court confirmation hearing. and that's it for today. have a great week, and we'll see you next "fox news sunday." ♪ ♪ howie: on ""buzzfeed"" the president involved in controversies. we ask rachel maddow about the president's tax returns. >> we have the legal right to show these tax returns. we are not publishing them. howie: an escalating battle with

the press corps over president obama's claim barack obama had him wiretapped. >> where was your passion and concern when you all said there was no connection to russia? he stand by it. but you are mischaracterizing what happened what happened today. >> tonight we know the president of the united states has no facts. everybody in town except for possibly the president knows there wasn't a wiretap, that that is not true. >> head of the intelligence committee, the cia director, those of us in the media have been wrong about lots of things. howie: why is spicer accusing the media of a false narrative. he says many in the press don't want trump to succeed. is that true?

i'm howard kurtz and this is "media buzz." rachel maddow could not have been more excited as she touted and teased president trump's tax return. then came the 20-minute monologue and she still didn't get to the news about the two pages from 2005 until after the first commercial break. >> this is the first time we believe federal tax returns have been obtained by anyone. but once you are president of the united states, the people of the united states need to know if you have got significant unexplained sources. what we have are these two pages, front and back from the same 1040 form you might have filled out when you file your taxes. howie: that's where we began when i sat down with white house

press secretary sean spicer. when rachel maddow disclosed two pages of the president's tax returns. the president tweeted nbc, fake news. but even before she got out the news, the white house confirmed the returns were real. >> they talked to us before they aired it to let us know they were doing the segment. it showed it's illegal to publish tax returns. to leak them and publish them. there is an act that prohibits that on another citizen. the idea they would hype the idea they obtained an illegal document and hype it to show the president paid $38 million, an effective rate of 28% tax.

the fact that he's a wealthy man and he does pay taxes. for nbc to continue from that point forward to start perpetuating a faults narrative about what the president did. that is unbelievably dishonest. it shows the lengths to which nbc will go to get raiding. howie: johnson said it was in his nail box. does anybody believe he went to his nail box and found my tax returns? >> this is a former reporter that is running a blog, and somehow someone believes he's the best way to get out key news. it's a little suspect. instead of them perpetuating at nbc this false narrative about how they got there, they should be asking this former reporter was let go from the new york

times, how someone would want to pick someone like him. it seems suspect that somebody who is no longer employed by a major outlet becomes the prime target to get out. wait really disappointing, not only does nbc news cross the line in promoting and publishing it, but they perpetuated a false narrative where it came from. proof and sources, when they went on and created this false narrative, it shows again the length to which they will go to get ratings and pro note false narratives. howie: speaking of the briefing room, you had an extraordinarily con thcontentious briefing. you said the press is pushing a faults narrative on the wiretapping.

>> when director -- chairman destrip nunes, senator tom cotton, director clapper, all these people briefed on the knack the 2016 election, said to their knowledge there is no proof that russia hacked the election. but they toind push the false narrative. it's amazing how the mainstream media continues to bring up a story that's been debunked by every intelligence official and member of congress who has been briefed by the f.b.i. yet the mainstream media continues to hold on to that narrative because they realize it clearly gets them some coverage or ratings. then when it comes to the other side of the aisle, they ignore

the reporting done by the "new york times" and others. howie: the "new york times" didn't report that president obama ordered wiretapping. they reported some intercepts that the russians might have picked up, but the republican chairman of both house and senate intel committees have said so far they have seen no evidence to support the president's claim. you seem to want to deflect those question to the point -- the legitimate point of no evidence of collusion with russia. >> they said so far. the department justice asked for an additional week. i think when you start looking into all of these things that occurred in 2016. the question is, what did happen? who was being looked at. there was clearly something there. and i think it's incumbent point house and senate intelligence

committee to look into these situations and find out what did go on. you take a situation like general flynn. he was uncovered in a wiretap of some sort it's against the law for any americans named to be exposed to be part of any surveillance like this. so how do these illegal leaks get out, what's happening. why isn't there equal concerns for how that got leaked? howie: one of the reasons it's become such a media fixation, is president trump accused president obama as mccarthyism and the media is saying they haven't seen evidence to support that. >> the house and senate intelligence committees have agreed to look at it. chairman devin nunes said he thinks there is something to look at. howie: after your briefing jake

clapper said you can't defendant indefensible and you are arguing the earth is flat. >> i don't need to respond to jake. he's looking to get whatever attention he can at this point. howie: there have been a left to stories about back biting and chaos in the white house. >> i often talk to the reporters dealing with these stories. they say it's not necessarily people in the white house, it's people around the white house. a reporter called me and said there were signs in the white house how their phone calls were being monitored. i said yef it's on everi' government phone ever since i have been in the government, the department of defense and the white house, when you pick up

