ellen weintraub of the fec which does great work. let me be very clear. enforcing campaign finance laws as they are under assault left and right. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> joining me now senator blumenthal of connecticut. in april he introduced a bill to require campaigns to report offers of assistance from foreign governments. objections from your colleagues to this, marsha blackburn objecting to unanimous consent to move forward on similar legislation yesterday. susan collins expressing her worry that you don't distinguish between. is that pretextual or good faith? >> there is really no good faith explanation for objecting to a law that makes absolutely crystal clear there is a duty to report this federal felony. as ellen weintraub said quite well there is no question, there is no ambiguity in the law that accepting dirt or derogatory information or anything of value from a foreign government or foreign national by a political candidate is against the law. reporting it ought to be a matter of patriotism and common sense but may need some cla

my sense is that people are not -- how can i put this politely since you are the head of the fec. they are not staying up at night in cold sweats worrying about the fec. >> i've heard. >> i mean that in no way to disrespect your work. i mean there is a very big difference between looking at a civil penalty from the fec and prison time. >> absolutely. when it comes to foreign national contributions, this is the rare issue on which the fec is capable of speaking. recently we had a case that involved one of the largest penalties that the fec managed to collect in a long time. he was almost a million dollars and involved a foreign national spending and had a unanimous decisions that was almost a million dollar penalty. >> generally they are quite deadlock and meant that enforcement can be difficult. it can be difficult to come by. you guys are 3 from each party and often you split. it's hard to be a consensus. from the judge brett kavanaugh sitting on a court to the bipartisan members, this is one area of campaign finance law under sustained ideological and judicial attack. this is bl

larry, as the former general counsel for the fec please tell me how unprecedented is it for the fec chairsue a rebuke of the president like this? >> i've never seen it before. you know, the fec usually has a lower profile. now, chairwoman winetraub is a serious commissioner, takes the law very seriously but we've never seen a statement like this about a president, about activity that's taken place, about warning the president that this activity is illegal. but she was up against a very difficult situation. the foreign national ban is one of the most important bans in the act, the federal election campaign act. it's one of two that applies to all elections, federal, state and local. the idea that someone doesn't know it is frightening, the idea that a president doesn't know it is unbelievable. she was reacting to that and took a step with a statement warning him. >> when you saw that clip with george stephanopoulos, what did you think? >> my jaw dropped. i had been looking at the mueller report and that particular section dealing with the meeting in trump tower in 2016. and mueller did not

that is what the chair of the fec had to say tonight. the law is very clear that it is a crime to accept that help from a foreign national. most republican members of congress refuse to comment today on the president's admission that he would violate the law but freshman republican senator mitt romney said that what the president was advocating is, this was his word, unthinkable. >> let's distinguish between circumstances where the queen of england says something to a pressure contender that obviously is not what we're talking about. in circumstances where a foreign government attempts to be involved in an american election, that would be simply unthinkable for a candidate for president to accept that involvement to encourage it to participate with it in any way, shape, or form. it would strike at the very heart of our democracy. >> the president said that candidates do it all the time. you ran for president. >> i ran for president twice, i ran for governor once. i ran for senate twice. i've never had any attempt made by a foreign govern

jim, so the fec, the head of the fec certainly doesn't leave any doubt as to whether or not this wouldk the law. and the fact that she felt compelled to put this out is very telling. >> it's very telling. and to me what jumped out was looking back at the mueller report today, one of the reasons that they decided that there was no prosecutable case there was because of the issues around the intent that's required by the statute. and the fec chairperson speaking publicly about this and basically putting all campaigns on notice about what the law is, a very clear, short understandable statement, i think that makes a big difference. and that will undercut anybody in the future who tries to claim that they didn't know that this was somehow federal law that this was somehow prohibited. so i think it's a very important thing that she did. >> carrie, is there any gray area when it comes to law on this? does a lot hinge on what's considered to be something of value? >> it does. under the campaign law, it would have to be a thing of value. and so that's where we really get into some gray space.

