to hear the president react. >> that would be the first time, she did say on the record that she did not leak them on masked names of trump team members who are caught up in the federal sweeping grasp of foreign actors. let's go now straight to "happening now" ." >> jon: we begin with a breaking news bombshell from the white house paid fox news confirms president trump's chief strategist stephen bannon has been removed from his position on the national security council. it was a controversial move when the president announced it. the fact that the man who is widely credited with helping him win the white house would be put in a position where he was privy to the nation's most sensitive intelligence. he is a former investment banker and the head of breitbart, again widely considered one of the architects of the president's victory. he is a navy veteran, but other than that, holds not typically the kind of credentials that would allow him to be considering our nation's foreign

policy and intelligence credentials. he is going to be out now on the national security council, the president obviously reversing that controversial earlier decision. we will have more on that in just a moment. hello and welcome to the second hour of "happening now," i'm jon scott. >> i'm julie bender in fort jenna lee today. we are awaiting a joint news conference between president trump and king abdullah ii of jordan, the president and king are expected to address the new peace initiative put forward by the israelis and palestinians. the leaders of jordan and egypt reportedly using their washington visit to roll out the proposal. rich is and is now joining us from the state department with the very latest. the big meeting with a key middle east ally today at the white house, tell us what we should expect to come out of that? >> good afternoon, it's a big meeting between jordan's king abdullah ii and

president trump, host or regional issues whether it is isis, syria, and the potential for the long elusive potential peace agreement between arabs, palestinians, and israelis, something that seems as far off as it ever has. a week after arab leaders met to discuss reviving a peace process between israelis and palestinians. abdullah hosted the summit, he said the foundation for any agreement must be a two-state solution, that is independent palestinian state next to israel. he also said israel settlements in the disputed land of what palestinians want as part of their country are wrecking chances for peace. arab and israeli leaders are also awaiting more clarity from the trump administration on their policies on the issue. president trump came into office with unequivocal support for israel. he has even promised at the time to move the u.s. embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem, city both groups are claiming as their capital. president trump during his february meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin and yahoo said he could lead with -- live with either a two-state

solution or a one state solution, one state meeting there would be no creation of a palestinian state. though he also said he wished that israel would hold back and push back on settlements into the west bank. palestinian leaders to say is any precondition for discussion on this issue, they want israel to halt its settlements, israel says they want the palestinians to recognize their right to exist as a country and they also want security control over the west bank. julie and back to you. >> julie: very much. >> jon: top story, white house advisor stephen bannon removed from his post on the national security council. chief white house correspondent john roberts live from the north lawn with more on this shakeup. the white house announced it is reshuffling the national security council? >> good afternoon to you. as you pointed out a couple minutes ago when you did the bulletin, it was an unusual appointment made at the end of january when the president decided steve bannon could sit on what is called the principals

committee of the national security council. that is something the bush administration resisted when it came to karl rove. it was highly unusual that steve bannon was put on the council to begin with. we are not sure of exactly the reason that he was taken off of the principles committee. the announcement of that in a document that would be published tomorrow when the federal register, it was available online on the inspections basis, but we are told by the white house he was initially put on the council to serve as a check to then national security advisor lieutenant general michael flynn who had been tasked with the operationalized, another word for depoliticizing the nsc, there were some 20 channels or even more than that of information flow leading up to jim jones, national security advisor in the initial days of the obama administration, finally to susan rice, in a statement, steve bannon says "susan rice operationalized the nsc during the last administration. i was put on to ensure that it

was de operationalized. general mcmasters, hr mcmaster knocked national security advisor, has returned to the nsc to its proper function." so the white house as there is no need for steve bannon to be on the nsc principles committee anymore. another interesting development is foster, homeland security advisor remains on the principles committee, but his role has been somewhat diminished. he is still able to chair homeland security council meetings, though. that authority would have to be designated to him by hr mcmaster, national security advisor. there's another headline coming down to the white house today, "the new york times" did an interview with the president a short time ago in the oval office. the headline is a statement the president made that he believes susan rice "may have committed a crime and unmasking the names of trump transition and campaign officials that were incidentally collected in intelligence documents." we don't know much more about this at the time. we don't know if the president

