as judge neil gorsuch confirmation push gets under way, democrat richard blumenthal says he'll use every tool he has to prevent his swearing in. he'll join us in the morning, as well as republican senator john corn cornyn. you're watching "morning joe."

[inaudible conversations] senate judiciary chair and committee members richard blumenthal spoke to reporters following the end of day number one of the confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee judge neil gorsuch. this is ten minutes. .. >> >> that he is against the little guy greg. >> i have gone through his cases and i don't think that can hold water i thing she will demonstrate that very clearly tomorrow but our research shows he is a person that calls the shots the way they should in he bested mr. did that in the statement he made a few days ago as a judge that likes everyone of his opinion he said the same thing just now ben they are not a very good judge and i think she has that reputation laugh. >> and then to manipulate maternity leave policy and those responses from other people who know him and have worked with him and would refuse to that so we have many more statements of support into have any idea of what that might be quite. >> according to what i know and i have not had a decent conversation with the leader , ed think the senate will take up immediately a think there is

i want to bring in, as promised, a senator who will be questioning this nominee tomorrow, richard blumenthalrom connecticut. thank you for joining me on an evening that is a night of prep for you. what do you want to learn tomorrow? >> i want to see independence. independence of donald trump and i want to see a forthright and very clear defense of judicial independence against the kind of attacks that are indeed unprecedented that we've seen from donald trump calling a jurist, a so-called judge, potentially claiming a judge for violence that may occur. i want to see that this nominee disavows and in fact discards the litmus test that donald trump has set. >> right. >> including tt he overturned roe v. wade, that he be pro gun anti-violence measures and he be conservative. and let's recognize that he has outsourced this selection. >> you talk about delegating it. >> right. >> here's what you said. memo to trump, don't attack the courts. it's the constitution blocking your muslim ban. do you want to hear judge gorsuch on that tomorrow? is there any way around the fact that he can't comment on

. >> senator richard blumenthal vowing against gorsuch. >> donald trump has established a lit big local stomus test. promising he will nominate someone to overturn roe v. wade. we have to assume he has met the litmus test. >> are you prepared to filibuster? >> not only filibuster, but use every tool that we have if he is in fact out of the mainstream. >> but republicans are making clear they will do what it takes to get gorsuch on the high court even if that means changing senate rules to cut off the possibility of a filibuster. republicans are expected to raise gorsuch and play up the similarities of the man he is to replace. antonin scalia. the hearing is expected to last four days. republicans vote fhopefully nex month. >> they are very angry of the treatment of the candidate under president obama. >>> exciting week in general. we have healthcare reform. a top priority for president trump. meeting with house speaker paul ryan and tom price and the key architect of obamacare. they need to pass the repeal and replace bill. more than two dozen republicans, 26 i think is the number here,

. >> [inaudible conversations] >> richard blumenthal, part of the senate judiciary committee, their hand with neil gorsuch date number one going a little over four hours today and you also heard from chuck grassley, the chairman of the committee. their skill do for rest of the week looks like this, two days a question for george gossage beginning tomorrow morning at 9:30 am eastern. we will start that at 9:30 over on c-span3. also coming up on wednesday more question for george gossage, there will wrap up the week on thursday with testimony from witnesses both for and against the nominee. if you didn't hear all of chuck grasses, and also toward the end, the "huffington post" with some of things chuck grasses that as a gavel out saying it will be a long day tomorrow, but an wednesday wants to wrap up the confirmation in wednesday night so quote i can get at 9 o'clock like i'd like to. also he said in his comments with reporters they hoping to wrap this up before the easter recess for the senate saying they will vote the judiciary committee itself will vote on april 3 on the nomination. so

