we'll be talking about that throughout today. bill hammer and shannon are next. ainsley: rest in peace, rodger.

if you're generally happy i don't need to worry about you. that's the way it went time and time again. oftentimes when he would have a lot of our colleagues up to his house up the river in hudson river. on we'd pledge allegiance to the flag and that's how meetings began at roger's house. he hired me from cnn 11 years ago and that's something that i am forever grateful. roger, to you and the heavens we say god bless.

roger ailes, 77 years old. >> bill: there is other news to get to on what will be a very tough day for a lot of us. day four bombshell developments in washington moments ago president trump weighing in on deputy attorney general rod rosenstein's move appointing a special counsel. the decision has caught everyone by surprise including the white house. what does it mean for the president and calm nerves in congress? a full day of breaking news on news we didn't expect today. >> shannon: good to be with you. former f.b.i. director robert mueller will not lead the f.b.i.'s russia probe. he is widely respected in washington serving 12 years as f.b.i. director under both presidents bush and obama. the president taking to twitter

this morning saying this. a couple of things. with all the illegal acts that took place in the clinton campaign and the obama administration there was never a special counsel appointed. >> bill: we have team fox coverage. our team throughout the city of washington and new york. kevin corke standing by at the white house there. steven hayes has analysis but we start with catherine herridge. >> those who worked for robert mueller tell fox news he is an independent leader not afraid to take on politically charged assignments. over the course of the next decade from 9/11 he changed it to a counter intelligence bureau with agents globally. the new assignment he will have broad power to investigate and prosecute. bipartisan support for the selection. >> i think he has a long

history of honorable service. i think he was a good choice. he needs sufficient assets to do his job. >> a good development. we needed independence in terms of this investigation. we hope that director mueller will have full independence and have the assets he needs to conduct a thorough investigation. >> it came out by rod rosenstein and came after a series of rapid fire developments including the determination of james comey and the allegation that president trump asked comey to end the probe of mike flynn who resigned in mid-february. rosenstein will be back on capitol hill to brief the whole senate on the change of events that led the comey's termination and the memo that laid out the case for his removal based on the views of formers attorney general both republican and democrat. >> bill: what do we know when the white house found out about

flynn and this investigative matter? >> the department justin investigation into turkish contacts wasn't seen as a disqualifier. the foreign contacts with turkey the foreign agent registration act began in november. it would include a counter intelligence case examining russian contacts. it was fast tracked by upper levels of the department of justice. flynn critics point to the payments he received from turkey and not registered to act on behalf of a foreign government. >> bill: back with you in a moment. i'm certain there will be more. >> shannon: as we mentioned earlier, brand-new reaction coming in out of the white house. one day after hearing word of the news. kevin corke is live on the north lawn. good morning. >> you're right. to say the white house was

blind-sided wouldn't be an overstatement. part of what the president is tweeting this morning and expressing his frustration it's a witch hunt. he went to twitter to express that frustration, this is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in american history. i'm sure there are those in hillary clinton's corner who might beg to differ. historically this is a shock. less than 200 days into office and there is a special counsel? that's what they're saying at the white house. as you heard catherine point out mueller is a man with a great reputation and served both sides of the aisle including his time as director at the f.b.i. for 12 years. now, this was a surprise because rod rosenstein made this decision without informing attorney general jeff sessions. and i say that because keep this in mind, attorney general sessions has recused himself from the ongoing investigation

into so-called russian meddling. we've heard from leaders left and right and seem to be in agreement that director mueller is a right man for the job and see where the investigation takes us. >> shannon: kevin corke live at the white house on a busy day. >> bill: we have two different committees clamoring for james comey to testify as they conduct their own russian investigation. will the special counsel news change anything? steve hayes thinks it will. it changes things. mueller is in charge, right? >> yes. it takes a lot of power and the juice of the congressional investigations. everybody in congress wants a piece of this which isn't surprising given the proper klifsh tee of members of congress to want to grandstand and insert themselves and get press. the only committee that hasn't asked for comey's notes is the

house ag committee. i don't think congress will have much of a say and they haven't proven themselves to be very good investigators. >> bill: the judge will say we won't see the comey memos now. it will go to grand jury. a lot of this information will be kept from us. i take it that kind of cools things out for a while. does it? >> we'll see the comey memos eventually. he is right we won't see them now. i don't think this story dies down. it is possible we see a lull in the pace of the reporting because as you suggest, i think bob mueller will take this private. he is a man not known for leaks. much of the investigation has already taken place for 10 months behind closed doors and it will even more and emphasis on not leaking as it relates to news about the president and his associates. so i do think we're likely to see a lull. the fact of the matter is this

is the huge story, the biggest story of the trump presidency so far and remain the biggest story of the trump presidency for the foreseeable future. things like the republican agenda will likely be buried in reporting and speculation about this government. >> bill: that will not end, the speculation will continue. steve, great to have you on, steven hayes out of washington, d.c. analysis there. >> shannon: later this afternoon president trump will hold a joint news conference with columbia president santo and likely he will get questions on the breaking news of the last few days. you don't want to miss it and catch it here on fox news live at 3:45 p.m. eastern comes ahead of an important international trip. >> bill: the vatican, riyadh, jerusalem. nato, g7 in brussels. packing it all in. we have a big morning for you now. we have a special counsel. what exactly does robert mueller do and how does he change things? in moments we'll talk to a

former department of justice investigator who knows this better than anyone. >> shannon: what will the impact be on all the different investigations playing out on capitol hill. they've all invited james comey to testify. will he do that? ron rosenstein set to testify before congress. >> bill: the president is gearing up for a fight and says the subject of the greatest witch hunt in political history is now upon him. that's coming up next here. >> no politician in history -- and i say this with great surety -- has been treated worse or more unfairly.

