white house communications director in a number of weeks. the move costing president trump one of his longest serving aids and strongest defenders. this is outnumbered. i'm harris faulkner. here today is sandra smith, co-host of after the bell on fox business melissa francis. >> hello. >> harris: fox news analyst marie harf is in the house. and that laugh is. [laughter] fox news senior judicial analyst judge andrew napolitano is outnumbered on a friday eve. >> judge: and happy to be here. >> harris: get to it. we have a lot of news. >> yes we do. >> harris: the white house said hope hicks' decision to resign unrelated to interview this week before the house intelligence committee and she was considering the move before the domestic violence controversy broke out over former white house staff secretary rob porter whom hicks had been dating. a former trump campaign official told politico her departure will leave the president and white house

without expert trans later. she was a good buffer. she knew what the president wanted and explain to to the communication shop and execute it. cowngs lore to the president kellyanne conway real estated in earlier today on "fox & friends." >> hope has been doing this for three years nonstop. and i think the president spoke for all of us who have had the privilege an of working with hope. she is fantastic and done a tremendous job for him. she is the kind of person as general kelly said is wise beyond her years. very poised. very talented. and wielded a great deal of her power very quietly. >> harris: all right. let's talk to the judge. tenures of five white house communication directors were much shorter than hope hicks. that's the number that they have reached at this point. >> it's a very large number for an administration that's only in its 14th month. but i will tell what you troubles me. you and i talked about this before the show started.

was statements she made and i think this troubled the president. statements she made under oath to the house intelligence committee in her job she told white lies. now, that apparently language apparently infuriated the president and it preceded her announced departure. the white house is trying to walk this back saying she had been planning for a long time to leave. it's hard to believe that the two are not related to each other. so, if you say under oath i told white lies in another venue, the next inquiry is what were you lying about and why did you lie about it? this conversation, this testimony was in secret. we don't know what she was talking about. we don't know why she used that language. we don't even know how it got out. >> harris: so, let me ask you that. there is a problem, i think legally, too, with these leaks. because now it gets complicated. nothing should have come out of that meeting. >> people leak when they want to damage are control the message. so somebody wanting to harm

her or push her along on what she says was her long standing decision to leave at some point. leaked this out. and its inexplicable what she would say that and what she was talking about. supposedly the president was furious. >> harris: what's getting her to talk about actual tenure wasn't year and change. she had been with the president something like three years and they really had formed a bond. it's tough with your inner circle to lose someone like that. >> the way they talk about her, she was a real trump whisperer. she was the one that could sort of talk to him in a way he understood, translate for him, i think is the word that they used. you know, it strikes me that one thing we have learned about the president is that he is comfortable with women and generals around him. look at the people. >> harris: that makes him smart. >> women and generals, mercedes schlapp is another person who has really excelled in her role. we know her from here. but she is a very kind,

smart, level, capable she is a mom, calm all the time. one of those people that reminds me a lot of sarah huckabee sanders. they have a lot of similarities in terms of how they deal with people and how they keep their calm. i could see somebody like that. it's definitely a blow to the administration. it's hard for me to believe that this was really just her choice right now. >> harris: do you agree with the judge? >> i actually think that john roberts has walked or contradicted some of that reporting that he doesn't think that's accurate. i wasn't there. i don't know. i don't want to really weigh in on that. but, you know. when the rob porter thing happened. i think we were on the couch together. >> sandra: john roberts reporting in here on that. he said president trump did not think that her white lies comments were a good thing to say. and he did speak to her about it. but he did not berate her is the reporting. >> harris: i'm from the south and i have heard the term. but maybe not everybody has.

what's the difference between one lie or another? >> maria: you know who is going to be asking her that question. >> harris: i have only heard my grand mother. >> sandra: white lies he can't make it to this particular meeting or function today when he has something else going on. >> when he doesn't want to go. >> maria: do you know who will be interested in that answer is bob mueller. the fact she has left her white house job does not mean she will not have to answer additional question to the special counsel or congressional committees. >> that is a great observation. she has already been interviewed by bob mueller. if he calls her back, we will know why. >> sandra: and senate intel. latest waste house intel. she has been asked questions from robert mueller. >> harris: i do want to say jason miller pre-inauguration never actually served but he is on that list. showers, michael dub key, and we know anthony scaramucci and hope hicks: you talk about mercedes schlapp. somebody with a lot of

