ahead. people are paying a lot of attention. >> julie: a horror story for every parent out there who has a child, daughter or son in college. >> ed: is "outnumbered" in the meantime starts right now. see you tomorrow. >> fox news alert, president trump commuted his 14 year prison sentence. the democrat has served eight years for convictions on 18 counts of corruption and other charges including trying to sell former president obama's old senate seat. president trump calling his punishment excessive and saying it involves many of the same former fbi officials who investigated his own campaign. >> people disagree with the sentences, there was a prosecution by the same people, the same group, he will be able

to go back home with his family, after serving eight years in jail, tremendously powerful senses. speak to the others include former nypd commissioner, finanr michael milliken and one-time san francisco 49ers owner. this is "outnumbered" and i melissa francis. here today is fox business network anchor dagen mcdowell, fox news contributor lisa boothe, host of the evening added on the fox business network liz mcdonald. and in the center seat today, richard fowler, radio talk show host and fox news contributor. we are going to get to reaction on the couch in just a moment but first i want to go to matt who is outside their home, matt. >> at any moment, they are set

to hold what they are calling homecoming press conference here at their chicago house. as they begin speaking i will be quiet and toss it over to them, the first time the couple couple mutually addresses the world since nearly eight years ago. the former governor was released from federal present and took flight home from chicago. insisted he was innocent of corruption charges and still insists that as he exits prison, saying he did not break any laws and that the charges were "routine politics." blagojevich says he is not democrat but a trumpocrat and is thinking the president. >> my fellow democrats have been very unkind to him and what he did was i think something that deserves a great amount of

appreciation on my part personally, he has for me my deepest, most profound, and everlasting gratitude. >> blagojevich says he will now fight for justice and says he met people inside prison, especially people of color he feels were unfairly over sentenced for crimes like first-time drug possession. >> i've missed my daughters, missed my wife, it's a broken and unfair criminal justice system, it's a criminal justice system with too many people who have too much power and don't have any accountability and they could railroad people. >> the president so blagojevich was a contestant on his former reality show but the president says he doesn't know blago that well. his decision to commute blagojevich's sentence is being applauded and condemned.

"we believe he received an appropriate and fair sentence which was the low end of the federal sentencing guidelines. blagojevich is the face of public corruption in illinois and not once has he shown any remorse. history will not judge roger blagojevich well." this is about the millionth media stakeout outside the blagojevich home, there are reporters here, at any moment we expect to hear it directly from rod and patty blagojevich and we will bring that to you when it happens. melissa? >> melissa: the president's barking backlash in the political world including from 2020 candidate bernie sanders, who tweeted "today trump planted clemency to tax cheats, wall street crooks, billionaires and corrupt government officials, meanwhile thousands of poor and working-class kids sit in jail for nonviolent drug convictions. this is what a broken and racist criminal justice system look like. richard, i will ask you if that's fair given that this is

consistent with what the president has been doing, he's worked for a criminal justice reform especially with nonviolent offenders. obviously this is someone who was on the apprentice, blago had pandered to him by writing up beds but it isn't inconsistent with his policy on nonviolent offenders and how much time they should serve. >> richard: there is no question the president has the power to pardon, commute sentences and he did this year. the problem with commuting the sentence in particular is that this individual is the face of public corruption. if it's about holding folks accountable and -- >> melissa: eight years isn't enough? not that he wipe to the slate clean but that he served eight years. nonviolent offenders -- >> richard: he sold a senate seat. >> melissa: it wasn't just that. >> richard: he also had

millions of dollars to pay for an adequate defense. it's one thing to talk about commuting sentences of those individuals who don't have money to pay for a defense and they are in jail because they can't do that. but it's another example when you have an individual who is a millionaire who has swanky houses we are looking at here, who was pardoned because his wife came on our air and on top of that, you know, he was on the "celebrity apprentice" and now he's free. >> dagen: the five republicans who represent illinois and the house of representatives also pointed back put out a joint statement criticizing this. >> melissa: do either of you guys know the names of the two women who were commuted on drug sentences? >> dagen: i'm just saying, the five republicans who came out and put out a statement, blagojevich is the face of public corruption in illinois, not once has sh he shown any remorse for his egregious crimes.

