♪ ♪ pete: thank you, kevin jackson, for being here this morning. abby: you were fabulous. all morning tomorrow. >> he pleaded guilty to desertion, now mounting tensions this morning after a judge decides bowe bergdahl will get no more prison time. one of the soldiers wounded while searching for bergdahl reacts here and only here. but first -- ♪ ♪ david: terror, trump, taxes. good morning, i'm david asman in for neil cavuto, and this is a special "cost of freedom." first, in wake of the deadliest terror attack in new york city since 9/11, security is being ramped up for tomorrow's marathon. we are on it. and president trump is about

to leave hawaii for his crucial trip to asia, the goal? meanwhile, cracking down on north korea by turning the screws on china, can he do it? and republicans releasing their tax plan. they had an opportunity for big, bold cuts. did they miss it? for the next two hours, we're all over it. first to bryan llenas here in new york where security is the focus. bryan? >> reporter: good morning, david. as the investigation continues, so too does the mourning and remembrance of the eight victims killed in tuesday's terror attack including darren drake. darren drake was one of two americans killed. the 33-year-old programmer was on his lunch break when he was mowed down by that terrorist on tuesday. the wake is in new jersey today. five of the eight killed were friends visiting from argentina for their 30-year high school reunion at the argentine consulate in new york, surviving friends called for justices and for love to unite us all. the victims were bicycling together when they were struck. this as investigators continue

to comb through the terror suspect's phone and online contacts. isis has claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities so far believe the self-radicalized terrorist acted alone. investigators have spoken to neighbors at his new jersey apartment complex who say he was seen speaking to other men. his wife is reportedly cooperating with the fbi. she claims she did not know about the attack beforehand. they've also questioned a 32-year-old use beck friend who reported by was called by the suspect before the attack. he has not been called a suspect. meantime here in new york city, the city is putting in -- has already put in new barriers along the very bike path that was used by this terrorist. some of these barriers are small like these. others are large highway barriers along the 57 intersections along this bike path on the west side of manhattan. this as security has been ramped up for the new york city marathon tomorrow. they have added more blocker

vehicles, strategically placed vehicles put in and around the marathon to prevent possible vehicle strikes and protect pedestrians. >> we more than doubled our observation teams, our rooftop observation posts as well as our counter-sniper services throughout the boroughs, not just here in manhattan, and we've also added more heavy weapons teams. >> reporter: and, david, among those of the victims were those 12 injured including a belgian woman who was here on vacation, an avid cyclist who was doing, cycling for charities all around the world. she lost both of her legs, the most severe injury of all the injuries. her husband and 16-year-old son were also among the injured. david. david: oh, that's tragic. and just to show the international quality of new york city, five of those kills were from argentina. i mean, this was a real -- it brings us back to 9/11 when so

many international folks outside of the states were killed. bryan, thank you very much for that report. meanwhile, president trump is going to be departing hawaii for his first stop on a crucial asia trip. kevin corke is waiting for him in tokyo, and he joins us. kevin? >> reporter: david, my man, good to talk to you as we say good evening from tokyo, japan, as the president is now set to begin his 11-day visit here to asia. by the way, longest trip to the continent by an american president in more than a quarter of a century. as you know if you've been following along, the president did make his way to the 50th state of hawaii before making his way to asia, stopping with the first lady, melania. the two had a chance to stop in honolulu, the president then had a briefing with pac-com and the two had a chance to visit pearl harbor. we're looking forward to learning more about that opportunity for the first family. the president is on his way to japan, then south korea, and

he's in search of, david, a united front against north korea before going to beijing where the president is expected to push chinese president xi jinping to get tougher by i don't think yang. the president will also visit vietnam and the philippines, and he's extended by an extra day so that means a little extra time on the ground for myself and my producer. ivanka trump giving a speech on women's empowerment in tokyo friday before having dinner with prime ministership sow abe later that -- shinzo abe later that evening. now, as is customary the president will have talks with the prime minister during his time here in japan. he'll also have a breakout lunch and, of course, they've got to play a little golf. the two men are are fairly good friends. he's also expected to meet with the relatives of japanese nationals who have been

kidnapped by the north koreans. should make for a very eventful 11-day trip. for now, back to you. david: yeah, security is the focus of this trip. kevin corke, thank you so much from tokyo. well, mounting nuclear threats over there but terror hits right here. the worst terror attack in new york city since 9/11, it shook new york. of course, new york is resilient, it came back strong and, of course, tomorrow is the marathon which is going to be running despite the terror threats. lieutenant colonel tony schafer joins us and national security analyst walid phares. let's start overseas if you don't mind, gentlemen, with the north korean threat. colonel schafer, what do you think the president hopes to get out of this trip? >> two things, to simply reassure the allies that we're there with them, especially, you know, vietnam, south korea, the philippines all are are within, essentially, targeting range of the north koreans. so i think he's got to reassure them. and most importantly, david, to the point of the repeated discussions regarding who helps

