we'd love to hear it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. good evening everybody our top stories. the president declaring victory over isis. complete withdrawal of troops from syria. the american military presence in syria about 2000 of our service members most of them, special operations, deployed in the war torn country. in ordering the troop withdrawal, president trump is making good on his campaign promise. to focus on defeating isis and not allow our forces to go to war against syria, itself. the president vowed to never

engage in nationbuilding were trying to force western-style democracy on foreign adversaries. esther trump educating voters on the falling of past presidents in their middle east misadventures.>> we went from mistakes in iraq to egypt, to libya, to president obama has line in the sand in syria. each of these actions have helped to throw the region into chaos. and give isis the space it needs to grow and prosper. very bad. it all began with a dangerous idea that we could make western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interest in becoming a western democracy. lou: the president ordered to withdraw the troops almost immediate, with howls and apposition from those in his

own democratic party. we are joined by christian -- and the white house vows to solve our border crisis without congressional support or involvement if necessary and of course, without right congressional opposition. we take up the presence fight for border security, congressman jim jordan is among our guests tonight. also a clear rebuke to fed chairman jerome powell 's economy killing monetary policy. the fed today ignoring the presidents warnings to not raise interest rates. and raise rates of course, he did. sparking a major selloff. how big a selloff? almost 800 point reversal in the dow. then the fed chair, audaciously claimed he is guiding the economy with a steady hand. >> i think that the run of the

balance sheet has been smooth. and has served its purpose.i do not see us changing that and i do think that we will continue to use monetary policy which is a rate policy is the active tool. lou: to analyze all of this means for working men and women, our middle-class, our small business and big business. with us tonight, chief economist, bill lee, s&p portfolio manager, aaron biggs. the trump administration making plans immediately withdraw the 2000 u.s. troops stationed in syria.after reports surfaced this morning about the possibility of withdrawal, president trump appeared to elude to those reports and suggest they were correct. he tweeted this. we are defeated isis in syria. my only reason for being there during the trump presidency. the presidents decision catching republican hawks off guard leaving them desperate in their efforts to oppose the

presidents decision. >> decision to withdraw american, american presence in syria is a colossal in my mind, mistake. a great error. quite severe it is. by pulling 2200 out in northeastern syria, it is going to boost isis ability to come back. >> a total quagmire but possible to make it even worse and that will my concern. >> is caught everyone off guard. i am doubt there's anyone in the republican closet in the senate that just is not stunned. this makes what obama did, in iraq, replicating that and in many ways it is even worse. lou: we will knock into details about how it could be worse. because it is a lot of melodrama and hyperbole in the remarks. perhaps the president, and both

chambers of commerce should instead look at executing with the american people and leave decisions of what to do in the armed services to the commander-in-chief.just last hour, the president released a video. praising the sacrifice of our soldiers who lost their lives and commending the work of the troops. >> we have won against isis. we have beaten them and we had beaten them badly. we have taken back the land and and i would is time for our troops to come back home. these are great heroes of the world because they fought for us. but they have killed isis who hurts the world. so our boys, our young women, our men, they are all coming back. and they are coming back now. lou: joining us now, a former state department senior advisor in the trump and george w. bush initiation. good to see you, christian. let's start with first, your

reaction to the president ordering an immediate withdrawal without much of a run to prepare anyone declaring straightforward really isis is done and so is our presence in northeastern syria.>> president trump did absolutely the right thing. you are completely correct. isis is defeated as an organized military political force. of course, there will be some stragglers, they were japanese holdouts coming out of the jungle two decades after that ended. holding significant territory in syria, iraq. isis is kaput. he is right to pull out because why give your opponents, we have seen this earlier, chester frankly create a lot of unjust fear. by pulling out the president also has the ability to focus on where the real threats are in the world that we face like china. not cowboys and indians in the middle east. >> certainly concerns in this

