>> reporter: thank you. does the white house believe there is such a thing as the "deep state" actively working to undermine the president? >> press secretary spicer: there is no question when you have eight years of one-party in office that there are people who stay in government who are affiliated with and continue to espouse the agenda of the previous administration. i don't there are people that came into government over the last administration and, you know, may have believed in that agenda and want to continue to speak it. i don't think that should come as a surprise. >> will the director of the cia have a presidential mandate to seek these people out and purge them? >> the cia, that's not part of the cia's mandate under any circumstance. no on that one. blame? >> saying president obama who deserves the credit for the

february jobs numbers. my question to you, how much do you feel that president trump should be credited for that? how would you characterize the economy that president trump was handed over by president obama? >> well, look. numbers are gonna go up and down. we remembericognize that. when you look at the ceo's that hire people and the ceo's that have talked about the investment they want to make in america, you can look back over the last several administration. i don't believe i have ever seen the number of ceo's and businesses come out and talk about investments and continuing investments and the expansion of investments or hiring based on the vision and agenda of an administration the way they have in this one. so it's not just a question of what we believe. i think if you look at the automakers, the other manufacturers, and frankly some of the service industries that have come out and talked about the investments that they're going to make, or the continuation of a project that

they had going, or the movement of a manufacturing plan or job investment. those speak for themselves. not a question of what we believe. it's a question of the commitment that u.s. manufacturers and job creators and businesses are making because they want to buy into the president's agenda and vision for creating more tax and regulatory business friendly environment to grow here. i think those speak for themselves. >> do you believe though that the policies already have had an impact? >> absolutely. look at the confidence indexes. they're all going to the top. stock market generated over $3 billion of additional wealth since he was lected. there are several economic indicators that show signs of strength because of the president's vision and agenda. i don't think that's any secret. when you talk to the economists. when you talk to business leaders, they have confidence in the president's agenda that it

will yield to a more favorable business climate. to make us more competitive around the globe. i do believe that. i don't think it's a question of what i believe or what the administration believes. if you look at what outside economists and business leaders do, they confirm that. >> the president is referring to job reports as phoney or fiction. does the president believe his jobs report was accurate and a fair way to measure the economy? >> i talked to the president prior to this. he said they may have been phoney in the past, but it's very real now. sara? >> thanks, sean. could you clear up what appears to be contention between what you said yesterday about when the administration or the president was made aware of general flynn, ap reporting today the transition team was informed of the leak. >> there's a big difference between when he filed which was

two days ago and what happened then. what the ap is reporting, just so we're clear, is that a personal lawyer of general flynn's contacted a transition lawyer and asked for guidance on what he should or should not do. the lawyer was instructed that that wasn't the role of the transition and that it was up to the personal lawyer to work with the appropriate authorities or subject matter experts to determine what was appropriate and what was not in terms of filing. this was a personal matter. it's a business matter. it's not something that would be appropriate for a government entity to give some guidance on when they should file as a private citizen. that was the guidance that was given, which is consistent with what should be done. and so i don't think it should be a shock to anybody that if you're asked a government lawyer what you should do in your private capacity as a citizen, they'll tell you you should consult experts in that area to determine what you should or should not do. >> if the transition was aware

of that advice, why wasn't the president aware of that? >> there are tons of individuals that consult with the lawyers and with ethics experts and say i own this stock, will i have to sell it? i own a business, a house. for the most part, they're given guidance as to, hey, go seek professional help, consult with a lawyer. almost like asking someone for tax advice. if you call the irs and say i want to know what i will do with this, they will tell you to consult a tax attorney. that's not the job of a government official, to tell you what you should or should not do in your capacity as a private citizen. a vastly different scenario. whether you -- regardless of what department you call in government, if you call the department of education and ask them about education standards, they'll probably refer you to a local enty. that's not why government

officials, they're very clear about the line between private action and government action. jordan. >> thanks, sean. does the president agree with house conservatives that medication should be moved up to the end of next year. >> i think that the bill that is before the house right now, the reconciliation piece. i cannot reiterate it enough. is part of a three prong process. the current process does several things. number one, it's the first time you are going to have a full addressing of an entitlement like this in decades. it is actually a very very good thing for conservatives when you look at how we're going to address medicade and an entitlement that many have fought for years need to be addressed. that being said, the presidented has also been very clear to all of the discussions, as he meets with members of congress and outside groups, that if someone's got an idea that can make this legislation more

