conduct these transactions. one almost always needs to participate in the financial market and we intend to enforce sanctions. we don't lay out sanctions we don't have any intention of encouraging countries to cooperate with. with respect to -- i will leave others to talk about the details of what the saudis and emiratis have agreed to. i have had conversations with these countries and they have committed to making sure there's sufficient supply in the markets. i'm confident that we will achieve that. i'm confident that they will support this policy that is consistent with their objectives as well. one more? go ahead, sir. reporter: thank you. very quickly -- you could stay all day. >> have to get to the easter egg roll. reporter: you said you are at zero level today. is that effective today? >> may 2nd. the current waivers expire on

midnight, may 1st. reporter: they're not getting any grace period beyond may 2nd? >> there are no sre waivers that extend beyond that period, full stop. reporter: in the interim, they need to look at other sources? >> look, we have always tried, and i think we have always been very fair about this. there's a particular transaction that is incidental, i don't want to foreclose the possibility, but there will be no waivers that extend beyond the 1st of may. thank you all very much. yeah, sure. reporter: do you think [ inaudible ] says anything about the dangers isis continues to pose? >> radical islamic terror remains a threat. the president has been very clear about that. i think i've been very clear about that. we are continuing to do real work against these evil human beings that went into places of

worship on easter sunday. yeah. we've taken that threat down substantially. the destruction of the caliphate was important and it mattered, and the take-down of these threats from other geographies as well but sadly, this evil exists in the world and the united states and all of its partners that are cooperating in the de-isis campaign, some 80 countries and other nations, too, that are assisting us in defeating this terrorism around the world, we have to remain active and vigilant. it's going to require attention. there's no doubt about that. thank you all very much. thank you. have a great day. stuart: good morning to everyone. this is monday morning, april 22nd. you just heard there from secretary of state mike pompeo. here's my conclusion. here it comes. $3 gallon. i think it looks like it. secretary of state pompeo trying to reduce iran's oil exports to

zero. that restricts supply, that's pushing the price of oil to, what, $65.40 a barrel. that is the high of the year. and that has pushed the average price of regular gas to $2.84 with five western states already above $3, and california is at $4. we are going to be moving up immediately i would suspect to $3 a gallon as a national average. all right. what a way to start the week and what a huge big week -- huge big -- what a big week it's going to be. okay. wednesday or thursday, we will get profit reports from microsoft, facebook and amazon. that will set the market tone. those companies are key to the whole market. their stocks have been moving up as we head toward their official results. they are all down a fraction today. midweek, joe biden expected to announce his run for the presidency. was going to be wednesday, might now be thursday. today, a divided democrat party holds a conference call to

decide what to do about the mueller no collusion report. impeach, investigate forever, just run on the issues? speaker pelosi will try for a unified approach. there are probably going to be leaks from that conference call. we will find out pretty soon exactly what has been decided, if anything. quickly, the markets. this monday morning, a loss for the dow industrials, maybe 100 points down, and a significant loss for the nasdaq. that's going to be down about a half percentage point. really, the market's in wait and see mode. that's what it's all about, profits so far this earnings season up 6% from a year ago. not the 2% decline that was expected. the dreadful and frankly, outrageous bombing of churches in sri lanka on easter sunday. the country's health minister says an islamic group did it, and the country's prime minister says there was some warning which apparently went unheeded. what a day.

"varney & company" is about to begin. stuart: all right. the price of oil this morning trading now around $65 a barrel. secretary of state pompeo just moments ago announced the end of waivers for iran's oil export. don't do it is basically what he's saying. liz and ashley, i think we are going to see prices of gas go straight up from here. liz: it's been going nine straight weeks up. nearly half a dozen states, $3. the uae and saudi arabia countries are going to say yes, we are going to supply more oil into the market as the administration moves to zero out iranian exports, again, committed to pumping to replace. so the push to zero out, china, turkey and india thought they were going to get waivers. they are not. three other countries have already zeroed out iranian

imports. taiwan, italy and greece. stuart: may 2nd i think is the deadline. ashley: correct. stuart: reimposed, you can't buy iranian oil after may 2nd. ashley: it will be interesting to see the response from india and china, how much are they going to comply. as lizzie says, saudi arabia will make up the difference. stuart: that's the top market news of the morning. the price of oil, up $1.30, $65 a barrel. okay. how about this. a rather uncomfortable scene on easter sunday for special counsel robert mueller. watch this. >> let me ask you a couple questions. will you testify before congress, sir? >> [ inaudible ]. >> you sure about that, sir? if he were anybody but the president, would mr. trump be indicted, sir? >> sir, why didn't you make a recommendation to congress one way or the other?

>> did the attorney general accurately characterize your positions on conspiracy and obstruction, sir? ashley: wow. stuart: easter sunday? the man just walked out of church on easter sunday. he's got a microphone stuffed in his face. larry o'connor is with us, "washington times" associate editor. i thought that was absolutely appalling. >> i think most people observing would say it's appalling. you're right, it is a huge big week. you shouldn't have corrected that. i will be here every morning if you need me. listen, i think this kind of behavior validates what president trump has been saying for the last three years about the behavior of the american media. if you look at this line of questioning from this reporter, he's basically begging him please, mr. mueller, validate all of the bad reporting we have been doing for the last couple of years here, because they have really wanted everything to be true. where's the reporter chasing barack obama or hillary clinton down at their easter sunday service saying what did you know about the justice department spying on trump, did you pay for this, did you approve it.

no one's asking those questions. they want to keep hitting their same story about trump which now we know is not true. stuart: real fast, 30 seconds, that democratic party totally divided on the issue of what to do about the mueller report. i don't think they can come to a firm conclusion. they've got no unity. 20 seconds. >> steny hoyer, one of the elder statesmen, says impeachment is off the table. this last election where they did pretty well, they didn't win on policy or the economy or national security or even health care. they won on hating trump. that's all they've got. i think they are going to keep doubling down on it. there is so much fatigue in this country, most voters are down. stuart: thank you for joining us. it is a very big, huge week. look at futures. big huge day. we are down 90 points at the opening bell, down about 38 for the nasdaq. it's a down day, not huge, but down this morning. flat sales, but profit triples at halliburton.

the stock is up 3% at $32. kimberley-clark make more than diapers. the stock is up 3%. nice gain there. only, what, about 16% of the s&p 500 have reported their profits thus far this season but it's been a strong showing. profits up 6% from last year. overall, they were expected, you see on the screen, supposed to be down 2% but no, we are up 6%. scott martin. scott, greetings, young man. i'm looking forward to facebook, amazon, microsoft. what do you see in those three reports because that's going to set the tone for the whole market. >> i agree. basically, i think we are going to see a lot of things from those great companies. i mean, the great thing about

the stocks you mentioned, i would also mix in, too, boeing and caterpillar which are coming out. great thing about those stocks, you have a little bit of tech, some retail, some industrial with those companies mentioned. the fact we have so much mixed into this week so if you are a big tech investor you are interesting in facebook and microsoft but if you like retail, you can go to amazon. amazon has a little tech player as well. to me it's watching all these companies but specifically for us as we own facebook and amazon very heavily, those are the two we're watching closely. stuart: i expect good solid profits from all three. ten seconds. you agree with me? >> i agree 100%. i think if any of them pull back, by the way, on disappointing earning news, this is a chance to use your cash to get in. stuart: interesting. scott martin, thanks for joining us. see you again real soon. let me wrap it up this monday morning. how are we going to open? we are going to have a drop, not huge, but down about 90 points for the dow industrials. now this. more yellow vest protests in france over the weekend.

despite calls for calm from the president there, this follows the notre dame fire. some of these protesters are not happy about the big money that's being donated to rebuild the cathedral. they think it's taking money away from their cause so they are rioting. france. more legal troubles for former nissan chief carlos ghosn, just indicted on new charges of misappropriating company funds. judge napolitano will be with us. i want to talk to him about the extremely harsh treatment that accused people receive in japan. a setback for spacex. they are testing a capsule that will carry humans into space. didn't go as planned, blew up during an engine test at cape canaveral. full details on that coming up. big week. here we go. ♪♪ ♪♪

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stuart: the terror attacks in sri lanka, that's what they were, terror attacks, 290 dead. the latest, ash? ashley: we have 13 people arrested, believed to be

connected to a local radical islamic group who preach terrorist islamic ideology. this was very coordinated. six of the bombs going off essentially at the same time, a hotel in colombo, the country's capital, also targeted which is popular with foreign visitors. there is a sense and a belief that this may have been done with the help from outside sri lanka, that other groups may have helped coordinate this with that radical group within sri lanka. also, there was a warning out there about this. intelligence agencies said be prepared, now there are questions of why those warnings were ignored. stuart: to be clear, the health minister of sri lanka says it was an islamic group which did this? ashley: yes. 13 arrests from that group so far. stuart: thanks, ash. let's get to the mueller report. some democrats still talking about impeachment. joining us, criminal defense attorney caroline polici, who represents george papadopolous.

does president trump face any legal liability at this point? legal liability? >> well, it's a very good question. obviously now this investigation has pivoted from a legal inquiry now that we have the results of the report to a completely political one. that does not mean that people will not say there is still the potential for legal exposure from the president. there were some pretty nuanced phrases in the mueller report indicating that perhaps were the president not to win the next election, the statute of limitations is still on the table in terms of an obstruction of justice charge. that's down the road. but the short answer is that no, there will be no criminal indictments obviously for a criminal conspiracy. there will be no criminal indictments for obstruction of justice in the near term. so this now is a completely political question. stuart: can you take us back, you represent george papadopolous. can you take us way back to the

beginning and tell us anything about how this thing got started in the first place? because inquiring minds want to know. >> they do. we will likely know a lot more come may, june, when bob barr -- bill barr, excuse me, said that the inspector general's report is going to come out. michael horowitz is conducting an investigation into that very question. but the leaks that have come out thus far indicate the narrative is that this all started in the summer of 2016 in may, apparently the narrative goes when my client, george papadopolous, told alexander downer, an australian diplomat, in a london bar, that the russians had dirt on hillary clinton and thereafter, when the e-mails started coming out, the story goes, alexander downer alerted american intelligence. that's when the counterintelligence investigation started, right. what people don't necessarily understand is this started as a counterintelligence investigation. it only morphed into the criminal inquiry when mueller was appointed, on the firing of james comey.

