new hampshire and that caused his defeat in the state of new hampshire and the defeat of senator kelly ayotte. it's prompted a response. ellen winetraub said i call upon the president to immediately share new hampshire voter fraud evidence so that his allegations can be investigated promptly. do you have that evidence? >> i actually, having worked on a campaign before in new hampshire. i can tell you that this issue of busing voters into new hampshire is widely known by anyone working new hampshire politics. it's very real. very serious. this morning, on this show, is not the venue for me to lay out all the evidence. i can tell you this, voter fraud is a serious problem in the country. you have millions of people who are registered in two states. who are dead who are registered to vote. you have 14% of noncitizens, according to academic research, at a minimum, are registered to vote. an astonishing statistic. >> you can't make -- hold on a second. you just claimed again there was illegal voting in new hampshire. people bused in from the state of massachusetts. do you have evidence to back tha

former senator kelly ayotte joins us next.lus, the music world decided to share some new thoughts on the president. and those results are straight ahead, too. >> at this particular point in history, our voices are needed more than ever. more than ever. ♪ has been a struggle. i considered all my options with my doctor, who recommended once-daily toujeo®. now i'm on the path to better blood sugar control. toujeo® is a long-acting insulin from the makers of lantus®. it releases slowly, providing consistent insulin levels for a full 24 hours, proven full 24-hour blood sugar control, and significant a1c reduction. and along with toujeo®, i'm eating better and moving more. toujeo® is a long-acting, man-made insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. it contains 3 times as much insulin in 1 milliliter as standard insulin. don't use toujeo® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you're allergic to insulin. allergic reaction may occur and may be life threatening. don't reuse nee

kelly ayotte from new hampshire who is his sherpa. ron bangene who we've all worked with now doing the communications. who has a good deal of credibility on these issues, all supporting what appears to be the truth, which is that the judge wanted this out there. chris kuehnes who you have on your program a lot, senator from delaware, not a partisan flame thrower said something this morning. we are really in high school? is this happening? i would go a step further to say, i think kids in high school act more mature and kind of in the realm of reality than what we're seeing here. it's more like, you know, maybe my kindergartner. it's hard to believe that we're talking about the united states government, the president of the united states, the person he wants to be in the supreme court and the -- you have all three branches of government part of this soap opera that is not even made for people who are even remotely adult. >> this is at the very end of the photo op that we just saw with the president. and i want to remind our viewers wha

kelly ayotte, is the chaperone for judge gorsuch on the hill.e democratic senators were critical of him because they believe he was taking shots at president trump when she said the following chris last hour. >> the judge's comments were not about a specific case. they were more generic about comments from any source that do not go to the merits of the case. >> bill: this is not about the travel ban, then. >> i think, you know, just to be clear about that, i mean, this is something that could potentially at some point go to the nation's highest court. judge gorsuch has been very careful in each of the meetings and rightly so, he needs to be, that's what we expect from any nominee for the court, to not weigh in on matters that may come before the court. >> bill: all this works together in the context of what we're discussing here. based on what you have heard, how is judge gorsuch -- how is he doing? >> i think he is doing pretty well. first of all i have to say and i have great respect for senator ayotte, the remarks from her and sean spicer at

kelly ayotte has been asked to accompany judge gorsuch around. she is recently defeated but has good relationships on the hill in both parties and kelly ayotte is that person escorting him. now, our sherpas on all things legal, pete williams, who is, of course, on the hill last night in front of the supreme court and with us as well, amy howe, co-founder of scotus blog. pete, to you, who is judge gorsuch? why is he a plus as republicans in the white house believe because of some of his roots, his mentors? >> first of all, he knows the senate. he was a senate page while his mother was running the epa during the reagan administration. i think conservatives like him for two reasons. they wanted to find someone who would approach the law and vote on cases the way justice scalia would and found someone slightly more conservative than justice scalia on a number of points. they like his view on liberty. i think theecond thing s. a strategic move by the conservative groups. this was a man who was once the law clerk to anthony kennedy. presumably having h

senator kelly ayotte weighing in. she said while gorsuch made clear he was not referring to any specific cases he finds any criticism of a judge's integrity disheartening and demoralizing. some on the hill are saying that judge gorsuch should say this publicly, if that's how he feels, he should make his feelings known before a public audience. bottom line, this could help judge gorsuch in a confirmation process because it makes it look like he has some independence from the president. so many people honing down on that key question, does the president respect the division between the executive and judicial branches? now of course the administration has he does but neil gorsuch's comments makes it very clear he takes that very seriously, hallie. >> and it's something joe mancion will ask about this morning. >> and what else are we hearing about the tweet slamming john mccain? >> this came after the press briefing when the white house secretary who said that anyone who calls that mission in yemen a failed mission owes a

