grassley: good morning, everybody. i am pleased to be able to hold this nomination hearing for 2 very outstanding nominees, rosenstein and rachel brand. they had been nominated for 2 very important senior positions in the department of justice, deputy attorney general and associate attorney general. whodeputy attorney general, is the second in command at the department, overseas its day-to-day operations. the associate attorney general oversees the department's civil litigation departments. it is critical that we fill these 2 important positions so that the department can operate at full capacity. we couldn't have 2 better remedies for these positions. mr. rosenstein and ms. brand share a lot in common. they are both dedicated civil servants. they both have been confirmed by the senate before. in ms. brand's case, twice. and they have both served in senate-confirmed positions during president obama's administration. they are both extraordinarily talented and fair-minded lawyers, dedicated to the full and evenhanded enf

grassley: -- thank you very much. sen. grassley: is that very much -- all of them? sen. feinstein: they are all here. sen. grassley: without objection, it will be done. sen. feinstein: thanks ray much. i'm not a lawyer, but as i read the case, this man was a felon in possession of a gun with the serial number struck off. in concert with another man who had a weapon that, i believe, was used. so, he was a felon with a gun. probation, he was instructed not to carry the weapon. i have strong feelings about that. i don't think you have to respond. what i was like to talk to about -- judge gorsuch: may i? sen. feinstein: sure. i don't mean to eat up your time, but this is exactly the sort of thing i been trying to convey to members of the committee. to decide these cases with respect to these. there's the little guy right there. he's a criminal defendant, unsympathetic. completely, i understand a routine you're saying and it's all true. the question still is, does the government have to prove what the law requires of the or anybody? there is no bigger guy than the federal gov

thank you, chairman grassley. sen. grassley: thank you, senator ernst. now senator cardin. senator cardin: it is a pleasure to be back before the judiciary committee. i want to thank both of our nominees for being willing to serve their country and thank families, because this is a family sacrifice to serve in government, and we thank them for being willing to do this. i am pleased to be here with senator van hollen to introduce and support rod rosenstein to be the deputy attorney general. this was a welcomed nomination by president trump. rod rosenstein has demonstrated throughout his long career of the highest standards of professionalism. he has dedicated his entire professional crew to public service. he is an experienced prosecutor and administrator. very impressive credentials, graduating from the university of pennsylvania wharton school, from harvard law school, or he was editor of "the harvard law journal," clerked for judge ginsburg on the district court court of appeals. he has been u.s. attorney since 2005. he has served in many leadership positions among u.s. a

chairman grassley: thank you-all. meeting adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. isit ncicap.org] >> if you missed any of this hearing it's available to see any time online at c-span.org. type rod rosenstein in the search box. u.s. house will be back at 2:00 p.m. eastern to take up four bills, including a 19ings 5 billion nasa programs bill. and legislation to name a federal courthouse in nashville after the late tennessee senator fred thompson. when the house comes back into session, live coverage here on c-span. again starting at 2:00 p.m. eastern. house republicans have introduced their proposal to replace the affordable care opul provisions of the to stay on their parents' th 26. also requiring health insurance compie to ver peop with pre-existing kfpblets among the major changes to the health care proposal, eliminating subsidies for health insurance iums and replacing them with tax cred

grassley is annoyed behind the scenes that comey has not met with him and dianne feinstein. that's about to be rectified this afternoon. we believe the meeting still being scheduled but we know it will be put on the books and that comey will talk to grassley and feinstein about what is going on. what we don't know is whether comey is telling these senators, acknowledging that, in fact, this investigation is being conducted. it's possible that he has at this point told members of either the intelligence committee broadly or the gang of eight, that top group of intelligence members of the house and senate who hear special highly classified briefings. again, we don't know. we know democrats on the house intelligence committee have decided they're happier with comey than they were before. clearly, he has given in. grassley threatened to hold up the department -- pardon me, the deputy attorney general nominee if he didn't hear from comey directly. clearly, he's getting all kinds of pressure from all sides. the reality is, subpoenas from congress can really bite. if grassley is wi

