the big picture has to come first. to my mind that's >> here we are watching president trump and the first lady exit air force one as they come to meet the chinese president. i'll hand it over to shepard smith. >> shepard: it's noon on the west coast. 3:00 on the east coast. we're watching three major breaking news events. first, south florida where president trump has just arrived. moments ago, secretary of state tillerson said the second major signal of an american policy change towards syria. he said the united states is organizing an international coalition to respond to bashar al-assad's chemical attack on his own people. does this mean american military action in syria? it's breaking now. on capitol hill, we just watched history unfold. a move on the senate floor that could forever change congress and also the united states supreme court for many generations to come.

you've heard about the nuclear option. today the senate republicans blew it up. the fall-out could be extraordinary. we'll explain exactly what it means and why it matters so much. and shake-up in the russia investigation. the republican chair of the house intelligence committee agrees to step aside as he is now under investigation. devin nunes blaming what he calls accusations from left-wing groups. ahead you'll hear the man who is taking over. and why the irs took millions of dollars from people that did absolutely nothing wrong. who are the victims? let's get to it. it is rare to have this many enormous stories breaking at one time. we are at that time. we'll take you to the fall-out from secretary of state tillerson's blockbuster

announcement. but first, the united states legislatively speaking, the adults in the room, when the country goes too far left or right, the senate would cool things off. find something closer to the middle so the nation doesn't slide to the extreme. the senate. the guardrails of democracy. if the legislative bus careens over the left or right, the guardrails bounce the bus back to the middle. it served our republic well for a couple centuries. only a sort of legislative nuclear explosion could change that. for instance, suspend the rules to change the tradition so the senate is more like the house and only needs 51 votes instead of 60 to get big things done. it's always been an option. at least since 1957 after a threat in 1917 and today the senate exercised that nuclear option. as of last hour, we're in a new legislative world. it marks a historic change to senate norms that could affect

our democracy and our republic beyond any of our lifetimes. the move lets republicans in this case advance president trump's supreme court nominee, neil gorsuch with a simply majority of 51 votes instead of 60. it set as precedent that analysts say that will allow any party to control the senate to approve supreme court nominees without bipartisan support. lawmakers from both parties are blaming each other. the truth be told, they're all to blame. republicans say they had to use the nuclear option because democrats filibustered just gorsuch's nomination. his nomination vote is set for tomorrow. democrats are blaming gop leaders because they never held hearings for merrick garland. mitch mcconnell said democrats over the years have repeatedly raised the stakes in confirmation battles. >> the opposition to this particular nominee is more about the man that nominated him and

the party he represents than the nominee himself. it's part of a much larger story, another extreme escalation in the left's never-ending drive to politicize the courts and the confirmation process. >> the republicans say harry reid started all of this in 2013 when he allowed the same nuclear option for obama's nominees for everyone except the supreme court. and then mitch mcconnell called it a democratic power grab and a sad day in the history of the senate. that was 2013. the current senate majority leader chuck schumer said democrats at the time had to use the nuclear option because republicans were using the filibuster to stonewall nominees. >> the truth is, over the long history of partisan combat over judicial nominations, there's blame on both sides.

we believe the blame should not be shared equally between republicans and democrats. we believe the republican party has been far more aggressive in the escalation of tactics and in the selection of extreme judicial candidates while democrats have tended to select judges closer to the middle. >> of course he does. he's the democratic leader. the republicans say the same thing about the democrats. many democrats even admitted long before today that they shouldn't have done what they did in 2013 because it has hurt the body, but they did. so now no more super majority necessary in the senate. for judges, supreme court justices. if this is the middle of dominoes falling, first judges in 2013, now supreme court justices, the question is will there come a time that the senate might suspend the rules to change the rules for all legislation? that is possible. that is sort of how falling dominoes tend to work. we're not there yet. maybe we'll never get there.

still you could argue our politics have been so polarized that the rules are just catching up with the state of political affairs. one just changed and the process of running our nation changed with it. mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. mike a day for the history books. >> that's right, shep. you're right about the impact. missouri senator claire mccaskill questioned her party's strategy. she suggested if the next vacancy happens to be justice ruth bader ginsberg, anthony kennedy or stephen breyer, democrats will live to regret not having the filibuster. >> it's a bad -- a very sad day for the senate. because we have now destroyed 200 years of tradition of requiring 60 votes which meaning that you have to have bipartisan approach to these issues and these appointments.

