happy new year to all of you. we kick off the program with high hopes of a happy healthy 2023. do they not understand that running for the house or senate will expose them to withering media scrutiny. if they have been harboring secrets this will be exposed. a republican who just won a house c.

his resume was largely fiction. -- the press card. no surprise that he is enemies of york times. coming to smear his good name. this week he admitted the times report on this fabricated background was true. journalism 101. graduated from new york's brook college. he said he worked for goldman sachs and citigroup. neither company had heard from them. he and his family on 13 real estate properties. there are records showing he was evicted from two queens apartments for not paying rent. which it makes it even more mysterious that he loaned his house campaign $700,000 for company with no clients and has no website and no linkedin page. none of this would've come out

of george santos had made his second try to win the house c. leaving him struggling to defend what he calls mere embellishments to his resume. i am howard kurtz and missus media buzz. ♪ my thoughts on the passing of barbara walters. twitter pressured into spending journalists and experts for contrary views on covid. george santos was a sorry sight when he was grilled by fox news host. >> i think that humans are flawed and we all make mistakes. i'm having to admit it for the whole country to see and i have the courage to do so because i believe in order to move past this and move forward i have to face my mistakes. and i am facing them. >> if i was one of those in the

third district right now and i'm finding out all the lies you told, not just one little liar one little embellishment, these are blatant lies. my question is, do you have no shame? >> and there is more. he is clearly catholic. he made up a story about his mother being jewish in his grandparents having survived the holocaust. >> i always joke that i'm catholic, but i am also a jew -ish. >> a day of interviews without really answering for his biggest lies and omissions. >> he says also to the new york post i did not graduate from in the institution of higher learning. i am embarrassed and sorry for having embellish my own resume. i apologize for that.

we all do stupid things in our life. >> if he's really embarrassed he should resign. >> joining us now as a political reporter for the washington times. from daytona beach, griff jenkins. you are both in florida on new year's day. i've got to figure out who arrange this. the u.s. attorney in brooklyn and nassau county long island conducting these investigation. what was the point of attacking over story that turned out to be accurate. >> i think he first believed he could come across as a victim of mainstream media attacks at many republicans have suffered through over the past of the years. it is a legitimate complaint. he is he an extreme complaint of someone fabricating their entire life to try to win the office. and it worked. the democrats really dropped the ball and are kicking themselves

over not discovering even a fraction of the bogus nature of his entire resume and social media history. it was just all out there to be discovered. we don't bet every single candidate that comes around, usually we hear from democrats or republicans. the whole thing was a big mess. i think for santos, you said he is facing two investigations. it is not illegal to live. he cannot be kicked out of congress for it most likely. the fact that they will look into his financial disclosure records, that is the avenue that could get them in real trouble here. >> it seems to me that this is no longer beltline. the guy in the woody allen film always showing up at these places. santos said his mother died in the tower on 9/11. a few months later -- no record

establishing any of this. it is almost broader in your political. >> i think peggy noonan got it right. he is like on "snl" for the pathological liars association. let me introduce to the first verb of 2023. that is when told see has an interview with you. you absolutely get crushed. this is obviously far more than just an embellishment of the resume. i interviewed tens of thousands of drunk people in daytona beach and they couldn't tell whoppers as big as george santos did. >> that is an unflattering comparison. it was the north shore leader

which exposed santos discrepancies months ago. nobody picked it up including the democratic candidate zimmerman. i do not understand how the other campaign doesn't make a basic few phone calls. i've got this article here. how do you respond. >> they may have been overconfident about holding that c. i don't think democrats in new york predicted they would lose the five seats they lost. i think in terms of flying, santos may be an extreme case, but telling whoppers in washington, d.c. is nothing new. a lot of big-time politicians up told serious lies to get ahead.

we could dedicate a whole show and not cover all the whoppers i've heard in my 30 years. i think this raises the issue of where do we draw the line. expelled from congress for telling a bunch of lies? what about going back and looking at the various lies that other politicians have told. where do we stop here? where's the line? i think he is an extreme case, obviously, the politicians since the beginning of time have tried to make themselves look better by embellishing their resumes. >> absolutely. did not graduate from a college or did not have the job you had. breaking the story with two metro reporters. he could win the election with these lies. as susan said, he will likely be seated next week. would this have blown up his campaign if it came out a few

weeks earlier? >> you would think so. this is ultimately between him and his constituents and nassau county. you are seeing the chairman bring some of the strongest pressure against him. this will have long-lasting effects. if he were to vacate the seed there would be a special election called. he could run again and see if the voters would accept that or not. ultimately, it is sustained. the only thing george santos has going in his favor right now is math on january 3. >> bringing me to the question i have for susan. kevin mccarthy not saying much about this. is it basically because he needs santos vote? trying to become speaker and the next few days. >> staying quiet is a way to go for kevin mccarthy.

