and martha macaula. have a great week and we will see you next fox news howie: on our "buzzfeed," president trump says he wants to sit down with robert mueller. but the white house is rocked by a bombshell report he wanted to fire robert mueller. >> that contradicts a narrative that's been consistent coming out of the white house. but gives us the clearest picture to date that may have been an effort to obstruct. >> i'm confirming maybe donald trump wanted to fire the special counsel. >> does he not have the right to

raise those questions. >> it indicates there is clearly something donald trump doesn't want us to see. >> trump didn't fire anybody. not firing someone doesn't sounds like obstruction to me. howie: a fierce media debate over the russia probe. >> it may be time to declare war outright against the deep state and clear out the upper-levels of the fbi and the justice department, i said the rot. >> when you have fox news declaring war in their words on the fbi and the justice department, the deep state there, when you have people talking about secret societies inside of the fbi, that is out of erdogan's playbook.

howie: is the media speculation out of control? and are some commentators going too far in trashing the fbi? the "wall street journal" reports serious allegations of sexual misconduct on steve win. megyn kelly takes on jane fonda and her role in the vietnam war. >> she still says she is not proud of america. so the moral indignation is a bit too much. howie: this is "mediabuzz." [♪] after a report that robert

mueller asked for a high-stakes interview, the president said he's looking forward to it. >> are you look forward to the mueller investigation? howie: when he was asked at the davos conference on the fbi report on him want to go fire robert mueller last june. president trump: fake news. typical "new york times," fake story. howie: joining us, mollie hemingway. shelby holliday and capri

cafaro. mollie, the "new york times" report has been confirmed by the "wall street journal," fox news and others. it doesn't sounds like fake news. mollie: it's difficult to say confirmed when you have anonymous sources. when you say donald trump wanted to fire someone he is legally allowed to fire but he didn't fire. this was reported in june, september and december. why is this big news? howie: if you believe that don mcgann the white house counsel said i will leave if you fire him. mollie: you have the house intelligence committee about to release a report about fisa abuse that members of the house

say is chilling, disturbing criminal activity. and you have no collusion with the trump administration and russia after a year investigation. in d.c. there is panic and fear over's going to come out with this report. howie: some journalists and liberal commentators are saying he was not telling the truth at the time. capri: some of his closest allies are saying one thing. and that's not unique. we have seen the president change his stories time and again. i disagree as far as the media bringing the story up again to deflect from something else. but i do think there is a concerted effort to create a

narrative across different media channels to say this is a pattern that president trump wanted to fire mueller. no, he didn't. the reason why he didn't is balk don mcgann said -- we saw the same thing with the fbi director reportedly saying he was going to quit. howie: the "new york times" says four unnamed officials. the white house didn't deny it. don mcgann didn't deny it. it's not what we call a hard knockdown. shelby: it's all about patterns. so this is just evidence of another attempt by president trump to knock down the special counsel and knock down the investigation. he did not take that step.

the patterns are big. from the media perspective this is big news. there are parallels to watergate. his team has been denying this. howie: mollie, would you agree with he had fired mueller a month after firing comey, that there would have been a political firestorm? mollie: for a year we have had the media claiming there is collusion between trump and russia. shelby: there is evidence of two people who lied to the fbi about russia. mollie: nonstop day in and day out for a year, we have news that the mueller probe is not leaking anything about russia collusion, they are leaking about obstructioning.

the media are taking that and running with it like they are the doubtfu -- they are the dutl servants of the mueller probe. capri: if they care about the outcome of this investigation, they need to let it take its course. howie: the president doesn't have many defenders on this particular story. but it's true, you can't build an obstruction case by pointing to a firing that never happened. shelby: the bar is very high. there has to be an underlying crime. howie: what about mollie's points that there is no evidence

of collusion with russia. but saying he possibly obstructed or he's acting like he has something to hide. shelby: i'm not sure the goal post has changed. two prongs of this investigation have been obstruction of justice conclusion. but collusion is not a crime, treason does not apply. howie: the millions of words by news organizations. mollie: the entire probe is a result of a campaign to claim treason us to collusion with russia to steal an election. claims made by intelligence law enforcement agencies that are under scrutiny and there are reports alleging serious wrongdoing by federal employees as it relates to this. howie: here is something sean

