>> jon: thanks for joining us everybody. america's news hq starts now. >> melissa: fox news alert. a new twist in the russia investigation as we await white house press secretary sean spicer to take the podium for the first time in just over two weeks. hello, everyone. i'm melissa francis. president trump's personal attorney michael cohen now a focus of congressional investigators seeking information about any contact with russian officials. we have team fox coverage. brett baier is in washington, d.c. we're going to start with catherine herridge. what is the latest? >> reporter: good afternoon. a source tells fox news that a december meeting at trump tower with the russian ambassador and

former national security adviser mike flynn focused on syria and russia's contention that the obama administration policy was deeply flawed. it did not focus on sanctions. part of his role, the source say kushner wanted to do a call from russian people on the ground in syria to understand their complaints. it was the russians who raised the topic of using a personal line. the source also told fox news that kushner is eager to tell congress about this meeting and any others of interest. >> melissa: but a key witness will not be testifying as i understand, right? >> reporter: carter page a foreign policy adviser to the trump campaign will not be testifying on june 7th as previously scheduled. page has consistently denied allegations that he was the point person for moscow on the campaign team and in this letter

to the committee, page said he is disappointed but still willing to cooperate. it reads in part, quote, the urgency of delivering truthful facts really does matter and this necessity has only seemed to grow in recent days. a source familiar with the matter said page's testimony has been postponed indefinitely at the request of committee kwpls. we've asked the office for ranking democrat for additional comment, melissa. >> melissa: very interesting. we'll be interested to see if he gives you that comment. appreciate it. now let's head over to the white house where kevin cork is live in the briefing room. big one team off today behind you there. >> reporter: called a shake-up, a shuffling of the deck, but it's a change in leadership. the white house will have to discuss today at the press briefing. been awhile since we had one here. this time we'll be talking i'm sure a great deal about mike dumphy. he's out as communications

director. just to give you the latest. it has been suggested by some that this is frankly a reflection of the president's frustration over his team's hraofbg consistent push back against the con stan barrage of stories stories of the white house and russia. others have accused him of simply not knowing what the trump doctrine is all about. that being america first. let me share part of a letter he has written. he does leave the white house on good terms according to officials. writing in a private meeting with the president on thursday may 18 i tendered my resignation. it goes on to say, i offered to remain in the position through the president's international trip and he accepted. finally, the reasons for my departure are personal but it has been my great honor to serve president trump and this administration. >> in terms of staff shake-up, i always read things that aren't true. i work here every day. it's much more collaborative

than people realize. we're constantly being told by people who have never worked in any white house exactly what's going on here. >> reporter: the white house is obviously eager to get back to focus on things that they would like to talk about. jobs an america first and getting their nato allies to pay their fair share of their nato defense. you heard the president being particularly critical of germany on that area. also talking about getting congress moving on tax reform. let me share part of a tweet. if you don't follow twitter, don't worry. we're going to show you as much as we can. the u.s. senate should switch to 51 votes and get health care and tax cuts approved fast and easy. dems would do it, no doubt. those stories plus the latest on jared kushner. we'll have the briefing in just a bit. >> melissa: a lot to >> melissa: a lot to break down that's for sure. thank you very much. brett, so a lot jumped out at me

from that report. let me start with this idea of carter page now not testifying and that it's democrats who don't want him to get out there and talk. what do you make of that? >> reporter: we don't know yet why he has been postponed indefinitely from testifying. one is they don't have all the things they thought they were going to have to question him. two, they questioned him and his usefulness as a source or for testimony. but three and probably most likely bob mueller may have said to the committee, pull back, don't do this now, let me do this investigation. we don't know which one of those it is, but we do know the democrats were chomping at the bit to have carter page testify. >> melissa: in a broader thing, we've heard so many versions between jared kushner and who knew what when and what they were really going to talk about. if you hear from john kelly, he

seems to think, i don't know, maybe it's not that significant. listen, tell me what you think. >> any channel of communications back or otherwise with a country like russia is a good thing. it doesn't bother me. you just have to assume obviously that what you're getting is may or may not be true. they may be working you. but that's the whole point. that communication then goes into the white house as a data point in terms of discussion. i don't see a big deal. >> melissa: so he works for the trump administration but at the same time he is the head of homeland security. is this whole story nothing? >> reporter: they're saying it is. you had h.r. mcmaster the national security adviser saying essentially the same thing. back channels are set up all the time. the homeland secretary publicly saying that. then we have the reporting of catherine herridge and chris wallace saying it was not kushner idea to have a back

