look at this as we head towards the closing bell. [closing bell rings] starting to fade a little bit. doesn't look like we'll get a record on the nasdaq. they're happy and hooping and hollering anying. markets open mainly flat. melissa francis and connell mcshane pick it up after the bell. >> ashley, thank you very much. stocks sink a little bit into the close as dow turns negative down seven points in the final minute of trading. s&p 500 failing to claw its way out of the red. the nasdaq will not end at a record high as well. i'm connell mcshane in today for david asman. melissa: welcome, i'm melissa francis. this is "after the bell." we have you covered on all the big market movers. here is what else we have for you at this hour. two major showdowns on capitol hill with big implications. fbi director james comey testifying publicly for the first time on russian interference with the u.s. election of the president's wiretapping claims and the investigation into leaks of

potentially classified information. what we know now. plus, neil gorsuch, president trump's pick for the supreme court just making an opening statement at his nomination hearing as democrats look to make the case against him. and over at the white house the president meeting with the prime minister of iraq moments ago. earlier the focus was on the new health care bill with an unexpected guest, the architect of obamacare, what is up with that? we're just days away from the critical white house vote. >> we'll talk about all those big stories on this busy day connell: lori rothman is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. reporter: apple with a gain of a buck 46 a share that is more

than 1% hitting new highs, 140.69 was the last record. so apple safely into new record territory. as for walt disney, obviously huge success. we've been talking about it all day the latest box office, what was it, "beauty and the beast." shares up .8 of 1% today on two big winners for the dow. otherwise kind of not a whole lot of action today. i think investors were holding back to reevaluate how much confidence they have in the trump rally. it is first day of the second quarter after all. a lot of position settings going on. nasdaq hit all-time high, faded off by about two or three points. nvidia was up. also some other winners on nasdaq. lumina, micron technology and apple rounding out the nasdaq as well. i will send it back to you. connell: thank you, lori. melissa: here is a quick check on oil, settling down more than a percent to $48.22 a barrel as the rise in oil rigs raised

concern about a glut in production. analysts are worried about the change in the g20 policy around global trade. connell: the clock is ticking as we know on the president's plan to repeal and replace obamacare. president trump gearing up for a rally later this evening in kentucky. two major hearts meantime taking the spotlight in our nation's capitol today. blake burman is all over it all. he is at the white house with the latest. blake? reporter: hi, there, connell, it is one of those days of where do you begin? the world's richest person was here at white house today. that might be the fourth or fifth biggest headline out of the white house. let's start with bill gates. he was here at the west wing speaking with the president. white house press secretary sean spicer said talking about gates foundation work and desire to stop disease outbreaks worldwide. after that when it turned focus for time being for health care for the president. he had a meeting with tom price, the head of health and human

services. paul ryan, house speaker, two folks would sit down here in washington with the president but also dr. ezekiel emanuel, that's right, the brother of rahm emanuel, one of the architects of affordable care act also known as obamacare in the room with the other three talking about the way forward for health care. the while house saying today that the president has talked about reaching across party lines with health care and this is just yet another example of that. earlier over the past hour or so the iraqi prime minister also made his way here to the white house. hadir al abadie got here and sat down with his delegation and members of the white house. as that meeting was kicking off, president how many hoe was very critical of past iraq policy was again in front of his iraqi counterpart. >> mosul was ours until we left. so perhaps we shouldn't have gone in and we certainly shouldn't have left.

we should never, ever have left. reporter: i think behind me here in a second you will see mr. abadi and his caravan leave. the big story of the day here in washington and at over on capitol hill is of course the hearing with james comey and the revelations that he made which are several fold. one, that there's an investigation into russia and potential conflicts, coordination with the trump campaign. secondly he dismissed the wiretapping allegations that president trump made. at the white house they're pushing back on a lot of this. as far as the wiretapping stuff goes, the hearings are still underway, so that is not finished. they say, connell and melissa, at this point there is no connection made between russia and trump campaign. connell: sean spicer careful to point that out. not much backing down at all. melissa. melissa: speaker of the house paul ryan and senator rand paul are on sit wave lengths when it