i think we're on a slippery slope. >> a slippery slope. other republicans were furious with chuck schumer. the senate chairman accused of treating judge gorsuch unfairly. >> throughout this process, the minority led by their leader has been desperately searching for a justification for their preplanned filibuster. over the course of the last couple months, they've trotted out one excuse after another. but nothing will stick. >> that leaves 30 hours of debate. all indications are that judge gorsuch will be confirmed by tomorrow evening. >> what are democrats saying today, mike? >> they're furious with mitch mcconnell. they're saying that mcconnell didn't treat neil gorsuch's predecessor, judge merrick garland, the last nominee

nominated to the high court. democrats vented their anger at mitch mcconnell. they were helpless to stop the so-called nuclear option and blasted mcconnell. >> so the senator from kentucky has made history. he comes to the floor and tells us history. he made history in the number of filibusters that he used on this floor. he made history and denying a presidential nominee the opportunity for a hearing and a vote, which had never, never happened before in the history of the united states. talk about partisanship. >> sources on both sides suggest theres plenty of blame to go around. we're in an era of partisanship. >> shepard: no doubt. mike emanuel on the hill. thanks. let's go to gregory mcgarian from st. louis. love it there. the background on this is it's all politics. the left is mad at the right, the right is mad at the left. practically speaking, what does this mean going forward?

>> well, it has implications for the senate and for the supreme court. for the senate, as you said, this is sort of a stage in a process rather than maybe a single defining moment. the senate has been moving toward more partisan division. i think, as you suggested, reflecting the politics of the nation and the greater difficulty of forging consensus within the deliberative body. for the supreme court, this may well mean that over time both parties are -- have a greater incentive to promote judges and justices who are more sharply idealogical and left centrists. >> shepard: because they wouldn't need to reach out to the other side to get help to push those through. so if as many people suspect, president trump is able to appoint another supreme court justice. might tilt wildly right. if the next president, if it takes until the next president, he or she is a democrat, it

might tilt widely left. that increases the partisanship all over the land. >> i think that's right. actually, over the long-term. i think there's a good possibility that this will benefit -- i wouldn't say benefit democrats so much as benefit the left more than the right. >> shepard: why is that? >> over the past couple generations, conservatives have been much more animated politically about the supreme court. as a result, conservative supreme court nominees have generally been more strong in their idealogical convictions. there's been some exceptions going back to justice kennedy. if you look at justice thomas, justice scalia, chief justice roberts, very strongly committed conservatives. on the democratic side, you had more nominations of justice breyer, justice kagan that are on the left side, certainly to the left of the republican appointee colleagues.

but not nearly as far to the left as warren court generation, the leaders of that court in the 60s that were seen as liberal activists. so if there is from this loss of the filibuster a sort of liberation of idealogical nominees, that liberation would have a stronger effect on the democratic side than the republican side. >> shepard: what effect does this have on future changes that could allow for a 51-vote on regular legislation? we're not there yet. the leaders today say that won't happen. there's no guarantee of that, is there? >> no. it's tradition and sort of self-control or funny things. the constitution gives the senate and the house the power to set their own rules. at any given moment, those bodies have the power to change their rules. so in one sense, this could be a hiccup. it could be a partisan moment.

in the future of the senate could fullback from this brink. more than what this causes is what it represents. it represents the greater difficulty of forging bipartisan consensus and the senate is adjusting to the reality and happens to be at a moment when the republicans are in control and trying to get done what they want don't. >> shepard: this has seen as a tradition before today. the senate, the ones that step up and keeps the country from going too far one way or too for the other. is there reasons for people that hope that the center holds in this nation is there real reason for them to be very concerned today or is this just another one of those moments that the system can overcome? >> it certainly could be a moment the system could overcome. some of it depends on personalities and politics in the senate. anyone that is strongly in

bipartisan cooperation has had a lot of reasons to bun happy over the past decade or more. i think today is a continuation of that. >> gregory magarian from washington university, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thanks for having me. >> shepard: if you watched in the last 20 minutes or so, you saw what may have been a massive shift in united states policy towards syria. the syrians have been in the middle of a civil war. the syrian leader, bashar al-assad, by all international observation has murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people by using barrel bombs and all kinds of explosions the last many years. the last couple days, there was video of a chemical attack, a sarin gas attack, one perpetrated by bashar al-assad himself and it appears the policy of the united states has changed in an enormous way. the secretary of state that

they're putting together an international coalition to respond. is military action, boots on the ground ahead for the united states in syria? what does that mean? the russians and the iranians are on the other side. it's breaking news and it's next. and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis. you totanobody's hurt, new car. but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do? drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement™, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels.

