here's what congressman francis rooney told us last year. >> the unfortunate thing is that mr. mueller has had such a distinguished career and he got into this thing, it's become so hopelessly partisan and compromised the way he picked -- the kind of staff that he picked and some of the horrible things coming out of the fbi, the department of justice. he picked a team that has given 12 times as much money to democrats as republicans so it's hardly a balanced team. it's just inevitable that sooner or later some things will come out of those people who were so highly partisan. one of them worked for hillary clinton. one worked for the hillary clinton foundation and eric holder. that's not a balanced investigative team. >>> also new today, insight into the partisan divide in the russia investigations in the congress. here's what mike quigley said earlier on msnbc on what's driving this tension and why he thinks republicans have turned on special counsel robert mueller. >> i feel on a continuing basis that there is increased evidence of obstruction taking place. why are the republi

francis rooney of florida denies he's trying to undermine the agencies. >> i don't want to discredit them. i would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say look, we've got a lot of great agents and great lawyers here. those are the people i want the american people to see and know good, would being done, not the people who are kind of the deep state." >> congressman rooney joins us live from naples, florida. you say there and thank you for being with us during this holiday week. i appreciate it. a lot of people are spending time with their families. we're so glad you're spending time with us. you say you're not trying to discredit the fbi or justice department. i want to talk to you about why you have criticism of them, but first, are you sure you want to be throwing a word like purge around? >> well, it might be a pretty strong word. i'm not maybe the most nuanced political person in the world coming from a career in business. i'm pretty frustrated all the things that have come out by the orr and what may or may not have take taken in the deputy general's mccabe.

let's bring in francis rooney of florida. representative, thanks for taking time to speak with us. you voted for the overhaul. why do you think this bill will benefit the people in your district, the middle class folks in your district specifically? >> well, i enthusiastically voted for it. i think aarp ought to give the republican majority a big award for creating tax treatment that's going to stimulate capital investment, make their retirement accounts perform better. ultimately it's going to get us back to the kind of growth that americans expect and not the euro type of 1%, 1.5% growth we've been accustomed to. >> is it fair? >> it's very fair. it cuts taxes all across the board. cuts taxes for the middle class. it removes entirely the bottom tax bracket that exists right now and reduces the second bracket significantly and doubles the standard deduction. it still has the child care tax credit which is very important to me because i think we want to be in the business of stimulating united families. >> there are those who would look at the other side and you heard leader pelosi

congressman francis rooney is here. he joins me in a few moments. i'm trish regan, welcome to "the intelligence report." a top white house official telling fox the administration is considering rewriting health care rules to make it easier to buy cheaper health plans. we'll have all the details on that. it's a topic we've been following very closely here on the "intelligence report," that whole fat cat carried interest loophole. a lot of you guys have been asking me on social media whether and if the president can fix this loophole given that the bill is already signed into law? turns out he can. we have found a way to save american taxpayers up to $180 billion. we'll show you how the president can do this without the swamp. >>> bizarre turn of events in the united airline story. democratic congresswoman sheila jackson lee says the entire fiasco happened because of racism. she claims the passenger targeted her because she is african-american. more on that later in the hour. first blake burman on the breaking news story on health care. blake, fill us

. >>> republican congressman francis rooney walking back from remarks critical. >> i'm very concerned that the doj and fbi, whether you want to call it deep state or not are kind of off the rail. i would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it. >> rooney's remarks echoing the sentiments of several other republican trump allies. >>> rooney now says he shouldn't have used the word purge but maintains the fbi should oust anybody who is politically compromised. >> are you sure you want to be throwing a word like purge around? >> well, it might be a pretty strong word. i'm not maybe the most nuanced political person in the world coming from a career in business. as an american citizen i'm nervous people would have those kinds of lack of impartiality. >> talking about -- sent anti-trump texts. >> now karen bass, saying she found the comments frightening. >> i want to sit down and talk to him about the mccarthy era because i'm not sure he remembers the cold war. the type he's talking about harkens back to the cold war when there was a purge by mccarthy. it sows distrust in our i

