dule a cckup with your doctor to learn your four health numbers, and start taking control of your health today. it could save your life. cigna. together, all the way. >> jon: thanks for joining us today. "america's news hq" starts now. >> a major development in syria. hello, everybody. i'm jenna lee. as senior u.s. defense official confirming coalition air strikes targeted a pro government mill tan group in the war torn country. strike being placed in an area is u.s. is using to train its partners forces. let's get jennifer griffin who is live at the pentagon. >> reporter: officials tell me american warplanes carried out a strike against pro-assad regime units in at tanf in southeast syria today. after a show of force to try to stop the pro assad forces was

ignored, the coalition commander took the desession to hit the forces operating in a quote well established deconflict shun zone. the forces were setting up fighting positions we're told in a protected zone used by the u.s. to train anti-isis forces. at tanf is about 170 miles from the isis defacto capital raqa. after shows of force, they didn't stop the assad forces. those forces refused to move out of the deconfliction zone. the commander called for the air strike as a matter of petition. there is no change in policy, the official said. but this is the first time other than the tomahawk missile strike after that chemical weapons attack that u.s. warplanes and u.s. ordinances have targeted pro assad forces.

they accidentally hit them not too long ago. we expect a statement from the u.s. military soon. the ap is reporting a tank and bull dozer were hit, jenna. it's not clear if the forces belong to the syrian army or their allies which could include iran, russia or hezbollah. >> jenna: that would make an even interesting story, more than it is. thank you very much. another fox report. we're waiting the arrival of rod rosenstein on capitol hill. only hours after naming former fbi director robert mueller as special counsel to oversee the on going investigation into russia and the 2016 election. rosenstein will meet with the entire senate to brief lawmakers on president trump's firing as fbi director james comey. we have fox team coverage. senator lindsey graham is reacting. we begin with our chief intelligence correspondent. >> reporter: i'm right up aside

the skip on the senate side of the capitol. the skip is a secure facility used exclusively fors kh s clasd briefings. we've seen some trickle in in expectation of rod rosenstein's arrival. this event was put on the calendar last week after the abrupt firing of the fbi director. but senators have told fox news that they expect to ask questions about the appointment of the special counsel the former fbi director robert mueller. in this position he will have broad authorities. he will be able to issue subpoenas. he will be able to conduct depositions. he will be able to access classified information. he'll all be able to declassify information for public review. mueller has resigned from his dc law firm to prevent any conflicts of interest. now, this appointment has very broad bipartisan support. one democrat telling fox today that he believes this is part of his party's broader strategy to

assert pressure. >> i'd still like to hear the rational. i read the letter. why the deputy attorney general in terms of why he thought that director comey had some real problems to continue as director. >> reporter: in addition, we are expecting some information or perhaps some information of the speakers today about the decision rod rosenstein made. maybe some expectations about the direction that the investigation will take. the fbi director will set that course and he will have broad authorities and we'll see what anticipates or what develops in the next few minutes. >> jenna: thank you very much. joining us for more lindsey graham, a member of the senate judiciary and armed services committee. timing's everything, great to have you on the program. >> i got to get over there. >> reporter: we're gonna make sure you get there. let me ask you a little bit about syria. this is some of the unexpected news of the day. >> absolutely. i'm very pleased that our

commanders have the authority to protect our troops. president has empowered the commanders on the ground in a way that obama never would. this is a good policy change in the sense that our forces can protect themselves without having to go to the white house for permission. i'm just really pleased. and no pro assad forces is a pro american force. i applaud the commander for protecting his troops. i applaud the commander in chief for giving the commander the ability to do it. >> jenna: critics say this could be setting us up for a broader conflict inside syria. what do you think? >> my number one obligation is for those troops on the ground protecting america, training forces to destroy isil. anybody we train to destroy isil should be protected from assad, russia, iran. so the president did the right thing to empower his commanders. if you're thinking ab engaging american forces on the ground in syria, you better think twice. >> jenna: we'll be waiting and watching for more news on that, senator graham. i want to talk about what's

