>> what's interesting, jason rezaian is caught less between the u.s. and iran than he is caught between factions inside iran. you have the hard line faction that tends to run the judiciary there against the more moderate one, president rouhani who initiated the nuclear talks, the foreign minister et cetera. there is a read of this situation where almost to embarrass the moderates you take this american there and you now put them on the trumped up charges. look at the case they are absurd. some of the evidence i was talking and interviewed jason's brother ali rezaian on "state of the union" yesterday, the basis for the espionage charges was partly him introducing two iranian americans one who works for a prominent think tank and another one. it's the kind of thing you do over coffee. it's not like he was interviewing -- introducing clandestine spies in a hidden away place. it's trumped up. it took them nine months he's been in prison nine months took nine months to come up with this and now go to the public. you know no one involved in this thinks these

jason rezaian could get 20 years. nancy cordes is following this. >> reporter: some of the charges came from rezaian's attorney after she was finally allowed to meet with him. the 39-year-old reporter, she said, is accused of conducting propaganda against the establishment, collaborating with hostile governments and collecting information with malicious intent. the "washington post" called the charges "ludicrous." white house press secretary josh earnest agreed. >> these charges are absurd, should be immediately dismissed and jason should be freed immediately so he can return home to his family. >> reporter: rezaian, who is an american citizen moved to iran in 2007 and became the "post's" tehran bureau chief in 2012. in a statement, "washington post" editor martin baron says it's despicable to assert that jay isn't's work amounted to espionage or otherwise posed any threat to iranian national security. he's being held in a notoriously brutal prison nearly five months in solitary confinement according to his brother, a

jason rezaian was finally allowed to meet with his attorney today. she said the 39-year-old reporter is accused of conducting propaganda against the establishment and those charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 to 20 years. the washington post calls the accusations ludicrous and the white house agrees. >> these charges are absurd, should be immediately dismissed and jason should be freed immediately so he can return home to his family. >> i speak directly to those with the power to release my son jason rezaian. enough is enough. >> rezaian is an american who moved to tyran in 2007 and became -- to iran in 2007 and became the post iran correspondent in 2012. martin barron said it is despicable to say he posts any threats to iranian security. >>> tonight the uss aircraft carrier roosevelt is steaming its ways towards the waters off yemen to join other u.s. warships prepared to intercept any iranian vessels carrying weapons to the houthis rebels in yemen who are fighting in an effort to take control of the country. there are about nine u.s. hiwarsps in

look. >> we remember the journalist unlustun unjustly imprison around the world including our own jason rezaianmonths jason has been imprisoned in tehran for nothing more than writing about the hopes and the fears of the iranian people carrying their stories to the readers of "the washington post" in an effort to bring our common humanity. jason's brother ali is here tonight and i have told him personally we will not rest until we bring him home to his family safe and sound. [ applause ] >> major garrett used to be at fox, now at cbs. this is one of the rare stories where the entire journalistic establishment is all lined up trying to get jason freed. the executive editor of "the washington post" marty barren has called the charges absurd and mardy joins me from washington. thank you for being here although i wish it wasn't under these circumstances. >> thanks for your continued interest in this subject. >> we heard about the charge this is week. you called them absurd. tell us why they're so absurd. tell us your so confident they can be proven false. >> well they are absurd. there's been no ev

as jason rezaian awaits trial his brother ali is fighting for his freedom. >> ali rezaian, thanks verying us. before we get to your brother's case, i want to play a portion of a conversation that he and his wife had on anthony bourdain "parts unknown." this is just six weeks before he was imprisoned. they talked about their life in iran. >> as print journalists our job's difficult but it's also kind of easy because there's so much to write about. you know the difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we're telling you we're seeing in front of our eyes is actually there. when you walk down the street you see a different side of things. people are proud. the culture is vibrant. people have a lot to say. >> jason rezaian is the "washington post" correspondent for iran. yageneh, his wife and a fellow journalist works for the uae-based newspaper "the national." jason is iranian-american. yaganeh is a full iranian citizen. this is their city tehran. >> of course now he's nowhere resembling home. he's in a prison iran's most notorious prison reserved for pol

here's some of what she said. >> i ask you to free my son jason rezaian. jason loves iran.hing to hurt iran. to bring shame to iran. i am ask inging that you allow me the time and the guarantee that i will be able to meet with my son and will be able to leave. i would hope with both jason and yeganeh. >> today "the washington post" repeating their call to free jason, let him return to his family. >> brian stealther thanks so much i appreciate it. a final deal aimed at keeping iran from developing a nuclear weapon still months away. already lawmakers on capitol hill are sharpening their knives. this afternoon the secretary of state john kerry will brief the house of representatives on the framework that was recently worked out in switzerland. some on capitol hill are openly skeptical. you know that. the republican senator john mccain even called kerry delusional and suggested the secretary was misleading the country about the deal. that pro-voebed this testy response from president obama while he was in panama. >> when i hear some like senator mccain recently suggest that ou

