loqua characteristics ous gas bag in the senate. we have isis on the march. maybe 140 characters at a time can't be any worse than what it is with all the talk of john

kerry. lou: 140 characters is more than adequate to measure with his intellectual brain. he is something else. you've got to consider. you can't speak boston in 140 characters. there is a lot of stuttering involved. john kerry is the secretary of state who nuclearized iran. that's his legacy. we are going to talk about the obama legacy based on the speech tonight. we can get over obamacare. we can get over the fact he used the epa to tap coal and energy sources. but reef placing peace through strength with chaos and weakness, and that's what john kerry represents. >> ted cruz web was masterful

today in pointing out the hypocrisy of all of the democrats who challenged jeff sessions and this sudden new found urge to actually have law and order and to have the federal government enforce laws, charlie. he was absolutely terrific, didn't you think? >> that's where ted cruz is at his best. in the judiciary committee. on the supreme court, he's so street about things. he's not a terribly gifted politician wit comes to appealing to new voters. that's not his strong point. but in terms of knowing the constitution, knowing the law and being able to make co-gentle arguments in a setting like that, nobody can compare to the guy. lou: we just received word the sessions hearing just wrapped up. senator sessions is a man of great patience, a truly classy individual, a great senator,

great public servant. he has been at this for 12 hours, interrupted bid a few breaks and more than a few questions that went on and on. he's endearing and we'll get to pick it up tomorrow at 9:30 in the morning as he moves toward what will be certainly confirmation irrespective of what the bad manners and just awfulness that a few of the democrat stick senators decided to conjure you have and share with the country. i think, stoney, that the democrats are running a real risk here. sessions is an imminently respected and liked individual. what they are doing to the home audience. democrats are losing more votes. he's a hard figure to demonize. you are going to have the justice department under the per

view of jeff sessions. there is a crystal clear understanding that for 8 years we lived outside the bound drive our own immigration law. people on both sides of the aisle re-ject the idea that we are no long ear country who enforces the rule of law. that's his job as a.g., to enforce the law of the lands. not make them. and i think he came across as rational, reasoned and with the right temperament to lead our justice department. i think you will see over 70 votes. lou: the democrats are delaying, stalling, trying to find something. they made it clear they are going to go after rex tillerson because imagine this, these people are the ludites. they think it's an offense against humanity and god almighty to have scene america

who has worked in the world who has friends and business relationships around the world as the ceo of exxonmobil. this is a truly bizarre democratic party at work near these hearings. don't you think? >> honestly, the most alarming thing for me if i were a democrat voter sitting at home is the fact if you watched the sessions hearings today, they didn't learn thing from that election where they goat beaten so badly. they didn't learn a single thing. racial poll particulars. identity politics. trying to dried everybody into traition ridge groups, gender groups, then slice and dice a message to all of them. that didn't work. it did get barack obama re-elected. but that's the only success the democrats have had in 8 years. and they are still playing by

that same play book. >> i think charlie is absolutely right. you have over 23 democratic seats up in 2018. republicans need to net 8 eats to get 60 which -- 8 seats which would make the democratic party irrelevant in the senate. you better think long and hard when you start opposing donald trump's picks for pure political theater. lou: someone decided jeff sessions had a prop in his granddaughter and accused him doing so for political reasons and having her for a political prop. his granddaughter.

ignoring the fact, richard durbin, every time he opened his mouth, had somebody in the audience who was not related to him, had no reason to be there and hurl some sort of accusation at senator sessions. he had human props scattered throughout the audience. it's sickening to watch these people operate. they don't stuns, that nonsense no -- they don't understand, that nonsense no longer plays. it's offensive and it's rejected by most americans. >> and donald trump won an election destroying that kinds of behavior. for them to keep doing it, not only is it obnoxious to those of us who can't stands it in the first place, it's useless for them. lou: maybe they will keep it you have and things will get better exponentially. thank you both, gentlemen. president obama has chosen