happening at the senate. what's your reaction to the special counsel, to bob mueller being appointed as special counsel on this very specific case? >> i respect the decision. he's a good choice in terms of respect among members of both parties. he's a seasoned former fbi director. i don't know what caused the appointment. i haven't seen any evidence of a crime yet. bottom line is i respect the decision. this pretty much shuts congress down. now i think the public will be one of the biggest losers of this decision. i don't see how we have public hearings now that we have a special counsel. >> jenna: have you been told that directly? >> no. if i were mueller, i would protect the witness pool. this idea of subpoenaing information from general flynn, who may be under criminal investigation or could be, is inappropriate, quite frankly. if you're the target of a criminal investigation, i don't think congress con should be asking you to come forward to incriminate yourself or get

documents that may be used against you in a court of law. i don't know what flynn's lawyers will say, but now that we have a special counsel, i know what i would say if i were flynn's lawyer. you're not going to subject my client to jeopardy by having him come for the congress. this decision knocks congress out of the game for all practical purposes. >> jenna: could dual investigations be the best case scenario for the public? that we actually get a better idea of what the truth is and what the facts are? >> well, you know, you have a special counsel who is a well respected person, but clapper and yates testified publicly. they came before the committee. i thought they both did a good job. they were asked hard questions. comey, i was looking forward to talking to him about what he talked to the president about and why he wrote a memo and why he didn't do more and all that good stuff. i think that's off the table now. >> jenna: you haven't been told a definitive no yet. the door is open that it could potentially happen. >> i hope he will, but i doubt it. democrats, you got what you wanted. you got a special counsel.

now we'll just move on. we're not prosecutors. we're gonna have to honor this special counsel's authority. i don't want to impede an investigation. time will tell where we go. but there's a new front opening here. i have reason to believe that there are e-mails between clinton campaign officials, democratic operatives to the department of justice regarding the clinton e-mail investigation that happened on obama's watch. i have reason that those e-mails exist. i'm on the judiciary committee. and i think it's important that the judiciary committee be given any e-mails that were directed to the department of justice by clinton campaign officials or operatives or democratic officials or operatives because we have jurisdiction over the department of justice. and i want to know, did the department of justice receive communications from the clinton campaign or democratic officials about the clinton e-mail investigation. have reason to believe those e-mails exist. >> jenna: why do you have

reason? that's a big claim. if there are e-mails between the dnc and the department of justice, that's a big news story. why do you have reason to believe that? what have you seen? >> i haven't seen e-mails but i have reason to believe they do exist. and this is why you either need a joint select committee. the problem is that we're in charge of the department of justice. the judiciary committee. if there was a communication to the department of justice about an on going investigation from people who are the subject of the investigation, i want to know that. i have been very up front about all things russia and trump. i want this investigation to go wherever the facts lead. everything's on the table in terms of finding out what the trump campaign did with the russians, if anything. i think it should be both ways. if there were efforts during the clinton e-mail investigation by clinton operatives to communicate with the department of justice, and i believe there was such communications, i want the judiciary committee to know

about it so we can call people from the department of justice to account for what happened. >> jenna: that would be a big claim and a big fact if we did see those letters, those e-mails, senator graham. in general, i think one of the questions coming up from the american people is how close are we to the truth? whether it's on any sort of conversations between russia and the trump administration. whether it's between the dnc and the department of justice. who can we trust? how close are we to the truth? >> i hope you can trust me because i have tried very hard to make sure that we find out what happened. here's what i can tell you as of right now. the russians interfered in our election. they did so to create upheaval. they were successful. they didn't change the outcome of the election, but they did interfere by hacking into the democratic national committee and john podesto's e-mails. there is no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. i do not believe the president is a target or subject of any

criminal investigation as of right now. so that's what i know right now. and where this goes, i don't know. follow the facts where they lead. but if there is, in fact, communications between the clinton campaign or democratic officials to the department of justice about the clinton e-mail investigation, i want to know that information and it should be shared with the judiciary committee so we can hold those people and the department of justice accountable. >> jenna: we certainly want to know about it as well. senator graham, you're welcome back on our program when you do get more on that investigation. we're gonna let you go. we do see an arrival on capitol hill, the deputy attorney general. he's the one that's going to be briefing the full senate. you have 100 senators. senator graham's not far. the fox bureau isn't far from capitol hill. he's going to join in on that session. this is going to be very important. the deputy attorney general is acting as the top law enforcement official, if you will, of the land, because attorney general sessions recused himself from the