accessible, give more choice to the american people, drive down costs, make it more patient centric, he wants to listen to it. right now that's where the bill stands. we're going to continue to work with members of the house and senate. i don't want to prejudge the process itself, but the bill was crafted in a way that i think represents the president's thinking and a very smart way of addressing entitlement and projections. >> the president is willing to negotiate on the expansion measure. >> right now the date that's in the bill is what the president supports. he is willing to listen to individuals, different aspects of the bill that might make it -- that might achieve the goals that he set out. it's not about negotiation. we have a date in the bill and that's the date in the bill. the bill continues to work its way through the house. that goes for speaker ryan. he's got members that are

approaching him with ideas. i'm sure he's listening to them as well. senator mcconnell is probably dealing with the same issue in the senate. that's how the process will work. i have made it clear that this is a process where we'll take the best ideas, listen to individuals and try to achieve the goals that the president has laid out. >> piggy backing off john and john. the breakfast this morning, same one you referenced, nanty pe pelosi said it couldn't be true, the president's allegations against the former president, because that is not how our system works. she also said obama would not do that and it would be a waste of time for the house intelligence committee to investigate that allegation. does the white house have any evidence to refute house minority leader and former speaker pelosi's claim? and could you explain why the president asked the fbi chief about this directly? >> i think we spoke very clearly

about what we would like to happen last sunday. i'm gonna reiterate it. we believe the house and senate intelligence committee have the appropriate forum to look into matter and report back. >> can you say that the president was informed about this arrangement? >> no. no. just so we're clear, you wouldn't -- general flynn filed with the department of justice like asking -- >> what about the files? >> that's up to his personal lawyer. each person that goes through the process in government seeks counsel in many cases regarding the assets they own and the activities that they've conducted. this is something that it's like asking whether someone needs you to file, if they had a client, whether or not they have to file a lobbying disclosure form.

that's up to them and their counsel to determine if they entkpwaeupe engaged in activities in the past. or if a doctor needs to reup their certification. that's not up for the government to determine. there are certain private citizen activities you seek counsel on. that's how the system works. >> you already got your question. we're doing one questions. it's not, john. >> you have an attorney calling the transition saying that the person in line to be the national security adviser may need to register as a foreign agent. that doesn't raise a flag. >> it's not a question of raising a red flag, john. it's a question of whether or not they gave him the advice that they are supposed to. it is not up to them to make decisions as to what you need to do or not do. there are certain activities that fall under each of these requirements. as far as what the threshold is. it is not up to, nor sit

appropriate, nor is it legal, for the government to start going into private citizens, telling them what they have to register or not. that would be the equivalent of walking through someone's tax return saying that's not a deduction. that's why when you contact these agencies, they will tell you you should seek counsel or professional advice or expertise. that is not up to them to determine. plain and simple. >> moving beyond the legal question. just to follow up with john. this is an issue of judgment about who you want in your administration. there were published reports that your potential national security adviser had dealings with the government of turkey, a controversial regime at this moment in time. congressman cummings sent a letter to mike pence during the transition informing him of this and raising a red flag. mr. pence was on television i believe yesterday saying twice that he had no knowledge of that

letter. >> hold on. hold on. before you accuse the vice president of certain things. no, what he said is that he was not aware of the filing. just so we're clear. he wasn't. thank you. >> in terms of the larger question. forget about filling out forms. what does this say about the transition team's judgment about still appointing him as national security adviser when you had nothing of this? >> you're asking me -- forget about the legalisms? that's what we ask people to do is follow the law. you can forget about the legalisms. that's what you said. what i'm saying is that's what we did. they consulted a lawyer, which everyone who had something is advised to do. that lawyer consulted the transition team. it is your job to consult the appropriate lawyers. >> beyond the legal issues. i'm saying when moving beyond the issue of papers here, we're talking about the judgment,