senator grassley: are they on their way? oh, they are. 12:30 is at different times around the country. senator grassley: we want to thank you all very much for being here. before i start my remarks, i want to say thank you to all the former clerks of the judge who are here to express their views of why he should be on the united states supreme court , and i just got done telling them this is a news conference where they are more important than us senators are from this standpoint that they have day in and day out know the qualifications of this person to be on the supreme court. last week the judiciary committee saw a brilliant display from the supreme court nominee, the judge neil gorsuch. most importantly, he showed a command of the law and an independence from outside influence. my judiciary committee colleagues, those of us here and others, saw what the judge's clerks already know. the judge has an incredible legal mind and a humility that keeps him well-grounded. he's easily cleared every hurdle in place of him -- in fr

grassley: sen. feinstein without objection -- sen. grassley: without objection, so ordered. sen.hatch: how would you respond to that criticism? judge gorsuch: a good judge does not give a whit about politics or the political applications of his or her decision. bust ofast everyday a byron white in my courthouse. my courthouse is named for byron white. and when i do that, i think about his absolute determination just to get it right no matter where it took him. "it's a job. you do your very best and you go home." that is how i approach things. if you look at my record, senator, respectfully, i think it demonstrates that could according to my law clerks, again, when i do dissent, which is very rarely, i do so in about equal numbers between judges who happen to be appointed by democrat presidents and who happen to be appointed by republican presidents. i hate to even use those words, because they are all just to me judges. i don't think of them that way. my decisions have always been independent regardless of who i'm agreeing or disagreeing with, and if i ruled against the governmen

we saw the chairman of the committee, chuck grassley, on the senate floor a short while ago, it should get under way shortly as well. by the way, this is the first of two hearings that the judiciary committee is holding today. later this afternoon, their focus will be on russia's interference in world democracies. that hearing will be at 2:30 this afternoon and that will be over on our companion network c-span. and meanwhile, also this afternoon, same time, here on c-span3, we'll bring you news conference with fed chair janet yellen, the fed is meeting today, expected to announce a bump up in the interest rate, we'll hear more about that from the chairman janet yellen at 2:30 this afternoon. so here on c-span3, waiting for this hearing to get under way, the votes under way in the senate, so things should start happening here in the judiciary committee in just a bit. >>> you can see senator grassley in the room, the chairperson of the judiciary committee, and the first of two hearings we're covering today in that committee. this one this morning looking at immigration fraud using k-1 vi

senator grassley: thank you. i have already held over the nominations, so unless someone else wants to speak, we'll meet again at 10:00 a.m., a week from today. meeting adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org >> the house is in recess coming back at 6:30 eastern for a couple of votes. the chamber worked on three bills including one requiring fema to report to congress on its plans for assisting those by a disaster. tomorrow in the house on a disapproval

senator grassley: thank you. i have already held over the nomination, so unless something else wants to speak, we will meet at 10:00 a.m. one week from today. meeting adjourned. >> ok. [indiscernible] >> up next, to reporters talk about the relationship between the white house and congress. from washington journal, this is 55 minutes. " continues. ont: for a monday roundtable the week ahead in washington, we're joined by gaby more and julio -- gabby morrongiello and mike lillis. how much of the week ahead is going to be taken up by looking back at the failed health care vote last week and finger-pointing about it? guest: it will not just be the next week. it will be the next few weeks, next few months,

chuck grassley now wants to go deeper on his own.o i think that what's happening is they are holding this president to account and they say you can't behave like this. >> steve clemmons, thank you for joining us. karen, i appreciate your reporting here with us. we have much more coming up after the break. we're going to be joined by yamiche and anna and talking about reaction after a top green corps official was grilled on capitol hill over that new photo scandal rocking the military. the latest from the pentagon and what happens next, when we come back. >> serious problem when we have members of our military den grading female marines who will give their life to this country in the way they have with no response from leadership. i can tell you, your answers today are unsatisfactory. if you have medicare parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare