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>> shepard: there's breaking news on fox news channel. first president trump yesterday saying his attitude to bashar al-assad has changed. in the last 30 minutes, another sign. secretary of state tillerson

announcing that "steps are underway to organize an international coalition to remove the murderous syrian dictator, bashar al-assad, from power following this week's apparent chemical attack in the war-torn country." regime change. that's brand new. this represents an enormous departure from days against when the white house said the syrians should decide. then it would not make sense to try to remove bashar al-assad from power and that the focus should be on defeating isis. now we learned that syria's foreign minister has denied that his government used chemical weapons weapons in attacks. 86 people died including dozens of women and children. they said the poison gas attack injured hundreds more. russia is a key ally of al-assad. the russians are fighting with the syrians. the iranians are in the mix

supporting hezbollah. a syrian air strike hit a rebel factory. so the russians say it happened the other way. the americans say it happened another. the russians are on this side, the americans are on the other. in the sender is bashar al-assad. the russians have propped him up. the russians say that bashar al-assad should stay in power. the russians are supporting him. the americans just said we're organizing a coalition to take him out. that means the united states with syrian rebels against the syrians, the russians and the iranians that support hezbollah. so far president trump and many other world leaders say the syrian government is flatly to blame. the truth is, the syrian government has been murdering its own people for years. by the hundreds of thousands. these pictures are new. this incident is new.

this situation is very old. they dropped barrel bombs from the sky and murders children in their beds on a daily basis. but these pictures and this incident is new along with this president and his entourage. now president trump says the horrible images from this week's attack made him change his attitude toward syria and assad. >> it's a terrible thing. you see babies dead from gas and a very heinous form of gas, which very few people have access, to it's bad stuff. really bad. >> shepard: president trump has said that the al-assad regime's actions cannot be tolerated. and now vladimir putin is accusing president trump of rushing to judgment. the russians saying one thing and the americans saying another. the americans organizing a

coalition to settle it all. here's what secretary of state rex tillerson said 30 minutes ago. >> obviously the events that have occurred in syria with the chemical weapons attack here in the past day have just i think horrified all of us and brought to the front pages into our television screens as well. the tragedy that is part of the syrian conflict. there's no doubt in our minds and the information we have supports that syria, the syrian regime on orders of president bashar al-assad are responsible for this attack. and i think further it is very important that the russian government consider carefully their continued support for the assad regime. >> shepard: today a spokesman for the russian president said we would welcome a more considered approach. it is a perilous set of

circumstances now. the russians have been supporting al-assad for a long time. al-assad has been murdering his own people for a long time. hezbollah and the iranians have been in on that effort for a long time as the united states supports the rebels. now the question is, do we launch with a coalition that has been suggested a military strike to remove the murderous dictator from that country? if so, what happens afterwards? who fills the void that bashar al-assad has held. those are the very big questions that have just arisen on an enormous news day. rich edson with analysis with a.b. stoddard. that's next on a thursday on the fox news channel. crohn's disease,... ...i was always searching for ways to manage my symptoms. i thought i had it covered. then i realized managing was all i was doing.

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>> we're considering that appropriate response for this chemical weapons attack which violates all previous u.n. resolutions, violates international norms and long-held agreements between parties including syrian regime, the russian government and all other members of the u.n. security council. it's a serious matter. it requires a serious response. >> shepard: gassing your own people is a war crime. by all accounts, the syrian dictator, bashar al-assad, has been murdering his people by the hundreds of thousands for years. now 30 minutes ago we learned the united states is preparing to take action. it's breaking news and rich edson is on it at the state department. rich? >> the secretary of state says that steps are underway for the united states to lead an international coalition to remove bashar al-assad from power. just a week ago, the secretary of state asked about this in

turkey. his response to that was that it is up to the syrian people to decide the long-term future of bashar al-assad. so this chemical attack representing a dramatic shift in the position, much more detailed from the united states and secretary tillerson than he spoke about a week ago in turkey. this is as the secretary says there's no doubt the regime of bashar al-assad is responsible for the chemical attack this week on his own citizens. there's russia angle as you have discussed. the state department says that russia needs to think about its support for bashar al-assad and this is one week ahead of secretary of state rex tillerson's visit to moscow where he will meet with the state department there. officials say the chemical attack will color those discussions. state department officials say that the united states with secretary of state rex tillerson still explore a relationship working together with russia on