this commutation overshadows the good work and the go to clemency grants were ended and also i just want to point out, mike milliken has done more for not only financial innovation but curing cancer in this world than bernie sanders could ever hope to do and in fact, rudy giuliani ran the u.s. attorney's office that prosecuted mike milliken and mike milliken when rudy giuliani was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he called him on the phone to give them guidance on treatment. rudy giuliani came out in favor of this part of mike milliken, that is some incredible forgiveness and redemption and this cancel culture we live in that we must point out. >> melissa: go ahead, talk to me about the three when we were talking about. >> elizabeth: it is being criticized as a re-the swamp. your points are well taken, but

the three women were supported by alice johnson, she had her life sentence for an nonviolent drug offense commuted. the president has commuted three other women sentences. it's a broad perspective about excessive prosecutorial sentencing. harmful to a lot of these cases and that is where the debate is, president is defending. speak to anyone that's out there saying they want a more equitable and fair criminal justice system but thinks it's fair for roger stone to get 7-9 years or for blagojevich to serve 14 years in jail for a nonviolent offense isn't for a fair or equitable justice system. bernie sanders said this is an example of a racist and broken system, president trump is the one that got criminal justice reform done. he's done more for criminal justice reform than any of the democrats running for president

he met president right now. one of the women we've mention mentioned, she was one of the drivers of criminal justice reform, or alice johnson who president trump commuted who has become the face of criminal justice reform efforts. i think bernie sanders should maybe sit this one out. >> melissa: let me ask a question, dagen makes a really good point, the idea that the conversation, the conversation should be about four nonviolent offenders, what is too much, what is enough? dagen said by including blago in this group, you kind of shift the conversation away from that to this famous person who got attention because he is famous and able to reach out. it does distract from what the conversation should be about what is the right amount for nonviolent offenders. >> richard: i think that's absolutely right, let's use alex johnsoto alice johnson as an ex, she was a single mother trying

to take care of her children, she got a life sentence for transporting cocaine. blago, public corruption, there are still millions of people behind bars who have life sentences for nonviolent crimes and this individual who is a millionaire, you can see his house right there on the screen. for no reason in particular -- >> lisa: you are advocating for an unequal system. >> richard: it is an unequal system. >> lisa: you are saying because of his race and income, he's not supposed to have the same treatment? >> richard: i'm saying a single mother who is poor -- >> lisa: president trump has been advocating for a completely equal criminal justice system especially for nonviolent offenders. >> richard: how does that work, though? >> lisa: there's an op-ed in politico from a reporter who covered the blagojevich trial who said that basically the general assumption from everyone

was 14 years was ridiculous and the judge handed down a sentence for mob informant who killed 14 people, he got 12 years. the same judge. >> richard: this is part of the point, how do we live in a world where alice johnson gets a life sentence, a single mother who can't afford a defense and blagojevich who sold a senate seek its 14 years. >> melissa: ironically you are all saying the same thing. the two perpetrators in chicago and you're saying none of it stacks up against -- >> dagen: i want lisa to answer, how do you explain the five republicans from illinois and the house of representativ representatives, darin lahood, john shimkus, adam kinzinger, rodney davis, why did you do this? this guy is corrupt, he shouldn't have gotten a commutation. >> lisa: why do i care what they have to say? >> dagen: you are republican, you should care. >> lisa: i look at this and exercise my own judgment.

>> dagen: are they corrupt and on the wrong side of justice then? >> lisa: i disagree with them, i think i'm entitled to that opinion. i have my own mind and i can think for myself. that politico piece from a reporter who covered this at the time who said the general thought process from everyone was that this was ridiculous, 14 years for nonviolent offenses when a guy who was killed of the part of the chicago model they got 12 years? >> dagen: alice johnson served 22 years. >> melissa: what about that point that chicago has a terrible reputation for public corruption, we are always talking about one story or another, he is the face of someone who has done that, was it a mistake to let him out even if he deserved it, blago, because it does make it look like you have a politician getting off early. >> elizabeth: we have these many swamps around the country, not just chicago,

i'm just struck by this, blago on audio saying "i've got this thing and it's golden, meaning are not giving it up for nothing." i think it's a bigger story about how many pardons and commutations this president will enact, i think reagan had nearly 400, carter more than 500. this president going down that road pretty rapidly. >> melissa: we are waiting for this homecoming press conference of rod blagojevich and his wife, we will bring you that as soon as it happens. meanwhile, new polls show bernie sanders with a significant lead over the democratic field but michael bloomberg is quickly gaining on him. while the gloves come off when the two come face-to-face tonight on the debate stage?