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>> bill: it is 9:15 here in new york city. the news struck 45 minutes ago announced from the surviving wife of roger ailes, beth ayles with the following statement. roger ailes has died at the age of 77. we have a statement from our colleague and friend sean hannity. i want to read this to you. it's long. it's personal. and it means a lot. today america lost one of its great patriotic warriors, r.a. for decades r.a. has impacted american politics and media.

he has dramatically and forever changed the media landscape for the better. neither will ever be the same again as he was a true american original. few people in this life will ever reach for the profound level of impact that roger ailes had on the country every single dai. as his opponents played checkers if life roger was always the strategist playing chess five steps ahead at another level. on a personal note, were it not for roger ailes i would not be the person i am today. in 1996 he took a huge risk on an inexperienced young local radio talk show host in atlanta. to this day i have no earthly idea why i was hired and not fired early on as i had little experience when i was hired by fnc as old tapes humbly remind me. he saw something in me and many others he hired that we never saw in ourselves. and forever changed the trajectory of thousands of people's lives. in many ways he was like a

second father after i lost my own father six months after i started at fnc in march of 1997. i am forever grateful. his endless enthusiasm, energy, witt, humor and raw instinctive intelligence will be greatly missed. our thoughts and prayers now turn to him, his wife beth, his son zachary, his brother and his family. he will be deeply missed. it would be nice if the media would leave roger and his family alone in their time of grief but knowing people that hated him and his politics and those that forget all have sinned and fallen short and cast the first stone, i doubt that will happen. but to his enemies i know this, i say advantage roger. in his mind he was just a head start in preparing to kick your ass in the next life. godspeed, roger ailes, that from sean hannity. roger ailes the founder,

chairman, dead at the age of 77. his wife, as i stated 20 minutes ago -- beth ailes is an angel on earth and zachary ailes is a man everyone will be proud to call a son. our thoughts, our prayers, our hearts are with you now and we are sending you the greatest strength you need to get through a tough, tough time. 77. >> shannon: as sean put in that very personal statement about him wanting to kick a, was very competitive. he loved the idea of a good fight and coming out on top and giving everything you had in the process. he was a competitor at heart and passionate about all he did. >> the one thing he realized in the 1960s. television is a medium that has so much power and you better embrace it or you'll be left

behind. he had that conversation with president nixon. he walked in the room and said i don't like this whole idea. roger said you better get used to it. this is the future. he passed it to him during an appearance on the michael douglas show. what you see now as a viewer so much of your tv monitor is a creation of roger. he was able to see the fine print of that screen in ways no one else could. and had a profound impact on the way the viewer sees things today and clearly the success of the fox news channel here when you think about coming off just the last year of being number one in cable across the board. that was roger and that's what he gave us. >> shannon: he has a fascinating life story starting back in warren, ohio, to see where he ended up and the interesting stuff along the way is fascinating. >> bill: he grew up a cleveland indians fans and he was a yankees fan.

he would have loved to be been there sunday night. he would invite a lot of us to come watch a game and we would do it several times. for the national anthem you were standing with hand on heart and singing, right. beth was very much into that and so was roger, too. that was the posture you had and the presence of roger and his family all the time. every time. never thought i would say this. roger ailes, our best. >> shannon: in the meantime we're awaiting the start of a house committee hearing on tax reform. lawmakers taking this one on following one of wall street's worst days in months. they want the talk about this and get back to the agenda. what does their plan -- what will it look like? >> bill: the arrest of illegal immigrants on the u.s. mexican border are down but picking up why in the rest of the country. the house ways and means

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>> we've got a number of investigations going on in the house and senate and that work will continue. we'll see if they can work hand in hand and what we want is to get the facts. >> people with any news on the house comes out. this is hopefully detox some of the politics of it. >> a greater chance with counsel investigating this and someone of the stature of bob mueller that the public is more likely to accept the result. >> bill: get the politics out of it. what's the chance that happens? robert mueller earning positive reactions from both sides. will it help congress get back to work?

great question. molly hemingway and mo elleithee. good morning to both of you. we're trying to figure out where the crime is. jason chaffetz said this last night with tucker on that question. >> look, i have not seen any evidence of actual collusion. where is the actual crime that they think they need a special prosecutor to prosecute? >> bill: okay. answer it. is there evidence of a crime? >> that's an excellent question. we've had nothing but stories talking about wrongdoing but we haven't seen any evidence to support that. having a special counsel should help. i think it does speak to how much people wouldn't have trusted comey if he had come out and said something one way or the other. he lost the confidence of the american people in a way that robert mueller hasn't. there is potential this could go well but it is very weird and broad to have an investigation when you don't

actually have a crime that you are investigating. >> bill: what about no evidence of collusion, where is the crime? how do you react? >> that's what the whole purpose of the investigation is. we see a lot of smoke everywhere and we see a lot of questionable connections between then associates and campaign officials of donald trump to russians. a lot of which wasn't disclosed properly. that raises enough questions to warrant an investigation. where the investigation goes, we will see. but the fact that there is a special prosecutor, the fact that it's bob mueller who is well regarded by both sides of the aisle tells us that this is going to go as far as the facts take it. >> bill: in six months, a year, two years, five years? who knows >> who knows? >> nancy pelosi said this. he can't take the place of a

truly independent outside commission that's completely free from the trump administration's meddling. you can file that under never satisfied. >> it is important to remember the standard here or what people are really alleging is that donald trump is a traitor in the white house. that's the standard that has to be met by this -- to justify this type of investigation. i think that people are right to be concerned about how these types of investigations can spiral out of control. ideally you'll get to the bottom of something that people are wondering about but in practice you start investigating a land deal under the clinton white house and end up focusing on a blue dress. >> hanging in the closet of linda tripp. it's like a torpedo underwater. you never know where it will stop. mo, will democrats ever be satisfied given the statement from nancy pelosi? >> when an independent

investigation is completed, then i think democrats will have to be satisfied and accept the results of that. look, i'm of two minds to the point you just raised, nancy pelosi calling for an independent commission. i think a special investigator, i think bob mueller is someone who we should all put our trust in and see where he takes it. i get the concern people have, though. >> bill: to both of you, thanks. i think we'll have the opportunity to talk about this again. thank you, mo, thank you, molly. appreciate your time. >> shannon: rush limbaugh compared firing james comey to the most famous man to ever hold that title. >> if the f.b.i. director has been keeping memos on meetings with everybody, he doesn't run the department of justice. we aren't talking about j.ed gar hoover here, or are we? >> shannon: are there more comey memos related to other people like president obama or hillary clinton, loretta lynch?