investigation because of his role during the trump election period. so what you're seeing is the arrival. we'll be talking to a few more senators about what they expect from this meeting and what we should be thinking about while this meeting is on going. again, how close are we to the truth? and where are the facts? we will be talking more about that. in the meantime, a chaotic scene in times square where a speeding car rams into pedestrians sending the noon time crowd scrambling for safety. >> i was literally sitting down right here, you know, hanging out, right before i was going to grab something to eat. looked down at my phone for a minute or two. next thing, boom. it was like a big old, like a bomb or something, like an explosion. remember here at ally, nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. who's with me? we're like a sports team here at ally. if a sports 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

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>> jenna: want to bring you back to capitol hill and this

motorcade that i saw arriving there. is the motorcade for the vice president. also the president of the senate. he is a tie breaker in the senate which is needed which is historically not common. we do have the vice president arriving for this meeting with the deputy attorney general rosenstein. we are unclear whether or not rosenstein is in the building yet. the event begins at 2:30 eastern time. we're a few moments away. you can see different senators as they file into the room. in the meantime, another fox news alert. deadly scene in new york city times square after a speeding car plows into a crowd of pedestrians. one person reported dead, 19 injured. the driver reportedly intoxicated. several bystanders pinned him to the ground when he tried to escape. david lee is live with details. >> reporter: jenna, in the words of the city mayor bill de

blasio, a tough day for new york city. so far, one person was killed, as many as 22 now they say weres times square plowed into a crowd. take a look over my shoulder and you can see the very heart of new york city at this hour has come to a grinding halt. for the past two hours, since this incident began, authorities have steadily increased the perimeter. four blocks from here. 45th street, 7th avenue, rests this honda accord, 2009 vehicle that authorities say caused all the havoc. according to officials, here's the way things unfolded. the driver of the car was heading, with the flow of traffic, south on seventh avenue. then he made a u-turn at 42nd street and seventh avenue. he then began driving on the sidewalk. he then, against the flow of traffic and on the sidewalk, began to drive north. that's when he began to mow down pedestri

pedestrians. among the dead an 18-year-old woman. we're told her 13-year-old sister was also injured. in total, 22 people were injured by this incident. a short time ago, authorities held a news conference here and talked about the driver. liste listen. >> the driver, a 26-year-old male, richard rojas, a resident of the bronx, was taken into custody at the scene. preliminary investigation revealed that rojas has a few arrests and two are for dwi. detectives are currently reviewing any other criminal history for the subject. >> reporter: according to new york city's mayor, rojas is a u.s. citizen. also says he is a navy veteran. now, according to those who were here at the time of the incident, the car was not only moving against the flow of traffic, but it was also moving at a relatively high rate of

speed. this is a very congested area. traffic does not move quickly. this car, though, was moving faster than it should have been. listen to what some of the witnesses had to say. >> we heard a big crash. we saw people running away. we went back to the corner and we saw people laying on the sidewalk. around the corner we saw a ticket person lying on the ground. police were running to help him. then the car started on fire. >> the police had us go back a bit. people were running to the scene instead of running away. there were all types of action going on. >> so people were trying to help? >> yeah. >> reporter: it's worth noting that this car was stopped by a metal pole that is used to prevent these type of incidents from occurring. many say that today that pole helped save lives. back to you. >> jenna: thank you very much. we're just moments from a big

senate briefing on capitol hill. deputy attorney general rod rosenstein is briefing the full senate behind closed doors. as we saw vice president mike pence is there, too. we'll be live on capitol hill much more coming up in just a moment. mmmm.

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>> jenna: welcome back. new special counsel and the russian investigation gaining bipartisan support across capitol hill. former fbi director bob mueller was appointed yesterday by the attorney general's office. alabama senator richard shelby had this to say. >> this is an excellent appointment. he has impesable credentials. he was a former fbi director where he served his distinction. before that he was a career prosecutor. he's going to go with the facts. he's going to do a thorough

