conversation on twitter. we are back here next sunday morning. remember the time, 11:00 eastern. we'll see you then for the latest buzz. eric: major developments into the investigation of russian interference into our 2016 presidential elections as transcripts are released from james comey's testimony. and new questions are being raised over the direction of the special counsel. i'm eric shawn. arthel: i'm arthel neville. in another memo president trump's former campaign manager paul manafort is slammed for lying about his interactions with russians. but the white house says nothing

here involves the president. and here is the president with his take away. president trump: we are happy with what we are reading on the mueller situation because there was no collusion. there never has been. the last thing i want from russia is -- help on a campaign. >> after going dark for two months surrounding the mid terms. robert mueller has seen a high octane week into the developments on russian collusion. the team dropped memos on three of its key witnesses, michael cohen, paul manafort and. >> the indictments and filings show that the president was at

the sr. of several massive frauds against the american people. reporter: the sentencing recommendations for cone, he twice pled guilty. once in august for lying about his efforts in a til 8ing payments to foreign stars on behalf of trump. another memo alleging paul manafort violated his plea agreement. for democratic leadership certainly these memos spell the beginning of the end for donald trump. >> there is nothing definitive, but there is nothing that exonerates the president either. reporter: republicans say they still need a lot more info. >> before i make a public

pronouncement, i would like to have all the information. and i want us to finish our work on the senate intelligence committee. reporter: political analysts say these documents will only further serve to entrench people's previously held views. arthel: the leaders of the house judiciary and oversight committees releasing the transcripts from friday's closed door testimony. he spoke to reporters calling allegations of fisa abuse quote nonsense. here is senator lindsey graham on "sunday morning futures." >> he made a statement after he testified that they looked into that with sort of a joke. i don't think it's a joke at all that a warrant was issued based on a document paid for by a

political party prepared by a foreign agent that's unverified to basically surveil a member of the presidential campaign. i want to know how that happened and the role he played. reporter: friday james comey suggested republicans spent most of of the time talking about the hillary clinton email investigation. but the transcript shows most of of the testimony was the genesis of the trump investigation. according too comey nobody from the fbi ordered anyone to surveil anyone from the trump associates. we know two campaign advisors papadopoulos and carter page. but it's not clear hot other two are. two possibilities are michael flynn and paul manafort. it was interesting to see comey

come to the defense of peter strzok. he says strzok was the only one who knew they were investigating the donald trump campaign. he says it's hard to reconcile his not leaking trump associates were under investigation in his letter drafted to congress that hillary clinton believed her chances of being elected. republicans are taking aim at comey for what he didn't say while democrats are defending his answers. >> the biggest takeaway is former fbi director james comey with regard to the two most of important investigations certainly during this tenure as fbi director into the clinton email matter and into the russia collusion matter said as you noted, i don't recall, i don't remember, or i don't know 245

times. that is truly stunning since the fellow wrote a book about this. reporter: his batting tafnl was between .700 and .800. he could not answer certain questions because he is a material witness in the mueller investigation. the doj and fbi did not want him to answer questions about an ongoing investigation. this is not going to be the last we are hearing of this because james comey will be back on capitol hill tomorrow for another week of questioning. eric: let's bring in john sales. john, it's stunning that comey admitted the steel dossier was

unverified. it is as admit an abuse of the fisa process. >> in evaluating the testimony, i didn't discount him. but 245 times he said i am not sure or i don't know or i don't remember. it's hard to say what's fair and what isn't fair in that context. he's a man who pride himself in taking notes and making memos, particularly if it's something the president said in all these important matters, no memos to refresh his recollection? how can we evaluate it other than what he apparently said to congressman gowdy. you can't answer or you won't. and he said it's a little bit of both. if he can't answer, if we are coming to the end of the congressional session, we are stuck with that.

