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hearings, and i've covered dozens of them. when a top presidential aide is facing a hostile committee, the lawmakers conduct something of an inquisition, and the witness eventually jabs back at what he or she considers unfair questioning. so the stage was set when the house oversight committee began pummeling merrick garre canland for hours on the hunter biden investigation. but the attorney general was use as a punching bag, he did not punch back. instead, he repeated the same basic answer over and over and over again. he had named david weiss, a delaware federal prosecutor who had been running the investigation, as special counsel and stayed out of it. >> mr. weiss was a longstanding career prosecutor, was pointed -- appointed by president trump. i'm not permitted to discuss ongoing investigations. mr. weiss is an experienced federal prosecutor with extensive experience and with sufficient credibility to be

appointed by president trump. i just have no grounds for interfering. mr. weiss did not have to report to anybody. he was the supervisor and decision maker in these matters. howard: this was endlessly frustrated to the republican members who wants information about the president's son and kept getting the same robotic ans even as they prepare for an impeachment inquiry. garland's game plan was clearly to say as little as possible. i'm howard withand this is "mediabuzz". ♪ ♪ howard: while some democrats called the hearing a circus, jim jordan and his fellow republicans came on strong from the opening gavel. >> the fix is in. there's one investigation protecting president biden, there's another one attacking president trump. >> i am not the's lawyer.

i will add -- the president's lawyer. i will add i am not congress' prosecutor. >> you've got the president bringing hunter biden around to state dinners. has anyone told him to knock it off? >> no one that i know of has spoken about the -- >> i'm asking whether you're aware of that fact, sir. >> i'm going to say again. i'm going to say again and again if necessary. i did not interfere with, investigate -- >> see, those are finish. >> the attorney general's own prosecutors are get caught red hanked in covering up corruption, and the attorney general says i can't talk about it because i promised the senate i wouldn't. >> i liked when these people were coming after him and i think, frankly, showing themselves to be extremists or fools. he stayed calm. he stayed measured, and he stayed on message. >> i'm not sure it accomplished very much, but it also didn't elevate the present low standing of the justice department in the eyes of the public.

>> accusing the justice department of all sorts of malfeasance into the investigation president's son but a trump-appointed prosecutor, no less. howard: joining us now to analyze the coverage in nashville, clay travis, founder of outkick and a syndicated radio host, and iowa she that cross with siriusxm. clay, the media, it seems to me, are largely backing merrick garland's robotic answers that we've seen again and again, getting a feeling of déjà vu, and saying i'm not involved in the hunter biden investigation. how much do you think that frustrated the house republicans? >> i don't think it really frustrated the house republicans at all, and and thanks for having me on. hope everybody's having a fantastic sunday. because the overwhelming majority of the american public is starting to recognize that there is a real issue at play here between hunter biden and joe biden. even in the most recent cnn poll as all of the data continues to filter its way out, i believe the house republicans are trying

to make the case not to the media who they know is going to continue to a large extent cover for joe biden, i think they're trying to reach the addressable members of the public who are willing to examine and understand what's going on between hunter and joe biden. and just keep in this in mind, because i do think it's worth mentioning as we get ready here for 2024, joe biden's department of justice is trying to put his chief political rival, donald trump, who may well be the nominee for the republican party in prison for the rest of his life while arguing that the reason they are doing that is because they care about democracy. and simultaneously, the president's own son, hunter biden, is essentially escaping all consequences for his behavior. and i'll just hammer this home, if you look historically at what happened with richard nixon and is what happened with bill clinton and and what happened with donald trump, there are more credible allegations of criminal wrongdoing right now against joe biden of a severe

nature than there ever were against any of those three men combined. and yet the media still to a large extent -- [inaudible] howard: ameshia, you'll have to use a hammer too. i think the media would have gone haywire if garland had said he was involved. was there anything in this hearing that gave them more ammunition to show is anything about hunter biden and his father, the president, or at the time many of these event the vice president? -- events the vice president? >> absolutely not. that was one of the smartest moves merrick garland did. he was tempered, he kept repeating the same thing over and over partially because he cannot talk about an ongoing investigation. many of the people questioning him are lawyers. they know that he can't as well. beyond that, i think the most important thing here is that the smoking gun that that republicans have been trying to get to draw this link between