stuart: i would simply like to know what did president obama know about the ongoing spying operation into a competitor's political presidential campaign. >> that, we have no idea and that, we will have to wait for the ig report. stuart: will we find out, do you think? >> i think we likely will. stuart: will we find out what hillary was doing? >> unclear on that question. i think it will be a fulsome report. michael horowitz's reputation is as good as that of bob mueller so he's not going to be, you know, his findings are not going to be political. that's the point of an ig. the point is not to have a political inquiry into the doj but a real nonpartisan. stuart: seems to me we have gone through a sea change here. it was all russia, russia, russia. it was mueller, mueller, mueller. collusion, collusion, collusion. all the way down the line. now i sense a turning of the page and we are really more interested now, at least i am, in obama, clinton, mccabe, comey, how did this thing get

started, what were they up to. am i right? >> well, you are. i don't know specifically if congress is. stuart: no, they're not. >> we still have a lot more questions that are unanswered. certainly when bill barr is going to testify. but i'm most excited to hear bob mueller testify. i was pleasantly surprised that barr stated that he had no reservations with mueller testifying before congress, because that's a huge deal. if this were a huge coverup, if this were barr trying to take the reins from mueller, i don't think he would be as inclined to have mueller testify. stuart: you have been right in the middle of this, haven't you? >> i just call it like i see it. stuart: i know you have. you don't watch television, do you? >> i don't. it's a dirty little secret of mine. stuart: the most watched business network and you are not helping me. >> i'm not helping you. i know it's the most watched. stuart: you are terrific. >> thanks for having me. stuart: thank you for joining us. really appreciate it.

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stuart: the price of oil is the market mover this morning. $65 a barrel. mike pompeo says no more iranian oil exports after may 2nd, clamping down on that. but look, ash, liz, there is a shortage of oil. liz: yeah. because of libya unrest and venezuelan unrest. stuart: what's happening in libya? liz: civil war is breaking out so there is concerns there. the uae and saudi arabia is going to step in. assi stuart: okay. ashley: there is a squeeze on oil right now. the saudi arabians and uae can make up the shortfall. stuart: $3 a gallon gas. that's my prediction. we'll be right back. heading into retirement you want to follow your passions rather than worry about how to pay for long-term care.

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stuart: okay. watch this, everybody. that's a shanghai parking lot. there you go. that caught fire. we have not been able to authenticate this tape yet but that's what we've got. liz, seems to me like the camera moved a fraction just as the fire started, as if they were focusing on it. liz: that's a good point. this went viral on chinese social media, parking lot in shanghai. wall street analysts are saying this will not have an impact on

tesla sales into china, as china is moving full bore into electric vehicles. stuart: there's other news that accounts for the stock price decline this morning. i don't think it's that fire right there. not authenticated by us yet. it is -- here we go, 9:30 eastern time, monday morning. we are off and running. remember, we are coming off a three-day weekend here. the market was closed on good friday. we have opened lower. the very early going, we are down 84, 85, 83. okay. let's leave it at that. down one-third of 1% for the dow in the early going. how about the s&p 500? that is down a quarter of 1%. show me the nasdaq, please. that is down one-third of 1%. we are down across the board. it's not a dramatic loss but we are down. so far, this reporting season, 16% of the s&p 500 have reported and so far, profits are up 6% from last year. not the expected down 2%. maybe that's a factor. come in, jeff sica, keith fitz,

liz macdonald, ashley webster. monday morning, here we go. profits are up 6% as opposed to being down 2%. isn't that good, jeff? >> it's very good. it's very good. but again, what we're looking at, we are looking at the future and the future, we want to know what the ceos are saying about the future. we are seeing a very tight labor market which some of the ceos are saying is going to affect profits in the future and margins are compressing. i think if we get a resolution to the trade war, we are going to move forward. but if we don't, we are going to have a setback. stuart: keith, let's get straight to you. profits up 6%, not down 2%. i call that good. what say you? >> i say two thumbs up on that one. i love this. profits have a funny way of actually bringing money to your pocket. this is a very good development, in my opinion. stuart: glad to hear it. all right.

let's move on. we've got three of the biggest of big technology companies reporting earnings this week. i think facebook, microsoft on wednesday, amazon thursday. in advance of that, we've got facebook very close to $180 again, fractional loss for microsoft, fractional loss for amazon. keith, what do you expect from these three tech companies? strong numbers? >> i think from amazon and microsoft, for sure. facebook, i'm less certain about. but i don't like that company anyway because of the legal pressure it's under. i want to see zuckerberg move to the sidelines. if that happens, i expect facebook to really skyrocket. but absent that, no. stuart: the one stock you consistently like is amazon. still like it at $1800 a share? >> i do like amazon. i think they will show that they are getting more subscriptions. things are moving forward for them. i also like microsoft. i think microsoft needs to hit those 90% growth markets in

their cloud features and if they do, i think it's going to help them -- stuart: do you think putting mark zuckerberg on the sidelines does anything to prevent the regulation of the industry and facebook in particular? that's the issue. that will hurt their bottom line. that's changing their business model. if they change the business model, that really hurts them. >> right. stuart: the market doesn't think they will change the business model. what have you got, keith? >> i don't think so. respectfully, i think that's a great point but zuckerberg is the problem. he's missing in action. he hasn't taken ownership for any of the faux pas facebook has committed. if he gets to the sidelines, they can get down -- liz: it's a brand credibility issue. stuart: we will find out wednesday or thursday, where the big techs are. check the big board in the very early going monday morning. we are down 78 points. 26,480 is where we are. flat profits -- i'm sorry, flat sales but profits tripled at halliburton. they were up 3%, now just a

fractional gain, about 1% higher. look at kimberly-cloosark. they are making more money because they are charging more for diapers and whathave you. they are up 4%. a change at the top of kraft-heinz. they are switching their ceos. the market likes it. up 1.33% at $33. we are up at $65 a barrel after secretary of state pompeo ended waivers for iranian oil exports. jeff, look, to me, this is not about the price of oil. it's about the future price of gas. i see $3 a gallon coming. what say you? >> i think so. i think to remove these sanctions makes it pretty obvious that even from a psychological perspective, we are going to see oil prices move up, gas prices move up. whether or not it affects the consumer remains to be seen. but it's certainly going to happen. stuart: $3 gas, keith, what do you say? >> i think that's probably likely. i would also say that's probably likely for a very short period

of time. we will see compensating output from here, we will see compensating output from the rest of opec. liz: we have a gdp reading coming friday. we don't know if this will hit the economy. the atlanta fed model, which is notoriously volatile, saying 2.8% for first quarter gdp. they were at 0.3% march 1st. stuart: maybe the first quarter wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. if you get 2%, almost 3% growth in the first quarter of the year, that's a gigantic number. everyone was expecting a recession or dip. okay. let's take a look at boeing. the "new york times" claims quote, shoddy production at the dream dreamliner factory in south carolina. the stock is down just 1% on that, down four bucks at $375. you know, i was expecting a boeing bounceback but the bad news keeps on coming. >> it keeps on coming. it's more resilient than i thought it would be, but here you have mechanics working on the planes actually coming

forward and being burdened by the fact there's issues with these planes. that's a big, big deal to me. i think they should be paid attention to. i think that boeing has got to clarify this, because on the one hand, you have the company saying they have everything under control and then you have the people actually doing the work that are concerned. ashley: did you read that article over the weekend? stuart: no. ashley: it should be pointed out a lot of people saying this were disgruntled ex-employees. however, the fact they are saying i don't know, these planes are not what they should be as they go out of the factory and are being put into the air. stuart: the market is reacting with a 1% loss for boeinboeing. back to tesla for a moment. as we showed you, one of their cars caught fire in a shanghai parking lot. but the real news on tesla which will affect the markets is they will focus today on their new autonomous robot car taxi fleet.

maybe that's a mask that they are covering up a distraction from the slow demand for the model 3, because that stock is down 2%, $267. keith, what do you say? >> i think the stock ought to be $100 below where it is now. they are focusing on the future. this is like an old-fashioned shell game you see on the corner in new york. they are trying to distract you with here, we have more interesting stuff but in fact, we have delivery problems, quality problems, lawsuit problems, got a ceo who is in discussions with the s.e.c. there's a lot of issues here. stuart: jeff? >> i'm going to one-up keith and say it should be down $200. i think the reality of this is now they are coming out, it's the most predictable thing for tesla is when they have bad news, they come out with a distraction, something that seems so great and so incredible that ultimately ends up to be nothing. elon musk has not come off of his predictions on his production numbers. he's sticking with his predictions.

when he had the dismal quarter of last year. and i think people have to consider we are dealing with the most disingenuous, deceptive ceo for a public company in america today. i think that should be an issue. stuart: okay. $267 on tesla as we speak. the "wall street journal" reports that the money is rolling in at huawei. it's racked up -- is racking up contracts for 5g technology. you know, i'm told american technology companies are behind in the race for 5g. is that accurate, keith? >> well, you know, i can say anecdotally when i travel around the world, my u.s. cell phone is the slowest thing i encounter. i inevitably switch to a local phone when i go somewhere. i think that speaks volumes about the state of u.s. carriers. stuart: we don't want to lose the 5g race. liz: it's difficult, telecomes like verizon trying to push out 5g but don't have the hardware yet to keep up. that's an issue. >> the u.s. government is

concerned about huawei having the chinese technology will compromise intellectual property. that's why we have been slow to it. but we need to ramp up because they are making -- they have leaps and bounds ahead of us now. if we don't catch up, they will leave us in the dust. stuart: the critique is that we, america, in our 5g quest, we are using old technology. china is using much more brand new technology with a broader spectrum. >> right. and will they use that to spy? stuart: that's the question. inevitably. 9:40, have to say good-bye to the two gentlemen. good stuff, monday morning. now we are down 65 points, one-quarter of 1%. trouble for alexandria ocasio-cortez. new reports that a big heavy-duty mystery donor is lining up big money for her challengers. full details coming up on that

story. we are going to update you on something we brought you last week. reports that the folding screen on samsung's $2,000 galaxy fold phone breaking shortly after light use. samsung has canceled a big event launch in china. we're on it. elizabeth holmes, founder of the defunct company theranos accused of fraud. ja judge napolitano has details. stay there, please.