comes to the gop bills to replace and repeal obamacare. >> we feel very good where we are. we're still having conversations with our members. we're making fine-tuning improvements into the bills. to reflect people's improvements. >> they call it repeal and replace. but when it doesn't fix the problems and they say they will fix the problem. they will own it. in a year insurance markets will still be unraveling. the insurance companies will be begging for more handouts. melissa: joining me adam brandon, president of freedomworks. thanks so much for joining us. let me start with the news of the day, what do you think about the idea of president trump having tom price in a room with ezekiel emanuel? is that a good strategy? >> they're trying to figure out where they can get the bill to where they get the majority of the members of the house to sign on to it. i wouldn't be surprised if they bought emanuel in there to try to understand the bill because it is such a complicated piece of machinery. and however, i'm not so sure i

would want to have that person in the room trying to figure out how to fix this. i'm more on senator rand paul side, we should use the opportunity to take out the entire bill and kind of start over. with a whole new system that focuses on lowering prices. >> so what would be the first thing you do? i know you say wipe out this bill entirely. >> right. melissa: that will not happen between now and thursday. >> right. melissa: if you were asked in a room, give me two things i could do right here that would make a big difference in your mind what would they be? >> i would start by freezing medicaid expansion. that to me is scary thing. i don't know how we will pay for that. all incentives are to keep people pumping into the system. the second thing i'm very concerned about are some of these, i guess you could call them vouchers or tax credits that are going to be dished out for folks. i'm concerned those will become a long-term entitlement. what we're heading for is a government sponsored voucher that everyone would then take to a private insurer.

i would probably want to take those out of the bill. and then, those are two great starting points. melissa: i hear you. one of the big selling problems with this bill though is, right away you saw it, folks on the other side carve it out, the idea that policies or prices for people that were, you know in their 60s went way up. that was one of the things that paul ryan was saying he would target many so of those health care credits at or vouchers you're talking about. >> right. melissa: how would you deal with the problem of getting it past this first hurdle with those prices on that age group if you didn't do the voucher thing? >> my whole strategy if i was running this would be go back to the 2015 repeal bill where you had all but five republicans, it was most unity the republicans have had in long time on obamacare. you start with the repeal portion and then there is a phaseout of about two or three years where you could go back in. if you have a problem with a certain population, you pass legislation that serves that population. so if you're concerned about

young people with cancer or old people in 60s or 70s, there are different things that you can do to fix those different populations. but right now what i'm still nervous about, hopefully there are amendments coming up, and i trust secretary price quite a bit on this stuff, we'll have to get at the regulatory nature of obamacare because there are so much in the bill that is written just said, hey the secretary should decide this or the secretary will decide that, that we need to to unthat. my concern if secretary price does a great job and next president decides they will put regulations back? melissa: that makes a lot of sense. adam, thanks for coming on and appreciate your time. connell: to add into the conversation, liz peek, "fiscal times," former trump campaign advisor steve cortes as well. liz to begin with you, through the perspective how we look at things, that would be the financial markets, with the conversation melissa is having about health care, if thursday,

say, doesn't go well and things do not pass do you start to get a feeling here maybe this trump rally that we've all been reporting on in the markets at some point, haven't seen it yet, today doesn't see much action at all might be in jeopardy? people might think the rest of his agenda is in trouble as well? >> i think it would be a disaster if the bill does not pass on thursday, the seventh anniversary of obamacare being part of our country. connell: disaster for markets? >> here is why. we know tax reform is backed up behind it. i think both of those things are incredibly important for optimism which surged so significantly since the election to continue surging. that said, i am optimistic it will go well thursday. i think that president trump has done a good job of bringing a lot of people on board. face it, this is what he called a big fat negotiation. people for the last two or three weeks, a lot of people writing

about this was immutable product. there was no chance to amend it. senators that don't like it will stay in opposition. the fact that trump is going to kentucky is totally predictable and terrific. where is rand paul from? he is in kentucky. trump won kentucky by significantly higher margin than rand paul won re-election in november. this is a heads up to conservative senators and congressman, if they want trump out there working for him they have to come on board. connell: it is interesting, steve, to back up liz's point, if thursday doesn't go well for the republicans it may be to use her term a disaster. they are down eight points in people bet on that. there must be thinking this will get done and the legislative agenda will go through. investigation of fbi we now know about and many other things we've already brought up. what do you think? >> you know, yeah, connell i think you're exactly right.