communications background. she and her husband cpac. matt schlapp. she does a fabulous job at organizations. those of you was who have known her for years. is this a job you want right now? >> maria: that's a question. one of the reasons they gave hope hicks the job is because they were having trouble finding someone from the outside to come in and take it after anthony scaramucci. hope was already there. she already had the trust of the president. >> harris: and she was good. >> maria: she is there. mercedes is there at the white house. think from all accounts has the trust of the president. >> harris: and she is good. >> maria: she is good. i would be shocked if they found someone from the outside to come in. these are high pressure jobs under the best of circumstances. >> harris: looks awful. >> maria: this administration has been through a lot. >> melissa: i would not want that job. it looks 24/7. it looks like one headache after another. i know there is a lot of prestige and all that stuff afterwards. >> harris: but it always is. >> can the president afford these losses? this was human being almost

alter ego for him in terms of thinking and translating and leaking in her ears. >> harris: and no leaks. >> person whose loyalty to him that he wants self-discipline and loyalty. top of the line. can he afford these losses? >> harris: what do you guys make of anthony scaramucci coming out and blaming john kelly chief of staff for creating a morality situation. those are his words. there is low morale. >> i know is he a friend. i was disappointed with that. >> sandra: doesn't very an ax to grind. >> a little bit, yeah. >> maria: people on the outside. reports that corey lewandowski or others have been advocating. have been bad mouthing john kelly. around the rob porter thing i think corey did it on our network. i wasn't surprised to see anthony scaramucci to do it. palace intrigue going on and jockeying -- >> harris: go ahead. >> harris: i hear the phrase palace intrigue. it's not a palace. >> it's the people's house. and actually it's not just

intrigue. i think the people have a right to know what's going on. >> maria: i agree. >> harris: the white house staff to their credit, their communications department. their press secretary, they have been pretty much out front when these things have happened. we didn't have to go looking for anybody when rob porter. >> a president should not have to be reinventing the wheel with new buys around him especially when had somebody there three years and had his 100 percent trust. he can't be happy this morning. >> sandra: the president did bring up the white lies comment with her. john roberts is saying his source is that he never brought that up wither had. he had come to her or she had gone to him and said that she had other opportunities. and he listened to that and sent her on her way. >> harris: all right. there you have it. the judge is fine. perhaps he is just happy to be with us. >> i'm sighing the person they talked to is whoever leaked the white lies information. this was secret testimony. >> harris: that's where i started with it and i have

had that issue all along with these behind closed door meetings. is the door a screen door? >> only when the leaker wants it to be. >> harris: let's move on. attorney general jeff sessions is pushing back against the president's public rebuke of him. it came after mr. sessions announced the inspector general will look into alleged obama era abuse of government spying powers. the president said that is not enough. is he right? and, more than a dozen house republicans are calling for second special counsel to look into the justice department's handling of the hillary clinton investigation. can the investigators investigate themselves? stay with us. >> the fbi and the doj can't investigate their own top people. ♪

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sap san new reaction to trump calling out jeff sessions on twitter. the tweet came after the attorney general's announcement that the doj inspector general is investigating alleged obama era abuse of government surveillance powers. the president tweeting why is ag jeff sessions asking the inspector general to potentially massive fisa abuse. isn't the ig an obama guy? disgraceful. a short time later the attorney general released a statement. sources tell fox news it was

a direct response to the president. sessions writing, quote: as long as i am the attorney general, i will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor. president george w. bush's former attorney general michael mukasey also weighed in. an investigation of the sort the president was talking about. crime, there isn't. need to investigate the ig is the first to investigate the rules and procedures were followed. if he unearths something accurately: pub push ig and every responsible person understands that. >> sandra: then last night this picture emerged showing the attorney general having a lovely dinner with deputy a.g. rod rosenstein and upscale washington, d.c. restaurant. reportedly the president has also been critical of mr. rosenstein. so very interesting dynamic

going on here. >> harris: some sort of support group? >> yes. figuratively and literally. >> sandra: were they sending a message to the president? they have already said no this was not intended. >> judge mukasey, attorney general mukasey had the luxury of working for a president who when he wanted to talk to him wanted to disagree with him he picked up the phone and discussed it in the oval office rather than these tweets. this is very, very, very aggressive stuff. i have got to correct the president. mike horowitz, who is the i.g., the inspector general, is a george w. bush appointee who was reappointed by barack obama. he is respected by both parties, both sides. >> sandra: great point. >> both sides of the aisle. i think i understand the president's frustration. he believes the obama administration used the power of the government to surveil his campaign and that it was a political cruz that caused a federal judge

fisa court judge sign the search warrant. to him that's a crime. judge mukasey might be right it might not technically be a crime. the proper way to begin this investigation is the way the attorney general did, which is with an investigation by the inspector general, to see if any justice department regulations were violated. i understand the president's frustration. i wish he had expressed that frustration in private. i don't know how jeff sessions can take much more of this. >> melissa: to understand what the president's frustration is, is that he is a new yorker. we were used to attorney generals like spitzer, u.s. attorney giuliani. i know but i'm talking about the attack dog. when the attack dogs come out, those attorney generals and they go after who it is that is in their sight and my goodness you do not want those people coming after you, and they attack and rip them to shreds. that's what that role is here in new york.