chicago as you would understand, the location for his speech, his farewell speech it's a city where the murder rate is so high they are pleased to declare a state of emergency and seek federal help. taught finn with the crisis in chicago. reporter: as president obama returns to his adopted hometown of chicago to give his farewell speech, critics wonder if he will address the elephant in the room. the city's crime epidemic. >> i'm tired of doing funerals. i'm tired of seeing mothers stand over children. in 2016, a 63 increase in murders from 2015. 4,700 people were shot. >> i think there have been times when we needed the president to speak and needed the president

to inspire, and that did not happen unfortunately. reporter: in a series of interviews last week marking his final days in office, president obama said his administration tried to provide federal assistance to chicago. >> there is something specifically happening there, and that means we can fix it if we work together. reporter: everyone agrees chicago's crime is grossly unacceptable. but how to fix it depend on who you ask. an uncontrollable gun trade, gang turf wars and disrespect for law enforcement. donald trump made news when he tweeted that the mayor should ask for federal help if they are in over their heads. a dark cloud moving over all this, a department of justice investigation into the chicago police department over

allegations of racism and brutality. its findings could have major ramifications for the police force. the head of chicago's police force says she expects the investigation will show the solution requires more than law enforcement. >> job training, doing everything we can to drive down unemployment, provide resources so the kids aren't living in poverty. that we have good schools. this takes a multi faceted approach. lou: up next, donald trump has vowed to keep america safe as president. >> to protect our country from terrorism and extremism i will suspend immigration and refugee admissions from regions where they cannot be safely processed or vetted. lou: congressman brian babbitt

has introduced a bill to keep questionable and potentially dangerous refugees out of the united states. afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me.

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one would suspend the refugee resettlement program in this country. other bill would halt foreign aid and travel visas to any country that refuses to take back their citizens if they are deported from the united states. both bills have been sitting in committee since 2015. joining me is the sponsor of both of those measures, brian babbitt. great to have you with us. before we get to the bills and their disposition. what's going on with the damn picture? >> that is a disgrace. this is -- most of us in our offices have an art contest each year and we hang the winners in the capital. one of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle hung up a painting which i think is

very, very divisive and defamatory towards law enforcement officers, our men and women in blue it's hanging yards down the hall from a capital police checkpoint where these police guard us as congressmen. and they are proportrayed as pigs in this painting. lou: you are talking about congressman clay of missouri. you are talking about a picture that pore raise a law enforcement officer as a pig. i now and duncan hunter and roar backer have taken this down but to give you have some sense of the emotion around this, these are some of the comments that i am getting on twitter.

let me turn to this thing. these things are coming in pretty fast. saying take count damn painting. take it to the pentagon shooting range. you get the idea. they had a belly full of this. >> it's against the house rules. i think -- lou: speaker ryan, why isn't he arbitrating? >> i expect to speaker today about it at lunchtime and we are making moves to have that removed. it is against protocols, it's against house rules, it's defamatory, controversial and political. it should not be up hanging where it is. lou: it's awful. i can't even imagine what the congressman is thinking. let's turn to -- i can't imagine why your bills aren't being

taken up with a vote. why is it the congress of the united states responding to bills because they make every sense, they would secure the nation, they would fix what is a gaping vulnerability in our homeland event. >> there is no question about it. the resettlement act, the refugee act is nothing but a prove january horse. our innocent americans are being killed and hurt. our allies in western europe the same thing. tens of thousands of illegal criminal aliens are being released upon the streets to roam at will. and their native countries will not repatriate them. one will pause the refugee program until we can vet them properly. the second one would put some teeth in the law so we can take

away their visa programs. these countries that refuse to repatriate their criminal citizens, and cut off their foreign aid it's a no-brainer. lou: take a couple powerful texans with you. brady, what does he say? can't you find some help there? even the speaker. come on -- >> lou, we have a sea change in the political scene up here since the election of donald j. trump. he has been talking about these for the last six months. the last year as was running. and i'm telling you, i row introduced these bills. i expect if they don't get into law in some form or fashion, i would be very greatly surprised. i'm getting a lot of koa sponsors on, even democrats that signed on to one or the other one.