obviously francis rooney came back on monday. he raised a lot of eyebrows when he said there should be a purge at the fbi. this sort of perceived bias within the ranks is something we've seen congressman jim jordan really hold onto. this sort of seems to raise oolts a lot of concerns for democrats and congress that are worried house republicans are trying to stein the intelligence committee into the probe and 2016 election. there are some more establishment and moderate republicans who disagree and say look, mueller has a phenomenal record. not doing anything wrong. support him and continue to do so. >> are you hearing at all any republicans express reservations about this particular strategy and it could backfire against the president. trying to go against particular individuals like michael flynn according to new reporting. is there any chance this could backfire given the fact we don't know what michael flynn is actually going to say to the investigators. >> absolutely. that right there is the million $question. no idea what i

so when donald trump insults the institutions, when francis rooney of florida talks about purging the fbi, when donald trump talks about the fbi in the way he does, that's actually success. >> the president and these congress members are actually playing right into the hands of the russian intelligence services because this isn't a binary equation. as you said, it wasn't the russian intelligence services goal simply to try to help trump get into the office. their agenda is much larger, and there is no end game. the agenda is to sew discord and have us question our own form of government and own agencies. and isn't that what we're doing right now, and who's leading that charge? the president. >> and we know now through this article that the obama administration struggled with this. they had lots of ideas but nobody actually did enough about it. do we have any sense now given the resistance of donald trump to even discuss this, at least at levels below the president, there are active things underway to counter the russia government in politics? >> trying to take active counter measures,

congressman francis rooney making head lines with something he said on cnn. listen to this. >> i don't want to discredit. i would like to see the directors purge. we've got a lot of great agents and lawyers. those are the people we want to see. not these people who are kind of a deep state. >> so clearly that was on msnbc but yesterday on cnn he walked back the word purge on cnn. the question i have for you anybody agents, intelligence agents, they all have political views but aren't they capable of doing their jobs without bias? >> yeah. absolutely. i think what -- obviously purge was a terrible thing to say. it's great that he walked it back. i think what congressman rooney is expressing is sort of a frustration about the handful that have been found out to be probably should not have been on the front lines of where they were in terms of looking at -- what was going on with the president. you know, we've had our problems in this country but i don't think we addressed enough frequently enough. in that we have a big distrust with institutions and expertise.

congress manning francis rooney, a florida republican says he wants to see the fbi remove agents with political bias. this after the political views of a few fbi employees were recently revealed in the form of text messages. he went on to call the russia probe off the rails and the work of the deep state. moments ago here on cnn. congressman rooney doubled down on his words during an interview with my colleague. watch this. >> are you sure you want to be throwing a word like purge around? >> well, it might be a pretty strong word. i'm not maybe the most nuanced political person in the world coming from a career in business. but i'm pretty frustrated that all the things that have come out by the strzok and what may have been. >> mueller removed strzok. moore was demoted. so what's the evidence? what's the evidence, then, the biases impacting this investigation whrks the very data points you are putting there actually action has been taken against those individuals? >> as an american citizen, i'm nervous and dis content that people would have those kinds of lack of impartiality and bad

. >> those were strong word from florida republican congressman, francis rooney on this network earlieray. joining me now some one will certainly, some one who will have thoughts on that statement. richard painter former chief white house ethics lawyer for president george w. bush. richard, deep state. purge. the deep state ideology coming from steve bannon, the idea of purging the fbi in the days since president trump has the started insulting the fbi and its legitimacy and credibility. we have just learned today the fbi agents association has received more than 2,000 donations totaling more than 140,000. doesn't seem the public is turning agen the fturn ing aagain -- turning against ti what do you make about the comments? >> there are a handful of those doing this, like rooney, they're in right-wing districts where they have safe seats so they can mouth off this way. or they're nuts. because the majority of the american people don't buy any of this. these attacks on the fbi, on robert mueller, make absolutely no sense. what robert mueller is doing is investigating infiltration of the