markets are correctly predicting we get the bill through. what donald trump is showing us as president he is negotiator in chief and deal maker in chief. he is delivering on his promise. one of the reasons washington, d.c. is almost approfleck tick over donald trump and why they're trying to create scandals doesn't exist regarding russia because they can't believe he really meant everything he said during the campaign. he is doing it. here just weeks into his administration. repeal and replace. it's a big fat beautiful negotiation that is going to replace and repeal obamacare which is no necessary for economic growth. your prior guest i think, adam asked how will we pay for this with the voucher system? the way we pay for it, is much faster economic growth partly because we're removing that hurdle of obamacare. melissa: all right. the world's richest man is back meeting with president trump. this time to talk about topics

from the economy to gates' criticism of president cutting foreign aid budget. so, liz, let me start with you, does it strike you as odd that he would be having this meeting with bill gates talking about funding foreign governments at a time when everything else is going on? >> well, if you had a chance to sit down with bill gates you would probably take it, right? my guess invitation to the oval office is pretty irresistible even to bill gates. there is a topic with a lot of discord twine these go people, that is foreign aid. bill gates took time to write a op-ed encouraging donald trump not to cut foreign aide. how it was important to health and stability in other nations, et cetera. i would counter, if i had been in the oval office with the editorial in "the wall street journal" today about some of the nonsensical things we're spending money on under the guise of usaid.

like everything else there is a middle ground. trump has taken a pretty big whack out of that budget. that my guess is pretty much what they talked about. melissa: steve what do you think, real quick? >> america first is the policy he ran on. his budget shows that. we don't need a bunch of globalists in the statedepartmen taxpayer money on their globalist agenda. we need a america first policy, financially, securitywise, in all ways. i love he is reaching out to mr. gates but i doubt they agree. melissa: thank you to both of you. connell: we've talked about how crazy a busy day and hearings it has been. it is not over for president trump as he will hit the road in about an hour, headed there, louisville, kentucky, they're lining up for another big rally. we'll take you there for a preview. melissa: north korea testing a new rocket engine despite repeated warnings from the u.s. and threat and reaction from the president. connell: neil gorsuch president trump's pick for the supreme court. he made his opening statement at his nomination hearing.

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well as an opening statement from judge gorsuch to tee up issues the senators will ask the judge about tomorrow. one is the judge's support for the so-called original intent doctrine, the legal doctrine that argues that justices should interpret the law based largely on the original intent of the founding fathers in the writing of constitution looking for text to make rulings. that is the doctrine that justice antonin scalia advanced and if confirmed gorsuch would replace him and he hinted that he favored originalism. >> judge scalia was a mentor too, that words matter, to follow the words are in the law, not replace them with those that aren't. reporter: critics say original intent handcuffses justices because it limits ability to

interpret the constitution to modern and changing times. melissa. melissa: peter, thank you. connell: leonard leo, supreme court advisor to president trump to talk a little more about justice gorsuch. you were involved in the vetting process and maybe can give us a little more background ahead of tomorrow's questioning of the justice, why was the pick of president trump? >> president trump picked neil gorsuch because he was a man of extraordinarery legal talent, with neil's president obama's solicitor general testifying on his behalf. he is man respected by all. importantly president trump want ad supreme court justice nominee to interpret the constitution which the framers wanted it to be. this brings up to the point of originalism. connell: peter got to some critics being something looked

as as negative. listen to senator dianne feinstein, senator from california talking about originalist philosophy and you can react or rebut what she had to say. here is the senator. >> if we were to dogmatically adhere to originalists interpretations we would still have segregated schools and bans on interracial marriage. women wouldn't be entitled to equal protection under the law. government discrimination against lgbt americans could be permitted. connell: your argument back against that, len in order. that it handcuffs a peter barnes as words a modern day supreme court? what do you say. >> original system simple concept. applying the constitution as it is written and not permitting a judge to make things up as it goes along of the the fact of the matter the framers of our constitution wrote it in broad and majestic enough language it can be applied to modern times.