>> today we say to all of those billionaires who think they can buy collections, we are a democracy, not an oligarchy. ♪

hey, son, i wanted to have a grown-up talk. uh, dad i - aw, psshaw, i thought i knew it all too. but i'm still learning things. your mom makes sure of that, ya know what i mean. what? look, like rakuten. you can easily rack up cash back on tons of stuff. cool. like travel, clothes, concert tickets.

it's better to be safe than cash back sorry. alright, good talk. your room smells. it's weird, i don't know what that is. get cash back on thousands of brands that you love. cash back. rack it up with rakuten. my grandfather had an but ancestry showed me get cash back on thousands of brands that you love. so much more than i could have imagined. my grandfather was born in a shack in pennsylvania, his father was a miner, they were immigrants from italy and somewhere along the way that man changed his name and transformed himself into a successful mid-century american man. he had a whole life that i didn't know anything about. he was just my beloved grandpa. bring your family history to life like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com i need all the breaks as athat i can get.or, at liberty butchemel... cut. liberty mu... line? cut. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. cut. liberty m...

am i allowed to riff? what if i come out of the water? liberty biberty... cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

>> lisa: fox news alert, a new set of national polls showing bernie sanders' urging, joe biden dropping in mike bloomberg steadily gaining speed. turning 27% support among democratic primary supporters in a new "abc news" "wall street journal" poll. limburg ties elizabeth warren at 14%, meantime a "washington post" "abc news" poll joe sanders leading the

pack by double digits, 16 points ahead of biotin. all of this as bloomberg prepares to make his debate stage debut in las vegas where he is expected to endure an onslaught of questions from opponents. >> richard: we are very early in this primary, there's only been about 60-some odd delegates allocated, and i think that same poll we just talked about showed all of them beating donald trump, they have biden beating donald trump by seven, sanders beating donald trump by 6. i think president trump is a very worthy adversary, it's going to be a tough november no matter who the nominee has but we have very good candidates. i think it's going to be a debate about ideas. >> lisa: if you look at a head-to-head between

bernie sanders and bloomberg, bernie sanders and pete buttigieg, bernie sanders wins by double digits. our people ignoring the inevitable like they did in 2016? >> elizabeth: i want to look more about who actually was polled. i think that with bloomberg tonight, he's not going to be able to buy a debate performance. the way he could win is saying none of your policy ideas have ever been seriously contested and up congressional vote. we saw the entrance and exit polls in iowa and new hampshire, we've seen a number of polls, and the battleground states saying no, we don't want single-payer. the single-payer plan fails in the battleground states because those battleground states have higher rates of insurance coverage, health insurance coverage because of the national average. because of labor unions.

bernie's plan would wipe out the pentagon plan, medicaid, medicare, why not fix what we've got? final point, obama officials would say bernie never got 60 votes for anything. >> melissa: i think that really it's about personality and who can bring out passion and we don't vote as americans on specific policies and i think that tonight many americans for the very first time are going to meet mike bloomberg and fall asleep while he's talking. if you live in new york and you've seen him, it is not a riveting performance, he's tweeting like crazy today and i would submit that he hasn't written a single one of those tweets, he's got somebody he's paid to tweet the same way he's paid people to go to everything else and when america meets him tonight i wouldn't be surprised if his number speak right here. >> dagen: i want to follow-up on what she was saying, you're right, he might be worth

