. >> chris: you just heard dan pfeiffer. he says that nobody in the white house knew about this until the ig report was relayed to them in late april or the fact of it was relayed to the white house counsel. do you have any evidence that information about the political targeting of conservatives went either to the treasury department or to white house officials before what the white house is saying? >> we don't know the answer to that. this is just the beginning of this investigation. remember, the inspector general just did an audit. they didn't do an investigation like e-mails and things like that. the inspector general told us at the hearing now they are in the midst of an investigation and what we received the other day is an audit which revealed that they misled congress. they were in fact targeting people and their political beliefs. we have credible allegations that derns were harassed and imtim dated and religious groups involved. we are just gentlemenning the investigation and don't know the answer to that. >> chris

but dan pfeiffer, was he effective?l ginsburg by doing five of the sunday talk shows. he was spinning hard. he talked about the play book. i think the white house pulled a page out of the play book when the administration is getting attacked, the best thing to do is muddy the waters and go on the offensive. that's what he tried to do. i think it may have been a week or two early because we still don't know all the scope of what's going on, especially with the irs. and there's still lots more there. we talked about the a.p. scandal with the department of justice kind of subpoenaing records for reporters. so there's still a lot to be out there. i think he put down a marker, he kind of drew a line in the sand and said this is where we are and started to wail on congress. >> the white house has been slow to get out in front of these issues. what if anything can they do to take charge of the stories? >> start firing a lot of people that work in the government. that would be a great start. they did that with the acting commis

joining us now is the president's senior advisor dan pfeiffer. and dan, welcome back to "fox news sunday." >> thank you, chris. >> chris: president obama was asked a broad question about the irs scandal this week and he gave a narrow answer. let's take a look. can you assure the american people that nobody in the white house knew about the agency's actions before your counsel's office found out on april 22? >> i can assure you that i certainly did not know anything about the ig report before the ig report had been leaked through press. >> chris: so, he only talked the president about the ig report. the question was broader about any agency irs activities. white house knew anything about the irs targeting conservatives before information about the eg report was given to the white house in april? >> yes, the first time as we he said that any one heard about this at the white house is when the counsel's office of treasury department called to let us know there was an investigation that was coming to a conclusion. we didn't know the details of it. we

starting with the strategist at the center of white house damage control, adviser dan pfeiffer. thanks for coming back to "this week." >> thanks for having me. >>> you and others have said that no one in the white house knew about irs actions before getting the heads up on the inspector general report last month, are you absolutely sure of that? >> that's what we looked at. that's the first we heard of it. as has been said, the secretary was made aware as the investigation was beginning. no one in the white house was aware. what we actually knew, there was an investigation coming to a conclusion. not that we knew the results. >> until wednesday. last june, the deputy treasury secretary is told, as far as you know, he did not tell his boss treasury secretary tim geithner and hi didn't tell the white house? >> that's correct. >> from the white house, to irs, or treasury, rob portman is coming up on the program and he's written a letter to president obama, wanting to know what if any private pressure was exerted by the white house or treasury department political appointees on the

with us this morning, the president's senior adviser, dan pfeiffer, the republican leader in the senate, mitch mcconnell of kentucky, and the man leading a congressional investigation into the irs, chairman of the house ways and means committee, dave camp. and later the political fallout from benghazi and the justice department seizure of phone records from the associated press. plus former secretary of defense donald rumsfeld returns to "meet the press." this time he's out of office and weighing in on the big issues in "rumsfeld's rooms: leadership lessons in politic, war and life." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the world's longest running television program, this is "meet the press" with david gregory. >>> good sunday morning. tough week for president obama. one columnist wondering if the president like president clinton before him could actually emerge stronger from all of this, while others see the swirl of the controversies making it harder for the president to succeed with his second-term agenda. includish health care reform. the president is going to address congratu

you heard dan pfeiffer, who reacted and talk about a culture of cover up.r thoughts. >> it is tough stuff. americans are targeted for their beliefs and it went on for years. officials at the treasury knew about this a year ago, officials at the irs knew about this two years ago, congress has been trying to get answers for two years and we were stonewalled. >> stonewalled by the irs it appears? >> yes. frankly, this is an audit. we still need to have the investigation. >> but congress requested the i.g. investigation, which you got. you were aware of that, you initiated it and even got some preliminary results about it that darrell issa referred to. >> no, this is an audit, not an investigation. but the question is why after repeated hearings and letters to the agency when high-ranking officials in the agency knew about it, why did they not come forward? because americans were targeted for their political views, what books they read, what the contents of their prayers were, did they know anyone running for political office? i don't care what your political s