hunter biden and owe biden and the biden crime family's criminality just has not been proven. and it wasn't going to come out during that hearing either. this was a large waste of the american people's time. this turned out to be, moreover, something that was essentially a republican campaign mantra, itee said thousands of times on conservative nervous, conservative outlets be whether it's radio, podcast or print, and that's essentially what they were attacking him with, and he was not taking the bait. howard: clay, the the republicans are can rightfully argue there are a lot of unanswered question here about hunter, his father, the allegations of the two the irs whistleblowers, but if merrick garland had brought in his own guy as special counsel, wouldn't he have been eviscerated over that? >> probably. and the reason he would be is because there shoulding have been charges brought years ago against hunter biden. mean, just think about how much we know about hunter biden. the fbi has had the hunter biden

laptop can and hone the it's 100% real since december of 2019. we're almost to december of 2023, and the only thing they charged him with is a relatively minor gun violation. he didn't pay taxes in 2014, 20 the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. i don't know about a you guys or anybody out there watching, if i didn't pay taxes for five years in a row and i owed millions of dollars, i don't think the federal government would say, or oh, we'll just forgive you, this is no big deal. there's no challenge or charges being brought against you here at all. howe i'd come visit you in jail. i'd come visit you in jail. >> yeah, no, they would have taken me out in handcuffs after one year. when i took over for rush limbaugh's radio show, they said you better have the most pristine tax return in the history of mankind, because he got audited every year his entire radio career. and so, look, i mean, five years of not paying taxes, millions of not-paid taxes.

oh, by the way, hidden money that was funneled through all sorts of wild, different bank accounts, nine different members of the biden crime family making money from china, from russia, from all different sorts, ukraine interests out there? howard: yeah, those are all legitimate. >> and suddenly there's no charges at all? howe hu just to remind the viewers, first of all, it has dragged on way too long, five years. secondly, i mean, he was charged, but there was a plea bargain, a sweetheart deal, no jail time. that fell apart, and now david weiss, the new special counsel, has charged him with the three gun offenses -- >> still nothing on the taxes. howard: right. >> have they got donald trump on his taxes? there's a lot of conversation about taxes, but i don't hear anything about donald trump who didn't pay multi years in it canses and lied -- taxes and -- >> hold on, they got ten years of donald trump's tax returns that everybody was able to review after fighting for them for years and basically said

there's no charges there. and trump was charged for a bookkeeping error in new york city that they're trying to to bump from a misdemeanor to a felony. so trump has already been held more accountable for much less -- >> bookkeeping is an interesting adjective for what he's charged with in new york. >> in new york city, it is a bookkeeping charge. howard: when you're in the real estate business, there are a lot of very legitimate deductions you can take to get your tax bill down in some cases to zero. clay, by playing defense to what he did, did garland do anything to restore the confidence of millions of americans who do believe that the justice department has become a partisan tool of the biden administration? >> no. no. look, he needs to immediately -- weiss does -- charge hunter biden to the full extent of the law with all of the tax evasion that he did. face then, as a result, years and years in prison. and, look, i've got a lot of

issues with the department of justice in general. i'll actually float this idea. i said it on my radio show the other day, if joe biden was actually interested in being the person who he ran as, as president -- a uniter, not a divider, a person who would restore a sense of decency to the white house -- i actually think he should pardon donald trump on all charges in washington, d.c. and on all charges in south florida, also pardon his own son, say let's put all this behind us and get going with 2024 in the event that biden is going to be the nominee, go ahead and wipe this off the board because this is absurd and ridiculous. as much attention as you can give to hunter biden, i think the far bigger story for the department of justice is fact that hunter biden is a small part of what's going on with merrick garland. they're trying to put donald trump in prison for the rest of his life while he's running to be president -- >> trying to steal an election we've never seen anything like. we've also never seen anything in this country like january 6th. >> oh, stop. >> it would be completely -- >> stop the --