$63 billion. the last time i checked you can't get a personality transplant and hiserkiness is his own kryptonite. with all the money he's lot of n that stage and he's going to have to stand over his record as new york city mayor. he can make the case which is very interesting to the voter, that i built this business, i am worth billions and billions of dollars because i built this, i represent the american dream, i think people like me should pay more in taxes but i don't believe in getting in the way of this kind of success and realizing a dream and if he starts talking about that -- >> melissa: he speaks so close slowly he won't get that in. >> lisa: something bloomberg told reuters in an interview earlier this month, and the contrast of some of the other

candidates experience with his success. joe biden who is vice president made speeches somebody writes for him and pete buttigieg, mayor of the town, none of them would know how to run a big organization. richard, what i find interesting is why do you think the left is propping up bloomberg so much when he hasn't even competed, he hasn't won a single delegate yet, he has not competed in a debate yet, he's completely uncontested. >> richard: i think michael bloomberg is propping up michael bloomberg, i think he's paying for ads, he's built quite a campaign around himself and he's asking voters to consider him as an option. what i think, i got a chance, they brought up the same point about bernie that you just brought up. bernie has been saying the same thing for 30 years and he's got none of it done and that's the contrast they're going to try to make between elizabeth and bernie.

>> elizabeth: to your point, that bernie has dodged what elizabeth warren has put up and answered, bernie has not been answering like elizabeth warren has been answering about the joke about bloomberg in new york city is that he was about to outlaw elevators and escalators to make everybody take the stairs. the two he promised to govern in the exact opposite way he did in new york. maybe mayor mike would be a great president but that's not who he says he is now, he's denounced all of his policies in new york and everything from the way he handles criminal justice to the way that he helps business and lowers taxes, he's talking about jacking taxes. >> dagen: he raised taxes on high earners, property taxes at least twice based on my memory. he raised sales taxes and he raised hotel taxes.

to balance the budget and turn from a deficit into a surplus. given the direction this country in terms of our indebtedness, if something bad happens between now and november he could make a very serious case. >> lisa: i think elizabeth warren is going to have a hard time drawing a distinction when she has also supported medicare for all. what amy klobuchar told a heavily hispanic crowd that may have fallen flat as a moderate democrat tries to race out of the factory president trump defending his use of social media as he admits it makes the attorney general's job harder. to stay with us. ♪ i have huge money saving news for veterans.

mortgage rates just dropped to near 50-year lows. one call to newday usa can save you $2,000 every year. and once you refinance, the savings are automatic. thanks to your va streamline refi benefit, at newday there's no income verification, no appraisal, and no out of pocket costs.

activate your va benefit now. one call can save you $2000 every year.

>> melissa: former governor of illinois right now coming to the mic after having been pardoned by president trump, he had been in prison for eight years and now he is home and he's going to speak to reporters here. he is joined by his wife, let's listen. >> it's been a long time since i've shaved with a normal razor, takes a little practice, sorry about that. >> he couldn't find where i put his socks this morning. >> a lot has changed in the nearly eight years since i've been here. let me say a couple things, first of all, the obvious i want to say and i know i speak for patty and damien dandy and obviously obviously for me, we want to express our most profound and do my gratitude for president trump. he didn't have to do this, he's a republican president, i was a

democratic governor and doing this does nothing to help his politics. president trump is a man who is tough and outspoken but he also has a kind heart and this is an act of kindness and i believe it's the beginning of a process that -- to actually turn and injustice into a justice. sorry about the blood. all these years away, i never stopped reminding myself of the words from a poem, "go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of god. that shall be to you better than light and safer than the known way. it's been a long time since i've been home, nearly eight years, nearly three 3,000 days. i suppose a better way to measure how long it's been is our daughters amy and andi.