hemisphere that this president will have to deal with over the course of the next six years. let's turn to the preparation that the president made for everyone. he started with the campaign for president in which he said, it is going to be smart government, smart foreign policy. he is not going to follow the misadventures of previous presidents. and he is -- simply deploy for permanent station, our forces. everyone had plenty of notice and should they have bothered for the intent in foreign policy and in the use of the u.s. military. >> it is still shocking to me that people are shocked the president does what he said he would do. and again in this case with nationbuilding and the present went through a list of nearly complete failure in the military has done very well in the tasks assigned to appear remove the taliban from power

and removing saddam hussein. but in nationbuilding we been a terrible failure at that. the president made that clear in the campaign and he is fulfilling a pledge. very important. so you can focus the military on what it does best and where it needs to be. lou: and are you struck though even knowing now, you know that the protocols of the washington swamp, that we would see rinos and neocons with the removal of 2000 trucks is all they would alter the future of the entire middle east. it is stunning even by the relatively low standards and expectations we attached to them. >> yet, it is just outrageous. saying also, if you want to keep u.s. forces in syria after the cobblestone mission of defeating isis, it is tremendous accrual. all we do is prolong the syrian

civil war. it's been going on for nearly 8 years.hundreds of thousands of people dead. aside is a tyrant, evil and a bad guy. but unlike the people who, the neocons would have us fighting for, aside can control his country and they are believe it or not, much worse things than assad. lou: and as you focus as you suggest on the powers that represent their greatest geo-military threat to this country, certainly china, certainly russia. to continue in the middle east, what you think about the president suggestion, intimation really only inference on my part that we need to bring our forces home whether it be germany, whether it be the united kingdom. japan, south korea. we need to stand down in a lot of places. where this country is hefting the bill and running great risk. >> i did not infer wholesale but you are seeing an ongoing

process, realignment. it has been a long time since 9/11 and what made sense in a year or two or three or four after that, no longer may make sense a decade and and a half later. certainly nato is obsolete if you look at the original mission. the idea of repositioning some of these forces and cutting back on billions and billions. i don't really know what we are trying to accomplish in iraq and afghanistan. and what we think we will accomplish in another year or two that we have not in 17 years. but realigning forces, pushing her allies.whether they be european, getting japan as it has agreed to spend more on its military and do more and change, converts a military to a more defensive posture, if you will. these are things donald trump has accomplished. lou: you can sense his frustration as he has to control the european members of nato to pay their fair share. as we spend our treasure protecting them. you can tell that that is not

going to last much longer. christian whiton, as always, good to have you with us. >> thanks lou. lou: the federal reserve raised short-term interest rates 1/4 point per the target range 2 1/4, 2 and a half percent. the four decisions that preceded it seem to be enough. the president said as much. and the fed chairman well, ignored his warning. the markets sold off and sold off strongly. the dow jones industrial after an 800 point swing, down 352 points. s&p 500 fell 39. the nasdaq down 147. in raising rates, the fed may well be contributing to the onset of the next recession. something the chairman powell does not seem to have the tools to fight. the milken institute chief economist, bill lee, and a portfolio manager, harry gibbs joined us later to take up the feds decision, the effect on markets and most importantly,

you and me. also ahead, the radical left and their cohorts in the left-wing national media have all but written off the presidents border wall. >> it makes absolutely no sense to build a wall which is limited in its effectiveness. >> the president is becoming increasingly aware the fact that the wall will not be billed. he will not have the funding for this. >> a better use of the money would be on technology. what i like to call the smart wall. >> they will be very unified house democrats are not giving trump any portable funding. >> president trump is decided to go to american taxpayers in order to get $5 billion right now for his wall. >> there just appetite for that in the house of representatives or the senate. >> this is the last best chance to get big funding for that wall. and it's over. >> the wall, they cannot agree

to throw in the towel it's over. >> we will take all of the appear to talk with congressman jim jordan but up next, a day after dressing michael flynn, a federal judge has ruled against asylum restrictions from the trump administration. charlie heard and jessica von join us after the break. the federal judiciary is starting to be very suspect i guess is the nice word. we will take it up right after these quick messages. these quick messages. as a parent, these quick messages. your life is your child.