areas that benefit the united states. this all coming one week ahead of that visit, shep, as the secretary of state speaking at length about syria previous to this saying that the u.s. is already in discussions, talking about a post al-assad syria and as you played leading into our discussion here, that the u.s. is leaving a number of options on the table in responding to this. shep? >> shepard: thanks. a.b. stoddard with realclearpolitics.com. this story just breaking. president obama was given as a list of bad options. he chose the bad option that was to remain out of this conflict largely. we've had very bad results. there's no questioning this. now as a pattern by al-assad continues, this president has made another decision. what are we looking at here, a.b.? >> shep, you point out correctly

this has been going on for a long time. president trump knew there were chemical attacks in the past, that, as you pointed out, this president had been butchering his own civilians to the tune of 500,000 people over seven years. re lentlessly. this is a very big change of mind after the attack. although the images are gruesome, the attacks have not changed. so the question is not that there's just a russian angle here, the russian part is everything. tillerson goes to moscow to try to keep an avenue open on issues that we can work on with the russians. they are backing this brutal dictator who is murdering his people and don't intend to back down. they're making equivocating comments today that if it wasn't really an attack, a accidental attack on a weapons factory run

by the rebels, that would be out of the norms. they think the u.n. should do an investigation. we know they've been backing this regime, fighting its own people, not isis. so at this point, what is president trump expecting of the russians? are we going to go to war against them or are we going to try to coax the russians into deposing al-assad with us? that is everything in this equation. what is the intention of the russians. what do the administration thinks they can get the russians to do? >> we know the russians want the united states and the rest of the west to back off on their annexation, their invasion and annexing of crimea. we know the russians want nato's front not to be so close to the russians. they have a bunch of desires. it's a matter of how much you're willing to give.

>> if we gave them all of those concessions in eastern europe, they would -- putin is enjoying a supremacy that he's never had before. he rescued president obama in 2013 so that he could retreat from his threat of air strikes with this deal he negotiated to get all the chemical weapons out of syria. that is a hoax. i don't think he wants to back away from his relationship with the iranian regime and the syrian regime. he's playing an important role ant i don't think he has any intention of backing down over what concessions we give. >> shepard: we're still in the words category. this is nothing but talk at least at this moment. it's very clear that the plans are being drawn up. there's always been pentagon game plans. hezbollah is in there and the

iranians support hezbollah. we have united states forces on the ground. however quietly. they are there fighting against isis. the russians are on the ground supporting al-assad. you have this toxic mix of all of those people and to remove this man from power, regime change, something against which president trump has railed for years. could really upset the equilibrium in that region and around the world. when you talk about i ran here, hezbollah, russia, the united states and syria, that is almost a world war defined or at least you risk that possibility. >> right. that's the thing. if he wants to do some air strikes on the weapons arsenals, that's one thing. obviously regime change is a huge occupation of syria and a massive ground war in which you mentioned there's so many sides and proxy fights going on. again, are we going to do it with the russians or not? that's the question. we'll learn more in weeks to come. >> shepard: we need to discuss this further. there's a number of options that

have already been discussed, different possibilities. a.b. will be back in a minute. we're going to take a commercial break. in the middle of that, we have a minute of other headlines. and then we'll be back to this. organizing a coalition for syria. but with added touches you can't get everywhere else, like claim free rewards... or safe driving bonus checks. oh yes.... even a claim satisfaction guaranteeeeeeeeeee! in means protection plus unique extras only from an expert allstate agent. it's good to be in, good hands.

>> i'm lea gabrielle with the fox report. russian officials say they have diffused another explosive device in st. petersburg and arrested three people in connection with the subway bombing. the device turned up in the apartment where the suspect lived. they're accused of having ties to the suicide bomber that killed 13 others on monday. a woman that fell 60 feet to the ground while taking a selfie on a bridge is not likely to face charges. that's the words from sheriff deputies. crewed airlifted her and she's expected to survive. family and friends of john glenn gathering in arlington national cemetery to say their final

good-byes. glenn was the first american to orbit the earth. he died in december at age 95. relatives said they had the funeral today because it would have been his 75th anniversary with his wife, annie. the news with shep continues after this.

