thank a whole lot of people in new york and washington who worked through the night putting together teleprompters and lights and all kinds of communications and computers to get us on the air. that's it for today. have a great week. we will see you right back here next "fox news howie: the media combat over the house intel memo is fiercely partisan. >> that's it? that's all they have got? what the memo makes clear, there was collusion. the collusion was between the comey fbi, the obama justice department, and the hillary clinton campaign. >> after all that and weeks of buildup, the reviews are in, and congressman nunes' memo was a dud. >> it's an absolute disgrace.

it's an embarrassment to the united states congress. it's part of the effort to discredit the president of the united states. >> the house intel memo has been released. this is the biggest abuse of power case in american history. howie: there are also questions about the spy who wrote the memo. there is all-out media warfare in the media investigation. >> it's hard to imagine a previous president overruling an fbi director. the fbi director is saying this memo is full of falsehoods.

>> this fbi director needs to be taken out in cuffs. howie: is the rhetoric getting too heated on both sides. are the verdicts as polarized. the sudden focus on melania and the marriage. is the press going all-out tabloid. this is "mediabuzz." i was on the couch on "outnumbered" when the devin nunes memo was released and president trump wasted no time in reacting. president trump: i think it's terrible. a lot of people should be ashamed of themselves and much

worse than that. howie: fox's catherine herridge was on the air with excerpts. catherine: this is the dossier compiled by fusion gps. they would not have been able to obtain at least one surveillance warrant for a member of the trump campaign. howie: joining us is rachael bade, mollie hemingway and jessica tarlov. the look is a little different. but mollie, fox news and got the

memo first and this fueled criticism. >> the federalist did not get an advanced copy. we found it through the old practice of reporting. sometimes you can get things without them being leaked to you which is something i wish more people would have understood. howie: if a democratic committee chairman had written a memo and it appears on msnbc before anyone else. republicans would be crying foul. rachael, you were at the republican retreat, the greenbrier. how much were the media focused on this memo? rachel: they were obsessed with

it. they were supposed to be talking about tax reform, 7 out of 9 questions were about this memo. one of the questions was speaker paul ryan, do you think devin nunes should step aside for the way he handled it. he said no, but tax cuts are working. the transition was hilarious. howie: the pre-game hype was almost at super bowl levels. what jumped out at me, christopher steele it was said in the memo, lied about his contacts. and it was said he was desperate that donald trump not get elected. but it's not that the press built up steele as a man of great credibility. mollie: they had built steele up

as a man of credibility. but this memo was the first time we had gotten information that wasn't based on anonymous sources. we actually got hard data. for a year we have been subjected to anonymous leaks and snippets of information. we learned this guy misused his credibility to secure a wiretap. many of the stories we got on the russia narrative were planted by the same people creating the russia narrative and getting it into the fbi. howie: i always referred to the dossier as unverified and unsubstantiated. jessica, "new york times" headline today. "trump's unparalleled war on law

enforcement." the memo was released over the objections of the fbi director. but the press is painting this as a war between president trump and the fbi. jessica: he doesn't want rod rosenstein there anymore. i don't think he will be able to do this on the backs of it. there are many republicans talking about this memo as a nothing burger. though i do think there is interesting information there that we did need to see. first, that the steele dossier isn't the only thing that the fisa warrant was based upon. we know that the investigation began with george papadopoulos in june 2016 before the carter page re-up.

and we know carter page said he was an advisor to the kremlin. howie: rachael, the democrats argue, and you see this on some liberal shows and remember sites that the memo is misleading and has important omissions, a accumulation of which jessica just touched on, how much evidence was submitted to the fisa court to object taint search warrant. has all of this muddied the waters for what republicans hoped was a bombshell revelation? rachael: absolutely. releasing it without democratic rebuttal and approval from the fbi beforehand as well as the actual content of the memo. i just came back from the west virginia republican retreat. i was watching chris stewart who

voted to release this memo. he was on cnn and he was talking about this. they were asked why they didn't release the democratic memo. you made this an oversight bipartisan process when you left the democrats alone. we didn't hear a lot about the content of the memo for a couple hours. he said why aren't we talking about what's in the memo. whether the fbi can go to the court and present this information without saying it was from a democratic opponent of the president. jessica: there is reporting they did not was backed by a political entity. howie: that was reported that the fisa judges did know that but not specifically that it was the democratic national