dan pfeiffer is the senior adviser to the president.use to talk about all of these issues. dan, thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. >> clarify, did anyone at the white house, because the president was specifically asked this question today, really didn't give us a hard answer, did anyone at the white house know anything about these irs abuses before we all learned about it the other day? >> well, wolf, as we've said, the first time that we were aware of this is when we heard a few weeks ago there was an active inspector general report into the irs. that was the first we heard. we didn't know the details of it until they came out in the press late last week. >> when you say a few weeks ago, was that three weeks, five weeks? >> three weeks ago, i believe. >> three weeks ago. so you personally found out at that time as well? >> no, the council was notified then. there was an inspector general review happening there. there were reviews happening across at all times. the details we learned from the press and learned for the f

you heard dan pfeiffer. he said hey released more than 100 e-mails that should help people understand why they came to the talking points that we heard that sunday morning after benghazi that were given out by susan rice. >> well, listen, i'll always applaud the release of documents, but let's put it in perspective, bob. there are nearly 25,000 documents that they haven't released, most of which are unclassified. release those. most troublesome is one we found in a pile done on september 12, hours after the attack. it was even before the wounded had been evacuated to germany. it was done before the fast team, the marines had come in to secure tripoli. in this e-mail, beth jones from the state department to the senior people at the state department says that she told the libyan ambassador-- we, the united states-- told libya that was al-sharia, islamic extremist that committed this attack and the president of libya came on "face the nation" and talked about this, only to have susan rice come and say it was so

. >> obama communications adviser dan pfeiffer insisting its gop overreach. looking at what's in store in the days ahead for the administration as they try to clean up a week rot with scandal. >> some of you are graduating summa cum laude. some of you are grade waiuating magnum cum laude. i know some of you are just graduating thank you, lordy. >> and president obama at moorehouse today. what it was like having the president in the house and also talk about making college a bit more affordable. >>> get out your wallet. check your ticket if you haven't. it could be you if you bought it in florida. someone in the sunshine state is now really, really rich. maybe even wealthy. we'll get to those story nas moment, but we begin with our sunday afternoon political headlines. the irs controversy, possible overreach by the justice department in its investigation of the associated press. and the benghazi investigation. all of those scandals still rocking the white house to a certainly extent. front and center on the sunday talk shows. dan pfeiffer made the rounds this

rand paul senator and dan pfeiffer. at 4:00, "face the nation" from cbs.nother discussion with dan pfeiffer and also senate majority whip john cornyn. and gary pruitt. the talk shows are brought to you as a public service networks and c-span. again, it re-airs at noon eastern with nbc's "meet the press." news sunday. 3:00 eastern, cnn of the "state of the union." and a 4:00, "face the nation" from cbs. listen to all of them on c-span radio. nationwide on xm satellite radio channel 119. you can download our free app for your smart phone or listen online at c-span radio.org. anlucretia garfield was educated woman and as a believer in women's rights, she expressed frustration with the traditional roles of mother and wife. during james garfield front porch campaign for president, she reluctantly played the role of hostess for her husband. but when she was -- when he was assassinated, she returns to ohio and ensured his legacy by making their home into an early version of a presidential library. we will look at the life of first lady lucretia garfield and that

white house senior adviser dan pfeiffer trying to clear the air doing five sunday talk shows. far. >> we've seen this play book from the republicans before. what they want to do when they're lacking a positive agenda is drag washington into a swamp of partisan fishing expeditions, trumped up hearings. we're not going to let that happen. >> the

