. >> this is the same congressman who compared chairman issa to joe mccarthy in a press release. our first guest tonight will vote on contempt charges against learner tomorrow. he says it's simple when you have a duly issued subpoena, you must comply with it. that is the law and it is not optional he says. joining us now, congressman, a member of the house oversight and government reform committee. >> we'll get kicked off by 9:00 and there will be a lot of flailing arms. but ultimately it's about this 21-page document i have in my hand which demonstrates clearly lois lerner waived her fifth amendment rights when she testified before congress and then subsequently tried to invoke the fifth amendment. as my colleague and chairman issa and others pointedous, she waived her fifth amendment rights. she has to answer. we're left with no option but to hold her in contempt of congress, refer that to the full house, and hopefully have a vote on that before the end of the month. >> congressman elijah cummings saying that darrell issa's basically joe mccarthy 2014, and at the same time cumm

determined that issa's tactics bear a striking resemblance to those used by senator mccarthy, the same joe mccarthy whose anti-come mist paranoia led to the censure by the senate, the same mccarthy viewed as a stain on our nation's history. not lost on congressman cummings who, today at least, was allowed a turn at the mike. >> i cannot -- it would place me on the same page of history books as senator joseph mccarthy or the house of american activities committee, and i do not enjoy that comparison lightly. >> with all of the stink of joe mccarthy hanging in the air, the gop yesterday outsourced the witch hunting to another republican. house ways and means committee chair, dave camp. held a closed door committee to ask eric holder to begin a criminal investigation of, guess who, lois lernerp a full committee hearing was unnecessary and could have been accomplished through a phone call. and even the criminal investigation itself is redundant because the department of justice is already investigating whether the irs improperly scrutinized conservative groups. needless to say, the shamelessness of the

his or joe mccarthy with list of 205 names. issa should note the difference between investigation and witch-hunt. too often the former has turned into the latter. he now that is whip in his hand and the investigative power, as we have so many times in american history seen it can be grossly abused. i have more. >> if you had more time, i'm sure you would use it. we now go to the gentleman from pennsylvania. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i have consistently listened to the representations of my colleagues on the other side invoking mccarthy. i want to be clear. mccarthy was acting in a manner in which he was challenging the beliefs of other people. here, we are not challenging the belief s of other people. we are challenging the actions, the alleged actions of lois lerner in which she used the forces of her governmental agency to impact the civil rights and beliefs of american citizens and that is a distinction. the issue here is really quite simple. apart from all the politics. e are making fundamental legal analysis. the questio

virtually unprecedented. 60 years ago, joe mccarthy tried and failed to obtain a criminal conviction of an american citizen after she professed her innocence before his committee and asserted her right not to testify under the fifth amendment. i want to read briefly from the hearing transcript. in 1954, senator mccarthy accused a woman named diana hogue of being a communist. she worked at the westinghouse company in a small town in new york, making $1.71 per hour. the similarities to the hearing today are striking. ms. hogue said this, "i have never engaged in espionage or sabotage. i am not so engaged. i will not so engage in the future. i am not a spy nor saboteur." like chairman issa, senator mccarthy argued that she waived her fifth amendment rights stating, when a witness said she never engaged in espionage, then she waived the fifth amendment, not nearly as to that question, but to the entire field of espionage. like chairman issa is doing today, senator mccarthy held the witness in contempt, and a court rejected the senator's legal theory. the court held that defendant did not

five minutes to evict all about and to top for another four years and entrenched the fire eyed joe mccarthy as a force in the country's politics. robot is popular with many bars is for stabilizing finances and cutting the electricity and gas bills opinion poll showed his heated spa. he is on course for a landslide victory. voting has been taking place at about ten thousand polling stations and the result is expected. i'm officially at least sometime this evening. we cannot tell you about the elections to the about tight places. india is preparing to more chimera from the six week national election on monday with about eight hundred million eligible but to send more than five hundred constituencies. nationwide the massive election will be held over nine days in a pool and tidy before ballots are counted all made the sixteen candidates in the political spot fires are ready when gandhi from the congress party. promoting from the tap jazz and a posse and i didn't pitch walk from the from dummy posse. when she sure has more. was cause he was on duty in eighteen fifty five and is seeking these ar