committee or the clinton campaign. after this memo comes out, carl bernstein on cnn says we haven't seen such dark days in our democracy since the days of joe mccarthy. on msnbc donny deutsche says our demiate i is under siege, people need to take to the streets, this is a dictator. mollie: if you were corned about the way the fbi secured a wiretap on someone you are anti-republic. these claims that the memo was somehow inaccurate. the fbi did review the memo and had the opportunity to say if anything was inaccurate. they don't dispute the facts in the memo. so when people say facts are in

dispute, reporters have a verification to -- have an obligation to verify that before they run with the claim. a hillary clinton-funded opposition document invented through the hillary clinton campaign made it to the highest levels of our government and was used to spy on an opposition candidate. howie: carter page, the trump people used to say he was a low-level volunteer. jessica, one of the things that struck me was a yahoo story by reporter michael isikoff cited in the memo as having been cite to the judges. isikoff was on cnn and he said he was as surprised as anyone. he said the fbi already knew

what he was reporting. your reaction to the use of the media or attempted use of the media at that time. jessica: it's concerning. i think catherine herridge did a good job. i was sitting on that couch on "outnumbered" with you. i think is cover -- i think i* did a great job explaining happened. they made sure there were multiple sources. this idea which republicans are basing this on that only an unverified salacious dossier is the source for the warrant is unsubstantiated. howie: we have other developments. andrew mccabe forced out this

week among reports that the president asked for his loyalty. the communications director said on and conference call about the donald trump, jr. meeting that the emails would never come out. his lawyer disputes that. whatever the revelations about this dispute and carter page, it doesn't affect the investigation. is that accurate? rachel: the interesting thing about the coverage on the memo, people on the far right are saying look at this memo. it undercuts the russia investigation. even the president said the investigation is a witch hunt. the democrats say the republicans want it to go away. speaker paul ryan, trey gowdy,

they say this is an actual oversight question. what do you have to present to the fisa court to get a warrant. howie: a lot more to say, but i have got to get a break here. you may have seen me on fox a few times talking about my new book, "media madness. boom, it dropped off the radar.

howie: the banner headline in the "washington post" described

the president's speech this way, "a call for bipartisanship." but the response was so negative they tweeted out a new quote, "a new american moment." >> when he's talking about lou evelou -- low unemployment'. how can you not applaud that. >> they are in break-down freak-out mode over the president's state of the union address. howie: after the huge buildup, it's amazing how quickly it vanished from the radar. rachael: after the retreat i was expecting more talk about the state of the union. were the republicans okay with

the republicans laying out a path for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants to be citizens? it feels like the state of the union was two weeks ago. howie: even before the speech, much of the talk was about the russia investigation. mollie hemingway, some pundits made critical comments, but others said it was a reaganesque moment. but he's not really bipartisan. mollie: you mentioned the change in the "washington post's" headlines. i thought -- and a lot of conservatives were upset because they seemingly changed that under pressure. but a call for bipartisanship is a call you get in every state of

the union. "a new american moment" captured it better. by the was a hugely successful speech. 75% of the country thought it was a good speech. when there is good coverage for trump, the press is eager to move on to what they are comfortable with, a lot of hostility for trump. howie: it strikes me as an example of the press judgingly giving this president -- grudgingly giving his president credit. jessica: it's difficult to grade people on both sides of the aisle. comments that today is the day he becomes president, and the next day he tweets something crazy.

van jones instead of saying he did a great job, he read well from the teleprompter. he said he was delivering sweet-tasting candy with poison in it. and i agreed at that point. i think the coverage of the state of the union was quite fair. i didn't see a lot of people criticizing the democrats looking very sour. plenty conservatives looked sour with obama. howie: trump got a very big audience. more watched on fox news than any other network. then he said it was the largest state of the union ever. why make that claim when it's

knocked down by the media fact checkers. mollie: when he made that claim i wanted to look into streaming and other media. it was a well-viewed speech. the way to respond to that is just the facts. howie: there are a lot more ways to watch these events. wish you were there on the set with me. on "mediabuzz." sean spicer on his rocky white house tenure. why president trump is skipping the super bowl interview.

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howie: super bowl sunday which means the country is divided

between those who hate patriot and those who worship tom brady. president trump is blowing off the super bowl interview. it was an nbc story that prompted him to say some networks should have their licenses pulled. though the fcc doesn't license networks. last year trump acknowledged to lester holt that his firing of comey wasn't based on the report from the justice department. president trump: i was going to fire him. but he made the recommendation. howie: the president said part of his comment were cut out.

and he says mike todd is a nice guy but on air he turns into the monster. there have been incidents at the white house where they yell. what prompted barack obama to sit down with bill o'reilly. donald trump is a 24/news making machine. he doesn't need the super bowl to get his message out. so he will be watching the game like the rest of us, except he will be at mar-a-lago. sean spicer is next. on whether he has scars from his white house duty. you won't see these folks at the post office.