[inaudible conversations] >> what happened during the blm -- howard: let her finish. >> i let you talk. there was a sitting u.s. president who was calling in to state offices across the country trying to nullify the votes of everyday americans. a sitting u.s -- sitting u.s. president who got on twitter and was tweeting, calling out the names of poll workers and essentially putting a target on their backs. hey howe clay finish. >> there's not amount of a pardon that should come for a former president who, one, did the not act like a president and, two, did not uphold the values of our democracy. howard: clay, i'll let you respond in just minute. if there were to be a pardon, it'd probably come after a trial. let me ask you, because the other day the department of justice, as you know, brought an indictment against new jersey senator bob menendez. it's gotten a lot of media attention. half a million dollars in cash, some coming off the pockets of jackets with his name on it, gold bars and so forth. doesn't that suggest that this justice department goes after democrats, many of them calling

for bob menendez to resign as well as republicans? >> no. howard: it doesn't? >> menendez has no actual power. if he steps down, they'll appoint a better senator in new jersey -- howard: he was the foreign relations committee chair. >> well, he stepped down from that. does it matter? and let me just point this out, do you know what robert menendez's wife kid? the exact same thing that hunter biden did. she was the bagman. she was the one who got paid by all the foreign interests, she was the person who was accepting all the cash and all the gold bars and all of the money. and and let me just say, by the way -- howard: briefly. >> -- on the idea of january 6th as a unique threat, the blm protests killed far more people, created far more damage -- >> 97% i have to respond -- 97% of the blm protests were completely nonviolent. so let's not -- >> that 3% -- howard: gotta get a break.

ahead, how donald trump has recast the motional debate about abortion. but when we come back with, the fight within the republican party that could lead to a government shutdown. ♪ >> tech: need to get your windshield fixed? safelite makes it easy. >> tech vo: you can schedule in just a few clicks. and we'll come to you with a replacement you can trust. >> man: looks great. >> tech: that's service on your time. schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ from big cities, to small towns, and on main streets across the us, you'll find pnc bank. helping businesses both large and small, communities and the people who live and work there grow and thrive.

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howard: most of the media are usually pretty critical of kevin mccarthy. with the speaker unable to get his conservative hard-liners to pass any spending bill or compromise with one week til a government shutdown, the spotlight has shifted. >> the this is a whole new concept of individuals who want to see it shut down. >> i'm just saying if it goes that way, it's not the end of the world. >> they just want to raise hell. they tonight want to get anything done. >> they get on tv, they go wild

saying, oh, kevin mccarthy's not a real conservative, and they raise money. >> yeah. >> that's all it's about. howard: clay, has the media with storyline moved from kevin msk car think, that guy can't even control his own caucus, to, poor kevin, nobody can deal with these people who won't take yes for an answer? >> i think shutdowns are the single most overcovered incident in all of american politics. howard: really? >> every single person knows that eventually this is going to get resolved. there is actually no suspense. it's like arguing over whether the super bowl is actually going to be played or not. of course it's going to be playeded. the question is who's going to be there. and this, to me, is an example of something that everybody gets fired up in in washington, d.c. media that the average american voter isn't really paying attention to at all. howard: 0r theirly -- >> so i always think these are overrated in terms of media coverage. howard: i ordinarily would agree

with you because they always seem to kick the can down the road, ameshia, but not so sure in this case. kevin mccarthy and joe biden made a deal on avoiding a default of the debt ceiling last spring, and now the hard-liners want to reopen that even though they control only one-third of the government. >> absolutely. one, this showcases they can't do simple math. on top of that, it is not fully understanding what having such a small majority actually means, because they are trying to criticize mix changes not only within the budget -- size nick -- seismic changes, and they just don't have the people to do it. [laughter] the understanding here just is not available for them, and this is five people. mind you, five people. that's a very small group who have decided that they are willing to not only 'em period us with a shutdown, but they are willing to, with that shutdown, eradicate the use of tsa the, make sure people are not going to be able to travel as a easily, make sure that, you know, things like the head start program will not be funded, things that we need like funding

our military. making sure that these servicemen and women who are on active duty will actually have their checks not to mention all of the federal agencies themselves. this is completely absurd. howard: yeah. but even if there is a shutdown, clay, that lasts a few days, i depress the longest one is three weeks, but what a crazy melodrama when you have kevin mccarthy, speaker of the the house, saying these people want to burn it all down. >> eventually they will pass a bill. no one will remember this battle in two weeks. and i think on monday by far the biggest story, howard, is going to be how about "the washington post" having joe biden down 10 points to donald trump in their own poll. that is what most people in washington, d.c., i think, are going to be talking about on monday as opposed to whether kevin mccarthy can corral his crew. he will be able to eventually. they will pass a budget. it will not change very much, unfortunately, and this is why so many americans are frustrated. we're $33 trillion in debt now,