>> harris: christie. prosecutorial. >> melissa: that is what the president thinks his a.g. should be doing and he doesn't see the attack dog. >> he doesn't have that kind of an a.g. >> sandra: dig deeper on what this relationship means. mike mukasey was asked about just. that is jeff sessions out? listen to what he said. >> if there is anybody in this world that has job security, he is the person that has job security. because of the person that would succeed obviously is rod rosenstein. >> find ago successor, a permanent one would take a long, long time. >> i'll say. >> i can't imagine that the senate would confirm a new attorney general. the president can appoint an acting attorney general. can appoint any lawyer as he wants the acting attorney general for 120 days then reappoint that person for another 120 days. i do agree again with general judge mukasey. firing jeff sessions now at this moment, we're going to talk about this later. >> harris: game changed

yesterday anyway. >> give god tore bob mueller. >> sandra: mueller is already looking into it to see if this would be on destruction of justice or anything else. >> maria: right. >> harris: game changed two fold, not only with that i think they are already missing hope hicks, right? because have you somebody there. >> back the president? >> maria: she hasn't been able to console the twitter. this comes back to the president being so angry at jeff sessions for recusing himself in the russia investigation. ever since then the president could fire him. he could have at any time. he just likes to troll him on twitter. i don't think it's about the substance of the fisa investigation. >> harris: couldn't the troll be legally. >> i think the president just likes to push jeff sessions and is trying to influence how he does the job. and we know now that bob mueller is looking into that in the context of the russia investigation. >> harris: what i'm saying regardless of whether or not you like it happening, does it have a legal -- if it doesn't have a legal -- then you move on. >> i don't think it has a

legal effect on jeff sessions. >> sandra: what about that picture last night of jeff sessions. >> the picture and the statement were out of character for jeff sessions. >> sandra: um-huh. >> push back at his boss. >> harris: he knows hey has power. did it show a message of solidarity between those top three officials? >> maria: i think so. >> melissa: the president is trying to push and goad and press him into being the attack dog wants. here in new york who he is used to who he has not wanted to have on him as a business person in, no. anybody in financial news we know what those ags are like if they go after people in new york or people on wall street. that's what the president wanted his own attack dog and did not get one. >> maria: that's not how it works at a national level. >> harris: turned his ire towards the president. this is a guy who has dealt with your sanctuary cities. jeff sessions has done a lot of what the president has. >> maria: he is so angry about the recusal.

>> sandra: looked like a lovely restaurant. >> maria: it is. i have been there. >> harris: sandra, you and i are just hungry. >> sandra: always. new call force a special counsel. house republicans sending a letter to attorney general jeff sessions. they want answers on the obama justice department's decision to end the hillary clinton email probe. and on alleged government surveillance abuses, as well as the launch of the russia probe. this comes as republicans have been stepping up questions about potential anti-trump bias within the justice department and the fbi. >> there are too many fbi agents and too many doj officials that need to be investigated, whether it's strzok, ohr and, of course, steele. fbi mi 6 formerly. all of those people need to be investigated and, you know, the fbi and the doj can't investigate their own top people. >> sandra: i will let the

judge answer to that. >> i think that's a very good argument that he makes. i don't want. nobody wants another special counsel. these special counsels have a mandate and then they expand it and expand it and expand it. >> sandra: and it costs. >> they are not accountable or answerable and go after whoever they want. look at the manafort indictment that had nothing to do with donald trump. however, it would be hard to believe that bob mueller could take this because james comey is one of his residence witnesses against donald trump. is he going to investigate james comey for alleged corruption and letting hillary clinton off the hook. can main justice do this? it would be a very difficult task for them to do and congressman gohmert has a good point. >> sandra: melissa, you seem wanting to jump in. >> i agree with the judge as usual. it's just one of those things that i think we're going to have watch and see play out. >> harris: that's why he likes you better. >> don't get me in trouble. >> maria: there is a chance that the inspector general