hannity said talking about the justice department and fbi, people must be held accountable, investigated, indicted. probably thrown in jail. fox has come under attack by some at msnbc for beating up on the deep state. it's not fox news, it's certain commentators. people who are paid for their opinions. nevertheless, does some of this go too far? mollie: if you are critiquing certain bad actions by bad people that you are then tarnishing everyone in the agency, that's a straw man armed. there are reports alleging serious wrongdoing by members in the agencies. capri: the texts between the two

star-crossed lovers at the fbi have gone the extensive coverage. howie: the people ripping the fbi and justice department say they are holding the bureau accountable. liberal retractors say they are just trying to discredit the trump administration. capri: there is a valid argument to be made on both sides. these folks are entitled to their opinion, even though they are a news organization. to potentially speculate, if you undermine those investigating and you say they are not credible, therefore that investigation becomes uncredible. howie: a lot of democrats during the bill clinton impeachment tried to discredit ken starr. bill kristol of the weekly

standard says people at fox are going too far. but bill kristol defied donald trump and has since the campaign. shelby: there is an obsession with instant gratification. we don't have all the evidence and all the facts. to light some bits of char koalg on fire before we know all the facts. mollie: after a year of running story after story based on anonymous stories, to say that's not subject fans yaition after running wild with anonymous sources. howie: las vegas billionaire steve wynn.

is president trump somehow to blame for a crazy caller. you know what's awesome? gig-speed internet.

you know what's not awesome? when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really?

and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes! xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party. howie: a 19-year-old michigan man has been arrested for making repeated calls to cnn in atlanta saying i'm coming to kill you. your cast will be gunned down within a number of hours. >> this is what happens when the president of the united states, donald trump repeatedly attacks members of the press. when you make that baseless,

incendiary charge, be aware people are listening to you. howie: emily jashinsky, cathy areu, and. >> this is scary. i don't think there is anything you can point to that donald trump has said or done that is correctly inciting violence. sheriff clark saying he punched the media in the face to make them taste their own blood. that's too far. howie: how are these the president's fault?

kathy * he continually calls cnn fake news. he's calling jim acosta a fool who is a reporter at cnn. he doesn't understand the power of his words and the power of the presidency. he has a tool unlike any other president to get his message out. emily: i'm not sure how mockery can be held responsible for violence. kacat. cathy: some are interpreting it as let's take care of the situation. howie: you can have the debate, but how is any politician responsible for nut jobs who commit or threaten violence.

emily: when we look at the tragedy that unfolded on the baseball field, that was a progressive who went too far. but unless you can say it's specifically violent, it's another thing. howie: i don't like the blood on your hands guilt by association and i didn't like it when a police officer was shot and they blamed it on barack obama's rhetoric. kathy cathy: he was quoting the president's words. emily: the word fake news, how does that incite violence? cathy: this person was motivated by the words that came out of

the president's mouth. emily: how is that donald trump's fault? howie: we'll agree to disagree on that. steve wynn, the casino mogul, numerous accusations of sexual misconduct. accusations he forced employees to have sex over the years. will the rnc return steve wynn's donations the way the democrats did with harvey weinstein. emily it's the appropriate step. unlike harvey weinstein, steve wynn had a formal position two the rnc, the finance chair. howie: fox news had wynn co-host

a special. he had the tie of national finance chairman which he has given up for the rnc. howie: are you willing to say right now? cathy: i'm willing to say the media will do the same with wynn as they do with weinstein. i don't think it's going to be given any different treatment to wiwynn that was given to weinstein. howie: many of harvey weinstein's victims were famous actresses which helped fuel the

debate. ahead, behind the scenes in the war between the white house and the press as we look at some of the disclosures in my new book. a major media blunder about jerrod kushner's company blew up but corrections western hard to come

howie: here is how the liberal magazine "mother jones" handled the story about the president's son-in-law. deutsche bank look at suspicious kushner transactions. "washington post," deutsche bank flagged suspicious kushner transactions.

the german magazine charged deutsche bank had flagged suspicious information. but deutsche bank called the story wrong and says it's taking legal action. the bank telling me they have not submitted any report flag suspicious transactions as suggested by manager magazine. "mother jones" included the bank statement at the top of the piece along with the corporate statement that the kushner companies have done nothing wrong. there is no money laundering. "mother jones" didn't address the headline question.

but said since we accurately reported the story and included the deutsche bank and kushner denials, we see no need for a correction. kushner tried to distribute its press release through a p.r. news wire and was turned down. the kushner firm told me the curb her report and other incorrect stories are a distraction. sometimes not even bothering to contact us before running with a story. the media's obsession with attacking the company because kushner works for the president is outrageous.