>> sure, senator grassley, i would be happy to.a lawyer i have spent some of my career in private practice representing clients. i have spent more of my career in public service of within type or another. but just as when i was at a law firm, i had a client and it was my job to file lawsuits and amicus briefs on behalf of that client. if i was confirmed, my cliernt would be t -- client would be the united states. and that's a role i'm very comfortable with. i've spent more of my career in the public rather than private practice. >> you served as associate independent counsel and you've already referred to in that case of experience you've had in the department so you're familiar with the role of independent counsels or special prosecutors in federal investigations, appointment of a special counsel requires both that there's evidence of a crime or wrongdoing or that the department is unable to handle the matter fairly. is that right as you see it? >>generally that's correct. i believe you're referring to the regulation on special co

>> senator grassley, mr. chairman, that's a tall drink of water right there. i think there is a lot of different reasons. adults don't want to believe, that's the first thing. adults just don't want to believe it. i think there is a responsibility that adults have placing their children in this situation. if it is true that they have placed children in a situation they were abused or exploited or if they have oversight of a situation that permits that, that reflects on them and that fear of exposure and so they don't want to believe it. i am not talking about the abusers. i'm talking about good-hearted adults whose heart is in the right place that upon hearing incidents or suspecting abuse don't immediately report it. it is not that they are bad people. i wish i knew the answer to why they have made that decision. it is wrapped up certainly in sports and the goal being achievement and a focus on that final goal and in so many cases the athletes are secondary to that goal. that's the culture that has to change. >> thanks, mr. chairman. i want the women who have

now to my conversation with republican senator chuck grassley of iowa.spoke a short time ago and i began by asking what the country learned about judge gorsuch today. >> i think they learned that he is willing to be a judge and not be a legislator, and i think he tells best what he's up to when he says, a judge that likes all his decisions isn't a very good judge, he's getting back to the independence that a member of the judiciary branch needs to show if he's going to truly be a referee within our governmental system, and he showed that very clearly by demonstrating that you should look at the facts of the days, look at the law and be dispassionate -- in other words, leave your own personal views out of it -- and i think that's reinforced by his writing very well. of course, we're going to go over this all the next 48 hours, but i believe what i'm telling you kind of sums up what we'll know at the end of 48 hours. >> woodruff: senator , many republicans say they want judge gorsuch to be as close as possible to the late justice antonin scalia. he's clear

chairman grassley, how many supreme court nominee hearings have you been through? chairman grassley, how many supreme court nominee hearings have you been through? >> this will be the 14th. >> and your first as chairman? >> yes. >> is the preparation different? procedurally it is different because you have to be on top of it and that make sure everyone understands what the rules are and how you conduct the meeting, but as far as the questions i ask the candidate, they are no different than if i was doing it as a member or a chairman of the committee. >> what is the process like in the preparation, whether it is this one going -- or going back? >> it is usually the same. you read all you can about individual. the lawn lawyer that i am -- nonlawyer i am come i realize i can rely on people who read the 250 some decisions that he has written, but i like to read about him. i have briefing papers i get from my staff in preparation of it. i also give direction to the staff as to the kind of question i want to ask, like for instance of what they think about the original in

that's what chuck grassley did today. chuck grassley refused to recall to the committee an attorney general suspected of perjuring himself. if chairman grassley wanted to make jeff sessions look guilty of perjury today he did everything he could to fuel that suspicion by refusing his own committee members' demands that he bring jeff sessions back for more testimony. if he wanted to add to that that he is guilty of perjury he did everything right. he did nothing to lessen the suspicions about the possibility that there was something criminal in his hearing, perjury. and the man who appointed jeff sessions and delivered the russian influence peddling scandal to washington in which jeff sessions is now implicated behaved as he always does when not sluggishly reading a teleprompter in the chamber of the house of representatives. he behaved like a clown. the president of the united states took to twitter where he demonstrated his cognitive difficulty in spelling in what may be his declining years. le witthentire wuss staff the