but if he says i have respect for the institution would say i won't answer. eric: he had a doj lawyer there. he didn't know the genesis of the investigation. he wasn't clear on that. here is the back and forth with congressman gowdy. when did you learn much gps and per kin coie? that seems to be a slam dunk to know christopher steele was being used by the fbi then fired for apparently talking to the media. he's the fbi director and he didn't know it? >> somebody who is a figurehead maybe wouldn't know it. but jim comey had a re reputatin

of being very hand on. when you have a sensitive investigation, i don't want to call anybody as not telling the truth, but it trains credibility. eric: do you think he's book and weaving and is a little punch drunk? 225 answers like that, i don't think there is much doubt there are a lot of questions, his batting average somebody gave, he doesn't want to answer questions. >> let me get back to the first question i asked. there was fisa abuse? >> i think it's something that ought to be investigated. i think it's always not only a good practice. i think it's essential that full disclosure be made to a federal judge. if it is true, and i on know

what i know from the media, there was material omissions going to the fisa court. as senator king said, we don't know all the facts, but they ought to be investigated. >> one of the answers he did say, peter rock and lisa page should have been taken off the case. they should not have been part of the investigation of the trump campaign because of those anti-trump texts saying trump cannot be president. trump is an i'd not. hillary clinton should win 100 million to one. he said if he knew by the he would have removed them. >> when it comes to doing the right thing, mr. comey said he would have done it. but i don't think he necessarily knew about those specific texts. but if there was a sense of bias in the investigation it was his duty to know about it. eric: he says the appearance of

bias is as important as the existence of bias. how do you come to that conclusion that there was no evidence of bias when you have those type of texts? >> to remove himself from any responsibility, and the head much an organization. as president trump says the buck stops here. arthel: millions of americans in the path much a major storm bringing snow and freezing rain across the southeast. several states under a state of emergency. in north carolina tens of thousands of customers are waking up without power and lots of snow on the ground. >> i'm in asheville, north carolina. the western county of the mountainous regions in north carolina are seeing the most of snow.

upward of two feet. we have 6 inches. you can see the accumulation on this vehicle. about 6 inches. they expect close to a foot of snow here. you talk about the state of emergency. the governor issued that state of emergency friday. he spoke just a couple minutes ago last hour and he said that this has just been a rough year for his state. take a listen. >> hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides, now a major winter storm that has hit us before christmas, mother nature has been hard on north carolina this year. our state has been tested like never before. the north carolinans are tough and resilient. we'll get through this storm and get back to business and school and get back to rebuilding communities that were hit hard by hurricane florence.

reporter: the interstates are the life blood all metropolitan areas. the plows have cleared the way on the interstate, but the roads are dangerous. this is a north carolina gas tanker that slid off the road and got stuck in the snow. the highway patrol said there were 509 collisions in the last 12 hours mostly due to speed. it's not just snow. it's the ice and sleet. not just the roads, though. the plows are out, 2,400 plows. but there is also the power situation. you mentioned that. 156,000 customers in north carolina are without power. 75,000 customers are without power because of this storm.

and they expect it could be upwards of 500,000. the charlotte international airport is the 6 in the largest in the country. 1,100 flight cancellations because of the storms. probably expect cancellations and delays to continue into tomorrow. you can tell. obviously the plows have done their job, they have come in. when you look at the trees, there is snow and ice on the limbs. that's why they expect with any mild gust of winds they knocked out power. we have folks over here building a snowman in the back. but be safe. eric: lawmakers leading to a

growing call for the white house to rebuke saudi arabia over the killing of jamal khashoggi. the fingers point to the crown prince. an executive shuffle within the trump administration. the white house chief of staff is set to leave that job. >> the presidential had nothing but warm words to say to john kelly. he served with honor and dignity. you have to remember, it's the president who is the leader. i'm ken jacobus and i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy.