. >> now, there are in thats like richard blumenthal of connecticut making noise about a potential filibuster tweeting last night if judge gorsuch doesn't reject trump's litmus test i will' his scotus nomination relentlessly at tend, a hint of a filibuster with potential for two, three, may be four supreme court picks, over the course of this first term in office for president trump there is some sense in washington that democrats may make a lot of noise, but hold back on an actual filibuster this time around knowing that or gos ignores is going to be harder to stop than potentially other picks down the road. >> all strategy, i just like to use flummoxed. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> just hours from now president trump is heading to louisville pushing health care replacement plan rally taking place ahead of the high stakes vote on bill expected this week. >> i think thursday is most likely our day to bring forward we feel good where we are conversations with members, we are making fine-tuning improvements to the bill to reformist concerns the president back great closer the one helped negot

we've already had a democratic member of the committee come on air, richard blumenthal say that's not good enough. we want him back here again because our questioning had been limited. the democrats don't control the calendar or the clock because they are the minority. our questioning had been limited when he was the a.g. nominee. bringing in matt miller. former a.g. to eric holder. i know the briefing room is a familiar piece of real estate to you. you've been listening and watching along with us. what have you wanted to react to most? >> the thing i think is the biggest unanswered question still. jeff sessions solved half the problem today. that's the problem that existed by him being at the top of the investigation when he was a member of the campaign. that's half a step. what needs to happen now is the department needs to follow the precedent that happened the last time there was an investigation so serious into the white house, into a campaign, and i have heard the discussion but i think an investigation into the campaign will be an investigation into the white house. many of the

later we will get reaction from committee chair senator charles grassley and democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut. judge neal gorsuch begins the second day as his supreme court conformation hearing. he will take questions with questioning expected to last through wednesday. on thursday, the committee hears from outside witnesses. watch our live coverage starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3ism -- c-span3. you can see it on c-span.org and the c-span app. president trump is headed to the house tomorrow to speak about his health care bill. watch live coverage of the debate and vote on c-span starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern. coming up tuesday morning, texas republican congressman jody arington will discuss the future of health care, russian interference in the election and trump's 2017 budget. and robin kelly weighs in on health care, the budget and the congressional black caucus meeting at the white house. be sure to watch c-span washington journal live at 7:00 eastern. >> now the opening statement for supreme court nominee judge neal gorsuch before the senate judiciary committee. he

saidor richard blumenthal they must promise to appoint a special prosecutor to probe person interference in last year's election. the attorney general has recused himself, so that decision would be up to rosenstein. askedrector james comey the justice department to publicly refute president trump's unsubstantiated claims he was wiretapped by president obama. comey has said the allegations are false. several obama administration spokespeople have also said the claims are false. the white house has called for covers to investigate, saying that it will not comment further after weeks of controversies and postponements, president trump is expected to sign a revised travel ban tomorrow. the previews executive order was halted by the courts on constitutional grounds. immigration attorneys with legal laid are on standby at dulles international airport waiting for the new executive order. lawmaker with a history of controversial comments about islam is facing criticism again. representative john bennett try to fill out a questionnaire with questions that included "do you beat your wife." the que

i want to bring in democratic senator richard blumenthal, member of the senate judiciary committee and also the former attorney general in connecticut. great to have you here. >> thank you. >> yesterday you tweeted, unless jeff sessions can provide a credible explanation, his resignation will be necessary. yesterday at a press conference he gave what he believes is that credible explanation. so let me play that for you. >> let me be clear. i never had meetings with russian operatives or russian intermediaries about the trump campaign. and the idea that i was part of a, quote, continuing exchange of information during the campaign between trump surrogates and intermediaries for the russian government is totally false. that is the question that senator franken asked me at the hearing. >> are you satisfied with that explanation? >> no, i'm not. it really begs a lot of the critical questions that ought to be answered by him under oath. >> such as? what questions linger? he said he did not discuss campaign business with the ambassador. >> for him to be meeting with the russian ambassador at

senator richard blumenthal moments ago was speaking to kasie hunt over on capitol hill.e talked about the importance for him and democrats of making sure that rod rosenstein commits to this prosecutor. as my panelists have opinion talking about, it is possibly that it might not happen. and the health care law, there are some big obstacles. we have put together what we think are the four biggest obstacles to passage of this. it's essentially that it keeps a lot of the architecture you saw in obamacare, phases out medicaid expansion by 2020. it in a way could contradict trump's economic message, and the idea that it's make not transparent, that we don't know yet how much it costs. now, the budget director talked about that. he was asked about that by savannah guthrie on the "today" show this morning. >> we will know what it costs before they vote on it. i don't think they can vote on it on the floor without the cbo number coming in. i think everybody knows this is going to save a dramatic amount of money. >> sara, how do presidential leaders, the uz. but it's not really cl