investigation. they need to clear the decks. >> jenna: his colleague from alabama is questioning the need. senator luther strange joins us from washington. i'm interested to hear your take on this. what do you think of the appointment of bob mueller. >> i'm okay with it. he is beyond approach. but i have said from the beginning, i had the utmost confidence in jeff sessions and deputy rosenstein who is a very excellent choice as number two. i don't think there's any harm in having bob mueller there. i think we need to get to the bottom of this quickly. if we can do it in a way that satisfies everyone that's bipartisan, that's all that matters. >> jenna: senator graham was on our program expressing some concern that this special counsel appointment will virtually shut down congress' ability to investigate. what are your thoughts on that? >> i'm not sure i'd agree with my colleague. as i have said from the beginning, we ought to leave the

work to the bipartisan senate intelligence committee, richard burr and mark werner have been working hard to get to the bottom of this. i know they've up to this point have received excellent cooperation from the fbi which leads me to my third.. my hope is that we'll get an fbi director nominated and confirmed as soon as possible to restore the leadership they need in that great bureau. >> jenna: as we are, again, watching the live picture of the arrivals to this meeting that you're going to be taking part in, i'm curious your expectations. what are your expectations of this meeting, the briefing by the deputy attorney general? and what would you like to hear? >> i'm not sure what to expect. i'm expecting to hear details, something we can share with the american people. what i think everyone is looking for is an assurance, reassurance, that this matter is being given the highest level of priority and that we can all have confidence in it.

that's what i expect to hear. >> jenna: we'll be curious. we just saw senator graham arrive. we told him he'd make it on time. we'll guarantee the same to you as well. you mentioned the fbi director and who will assume that role. we have a couple different names to show our viewers. andrew mccabe, frank keating, joe lieberman, former connecticut senator. former michigan congressman mike rogers. we could go on down the list. what name stands out most to you? who would you like see head of the fbi? >> i like mike rogers. joe lieberman has a bipartisan reputation as a former attorney general. i know from my own experience the attorney general of alabama, you better get the best people and totally empower them to follow the truth wherever it leads and you will be well served. >> jenna: that sounds good to us. we will be watching to see when a name is officially announced. thank you for that. senator strange, great to have

you on the program. hope you have a good briefing. we'll look for any news out of that. we're just moments away from what's being described as a rare all senate briefing on capitol hill as the deputy attorney general brings lawmakers up to speed on the comey termination. plus what lawmakers are saying about the political fire storm raging in the nation's capital. >> this was a very good first step. mr. rosenstein has done the right thing. i applaud his decision for both its correctness and its courage. ♪ nobody does underwater stunts, sylvia. except me, of course. this is my stop. adios! ♪ if you're a stuntman, you cheat death. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance,

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>> jenna: 2:30 eastern time and we have a live look on capitol hill, where senators are arriving for that closed door briefing with the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. in the mean time, we're gonna take a closer look at the special counsel he named last night, robert mueller. by any standard, he's a legendary figure in law enforcement. he served three years in the marines in vietnam earning five medals including the bronze star and purple heart. mueller later became u.s. attorney in california in 1998. he was then named the nation's sixth fbi director on september 4, 2001, just one week before the 9/11 terror attacks. he's credited with transforming the bureau into an intelligence based national security organization from a traditional law enforcement agency. mueller then spent the next 12

years at the helm -- after leaving washington he handled the nfl's probe of the ray rice case in 2014, giving you an idea of the diversity of cases he's handled. mueller will carry on the investigation about jim comey being fired. it's important to note that under doj regulations a special counsel has all the authority of a u.s. attorney general. mueller can initiate investigations, subpoena records and bring criminal charges and the doj is supposed to supply staff for special counsel but mueller can request specific people as well. we'll be seeing in he pulls a team together. in the meantime, again, back to the closed door briefing on capitol hill. peter ducey has been speaking to lawmakers as they go inside. what do democratic lawmakers want to hear from the deputy ag today? >> reporter: jenna, a little while ago i had a chance to talk to the top democrat on the

senate intel committee, virginia senator mark warner who said just because there is now a special counsel, his committee's work will not slow down, but that he wants to hear from the deputy attorney general today that the justice department is still gonna cooperate with whatever the committee ends up needing. >> i just want to make sure that we have complete cooperation from the justice department and the fbi, to make sure that we have access to the witnesses we need and that we get the information we need in a timely manner. the congressional investigation has a slightly different goal than a criminal, potential criminal investigation. different legal standards, different factual standards. so we're full speed ahead. >> reporter: senator warner also told me he thinks mueller is a good choice to lead this independent probe that many in his own party were pleading for. >> jenna: interesting. that sentiment that's been echoed. peter, do we know anything about the deputy attorney general