. >> fec getting involved and taking a look at companies and dominance in the marketplace and makinge that they are not misusing that. >> the big tech companies say they have done the best they can to navigate this rapidly changing landscape. for the most part they are helping to keep the industry afloat. it's tough to argue with the numbers. each month google reports they drive over 10 billion clicks to publishers web sitsz. bret? >> bret: jillian, thank you. the growing movement to break up the big tech companies. dan springer reports a major change in philosophy and strategy by some democrats and could actually become a big campaign issue. >> it is an unconventional campaign billboard planted in the center of silicon valley. the candidate behind it is not a surprise. >> it is time to break up america's tech giants. [cheers] >> senator elizabeth warren introduced a whole new campaign issue. one getting play on the campaign trail and inside the beltway. warren's plan is to break up google, facebook, and amazon, preventing them from competing on the platforms they own and operate. >>

so larry, the fec chief said she never thought she would have to clearly state that a campaign cannot accept foreign help. with youer the fec top lawyer and what went through your mind when you heard the president say what he said to abc. >> my draw dropped. this is one of the basic principles of campaign finance that you could not accept assistance from a foreign government. it is one of the only provisions, there is one other one, that applies to federal and state and local elections. it is of such concern you can't accept any help in any election. everybody knows this or should know this. so i thought it was ridiculous when he said that. >> and so what do you think about the way he's trying to walk it back, saying well you have to listen to then tell the fbi about what was being offered. what is your reaction to that and then also i want you to hit on what this thing of -- anything of value means because the fec chief clearly calls that out as well. >> no, you don't have to listen. it depends -- look, it depends on the facts. if somebody hands you an envelope and you don't know wha

i'm just here in my capacity as chair of the fec. part of my job is to make sure everyone understands the law i'm happy to have the opportunity to explain to the american public. i don't want to comment on any particular comment or conduct by any individual candidate. but i do want to emphasize that the law is completely clear that it is absolutely illegal for anyone in the united states to solicit accept or receive anything of value from a foreign source in connection with an election. >> right. i mean that is literally the quote i'll put it up on the screen. let me just be clear. information, right, of value is something of value, correct? i mean it -- we're not talking about getting a box from tiffanys although i'm sure we could be. we're talking about information. that's a things of value, correct. >> it can be. >> so when -- when mueller in his report did not charge the president on the issue of collusion or conspiracy, in part he said because he would have had a hard time calculating the value. so the mueller report says chairw

the standard is exactly as the fec chair put it in her tweet. if the information comes from a foreign national or entity, it has some monetary value, even very low, and there's an effort to solicit, accept, or receive it, that's a climb. you can make an argument that the president at minimum opened the door to that by his comments over the last couple days. >> and then, david, the president also in this interview laid into former white house counsel don mcgahn. let me play first what the president said. >> i was never going to fire mueller. i never suggested firing mueller. >> why would he say that? >> i don't care what he says. doesn't matter. that was to show everyone what a good counsel he was. >> why would don mcgahn lie under oath? >> because he wanted to make himself look like a good lawyer, or, or he believed it because i would constantly tell anybody that would listen, including you, including the media, that robert mueller was conflicted. >> just so we're all clear, david, and for everybody to remember, because the report is so long and

also the fec in 2013 or 2014, put out a notice of inquiry to solicit comments from anybody regarding the standards and whether or not things need to be reevaluated or changed. i think that is still open. i know the city attorney's office submitted comments on behalf of san francisco at that time. the standard essentially is the same since 1996. it doesn't mean it hasn't been relooked out or being evaluated. >> that's what council mentioned. since 1996 the technology of cellular -- with that technology, comes up other processes and other issues. understanding that the dagger is not pointed at you because you're public health. i understand it's coming from the federal government. this is san francisco. this is -- we're the first city to ban e-cigarettes and recycle and no plastic bags. steam like this should be something that should be on the radar when we have something that's dated from that period ago. when appellants come before us, they're like you guys are basing this off something from 1996. i don't have a car from 1996 anymore. that's any question. >> i'm going to pile on. seve