that he'll get an up or down vote without worrying about 60 votes. >> i am sure you heard from richard blumenthalg the filibuster possibly to put up a roadblock to his nomination. take a listen. >> i think every nominee is important. if i conclude this one is outside the mainstream i'll use every tool at my disposal and i think many of my democratic colleagues share that view. >> he said that conditionally. he didn't say it was absolutely going to happen but he did say there was a possibility he would use every tool. what's your response, sir? >> i don't think i am a naive person, but this is the way i look at it and i expect other people to look at it and i think the pressure from the public when they get done hearing judge gorsuch, that he'll be able to get through without that sort of a vote, because we didn't filibuster two clinton nominees or two obama nominees. the democrats have filibustered one george w. bush nominee, but we think that reciprocity will get this through without worrying about 60 votes. >> your republican colleague, senator orrin hatch, said he believes the senate owes pres

. >>> up next, i'm going to be talking with richard blumenthal.e's in a fight over the supreme court nominee. what's next in the confirmation battle. to stealth bombers... to next-generation fighters... ♪ to landing an unmanned vehicle on a carrier for the first time in history. just wait till you see what's next. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman trust #1 doctor recommended dulcolax. use dulcolax tablets for gentle dependable relief. suppositories for relief in minutes. and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief. except for every ladies' night. vegetarian... only glad has forceflex to prevent rips, leaks, and punctures. so whatever you throw in the bag... stays in the bag. be happy, it's glad. >>> get ready for republicans to go nuclear over president trump's pick for supreme court justice, a last ditch option to put neil gorsuch on the court. at least 19 senators say they will vote no on the nomination and more no votes could be announced soon now that democrats delayed the vote

connecticut senator richard blumenthal says sessions needs to give a credible explanation or resign andenator blumenthal joins me now. do you agree with your colleague? have you reached the conclusion that attorney general sessions has perjured himself? >> i agree he has to be brought back before the committee to explain these apparent false statements. what was said in this meeting, why he failed to disclose it and what the ties were, in fact, to the russian meddling, the massive attack on our democratic institution which is could lead to a coverup that these false statements indicate i think it's going to bring back the inescapable conclusion that he made these false statements in an attempt to mislead the committee and that's the conclusion my colleague senator franken is drawing. this is what a special prosecutor has to investigate and it's the very reason that an independent special prosecutor is necessary. because the deputy attorney general, rod rosen stein can't investigate his own boss for perjury, he can't investigate the president for possible collusion with the russians in t

let's get reaction from connecticut senator richard blumenthal.ou had a very strong tweet yourself that plays into the political tug of war over accountability there in washington. there's your tweet for the audience to digest. i'll use every possible tool to block doj deputy ag nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor. the president can answer his own question, can he not? >> he can, because he has access to the intelligence and there would have to be a warrant for any wire tap to be imposed and incredulous is the right word to describe the reaction many of us had. >> if it's so baseless and bizarre, do you think jim comey should have said that to everybody and not behind closed doors? >> my preference would have been director comey to actually issue a statement and directly con troe vertical this unfounded claim. at least there's no evidence that anyone can see for the allegation that there was wire tapping by former president obama. remember, this allegation is very, very serious because there are specific legal restr

president trump and questioned gorsuch's commitment to judicial independence, connecticut's richard blumenthal>> the possibility of the supreme court needing to enforce a subpoena against the president is no longer idle speculation. >> reporter: but republican senators said the hearing was not about judge garland or the president north carolina's thom tillis. >> i hope the nomination hearing focuses on one person before us who will go on, i believe, to full fill the supreme court. >>> oil is expected to keep on moving through the dakota access pipeline this week. two have battled the pipeline for months arguing the pipeline is a threat to their water supply. in a court order filed yesterday said there have been coordinated attacks along the line. >>> new york city police had to rescue another teenager who fell through the ice in new york's central park. police used ladders to get to the 17-year-old. despite 17 warning signs in the area he wandered out on the ice to take a selfie. the day before two other teens fell through the ice but got themselves out. >>> banker david rockefeller is being r