an enemy government that's one of the charges leveled by iran against the american journalist jason rezaian also the charge against a former u.s. marine amir hekmati one of four americans believed to be if iranian custody right now. hekmati technically is a dual u.s. citizen, arrested in i roone back in 2011 while on a visit, he was born in the united states spent four years in the u.s. marine corps. he was originally sentenced to death for spying. that charge was later dropped. in its place he was given ten years for cooperating with an enemy government. now for the first time we're hearing his direct pleas from prison. listen to this. >> i'm thankful that the state department and obama administration has called for my release and that of my fellow americans. aside from asking politely there has been no serious response to this blatant and ongoing mistreatment of americans by iran's ministry of intelligence. >> that audio was released by hekmati's family, part of his plea to lawmakers here in the united states. here's his sister talking about her brother's captivity. >> he's, obviously, su

jason rezaian is accused of espionage and acting against national security. the charges are very serious and he won't try to influence the charges, but he had tried to help on humanitarian grounds. >> so i have personally tried to assist in the humanitarian -- on humanitarian basis. possibilities for him to have visits with his mother and other members of his family. >> rezaian was detained july 22 along with his wife and two photojournalists photojournalists. thor ohs have been re -- the others have been released. >>> now to the race for the white house and hillary clinton clinton's quiet start to her campaign. she plans to hold small meetings in iowa. she is talking to people in the small suburb surrounding des moines. many of the events are purposely closed to the media. mrs. clinton said she's focused on the economy and that more rallies will happen next month. >>> the virginia general assembly could take up changes to the new ethics bill today. it was passed earlier this year and it forbids lawmakers from taking any gifts valued move $100. governor mcaul

a washington post reporter, jason rezaian, who has been detained in iran for more than eight months, is now facing charges of espionage and acting against national security and will be tried in iran's revolutionary court. this from the semi-official fars news agency. the f.a.r.'s report says rezaian obtained economic and industrial information from iran and sold it to unnamed americans. rezaian holds dual american and iranian citizenship. the u.s. government has called for his release. the government of australia is preparing to stop welfare benefits to families that do not vaccinate their children. prime minister tony abbott says his so-called "no jab, no pay" plan is meant to protect public health. its estimated that 39,000 children in that country of nearly 23 million are unvaccinated. parents can currently claim medical or religious exemptions. and amazon has filed suit in an effort to block fake reviews on its website. amazon says the companies it's going after are fabricating as many five-star reviews as their customers are willing to pay for. amazon says the bogus reviews are

jason rezaian we're talking about today and robert levinson who is suspected to be held as well.ith the question, when she was asked would there be a link to say to iran before we go forward with the nuclear negotiations you have several of our people. we would like them released? >> well, you know i think our focus has been on jason and on winning jason's release. we pursued every course we possibly can, asking for help from the u.s. government, from dozens of other governments around the world. the question of how tactically to pursue that is a question for the obama administration and for congress. what we want to do is make sure that our pleas the u.s. government pleas those of hundreds of thousands of people around the world who called for a petition asking for jason to be released, are heard loud and clear in tehran. martha: so you do not believe that i mean i understand obviously what your goal is and everybody would like to see your goal achieved to get him home but you don't feel a it is necessary to link or you wouldn't want the president to link their release to anythi

about the way iran is continuing to hold a washington post reporter on ludicrous charges that jason rezaiann josh earnest had this to say. >> if the reports are true, the reports are absurd should be immediately dismissed and jason should be freed immediately so he can return home to his family. >> iran has been holding rezaian for nine months. the administration needs to keep the pressure on. >>> and the clinton debate goes on. fox indulges in too much shrouded noise. the only ones obsessed about this is you and your co-hosts on fox. well when i was at last night's white house correspondents' dinner i knew president obama would take his swipe on cable news. >> brooke baldwin is impersonated which is surprising because usually the only people impersonating journalists on cnn are journalists on cnn. >> and there wasnot as many as star-studded celebrities at the nerd prom. that's it for "media buzz." i'm howard kurtz. e-mail me @howardkurtz for the latest buzz. >>> i'm chris wallace. allegations that millions of dollars in speaking fees and foreign donations bought favors from the clinton's s

june as part of any nuclear deal the iranians have to release that "washington post" reporter jason rezaian are held right now in iran. that's got to be a quid pro quo. do you buy that? >> i don't think that's the approach the administration is taking but they are raising the issue of these american hostages i think at every opportunity when they're interacting with the iranians. it is very much a priority for the administration at the same time i'm not sure that they want these to be a bargaining chip for tehran to drive a tougher nuclear negotiation and hold these as hostages to the nuclear talks. so it's a difficult situation, but certainly we're trying to do everything we can to get them freed. >> as i've been saying they stand to gain billions and billions of dollars immediately with frozen assets that are going to -- about to be lifted. why not say to them you know what, you're going to get a lot of money, release these americans, that's the least you can do? >> i think the administration is certainly raising this urging them to do so. >> they say they're not linking it to the nuclear