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are down just 50. 26,500 is where we are. now charges brought against carlos ghosn. remember, he's had a really rough time of it with the authorities in japan. can't talk to his family. he spent a very long time in solitary confinement. no visitors. all rise, judge napolitano is here. this is extremely harsh treatment for anyone, isn't it? >> this is the third time he's been arrested. each time he gets arrested and gets bailed out, he spends a week or two in a relatively confined environment in an apartment monitored 24/7, then they burst in at 5:30 in the morning and arrest him again. this is so harsh, this is pre-conviction, obviously, that i can't imagine an american businessman wanted in japan would ever be extradited there because this is so alien to our basic principles of due process. this is a system of punish first, try later. it's almost as bad as china.

stuart: that is -- surely that interferes with our trading relationship with japan and with china. >> yes, it does. the decision to prosecute and the decision to make charges is so subjective, it's almost as if the people that hate him in the companies he once ran have puppet strings on the prosecutors. stuart: what do you say to the prospect that nissan, where mr. ghosn was the ceo, he was in charge of it, japanese people didn't like an outsider taking control and running a japanese company? >> you know, i don't know japanese politics that well, but i do know that prosecutors have extraordinary authority to please certain interest groups and they can exercise that authority piecemeal. for example, here, if the government has evidence of criminal behavior, the entire controversy doctrine requires that everything be brought to

court all at once. not as soon as you're bailed out, you get charged again, as soon as you're bailed out, you get charged again. when will this end? so they are able to exercise a form of, if you will, debilitating psychological torture to wear you down, to break into your house at 5:30 in the morning, to rough up your wife, to take her mobile devices away from her, then lock you away literally in a windowless room for two weeks before you can even talk to your lawyers. stuart: that's harsh indeed. i didn't know it was that bad. >> yes, it does. stuart: that is a form of psychological torture. >> that is the system. it gets 99.9% convictions. stuart: so if you are accused, you're done. >> forget it. which is the reason why i really think american courts would hesitate to, notwithstanding -- because their procedures are so contrary to basic due process as we understand it here, that american courts will be reluctant to expose an american

to that. stuart: i take it all back. >> why? stuart: lawyers are absolutely wonderful people. >> what did you eat over easter? stuart: humble pie. i want to talk to you about the theranos case. elizabeth holmes is back in court today. do we get a start date for the trial? >> i think we will. the evidence of her guilt is very, very strong. the government's allegations are very, very severe. this was a grand, colossal fraud involving hundreds of millions of dollars of misleading investors, misleading people who had blood tests taken, misleading doctors, misleading patients. you know, they claimed that with a tiny little drop of blood, they could perform tests that ordinarily require a full vial. they duped walgreens into entering into an agreement with this.

walgreens is suing them because of that. this fraud was going on for years and years during the course of which they were using somebody else's equipment and it was producing false positives because it wasn't enough blood. stuart: if there is a guilty, yes or no, elizabeth holmes is ruined. >> i would think so. stuart: she's ruined anyway. >> yes, as is her colleague and i think boyfriend but also co-founder of the company. stuart: a story of ruin, basically. >> yes. stuart: in america. >> not only is she ruined, investors are ruined who relied on their utter detriment and total loss upon her rather fantastic misrepresentations. stuart: where is that documentary? ashley: netflix. you've got to watch it. remarkable. stuart: wow. >> she's entitled to a fair trial but i must tell you, the evidence of her guilt is overwhelming. stuart: judge napolitano, thank you. president trump tweeting about oil. saudi arabia and other opec will more than make up the oil flow

difference in our now full sanctions on iranian oil. iran is being given very bad advice by john kerry and people who helped lead the u.s. into the very bad iran nuclear deal. big violation of logan act. well, the price of oil is still at $65 a barrel despite the president's tweet. check the dow 30. we have come all the way back. we were down 100, now down just 36. 26,500 is where we are. more chaos in paris over the weekend. those yellow vest protestors, they took to the streets again. 23rd weekend in a row, i think. clashed with police, not happy about all the money that was pledged by the wealthy people of france to help rebuild notre dame. what a story. more "varney" after this. who's idea was this? ♪ ♪

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stuart: happening now, the trump organization is suing to block those financial subpoenas. blake burman at the white house, blake, who exactly is being sued? reporter: two individuals and one corporation. the two individuals being elijah cummings, of course, who is the top democrat on the house oversight committee, also a man by the name of peter kenney, who is the chief investigative counsel of the house oversight committee, and the company being sued here is mazars, the

accounting firm for president trump. let me just sort of read from the complaint here briefly. it sums up the argument for president trump and the trump organization. it says quote, chairman cummings' subpoenas are bizarre, lack a legitimate legislative purpose. there is no possible legislation at the end of this tunnel. indeed, the chairman does not claim otherwise. with this subpoena, the house oversight committee is instead assuming the powers of the department of justice investigating dubious and partisan allegations of illegal conduct by private individuals outside of government. it is a 14-page complaint here, but the basis of it, stuart, is they say the democrats are waging an all-out political war on the president and saying that subpoenas are the quote unquote, weapon of their choice. bit of a punch-back from the president and the trump organization. stuart: surely it is going to court. blake burman, thank you. president trump tweeting on impeachment moments ago. quote, only high crimes and

misdemeanors can lead to impeachment. there were no crimes by me, no collusion, no obstruction, so you can't impeach. it was the democrats who committed the crimes, not your republican president. tables are finally turning on the witch hunt. next case. remember the ballyhoo over samsung's folding phone. now samsung is canceling its china launch event. susan li at the new york exchange, tell me more about this. susan: remember last week we talked about the bad press, from early reviewers of the marquee $2,000 folding phones. tech reviewers ripped off what they said was a protective cover or hinges. a lot of reviewers reported the foldable phone worked for them but in light of the bad press, samsung canceling two events that were scheduled for this week, one in hong kong on tuesday, one in shanghai on wednesday. this is important because china is the world's largest smartphone market, at least by units sold, and samsung, if you

are right now in a pivotal point in your company's trajectory, especially with declines of shipments by 8% last year compared to 5% drop for the rest of the industry, and you want a phone that really showcases your advancement in technology, this is obviously not a good look for samsung right now and hopefully they will review these events and have something soon. back to you. stuart: point taken. thank you. yellow vest protesters set fires in paris to remind the government, as they put it, that notre dame is not the government's only problem. okay. they want the money spent elsewhere, i guess. ashley: they are very upset. more than $1 billion has come in from french tycoons to help rebuild notre dame. stuart: what's wrong with that? ashley: it's wealth inequality. what about us, they're crying? that's money we could use to help the privileged few whereas the rest of them are having a hard time making ends meet. this is the 23rd weekend of protests. here's what they are doing. they ultimately wanted to go to notre dame to do their protest.

of course, the police pushed them aside, very upset and miffed all this money is being spent on the cathedral. liz: they are wildly wrong because all the money that's needed to rebuild notre dame is necessary to attract tourism to help the local economy grow. now the government has to shell out money because public property was burned. that's less money for them in their public programs that they want, right? stuart: in the words of monty python, there's no pleasing some people. ashley: no, there isn't. stuart: rich people coming up with hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild and it's not going to them so they oppose it. ashley: exactly right. stuart: please. i digress. the democrats hopelessly stymied, hopelessly split. one wing of the party pushing for impeachment. another wants to investigate the president for anything and everything. and i believe there are some moderates who just want to run on the issues and forget about impeachment. i've not seen many of them these days, however, and i don't think any of these three groups have a

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like me. ♪ stuart: turns out the mueller report was a bombshell that dropped on the democrats. what do they do now? they staked it all on donald j. trump being a russian agent. well, he is not. what's next? having made fantastical claims, which turned out to be that, just fantasy, what is the plan? the truth is the democrats and presidential candidates are not unified. anybody but. they don't know what to do. they are split. i think they're divided into three groups. one is impeachment brigade. they're making a lot of noise, trump hating base, aoc, rashida tlaib, green demand it. the second group i call the investigate everything people.

they're not sure there is grounds for impeachment, so they're looking for dirt to slime the president. surely there is something in his taxes or his businesses or his family or something to bring him down. this is the endless investigation crowd. they assume that voters will approve the tearing down of the trump presidency. they assume it is their road to winning the white house. there is a third group, which wants to run on issues like health care. we haven't heard much from them, but who knows what joe biden will say, when as expected he gets into the race. here's my opinion, none of these groups has a viable strategy. group one, impeach him, ridiculous. even if it passed the house it would never get 2/3 support in the senate. group two, slime him. serious miscalculation. in my judgment america is not ready to remove a president because some politicians don't like him. group three, run on the issues. okay, but are the democrats sure that is an election winner? with a booming economy, energy

independence, rising wages and full employment, the democrats will have a hard time showing that they can do better. there you have it. a party split by the very report that was supposed to bring hate trump unity. just wait till the summer when we get the full story of hillary and her supporters, what they were up to during the election. there will be some unity, among republicans. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ . stuart: back to my editorial in a moment. very important numbers for the real estate business. existing home sales. ashley: down in march, declined in march. weaker demand despite lower interest rates annualized rate of 5.21 million. that is down almost 5% from february. now february was a very strong number. february had the largest,

biggest monthly gain in four years. year-over-year up 11% but all regions in the united states saw a decline in sales and sales for the market is definitely underperforming when you think of strength in the jobs market. this was not a great number after such a blowout number in february, demand or declining sales in march for the existing homes, 90% of the housing market. so it is a very important number. stuart: it is. i'm surprised. i have got to say. you and i have been reporting, liz, we've been reporting mortgage rates come down, just above 4% for the 30-year fixed. homes coming on the market. not selling. ashley: median price up 4%, 259,400. prices are going up. stuart: prices are going up. sales coming down despite lower mortgage rates. 259.400 is the median price. ashley: up nearly 4%

year-over-year. stuart: that is sizable number, 259,000. thanks very much, ash. back to my editorial where i was saying the democrats in my opinion are hopelessly split. come in liz harrington, rnc spokesperson. liz what is your response to the calls for impeachment? >> they're grasping at anything and conspiracy theory that never happened because like you said the democrat party is split. they have a civil war on their hands. radicals are winning. they're pushing them to socialist ideas they have embraced like socialized health care and kicking 200 million americans off their insurance. throwing out the electoral college. packing the supreme court. and this green new deal that is really just government central planning that would take over every aspect of your life. so of course you have radicals calling for impeachment. they can't run on basis of economy. they can't run on failure of their ideas with obamacare. they can't run on the booming

economy and wages, deregulation and defeating isis. so of course they will grasp at this because all they have left. stuart: well, they have to the left these financial documents, taxes, president taxes, president's business dealings, relationships with families, financial relationship, that kind of thing. this morning, as you know, president, white house, announced the, trying to block the subpoenas for these financial documents. i guess that's the president's response. slow it to the courts, make it a legal battle once again? >> this is another fishing expedition. they came up short on collusion for two years they cried that the president was somehow working with russia and the election victory was tainted. we had this sprawling two-year investigation. $35 million and what did they find? nothing. so now, they have to move on, because in their eyes the president was guilty -- and had to prove his innocence.