>> well, and this goes to something i want to play now which is congressman francis rooney.our jobs here, we talk about people and sometimes we talk about what they say on tv. i'm not a big fan of, you know, taking shots at someone for a poorly chosen word. i think that happens to all of us if we're being honest. but you have congressman rooney here coming back on. he said this about the purge of the fbi yesterday which is really stalin-ness language and then asked about it on cnn and we have to question. trump is trump. we have to question if other members of congress and leaders taking us down a road of purges of our nonpartisan law enforcement. for viewers, play it. take a listen to francis rooney. >> are you sure you want to be throwing a word like purge around? >> well, it might be a pretty strong word. i'm not maybe the most nuanced political person in the world coming from a career in business but i'm pretty frustrated that all the things that have come out by the strzok and or and may or may not have taken place in the deputy general's macabe -- >> tim, your view on

francis rooney among them. fact that while you have some republicans like marco rubio who are standing by mueller, some of them are definitely not? >> it is a growing number. i think it's fair for republicans to serve as what they probably see as a watchdog role here overseeing these various investigations. i think it's also fair that strzok was moved away from the special counsel investigation, that oro was moved from the attorney general's office. but when you interviewed congressman rooney earlier and you asked him, he stood by his point but when you asked him what specific allegations are you making that say that there's bias in the special counsel investigation, his answer was no, i don't see any so far. so i think republicans are going to be able to slow this down, throw gum in the gears, but for them to get any traction with this they're going to have to come forward with specific allegations of what they find wrong with the special counsel investigation. >> and i think it's important to remember or at l

congressman francis rooney tells me that may be a pretty strong word, but he says the bureau should oust individuals he views as politically compromised. gop house members have been probing what they say is a display of bias against president trump within the fbi. >>> and former president barack obama is warning about internet dangers that allow people to have what he calls entirely different realities. in an interview with britain's prince harry, obama said people need more face-to-face exchanges so they can find common ground. i will speak with a congressman of the armed services committee and our correspondents, specialists and guests are standing by with full coverage. >> we begin tonight with new signs that kim jong-un's regime may be preparing for a missile launch. i want to go straight to cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr. bharara, what are you learning? >> good evening, grau briana. tonight the u.s. intelligence community keeping close watch because there are very preliminarily signs, multiple officials tell us, that north korea is moving equipment around. they're not able

. >>> to talk about this, i'm joined by francis rooney of florida. congressman, thank you very much for being with us here. and i want to share with you something that your democratic colleague as we talk about bipartisanship debbie dingle said this morning about working with the president on infrastructure. listen. >> i've been clear from the beginning that i will work with donald trump on anything to help the working men and women of my district. so yes, i will work with him on infrastructure if he will work with us. so you have one democrat wanting to work with the president. there will obviously need to be more, are you willing to negotiate with democrats here in a bipartisan way to get infrastructure done? >> sure. i think we have three areas that we can work on and hopefully be some level of bipartisanship, the daca, immigration reform, fixing the medical health insurance problems that result from obamacare and getting a broad-based infrastructure plan in place. i'm going to be optimistic about those. >> do you believe that president trump has

joining me now, republican congressman francis rooney of florida. congressman, good day to you.right to it. based on what we know, that these investigations moved out of the collusion phase a long time ago, they have focused on obstruction of justice, why is the president fixated on whether or not his campaign clolluded with russia? >> well, i thought that was what the investigation was all about. >> you didn't think it had gone to obstruction of justice? >> well, i just heard that this morning, the talk about obstruction of justice. but i would assume that since the prosecutor was hired to find out if there was collusion and an impact on our elections by russian activity they would remain focused on that fundamental premise. >> but couldn't one lead to the other as has clearly been happening? didn't you expect that would happen? >> i suppose -- i don't know the technical nature of the offense of obstruction of justice, so you'd have to ask someone who's a little more schooled up as a prosecutor. i know you had the governor on there a little while back. but there's been no indic

congressman francis rooney is here. he joins me in a few moments. i'm trish regan, welcome to "the intelligence report." a top white house official telling fox the administration is considering rewriting health care rules to make it easier to buy cheaper health plans. we'll have all the details on that. it's a topic we've been following very closely here on the "intelligence report," that whole fat cat carried interest loophole. a lot of you guys have been asking me on social media whether and if the president can fix this loophole given that the bill is a