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>> bill: back to the news coming our way out of florida today. the former fox news chairman and founder roger ailes is dead at the age of 77 and we just read a long and heart felt statement from sean hannity a moment ago. sean joins us by telephone now. my friend, i'm sorry for your loss and our loss on a day like today. i want to share one line, sean, in case viewers missed it a moment ago. i write in many ways he was like a second father after i lost my own father six months after i started on fnc in march

of 1997. expand on that, sean. >> he really was somebody that was a true original. you don't get a second roger ailes in life. the amazing one, one of the most amazing qualities as you know, bill, or anyone who spent any time with him, i wrote -- when i was brought up to do television, i had done a little bit of television, not a full-time tv show. i had a sunday night show in huntsville, alabama. i was a guest often on some atlanta cable channel and a local radio host down there. as he was putting thoughts on the air together he brought me up. i really -- i was not the seasoned pro like somebody like you were when you got to fox. he gave me a lot of time to grow. when i lost my father the best thing he would do you would hold court with roger and he would expand on his decades in politics, the impact he had in that arena. the impact he had in the media

arena. he was one of the brightest, smartest, funniest people you would ever meet in life and every moment you spent with him you were learning and laughing. and it was fun. and he made the battles that we were in every day an incredible life experience, there are so many people and so many of our colleagues, bill, that we work with, he changed the trajectory of their lives dramatically and forever and for the good. bringing on a fair and balanced news channel when there was none and the impact that fox news has had and continues to have is an unprecedented legacy. nobody thought this could be when we started. i remember when we started, and now where the fox news channel is. he had a loving side. as a husband, as a father, as a

human being. i could tell story after story. and i saw janice dean on "fox & friends" this morning of people that were -- cameramen that had car accidents that were incapacitated that were told don't worry, your entire salary will be paid. you go recover. there are so many of those stories i can't even count them. and it's -- he was a true genius. he thought on a whole different level than the average person. i used the like to when i had meetings with him i brought up a pad because i knew there were three, four or five things i would take out of that meeting if i implemented them would change my life for the better and make me a better host and a better person. so he had a very, very deep profound impact on me and i'm forever grateful. i said in my statement i was horrible at tv when i started. i have all the evidence you

would ever want in tapes you can go back and look at that are beyond humbling. he stuck with me and gave me a chance. i said why didn't you fire me? i was horrible. you just needed so more months. he had a very interesting way in which to look for new talent that he wanted to hire. he would keep the sound down and watch the person with the sound off to see if, in fact, they would grab his interest. that was -- think about it. that's pretty unique. in other words, do they have what it takes to communicate even without words. then he would want to hear what they had to say. so he was a great patriot. he loved this country. he loved politics. he loved his family. he loved the people that he worked with. and i made a statement at the end he was such a fighter and i made this statement that, you know, many of his enemies --

there are people that don't like some of us at fox and some didn't like roger's politics. he never cared. he enjoyed the battle. he enjoyed the free exchange. and that's why i said in his mind being the great chess master that he was he was thinking okay, i'll leave the earth first, go to the next life and be prepared to kick your ass in the next life. and you know. that was the warrior that god created. >> shannon: i remember several years ago talking to him and he said you know, i could retire and have a very comfortable life at this point. i have nothing left to prove, money in the bank, he said, but i will not walk away from this place because of a couple of things. he said my son, zachary and this country. he said, i want to make this a place that would be a great place for him to preserve all the freedoms and wonderful opportunities i've been given for him. so i'm going to stay here and keep fighting.

>> he said those very things to me many times. and when we would talk about things and the issues -- we are facing a lot of things in life, the things we report on and discuss and debate every day. there is a lot of evil and darkness in this world. i would argue when you see isis, it is the modern-day incarnation of evil that good people must defeat. you look at the political wars. i've never seen attacks against the president that are so unprecedented that we're seeing against donald trump right now. those were things that really got him up out of bed, motivated, ready to go and put on the best television he could put on every day. the same thing that motivates me in my life. we share that passion and one of the reasons we had such a very strong connection was that is where my head is at. i've always looked at what we

do or those of us that are commentators, i feel i'm a spoke in a wheel. you need millions of spokes. i have a lot of deplorable friends and that makes a wheel go round. if you bring your political philosophy, you believe it and it works and the country gets to be better and better for future generations of the country. that's how he thought. shannon, that's what he believed in his heart and soul and what he was fighting for. he said i have to leave this country in a better place than my son, zachary. he is an amazing young man that he raised. those things that mattered most in life are the things that he passes on to them and he did it not only for his own son but everybody's children. he did it for a better country. that's where his heart was coming from. >> bill: thank you, sean. sean will have much more later tonight and we read sean's

statement which had some humor in it and a lot of heartfelt sentiment for what roger ailes meant to sean and so many. again the news of the morning, roger ailes is dead at age 77.

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>> the deputy attorney general gave the country a healthy dose of tylenol to bring this fever down. but that also tends to prolong the sickness. these investigations are measured not in weeks or months but years. they tend not to be the most efficient way to go about something but they are the way to do it if you want to make sure the results are accepted. >> shannon: the justice department appointing robert mueller to lead the f.b.i.'s investigation on russia as special counsel. what can he do? under justice department regulations they have all the

authority of a u.s. attorney including the ability to initiate investigations, subpoena records and bring criminal charges. there is a big difference here. special counsels can choose whether they inform the justice what they're up to. before taking significant actions, special counsel has to notify the attorney general. in this case the deputy attorney general. thomas dupree is joining us again to share his expertise. the choice and where he goes from here. getting a lot of praise but it can slow things down in the long term for people looking for immediate answers. >> that's right. they're thorough but can go on for a long time. exhibit a for those old enough to remember is the iran-contra investigation that consumed decades of american history. if you look more recently you have the whitewater investigation that expanded into the monica lewinsky investigation. in both of those what

originally was a reasonably narrow mandate expanded beyond what everyone assumed at the outset. >> shannon: here is what the doj says that he will oversee the previously confirmed f.b.i. investigation of russian officials to influence the election and related matters. sometimes these things start one place and end up somewhere very different. >> that's so true. everyone realizes the terms related matters is somewhat vague and leaves some room for interpretation. something that bob mueller, the new special counsel, might think is related might not be something others would think are related. all of us agree if he finds something that is outside the zone of his original mandate he needs to go back to the attorney general or in this case the deputy attorney general to get approval to expand his investigation to encompass that. >> shannon: my understanding is when this ultimately wraps whether it's months or years from now, what will happen is

that the former director mueller will then give a report to we assume will be the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein at that time about whether or not he decided anyone should be prosecuted and then it's up to that deputy attorney general to decide to take it to congress to tell them. it doesn't necessarily have to go public. we know when things are provided to congress they often do. >> that's right. my guess is i think that at the end of the day this is going to become public. i would be shocked if mueller ultimately delivers a report to the deputy attorney general that's classified and never sees the light of day. i think the american people, congress, everyone looks to this investigation as the investigation that will get the answers as to whether there were improper contacts. at the end of the day his findings have to be reported to the american people. >> >> shannon: economical a grand jury and some people think there will be a lull.