an iranian news agency says jason rezaian is accused of acting against the country. he will stand trial before the revolutionary court which handles cases involving national security. "the washington post" calls the spying allegations absurd. he has been held in tie ran for over -- tehran for over eight months. >>> the war in afghanistan may be officially over but 9,800 troops are still serving there. last week, 22-year-old army specialist john dawson was killed. he was the first to die since the war was officially declared over in december. last month president obama announced troop levels would not decrease this year as planned. that was not welcome news for families who already lost loved ones to war. >>> knowing what we have been through and what he went over there for, i wouldn't say it was right to say it was over for another family that might go through this. >> more than 2,300 americans have given their lives in the war in afghanistan. the president says the goal is to have only embassy security in place in afghanistan by the end of 2016. >>> there is new vid

jason rezaian is accused of espionage and acting against national security. the foreign minister says the charges are quote very serious and he won't try to influence the charges but he has tried to help on humanitarian grounds. >> so i have personally tried to assist in a humanitarian -- on humanitarian basis, possibilities for him to have visits with his mother and other members of his family. >> rezaian was detained july 22 along with his wife and two photojournalists. the others have since been release. iranian state television claims he sold economic and industrial information to americans. >>> the virginia general assembly could take up changes to a new ethics bill today. the assembly passed that bill earlier this year. it forbids lawmakers from taking any gift valued above $100. but governor mcauliffe said the bill had a loophole because it didn't limit the number of $100 gifts the lawmakers could receive. he's calling for a cap of just one$1,100 gift a year. >>> and we know the name of the city manager. the mayor named mark jinks to the post. the chan

jason rezaian holds dual iranian-american citizenship. he's been held nine months.awyer confirmed the charges against him today. they also include "collaboration with hostile governments" and anti-iranian propaganda. >> ifill: the u.s. and the philippines launched their largest joint military exercises in 15 years today. the annual war games came amid concern over china's aggressive moves to build bases in the disputed south china sea. more than 11,500 american and filipino military personnel are taking part. >> woodruff: back in this country, baltimore officials faced a storm of questions over the death of a black suspect whose spine was nearly severed in police custody. 25-year-old freddie gray was arrested april 12th, for carrying a switchblade. he died yesterday. it's still not clear how gray was hurt, but the mayor promised a thorough investigation. >> i'm frustrated we're here and we don't have all the answers. >> >> woodruff: also today, a white, former police officer in suburban detroit was charged with assault in a january incident. last month, a video surf

jason rezaian is charged with spying and spreading propaganda.his freedom. >> we know they don't have any evidence that he had access to those things. the charges are baseless. >> rezaian met with his lawyer for the first time nine months ago. he faces 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted. >>> chinese billionaires account for a record one-fifth of the world billionaires about 370 billionaires this year. they each had $1 billion in assets. 57% from mainland china. >>> "rolling stone" said willie nelson announced his own marijuana brand. it's called willie's reserve. >> willie's reserve kind of fell together as evolution wants it to. you know colorado's legalization, along with other states and washington, d.c. it's just a matter of time in this country, already in other countries. but i felt like i bought so much, i might as well give it back. >> makes sense to me. the pot will be grown and sold in colorado and washington. seems like that would be pretty good. seems like willie would know what he's doing. >>> and newly revealed ship wrecks on lak

applause ] we remember the journalists unjustly imprisoned around the world, including our own jason rezaiann imprisoned in tehran for nothing more than writing about the hopes and the fears of the iranian people, carrying their stories to the readers of "the washington post," in an effort to bridge our common humanity. jason's brother ali is here tonight and i have told him personally, we will not rest until we bring him home to his family safe and sound. [ applause ] these journalists and so many others view their work as more than just a profession, but as a public good. an indispensable pillar of our society, so i want to give a toast to them. i raise a glass to them and all of you, with the words of the american foreign correspondent dorothy thompson. it is not the fact of liberty but the way in which liberty is exercised that ultimately determines whether liberty itself survives. thank you for your devotion to exercising our liberty and to telling our american story. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. [ applause ] >> president barack obama delivering his remarks, op

citizens held in iran among them washington post journalist jason rezaian who is facing four charges,ncluding spying and aiding a hostile government. we learned a short time ago that saudi arabia today is ending its air campaign inside yemen, rather abrupt. it was just last week the saudi ambassador to the u.s. talking about how there would be for half measures there but they say they have met their military objectives in yemen. that is going after big weapons systems there, ballistic missiles et cetera that they believe would threaten saudi arabia as well as their neighbors. i am told wolf by a senior military official however, from the u.s. perspective they don't see this as a cease-fire there, just the end of major military operations even as it enters the political phase. they don't believe it's the end of saudi military involvement in yemen. >> jim sciutto, thanks very much. joining us senator lindsey graham republican of south carolina a key member of the senate armed services committee and also a potential 2016 presidential candidate. senator, thanks very much for joining us. >