with luke, he's just, he's the whole world you know. he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and it just rips your heart out. you feel completely helpless. but when you come to st. jude, that is a whole other level of care. you have cutting edge scientific research here, doctors at the top of their game, and there's nothing but love in everything that they do. i asked my wife, i was like what is this going to cost us? and then we did a little bit of research and then we realized that no family ever receives a bill. st. jude covers the cost of everything so that we could focus on our family. st. jude gave our family the chance to be together. they saved our son's life, and we did not pay a cent. and that wouldn't have been possible without st. jude. lou: a day after an outrageous

courtroom demonstration, and delaying the former national security advisor, michael flynn 's sentencing for a fifth time, the judge has ruled against the trump administration asylum policies today. the judge in making the rulings of the trump administration policies are quote - arbitrary, capricious and in violation of u.s. immigration laws. he wanted the government to bring back asylum-seekers who had been deported and retry their cases. the justice department says, it will appeal. joining us tonight, charlie heard,, good to see you, charlie. and jessica vaughn, director

policy at the center for immigration studies. good to see you, jessica. let's start with, judge selling said, the asylum rules and deportations are in violation of u.s. immigration laws. are they? >> no. they are not. under our law, people can qualify for asylum if they can show that they have been or have a reasonable fear of being persecuted for their political opinion, their race, their creed, citizenship or a few other factors. these have been gradually expanded in past years sometimes by the rulings of judges. and former attorney general jeff sessions, try to bring us back to adhering to the law because of this rush of asylum-seekers and our border. which has gone up exponentially and part also because of the catch and release policies. but this is really, absurd to think that anybody who simply claims to be a victim of

violence or having witnessed gang violence or a victim of domestic abuse can come here and get asylum. that is not with the lower intended or what it says. lou: your thoughts on this because nowhere are activists more visible it seems and energetic then when it comes to immigration law and border security and they seem to have a very high opinion of their ability to set executive policy. >> no kidding. and of course, the president has been fighting that fight admirably in terms of trying to drain the judiciary swamp of judicial activists.but it does underscore he faces enemies on the american agenda. this is like an 80/20 issue. the american agenda of establishing and maintaining a

border with mexico. the president runs against republicans here in washington runs against democrats in washington and of course, runs against judges all over appear they are set up to defeat this guy at every turn. it was the issue that got him elected and the issue that would get him reelected if he is able to do the unimaginable, the insurmountable and that is, get the wall built on the southern border. lou: your thoughts for the freedom caucus, they are trying hard to come up with alternatives. so that the president can have his wall as i understand it, to seek house approval and move forward. and then run into the senate. your thoughts about their efforts and what you think will work. >> well, i think is a good move. i think the freedom caucus is really in touch with what americans want to see happen. you want to have border security and also they are in

sync with the president. it is sort of a hail mary pass but it is a good move because it may be the last hope of getting language on this appropriations bill to provide resources for the wall and also to fix the asylum system. it is another huge thing of what they're trying to do and it would do the trick i think, and if they can get that in front of the president, and surely he would sign it. whether or not the senate will approve it is a different story but this is last chance to get something like this done. it is not a silver bullet for all of our immigration problems but it would go long time to solving the immediate crisis of the border. and it needs to happen and it's a good thing they are trying. at least somebody is trying on this. lou: charlie, you have -- i just want to get your reaction to the continued opposition. even in these final hours of his lame-duck and rather lame career, paul ryan. fighting the president all the way on this.

the establishment, democratic and republican. radical dimms, rinos. fighting the president on border security and dealing with immigration crisis.where do we -- where does he turn now? >> i would argue that the president and his first midterm election, did not suffer nearly as badly as obviously a lot of presidents have before and in their first midterm but i would also say that he could have done a whole lot better.he would've had a lot more victories if republicans in congress had adopted the trump agenda and carried out the trump agenda when it came to fixing illegal immigration. at the southern border. this is not an issue -- lou: do you think they know that now?>> absolutely! these are people that are incapable of learning any lesson whatsoever about anything. especially when it comes to illegal immigration. and if they carried out the