earlier, katty kay spoke to republican congressmen francis rooney on a lively capitol hill for her program"beyond 100 days." katty: congressman, it looks like the republican party's about to pass the tax bill that some 55% of americans say they disapprove of. why are you doing it? ep. rooney: well, i think wendy the 55% of americans realize what is in the tax bill, they will change their mind. i think the liberal media in the united states has been a bit one-sided in how they described the bill. katty: well, this is always a communications effort, and it seems like the democrats have been able to give recommendations out more effectively than yours. rep. rooney: you could probably make that argument. of course, they have a more willing media to support them than we do. katty: the tax bill depends on the idea of losing american -- boosting american growth, but the tax policy center, bipartisan commission dependent group, has said that what is in the bill won't boost american gdp growth enough for the tax bill to pay for itself. you are a fiscal conservative. does adding to the american debt

. >> what did you think when your colleague, francis rooney of florida says this about the fbi and departmentstice. >> i am very concerned the doj and fbi, they are off the rails. i don't want to discredit them but i would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it. >> later he was asked about purge, and he said maybe i went overboard and i am paraphrasing, and he said something to the affect it was maybe over the top but sticks by there should be maybe an overhaul of the fbi. what did you think of those comments? >> first, let me say, i think congressman rooney did walk back the purge statement, which i disagree with that statement, and i believe it's important as republicans that we traditionally have been the party of law enforcement, not just at the federal level but state and local level as well and it's not helpful for republicans to stand up and say things that could potentially undermine the ability of the fbi to operate as they should. by the way, this is a republican administration the last time i checked. at the top level, mr. sessions and mr. rosenstein, they are appoint

florida congressman francis rooney says he wants to see the fbi and doj remove any agents with political bias after a probe with text messages critical of donald trump. he went on to call the russia proeb, offer the rails, quote, and work of the deep state. here's congressman rooney speaking with my colleague brianna keilar just a short while ago. >> are you sure you want to be throwing a word like purge around? >> well, it might be a pretty strong word. i'm not maybe the most nuanced political person in the world coming from a career in business. but i'm pretty frustrated that all the things that have come out by the strok and orr. >> they removed strzok and orr. >> as an american citizen i'm nervous and dis content that people would have those kinds of lack of impartiality and bad animus as displayed in the emails that they would possibly use that dossier to discredit the campaign. i think that's going beyond just having political views. >> why if there is no evidence that this is in fill tated thtr investigation, that you would be calling for a fupurge, that is more associated with au

. >> with me now to discuss all of these threads and more, is republican congressman francis rooney of florida. we are hearing this week from the ranking member of the house intel committee, democrat ademean ademean ademean ademeanor -- expressing concern. do you think that would be premature? >> well, i hope the trump legal team does is get in mr. mueller's face a little bit about his team and how compromised they are. these things come out this past week are incredibly shocking. >> okay. but why do you think that his team is compromised. >> how about bruce orr? >> bruce orr has never been part of the team investigating russia. >> i thought he was on mueller's investigative team. >> he's a member of the fbi. 's he not on mueller's investigating team. it's important to make sure we have those facts. back to the question i asked you initially. >> i'm sorry. i was thinking of weissman. the other two. sorry. >> no i give you credit. i it's difficult to keep track. there are so many developments in this russia investigation. when it comes to the congressional probe, would it be premature t

here's francis rooney saying he wants to know the political contributions. >> we should look at all of the totality of fbi leaders, reporters. >> and why do you want to do this? >> well, if you're going to -- to make -- >> because you don't trust the investigation. you don't trust the team? >> i have a little bit of concern when i saw those e-mails, when i see that this re lady worked for eric holder and the clinton foundation. when i see the reading in director mccabe's office, that makes me nervous. >> it's disgusting poll six i'm sorry to say. i worked on the hill and the senate for the armed services committee. there are a lot of investigations that were conducted at that time. no one impugned them. none of those numbers would have dug into how they voted, what their wives did in terms of their professional opinion. i think this is a smear job. i think it smells like a smear job. i can't imagine that it's not putting off the american people but i don't think it's the way to respond. it's likely to back fire. >> i'm wondering how your reporting in terms of your sense of the scope. a