the phone and log on to the computer it says? compliance with the agreements you signed don't engage in these illegal acts. these things have existed forward decades and all after sudden they become am story to perpetuate a narrative that's not there. howie: do you think the media do not want president trump to succeed? >> i think so. a good number of folks in the main-stream media aren't conservative. they are liberals. survey after survey shows the majority of reporters lean to the left. howie: even if that's true -- >> there are some that don't understand -- and some of it is intentional and some of it is not. what i mean is in some cases ideologically some people cannot understand why some of the

agenda and the vision that the president is pursuing makes sense to them because they are so ideologically bent to the left. the way they view life, the prism they exist in and they view issues through doesn't allow the thoughts and ideas that come out of the right to make sense to them. howie: "the disappearing sean spicer." given the white hot nature of what you do -- >> the irony is in one week as you said from day one, not just day one, early january when i talked about this, i said we'll have some sort of briefing every day. some of it on camera, some of it off. we have had a briefing every single day. we have had two scheduled briefing that were off camera. howie: do you like being the start of a daytime show? >> i think it's an honor to have

the privilege the president sphwee stowed on me and the team i get to work with. the next person that takes this job would have the same right and responsibility and honor to do this as well and get the same treatment. we are all honored the president asked to us do this. we serve at his bequest and will. but that's all it is. howie: in a recent briefing you made a "saturday night live" reference saying don't make me make the podium move. have you come to terms with melissa mccarthy. >> you have to have a light-hearted moment. somebody was asking a silly question. i thought it was a great way to point that out and add levity to an hour-plus long briefing.

i am usually well asleep by the time that comes on. it's the one night i get a good sleep before going off to church the next morning. howie: when we come back our familiar weighs in on that spectacle involving rachel maddow.

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howie: let's start with rachael ma dowels coverage of the leaked tax return. cheryl atkinson, author of "the

smear." mollie hemingway, senior editor at "the medicallist." with all the mockery rachel maddow is getting, did she mishandle this story? >> i think so. i like her and her show is entertaining. but when you are not going to report the news you get in a fair way or realistic way. it hurts your credibility. howe. howie: rachel maddow is really smart, she got 4 million viewers for the show. but this was not handled as a straight news story. >> donald trump is the first presidential candidate in modern history not to release his tax returns. it turned out to be favorable news for donald trump.

he makes a lot of money and pays a lot of money in taxes. but it's very news worthy that we have this and it's not illegal to publish these reports it's illegal to leak them. it's a felony up to five years in prison. but publishing is not leaking. howie: msnbc was putting aught a story that ended up being favorable to the president. >> after the break, after the break. howie: don't go away, stay tuned. coming up next. >> 23 minute before we found out donald trump paid his taxes in 2005. if "saturday night live" weren't in reruns last night i believe they would have done rachel

maddow, however hard it would be to characterize since it was a parody that was unfolding. howie: the returns were obtained by david cay johnston. and he and i rachel maddow said maybe it was trump who sent it or one of his people. >> i don't have inside information on that. if trump were want to go get out good information about a task return. it would be risky to give to it a network that would be least likely to report it as good news. howie: even if you think they are behind it and i personally don't, i don't think they would pick this guy. >> it's a good reminder for the media in general when you are digging a grave for your enemy

you don't want to fall into it yourself. people were so sure the tax returns would be horrible for donald trump, they forgot to think of the possibility they wouldn't be. howie: she said it doesn't mean it was da damning information. even liberals are saying you hyped it in a way that made it seem like a bigger deal than it turned out to be. >> this left-on-left tr violenc- she needs to look at how she did the and critique herself. we are not in an age of apology right now. how * the media in an uproar

about the president refusing to back away from his claims about wiretapping.

howie: trump ripped the press again while talking to tucker karl on. >> i was very good to nbc, and they are despicable in their coverage. cbs, abc. you take a look at what's going on. i call it the fake press, the fake media. it's disgrace what is happening. howie: what do you think about president obama using that kind of language against nbc. >> he feels he has a relationship with the media. he has an ego and he thinks his

previous relationship with them should mean he gets better coverage. but i think about how cbs said it might not be good for america but trump is great for cbs news. they play off each other, the media and donald trump in a way that may not be healthy for the rest of the country. howie: president trump often criticizes jeff zucker and he says i got zucker his job. do you think he has a thing making this personal by what he seize as unfair coverage? >> the president makes a lot of things personal. the wiretap is personal and obama is a sick, bad guy. and zucker is a awful creature now. so the news is not a reality show.

he also doesn't -- he hasn't switched to being a public figure governing. he was used to telling the tabloid -- dishing stuff to the tabloids in new york for years how require's a very good skill that served him well in the campaign. >> he did bully, particularly in his divorces. he was a great guy paying lots of money to his ex-wives. but he was john barron calling them up. howie: are we approaching the point where donald trump says fake news so often it's becoming almost background noise? >> yes, but that serves his purpose. fake news was a phrase put on the plate of the american public last september by liberals. president trump got on that train.