believes she may have leaked the name of lieutenant general michael flynn or if he's just talking about the unmasking. clearly this is a question that will likely come up at the press conference with king abdullah of jordan which is scheduled to start in about 4 minutes time. were also expecting that someone will ask about this potential peace plan. we have to point out again that this was first floated in 2002. israel was not particularly interested in it back then, so don't know why they would be interested in it now, 2017. the president has said he is interested in trying to craft a peace deal between israel and the palestinians and is on record in one of his last press conferences. the white house says they don't care if it is a two-state solution or one state solution, whatever solution works best, though he prefers the two-state solution. all of that to come this hour, another busy day at the white house. >> jon: busy day and much more to come, thank you. joint news conference with president trump and jordan's king abdullah set to start any minute now.

before does, let's bring in and amy started, associate editor and columnist at real clear politics. guy benson is also with us, political editor at townhall.com and a fox news contributor. how many presidents have struggled for peace in the middle east? is it possible that with these new proposals from the king of egypt and from king abdullah of jordan, that there could be a positive start? >> it is good news that they are trying. president trump is very committed to making a huge effort in this endeavor that you pointed out has really bedeviled many presidents before. it is clear from the past that although presidents and previous administrations have said they can walk and chew gum at the same time, when they are consumed by the numerous challenges and crises at the same time, makes it harder to stick to long-term projects like peace between the israelis and

palestinians. when he deals with what kind of posture he's going to take on syria with the russians, the iranians, with regard to the civil war there, and also how to respond to the testing of missiles by the north koreans and how to work with the chinese to deal with that immediate threat. it's obviously something we are looking at as a long-term project for the trump administration, not something we expect to see progress on soon. >> jon: i want to point out as you were speaking, we watch members of the cabinet come in, vice president pence and the camera focused on the end on jared kushner, the president's son-in-law. he is married to yves anke trump who was also there seated next to him. guy benson, it is widely thought he may have had a role in what is to be -- what is to come today. >> very well could be the case. he has the president's ear, we know that. he seems to have a position and the white house unrivaled in terms of access and influence with the president. i think to her point and your

question about the israeli-palestinian conflict, it's a good thing the white house is rolling up its sleeves and trying to get something done. the jordanians have been very constructive actors over the years on these questions. i think from the israeli perspective, they have shown over decades that they are willing to play ball and look at land swap and other deals. as the fundamental question of whether the palestinians recognize the right of israel to exist as a jewish state and disarm. if they're willing to do those things, israel is right there ready to go. if they are not, that is an ongoing security existential threatisrael, and they are not going to come to the table or at least pursue a plan in which those bottom-line fundamental factors are not in place from the get-go. >> jon: i believe there was a news conference a couple months back and which the president suggested the two-state solution might be out as part of a peace deal. it's my understanding that the two kings have come to him with what amounts to a two-state

solution. what do we know about what we are going to hear at the white house today? >> we don't know what we are going to hear because as much as they are going to talk about a two-state solution which king abdullah will be pushing for, laying the groundwork for some kind of peace deal between the israelis and palestinians, much of the conversation today will have to be dominated by the chemical attack in syria, the president killing his own people, and russia playing ball with the fiction this is an accident by a strike on a chemical facility and everything is great, nothing to see here, they will keep helping the reteam in the civil war against its own people. so that is obviously going to consume much of the conversation today. it has to. i don't know about the press conference but between the two of them, jordan is a terribly important ally. he is a very critical negotiator and player in the middle east, and he's going to be putting

some pressure on president trump about what his isis plan is, even if he is giving it a secret from us. >> jon: the first lady and queen of jordan have entered. now president trump and jordan's king abdullah the second for this rose garden news conference, let's listen in. >> president trump: your majesty, thank you for being with us today. very much appreciated. this is our second meeting since my inauguration, but our first at the white house. very special place, i can tell you that. i've gotten to know it well. long hours, very special. it is really an honor to welcome you here today, but before we begin, let me say a few words about recent events. yesterday, chemical attack, a chemical attack that was so horrific in syria against

innocent people, including women, small children, and even beautiful little babies, their deaths was an affront to humanity. these heinous actions by the al-assad regime cannot be tolerated. the united states stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this horrific attack and all other horrific attacks, for that matter. your majesty, jordanians are known for their legendary hospitality, and we will do our very best to be equally gracious hosts. they are also known, however, i have to say this, for they were fighting ability. and you are a great warrior.