it will be two years this spring since amy graduated from college and now just recently amy earned a masters degree. i'm very proud of you, sweetheart. an andie, our younger daughter when i left, she was about this high. look at you, sweetheart. look at you. my baby is growing up so fast. again, on behalf of my family, we want to express our profoundest gratitude for president trump, it's been a long, unhappy journey, hard years for our children, hard years for patty and for me. i spent my first 32 months in prison, nearly three years behind with the inmates called razor wire. you can go near that fence, if

you do there are prison guards armed with machine guns who have the discretion to shoot you. i didn't go near that fence. the buildings behind that fence where the inmates live and sleep are squalid places, cold and dark like tombs. about 900 inmates there, drug dealers, cartel members, bank robbers, men there who committed murder, con artists, 2% of the population were in the so-called white collar category. for most of the time there, my home was a 6-foot by 8-foot prison cell. the big, heavy iron door that can shut you in. a small window with bars on it and a bunk bed. i would look and pass those bars

out into the night sky and think of my children, think of patties i would say to myself, one day, one day i will make it back to you. and hold your hand, sweetheart. and i would remember what a gracious thing it's been to walk through life with you. she sure is something. anyway, again, on behalf of patti and amy and annie and me. president trump is not a typical politician. he's tough, he's outspoken, he gets things done. he's a problem solver in a

business where too many politicians don't want to solve problems. i am a trumpocrat. i don't know that they will allow me to vote but i'll get into that in a minute. let me just say, our president is tough and outspoken and he has the courage to challenge the old way, that's why he gets so much pushback. he sees wrong and he tries to right it just like in the case of alice johnson, the grandmother from alabama who served 21 years in prison as a first-time nonviolent drug offender, a life sentence is a first time nonviolent drug

offender. one of the better illustrations that shows how the federal criminal justice system disproportionally discriminates against african-americans and people people of color and how the 1994 crime bill has led to the creation of what the author michelle alexander has called the new jim crow in america. you know what i'm talking about. the 1994 crime bill passed by my fellow democrats before i got to congress. ofortunately as soon as president trump learned of the injustice he immediately put a stop to it and sent her home to her family and because this is a president who gets things done, through his leadership and with the help of organizations, president trump was able to build the necessary bipartisan support to pass the historic first step act, a new law that begins the process of reforming a broken criminal justice system and putting an end to the racist injustice caused by that racist 1994 crime bill.

as for me, obviously i've got -- >> melissa: that is the former governor of illinois having returned to home after having a sentence pardoned there. expressing contrition not so much but rather waxing poetic, i don't know, that was tough to swallow. in case you didn't know, the reason he's bleeding there us because he said he cut himself shaving, he said his freedom was stolen from him which is a little tough when you hear the tapes end of the calls. the one thing he did say there that ring true was that this doesn't help president trump's politics. your thoughts on that? >> richard: here's the truth, the truth of the matter is this president is spending 50% of his digital ads targeting african-american voters. i'm not sure of the president wants blago as his spokesperson for that particular law, a rich

white guy who benefited because he spends with with the president. >> lisa: i think you're so wrong because the whole point is to have a more fair and equitable system, if you're talking about fair and equal, across-the-board -- >> melissa: let's not go down this road again because we did that in the first block. >> richard: i think we can all agree on that. >> melissa: not a lot of contrition there, he's talking about how he's looking out the window into the night knowing that god is going to deliver him to his wife, i don't know. that was kind of tough to stomach there. >> elizabeth: this feels like the same blagojevich that we saw when he went into prison, he's positioning himself as a master storyteller, working the narrative, bringing up criminal justice reform, bringing up racism when he was accused and convicted of corruption, of selling then senator barack obama's seat, there's audiotapes of him

talking about it so i don't know if this plays and i don't know that the president wants him campaigning for him. >> dagen: he has his freedom, use it for a better good. >> melissa: start with saying i'm sorry or something like that. >> dagen: "i learned a lot." >> melissa: were moving on. amy klobuchar looking to capitalize on her third place finish in new hampshire about polls show her failing to connect with minority voters. after she was unable to name the president of mexico. >> i'm sorry to ask this but do you know who he is? >> i know that he is the mexican president. >> can you tell me his name? >> no.