judgment of the president, the vice president and your team made to select this man as national security adviser when you had information that he had dealings with turkey. >> what dealings are you referring to? fact that he had a client. he was also the head of the department of defense intelligence agency. unbelievably qualified, 40 years in the military with impeccable credentials. so what is it? what exactly are you getting at? he has impeccable credentials. he had a stellar career in the military. for you to impugn -- >> mike pence said that yesterday. >> there was no disclosure at the time. and the question is, is that if his counsel worked with whomever he worked with and determined that he didn't, that was up to him. the burden is on the individual to seek the legal advice from professional expertise to decide what they have to file or not. we could literally have a hypothetical question about somebody who made an inappropriate filing on their tax return or a professional

qualification. at the end of the day, when people present it with you, they are advised to seek expertise and counsel and legal advice about what's appropriate and what's not. it's not up to the transition attorneys to go through someone's livelihood and determine what they need to seek. if they were given the proper legal advice at the time, which is to seek expertise in that matter. he already obtained counsel. >> let me clarify. the transition officials were not overly concerned by his -- >> the question is did they provide him the avenue they were supposed to? did they tell him to seek counsel? they did. that's what is supposed to happen. that's it. plain and simple. yes? >> i guess the question for you would be right now does this ray concerns that there may be other members of this administration or members who served in the transition that were or are currently lobbying on behalf of foreign governments right now that maybe advising the president of the united states? >> we trust people to fill out

the appropriate forms that they need to. and the president acted accordingly. he made the right call then. >> he may have been taking actions. >> you're asking me -- look. can you tell me that the executives at nbc news have gone through every single reporter's background -- i understand that. we trust people to fill out the forms that they are required to do in an honest and legal manner. in this case he retro actively filed the form that he was supposed to do. we advised him to do what the legal proper thing was. we expect every employee to follow the law. this president, when it comes to ethics, lobbying, he instituted a five year ban. he has ran on a commitment to drain the swamp. he has been very committed to making sure that we institute high standards here. when he found out that general flynn had betrayed the trust of

the vice president back in the day, he let him go. the president had high standards for everyone that works in this administration. the answer to your question is, if somebody does something that is not in keeping with the president's standards that he's set for every single person in this administration, they will be let go. >> you have faith in all the people right now? >> i believe everybody has done what has legally been required of them. i can't tell you every sinle person has done everything. i can tell you the president has made clear that you are expected to live up to the high standards he has set for them. and if you don't, you will be dismissed. >> the removal of the south korean president. what's the reaction of the white house to him? and also, we know that there will be a presidential election very soon in south korea. we know several leading candidates, prefer less

competition with -- does the white house look into the impact of the election? >> well, i believe they have to have an election within 60 days. there's an acting president who we have strong relationships with. we will continue to work with south korea. they are an ally and friend in the region. this is obviously an issue that we need to keep up with on the developments there. it's a domestic issue which the united states takes no interest in the outcome of that election. it is up to the citizens of their country to determine the future of their country. that's it. >> obviously you are very excited about the report. tweeting within an hour of the

jobs data coming out which is a violation of federal rule. so i'm wondering i guess if there is counseling in the president's future. also critics do say the risk of doing this is politicizing kind of what should be nonpartisan. >> what i understand is that rule was instituted to deal with market fluctuation that could be wrong. i believe that's -- i think tweeting out great way to start a friday here are the actual numbers that you all have reported is a bit -- don't make me make the podium move. honest to god. every reporter is here reported out that we had 235,000 jobs, 4.7. there isn't a tv station that didn't go live to it. so to tweet out great way to start a friday i think, yes, the president was excited to see more americans back to work. i don't think that's exactly market disruption. i think there's a lot of

excitement in this country when we look at the policies that the president has instituted to help put more americans back to work. i mean, i understand the rule, but let's -- >> the obama white house, for instance, you know, went out of their way not to comment on that. they rearranged the president's schedule around it. >> i get it. it's not about commenting. it's one thing to give analysis. literally tweeting out great news. yes, we're excited that when the president and the rest of the team saw the news this morning, as reported on every television station, twitter, the internet, and every major news site in the country, we were excited to see so many americans back to work. so i apologize if we were a little excited. we are so excited to see so many fellow citizens back to work. >> president in november did lay