here's committee chair chuck grassley of iowa. >> chairman grassley, how many supreme court confirmation hearings have you been through? >> this will be the 14th in the 36 years i have been on the committee. >> and this will be your first as chairman? >> yes. >> is preparing as chairman different than preparing for a supreme court confirmation hearing as not a chairman? >> procedurally it's a little bit different because you have to be on top of it and make sure that everybody understands what the rules are and how you are going to conduct the meeting. but as far as the questions that i ask of the candidate, they wouldn't be any different than if i were a junior member of this committee or the chairman of the committee. >> what is that preparation like for you? >> the preparation for whether it's for this one or going way back to

he is sworn in by senator grassley who chairs the committee. >> before you sit, would you raise your right hand to be sworn. do you affirm that the testimony you are about to give to the committee be the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> i do. >> thank you. please be seated and you may tell us what you want us to hear at this point. >> mr. chairman, senator feinstein, members of the committee, i am honored and humbled to be here. since coming to washington, i have met with over 70 senators. you have offered me a warm welcome and wise advice, thank you. i want to thank the president and the vice president. they and their teams have been so gracious to me and i thank them for this honor. i want to thank senator gardner and bennett for their kind introductions reminding us that long before we are democrats or republicans we are americans. sitting here i am acutely aware of my own imperfections but i pledge to you and the american people that if i am confirmed i will do all my powers commit to be a faithful servant of the constitution and laws of this great nation

>> yes, i would, chairman grassley. and if i might just give an example or two, it's absolutely true that much of the interest in originalism at the beginning was generated by critics of warren court decisions, and originalism has been associated with conservatives to some extent. but originalism is the idea that we're going to enforce the original meaning of the united states constitution, and the united states constitution has implications that both conservatives and progressives, both democrats and republicans, can welcome. let me give an example that relates to the question we have just been discussing, the rights of corporations. justice thomas in his opinion in the mcdonald case says that incorporation of the bill of rights can only be justified under the privileges or immunities clause of the united states constitution. the privileges or immunities clause is different than the equal protection clause or due process clause. those clauses guarantee rights to all persons. the privileges or immunities clause guarante

chairman grassley, how many supreme court nominee hearings have you been through? chairman grassley, how many supreme court nominee hearings have you been through? >> this will be the 14th. >> and your first as chairman? >> yes. >> is the preparation different? procedurally it is different because you have to be on top of it and that make sure everyone understands what the rules are and how you conduct the meeting, but as far as the questions i ask the candidate, they are no different than if i was doing it as a member or a chairman of the committee. >> what is the process like in the preparation, whether it is this one

charles grassley is the committee chair. dianne feinstein, the ranking member, have introduced a bill that would require governing bodies of athlete tick programs to report allegations of sexual abuse immediately to child welfare agencies or governing bodies. >>> thanks specially to our witnesses but also everybody who is attending today. you are very welcome. thank you very much for your interest in this issue. as you probably know, our committee, the judiciary committee, is no stranger to contentious debate. when it comes to championing the rights of those hoff been victimized, this committee has a clear bipartisan history. we are here today to build upon that bipartisan tradition and learn what more can be done to keep our children and young athletes safe from sexual predators. protecting children from abuseers has been a top priority for me and a lot of other members of this committee over the years. over 30 years ago, i sponsored the child abuse victim's rights act, awe bill to enhance civil and criminal penalties again

