. >> switching the gears, george h.w. bush facing off st. ó)#1yrñ final seconds, patriots. scoring right there at the buzzer. 6-5, we are headed in overtime. >> knocking down the trey. george mason beats florida, 82-71.h% now, maryland high school8kdk a college park plutonic -- we have wise and prince orchard, thisyq orchard advancing to the finals, 55-52. just a palooza of basketball at this point. >> yep. >> i love then you're a couple. think of all you'll share... like snoring. does your bed do that? the dual adjustability of a sleep number bed allows you each to choose the firmness and comfort you want. so every couple can get the best sleep ever. does your bed do that? only at a sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $899. and right now save $400 on our most popular mattresses. go to sleepnumber.com for a store near you. >>>j next time you order out, delivery person comes to your door, it may not be a person. these sidewalk robots are roaming around dc bridging take out to hungry customers right now. >> someone opera

. >> if i may, if you think back to george h.w. bushwe've all forgotten him now, but think back to george h.w. bush, re-elected in 2004, in large part because in the state of ohio, he managed to win the votes of large numbers of lower income folks, many of them women. them over because george w. bush seemed to them like someone who was going to interests, look out for people like them, working and middle class voters in these states. after he wasrtly inaugurated, what did he press forward with? acial security reform at time, by the way, when defined benefit pensions were going lot of people were awfully anxious and wage -- not to mention that he was going to spread democracy around the world. despitewas his program, having won on the strength, again, of these working and voters.ncome so for trump right now to abandoned ryan care, which is a set of ideas that pretty much conservative is quickly abandoning, for trump to abandon be anow, would in my view very astute reading of actual flesh and blood republican voters. then you have this ot

replacing justice david souter, who was appointed by george h.w. bush. judge sotomayor previously served on the second circuit court of appeals. she is the first hispanic to serve on the supreme court. we'll show you a brief portion of justice sotomayor's confirmation hearing, including an introduction by new york senator, charles schumer, and her opening statement. mr. schumer: judge sotomayor embodies what we all strive for as american citizen. her life and her career are not about race or class or gender. although, as for all of us, these are important parts of who she is. her story is about how race and class at the end of the day are not supposed to predetermine anything in america. what matters is hard work and education, and those things will pay off no matter who you are or where you have come from. it's exactly what each of us wants for ourselves and for our children. and this shared vision is why this moment is historic for all americans. judge sotomayor was born to parents who moved to new york from puerto rico during world war ii. her father

craig fuller worked in the white house, was an official in the george h.w. bushthat the reagan administration. craig, thanks for being with us. an interesting week, no, between the presidential address and attorney general recusal, new questions about russia. where are we this morning? >> it takes me to that quote, it was the best of times and the worst of times. certainly the address to the joint session of congress i think competed people's expectations. we can talk about that, if you want. but this week ends with what washington also often hands a president, and that's an event that they have to get ahead of. in this case, i think probably self-inflicted. i was the preparation for the attorney general for his hearing was inadequate or somehow he wanted to move away from a line of questioning, or he just simply forgot. i don't know what the answer is, but i don't think this story is over for the trump administration. >> so interestingly, craig, we saw two sides of the president this week. we saw the side in his first address to a joint session of congress that,

he was not a compassionate conservative like george h.w. bush. he was a true populous that was coming in and rescue the forgotten men. i looked in the story, programming and specifically how these cuts would target trump country. for instance, the rural store fronts that provides job trading to displace workers. the appalachian regional commission which goes in small business loans to these depressed areas and eliminated live heat and serves cold people, cold people in these great lakes states, cut. it is really hard to see how politically the administration can walk away from this and still take that claim essentially having a populous mantel. >> there is the russian reset >> there is the russian reset and things like benghazi. why did we just hear state department employees described as heroes? >> state department employees are heroes because they go all around the world and do things that americans don't always understand. they sacrificed themselves to combat ebola and aids. they give money to peace keeping missions. just to pull back one seco