north korea, china. china has to be essentially made very much aware of the consequences of any continued support of north korea regarding the consequences of a hot war. and also i think the president has to be very clear that one of the things i think he can threaten them with and he should is most favored nation trade status. they fear that. you guys know on the economic side that's a huge issue, so that's something i think the president needs to say. your continued status as a most favored nation is in jeopardy if you continue to support korea. david: particularly in asia, people don't think of asia when they think of terror. they think of something here, in europe or the middle east, but it's growing in asia, and i think of a country like the philippines in which particularly the south, several islands, they're having a terrible time with terrorism. i imagine the president's going to try and get a united front in asia existence terrorism. >> absolutely. being in the philippines will be

a great opportunity to speak with their leadership and show the world, show the asian countries that the united states is also partnering with these countries fighting terrorism. the philippines have the longest experience in fighting the jihadists, but also keep in mind that indonesia, malaysia -- although not on the trip this time -- are all facing the same terror threats. so it is important to show that the united states has asian partners in the fight against terrorism, absolutely. david: colonel schafer, let's get back to terrorism here at home because one of the most disturbing things that happened as a result of the investigation of the terrorist, the suspected terrorist is to find out about his diversity visa. >> right. david: and the fact that not only did he come here based on this lottery program, but he was able to bring over 23, about 23 of his own relatives. >> right. david: this whole program seems to be in serious need of reorganization or at least rethinking, right? >> well, we know for a fact that

isis is looking for this sort of opportunity. and, yeah, look, i don't think -- you mentioned that some of the victims of the attack were argentine nationals. nobody in the world would be considered -- concerned about argentines coming here because, first off, they don't have a deep-seated hate of america. i think that's the first requirement, david. anybody who essentially is telegraphing the fact that they are not going to be assimilated, we have the rethink. and this diversity program does not allow for that. it essentially is a free ticket in. and secondly, to the point of this chain migration, look, my family came here at the beginning of the last century from spain. no one is anti-immigration. people that i know are anti the idea people can come here and murder us. there's nothing in the constitution about diversity. there's everything about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. and that liberty includes the freedom from fear that you're going to be mowed by a terrorist in new york city. so this is where i think we have

to rethink our priorities. i'm sorry, i disagree with chuck schumer and all these guys wanting diversity. the security of the american people has to come first. david: what about the status of this particular suspect? the president says he wants him charged as an enemy combat about the. do you think that's wise? -- combatant. >> we've had that discussion, if you'll recall, over the past 15 years, seven years under the bush administration, eight years under the obama administration. we need to make a final decision here between the administration and congress, are we at war against the jihadists and the terrorists orbit? if we are, you should the laws -- under the laws of war, you have the detention centers. if you encounter and apprehend a terrorist. now, the technical aspects of it, what if that terrorist is an american citizen, an american person or not? that's a technical legal discussion. but the principle of having a detention center while we are at war, that fits under international law, absolutely. david: walid phares, lieutenant

colonel tony schafer, thank you, gentlemen. >> thank you. david: meanwhile, no prison for bowe bergdahl. he won't be spending a day in prison despite pleading guilty to desertion. one of the soldiers who was wounded while searching for him calling this, quote, completely unacceptable. we're going to hear from that man himself. but first, what does the gop tax cut bill mean for you? lauren's on it. >> reporter: hey, david. some people are going to be very happy if this tax cut passes, but others are not. we are going to break it all down for you and, david, there's a lot to break down. we're doing that next. ♪ it's me and my best friend only new tena intimates has pro-skin technology designed to quickly wick away moisture to help maintain your skin's natural balance. for a free sample, call 1-877-get-tena.