we appreciate it. thank you. the historical ties and close friendship between our two countries dates back three quarters of a century. in that time, the middle east has faced many periods of crisis and unrest, perhaps never like it is today. through them all, america has looked to jordan as a valued partner, an advocate for the values of civilization and a source of stability and hope. i am deeply committed to preserving our strong relationship, which i will, and to strengthening america's long-standing support for jordan. and you do have tremendous support within our country, i can tell you that. as we know, the middle east and the entire world is faced with one of its gravest threats and many, many years.

since the earliest days of the campaign against isis, jordan has been a staunch ally and partner, and we thank you for that. jordanian service members have made tremendous sacrifices in this battle against the enemies of civilization. i want to thank all of them for their incredible courage. so many have been lost, and we pay homage. so many. in king abdullah, america is blessed with a thoughtful and determined partner. he is a man who has spent years commanding his country's special forces. he really knows what being a soldier is, that i can tell you. he knows how to fight. the king has been a leader and calling for a plan to defeat isis once and for all. i am with you on that. we are both leaders on that, believe me. that is what we speak about today, and that is what we are going to do.

it will be a shorter fight than a lot of people are thinking about, believe me. we have made tremendous strides as we discussed. as you know, we had a very, very fine delegation come over from egypt and also from a rock, and they said more has been done in the last six weeks then has been done in years with the previous administration, and believe me, we are going to it that way. we will destroy isis, and we will protect civilization. we have no choice. we will protect civilization. king abdullah and i also discussed measures to combat the evil and ideology that inspires isis and plagues our planet in addition, we also acknowledged the vital role that jordan has

played in hosting refugees from the conflict in syria. we have just announced that the united states will contribute additional funds to jordan for humanitarian assistance. this aid will help countries like jordan help refugees until it is safe for them to return home. the refugees want to return home. i know that from so many other instances. they want to return back to their home. that is the goal of any responsible refugee policy. finally, as we discussed, to advance the cause of peace in the middle east, including peace between the israelis and the palestinians, and i am working very, very hard on trying to finally create peace between the palestinians and israel, and i think we will be successful -- i hope to be successful, i can

tell you that. the king has been a really tireless advocate for a solution. he is going to help me with that and help me at the highest level, and we will be consulting with him very closely in the days ahead. king abdullah, i want to take this opportunity to thank you for your partnership. working together, the united states and jordan can help bring peace and stability to the middle east, and in fact, the entire world, and we will do that. thank you very, very much for being with us. [applause] >> king abdullah ii: mr. president, thank you for such a kind and warm welcome to the white house. i fondly remember the meetings we had many years ago and more recently several months ago. you have always been a generous

host and have always looked after us. we are very delighted with the way the discussions have gone so far. we are delighted to be here in such a wonderful setting, such a beautiful day which i think is a tremendous mark of how we are going to move into the future. we had a very good round of talks today, and i'm looking forward to continuing these discussions later on in our meetings after the press conference. what i do want to say is how much we deeply appreciate the close relations we have with the united states, with you, mr. president, and the american people. this is a strategic partnership that we keep very close to our hearts. it is a partnership on so many levels that we will continue with the type of discussion we have today to improve as we face the challenges of the future. i'm very delighted for your vision, holistic approach to all the challenges in our region, and the dedication of your team to translate your policy into action successively hopefully as

we move forward. the challenges we face today are many and not exclusive to what i've mentioned, they are global and particularly the threats to global security. terrorism has no borders, no nationality, no religion, and therefore joint action with holistic approach, as i just mentioned mr. president, is crucial. i am very delighted that you have the vision to be able to move in that direction. i think the world will be in a very good place as we move with all of these challenges ahead. no doubt with all the challenges we face in the world, the role of the u.s. is key to all of the issues we have around the world. but it is not just the fact that we should expect united states to do all of the heavy lifting. the heavy lifting has to be done by all of us in the international community to support the united states in being able to translate that vision into the right direction, so there is a lot of responsibility for all of us in the international community to support the president, administration and american people to bring brighter days to