has to get staffed up. turn in budget requests. the underlying f.b.i. investigation will proceed. a little time before he gets up and moving but don't expect to hear anything from him. he is not the leaking type. >> that's true. you are right there will be a ramp up period but at the same time i don't think anyone should discount bob mueller's energy and intensity. he was the first guy in the office, the last guy to leave. he knows he has a mandate here. he knows people will be demanding answers and he knows the history of special counsels in this country have a reputation for taking longer than they should. i think he will move ahead quickly. >> shannon: a lot of folks think he is a patriot to take this on. thank you so much, tom. >> bill: there is a big meeting getting underway at the state department. rex tillerson meeting with homeland security secretary john kelly. they're meeting with top mexican officials on the battle over drug trafficking and organized crime.

we'll get some comments from there and headlines. we're watching it and when they become available we'll pass them to you from the department of state. >> shannon: the appointment of special counsel is one of many bombshells rocking the white house ahead of the president's overseas trip. the president signaling he is ready to dig in for a fight. >> president trump: things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted, but you have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight.

>> president trump: look at the way i've been treated lately. especially by the media.

no politician in history -- and i say this with great surety -- has been treated worse or more unfairly. you can't let them get you down. you can't let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. >> bill: we may be hearing more from that from the white house. president trump yesterday taking the opportunity to hit the media as the white house fender off growing accusations about russia. i want to bring in dana loesch and good morning to you, dana. thanks for coming back. it might be easy for republicans just to say this is all politics. has it moved to a different level as of last evening now? >> well, it certainly feels that way, doesn't it? i think the president is on to something at least in modern history has there been no such treatment to this extent of a president. when you have story after story

that is not just simply partisan and it is not just simply bias, it is simply false, that's huge. remember the report right after he assumed the white house, right after inauguration and media was reporting that he had removed a bust from the oval office when it never happened. that is just one example. there have been so many examples of media reporting from all of these unsourced individuals and they come out with stuff that cannot be substantiated. it is all hearsay and it seems designed -- which i think that it absolutely is -- to be a design to try to distract the president from his winning message that won so many people over back in november on jobs, trade, manufacturing. they want to do everything they can to disrupt that message coming from congress and the white house so they maybe can have a chance in 2018. it's a hail mary pass from the media to help their party. >> bill: we'll see in time if

it's successful. the special counsel mistake is the heading here. rosenstein bends to political pressure. first line. democrats and their media allies finally got their man. session bows to the pressure on russia, recuses himself. rosenstein bows to the pressure. could you argue or not from two days ago when the story shifted after you got the leaks in the "washington post" and the leaks in the "new york times." did they bow or did they do the right thing? >> it seems as though perhaps they may have bowed. i agree with what one of your guests, bill, said earlier. how can you have a prosecution when there is no crime? we don't have any evidence of a crime. i want to remind everyone the president is not under a criminal investigation. there is a massive difference between a counter intelligence investigation and criminal investigation and it seems some of our brethren in the media would do well to remember that difference, bill. they are con nraiting it on

purpose. they would love nothing more than to impeach this president on absolutely baseless grounds and they're grabbing at every reed they can. that's what is happening here. it is a witch hunt and it has always been a witch hunt. all everyone has been asking for is if you have evidence for all this weeping and gnashing of the teeth by all means produce the evidence. so far it's been one allegation after the other and they continue to move the goal post when they can't bring anything to substantiate the earlier claims. >> bill: tom dupree was on. the next phase of the story will be the constant leak of anonymous sources. he believes that's a dangerous place for the country to be. the last word and then we have to run. >> this is a dangerous place. bill, i will add with this. the one illegality that we know of has been a unmasking of michael flynn. i would like to see susan rice

questioned on that. that's the one act we know of with proof throughout this ideal. let's see action on that front and say the other party come forward and say let's do something about it. that has to stop. >> bill: we'll see you again real soon. thanks. shannon, what's next. >> shannon: much more still ahead. all the breaking news coming out of washington the justice department tapping former f.b.i. director robert mueller to lead the fbi's russia and related members. what it will mean for the trump presidency. then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates... maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance. due to your first accident. nosy neighbor with a glad bag, full of trash. what happens next? nothing. only glad has febreze to neutralize odors for 5 days. guaranteed. even the most perceptive noses won't notice the trash.

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>> shannon: an emotional morning here at the fox news channel as we remember former chairman and chief executive of fox news roger ailes. he died at the age of 77. memories now pouring in from friends, families and colleagues. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm shannon bream. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer. elizabeth, beth ailes his wife

putting out a statement. here it is. i'm profoundly sad and heartbroken that my husband, roger, passed away this morning. he was a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him an opportunity to work hard, rise and give back. during a career that stretched over more than five decades his work in entertainment and politics and in news affected the lives of many millions. and so even as we mourn his death, we celebrate his life. that's from beth. >> shannon: as we do howard kurtz joins us, the host of media buzz. howie, how do you quantify the impact on this business that roger ailes made? >> it's very difficult to put into words. i'm shell shocked myself with this news. i do want to say that obviously when roger ailes left fox news and forced out of fox news last summer amid all the sexual

harassment allegations it was a sad ending to an incredible career. we need to keep the whole career and accomplishments he had in politics working for nixon and bush and entertainment working for giants like merv griffin and the media in building this network from scratch. i think it's important we keep that in perspective. >> bill: he hired you. just reflect on that in the following way. the whole motto and slogan of fair and balanced, what roger would tell his staff is fair and balanced means you do not exclude any opinions. it was his belief that a lot throughout the media had excluded opinions and that was part of the reason for the founding of the fox news channel. he brings you on board to be a watchdog on media, how come? >> we had those conversations. how much independence would i have? he said as long as you don't take cheap shots you can do what you need to do and he lived up to that. i almost never talked to him

after coming here except to pass him in the halls or something. he gave me the independence to do what i needed to do on media buzz. he hired me after i covered him writing tough stories. he was a controversial and colorful character for two decades. the fact he brought me in said a lot about the news side of fox news network at which the opinion side gets a lot of attention. there are so many fine journalists that work here and that's sometimes overlooked in evaluating ailes and fox. >> bill: very interesting. >> shannon: he loved, as we've talked about, a good fight. he loved taking on the media competition and he wanted us to dominate the market and the field out there and he was extremely driven. >> extremely driven and yet i think there were a lot of stereotypes about him that were not true in my experience once i came to work at fox news. for one thing, even beyond politics, and he was a genius at politics. he was an incredibly good

manager. he understood television, graphics, pacing in a way that forced every other cable news channel the try to imitate in some way. and also, you know, the notion that he put out marching orders everybody had to march in lock step. that's not true. certainly there are prominent conservative voices on this network but there is a wide range of opinion. when donald trump ran for president those were for him and those critical of him. i think that speaks to the kind of news operation that roger ailes built. >> bill: i make one more point. your business is to analyze the media. one of the stories that roger liked to talk about a lot was when he worked for president nixon in the white house. there was a moon landing. at that time television was becoming more and more popular. and he brought a television into the oval office to have president nixon watch it.