one of those critics: democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut. he serves on the judiciary and armed service committees and joins us now. senator blumenthal, why isn't it far enough? >> it is nowhere near far enough, because he owes an explanation to the judiciary committee. he should be brought back to the judiciary committee. and give an explanation as to why he omitted and denied key relevant facts in the course of our hearings on his nomination. if he fails to provide a credible explanation, he should resign. and it's also nowhere near enough because the scope of his recusal is still somewhat undefined. he referred to the campaign, but really the investigation from which he should recuse himself relates to the entire cyber attack and act of cyber warfare on our democratic institutions and the potential complicity, connection, contact between the trump transition as well as the campaign and the administration since the inaugural with the russians. and as more news develops, the jared kushner meeting, for example, the need for that broader recus

minority leader shumer was joined by senators sheldon whitehouse and richard blumenthal. in addition, they urged senate republicans to avoid changing the rules for confirming supreme court nominees. at the end of the briefing, minority leader schumer revealed that senate democrats sent a letter to president trump about their willingness to work with republicans and the white house on improving health care. senator schumer: thank you, everyone, for being here as we arm up the crowd for the spectacular. senator whitehouse: i am here with i our minority leader, chuck schumer, and my friend and former attorney general colleague, dick blumenthal, to call for a little bit of daylight into the dark money that is presently shadowing the nomination of judge gorsuch. during the course of the aring, we exemployed the supreme court's role to arbitrate fairly between parties when litigation comes to the highest court in the land. as we saw over and over again, there are 5-4 partisan decisions from the past supreme court that have a very distinct trend. if it is a republican interest v

minority leader shumer was joined by senators sheldon whitehouse and richard blumenthal. in addition, they urged senate republicans to avoid changing the rules for confirming supreme court nominees. at the end of the briefing, minority leader schumer revealed that senate democrats sent a letter to president trump about their willingness to work with republicans and the white house on improving health care.

connecticut's richard blumenthal. >> the possibility of the supreme court needing to enforce a subpoenainst the president is no longer idle speculation. >> reporter: but republican senators said the hearing was not about judge garland or the president. north carolina's thom tillis. i hope this nomination hearing will focus on the one person here before us who i hope will go on to fill the supreme court. >> reporter: democrats are promising a judge gorsuch's record with a focus on workers' right, civil liberties and women's rights. he will be in this hot seat for about ten hours tomorrow, scott, and again on wednesday. >> pelley: jan crawford for us tonight. jan, thank you. in breaking news this evening, a new terrorist threat has been discovered, and tonight the u.s. is announcing that electronic devices will be banned for passengers flying on foreign airlines from eight countries in the middle east and north africa. chip reid is following this for us. chip, what do you know? >> reporter: well, scott, just officials tell us that electronic devices that are larger than a cell phone will

senator richard blumenthal democrat from connecticut sits on the judiciary committee. let me show you, show everyone what you tweeted on sunday, "i'll use every possible tool to block doj deputy ag nominee unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor." let me play who rod rosenstein said today when asked that question. >> are you willing to auto point a special counsel to examine russiainterferences in elections and other criminal activity? >> i'm willing to appoint a special counsel whenever i determine appropriate based on the policies and procedures of the justice department. >> after what you heard today, will you block him? >> i will use every tool available to block him, because he has failed to commit to appoint a special prosecutor, and make no mistake. we know enough right now to see that this nation is careening toward a constitutional crisis. the russians meddled in our electoral process, our democracy, the intelligence agencies are all in a consensus on that point and donald trump seems to have accepted it. there are clear evidence of ties be