your office was founded under george h.w. bush. why leave now?toelt it was time for take my skills and talents to a place where i knew they would be valued. i also felt it was necessary for me to stand up and share respectfully in the letter of our brexit nation with the administrator the challenges that still exist for vulnerable community's, but also the opportunities that exist and implore him to do a serious analysis of that and to give serious consideration into making sure these communities are protected and engaged in the process. amy: did scott pruitt respond your resignation letter? >> i have not heard from him to date, but i wish him well. , resigned ata ali the environmental protection agency last week. he's now senior vice president of the hip hop caucus. that is it for today's program. if you would like a transcript or see video or listen to audio of today's show, get a podcast, you can go to democracynow.org. all transcripts are there. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail yo

reagan's vice president -- george h.w. bush who said that.putin -- i'm curious behind the scenes, do we have a sense, if vladimir putin was trying to influence the election in this country, if trump was his preferred candidate, if he had high hopes for what a trump presidency would mean for the american/russian relationship, just given how this has become the all-consuming controversy in american politics right now, does he feel he's going to get the benefits of the trump presidency that he was looking for? >> yeah, you know, an interesting point that i've heard made, you know, if this was the sort of most dastardly effective russian operation of all-time, it actually was too effective, too blunt, too blatant because there's a backlash now. it's going to be really difficult for donald trump to do some kind of deal with vladimir putin that putin might have been hoping for. you know, if trump had kind of come in not talking so much about russia, these ties had not been exposed, he could have flown under the radar and cut some deals and would ha

george h.w. bush said that, and it's not quite how the quote went. is what you were trying to say. >> read my lips. no new taxes. >> so vladimir putin was trying to quote a line that is well-known for meaning the opposite. george h.w. bush went back on that promise and in fact raised taxes. fitting, since we know that vladimir putin is lying. putin was participating in a cnbc panel at the international arctic forum in russia. here is what he said about the senate intelligence committee investigations into russia's hacking of the 2016 election. >> >> translator: we perceive the united states as a great power which we want to establish a good partnership relationship with. other things are fictional and provocations, lies, all these are used for domestic american political agendas. the anti-russian the plagued by political forces inside the united states to trade on that and consolidate their positions. >> and joining us now, alexei kovelan. let's talk first about the reaction of vladimir putin there. do you perceive that the russian government and put

. >> of course, it wasn't regan who said read my lips, it was george h.w. bush who went on to break the promise when he raised taxes. >>> another challenge for the president, the revolt by members of his party and it had the president lashing out today at the group of conservative republicans. he warned unless they fall into line he would help defeat them in the next election, but there were more defiance today. let's get the latest from nbc's kristen welker. >> thank you very much. we were very close. >> reporter: tonight less than a week after praising conservatives in the house freedom caucus that rejected his obama care repeal, president trump now casting blame inten phiing attacks in a new tweet this morning suggesting he might back primary challengers, the freedom caucus will hurt the entire republican agenda if they don't get on the team and fast. we must fight them and dems in 2017. but it isn't getting conservatives on board. >> most people don't take well to being bullied. it may allow a child to get his way but that's not how the government works. >>

legislative skills were invaluable in enacting key initiatives of president reagan and president george h.w. bush on behalf of the people. whereas bob michel will be long remembered by all for his strong dedication to responsible public service and his love of the people of the united states. whereas bob michel conducted himself as a leader with a commitment to civil discourse, personal dignity, political consensus, and inherent to fundamental human values. public bob michel's service culminated in the award of the highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. and whereas in the house and in his life, bob michel's uncommon decency and generosity were evident to all who knew and worked with him. now, therefore, be it resolved that the house of representatives honors the life achievements and distinguished public servants -- the service of bob michel and expresses condolences to his family on his passing. >> is their objection to the consideration of the resolution? andresolution is agreed to the motion to consider is laid on the table. under the policy of january 3, 2017, the gentlema

george h.w. bushe president last time, the cocker spaniel in 1990. >>> an animal shelter is giving disabled dogs a second chance with a new set of wheels. ben tracy reports. >> reporter: this little terrier used to go by the name crybaby. it made sense given how much pain he had endured. >> he was hit by a car, his back was broken. >> he was in tough shape. >> bad shape. >> reporter: his two hind legs were paralyzed and after surgery his family no longer wanted him. but susan full ter did. she gave him a new home and a new name, presley. it's something foulter's done more than one time. it's called foulter rescue. it's more than about keeping them alive but helping them live. she fits each with a custom doggy wheelchair. with two working legs, they're now on a roll. >> what kind of reaction do the dogs have? >> they immediately take off. we only had one dog it took how many times to get her to move. lovie gaga. she's in the wheelchair. >> reporter: she doesn't realize it cost $500. to whom much is giv