he wanted -- his accomplishment in space. that was his vision. >> he had instinctive feel for communication and television. nixon wasn't a television candidate. he hadn't done well on the televised debates. roger ailes played a key role in getting him elected. for all his work there i talked to him when he was managing or working for rudy giuliani. he left it behind. he had strong opinions, no question about it. but he also understood that in a news operation, you go out and cover the news. different opinion commentators and people who are critics of fox news saying it tows a certain line that's not been my experience. >> bill: there is plenty more to come on that. the news of the morning, roger ailes is the news. he has left us at the age of 77 and oftentimes he would

conclude on election nights before we would all dash down to the studio coming out of our poll meetings or our debate prep he would say it's okay to be fast but don't be wrong. and be yourself because no one likes a phony. roger ailes has died at the age of 77. our prayers with beth and zach from this day forward. as we move forward this morning, the justice department now dropping this bombshell on the white house appointing former f.b.i. director robert mueller as special counsel to lead all matters russia. the reaction from both sides of the aisle are mainly positive. here is jason chaffetz earlier from his home in salt lake city earlier today. >> i think he will be broadly supported. he has impeccable credentials, storied history, 10 years leading the f.b.i. in both the bush and the obama administration. it couldn't be a better choice. he is at the latter part of his

career, nothing to prove. i think he will do a fabulous job. >> bill: mike emmanuel has more from the hill. democrats are saying what now, are they okay with it or not? >> democrats are praising robert mueller as a highly respected public service. chuck schumer says a special counsel was very much needed in this situation and deputy attorney general rosenstein has done the right thing. he adds former director mueller is exactly the right kind of individual for this job. a top democrat involved in the house investigation also praised the move. >> the value an independent commission adds you have a body that's truly independent of political considerations and also has all the resources it needs and a single focus on the oversight of what russia did. how we need to respond in the future and it brings political independence and staff and resources on task.

>> we expect more reaction from nancy pelosi later this morning. >> bill: republicans are saying what now, mike? >> they're praising the integrity of robert mueller saying congressional investigations will continue. mitch mcconnell said the decision by the deputy attorney general to appoint former f.b.i. robert mueller as a special counsel confirms the investigation into our election will continue. as stated last week by andrew mccabe. the senate select committee on intelligence will continue its investigation into this matter. other republicans see this as a positive development. >> we have to give the american people confidence we'll get to an answer and they don't have confidence it could be done in the current situation. robert mueller is a fantastic person. i don't know him personally. and this is the right move. >> speaker paul s priority is seeing that thorough and independent investigations follow the facts

where they lead. >> bill: thank you, mike. >> shannon: let's recap the timeline of what has been keeping mike and the rest of us so busy from the comey story unfolding to the appointment of robert mueller. tuesday may 9 president trump fires director comey and thanks him for informing him multiple times he wasn't being investigated. the next day the president meets with foreign russian minister lavrov in the oval office. may 11th "the new york times" said he asked for comey's loyalty in january. the white house says it didn't happen that way. then the president tweeted he better hope the tapes aren't released. on monday the "washington post" reports president trump revealed classified information in the meeting with lavrov. tuesday "new york times" reports about comey's memo. those start hitting. they claim that trump asked comey to halt the federal investigation into michael

flynn. something the white house denies. yesterday deputy attorney general rod rosenstein taps robert mueller as special counsel to continue on with the russia investigation. a busy couple of weeks now. at the bottom of the hour we'll talk to senator ron johnson. he will be briefed by the deputy attorney general today. we'll talk to him about that. and then, of course, bill tomorrow the deputy attorney general heads over to the house side to brief them as well. everybody has got a lot of questions. >> bill: need a flow chart. >> shannon: we'll keep the flow chart going for you. >> bill: one week, all of that? >> shannon: cliff notes to the flow chart but we won't give those. that's as brief as we can keep it. we have a whole lot to get through this morning. what impact is mueller going to have on the russia investigation? is this a good development? depends on who you ask. should there be concerned about dragging the country through a years' long ordeal. >> if james comey kept the memos on president trump what other memos could he have in

his possession? how this is drawing comparisons to j. edgar hoover and more. >> for you types out there that don't know hoover, he was the first real director of the f.b.i. and the first thing he did was collect dirt on every president that was elected and he essentially would show them the dossier. excuse me a minute...

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>> bill: there are even more severe thunderstorms talked

about this yesterday. we knew the warning was out there. expected a few twisters t nation's heartland. the systems will hit the same areas today. already hit by severe storms earlier this week. at least two dead, dozens injured from that storm after they ripped through wisconsin and flattened homes in oklahoma. now this new system will make its way from the rockies into the plains today and again on friday. so it might be a couple days where we're dealing with this one. stay tuned on that. >> shannon: the justice department appointing former f.b.i. director robert mueller to investigate allegations the trump campaign worked with the russians to influence the election. mueller will have sweeping powers and the authority to prosecute any crimes he says he uncovers. his appointment is raising the legal stakes and political stakes. could there be a silver lining for the trump team insulating them from the investigation for now giving them breathing room to push forward on an actual agenda?