two stands in the united states attorney's office in the southern district of new york and wants at fec -- at the sec. toa prosecutor, you want win, but you do so only consistently with truth, fairness, and justice. if there is conflict, truth wins. thent to the sec in immediate wake of the financial crisis, the push to file cases against banks with high-pressure and nonstop. the public demanded it and understandably so considering the greed and risk-taking that occurred. we filed many cases, but there are many others that we did not because truth would not allow it. we would have been applauded how we filed -- had we filed those cases and may have even gotten a lot of settlements, but it would have been wronged. truth is exceeded over winning. -- truth succeeded over winning. graduates, truth is coming your way sooner than you think. some jurisdiction will announce you for to practice law -- you fit to practice law. or a young thurgood marshall, who at 26, started representing the naacp and rights cases -- you have taken the same oath as all of them and you will face your moment of tru

you know, you also had the head of the fec putting out a statement saying it is illegal to do that. this is not allowed by any foreign entity and especially a foreign government and one that is an adversary of the united states. >> susan, you and i have been around a bit. i do not remember anything on fec letterhead, going back decades, anything like the tone and tenor of that letter. >> and directed at the president of the united states, saying, to be clear, this is not acceptable. this is not legal. it hasn't been for a long time. so that is i'm sure why the president decided to walk it back on "fox & friends" though he didn't walk it back all the way. he didn't say he'd refuse to listen to dirt from a foreign entity. he said he would turn around and alert the fbi or other law enforcement agency but he would listen to it first. that is at odds with for instance what tom downey the congressman from long island did when he was working for al gore's presidential campaign and a briefing book, george w. bush's briefing book showed up at the campaign headquarters over the transom. they

but so far we have not gotten any information that the fec is actually investigating that.retty ironic, because i believe one to have democratic commissioners on the fec put out a press release just the other day saying, oh, yeah, yeah, this is potentially a violation of the law. and yet that same commissioner hasn't done anything -- [laughter] to initiate investigation against hillary clinton for paying a foreign intelligence agent to provide, to prepare that political opposition research. gregg: and that's the difference. >> right. gregg: hillary clinton paid for it, and the trump campaign, the president's son, was simply willing to listen. and when the meeting happened at trump tower with the russian lawyer, no information was conveyed. but somehow that's a heinous crime, and everybody belongs behind bars. it is mind-boggling. but, hans, thanks for being with us. good to see you. >> thanks for having me. gregg: coming up next, what the president had to say about bernie sanders' socialist health care plan. but before we go to break, we want to thank the united states army

heard abbey from the president, whether or not he will fire kellyanne conway, i'm betting no, and the fec chair put out, i mean, everyone is saying this is sort of crazy, and yet kellyanne conway and the white house seem to be laughing in the face of it. >> yes, and that's actually probably one of the reasons why this has gotten to this point, that the way in which the white house is sort of waving this, the hatch act in the face of this office, has really, you know, in some ways irritated the people who are in charge of enforcing this statute. but it really highlights the degree to which this white house really does not care about the perception that they are using their public office for political purposes. it is not just kellyanne conway, it is several other white house officials, who repeatedly go out in public, using their titles, using their official twitter feeds, going out and presenting themselves as white house officials, and advocating for political purposes. that goes right in the face of the very heart of that statute, and the white house just does not care. >> abbey, kaitlan

the fec took over and found walmart deliberately looked the other way as middlemen paid millions in bribesthree continents over a decade. in a statement on its website, the ceo says the company was pleased to resolve the matter and that they had enhanced the ethics policies in compliance with the foreign corruption practices act, which makes it illegal for american companies operating abroad from using bribery. >> american aviation aviators banned u.s. airlines from flying over iran's airspace. the united airlines had already suspended its flight over iran. -- has been doing well off the back of political tensions. gold prices soared to the highest level in 6 years climbing 1.36% to a height of , currentlyr ounce .30.ed at $1402 7 stocks remain mixed, but edging higher as investors keep a close eye on the political tensions between the u.s. and iran. the london ftse and cac were up slightly while thehe said it cod increase financial inclusion and also announced nonbanks would be able to hold accounts in the banks of england. he also issued a warning about facebook's ambitious new plan. >>