and team at justice can do this fairly. 13 members of the house -- can you find 13 members of the house to sign on to anything. that's not that many. >> harris: not nice. >> maria: happens to be true. we cannot jump to the conclusion yet that now you are worried about me being nice to congress. >> harris: not really. >> maria: i think. >> they are a bunch of conservative republicans. let them have it. [laughter] >> maria: we should see if the ig can do this. if they can't investigate themselves this is why this is set up. that's the process. let's see if it works. >> harris: we were august talking about the missing text messages. they didn't just find them they found them expeditiously. >> melissa: look who is here. >> harris: here they are. >> senator sessions called for mrs. clinton's indictment. can he now as attorney general sessions preside over an investigation as to why she wasn't indicted? and can he do it with intellectual hun necessary city. >> that is a good question. on the flip side that is a

good question. political appointees in charge of this now. >> getting into the words of one of the signees on one of the republicans who signed. this house freedom caucus chairman mark meadows said it's simple we have learned deeply concerning information on fisa abuses dossier. former fbi officials and more and stinks to high heaven. americans deserve the truth. >> does stink to high heaven. the evidence of mrs. clinton's guilt was overwhelming. the tarmac meeting was never adequately explained or explored. >> harris: and unacceptable. >> steps with the inspector general, we will see where it goes. >> sandra: perfect ending to that block. thank you and well done. right now another meeting at the white house on school safety is taking place after the parkland shooting. who the president is meeting with as we expect to learn more about his proposal to keep america's schools safe. plus, reaction to yesterday wants stung meeting at the white house. the president pushing for gun control measures that have long been radioactive for the g.o.p. what does this all mean and whether trump can succeed

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>> harris: fox news alert now. president trump is holding another meeting on school safety right now. is he hosting families of shooting victims. the white house is expected to announce today concrete proposals on improving school safety after these meetings. and this after yesterday's remarkable moment at the white house. the dealmaker in chief stunning some lawmakers, republicans and democrats alike by pushing for some of the strongest gun control measures in decades. watch. i really believe it has to be very strong. i would rather have you come down on the strong side instead of the weak side. the weak side would be much easier. i would rather have you come up with a strong, strong

bill. >> harris: who saw this one coming? the president took a jab at the nra. >> they do have great power. i agree with that they have great power over you people. they have less power over me. some of you people are petrified of the nra. you can't be petrified. they want to do what's right and they are going to do what's right. >> harris: this might have been a jaw-dropper for some. taking guns away from dangerous people each if it violated their rights of due process. watch. >> i like taking the guns early like in this crazy man's case that just took place in florida. he had a lot of firearms. to go to court would have taken a long time. you could do what you are saying, take the guns first, go through due process second. >> harris: the couch is already talking about it first, let's go to kevin corkevincorke white house correspondent on the north lawn. >> you could definitely argue a much needed conversation taking place

here at the white house yesterday, harris. you saw the president talking there just about something that certainly raised a lot of eyebrows, a bit of nuances i think is fair to say behind that conversation. of course, did he go to twitter once again to talk about just some of his impressions following that meeting here at the white house yesterday. he said many idea, some good. some not so good emerged from our bipartisan meeting on school safety yesterday at the white house. background checks are a big part of the conversation. gun-free zones are proven targets of killers, after many years a bill should emerge, he wrapped it up by saying respect second amendment. now, that meeting unpacked a number of possible solutions to the problem. including raising the legal age to purchase some guns. >> i'm skeptical about that. i don't think the ages have been handed down by moses. i think we can have that discussion. but i know for a fact that in pennsylvania most 18, 19, and 20-year-olds buy long guns because they are hunters or they go target shooting and they are not a

threat to anyone. i'm reluctant to say that whole category of americans has to lose their second amendment rights. >> pat toomey on the money there. according to many who were in attendance. now, the white house is saying today, look, the president's idea is just that it's one of many approaches that could ultimately help keep our kids safe. >> the president is saying stronger background checks. thes president has called for raising the age as has dick's sporting goods and walmart and others, perhaps raising the age when you can buy certain firearms. those companies have to make a business decision. is he leading the nation in a conversation. >> meanwhile nra spokesperson dana loesch was on "fox & friends" this morning. and she was talking a bit about what you mentioned there in that lead-in, harris, this idea of taking guns first and then figuring out due process after the fact. take a listen. >> one of the things that nra leadership stressed to the president on sunday is that due process must be respected. you have to hard school protect kids but due process must be respected.