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past anything that stands in its way. ...well almost anything. leave no room behind with xfi pods. simple. easy. awesome. click or visit a retail store today. [♪] eric: president trump making. >> changes at the top of his administration. the president announcing chief of staff john kelly will leave his position at the end of the year. the president saying he'll nominate attorney william barr to lead the justice department. here is peter navarro on this. >> the tradition of the trump administration for the two years i have been there. people come and go. it's time we get a change. change is good. it doesn't might's for the better. i wish the chief well.

and we'll move forward the way we have been moving forward. eric: we go to ellison barber who is live on the north lawn. reporter: the president ended the week a bang when it comes to staffing. he announced his pick too replace outgoing u.n. ambassador nikki haley and to lead the department of justice. mark miley will be the next leader of the joint chief of staff. and john kelly is leaving at the end of the year. general kelly's departure came after months of speculation. he said john kelly is leaving and he would not call it a retirement. >> i am worried about john kelly leaving the white house. i think he was one of the people

trying to influence the president not to fire mueller. there are concerns mueller may be on the chopping block. >> i am a fan of john kelly. he's a hardman to replace. no doubt about it. reporter report william barr was nominated for attorney general. >> he was a big supporter of the patriot act which lowered the standard for spying on americans. he went so far as to say the patriot act was pretty good, we should go much further. >> i think it's important to determine how he answers the question about the integrity of the mueller investigation. reporter: president trump says he plans to announce his pick to

replace general kelly in the upcoming days. sources are telling fox news the top pick for the chief of staff is mike pence's current chief of staff nick ayers. thearthel: we'll bring in steven nelson from the "washington examiner." tell us more about william barr and his d.c. paid grow. >> he has been attorney general before. he served from 1991 to 1993 under george h.w. bush. he's widely well regarded among republicans. he's measured in demeanor and tone. he has of course with his long track record in d.c. been involved in various political struggles and historical points of intrigue. there is going to be a lot to

pore over but the reaction has been largely favorable among republicans. arthel: i want to bring up a partial quote from republican senator susan collins of maine. these are the assurances she needs with regard to the russia probe. quote that he recognizes not only that mr. smaller has to be allowed to complete his investigation unimpede, but also that prosecutorial decisions that are made by the department need to be independent. and then you have senate minority leader chuck schumer of new york saying he wants mr. barr to pledge under oath before the senate to make mr. mueller's final report quickly available to the public. this is echoed by democratic senator dianne feinstein of california. how will william barr handle the

russia probe. >> if you want an idea what his testimony during the confirmation process is likely to be like, you can go to c-span and see his 1991 testimony. he's cautious in answering questions. he's a bit of a pro having done this before. he was taking questions over an obscenity task force. whether federal laws required crackdown on certain times of lewd content and he answered in a way that wasn't a bombshell answer. it was straight forward and not particularly flashy response. i imagine he would take a similar approach to the mueller probe. i imagine he would be cautious and state his commitment to abide by the law and not make

big waves in doing so. >> let's talk about general john kelly's year end departure as chief of staff. what will this mean about the white house moving forward. >> there are people who would say president trump has been his own chief of staff. other people note kelly is repeated to have been the voice of reason on some matters. but john kelly was reputed to have calmed down the president on his ridge forward jeff sessions. it could be that if he does -- if nick ayers does become chief of staff, he'll bring different operations to the white house. but this is president trump's administration. he has made the big and controversial decisions. arthel: you said nick ayers,

should he -- if he accepts the job, that he has young children in georgia, he wants to spend time with his family. should he get the post, ayers will be able to handle that gate. steven nelson, white house reporter for the "washington examiner." thank you. eric: will chain a make progress with the u.s. >> we are making more progress than ever before. eric: will the negotiations being in jeopardy due to the arrest of a chinese company executive.

and the jimmy hoffa trial, an admitted hitman said he shot jimmy hoffa in the back of the head it's part of our new fox nation special. >> jimmy hoffa is missing. >> jimmy hoffa is missing. >> this place went absolutely wild. we had people out with shovels digging looking for hoffa. >> the question is will the body ever be found. >> how many shots were fired at jimmy. >> two. he told me he killed jimmy hoffa and he gave directions to this house and described the layout. >> this is where he said hoffa was shot. >> i was allows -- >> it may have been a dead end.

>> did you think hoffa was going to get killed? >> i felt it in my bones. eric: it's all on fox nation. go to foxnation.com. check out my call to release the fbi files, all of them now. you can read that on foxnews.com.