now they're looking for another non-commit tent crime. because they completely fell up short on the russia hoax. stuart: i think if it foes to the courts, it just becomes a legal splitting of hairs, who gets what to see when, why, i don't think the public is very interested in that. let me ask you about joe biden. supposed to announce his candidacy this week. who would president trump go up against, joe biden, suppose moderate or bernie sanders. >> i think he is willing to go up against anyone. i'm not sure if biden figured out is he running yet. what is his record of accomplishment? is it obamacare where premiums doubled. he was supposed to be a foreign policy guy. what is the record on russia? this think choked on the 2016 election? continue barack obama's flexibility with the kremlin, when he colluded with medvedev on a hot mic?

socialist bernie sanders or moderate biden who is really embracing all the radical ideas also. stuart: i will quote you, he would easily take joe biden. >> absolutely. what is his record? what is his record? he has nothing to run on. stuart: virtues of videotape, liz. it will not come back to haunt you necessarily. >> no. i think he will be fine, liz, thank you for joining us. >> you bet. stuart: we have to concentrate on the price of oil this morning. it is above $65 a barrel. first time we've been to that level since november? why is this happening? secretary of state mike pompeo announced no exemptions on iranian oil exports. in other words they want to bring it down to zero as of may the 2nd. no more exports of iranian oil. that takes supply off the market, the price goes up. look at this, the price of gasoline keeps going up. we're at 2.84, the national average of regular right now.

we want to bring in dennis gartman. dennis, i think this means 3-dollar gas fairly soon. is that a big negative for you as an investor? >> certainly it is going to happen. we would have had 3-dollar gasoline depending upon, predicated where crude oil prices were thursday and friday last week. they're up another buck 1/2. they will to up to $3 quickly than people anticipate. i don't think you reach a consequential level until you get to $4 national. $3 in california and many western states. shall we get to $4, that i have great buck, me too. i can see three bucks. i don't know that i see four. you've been on the program many times. you don't like technology. you don't invest on anything if drops on your foot it hurts you i understand that. however, i bring to your attention pinterest and zoom. they went straight up last week

after they started publicly trading. you, do you have ever get worried about missing out on technology and all the wonderful gains? no? >> no. i really don't. i wish everybody else who does it and invests in them i wish them very well. god bless them. maybe they will all turn into another amazon but it is beyond my kin, stuart. it is, i have learned after 45 years being in the business, try to think about the things that you know something about, i clearly know nothing about technology. i still have a hard time booting up my computer in the morning, having to write my newsletter at 1:00. i will leave it to other people younger than i or smarter than i. stuart: so do i. i'm not younger than you. i'm older than you, actually. and i, have real trouble with computers, but it didn't stop me investing in microsoft 20 years ago because i perceived it to be a good investment that would never go to zero. that is what i got in for.

>> well, well-done, stuart. i missed it. the same thing i will miss can that is b i don't believe in cannabis. i think it's a silly idea. i think it is dangerous. i will leave that alone. let me talk about steel, let me talk about crude oil. let me talk about natural gas and let me talk about the things i've gone up with and do better. i've done fine this year i will continue to do fine. i think people that understand technology, even those like yourself, you understand the trend, bless you. stuart: you sound like a young warren buffett. that, sir, is a compliment. thanks, bottom it. >> thanks for having me on. stuart: check the big board. we're down 60. that is one quarter of 1%. look at haliburton, sales were flat, yet but the profit tripled. we started out with a nice gain for halliburton but that has been pared down to a 11-cent gain. i am can -- kimberly clark

making more money. they have pricing power. the market loves that. nearly $8 higher, kimberly clark. that's a rally. to the crisis on the border. no slowdown to migrants heading north. charter buses literally dropping them off at the border, walk across the border and claim asylum. we'll talk to an edgent on the front lines. we want to know how many people are detained each week, each day. it was 1000 a day. is it still. a new poll shows the mueller report may have put a dent in president trump's approval rating. will the drop be short-lived? we'll tackle that very important question. big news in the gaming world, the newest "mortal kombat," the game comes out this week. "mortal kombat" brought the rating system for the videogame industry because it was so

violent. there is a new version. ♪

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stuart: going to update a story brought you last hour. samsung, they're canceling a big event in china meant to launch that folding screen because there have been reports that the screen broke after just light use. now there are reports that samsung will be delaying the launch of that phone in america as well. supposed to go on sale april 26th. the launch might be bushed back until may. big trouble with a folding phone. stop and shop, the grocery store chain, they reached an agreement with those striking workers. what did they get? ashley: they got higher pay. they got continued health coverage at level they wanted, pension benefits guaranteed. talking about 31,000 associates. this strike hit massachusetts, connecticut, rhode island.

it lasted 11 days. an agreement has been put in place. pension benefits for all eligible associates and higher pay. they got what they wanted it. stuart: all right. the latest version of "mortal kombat," videogame, "mortal kombat," new version comes out this week. remember please, it was one of the very first violent videogames. because of "mortal kombat," the original, we have the videogame rating system we use today. we have "gamer world news" entertainment host. is it possible that people buy this game and play it for the shock value, the blood, the gore? is that why they're buying it? >> yeah, it is shocking gore that you're mentioning in the game, especially the fatalities are something of a gimmick. it was there in the original "mortal kombat" game. these days, most of the time when people buy "mortal kombat" game they buy it for the fantastic story it presents. of all the games in the fighting

game genre, "mortal kombat" can best tell a compelling story with characters that people enjoy. stuart: what do you mean, tell a story? i think -- i have not played the games. i have got the controller and firing at somebody, taking hit from somebody. i thought that is what it was all about. what is the story you're talking about? >> okay, so back in the day the original "mortal kombat" games were very simple games to develop. the first "mortal kombat" game only took 10 months t was basically a pure fighting game. you beat up all the opponents and beat the final boss that was pretty much it. because the technology advanced so far these aaa gaming titles telecom pelling story. doesn't matter which genre you're playing even fighting games have story mode. "mortal kombat" 11 runs two hours. it is like a major motion picture. stuart: will it sell to the tune of billion dollars first couple

weeks? >> i don't know about billion dollars. the last "mortal kombat" game, "mortal kombat" x sold 10 million units. you can expect to see comparable sales if not better. stuart: i'm told this week marks the 30th anniversary of the gameboy. i do remember that you probably don't, but i do. it had a tiny monochrome screen. could only play basic games. this had huge effect. this opened up the world of handheld gaming, didn't isn't. >> the gameboy was significant in different ways. made mobile gaming popular. mobile gaming had $2.62 billion in revenue. the original version sold 119 million copies. that makes it the third best-selling console all time, next to playstation 2, nintendo-ds. it ended up becoming cultural icon.

it had incredible game, at the time truss, the arguably the great cyber weapon russia deployed, caused lost productivity hours and made gameboy incredibly popular. it made developers want to make more for it. stuart: is that how you got your start? >> funny i never owned a gameboy. everyone of my friends had a gameboy. i definitely had a lot of experience on the platform. stuart: 20 seconds, what is the favorite game you play now? >> the favorite game i play now, star craft ii. it is like three d chess. it is part of a genre dying out. i like to think -- stuart: how many hours do you play a day. >> probably, not very much anymore. probably couple hours a week. yeah, times are changing. i'm a busy man. stuart: yes you are, you're making money. you're a doctor as well. i understand that. >> yeah. stuart: you're a busy guy, thanks for spending time with us today, appreciate it.

>> my pleasure, stuart. stuart: there is growing controversy in the world of sports. the yankees dropping kate smith's rendition of god bless america. nhl hockey team, they're removing the statue of the singer. they taped it up and moving it. why are they doing it? ashley: philadelphia flyers. stuart: we'll get to that after the break. jumped the gun everybody. my mistake. ♪

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stuart: fairly consistent all morning. modest loss for the dow. down 70 points, just under

26,500. it philadelphia flyers have removed the statue of kate smith. she is best known for herren digs of god bless america. the statue wrapped up and gone. ashley: they will no longer play herren digs of "god bless america." this goes back to song she sang in the 1930's, with racist language. at the time it was considered satire. today it would not be considered satire but racist. because of that the philadelphia flyers are taking down the statue and will no longer play herren digs. stuart: that seems drastic to me, go back to the 1930s, we can't use the statue, can't use her voice, can't use herren digs because after song she sang. ashley: it originated back in 1931 on a review show on broadway. stuart: that was the song she sang. ashley: it was considered by today's standards racist out.

stuart: all right. we'll discuss later. disney "avengers: endgame," the name of this thing, a movie of course. it hads theaters this weekend, next weekend i should say. it could be the biggest opening weekend of all time. liz: it is already crashing ticket buying sites at fandango. show times by the thousands across the country already sold out. they're looking $300 million domestic opening. potential worldwide 750 million. it would beat out "avengers: infinity war" last year. disney having a great month. that is the big story, the endgame. stuart: 300 million. ashley: that theranos documentary was on hbo. i assumed it was on netflix. i checked, it was on hbo. anybody interested in that story has to watch the documentary. stuart: i shall i think i got hbo. i think i believe i pay for it. say that again, jeff?

disney's stock, now at 131, up 20% this calendar year. liz: wow. stuart: that is rally and a 1/2. how about that. then there is this. alexandria ocasio-cortez is feeling some hit a mystery donor preparing to fork over a lot of money to challenger had in 2020. the mainstream media relentless in its drive to slime the president in mueller report. msnbc accosted mueller as he came out of church on easter sunday. i call that a disgrace. we're on it next. ♪ -driverless cars... -all ground personnel... ...or trips to mars.