>> we just taped an interview with dan pfeiffer, the president's senior adviser, which we'll have one hour. he's frankly going out on all the sunday shows. our interview was pretty intense, you don't want to miss it, as we talk especially about the i.r.s. and benghazi and the effect all of this is having for the president on his second term. he wants to press ahead on immigration and jobs and all these other issues, but people around washington know when you get one scandal, let alone three of them, it sucks the oxygen out of the air and he's going to have a tough time getting washington to tend to his agenda. >> did he say anything about sort of what the mood is behind-the-scenes? it's one thing for the white house to be constantly criticized by people they expect to criticize them, but when you have people like jon stewart and jay leno turning on the white house, it gets scary for them. >> well, supposedly, the white house chief of staff had a meeting with all the top staff this week and told them he wants them to spend only 10 -- no more then 10% of their time on the scandals. in

you can create -- i asked dan pfeiffer about it. can you talk about a culture. do you have any evidence that the president of the united states directed what you call a culture of intimidation at the irs to target political opponents? >> i don't think we know what the facts are. >> that hasn't stopped you from accusing. >> we're talking about an attitude the government knows best, the nanny state is here to tell us what to do and if you start criticizing, you get targeted. >> let me stop you for a minute. >> david, let me finish. david, let me finish. the investigation has just begun. i'm not going to reach a conclusion about what we may find, but what we do know happened is they were targeting tea party groups. we know that. >> we do know that. the question is how it initiated, who initiated it and how high that goes. >> sure. that's why you have investigations. >> right. it interesting. the larger issue here, as some have point issed out, is the ex of the 501 c 4 groups. they are involved in politics but they're also involved in some kind of social good. i gue

senior advisor dan pfeiffer appearing on all five talk shows. the full ginsberg he tells us. exploiting the ap story and benghazi controversy for political purposes. he calls it offensive. >> no, i do not. we've seen this playbook from the republicans before. what they want to do when lacking a positive agenda try to drag washington into a swamp of partisan fishing expeditions and trumped up hearings and false allegations. we'll not let that happen. president has things to do for. bill: good morning to you, roy blunt and thank you for your time. >> good morning,ing bill. bill: i hope you're doing well. he calls it offensive . what do you say? >> well, i also heard him say trumpedded hearings. i don't know what is trumped up about this. it is clear facts are out there. the irs did things that nobody should in their right mind defend. it is also clear from benghazi where at the time that happened i was on the senate intelligence committee, that the information was never allowed to many could out that should have come out. i think the real challenge here for republicans frankly

how damaging to this president, we're nowhere near an answer to that. >> clayton: you mentioned dan pfeiffersunday,". >> chris: chris we will be talking after pfeiffer to paul ryan. he was mitt romney's running mate in the 2012 election. one of the things i'm going ask him is does he think e failure to pursue the irs firing, does he think the emails and the talking points on benghazi were an effort by this whi house to sway, some would say to mislead the country and win the 2012 election. will talk to paul ryan about that at the top of the hour. >> alisyn: sounds like a good show, chris. we will be watching "fox news sunday." thanks so much. >> chris: you bet. >> claytthanks, chris. >> alisyn: who holds the winning a 90-million-dollar power ball ticket? we're live outside the store where it was sold. >> tucker: then this summer these dogs will be breaking the law. many states making laws requirg you to, quote: secure your pet. we're going to tell you the best ways to keep your dog safe when we come bak. [ man ] on december 17, 1903, the wrightrothers became the first in flight. [ goodall ] i

spokesman dan pfeiffer on all five sunday shows calling the behavior of the irs inexcusable. up next we'll talk to senator johnny iiz isaacson. the day my doctor told me i had diabetes, i remember thinking there's a lot i have to do... check my blood sugar, eat better. start insulin. today i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said with levemir® flexpen... i don't have to use a syringe and a vial. levemir® flexpen comes prefilled with long-acting insulin taken once daily for type 2 diabetes to help control high blood sugar. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial. no refrigeration for up to 42 days. levemir® (insulin detemir [rdna origin] injection) is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life threatening. ask your health care provider about alcohol use, operating machinery,

senate republican leader mitch mcconnell and dan pfeiffer will be among david's guests sunday morning on "meet the press." >>> first lady michelle obama had a few things to say about the importance of getting a good education and living a productive life today. she gave the commencement speech at bowie state in maryland, one of the oldest historically black universities, founded a few months before the end of the civil war. it was clear the first lady was e her not just to inspir audience but to deliver a message and challenge those graduates. >> when it comes to getting an education, too many of our young people just can't be bothered. today, instead of walking miles every day to school they are sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching tv. instead of dreaming of being a teacher, a lawyer, a business leader, they are fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper. [ applause ] right now -- right now one in three african-american students are dropping out of high school. only one in five african-americans between 25 and 29 has a college degree. one in five. let's be ver