it would on to say, it is reminiscent of joe mccarthy hiding behind patriotism to inflame the communist scare. what do you say? >> you are being a bit unfair about that article because i did read it. they said some wonderful things about us. they were talking about activists doing something -- it was the day before we did this. we were talking about motorola and how we helped saved motorola. it went both ways. i can't argue that there are some activists that are short-termers. that doesn't mean that all of them want to bully. i don't think they are speaking necessarily about one or two activists here. if you look at us, we have made hundreds of billions of dollars for shareholders. how can you say that we just look out for ourselves? yes, i would argue that they are wrong about that. i can't argue specifics. they also said -- i read it thatully -- they also said large shareholders, index funds should not be that passive. they should be much more involved. >> they said the analyst community -- they were calling on every one to be more active. you have been very active in a company we hav

virtually unprecedented. 60 year ago, joe mccarthy tried and fail to obtain a criminal conviction ofn american citizen after she professed her innocence before this committee and aserped her right not to testify under the fifth amendment. i want to read briefly from the hearing transcript. in 1954, senator mccarthy, accused a woman named die yaga hoge of being a communist. she worked at the westing house company in a maul town in new york, making $1.71 per hour. and the similarities to today's hearing are simply striking. like ms. lerner, she pro fode -- professed her interest. she said i will not so engage in the future. she t a spy nor saboteur argued that she waved her fifth amendment rights stating and i quote "when she waved the fifth amendment not just to that question but to the entire field of espionage. chairman issa is here today. and senator mccarthy sought criminal prosecution. but the federal court rejected senator mccarthy's legal theory. they did not waive her privilege under the fifth amendment and that she was it into told a judgment or acquital on all accounts. if t

he has had a witchhunt against irisin plays the likes of which have not been seen since and are joe mccarthy ran for senate on american activities committee in the 1950s. he is selectively release portions of the transcripts of an alleged scandal and cover-up without releasing the -- another quote in one interview that chief congressional investigator introduces cherry-picked evidence overstating his case and violated the sacred american principle presumed innocence. do you hear history's echo? and democratic ages way to infamy with 205 names as the "national journal"'s editorial and another and i quote as the new congress succeeded too often in our political history it has turned into the latter but he now has the witness and in the investigative power as we have so many times seen it can be grossly abused. i have more mr. chairman. >> if you had more time i'm sure you would use it. we would now go to the gentleman from pennsylvania mr. meehan. >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. chairman i've consistently listen to the representations of my colleagues on the other side of mccarthy. i want to be

one top democrat says the right-wing tantrum has the whiff of joe mccarthy. >>> also, chris christie is paying a steep toll because of bridgegate. people in new jersey think the investigation clearing him, his investigation, is a white wash. >>> plus, there was once talk of john kerry and john mccain running on the same ticket, hard to think about after the two went at it today. >>> finally, can you find ukraine on a map? if so, you'll have fun finding out where most americans think ukraine is. steven colbert certainly had fun with that. this is "hardball," the place this is "hardball," the place for politics. so i'm going pro. [ male announcer ] new crest tartar protection rinse. the only rinse that helps prevent tartar build-up and cavities. a little swishing. less scraping. yes! [ male announcer ] new crest pro-health tartar protection rinse. it helps you escape the scrape. tartar protection rinse. [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending.

. >> daryl issa channels the ghost of joe mccarthy.unt gets spookier. daryl issa's house oversight and government reform committee took the rare and historic step of voting to hold a witness in contempt of congress. in this particular instance, that witness is lois learner, the object of chairman issa's year-long multimillion dollar crusade to find something, anything, iffy at the irs. republicans who have chosen to march lock step with issa on his dark mission claim that lernor violated the law after she made opening remarks last year. the full house is expected to take up the contempt resolution in the coming weeks. in taking this step, chairman issa walks in a path of giants. giant whose were later deemed to be unhinged crusading lunatics. as a point of fact, no witness has been held in