let's talk with bret baier. okay, mueller's appointment is getting praise on both sides of the aisle. does it take a little wind out of the democrat's sales and they've been pushing for outside investigator to look into this? >> it takes some of the pressure off of that because that's really what we heard time and again is special counsel, special commission, special investigation. i think that now that this has happened and that the deputy attorney general has made this decision, it takes some of that away but the investigations are still cooking and we're still going to get these probably daily drip, drips about different information coming out. but i think you're right in that sense. i do think it's interesting to see the president's reaction on twitter this morning. and saying -- calling it the biggest witch hunt of all and saying there were no special counsels appointed in the obama administration or the clinton

administration for illegal acts on twitter this morning. so i think that's interesting reaction as well. >> shannon: we know there are some democrats who still aren't happy. our buddy tucker karlsson addressed one of them last night and here is what he had to say. >> what is their play now going forward? trump can't be impeached at this stage. how could the president go on trial in congress before the independent investigation is complete? somebody tell maxine waters her dream has just died. >> shannon: apparently she wasn't watching him last night. she still very much seemed excited about the possibility that the president was going to go down. there would be impeachment and all kinds of things. you know, the appointment may slow things some of the chatter for a little bit but those who still advocate for the i word. >> clearly. there are also democrats saying, shannon, hold on. let's wait for these investigations to play out. and don't go to the impeachment talk as of yet. i think what this does is a

reset a bit. it is a bit of an exhale for washington, which has been on a spin cycle for three days straight and every day it seems like there is another major event that the white house is reacting to in one way or another. i think the big event this weekend is going to be the president's foreign trip and whether that changes the dynamic with these images of arab leaders from around the world. we'll be going to riyadh, saudi arabia on monday and we'll have a whole behind the scenes of that summit. does that change the dynamic? the white house is hoping so. but this story has had a lot of legs this week. >> shannon: and ahead of this trip i know that you and others have been invited to a lunch with the president at the white house. can you tell us anything about that? >> what we have done this before, we did it before the joint address to congress. chris wallace and i will be

representing fox news. there are other network anchors that will be there and the question is whether it's off the record, whether they put some of it on background. whether some of it is on the record. last time we came out and they said a couple of things that he said could be talked about on the record and we quoted him that day. we'll see what happens. we'll bring it here on fox when it does. obviously the dynamic now, they want to pitch the foreign trip and all the things that are happening but there are a lot of questions about his reaction to all of these stories. >> shannon: i want to ask you, too, about another report that's come forward that alleges that there are members of the trump transition team who were warned weeks of advance in the inauguration that general flynn was under investigation. i know you have interviewed and talked with the vice president. have you gathered any information about how much they did or didn't know? >> the vice president's office said he didn't know. i asked him when the story broke that day and flynn was fired, he said it twice.

it was the first he had heard about it. but there are multiple points at which the transition team is briefed about these investigations and these ties into michael flynn getting money from turkey and concerns about those conflicts. so i think these are questions that are going to develop today and ones that will be pressing the white house for answers. >> shannon: i also want to ask you the big nuls in the morning that roger has passed away. you tweeted this morning love and prayers to beth and zach, his wife and son. you changed television as we know it. that is absolutely true. any other thoughts on his loss this morning? >> yeah. i mean, it's -- it is a sad day because this is a guy who hired me almost 20 years ago. and we send our condolences and prayers to zach and beth. and they are doing amazing things. they are raising money for the

marine corps law enforcement foundation, and we reflect on the times of our boss and obviously this controversy and how he left this place. a lot of it. but you can look back at his life and be -- reflect on those moments. he hired me as i said almost 20 years ago. and was always good to me and my family and so our condolences to beth and zach. >> shannon: we send them from here as well. bret, we look forward hearing more about your lunch with the president today. see you tonight at 6:00. >> bill: a little more in a moment on the life of roger coming up here. in the meantime as we wait on that justice department appointing a special counsel to oversee the probe into russia but it will likely be some time before we hear the results so stand by. plus there is this from tom dupree. >> special counsel investigations are thorough but they can also go on for a long, long time.

>> shannon: former f.b.i. director robert mueller tapped to the lead of that probe. what comes next? plus this. >> no justice, no peace. no justice, no peace. >> these are protests in tulsa, oklahoma after an officer was found not guilty in the unarmed killing of a black man. what's happening there this morning. that's coming up next. to anticipate is lexus. experience the lexus rx with advanced safety standard. experience amazing. you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief, try doctor recommended gaviscon. it quickly neutralizes stomach acid and helps keep acid down for hours. relieve heartburn with fast- acting, long-lasting gaviscon. and helps keep acid down for hours. ♪

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but we've got the get tdigital tools to help. now with xfinity's my account, you can figure things out easily, so you won't even have to call us. change your wifi password to something you can actually remember, instantly. add that premium channel, and watch the show everyone's talking about, tonight. and the bill you need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount >> bill: want to get to the story from the acquittal of an oklahoma police officer sparking a bit of a protest last evening. watch here. officer betty jo shelby said she shot terrence crutcher out of fear because he wasn't obeying her commands. he was not armed.

live in tulsa watching this story. what happened, alisa? >> four of the 12 jurors were seen crying as the not guilty verdict was read. the shooting happened back in september when officer betty shelby responded to a domestic violence call came upon 40-year-old crutcher's s.u.v. stopped in the street blocking traffic. shelby said she shot crutcher when he refused to obey commands to get on the ground and reached into his s.u.v. for what she thought was a gun. the prosecution says she overreacted. the jurors disagreed. crutcher did not have a gun in his s.u.v., however, but the drug pcp was found in his system. his family says he was murdered. >> the facts were there. all the elements of manslaughter was there. terrence's hands were up.

>> the shelby said the other officers covered up her mistake. >> about what problems developing from the protests? what did you see and find out? >> police said there weren't really any problems. there were maybe 100 people who gathered outside the courthouse, some chanting no justice, no peace, no racist police. the police department was prepared for demonstrations. eventually everyone went home. the jurors did have to leave with police escorts. prior to the verdict the jurors sent a note to the judge asking if they could also issue a statement along with the verdict. the judge had to explain that's not the way the court system works and they were not able to release a statement. maybe we'll hear from them later. >> bill: thanks alisa there in oklahoma. >> shannon: a decision sending shock waves from the white house all over capitol hill. former f.b.i. director robert mueller appointed special

counsel to lead the russia investigations. the big question is where will it end up going? >> special counsel is like a live torpedo in the water. it can hit anything. this city is awash with russian money. there is a lot of democrats as well as republicans that have been hired by russian outfits and extensions of moscow.