kind of compartmentalize everything. first becoming the speaker. a bunch of conservatives may vote against him. multiple votes on the floor which is unprecedented in modern history. one of those members could end up getting in trouble legally or financial disclosure statements. maybe somehow being forced to resign or pressured out of office the politics here are really important. we in the media can cover the huge string of lies that santos is telling and was telling. you have to look at the politics both parties really want that seat right now. that will be a huge factor in determining whether santos stays or go. >> the stakes are high.

an openly gay republican. he divorced a woman two weeks before launching his most recent outs campaign. there does become a point without contraband you say, what is it about this guy's life and career that is true that i may still have some confidence in him. >> that is a much shorter list, clearly. this is significant stuff. i think, ultimately, speaking out on the other congressman elect is really telling it. you can go online about once a month the rnc tweets outputs on social media joe biden from years ago graduating top of his class. was not the case. particularly when the stakes are as high. >> i see the congressman elect

sends a very tough session. let me go back to my original question, susan. why would somebody run for office with a checkered past? this came up with herschel walker. he denied a bunch of things. just go do something else for a living and not face this white-hot media spotlight. >> i think for herschel walker there were people telling him that he could win. a lot of people pushing him into the race. for santos, watches interview with toll c. i think thinking about that in the way he looked at those lies, it probably did not matter to him going in and lying to voters. as he said, all politicians live. no biggie. >> shows you something about the state of affairs in the nation's capital. the headline in the paper told

you so. let me get a break. we come back house democrats released donald trump's tax returns and journalists are not finding much new. ♪

plenty of media chatter as democrats on the house ways and means panel released donald trump's tax returns. not much new that could not have been argued before. >> he is not the businessman he makes himself out to be. reported to the government he had negative impact of negative. >> the tax code is extremely complicated. there are a lot of different areas.

especially when it comes to real estate. it does not necessarily mean he did anything illegal. with that said, i think that there are load things he is covering up in his tax returns. >> questions about why donald trump paid close to zero his two years as president. why he was not audited. we knew about it a week ago. it's complicated this may be legal, this may not. >> the big question here is why is this in the public interest other than democrats really wanted to get at the tax returns. they've been pursuing it for years under the umbrella that trump was doing something wrong. they knew this would eventually get to the supreme court and they would have to fight. they finally got the tax returns and dump them in the middle of the holiday week.

nothing in there that exploited legal tax loopholes to pay as little in taxes as possible. no smoking gun here. this was a real partisan pursuit here. i think you have to look through that lens. while you are examining the tax returns. >> donald trump saying the radical left never should have released his returns. once again they show how probably successful i have been in have been able to use depreciation and other tax incentives as a way to start this. he is bragging about how little he paid. >> yeah. i am not sure if there's anything new here. donald trump spinning the fact that he lost money. look. i think that it is fascinating and the media.

there is not any clear indication he did anything wrong. where are you hearing other than an editorial about the larger story. which is the precedent that this sets. the political motivation with just days left in their house majority. this is, to be clear, the first time congress has released the tax information of a private citizen. the precedent that it sets to be used by other parties further precedent reasons. it is clear. it is not necessarily a good thing. it is predictable but at the same time may hold a little bit of water should we see this used again. perhaps americans, every day tax paid citizens should be concerned about what transpired. >> they are all legitimate questions of how you can use so much to offset past losses.

ordinary people do that in the stock market. there was such a media build up. donald trump will be showing, heading to jail. of course, it is just murky. >> and he is also a spy for russia. inc. about the things we've been saying about president trump for the past five years. it truly is a derangement syndrome. people that don't like trump are convinced that he is a criminal. democrats have clearly fallen in that category. they have created a bit of monster themselves with the way they pursued him politically. republicans are taking notice. i think that it is a dangerous thing. >> i think that is gotten lost in the holiday weekend did because this is complicated stuff. nothing to stop republicans from releasing hunter biden's taxes.