senator grassley. senator grassley: thank you. sorry i didn't hear your opening statement. i thank you, mr. chairman, for holding this hearing and glad we're moving forward with mr. lighthizer's nomination. lighthizer, i'm sorry. we need to get in place at the ustr because it's a very important job and a lot of negotiations coming up. i've enjoyed working with this agency over the years and respect their unmatched expertise on trade issues. and as everyone on this committee knows, congress set negotiating objectives for trade agreements when we passed t.p.a. 2015. and it's a very important piece of legislation for getting our trade agreements through the congress. so i'm -- i have just a few questions. was told senator roberts touched on part of what i was going to ask. so with your many years with experience on trade, i have no doubt that you appreciate the requirements in t.p.a. to keep congress informed on negotiations and the need for agreements to meet negotiating objectives set by congress that enable agreements and are negotiated by this administration to receive a s

chuck grassley knows what the staff doesn't. investigating any one thing in the matrix of trump scandal could easily unearth something else. something worse. something much worse, or even many, many things much worse. no one trying to protect donald trump, like jason chaffetz or chuck grassley wants an investigation of anything. throughout his life, it has been patently obvious that donald trump's worst enemy is donald trump. now it is very clear that there is a tie for donald trump's second worst enemy among sean spicer, kellyanne conway, reince priebus, and every other inthe competent working in donald trump's white house. joining us now, the former fbi operative and author of how the catch a russian spy. he worked against russian military intelligence and an msnbc contributor. also with us, white house correspondent for politico. and just to the point of lindsey graham and the letter today, they are asking to the people who would know. was there ever an authorization of any kind to the people resembling what some would call w

but chairman grassley continues to show his toughness. he is holding up the confirmation of the number two nominee for the department of justice until they get a real answer. so i think that will be forthcoming on monday. >> all right. to health care. would obamacare, if left alone, would it collapse? because that's what the gop says that this -- that obamacare is such a mess. left alone. collap collap collapse? >> the congressional budget office study says the republican plan would throw 14 million people off health care immediately -- >> obamacare. >> -- also says it's not in a death spiral. now, it has obvious and significant flaws and i am a democrat who is willing, eager to work with republicans to fix and repair the affordable care act and i really appreciated the sentiments expressed by senator graham in the segment you just ran where he said, frankly, if republicans can't get the repeal and replace bill done on their own, they ought to take a big step back and try to work with us in a bipartisan way to save the best parts of the a

>>> you can see senator grassley in the room, the chairperson of the judiciary committee, and the first of two hearings we're covering today in that committee. this one this morning looking at immigration fraud using k-1 visas, the type of visa that allows a foreign national to enter the u.s. for 90 days to marry a u.s. citizen. and this afternoon, the judiciary committee hearing looking at russia's interference in elections and world democracies, that's at 2:30 eastern, over on c-span. >>> there say vote going on. this is the way i handle the meeting. i'm going to call on senator durbin because he has another important meeting he has to go to and so i want him to make his statement. then i'll make my statement. and then i'll introduce the first panel and then we won't do anything until mrs. feinstein gets here. so proceed, senator durbin. >> mr. chairman, thank you for doing this, this is out of order and for those that are new, i appreciate the courtesy extended to me by my friend from iowa. i have a ranking member of the defense appropriations subcommittee, we have a closed door hear

and with chuck grassley. he is the chairman of the judiciary committee, and will be increasingly frustrated tha coe m had not responded to his requests to meet with him to the point that he threatened to hold up the deputy attorney general's nomination. so that happened yesterday. that threat went out. and here comey is meeting with grassley and feinstein in response. now, this, of course, around this issue that you highlighted when you were talking about senator graham who had said, look, we need to know this information before i proceed with my investigation. i need you to tell me, is there or isn't there criminal investigation at all? and also do you have any evidence that trump tower was ever wiretapped? now lindsey graham had said, they hadn't heard anything back from comey on this front. we'll see if something comes out of this meeting. although i will say, comey has been extraordinarily tight lipped about all of this and typically the senators we have tried to talk to coming out of these meetings don't