out that general flynn was being paid to lobby for turkish interests during the campaign. why did not raise a flag? >> it's not a question of raising a flag. we keep forgetting something. his attorney then went to a transition attorney who was told you need to seek counsel on this and get further guidance. it's not a question of raised flags. not up to us to adjudicate whether we need to file under the disclosure act. that's not the job of a transition attorney. it's to tell them to seek additional counsel or to explain to them where to find that information. not to tell them what to do or not to do. >> president specifically not saying you should go to this attorney or giving legal advice, but why when this information was brought to the vice president attention didn't he raise questions, bring it to the president, look into it further? >> i think it's fairly simple to say why didn't this occur. we're going through several people. the answer is did they seek the appropriate professional advice

and counsel? they did. that's the answer. alexis. >> i have a health care question for you. >> oh good. >> will the president be willing to sign legislation and be flexible about the refundable tax credit portion of the house bill? would he be willing to sign legislation that voided that particular provision because, as you know, conservatives are concerned that that's an additional entitlement. >> i think more and more as the president talks to members of congress and outside groups. number one, i think they're excited to understand the totality of this. he addressed this in a weekly address you can find at white house.gov. continues to explain the comprehensive aspect of this. the administrative piece that secretary price will institute. and the additional legislation, buying health care across state lines, allowing small businesses to pool things. allowing health savings accounts to expand.

the stream lining of the federal, the fda, going after medical malpractice. all those things that bring costs down. people have to remember that if you get your health care through your employer, which the majority of americans do, you are not taxed. your employer is not taxed. it is fairly inadequate and unbalanced for small business owners, ranchers and farmers, sole proprietors to have to face a disproportionate tax burden because they're not a big employer. this is something conservatives should be embracing. more they understand the comprehensive nature of this, they're beginning to support it more. >> refundable tax credit provision. >> absolutely. >> -- asking why mr. johnson is

still in his job. >> i'd refer you to the tkep of treasury on that. >> the president tweeted that russia, quote, ran over united states an in particular picked off crimea and added missiles which the president described in his tweet as weak. as has been called for by the house and armed services committee chairman and both party platforms although the republican language was watered down? and if he's not going to, i did ask you this several weeks ago when senator mccain sent a letter asking for this. if the president doesn't want to do it, is that because he would rather focus efforts on partnering to try to defeat

isis? >> i think ambassador haley noted at the u.n. that any attempt to under mind sanctions that currently is pwaouz of the annexation of crimea will remain in place until that issue is resolved. the president, when it comes to his overall negotiating strategy has made it clear that his philosophy is not there. >> why would sending weapons to crimea have anything to do with sanctions? >> i'm not going to get into the president's negotiating strategy. secretary tillerson. it's your birthday, you get a question. >> we have about several dozen e-mails. we talked to congress men saying if you're going to repeal and replace obama care why not give

everybody what congress and senators get. can you address that since congress won't? >> part of what we're trying to do. someone asked the other day about federal benefits. third of our countries have one provider. that's not choice. that's why we're doing this. so many americans have no choice. and that he wants there to be greater choice and lower costs. by doing the stuff we're doing, especially the third prong of this, allowing competition over state lines. that's really going to institute more choice. there will be more options. prior to obama care you could go on the open market and go from a variety of different options and tailor what you or your family needed based on the conditions that you sought or the deductible that you wanted and choice dried up with obama care. that's the point though. if you want more of that kind of system, then this is the bill

and the legislation and the comprehensive approach that you should be supporting. >> congress and senators get better care than the rest of us. can you address that? >> yes. that's why we're trying to pass it the way we are. we want more choice. we want lower cost. the american people deserve a better health care system. >> did the white house sign off on secretary tillerson's decision not to take the press on him what would be an important trip to asia and a growing north korean threat? and what are his marching orders? you talk a lot about the flexibility the president has given to his generals. what flexibility has he given for diplomatic initiatives for secretary of state? >> the president sruz withing lunch with secretary tillerson. i know the trip was one of the top eubgs of discussion. the press is being invited to