channel, it was the russians and the discussion was about syria and their concerns about on the ground and that it leaked from the russia side as far as this story is concerned. i should point out that president trump today, kevin mentioned the list of tweets he had. he also had about whenever you see the word sources say in the fake news media it's very possible those sources don't exist but it's made up. fake news is the enemy. he did retweet the story that we just mentioned which was an unnamed source from the white house talking about kushner and not being behind the back channel. so, listen, we're gonna report this on all sides, but it is important to take a breath here and see exactly, you know, what is being talked ab before some of thf reckless reporting has happened throughout weeks on end. >> melissa: yeah. so moving on to the idea of style now. you have the president coming

back from what by all accounts was a very successful trip overseas. some people saying it was tightly scripted. that he wasn't answering questions. there were all these reasons it seemed to have fewer bumps than we had been seeing before that. do they move away from that strategy now that they're back? what are you hearing? >> reporter: listen, he did not tweet a lot on that trip. he was busy doing things, meeting with leaders, making deals. and that was the white house and the operation was moving very well. i do think that there is a consensus that twitter sometimes does get this president in trouble and that this communication staff is juggling to respond to a tweet that they didn't know was coming. so that is an issue and something that maybe these white house changes are going to address. one more thing on the russian investigation is there are some people we talked to up on the hill and throughout this town

that say if the campaign was colluding with the russians, why would it be so important for jared kushner to set up a back channel in december? wasn't the channel already there? those are all fair points as you look at this from 30,000 feet. this white house is trying to get back on track legislatively and talk about good things that potentially are going to happen. >> melissa: right. and so a lot of people say along that line maybe a little less tweeting since that works. maybe he didn't want to pay for international roaming. that is really expensive. i'm kidding, of course. but now we're back at the white house and we're wondering about sean spicer coming back out to the podium. it's been two weeks since he was there. at the same time, we know the communications director is stepping down. what do you make of those changes? there he is right there, michael dubke? >> reporter: well, i think that there are probably more changes from everything we hear from the white house.

it is interesting that sean spicer is back out, or will be momentarily there at the briefing in the white house. it was thought sarah huckabee was going to be front and center. so i think we have to take things one day at a time with this white house, as far as the moves that they make. but all indications are that there will be others coming in and perhaps corey lewandowski, perhaps dave bossey in a communications response team that can answer some of these questions. >> melissa: you are a master of the media. you've watched this game be played through all different administrations. this idea that the team isn't pushing back enough against what they call fake news stories or the russia stories, it feels like, especially when you watch the press room, they're pushing back. is that what they're not doing enough of? or explain that to us. >> reporter: it depends. sometimes it's the chicken and the egg. who is spurring on the coverage? is the tweet about that it's all

fake adding to the coverage of this? as they start to come out for the white house briefing. we'll see. >> melissa: we will see right now, in fact. let's listen in. >> i hope you all had the opportunity to pay your respects to the brave men and women who have given their lives for our freedom yesterday on memorial day. i want to begin by recapping the incredible historic trip that the president and first lady have just concluded because it truly was an extraordinary week for america and our people. in just nine days the president traveled across europe and the middle east interacted with nearly 100 foreign leaders. it was an unprecedented first trip abroad. just four months into this administration and it shows how quickly and decisively the president is acting to strengthen alliances, to form new partnerships and to rebuild america's standing in the world. we've never seen before at this point in a presidency such sweeping reassurance of american interest and the inauguration of a foreign policy strategy designed to bring back the world

from growing dangers and perpetu perpetual disasters brought on by failed leader shpb. president trump started in saudi arabia beginning the first presidential visit to the nation. the president was greeted on the tarmac by the king of saudi arabia and received with incredible graciousness by the kingdom throughout his stay. the president's address to the leaders of more than 50 arab and muslim nations was a historic turning point that people will be talking ab for many years to co-ppl he did exactly what he promised in his inaugural address, united the civilized world in the fight against terrorism and extremism. 'was direct in calling on the leader of the region to drive out the terrorists from their midst and isolate the iranian regime that supports so much of this violence. he let american allies know what they can expect from us going forward. what he called quote a principled realism rooted in