are both sides damaged by the relentless battles between the president and the media?

howie: from "the washington post" to the drunk report, my new book out tomorrow is make some news. it's called "media madness. donald trump, the press and the war over the truth." i try to examine why the coverage of the president is so overwhelmingly negative. when the president pulled out of the paris climate deal. there was a tweet that was

withdrawn after the president complained. mollie: this was such a fun book to read. it has so much salacious detail and intrigue about what happened at the white house. since you don't take side, you can enjoy and trust this read. whether you like trump or dislike trump. there is plenty in there. it's so rare that you can find a writer that does that. howie: that means a lot to me coming from you. ivanka trump always got good press until the campaign. she was stunned to realize her liberal friend wanted her to ease their pain, and she was supposed to contradict her father's position. somehow she got blamed on social issues. one of many, ivanka's unwavering

loyalty to a sexual abusers and misogynist. mollie: a common theme is how donald trump breaks norms. but people don't think about how the media threw away so many norms that are important. we didn't talk to chelsea clinton about her father. howie: the notion she'll turn or father around on issues he ran on. i report about the leaks and the warfare between ivanka and jared and steve bannon. there is a scene where in the oval office in front of the president she accuses steve bannon of leaking against them and he turns around and accuses her of planting leaks.

mollie: suggesting she did leak. howie: this was before steve bannon left. some of the stories as i write in this book are perfectly legitimate. aggressive reporting on the president is good. i didn't think he should have punched down and attacked mika brzezinski of msnbc over her supposed facelift. he said i know what you are going to say, unpresidential. mollie: a lot of people like to think there is a grand strategy with the way trump acts. but your book suggests that's just who he is. also he talks about loyalty talking some of his attacks. he clearly thought joe and mika were friend who betrayed him.

it helps explain and contexualize some of these attacks we see on the media. howie: negative coverage helps donald trump. he drives the media agenda. secondly, his supporters think the media don't like him. and they think much of the media disdain them. the 30%, 40%. the "huffington post" had a headline "a vote for trump was a hate crime." let them lose their healthcare, maybe they will learn something this time around. mollie: some people on the right don't understand people identify with trump so when you attack trump they feel it's an attack

on them. attacks on republicans make them feel the media is hostile toward them. howie: this constant warfare does hurt both sides. it hurts the media's credibility. one of my concerns is there is lasting damage. i fear there will be lasting damage to the trump presidency, to the media long after donald trump is no longer president. mollie: there is a line from somebody in your book that donald trump may not crazy but he makes people crazy. donald trump will only be president for another 3 to 7 years. the media need credibility during that time and long after that time. the decisions we make and how we cover people is so important.

people need to feel they can trust media to hold people accountable. howie: it was painful to write this book. some of thigh colleagues are very fair but some of them don't understand how negative this is and whether trump is held to a different standard. mollie: it's very important for people to think that true. howie: the justification is he's a different kind of president so we have to treat him differently than anybody who has been in the white house. liberals beating up on chuck schumer over the government shutdown. remember the breathless coverage over oprah winfrey? it turned out to be so

howie: senate democrats voted to reopen the government after a stalemate and a government shutdown for three days. >> it showed chuck schumer could take a position and hold it for two days. >> i think the dems are in shock because they didn't get the assist from the media they expected. they were abbott without their costello. it was sad. howie: liberals on your side not

happy with the democratic leader. schumer sells out the resistance. it looks like he lost his media allies. capri: the media has been fair on this. the democrats, progressives are upset, and chuck schumer did not do a good job by tying daca to the spending bill. i think the coverage has been accurate. howie: schumer's overreach on the dreamers resulted in a rare media win for president trump. they went in saying he will be blamed for the shutdown because they colorado both houses. mollie: it's also true that initial losses aren't the same as ultimate losses. this is a long ballgame and there is a lot left to be seen. i didn't see a lot of coverage

about how interesting the situation is on the left between the base and the leadership. howie: the latest negotiations on the shutdown, president trump offered to double the number of dreamers who would have a path to citizenship in exchange for funding the border wall and other immigration tightening measures. i haven't seen anyone in the media saying president trump is serious about the dreamers. >> it's a whirlwind when you want to keep track of this debate. you saw schumer come back saying i'm taking the wall off the table. it is a long game and we have no idea where it will end up. but i can tell you who is not winning. the american people.