the january 6 committee just started releasing the final depositions. she regrets the tax. did not trust her husband's lawyer speared headlines before the democrats lose speared. >> that would likely be the case we learned nothing. we have a few deposition notes that were interesting from donald trump junior, but there is nothing new. it does not change a fact that now it is up to the doj. charge donald j trump or don't and let's be done with it. ready to see how this is her move on. very little in these depositions unless you are putting to write a longform book about it and needed these details that would certainly be perhaps a nugget or two. i did not see anything that

stood out. much of a headline let alone a game changer. >> mostly tidbits things that were left over. you cannot blame a businessman for taking legal advantage for things in the tax code. everything with trump gets cranked up to 11. it just feels like a media letdown. great to see you both. happy new year griff jenkins. >> thanks. >> the sad passing of pulpit benedict the 16th he stayed out of the limelight. leaving pope francis in charge. a hero to catholic conservatives some catholic liberals called benedict god's rottweiler. he took issue on hard issues.

conservative media often criticize francis style. benedict did have the rather thankless task of cleaning up the church's sexual abuse scandals. up next. the biden administration and covid. later.hu the legacyrr of barbara walters. ♪ 59 bucks. i mean, people deserve breaks, right? yeah, brakes...! [out of control] book an exam today at americasbest.com. there's something going around the gordon home. good thing gertrude found delsym. now what's going around is 12-hour cough relief. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together.

latest twitter files released by elon musk have shifted the debate on content with covid and what they don't agree with. the trump administration worried about panic buying at the start. blocking runs on grocery stores. the biden administration targeted certain people, journalists, as well as doctors

and journalists who wanted to kick off twitter. far more chilling and often succeeded. why former new york times reporter, very controversial reporter in the backseat. an executive said in december the biden team was very angry and wanted to deep love for accounts. twitter did not always rollover, but clearly this president tried to silence those that disagree with the cdc. i spoke more with our lead from harvard medical school who tweeted that vaccines were important for older patients and their caregivers, but those from having gotten the virus in children, they did not need it. the twitter team decided that was false. shadow band meaning his tweet could not be shared or liked.

precisely what happened with the hunter biden laptop. according to -- twitter being misinformation if you challenge the federal guidelines. public opinion evolves over time it is now at least a debatable saying their kids would suffer serious harm. prompted the technology giant then to blacklist the doctor from trending topics. >> it is strong lived. school closures. i'm hoping that they will reopen not a single child who died. i have that to put me the blacklist. >> he did not know at the time that twitter had suppressed his tweet speared the swedish doctor knew it happened in 2021. suspended for about three weeks

for offering this view. >> if you've already had covid, you don't need the vaccine. your natural immunity is stronger than vaccine immunity. why waste vaccines on people that don't need it? somebody thought that that was not correct. even though it is by many scientific studies. >> stunned that i could not express my scientific opinions on these matters. it's embarrassing for other social media. his linkedin profile was removed for a while. google's youtube censored. ahead of the medical agency about the lack of benefits for children wearing masks. elon musk has made his missteps.

the new policy is to follow the science which necessarily includes reasons questioning of the science. twitter is a private company that makes its own decisions. when it comes to covid has applied pressure. next some media buzz. inflammatory role in the growing polarization from biden to trump to musk. ♪

here is the overarching media question for 2023. a country is that is so polarized. divided. i put the fundamental issue to gail trotter who hosts a podcast and julia turner the fox news correspondent and anchor. welcome to you both. gail, is the media rock and explained in part by this? for two years now we have been

good morning camp speared donald trump perpetuating the big lie saying the election was stolen and the other camp trump and his allies saying the idea that there was an insurrection is the big lie. hammered told by the media. >> the media is amplifying the messages from the leaders of the two political parties. the media is not created in this polarization. they are amplifying these views of the same events. >> they also comment on what they are amplifying. >> they do. the criticism of the media and the circumstances there is a double standard. trump is not allowed to grouse about the election of the 202020 election. trump did not complain that biden was elected with the help of the russians and that biden

is putin's puppet. >> sometimes i feel like journalists are caught in the crossfire. >> i've no idea what you're talking about. [laughter] the demonization of the other side. it is not just that you are wrong, you are morally unfit. you are a danger to the democracy. >> i will say the people that saw in the capital on january 6 were actually a danger. some actually ended up killed, tragically. without relitigating the case. the former president's case struck down by dozens of courts across the country. as a journalist, if i'd ever have to cover those accusations again, with the january 6 commission, we can all move on and start to cover other things. >> with the battle of elon musk and twitter pale proving that