common values and shared interests. he laid out the case in detail for why the muslim world must take the lead in combatting radicalization. and he concluded by saying that if those nations go forward, quote, unified and determined to do what it takes to threaten the terrorism that threatens our world there is no limit to the future our citizens will have. the president's historic speech was met with praise. jim woolsy called it a courageous speech. newt gingrich said in the washington post that we have to look back decades to, quote, fine a comparatively dramatic moment in the history of u.s. foreign policy and jane harmen said she loved the idea that he's going to the fount of all three major religion. countless arab allies also praised the president's leadership. egypt's president said president trump is quote a unique personality that is capable of doing the impossible. the saudi foreign minister said,

quote, this is the beginning of a turning point in the relationship between the united states and the arab and is hralic world. king solomon and other allies gave historic speeches at the summit under scoring just how much president trump has done to rally the world against terrorism. we cannot overlook the significance of so many leaders of muslim countries coming together to recognize the need to fight extremists. this was a historic event in that regard alone. king solomon said he shares the president's determination of quote renounce extremism and work on countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. king ab dahlla said we are all accountable for our commitment to fight radicalization in all of its forms. the visit also included historic economic development deals to the united states totalling well

over half a trillion dollars in the creation of tens of thousands of american jobs. these deals include an immediate $110 billion investment which will grow to $350 billion over the next ten years in defense cooperation from saudi arabia that will further enable muslim troops to take on a greater role in fighting terrorism. the president also participated in the launch of a new task force to block terror funding in the gulf, the opening of a new global center for combatting extremist ideology and more than 30 commercial deals that include companies like lockheed martin, raytheon, boeing, ge, dow, honeywell, alcoa and cisco that will result in an additional $270 billion of saudi investment in american businesses and american jobs. the president then went to israel, where he was received with incredible warmth. he strengthened america's unbreakable bond with israel, made the first ever visit by a

sitting american president to the western wall and gave a highly praised address at the israel museum as part of a continuing effort to rally nations together in the fight against terrorism and common enemies. the moving address spoke of a future in which, quote, children around the world will be able to live without fear, to dream without limits and prosper without violence. he said i ask this land of promise to join me in fighting our common enemies to pursue our shared values and protect the dignity of every child of god. the president also memorialized the victims of the holocaust and to pledge never again. the president met with both prime minister netanyahu and presidented abbas to advocate for a renewed push for peace which they both agreed they were prepared to work twarsd. he also discussed how to increase cooperation against terrorism. prime minister netanyahu said for the first time in my life i see real hope for change.

one of the leading israel publications wrote in the short visit of three days trump carried out a semirevolution. he traveled to roam where he met with poem francis. they had a very productive conversation ab combatting terrorist groups, protecting religious liberty. the president and the first lady were honored by the visit. the president then attended the nato summit in brussels where he boldly stood up for american taxpayers and our common defense by calling on other nato countries to pay their fair share on a speech delivered with the leaders of all of nato's countries all present. hard working americans saw a leader represented on the national stage. the president also urged nato to more effectively combat terrorism. the member states unanimously agreed on those two priorities and the secretary-general was complimentary of the president's work to strengthen the alliance by getting member states to

increase their contributions. finally the president travelled to the g-7seusly where he and other leaders discussed how to better promote prosperity and security for each of their countries. those meetings were marked by outstanding success that we see reflected in the communication issue. they include a strong statement that g-7 nations will stand against unfair trade processes. they also endorsed the right of sovereign nations to control their borders and the policy outlined by president trump to seek resettlement of ref few skwreus as close as possible to their home countries so that they can be part of an eventual rebuilding. this language on migration and refugees was a major shift in policy. the g-7 all condemned the use of chemical weapons and needless to say the president's leadership was critical in setting those priorities for the nation. in addition the president also met with prime minister abe of japan. the two agreed on a need for enhanced sanctions with respect

to north korea. the president concluded his trip with an address to the service members and their familiar list at naval stations to thank them for their service on memorial day weekend and to deliver another strong message about the unity and the fight against terrorism. then yesterday president trump spoke at arlington national cemetery for memorial day service and visited the grave sites of many fallen heroes. this was an extraordinarily successful and historic nine day trip the president took. he accomplished the return of a strong america to international affairs, rallied civilized tphraeugss against terrorism, took real steps towards peace in the middle east and renewed our alliances on the basis of shared interest and shared burdens. the trip sets the stage for a much more safe and prosperous nation here at home and more peaceful world for all. we're back home now and the president and his cabinet are moving full steam ahead on the president's agenda. as the president noted this weekend, his plan for tax reform continues led by secretary