we have to look to the natural meaning of those words as they were used by the framers. and, many of our broad provisions of the constitution can be applied to modern circumstances. but look the most important thing judge gorsuch's originalist view of the constitution that he understands the limits on government power contained in the constitution, separation of pow. connell: limits on the courts, federalism, all the structural protections are what really at the end of the day preserve the dignity and freedom of the american people. connell: the final thing, if you think about it, this entire conversation we've been having is a conversation about judicial philosophy. not about judicial qualifications for the bench. that has to be a pretty good conversation from the trump administration's point of view, right? what do you think the odds of confirmation are? will we have to change senate rules, for example, or do you get to 60 votes? >> everybody in the room felt that judge gorsuch was going to be confirmed.

the only question how the democrats how to figure out how to lose on this one. they either want a quick process they give us 60 votes and judge gorsuch gets confirmed or all-out obstruction it fight. that is the question. connell: that one we won't know for a while. we'll see questioning, see how it plays out. thanks for coming on for us. >> thank you. melissa: demanding an apology. snort chuck schumer is desperately pushing for president trump to say i'm sorry. fbi director james comey is on the hot seat as questions are looming over russia and he tries to set the record straight. congressman mike turner is here incomes to weigh in. >> if the trump campaign or anyone associated with it aided or abetted the russians it would not only being be serious crime, it would represent one of the most shocking betrayals of democracy in history. special edition? because, actually there's five.

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connell: this is the big story of the day. fbi director james comey spending most of his day on the capitol hill hot seat. questions fired at the director finding out or trying to if russia played a role in the 2016 election and if there is evidence of president trump's wiretapping claims among other things. it has been the task of adam shapiro to keep track of it. he has done that and joins us from the newsroom. it was like five plus hours. reporter: there is a lot here but let's get to the key headlines because people need to hear the fbi director in his own words. so first and foremost was very early on the confirmation from the fbi director with the authorization from the department of justice to do this, that indeed fbi is still and was investigating possible connections between russia and members of the trump campaign during the presidential election. here's what the director of the fbi said. >> the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian government's efforts to

interfere in the 2016 presidential election. and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and russia's efforts. reporter: now it is important to remember that the fbi director also said, do not draw any conclusions from what i say just because there is an investigation, which means they're looking but it doesn't mean there might be anything there. he also responded to questions about president trump's tweets that the previous administration had either wiretapped or conducted surveillance on trump tower and trump tower phone lines. here's the response to that. >> with respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration i have no information that supports those tweets and we have looked carefully inside of the fbi. the department of justice has

asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the department of justice and all its components of the department has no information that supports those tweets. reporter: now after the hearing the chairman of the house intelligence committee, david, excuse me, devin nunes, responded saying that when asked about surveillance and the investigation they're conducting he said something to the effect, we don't have evidence of that but we can't rule it out. he went on to say about perhaps potential collusion between members of the trump campaign. no evidence of collusion. back to you, connell. connell: busy day. thanks for staying on top of it all. melissa. melissa: joining me congressman evan turner on house select committee on intelligence. as you went by it what is the lasting detail that came out if anything? >> the important issue, melissa, this hearing followed hours and hours of classified briefings

that our committee received from even these two gentlemen. this was an effort to have a public discussion as much as we could about the type of issues our committee is addressing and that the fbi and the nsa is addressing. certainly its with a news story today. i'm sorry, go ahead. melissa: that is helpful. if you think it was sort of an airing what is going on, do you feel like these two issues are kind of put to rest? i mean there was, each side came out with their own headline that there was no wiretapping evidence and there was no evidence of collusion. is that, is it sort of like done and done on those two fronts in your mind? >> well i think certainly it is important that be on the table. even director comey himself said no one should draw a conclusion based on the fact that the investigation is open and begun sometime in july of last year. devin nunes of the committee is saying so far the committee has seen no evidence of collusion. certainly director clapper said that in the news himself. former director of national intelligence there was no evidence of collusion. but nonetheless i think it is