conservatives were blacklisted and so forth. now you have the old system discovering that they love free speech because they and their pals were suspended for a day. >> that was called out in real time and everybody could see that. you have this collusion between big media, big tech, big government which was all concealed. now that elon musk has revealed it either the media is not covering it or they are attacking musk. he is to be an amazing figure that everyone was so inspired by. now that he has revealed truth which is what the media is supposed to be doing, he is suddenly persona non grata. >> electric cars being attacked by the left. you see some dynamic with joe biden. it is not just that he is a dear to far left.

supreme court justice not tossing out the trump era title 42 protections. he is senile. he is not really in charge. he is corrupt. i don't think it is just us amplifying the message. people tune in to see what their commenters will say. >> a discussion about the president's fitness for office is not appropriate. there is actually a tradition that the health records are released by his physician to the american people. democrats introduced legislation in the house that could definitively rule on the president's fitness. everyone has a stake on this. >> some of the criticism from pundits crosses and offensive line as an attack on the president and is done in very poor taste. as a person that loves and respects elders in this country,

it offends me. >> we did get through a lot of bipartisan legislation. you look at all of these billionaires. trump, musk, even kanye. proclaiming love of hitler. it became impossible to ignore. then you throw in the dinner with trump in the organization's dropping him and you have a story. >> i made the point, i reiterated, when you see this type of context being put out by a leading figure you should not give any more air to it. the media is wrong to amplify that. i think with kanye it keeps going down to lower levels of platforms. i think that when that starts, the treatment of sam bateman freed with the entire unraveling there is definitely a lot of colorful figures. every side of every story in 2022 and it is catnip for the

media. >> did not bother tess very hard questions about how he tends to have these tens of billions of dollars. he took money from this guy. other people's money. i want you to respond to gail. should not have given kanye any attention. his career was sort of imploded before our eyes. part of me feels like when you have somebody who is a very public figure like kanye, arguably one of the most famous living people in america today, he is at a crossroads. a pop-culture icon, a performing artist -- recently, he has become an outspoken conservative. he checks a lot of the boxes. you have to report anti-semitic

comments from him so people know the truth about him. you don't ever want to repeat the lies and accusations that he himself has put forth. you have to cover him so that people know who he is. you don't want to repeat his lies. >> at some point, once you have reported on it is no longer a story. >> i would agree with that. i admired the nazis. so that you did not have to use a week-old soundbite. helping the situation where the country is so utterly polarized. good to see you. after the break, the secret gay history of washington. groundbreaking reporting on the shameful media outing or protecting prominent officials. ♪

a long and tortured history to being gay in this country. especially in this city. the mere fact of same-sex relations was a firing fact. keeping it quiet. a far cry from today's atmosphere. i sat down with the author of secret city the secret history of gay washington. welcome. >> thank you.

joe biden just signed into law a same sex marriage bill into law. there was a time where almost everyone was in the closet because you could get fired. tell me what happened back in 1942 when there was a police raid on a nazi men's club. david walsh in the new york post was the only paper to out him. >> a male brothel in the brooklyn navy yard. it was just a couple months into world war ii. the allegation was made that the senator walsh was a conservative democrat from massachusetts. in the presence of nazi spies. the post was a liberal paper back then. david walsh was a conservative fdr senator. a lot of politics at play here. senator walsh was not actually at this brothel. mistaken identity. >> but he got outed anyway. >> he may have been gay.

unclear to this day. he lost elections several years later. it really ruined his reputation. >> hitler was a homosexual list. fast-forward to the 1964 campaign. walter jenkins was arrested at a ymca restroom. >> they told him that first that they would protect jenkins. they would not report on this. it shows how different things were. they had good relationships. washington hands. they asked the editors not to report on a. the republican national committee also got news of this and released a cryptic statement. by then, there was no choice. the media had to report the story.