mnuchin. while' was away the president's team held several meetings. in particular secretary mnuchin met with the house ways and means committee. republican and democratic members and the republican study committee. the vp also discussed tax reform with multiple members and with leadership during his regular visits to capitol hill. we'll begin holding industry listening sessions next week providing an tune for business leaders and job creators to give us their input on what reforms are necessary to allow us to grow jobs and the economy. this morning the president met with administrator pruitt. one of the topics they discussed was the president's upcoming decision on the paris climate accords. as i have told you overseas this is a subject that the president has been spending a lot of time on. ultimately he wants a fair deal for the american people and he will have an announcement coming on that shortly. all today the president's trade representative ambassador robert lighthouser is having several

meetings with the vietnamese government and prime minister. u.s. trade representatives will have a readout this afternoon. ambassador lighthouser will also be speaking at the chamber of commerce gala this evening for the vietnamese prime minister. that speech should be available via the u.s. chambers facebook page. during his speech, he will highlight the bilateral relationship with vietnam while under scoring the work ahead in addressing the challenges presented by the sharp increase in our trade deficit with vietnam. as the president has made clear, unfair trade practices have hit american workers through a robust and very trade agenda this administration is strengthening our important relationships with partners like vietnam by levelling the playing field with american, for american businesses throughout the world. with that, take your questions.

>> to the issue of russia probe, i'm wondering, sean, if you can tell us when the president knew whether the president knew at the time that jared kushner was seeking to establish back channel communications through the russian government and if he didn't know at the time, when did he find out? >> i think that assumes a lot. i would just say mr. kushner's attorney has said mr. kushner volunteered to share with congress what he knows ab these meetings. >> did the president discuss it? >> i'm not going to get into what the president did or did not discuss. what your question assumes is a lot of facts that are not substantiated by anything but anonymous sources that are so far being leaked out. >> does he approve of that action? >> you're asking if he approves of an action that is not a confirmed action. that being said, secretary kelly and general mcmaster both discussed that in general terms back channels are an appropriate part of diplomacy. >> does the white house dispute that happened? >> i'm not going to get into it.

your question presupposes facts that have not been confirmed. >> thank you, sean. did the president read the article about that back channel that was based on an anonymous source that said that there was an effort to set up a back channel, that it was the russians who suggested that and that it was to talk about syria. was the president not confirming that was an effort? >> i think what i just said speaks for itself. >> you said the article was based on aanonphours sources. >> it was. >> the fox article that the president tweeted was also based on anonymous sources. why is the credible source they used more credible? >> there's two issues at hand. one is, the statement that jared's attorney has provided. second is whether or not the dossier was discredited in the first place. most of the publications refused

to publish it. so, again, i'm not going to get into confirming stuff. there's an on going investigation. john? >> thank you, sean. i have two questions. first, the president for the second time in a month retweeted his desire for the senate to reduce the votes to pass anything to 51. which would scuttle the filibuster for legislation as it has been scuttled for nominations. is this something he discussed with majority leader mcconnell or any of the senate leadership before he tweeted it? >> i think the concerns that he's had with the pace of the senate has been longstanding. obviously the use of the filibuster and roles of the senator are ultimately up to senator mcconnell. the frustration he's had with some of the obstructionist tactics democrats have employed, whether it's his cabinet nominees or other pieces of

legislation have been well documented. >> he wants to scrap the filibuster? >> he wants to see action done, john. whether delays the democrats pose to his cabinet nominees or pieces of legislation. he wants action. this president was elected to get things done apnd he wants t see things move through the senate. >> second question. i did want to mention that before he left to go abroad the president praised philippine's president for his action against drug dealers and dealing with them. various human rights groups have condemned the philippine president saying lot of the executions of drug dealers have been done without trial. does the president stand by his word of praise of the philippine president? >> the president recognizes the need to combat drugs but also believes in human rights. that's one of the reasons he's

reviewing the cuba policy, etc. he wants human rights, it's something that's very strong with him. >> as far as the deadline for the obama waiver, has the president made a decision whether or not to sign the waiver? >> no. when the president has a decision to make, we will let you know. >> also waiting on a few other reviews. the kwraoeus review, the afghanistan review. what's the status of those? you mentioned -- >> on the afghanistan review, he's still reviewing that from the department of defense. when we have an announcement, we'll let you know. >> president said on sunday he thinks republicans should, quote, add more dollars to health care and make it the best anywhere. what does he mean by that?