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howie: in the midst of a fierce media debate over the russia investigation, the hotly disputed memo and the state of the union, i was in new york when i spoke with sean spicer, the former white house press secretary. much of the media are painting a picture of the president going after the media to undercut the mueller investigation. sean: the president has a right to make his position clear on issues. between top investigators at the fbi, there seems to be some merit to the president's concern. if you are going to be investigated, you have a right to make sure people understand the full context of what's going

on. in leave it those text messages, there were people who had been about their dislike of the president. howie: will you concede there is partisanship on both side. if barack obama were under investigation and was pushing for the release of classified information, and if you were at the rnc, you would be going bonkers. sean: sure, i'll give you that. the dnc folks, i don't know if they have the money to have staff these days. that's their job. that's what you do. the difference is as a citizen, and as a journalist to some degree, people have to be able to sit back and figure out, okay, call balls and strikes. if you are a fan of a team, when your pitcher is out there every pitch looks like a strike to you.

that's why we have umpires. howie: the president was criticizing his own attorney general, jeff sessions and you had to navigate the difficult waters. sean: there were a lot of difficult things, that wasn't on the list. howie: the state of the union were here is what he had to say about that. president trump: even the haters gave us good reviews. they came up with fake polls. but the fake polls were even good. howie: haters? fake polls. sean: you look at cnn. it did its own poll. 70% of independent thought it was a good speech and they found ways to talk about it wasn't a good speech. if you are going to do a poll. what's the point of doing it if

everyone on air -- if they throw out all that and talk about how bad it was. i have seen dial test polls from cnn and other outlets that said it was well received. it was amazing to watch the hand wringing from the mainstream media. he gave a really good speech. howie: let's clear up something from my book "media madness." my account is based on four sources. but jonathan martin is denying it. when you were at the rnc, he had a conversation with a staffer that worked for you. shiewn * the staffer related a story in the midst of a discussion they had been told by him that by being a spokeperson in supporting the president, then candidate, and his policies, they were com -- were

complicit in being a racist and they were concerned with that accusation. howie: is it true you called the "new york times" and you got a call from jonathan martin. shiewn * i calle -- sean: i called and said that was inappropriate behavior from a reporter. i got a call back from jonathan saying he didn't find it acceptable that i had gone to his editor to express his concerns. howie: you said? sean: i said i haver right. the behavior and accusations you launched against the staffer were uncalled for and i have every right to call the editor to express my displeasure. howie: the president used the term "haters."

i don't think he means everyone. the overwhelming negative coverage of the president you worked for is not just ideology. there is something cultural about it. something about donald trump as a candidate and as a president gets under their skin. what did you come away with after all those months of doing combat in the white house. sean: the pew poll which is well regard shows the negative coverage of trump is three times that of anyone close. i think it was 5% of the coverage was positive which is significantly less. i have always been a believe the press' job is to be tough. but it's also to be fair. you call balls and strikes. here is what the policy is, here is what the actions are. but i think the media has a

conservative bias. howie: against conservatives, you mean. sean: correct. i know they whine and moan. but all the objective data backs that up. it's not just what gets covered, but what doesn't get covered. howie: does president trump contribute to the hostile relations with his attacks on fake news and hostile journalists? sean: i think he has a responsibility to call them out. part of the reason is when you get questions -- let me give an example. a reporter calls and says some people are saying the president's action are ... who? i think sometimes it's the reporter who is their own source. they are going to koicht in some

say, or people are saying. who are those people. i talked to 18 voters. here is what they say. i think reporters make up narratives that fit with what they believe. the problem is this. what makes this different is while reporters have always had an anti-republican and anti-conservative bias. regardless of party there has been a desire to develop the relationship recognizing i need you, reporters will tolerate republicans and conservatives. the difference with trump is because of social media, he doesn't need them like other politicians have needed the press in the past. howie: interesting point. later sean spicer on whether he made mistakes.

howie: more of my conversation with sean spicer but first a quick look back. sean: at some point report the facts. every single person who has been briefed on the subject has come away with the same conclusion. republicans and democrats. i'm sorry that disgusts you. you are shake your head.