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♪ stuart: yes of course. john lennon at his most exciting. here you go, sports fans. you don't remember this, this was a great song. >> i do know the song. i may not have been there when it first came out. stuart: but i like it. check the big board. we're holding on to a very small decline for the dow, 50 points lower. the dow right at 26,500. by the way we have three of the most, huge tech companies coming out with earnings this week. i say that word deliberately. facebook, microsoft, amazon. they report earnings on wednesday and thursday. and, all of them, as we walk up to it, all of them are up. look at microsoft. close to 124. ashley: you giggle. stuart: sorry about that. this is no giggling matter, look at this. an msnbc reporter confronted

robert mueller as he was leaving easter sunday services. you got to watch this. roll it, please. >> could i ask you a couple questions? will you testify before congress, sir? >> no comment. >> are you sure about that, sir? >> no comment. >> if he were anybody but the president would mr. trump be indicted, sir? >> now that you, now thaw finished the -- >> sir, why didn't you make a recommendation to congress one way or the other? >> are you going on vacation? >> did the attorney general accurately characterize your positions on obstruction, sir? stuart: i am astonished at that quite frankly. come on in howard kurtz, media buzz host. howard, any way you slice it, that is a disgrace, am i right or am i right? >> i'm cringing. those are the two choices. you're right. look, whatever you think about robert mueller he has made clear he has no desire to speak in public. hasn't said a public word

throughout the entire investigation or when the report came out. he may have to testify obviously on capitol hill. to accost the guy coming out of church on easter sunday and fire questions at him, there is zero chance he will answer any of them. you make yourself look bad. reason 762 why people can't stand the media. stuart: this will not stop them. they're so fully invested in collusion. now we have no collusion, they just can't let it to. i would expect to see more of this, because, the media is so deep into this, they can't let go. again, am i right or am i right? >> what's fascinating here is that the media lionized bob mueller. he is up standing, no-nonsense g man who will ride into town and expose all the corruption in the trump white house and perhaps end the trump presidency. the report comes out. he doesn't do that. says there is no collusion. doesn't make a recommendation on

obstruction of justice. although there is damaging material. media, what does that guy know, of course he should have brought charges. they're overruling him. there should be impeachment. there should be indictment despite the fact their guy es -- chose not to bring any charges. stuart: what will the media do when the inspector general report cops out detailing how this thing got started, what hillary, fbi, doj what they were up to back in 2016? what will be the media's response to that? >> they will be forced to cover it. if there are findings of serious wrongdoing or questionable conduct, just out of sheer embarassment they will have to focus on the story. you mentioned the collusion thing, stuart, how quickly media moved on from collusion to questions of potential or possible obstruction. two year obsession, collusion, collusion, russia, the whole genesis of the investigation.

once that was something that mueller and report was definitive on, they just kind of moved the goalpost. now they want to talk about other stuff. stuart: they will never recover. i mean where do you, where do you get your credibility back? how do you dead your credibility back after two years of this and nonsense that is still to come? >> i have been saying for a very long time that the damage to the media's collective reputation will long outlast the trump presidency. seems to me, not only are they not apologizing or doing any kind of reflection or soul-searching at all, for the overhyped overwrought investigation way it was recovered, president was under investigation, they're saying no, no, this shows we were right. some of the stories were right according to the mueller report and some of the stories were flatly untrue. stuart: they were indeed. howard, thanks as always for being with us, we'll continue the discussion about being right or right for a long time to come.

want to talk about kroger. supermarket chain. they have been taking on their competitors, trying on delivery, clothing line they brought out, deliverless delivery vans. they have gone all out to go after the competition but the stock is still struggling. look at it, $25 a share, down 2% today. jack hough is with us, "barron's" senior editor. they tried everything to compete in this world. what's wrong? >> put it like this, might be the best positioned grocery chain. that is not saying much. it is in worse shape than walmart, worse shape than amazon, many others getting into the grocery business. there are a lot of smaller regional chains will get blown apart by competitors in coming years. kroger will be able to pick up share from those guys. but it is behind this digital push going on in grocery right now. the stock is 12 times earnings. a lot cheaper than the market. not cheap enough. nearly a year ago we liked it into the single digits, pe,

about 24. we told readers to sell in the fall about 31. you have to wait for it to get cheaper than this. >> that is nasty. fallout from amazon buying whole foods? >> they're trying the right things. they're building out click, collect in stores that customers seem to like. there is tough road. too many people want share in grocery. stuart: you have to tell me about sam adams, boston beer, sam sad dams is one of their brands, is that accurate? >> that's right. stuart: what is the problem here? people drinking less sam adams? wait a minute, the stock is up 2%. >> the stock has done very well over the past year. the stock has had a big run-up. that is part of the reason why i'm a little cautious about the valuation. only a quarter of the business despite the name is beer right now. they have a huge run on seltzer, spiked settleter. it has become widely popular.

a lot of company is cider, seltzer, spiked tea. beer is a craft. i don't know that people will be loyal to favorite brand of spiked seltzer. all the beer giants want in on the business. here is anheuser-busch and here comes millercoors. everyone wants a share of spiked seltzer. it is competitive business. stuart: spiked seltzer, it means it has alcohol? >> get favorite chemist make a malt beverage with 100 calories per can, 5% alcohol and certain flavor attributes. it is popular because people want healthier drinks. young people want spiked seltzer. by the way i could not be a bigger fan of what sam adams done in beer. i have a strong buy recommendation on their beers. i think the stock is expensive. stuart: you don't like kroger they have problems. you don't like boston -- >> i'm off to gloomy start.

i don't see a lot i like. i will keep looking, please do. thank you very much for joining us. now this a parked tesla, model s, it caught fire in shanghai. tesla is investigating the incident. kristina partsinevelos is with us. what happened? is there some problem with authenticating this was a genuine fire? >> we don't, you see the time stamp on the screen. it happened on sunday evening like you mentioned in shanghai. however tesla has not completely confirmed it. they're sending their people to investigate. you're seeing on the screen. started to smoke first and then burst into flame. some tesla vehicles in the past had fires. it happened after a crash. this car appears, not verified, appears to just be sitting there, not even charged and blows up. stuart: they're holding an event today. i think they're focusing on their autonomous car fleets. >> exactly. calling it autonomy investor day. it is an investor day where they focus on the driverless future

which is good. they need to focus on future when they have earnings coming out on wednesday. there is lot of unanswered questions about demand, delivery, recent price cuts. they said if you're an investor show up, you can get a test drive. focus on the autopilot. there will be a lot of details about that. this comes at a time when the company announced on friday their board is shrinking. four members left. there is now only seven members on the board. you have analysts not very positive. ever core, latest example they did a price cut to the stock. they're expecting it to be $240. originally priced at 330. that is one example. still a lot of unanswers questions. stuart: seems like elon musk when he gets trouble -- >> sec at well. stuart: he has all of that. creates a shiny object in the future. >> to distract you. stuart: autonomous driving taxi pleat, whoopteedoo.

don't look at model 3 or fire in shanghai. >> we don't know about the fire but he is confident they can come out with driverless vehicles in the next year. that is big, bold statement to make. he will focus on investor call 5:00 p.m. eastern time. stuart: he keeps it going. >> set brand. stuart: he is the brand. well-said. down today, eight bucks lower. ukraine electing a comedian as its new president. voters overwhelmingly supported the 41-year-old, a former comedian. president trump calling the winter congratulate him. hayes name is is kalinsky. he played a fictitious president in a tv show. he won. next we'll talk to an agent on the front lines, he says this is all part of an orchestrated effort by a criminal syndicate. we'll get that right from him. if you use uber or lyft, be

prepared to pay more for a ride. why going public may lead to increased fares at both companies. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ help! i need somebody ♪ help! not just anybody ♪ help! you know i need someone i'm workin♪ to make each day a little sweeter. to give every idea the perfect soundtrack. ♪ to make each journey more elegant. at adp we're designing a better way to work,

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(speaking in foreign language) i'm sorry i don't understand... ♪ help! i need somebody ♪ help! not just anybody ♪ help! you know i need someone stuart: we've been in business for an hour and 14 minutes thus far this monday morning and we're still down about 60 points on the dow which is hovering around 26,500. let's get to the crisis on the border. earlier this month they were apprehending about 1000 people a day at the border. we found out that charter buss were bringing migrants to our border right from southern mexico, jump on a charter bus, drop you off at border, walk across, claim asylum and you're in. joining us on the phone, roy villa real chief border agent in

tucson, arizona. roy, give me the story. what is it like you in? >> thanks for having me on. -- not improved. alarming trends of rising volumes of illegal aliens showing up as you described in charter buses continues to degrade the border security. we have humanitarian and border security crisis. humanitarian these large groups are made up of women and children. they're being dropped off in remote areas. border security from perspective that we have to shut down whole segments of border in order to respond to provide humanitarian aid, transport, care, feeding. what is synonymous going on when large groups show up it is complete degradation of border security in those areas. -- national security. stuart: roy, as you know, a man belonging to a militia group was arrested by the fbi. he had been detaining, he and his colleagues had been detaining migrants at gunpoint. what do you, as official border

patrol officer, what do you make of these militia groups? >> well, the border is very dynamic and complex. certainly don't endorse militia groups. we face a myriad of dangers out here from transnational criminal organizations, crews of gang members that come down from phoenix and tucson who attempt to rip off narcotics or hijack groups of aliens. last thing we need is any sort of situation that complicates or amplifies the danger at border. we prefer they leave border security to the experts which is the united states border patrol. stuart: seems like we have a open border at this point. because you nice are distracted, you have to take care on a humanitarian basis, people coming in claiming asylum. i put it to you, roy, it is just, it is an open border at this point, am i right? >> that what etf been espousing. the fact that, this crisis and

the draw away from security, it continues to amplify. when i have to allocate, 10 to 20 agents to extract a group of migrants out of the desert, it leaves the whole segment of border completely vulnerable to transnational organizations. they are very away a vulnerability exists they will ex-ploy it. stuart: roy, thanks for joining us this morning with very interesting information. roy, thank you, sir. >> thank you. stuart: we've got, oh, another entrant, another democrat throwing in his hat into the race for 2020. that gentleman on the screen, who is it? liz: seth moulton, democrat out of massachusetts. a decorated marine veteran. here is his sell line i'm a patriot, i believe in this country. we have to restore moral authority. he is selling patriotism, security and service. i shouldn't say selling. that is his theme.