>> now, the president's remarks were obviously a reference to the shooter down in florida. but the idea, white house officials say, is not necessarily to sort of make some broad sweeping policy change but rather drill down on this idea that if someone has tons of red flags, there has to be something law enforcement can do about that, harris. >> harris: kevin corke, thank you very much. i do wants to tell everybody because we may have to break away. sandra is going to pick it up when the live news happens. we are expecting an event minutes from now. judge, what do you make of all of this? >> well, either the president was taking a -- it was just thinking out loud as he sometimes does or is taking a very, very extreme position for negotiating purposes so that the end result will be something that most people can live with. or he forgot that he took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution, which includes the second amendment, the right to keep and bear arms as a fundamental natural right, and the fifth amendment. if the government wants life, liberty, or property, it has to go through due process before it can interfere with them.

but that statement will really animate the gun owners of the country. and the nra against him. because this is exactly what they fear most. confiscation first, trial later. >> harris: hold on one second, i want to go to you, maria. this is farther than we have seen any democrat go. >> maria: democrats don't support taking guns before due process. i have said this so many times in the past year. if barack obama or hillary clinton had said we're going to take your guns first and then go through due process, i cannot imagine. it's hard to fathom the amount of outrage that would be there. and it's not a serious proposal. look, donald trump said some good things, yesterday. >> harris: maybe it is for the point of negotiation. >> the proof is in the follow through i think. >> sandra: it's already legal i was talking to one of the police commissioner in boston who was an expert on our program. his name is slipping my mind right now. talking about behavioral intervention team who when they get together they said the moment that he was torturing animals, which is against the law, read all the stories about him

hurting pets and birds. >> harris: pictures and stuff. >> melissa: in boston there is a behavioral intervention team people who can go out to the house. number one thing they can do is take away any weapons in the house. then they look into has he had mental health attention in the past? is there a crisis going on? is he in school? at that moment they say they don't have to get a court order. that they can take the weapons away at that second. already possible. >> they can take the weapons away incidental to an arrest. that's been the law of the land for a long time. if there is no crime committed and no basis tort arrest, they have to get a court order to take any property. >> melissa: his point was though in some of these cases they have committed a crime. in this case he did. the mutilation of those animals was a crime. >> harris: wow. >> judge: the government should have prosecuted him. >> harris: hard to get away from one thing. that is what the president has said. you know, leaving it up to the states though, you have massachusetts there. have you got the baker act for 72 hours of a mental

health hold. if they didn't use it in this case. >> he said that was another opportunity in boston they would have done. >> bake early evacuated him something similar up there. >> judge: the president's argument is it takes too long for due process. in every state of the union. state and federal court. can you get in with two and a half hours notice whether you have emerge jent application and judges said 24/7 for this purpose. >> melissa: what he says is just not accurate. >> maria: he put some things on the table the democrats weren't happy about. some points republicans looking around uncomfortable. proof in the follow through. this reminds me of the immigration meeting. and the proof will be. >> harris: well, but the immigration meeting had a different thing. the young people who were speaking out on that are here illegally. these young children who have just lived through and survived one of the worst mass shootings in u.s. history are young and they are out there with their voices and they are american citizens. >> the president's behavior was similar.

>> harris: that does make a difference how long this story has lasted and the depth of which. >> maria: i agree. >> harris: sandra, you and i were talking about the democrats around the table. dianne feinstein is so far away from where her party have right now. democrats have so far left that she was there smiling. she can't even get an endorsement to run again but she is now excited about something the president is saying. so that may lead to you believe what melissa is saying. he is doing this for, okay, everybody is at the table. effectively let's move forward now and find something in the middle. >> maria: she was excite you had about the fact that he seemed open to discussing an assault weapons ban which she had been a leading champion of and had the personal history with having been the victim and her. >> harris: also excited he was listening to her because no one else in her party seems to be right now. >> maria: that's a little is thasnarky: she has a personal hy of being victim of gun violence and led on the assault weapons ban when it was in law for academic

indicated. so, i think that what i was comparing to the immigration meeting in that the president behaved the same way in both. he surprised republicans. he surprised democrats. he seemed open to considering new ideas. and then after that, so everywhere of that feeling went away. and evaporated when he went back to sort of his original. >> harris: it wasn't around like i said, these young people who just survived. >> maria: how do we know the urgency is not going to evaporate now. >> sandra: you a are right. in that case with immigration he put forward his three or four pillars that had to be in there and not everyone ended up agreeing on that. in this case is he saying what's your idea? what's your idea? what's your idea? >> harris: i want to answer maria's question now. do you know why the urgency went away? march 5th is no longer the deadline. >> sandra: we have been awaiting the aannounce the from the president on steel aluminum imports. the president shear talking about it let's listen. >> the biggest steel companies in the united