howie: when you were press secretary did you get too personal in going after reporters? and did the president encourage you to take an aggressive tone? sean: i regret some of the reactions i had, regardless of whether they were deserved or not. on whether a reporter crossed the line or went too far. but i should have been the better person in that moment. there are times i look back and say two rights don't make a wrong and i should have been the bigger person in that instance and not kind of lost my cool or my temper. howie: were you under pressure your boss to be as combative as you were. sean: there are times when he might have said we need to correct this. i took that as, let's go charge the hill.

sometimes it should have been more carrot than stick. but it was never a direct order to attack this guy. i think sometimes i got into the moment because of what was not just perceived, but what was false reporting or false narratives being created. howie: as you are making the round do you have a sense some of your skeptics in the media want to see contrition from you and want to say i'm sorry, i screwed things up. sean: because it's trump and because it's conservatives. everybody who has had that podium has made mistakes. i probably made them on a bigger stage than others in the past and gotten more attention for them. but it's amazing how many mistakes reporters make and never correct them. i made mistakes absolutely. but there has to be a.

did i make mistakes absolutely. but we all make mistakes. howie: let me close with this. now that you are not working for the white house. you are writing this book. and you are going on television. can you be an independent voice and would that include criticizing the president if you think he has done something wrong? sean: i made a comment post state of the union, i think the speech was really good. i think not following the days tomorrow on the content of that speech was wrong. i think i can be helpful in suggesting how things could have or should have been done differently.

howie: sean spicer, thanks for joining us. after the break, more on the house memo. it

howie: it's a tabloid tale that found its way into the press. melania trump, out of sight since report of husband's infidelity. and then this, she rode

separately to the state of the union. should major news organizations be reporting melania looks bad, melania didn't go to davos and fanning rumors about the marriage? gayle: no. but right, wrong or indifferent they will probably keep doing it. breitbart's coverage of her outfit when she went to florida was much more relevant. when we think of first ladies like jackie kennedy, that's what we want to see. howie: after the chatter about hillary clinton's marriage, the press doesn't need to go there. cathy: the press does need to go there because melania is part of

history. if she doesn't ride to the state of the union with her husband, yes, this is part of history. the "new york times" had the right to report on history. howie: we'll agree to disagree on that. the "new york times," the coverage is the memo is undermining the government. gayle: they dwelled on "washing"

christopher steele, the ex-spy who wrote the dossier it's an open question whether steele's buy pass matters if the information provide was sound. the argument is the nunes memo doesn't discredit steele or the information itself. cathy: we are seeing a greatdown in people's trust of the media and the republicans and democrats and the fbi with this memo. people are confused. they don't understand. it's the media's job to dissect it and explain it. i think all institutions are

having a problem with a trust issue with the american people. how the media will handle this in the future will determine how people will feel about it. howie: the memo has been caught in the crossfire. "the plot to stop mueller." obviously republicans and some conservative media folks are trying to undermine the special counsel investigation, but it doesn't mean the information isn't accurate or relevant. gayle: the former director of the fbi james comey said the dossier was salacious and unverified. i disagree. the fbi used at document commissioned by one presidential campaign to spy on another presidential campaign. this is not watergate, this is ocean-gate.

cathy: the president used the memo to discredit the fbi, so that's what he's using it for. this memo will hurt the fbi and hurt a lot of people. we don't know what's going to come out of it. living up to its reputation at the moment. it's showing two sides right now. howie: the press clearly focusing on the battle between the president, the fbi and justice department which is unusual even for washington standards. some praise from reporters who exposed the horrible wrongdoing of olympic doctor larry nassar.

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athletes. reporters doggedly pursued' documents in 15 states and he has been sentenced to 175 years. uma thurman says harvey weinstein pushed her down a and he tried expose himself. she says she was like an animal willing away. it's a powerful column by

maureen dowd. there is a report on a company that sells fake twitter followers. two thumbs down. you know what twitter needs to do? require that people can't join, can't sign unless they use their real names and photos. this edition of "mediabuzz," thanks. big power outage at the bureau and they managed to figure out how to keep the show going. let us know what you think that howard kurtz -- @howardkurtz. if you want to write to us. mediabuzz@foxnews.com.

super bowl sunday of course. ready for the big game. we are back next sunday with the latest buzz. >> to goal here is to undermine the fbi, discredit the fbi, discredit the mueller investigation, do the president's bidding. >> the president's position on dreamers and daca is very bold. is very clever for him to offer more on daca than what most republicans would have offered. >> brady under pressure. escapes the sack, launching one for the end zone and for the philadelphia eagles the long drought is over. >> we've got it.