that trip. they're traveling commercially. there's a press logistics component to make sure they can get everywhere. the answer is the plane that the secretary is taking doesn't accommodate that but they have made accommodations for members of the press to cover everything. we don't get involved in the logistics for every cabinet member's trip. i would advise you to touch base with the secretary wrbg the state department on this. i know that they were made aware of the concerns of some of your colleagues and they are making accommodations in the future with respect to the size of the plane. make no mistake. there is a logistics component to make sure press is welcome. and that accommodations are car logistical support. there will be a press conference component. >> would you like public diplomacy for this administration to be covered fully going forward? >> i hope it will be covered

fully. >> are reporters allowed to be on the plane with the secretary? >> when appropriate, they can. there's a big difference between making sure that we carve out x number of seats and making sure that we have transparency and openness in covering events. they have hro skwreus call support for you all. there's hotels, travel support, accommodations and filing centers. at some point this isn't about blocking anybody. they've gone above and beyond. not every plane can accommodate every member of the press. >> can they get a bigger plane? >> i understand that. there's an element of cost savings at this point that the secretary is trying to achieve. at the end of the day there has been a press component to every step of the secretary's trip. he is doing everything he can the support the press who wants to cover him. they are being open to make sure the secretary is available throughout the trip, yes. >> president trump has been very

critical of germany's chancellor on the campaign trail. how does the white house think that will affect the meeting on tuesday? >> i know that we did a bit of read back earlier today on that. there's excitement on both sides of the ocean for this trip. i know that we are looking for war to meeting with the chancellor and her team. talk to her folks over there. they're very excited about coming over. there's a lot of trade and economic interest on both sides. there's an element of national security that we share. and so i will let the trip -- look forward to the readout. there's a lot of excitement coming. i know the president looks forward to meeting with the chan hror and discussing areas of shared interest. >> i wonder about the one discussion. i gathered from today and yesterday. correct me if i'm wrong. i want to make sure i understand the question. are you saying the president was not aware that lieutenant

michael flynn was acting as a foreign agent when he appointed him to be national security adviser? >> correct. just remember you wouldn't know that until you filed. he didn't file until two days ago. therefore nobody would have known that because he hadn't filed as a foreign agent until two days ago. >> he filed a lobbying disclosure in november. >> that's different than filing with the doj. >> the other question is did flynn disclose he was acting as a foreign agent in the security clearance review before he became nsa? >> i don't know the answer to that question. that's something you should follow up with general flynn on. april? >> when is it when a president, former president's spillover ends and the new president stands on his own merit? when does that happen? >> i think on january 20th at noon you start to take command of the government. what specifically are you

asking? >> numbers from jobs. >> this is the first full month that encapsulates the president's time. we are seeing the enthaou -- enthusiasm business leaders have been excited about. we're going to continue to work with policies that will lower regulation and lower taxes, create a more business friendly business climate to allow the expansion of u.s. companies and grow u.s. jobs. >> lastly, over the last couple weeks, all the negatives -- welsh not all the negatives, but a large portion, of the affordable care act. how you're looking to make it patient care. so with that, are there any positives that you can ar tick a little from anything that will

carry into possibly this. >> children being able to stay on their parents plans until 26. there's a preexisting piece. you're asking if there's elements. those are some things -- again, remember, there's some stuff that was part of the aca that republicans have supported as well. this is making sure that it is the most effective health care policy that achieves the president's goals. i don't know april. i'm sure i could go through the bill. it's very long, as you saw the other day, 1,000 pages. 974 paeupbges. >> president trump invited president obama to the white house very soon, can you confirm that? >> i can. thank you very much very much. we'll end on a positive note. have a great weekend. >> are you watching snl this weekend? >> white house press briefing just wrapping up. so much for that one question

friday that sean spicer eluded to yesterday. i'm sandra smith. you just heard. everything from michael flynn to a lot more on what's happening with the economy and that big jobs number. that's what sean spicer led off with. for more on all of this, you've been waiting so patiently. fox news correspondent at large. thanks for sticking around. he did lead off on the economy. something you and i were chatting about was the different tone that we are seeing from sean spicer in the briefing. >> he started off as press secretary so awkwardly. his suits didn't fit. he was very strident. he was very defensive. he told a joke today. laughed. said he was gonna move the podium the way they do on saturday night live. >> sandra: we hoped he would have done that right after the snl skit. >> it was great and relaxed and much more in line with the correspondents. i thought it was to me obvious that general flynn's problems