states. they used to be a lot bigger but they are going to be a lot bigger again. and we have the big aluminum companies in the united states and they have been very unfairly treated by bad policy, by bad trade deals by other countries. they have been horribly treated by other countries. and they have not been properly represented. more importantly, because of that our workers and our country have not been properly represented. so we are going to build our steel industry back. and we're going to build our aluminum industry back. and i just want you to hear from a couple of the folks in the room. we have a few speak. but i might want to start with dave burt from u.s. steel was a massive company years ago. and got smaller and smaller and smaller and dave was with caterpillar for 30-odd years. >> 33 years. >> 33 years and did a great

job. they brought him in. he has been there for a short while. and he wants to build it back up. maybe you could say a little bit to the room and to the press about u.s. steel and where they were, where they're going, and what you think of what we are going to do. >> thank you, mr. president. >> thank you. >> and thank you for very much for your leadership on the issue and also commerce secretary, thank you, sir, very much. this is vital to the interest of the united states. this is our moment. it's really important that we get this right. the alternative that commerce secretary presented were all good alternatives and we trust your judgment in terms of the ones to be selected. we believe that the leadership that this administration has shown on tax reform is simply outstanding. the elimination of bureaucracy is simply outstanding. we trust your judgment on this issue, and having been somebody that has global views and believes in free trade, we know when it's completely unfair. we are not protectionists.

we want a level playing field. it's for our employees to support our customers. and when we get this right, it will be great for the united states of america. we have to get this done. >> and for your company and for your workers, and for so much else, even the security of our own nation. >> absolutely. >> you like the tariffs that we are talking about. you like the tariffs where they won't be dumping on our country. what they do is dump massive amounts of product in our country and it just kills, it destroys our companies and our jobs. and that's been happening for so many years. and we are not the beneficiary. you feel tariffs are the answer? >> yes, sir. the transshipments that go on, which you are well aware of. we call it the whack-a-mole game. it's time for whack-a-mole to end. it's past time for fairness here. thank you. >> people have no idea how badly our country has been treated by other countries

by people representing us that didn't have a clue or if they did, then they should be ashamed of themselves. because they have destroyed the steel industry. they have destroyed the aluminum industry and other industries, frankly. when you look at all the plants, the car plants, automobile plants. they have moved down to mexico for no reason whatsoever except we didn't know what we were doing. so we're bringing it all back. john, could i ask you to say a few words? >> absolutely. we believe very strongly, first of all, thank you. >> thank you. >> for the work that you have done as secretary we appreciate all the work that has been done on this issue. we believe very strongly that it's time with divisive and meaningful action to stand the flood of illegally traded imports into this country. and we are counting on the administration to fulfill the promises that were made and to give us that level playing field to compete. we are confident. we have 25,000 teammates that i always say we are confident they are given a level playing field. they will outcompete any

company and country in the world. all we want is a level playing field. today we are not getting that the cheating is phenomenal. the amount of sir couple convention that takes place is incredible. just look at last year. last year, mr. president, the imports increased 15% in 2017 over 2016. once we initiated the beginning of the 232, other companies saw this as a need to get in before it went into effect. what we are asking for today is past action and action -- fat action and action that will last. >> you know, i tell the story that a couple of months ago we put tariffs on washing machines coming into the country. they were dumping the machines all over the place. and we had lost our manufacturing abilities for washing machines. now we have plants being built. put a 30% tariff on. and we have plants being built and nobody has seen that in many, many years. and it's happening at a rapid pace. same thing with the solar panels.

we had 32 companies of which 30 of them were out of business. they were closed. and the two were on mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. they were finished. they would have closed pretty quickly. and now the two are doing much better. and they are talking about opening seven or eight of the old plants that were closed. and they weren't even so old, solar panels. so, a lot of good things can happen. the fact is we weren't treated and we haven't been treated fairly by other countries. but i don't blame the other countries. when i was in china i said listen, president xi, i said i don't blame you, if you are able to get away with making almost $500 billion a year off our country, how could i blame you? somebody agreed to these deals. and those people should be ashamed of themselves what they have let happen. so we're bringing it back and we are going to bring it back relatively rapidly and we're going to be instituting tariffs next week we will be signing perhaps some of you folks

will be here. whether you have new core, when you have u.s. steel. you have the great aluminum companies represented at this table. they have been disseminated. aluminum has been disseminated in the country. perhaps you would say something as a great aluminum company and that's been in business for a long time. how about -- >> thank you. >> your words on aluminum. >> thank you, mr. president. thank you secretary roth and the other members here. secretary mnuchin. we're in a situation where competing unfairly has meant that there has been capital depletion in our business. a lack of investment. that lack of investment is reflected in a lack of jobs in america. it's all been a matter of unfair competition. and we need a level playing field or we are going to lose our manufacturing infrastructure. and the national security issues that surround having a vibrant, capable manufacturing sector.