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david: so this was the week of the big unveil of the republican tax bill. of course, it could change a lot. it's going to be marked up next week, that means that all the members of congress get to throw their two cents in. but the real question is what

does it mean for you folks out there. fox business network's lauren simonetti breaking it all down for us. >> reporter: i love how speaker ryan held up the postcard and donald trump even -- david: i know. you wonder whether it's going to happen. >> reporter: well, the senate has to get their hands on this first. but house republicans did release their tax bill at last. largely viewed as a win for business. it slashes the corporate tax rate to 20% to make the u.s. more competitive globally. it also allows for the repatriation of foreign profits overseas, bring 'em back to the u.s. at a much lower tax rate. it would allow immediate expensing of the investments that owners do put into their businesses. now, this is where it gets a little bit more complicated. the individual impact of the gop house plan gets complicated but in many ways less ambitious. it cuts the number of tax brackets to four but maintains that top 39.6 rate for the high income earners. if you file as an individual,

you'll pay 12 president up to $45,000 of income, 25% up to 200,000, 35% up to half a million and in the top rate for anything other that. as for married couples, let's switch the screen, earning less than $90,000, you get that 12% rate. families with incomes topping $1 million, they're taxed at nearly 40%. to a appeal to middle class families and, quite honestly, to criticism from democrats, there is a doabling of the standard deduction. a bigger child tax credit of $1600 ands -- and also $300 for additional family members. so the math is a family of four, they save ant $1200 a year on their tax bill not to mention, as we just said, you can do it all on that postcard. but the bill is seeing perhaps the most criticism with the proposed elimination of state and local deductions. that would hit high-tax states, new york, illinois, california, essentially taking our income to

help pay for tax cuts elsewhere. here's another hang-up, the proposal to cap the new mortgage deductions at $500,000 instead of a million. well, again, that could hit states with expensive real estate, new york and california among others. the bill does preserve the property tax deduction of $10,000. it keeps 401(k) plans as they are, and it would go into effect january 1, 2018, meaning, david, that it's not retroactive. david: no. and that bothers a lot of people too because they were hoping for a boost going into 2018. >> reporter: i know. david deafd all right. a lot of critics are saying the republicans missed an opportunity to go big and bold. joining me now is "forbes" opinions editor john tammy and gary call palm. they have the house, the senate and the white house. everybody thought with that they're going to go as big and bold as, say, the democrats went eight years ago with health

care, but this is kind of a watered-down bill, isn't it? >> you know, bigtime. i think a missed opportunity. david, let's just talk numbers for a second. they're talking about a $1.5 trillion tax cut over the next ten years, but over the next ten years we're probably going to send them between $45 and $50 trillion. so this is small potatoes. and i just have to talk about the successful people out there. you know, this whole demonizing of the rich, these are the people that produce. these are the people that hire. and all i know is when taxes are high, the rich aren't affected. do you know who's affected? the middle class. why? because it prevents them from becoming rich because every step up the ladder they're paying more and more taxes. so i just think a big missed opportunity. i think they're scared of their own shadow. this whole class envy by the left, i think, has gotten into their head. i hope they go backwards and go

big and bold again. david david john, i knew there was a problem when back in september the gop said it's going to be at least as progressive as the current tax code. now, that progressivity has caused the economy to stalker it's caused, actually -- stall, it's caused a widening gap between the richest and poorest, and you wrote a piece many "forbes," i love this piece, that the middle class is actually going to pay more if you try to tax the rich more. explain. >> well, it goes on what gary says so correctly. sr.ly, people, the rich -- sorry, people, the rich drive economic growth. you get rich in this country by doing something remarkable. you can only do something remarkable insofar as those who already have means back you with investment. this isn't a tax cut, it penalizes the innovators with an even higher rate than 39.6% and also says to those who back them that you're going to pay the

same penalties before the capital gains rate. there are no companies and no jobs without investment first. this tax bill does nothing -- why elect republicans if they're going to do worse than the democrats? david: let us know how you really feel sometime, john. [laughter] he's so clear and connect. but, lauren, "the wall street journal" came out with an editorial yesterday that said that this is just half a tax plan to which a lot of people are saying, well, half a tax plan is better than none, right? >> well, and that's the issue. this is where i would disagree with john and gary in many ways. you need to get this through. this tax plan has to pass. and to get moderate democrats or i didn't anybody onboard -- because in the senate republicans can only lose two votes -- you need to make sure that the middle class get something, and i think in this bill they get something. the editorial in "the wall street journal," the way i read it, david, was they liked the business side of this -- david: right. that's the half that they liked. >> the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20%, but they had issue

with the individual side, and quite frank lyrics it's confusing. -- frankly, it's confusing. david: gary, the reagan years, there was a tax cut that everybody remembers with rosy glasses, and it did lead to tremendous growth in the economy. it didn't kick in until 1983, and that was a problem. it was delayed, it was phased in which was a disaster. it also left the top tax rate on salaried income at 50%, so that also had some sticking points to it. but in the end, it led to the richest and the poorest americans doing quite well. >> and he took the high end down to 28% -- david: that was in '86 though, remember? that was after several years. >> right. but my point is, ultimately, when all was said and done it unleashed everything great about the economy. and i've got news for you, the economy's not washington, the economy is the workers and the people in the country. david: all right. guys, we've got to leave it at that. john, i owe you one. thank you very much.