agenda -- this is not a republican based agenda issue. this is a base issue for both parties. this is something that, the problem is a democratic party is now been taken over by this crazy leftist wing that believes that i.c.e. agents are criminals. and sanctuary cities, they believe there should not be a border and they want to give america a way. lou: and they don't apparently, give much of a hoot about who they give it to. >> no! lou: jessica vaughan and charles hurt, thank you. i appreciate you being here. be sure to vote in our pool tonight. you support the president's withdrawal of troops from syria? cast your vote on twitter, @loudobbs follow me on twitter @loudobbs. like me on facebook and follow me on instagram @loudobbstonight. next, congress continues to stall on monday for the president's border wall. congressman jim jordan blaming republican leadership. he joins us right after the

lou: breaking news tonight, funding for the president's border wall could be delayed until next year. the senate has yet to vote on the mitch mcconnell proposed short-term funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown. this friday. the bill does not include funding for the border wall. but both nancy pelosi and chuck schumer say, they would support the measure if approved by congress in the president the bill would fund the government through february 8 then the dance begins all anew. our next guest here to take up these issues, and the efforts in the house, tonight to include an amendment that would include border wall funding. congressman jim jordan joins us serving on both judiciary and oversight committees. cofounder of the influential house freedom caucus. congressman, great to have you with us. let's start with the efforts to fund the wall after all. >> no, we've got to do. the idea will happen next you and nancy pelosi is running the house, i mean i just don't see how it does.

so we have to get it done now. the freedom caucus will offer two minutes in the rules committee tomorrow. mom was a 5 billion for the border security wall. put on this bill now. the other one was a let's reform, our asylum laws, we've seen the whole caravan play out over the next several months -- the less of monster their way to solve the problem is change asylum laws.those two things are good commonsense policy. more portly policies we told the american people we would do when they give us the privilege to come here and serve. lou: no one has to tell you that you are leadership, the president and freedom caucus, every step of the way, is there any possibility that they would relent? >> here's the frustrating thing. back in march i did the big omnibus bill, that pass will vote against it they said don't worry we will do in september. then september they said don't worry we will get the wall funding on december 7. then december 7 they say no, don't worry we will get on december

21st and a short-term bill. here we are a couple of days and we still don't have it done. and guess what? there's a way to minute, now february 8. we cannot do that. we have got to stand firm. everyone knows this is the right policy. let's get it done now. while we still have the majority. i fail to see the logic of kicking the can down the road again and i know the american people. they certainly don't understand that. lou: you call it taking the can down the road. i call it downright lying. your leadership has been lying to the hallway. >> i think -- actually what we should have done instead of taking a six day weekend, we should've passed it last week. right after the president in the oval office told congresswoman pelosi when she said mr. president, we need to negotiate this in a closed-door session. when he said no nancy this is a good thing it is called transparency, we need to border security wall now. as well should've put on the floor. we had 219 members are less repair democrats had over 200

members here. i think we could have got it done last week but even if we could not get it done right away, and people back on monday. let's get it done early this week so we can make the case, have the argument and debate taking place. then going to the senate with pressure there to do what we told the american people we were going to do. lou: the one fella keeping his promises is president trump. and it's going to be interesting to see how he fulfills those promises. because the american people elected him to do just that. as you have observed for your conference, throughout this year. if they been listening to jim jordan, the conference might not have sustained as many grievance losses. >> we lost 40 seats. we would have only lost 22, if we won 18 of the 40. look at the closest margins in the first 18 seats, the closest races, it was only about 60,000 votes total over the 18 congressional districts.