telling lawmakers anything about naming the special counsel? >> reporter: we know the deputy attorney general met with some congressional leaders last night after all of this happened. the speaker of the house wouldn't get into classified details. did say the attorney general did not say anything to him that has the speaker calling off congressional probes into russian election interference. >> we are gonna keep these investigations going here as i have always said, i think the intelligence committees are the right place to do that. this is an investigation involving russia. involving another country interfering with our elections. so the intelligence committee, in my opinion, is the best place for that. and so these bipartisan, bi-committee investigations, are going to continue their investigations. >> reporter: senator john mccain said this morning he wants to see more investigations. he told a group of reporters that he would like there to be a select committee on russia here

in congress. he is one of the only republicans calling for that extreme measure. and he does continue to compare the climate right now to both watergate and iran contra in terms of the volume of information that just keeps dripping out. jenna? >> jenna: i'll be curious what the panel thinks about that. we're gonna bring in tammy bruce. and a former bill clinton adviser. i know you're on opposite ends of the aisle, but if we're trying to get to the bottom of this for the american people, we want the best results, what do you think of the special counsel appointment? >> i think that's exactly the point. is that when it comes to things dripping out, the volume of information has been primarily effectively rumor. things like the comey memo, a story in the paper that no one's seen. this is important for trump supporters and everyone else if we want to be able to trust an end result. mueller obviously is well

respected, someone who will be looking at details and the facts, not running based on rumors in a newspaper. and for president trump, it's a great opportunity to focus on making america great again, on foreign policy, on the economy and jobs. this is where his press team comes in, communications and refocusing themselves on the nature of what they want to accomplish. >> jenna: the picture sounds good. what do you think? >> i think it's great spin. i applaud the appointment of the special prosecutor. this administration is completely spiralling out of control. you think about it. watergate was drip drip drip. it unfolded over a year. this is like a flood gates a deluge, unbelievable niagara falls of leaks and innuendo. >> jenna: there's been a lot of insinuations. >> the president has tried not once, but twice we learned in recent days, to obstruct justice. once by getting comey to try to

back off the flynn investigation. then what he did in firing him, or maybe he fired him over that russian investigation. that's not to mention the fact that he gave secret classified information to the russians. >> jenna: according to a report. you're speaking about this as if they are facts. they are still reports. then we have the announcement of the special counsel. >> this is the conversation that ends up evolving into gossip. if donald trump really wants clarity, this is the way to approach it. this is good for your point and my point, all of us and especially the end result whether you are a conservative or liberal, support trump or not. when we think of america's future, we need to do it in this fashion. it is the appropriate way. i think president trump, in focusing on being able to help the country -- >> this is a president that does not want clarity. he wants chaos. >> jenna: what about the president's tweet saying this is

the single greatest witchhunt of a politician in american history. do you think that helps or hurts him? >> it's a bit hyperpolic. the salem witch hunt was based on rumor and innuendo. >> this is a president whose entire managial style is not organized chaos, it's complete chaos. a fish rots from the head down. i can say that. i own my own business. i know that it's true. there is no surprise that the entire white house staff is full of leaks because this guy can't keep his mouth shut. he can't keep his hands off twitter. who knows what he will do when he leaves on a foreign trip. >> jenna: it's a leader and leadership staoeup that the president chose. >> i think a lot of people are having buyer's remorse. he has no agenda. the only agin tka is to try to save himself from the

self-inflicted wound that he has made in the last three months. >> let me just point out kwupb thing. there's opinion and there are the facts that we'll fine out with the mueller investigation. as i tell my audience every day, notice if you're seeing something that's opinion versus real facts dealing with the heart of the matter. >> when you have people like john mccain saying we need a select committee, they want him to go. do you know what the problem is in mike pence as an alternative isn't a whole lot better. he either is completely out of the loop or a liar. >> jenna: let's wait on that. those are pretty big claims that we can't support. i want our viewers to know we are having a nice opinion conversation. it seems that this will be a good thing for the american people. we should get more sunlight on this issue. >> i agree. it's absolutely essential that the special prosecutor has wide ranging authority. i actually don't think it's enough to have that in the intelligence community to investigate. why? this is far more than an issue