>> i would say the three people are dennis mcdonough, dan pfeiffer, jennifer palmery.jennifer palmery went through clinton and through john edwards. >> in strong terms or just sicca fan? >> everything you hear about them is that they do you bring up a good point. we don't know unless we're in that room. >> what's your sense? >> my sense is they don't. or he's not listening. somebody needs to tell him exactly as you said at the opening. he needs to hear the fact this train is coming. the only way you get in front of it is get all the information out, out in the time and manner you want to. you don't wait and let things leak out the way they've been. don't let yourself be second guessed. don't let yourself look like a thug -- >> let's talk about the benghazi -- >> we'll start with that. a lot of people think that's not properly called a scandal. what is it, though in what to you call that thing? >> it is sort of this -- i don't know what to call it. we'll call it a controversy. >> the enemy -- >> he believes that it is a witch hunt by republicans. >> he thinks that. do t

white house senior adviser dan pfeiffer says the conduct by the irs was wrong even if it wasn't legal>> what does the president believe? does the president believe that would be illegal? >> i can't speak to the law here. the law is irrelevant. the activity was outrageous and inexcusable and stopped and it needs to be fixed so ensure it never happens again. >> you don't really mean the law is irrelevant, do you? >> i mean whether it's legal or illegal is not important to the fact that it's -- the conduct doesn't matter. the department of justice has said they are looking into the legality of this and the president will not wait for that and make sure it doesn't happen again regardless of how that turns out. >> mark halpern? how was his performance yesterday? >> he did five shows. and i thought mostly he was good because the fact of the matter is -- i can -- i can argue both sides of sort of the macro status of these three flap scandals tragedies but the reality is america can and should walk and chew gum at the same time. there should be investigations by all of these things by dan pfe

tomorrow, white house adviser dan pfeiffer will appear on all five morning shows including "meet the press." lester? >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you. >>> for more on all these challenges facing the obama administration, let's turn to cnbc's chief washington correspondent, john harwood. john, clearly these are all controversies, kind of looked at as one thing, but as you separate them, which in your mind meets the standard of scandal and potentially most damaging to the administration? >> they're very different. the phone records case is a legal and law enforcement controversy over a policy judgment, may turn out to be a bad judgment. people in our business don't like it, but there's no evidence the american people are going to be that upset about it just as they weren't upset with some of aggressive tactics the bush administration used in the war on terror. benghazi was a terrible security failure, cost four american lives. but we knew that on day one, and the more we learn about the aftermath, the less it looks like a scandal and more it looks like typical bureaucrat

congressional hearing on friday he knew about the irs investigation a year ago but an obama provider dan pfeiffer said they knew about it for over a month. >> are you telling me a wisp of this didn't get over to the white house during an election year that there may be something going on over at the irs that we ought to find out about? >> yes, i'm telling you that. the first that the white house was made aware of it was from the treasury department a few weeks ago, not the details of what happened, not the results of the investigation but that an independent investigation was about to go on. >> if the president was so upset about this when he found out about it, why did he wait three days to say anything. >> because -- what we wait for were the facts. >> reporter: friday the inspector general said the irs targeted specific groups but the investigation didn't pinpoint exactly who was responsible. the irs is conducting a 30-day review of the entire organization. republican senator john cornyn. >> i have a very hard time believing that it was something that was cooked up between cincinnati and the i

jon: well, that is white house senior adivsor dan pfeiffer defending the president on five sunday talk shows over the weekend saying nobody in the white house knew the irs was targeting conservatives until the inspector general released his report. president obama said he was completely in the dark until he found out from the news media. but at least one person in the white house did get an early head's up. the president's lawyer, chief white house counsel, catherine rumbler was briefed on the report several weeks before the matter went public. jamie weinstein, at "the daily caller". why is dan pfeiffer saying nobody in the white house knew when in fact one of the top people in the white house apparently knew? >> i think he might have meant the president didn't know which is somewhat astonishing that senior counsel in the white house knew. the deputy secretary of the treasury knew the investigation began a year ago. the treasury secretary knew last month as well. seems like the president is being oil served if the people around him are not tilling him something this big. jon: i'm not s

