joining me again, dan abrams, abc news. also law news which i really like. sorry.ff on a tangent. >> promotion is good. >> i don't remember all of those people defending fox when barack obama spent eight years coming off us. >> i think you can argue there's a difference between obama going after fox and trump talking about changing the entire way the media covers the president. criticizing fox, you know, you can disagree with obama, say it wasn't helpful to him. donald trump criticizing the "the new york times" or whoever, i think those two are equivalents. but my greater concern is what donald trump is talking about doing in terms of marginalizing the media as a whole. >> it's already happened, hasn't it? >> yeah. >> already done it. >> basically saying i'm not going to let the media be the check on me. and you know, in a situation where the media has mhistoricaly been the place that represents people in asking hard questions, in getting answers from political leaders, from putting people in power their feet to the fire. i think if you do it from a macro perspecti

let's talk to dan abrams about this. right now kind of unusual right there.sident is right that the conflict of interest law does not apply to the president. yet, you had the head of the office of government ethics come out last night and say what he's done is completely meaningless in terms of conflicts of interest. >> right, so let's separate this out into ethics and legal. let's start with the ethical side of this. he still owns the company. what does that mean? it means that when the company gets richer, donald trump gets richer. it also means, and this is something people aren't talking about enough, he's still subject to litigation, so if someone is suing the company, donald trump still has to be involved in that litigation. that's a big deal. >> and a third point there, he also knows what his company is. he knows where the businesses are. he knows whether actions he is going to take will help the company. >> of course, all he's saying in effect is i'm not going to have day-to-day control over the company, and there are going to be certain restrictions

dan abrams weighs in on the case live. with your "gma" first look linzie janis abc news, new york...another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works... ...in one week. with the... fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and... ...even deep wrinkles. "one week? that definitely works!" rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena®. "see what's possible." with not food, become food? thankfully at panera, 100% of our food is 100% clean. no artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, or colors. panera. food as it should be. rooster sounds honey, what are you doing? watching a cow. oh what's it doing? rooster sound impressions. rooster sound power up your morning with a 300-calorie egg white grill. only at chick-fil-a. >> ♪ >> in the morning buzz, i guess that's why they call him the boss. bruce springsteen performed during president obama's inaugural and he's made it pretty clear he's not a fan of donald trump. that's why a new jersey based springsteen tribute band

at 7 a.m., dan abrams weighs in on the case live. and it's sometimes even better when things go down. novec, a not-for-profit electric cooperative, provides wholesale power to its customers at cost. any changes in that cost are passed along through an annual power cost adjustment on bills. the average home's power bill from novec will again go down in 2017 by nearly $11 a month. making down a very good direction for power bills. there are times when it's nice that things go up. and it's sometimes even better >> you are watching "good morning washington," on your side. larry: grab the him relevant for you head out the door this morning as you are waking up to a rainy and mild start. jummy: i let's get over to v.j. for a check on the forecast. veronica: not at all. had a little bit of the rain come through this morning. after 8:00, 9:00 or so, more rain moving into the area. as mentioned, not that cold out there this morning, temperatures in the mid-to-upper 30's, getting into the upper 40's by lunchtime. today is in the 50's. air, anu

let's bring back our legal team dan abrams along with sunny hostin.you know, when you first heard about this case it was horrifying. seeing the tape makes it so much worse. >> it's so much worse. heartbreaking because as an attorney we do know as attorneys our clients are people we protect. our clients are people that we are sworn to protect and when you see this sort of violation in the inner sanctum, dan and i were discussing this, it could be up to 25 women he did this to. only six he pled guilty to. >> he's behind bars. does he have any chance. >> no chance to win the civil suits. the question is damages. he's going to lose them but the the number? is he going to defend them at all? i mean, because when you're talking about a civil lawsuit you're talking about money damages. and the questions are going to be does he come forward and use the kind of defense he might have used in a criminal case which is, well, you know, let's not blow this out of proportion as you just heard in the piece. >> can't make them do something they don't want to do. >> ex

our chief legal analyst dan abrams has more on this. in the house and senate are going to try to overturn this. that's not going to work. lots of challenges springing up in the courts over the last couple of days. >> that's right. this won't be an easy challenge. for those who think we'll get it awrong. this is a complicated tough case for those challenging it. first of all, the argument he's targeting muslims in my view is not going to be the strongest argument. some are saying you can make that argument and win on an establishment clause. i don't think that's the strongest argument. the stronger argument, looking at the law itself. this is the immigration and nationality act law which specifically says you cannot discriminate based on nationality, country of origin, place of birth, et cetera, and as a result, you would think, well, that's pretty straightforward. except there's another part of the law which makes it complicated which specifically says that the president has the power to suspend the entry of any class of alien found to