registering as a foreign agent for turkey at the same time he was the national security adviser, the president treated him kinder than vice president pence did. >> sandra: there was some feisty exchanges there. reporters didn't come off of that. there were multiple questions fired at him. here was one of those exchanges. >> i believe that everybody has done what has legally been required of them. i can't tell you every single person has done everything. the president has made clear to everybody in this administration, you expected to live up to the high standards that he has set for them. if you don't, you will be dismissed. >> if i was a body language expert, i would tell you there's one time you were all tensed up. he battled. he got the question three different ways. but the whole idea that here you have turkey. turkey was the conduit to remind people during the whole of the syrian civil war, almost the isis terrorists going through

turkey to get to europe. all of the tidal wave of refugees. turkey was, in my view, absolutely complicit with isis. they were a member of nato. they had a very strained relationship with the united states. at the same time that strained relationship with with the united states where general flynn to be foreign agent for turkey, does raise questions. >> sandra: they stayed on that for a bit. he led off on the economy. the trump administration, the white house is touting that jobs report. the unemployment rate dropped 4.7%. here was a joking moment that sean spicer had. listen. >> the president is referring to particular job reports as phoney or totally fiction. does the president believe this jobs description was accurate? >> i talked to the president

prior to this. he said to quote him very clearly. they maive phoney in the past, but it's very real now. >> that's good. >> sandra: you like the fact that he joked around. to give you the history on that, during the campaign process, the election process, president trump would see obama touting strong job numbers while he was still in the white house and president trump, then candidate trump at the time, was sort of saying, come on, those aren't real numbers. but now they're real. >> now they're real. you know we're speaking about it numbers. this has been a trajectory. president obama maybe with all that borrowed money that caused a big hole in the deficit, from beginning in 2009, the jobs have been shooting up. there hasn't been a single month since 2009, as far as i know, where there's been a negative. >> sandra: private sector jobs growth has grown every single month since the recovery. however, if you did dig into the details of that jobs report, i did indicate construction jobs

are growing. the areas where we're seeing job growth is from the job participation rate is one of those more real numbers that some of the economists watch there. it's at the highest level that it has been at. there were some indications that things did look strong for this economy first month under president trump. >> i give him absolute credit for it. even if there was a trend that was undeniable and unmistakable and this is just part of the train that barack obama started from the station. there is no doubt that everybody feels better about the american economy now and since november 8th. donald trump absolutely gets credit for feeling that the tide is rising. we're all gonna take this ride up together. the rosy times are ahead. i like the vibe. i think that is president trump's biggest accomplishment. >> sandra: he can at least own that. >> definitely. >> sandra: he's promising 4% growth in the first year of his

presidency. geraldo thank you. growing pressure on the head of the fbi to publicly reveal what he knows about plt trump's claims that obama wire tapped president trump's trump tower. katherine, hey. >> reporter: the fbi director's briefing did deal with the wire tapping allegations. we don't know the extent of those conversations, but what we do know is that a letter has been sent by the house excel generals committee leadership to the justice department asking them for any documentation that would reflect these allegations of wire tapping at trump tower. speaking to reporters the house minority leader said that director comey has an obligation to be forth coming on the issue. >> theoretically do i think that the director of the fbi who knows for a fact that something

is mythology but misleading to the american people and he should set the record straight, do you think he should say that publicly. >> reporter: a law enforcement source emphasized that when the former director of national intelligence said their investigation found no evidence of collusion, it also reflected the so called odd computer link that's being reported by other news outlets as elements of the fbi investigation which may relate to trump tower as being handled by the koupber intelligence team. on the former national security adviser mike flynn filing as an agent of a foreign government before taking that white house job. fox news learned that flynn really took over the lion's share of his turkish contacts in early 2016 which included a vast intelligence network and it was closely associated with a long time opera teufrb for the cia. the house intelligence committee has its public hearing on the