and frankly the fec commission -- chair of the fec commission laid out this is illegal. you don't do it. i'd be happy to support something like that. it's just wrong. hopefully that's something congress can get together on. >> look, i buy the fact that you would be in on this if it happened. but there doesn't seem to be political fallout on your side of the aisle over what the president said. is it fair to say, fair or not, that he has conditioned the republican base that this isn't that serious? >> i don't think so. actually, the fact that the president basically backtracked and, you know, took a different position, i'm glad he did by the way. you know, within 48 hours suggests to me that they did understand that this was a mistake. the president misspoke, or you can put it however you want. but at the end of the day, you can't be for allowing foreign powers to participate in american elections. i'm glad that the president came around to that. i would also say this, though, by the way. i think if you're law enforcement and you have some evidence that they are, you owe i

the fec, let alone a statement like this. think what it shows is the alarm that goes off inside the government when you see a statement from the president like this. and i think her statement was directed not just at the president but at all these people that work on campaigns across the country because you will have people who see the president saying, oh, it's okay to do this, and then in an environment where he's invited foreign governments to interfere -- and i'm worried not just about russia but all these other countries the president has buddied up to, there might be all kinds of intervention, and you have people on campaigns who think, well, the president said it's okay. i'll do it. you have the chair of the fec making clear do not do this. you will go to jail. >> i was somewhat surprised when i interviewed jared kushner recently. >> remarkable interview by the way. congratulations. >> thank you. i said to him -- i asked him about the trump tower meeting and the email he received where there was an offer of help from t

then the head of the fec, quote, accepting foreign aide is illegal. where have you been?chiff and warner readily accepted information from foreign governments. -schiff was actually talking to comedians he thought he was getting information from on trump. >> we met with trump, a russian girl celebrity also known as a person with a strange reputation. >> olga? >> how do you spell the name? >> what is the nature of the compromise? >> there were pictures of naked trump. >> but continue is made aware of the come pro mice of the material? >> yes. >> thank you very much. we'll be in contact with you to make arrangements to obtain these materials for our committee and the fbi. we appreciate you reaching out to us. mark warner was offered access to christopher steele. he was the top democrat in senate intelligence leading the investigation into president trump's make-believe ties to russia. the dnc cooperate on opposition research to undermine then candidate trump and bowl sterile good ole hillary. -- and bolster good ole hillary. she laundered money through perkins-coie to author

they funneled $5 million which i believe is a clear fec violation. it was shipped back to the state department and fbi to begin the russia witch hunt hoax on donald trump and the campaign. now they are saying if the campaign was approached by an outside entity. they should have reported they were doing this. >> there are parts of this that are bothersome for friend of the president. particularly how the interview with george stephanopoulos was handled. some say it shouldn't have happened in the first place. rush limbaugh spoke to this. i want to get your response. >> stephanopoulos is 5'4" where he appears to be towering over the president. you put that photo with the rest of these stories with trump looking small and stephanopoulos towering over him. david: why did president trump's team agree to this. this one, george stephanopoulos is not a big man, but he's towering over the president. >> i think the president has to talk to the media outlets often because it gives him the opportunity to by pass the fake news and he gets his message out. george s

. >> i would argue that the fec -- the ses -- the fcc's clearance was probably -- it will probably benwound. here, the doj and fcc have not done a great job. the attorney general and the fcc are worried about sprint and t-mobile merging. they see that as a threat. we have one company talking about creating one network across a population greater than the southern hemisphere which could reach 2.7 billion people with an encrypted back on of whatsapp, instagram, and messenger. a population greater than the southern hemisphere decided by the algorithms and controlled by one person cannot be removed from office. this is overdue, frankly. we have a long, proud tradition of antitrust. caroline: you are saying you think it will be unwound. i fail to see how perhaps that might be supported really by -- really in a bipartisan nature that widely. do you really think that we will see whatsapp, facebook, and instagram redistributed. and again, what is the answer for alphabet? google is the main priority. do they have to split that is this in some sort of way? exact i don't know the format but what