george w. bush before that and under president clinton before that and under president george h.w. fore that and under reagan before that and under carter before that. he has been there a long time. he is a pillar of the u.s. state department, he's part of its institutio

world war ii vet george h.w. bush. at ray's church sunday his closest crew. >> i've only been alive 8 years. but he means a lot to me. >> we want to capture as much of the enjoyment of being together as possible. >> reporter: the weekend's fanfare couldn't shake ray's humility. >> i'm not a hero. i did what i did because i enjoyed doing it. >> reporter: just an old sailor with a bucket list complete. >> i just want to thank everybody that's here to give me this honor. >> reporter: katie beck, nbc news, san diego. >> happy birthday, ray. that's going to do it for us on a monday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. right now at .. the nedet thisofficer - makinan rest -- >>> right now at 6:00, the new details we're learning about this officer making an arrest, who some say is using excessive force. >>> the news at 6:00 starts right now. thank you for joining us. i'm terry mcsweeney in for raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. did he go too far? was it excessive force?

i'm going to be half the man that george h.w. bush is. if i can do that, i would have lived a life of purpose and meaning. it's whatever that is. >> thank you, thank you. so several questions, this won't surprise you, get us into politics. current situation, we'll start with this one. how can we heal the political divisions in our country today? jeb: humility, humility. one of the attributes of leadership that i think is important is to figure out ways for everybody to win. so i read a lot and ronald reagan was an extraordinarily successful president. he changed the world, but he didn't do it by doing victory dances on top of people. it wasn't like my way or the highway, i'm going to crush you. he lifted people up. he had friendships with people that didn't agree with a single thing that he believed. he never made it personal. he found common ground wherever possible. he had a relationship with tip o'neil that without that relationship, without that humility between two people that were proud conservatives and liberals separately, social

i was the guest of george h.w. bush, who is making a lakeside appearance. this is critical if you are aiming toward hoping to run for the presidency. they were both pushing reagan and were longtime members. there was a launch after the speech -- lunch after the speech, and the three of us , whend as his guest governor reagan spotted us. story about the barbary pirates in standing up to fight them, and when he finished, mr. president bush turned to him and said dam, he is good. fast-forward. governorunter with the was after he had taken the oath of office. the day after. late been approached in november. what i consider being the deputy director of central intelligence, and it was easy. i said hal, no. i was getting ready to retire. up promotion opportunities for people i had helped along. i went out to australia for a visit, got pulled out of a meeting, and he said you have to take this job. i said i was not going to. and then i got back from that trip and i had my first encounter with weinberger. to theuaded me to go dci, he army a job in the prop -- offer

george w. bush was-- was-- i can remember somebody saying something positive about dan quayle right at the very beginning of george h.ws a little unusually negative. but the truth is, the beginning of all administrations are a mess. and, i mean, we certainly have to give it 100 days. this is a particularly incoherent-- i mean, one of the things that bothers me about having donald trump as president is that it seems to be absolutely intellectually incoherent, ideologically incoherent. >> glor: you also say in the book, "individual freedom is about bringing things together. politics is about dividing things up." this is not a new concept-- >> yeah, i mean, that's what makes-- glp. >> glor: but it seems pretty important right now. >> yeah, well, that's my fundamental-- the reason i am basically a libertarian-- i'm a conservative, but my ideology is libertarian, because i worry about big government. and i think we have a perfect example here for everybody across the spectrum. i worry, you know-- i watch liberals build a bigger and bigger government and now i'm watching them when somebody else has gotten behind the wheel o