>> okay. we're going to take care of the situation. okay? so steel and aluminum will see a lot of good things happen. we're going to have new jobs popping up. we're going to have much more vibrant companies. and then the rest is going to be up to management to make them truly great. if you could ever make u.s. steel like it used to be would be very happy. and i actually think it's possible. but, you have a long way to go. i remember when i was growing up, u.s. steel, that was the ultimate company. and today you have so many closed plants. and the nafta deal was a disaster for our country. the wto has been a disaster for this country, for our country. in fact, the rise of china economically was, if you look at it, directly equal to the date of the opening of the world trade organization. it has been great for china and terrible for the united states. and great for other countries but terrible for the united states. so, we're talking about it. and two of the group that's

want to do some very fast action will probably have everything completed by next week. we'll be imposing tariffs on steel imports and tariffs on aluminum imports. and you are going to see a lot of good things happen. you will see expansions of the companies. i know that david, you said you would be expanding. tim, i know you said you were expanding. you are all pretty much all of you will immediately be expanding if we give you that level playing field. if we give you that help. and you are going to hire more workers and your workers are going to be very, very happy. again, what's been allowed to you go on for decades is disgraceful:disgraceful. and when it comes to a time when our country can't make aluminum and steel and somebody said it before and i will tell you, you almost don't have much of a country. because without steel and

aluminum, your country is not the same. we need it. we need it even for defense. if you think. we need it for defense. we need great steel makers. great aluminum makers for defense. so, we will probably see you some time next week. we will be signing it in. you have protection for the first time in a long while and you are going to regrow your industries. that's all i'm asking. you have to regrow your industries. mr. secretary, thank you very much for being here. we appreciate it mr. secretary, thank you very much. and we will see you next week. thank you, everybody. thank you very much. [reporting shouting] >> unlimited period. >> 25% for steel, it will be 10% for aluminum. it will be for a long period of time. >> thank you very much, sir. thank you.

thank you very much. >> 25 for steel, 10 for aluminum. thank you. >> sandra: that's the president following through on a major promise, a major trade announcement there. announcing new tariffs on steel and aaluminum imports as you just heard next week for an unlimited period of time no timetable. in that room was his commerce secretary wilbur ross and major heads of steel aluminum and steel companies in this country. at first you heard from john burritt. he told the president we are not protectionist. we want a level playing field. 25% for steel, 10% for anumeroualuminum all for a unlid

period of time. asked the commerce department to do review of those imports. secretary roth found that large amounts of steel and aluminum imports pose a threat to our national security. the president following through on a major promise there. new trade announcement and those are some big numbers. we will see how that all plays out. certainly moving markets as we speak. >> maria: new fallout in california after the mayor in oakland issued a warning impending raids by ice agents. thomas homan says the justice department is looking into bringing obstruction of justice charges against her. >> what she did is no better than, you know, a gang lookout yelling police. when a police cruiser comes in the neighborhood except she did it entire community. over 800 significant public safety threat criminals. these are people here illegally already and committed yet another crime. been convicted of a crime. she gave them warning. there is 800 that we were

unable to locate because of that warning. their community is a lot less safe than it would have been. >> maria: but the mayor isn't backing down. >> i continue to feel confident that what i did was the right thing and it was legal. did i not give specific information that could have endangered law enforcement. i encouraged people to not panic but to know their rights, to know their responsibilities. and to know about the unique resources that are available in this community. >> maria: house minority leader nancy pelosi weighing in as well. in a statement she says, quote: the trump administration's raids were shocking abuse of law enforcement power. half of those swept up in the ice raids have no criminal record. according to ice and their three-day sweep across northern california. they ardmore than 150 people. about half of those arrested have criminal convictions. including someone arrested for carrying a loaded firearm and selling drugs. and another suspected of

transporting cocaine and having sex with a minor. judge, i know you have many thoughts on this. >> well, i don't believe she is a candidate for obstruction of justice. it's a very, very technical charge, which requires that a sitting judicial proceeding be ongoing and you interfered with that proceeding by intimidating a witness. preventing the witness from going. getting the witness to change his or her mind. what she did was reckless and careless and probably endangered the lives of federal agents. but i don't believe she committed a crime. the governing statute here prohibits harboring a fugitive. meaning keeping the person from the -- putting them in her basement. that would have been something she could have been indicted for. but using words to say by the way if they knock on your door, ask them if they have a warrant, we have legal aid available for you and we think they are coming. as frustrating as it is to the feds. i don't think it's a crime. >> maria: when she explained it, she came across as very