we oppose chairman issa's efforts to recreate the oversight committee in joe mccarthy's image and we reject his attempts to drag us back to the shameful era that had to do with the responsible oversight. >> that hasn't stopped chairman issa from pressing on. they plan to hold [ inaudible ] former official lois learner in contempt of congress tomorrow for allegedly failing to comply with a congressional subpoena after supposedly waving her fifth amendment rights. something that congressional legal scholars say the committee can't do because learner's fifth amendment assertion was never overruled before issa pulled the plug on the hearing an on congressman cummings microphone. it also hasn't stopped the house ways and means committee chairman dave camp from holding a vote on whether to ask the justice department to actually file criminal charges against learner. the vote passed along party lines 23 to 12. the bottom line, with health care dissipating as a potent political topic and scant red meat to take home to their tea party base over the recess, republicans are trying to freshen up

>> you know, jonathon, today congressman cummings compared issa's hearings to the communist of joe mccarthy. look at this, in modern history, congress has held a witness in contempt for refusing to answer questions just 11 times, nine were in the mccarthy era. it hasn't happened since 1968, yet now issa wants to do it again. aren't these gop witch hunts way out of line with how washington is supposed to function, jonathon? >> well, yes, and washington has been way out of line in the way that washington is supposed to function for quite a while now. you know, they could be working on all sorts of things that you talked about at the beginning of this segment, extending unemployment benefits, equal pay for equal work, getting jobs bill passed to put the american people back to work, but instead, they keep focusing on so-called scandals, whether it's irs, benghazi, fast and furious, there are probably a whole lot more that i can't even remember, but they are so focused on that. one, to ding the president and to keep the president on defense, and also not to give the president a win in their min

today, elijah cummings charged darryl issa of trying to recreate the oversight committee in joe mccarthy's image. strong words. the republicans' abuse of a serious tool here, holding officials in contempt, also surfaced this week in testimony by attorney general eric holder. republicans tried to tar holder over that fast and furious set of aegss and held the first contempt vote against an attorney general in u.s. history based on the issue. the attorney general is still on the job, but that history was alive in his latest trip to the hill. >> now, realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight. >> you don't want to go there, buddy, okay? you don't want to go there. >> i don't want to go there? >> no. >> about the contempt? >> you should not assume that that is not a big deal to me. i think it was inappropriate, i think it was unjust, but never think that that was not a big deal to me. don't ever think that. >> translation, it was a big deal and a shame, but for republicans, not for the attorney general. and today, eric hol

. >> joe welch ending the career of joe mccarthy.ress was away for two weeks. clearly the republicans ate a big old bowl of stupid or something. they came back and the first thing they did on the house side was marked up a bill that cost $310 billion and didn't pay for it. what's in the bill? a bunch of corporate welfare, r & d, a whole slew of stuff, tax write-offs for corporations. why? because maybe they need more campaign contributions. the bottom line is they didn't pay for it. meanwhi meanwhile, this is the same house that is sitting there, they're not going to vote on an unemployment extension because it's not paid for. these people are ridiculous. the senate voted down an increase in the minimum wage today. you just showed chuck todd talk about mr. pawlandty saying they should do it. what did they do while they were home? not talk to any of their constituents who were unemployed or get paid minimum wage? it's really dumb on their part. >> they seem to only care about the deficit when they're cutting programs that benefit poor

one top democrat says the right-wing tantrum has the whiff of joe mccarthy. >>> also, chris christie is paying a steep toll because of bridgegate. people in new jersey think the investigation clearing him, his investigation, is a white wash. >>> plus, there was once talk of john kerry and john mccain running on the same ticket, hard to think about after the two went at it today. >>> finally, can you find ukraine on a map? if so, you'll have fun finding out where most americans think ukraine is. steven colbert certainly had fun with that. this is "hardball," the place for politics. get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some financial folks who will talk to them about preparing early for retirement and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. it's just common sense. gundyes!n group is a go. not just a start up. an upstart.