and whatever budget agreement is reach here, it's only going to guarantee that we rapidly advance on $34 trillion in budget. and this is why i think the number is the lowest in modern history. only 16% of people have any faith or trust in governmental a institutions because of stories like these but primarily because the debt just keeps rising and nothing else seems to be changing. howard: since you mentioned "the washington post" poll, even the most say -- poe says it own poll could be an outlier. and besides, it's so far away from the actual contest. but, of course, if i was the trump campaign, i'd play it up. ameshia, it's not just the press. mitch mcconnell says republicans will be blamed if there is a shutdown because a lot of people get hurt. a lot of people don't get paid. they eventually get paid, but for that period of time, they're not getting their regular paycheck. >> absolutely. and in an election year, this could be a death knell for the republican party. the lack of wherewithal that those five members have, those

five republican members have or care, essentially, for the 2024 election and the down-ballot races is very large. they are so stuck in their own mindset of trying to be stalwarts that that they do not square care about the future of the republican party or that they will get blamed, shamed, and they should be. this is a level of chaos that is presentable. howard: by the way, donald trum- >> i think the washington "the washington post," by the way, said joe biden would get blamed for the shutdown in their poll last night. they have stunned, because this is a first time in a 10-point margin that the democrats have been blamed for a shutdown -- >> and every other poll says differently. howard: but ultimately, it's like we sent you to washington, and you can't even pass a -- >> a pox on both their houses, is the way -- howard: by the way, donald trump told republicans as long as you're talking budget, you should defund the investigations of me. i don't see that happening.

[laughter] clay travis and ameshia cross, thanks so much for joining us. up next, a changing of the guard. here at fox. ♪ the day you get your clearchoice dental implants makes every day... a "let's dig in" day... mm. ...a "chow down" day... a "take a big bite" day... a "perfectly delicious" day... - mm. [ chuckles ] - ...a "love my new teeth" day.

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taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. ♪ jardiance is really swell, ♪ ♪ the little pill with a big story to tell. ♪ howard: it's no secret that people have strong opinions about rupert if murdoch, but even his critics would concede he's been remarkably successful in building a global media empire. now, at 92, he's just made a big announcement. >> our boss, rupert murdoch, is transitioning from chair of our parent company, fox corporation. in a note to e employees today, he says he's decided that that in november he will move to the role of chairman emeritus at both fox and at fox corp.. >> this is a seismic moment for both the media and political landscapes in our country. howard: he'll be succeeded at both fox corp. and news corp. by his eldest son lachlan, already the ceo running the daily operation. rupert told the staff, my entire

professional life i have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. our companies are in robust health, as am i. the battle for freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought has never been more intense. rupert murdoch started out 70 years ago after inheriting a small australian newspaper from his father. he acquired other papers over the years, the new york post and the "wall street journal" whose character he pledged to preserve and did along with tab loidz in the u.k. and the times of london and sunday times. but it's hard to overstate the scope of the industries that murdoch transformed, creating a fourth american tv network, the fox broadcast network, with such iconic hits as the simpsons, stunning the sports world by outbidding cbs for the rights to air nfl games and, of course, the creation of fox news. he also bought harpercollins and became a movie mogul with the acquisition of 20th century

fox before selling the studio four years ago. the billionaire is a pragmatist supporting politicians of different stripes from margaret thatcher to tony blair in britain and ed congress in new york. -- ed koch in new york. and over the years, he's met with the pope, with the queen and various american presidents, as you see there. and while the fox haters at other outlets have been out in force, it's no innocent and that fox news is watched by plenty of democrats and independents. there have been major controversies. more than a decade ago murdoch's news of the world was embroiled in a phone-hacking scandal listening to the messages of celebrities, royals and ordinary citizens. murdoch shut down the british tabloid. more recently, fox made a record payout to settle a lawsuit over its cover coverage of election fraud claims.

here's a story you may not know. murmur dock invested $125 million in theranos. when the "wall street journal" was about to expose the blood testing as a fraud, founder elizabeth holmes e-mailed murdoch to complain. murdoch did not stop the story, and holmes is i now in prison. in the decade i've been at fox, i've only met to or talked to rupert a handful of times which undercuts the notion that he tells everyone what to do all the time. that's a myth. murdoch saw an opening 27 years ago, a void is left my major -- by major networks that leaned to the left. rupert murdoch has been the face of fox. next on "mediabuzz," some pro-life groups upset with donald trump for telling nbc he'll work out a compromise on abortion. ♪ but we help you shape your financial story. ♪ we're not an airline, but our network