patients that i see that complain about dry mouth. they feel that they have to drink a lot of water. medications seem to be the number one cause for dry mouth. i like to recommend biotene. it replenishes the moisture in your mouth. biotene definitely works. [heartbeat]

now you can, with shipsticks.com! no more lugging your clubs through the airport or risk having your clubs lost or damaged by the airlines. sending your own clubs ahead with shipsticks.com makes it fast & easy to get to your golf destination. with just a few clicks or a phone call, we'll pick up and deliver your clubs on-time, guaranteed, for as low as $39.99. shipsticks.com saves you time and money. make it simple. make it ship sticks. >> dagen: 2020 democrat amy klobuchar taking heed online after this attempt to equate to an audience of culinary union

members in nevada. >> and i took spanish in fourth grade, my name was elena. they gave me the name because i couldn't roll my arms very well. >> dagen: one critic tweeting this. >> aside from the authority of this comment, amy klobuchar remembers her name from fourth grade spanish but does not know the name of the president of mexico. all this as polls show that klobuchar and pete buttigieg are struggling to connect with minority voters as the campaign trail moves into the states with racially diverse electorates made in buddh pete buttigieg in, pete buttigieg averages 11.5%, klobuchar sitting at 7.5%.

she should know the president of mexico but this is tough, what do you think of it? >> richard: this is a tough primary and it's just getting started. i think every candidate is entitled to their gaffes, this is all long, long primary. on the democratic side of the republican side, this is what happens when you're on the campaign trail. with that being said, i think a lot of that candidates are going to have trouble in the primary states, when we get into the south, talking to african-american voters, there are going to be some real challenges for a lot of these "front runners" and that's why i think it's very hard to say you have front runners. poor amy i will give her credit, she has ran a good race, she was a -- very far back and we are actually having a segment about amy which proves she is viable candidate in this race.

mayor pete was a mayor that we couldn't pronounce his name, now everybody is saying mayor pete and we know how to pronounce his last name so that gives him a point in my book. >> melissa: i hate when reporters do this during presidential campaigns because you know you can sit there before an interview, we all know we could do that, and come up with a thousand got your questions and trip up the person you're interviewing, it's just not really fair. at the same time, you know, she obviously didn't handle that situation on the stage that well. but you're right, we are talking about her and mayor pete but notice how they've kind of sunk back now and we are seeing the same trend we did with the republicans last time around where it feels like everybody has their week in the sun, you got a peek at the right moment and both she and mayor pete feel like they're sliding. >> lisa: i feel like, don't pander. when does pandering work for anybody? it never works.

that was the word i was looking for. >> dagen: you know what you were thinking? >> lisa: that was actually a continuation of what i was trying -- pandering doesn't wo work. and i actually think it's demeaning and belittling because the highest form of respect for people is just to talk to anyone like they are a average, normal people. it's the economic issues, health care, education, all the issues are the same and i think it's really demeaning and belittling when someone changes the way they talk to a group of voters to try to pander to them. thank you everyone for the help. >> elizabeth: a mistake or a gaffe could really change the race against somebody, we were talking about rick perry in

2011, he said i want to get rid of three departments and he couldn't remember the energy department which he ended up bleeding. we all know, the soviet union is not dominating eastern europe, we know candidates say 10,000 words day, will he say hey, we don't want this candidate because they are still so out there with that mistake. >> dagen: since we just passed this new u.s.-new mexico-canada trade deal, she should know who runs mexico first of all. and she's got to focus on latino voters this year. for the first time latino voters are going to be the nation's largest racial or ethnic minority.

>> elizabeth: the president's numbers from latino backers are going up and are higher than they were in 2016, he's got about 29, 30% of latinos saying yes to him. >> dagen: attorney general bill barr considered resigning from his post over president trump sweet. how the president is now admitting that he actually does make bill barr's job more difficult. ♪ liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. i love you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ >> man: what's my my truck...is my livelihood. so when my windshield cracked... the experts at safelite autoglass came right to me. >> tech: hi, i'm adrian. >> man: thanks for coming. ...with service i could trust. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

can you help keep these iguys protected online?? easy, connect to the xfi gateway. what about internet speeds that keep up with my gaming? let's hook you up with the fastest internet from xfinity. what about wireless data options for the family? of course, you can customize and save. can you save me from this conversation? that we can't do, but come in and see what we can do. we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. ask. shop. discover. at your local xfinity store today.