he is for gun control and climate security. he opposed nancy pelosi for house speaker but going oy long with her line. ashley: 19. could be number 20 when mr. biden. to say it's a crowded field is a massive understatement. stuart: i think you're right on both counts. how about this one? southern california will require all new homes to have solar panels that will raise construction costs by thousands of dollars per home. but in our next hour we'll talk to someone who says that's a good thing. we'll let them make a case. florida, new plan for lower drug costs, bring in prescription drugs from canada. sounds very good? conservative group says it's a bad idea. calls it bernie sanders style socialism. we'll deal with it. ♪

stuart: really looks like the market plain stalled this monday morning. we're down 50 points. been like that for much of the day. the loss of just under a quarter

of a percent. the dow holding at 26,500. not much movement. look at this. it is called a screen grab. it says don't be a bernie bro reject socialist price controls. comes from americans for tax reform. they're going after florida for a plan to import drugs from canada. joining us, grover norquist, president of american tax reforms. what is problem with plan? >> this is bernie sanders type plan. only one of the state that passed this is vermont. will interfere with our ability to innovate because it will import price controls which make it difficult to get new products to the market. the rest of the world is damaged their ability to invent new drugs. we invent the drugs. they put price controls on them. some politicians in florida want to bring those price controls into florida, a republican state, if that happens t will happen in many other states

and -- stuart: are they, aren't they just being smart politicians? after all, if the big issue is the price of health care, and in particular the price of these drugs, if politician comes along, says i can get it cheaper, and you're going to benefit, they're going to do it? >> we understand that when bernie sanders says it because he doesn't understand economics. there is an important way we can reduce the cost of drugs in the united states and get them to people sooner and get more innovation an solve some of these health problems sooner. that is to speed up the fda's efforts to get new drugs out once they're safe. we did this for aids. we have done it in the past. should do it for alzheimer's, cancer, that would reduces costs. that would get people more health care. stuart: no. you're forgetting the lawyers. the lawyers, no, no, seriously. >> yeah. stuart: you know this is a problem. >> trial lawyers are a big problem. stuart: lawyers, if you can get the law and lawyers out of

health care, i know that is an impossibility, you and i both know, grover, the price of drugs and health care would fall dramatically, wouldn't it? >> it is an important project and what we need to do is tort reform as you're saying and fda reform to get more drugs out, better, sooner, higher quality, to the american people. focusing on quick fixes to temporarily reduce prices so that in the future there are fewer new drugs, that is not only a bad idea, it will damage health care, hurt health care out comes and make us less healthy, but it gets into the way of the other things. the opportunity cost of doing stupid things is that you don't do the smart things like tort reform you're talking about or speeding up fda. stuart: grover, we hear from you. i know theoretically you're absolutely right. >> thank you. we can make this reality. just takes work. stuart: leave it there, grover, got it.

grover norquist. see you soon. the white house getting ready for some holiday fun. it is the easter egg roll, gets underway at top of the hour. president trump will be there, if he makes headlines, of course we'll bring them to you. how do you make headlines at a easter egg roll? only this president can do that. senator elizabeth warren trying to out bernie, bernie sanders. she has become, this is my opinion, the most left wing of all the democrat presidential candidates. we will discuss that next hour. ♪

stuart: i believe they're playing "hail to the chief" as we speak. you're looking at the white house, of course. there you go. ashley: very good. stuart: president trump and the first lady will be taking the

time this morning to oversee the annual easter egg roll. mr. trump is going to blow a whistle that starts the race. the kids run for the eggs. ashley: love that picture. stuart: then he will speak to the press shortly. i'm not sure of the exact timing on that. we are waiting for it. ah, okay. the national anthem. let's take that, shall we? let's take that. ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting

in air ♪ ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ stuart: i wish the president had a mic on. we would have heard him singing the national anthem right there. big smiles. here's the schedule. the president is supposed to and is scheduled to make brief comments and here he goes. >> it's a beautiful day. this is a beautiful day.

welcome to the 2019 white house easter egg roll. this is 141 years that we've been doing this. i don't remember the first one but the last three years, we've had an awfully good time. i have to thank our first lady, she worked so hard on this event and without her, it would not be like it is. it's as beautiful as i've ever seen it. so melania, thank you very much. fantastic job. thank you, honey. i also want to thank the white house historical association for the incredible job they do. they work with the first lady and all of us on just making the white house and keeping the white house a special place. it is to me the most special place. there can't be anything like it. and we take it really very seriously and it's in great shape. that, i can tell you. it's in great shape. also, our incredible marine

corps band. thank you very much. beautiful. wouldn't be the same without you. and a group of people that do a wonderful job, love them, i know they like me, too, it's the egg farmers of this country. the egg farmers. they brought thousands and thousands of eggs, i don't know if you can use them all but i have a feeling with these young, very ambitious children, they are going to find a reason, they will be gone. they will all be gone. and maybe most importantly, i want to wish everybody a very happy easter. our country is doing fantastically well. probably the best it's ever done economically. we are setting records on stock markets. we're setting records with jobs and unemployment numbers are the lowest they've ever been. 50 years and many groups in historically the lowest numbers we've ever had. regulations, low taxes. our country has never done better and do we love our

military. our military is building, is literally being completely rebuilt. we are completely rebuilding our military. it was very depleted, as you know. a lot of the military folks can tell you. and it is being rebuilt to a level that we have never seen before. all with great product, the best product in the world, and you know where it's made? in the usa. that's where it's made. it's all made right here. so again, happy easter. enjoy yourselves. and i'm coming down right now to be with you, first lady is coming with me, and maybe i will get this great easter bunny to come with us. thank you very much, everybody. happy easter. thank you. stuart: watch out, kids. here comes the president. he's going to blow a whistle and start the easter egg roll. in brief remarks, you heard what he had to say. the country is doing best ever, the economy, the market, lowest jobless rate. the country has never done better and we are completely rebuilding our military. lots of applause on those lines.

now, the big board at this moment this monday morning shows a gain -- sorry, a loss, 50 points down. that's all it is. it's been consistent all morning. down 50. the price of oil this morning has gone to $65 a barrel. secretary of state mike pompeo is putting out the word that there will be no more iranian oil exports after may 2nd. that's a big blow to all kinds of countries which have been taking oil from iran. they are not going to be able to do that any longer. price of oil up to $65 a barrel. my takeaway from that is watch out, here comes $3 a gallon gas here in the united states. now this. who is the most left wing of all the democrat presidential candidates? not socialist senator sanders. no. that may surprise you. after all, bernie is a self-declared leftist who has

pushed the party towards what is considered an extreme, socialism. but senator elizabeth warren has actually gone much further. look what she's been saying. first, she proposed making companies ask the government for permission to do business. think about that. you don't get a license to do business unless you do what the government tells you to do. that is direct government control of private enterprise. that is hardcore socialism. senator warren would make executives liable for anything that happens within their company, put them in jail, she says. as for the rich, tax them to the max and confiscate their wealth. just take it off them. senator warren capped it off over the weekend when she demanded president trump's impeachment. what's going on here? senator warren trails bernie in the polls. to stand any chance in the primaries, she has to stand out for the activist base. so she moves further beyond bernie's positions. she's trying to out-left him.

fascinating. this speaks volumes about how far left the democrats have actually gone, and it may be that the base is so far out there that moderates like tim ryan or joe biden can't get traction. who would have thought? fdr, jfk? they couldn't get past the primaries these days. with elizabeth warren now attacking a socialist from the left, it just shows you how far left the democrats have gone. the third hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. okay. it's beginning. i was looking for animation there, didn't get it. the chairman of go pac is with us. welcome to the program. good to see you. >> good to see you. stuart: what do you make of this, out-lefting bernie sanders? >> keep in mind, these are many of the ideas bernie sanders ran on in 2016 and he could not use that to beat arguably the worst

candidate to ever run for president, hillary clinton, in 2016. so ideas that couldn't beat hillary clinton in 2016 aren't going to propel elizabeth warren in 2020 to the nomination. but i also think it speaks to, you somewhat referenced it, 51% of self-identified democrats said in a recent winning the issue survey that they think socialism should be considered given the failings of the current system. think about that. 51% of self-identified democrats think socialism should be considered. so elizabeth warren is trying to appeal to that group, and again, not going to -- stuart: it's a way she could do well in the primaries but i simply can't see her winning the general, if it comes to that. >> her challenge is that the state that arguably knows her quite well, new hampshire, given her neighboring state of massachusetts, they have seen all of her ads, they have watched her. she's not even coming in first right now in new hampshire which

should be her first launch pad. stuart: bernie is first in new hampshire, i take it. >> and vice president biden. yes. stuart: i don't think she's got much hope. david, sorry to cut this short but the easter egg roll. >> i understand. stuart: wait until the president blows his whistle. david, thank you. >> thank you. stuart: all right. a new mystery donor reportedly shelling out some big money to alexandria ocasio-cortez's republican primary challengers. the individual is reportedly worth more than $200 million. don't know who that person is. and this person has big connections to raising money in manhattan. so looks like aoc has a challenge waiting for her in november next year. in a few moments we will learn when social security and medicare run out of money. how about that. last year, the report predicted the funds will be depleted in 16 years. the report breaks momentarily. we will see if the programs are in worse financial shape this

year. when do they run out of money? today, a divided democrat party holds its conference call to decide what to do about the mueller no collusion report. impeach, investigate forever, just run on the issues? we'll find out soon what they have decided, if anything. we'll be right back. i'm working to make each day a little sweeter.