republican congressman francis rooney of florida said the president will weigh heavy on many of the races. >> i think this year, with all the press and hysteria going on about the russian probe, the fact is the country seems to be in a chaotic moment right now. >> the white house seems to recognize the country is in a bit of chaos right now and as a resulted they are strengthening their political arm, and bringing in destefano to oversee their operation, and he will help them focus on the mid-term races with the hope that republicans can continue to hold both the house and senate. dana? >> ryan, thank you so much. my panel joins me now. pat patty doyle, you heard the president say he thinks robert mueller is going to be fair. does that relieve your concern that he's going to fire mueller? >> not in the slightest. what is fair? if they don't get recommended charges against them? what happens if he does recommend charges? is he suddenly unfair and does that mean mueller will be fired or his family members are pardoned because mueller was unfair? >> the other thing -- one of the many other t

here is francis rooney from florida complaining about this. >> i'm very concerned that the doj and the fbi, whether you want to call it deep state or what, are kind of off the rails. i don't want to discredit them. i would like to see the directors purge it. we have a lot of great agents and great lawyers, those are the people i want the american people to see and know that good work is being done, not they people that are kind of the deep state. >> the chair chuck agreesly, is the latest one making the call lookings for answers but poppy, it was a how judiciary, deputy ag rosen stein, who was appointed, he defended robert mueller's probe and said the agents are entitled to their political opinions, and really stressed, poppy that that political opinion is different from any political bias that could influence their work. we'll see if rosen stein responds, because the deadline is in fact today. pop,? >> thank you very much for the reporting, jessica schneider. >>> joining mess notice isser roll lewis, kate lynn, and patrick huey, cnn political analyst. ero errol, let me ask you, you ha

the latest comes from francis rooney of florida. he goes even further.d that the doj and the fbi, deep state or what, are kind of off the rails. i don't want to discredit them. i want to see the directors of the agency purge it. look, we have a lot of great lawyers here. those are the people i want the american people to see and the good work being done not the people of the deep state. >> phil, is the fbi the deep state, whatever that means? >> absolutely. this is a coup that will talk over the president within the next 24 hours. >> breaking news. thanks for that. >> let be be clear. there's 30,000, 35,000 fbi employees working on on gangs and violent crime to white collar fraud. most of them, as i would be, are looking at the seventh floor. the president is taking aim at a handful of top officials. congress is taking aim because this is a political issue. they want to say any findings from the muller investigation are tainted. there is a fundamental difference between the day to day of analysts, agents, and how they view this and what's going on at the

congressman francis rooney of florida warning about people at the agencies who he believes are politicallyiased against president trump. in an interview he specifically mentioned fbi agent peter strzok who was removed from robert mueller's russia probe after he was caught sending anti-trump texts. here is congressman rooney. >> i would like to see the directors of that agency purge it and say we've got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here. those of the people we want the american people to see, not these people who are the deep state. >> language like that, purge the department of justice? >> i think that peter strzok could be purged, sure. >> earlier today on "fox & friends," a republican member of the judiciary committee was asked about his colleagues comments. >> there has been problems with the leadership, obviously comey, i think the president was right to fire comey. you look at a guy like peter strzok. if he's going to say it's his job to prevent a certain candidate from getting elected in creating an insurance policy, that is somebody you do not want to have power. an

this is from francis rooney, a republican from florida. take a listen. >> i'm very concerned that the doj and fbi, whether you call it deep state or what, are off the rails. i don't want to discredit them. i would like toes the directors purge the agencies. we have a lot of great lawyers and people here, those are the people i want the american people to see, not these people who are kind of a deep state. >> david, certainly there are tens of thousands of federal workers who wake up every morning filled with contempt of the president, but they go to work and try to do their job. a purge of the fbi, is this something you think could catch fire? >> find me a person that works in washington, without a political opinion about how the federal government is run. you know, i'll give you a prize. it's impossible to have a government made up of people who have no opinion. the question is whether they're doing their job. the what we've seen with this term "deep state" it comes far from the right, and if the president on the campaign trail casting as