maybe if we built a border security wall maybe we would have won the seats and stayed in majority. lou: your leadership, hadn't been such damn fools and fought the president and instead, allied with him, think what marvels could have occurred. let me turn to elijah cummings. the incoming oversight committee chairman.issuing 51 letters to the heads of various government agencies, white house, the trump organization. i mean this is a bulrush well underway. >> yeah, we knew this was coming. remember, elijah had 64 subpoenas that he wanted to send this congress. 64 different things. so maybe the letters deal with what the subpoenas were about. he cannot issue subpoenas at because he is not the chairman. so this is where it's headed. and we will have to focus on one simple thing. getting to the truth. about all of the issues. given the truth the american people. i think if we do that we will be just fine. we need to be ready for this but our job is the truth, our

job is to hold government accountable and proper oversight in a way that is truthful, factual and fair. lou: and you did not say just like the republicans did over the last two years. >> well, we push hard on some issues but frankly, we could've pushed a lot harder particularly fbi and doj issue where as you know we talked about a lot where they put one research document just enough to a secret course they could spy on the trump campaign. we still got answers we had to get to his key questions in that whole scandal. lou: quickly, we do not even get to the news of the day. that is of course loretta lynch appearing before your committee. can you give us your -- >> didn't learn much. we did not learn a whole lot, lou. frankly, she didn't know a lot. we cannot really go into details until the transcript goes public but lots of times she just didn't know about key players and the whole russia investigation. lou: have to tell you i'm a little concerned as a taxpayer. we are electing a lot of folks and paying for a lot of government employees who have

some of the worst memories i've ever encountered. there may be something in the water there in washington. maybe it is the air, i don't know. >> i think in this situation it was a lot more with jim, he was up to. remember, he's all about jim call me. i think he did not follow the rules and summary situations. i think it was more of comey holding information controlling things versus loretta lynch is not being that involved. [female narrator] sexual harassment doesn't just happen at work, it happens in housing... every day. if an apartment manager refuses to make repairs unless you go on a date, that's a violation of the fair housing act and is against the law. [room noise] if a maintenance staff person repeatedly confronts you

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lou: on wall street stocks closed lower. it was a huge selloff. all of the major index at 52-week lows. the dow fell 352 points tonight at its lowest point of the year. the s&p down 39, nasdaq down 147. crude oil off, if the fed is watching a little reminder, it dropped four percent today. $48 a barrel. i can understand they are just a main concern about inflation. in the face of plummeting prices. gold lost half a percent, silver and copper relatively flat. the fed ignoring the presidents clear warning. raising interest rates by 1/4 point to a range of 2 1/4 to 2

and a half percent. the seventh rate hike in the trump presidency. and a reminder to listen to my reports three times a day coast-to-coast on the sale and radio network. joining us now to make sense of what was a very, very difficult day on wall street. chief economist at the milliken institute, bill lee. and equity portfolio manager, standard and poor's investment advisory services. good to have you both here. let's start with the market didn't seem to take too much with the quarter-point move but then, when jerome powell started talking. the market said, the hell with you. and sold off. what do you think? >> yeah, i think he really didn't sell explaining what normalization is and why there only -- it is complex but i think the messaging was really

unclear in wall street how this temper tantrum of, we want growth and we don't understand what we are getting less rate hikes. >> and jerome powell acknowledging that they are looking at 2.3 percent growth after 3 1/2. that doesn't exactly set the baseline for interest rates hikes. does it? >> lou, chair completely slumped the message. the message was we want to lower trajectory and lower terminal interest rate of where we are targeting. and we are lowering the forecast of inflation and yet somehow he said, we are on autopilot with the balance sheet and we are, going to be on autopilot the way we were before. the autopilot messaging just overwhelmed the real message which is, we are listening to you and we are actually lowering trajectory of rates. the message got completely lost and i'm so surprised that the

chair came in and became a model supporter. lou: he became a model supporter and actually, model bound. as he talks about unwinding in the face of rising water next year. this is entirely the wrong attitude for any fed chairman to take. i kept asking as i listen to him, where is janet yelling when we need her -- janet yellen when we need her? >> the over brief. all of the numbers he had in economic protections and everything was prepared for him to deliver the right message but he somehow flubbed it.and went to the old janet yellen message. >> and he got to more detailed questions later in the press conference. he was certainly prepared and but then it was just, he clearly kept going back to the

