back in washington next fox news sunday.

[♪] howie: top newspapers quoting unnamed sources saying president trump is suggesting the infamous "access hollywood" tape may have been doctored. pundits are calling it crazy talk. >> the president of the united states seems to be losing his grip on reality. >> did he at some point start believing in the fake reality that he creates? >> questioning president trump's mental fitness for office has become a vicious obsession of the left. howie: also the "new york post" saying the president still questions barack obama's birth certificate. what do you make of this intensified media chatter. mollie: we heard this in january and we heard it a few months later. it seems to be a campaign to undermine the president rather

than analysis. it's a campaign based on anonymous leaks. in general it's people who haven't accepted the reality of donald trump wishing the election who are make this claim. nobody should be he central waiting other people's mental health. howie: if the president is saying things privately that contradict -- people know it's his voice. he apologized for the "access hollywood" tape and said it was him. maria: these are fair questions to ask, is he fully aware or coming to grip with the russia investigation. does he really understand the severity much things. it is a very sensitive issue. we can't evaluate someone's

mental health from far away on television. but i think there are fair questions to ask. how the presidency, what's happening in this country. how you see -- how he sees policy issues. howie: one of those questioning the media's coverage is republican senator lindsey graham. and take a listen to what he said as presidential candidate in 2016. >> what concerns me about the american press is this endless attempt to label the guy as some kind of kook, not fit to be president. i am not going to try to get into the mind of donald trump. i think he's a kook, i think he's crazy. i think he's unfit for office. shelby: those back-to-back clips say it all.

there is a lot of hypocrisy. people have questioned donald trump's mental state since the beginning of the election. donald trump tries to craft his own reality. and donald trump likes to joke around. the big nugget of this story is the leaks. are the people inside the white house leaking this information because they are genuinely worried about his mental state? not that those jokes would be appropriate. howie: retweeting anti-muslim videos from a far right group that upset theresa may. harassment on the hill. john conyers lose support as one of his accusers goes before the

cameras.

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and never go to the post office again. howie: pundits have been pushing for the resignation of john conyers in the midst of numerous charges of sexual harassment. >> it was violating my body. propositioning me, inviting me to hotels with the guys discussing business, and proposition me for sex. he has touched me in different ways, and it was very uncomfortable and very unprofessional. howie: the house leader dropped her support for her embattled colleague.

>> i pray for the congressman and his family and wish him well. but he should resign. howie: how important was marianne brown. she got the settlement with taxpayer money. how important was it for her to go on the show? >> i think the real reason behind it is this is washington politics colliding with the outcry and demand for us to deal with sexual harassment issues. things are different now. so it was pushed forward by marion brown. howie: you can see her on television rather than print. do you think the media has been

as aggressive with john conyers, especially with respect to the way they were with roy moore. >> they are chasing down democrats to find out why there is a different standard. we saw big media people go down quickly, but on capitol hill they stick around. we have several cases turning around. there has been no immediate exodus of those accused. the media has done a good job of pointing out there is a different standard. howie: half a dozen accusers against al franken. he's drawing critical coverage. but do you think the press has been more restrained with the former snl star?

>> the detroit news has a great story that parses out the difference why al franken and not john conyers being able to stay around in congress. he's being accused of groping. conyers is the power of harassment. marion brown said she believes he enjoyed creating a negative atmosphere for women in his office. howie: the media are making the distinction, they may see a racial aspect here as opposed to franken. >> they talked about who is accusing conyers. franken is white and he's not being asked to leave. but there are other people being a -- accused. blake farenthold of tks.

howie: an actress peddles false news about roy moore to the "washington post" and gets busted.