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>> we heard from donna brazile that what many people had suspected for a long time has turned out to be true. the dnc secretly chose their nominee over a year before the primary elections even occurred. this shines a light on how deeply broken our campaign finance laws are. david: that was a democrat, folks, speaking out after former dnc chair donna brazile dropped a big bombshell calling into question the influence of clinton cash on the dnc.

president trump calling in the real story on collusion, or at least one of them. is he right? here with us is former hillary clinton communications director adrian el rod and the washington examiner's emily -- so, emily, now it's more than just donna brazile. we have tulsi gabbard, liz warren who also said the system is rigged. this is an upheaval of major proportions for democrats. >> right. i think it's really important that we've had donna brazile, they've made their voices clear that they think this was bias on behalf of the dnc. the dnc's line is this is standard operating procedure, it only applied to the general election, it was open to other candidates, but there's evidence that it did apply to the primary and the agreement that bernie sanders signed was different from the one that hillary clinton signed. that all aside, we already knew there was massive bias towards hillary clinton at the dnc during the primary election. that is what led to debbie wasserman schultz's resignation. donna donna brazile herself,

while she was vice chair, feeding debate questions to the clinton campaign. that's why the bernie sanders and the donald trumps did so well because people are so sick of see what elites are making their decisions for them -- david: on either side. you're absolutely right. by the way, there was to nothing in the excerpt about that cnn incident with donna brazile. but it's not just hillary that was the target of some of her negativity, it was also president obama. she said he left the knc in terrible -- dnc in terrible shape, that it was in debt partly because he hadn't done his due of fundraising. if the standard bearer for the democrats is not hillary clinton, not president obama, who is it right now? >> look, secretary clinton and president clinton have been raising money for the democratic party for 30, 40 years. when she decided -- david: but it was in debt going into the election. that's donna brazile's point.

>> you're exactly right. so when she decided to run for president, she knew one of the first orders of business was rebuilding the democratic party, raising money so she could get the party out of debt. she and bernieing sanders were both presented with the same joint fundraising agreement which, by the way, is very standard in presidential campaigns on both the democratic and republican side. she chose to enter into it, he did not. that's fine. but she was able to harness her donor network to rebuild the party -- david: okay, adrienne, we can argue these points, and that's fine. my real question is it's clear with donna brazile making very negative comments about hillary clinton, with liz warren doing the same and now tulsi gabbard and other democrats, she's no longer the standard bearer. >> well, i want to clarify something. these people are not making negative comments about hillary clinton, they're talking about the process. and chairman perez did come out yesterday -- david: adrienne, we don't have much time. who do you think is the standard

bearer, and it could be more than one person right now for the again contact party. if you think it's hillary, that's fine, but who do you think it is? >> no, i think we have a lot of leaders in our party. we need to focus on the election on tuesday and the midterms -- david: emily, that's, the question that i ask which i couldn't get a straight answer from adrienne on is the real question right now and, frankly, i know that republicans are chuckling at all this because it's nice for one party when another party has trouble. but who are they going to be existence? are they going to be existence a left-winger -- against a left-winger like bernie sanders or somebody who's more mod facilitate it affects the way they campaign as well, right? >> a book could be written about the disaster of the dnc and how there's competition between the people who supported bernie sanders and the hillary clinton people, there's so much to talk about there. but frankly, you know, i'm a conservative. and like you said, i don't want to chuckle at this. i don't want9 to laugh because there's a lot of people in this country who don't agree with me, that's fine, and their voices

were minimized by what was going on at the dnc. that's not okay. the dnc needs to, obviously, figure out how it's going to do a better job representing the voices of the wide spectrum of democrats in this country because they're not being served by their party right now, and it's sad. david: aide adrienne, are democrats going to get rid of the whole superdelegate system? because that was the focus of a lot of the ire of democrats. >> look, that's something that the secretary -- i'm sorry, chairman perez will be focusing on moving forward. david: what do you think? is are they getting rid of the superdelegates? >> i have no idea. i want to make one final point -- david: very quickly, adrienne, you're not answering my questions. >> i have not had enough time -- david: you've had plenty of time. >> bernie sanders care carried the caucuses -- david: everybody had enough time. thank you very much, ladies. despite pleading guilty to