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stuart: some new poll names came out over the weekend. look at that. president trump's approval rating taking a hit from the mueller report. no collusion, but he takes a hit. he's down to 37% and that's down six points since march. sean steele is with us, he's on the republican national committee. sean, this slide is not good. what are you going to do about it? >> well, what i'm going to do about it is look at who actually

did the poll. it's an outlier. "rolling stone" and some of the more extreme publications have been repeating this. look at the gold standard. fox doesn't show that. rasmussen shows trump at 49%. so it's the old battle between which poll is reliable, which isn't. they have been sadly sort of -- stuart: wait a second. wait a second. the rasmussen poll shows a decline in approval. the reuters poll shows a decline in approval. regardless of which poll, his approval numbers are down. again, what are you going to do about it? >> well, what trump is going to do, he's actually a year ago, you look at the same poll from reuters, he's actually up, donald trump is. going through the whole mueller enterprise, now the tables are reversed. what we are going to see from attorney general barr is an investigation of those that used

to hunt trump, they are now going to be hunted so the question's going to change. at the same time, the democrats are in deep denial and are going to keep digging themselves in a hole. that makes themselves look less credible. yes, it was a bad hit from bad public sfity from the mainstrea media but by and large, trump hasn't lost a lot of ground. stuart: joe biden will reportedly announce his candidacy sometime this week. who would you rather go up against, joe biden or bernie sanders? please don't say we don't care. who is your preference? >> well, my preference would be bernie sanders because he is a clear-cut unapologetic hardcore leftist socialist, self-admitted. biden is more subtle, more interesting. we just don't know. is he a jeb bush or a donald trump. is he going to survive the democrat civil war. is he going to be just

doddering, out of touch and out of sync or will he be authentic, somebody who can actually unify the democrats, or will he be part of the problem within the democrat party. it's fascinating. he's got real potential to be a real threat because he might be able to take on trump in the battleground states. but right now, my money is that biden is probably their most credible shot but he's got so much baggage. joe biden has got creepy baggage and i don't know if he's going to be able to get around that. stuart: we shall see. thanks for joining us, sir. appreciate it. i'm breaking you because i have breaking news. numbers on social security and medicare. when do these two systems run out of money? edward lawrence is with us and he's going to tell us. go, edward. reporter: bad news is social security runs out of money by the time i retire, in 2035. the total costs will start to exceed the expenditures for the first time next year. that's the first time that's happened since 1982.

broken up under social security, the disability trust fund actually runs out of money in 2052. that's 20 years later than projected last year because they had slower than expected growth, also the number of disabled workers has been going down and the number of disability claims has been going down over time. mainly that's very significant. under the medical hospital insurance trust fund, that runs out of money in seven years, 2026. this is sooner than projected last year, possibly they say because of the lack of adequate nursing home facilities as well as lower than expected growth related to that and last year, expenditures outpaced income by $1.6 billion. now, on the medicare side, the total cost of medicare will grow from 3.7% of gdp in 2018 to 5.9% of gdp in 2039. supplemental trust fund under medicare will not run out of money because of a new law that passed that says the general

fund expenditures will make up any difference. however, it is going to grow at over 6% or has been growing at over 6% for both part d and part b, and that's related to a 4% growth over the past five years with gdp. the bottom line for the trust fund in this report for the trustees in this report is that law makers need to deal with this now so these programs do not run out of money. stuart: i am going to try to understand this. does social security run out of money sooner than we thought? reporter: it will run out of money one year sooner than we thought. stuart: okay. now, medicare, does that -- when does -- does that run out of money sooner than we thought? reporter: there are two parts to medicare. the hospital insurance runs out of money in seven years. that is sooner than they thought. the second part of that is the supplemental medical insurance, it will not run out of money. because of the new law that was passed that said general fund expenditures will make up any difference. the bad part of that is it will be a growing part of our costs coming up later. stuart: social security runs out

one year earlier, the hospital fund of medicare runs out in 2027. how about that. edward lawrence, thank you very much indeed. good stuff. check this out. a startup in los angeles rebooting the ford bronco, turning the original bronco into an electric luxury suv. wait until you hear the price tag for just one of them. if electric broncos are not quite your style, what about an american flag painted convertible cadillac? could be yours because it's listed on ebay. the current bid for the car, much more affordable than the electric bronco. of course, we will bring you the price for both. if you take uber and lyft, listen up. your ride can become more expensive because of the ipos. details next. hi, i'm joan lunden with a place for mom,

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"all sites are green." all of which helps you do more than your customers thought possible. comcast business. beyond fast. stuart: if you're looking to stand out as your town's memorial day fourth of july parade, maybe american flags might not cut it, but you might want to try cruising around in this '87 cadillac brougham limo.

you can place your beds on ebay. the odometer's busted, it's got a v-8 engine and 100 miles on the whitewall tires. the current bid is $5,500. it's the american flag which is the centerpiece. ashley: very cool. stuart: we reported on ford rebooting the classic bronco, due out next year. an l.a. startup called zero labs have taken the car to the next level. they made an all electric luxury vehicle version of it, that is. carbon fiber body, 370 horse power motor, 190 mile range. the company plans to build 150 of them. the price rumored to be around $250,000. ashley: good luck. stuart: i just remember that from o.j. simpson. ashley: yeah, yeah. stuart: uber and lyft, their ipos may eventually push fares higher. ashley: venture capital, before going public, helped to subsidize those lower fares

because they all wanted to talk about market share. now they go public, you can't continue to bleed red ink. investors will want to see some improvement on that. now, they may be able to carry it on for awhile. look, lyft raised $2.3 billion in their ipo last month. uber planning to raise $10 billion next month. at some point, you're going to have to raise the fares they believe in order to eliminate some of this red ink that got them to where they are to this point. stuart: then we have tesla, the car, caught fire in a shanghai parking garage. tesla is investigating. is this going to be another headache? liz: no, this won't. earnings come out wednesday. what will be a headache is a train wreck of costs hitting the bottom line. analysts saying about tesla's stock right now, down 8%, down 3%, watching this stock closely. stuart: look at that. liz: yeah, look at that. elon musk can't tweet at random as he had been given the s.e.c.

complaints against him. we are watching tesla stock, earnings on wednesday after the close. stuart: secretary of state pompeo announced the end to iran oil waivers. no more allowed, no more exporting of oil from iran, thank you very much, after may 2nd. are we going to see gas prices go up because of this? my answer is yes, we will. i think we will go to $3 a gallon. and this. the trump organization suing house oversight committee over those big bank subpoenas. we're on that one, too. this is my headquarters.

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monthly incomeonwide annuity, for the rest of your life. that's what i'm talking about. how about those song lyrics? what song lyrics? tell him again. tell him again. repeat it. yeah, same thing. (advisor) so with a nationwide annuity, you can get protected... stuart: we pared the losses on wall street. now we're down just 20 points. the dow is at 26,537. the price of oil this morning has gone to $65 a barrel and it's holding there. big oil stocks are up in response to that. now, why is oil up? because mike pompeo, secretary of state, says there's going to be no more oil exports from iran to other countries after may

2nd. they are really clamping down hard. that restricts the supply, the price goes up. listen to what pompeo said about iran earlier this morning. >> our goal has been to get countries to cease importing iranian oil entirely. last november we granted exemptions from our sanctions to seven countries. this gave our allies and partners a chance to wean themselves off of iranian oil. today i'm announcing we will no longer grant any exemptions. we are going to zero. going to zero across the board. stuart: all right. going to zero across the board. no more iranian oil exports. the lady on your screen, danielle dimartino-booth. seems to me the price of oil is up, the price of gas looks like it's going to $3 a gallon. do you think we've got an inflation problem in america because of what's going on in the oil market? >> well, the average rule of

thumb here is for every one penny increase in a gallon of gasoline, it's an effective $1.2 billion tax on households so before the waivers went down to zero as of secretary pompeo's announcement this morning, we were already at an effective $66 billion tax on households so far this year with the increase we've seen at the gas pump and this is in addition to what we know is coming in any event seasonally speaking, because this is when we get into summer driving, this is when we see gasoline prices for the year hit their peak, and it's been exacerbated further by the flooding in the midwest which has pushed up ethanol prices. this is kind of the perfect storm of big effective tax and yes, households are going to see this as being inflationary. stuart: inflationary and does it damage the overall economy? you know, we were very quick to point out late last year that the price of gas was tumbling

and that would be a stimulus for the economy. does it work the other way round? the price of gas has gone to -- i think it's going to $3 a gallon. does that slow the economy noticeably? >> it certainly will slow the economy and you have to add on to that the fact that households have been also hit by a net negative $27 billion in unexpected refunds that they've had to pay and in having to pay out higher income taxes as well. that's just pure irs data as of last thursday afternoon. so at some point, you're talking real figures here because if you add up what they're paying more at the pump to what they had not planned on paying uncle sam, you get to almost $100 billion and that will definitely put a crimp in consumer spending. stuart: what do you see as the outlook for the economy? we are told the first three months of the year are going to be better than expected and we get the numbers friday, but what after that? are we going to maintain a 3% growth rate?

what do you think? >> well, that's a very good question. we are already seeing, we got a second month of data out on auto production last week and obviously, the data didn't get very much play because of the holiday, but we are already seeing auto production being cut. those are high-paying manufacturing jobs. we saw some disappointing data, not just on the manufacturing sector but also on the services sector, and comments last week said this is the slowest start they have seen in years. the risk is on friday we throw a party because the first quarter number pushes 3%, that will be for the third time in the current recovery we have seen a number that strong in the first three months of the year, but the risk is growing that we are going to see a sharp slowdown going into the second quarter. our economy, like it or not, is two-thirds consumption and we have to have the u.s. consumer continue to spend. stuart: danielle, thanks very

much sgroirng for joining us. we do appreciate it, as always. i want to get to what i may call an alternative point of view. our guest has what he thinks is good news on the economy. he says america is nowhere near a recession. he also says the global economy is on the mend. he he's chief economist for peyton and rigel. you say there's no chance of a recession this year or well into next year. but as you know, two-thirds of america's chief financial officers are saying yeah, we are going to get a recession next summer. why are they wrong? >> good to see you, stuart. i think the "r" word is back in vogue. cfos are talking about it, investors certainly bringing up the word, but you have to look at reliable indicators i think in realtime and we got one last week which i will point you to. the initial claims for unemployment, your layoff data comes out weekly. we had a new cycle low last week, 192,000. extremely low level of layoffs

usually layoffs hit their bottom well before the start of a recession, could be anywhere 14 to 22 months from a new cycle low. each week if we stay at a low level on layoffs, that makes me think recession risk is still quite low. stuart: are you confident, though, are you confident at predicting something so far out? we've got over a year and a half before the election next year, and you are saying no recession in the next 20 months. that's a long way out. >> no, i think in realtime, forecasting is a dark art, stuart. it's hard to do. the best we can do is look at the reliable indicators in realtime. your initial claims is one. your yield curve is another. when the yield curve inverts, that's been historically reliable barometer as well. the yield curve, the spread between the three month and ten year treasury yield did invert but was limited to a few days.