coming up at 7:00, dan abrams weighs in the on the case live.ith your gma first look, abc news new york. >>> a fire sent a man to the hospital and killed three dogs in belmont. you're looking at a photo tweeted by belmont police showing a burning home on christian drive. 47-year-old man says he left the house and then came back after the fire started. he suffered smoke inhalation trying to save those dogs. we don't know what sparked this fire. >>> the coast guard has canceled a search for a father and son swept into the ocean by a wave along an oregon beach over the weekend. 31-year-old jason dean thomas and his 3-year-old son were walking along the beach at cape blanco about 75 miles north of the california state line bht wave pulled both out to sea on sunday. the boy's mother saw it happen and called authorities. authorities say the waves were especially rough because of the approaching storm. >>> mark zuckerberg is headed to court today. he is set to testify in dallas that claims the vr technology was stolen. facebook is being sued by a maryl

coming up at 7:00 a.m., we'll have the latest on the case with dan abrams weighing in live with your gma first look, i'm eva pilgrim. >>> state officials say governor brown's administration miscalculated costs for the medical program and the slip-up was a whopping $1.9 billion. the administration discovered the accounting mistake last fall, but didn't tell lawmakers until adjustments were made to the dpofr's proposal last week. the state's department of finance says there's no other way to describe it other than an accounting error, making up for the medical shortfall means they won't be able to spend money on other things. >>> general motors has been hit with a $1 million fine in connection with the ignition switch recall. the feds say the automaker knew its ignitions were a safety issue at least a year before it became public. the fine by the security and exchange commission is for not having the checks in place to warn gm accountants in advance of a potential recall. >>> federal investigators say better accounting controls would have helped get to the recall sooner and could have

coming up on gma, you're going to hear more on those allegations and chief legal analyst dan abrams is going to look closely at any lingering conflicts of interest issues. >>> after a late night marathon, senate republicans approved a budget blueprint to repeal and replace president obama's landmark affordable care act. republicans say this measure is is necessary. democratic senator bernie sanders says thousands of people will die if obamacare is repealed. and questions still remain about what exactly is going to replace it. the house is expected to vote on the blueprint as early as tomorrow. >>> the deadline to enroll in covered california for the year is the end of the month. tomorrow, agents will be right here at abc7. they're going to be answering your covert california questions and get you started on enrollment. that's all going to be hosted by michael finney and "7 on your side." our phone lines will be open from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. if you post a question online, use #askfinney. >>> if you know what a lack coffee table is or a billy book shelf, the chances are you have spent some

lawsuits have been filed in multiple states challenging the president's travel ban so let's bring in dan abrams. dan, tell us where this executive order stands right now as far as the courts are concerned. >> all that's been issued are called stays around the country from federal district court judges who are basically saying, you can't implement parts of it which suggest, for example, that people who have valid paperwork who were in the air or then held in detention centers have to be released, have to be allowed in the country for now but a stay is just temporary. it is not a ruling on the ultimate merits of the case and that's going to come later. there will be all sorts of challenges, but keep in mind, the president has enormous discretion when it comes to immigration so these cases are not going to be easy. >> all right, dan, i know you'll be keeping your eye on it, thank you. >>> i want to bring in jon karl our chief white house correspondent and jon it appears the president may name a supreme court nominee today. >> reporter: i'm told it could come as soon as this afternoon if not tomorr

let's get started with dan abrams at the table. latest on that trial involving princess kate. six joushlists facing a year in prison after publishing topless photos of kate. >> we're talking about a possibility of actually having to serve time. keep in mind that when these paparazzi take these kind of pictures typically built into the cost of it is potential fines, potential legal fees in europe. if we get into trouble we'll have to pay x amount of dollars. criminal changes everything. you're no longer talking about how many dollars you're talking about the possibility of time and executives from the magazine, you're talking about the photographers, this is a big deal the trial has been delayed a little bit. >> is this a british thing or could this happen in america be are routinely stalked by paparazzi? similar charges if the same thing happened here. >> they would not. france has the toughest privacy laws in europe, at least some of them. the fact that this occurred here makes it harder. why they're suing there and why they pushed so hard for the prosecution there which is t

>> we bring in dan abrams. referring to it as defamatory, that sounds like legal language. defamation. grounds for a lout. if they were to sue, it would be to demonstrate that what was said about them was both false and led to damages. but i don't think they're going to end up suing. in a case like this. i think this is dick clark productions way of saying, stop. do not say this stuff anymore about us. be quiet. shut up. and if you don't, then maybe we're going think about maybe legal language. but, using the word defamatory is definitely a sort of covert threat. >> a shot across the bow, so to speak. on her side, she says her ear piece didn't work. we've all been in live settings. she says this does happen. she says maybe this is about the ratin ratings. >> she could sue for negligence. they had a duet toy to make sure she h you didn't do it. i've had damages. >> with it hold up? >> i don't think it will happen either. i love being on for this segment. i don't think there will be legal action either way. >> yo