howie: matt lauer is the face of nbc news and has been a franchise player for two decades. >> this is the last great battle and one side or the other is going down here. >> the great story for anybody willing to write by the or explain the is the vast right-wing conspiracy. how very they looked stunned as they reported the news that nbc fired their colleague for sexual misconduct. >> how do you reconcile your

love for someone with the revelation they have behaved badly. >> we are all trying to process it. you know. deal with it. along with you folks as well. howie: some past "today show" skits looking creepy in retrospect. >> drink it in, ladies. >> again, matt, really? >> get it while it lasts. howie: "variety" reported that matt lauer gave a woman a sex toy and scolded herd when she did not respond. >> our sources say several employees at the "today show" knew. howie: joining us now from new

york, lynn sherrer and. andy lack loved lauer out the door very quickly. >> nbc is adamant saying on monday night they got word of an accuser and that is what prompted the swift action. now in media circles a number of outlets have been looking into lauer's behavior the last two months. it's hard to believe they have didn't know this was out there. but they claim it wasn't until they were presented with a hard evidence acueser coming forward

they were able to go to lauer and say is there truth here. howie: lauer said there are no words to express my apology. some of what is said about me is untrue and mischaracterized, but there is enough truth to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. jeff zucker, a friend of lauer's for 25 years, once produced the "today show." your thoughts about that. >> this kind of upheaval is very, very painful. but the real shock is that they didn't know. the real shock is that they didn't expose him sooner. this is a man who was treating the workplace like a brothel. and it was known.

i heard the buzz for a long time just as i heard it about charlie rose before he was outed. just as i heard it about so many other people. i think the shock is that they didn't know sooner. it's a news organization. howie: with charlie rose many people said they didn't know. matt, i said nbc at least knew for weeks based on my reporting that the news organizations were pursuing these allegations instead of acting all shocked to hear about this complaint. now nbc news is reporting that they asked lauer for weeks whether he engaged in inappropriate conduct with staffers and lauer denied it. >> it depends on what they ask.

if you hear someone is reporting around a star like matt lauer. you may say what's going on here? is there something we should know about. and maybe you give your $25 million a year star the benefit of the doubt if he denies it. but they were given hard evidence from an accuser. >> but it wouldn't have just been buzz and media circles if someone set up an atmosphere where someone could have come forward sooner. you need to be proactive in these cases. by the way, howie, i worked for a guy at channel 2 news who had one of those buttons that shut the door. it's the creepiest thing in the world. but it didn't lock it.

howie: especially with a $25 million a year anchor. mika brzezinski said she heard the rumors about matt lauer. joe scarborough said it was just about philandering. >> there is a difference. the point is not just to say there will never be romance and sex in the workplace unless like the vice president a married man always has his wife with him. the difference is what's appropriate, what's inappropriate and what's repeated and what is not reciprocated. howie, the law hasn't changed much. sexual harassment has been against the law since the 1970s. the on thing that changed is our

tolerance of this behavior. howie: you wrote a piece entitled "all men are not pigs." you had two of the three networks fire their anchors. now that it's happened at abc, cbs, nbc and elsewhere, it's being described as a societal problem. >> i think the culture itself has changed over the past few months in the wake of the harvey weinstein scandal. this is a complete realignment of the morning news programs. but it's coming at a time when there is upheaval everywhere. fox news was out on its own. there was a culture that roger

ailes created that permeated a lot. no one is saying andy look at nb lack isperpetuating the cult. >> not just nbc. i worked at abc news, i worked at the associated press. the number of emails i have gotten the past few weeks from women saying, oh manage the sigh of relief some of the guys we worked with are having now that they are retired. howie: minnesota public radio firing garrison keillor. and russell i a russell simmonsn after an allegation of rape.

coming up, how "the washington post" exposed a scam involving utterly false charges of rape and abortion against roy moore.

howie: "the washington post" was approached by a woman who made inflammatory charges against roy

moore saying the candidate i am presenting night her when she was 15 and drove her to have an abortion. >> it says that you are moving to new york. and that you accepted a job to work in the conservative media movement. is that a lie? and it's at the liberal msn? howie: a post reporter going into the offices of prong veritas. they specialize in stings designed to embarrass liberal news outlets. howie: joining us from new york,

roy hoffman. how did the "washington post" handle these explosive and fake allegations trying to trap the "post" reporters to say incriminating things about roy moore that could be captured on videotape. >> they have been transparent about how they uncovered her identity and pursued this story. and then when mr. o'keefe was exposed he put out videos of other "post" reporters in candid settings being very professional and being a little critical of their editorial side for being overly critical of the president. if this is an attempt to show bias on the part of the "washington post," it backfired spectacularly.