we seem to be seeing a lot more of it nowadays, but senator grassley, the chairman today, accused youf using a gotcha question to try to trap jeff sessions. you insisted it wasn't a gotcha question that started off this whole thing. what does it matter whether it was a gotcha question or not? sometimes in the hearing people are trying to get you and you've got to tell the truth. >> at the time i asked that question, i asked him what he would do if it turned out that it were true that members of the trump campaign had met with russians, what would he do as attorney general, and he didn't answer that question. what he did say was that he had not met with the russians and that wasn't true, but it was hardly -- as they say, if it's a gotcha question, it's a gotcha question himself he answered. >> it was one he asked himself because he didn't directly answer your question. in the hearing today when your conflict erupted with chairman grassley, i saw you say at a certain point, well, just show the tape of what you actually said. in the middle of your question, you actually say to jeff sessi

comey just wrapped up a meeting with chuck grassley and his democratic counterpart, dianne feinstein. the setors were tighlipped about what they learned from mr. comey. >> did he confirm that there is an investigation ongoing into russian -- >> i'm not going to answer any questions on it. >> before this little briefing, senator grassley was peeved and at the same time, lindsey graham and sheldon whitehouse want comey to them them about the wiretapping accusations. they heard back from the fbi today that they will get briefed but it won't be in public. something graham is not happy about. >> from my point of view, i don't think the answer is a classified answer. there is a warrant or there is not a warrant. i don't know how divulging. once you get that base information it allows you to move on to other areas like is there a criminal investigation or not. >> and we learned that comey will testify on monday. we'll see if he answers questions in front of cameras. the democratic leaders say they haven't seen any evidence of any sort of wiretap related to trump tower. joining me is the form

grassley says it raises questions about the f.b.i.' from politics as well as the obama administration intelligence agencies for political purposes. the left's intolerance on display in berkeley, california and its propensity for violence. that's where mass. protesters attacked supporters. a total of 10 people were arrested, five of them for battery, and as you watch this video, you can see that a number of people would have been subject to those charges, attackinold per americans. these young thugs and punks absolutely without restraint. it's an appalling statement about the left and their so-called activists. one of the arrests was for possession of a deadly weapon and another for fighting arrest. seven people were injured. none hospitalized. the fights broke out at the martin luther king, jr. civic park. violent protesters seem to be getting their marching orders from top of democrats. listen to former attorney general loretta lynch calling on people to take to the streets. >> individuals who have bands together, ordinary people who

. >> thank you chairman grassley and just to wish members of the committee, at the pacific instituteed violence i am honored to be here to comment on the impact of the system on immigrant survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. the api and 59 gender-based is a resource center on domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence in the pacific islander community, serving a national network of advocates and community-based programs that work with pacific islander victims as well as other immigrant victims. in collaboration with the national task force to end domestic violence, we have worked to educate society about addressing victim blaming attitudes, making systems more accessible and advocating for supporting justice for victims of domestic violence.as an organization that works to support healthy, strong families, we firmly believe in the importance of family-based integration. us is astounded by individuals seeking freedom for themselves and their families. families are crucial to economic and social integration of new

waiting for senator chuck grassley to be seated. judiciary committee has many of theost prominent mes in the senate. >> still waiting for some seats to get filled in. among the democrats, dick durbin is there. grassley was -- >> i'm waiting for a very important member of the committee to arrive before we start. >> that's not me. [ laughter ] >> leahy taking his seat. some of the senior most members of the senate, period, in terms of their service. leahy, orin hatch among their political parties. senator franken from minnesota at the bottom of your screen arriving now. a whole lot of news media gathered for this. it was pointed out by many, many people, the hearing itself got under way yesterday and was far and away not the lead story. as we went into the afternoon and evening. to katy tur's point, earlier, not every day do you have a hearing on the hill where you hear the fbi director say, nope, the president's contention on the previous president wiretapping his office building in new york, there's no evidence to support that. yes,