of intelligence. this is an issue of obstruction of justice which is exactly what we saw with reagan and iran contra. i think this is going to go to a committee and it is not going to end well. when it starts this way, it only gets worse. this president has no ability to contain himself along the way. >> this is part of the problem. when we have this investigation concluded, is in fact will the media and partisans accept the conclusions as opposed to what david clue said last year that they had to destroy donald trump so his kind would not rise again. that's not what the american people want this process to evolve into. >> jenna: we have to run. we'll have more taking place. thank you. the political stakes rising with the appointment of a special counsel to investigate possible collusion against collusion between russia and the trump campaign. >> you now have a special counsel who will take over that portfolio within the justice

department. i think it's appropriate. that whole point is to have an independent investigation and follow the facts wherever they may lead. it is premature to prejudge anything at this point.

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so, kinda like your second husband. kinda. it's good to be in (good hands). >> jenna: investors a bit more optimistic today with the dow up slightly thanks in part to gains in the technology sector. plenty of questions remain. one day after turmoil over the president's controversy caused the biggest sell off this year. let's go live to the floor of the new york stock exchange. lori? >> what a difference a day makes, jenna. stocks are not only rebounding, but rebounding big, one day after the selloff for the u.s. stock market. dow about session high, gain of 138 points. yesterday's losers today's winners. financials and technology. have a look at some of the big tech heavyweights. apple almost 2% up. same story for amazon and

facebook also better by 2% at the moment. so why? why the turn around? why this gusto? we got some u.s. data this morning on the economy. it just reminded everyone, investors from wall street to main street, that tax plan or no tax plan, bank regulations, deregulations, whatever is going on in washington and the white house, the u.s. economy is still in pretty good shape and firing on all cylinders. looking at the weekly jobless claims total. 232,000. get this. it is a 28.5 year low. they call that a generational low. more evidence that our labor market is improving and improving fast. jenna, back to you. >> jenna: lori, just curious, despite all the political turmoil, the economy though still seems to be firing on all cylinders. is that a fair description of the economy as it stands today? >> absolutely. in addition to that jobless claims number with that huge improvement, we also got another data point.

factory orders in the mid-atlantic region. there's so much industry there in that part of the country. it's such an important bell weather for how things are going across the country. took economists by surprise. they weren't expecting these numbers to be so robust. between the jobs market and industrial production and factory orders, all of these segments of our economy seem to be going well. when consumers hear the news, they go ahead and they open their pocketbooks. we saw wal-mart out with an expert than expected earnings because people are buying online. you have wal-mart going against amazon with the on line shopping. so far on line has it safely but look at wal-mart shares, up better than 3%. >> jenna: interesting for one of the largest retailers in the world. we'll have more reaction to the naming of the special counsel. in moments mo brooks will join us live. you don't let anything keep you sidelined.

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>> jenna: lawmakers on both sides of the call calling bob mueller the right choice to conduct an independent investigation into russia and the trump campaign. >> i think this is the right decision and the right candidate. >> i think it's a good move. hopefully something that will give the american people some peace that we'll get to the bottom of this. >> i have not seen any evidence of actual collusion. where is the actual crime they think they need a special prosecutor to prosecute? >> jenna: alabama congressman mo brooks is now in the race to fill the u.s. senate seat formerly held by attorney general jeff sessions and will be facing off against our earlier guest, luther strange. we're getting our fill of alabama today. we appreciate that congressman.

what's next in this investigation as you see it? >> welsh at this point in time, we hand everything over to now investigator mueller, former fbi director, and we let him do what fbi agents do. they examine witnesses. they try to determine what the true facts are. at some point in time those true facts will be presented certainly per happens to a grand jury, if there's enough jury to justify takes to it the grand jury. if not i hope the fbi director will give the american people a report. there are three different issues here. one was the russian involvement in the election. two, was there any collusion between the trump campaign and russia? three, was the president of the united states, now president donald trump, involved in that collusion? in my judgment, i think the democrats have overshot. i don't think there's going to be anything that ties president trump to the russian activity. there were members of the trump campaign. we'll find that out. we need to get to the bottom of