>> well, there's a lot of savings that are coming out of the repeal and replace effort. i think we're at $119 billion that we save through the president's ef forts. i think health care has been something the president's been very clear on throughout his time as candidate and also president. to make sure the american people get the care and the accessibility they need. he understands how important health care is and the bottom line is he's gonna do whatever take its to make sure that people have quality successful health care. >> did he mean to the high risk pool? where does he want to add? >> the bill is in the senate. he's willing to work with them to do what it takes. >> thanks, sean. afghanistan's longest war. how much more american blood is the president willing to expend? and does he it this's a winnable contest? >> i think the conflict that he wants to defeat isis. he wants to defeat al qaeda. he wants to defeat threats, to

defeat terrorism. i just read to you flute the trip that was the common trip. the uniting the muslim world, talking about it with prime minister netanyahu and president abbas. talk about it even with the pope. that wherever he went on this nine day trip, protecting our country, protecting the world people was at the front of that discussion. and i think he wants to do whatever he has to do. that's why he's asked for this review. >> first on tax reform. president tweeted over the weekend it was going very well. you used the word progress. republicans on the hill tell us the president tweeted today they should reverse the filibuster roles. i'm wondering what is it that is going very well? >> i think the reception that secretary mnuchin and others have gotten from members of the house and means committee has been very welcoming as well as

in the business community. but i think obviously part of -- as i just mentioned that the previous question, part of the reason he is frustrated with the senate rules is because when there is a majority of support on key issues or key people, he thinks it's standing in the way of progress that the american people have asked for. >> let me ask you about the fbi director before the foreign trip joe lieberman was the leading candidate identified by the president. joe lieberman's out. where does the fbi director search stand? john pixel, is he there at the white house interviewing? is he the leading candidate stphr >> the president will be meeting with two additional candidates this afternoon, chris ray and john pipsel. when the president feels he's met with the right candidate, he'll let us know. he'll continue to do so until he finds the right leader. >> are these two finalists at this point? are these two finalists? >> the president is the ultimate decision maker.

when he makes a decision as to who is best to lead the fbi, he will let us know. katie? >> president tweeted that tax reform is going well, but you just said he's very frustrated with the lack of progress in the senate. does the white house still stand by the august deadline on tax reform? and does the white house still believe health care and tax reform and infrastructure will get done this year? >> just so we're clear, there's two separate issue. the talks that secretary mnuchin and his staff have had is extremely welcoming. i think the president in general finds it frustrating the way the senate operates. i'm dating this back to the holdup they had on some unbelievably well qualified nominees. we don't want to mix those two issues together. he feels very encouraged by the reception that he's gotten on tax reform. secretary mnuchin talked about while that was a goal, we'll

continue to work as hard as we can to get it done. he's still pushing hard on healthcare. infrastructure is a priority of his. the president's legislative agenda is in full swing. >> where do you see the state of the u.s. german relationship right now? how important is that relationship to the white house and the president and the american public? >> i think the relationship that the president has had with merkle would fairly unbelievable. they get along very well. he has a lot of respect for her. they continue to grow the bond they had during their talks from the g-7. he viewed not just germany but the rest of europe as an important ally during his conversations at nato and at the g-7 the president reaffirmed the need to deepen improve our transatlantic relationship. >> how did he view her comments that she felt europe could no longer depend on the united states? >> respectfully, that's not what

she said. let me read what she said. she said the time when europe could rely solely on others is somewhat in the past and as i have witnessed oefr the past few days europe must take its fate into its own hands. this means working in friendship with the u.s., the uk and neighborly relations with russia and other partners. that's great. that's what the president called for. he called for additional burden sharing. the secretary-general of nato said the president's calls are what's moving them in the right direction. the president is getting results. more countries are stepping up their burden sharing. that is a good thing for them. it's a good thing for nato. it's a good thing for america. scott? >> yes, sean. has the president been meeting with lawyers about defending himself from special counsel accusations with russia? >> i'm not gonna dignify partisan accusations of

anonymous sources and alleged ub substantiated tactics. i'm not even going to -- >> have you talked to the president about whether or not -- >> the president has a lot of meetings. if the president makes a decision on anything, we'll let you know. >> first, welcome back. >> thanks. >> two quick questions. this weekend while you were gone someone shot out the lexington harold leader. we understand what happened in montana with now congressman gianforte. i think a misdemeanor charge of assault. this will administration take a stand against violence against reporters. >> we'll take a stand against violence of anyone. >> would you support legislation? you have been one to come out screaming against fake media. would you support legislation that would support real reporting. >> we have a constitution that supports the first amendment of all americans and anyone in this