they think they got the news covered and other angles. but this is how they could control information on the internet. trump co-opted that term so effectively people think fake news is his term. howie: he did it again on twitter after the meeting with angela merkel. despite what you hear from the fake news, i had a great meeting with angela merkel. despite the handshake. later, the white house and the press in a heated battle over wiretapping allega i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80%

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howie: type for insights on the coverage of this white house. joining us is bill bennett, the

author, host of the bill bennett podcast on itunes. do you believe the media's coverage of him is aggressive or intentionally unfair? >> both, very aggressive and intentionally unfair, way over the top. it's the worst thing i have ever seen. i have been around a long time. they gave it to bush hard. howie: you are saying this is different? >> they gave it to quayle. it. more unforgiving, it's personal and it's contemptuous. howie: do you think it's fair to say some portion of the negative covering the president brings on himself with distractions and tweeting? >> he brings out criticism of

himself by things he does, sure. that's part of the job of the media is to report on that. the things i'm talking about, the contemptuousness, the snarkiness. i called a year and a half ago and jake tapper is now snarky and con teland con tell to t un. howie: we are pointing out there is tough words on both sides. >> you can fire back, no question. but the question is what's in their heads. i think they are still mad about the election. and really mad that they missed it. we all know they missed it. a lot of people said you guise got it wrong.k what's going on n

some ways how he does not care. he talks about it, the criticism. he goes on his merry way anyway. he does not seek their approval. the funniest this town was was the day he announced he was going to a white house correspondent's dinner. we'll get back to the purpose of the dinner which is a scholarship. howie: it of the overshadowed by the celebrities. he's suppose to go and be insulted. i often wondered why presidents went to be insulted by a comedian. he said i don't have the time. good for him. howie: so you were the head of the national endowment for the humanities under ronald reagan. that agency is among those the

trump budget would abolish. you are fine with getting rid of it? >> i was also in favor of getting rid of the department of education. ronald reagan said do we need this, and i said no. you can do this elsewhere. the particular case, the humanities, humanities professors have done more harm to the united states with the work -- howie: there is reporting on the human contact. >> the budget director said the meals on wheels doesn't show any results. i think mick mulvaney is smart and he argues this very well. if it's not done from washington, it can be done somewhere else. when i was secretary of education.

i polled our recipients of money, what is the single most program? the answer was block grant. when we took the money and sent it back to them after take our 10% out. howie: even a bigger story is the passing of chuck berry at the age of 90. >> i'm going to write a little letter and send it to my local d.j. there is culture for you. he had more influence on rock 'n rollers. married for 68 years. there is a cultural message. howie: next on "mediabuzz," president trump is standing by his wiretapping claim. donna brazile finally acknowledging lying.

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howie: republican chairman of the house and senate intelligence panel says they see no evidence to substantiate trump's claim that president obama had him wiretapped. >> why not wait to tweet about

it until you can back up your words. >> the "new york times" did write on january 20 using the word "wiretap." wiretap covers a lot of different things. howie: what's your take on the coverage of this presidential wiretap claim? some anchors going off saying the president of the united states is a liar. >> two good questions to be asked, should he have head the statement relying on the press he says he doesn't trust. but there is a legitimate question the media should be asking whether there was improper surveillance of the campaign. we know the track record of the obama administration, they conducted unprecedented surveillance of reporters and the congressional intelligence committee. i think those are legitimate media questions.

howie: you are saying it's feasible that it happened. >> i have no for it happened but it's a question that needs to be purchase sued. howie: what do you think of sean spicer saying the media are ignoring crickets. wiretapping and surveillance are saying they have no evidence of any improper collusion between trump associates and vladimir putin's people. >> that's a good point. there has been no evidence provided there is a personal wiretap of donald trump's phones. and there has been no evidence provide for the unsubstantiated claims. when you have these people put on the record, you say people who are probably involved in this coordinated leak campaign to promote this narrative about russia. when they are on the record, they say they have no evidence of collusion.

devin nunes had a big press conference where he pointed that out. and the news story was come cal. it's a narrative that's been carried by the media for months now. howie: i think it press is focusing on unanswered questions about russia. in the case of mike flynn, there are questions about whether he had been fair by the and disclosed it. >> i any both have been covered, and the collusion in the russian hacking is still ongoing and it gets covered as they come out and say what they know. but i think we are waiting for the results of that. and james comey is testifying next week. on the wiretapping.