important we had this public discussion t was also important to discuss and have the february by director say a lot of news reports you've seen in the "washington post" and "new york times" are not accurate. these leaks, some of which are classified information are criminal leaks but some are just absolute false although he wouldn't go into the specifics of which information is inaccurate. he has with the committee at times. people need to know the things they're reading are not necessarily true. melissa: sounds like the case isn't closed necessarily in your mind either? you say you haven't seen evidence of collusion yet. that investigation is on going, is that what you're saying? >> right. what is are interesting for everyone to note, by the february by director, indicating trump campaign and possible investigations since open investigation since july. that means the end of the campaign as we're drawing to a close between hillary clinton and donald trump, the fbi director had an open investigation into both campaigns and both candidates. that is certainly troubling. melissa: no, absolutely. and a lot the other thing that

people find troubling is the leaks going on and of names that were used in various information and heard on calls within, you know, sent out to the press and people knew about it. immediately that raises a question of that being an illegal act in of itself. does there need to be a follow-up on that front and is it going on now. >> absolutely. the director indicated these are crimes that are occur. melissa: right. >> the other thing underlying this should give everybody pausd information about communications between trump campaign members, that, were leaked and were classified information, how are these being generated? we certainly know from statements today, there is concern as to who was involved, who had access to this information. and then who was giving it to the "washington post" and "the new york times." melissa: right but they didn't get to the bottom of that. are you, you say you guys are getting briefed behind the scenes. are you getting closer to figuring out who actually did that because we didn't get closer today?

>> not the identity. one thank is troubling, i went into this in my questioning, the fbi director will tell us what is a lie in "the washington post" and "new york times." he said openly in the hearings there are lies in "washington post" and "new york times" but we're not able to come out and tell and he is not able to do it himself. connell: interesting exchange he had on the subject. louisville is gearing up for president trump this evening as they get lined up for the rally. the president looking to shore up support for the gop health care plan at this rally. looks like they're fairly excited. is that the limbo? melissa: seems like it. connell: we'll take you there for a preview. melissa: plus democratic lawmakers put on notice. a vote for president trump's nominee may put their political careers at risk.

melissa: as supreme court nominee neil gorsuch nomination hearing kicked off today, liberal advocacy groups are urging democratic senators to stop the nomination even if they support the pick. we have giano caldwell and jessica tarlov. let me start with you. is this an effective strategy do you think? he will get buy either way, you might as well stand up and protest and get points tore that. what do you think?

>> i don't think it is urging by grassroots activists groups. this is complete attack and a threat to those who choose to govern. i think democrats at this particular point are playing russian roulette with a bullet in every chamber. without a cohesive message, with progressives hate establishment and they are operates on different sheet music all together you're doing people different things which doesn't allow for governing process which democrats complained about last year when president obama put up, the nominee, supreme court nominee garland. melissa: jessica, naral for example, democrats failed to demonstrate strong, unified resistance to the nominee despite the fact he is ultraconservative jurist who will undermined our basic freedom and threaten the independence of federal judiciary, we need to you do better. a call to action even though the aba gave him the highest score ever and they're non-partisan.

>> got confirmed by a voice vote 99-0. this is someone i think will absolutely get through. we don't have numbers to stop any of this. we've had this conversation before, melissa about the secretaries confirmations as well. we're not in the majority. we can't win these battles. what we need to do is question hard, to push people on important issues especially with the supreme court nominee but at the end of the day, conservatives got to pick. we didn't get merrick garland. we can debate whether it was fair or right they stalled 10 months in the end with merrick garland confirmation hearings. we actually, i don't think could have done much better than getting donald trump to pick neil gorsuch out of this. melissa: giano, the other alternative to go nuclear. that would make the next time around probably a pick would be even more dramatic you would think for the republican. >> i mean. i actually agree with jessica's assessment there but one thing democrat could do if they really wanted to try something which i don't think would work, only 52 republicans in senate.