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reporter: the government did release figures on friday showing a record number of arrests for people crossing the southern border. that number is over 51,000. if you come pair that to

financial institutions regarding business dealings with iran. the u.s. and china agree to halt any regarding the g20 summit. asked today on fox news sunday if he thinks the arrest could impact any agreements. >> it says hundred seems to me where you and i both agree the early returns of china are veryd it looks like we will get new actions. there is law-enforcement lane. they are different. i think president trump and

president she and lower officials will generate or continue to keep that difference >> in a statement, saying in part, the company has been provided very little information regarding that and is not aware of any wrongdoing. the company believes the canadian and u.s. legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion. also summoned by china on saturday and pressure to release the tech executive. next scheduled hearing is tomorrow. >> thank you very much. eric. >> 202020 presidential election. it is already kind of in full swing, and iowa, at least, for least, for the democrats. two dozen potential democratic candidates. the later untrained latest is michael bloomberg. des moines, iowa, with more.

>> is it true if you can make it in new york you can make it anywhere, even iowa? former new york city mayor michael bloomberg could join a lengthy list of democrats after a trip to the hawkeye state this week. he said the visit is to raise climate change awareness. >> i said i would look at it after the first of the year. >> it comes after other 2020 democratic prospects like corey booker, kamala harris and bernie sanders as well as biden has been impacted for months. knowing how critical supporters is for the first campaign season to mount a presidential run. >> iowa is not first because it's important. it's important because it is first. you built a race car. you put it on a track to see how it runs.

the political analysts say deep products will not guarantee a win over iowa voters. >> it is a very difficult fit for someone that has a large organization. these are very, very savvy voters. they are used to quitting anybody who want to present themselves as a potential leader of the free world. >> the early nomination and iowa could play their cards right. >> there is a high likelihood you will be the nominee of the party. >> whoever they pick as their nominee, goldberg says they will need to be strong enough of a candidate to compete against president trump. >> you have an incumbent president who is instant reaction is to strike back doubly hard. the democrats have to find someone capable of standing in the ring with somebody like that. >> limitless funding, contacts and an already structured agenda

to the table to face off against his democratic rivals. deciding whether to run early in the new year. in des fox news. >> growing fallout over the killing of washington post journalist. the senate looks increasingly poised to publicly the saudi crown prince. >> a wrecking ball. i think the guy is crazy. who in their right mind would lure somebody and have them killed in such a brutal matter believing you could get away with it? ♪ whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure. now up to 30 grams of protein for strength and energy!

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you're smart,eat you already knew that. but it's also great for finding the perfect used car. you'll see what a fair price is and you can connect with a truecar certified dealer. now you're even smarter. this is truecar. congress rebuke saudi arabia over the killing of a washington post columnist after a classified cia briefing last week. >> two analysts that walk

through the crown prince focus for about two years. this operation was very sophisticated. there is no doubt by any senator that received this anything that they were complicit in the murder of mr. can shelby. >> more from the new york city newsroom. >> since that cia briefing last week, senators on both sides of the isle have been calling for this administration to hold the prince personally accountable. following the briefing, the person in charge to murder the post contributor was crowned the right hand man. the treasury department did impose sanctions against 17 people said to be involved in the october killing, but president trump has stopped short of making statements

connecting him to the investigation and said stressing the support into the u.s. relationship with saudi arabia. the last time the president spoke on the issue was on november 21 when he said this. >> the cia has looked at it. they studied a lot. they have nothing definitive. maybe he did, maybe he didn't it we are with saudi arabia. we are staying with saudi arabia. >> columnist to take a stand growing louder. senator lindsey graham this morning on sunday morning futures. >> a vote in the setting untrained senate saying he was complicit. i will never support any more armed sales to saudi arabia. the crowd prince is a wrecking ball. i think that the guy is crazy. >> senator graham may have support to nikki haley. in an interview with the atlantic, the administration needs to decide whether the crowd prince needs to be held accountable. she said you have government

officials that did this in a saudi consulate. they do not get a pass. we cannot ever say it is okay. we can never support this behavior we have to say that. it has drawn criticism about the president's ties to saudi arabia the new york times reporting his son-in-law jared kushner even gave advice on how to weather the storm in the wake of cresse killing. >> thank you. >> a former deputy assistant. do you think the administration is responding correctly or they are not tough enough? >> eric, it is great to be with you. they are not being tough enough. the leader of saudi arabia is a reckless leader. he is taking saudi arabia in a very aggressive direction in the middle east related to cutter,