that angered connecticut senator richard blumenthal. >> if they really cared, they would be here. >> reporter: senator dianne feinstein is cosponsor of legislation designed to change the culture of national sports. it would mandate immediate reporting to authorities of any atspected sexual abuse and ban coaches under investigation from continuing to work with children until it's determined there's no risk to them. former u.s.a. gymnastics president steve penny resigned earlier this month. u.s.a. gymnastics supports the bill. >> my own view is that the board should change and people be put at that board that have this number one in their mind. >> reporter: nassar is being held without bail. he pleaded not guilty to possession of child pornography and sexual assault not related to dantzscher or howard. scott, u.s.a. gymnastics told us its representatives didn't appear in person because of pending litigation. >> pelley: jon lapook, thank you. president trump is calling the story of his campaign's ties to urssia a hoax, even though his national security adviser and his campaign chairman

also a member of the senate intelligence committee senator angus king and member of the richard blumenthal and ambassador mike mcfaul. mika is down with the weather this morning. we have willie geist and john heilemann and nick confessore and ai ari melber and kasie hun. yesterday morning i got the sense we were going to be spending the next few days talking about an administration stonewalling and not getting it. now, of course, jeff sessions moves out pretty quickly and follows the advice of a lot of us had around the set, which is get out there and recuse yourself and try to get that part of the story behind us. as we are saying, still a lot of unanswered questions. >> recusal is not far enough for a lot of people including nancy pelosi, including many leading democrats on the hill and including many of our guests today saying he should resign. >>> attorney general jeff sessions will stay in his job but as joe said, recuse himself from investigations into russia's attempt to influence the 2016 election and passing that probe to acting attorney general dana boe next ee until rod rosenste

as judge neil gorsuch confirmation push gets under way, democrat richard blumenthal says he'll use every tool he has to prevent his swearing in. he'll join us in the morning, as well as republican senator john corn cornyn. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back. my ancestry dna results are that i am 26% nigerian. i am just trying to learn as much as i can about my culture. i put the gele on my head and i looked into the mirror and i was trying not to cry. because it's a hat, but it's like the most important hat i've ever owned. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com. knowing where you stand. it's never been easier. except when it comes to your retirement plan. but at fidelity, we're making retirement planning clearer. and it all starts with getting your fidelity retirement score. in 60 seconds, you'll know where you stand. and together, we'll help you make decisions for your plan... to keep you on track. ♪ time to think of your future it's your retirement. know where you stand. ♪ time to think of your future a mihappy birthday, swee

connecticut's richard blumenthal. >> the possibility of the supreme court needing to enforce a subpoena against the president is no longer idle speculation. >> reporter: but republican senators said the hearing was not about judge garland or the president. north carolina's tom tillis. >> i hope that this nomination hearing focuses on the one person here before us who i hope will go on to fill the supreme court. >> reporter: democrats are promising a thorough review of judge gorsuch's record with focus on workers' rights, civil liberties and women's rights. he will be in this hot seat about ten hours tomorrow, scott, and again on wednesday. >> jan crawford, thanks. >>> in breaking news this evening, a new terrorist threat has been discovered, and tonight the u.s. is announcing that electronic devices will be banned for passengers flying on foreign airlines from eight countries in the middle east and north africa. chip reid is following this for us. chip, what do you know? >> reporter: well, scott, u.s. officials tell us that electronic devices that are larger than a cell phone will be ba

me now is someone calling for the former senator, colleague of his, jeff sessions to resign, richard blumenthalining me now, thank you, sir, and the argument we have been hearing from people supporting the attorney general is he was talking about discussing really campaign stuff with russian officials doing so as a campaign surrogate that he felt it was his role on the armed services committee. what do you say to that? >> i say whatever explanation, you ought to be giving it before the judiciary committee where he omitted or denied critical facts falsely and should be brought back to provide a credible explanation. if he fails to provide a credible explanation there, he will have to resign. it's really that simple and unquestionably there should be a special prosecutor, independent counsel so that the investigation will be bipartisan, objective, independent and uncover all the facts about the russian attacks on our -- and complicity between the trump campaign and russian attacks on our democratic institutions. >> i want to play this moment before the committee where jeff sessions is asked a que