all of us. we are very encouraged with the president's dissemination to support arab and muslim states in their fight against terrorism, but it is not only the fight of terrorism inside of our societies, but we as arab and muslim states standing behind the international community and being able to defeat this international scourge. in syria, we need a political solution that ends the conflict in the country and preserves its unity and territorial integrity. as the president mentioned, the issue we discussed with the israeli-panel canadian -- palestinian conflict which is essentially the core convict in our region and the president's early engagement and bringing te palestinians and israelis togetr has been a very encouraging sign for all of us, and i think it was that initiative that allowed us at the arab summit last week to extend through the arab peace initiative the message of peace to israel which we all hopefully will work together to make that come about. all arab countries, we lash the

arab peace initiative as i said last week, offers a historic reconciliation between israel and the palestinians as well as all member states of the arab league. it is the most copper has a framework for lasting peace and it ensures safety for the palestinians but also security, acceptance and normal tires for israel with all of our countries and hopefully all these other countries. we appreciate your commitment and all of these issues where others have failed. you will find a strong ally in jordan in supporting you and all your policies. if i may just say as you have on syria and the gas attacks, unfortunately, as you and i both agree, this is another testament to the failure of the international diplomacy to find the solutions to this crisis, but i believe under your leadership, we will be able to unravel this very complicated situation. this has been ongoing for seven years now. it has descended into proxy wars from different parties with dubious agendas. at the end of the day, as you

pointed out, mr. president, civilians, women and children are paying the heaviest price. this is happening on our watch, on our conscience as well as the global community. i know the passion and emotion that the president has expressed and how this should not be tolerated whatsoever. this threshold of inhumanity and savagery that has been crossed every day is something i know the president will not allow to happen wherever it may be, and i fully support and endorse the president in this issue. i want to thank you, sir, because you have the outlook of not just looking at the syrian challenges but that of iraq, israel, palestine, libya, everything in our region, so i think your message to all of us is a message of hope. that is what i take away from this conference. i thank you for all you have done so far and all that you will do, sir. [applause] >> president trump: we will take a few questions. julie?

>> reporter: thank you, sir. questions on syria for both leaders but if i can start with you, mr. president. you have condemned the chemical attacks in syria but also appeared in your statement yesterday to pen some of the blame on the obama administration. you are the president now. do you feel like you bear responsibility for responding to the chemical attacks, and does the chemical attack crossed the red line for you? >> president trump: i think the obama admission had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. when he did not cross that line after making the threat, i think that set us back a long ways not only in syria but in many other parts of the world because it was a blank threat. i think it was something that was not one of our better days as a country. i do feel that very strongly. i now have responsibility, and i will have that responsibility

and carry it very proudly. i will tell you that. it is now my responsibility. it was a great opportunity missed. as you know, i will be meeting with the president of china very soon in florida. that is another responsibility we have, and that is called the country of north korea. we have a big problem. we have somebody that is not doing the right thing. that is going to be my responsibility. i will tell you, that responsibility could have been made a lot easier if it was handled years ago. >> reporter: before i move onto the king, can i ask if the chemical attack crosses a redline for you? >> president trump: across a lot of lines for me. when you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies with a chemical gas that is so lethal that people were shocked to hear what gas it was that crosses many lines beyond the redline, many, many lines.

thank you very much. >> reporter: your majesty, effect i can ask about refugees per year country has borne the brunt of the refugee crisis in syria. the president has signed travel bands that would block syrians from coming to the u.s. if that goes into effect, what with the impact on your country and across the country be? >> king abdullah ii: as the president pointed out, most if not all syrian refugees want to go back to syria. we are working with the united states and international community to be able to stabilize the refugees in our country, give them the tools so that as we are working with the solutions in syria, we have the ability to be able to send them back as positive influence into their economy. again, the president and europeans are being forward leading and being able to look after the whole community. tremendous burden on our country, but again, jim and his appreciation to the united states and the western countries for being able to help us in dealing with that.