related to yemen, even with lebanon and kidnapping their prime minister. we will be led by saudi arabia into more reckless behavior. we need to put some boundaries on this relationship. congress is clearly concerns. bipartisan senators on both sides of the aisle. both chambers are expressing deep concerns. president trump does need to step up more forcibly. >> what type of boundaries? they did impose those sanctions against individuals believed to be involved. what else do you think the administration should do? >> the boundaries will clearly be related to physical support for saudi arabia's support in yemen. there will be a vote in the senate, a bipartisan measure. putting that out forward to try to solve american support for that war. other boundaries could relate to expanding the global. letting them know that this kind of aggressive behavior cannot go on.

we have a relationship with saudi arabia. it does not mean it is without any guidance. without any real values behind it. >> obviously seem getting away with it. remember that high-five with vladimir putin? >> having vladimir putin as your best friend, good luck and i wish him well. the american military, we are essentially the saudi military. we advise it. if he wants to go to the russians, saudi arabia will be in a lot of hurt. >> explain that a bit more. that is a major reason why the president has not condemned them more forcefully. he does not want to put billions of dollars of armed sales in danger. just go to russia or china and by up arms. do you think that holdup water? >> it really doesn't.

sales will, it is a poor deposition. the military, for decades decades now, has been a backbone of the structure. we are in their advising on a daily basis. they purchased our hardware for years. they cannot just overnight convert to this apparatus. they do not talk to each other. the president is making a point about economic benefits of the sales. he has overstated the amount of dollars that we would acquire from saudi arabia. we really need to make sure that this relationship works for us. >> finally, does maintaining the relationship, does that take precedent over moral or ethical clarity. >> i don't think we view these as two separate questions. we need a relationship with saudi arabia, no doubt. it needs to work for the interest in the region. a blockade in cutter where we

have an airbase. 11,000 american women and women sitting there blockaded by saudi arabia. we need to make sure they understand it is against american national security interests and they need to come pull back. khashoggi killing is a perfect example of a line this to get offkilter. >> we will see more action. we will see a cause of resolution this week. thank you. >> paris reopens the eiffel tower and other tourist favorites after clashes between demonstrators and police. reaction from the french president coming up next. ♪ taken with methotrexate or similar medicines, it can reduce joint pain... ...swelling and significantly improve physical function.

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new developments on a big story we are following overseas. french president breaking his silence with a tweet overnight. praising french police with their courage and professionalism. addressing this week as sites in paris reopen and workers are cleaning up the city. we are live from paris with the very latest. >> you are right. has not done too much more than that. after the chaos that we witness firsthand yesterday, the people here are upset.

picking up the pieces from those rights we saw yesterday. the most the rest ever in one day nationwide 2000 people. 259 people were injured including 39 police and the damage was the most widespread of any of the riots. the new report is a billion dollars worth of damage. we were in it for most of the day on saturday. it went into the night. it was ugly. the bulk of the so-called yellow best protesters coming from the heart plan of france a real punch from militants on the left and the right. anger over hikes in gas taxes. it is really more of a broad attack on taxation. a government felt by the people

out of touch. again, except for that tweet that we saw overnight from the president, has not been doing too much of anything else. he has given some grounds. back on those gas tax heights in another few areas. the greatest reports are that the president will speak to the people, finally tomorrow night. probably just in time. the protesters now are saying they will be out in the street next saturday. back to you. >> a big political test for the president there. thank you very much. that does it for us. we will be back at 4:00 p.m. right here on the fox news channel. another update on our investigation. you don't want to miss it. we will see you later on today. ♪ imagine traveling hassle-free with your golf clubs.

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the president said he set a record for too high. the most in congress in one day. how much the former fbi director said he could not remember when testifying friday. >> all eyes are on wall street opening bell after plummeting numbers over fears of the trade war with china. >> fallout today as folks wake up to the news john kelly is out as white house chief of staff. who might come president trumps third chief? ♪