one member of the committee, richard blumenthal, senator from connecticut, says he'll block rosenstein's name from confirmation unless hearing tom he will appoint a special investigator to lead the investigation of trump and russia. can blumenthal do that? can he and his fellow democrats hang this nomination on that question? will republicans join them in support on this? i told you it's going to be must-see tv. we will find out tomorrow. 10:00 a.m. eastern. that does it for us tonight. we will see you again tomorrow. now it's time your "the last >>> replacing obamacare. this morning we're getting a closer look at the republican plan to repeal and replace the affordable care act while some popular provisions get to stay, there are new controversial parts, too. >>> and the white house struggles to explain president trump's claims of wiretaps. now top republicans are asking for answers. >>> and severe weather including damaging rain and heavy winds have hit in the south. there have been9 reports of tornadoes in the last 12 hours. >>> good morning, everyone. it is tuesday, march 7. i'm alex

list ton this exchange under richard blumenthal about the president's frequent criticism of the judiciary>> when anyone criticizes the honesty or integrity, the motives, of a federal judge, well, i find that disheartening. i find that demoralizing because i know the truth. anyone including the president of the united states. anyone is anyone. because no person is above the law, including the president of the united states. >> that's right, senator. >> that's just one response from judge gorsuch that made headlines. we get more now from cnn's jessica schneider. >> reporter: christine and dave, day three of that confirmation hearing kicks off this morning but in a long day of questioning tuesday, judge gorsuch was steady and steadfast in sticking to his script that he's an impartial and democrat judge. but a jurist who puts big business first, they also pressed him on his legal views asking if president trump imposed a litmus test before nominating him. that was a line of inquiry that gorsuch shut down. >> have you ever met president trump personally? >> not until my interview. >> in that i

i spoke to richard blumenthal a bit earlier. >> is your intent to decipher a conflict of interest?nflict of interests raised by his continuing to have ownership of this vast global empire of real estate holdings, and golf courses, and resorts, hotels, all bearing his name, all potentially the target of terrorists attacks, and presumably somebody is guarding them and protecting them, and we want to know is it at taxpayer expense, because obviously the federal government has to protect him and his family, but not necessarily all of his holdings and ownings across the world, and we want to know whether there's a legal obligation to protect them and what is the cost, if there is such a protection, and whether, in fact, we should be seeking reimbursement. i feel we should be. >> do you know if anybody within the trump organization has requested protection at these properties? >> that's part of what we're asking. very, very important question because if they requested it and the federal government complied, it raises the additional spectrum of conflict of interests, and we are in unchart

senator richard blumenthal saying on msnbc he's prepared to filibuster and use every tool he has if hesatisfied with neil gorsuch's answers. in the house, fbi director james comey and nsa director rogers will testify whether any evidence exists of president trump's claims that president obama wiretapped donald trump during the presidential campaign. now back to "lockup." ♪ >> cramer. rodriguez. >> you hear those whistles and you hear those officers yelling, you know it's not a false alarm. >> a fist fight. >> an alarm sounds in the sensitive needs unit after yet another fist fight breaks out on the tier. >> heard a whistle and responded to the second tier landing cellblock and saw inmate laying face down. officer said he had just been in a fist fight. >> y'all going to have to get out of the way. >> then proceeded to get them medical clearance for the injuries and now going to place them in the holding cage in donner section. he'll be one much our newest arrivals in add seg. >> what is becoming the protocol for these violent incidents in sny, both the attacker and victim are moved to a

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earlier i spoke with richard blumenthal, a democrat from connecticut.ere's what he had to say about the plan. >> republicans have to show that it doesn't increase the deficit, that it has no higher costs. that is going to be difficult to do for them. but even then, even if they are able to use the reconciliation process, already seven of their own members in the united states senate have said it's a nonstarter. the so-called replacement program is really pretty much dead on arrival. kevin: senator blumenthal also told me he had concerns about it defunding planned parenthood. meanwhile, republicans argue that this is not just conservative enough. mark: if i can come to you, how much is this going to cost and how is it going to be paid for? anna: so we don't know how much it's going to cost yet. those numbers usually come from a review by the nonpartisan congressional budget office. since it just came out last night, they have not been able to do an assessment yet. there are two key committees in the house that are going to start discussing this bill, may