and now, lindsey graham has gone around the chairman of the senate judiciary committee chuck grassley who doesn't want to investigate anything. and lindsey graham has written a letter directly to the justice department and the head of the fbi cosigned by democratic senator sheldon whitehouse. they are demanding to know everything the justice department and the fbi knows about donald trump's tweet. their letter says we would take any abuse of wiretapping authorities for political purposes very seriously. we would equally -- we would be equally alarmed to learn that a court found enough evidence of criminal activity or contact with a foreign power to legally authorize a wiretap of president trump. lindsey graham signed this letter in his capacity as chairman of a subcommittee, a subcommittee of the judiciary committee. senator whitehouse signed in his capacity as the senior democrat on that same subcommittee. now footnote here about the united states senate. subcommittees in the senate have no power, and they do next to nothing. the senate has subcommittees mostly so that the title of c

what you start, please. >> chairman grassley, ranking member feinstein and distinguished members of the committee, i am honored to appear before you today. thank you. my parents were both competitive athletes growing up but they didn't know much about gymnastics besides watching it every four years in the summer olympics. i played t-ball and played other sports but i've never stopped asking them to let me take gymnastics. i remember taking the cushions off the couch and i would try to teach myself to flip. after years of rearranging the furniture my parents finally put me in gymnastics when i was about seven and a half-years-o half-years-old. i loved it even more than i imagined i would. i would try anything to be like the olympians i saw in tv. i would wear my hair like them, try to walk and stand like them and i practiced my flips over and over. my parents had to beg me to leave the gym after practice every time because i couldn't get enough of it. gymnastics brought me so much joy as a little. when i was 11-years-old i started training in california. the sacrifice for my entire famil

. >> i want to talk about the push-up competition that chuck grassley had with a teenager back at home beat her, did 13 push-ups at 83 years old. >> tom: he's pretty great. >> it's a good night's sleep. >> and i evaded the question. >> tom: i want to make a statement, neil gorsuch is going to be confirmed, isn't he? >> 100%, he should be. if you want to talk about what happened with the merrick garland -- i would like to. i'm not sure that hillary would have put someone even further to the left, i think it was a great move from president obama to jester to the other side, he already had a couple of appointments that were further to the left. he picked someone closer to the middle-of-the-road. >> he was a stealth liberal, that's what was going on. he knew he would be in the middle and move to the left and that's why he put him there, republicans were brilliant and true to not bring them up for a nomination, and now we have a guy that should be on the supreme court, but unfortunately -- >> why should neil gorsuch be there and not merrick garland? >> tom: you are having a great discussion

on the senate judiciary committee will calling for grassley to retestify. he's not going to recall him. no big surprise there. >> recall sessions. >> i'm sorry, recall sessions to testify and answer the questions that were, first of all to some exent -- >> that's what we're talking about. that's kind of crazy because it's such a basic, obvious duty of the senate judiciary committee. there is a big thing. sessions has now recused himself. thing that he had been asked about is very fishy. why not bring him back? it's as though we know it doesn't seem like the trump administration wants to get to the bottom of this -- >> if he was asking your advice, would you say go and do it or would you say, you're just putting yourself throughout for no reason at all. the democrats are just going to go after you for no reason? >> i think that of most of the people involved in this, senator jeff sessions strikes me as the least likely to have been up to something unseemly. he met with the russian ambassador, so what? why not just say you met with him and moved on? the only

he said that to senator grassley. he said in other questions that he was asked specifically by lindsey graham, did the president ask you to overrule roe? he said no. senator graham said what if he had? he said i would have walked out the door. i thought an amusing moment came when he was questioned by pat leahy and at one point, pat leahy was explaining the complexities of one of the supreme court decisions he doesn't like, citizens united, about corporate money in campaigns, and he was summarizing the decision, and pat leahy said, trust me, and gorsuch said, i trust you entirely, and leahy said, well, you don't have to. i'll let it go. there was laughter in the hearing room and it says a couple things, one, what passes for a knee slapper in the senate judiciary committee but secondly he has a personal rapport with the members, whether they agree with him or not, whether they're going to vote for him or not. >> and also, pete, they went there fairly early on abortion, rather on religion, and the travel ban specificall