>> shepard: breaking news on fox news channel and much more on secretary tiller season. the secretary of state announcing that steps are underway to form an international coalition to remove the murderous syrian dictator, bashar al-assad. this after international investigators say he launched another chemical weapons attack killing dozens of his own people an injuring dozens and children as they slept in their beds. let's go back to a.b. stoddard from realclearpolitics.com. you can always carry out strategic air strikes. in 2015, the russians went in and owned the air bases. that i have three different bases and missile defense systems there. the idea that the russians would allow us to strike the six air

strikes that exist seems at this moment implausible. >> right. there's russians everywhere there. so the potential for an accident, which we almost had in 2015 with our more limited air strikes with the russians and starting world war iii with them is very high. so i don't know -- it's interesting that trump said until yesterday that he doesn't telegraph what he's going to do and he likes to do things secretly. he's talking about an international coalition to take out al-assad with all of these terrible options. it's going to be interesting to see what they're considering, what other countries are willing to put ground forces on. we have 900 special force there's already in harm's way. the congress at some point, shep, is going to have to weigh-in on this. they backed away when obama wanted to renew the 2001 authorization for use of military force a few years ago. they abdicated the

responsibility. i was critical at the time they did that. the pressure will be on them to weigh-in on this. that's a whole other political debate and whole other hurdle. >> shepard: interesting you say that because president trump said the same thing back regarding this matter earlier. look at the tweet that president trump sent back, before he was president trump. this was from 2013. "what will we get for bombing syria besides more debt and a possible long-term conflict? obama needs congressional approval on that same line." today senator rand paul from kentucky said if we want to carry out strikes in syria, there should be congressional approval. the chances of congress weighing in on this, a.b.? >> they don't want to. i'll tell you that much. they'll be forced. and if there's evidence that this was a sarin attack, it should be presented to the public before there's any

military intervention. congress will be asking as they represent the people in 435 congressional districts and the house, they'll be asking for hard evidence to lay out the case if they are to support more aggressive air strikes, let alone ground operations the topple the regime, this sounds like a long battle. although the trump administration says that they're working on some plan to do something extremely bold, as a few days ago, they had no plan in place and no intentions like this. so i think they're flying a bit by the seat of their pants. nobody in congress know what's they're talking about. again that meeting in russia says it will be so pivotal. how does the united states go it alone against the russians supporting assad's regime? doesn't seem possible. >> shepard: a.b. stoddard with the breaking news. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> shepard: i just learned that president trump has spoken about syria as he headed on air force one down to floor.

john roberts is already in palm beach. what did he say, john? >> good afternoon to you. the president came back to the press cabin in the rear right side of air force one to talk about a number of different things. he wanted to talk about the summit he's having with xi jinping, which is supposed to be the theme of this next 24 hours. it's clear that what is going on with syria and the potential there is overshadowing that. a routine leader summit between the united states and china is turning into something else all together. the president talking to the press about syria. he was asking whether bashar al-assad should go. this is on camera. we don't have the type. so i'll read the transcript. the president said what assad did is terrible. what happened in syria is one of the truly egregious crimes. and when asked if the president was going to take to president

putin, he said i may. there will be a range of options presented to the president on how he could respond military. the fact that they're discussing this doesn't mean that it's going to happen. if an air strike or something like that were to happen, it would be a test of how good a relationship the president could have with the president of russia. when asked if bashar al-assad should leave power, he said it's a disgrace to humanity. he's there and he's running things but something should happen. rex tillerson in the camp of yes, he needs to go. the united states trying to get a coalition for a political frame work for that to happen some point down the road. that's something that the obama administration was looking at which came to nothing. >> shepard: it deed. the obama administration wanted to stop it. the world wants to stop it. the leader of the country is

murdering his people by the hundreds of thousands and the rest of the world is watching because all of the options are bad options. that was the decision of president obama. he didn't act. now this president says we need to act. he's trying to form a coalition. but what happens if you overthrow bashar al-assad? who holds the land then? who is in charge? how do you come to some agreement with the russians who have been propping up the syrian dictator? would the russians allow a no fly zone? it's the russian's airspace. this is as complicated as any foreign matner the world right now as hundreds of thousands are dying before our eyes. we have that and a lot more on foreign policy challenges facing the trump administration. the meeting with the chinese leader, xi jinping is about to happen right now. on any normal day, that would be the headline. oh, by the way, the leader of the house intelligence committee that has been working to

investigate the russian matter who said why would i step down? he just stepped down. that would also be the lead on a given day. devin nunes, what is next for that investigative body. still to come on fox news channel. tomers. who's with me? we're like a basketball team here at ally. if a basketball team had over 7... i'm in. 7,000 players. our plays are a little unorthodox. but to beat the big boys, you need smarter ways to save people money. we know what you want from a financial company and we'll stop at... nothing to make sure you get it. one, two... and we mean nothing. ♪ ♪ it's about moving forward, not and we back..othing. it's looking up, not down. it's being in motion. in body, in spirit, in the now. boost® high protein it's intelligent nutrition with 15 grams of protein