. >>> former president george h.w. bushnd former first lady barbara bush were honored by the mensch international foundation last night. the former first couple were given the mensch award for their work in jewish communities across the country. and while the bushes were there for the ceremony, their son neil delivered a speech on their behalf celebrating the recognition while calling out the recent rash of threats and violence against the jewish community. >>> just ahead, why being dropped from nordstroms may be the best thing to happen to ivanka trump's clothesline. and find out the newest car trends from the geneva motor show. more "doing chores for dad" per roll more "earning something you love" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty, the quicker picker upper what bad back?gels work so fast you'll ask what pulled hammy? advil liqui - gels make pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain? advil

. >>> former president george h.w. bushnd former first lady barbara bush were honored by the men's international foundation. they were given the foundation award for their work in jewish communities across the country. and while the bushes were there for the ceremony, their son neil delivered a speech on their behalf celebrating the recognition while calling out the recent rash of threats and violence against the jewish community. >>> two wisconsin men are facing charges this morning for stealing over 100,000 diapers. police say the men stole 1800 cases of diapers from a warehouse where one of them worked. the diapers were supposed to go to a local charity to help low income families. police say the men stole about $45,000 worth of the diapers, although it is unclear how much money the men made from the theft. they were each charged with one count of theft of movable property. >>> just ahead, why being dropped from nordstrom's mieft be the best thing to happen to ivanka trump's clothing line. and the geneva auto show, we'll

world war ii vet george h.w. bush.s closest crew. >> i've only been alive 8 years. but he means a lot to me. >> we want to capture as much of the enjoyment of being together as possible. >> reporter: the weekend's fanfare couldn't shake ray's humility. >> i'm not a hero. i did what i did because i enjoyed doing it. >> reporter: just an old sailor with a bucket list complete. >> i just want to thank everybody that's here to give me this honor. >> reporter: katie beck, nbc news, san diego. >> happy birthday, ray. that's going to do it for us on a monday night. i'm leicester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >>> kim kardashian's life or death decision as she stared down the barrel of a gun. her tearful new play by play of her terrifying night in paris. >> now on "extra." ♪ extra extra ♪ ♪ extra extra >>> the night kim kardashian thought she would die. >> i said i don't have any money. that's when i saw the gun. >> in her own words, the split second decision she was forced to make to s

world war ii vet george h.w. bush.s closest crew. >> i've only been alive 8 years. but he means a lot to me. >> we want to capture as much of the enjoyment of being together as possible. >> reporter: the weekend's fanfare couldn't shake ray's humility. >> i'm not a hero. i did what i did because i enjoyed doing it. >> reporter: just an old sailor with a bucket list complete. >> i just want to thank everybody that's here to give me this honor. >> reporter: katie beck, nbc news, san diego. >> happy birthday, ray. that's going to do it for us on a monday night. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >> and he duct taped my face. there's no way out. please, i have a family. let me live. >> now we've got even more than you saw in last night's tease. i'm natalie morales. but is it okay for the kardashians to be using a terrifying nearly tragic chapter of their lives as promotion for

says george h.w. bush in the persian gulf to begin air strikes against isis and to keep an eye on iran. on capitol hill the head of u.s. central command said iran represents the greatest threat to the region, operating in a gray zone just short of open conflict. >> i think we need to look at opportunities where we can disrupt through military means or other means their activities. >> general votel says iran's behavior has gotten worse when a nuclear deal was reached during the obama administration. test-fired more ballistic missiles iran and russia continue to work together in syria to keep president bashar al assad in power. >> we have seen russian jets operating out of iranian basis and cooperation to prop up the regime and give them new life here. i think we should be concerned about that. >> this week's iran's president visited moscow and a sign of warming ties between nations. >> russia and iran coordinate on every step to stabilize the situation in syria. >> the russians are taking a pledge out of ir

i was the guest of george h.w. bush who was making a lakeside appearance. this is critical if you are aiming toward hoping to run for the presidency. there was a luncheon after the speech at bush's camp. us there ashree of his guest. us, governor reagan spotted he got the platform and he told barbarytory of the pirates and standing up to fight . when he finished, mr. president bush turned to him and said dam, he is good. fast-forward. the next encounter was the day after he had taken the oath of office. i had been approached in late november. would i consider being the deputy director of central intelligence? i said hal, no. said, "hell, no." i was getting ready to retire. i was passing up promotion opportunities for people i had helped along. i went out to australia for a visit, got pulled out of a meeting, and he said you have to take this job. i said i was not going to. and then i got back from that trip and i had my first encounter with weinberger. he persuaded me to go to the dci, he offered me a job in the pentagon. i thought it was exciting until my