white house aide dan pfeiffer says no orders were given to the irs to go after tea party groups. >> bottom line, no communication as far as you know from the white house, to the irs, about this targeting? >> no. absolutely not. whether it's legal or illegal, is not important to the fact that the conduct of the matter. we have to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> reporter: senior treasury officials learned of the investigation last year and so did republicans. the chair of the house oversight committee knew of the probe in june. and asked what would be in an irs inspector general's report. >> i knew when we made the allegations a year ago. an open secret. >> reporter: an open secret says republicans that called for a deeper investigation. >> i think a special council is going to end up being necessary here. >> reporter: pfeiffer, meanwhile, admits the targeting was wrong. but the white house will only go so far. >> what we're not participating in is partisan fishing expeditions to distract from the real issues at hand. >> reporter: there's more hearings on the hill. the republicans are

this morning on "this week," george stephanopoulos will be putting white house senior advicer dan pfeiffer on the hot seat. >>> the weather from ginger zee. >>> on top of the severe storms, very heavy rain. duluth could have more thran 3 inches of rain. then, we have to talk about the heat. because, it's going to be not warm but hot in some places from texas, dallas there at 92, orlando, 88. 85, new orleans. a quick look at the stormy southeast, atlanta could get pretty wet as well as some of those beaches. that's a look at the big picture. >> we have some pretty warm weather to talk about in the southwest, i'll have that coming up in the next half-hour. but for now, back into you. >>> in america, he may be best known as an underwear model and the husband of posh spice. david beckham is also a brilliant soccer player. >> a player whose career winding down. abc's jeffery couffman has his story. >> this was it. after three decades of professional soccer, david beckham played his final game. in paris. last night. he went out with cheers and tears. his own. a lot of them. >> i expected to have

with us this morning, the president's senior adviser, dan pfeiffer, the republican leader in the senatemcconnell of kentucky, and the man leading a congressional investigation into the irs, chairman of the house ways and means committee, dave camp. and later the political fallout from benghazi and the justice department seizure of phone reports from the associated press. plus former secretary of defense donald rumsfeld returns to "meet the press." this time he's out of office and weighing in on the big issues in "rumsfeld's rules."

dennis:hat was white house senior adviser dan pfeiffer making the rounds on a sunday morning news programsecting the president from the irs scandal. reports now show that the white house lawyers knew about the inappropriate targeting conservative groups which raise so many more questions. why did the president know, where and when they start, and what other government departments might be doing similar things? let's turthe clock back nearly two years and you will remember that the fed's, the raid on gibs guitars for impoing illegal would. the bill might have been a olit. and in retrospect, we are wondering because itrevealed them was all part of a longstanding pattern. here with his side in a fox business exclusive we have this ceo of gibson guitar. thank you for coming on the show . appreciate you being year. we thought about you instantly if in the wake the irs thing because we thought, what do you feel now in the have to worry about en they crack down on you it was a politically motivated attempt at scaring yo some have? >> wl, i still have not been able to determine what specifically c

dan pfeiffer gave the administration's strongest response yet to the irs scandal.hat he does not accept the president's story. >> it seems be to be the answer of the administration whenever they're caught doing something they shouldn't be doing, is "i didn't know about it," and it causes me to believe whether they believe willful ignorance is your defense when it's your job do know. >> what would be a real can daal is in the president had been involved or the department of justice. this was handled in the right way. the question is what happens when the problems come to light? do you take decisive action? that's what the president is doing. >> he also said we have seen this playbook from republicans before. congress is holding two more hearings on the irs this week. >>> the head of the associated press is asking president obama to step in and control the justice department. prosecutors seized a.p. phone records. they're reportedly looking for the source of a story about a foiled terror plot. a.p. president gary pruitt told "face the nation" that investigators have

from the white house this morning, senior adviser dan pfeiffer is here. plus an exclusive conversation with the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell. as congress delves deeper into the irs scandal i will speak with the man leading that effort, dave camp of michigan. all that and plus insights and analysis from the round table. we will also hear from don rumsfeld on his new book. and on press pass, a conversation with rick atkinson in the final book about america's involvement in europe in world war ii. it's all ahead this morning. >> 9:51. stephen colbert's personal words of wisdom to the students at uva. >> they're good. and "snl" surprises, the unexpected guest w >>> and in the last few minutes, we have just gotten an update on that breaking news in old town alexandria. we reported on the fire at bugsy's pizza restaurant. this is on king street down by the water. we have heavy smoke reported there. firefighters on the scene. they're trying to put everything out. we are hearing it broke out around 8:54 this morning and it had something to do wit