country. the freedom of expression. we support that. >> the second question, when you say you're gonna try to defeat isis and al qaeda, what are you doing to eliminate abject poverty that is the breeding ground for the terrorists? >> as we mentioned before his national security team is putting together a wholistic solution to defeating isis. when that strategy is complete, we'll have something for you on it. >> you said that a back channel is an appropriate part -- >> i didn't say that. secretary kelly and general mcmaster have both commented on that. >> add more to that. how is it that it's appropriate for someone who is a private citizen not sworn in as an official of the u.s. government to conduct any kind of negotiation or diplomacy with a foreign official? >> again, i would refer you to the comments secretary kelly, general mcmaster said ab how they can be important tool in diplomacy. >> but at the time there was no

one who was close to the president who was working in an official government capacity. how is that appropriate? >> again, i think both of those individuals who are steeped in national security and foreign policy have said that can be an effective tool generally speaking in diplomacy. shannon? >> i know the president hasn't made a public decision on the agreement and i don't want to get out ahead of him. on the more broad issue of climate change, can you say whether or not the president believes that human activity is contributing to the warming of the climate? >> i haven't asked him. i'll get back to you. >> do you feel that is a decision he's still trying to make? >> i don't know. i honestly haven't asked him that specific question. >> just real quick on health care. the tweet about wanting to add more money to get better health care, would the president consider, you know, putting back some of the obama care taxes that were taken out of the health bill if it goes to the senate? would he be in support of

keeping taxes in there to pay for health care? >> that negotiation is on going with the senate. i don't want to presuppose what the president may or may not want to do. deborah. >> let me finish please. thank you, sean. chance hrer merkel's quote we will take our destiny into our own hands. how did the president react to that? >> i think -- like i said a moment ago, the president believes that seeing europe and other nato countries increase the burden sharing. it's a very positive thing. for their own countries, for nato as a whole and for the united states to see these individuals heed the call that he has so eloquently put out for well over a year. when you look at the comments that the secretary-general made, he recognizes that the president's rhetoric has had an extremely positive effect on the strengthening of nato and other

countries stepping up the percentage of their gdp. that benefits everybody. it benefits us. it benefits nato. >> would it affect a decision on terrorists? >> obviously, what he ultimately decides is up to him. >> is this taking some sort of broader direction? we're hearing -- [ inaudible ] >> i don't think so. i think the president is very pleased with his team. and he has a robust agenda as i just outlined that he looks forward to working with congress to get done. >> is the white house considering changing how you communicate that method. >> i don't think there's anything that we haven't said

before about the president. we've utilized a ton in the past. if we can continue to do that on key issues we'll continue to do that. the best messenger is the president himself. he's always proven that. that he is the best messenger. he understands the frustration and concerns of the american people. >> do you think he is happy with what's been done so far? >> he's very pleased with the work of his staff. he's frustrated to see stories come out that are patently false, to see quote unquote make news. when you see stories get perpetrated that are absolutely false, that are not based on fact that is troubling. he is rightly concerned. >> can you give an example of fake news? >> sure. friday the president was having a great discussion at the g-7.

and someone from the bbc and ultimately an incoming reporter from the new york times retweeted the president was being rude by disrespecting the italian prime minister. when in fact you all and every one of the meetings watched the president with that one ear piece that's been used by other presidents and yet the president did a great job at nato, building stronger bonds, building bonds with the g-7, increasing america's presence around the world and that's the kind of thing that the bbc and ultimately a reporter who is joining the new york times push out and perpetuate with no apology? you're shaking your heads here. it's true. you did it. >> reporters make mistakes. >> that's just fake. that is fake. >> your trip was all over it. >> with all due respect i was asked to give an example and i did it.

i gave an answer to jim. the problem is that i think the president, to the question, gets frustrated when he sees fake stories get published, things that aren't based in fact. >> that's not significant though. >> with all due respect, when you see instances like that get perpetrated over and over again that is frustrating. i didn't come here with a list of things. you get to decide what is big and what is not. there is a lot of stuff that's been pushed out that is very troubling. when you see the same thing happen over and over again, it is concerning. i think the president has fought very hard to bring back jobs. as i mentioned you had over half a trillion dollars of investment that's coming in that's gonna grow jobs, grow our economy. that should be a big story. the president's results when it came to fighting terrorism was a big thing. the idea that we're setting up a global center to fight extremism in saudi arabia that's uniting

countries. that's a big deal. >> there are reports that there is going to be an overhaul of fake news. >> now you want to go back to that. what i'm telling you, the reason the president is frustrated, there is a use of unnamed sources about things that are happening that don't ultimately happen. that is troubling. thank you guys very much. >> melissa: the briefing wrapping up there. reports about jared kushner and the russia probe as well as tackling questions and tax reform and the president's relationship with german chancellor merkel. let's bring in a former campaign adviser to president bill clinton. matt schlapp, former white house political director for president george w. bush.