measured, like she had thought through this a lot, you are right, in the court of public opinion, melissa, -- >> melissa: i think when you step back and look at the whole thing it could be solved and people who had committed a crime wouldn't be swept up if they were cooperating with ice agents at the courthouses when you had someone in custody for committing a criminal offense if then the before transferring them or releasing them or whatever it was you were going it do, just checked with ice to see if they were looking for them as well, i think ice is doing a lot of these raids in response to the fact and they said this, in one of the stories that they did with, i believe it was alicia acuna, if they were able to go to a courthouse and pick up somebody who had been arrested for something else, for robbing a store, for doing whatever, they wouldn't be raiding these houses. so it's sort of, you know, it's like when you talk about the poor people getting swept up who their only offense was coming here illegally and plenty of people out there who would quibble with that i'm not talking about that right now.

it would be solved if they were allowed to get them at the courthouse. >> sandra: it feels so wrong that the mayor of a u.s. city would do something like this, judge. and when i start to think okay, so, 23 one these illegal immigrants who was a criminal went and carried out a crime then that was shielded by the mayor's warning. >> judge: she has a political nightmare on her hand. >> sandra: carried out a crime. god forbid killed somebody or some other type of crime, would that victim then have a case against this mayor for helping shield that person? >> judge: she might well have a case against the city. here is a typical case. a person is here on a visa. they overstay their visa. so they are staying here unlawfully. they commit a crime. a state crime. they get arrested. they get bailed out. ice wants to be told when they're getting bailed out because have you somebody who, we believe, has committed a crime and they are here illegally. we want to deport them right away. that's the person that she is refusing to reveal the whereabouts of. they are not necessarily guilty of the crime. they have been arrested for

it. they haven't had a trial yet. and they are out on bail. >> maria: i just keep thinking i hate the fact that individual mayors, whether you agree with her or don't, we haven't had comprehensive nationwide immigration reform which i know is like a political pipe dream at this point with the mid terms. but the fact that individual mayors or individual governors, the rules are so different and they are trying to do different things. it's messy and it ends up in situations like this where there's no good outcome. >> does she have to do something like this in order to curry favor with the hard left of the democratic party in california? that has rejected senator feinstein? >> i don't know if her play here is a political one solely or if. >> melissa: what? >> maria: or genuine if what she believes ice is doing is wrong? >> maria: maria i have never heard of this woman i don't know if she has more political ambitions. i have never heard of her. >> is this popular in california what she has done.

>> melissa: probably is. >> in oakland. >> maria: probably is popular in oakland. not just among the hard left either. i would say. not just among the far left. >> sandra: tom homan says the don is looking into whether or not they can bring charges against her. >> i don't think they can. maybe they will be creative. >> maria: i don't think that's as much a legal threat as public reels drawing attention to this. >> sandra: shouldn't it bother her to have the director of ice say you are putting the lives of my officers at risk. >> melissa: you are putting the lives of these risk running because they think they is going to be a ravmentd. >> sandra: we'll be right back. more outnumbered in just a moment. helped him to fix his flat so he could get home safely. my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. don't worry - i know what a lug wrench is, dad.

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justice.sap san i said i will wing it. okay, judge, thank you. it's always wonderful to have you on the couch. >> thank you, ladies. thank you for the assignment. >> sandra: so much going on. thanks to both of you. we are back tomorrow with special coverage of the funeral of the reverend billy graham. it will all begin at 11:50 a.m. eastern time right here on the fox news channel. we have full coverage of that for you and more. a special just over two hours of that. join us tomorrow. now, here is harris. >> harris: sandra, thank you very much. and we'll begin with this fox news alert. the fallout after one the president's closest and most trusted advisors is leaving. let's go outnumbered overtime i'm harris faulkner. she is perhaps one the president's closest advisors

and the one who many say best understands him. hope hicks dropping the bombshell that she is stepping down. and while some reports say she had recently talked about leaving the white house, her departure comes just one day after testifying for nine hours before the house intelligence committee. and as hicks has been drawn into other controversies involving the administration. counselor to the president, kellyanne conway, on her impact. >> it's going to be very difficult to replace hope hicks in the hope role which was very multidimensional role over the course of three years. i think it's important to talk about those three years. we have been here for 13 months. but hope is one of those unbroken threads between the early days of the primary campaign all through the campaign, on the plane, practically every day. including on weekends with candidate trump during transition with him and with us and certainly here since day one of the administration. >> harris: chief white house correspondent john roberts joins us now from the north