the doj could have allowed the fec or ftc to look at google and if he chose to take the case itself,me intent here in terms of civil or criminal prosecution. most of likely civil. blake: as somebody centrals up to 1600 pennsylvania avenue every today, i can tell you who knows where this goes. >> donald trump proves markets every day. blake: the republican senator from florida, rick scott. great to talk to you as always. so you heard from charlie there. you said the senate committee might have a stayover. >> we know they are dominant. we are concerned about how they use data. our own personal privacy. they should take this seriously. i think it make sense to review when somebody has that much dominance. there is all this conversation about how they are using our data and do we have personal privacy? i think it's the right thing to do to look at how they are doing it and see what happens. blake: you hear from your democratic colleagues, it's too big and you have to break them up. but president trump said quote well, i can tell you they discriminate against me. people talk about collusi

with ethical and legal restraints, about you for the first time in modern history, the president filed fecaperwork the first day he was inaugurated. the combination of incumbency with big money, pacs and super pacs and a small dollar list, the campaign has been building since the first day in office add up to the most formidable money advantage of any incumbent ever. they raised $24.8 million in less than 24 hours, more than joe biden, bernie sander, beto o'rourke, and elizabeth warren combined. here with me to talk about this, michelle lee, an enterprise and accountability reporter who wrote about the fund-raising totals and daniel weaner who is a senior council with democracy program at the brendan center for justice and campaign finance expert. michelle, what is different about the fund-raising apparatus donald trump has compared to predecessors? >> unlike presidents before him, he started raising money for reelection as soon as he became president, which means he had a long time already to just stockpile a lot of money away for reelection campaign. in the first 24 hours of his official

amy: in a statement posted online one day after trump's remarks aired on abc, fec chair ellen weintraub said -- "let me make something 100% clear to the american public and anyone running for public office. it is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a u.s. election. this is not a novel concept." white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders said thursday she will step down at the end of june after nearly two years on the job. as president trump's spokesperson, sanders defended the administration's most notorious policies, including the muslim travel ban, family separations, and the mistreatment of f migrants in u. custody. sanders repeatedly lied about basic facts, falsely claiming president trump never promoted violence at his rallies, denying knowledge about hush-money payments trump paid to former adult film star stormy daniels, and making false claims about african-american employment under trump. sanders has not held a news conference in 95 days. a photo tweeted by cnn's maegan vazquez a month ago sh

he lies, the fec chair had to call him out about breaking the law. she took an unprecedented step of going out and calling him out on publicly doing it. don't you even tell me about that. >> he has to tell you because he believes it approximate. >> well he's wrong. >> how many people here don't think trump lies? how many people here don't think trump lies? i thought that was an interesting silence. talking to former montgomery county voters who crossed party lines with trump's candidacy. what do they have to say about the president? a lot of party switchers coming up. a lot of party switchers coming up i've always been amazed by what's next. and still going for my best, even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin... i want that too. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. what's next? reeling in a nice one. don't stop taking el

now the ahead of the fec, the federal election commission, is weighing in saying information just like money fom a foreign government is something of value, illegal based on u.s. law. we're getting a l of feedback from democrats and prosecute republicans, even allies of the president like lindsey graham who say that was ju w theng answer. but they rejected an attempt to require candidates to report all contact with foreign nationals. republicans said the way it was wr tten, it was just bad. >> all right. tracie potts, live on capitol hill. thank you. >> we continue to follow a developing story half a world away. two oil tankers exploded near the persian gulf. and u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo is blaming iran. iran has denied this, but the country has been at odds with the u.s. for weeks. the u.s. issued economic sanctions against iran over its support for extremist groups. >>> 7.5: this morning, a consumer alert about those grounded boeing 7 3 77 max 8 jets. >> the timeline for their return to service could impact your vacation plans. ncsouthwest annou the max 8 will remain off i

. >> the chair of the fec said tonight it would be a felony. >> shannon: if you are going to monetize something. it's sparking a conversation all americans are interested in having because we all are on the cusp of a big election. thank you. the countdown is on, the names are official for the first debate of the democratic primary season just a couple weeks away and another democratic candidate has a town hall right here on fox in tempe, arizona, where immigration is the hot topic. trace gallagher is on the case tonight. >> julian castro isn't racing up in the polls but tonight on fox news he acknowledged that he needs to introduce himself and so he did by taking a few swipes at president trump and refusing to criticize his democratic challengers. as the only latino candidate in the race, he was asked about immigration, first by a woman who had her identity stolen by an illegal immigrant, watch. >> would you be willing to penalize offenders taking advantage of americans by having them not released if they were known to be illegal? >> thank you very much for the question. let me begin