republican congressman francis rooney has called for a purge of the f.b.i.nd justice department weighed in on "fox & friends" earlier. >> i'm really glad to say chairman nunes and senator grassley turn up the heat on these investigations because evidently the people who testified before were less than forthcoming. and we have to get to the bottom of what was going on with the dossier and what people like strzok and ohr were doing. they've discredited themselves. for their own good they should clean this thing up and make sure the people that work there maintain the impartialty and fairness the american people expect. >> my question to you one lucky guy, the d.o.j. and f.b.i. are led by republican appointees. if a republican congress can't get documents out of them it seems surprising to me. it isn't a partisan issue. they're both on the republican team. what is going on with the delay? >> it is a delay. the republican attorney general has recused himself from all this. >> rod rosenstein was appointees. >> if the point -- appointees are siding with the -- con

that surprised a lot of folks this morning, florida republican, florida republican congressman francis rooney, the reaction to the fbi and justice department's handling of the russia investigation. take a listen. >> i'm very concerned that the doj and the fbi, whether you want to call it deep state or what are kind of off the rails. i would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say we've got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here. those are the people i want the american people to see. >> ken, first of all, for folks watching and listening, who aren't conspiracy theorists, what is the deep state? >> the deep state refers to the intelligence community, and sort of the law enforcement apparatus. this is a long running sort of foe in president trump's mind of his campaign and now of his administration. we saw this even during the campaign, when he had michael flynn by his side, who became the national security adviser briefly in the white house and is now a target of the mueller investigation, although recently reached a plea deal where michael flynn was pointing t

i spoke on the intelligence report on fox business with francis rooney from florida. he said he wants to purple the fbi altogether. here's what he told me. watch. >> i was so ever -- overwhelmed when i saw the behavior that strzok and mccabe were involved in. this is -- what i read is very disturbing. i don't think they should be working there. >> trish: does he have a point? >> let me say this. the fbi, we need them in this country to fight terrorists and for other international various kinds of crime. the fbi's credibility is always in question. but now they're being used as a political football. i'm the one that believe that some time ago that james comey, if anyone, has learned to politicize and embarrass the fbi. i called for the firing of comey a long time ago because he involved himself in an election and that politicized that election. so i don't know -- >> trish: by the way, he was leaking, leaking, leaking and admitting it. calling a professor at columbia to get something leaked to "the new york times." you question, i suppose, in some ways the integrity of

representative francis rooney, a republican from florida was asked about supposed enemies from the dojke a listen to this. >> i don't want to discredit him. i would like to see the directors at the agency purge it. not these people who are kind of a deep state. >> hurting the law enforcement agencies and the department of justice. i mean that's the kind of language we heard in the old soviet union. >> yeah, just to get back to my regular point, when you talk about purging a major institution, the premier law enforcement agency in this country, the fbi, when you talk about really purging anything unless it's corruption or something like that, you're getting back to developing brand new democracy kind of stuff, that i just think really has no place if you're in the united states. and it's just -- you know, the whole thing is concerning. and it just really rubs me the wrong way to see our democracy, and i think it might have been jim clapper who said a while back, democracy is something you really have to work at to maintain that sort of level, the high level of a truly independent democr

rather extraordinary exchange today on msnbc between our colleague halle jackson and congressman francis rooney about who should head the fbi. let >> i'm very concerned that the doj and the fbi, whether you want to call it deep interstate or not that, it's completely off the rails, when you look at that ohr guy talking to the dossier, and then mccabe's wife takes money -- >> republicans are working to essentially try to discredit the department of justice and thus discredit the russia investigations. is that not what you're doing? >> no, i don't want to discredit him, i would like to see the directors of those agencies person purge them. we have got a lot of great agents and great lawyers and that's the good work i want to see being done not these people who are part of the deep state. >> this is something that the president has seized upon, some republicans have seized upon. how widely is this sentiment growing down in washington, d.c. among some members of the republican party? >> it's definitely growing, david, we saw sort of a steady drum beat on efforts to undermine it sort of growing befo

