>> jon: in the news this week, the media backlash heats up. obama administration taking hits for infringing on freedom of the press in efforts to control leaks on information. the attorney general's actions and motives causing big concerns among journalists. eric holder invites the press for off the record chat about the scandal. some members of the media accept, others say no way. >> what would be the reasons? >> easter egg roll. >> more details service in the irs scandal in targeting groups, raising more questions. but are the media covering the story?

a tea party favorite makes a big announcement about her future. liberal media reacts as expected. the president having fun on the boardwalk with his pal chris. >> they look cute totaling. >> jon: writer and fox news contributor, judy miller. jim pinkerton ellen ratner and richarded richard grenell spokesman for the last four ambassadors to the united nations. fox news watch is on right now. >> the free press is the most guarantee of liberty in th free press is most important guarantee of liberty. that is why the first amendment. it is there because the press that holds the government accountable, forces them to take responsibility.

what is astonishing to me is how the supporters of this president cast this aside. they belittled the attack on the media. you have seen them as long as rosen weren't prosecuted it's not an attack on the media. that is really facially ridiculous. >> that with have well known law professor jonathan turley, his take. it ran under the headline, the attorney general holder must go. the scandal involves spying on journalists. turley wrote that column for u.s.a. today calling on herald to get fired for his attacks on the news media. he called eric holder as sin eater an 18th century religious term. >> i have to look it up. >> jon: someone that shields the president from

responsibilities. is that what is going on? >> i think there is an all right of that. ron at national journalist, what off the record is as opposed to -- look, this meeting should have been on the record. there was to excuse for anything else because the sin is an egregious one. >> jon: vigorous nods of agreement. >> first of all i want to give it to eric holder and the obama administration for single handedly uniting left and right journalists. you know, jonathan turley you just talked about called it greatest attack on free press in decades in u.s.a. today. >> jon: is that what is going on. is it united front? >> i think it's a good gambit on the part of doj to allow the press to be a

part of this, to make them sort of somewhat culpable for what the doj doing and allow them to bring them in, we are trying to work out a working relationship and you are just as culpable at we are. >> jon: cover up? >> i think makes a good point, holder is trying to do the clinch on them and bring them in. ellen, judy you may detect outrage. when i see "washington post", page three, holder addresses media concerns in a story somewhere in between new elections in the philippines, i don't detect any outrage at all. this is completely manageable story. when chris matthews said it was a kirfullel they are not feeling the pain. >> we called the justice department and what radio people were invited to these meetings.

they didn't return our calls and no radio people were invited. >> jon: there was an msnbc contributor michael eric dyson who labeled holder moses of our time. how does he get away with that statement. the right wing effort to smear. >> he is the equivalent of handing down the law from high. it was very stream of consciousness effort to exonerated eric holder and make him sort of a victim here. it was very handed. >> jon: you've spent a lot of time at the podium explaining how government works. there is a question eric holder committed perjury. he says he wasn't involved and any attempt that he knew nothing about any attempt to prosecute anyone in the press for disclosure

of material. later it comes out he was the one who approved this court order this request to investigate james rosen and labeled him a co-conspirator. how does he get away with that? >> i am not sure with a people on the east coast are drinking because it's obvious he is lied. those of us on the outside are looking at washington and east coast and laughing. where are the journalists? now would be a good time for some real journalists to stand up and separate themselves from the group thing that is going on. instead we have jack sheriff hero is a media critic for reuters who attacks james rosen, she sloppy journalist that got caught. that is not what we need with journalists. we need a free press that are going to stand up and

call this what it is. >> on mission one, let the chips and jodie yager at the hill, it does appear to be a discrepancy a what holder testified under oath and what let the readers figure out for themselves. >> jon: then to say we were going to charge him as a co-conspirator and tell the judge he is a co-conspirator but never intended to charge him criminally. >> to lie to the judge to get a search warrant to look at his records -- pardon me? >> i say multiple judges. >> well, that is a separate issue whether or not the warrant ought to be made public. but the seizing of the records and perhaps we still don't know whether fox news was informed or not informed, there is a dispute over whose records

were compromised. we have so many questions that journalists have stopped asking. >> jon: you alluded to the off the record meeting that eric holder held this week with many including fox news decided not to attend. ron fournier wrote a list of bullet points. media's fundamental job is shine light in darkest corners of government. if we stand pr for anything is transparency and accountability. meeting secretly borders on hypocrisy. >> the magazine talked about eric holder didn't think about having these meetings until he was reading the "washington post" at the kitchen table finally sunk in maybe the media was upset with him. >> this president was also

troubled and therefore he asked the attorney general to examine his own department and his own conduct and come up with recommendations for fixing the problem in 45 days. excuse me, what is going on here? >> jon: the irs scandal is not going away but the coverage seems to be. >> mistake details focused in the irs scandal over targeting conservative groups. had the media moved on ignoring the story? when it comes to fact checking, do the checkers need check something answers next on news watch. .. ♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card. it doesn't charge late fees or a penalty rate. ever. as in never ever. now about that parking ticket. [ grunting ] [ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card is the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee, ever.

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>>. there might be many reasons you would be at the white house. what would be some of the reasons you might be at the white house? >> um, the easter egg roll with my kids. >> jon: former irs commissioner douglas shulman looking into the scandal over the irs targeting of conservative

groups and individuals, shulman visited the obama white house at least 157 times. that is more recorded visits the most trusted members of the president's cabinet. the daily caller compiled that list of access records to the white house. shulman apparently comes in with way more visits than even people like the secretary of health and human service or the secretary of treasury. >> who knew about all the easter egg rolls. this story continues to grow. a news service said look, we still don't know any of the criteria, you haven't answered any questions on this. >> jon: you suggested folks on the west coast are lasting at us east coasters? >> are there too many balls in the air for journalists

to kor them all. stewart steechbs in the daily beast noted this, there is entire class of journalists who unvested in a moral and ethical image of the president that it's members are unable to entertain facts that might tarnish that image. >> you know, i think jim is right. it's growing in some circles and not growing in others. over at nbc you have mark murray who the senior political editor over there. he went on msnbc to say this story is not going to last for summer. the irony about this is that mark murray nbc political editor, he is married to an obama appointee. this obama appointee is now the chief of staff at faa. when you have someone dismissing the story and trying to push it off the front pages, you now know why because he is getting pressure at home.