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gear. in his "meet the press" interview, the former president said he would resolve the controversy by acting, quote, almost as a mediator. >> i think they're all going to like me, both sides are going to like me. what's going to happen is you're going to come up with a number of weeks or months, you're going to come up with a number that's going to make people happy. >> there's no question that the "meet the press" comments are going to be part of ads to remind evangelical voters that, wait, he's not supporting the the pro-life cause right now. >> i want to give donald trump some credit. what he's done on abortion in talking about reproductive rights is going to moderate the republican party or and make you more mainstream. >> what's so striking is any other republican candidate in any other republican primary, those comments on abortion and his position on abortion would end his candidacy among primary voters. like, period. howard: the former president also took direct aim at the

6-week abortion ban that ron desantis signed in florida. >> i mean, desanctus is willing to sign a 5-week and 6-week ban -- >> would you support that? >> i think what he did was a terrible mistake. >> i think all pro-lifers should mow that he's preparing -- know that he's preparing to sell you out. donald trump may think it's terrible, i think protecting babies with heartbeats is noble. howard: joining us now, gayle trotter, an attorney who hosts the right in d.c. podcast, and is richard fowler, fox news contributor. gayle, donald trump rightfully boasts that he is the president responsible for the overturning of roe through his supreme court appointments. but now some pro-life groups aren't happy that he's talking about brokering a compromise. >> well, the truly great thing about the national debate that we're in right now is that after 50 years, the abortion issue has been returns to the democratic -- returns to the -- returned to the democratic process. people can make the decisions, they can form a consensus.

states are going to have different approaches, and donald trump is showing that he is open to discussing this and really appealing to the general electorate, and the media coverage of this is trying to say that there are all these divisions when truly they don't want to acknowledge the strength that former president trump has going into this. they want to say that he's fumbled this issue, that he's in a no-win situation. and the truth is that this demonstrates his strength is, and the media do not want to cover this because they have this anti-trump bias that they continue to go with. howard: richard, trump's instincts that the republicans have to find a better way to talk about the very difficult issue of abortion may well be right. but also when he says both sides are going to like me, there may be no middle ground because one side thinks abortion is murder, and the other side believes what's paramount is a woman's right to choose what to do with her body. >> i don't think he's going to make any of the sides happy

here. this is where the media's subpar coverage of the holistic view of this issue is problematic, and i think here's where the politics of this issue is actually problematic. the march of dimes in 2023 reported that 5.6 million women, more so than any other year, live in a maternity desert. they don't have access to maternity care. beyond that, of all the high net worth developed countries in the world, america has the highest pregnancy-related death rate in the world with. right? and so what that says to me is when you decouple abortion protections and reproductive care with maternity access and you have states debating whether it's 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 16 weeks and not one especially in the south debating how to we protect women giving birth, you have a larger problem. american women are dying in childbirth, and neither party seem to be addressing this issue clearly, and we're having a conversation around abortion which is why american women are making these decisions over and over at the ballot boxes and

picking some candidates over others. howard: it's no scent that most members of the concern secret that most members of the media are pro-choice. you say donald trump's cover coverage is not fair, but he wants toss compromise, wouldn't they be more sympathetic than usual to the former president because compromise means, again the from their point of view, more abortions will be performed as opposed to zero? >> well, look at the coverage with their anti-trump bias. they have said that he fumbled what he said in that video that we saw, the interview. they're saying that he is being hated on by the pro-life advocates -- howard: i saw that. but isn't that true? >> but the point is that he's trying to forge a consensus. and i think i would agree with richard on this, and i think this is where we can have a consensus. the culture of life that values human life from conception until natural death is not just about abortion. so when your talking about -- you're talking about abortion as a national issue, it's something that engages many other issues.