word normalization.and not fully explain what that meant. and i think that is where he really missed on the messaging. lou: i think both of you think this is about the messenger. and who could have used you know, something more in the way of training. but i am afraid it is the message. the messages that in the face of weakening signals from nearly every quarter of the economy, certainly lower prices. $4 trillion escape the equities market over the course of this tumble. and suddenly, suddenly we are supposed to righteously accept that more constriction is the perfect answer for declining prices. bill, what do you think? i mean this, it looks like the odds are far more in favor of disinflation than anything approaching inflation. >> absolute. and the statement that was issued set him up for that. because the biggest addition,

normally they change one or two words but this time they put in the committee judges, continues to monitor global economic financial additions and assess the implications for the economic outlook. that is essentially telling the markets, we are worried about the growth and inflation because of global conditions and a slowdown in the chinese and european economies. lou: let me ask you for everyone watching, including bill and myself, what are we supposed to do here as investors? i mean, this has been rugged, raw and absolutely, terrifying i'm sure to a lot of people. to see these indexes and these prices across every sector just sellout. >> i think actually, i would actually refer to some of the statement that he did make. things are still good for economically, the ice is still on track for gdp growth. and they do have more

flexibility -- lou: i see that but what -- >> we try to reassure investors look, this guy -- the sky is not falling. lou: indexes are! [laughter] >> there is deftly greater volatility but there are a lot of things in play. it is not just interest rates. there is a lot of uncertainty being pushed into the market particularly around tariffs. it's also making this increase volatility. we say, stay your course and one thing we're looking at is a good year ahead for 2019. lou: i probably ought to quit right there with errands message. but bill, i will give you last word quickly. >> i think the market should reflect on what he said and count that and look at what this material actually gave him. they are ready to ease, they are ready to pause in the trajectory of hikes and they are actually looking at the data. that is the message the market

should take tomorrow and if they do, the markets will recover. lou: bill, thank you so much, good to have you with us. erin, appreciate it. thank you both. up next, communist china continues to spread influence over across the globe. we would say where they are looking. we are coming right back. place, the xfinity xfi gateway.

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criticizing the presidents space command today as a weaponization of space. while china continues its push into the western hemisphere. new reports show beijing tried to enter the arctic circle as well. and bid on a number of new airports in greenland. any successful bid would give them well, something called proximity to an american airbase on the very same place. jeff flake blocked and it is his third time trying to detect special counsel robert mueller who as far as we can see, requires none.but he is trying to protect a bill that would protect the mueller witchhunt. took a man who was just in tune with the spirit of the country. today majority leader mitch mcconnell put an end to his

attempted subversion simply saying, i object. mcconnell is a man of great patience. flake has just 15 days left in office. i believe ryan has about 11. something like that. the left-wing media continuing its assault on decorum in the white house briefing room. fellow by the name of andrew fienberg shouting at secretary sarah sanders as she walked away from the podium at the conclusion of the briefing. >> i will talk to you soon, thank you. >> this is your job sarah! lou: well, they complain when she doesn't hold a briefing. they are unprofessional when she does. and there you have it. we will be talking with attorneys victoria tensing and go -- i joined the army after 911,

cuz, um, i thought that was what i needed to do. we got our orders to go overseas and i went to baghdad, iraq. we were transporting a bomb sniffing dog to the polling stations. we rolled over two anti-tank mines, it blew my humvee up, killed my sergeant. after the explosion, i suffered a closed head injury, um, traumatic brain injury, loss of a limb, burns to 60% of my body. when the doctors told me i reached my plateau, i did not want to hear that

because i do not believe i have a plateau. so, i had to prove 'em wrong, which i am doing to this day and i will still do until the end of my days. i've gotten to where i am at because of my family. and, the wounded warrior project has helped me more than i can ever imagine. they have really been there to support me in my endeavors. my number one goal, basically, is to get close to where i was. i am more than ready to work hard to get to that goal. i am living proof to never give up and i will never give up. ♪look into my eyes ♪you will see ♪what you mean to me