they say it is "reminiscent of joe mccarthy" in the 1950's in the same way he hid behind patriotism.t the end of the day, shouldn't the goal be to make money and you want these companies to be profitable? so i don't care if it is an activist and an analyst, if people are out there speaking out, really try to rattle the cages and get something done, isn't that a good thing for shareholders? >> as long as it creates long-term value. note sayingut my that these large banks should sell off assets, i have gotten pushed back. i've gotten beat up. and a halfired one times for speaking up sometimes too much. >> mike told me he has been fired for being so outspoken against some of these banks. specifically, what happened? >> it is documented in my book. i got fired from credit suisse. >> why? fromalmost got fired lehman brothers because they did not want to hear -- wallt there is a chinese where the research community is separate from the banking site. business hasof the gotten better but the driving behavior has not changed one bit. i will tie this back to my lazy boys phrase. if you look at

. >> citing joe mccarthy.he case he is using in his letter was about a worker at a government defense contractor. lois lerner once one of the most powerful government agencies. anywhere i would say in the world. it can't equate it, it is totally wrong. will be get any closer? the justice department was contacting lois lerner. the fcc was working with this issue. do we want transparency as it's often said? why invoke the fifth if you are apologizing? right? stuart: give it a talk. >> you wonder what that would mean for future prosecution. >>stuart: i want to know whether or not the president of the united states use the irs. i want to know. >> they circle the wagon, thought they could get away with it because of the presidential elections and nobody will pay attention. this committee was the one that drilled down. if it didn't, we would not have heard about all of this. stuart: the dow industrials up a solid 108 points with 20 points away from the all-time record closing high for the dow industrials. look at tw

today this committee is trying to do something that even joe mccarthy could not do in the 1950's, something virtually unprecedented. ago, joe mccarthy tried and failed to obtain a criminal conviction of an american citizen after she professed her innocence before his committee and asserted her right not to testify under the fifth amendment. i want to read briefly from the hearing transcript. in 1954, senator mccarthy accused a woman named diana hogue of being a communist. she worked at the westinghouse company in a small town in new per hour.ng $171 .71 the similarities to the hearing today are striking. " i have said this, never engaged in espionage or sabotage. i am not so engaged. i will not so engage in the future. i am not a spy nor saboteur." like chairman i said, senator mccarthy argued that she waved her fifth amendment rights said shewhen a witness never engaged in espionage, then she waved the fifth amendment, not nearly as to that question, but to the entire field of espionage. like chairman issa is doing today, senator mccarthy held the witness in content and- senator'srejected

to repeal the affordable care act is thirty four percent but i like to point out that when sen joe mccarthy it was his nadir totally discredited a third of the country still thought he was ok. ok so we're going to the hard core right with most people want to do the great majority of people want to do is keep the plan with some small small modifications and that's the sensible thing because there are ways to improve it there ways to tweak it there ways to strengthen it but basically it's working and i look so forward to the day when we can actually be talking about not repealing it that's craziness which isn't going to happen we're not going to take health insurance away from ten million people but instead talk about understanding that it's here to stay and we can talk about ways to make it work even better sirrah the one of the really cool things that was built into obamacare that gets almost no press at all outside of the state of vermont is that after twenty sixteen and with a waiver after twenty fourteen correct me if i'm wrong on these individual states as long as they cover everybody i

mccarthy is here. keep it right here on "morning joe." [ male announcer ] some come here to build something smarter. ♪ger. others come to build something faster... something safer... something greener. something the whole world can share. people come to boeing to do many different things. but it's always about the very thing we do best. ♪ ♪ >>> what a beautiful shot of washington, d.c. live look at the white house at 46 past the hour. here with us now in honor of earth day, she's wearing green. epa administrator gina mccarthy. welcome to the show. >> thank you. great to be here. >> so you said you were nervous. not about being on "morning joe." >> not actually. it's throwing the first pitch at fenway tonight. >> it's stressful. is that going to happen tonight? >> yeah. 7:00. >> the hour before you're just going to be pacing around just wringing your hands. because i did that at dodgers stadium. i was so nervous. it's a long way from the pitcher's mound to home base. >> it is. and there's a lot of people. >> i think you're going to be fine. just remember to go high and at the end with a lot of force in