since then it has moved in the opposite direction. those are the two most important indicators and they are still -- stuart: $3 gas doesn't make that much difference? >> this morning on my uber ride in, i noticed $4 per gallon here in los angeles. so it has crept -- the good news, stuart, is the u.s. consumer is less sensitive to oil prices, gasoline prices, now than it was ten years ago or 20 years ago. it's less than 4% of consumer spending right now. so it gets a lot of notice when you do see the signs as you cruise by. stuart: i have to tell you that there are planes leaving lax every single day for texas and florida and nevada, you know. jeffrey, thanks very much for being with us on the show this morning. we will bring you back. i want to talk more about the global economy as well. thank you. >> my pleasure. stuart: from the white house this morning, the trump organization suing elijah cummings. suing him. he chairs the oversight committee. why the suit?

liz: because elijah cummings, oversight committee, is going after the accounting firm that the president used to try to prove that the president inflated his assets, whatever. but the president and his team pushing back hard, saying this is an abuse of power, this serves no legislative purpose, get back to legislating, that's your mandate, and that this is an overreach. they are citing the constitution, the trump side of the aisle, saying there's nothing in the constitution that says you should be doing things like this, you are harassing people outside of the white house, private sector individuals. it should be noted that more than 430 laws were enacted in the prior congress, only a dozen so far this year. so the president's team is pointing out constitutional limits on the power of congress to investigate. stuart: they are asking for eight years' worth of the president's financial statements. that's what they want. let's get back to your money. big week for earnings of course this week. in particular, facebook,

microsoft, amazon. they report midweek, wednesday and thursday, i think it is. look at them go. this is in advance of their actual formal statement of how much money they made and all of them are up. microsoft is very close to an all-time high. amazon's at $1875. look at facebook. it's reached $180. again, that's in advance of their official earnings report. california has 70% of the nation's priciest zip codes when it comes to home sales. we are going to talk to a san francisco real estate developer. she's saying it's all a result of high demand to live in california. didn't know that. a new mystery donor reportedly shelling out big money to alexandria ocasio-cortez's republican primary challengers. this individual is worth $200 million with big connections to raising money in manhattan. a challenge for aoc. how about that. well funded, too.

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stuart: reporters shouted questions at the president at that easter egg roll. he did answer a couple. listen to this. reporter: inaudible. stuart: to repeat, what do you think about members of your staff disobeying your orders. he said i think nobody disobeys my orders. liz: this is in reference to don mcgahn, cory lewandowski, reince priebus, according to the mueller report, the president asked them to step in and just follow his directives to publicly declare he was being treated unfairly and they did not. ashley: his response, nobody disobeys. stuart: he's not worried about

impeachment. to me, this is uncomfortable on easter sunday for special counsel robert mueller. you've got to watch this. roll it. reporter: could i ask you a couple questions? will you testify before congress, sir? >> [ inaudible ]. reporter: if he were anybody but the president, would mr. trump be indicted, sir? sir, why didn't you make a recommendation to congress one way or the other? did the attorney general accurately characterize your positions on conspiracy and obstruction, sir? stuart: i'm sorry. i'm sorry. that's easter sunday, the man had just come out of church and you ambush him like that. liz: social media is lighting up saying msnbc was totally wrong to allow this reporter to do this. prior to the mueller report, just giving you the reaction on social media, they are saying msnbc, you treated mueller like a patriot and a hero. why don't you go get in muler's

face before the report came out. you are getting in his face after the report came out. they are saying it was wrong to do it to lois lerner and show up at her house, it's wrong to do this on easter sunday to robert mueller. ashley: this media organization didn't get the result they wanted so now they are going after the person who conducted the more than two-year report and came out honestly giving his opinion and is badgered coming out of church. outrageous, on easter sunday. stuart: now this. a new mystery donor shelling out some big money to aoc's republican challengers. the donor is reportedly worth $200 million. they've got the money to go after her and challenge her. madison gesiotto, trump 2020 advisory board member is with us. madison, let's get real here. do you think it is at all possible for a republican to win any election in the bronx? >> you know, it's too early to tell, anything could happen, but let's be real, it's not likely

that this is going to happen. aoc in 2018 won 78% of the vote in her district. new york 14 is historically an extremely democratic district. hillary clinton led the district by over 57 points. but we have to keep in mind that aoc isn't doing herself any favors lately. she's not doing much for the district. people are complaining. i think something more realistic that we could see is a potential democratic primary challenger, someone that's a little bit more moderate. stuart: there is also the question about amazon. aoc really led the charge to keep amazon out of new york city with its 25,000 jobs averaging over $100,000 a year. i'm not -- even in the bronx, i don't think that was considered a legit opposition. what do you say? >> no, people were furious. when they polled many people in her district, they saw her as a villain on this because not only were there going to be these 25,000 new jobs, there was going to be a ripple effect around

amazon's headquarters coming into long island city that would have positively benefited people of the 14th district. they were very frustrated and saw her as mainly the reason why amazon backed out of this deal. stuart: do you think there is any chance that any of the newly elected progressives, the socialists, rashida tlaib on down the line, you think there's even the remotest chance that any of them will be challenged in the primaries and defeated? >> yeah, i think there is a chance, especially when you are seeing someone like representative omar or tlaib that are making very inappropriate comments. aoc, i think more when it comes to her district, is about she isn't really getting anything done and says things that are reckless. when you see people making anti-semitic comments, offended large masses of our population, could potentially be defeated by another democrat, maybe even a republican. stuart: i say absolutely impossible. i say they are there for life. take me on. >> i don't know.

again, i said republican, maybe not. but a democrat that's a little more moderate that could get things done for the district, i think that could happen. stuart: okay. i would love to see it. thanks for joining us. >> i hope it happens, that's for sure. stuart: we all do. thanks for joining us. appreciate you being here, as always. thank you. how about this. housing costs in california just skyrocketing. 70% of the country's most expensive zip codes are in california. why are prices so high? we talk to a california real estate developer, next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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stuart: well, california viewers, thank you very much for waking up with us today. this one is for you. your housing costs are skyrocketing. sorry about that. a whopping 70% of the country's priciest zip codes are in california. the ceo of prism capital, san francisco is with us. raquel, i used to live in san francisco. it was awhile back. but this rapid escalation in home prices, i guess that's all about silicon valley and it's

right next door. that's the story, isn't it? >> yes. you are correct. so rising housing prices is really a result of the high demand of living in california. it's hitting all-time highs and tech which is centered in san francisco, is what's driving this market. stuart: we all know outside of san francisco and los angeles, we know there is a serious homelessness problem. i walked down market street, it's like you're walking through a slum. that doesn't seem to have affected home prices. why not? >> well, we really care about the homeless. we have 4400 homeless population and i think that's a serious problem we should address as soon as possible. stuart: but it made no difference to home prices, none at all?

>> yes, because the demand is largely exceeding the supply and by a study conducted by the california department of housing, home construction needs to increase 80% to meet demands. stuart: your state, california, has just mandated that all new homes built 2020 and after must have solar panels on them. that's added hugely to the cost of construction. why do you say that is a good thing when you're not building enough affordable homes anyway? >> well, i'm all for deregulation, but this law is not as bad as it looks. solar homes are investments in the future. it saves money in the long term and saves the environment. these mandatory solar panels will of course add nearly

$10,000 to the up-front costs of the home but these costs get balanced out over time. a california resident who buys a solar system up front can expect to see a return of $30,000 to $40,000 over 25 years, and solar homeowners are able to sell surplus energy back to the grid. the overall payback period in the u.s. is between six to eight years. if you are low income, you can even save up to 100% with the incentives programs offered here. stuart: okay. you make a good case. raquel, thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate it. thanks very much. >> thank you. stuart: i miss my san francisco days. ashley: yes. yes. back in the day. stuart: back in the day. as they say. how many times have i said that on this program? back in the day. more "varney" after this.

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stuart: i just want to go back to this. facebook, amazon and microsoft, three gigantic technology companies. they all released, all three of them, released their earnings, their profits reports wednesday and thursday of this week and look at them. this is in advance of the official numbers. facebook has bonn to 180. not suffering at all from the bad publicity they had recently. microsoft is pretty close to an all-time record high, 123.79. there is nothing stopping amazon which is at $1876 per share. ashley: up 1515 bucks. maybe suggests that earnings would be strong ahead of those. stuart: i'm pleasantly

surprised. i'm shocked the thing has gone to 12.80. do you have any comment, liz? liz: they have great pentagon contracts. stuart: they have not gotten yet the 10 billion-dollar contract. liz: milestones working with the pentagon. stuart: that definitely helps. i want to show you to you, can't show it to you, i can describe it. that is the annual easier egg roll. there is the president standing on the deck of the white house. the man had a wonderful time. ashley: he absolutely that is his area. he is very comfortable within his own skin. he plays, a lot of politicians who are stiff and measured that is very awkward moment for them. for him, it is a perfect situation. liz: first lady enjoying it too. 30,000 people showed up. stuart: goes down, mingles with the kids. he is having a blast. ashley: he just blew the

whistle. stuart: off you go, kids. off you go. that was well-organized rush for easter egg. stuart: i was up on one in different state. that was riot, my time is up. david asman in for neil. ashley: i can't imagine you hosting a easter egg roll. stuart: i attended it. ashley: that is it this is "coast to coast" i'm david asman in for neil cavuto. secretary of state mike pompeo is ending waivers for countries importing iranian oil. prices spiking on that and hitting five-month high. blake burman with the very latest from the white house. hi, blake. reporter: david, i'm told president trump in concert with secretary of state mike pompeo but really the decision of the president to decide to end this waiver process that