let's get back to mollie's favorite subject. the fbi texts by these two fbi agents having an affair. they not only ripped trump, we learned they said they can't go in loaded for bear with hillary clinton because she is going to be our next president. mollie: this is a huge issue. the fbi and the department of justice only turned over a small percentage of the texts. but what we have seen already, there are a lot of things that require more explanation. and the texts were so troubling strzok was removed from the mueller probe. what is interesting, they called the russia investigation an insurance policy. we can't afford to take the risk of a trump presidency.

they didn't turn over documents to congress because they were so inflammatory. loretta lynch only allowed comey to make the announcement about clinton because she knew he was going to let her go. there is a lot here to probe and it's not one or two texts. howie: even if you think these texts are not as big a deal because they are not the decision makers. the coverage says this does not look good for two senior members of the fbi. capri: there is no question about that. there are many people would think in the united states, myself included, these two individuals are bad apples, bad actors. the coverage is focused on these two individuals. so basically, you know, in my view it should not reflect on

the entire operation of the fbi or the department of justice where you have a lot of people working hard every day to insure in an unbiased manner that law is actually occurring. >> you shouldn't tar everybody who works for the bureau. but what got overheated was the reference to a secret society at the fbi. ambit turned out to be a sarcastic reference. >> it's hard to understand all of these comments without the full context of what they were saying. i have heard former members of the fbi come out and say it's typical to have offsite meeting. howie: the texts are overplayed or not? shelby: i think the american people deserve to know if the fbi is tainted.

howie: capri cafaro, mollie hemingway and shelby holliday, thank you very much. megyn kelly ripped jane fonda over vietnam.

howie: one of megyn kelly's first interviews when she joined the "today show" was with jane fonda. she asked jane fonda about her plastic surgery and now may gains pushing back hard. >> i'm not in the market for a lesson on what is appropriate

from jane fonda. this is a woman whose name is synonymous with outrage. many of our . . io broadcast criticized our troops and referred to their torture is a understandable. >> she said how much work have you had, bitch? howie: joining us is carley shimkus. jane fonda deserves an award for manufactured outrage. after months of pot shots, megyn kelly went after her on vietnam.

carley: usually i don't think you should use your tv platform to settle personal scores. but jane fonda went back on the "today show" and criticized megyn in front of her co-workers. how center jane fonda, i like her movies, but if she is going to keep jabbing megyn about this, perhaps to get attention at the age of 80. she partially apologized going with that anti-aircraft gun? hanoi. carley: no one forced jane fonda to take that picture. people will talk about it when they talk about her life and career. but the media coverage was anti-megyn kelly.

joy behar called megyn kelly the "b" word and defended jane fonda's hanoi jane moment. i think one of the reasons the ladies on the view defended jane fonda was political. howie: when she goes after dick cheney the press loves her. but if she goats after a liberal she gets bad press. do you think because she went to nbc that some of her fellow temperature reporters. carley: sometimes the media is trying to continue the narrative of drama surrounding her career

at nbc. megyn kelly's show is suppose to be a light-hearted daytime talk show. so the moment where she did criticize jane fonda to that extent is what her show is suppose to be about. howie: you can have a show and do serious stuff and have light were moments, too. let me ask you about oprah winfrey. she told "in style" magazine she is not running for president. she said it's a lot of media speculation. carley: how are we going to survive this? i'm not surprised oprah isn't running for president. when you are that popular, why would you ruin it by running for office. if you run for a political position, half the country will hate you. she is doing just fine. howie: journalists all knew this. but they would love to have

oprah versus the donald. it was never happening. now we know for sure. thanks very much. president trump's harshest critics at espn is off the air. and vanity fair booted frames

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spotlight. ryan lizz was, cnn says they fund no reason to keep him off the air. "vanity fair" has digitally erased james franco from the cover of its magazine. you can see reese witherspoon had three legs and oprah winfrey has three hands. but franco is out. we hope you will check out our facebook page. we post my daily columns there. don't forget to dvr if you

happen to be doing something different on sundays. we'll be back next sunday 11:00 a.m. with the latest >> this memo of what of answers of elect mate questions it's not a hit piece on the department and fbi. >> someone out of the republican-led congress to look at allegations, i don't want it released yet, i don't. chris: what's the major theme of the speech of the union? >> i cannot give this man who does not respect me the respect. ♪ ♪