classic tom friedman, maureen dowd "new york times" cover story about the contentious jim baker/george h.w. bushquoted him as saying, if you are so smart, how come i'm president. so it may be something that infects once you get into the oval office. >> part of the briefing on day one. >> absolutely. >> we can laugh about it and this was a remarkable interview in a lot of ways. the thing that strikes me is this idea of i'm president and this enables me to say basically whatever i want to say, this lies at the heart of the credibility issue for mr. trump because his view is for all of these months on the campaign trail, he would say things that were demonstrably false and we'd do fact checks and he'd say them again. unlike other candidates, he'd not back down from things when it was demonstrated they were false. he kept on winning primaries and then won the general election. there's a core sense he has that it means that people don't care if it's true or not. they just want to hear me own what i think and he talked about himself as an instinctual person and that's what people like about me and he

he served in a number of positions in the reagan and george h.w bush administration. in addition to his government service and 25 years in private practice ambassador gray has been an adjunct professor. a graduate of harvard. next mike carcarvin, he focuses constitutional litigation including the first amendment and civil rights matters, he's argued challenges to the affordable care act, a case involving a state's effort to criminalize -- in political campaigns. mike served in the justice department's legal counsel. finally we'll hear from ed way la wayland a very prolific contributor to national review online. he writes about judicial nominations and constitutional law. ed has worked all three branches of the federal government, serving in the legal counsel during the george w.h. bush administration. he's a graduate of harvard and harvard law school. with that i'll turn it over to you ambassador. >> thank you very much. this is an honor to be able to speak. one small correction. in addition to being an ambassador to the eu, also a special envoy for eurasian energy af

kennedy foundation, they are recognizing obama for the push for climate change and gerald ford and george h.w. bush also won the award. >>> and high schoolers in burlington township knowledge got a first hand glimpse at workers today. from oceanographers to police officers and more.here were workshops for the students to help them with interview skills and w resumes it was by project path pursuing adulthood through high school. >>> time for sports and jeff is here and the flyers are hoping to shake things up way new player tonight. >> if they can get within two pointser the playoff spot a must win for the flyers going forward. with only 20 games to go and 4 points out of playoffs. he will approach every game with the mind set it's the biggest game of the year. and a new line mate from florida. he will make his debut centering it's second line with brayden schenn and he waived theuse and he says he would love it here. >> i'm sure he will be nervous butn away. i'm deaf nightly excited and looking forward to the . >> steve mason gets the start but his stay in philadelphia could be coming to an end. he

he served in a number of positions in the reagan and george h.w. bush administration administrations. he was announced ambassador to the european union by president george w. bush and 25 years in private practice, ambassador grey has been at my alma mater, george mason and nyu law school. he is a graduate of harvard and the university of north carolina law school. next we hear from the partner of jones day and focuses on constitutional litigation and first amendment and civil rights matters. he has appeared before the supreme court several times and the state's efforts to criminalize. mike served in the justice department on the legal counsel and the civil rights division. he is a graduate of george washington university law school in tulane. finally, we'll hear from ed whalen. he is the president of ethics and public policy center and a very prolific contributor to national review online where he writes about judicial nominations and constitutional law. ed has worked in all three branches of the government and to the senate judicial committee and law c

. >> if you look at the end of soviet union ronald reagan and george h.w. bushwall fell that fell because of hard line action by republican administrations. ronald reagan 400 shift and coalition george h.w. bush put together in persian gulf wore war that rallied this new order that he stepped the united states forward as sole super -- >> has russia decided it's not worth firing bullets that you can get it done through the computer and ever roll ago tack again. >> let's not take away they're rebuilding military and put a lot of money they have abated and occupied two countries in the last six years george aand ukraine the war is still going on they adapted hybrid war using non violent means and confusion and propaganda and push on our weaknesses and weak spots. you have to remember putin is judo master that's what judo is all about. >> from our side are we not responding to all that in a way that is rooted in 2017 are we still fighting you know or looking at russia in terms of old -- >> i think last summer when dnc was hacked and emails were released patriotic re