i think we are going to. i think mr. trump will help push this agenda and the house will as well. i have spoke weren't leadership and i'm getting some cooperation. lou: great to have you here, thanks so much. be sure to vote in our poll tonight. the question is do you believe in his farewell address president obama will come close to acknowledging his legacy of failure tonight? it will be a sensitive, difficult moment. but do you have think it might happen? coming up here next, former cia analyst, says politics likely played a role on the release of an intelligence report on russian hacking. we'll be right back. stay with us. just like the people

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lou: f.b.i. director james coachy making his first public comments since the election. comey testified the federal government failed tomorrow grants access to the servers. >> a highly respected company got access and shared with suls what they got there. lou: a highly respected outfit? and that satisfied the director of the f.b.i.? what's going on. senior vice president for policy and program for the center for security policy. great to have you with us. what has gripped our f.b.i. director. someone is? control of his minds. there is something very bizarre

going on here. your analysis. >> i agree with you. i didn't understand that answer. he says some other things i found very troubling. he said the russians had limited access to the republican national committee server. to me that may be why there was very little released about donald trump and the republicans during the campaign and more was released from the democrats because they had such poor internet security. lou: it's clear the democrats have got an organized effort to quote-unquote delegitimize donald trump's presidency. that's what they are playing at here. would you not agree? >> devon nunez said on "fox news sunday" that the controlout of this intelligence report or the hacking appeared to be politically motivated to hurt trump. there have been two major leaks

on this issue and there was another leak today. lou: that leak, i'm not even going to go there. ' i will quote donald trump who just tweeted this. could you give me that, please, folks? we are going to have it here in just a minute. but basically saying fake news, people trying to without foundation hurt donald trump. we are watching some strange, strange efforts here. i would like to know why there isn't an inquiry, a great lust for taken inquiry as to why the president of the united states, our current president, didn't do anything about this, and didn't order an investigation of it. i don't understand why the agencies -- by the way, out of 16 of them, only three participated in this so-called report. the so-called report is highly

lacking in specifiesity and focus and facts. would you not agree? >> that's exactly right. this is an intelligence community assessment. i know your viewers dnt can't see sit. this an intelligence coordinate assessment. here is the new one. that line is mission. it wasn't coordinated with the intelligence community. i think that is very damning. lou: we heard all of the agencies were in absolute shock step on their judgments about the sinister nature of what was going on on the part of the russian spy services. i mean, come on. then we don't have even a line as you suggested that this has been validated. that it has been peer previewed and there has been dissent in the intelligence community to these highly it seems to me

speculative con injured conclusions -- conjured conclusions. >> the department of homeland security didn't clear this. the defense intelligence agency. i knew some stun scrupulous analysts that would run their most controversial stuff between christmas and new years because there was no one around to argue with them. we have this new assessment with dramatic conclusions most agencies didn't clear on. lou: you talked about a second leak. i think you are referring to what donald trump may be referring to. this is the tweet if we can take a look at that. saying fake news, a total political witch hunt apparently this sleek circulating runs some government officials in washington in particular. and they even acknowledged that it is rubbish in point of fact.

but there it is. dee signed obviously, the timing all of it dee signed rather conveniently to be uncomfortable for the trump nominees and donald trump himself. >> i'm counting count showers until this crew of partisan charlatans running national security for the trump administration are out of office. they have been leaking intelligence. they are damaging sensitive sources and methods and they are doing it now to get a parting shot at donald trump. it's outrageous. lou: how deep will donald trump have to go into these agencies to assure he's gotten rid of all of the obama acolytes, the left wing establishment that has actually homesteaded all of those agencies at the top? >> i have good news.