tucker did a good job on this. trump shifted the burden to everyone else to prove his claim. and it hasn't been proven. even attorney general sessions came out this week and said there was nosed. howie: he said he had given him no evidence. sean spicer brought up my colleague bret baier. what bret did was to ask paul ryan about reports about possible surveillance or wiretapping which stem from radio host mark levin. but this goats to your point of citing the mainstream media when it's convenient. >> i don't think it's a good practice to use media reports as your primary source. he sometimes takes what his understanding is of a report and carries it further. i know this from personal experience. he carries it further than the report says.

he has gone first when he talked about me and my reporting sometimes he's correct in the statement he makes, then he fills in some amplification that is not necessarily -- howie: the mainstream meade yarnlings has been saying the president is wrong about this, he exaggerated and that and none of it is stopping him. here on the wiretapping, we think we have him and we won't let our foot off the pedal. >> and it blows up in their faces. there has been surveillance of the trump team. we have been reid big in the reports in the "washington post" and the "new york times." mike flynn -- >> it does not matter. >> we know the obama administration relaxed rules on the sharing of information in

terms of names of people caught up in this. there has been so little interest on the part of the media to understand how is this happening, how is the information getting shared. it's a shame it takes the president to it out to for to us talk about it. howie: the press is loving this wiretap story. >> it was the most fantastic tweet of the many tweets of donald trump. when you accuse a former president of doing it and call in sick, it's news. but then you involve british intelligence and it becomes an international incident. hohowie: fox news became part of the debate when sean spicesser to napolitano, he said three unnamed sources told him president obama used the british intelligence agency to conduct

surveillance of donald trump. >> i didn't make an opinion on it. it was made by a talented lawyer on fox. you shouldn't be talking to me, you should be talking to fox. >> fox news cannot confirm judge napolitano's commentary. fox news knows of no evidence of any kinds that the now president of the united states was sush veiled in any time in any way, full stop. howie: napolitano told me, i reported what the sources told me, i reported it accurately, and i believe the substance what they told me. the british intelligence agency called the allegation ridiculous. sean spicer said he was reading media accounts and has no regrets. thanks very much for stopping by this sunday. after the break, our colleague

erin mcpike is the only

howie: the press is very upset with secretary of state rex tillerson for not taking reporters on his plane on his trip to asia. and the story got personal when the one lead reporter erin mcpike. >> rex tillerson makes stag crucial trip to asia take only one reporter from a conservative website. why is he ditching the news media.

howie: let me tell you what erin mcpike told me it's a reporter's job to push for exclusionives. i asked completely and they grante everyone is completely misreading the situation. no one * really knows rex tillerson. if matt lauer got an exclusive interview what they have the same complaint? did you change your mind and release the audio and her interview with the secretary signs was transcribed? >> i want to go back to the beginning of the decision. we received a fair share of criticism and i think that was warranted. we are a newer organization and this was a big exclusive for us. we have a situation in the administration where they are now circumvending the press and

they dock that through social media and build their own distribution channels. how * you say the criticism was warrant. how? >> now that the interview is out there and people have had a chance to dig in. the interview, if you look at it. there are a lot of meety subjects covered. erin did a great job. she knocked it out of the park. we transcribed it through the night, put the audio out and re-allowed the press to relct the way they wanted to act. howie: miller on said, "i'm not a big media access person." did you decide because there is so much media interest and criticismlet's just put it out there? >> we wanted to get information out as quickly as possible. there was a lot of news being made throughout the trip.

we did not want to try and replicate what the press pool which we supported the idea of the press pool being there. but we didn't want to try and create an alternative press pool and our own version of that. howie: several media outlets described you are organization as conservative. >> we have an audience that's an under served community. people who live outside the major city centers. we have an audience that is majority conservative. but we also have a large independent and democratic audience. we are not trying to introduce bias in our stories.

this was an opportunity for the first time to have a secretary of state on the record to ask important questions that will impact 7 billion people. howie: they are published this week and retracted a story about barack obama going to hawaii and talked to the judge before he blocked the travel ban, and it seemed to. >> we retract it. it doesn't meet our standard, that's why it was taken down. we left the full post up. it's something -- we are a newer organization. we are four years old, and we are going to make our shaffer mistakes. the best thing we dock is own up to them, apologize and move forward. how * yohowie: you think some oe criticism is driven by jealousy?

>> i don't think so. people are sceptical. they don't know a lot about our organization. we are newer. now that the interview is out there, hopefully they can see for themselves. howie: still to come. [ male announcer ] customink knows saturdays can be crazy.

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he said media are plural for mediocrity. rinse to this from the post. a group of environmental activists pulled off anne a daring act of defines. protesters to -- protesters defaced a trump golf course. when leaked emails showed donna brazile shared town hall questions with the campaign prior to the cnn town hall. i called her and she insisted she hadn't leaked the question. she lied to me. she now says sending those emails was a mistake i will forever regret. but she doesn't apologize to the people and journalists she

deceived like me. giving a like on facebook. talk to me on twitter.