calendar for march 20th. that includes comey, the head of nsa, the group that oversees these surveillance orders and executes them, along with the former cia director, former director of national intelligence james clapper as well as former acting attorney general sally yates who was fired by president trump over her refusal to enforce the first travel ban. and this morning a committee republican told fox news that the hearing should be pretty eye opening. >> we need to see the evidence behind our government's response to those efforts. so i come from a background that is evidence centric. i'm not interested in summaries. i can't deal with anonymous sources. i need witnesses. i need facts. and i need evidence. >> reporter: so the obvious thing about this witness list is that these are people who have first hand knowledge of the last administration's investigation into russia. but if i can read in between the lines for you here. this is also a group that probably has a pretty good idea where these leaks came from

because it's just a sphapl handful of individuals who had access to that information. so you can expect them to be put on the spot during that hearing about the leaks and what they thought the origin was. sandra? >> sandra: got it. we'll be on it. thank you. a scandal which started in the marines now spreading to the whole military. the pentagon is addressing it head on just moments ago. plus 2500 american troops are headed to kuwait ready at a moment's notice for whatever happens in iraq or syria. and beyond. general jack keen joins us. >> we are all dealing with activities perpetrated by iran and its proxies operating in the region. it is my view that iran poses the greatest long term threat to stability for this part of the world.

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shame, harass and threaten their female colleagues. u.s. marine corp expander general robert neller holding a news conference, condemning those involved in this, calling the behavior inexcusable and a threat to success on the battlefield. >> i can assure you if there's accountability to be made, those that are involved will be held accountable. for those marines that are watching this or listening, or may have been involved in this, if you're participating in this type of behavior in any way, shape or form, you're not helping me or your marine corps. >> sandra: chairman of the institute for the study of war and a fox news analyst is here. good to see you. first, did you have any comment on what you just heard from neller on this nude photo sharing scandal? he said those responsible will and should be held accountable.

>> no doubt about military organizations are not like a normal organization. death is a silent companion to these fighting organizations. the way they can face that kind of danger on a regular basis, they have to have good order, discipline and unit cohesion. and the fundamentals of unit cohesion are respect and trust in one another. these acts here are a violation of that trust. it is an absolute betrayal of that trust. and there's no wonder that he is very upset about it. >> sandra: i also want to move on to this news that we're sending 2500 troops heading to kuwait. they are ready to fight in syria and iraq. ready to fight at a moment's notice. your thoughts as we move those troops in. >> yeah. what's happening here, we're just seeing some of the initial installments of a change in strategy in particularly in syria. but dealing with isis overall. the president had to ask for a

comprehensive plan to defeat isis as quickly as possible. i know the chairman of the joint chiefs with the joint chiefs worked on this. they have briefed the white house on it. the white house is not gonna disclose all the details of it, for obvious reasons. but we will begin to see more installments on this plan as we go after isis at raka and all undermind their finances, under mind their ideology and work with our allies to defeat isis in the countries it's expanded into. >> sandra: talk about the central region and the security challenge that we face there. cent com commander spoke ab this on the threats in the middle east. listen to this. >> the central region has come to represent many of the security challenges our nation faces. most importantly, the threats in

this region continue to pose the most direct threat to the u.s. homeland and the global economy. >> sandra: to the u.s. economy and the global economy. general? >> you're absolutely right. we have been engaged in the middle east going back to the early '90s. certainly the two 9/11 wars. now isis itself. and the other thing that the general is very concerned about is not just the spread of radical islam throughout the middle east and underminding the governments that are there, it's the iranian strategic objective to dominate and control the middle east and the problems that they're causing in lebanon, in syria, in iraq, and now in yemen where they have overthrown the u.s. backed government. they are trampling on u.s. interests and those of our allies in the middle east. we're on a collision course with iran. >> sandra: general keane always good to get your perspective. >> good talking to you. >> sandra: members of congress facing angry constituents at town halls over what may happen to their health care coverage. my next guest is opting out of

meetings like this to go one on one. >> i have a lot of people that gave me good feed back. people came in. they said in the past we've avoided town halls because they didn't feel comfortable bringing up issues in front of a crowd.