so when you're looking at state regulation or federal regulation of it, you have to look at it as a whole picture. and that's what pro-lifers want. it's not just about abortion, it's about creating a culture of life, and trump is strong on this because he went from a situation where you had unelected lawyers with life tenure making up rights to a situation where you can take it back to the democratic process, and we can forge a consensus. howard: the constitution allows presidents to appoint these people for life tenure. richard, i also wanted to ask you what you make of trump going after ron desantis the for signing a 6- week abortion ban as terrible when that's far closer to what pro-life side wants. >> well, look, i think there's a couple things here. thing number one is this, when you have a whole bunch of politicians, not medical doctors, making these decisions for women and for families, that that's where the problem starts. when we can say 6 weeks over 10 weeks, 10 weeks over 15 weeks and there's not an ob/gyn in

this conversation, there's not a registered nurse in this conversation, there are not mothers in this conversation, there's a whole bunch of -- >> i'm a mother. [laughter] >> i'm talking about between the president versus ron desantis versus whoever. they're having these conversations, they're not including, they're censoring the people who are at the center of this, and that's where the problem starts. that's why you see voters moving with their feet and saying we don't like any of this. we liked what was there before because at least at minimum -- howard: it's not coming back in terms of the supreme court. but the president -- former president, i should say, also talking about the importance of having exceptions to any abortion policy for rape, incest and the life of the mother. take a look. >> without the exceptions -- [applause] it is very difficult to win elections. we would probably lose the majorities in 2024 without the exceptions and perhaps the presidency itself. in order to win in 2024, republicans must learn how to

properly talk about abortion. howard: what are your thoughts on that, gayle? and also ron desantis says he's proud of the heartbeat bill in florida. but trump is selling out the pro-life side. >> well, richard just said that the most victimized people are not part of this conversation, and pro-lifers would say, yes, the people most victimized by abortion are unborn babies, so they cannot be part of this conversation. and president trump, unlike all the other republican presidents since roe v. wade was put into law, has been the most pro-life president that we've ever had. he attended thed the march for life. he is trying to create a culture of life that goes beyond just this single issue. and i think the pro-life movement is a big tent. people have different ideas of what the limits should be, and there are many, many limits on abortion. so when you look at conservatives who believe everything should not be done at if national level, that there should be a debate at the state level, he is really playing into what conservatives have always said that they support. howard: richard, 15 seconds, is

this a play for the general election where this might be more popular than among gop primary voters where he's already got a huge lead? >> absolutely. listen to what the former president just told you. without exceptions, we can't win. he's telling you that voters have made it clear where they stand on these issues. if you're not where they stand, you're going to lose the 2024 election, and a lot of republicans aren't where they stand right now. howard: thanks so much for coming by this sunday. after the break, comedian russell brand denying sexual assault allegations from four women and suggesting a media a conspiracy. ♪ this is your season to smile with new dentures from aspen dental -- to gather together and discover the moments that matter, to jump into the fun and join in the celebration. to help get you ready, your aspen dental denture team is celebrating 25 years of affordable care with an epic anniversary savings event. don't miss enjoying a moment with fast repairs in our onsite labs and 20% off your custom dentures.

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looks like zeposia is really working out. you've got that right, old me. ask your doctor about once-daily zeposia. howard: three u.k. news organizations, the times of london, sunday times and london's channel 4, have reported accusations of sexual assault against russell brand, a british comedian, actor and commentator. he's had to cancel comedy tour, his literary agency has contacted him, and youtube has suspended him from making money on his channel. brand flatly denies the allegations which are between 10-17 years old and suggests the media are out to get him. >> amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that i absolutely refute. i was very, very promiscuous. i now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships i had were absolutely always

consensual. is there another agenda at a play? particularly when we've seen coordinated media attacks before? howard: now, one of the accusers using is pseudonym alice was 16 at the time, and she told the bbc that brand forced her to perform oral sex. >> i was pushing him away, and i ended up having to punch him really hard in the stomach to get him off. and then he, finally, he moved, fell backwards with. and i was crying. howard: joining us now from eagle pass, texas, where he's covering the border crisis, griff jenkins, fox news correspondent and anchor. griff, we don't know what happened, of course. two-part question. why would these women lie now, and why would russell brand who's made hollywood movies, worked for the bbc, see a coordinatedded media effort to take him down? >> well, it's great to be with you, howie. and one thing is for sure, this story is picking up steam and not going away because russell

brand, as you played out, is speaking out so vociferously against it and alleging that there is this coordinated media attack, and it's got a lot of people talking particularly on social need ya where -- media where he's become a star. reminding our audience that russell brand won the hearts and minds of american audience in the movie forgetting sara marshall -- sarah mar hall. i apologize, there's a train here behind me. but now you've got these four women and, of course, this is three very serious british media organizations making these allegations, and these four women that have not been identified. so why would they lie? there'd be no reason to question them. however, you're hearing from a very unique woman, that is actress rose mcgowan. she had a breakout in the '90s, the scream movies and several since. she was one of the me too original founders, if you will, in the harvey weinstein