dan abrams at the table for our first story. more trouble for volkswagen.charges. the company is accused of selling cars to consumers that are known to pollute. he is due to be arraigned in court. serious move? let's take a step back talking about 11 million cars that were fitted with these devices that allowed hem to fool emission tests and would go in for an emissions test, make it seem like there's no problem. the moment it leaves it's allegedly polluting into the air and the question was, who knew what? right? because initially the government was given a lot of false explanations, technical explanations for why this might be happening. now, volkswagen is admitting that there were 11 million cars that were fitted with this. now we're seeing, again, not a civil but a criminal arrest here of this person they believe defrauded the united states. >> let's talk about the civil. as you said there were 11 million people who owned this car. where do they tan? >> one of three things can happen. either they can go get it fixed. or if it can't be fixed they can get

for more let's bring in dan abrams. a lot to talk about. >> yeah. >> so, allegedly alexis knew more than a year ago, told a friend about it and some people are wondering, there's no way she could face charges here. >> right. so typically it is not required to report a crime, right? you're not a criminal for not reporting a crime. but if someone was an accessory after the fact, what does that mean? if they helped to conceal it in some way, shape or form, someone else could be charged. do i think that's going to happen? no. do i think there's any chance that she will be charged for helping to conceal this? absolutely not. look, from -- you just look at it from her perspective as an 18-year-old even if she knew a year and a half ago, she's the victim here. you know, she is a victim. she was stolen away from a hospital. she was brought up by the only mother that she knew and so you have to sympathize with her plight. doesn't mean you have to sympathize with the woman who brought her up. >> no, and there's very little sympat

we'll bring in dan abrams for more. i don't have to tell you how serious those charges are. what does it say to you about what authorities suspect her role may have been. >> it's saying that the authorities are charging her for activities before this happened and after it happened. meaning before for aiding and abetting. meaning in some way providing some level of assistance, help, doesn't mean she was an accomplice but means they believe she helped in some way, shape or form. i think that even more surprising than that is they're also charges her for obstructing justice after the fact. meaning crime is committed. authorities begin investigation and they believe she's obstructed that investigation. why is that surprising? because up to this point we had heard that she was cooperating with the authorities and typically when someone cooperates with the authorities they don't get charged with obstructing justice but it seems clear the authorities believe there are inconsistency in her story and don't believe her. >> you've been following this since the attack. is there anything

let's talk to dan abrams about this.aw that trooper do, look at those two videos, what do they tell you. >> both parties are at fault and, you know, this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. but in the state of washington, like many states you've got comparative fault, right? that means that, yes, you can still sue even if you're at fault. in some states if you're at fault, you can't sue. even if you're not 100% at fault even if you're 50% at fault you're not going to win a lawsuit. in the state of washington you can win a lawsuit like that but what will happen a jury will decide what percentage at fault were you. >> how do they do that? >> that's exactly what juries do all the time in cases like this. they basically look at those videos, they compare them and they say, well, wait a second. this guy never should have chased him, right? they talk about the first -- well, he was dui, et cetera and then they sit there and literally balance it and that can determine how much damages someone can get. the problem is according to th

we're going to bring in our chief legal analyst dan abrams.? >> when the dick clark team starts referring to it as defamatory, that sounds like legal language. right? defamation. that's grounds for a lawsuit. if they were to sue, it would be to demonstrate that what was said about them was both false and led to damages. but i don't think they're going to end up suing. in a case like this. i think this is dick clark productions' way of saying stop. do not say this stuff anymore about us. be quiet. shut up. and if you don't, then maybe we're going to think about some legal language. but, using the word defamatory is definitely a sort of covert threat. >> a shot across the bow, so to speak. >> exactly. >> on her side she says her ear piece didn't work. we've all been in live settings. it does happen. she says maybe this is about the ratings. >> sabotage is a strong word, too. >> she could sue for negligence. if what she's saying is true, she could say, you guys had a duty to make sure i had a working microphone. you didn't do it. i've had damages

. >>> we're already talking about it, back now with our big board and have our legal eagles, dan abramsstin here at the table with us. let's start, okay, with that best buy bombshell. are there ties between the geek squad and the fbi? a new probe is under way after court filings allege the feds were using some technicians as paid informants. this is some big stuff here. a lot of people hand over their computers and this all stems from a probe in california, a doctor there, about child pornography. >> yep. >> he put in a plea of not guilty. tell people more. >> basically the doctor goes in, wants his computer fixed. goes to best buy, best buy takes it, says we need to take it, send it to kentucky to fix it. the doctor signs document that says if there is child pornography on here, it's going to be reported to the authorities. okay. so, in kentucky, they then look at the computer and lo and behold what do they find? child pornography. the doctor is charged with the crime. two issues, number one, was the geek squad effectively working with the fbi? meaning, were they an arm of the fbi at t