if democrats withheld their vote or at least eight not voted for this particular nominee that is when they would try to push it and filibuster and that would be problematic. senator mitch mcconnell according to president trump he should change the rules to be simple majority. that is not looking like it is going to happen. at this particular point this is probably the best nominee that any democrat could hope for. somebody who is not political in nature. someone who appears just in favor the law. >> giano. that is a stretch. melissa: panel will be right back. we hear you. you object. it is on record. >> this is serious objection. melissa: hang on, hang on. you guys will be back. connell. connell: approach the before. we'll go to lou will, kentucky, because they're gearing up for president's rally. ahead of the big vote on thursday and jeff flock is there, standing by what looks like some might say it was a

tough day for the president on his capitol hill hearings. looks like quite a festive atmosphere where you are, jeff. reporter: i'll tell you, connell, you talk about that, that poll that showed the president negative job approval ratings? i'll tell you, we thought maybe at the rallies there would be less enthusiasm. maybe you hear god bless america. maybe you see the trump unity bridge. i submit to you, that people, covering their hearts here with the music plays, there is more excitement out here about president trump than there was about candidate trump based on my experience out on the campaign trail. you're right here in kentucky. this will be about health care. mitch mcconnell will be here with the president later today. he put an op-ed in the louisville journal courier, just a -- he said we can't sit on our hands and hope obamacare will improve. it is a failed law says mitch mcconnell. in our state premiums are rising

by as much as 41% this year alone. the president expected to echo that in kentucky. for example, there is 120 counties. half of them have only one option in obamacare. fair and balanced as we look at this crowd, take a look at this crowd up here, they stretch as far as you can see all the way around to the beginning and opening of freedom hall. fair and balanced. a half million people additional covered now in kentucky as a result of obamacare. that reduced the uncovered population from about 20% of the people in kentucky to 7%. so, obviously still some concerns out there but i'll tell you, as he leave you with a picture, i don't think the enthusiasm among the base here has eroded in any way, connell. connell: that is the point, jeff, as they say hello to us out there, even with lower approval ratings you could argue that the president's base is if anything more fired up. we'll cover the rally on this

network with lou dobbs. he will have coverage and analysis of the president's speech this evening beginning at 7:00 p.m. eastern. melissa: mourning the loss of a legend. banker and philanthropist david rockefeller, of the famed rockefeller family who also controlled chase manhattan bank more than a decade. he died at his home in new york. he was 101 years old. he was the last surviving grandson of john d. rockefeller who is of course the tycoon who founded standard oil and america's very first billionaire. connell: rising tensions with north korea, how the country's responding to the latest warnings from the white house. ♪ >> we continue to be concerned with north korea's activities. that's why not only have we continued to have conversations with officials in japan and south korea, but continue to urge china to step in. at bp's cooper river plant, employees take safety personally - down to each piece of equipment,

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connell: tensions with north korea on the rise with the test of this new rocket engine for its intercontinental ballistic missile system. north korea calling that test, a great leap forward. president trump weighing with this. >> that leader of north korea is acting very, very badly. thank you, folks. connell: acting very, very badly. former deputy assistant for national affairs, vice president stephen yates is joining from us washington. thank you, sir. we know based on what secretary tillerson said there is new approach to dealing with north korea in place. we know to some extent what north korea makes of that. what are the ramifications of that changing relationship do you think. >> at the beginning of an administration there is recap of things not resolved with the previous administration.

north korea is one of the challenges three two-term administrations failed to change the trajectory on. secretary tillerson pushing the chinese government in private on things they could do more to try to influence north korea's behavior, is part one of a two step process of president of china coming to meet with president trump in mar-a-lago. it is the beginning of an exploration where trump administration policy would go. they know a long list of things that hasn't worked to date. connell: among those diplomacy. era of strategic patience talked about last week. just from a practical point of view, how close do you know, or how close do you think north korea is having the capability, talking about this intercontinental ballistic missile, having a missile like that that could reach the continental u.s., say, for example? how far along are they? >> well, one thing that has been true over the last couple of decades, that they are always further ahead than our estimates. and, for such a back water country in some different ways