joining me now is republican congressman francis rooney in florida.ing us. >> thank you for having me back on. >> it is nice to have you hear soch. he thinks bob mueller will be fair. that would imply his team would be fair in all of this. you said in large part because of the make-up of mueller's team and the russia probe you think a purge is needed at the fbi. you took some heat for the language you used. what do you think? is the president right on this one? >> well, i sure hope director mueller will be fair. his fantastic reputation of public service would tend to indicate he would be. but why i spoke up about it but still very concerned about all the things that have come out of some of the people in the fbi and the justice department. even going back during the clinton administration. this stosic guy has said some bad things in these tweets and i wonder how we want a guy like that working in an agency with so much authority over americans. >> you know bob mueller dismissed him from the team when he learned about that. and he also tweeted negativ

. >> francis rooney was clear. he wants to see the fbi and justice department clean house. >> we have a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here. those are the people that i want the american people to see and know the good work is being done. not the deep state. >> rooney, the latest to join the gop chorus of attacks on the fbi and doj including suggestions by some lawmakers that each has acted as tools of the deep state, engaged in a defactor coop de tah. new tweets suggesting that the bureau had been "tainted." >> it's a shame what has happened with the fbi. we're going to rebuild the fbi. it will be bigger and better than ever. >> change is taking place. the fbi's general counsel, james baker, has been reassigned. andrew mccabe expected to retire next year. peter strzok that helped to run the clinton server investigation has been removed from the russia problem after anti-trump texts were discovered with his alleged mistress and lisa page. and bruce ohr was behind the anti-trump dossier. >> the prop is

. >> so let me ask you this, because then republican congressman, francis rooney, who we have on this show a lot from florida, went further than grassley has. and he said in an interview just yesterday on msnbc, what's needed is a purge of the fbi and the doj because of it. just listen to him. >> i'm very concerned that the doj and the fbi, whether you want to call it deep state or what, are kind of off the rails. i don't want to discredit them, i would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say, look, we've got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here. those are the people that i want the american people to see and know that good work is being done. not these people that are kind of the deep state. >> a purge of the agency? >> well, i think rooney has a legitimate point about the leadership of the department of justice and the leadership of the fbi. we're not talking about field agents, but we're talking about leadership positions. and i'll give you another example that has come up. deputy director andrew mccabe. a huge controversy about his involvement in

we have representative republican francis rooney calling for a purging of the fbi, we will listen to that and then we'll get your response. >> i'm very concerned that the doj and the fbi, what do you want to call it deep state or whatcom are kind of off the rails commode you look at that strzok guy texting, you look at the ohr guy talking to the dossier, clinton oppo research people. then this mccabe sky wife takes $16,000 from clinton related sources while she is running for state senator. i would like to see the directors of those agencies purged and say we've got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers, those are the people that the american people should see end of work is being done all these people who are kind of the deep state. >> katie: horace, your response? >> here's a fact. sessions, the attorney general, needs to bring in the new fbi director, and he needs to say, i'm going to prepare a memorandum and it is a memorandum instructing the fbi that we are going to depoliticize investigations. in the wake of ted stevens' phony prosecution, eric holder had to call and hi

any time when you get in the red zone, so to speak of tax reform purchase florida congressman francis rooney appreciate your time today. thank you. >> thanks, aaron. have a nice day. >> let's bring in our panel. jason johnson former strategist for ted cruz's presidential campaign and senior adviser for new york state democratic party. thanks for being here. basel, president trump calls the tax plan a christmas gift for voters. >> this is going to be one of the great christmas gifts to middle income people. the democrats have the standard sound bite before they even know what the bill is all about. they talk about for the wealthy. this is one of the great gifts to the middle income people of this country that they have ever gotten for christmas. >> is the president right here? the bill is going to benefit the middle class and democrats just aren't on board with that? >> no. i think that's absolutely incorrect. it is going to be very difficult for republicans to disabuse the american people that this bill does not help corporations and actually hurt low and middle income families. those corpor