>> okay. 1981. nbc nightly news. you describe a shocking report on that network. trying to infiltrate d.c. homosexual alcohol at the aim of blackmailing their clients. >> there was not any evidence for it. you see this a lot. the sources were not there. a lot of rumors. a lot of speculation. >> anyone on the record? >> nobody on the record by name. you see a lot of these homosexual scandals back in the day. it lent itself very easy to conspiracy theories. >> legal services corporation director became the highest ranking government official to come out of the closet in a profile published by the new york times. >> he resigned the same day. he basically announced he was coming out of the closet while he was resigning.

he figured it was the reagan administration. it was illegal to be gay until 1975. you could not be openly gay. you could not even be closeted gay. if they found out, you lost your job. it was not until 1995 that they could have security clearances. >> later in the reagan administration, the head of the conservative pack and a closeted gay, died of aids. after that ben bradley told a reporter start research about a closeted gay conservative activist in the age of aids. what happened next? >> terry brother tony was the speech writer. the post was trying to get them to cooperate to go on the record to talk about it. they were very, very religious catholic family. very conservative. tony would have none of it. i found the correspondence between the two.

thanking ben bradley not to report anything. >> we have suffered enough. >> he was dead at this point. no ethical concerns with outing someone. they published a big thing from the washington post. when the chief speech writer, very unusual, he wrote to and 8000 word essay denouncing ben bradley. >> around a decade ago they did not come out of the closet, at least publicly. >> i think that it has changed for the better. i don't think being openly gay is really a bar. in most career fields. in washington, the first openly gay senate confirmed cabinet secretary. and in most newsrooms now. >> your perspective right in this book a gay man. >> you look at where it was when

it starts and they really are some -- they are medically deemed insane. sent to hospitals, castrated, electric shock. you cannot serve in the government. you cannot serve in the military using the first amendment. using the legal system. using our democracy to improve the situation for american citizens. >> some of that really starts barbaric. it shows you how much things have changed across history. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> still to come. the life and legacy of barbara walters a changed news forever. ♪ hot tub, why not? and of course, puppy-friendly. we don't like to say perfect, but it's pretty perfect. booking.com, booking.yeah. one role of a lifetime... one sore throat.

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i can still hear the annoyance and barbara walters voice about becoming part of the today show. she had to refer to frank magee. >> i cannot ask a question until you have asked three. >> a newscast with harry reasoner. so coldly condescending they could not be seated together so she went out and got her own exclusives. >> little by little, people could see here is a woman doing the same thing the men are doing and it is okay. >> suddenly she was being mocked on nfl. >> hello. i am barbara wawa. >> she shattered it. >> are you sorry you did not burn the tapes? >> i probably should have. i should not have even installed them. johnson sister was there. i have them taken out and i

should've never put them in and the first place. >> finding some celebrities you could get to open up. >> what kind of tree are you? >> in world affairs barbara walters landed the first interview that helped thaw israeli egyptian relations. her hottest interview was with monica lewinsky. >> you lifted the back of your jacket and you showed the president of the united states your thong underwear. [laughter] >> she transformed daytime tv by launching the view. proving that people would listen to a bunch of women. serious journalism and tabloid culture. it leans left, but it was feisty. i once asked how she got her guest to open up. >> i don't give my view.

if i don't get an answer say what is biggest misconception about you. she gave up her yearly oscar special. she was tired of chatting up movie stars. >> that does not seem special to me anymore. i've been there. done that. i did not want to get stale. i could have stayed for 30 years. and then everybody would've said it's time for her to go. maybe she was pushed out. >> she went out on top. a bigger celebrity than almost anyone she interviewed. i was privileged to know her. barbara walters was 93. that is it for this edition of media buzz. happy new year. glad you have the day off. you can subscribe to my podcast. get it without ads from apple music or itunes. we struggled to cover everything we could in 2022. kind of mind volleying.

on and on and on. feels like we are straining to do the best we could. now doing the same thing in 2023. we will not let up. we are back here next sunday. the only media analysis show on national television.ar ♪ e -whoa, dude... -money. cuz... cuz you paid too much for those glasses. next time, go to america's best where two pairs and a free, quality eye exam start at just $79.95. book an exam today at americasbest.com. ♪ [ music playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak. ♪ [ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital.

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rich: a fox news alert, the new year begins with an investigation into a brutal attack on police in new york city as a possible terrorist incident. welcome to "fox news live," i'm rich edson in for eric shawn. molly: and i'm molly line in for arthel neville. a machete-wielding suspect slashed a rookie officer during his first night on the job in times square. two other officers were also hurt, and now we're learning the suspect may have ties to islamic extremists. new york city mayor with eric adams is