matt, let me start with you. it was smooth and even there for a long time. at the end it started to get a bit more contentious. then it was over. what's your take? >> you know, i think that these white house briefings are great television. the thing the trump administration has to keep asking is are they driving the message they want to drive? sean came out with their perspective on the trip by and large everybody is praising the trip. it was a great trip. then we get into the question and answer part of it. >> melissa: it is kind of a question of what is the message. first question was about the jared kushner story. it was a question like when did you stop beating your wife. let's listen to it. i will let simon react. >> i'm wondering if you can tell us when the president knew, whether the president knew at the time that jared kushner was speaking to establish back

channel communications at the russian embassy through the russian government and if he didn't know at the time, when did he find out? >> i think that assumes a lot. mr. kushner's attorney has said that mr. kushner volunteered to share with congress what he knows about thaoe meetings. >> melissa: simon, i don't blame him for asking the question. it's one of those things. it was skewed in a direction of a lot of assumptions. how did you think he handled the answer? >> well, look. i think a lot of answers will come out through the investigation that the fbi and the white house and senate are going to do. >> melissa: we're talking about the tone of the press conference. how did he deal with the substance? >> i think this is the way it works. sometimes it's contentious. we've had some head banging before. and that's part of the system. i think that the journalists did their job today and sean did his. >> melissa: matt, what did you think about the way he went back? it was different at the

beginning than the end. he did that thing where he said look that assumes a lot of things, facts not in evidence, we don't agree, let's move on. that's one way of handling it. seemed like at the beginning of sean spicer's tour as press secretary he was pushed to do something different like get in people's faces. what do you think is more effective in the end? >> i would say on the question that you asked simon about the very first question on jared. you know, sean's job is not to give jared kushner's lawyers statements. he said there's an investigation going on. i'll refer you to the fbi or that counsel. he doesn't have to be that go between. at least that would be my advice. i think it's true on all these questions which is step out of the confrontation that involves russia or an investigation. it's not sean's job to be the person to weigh in on the questions. there's an investigation going on and the white house is hands off. so just refer all those questions to them. it will take a lot of heat out of that room.

>> melissa: yeah. that's true. simon, if you were up at the podium and that was your job, would your goal be to take the air out of what's going on? to just deflate it and turn down the temperature? is that the optimum strategy? >> matt and i were talking ab this before we came on. i think sean spicer would benefit from just being funnier at the podium. he's so serious. he seems nervous. it helps reinforce this sort of he's on the edge so reporters are going after him. i don't think he does a particularly good job. i know sean. i think he's a good guy but i don't think he's a terribly effective spokes person for white house. >> melissa: matt, with the change at the top there, the communications director leaving the white house, do you think we see a change in who's at the podium? >> i have no idea. i will tell you this. i believe that the president does like a loot of these top officials he has advising him but he believes they have a job to do. i think he wants them to execute in a much higher level.

he's giving them the time to try to make fixes. he did the right thing. i will just say, i think sean's a likable and funny guy. he's got a great personality. i think he's in a tough job. he's just got to find a way to deal in this era of an investigation going on. how he does his job differently. >> melissa: it is a tough job. thanks to both of you. appreciate it. a fox news alert. we are less than an hour away from a historic missile test in california. for the first time the defense department will attempt to shoot down an intercontinental missile similar to what north korea is developing. and fox news got information ahead of today's launch. jonathan hunt joins us live from

vanderberg air force base. this is possibly the most important test the u.s. has ever done. is that right? >> i think undeniably the most important test of the missile defense system that the u.s. has ever under taken. that's because it is the first time that the u.s. will try to knock down an intercontinental ballistic missile similar to the one north korea is developing and according to officials is well on the path to having fully developed. they believe the north koreans will be able given the pace of their current testing to hit the u.s. with a nuclear war head within a matter of a few years. so what the u.s. will do today is launch an icbm out of the marshal islands in the pacific ocean. a few minutes after that launch from here. they'll launch the intercepter missile which they hope will then strike the icmb in space above the pacific and destroy it.