george w. bush before that and under president clinton before that and under president george h.w. bush before that and under reagan before that and under carter before that. he has been there a long time. he is a pillar of the u.s. state department, he's part of its institutional memory. he has been in the room for basically every important negotiation, every standoff, every big development, particularly between the united states and russia for decades. we've got him here tonight because he's out now. he's gone. the trump folks chose not to keep him on. he was actually -- i said he was the most senior diplomat in the foreign service. he was actually the third-most senior diplomat in the foreign service until a few weeks ago. then the trump administration got rid of the number one and number two most senior people ahead of him in the foreign service so that did make him the most senior person still standing -- but now he's out, too. think about that for a second. after he was initially hired into the foreign service in 1977, five subsequent presidents of both parties thought it woul

. >> that's right, and there's no evidence -- the clintons had no evidence that george h.w. bushapping them in the white house too. this was a natural question that you want to bring up and get resolved. this goes way back in history. we had a president they said was a spy of a foreign power, a foreign power got him elected, and they were manipulating immigration was a big issue. that was john adams, who was supposed be a spy of the united kingdom or of england and immigration, one of the alien position act is that you had to be a citizen of the united states for my 14 years, an immigrant for my 14 years before you could be accepted ass a citizen. we've debated these things for years and we get hysterical. i can't believe that the russians are using donald trump as a puppet in the first thing they ask him to do is increase military spending. it's a bit far-fetched for me. >> jon: there's an article in national journal today written by charlie cook, the title is whilemanyofus .com she had 960,000 ground gam. 800 -- he had some things shouldn't have, earned media. the message, i wo

he has been ambassador to taiwan under george h.w. bush and ambassador to china under barack obama.thought of putting country over party. he got some grief when he ran for president himself as a republican because he worked for barack obama as he represented america in china. who gave him that grief? donald trump. he used my name in a debate for gravitas and it didn't work. sa sad. he called to see me. i said no. he gave our cup away to china. congress considering investigations into russia's interference into our election and any connection with the white house. two officers, lindsey graham and sheldon whitehouse have asked the white house for proof that donald trump was tapped. either the was not being truthful or he was tapped and that's because trump was suspected of wrongdoing. here's sean spicer. >> there is no reason to believe he is the target of any investigation. i think that's very important point to make. the one question dealt with wiretap. the other is an investigation there. they are two separate issues. there is no reason to believe there is any type of investigation

and so nevertheless, sir, when i was united states attorney for george h.w. bush, he had priorities, protecting the environment, going after bank fraud, going after drug dellers. as a result, as an appointee of president bush, that's are my prourts. >> but can you -- as u.s. attorneys, do you not have the ability to pivot in those ways when priorities change under different administrations? >> absolutely. and you -- the united states attorney as presidentially appointed has an obligation. but nevertheless, if the president articulates certain goals, you should be focusing on those goals. >> michael mckay, thank y for joining us. >>> one of the u.s. attorneys asked to resign this this kd weekend is getting a lot of attenti attention, preet bharara. me met with donald trump at trump tower and said they had a deal in place for him to stay on. but on friday he was told to resign like the others. he refused and on saturday morning he tweeted that he did not resign, he was fired. now a new piece claims preet bharara's firing could be a big win for rupert murdoch, which

george w. bush -- i can remember somebody saying something positive about dan quayle right at the beginning of george h.wsh's. this is a little unusually negative. but the truth is the beginning of all administrations are a mess. we certainly have to give it 100 days. this is a particularly incoherent -- one of the things that bothers me about having donald trump as president is that it seems to be absolutely intellectually incoherent and ideologically incoherent. people are bothered about steve bannon as the ideological force behind the trump administration. there is no such thing as an ideological force behind administration that has absolutely no ideology. maybe after 100 days, we get a of whether the office and institution sucked him in and make him behave in a more normal fashion. bannon hasu agree that view that is more ideological? >> he is ideological. but i am not seeing a man in trump that listens a lot. know, this is a pretty narcissistic personality. i have to say i have trouble figuring out -- it is like trump is looking so closely in the mirror that when we look at trump, we are looking at