he lies, the fec chair had to call him out about breaking the law. she took an unprecedented step of going out and calling him out on publicly doing it. don't you even tell me about that. >> he has to tell you because he believes it approximate. >> well he's wrong. >> how many people here don't think trump lies? how many people here don't think trump lies? i thought that was an interesting silence. talking to former montgomery county voters who crossed party lines with trump's candidacy. what do they have to say about the president? a lot of party switchers coming up. through the at&t network, edge-to-edge intelligence gives you the power to see every corner of your growing business. from managing inventory... to detecting and preventing threats... to scaling up your production. giving you a nice big edge over your competition. that's the power of edge-to-edge intelligence. i swibecause they let metual, customize my insurance. and as a fitness junkie, i customize everything, like my bike, and my calves. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, s

outbreak of the canine >>the outbreak so far has sickened almost 50 dogs at oakland animal services along fecelieve all the dogs will likely become infected. dog flu is highly contagious. some cases even deadly symptoms include sneezing coughing high fever low energy. it's easily passed from one animal to another veterinarians say the best course of action is for dogs. a dog owners to get their pets vaccinated. >>and to encourage people to hold on daniels if they can again an emergent situations we will take them, but the odds are that we take a dog and it's going to get sick so we're really seeking help in preventing that from happening. >>you may remember the canine flu first arrived in the south bay in january of last year in just one month of that outbreak 188 dogs got sick. >>it's 7.37 and still ahead on that 4 morning news how presidential candidate bernie sanders plans to wait out student loan debt for millions of americans and after the break, how first responders were able to rescue people who drove off a wharf in california. and the first weekend of summer was warm but we're actuall

would this be above, in addition to what is already clearly in the regulations from the fec? how would it be different? >> yeah, so i think there are various proposals floating around now in addition to what is currently illegal, to make it, to create an affirmative obligation on the part of campaigns to report approaches from entities or people they believe to be foreign nationals or operatives of foreign governments. just to amplify the point that rick just made, which i think is an important one, there is another concern when you have people approaching campaigns on behalf of foreign government. it's not simply that the information they're offering may be stolen. it's also that those are recruitment opportunities for the foreign intelligence agencies in question. as a general matter, you don't want people who are, you know, going to go on to get security clearances, you know, meeting in a sort of secret fashion with foreign intelligence operatives. >> danielle, which way is this legislation, these pieces of legislation that ben and i were just discussing, how do they look?

here we have the fec regulation, you have the hash act regarding kellyanne conway. what are the consequences? folks at home are probably shaking their heads, politics is politics, but is this not different? >> the law is the law. i'll use a little latin, the thing speaks for itself, in terms of saying i would do it again, even though it's illegal, i would do it again. value, as you said, it can be nominal, it can be hard to ascertain, but what was alleged in 2016, coming out today as the president saying there's nothing wrong with that, and i'm not going to be wronged by this. i'm not going to follow the law. i'm going to tell you that right now, and the inference is his campaign or others on his behalf didn't a long time ago. the law is important. we have to live by the law. >> yeah, and you know, i also just think people might just pass off this rhetoric. you see a lot of republicans sweeping it under the rug because this is pretty much the status quo, but you know, this does undermine the work that the fbi has been doing for the past three years since the 2016 el

but let me share with the chairwoman of the fec had to say about it in case there's any misunderstanding. alan weintraub saying this. "let me make something 100% clear to the american people. and anyone wanting for public office. it's illegal for any person to solicit, accept, receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a u.s. election. this is not a novel concept." you are going to get the pushback obviously from others who say, what about the clintons did with christopher steele? but that's another story. the last thing you want to add is this -- joe biden, not one to miss an opportunity, also pounced on this yesterday. he said, "listen, people, you don't have to make this complicated." "just don't do it." here's what he said yesterday. >> folks, this is simple. american elections should be decided by the american people, not by russia or any other foreign power. donald trump doesn't think it matters if candidates for presidency except damaging information on other opponents from foreign governments. i believe he is dead wrong. >> out with a quick, slick ad. it