>> reporter: your majesty, how does the outcome of the recent arab summit help the u.s. and its policy to advance palestinian-israeli negotiations? >> king abdullah ii: as i said, the arab peace initiative came out with a resounding resolution to offer peace to the israelis, to make them feel that they are accepted into the neighborhood, and to be able to support the president as he brings both parties together. again, i have to remind people that very early on, there was an early engagement by the president and his team to the israelis and palestinians to be able to see what he can do to bring them together. it is the core conflict for a lot of us in the region. the president knows this. he has and stings in the right place and working with his team, our job is to do the heavy lifting. the arabs are prepared to do whatever they can to bring israelis and palestinians together under the leadership of the president.

>> president trump: thank you. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. i want to follow up on julie's question and press you a little bit more on syria. how will you distinguish your policy and your actions on syria from the inaction that you criticize of the previous administration? you say it is now your responsibility. what should we see, what should we look for that will be different? and your majesty, i would like to ask you, this is not your second meeting with the president, what gives you the optimism that mr. trump will succeed in the israeli-palestinian conflict were so many others have failed before him to be a broker for peace? >> president trump: i like to a very flexible person. i don't have to have one specific way and if the world changes, i go the same way. i don't change. i do change.

i am flexible. i am proud of that flexibility. i will tell you that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. big impact. it was a horrible, horrible thing. i've been watching it and seeing it, and it does not get any worse than that. i have that flexibility. and it is very, very possible, and i will tell you it is already happened, that my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very much. if you look back over the last few weeks, there were other attacks using gas. you are now talking about a whole different level. so as you know, i would love to have never been in the middle east. i would love to have never seen that whole big situation start.

but once it started, we got out the wrong way. ice is formed in the vacuum, and lots of bad things happen. i will tell you, what happened yesterday is unacceptable to me. >> reporter: can i follow-up? last year, you seemed to be reluctant to get involved or to intervene in syria directly. is that one thing that has changed since yesterday? >> president trump: one of the things i think you have noticed about me as militarily, i do not like to say where i am going and what i am doing. i watched past administrations say, we will attack at such and such a day at such and such an hour. you, being a lawyer, you would say, why are they saying that? i'm sure you sat back and said, why are they saying that? i mosul, where the past watched administration said we will be attacking in four months. i said, why are they doing that? a month goes by, they say we

will be attacking in three months, then two months, then we will be attacking next week, and i am saying, why are they doing that? as you know, it turned out to be in much harder fight than anyone thought. a lot of people have been lost in that fight. i'm not saying i am doing anything one way or the other, but i'm certainly not going to be telling you as much as i respect you, thank you. >> president trump: i think on behalf of the president -- >> king abdullah ii: what i saw on behalf of the president was engagement from the team about the issues between the israelis and palestinians. i had the honor of seeing the team of the president in january where this was discussed. the president understands the nuances and challenges. i think he has the courage and dedication to be able to do this. like i said before, all of us have a responsibility to help the president pushed us over the finish line. his team has been in the region.

they've been talking to all the partners. it is our job to facilitate the work from israeli and palestinians to move together and give support to the president to be able to smooth the edges over between israelis and palestinians to achieve it. the president understands if you do not solve the problem, how are we going to win the global fight against terrorism which is his number one priority? this is a core issue that he understands and has the commitment and my full support for this as he does from many, many countries and our region. >> president trump: i'd have to just say that the world is a mess. i inherited a mess. whether it is the middle east, north korea, so many other things, whether it is in our country horrible trade deals. i inherited a mess. we are going to fix it. we are going to fix it. >> reporter: thank you, your majesty. you touched on the subject now but if i ask you to look forward, how do you see the future of fighting terrorism

especially the role that jordan will play in the eastern part of a rock? and do you believe the real battle will start then? and if i may, mr. president, you know very well that the iranian regime of hezbollah has been popping the redeem for a while, what you go after them and what message what you give them today, and will you work with the russians to ground to the syrian air force and establish safe zones? thank you. >> king abdullah ii: the first part is that we are seeing very recently tremendous gains on the ground in raqqa and mosul. i think as the president has alluded to, it's difficult to put timeline on the issue because the battle space is very fluid. i think the war is being won on the ground for that being said, terrace are on the move, they will be on the move inside of syria and iraq so we have to make sure we adapt our plans