senator grassley, it's good to have you. you were two-timing yesterday.ou were at the gorsuch hearing, but you were tweeting about what was going on with comey and the hearing there with the house intel committee. you seem to have a bone to pick with the fbi director. tell us about it. >> well, i think it's a case of just being more transparent. i think that there's more could be told without violating national security or going into the adudetails of an investigat. and there's so many accusations out there that the more that can be said, the better. and it will bring some confidence. so basically calling for more transparency. and basically, calling for particularly, it seems to me, that we ought to be talking more about what's being done on the people who committed the crime of letting out to the public this national security information that was supposed to not be put out. because that's a violation of law, and we ought to have an equal time and an update on that. >> well, let's talk about the idea of leaking and why it isn't just a distraction, a tact

. >> let me point out chuck grassley is about to sit down.nowing senator grassley, he's the chairman, he's going to get this thing going momentarily. finish your thought. >> they put their own credibility at risk with their voters and remember trump supporters, they're not monolithic. there are a lot of people who voted for donald trump because they didn't trust hillary clinton. trust was a very important issue. what will those people decide after they look at this and see trump's credibility falling to pieces? >> but there are also people who convinced themselves trump was going to be better once he was elected and they're saying he's not better, he's worse. he is the guy we were afraid they would be. also, in addition to the lies and trying to cover it up and the tweets, take a look at what's happening in the situation with this russia investigation. the problem there is the more we learn the more there there there actually is. we learned michael flynn was not honest about his connections. we learned about paul manafort then you have sean s

. >> chairman grassley, ranking member feinstein, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the department of state's efforts to detect and prevent marriage fraud for immigration benefits. i'm pleased to be on the panel with uscis and i.c.e., as my colleagues are testifying and as you'll hear from me, we use a whole of government approach to tackle this issue. the department has no higher priority than the safety of our fellow citizens at home and fellow citizens at hole and abroad abroad aen the protection of our borders. we're the first line of defense in border security. embassies and consulates around the world play an important role in that. marriage-based immigrant visas are important to many u.s. citizens who find a spouse or fiance overseas. in a small percentage of cases, however, we find evidence that a foreign national is trying to gain permanent resident status by marrying a u.s. citizen with no intention to honor the marriage. my written statement lists robust measures the department has in place to detect and prevent fraud in these categories which i will summarize

>> sure, senator grassley. as you say, as a lawyer i have spent my career representing clients and more in public service of one time or another. just as when i was at a lawfirm, at the chamber of commerce, i had a client. the chamber of commerce. as a litigator my job was to file lutes. i will have a different role and client in this job. my client will be the united states and my role will be to serve the public interest and representing that client as best as i can. that is a role i am comfortable with. i have spent more of my career in public service and private practice and honored to take that role back on if confirmed. >> back to mr. rosenstein. you served as associate independent counsel and referred to the decades of experience you have had in the department so you are familiar with the role of independent counsels and special prosecutors in federal investigations, appointment of a special counsel requires both there is evidence of a crime or wrongdoing and the department is unable to handle the matter

this, after nine senate democrats sent a letter to judiciary chairman committee chuck grassley askingor sessions to be called for a public hearing to explain why he did not disclose discussions with the russian ambassador during confirmation hearings. senator grassley denied the request and this as sessions recused himself into any investigation into russian hacking isn't good enough. >> and for him to say this was the normal course of a senator meeting with an ambassador, the russian ambassador, everybody knew was hacking our system, is beyond naive. it's almost pathetic. >> meanwhile, republicans are trying to save face as another one of president trump's key officials has charges of russian ties leveled against them. republicans say that sessions recusing himself from the investigation isn't necessary, but it may help the credibility of the justice department. >> he listened to advice of people within the justice department on how best to maintain the integrity and the independence of the justice department so i think he-- i don't think he had to do this, but i think he did what he