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this morning president trump told fox news that the united states has not been treated fairly on many -- on trade for many, many years by china. last week, he tweeted that today's meeting would be a "very difficult one" saying we can no longer have massive trade deficits and big losses. alex is here from politico. all the talk comes and now the face-to-face. you wonder how this will go. >> yeah, it's going to be interesting and interesting to watch the chemistry of these two leaders, how they get along, how they work. what their body language is like after you referenced the tough talk in the campaign. we're learning in real-time how donald trump responds to foreign policy crises that are happening on parallel tracks. on one hand you have syria, on the other hand you have north korea that is the focus of these talks with china. >> shepard: the world needs

china on that front. it's china that has the sway over north korea. it's china that allows for really 90% of everything that north korea needs to happen. how much leverage do we have on china with this -- on this matter and what doesn't trump plan to use as leverage? >> that's a good question. there's some question marks there. what is clear that the administration is serious about trying to exert some pressure on china to take a tougher line on north korea. you saw the white house starting to do that a little bit this week ahead of the meeting. it's pretty clear that behind closed doors you'll see president trump try to push the chinese president to take a harder tact here. so during the campaign, a lot of talk surrounded trade policies. this meeting will be less about trade and more about north korea. >> shepard: as we talk about north korea, there's a fear that north korea would take another

aggressive action just as it did a couple days ago. i think those that watch north korea closely are concerned that a mistake on the part of the north koreans could start a series of events that could lead another war and upset the entire world. i'm assuming that that is part of this discussion. >> absolutely. look, hovering over this are these questions that we don't have answers to, really what is donald trump's red line. where is the point that he would be interested in military action of some kind. we don't have an answer for that and we don't have an answer on that yet on north korea either. but these are the sorts of things that are really turning into major headlines and the focal point of this weekend as he deals with these twin crises. >> shepard: the use of going it alone against north korea is not off the table. alex, thank you. >> thank you. >> shepard: as the news

continues to break on a very busy thursday, the chairman of the house intelligence committee says he's removing himself from the russia investigation after the controversy over the intelligence documents that he viewed at the white house. now he's under investigation. that's next. so much lobster, so little time. at red lobster's lobsterfest

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>> shepard: after saying to reporters for weeks, why would i step down? the house intelligence committee chairman devin nunes is stepping down from his panel's investigation into russia's meddling in the 2016 campaign election. a temporary move, he says. also new, the house ethics committee is investigating whether nunes mishandled classified information. his response, southwest left-wing activists groups have filed accusations against me with the office of congressional

ethics. the charges are politically motivated and levelled just as the american people are starting to learn about unmasking of citizens and abuse of power. democrats and republicans have questioned whether congressman nunes could be at fault. some say he's a shield for the white house. nunes shared information with the president before his committee. was he giving the president cover? congressman nunes, the white house and their supporters have been trying to change the narrative. opponents say they're trying to distract from the investigation into whether members of team trump worked with the russians to take downhill hill and get them candidate trump elected. peter doocy with this back and forth.

peter? >> shep, congressman nunes has sent a lawyer to the house ethics committee. he wants to know what evidence you have on them that somebody unknown, he says, a left-leaning outside group submitted that led to this investigation. i spoke to texas congressman mike conway, the republican from the committee, who will take over the russia investigation. he said he got a call from nunes last night asking him to take over, so he's going to do it. he still has not seen the documents that nunes saw on the white house grounds that alleged the obama administration improperly unmasked the identity of trump transition officials in u.s. intelligence reports. he couldn't confirm or deny whether susan rice, the obama administration official who is allegedly involved with some of that unmasking, is going to come and testify. the reason he wouldn't confirm or deny an invitation for the national security advisor in the obama administration is because he says he doesn't want to

conduct committee business in the press. shep? >> shepard: thanks, peter. busy news day? like few others. the united states putting together a coalition for regime change in syria. neil cavuto picks up after this.

>> neil: all right. forget going nuclear. z and/or tax reform. you get an idea that not everyone is on the same page? maybe even within the white house itself? i'm confused. this looks like it's