accordingly and move beyond borders and beyond our region and elsewhere. as we and the initiation have discussed, it is a holistic approach, how do we fight them wherever they are? i think that is the understanding. terrorists have no respect for borders and religions and peopl people. so it is the seriousness of how we do this holistic approach as i've mentioned several times. what i am really delighted is the understanding by the president and administration and how to deal with this globally. i think you are seeing a move in the right direction because the policy now is being charted out with the discussions with the defense secretary, foreign secretary allows us to be then able to decide how we adapt ourselves in the region to be able to come in line with international diplomacy. >> president trump: the iran deal made by the previous administration is one of the worst deals i have ever witnessed. and i've witnessed some beauties. it is one of the worst deals

i've ever witnessed. it should never have been made. it was totally one-sided against the united states, and frankly, against much of the middle east. i will do whatever i have to do. they have a deal. it was, some people say, not done properly, even in the form of its finalization. there was no vote from congress. there was no real ratification. but i will do what i have to do with respect to the iran deal. as far as isis is concerned, the united states it will with whoever is appropriate to work with to totally eradicate isis and other terrorists. and by the way, isis is one group, but others have formed. frankly, they are all over the place.

we will do what we have to do to eradicate terrorism. >> reporter: the iranian mission in syria, separate from the nuclear deal, what message do you have? >> president trump: they will have a message, you will see, they will have a message. thank you. thank you all very much. thank you, thank you. >> julie: that you have, president trump joined by the king of jordan in a joint news conference here with the king at the white house, abdullah is a huge influence or in in the middle east obviously, this meeting is a critical one considering it comes on the heels of this chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians including men, women, and children, something president trump explicitly described as horrific as that situation was, talking about how deeply and personally he was affected by it. he was, the president, asked how he would handle syria differently than the past administration because the white house had come out and said president obama, former

administration had made a mistake, missed an opportunity. when asked how he would handle this particular situation differently, president trump said that he is going to be flexible, meaning that his fax ability will allow him to change his mind. remember on monday, the president had come out signaling that it no longer saw the departure of president bashar al-assad of syria as a priority. it turns out that the white house administration now is changing its tune as to what their steps are next. we are going to have to stay tuned. he was being a bit closed as to what his exact plan is paired obviously not wanting to detail future strategies dealing with syria. we will be continuing to watch the story as it develops. >> jon: joining us now is michael, former nsc senior director. if bashar al-assad didn't use nerve gas against his own people, what would be the motivation? what is he trying to prove or accomplish? >> he is trying to show the world that the change in administration has not changed

anything for him. he can still operate with impunity. we said the other day that he is probably going to stay and power, so he responded with a show of force. he thinks just as in the past he will be able to weather the short-term public relations damage that is done to him in order to get long-term gain which is autonomy and the ability to act with impunity. >> jon: even though he has said he gave up, supposedly, his gas weapons. are the russians sufficiently angered by this poke in the eye that they would do anything about it or are they going to keep supporting him? >> they will keep supporting him. they are in for a penny, and for a pound with him. he is their proxy. there is and the iranians. i thought the key question in the press just now was the journalist who asked president trump, what about the iranian militias on the ground? that is the key issue for us, i believe. >> jon: want to turn your attention also to the controversy that has been

broiling around president obama's national security council. and the unmasking of names from the trump transition team after they showed up in foreign surveillance. the daily color news foundation is reporting former national security advisor susan rice ordered u.s. spy agents to produce detailed spreadsheets of legal phone calls involving mr. trump and his aides. you say someone blew a hole in the wall between national security secrets and partisan politics. this was a stream of information that was supposed to be hermetically sealed from politics, and the obama administration found a way to blow a hole in that wall. this is a leaking of signal intelligence. you go onto say that this is a felony. >> absolutely. the key issue is the leaking of the michelson and surrogate kristie ackert calls, they were released in the middle of january to "the washington post