some other tweets from other senators on the committee, democrat richard blumenthal.e said, judge gorsuch must say whether he meets trump's litmus test for supreme court. decades of progress on women's health is that break. -- at stake. another democrat, judge gorsuch's accidents show -- actions show that he would fit right in this court's pattern of putting corporations before people. we especially want to hear from you, phone numbers are on the screen. from herecalling in in d.c., one for republican. caller: can you hear me? hello? host: go ahead. caller: i was calling to certainly, as a black american male, african-american male, and i feel that judge gorsuch would make a good judge. i listened, as one of the previous caller said, to his inner voice, his character. he certainly has the temperament of a good judge. i do take deference as some of the senators have, with some of his record decisions. disciplede will of -- he is obviously a strict originalist when it comes to jurisprudence. he seems to be very adherent to that, but i think when he says that there are n

. >> senator richard blumenthal called the choice disappointing.said as a father of four who's left his daughter in the care of coaches, this kind of abuse is a major concern. >> somewhere lurking in the back of every parent's mind is the possibility in any sport that this kind of abuse can happen. >> the senate judiciary committee is considering legislation that would force olympic organizations to report accusations to police immediately. this comes after more than 80 girls and young women filed police compliants against a team doctor. usa gymnastics is criticized for waiting five weeks to report him to the fbi. its long-time president has stepped down. now new court documents raise questions about sex abuse claims against dozens of coaches. >>> there is hope today for millions of americans who suffer from kpema, a debilitatg by an overactive immune condition. you may recognize it as red, itchy rashes on the body that are pretty extreme. the fda has approved a new drug that could be a game-changer. in clinical trials, patients reported a 70% impr

. >> prosecutors have noticed that other prosecutors, like eliot spitzez richard blumenthal, won highoffice by racking up impressive conviction records. >> you see all these regulations around here? they will comb the books, and they will find something. >> this could happen to you. they can take any law that they think you broke and take you to trial, and whether you win or lose you're going to lose because, by the time you're done fighting it, you're broke. >> of course, the government never goes broke. they must have spent a million taxpayer dollars going after >> i >> i heard they spent 5 million. >> the amount of money it takes bankrupts the typical person. >> how much money does it take? >> i've had clients that spent $10 million. >> i cannot even imagine how much money they spent prosecuting my husband. >> the feds tried jill barron's husband jack and lost. but instead of apologizing for getting it wrong, they threatened to fine him $37,000 a what t what terrible crime did the government say jack and jill committed? tryin trying to build a house on their own property. the count

here is what richard blumenthal had to say a short time ago on "morning joe." >> if he's out of the mainstream, i will not only vote against him, i will use every tool including filibuster. >> reporter: now, of course the filibuster only goes so far. republicans suggested mitch mcconnell is willing to go nuclear for it to go through. expect it to be a vocal fight over the next couple days. they are going to frame this, the democrats that this is a nominee that goes for corporations over every day americans, turning, essentially on its head what the president said he would do when he came into office. >>hris jansing, thank you for that report. let's bring in a professor of harvard law school. i want to get to james comey in a moment. your thoughts on the push for neil gorsuch. how contentious is this going to get? >> it's going to get contentious. the democrats have a right that the nominee made by president obama to fill this vacancy was never given a hearing. this should have been a democratic nomination. that's going to be their point. they are going to ask gorsuch himself, what does he thin

you heard senator richard blumenthal saying he would try to hold up the nomination of rosenstein.ou talked about there's an acting a.g. now. blumenthal threatened to hold this up unless there is an independent prosecutor to look into russia. do you believe rob rosenstein could conduct a fair investigation? >> i do know rod. if he was a u.s. attorney, he could conduct this investigation. as a deputy attorney general, you are at the white house in meetings with the president, in meetings with the president's team. your staff is enmeshed with the attorney general's staff, who is recused from this investigation. it's impossible for the deputy attorney general, whether it's rod or anyone else, it has to be taken out of the command of the d.o.j. and given to an independent prosecutor. >> i have a question for you, matt. do you feel like in senator blumenthal in trying to hold up the a.g. nomination, are democrats overplaying their hand here given this is a guy who you say has impeccable credentials? >> i think what they want to accomplish and i think it is the right thing to accomplish