>> melissa: attorney general william barr has told people close to him that he has thought of quitting over president trump's tweets but that he has no plans to resign at this moment in the meantime, the president defending his use of twitter even as he admits it does make the ag's job harder. the president also says he has the right to intervene in criminal cases but he has not gotten involved in the case of his long-time ally roger stone. >> i chose not to be involved, i'm allowed to be totally involved, the chief law enforcement officer of the country, i've chosen not to be involved. >> melissa: i don't know which part of the story i believe, i don't know if they will pretend to have this dustup in public so

ag barr can look independent or if this is -- this is, the president can agree to disagree with someone who works for him, what you think? >> i think there's been disparate sentencing problems for years. as dagen has already pointed out, npr, "wall street journal" has reported it, doj officials said it was excessive. >> melissa: that justifies the president street? >> elizabeth: that's the issue, the debate is should he have tweeted? we have the criminal probe still underway. i think the president is maybe realizing i should just back off. we've had sentencing problems with the college admissions scandal, the commutation -- excuse me, money laundering. that issue has been out there, that is what's at stake.

>> richard: i'm not sure which one it is but i think what's more troubling here is there is an emergency meeting of federal judges are about the president tweeting and intervening in these cases and that is what's been so troubling for the attorney general because the moment the attorney general loses its credibility with federal judges overall or when he walks into a courtroom, he doesn't have the respect of the judges. that means he's unable to do his job as the attorney general, chief attorney for the american people. >> lisa: by stepping forward and saying please stop tweeting, you're making it really hard to do my job, does he get some of that credibility back? >> dagen: he certainly tries. i don't loo look at bill barr ad think, whatever he's told the president, he will say it publicly. when he did that tv interview, i assumed he'd already had that conversation with the president of the united states, reports suggest he had had that conversation but ultimately, to

paraphrase a "wall street journal" editorial about this, president trump needs bill barr more than bill barr needs to be the attorney general. the last out of their minds liberals, they don't want president trump to have an ag at all but bill barr has been a good one. >> melissa: along those lines, what about president trump calling himself the chief law enforcement officer? >> lisa: i love attorney general barr, that is the best decision president trump has made. if he's asking for some it, give it to him, give them a break. for as much criticism as he's received, he hasn't done anything worthy of any loss of credit ability, this is a guy during the mueller investigation who went above and beyond what he even had to do to try to make sure there was transparency for the american people. he should be praised for the actions he's taken as attorney general. we are at a really pivotal point right now because in order to bring justice and accountability

to the department of justice there needs to be a serious review of what went down when you have 17 errors and omissions going in the direction of hurting president trump, a lawyer for the doj, fbi that straight up changed, doctorate and email. >> melissa: really quick. >> richard: the other job of the attorney general is to manage that building and to manage all u.s. attorneys across the country. the moment you start to lose faith of attorneys all across the country and u.s. attorneys, i think that -- >> dagen: they are employees. >> melissa: coming up -- ws. newday usa can help you refinance your mortgage and save thousands a year. newday's va streamline refi makes it fast and easy because there's no income verification, no appraisal, and no out of pocket costs. i urge you to call newday usa now.

we are the thrivers. women with metastatic breast cancer. our time for more time... has come. living longer is possible - and proven in postmenopausal women taking kisqali plus fulvestrant. in a clinical trial, kisqali plus fulvestrant helped women live longer with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. and it significantly delayed disease progression. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious liver problems and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ( ♪ )

ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. ( ♪ ) finding the right words can be tough.n it comes to autism, finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org

>> take a look at this picture, that will put a smile in your face. that's ryan newman, who was involved in that horrific crash at the daytona 500 on monday night. he has with his two daughters, there you go. josh fenway said that, true to

his jovial nature, he's been joking around with staff, friends and family, playing with his two daughters, fully alert and walking around the halifax medical center. god bless you ryan newman. meanwhile richar richard fowler, thank you also. take it away melissa. >> newly freed former governor rob blagojevich speaking out hours after president trump commuted his sentence. he walked out of prison yesterday after serving eight years on corruption and other charges for trying to solve former president obama's senate seat, but he has maintained his innocence to this day. a short time ago the former democratic governor join his family outside of the house calling himself a freed political prisoner. expressing gratitude to president trump for commuting