howie: he said the news side is trying to call bull when there is bull and give him credit when there is credit. you say james o'he keefe based this -- james o'keefe based this on an assumption how the mainstream media worked and they would rush into print with a half-baked allegation. >> i can only imagine the ignorance and malice on the part of o'keefe and his colleagues. they assumed it would get through. you can only assume that would work based on your notion these people are acting in very bad faith. similarly, these videos of "post" reporters undercover were only on the assumption of ignorance. the audience might not know

reporters have a conflicting relationship. it's your job to explain to the readers there is a difference between the reporters and the editorial. howie: it was originally off the record with the executive editor of the "post." you would something in commentary that caught my eye. you said tragically con there are media activists are becoming the partisan creatures they once worked to combat. >> the assumption is that your effort is to create an audience of media consumers who cannot be fooled by bias. when activists act like

mr. o'keefe did to exploit ignorance, when you are actively trying to court that ignorance to advance an agenda, you become the partisan creature you once vowed to expose. howie: in this case the "post" did the right thing. they looked into it and found out it just wasn't true. after the break, a big victory for the republicans as the senate passes a huge tax cut bill and the president accuses the "new york times" of out and out lobbying against it.

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>> this is going to cost me a fortune. this is not good for me. >> no matter how you slice this thing, the gop tax plan is going to be a big boon for the wealthy and specifically the trump family. howie: donald trump tweeted this. the failing "new york times" has become virtual lobbyists with regard to our massive tax cut bill. a whole bunch of news stories saying this tax cut is tilted towards the wealthy and some middle class families will pay more. is there an underlying feeling of opposition to the contours of this bill? shel --

shelby: the editorial board at the "new york times" tweeted out the numbers. howie: the opinion side, they can oppose the tax bill all they want. but suggesting call your senator. they take position on everything. but it's a little unseemly. shelby: now the bills have to be reconciled. so it's hard to say how it will end up. howie: there has been a steady drum beat that this doesn't help the middle class which at odds with the administration's argument that it does. shelby: i do think there is an argument that it does help the middle class. but it also helped wealthy americans. so there are a number of

arguments to be made. but it's too early, we don't have the final bill reconciled by the house and senate. >> is the legitimate reporting, has it been balanced by a look at what the positive impact might be? >> there is not much positive news coverage, but that tends to be the case. there was a lot of negative coverage, a lot of discussing how things would be changed negatively. people reading news want to know how these bills impact them. the "wall street journal" has covered it fairly. this did cause a lot of uproar. it's up to the viewer to decide if it's appropriate. when the "new york times" started tweeting out the phone numbers of senators, a lot of people said you are moving into the realm of activism and

lobbying. and that's different from what most of editorial boards do. the editorial board said it's to advocate policies we agree with and against policies we don't. howie: this raises questions how this adds a trillion to the debt when the obama administration doubled the nation's debt. shelby holliday, great to see you. shelby: super fun being here. howie: sean hannity make its cover of "time" magazine but not exactly in the way

howie: sean hannity is on the cover of today's "new york times" magazine.

but he was less than pleased with the cover shot after a 3-hour photo shoot. sean: here is what the "new york" magazine chose of me as a cover shot. could you pick a worse picture? here are three of the images. they all suck. howie: i thought the article was pretty fair. but those unflattering photos give ammunition to those who say the "new york times" wants to create and caricature of a fox news conservative. i hope you like our facebook page. i post my daily columns every day. write to us, mediabuzz @fox

news.com. 's we are back next week 11:00 a.m. eastern. >> i think comey needs to answer questions as his time as director. i think he made decision that is were really wrong. >> the most disturbing report i heard come out was one of the fbi agents assign today mueller investigation was reassigned because of his political views. >> are we headed for a shut down? >> that's a ridiculous position, there is no crisis, i think it would be smart for democrats shut down government for a nonaddress that we can address from now and any time. >> what the president is saying, we all need to take care of it. he's not going to allow the murderist regime to threaten the united states