he was quoting reagan, george h.w. bushas the answer, but putin is probably student of history to know just how much that promise ended up being worth from george h.w. bush. >> all right. thank you very much. that and other developments over the past couchple hours in the hacking matters. >> thank you for watching "power lunch". >> it starts right now. >>> hi, everybody, welcome to "closing bell." >> tax reform has been front and center today. president trump met earlier at the white house with top economic advisers, and one of the ideas reportedly discussed is a tax reform plan that was put on the table in 2014 by then chairman of the house ways and means committee dave camp. mr. camp is joining us live in an exclusive interview coming up later here.

career as an advocate and began my career as a judge began when i was appointed by president george h.w. bush for the united states district court for the southern district of new york. as a trial judge, i did decide over 450 cases and presided over dozens of trials but perhaps my most famous case being the major league baseball strike in 1995. after six extraordinary years on the district court, i was appointed by president clinton to the united states court of appeals for the second circuit. on that court, i have enjoyed the benefit of sharing ideas and present us with wonderful colleagues. as we have worked together to resolve the issues before us, i have now served as an appellate judge for over a decade, deciding a wide range of constitutional statutory and other legal questions. throughout my 17 years on the bench, i have witnessed the human consequences of my decisions. those decisions have not been made to serve the interest of any one litigant, but always to serve the larger interest of impartial justice. in the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. si

george w. bush before that and clinton before that and george h.w. bush before that and even reagan before that and even carter before that. i mean, as soon as tillerson was brought on board they fired four of the longest standing top career diplomats at the state department who don't turn over with new administration. 150 years worth of experience. when one assistant deputy secretary of state said what an honored the been to be a foreign service for 40 years but now they're telling me i have to go. those are the people they cleared out, people with 20, 30, even 40 years at the state department. all the institutional memory in the building. the people who form the spine of america's foreign service in a non-partisan way. the career people, the core, these have been the headlines, right? trump administration asks top state department officials to leave. or this one, it's a bloodbath at the state department. or this one, state department carries out layoffs under rex tillerson. two more senior diplomats leaving the state department. they emptied out the

george w. bush before that and under president clinton before that and under president george h.w. sh before that and under reagan before that and under carter before that. he has been there a long time. he is a pillar of the u.s. state department, he's part of its institutional memory. he has been in the room for basically every important negotiation, every standoff, every big development, particularly between the united states and russia for decades. we've got him here tonight because he's out now. he's gone. the trump folks chose not to keep him on.

it was actually president george h.w. bush who said read my lips. but the sentiment stands that russia was not involved. as was discussed by james comey and clapper and admiral rogers. we continue now with fox news contributor laura ingraham. i don't really care what putin says in that sense but here is the problem. when you look at the narrative that has gone on all this time without any evidence and that it must be learned with newt in the first segment, at a very deep level the unmasking of trump and president-elect and those around him, leaking intelligence which is a felony -- now we've got a really deep issue here that we do know happened but the media ignores that part. your reaction? >> sean, the truth about this comey revelation -- oh, comey wanted to reveal this. i always like to think about the motive. we have to be our journalistic detective here. who has a motive to release that information now? a lot of democrats just want to keep the story going to look at feed the media beast every so often. which goes nowhere. who has motive here? i

she had participated for the center of george h.w. bush focusing on border infrastructure and policies. kim serves more than a decade of u.s. intelligence community and political manager. in 2006 and 2005, she worked at a white house as director for mexico and canada. we could not have no one better qualified than to lead the initiative than kim. >> with that, i would like to hand it over to kim with other groups that guides us through such an intention focus of public attention in recent weeks. >> if there is any emergency, please exit the building by the same traentrance. there is emergency exits at the back of the building. thank you all very much. >> kim? >> good morning everyone. thank you, michael, and thank you for coming everyone. this morning, i think we have a very timely topic this morning when we started to plan for the panel. we did not know we are dpoing to have it the monday morning following the visit of tillerson to mexico. we can be thankful of the timing this morning. i think it would have been timely either way. >> csi