i think a lot of these leaks are coming out of the nfc. a lot of the other leaks are coming from senior intelligence officials. and you most rank and file hate this stuff. they just want to do their job. they are not political. they don't like it when senior officials are constantly calling the "new york times." i have a lot of confidence in mike pompeo to clean shop. lou: i happen to think the entire national security team that donald trump has assembled is first class. rex tillerson, he is the target of the left wing democrats in the confirmation process. your thoughts about what will transpire. >> they are going to talk about russia. his ties to russia. i read a newspaper article what he's going to say tomorrow. he's going to say we have to be tough and finds a way to cooperate. that's the right approach.

i don't know what the objective is of obama's russia policy. we are never going to sanction russia out of ukraine. when obama sanctions the russians with these -- kick out these diplomats. and the russians don't bother to reciprocate, there is something wrong. lou: no one can explain why the obama administration suspended the secretary of state made the announcement in passing, the monroe doctrine no longer applies in the western hemisphere. no one in the obama administration can explain the so-called obama doctrine. the madness of it all. and suddenly there is a great appetite on capitol hill to find out exactly what donald trump is going to do in foreign policy. what fools and naves we have

sitting on that precious real estate on our nation's capitol. >> please through strength. that's what reagan did. lou: thanks so much. appreciate it. up next, president-elect trump says democratic leadership failed the city of chicago. >> we have a very divided nation. you look at charlotte, you look at baltimore, you look at the violence that's taking place in the inner cities, chicago. we have an increase in murder within our cities, the biggest in 45 years. lou: i'm joined by tammy bruce and mark simone as we await the president's farewell speech tonight from chicago. we'll be with you in just moments. stay with us. we are coming right back.

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it's a busy day tonight, and has been busy for i tend to notice about the last year and a half. joining me now, radio talk show host, tammy bruce, and mark simone. good to have you both here. let's tart with this nasty -- let's start with this nasty tone taken by many of the democratic senators particularly in the sessions hearing. the nicest guy, the smartest guy, and one of the absolutely exemplary public servants in the country. >> he's so well liked. they know this man. they know what they are doing is false. they not' completely theater. they all he know they won't be able to put a glove on him. he will be confirmed and he will be the next attorney general. that's why their approving rating is lower than cockroaches

and senator sessions will have a fabulous legacy. lou: if you can introduce cockroach into any sentence, you have a winner there. lou: what do you think, mark? >> you said lower than snake bellies. but any time you do a 7-hour interview, a 5-hour interview, it's obviously a circus. they should have elephants and jugglers. it's one big circus. lou: this is what donald trump tweeted in response to allegations that have been published by some people. i will tell you right now, this is what donald trump said, fake news, a total political witch hunt. i have got to explain my dilemma. this is an unverified account in a publication if you will, a

news outlet there, that is, well, the embodiment of what would you say non-traditional news values. fake news is what donald trump kaitd. i wanted to share with you some of the editorial addendum offered by the editors of this outlet. is it -- it carries these unverified allegations which is giving them more currency than they deserve. as we stated in our story, there is a serious reason to doubt the allegations. we have been chasing specific claims of this document for week and will continue to do so. so what they are acknowledging is they don't know what the hell they know. they don't know anything, and they haven't got facts to support anything that they are publishing. they don't even rights to the level of allegations. they are more like conjurings. >> they admit it's error laden.

they have no idea if it's true. this also a site that runs cat videos. lou: they have a good idea it's not true. >> this could be completely false. but ranging to cat videos will make them hit the big time. we do see a lot of information. it sounds like they are afraid of being sued perhaps. of being doctored. we have 10 days before the inauguration and better people understand this is false. >> the hillary clinton campaign has had it for 6 months. when i heard mother jones had no bars lowered. that's all i needed to hear. lou: publishing this document was not a simple or easy call.

this is among the decisions you will regret. and people of goodwill will disagree with our choice. >> even ripley wouldn't use it. >> going back to the point. fake news. i mean, the idea that people feel empowered to do that sort of thing. and they are inspired by the pat leahys, the al frankens, the dianne feinsteins of the democratic party in the judiciary committee as they attack a good, talented, and remarkable public servant. >> jeff sessions. >> this is a sign of the degree to which the meltdown is continuing with the democrats and they have not learned anything. which means we'll have terrific success in 2018, and there will be a second term in 2020. we have to keep our eyes on the prize and focus on this country.