incident, and she's been very vocal about women speaking out ever since. and she took to her x or twitter account, did an audio think where she questioned the timing of this. why now? why is this happening? and wondering whether there was some part of the media in these allegations, in and, howie, she's calling for these four women to come fully forward saying that in the age of metoo, you've got to identify yourself and fully bring the accusations to light without hiding anonymously. howard: yeah. i think that's one of the weaknesses in the story is that everybody's in shadows or anonymously. and russell brand is entitled to the presumption of innocence. yet he's being penalized by all these different companies. bbc has taken down some of his content from the past, and yet no charges have been filed. so how do you fight back against something that somebody says happened 17 years ago? >> and it's worth noting, by the way, here in america the laws are different in terms of, like,

the libel laws. is and so for these three major british organizations, the times, sunday times and channel 4's dispatches to bring these accusations, they put themselves at a different risk than would be the case here h. however, you are seeing russell brand has been demonetized by with his youtube channel picking up on this, posting a message on twitter i saw this morning saying maybe this really is about the fight between the legacy media, as he calls it, and platforms like those that are on social media. howard: yeah. let me jump in because i want to play this, another woman has come forward who happened to work in the same office building. she says russell brand exposed himself to her in the restroom, and here's a bit from that. >> i then went to text the person that was in the studio with them to say, oh, my god, the the strange thest thing happened, to which they replied, yes, i know, he's talking about it on air. howard: so if more women come forward or not, that could

change the nature of this british and american media inquiry. >> it certainly could. the accusations of the women took place in los angeles, and we know at least from reporting that one of them had been treated at a rape treatment center but told police she would not file a report. we're going to learn more, particularly if more people come forward. howard: right. and your question about the timing -- griff jenkins -- [no audio] rolling stone is opposed. chief executive gus winter, his son, said i love him deeply. i do not agree with the comments he made and understands why they are so upsetting and hurtful. still to come, media mockery over the senate dress code, college football's hottest team and donald trump versus howard stern. ♪

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howard: the media have been all over chuck schumer's decision to drop the senate's december corrode -- dress code. the move was seen as aiding one man, john fetterman, who frequently wears a hoodie and short ises. the pennsylvania senator casually dismissed the controversy. >> aren't there more important things we should be talking about rather than if i dress like a slob? howard: well, he didn't deny it. a former daily show correspondent once named one of time's most influential people has admitted to lying. he said in a netflix special -- >> you have got to take the shots you are given in life. [laughter] even if they're built on a lie. howard: now, many comedians

embellish a bit, but as a new yorker reports, he said he feared his daughter was exposed to anthrax and another, quote, the punchline is worse than the fictionalized premise, but how do we know what's made up? minhaj said, for instance, yes, i was ejected -- rejected from going to prom because of my race. i've been critical of rfk's rhetoric but have fully supported his request for secret service protection. the lapd arrested an armed man trying to get access to the democratic presidential candidate. rfk's security detail detained the man before the cops arrived. look, he's a candidate. his father was assassinated. his uncle was asaws -- assassinated. this is no longer theoretical, and the biden administration should move immediately. the media have had their fun with republican congresswoman

lauren boebert getting ejected from a denver theater for vaping and causing a disturbance with her boyfriend as captured on video, and there's an unhappy ending. boebert apologized saying she was going through a difficult divorce. but after the footage showed her and her democratic boyfriend groping each other, she announced they had peacefully parted. coach deion sanders has turned the colorado football team into a box office smash. last weekend's double overtime victory over colorado state, which lasted from 10 p.m. eastern until 2:30 in the morning brought a staggering 9.3 million viewers, most-watched late night football game on espn. wow. howard stern is the first to admit he loved having donald trump on his show for raunchy radio segments, but politically

he didn't back him for president. donald trump says i did his show many times in the good old days, and then he went woke. here is stern's response. >> if woke means i can't get behind trump, which is what i think it means, or that i support people who want to be transgender or i'm for the seek seen -- vaccine, dude, call me woke as you [bleep] want. howard: i listened to stern and his audience isn't as massive as it once was, it's because he's on siriusxm, and you have to pay for that. that's it for this edition of media a was. i'm -- "mediabuzz." i'm howard kurtz. we will be back here next sunday, you're used to hearing that a by now, with the onlyt im media analysis show on national television. ♪so e ne it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp.

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