lou: dan pfeiffer would say tha is not relevant. >> si doesn't know anything. he doesn't.t lie because i don't kno anything. lou: we don't know th he is poor. [laughter] >> let's wait quarterbacks, folks. lou: why don't you go to the white house and tell them. i've tried for eight months, a that is -- that isot you customary standard because you know very welllthat it is that the prerative of this president's mother not truth is revealed. he has chosenquite clearly on a host of issues and scandals to deny truth to the american people. >> service on top of ap, the ir scandal overall. the number of others. aerious, serious problem. lou: w many othe jonalists said the same trtment as james rosen, their personal e-mails were searched because they were accuseof a crime by the white house. we know of one. >> a couple of things. they looked at mail from four months back to 2009 and covered it up and sealed it and we're only findi that about it now. incredible. lou: d you were leading to the fact that the pattern in each one of these scandals, these offenses against truth and agai

>> now saying he at least some details about the probe, given that yesterday's senior adviser dan pfeiffer seemed to suggest otherwise about what the white house was told. >> not the details of what happened o the result of the investigation. >> suddenly revealing to a wide approved senior white house officials were informed of the probe but did not tell the president. >> after that initial notification enable the white house counsel informed the chie of staff and other members of the senior staff. at no time did anyone on the staff intervene with the heiresses director-general audit . >> he only mentioned that ron meyer had been informed and dow plated by saying that she was bullied about the fact that the ads he was finishing a review o matters involving the office. >> the briefing last week about white house officials being aware, you just mentioned the office, not that chief of staff and others. >> i think i said that white house counsel . i did not know until friday, bu i'm getting this information to you now. >> they believe that aids may have deliberately insulate the president.

. >> reporter: dan pfeiffer was asked time and again when did the president find out about it? >> when it came out on the news a week ago friday. here's why. because, here's the cardinal rule in situations like these. not just for this white house but all white houses. is you don't interfere in an independent investigation. >> reporter: the scandal hasn't damaged the president's approval rating. a deeper look at the numbers finds public remains concerned about the irs along with the questions about benghazi and government seizure of phone records from associated press journalists. after his address to college graduates on sunday the president told a democratic fundraiser it's him versus washington. >> sometimes you feel as if washington is impeding rather than advancing the possibilities that these young people represent. >> reporter: as for who knew what when the white house is acknowledging the white house counsel was told that the inspector general's office was conducting this audit, looking into those allegations of political targeting at the irs. she did not have the draft

. >> reporter: dan pfeiffer was asked time and again when did the president find out about it. >> when it came out on the news on friday. here's the cardinal rule. not for just this white house but for all white houses you don't interfere in an independent investigation. >> reporter: the irs scandal hasn't damaged the president's approval numbers according to a new poll. a deeper look at the numbers finds the republican is concerned about the irs along with the questions about benghazi and the government seizure of phone records from associated press journalists. after his address to college graduates on sunday the president said it's him versus washington. >> sometimes you feel as if washington is impeding rather than advancing the possibilities that these young people represent. >> reporter: with more hearings featuring top irs officials coming this week it's a feeling the president may need to get used to. jim acosta, cnn, washington. >> 11 minutes fast hour. a lot of buzz about the personal nature of president obama's commencement address yesterday at moorehouse college. the presid

. >> sean: let me go back to stable condition, and dan pfeiffer was on all these programs.aw is irrelevant. >> let me ask all of you because there was statement made over the weekend by somebody from the white house the law would be irrelevant. do you believe that the law is irrelevant or is relevant to this? >> i believe the law is also relevant, sir. >> there was a statement made over the weekend whether the laws were broken. i'm just asking that the laws are relevant in this case? >> i guess i would agree with the inspector general people should not break the law. >> sean: i was shocked by your exchange there. >> he did. that was precisely the point i was getting at. if there were laws broken and inspector general did say that if they took confidential information and gave it to someone else, in this case pro bublica that would be a violation of law. is that relevant? i think the american people believe it's relevant. it was hard to get the deputy commissioner and the former commissioner to acknowledge that the law was relevant. inspector general didn't seem to have a pr