>> i think it's the democrats that require counsel. every day that passes with more americans watching these people operate. these are awful people. >> they marginalize themselves completely. they spent the last two years totally misreading the electorate. when they are up against 9 other guys, this act will get tired by the end of the week. it's going to be a mess. lou: up next, the president, he has some grand thoughts, or he has some grand illusions when it comes to his legacy. >> i'm absolutely convinced that race relations on the whole are actually better now than they questioner. but we had greater awareness of where we are falling short than we used to. lou: when this particular president has this particular

interviewer with a stunned look on his face, it's better now? george receive ope stephanopouls questioning the president of the united states? we'll take it up as we await president obama's farewell address from chicago. we'll be covering it live right here on the fox business network. stay with us.

lou: tonight in chicago president obama will address the american people one last time. delivering his farewell address a few miles from where he gave his victory address in 2008. he has been known to let the clock get away from him. how will mr. obama's speech tonight compare to fast presidents? ronald ray gain gave a farewell speech that lasted 21 minutes. bill clinton's speech incredibly 8 minutes. just under. in 2008, george w. bush passed the baton to barack obama in a 13-minute speech. will he be competitive?

let's see what two of my favorite people think. washington bureau chief of the new york post daniel halper and lee carter. i can't imagine barack obama clearing his throat in 20 minutes. >> he will have to make a decision if he's going to try to protect his legacy or give one of his great oration speeches. we haven't seen that obama in the last 7 years. lou: daniel, what do you think? >> i think people are expecting about 30 minutes, which again is in excess of everybody else. but short for president obama who tends to drone on. i don't think we'll see a full-throated defense of every element. i think we'll see a rewriting of his presidency. he won't be defensive. i think he's trying to be optimistic.

he will say here are all the great things i accomplished. here it is, donald trump. lou: kevin corke who has been our white house correspondent, has traveled with the president and covered him for years, gave a sneak peek into some of the phrased he will use tonight. they are in points of fact aspirational. they are grounded. and he even talks about people coming together which to me is -- that's always a terrific message whether you are at the beginning or end of waste is usual doing. what do you want to hear this president say? >> i want to hear a unity message. i want to hear him complete we started the first day the president-elect came to meet with barack obama. he promised unity. he promised it would be a smooth transition.

i would like him to come full circle and complete that message. bring us together. we are all in this together. we are all americans. he can do that. there is no one more powerful than barack obama when he wants to be in his obama orator politician. lou: as you are saying that, lusting for a unity message. the democrats are right at this moment leaking nonsense, fake news as donald trump put it trying to be as subversive as they next hearings of the president-elect's nominees to his cabinet. we have some tortured contentious times here as we are once in trying to wrap up one administration and begin another with good feelings. it doesn't seem possible. >> it makes sense. there is a total disconnect between what president obama will say, what we expect him to say tonight.

he will probably be nice. it's fall his best interest and what his party is currently doing in washington. it's -- there is a total disconnect there. that's something that president obama when he leaves office, he wants to stay involved. he's going to have to try and reconcile. the weird thing for president obama is he would be best served by having a good relationship with donald trump. donald trump tends to work well with people with whom he has a good relationship with. if there is any hope for president obama to salvage any of his presidency, having a good relationship between obama and trump is one very good way for president obama to go about it. lou: is there any way it makes any sense at all if he wanted to have a good relationship that barack obama would be staying in washington, d.c. rather than moving as is customary back to

their hometowns, off to a new way. why in the world doesn't -- why doesn't barack obama buy a ran inch crawford, texas next to george bush he would argue he still has a daughter in school, the same reason donald trump isn't moving baron down to washington, d.c. at this time. he lost policy and loves being in d.c. i think he won't be able to help himself. lou: daniel, will people be helping him now and start thinking about other real estate? >> he made his plan a year ago. he thought hillary was going to be elected. he thought his life would be totally different than it will be. lou: as did so many people going back to 2008. daniel, thanks so much.