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executed in a way no one else could have. roger was a great patriot who never ceased fighting for his beliefs. at 21st century fox we'll appreciate him. our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and son. >> bill: so many people in this building if they were in trouble at a certain point in their life by their own doing or some other force or factor of life or perhaps even a health condition, roger pulled them out of the trench in their own life and you will be hearing a lot of those stories as we move throughout the day today and in the days coming. roger ailes has died at the age of 77. it is 10:31. the news unfolding over the justice department naming a special counsel to investigate ties between russia and the trump team. overseeing that investigation former f.b.i. director robert mueller.

deputy attorney general rod rosenstein made that decision. today he briefs congress about the decision to fire james comey. wisconsin senator ron johnson has an important meeting today. thank you for your time. good morning, senator. what do you want to know from rosenstein today? let's start there. >> if you remember, this meeting with rosenstein was requested i think by senator schumer last week. and my guess is senator schumer wanted to put pressure on rosenstein to appoint a special counsel. the special counsel has been appointed now. this secured briefing or this meeting may be a mute point. i would still like to hear exactly the rationale. i read the letter by the deputy attorney general in terms of why he thought director comey had some problems continuing as the director. >> bill: do you think we've learned what goes on inside that meeting today? i ask you because you are

living in a town filled with leaks and they haven't been plugged. >> there aren't many secrets in this town. my guess is what is said in that meeting will be made public eventually. from my standpoint what i hope will happen with the special counsel process. f.b.i. director mueller is probably the best choice you could have made. but i'm hoping the former f.b.i. director really sticks to the first -- his first charge, which is investigating any links or coordination between the russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of president donald trump. what i don't want to see is an expanding fishing expedition. i don't want to see what happened in valerie plame where we knew up front who did reveal that and we had the investigation go on for years. let's get to the bottom of this. look to the senate intelligence committee conduct their investigation and issue their report. this is a serious matter. let's find out what russia did

and make sure it doesn't happen again. >> you think the senate and house side will continue or does the mueller appointment get in the way? >> well, part of the problem what i've seen as being chairman of the oversight committee when there is a criminal investigation ongoing, it really does inhibit your ability to conduct oversight. you call on witnesses and i can't give you any information because i'm under investigation and investigation on going. government witnesses do the same thing. it does have the possibility of hampering what the senate intelligence committee is doing. that will be a shame. we have to get to the bottom of it quickly and get it behind us. we have enormous challenges facing this nation and we need to be working on these. >> bill: there is an interesting piece in the hill this week. encourage viewers to check it out and make your own decisions and judgments what he has to say. listen carefully and i'll ask you a very specific question

about this comment next. >> i think that the white house should invite the broader scope. i don't see the basis for suggesting that what allegedly happened between comey and trump was an act of criminal obstruction. i have think if that were investigated it would likely favor the white house in terms of the outcome unless some other evidence comes forward, which it might. >> bill: you heard the critical lines. he didn't see the active criminal obstruction and perhaps the white house should welcome this. as the story stands, as we know it today. what do you think of that, sir? >> if i was under investigation for something i didn't do, i would want the investigation to be thorough, expeditious and want it to exonerate me. my guess that's exactly what the white house will want to see from this. from my standpoint being here concerned about our debt and

deficit and healthcare system that's broken. the insurance markets collapsing, we need tax reform. i want to get the facts known. i want to get this behind us so we can move on to actually doing the people's business. >> bill: on those points and you'll get these questions a lot. what does it do to the republican agenda? majority in the senate, majority in the house, republican in the white house. what is the effect of that? >> from my part for example in our committee we marked up 17 pieces of legislation that we reported out. we're still doing the work that we were sent here to do. and we'll still have a president that can sign the legislation. from that standpoint i don't think we'll be deterred or delayed in what we're trying to accomplish. it could hamper the white house ability to help sell whether the tax reform proposal or how we'll try to fix these collapsing insurance markets. it would be nice -- we have to move forward. >> bill: you are pushing a bill on cybersecurity in light of

what happened this past weekend whether from russia, north korea or who knows where. what would your bill do specifically, senator? >> it would codify what's already happening here. when our agencies find vulnerabilities in software, some of those vulnerabilities we want to keep so we have the best offensive cyberattack capability in the world. that's important. but at the same time we want to make sure that we want those companies to be able to patch that software so that other computers don't remain vulnerable. it is a balance. for our own national security versus protecting everybody else's cyber assets. there is already a process in place. we'll make it a more transparent process and make sure we really do balance the national security with the protection of everybody's computers. >> bill: senator, thank you. ron johnson, republican from wisconsin. come back some time real soon. thank you, sir. >> shannon: robert mueller's appointment is being hailed on

both sides of the aisle. he served as f.b.i. director from 2001 and 2013 under george w. bush and barack obama. lawmakers view him as fair as impartial but he is a law enforcement professional. does he have any blemishes or red flags in his past? >> he wasn't an eagle boy scout. his record is so remarkable dating back to high school that it is hard to find any blemish. at the elite st. paul's boy school where he graduated in 1972 he was the captain of the soccer, hockey and lacrosse teams. so high was his character years later a teammate of his in high school was killed by rifle fire in vietnam mueller made the decision after graduation from princeton to enroll in marine office school.

he commanded a rifle platoon and earning a bronze star and purple heart in vietnam. he went into private practice after graduating law school and then served in various u.s. attorney officess. appointed to the f.b.i. director in 2001 serving the 10 year term and extended two years by president obama. his nonpartisanship is not to suggest he hasn't escaped political battle when he came under fire in the i.r.s. scandal. >> can you tell me how many investigators you've assigned to the case? >> i would have to get back to you. >> can you tell me who the lead investigator is? >> off the top of my head, no. >> the most important issue in front of the country and you don't know who is heading up the cast and the lead investigator? >> at this juncture no, i don't know. >> he has taken heat for

democrats for barack obama's release prison. some are already concerned that as special prosecutor he will have an unlimited budget and unlimited amount of time to investigate. mueller with his vast experience and wisdom does not need to make a name for himself nor to win over converts nor to bolster his resume at this point. >> shannon: thank you, very much, doug. and although there has been praise across the board for his appointment and selection. the only bit of hesitation from a couple of lawmakers who say we don't want him to get in the way of what we're doing in the senate and house. those investigations will continue as well. we want to work together and don't step on each other. >> bill: ron johnson is trying to make that point. we'll see if they can be successful. a reported memo sparking a political firestorm why james comey is being compared to

another f.b.i. director j. edgar hoover. >> shannon: police are investigating a car crashing into a store and then check this out. it turns around inside and takes off. more on that coming up. >> wonder why someone would do something like that. they did a lot of damage to the store. we've been very good to our customers here in peoria and we just wonder why somebody wanted to take our doors out.