it's a very difficult mission according to the director of the missile defense agency, it's hitting a bullet with a bullet. nonetheless, he said he believes his agency is capable of defending the united states. listen here. >> i have not only full confidence in the system, but i have full confidence in the war fighters. >> this very pheupb it? >> today, this second. >> reporter: so we'll find out in the next few hours if admiral seiring's confidence is well placed. >> melissa: thank you very much. former panama dictator manuel noriega has died. we'll talk ab his dealings and about north korea when we come back. liberty mutual stood with us when a fire destroyed everything in our living room. we replaced it all without touching our savings. yeah, our insurance won't do that. no. you can leave worry behind

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>> melissa: former panama strong man manuel noriega has died. joining me now is retired marine lieutenant oliver north. thank you so much for joining us. >> melissa. >> melissa: i heard someone describe our relationship with manuel noriega as head spinning. he went from informant before that an ally and then an adversary. what are your thoughts since he passes, what insight can you give us? >> all of this is true. he became, after 1983 when he took command of the pamanamian national defense forces he became a greedy brutal bloody double dealing tyrant. responsible for the death of internal opposition people in panama. he had been cooperative for the united states up through the 19d

80s. the bottom line of it is he was perceived accurately by 1988, 1989 as a threat to the panama canal. he was a threat to americans. there had been americans killed by his defense forces. something that would never have happened before. and when this guy came to power, we had 30,000 plus americans in the u.s. southern command based in panama. two major installations. it was the headquarters of the u.s. southern command. and it was a final intelligence collection place because of what was going on in nicaragua and cuba. he started out cooperating. he got greedy. he got brutal. killed his own people. by the time 1988 comes around, everybody recognizes this guy is finished. i had my last meeting with him 1986 in london when he offered to kill someone in 1986. that meeting was set up in august of 86.

i brought back the information to oeur government. head of our intelligence service at the time and my boss said no meet with him, find out what he want. i took the surveillance equipment to make sure nobody thought i was going to agree to assassinations. >> melissa: wow. quite a history there. thank you, sir, for that. let me turn you to what we were talking about with the missile testing going on with respect to the rising tensions in north korea. it strikes me t pretty confident about this test is going to work. or we wouldn't be talking about. it right? >> parts of this system have been tested. it's never been tested completely together. this is a test. and it's important. because we at this moment have no way of protecting the american people from the possibility of an attack from particularly north korean intercontinental ballistic missile detonating a pulse weapon over u.s. territory. so this is an important test.

first time it's all been brought together so that the bullet hits the bullet kind of thing. bottom line is it has all been tested in part. this is an important test today. and it's more important that the people in pyongyang realize they cannot get away with striking the u.s. with any kind of weapon. that's the important part of this whole thing. >> melissa: what if it fails though and we've talked about we're doing this test and we know what it all means. >> well the bottom line of every failure is you learn lessons about what went wrong. i have no doubt if something goes wrong, they will fix it. the american people have nothing to protect this home land other than the systems that are being tested. we've got thad on the ground theater high altitude intercepters in out korea and japan. they're protected. we're not protected. we've got places in alaska, solomon islands, excuse me, in guam, of course south korea, tens of thousands of american troops and this weapon that they tested last week.

not the one they tested this past sunday. the weapon they tested last week can reach hawaii. electromagnetic pulse over hawaii will shut the state of hawaii down for decades. >> melissa: we were showing you some of the systems there. what do you think is the right road to go down there with north korea and where do you think this ultimately ends? >> melissa, the only way to stop them is to impose serious sanctions against any business doing any business whatsoever with north korea or iran. the north koreans could not afford to build these systems and test nuclear weapons without money coming from somewhere else. that somewhere else is predominantly iran. every one of these tests has an iranian sitting next to it. same thing when the iranians test. they've got north koreas. >> melissa: thank you. appreciate your time. we'll be right back. you don't let anything

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>> melissa: well, quite an hour of sean spicer in front of a contentious press corps in a few weeks. i'm melissa francis. here's shep. >> shepard: it's noon on the west coast. 3:00 at the white house where sean spicer is having a heck of a day answering questions about the president's son-in-law, jared kushner and the reports of his attempts to set up a secret communication line on russian equipment with the russian president, vladimir putin and the plan to hook up mike flynn with russian generals. the white house says nothing to see here. one democratic senator says jared kushner may have broken the law. and the u.s. military is attempting to blow up an intercontinental missile out of the sky. a key test as north korea tries to create a missile powerful enough to reach the united states. wee