♪don't tell me it's not worth trying for♪ ♪you know it's true ♪everything i do ♪i do it for you ♪yeah, i would fight for you♪ ♪i'd lie for you ♪walk the wire for you ♪yeah, i'd die for you ♪you know it's true ♪everything i do ♪i do it for you

lou: joined me now victoria tensing former deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal division of the justice department. and a former u.s. attorney for the district of columbia. founding partners of -- law firm. ? debbie both here. victoria let's start with the

antics of judge sullivan today. and, your reaction to his words and his conduct and what, what are your thoughts? >> bizarre is the only way i can describe it. this is not the judge sullivan that we know who has decorum in the courtroom. this is another judge sullivan who took the prosecution to task for their horrible debacle with the judge stevens case and even had a special lawyer come in to examine misconduct by the justice department.this was weird! just plain, i have been doing federal law for three decades i've never seen anything so bizarre and asking about treason, he showed a lack of sophistication and with that kind of word would do in the press but also, a lack of knowledge of the law. why would he --

lou: does this work to the advantage of general flynn and his attorneys? his behavior is outrageous! >> i don't know, lou, whether it works or not. it is a body blow to flynn today. a terrible thing from a human standpoint. it was outrageous what the judge did. here's what the judge should have done. the record in this case establishes the totality of the evidence should shock the conscience of the court and the court should invoke due process and dismiss the case for government misconduct. this is not even a close case. the question judge should have asked today, were of the prosecution team, mr. mueller. are you aware that there was a meeting in the white house on january 5 with the president of the united states, obama, the vice president, mr. comey, sally yates and ben rhodes and susan rice? and they were discussing what to do about general flynn.

and then susan rice on january 20, it's an email to the record saying, the president said if we're going to investigate him, it has got to be done by the book. well guess what? right after that meeting, that is when sally yates floats the logan act as the flynn violation which is exactly why the agents went to the white house on january 27. this was a frame up from day one. that is what the judge should have asked questions about. >> and lou, can i follow-up about that? this whole thing started with a leak to the "washington post" by columnist, david ignatius. who is really for the democratic party. he does that and then, in that week, the prisoner committed two crimes by telling him about the fact of the conversation with kislyak and then that was michael flynn, which was unmasking and leaking. the person also gave him the tidbit about the logan act.

you do not think that ignatius knew that on his own. putting up the logan act in that column then allows sally yates and the justice department to say my goodness, this is what we have to investigate. lou: but it is space. and absurdity and insult. to say they are prosecuting under the logan act because it is on prosecutable. and secondly, their conduct with general flynn, this poor man has been -- i mean, the judge basically tried to got this man today. instead of defend him. as a defendant in front of the awesome power of federal prosecutors. i mean it is outrageous! >> that is exactly right, lou. and it is precisely why the judge missed a golden opportunity to at least inquire of the government about its conduct. the missing text messages, failure to produce the original three o2 in the notes.

failure to doevidentiary disclosures. this was the most bizarre judicial proceedings . the judgment after the wrong people. lou: he went -- he became part of the mueller witchhunt. >> unbelievable! lou: and it seems to me, that the president who has been calling this a witchhunt from the outset, we can call it lots of things. but what it isn't, is a responsible, nonpartisan investigation and prosecution. it can only have one purpose. and that is to attack the administration.it is a group of radical dimms assembled under the special counsel rubric. and attacking this president from every corner. why can't it be stopped? that is my question. >> it was designed to get flynn to get at trump. it was all part of the plot to frame the president of the united states and to take him down. the president needs a new

attorney general, bill barr so he can take control and supervise what's going on. and if necessary, end it. >> good night from new york. me. i hope santa treats you well. >> from the fox studios in new york city, this is maria bartiromo's "wall street." maria: happy weekend. happy holidays, everybody. welcome to the program that analyzes the week that was and helps position you for the week ahead. i'm maria bartiromo. coming up, jon hilsenrath is here, also the ceo of eli lilly, dave ricks joining us. later in the program, my all-star panel gazes into their crystal balls to tell us what they think will be the big market stories of 2019. but first, the federal reserve hiking interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point on wednesday while signaling it could raise rates two more times in 2019 despite pressure from es