meanwhile, republican congressman francis rooney calling for a purge of the fbi on msnbc. >> i'm veryoncerned that the doj and the fbi, whether you want to call it deep state or what are off the rails. people need a good clean government. i would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say look, we've got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here. those interest people that i want the american people to see and know the good work being done, not the people who are kind of the deep state. >> the deep state. you need to see that, because that is the partisan fever in parts of the republican party calling for, in their words, a purge of the fbi. but that's not all that's going on. take a look at some nonpartisan experts striking a different note. he served the bush and obama administrations and rose to the top of the cia. you may recall back before trump's election, he was one of the clearest voices on the danger that putin posed through trump. >> donald trump didn't even understand, right, that putin was playing him. so in putin's mind, i have no doubt that put

let's go to that sound from congressman francis rooney. he was calling for a purge of the fbi.it to play you what he told my colleague brianna keilar this afternoon. >> i think if you've got 2% bad apples like this strzok guy and orr, what i worry about is the debilitating impact of strzok and possibly mccabe on the institution itself and on the importance that institution has in our country. >> and he's also referring to andrew mccabe, the deputy director of the fbi. but do you see, richard, the other side at all? because it does seem like whether or not you think they're accurate, that kind of rhetoric is playing in, you know, people in the gop, in the republican party and their views of the russia investigation and robert mueller. >> well, i've been a republican for 30 years and i want to stay with the republican party. that doesn't appeal to my type of republican. it doesn't appeal to patriotic americans to see the fbi attacked that way. this is rhetoric that appeals to the extreme right-wing of the republican party. we talk about purges of the fbi, what that -- what the me

among them is congressman francis rooney from florida and i spoke to him from capitol hill a short timelican party is about to pass a tax bill that 55% of americans say they disapprove of. why are they doing it? when the 55% of americans that you are talking about realise what's in the tax bill they'll change their mind. the liberal media in the united states has been a bit one—sided in how they have described the bill. this is always a communications effort and it seems like the democrats have managed to get their communications effort more effectively than yours has, then? i think you could probably make that argument. of course they have the more willing media to support them. the tax bill depends on the idea of boosting american growth. but the tax policy centre, a bipartisan independent group, has come out and said that what is in the bill won't boost american gdp growth enough for this tax bill to pay for itself. you are a fiscal conservative, does adding to the american debt concern you? i would have rather they found a way not to have it be a deficit spend. but i do think that t

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francis rooney of florida taking the criticism, shall we say, to a new level. >> i would like to seehe directors of those agencies, saying we've got a lot of great agents and lawyers here and those are the people i want the americans to see and know the work is being done. leland: joining us now congressman rooney of florida. shockingly folks at nbc and cnn had quite a reaction to your words. take a listen and we'll get your thoughts. >> congressman, you just called the fbi and doj off the rails. fundamentally, how is that something you're okay with talking about here? how does that not sort of undermine the work that these agencies are doing? that's a pretty broad brush you're painting with. are you sure you want to be throwing a word like purge around? >> that all happened before the devin nun devin nunes letter we heard about from barber. have you been vinndicatevindica. >> i think a lot of us have been saying the same thing. senator nunez and grassley-- and it's the ends justifies the means, and looking at president trump's campaign during the campaigning. we've got to find out.

florida republican congressmen francis rooney and matt gaetz blasting the fbi.en. >> i was so overwhelmed and fearful when i saw the kind of conduct that mr. strock and mr. orr and deputy general mccabe were engaged in, i just feel for an agency is that has so much influence other americans' lives, they have to be purer than pure. and this is, what i read was very disturbing, and i don't think they should be working there. >> i mean, i don't know if robert mueller was grossly negligent or extremely careless in putting together this particular group of people investigating the president, but the more than people are now aware of that bias. they will not tolerate any attempt to remove or undermine this president. david: to lee speakerman on if the congressman is right to be so concerned. what do you think, lee? >> well, of course he is. you know, david, it may well turn out the only good thing to come out of this ridiculous russia investigation is that it's laying bare real corruption in the fbi and the department of justice. we basically have a j. edgar hoover fb