. >> and you need to go to the fbi and report it and to the fec. have a problem with that theoretically right? >> yeah, again -- >> answer. >> the reality is that is not how it happens. >> do you have a problem with -- >> this is fraught with peril with someone coming and bringing -- everybody does opposition research and -- >> not just general opposition research. >> and we'll not criminalize it. >> it is not criminalizing opposition research. >> as you know there is different thing between opposition research and what we saw -- >> like the steele dossier where they paid a foreign agent -- >> and christopher steele went to the fbi with that. >> we're starting with a republican representing a foreign country. [ laughter ] >> everyone, hold it. we have to take a quick break. the latest campaign controversy has one of the 2020 candidates compared to president trump and that story is up next. we're working together to do just that. bringing you more great tasting beverages with less sugar or no sugar at all. smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels

i mean, thought the great profile in courage we saw today by the chair of the fec who issued a letter making it 100% clear that it is illegal to accept a thing of value from a foreign national or a foreign government in respect to an election, period. i thought that was a wonderful thing for her to do to educate the public as well as any candidates. you can't sit and listen. this idea well i have to listen first. i meet with the queen of england. how do i know what she has to say. but the question was will you ever talk to them. this isn't an offer of tea. this is an offer of information on your opponent. when you hear that, that means you need to call the fbi because a foreign adversary is not giving it to you because it's in the best interests of america. they're giving it to you because it's in the best interests of that foreign country. and so you need to call the fbi right away. it's, they're in an odd position because on the one hand, they want to push back but i think they don't want to concede that what donald trump jr. did when he met with russians in trump tower in june of 2

director clapper, finally on you, your thoughts on the fact that, you know, the chair of the fec, we never hear from these folks, right? most americans are not going to know who ellen weintraub s the fact that she had to come out and say unequivocally, let me make something 100% clear to the american people, it's illegal for any person to solicit that stuff. how big is that? >> it's huge. as far as i can recall unprecedented. i don't recall, you know, an official in the white house being called out for a hatch act violation. there is all kinds of unprecedented things here that are, you know, stunning, but not surprising. >> yeah. if you don't obey the laws or the practices, then those laws and practices lose their meaning. it just seems like every day we have examples of that. director clapper, thanks very much. >> thank you. >>> all right. the u.s. has released video that it says shows iran removing an unexploded mine from a damaged oil tanker in the gulf of oman. the secretary of state mike pompeo unequivocally blaming iran for those attacks. we will take you live inside iran to ge

someone identifies themselves as a foreign national it is clearly against the law, certainly in the fecand it states very clearly you cannot solicit, you cannot collect nor can you accept anything of value from a foreign government related to campaigns, by the way, federal, state or local. i'm glad he decided that he would at least frame it in following the law, that to me was important. >> it's a small move there, congressman. charlie, do you, does the answer just have to be no, i won't listen to foreign governments offering dirt, and yes, i would report it to the fbi? those are two words as opposed to the 250 word salad that we just got from the president. >> john, this is -- this is a very simple one. yeah, if an agent of a hostile foreign power, the russians, they approach your campaign, that should set off all sorts of, you know, sirens and red flags and the answer of course is no. i mean, this is simple. full stop. as my trend mike rodgers just said, you cannot receive anything of value from someone who is not an american disease or should i say not a u.s. person. green cardholder

you have the chairman of the fec making clear, do not do this, you would go to jail. >> i was surprised when i interviewed jared kushner -- >> remarkable interview by the way, congratulations. >> i said to him -- i asked him about the trump tower meeting and the email he received where there was an offer of help from the russian government and i said why didn't you pick up the phone and call the fbi, he said everyone is playing monday morning quarterback. i said, okay, fine. would you do it again? if you got another email for 2020 like this, would you call the fbi, he said, i don't know. it's hard to answer hypotheticals. people were fairly shocked by that response. then you have two weeks later the president saying, yeah -- explicitly saying he'd want to see it and receive it. >> and add brad pascale who said something something, and kayleigh mcinny that she took it as a directive, add rudy giuliani who days after the mueller report came out downplayed the results. and jared kushner before he sat with you said the meddling was just a few facebook ads. >> the thing republicans on the hi