"the washington post." it was a felony, the use of national security intelligence gleaned from our foreign surveillance operations for partisan political purposes. it is a very serious issue. >> jon: some people's eyes glaze over at what is going on here. but you're talking about an incoming president and his aides who have not taken office yet being surveilled, their phone conversations and may be other conversations being caught up by what, the national security agency? then it essentially the then sitting administration? >> that is right, the unmasking is the beginning of the process, the key question is how did the unmasked identities get leaked to david ignatius? susan rice says she did not leak it. may be. i'm willing to take her at her work, but then let's get to the bottom of who did. that could be a criminal investigation. >> jon: we know the obama administration was taking steps to break down the barriers

between intelligence agencies so that a lot of information would have a freer flow, right? >> there is a great question, when the scandal began? when did this dissemination of information on which the scandal is based began? my colleague has a fantastic piece in "tablet" magazine suggesting that with some very compelling argument that the obama administration perfected this technique of collecting information on american citizens and on members of congress while fighting the iran deal. so we are going all the way back to 2015. >> jon: to what purpose? >> in order to -- in order to message against, to fight the domestic american supporters of israel who were against the iran deal. so for instance, if you have the israeli ambassador talk with an american about other americans they were concerned about about

influencing against the iran deal, the administration would pick up -- would pick up that conversation on the phone between the israeli ambassador and the american and then go and influence the third-party that the two of them were talking about. >> jon: so when now president trump said president obama had him surveilled at trump tower, does this approach that? >> i would like to get away from president trump's literal interpretation -- a literal interpretation of his tweet. sometimes it seems like the media is saying did president obama hang like tom cruise from a ceiling with a microphone in his hand over president trump -- president-elect trump? obviously that did not happen but we have a better feel for what happened now. they used -- they used -- they used illicitly and illegally intelligence on americans gleaned from foreign surveillance. >> jon: many more shoes to drop on this. we hope you will come back to talk to us more as the information develops.

michael, former deputy director, senior director at the nsc. >> julie: homeland security secretary john kelly making headlines as he testifies before the lawmakers what he is saying about some key controversial policies on border security. we are live with the story. without touching our savings. yeah, our insurance won't do that. no. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance when liberty stands with you™. that just tastes better. with 10 times more vitamin e. and twice the omega 3s. because why have ordinary when you can have the best. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. over hereno!ver here! (dog barking) whoever threw it has to go get it. not me! somebody will get it... ♪ (dog barking)

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>> julie: welcome back. border security front and center on capitol hill with homeland security secretary john kelly testifying before the senate. and he seemed to do an about-face on some key issues. chief intelligence course want catherine herridge joins us now. >> thank you, the secretary of homeland security clarifying a key border policy that agents will only separate children from their mothers when there is a risk of harm. >> only if the situation at that point in time requires it. the mother -- if the mother is sick or addicted to drugs or

>> kelly also defended the departments electronics panel fights into the u.s. from predominantly muslim countries. he said the strategy is based on recent intelligence and not profiling. kelly was also pressed on the policy toward green card holders and legal permanent residents who have not been allowed to enter the u.s. unless they submit to fingerprinting and surrender their data. >> if i travel abroad, and i am coming back home, do you think it is appropriate to deny me entry into the country unless i let you search my cell phone? >> under very, very, very critical circumstances, i would say that an american citizen ought to be able to come back in and not have their electronics searched. >> one of the interesting headlines out of that hearing is that the number of americans who are getting their phones search has jumped from five up to 25,000 under this policy. >> julie: catherine heritage, thank you very much. >> jon: a hero risks his own

life to save a man who fell onto the subway tracks in new york city moments before the train arrives. the good samaritan joins us live with this incredible story just ahead. uit part way, i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. you want this color over the whole house? ♪ ♪ wanna get away? now you can with southwest fares as low as 59 dollars one-way. yes to low fares with nothing to hide. that's transfarency. yeah, 'cause i got allstate.?

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winds and flash flooding. be careful out there. there could possibly be more tornadoes. right now came a 9-year-old boy suffering minor injuries after his cell phone battery caught fire during class at a south florida elementary school. students evacuated as a precaution. officials say the boy heard beeping from his phone, so he took the battery out and dropped it before it ignited. the student suffered a few minor burns to his ankle. the boy told that his phone wasn't android cool pad. >> julie: being in the right place at the right time is the story we are about to tell you about a hero credited with saving a man in the path of a subway train. all caught on tape, dramatic video showing the during rescue just moments before another train arrived. take a look.