a letter was sent to attorney general jeff sessions from senators richard blumenthal, merkley and warren they've posed some pointed questions they say they want attorney general jeff sessions to answer such as, quote, why was mr. bharara fired? two, which white house or justice department officials are responsible for the decision to fire him? three, was he involved in or conducting an investigation of secretary tom price at the time he was fired. secretary tom price was reportedly buying and selling stocks in health care companies while he was simultaneously sponsoring and voting on legislation that would affect the stock price of those companies. it's been previously reported that preet bharara's office was investigating that as a potential criminal corruption case when bharara was suddenly fired with no explanation. if bharara was investigating secretary price at the time he was fired, were you aware of that investigation? was president trump aware of that investigation? were other white house or justice department officials aware of that at the time mr. bharara was fired? then the bi

. >> democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut said he will attempt to block rosenstein untill. >>> and the affordable care act has been met with protests and attempted to smear the plan, and, in fact, one of the groups is offering an alternative to the house leadership. despite all that, the president, vice president, and congressional leaders presented an optimistic front. >> the american health care act is the framework for reform. we are certainly open to improvements and to recommendations in the legislative process, but this is the bill. >> i think, really, that we're going to have something that is going to be much more understood and much more popular than people can even imagine. this will be a plan where you can choose your plan. and you know what the plan is, this is the plan. and we're going to have a tremendous -- i think we'll have a tremendous success. it's a complicated process, but actually it's very simple. it's called good health care. >> let's not forget, obamacare is collapsing. obamacare isn't staying. if we did nothing, the law would collapse and leave e

one of the members, senator richard blumenthal said he will use every tool in his power to block that nomination out of hand until he gets a commitment that a special prosecutor would be appointed by rob rosen stein, the selection to be deputy attorney general. as we've seenl over the last couple months, republicans don't need democrats to move the nominations along. if you look at the fallout of what happened on friday with attorney general sessions, it goes deeper than just amended testimony. other nominees have to deal with this going forward, specifically on the special prosecutor issue. >> phil mattingly on the hill. thank you for that. also this morning, the state department condemning a new round of north korean missile tests saying the u.s. is ready to defend its allies. >> north korea fired four ballistic missiles overnight, three landed in japanese waters. cnn national correspondent will ripley is live in tokyo. needless to say, the japanese very on edge from what they're seeing from north korea. >> reporter: they certainly are, john. three missiles landed less than 200 mile

richard blumenthal has not ruled out a possible filibuster based on a litmus test.e said this morning. >> not only filibuster, but use every tool that we have if he is in fact out of the main stream in that way. remember, we're talking about a well established long established precedent, roe v. wade certainly fits that description, and that kind of out of the main stream thinking will cause media filibuster and every tool i have at my discretion to use. >> thanks so much, david for sticking around, you just heard senator blumenthal, for so many years, the senate refused to hold confirmation hearings for obama's supreme court pick. >> their anger is justified, it was unprecedented essentially to block the garland appointment for such a long time. that said, i must tell you, ana, that president trump has chosen a man in gorsuch who by all -- by the assessment of most people who have talked to him and studied his record is within the conservative main stream, he's not way out in the fringes, and he's well qualified for the post. he seems to be a humble man. and i think

senator richard blumenthal when public with that in early february and president trump tweeted aboutor blument l blumenthal. called it a misrepresentation of the judge's remarks. now the judge has done so publicly. it's a long day in the hearing room. jessica snider has more. >> reporter: in the midst of a ten-hour day of questions. emerged of supreme court nominee who refused to be pinned down. >> when i became a judge, they gave me a gavel. not a rubber stamp. and nobody comes to my court expecting a rubber stamp. >> reporter: senators pressed judge gorsuch on views and future rulings. instead he pointed to respect out of legal opinions. >> my personal views i'd also tell you mr. chairman belong over here. i leave those at home. >> judge gorsuch rarely referenced prumpb directly, but firmly rejected the notion his nomination was based on litmus test. >> did he ever ask you to overrule roe v. wade. >> what would you have done. >> i would have walked out the door. it's not what judges do. >> democrats seized on gorsuch's decisions. they say favor big business. >> how do we have confi