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if comey has these memos regarding his meetings with trump, he has got to have memos with his meetings with obama. hum, hum? i mean, if the f.b.i. director has been keeping memos on meetings with everybody, he doesn't run the department of justice. we aren't talking about j. edgar hoover here, or are we? >> shannon: former f.b.i. director james comey being compared by some to his legendary predecessor years back j. edgar hoover including our next guest who has been doing it for months. michael goodwin. good to see you today. i want to read a little bit from your piece. this is an analogy you've been drawing. it is noteworthy he never complained about trump until he was fired. he learned his hoover lessons well which is why i call j. edgar comey two months ago. >> the legacy of j. edgar

hoover cuts in both directions. he created the f.b.i. but you couldn't get rid of him. he served under six presidents. five of whom wanted to fire him but were afraid to. harry truman famously said he is like a secret police force that he established. black mails people. harry truman didn't fire him, either. he died in office. it's named the hoover f.b.i. building. he created the f.b.i. but i think he also set up the power center where he was above accountability. too big to fire. and i think that's what comey was beginning to get to. he talked often -- think of it in the presidential campaign. he is investigating both candidates clinton and trump as it turns out. he is keeping memos on all of his meetings and he only leaks one of these memos when he is

fired. as rush limbaugh said. what other memos? he mentioned with the conflicts loretta lynch had. what memos did he write about loretta lynch? he said there were other issues and felt he needed to usurp the justice department power. what other issues was he talking about? what don't we know about james comey and what his meetings were with loretta lynch? i think as we get now deeper into the special counsel role, james comey could be either the hero of the piece or thevilleian depending on what the memos show. >> shannon: there are sources close to him that say he was meticulous about that. if there was a meeting or conversation he thought was important it was smart for him to memorialize that and there could be other memos. we'll see. you talk about the fact that trump is a refreshing change in washington he is a different kind of president but sometimes he follows his disrupting instincts too far. do you think if he had handled

the comey firing differently that maybe there wouldn't be some of these leaks and pushbacks we're seeing now? >> the knives have been out for trump long before the election, right? i think almost anything he does is going to be savagely attacked. as he says, unfairly in many cases. but i think the handling of the comey firing, what he did by contradicting his own office, they said it was the recommendations of rod rosen stiene. he said no, i was going to do it no matter what. why then? i think he raised the question of why comey was fired specifically. now, rosenstein's letter is compelling when he goes through the mistakes that comey made and says to comey -- sessions in the letter, surprisingly he doesn't -- comey doesn't accept that he made any mistakes. you can't have an employee who thinks he is above accountability. i think so the firing was justified. but now i think trump, because

of the memo, we now have a game going on. a game in the serious sense there will be a very big winner and a very big loser if they find something and special prosecutors always manage to find something. i think that's the history of them. i have think the white house is right to be concerned. >> shannon: this memo allegedly put together by the former f.b.i. director after their conversation weeks and months ago apparently also contained information that the president wanted to talk to the f.b.i. director about the leaks. he was angry. he wanted people to be punished. that interesting that was a part of the conversation as well and the leaks continue. >> i write in the column i think comey was often a source of leaks. i think one of the reasons comey did not want to investigate leaks is that he knew some of them came from the f.b.i. and we know at least one came directly from his office. that is the leak that said that he was upset when trump accused obama of wiretapping trump

tower. all the newspapers had an exactly the same time a story saying comey is furious and wants the justice department to deny it. how do we know that? sources close to comey. so i think comey was probably a source on other things, too. >> shannon: maybe we'll find that out through this investigation and others. michael goodwin. good to see you. >> bill: jon scott is coming up next on "happening now." >> more on that political earthquake on capitol hill. the deputy attorney general appoints robert mueller to lead the investigation as special counsel to look into russian meddling in the u.s. elections. what are the political implications? we're awaiting the weekly news conference from paul ryan. stay tuned for that coming up. >> bill: thank you. we'll see you in 10 minutes. house speaker paul ryan holding his weekly news conference. what will he say? keep it here on fox and we'll bring it to you as soon as it

begins.

>> bill: vice president mike pence speaking to u.s. chamber of commerce invest in america group today. we'll see what he has to say with all the news coming out of the white house, how does he stay on track? james rosen is watching that today and live in washington good day to you. what about the events of the past week? have they changed at all the role being played by the number two-man? >> good morning. in a sense this cyclone of sensational allegations has only deepened the president's reliance on vice president pence. we have come to associate with the role with him having traveled throughout asia last month reassuring nervous allies

in the face of north korea's belligerence. he greeted a group of asian americans in his ceremonial office and relayed a message intended to sooth. >> the truth is that asian americans and pacific islanders are an integral part of america's past but they're even a bigger part of america's future. so today i say with confidence our future is bright. brighter than ever before. >> sources say mr. pence's influence on the president is especially strong in the area of judicial nominations, bill. >> bill: he has an eye on the future and when he talks about that james, what do you hear? >> undoubtedly he is a practicing politician. the vice president recently took a step that cast him in a more political like unlike dick cheney and joe biden. he registered a political action committee with the federal election commission to enable him to steer funds to

congressional republicans in advance of 2018. beyond that, however, there is little sign the vice president is allowing current headlines like the one that popped up on politico 15 hours ago, conservatives beginning to whisper president pence to go to his head. >> the media has been so obsessed with the president and russians and whether or not there is collusion. but the vice president according to my sources has been continually on the hill. continually talking to the speaker and majority leader trying to find a way to break the log jam with healthcare and tax reform. >> the vice president will serve as a human bridge this afternoon to the business community with a speech at the u.s. chamber of commerce. >> bill: we'll follow it as will you. >> shannon: the justice department has named robert mueller special counsel to lead the investigation into russian meddling. democrats and republicans offering support for the former f.b.i. director but some with a note of caution. what is that all about?

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the >> bill: as we mentioned, paul ryan will be up in a little bit. we'll see what his approach now is with the whole james comey, robert moeller ordeal. we've got to run, have a great day. >> jon: we begin with a fox news alert. we are awaiting house speaker paul ryan's weekly news conference as the justice department names robert mueller as special counsel overseeing the meddling in the 2016 elections and any ties to the trump campaign by the russians. welcome to "happening now" ." >> julie: i'm in for jenna lee today. the mueller appointment being praised on capitol hill. he spent 12 years at the helm of the fbi agency serving both deic