it and make a determination and go forward. >> jenna: that's what you think based on the information that we have available at this time. i'm curious what do you think the timeline for these answers to some of the points that you map out truly is? >> i'm a former prosecutor having been a district attorney in madison county, alabama and assistant in tuscaloosa. cases of this nature often take time. hopefully the investigation began under the previous administration with barack obama back in july of 2016. or perhaps earlier. that means there's been nine, ten months in which this investigation should have been on going. given that the amount of work that has already been done, i'm cautiously optimistic that fbi director mueller will be able to report more quickly than you might otherwise expect. if the investigation were starting from scratch. >> jenna: we're continuing to see senators filing in. we have a big meeting that's supposed to take place 2:30 eastern time. my understanding is it hasn't

happened yesterday with the deputy attorney general. i'm interested in our take on the following. issues of healthcare, tax reform, continue to be really big issues. how do you think the focus on this investigation, the investigation perhaps that involves the white house is impacting your ability and the ability of the gop to lead on those issues to get changes made to those very very big top eubgs? >> the democrats have done a superb job from their perspective at distracting the public from the main public policy issues that we should be focused on here in the united states congress. now that we have the former fbi director heading this investigation, hopefully kit be done properly behind the scenes until such time as the investigation is completed and then a report will be made as is appropriate. in the meantime, that should allow the american people, in particular congress, to focus on these public policy issues that are very significant, deficit and debt, healthcare, tax reform, just go down the list.

the distraction ought to be gone and we ought to be now have a clear field in which we can focus on the issues that are before us. >> jenna: sounds like you are saying the appointment of the special counsel will actually provide you a little more space to operate and get some of these policy issues through? >> absolutely. it ought to dampen the distraction at the congressional level there's a loft discourse that's been going on over the last three months in particular since director comey was terminated. what are we gonna do next? now we know what we're going to do next. congress involvement should be very limited at such time we heard from the former fbi director who is now in charge of this investigation so we can determine what we as congress men should go forward with. now let's get some hard facts with which to make appropriate decisions. >> jenna: they ought to be. somehow those rumors keep popping back up congressman. >> they do. and they are a distraction. >> jenna: nice to have you on the program.

we appreciate having you on. we'll be back here with more coverage on fox news. >> my pleasure. you can count on, like what goes down doesn't always come back up. [ toilet flushes ] so when you need a plumber, you can count on us to help you find the right person for the job. discover all the ways we can help at angie's list. ♪ it's not just a car, it's your daily treat. ♪ go ahead, spoil yourself. the es and es hybrid.

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>> melissa: we're waiting the arrival of the columbian president to the white house. he and president trump will hold a joint news conference and we'll bring you there on fox news. meantime, the passing of roger ailes is a big story. a very personal story for those of us here at the fox news channel, the channel he created. in moments like, this i feel compelled to still to the facts. here's what you should know about roger ailes. many may claim to be a fierce patriot or defender, but he was. he was an innovator in broadcasting. he changed the landscape of american media and built channel you're watching today. he changed so many lives. he changed my life in taking a risk and hiring me.

i know he would want you to hear some of what i'm about to say. you'll hear about it elsewhere. i want you to hear it from us. the facts are, that a sexual harassment led to his firing last july, consumed this met work and challenged many what we thought we knew to be true. the loss of roger as our ceo and now as a person is met with heavy hearts. that doesn facts. in particular, this one. roger was a loving dad who believed in his son more than anything in this world. he celebrated his wife, beth, as an unparalleled sort of light in his life. our hearts are also heavy for them, as a grieving family. we'll keep them in our prayers. meantime, a lot of news to get to today. we'll be awaiting the president who will meet with the president of columbia. that's very important. we'll be watching a joint press conference where he will be

fielding questions for the very first time on some of the big news items we covered on this hour and will continue to cover in the next hour. there's the white house. i'm jenna lee. here's shep. >> shepard: i'm shepard smith. roger ailes died today. the founder of our network, our former ceo and chairman. husband to beth, father of zach. media genius, revolutionary in american politics. shaper of american history. a funny man. well-documented ploughs. fell at his home in florida and did not survive. i loved him. much will be said and written about roger ailes. his power and his influence, the fierce loyalty he practiced and expected until the beginning and end. i'm not qualified to writeis