that is jonathan kulig risking his life to save another after he noticed a man had fallen onto the tracks with just less than 60 seconds to spare. the good samaritan joining me now here in the studio. jonathan, thank you so much for talking to us. boy, to meet somebody like you who has the nerve to jump into that subway track is really unbelievable. when did you notice that this person had fallen? >> when i had gotten off the train, walking up the platform, i saw something fall out of the corner of my eye on the opposite side of the station. i did not think much of it but as i kept walking, taking my headphones off, her people going, oh, my god. i looked to see it was moving. i realized it was a person, made sure the train was not coming, heard the announcement that the train was coming in a minute. jumped down, crossed the tracks and other tracks, pick them up to get him out of there. >> julie: you were on the opposite subway platform. for those of you that don't

understand from your city, here on the opposite platform, you knew that a minute was all you had to jump not only across one train but to train tracks in order to get this guy up to 60 then hoist yourself, how did you do it? >> i took a look. i'm an electrical engineer for the power company, recently taken safety training with metro north, so i was able to identify where the hazards were, come up with a safe zone to go to encase i could not get out of there. while i was jumping, i was planning it, jump down, toss over the rails, pick him up once i got to the platform, there was a woman that helped me bring him to the edge so as soon as i could get out, i got out myself. >> julie: a woman was standing by the edge while someone else was videotaping the cell phone video we are showing on air. it was a woman who actually helped hoist you up to get back up. >> no, i jumped up, she helped get the guy away from the ledge. >> julie: you had a minute, one minute is no time whatsoever.

it looks like the person is very disoriented. he actually could not help himself which means you are basically lifting dead weight. >> yes. >> julie: i guess your adrenaline must have been pumping at this point, to be able to lift somebody, a child's dead weight is hard enough. to lift an adult male up onto the platform. did you feel adrenaline? >> honestly know. >> julie: you seem so relaxed about it. >> i did what i had to do. i don't think the adrenaline rush people talk about was there. it just happened. >> julie: >> julie: gut instinc. a lot of people were standing by saying, oh, my god. did anyone else pitch and or did you get any applause? >> i don't remember. >> julie: new yorkers have tunnel vision, unfortunately, no pun intended seeing that it happened in the subway, but this definitely brings to light there are good samaritans out there. certainly, you're not a new yorker with a headset on oblivious to his surroundings. do we know how this guy is doing? >> i don't know appeared once the emts came, i gave them all the information i could.

they took him to the hospital and from that point, i don't know. i don't know his name or where he came from. we think he was visiting from the city, but we don't know. >> julie: we hope he somehow gets in touch with you to give you the hugest thank you because you really truly saved his life. had you not jumped in, 60 seconds, his life would have been over. jonathan, thank you so much for coming here and sharing your heroic story. i don't know how you are so calm about this, amazing. >> my 6-year-old goddaughter saw me on tv and went crazy, so i think she enjoyed that. >> julie: i'm sure she already thought of you as a hero but now, so much more. jonathan, thank you. so nice to meet you. >> jon: i am sure she is watching now, great story, jonathan kulig, thank you. busy day in washington, d.c., and new middle east peace proposal to the middle east council and a shakeup for president trump's senior staff. all the latest from the white house ahead. ♪

>> jon: president trump has said he does not like the idea of intervening in the affairs of other country, but he also said that the gas at tack in syria which is believed to be the product of the assad administration crossed a lot of lines for him. he was critical of the obama administration for not enforcing that red line that they insisted would be enforced if a gas attack game. it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days. >> jenna: absolutely. he actually did mention, when asked by one of the reporters, how he would do it differently? he has changed his mind. monday they said they don't want to get involved. doesen necessarily make it a priority to get assad and that

regime, government, out of power, but now he says, i'm flexible. flexibility will allow me to change my mind. what does he mean by that? we'll have to stay tuned to find out. >> jon: all right. thank you very much for joining us. "america's news hq" starts now. >> jenna: see ya tomorrow. >> melissa: a lot happening inside the beltway today, including an unexpected shake-up at the white house. hello, everyone. i'm melissa francis. right now the president is hosting king abdullah at the white house. the president set to discuss peace in the paoeft and the deteriorating situation in syria following yesterday's horrific chemical attack. also breaking today the president's trusted adviser steve bannen removed from the national security council, reversing what was a controversial decision at the beginning of mr. trump's presidency. chief white house correspondent john