daniel halper and lee carter. we appreciate as we await the president's farewell address. that's it for us. neil cavuto continues our special coverage of president obama's farewell speech tonight from chicago. [♪] neil: he was different coming into office, he will be different leaving office. welcome, everybody. president obama formally says good-bye to the american people in a venue that is different than his predecessors. most of them said their parting zplents oval office other east room of the white house. there have been some exceptions to that. but no one has done with barack obama plans to do tonight. chicago, mccormick place,

thousands crammed in to say good-bye to their hero. they greeted him in 2008 to hear him say i want to be president of the united states. now it is barack obama's chance to say good-bye and to put a final signature on his 8 years in office. we are told he's going to focus more on the future than dwell on the past. but he won't pass up an opportunity to say how far he we have come as a country. jeff flock in mccormick place on what we can expect from this estimated 30-minute address. >> erupting in applause as the bidens enter. this place is packed. if you said 20,000, everything

from the journalists that covere >> reporter: the cabinet secretaries, elected officials. this place is just packed to the rafters with people who would suggest that these past eight years have been an unqualified success. a reduction in unemployment, fewer troops on foreign soil engaged in conflict, a higher graduation rate among high schoolers. they see this as a great success, and they are expected to hear from the president not so much a look back at the successes, but a look forward and the message, i think the message, the key one will be if you don't like the way it is now, you can change it. you need to get involved. that's what he did when he came to chicago and began his political career, and that's what he will exhort the rest of america to do. this is quite a night here in chicago, neil. not a conventional fare welshing welshing -- farewell, but this hasn't been a conventional

presidency. neil: all right, jeff. the only more recent president who said good-bye at a venue kind of like this was george h.w. bush who said his good-byes at west point. his son famously in the east room in the waning days of the financial meltdown, and that was a low-key affair even though the address was spun toç the natio. jimmy carter, bill clinton, ronald reagan all speaking from either the oval office or the east room of the white house. kennedy is with us right now, we've got lou dobbs with us as well. lou, a lot of expectations here that barack obama -- who's personally very popular even though his legacy and his policies were the ones that helped elect donald trump -- he's in a bit of a weird position here tonight, isn't he? >> no, i think you're right, neil. there is something so dissonant about the evening as we are in, now, the trump era, and suddenly

we're hearing from president obama saying farewell. you know, neil, i think what the problem is, i don't think any of us can accept the idea that barack obama -- still a young man -- is saying adios, sayonara. i think it is, without question, perhaps just a pause, i'll see you in a little while doing something entirely new, something ambitious and something that none of us, as far as i know, are informed of or can ourselves contemplate. i have a feeling he has a plan. neil: well, he's a young man now at 55 leaving the presidency, he's 15 years younger than the guy who's about to take over the presidency. kennedy, he is obviously settling in washington, barack obama, his daughter still has a couple of years to go in high school, but he's very close to the white house. he's in washington, loved in washington. what do you think? kennedy: yeah. at first he was promising to retreat and perhaps write a little bit.

neil: he'll still be writing. kennedy: some of the finest work he did before his presidency was as a writer and particularly his first memoir. it's really profound. i mean, there's some great passages in there. but that's not going to be. and then he said most recently that he is, indeed, going to be a talent scout for the democratic party, but also he's going to hold in the president's feet to the fire. and, you know, he takes a certain amount of personal responsibility doing that. and, you know, by the way, would you want to raise your kids in chicago right now? neil: not in that direct neighborhood right now given some of the problems. but, you know, we're about a minute away from hearing from the president of the united states in his swan song. you know, lou, what's interesting, when we talk about barack obama and his legacy, of course, it will always be in place he's the first african-american president. he will argue from the meltdown, we're a lot better than we were, but the irony will be that the country still elected someone that was the polar