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>> sandra: we aoefr seen many lawmakers encounter anger and shouting at their tall hall meetings back home. now a republican congressman has come up with a unique alternative to the town hall inviting constituents to the office and giving them ten minutes to voice their concerns one on one. >> i thought there might be a crowd. i'm surprised there's so many. >> had a long time to wait but i appreciate having ten minutes one on one with him to have him hear my issues and get to ask him questions. >> sandra: here to tell us how

it all went republican congressman from california, david valadao. how did it go? >> i think it went well. my constituents i think felt really comfortable in that environment. i had people coming in they didn't even feel comfortable sharing their opinions. once they got in and met with me, they felt comfortable. they told me some personal stories. for me it was very very beneficial. >> sandra: what are you hearing from them? >> we're hearing everything. just like you're hearing anywhere else. you have folks really concerned about the affordable care act. some of them positive. some of them negative. i have people coming in with actual statements from the insurance companies and how much they're paying out of pocket and how it's taking half their salary. i have people who truly need the assistance that did come with it. it was a good opportunity. >> sandra: we have up on the screen the gop plan to repeal and replace obama care. it is a process.

and there is, there are many who have a problem with what is going on. you are hearing it from your constituents. where are you on this plan? >> i mean, we're still going through the details. it's moved through two committees. we're watching the process. we're keeping our voices heard with leadership to make sure the voices of my constituents are being heard in d.c. we want to do everything we can to help those who have been hurt by it and also those who have been helped by it. >> sandra: you're a republican in a district where democrats hold a 17% advantage in registration. >> yes. i have got one of the most challenging republican districts in the country. >> sandra: as far as your outreach, i would wonder if you would recommend this to some of your other republican colleagues, 23,000 outgoing constituent letters, all personally signed, 16 community events, 59,000 personal phone calls, automatic dials in the thousands. i mean, clearly these are some

big numbers as far as your outreach stats. you've been busy. >> yeah. i think it's very important to stay in contact. we do everything we possibly can. we're always looking for new ways. this is something we thought would be creative and interesting. so far the feed back has been really good. >> sandra: there was an evening at the white house last night that the president held to convince skeptical gop'ers on the health care plan. were you invited? are you invited to one in the future? >> i'm sure i will be, but i have not invited last night. there was only one lane in that bowling alley. >> sandra: there was two, for the record. only one was working, we're told. as far as the messaging coming from the administration on this, do you see them selling this the best that they can? >> you know, i feel like they're trying. but obviously it's up to us in the house and the senate to make sure our constituents are connected. we're their representation into the government. we're their voices.

that's our job, to make sure that we're voicing it in both directions. this possibly could be coming down. obviously what the concerns are with it and what we can do to make it better. >> sandra: all right. congressman valadao, great to hear your story. you're certainly taking a different approach to this, meeting one on one with angry constituents. giving them ten minutes. >> they weren't all angry. there were happy ones, too. >> sandra: fair to.out. congressman, thank you. we'll be right back. we asked a group of young people when they thought they should start saving for retirement. then we asked some older people when they actually did start saving. this gap between when we should start saving and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us aren't prepared for retirement. just start as early as you can. it's going to pay off in the future. if we all start saving a little more today, we'll all be better prepared tomorrow. prudential. bring your challenges.

>> sandra: a great sea turtle names beck is swimming again. after doctors in thailand surgically removed 11 pounds of coins from her stomach. veterinarians putting her back in the water four days after her operation. a surprising sight at the great barrier reef. the bleaching of the coral

reefs. bleaching happens when water temperatures are too warm raising concerns that climate change could cause permanent damage to the sea life. nesco working with australian authority to protect the reef. i'm sandra smith. here's shep. >> shepard: it's noon on the west coast, 3:00 at the white house. president trump is putting on the pressure as republicans work to repeal and replace obamacare. the president meeting with heavy hitters and planning a rally and hosting a bowling night as he tries to win over critics. paul ryan talking about the stakes here saying if these efforts fail, it could crush the rest of the agenda. and scandal in the marine corps. top brass that stalked women online and posted photos. ncis getting involved. i'll speak with a vet that knows what it's like to be targeted. and the real