they have acquired some of the world's most dangerous weapons. they really don't have to have that kind of intercontinental ballistic missile reach to do terrible things. the proliferation market is extremely dangerous. nuclear-capable devices are a great threat. we are deep in a problem already. we had a cold peace last few years. connell: we're in an era it is on the table as the secretary said last week? everything is on the table that we seriously consider the possibility at least some sort of a military conflict with north korea might be in our future? >> i think that is the only honest approach to take. we have to consider the fact that our allies could be hit, we could be hit. this north korean leader is more dangerous and un predictable than his father was and his grandfather before him. he already assassinated his own uncle and his own brother. he is doing more missile tests. this is a more volatile situation than we've seen. connell: thank you for joining

us, stephen yates. appreciate it. >> thank you. connell: melissa. melissa: calling for an apology, democratic senator chuck schumer's new demand for the president. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪

melissa: pushing for an apology. senator chuck schumer calling on president trump to apologize after saying former president obama wiretapped trump tower. senator schumer saying, president trump owes the american people and president obama more than just an explanation but an apology. he should admit he was wrong. stop the outlandish tweets and get to work on behalf of the country. the panel is back. jessica, wouldn't chuck schumer be so sad in donald trump stopped the outlandish tweets? >> we all would be. we would probably be a lot safer but it would be more dull having these conversations. >> honestly, it gives him, there

is always a tweet that results in a sideshow story. at any one period in time there is an outrage story going on that is reaction to a tweet. >> or a main show story. we probably wouldn't have heard from director comey today actually had donald trump not made the wiretapping accusation in the first place, in terms of testifying. obviously the investigation would have gone on and continued behind the scenes. melissa: okay. >> he definitely came forward because of that. chuck schumer, apology from donald trump is total pipe-dream. it keeps the narrative going. melissa: gianno, let's go down the road. jessica says we wouldn't talk about the wiretapping today. the stand alone headline, fbi is investigating whether there is possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia. so, i don't know, maybe this is a very clever strategy on trump's part. >> perhaps it was strategic. i'm not sure if that was intention. i don't think he should apologize but i think he should fest up. at this point you're making

unverified claims based on an article which might have been based in fact or not but making him look ridiculous and his presidency quite frankly look ridiculous. putting people like me and other conservatives to defend him on tangible items he deserve defending, look ridiculous to even be having these conversations. i'm glad -- administration. melissa: we all think it is ridiculous but, i don't know about the idea of sending people down a ridiculous road may feet a group of people think that people talking about the ridiculousness are ridiculous. mainstream media and rest of the congress who is sitting there talking about this idea of wire tapping in quotes, what does it really mean? >> is it microwave. >> he he is president of the united states. i think when he says something it he deserves gravitas and people should think about what he says and believe it as fact. if you're saying things that are unconfirmed, that put as lot of people in a bad spot. >> it is beyond unconfirmed, gianno.

melissa: he is trying to draw attention, i'm being the devil's advocate here, he is drawing attention to the conversations were leaked no one should have heard unless someone was listening in. >> those deserve merit. but that is separate issue. >> we saw in the comey hearing that the juxtaposition where republicans only want to talk about the leaks. and democrats only want to talk about the wiretapping claims. in truth we have to have the same conversation about both things. melissa: which will never happen. >> not even on this panel. melissa: you guys are great. thanks. connell: talk about jeff bezos and a high-tech puppet? melissa: huh? connell: don't worry about it. coming up in just a moment. hello? ♪

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>> ceos new best friend amazon jeff bezos manning a 13-foot robot in front of a crowd at the company's exclusive conference. >> appears to be enjoying

himself while manning the giant bot. >> that is actually pretty cool. >> alien film reference. no comment from the robot, however. >> wow. that was pretty cool. >> it was kind of cool. >> all right. risk and reward starts right now. liz: president trump about to depart the white house on another major speech on health care, this time in louisville, kentucky tonight. this after fbi director james comey hammered on the hill today over trump tower wiretap claims and russia's meddling in the election. plus the supreme court nominee neil gorsuch giving his opening statement. we will bring you what's breaking in all three of these stories tonight. welcome to risk and reward i'm liz macdonald in for deirdre bolton. first up, president trump to leave the white house where health care is expected to