>> jon: and michael of the "l.a. times" wrote this. in a piece titled showing the irs some love after a witch hunt, the probe into the supposed targeting have conservative groups overlooks the facts that the tax agency does a good job despite the meager resources? >> other than that -- other than the massive scandal -- no, what they are going to do. they had a piece in atlanta today, he was there 157 times he was approved but it was actually closer to 11 times. he was meeting with agencies to implement the healthcare law. what the media outlets in making this scandal a little less damaging to the white house, they are going to elevate that fact and throw that out and cast an area of doubt on every charge. the same way as ben rose

was misquoted on benghazi and as passed out on on other charges. it's an effort to de-emphasize the scandal. >> jon: you don't think the irs, the visits, you don't think that is problem? >> i don't think it is a problem. i don't think there is that many. it doesn't prove a lot of conservative pundits he talked to the president. however, speaking of conservatives i agree with brent bezel it can be the irs asking charities the kind of questions they ask should be highlighted. >> when you go to the white house you don't have to meet with the president to meet somebody important. you can meet the chief of staff. look, this story cries out for context and tim carney in the washington examiner said the irs a liberal democratic government agency like most burr okay

crass are, a liberal democratic union. what do you expect? how can you think about that in terms -- if all the mistakes go in the direction of hurting the tea party is this an accident or the way things work when you have an agency going in one direction. >> but jim, they have gone after liberal groups. the irs needs to be cleaned up in a lot of ways. they shouldn't go after anybody politically. >> jon: you are going to have save that thought. next on news watch, a tea party favorite makes news. liberal media targeted michele bachmann makes a big announcement about her future in politics and the press pounces on the news. and together again -- how did the press react to this jersey shore encounter? find out next on news watch. and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support,

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♪ >>. the longest everyone from anyone from president of united states is more than eight years. in my opinion eight years is long enough for an individual to serve as a representative for a specific congressionaldistrict. >> jon: minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann announced earlier this week delivering the news she is not run for reelection. nbc news called it a bombshell announcement. abc labeled her the democrats' number one tarring. media said she was irrelevant to politics and some said she was a fringe politician or a celebrity politician. why can't they accept the announcement at face value? >> as one tweeted, showed lead about this announcement. she will be back. if you notice in the

benghazi hearings, you watched the people testifying she was in the background there with the families of the benghazi victims. she went to russia about the boston bombings. we haven't heard the last of her at all. >> jon: why was he is such a media target? >> because she got so much wrong. she couldn't open her mouth without making a mistake. it was a natural target, you could not aim at it. and christopher wrote a little tribute to her saying, at this time he is looking straight in the camera. >> jon: she became something of a target especially the liberal media. who is next now that she is stepping down? >> she was a liability total republican party. mitt romney carried it 15 points but carried it point and a half. that is significant. every politician,

republicans have to answer for every republican politician who does not reflect well on the party. she may be back because there is a come pe active senate race and al franken is up for reelection and she may be challenging al franken. >> it was interesting. i agree with atlantic wires read talks about there was not article that the republicans wanted her gone out of that particular district. >> jon: moving on to check the checkers. george mason university's center for media and public affairs released a study this week focused on poli fact we related republican claims or pants on fire three times more often than

it rated democratic claims. 32% of republican claims were rated as false compared with 11% compared to democrats. do republicans bend the truth more than democrats or is there an agenda at work here? >> first of all, how many times they are looking at republican claims because politifacts love to go against republicans every time they talk. the fact checkers, it's a whole industry here. it's not about checking facts, it's about pushing the agenda. we've seen fact checkers get it wrong constantly. many times it's when they select the facts to be checked, not so much of the fact that they are checking. >> jon: who is checking the checkers. >> tim graham pointed out that pants on fire page on

the website they have nine to one ratio of conservatives to liberal democrats. three to one and that is biased but nine to one ratio, that is even more biased. >> jon: next on news watch, president obama and chris christie together again. ♪ 'cause you make me feel so right ♪ ♪ even if it's so wrong ♪ i wanna scream out loud ♪ boy, but i just bite my tongue ♪ ♪ this one's for the girls messin' with boys ♪ ♪ like he's the melody and she's background noise ♪

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♪ >> >> president obama and new jersey governor chris christie at the jersey

shore this week, oning wocing the crowd and media useded encounter to take swipes. msnbc called it a bromance and others questioning the governor's politics. president's critics said that it was an attempt to discredit the scandals. >> they look cute together. it's like danny and sandy. [ laughter ] >> olivia new ton john, a little chunky but it's plush and exciting. obama is girly man. chris is tough for him he has the stapling done and obama likes to ask him to

staple biden's mouth shut. >> jon: that is a wrap this week. thanks to our panel. i'm jon scott. we'll see you again next week. >> gregg: hello, i'm gregg jarrett and welcome to a brand-new hour. >> heather: i'm heather childers. thank you so much for joining us. topping the news the chairman of the house judiciary committee tells fox news today that he is very concerned about the possibility attorney general eric holder may have committed perjury in testimony before congress. we will have a live report from washington. >> gregg: brand-new revelations in the boston bombing investigation. a top u.s. lawmaker said he was told point blank the attack, quote, might have