joining kelly ayotte. these are live pictures right now.to sort of make visits and do meet and greets with senators on the hill. tomorrow heitkamp and manchin will be having lunch at the white house, likely to discuss judge gorsuch. we look at the back of heads here. obviously the back of kelly ayotte's head and he's with senator flake there. how do you see the relationship developing between the white house and these red state democrats when it comes to judge gorsuch and policy issues overall. do you see this as a full-court press to get some of these dems over to their side? >> this relationship between the trump white house and these red state democrats who are up for re-election in 2018 will be one of the most fascinating dynamics to watch. on the one hand, the trump white house is going to want their votes and believe they can court their votes, not only on the supreme court but on policy issues going forward. at the same time, the trump white house is going to be looking to basically kick these senators out of their seats and replace

condemning or making a public statement is not close to enough and i will tell you having seen kelly ayotte go on television and tout she said it, it's the way of the republicans and the president trying to show independence when none exists. i have to tell you this, rachel, he did not answer any questions he should have. i asked him a simple question -- is a muslim ban unconstitutional. he wouldn't answer it. he's an originalist. i asked him about the emoluments clause in the constitution, he wouldn't answer it. question after question after question he refused to answer. you know what this reminds me of? i had an eerie feeling as i senate that meeting. here was a judge well groomed, intelligence, very polite, very articulate who wouldn't give his views on anything. justice roberts, then judge roberts assured us he'd call balls and strikes. he gets in office and his court does citizens united, a huge break with precedent that ruins, ruins the politics of america. he repeals basically the voting rights act by eliminating section v, a sacred right and i am worried judge gorsuch is similar. h

lou: they have been corroborated by kelly ayotte. the other people from the white house, they have been confirmed by senator ben sasse. it's not a one source. i would not be this far out on this particular platform if it were not corroborated. this is not a one-source issue. >> assuming he said it, the problem is not that it deputy straight a lack of loyalty to president trump or a lack of gratitude for the nomination. the problem is this is what republicans always fall into, thinking if they curry favor with the democrats within that that will appease the left. it never ever works. and this is one more example. >> i agree with gayle. lou: how about me, do you agree with me? >> we need kowrnous people on the nation's coast last resort because every big issue will go there. the court intervenes on everything. lou: matt, thanks for being with us. on wall street a record-breaking day for stocks. all that concern about trump policy and economic policy prescriptions. we gained over $2.2 trisince hen since he was elected. all indexes at ne

lou: they have been corroborated by kelly ayotte. other people from the white house, they have been confirmed by senator ben sasse. it's not a one source. i would not be this far out on this particular platform if it were not corroborated. this is not a one-source issue. >>ssuming he said it, the problem is not that it deputy straight a lack of loyalty to president trump or a lack of gratitude for the nomination. the problem is this is what republicans always fall into, thinking if they curry favor with the democrats within that that will appease the left. it never ever works. and this is one more example. >> i agree with gayle. lou: how about me, do you agree with me? >> we need kowrnous people on the nation's coast last resort because every big issue will go there. the court intervenes on everything. lou: matt, thanks for being with us. on wall street a record-breaking day for stocks. all that concern about trump policy and economic policy prescriptions. we gained over $2.2 trisince hen since he was elected. all indexes at new all-

dana, he kept referring to a statement made by kellie ayotte, who has been helping judge gorsuch. while he made clear he was not referring to any specific case he said he find any criticism of a judge integrity and -- disheartening and demoralizing, the judge is saying those are the words that senator schumer said in a similar meeting with the judge, he heard the same thing, and ben sass the senator from nebraska similarly said he heard the same thing from judge gorsuch. >> sean spicer because he's trying to figure out how to walk the line right we talked about before the briefing, splitting hairs, well the judge was generally talking about the fact of shouldn't generally criticize. come on. these were very public, controversial about the judge ruling and did not rule in his favor in his travel ban executive order. that's just what it is and if he were talking about it. if that event didn't happen or talking about it in a different context, fine, but it did happen and that's the context and there's no question and we knew this and senator you have been in the room with potential o

. >> kelly ayotte put out a statement, that is not what she said he said. what we do know is senator blumenthal -- we all know his vietnam scandal, how much he has a credibility problem. it's a serious problem. that's what should be the focus of this conversation, the degree to which that senator has a serious credibility issue. but not to get off track here because we're going all over the place. let's be very clear and straight forward in saying the following: the united states of america has a terrorism problem. we have had hundreds of cases of foreign nationals entering our country from other countries and plotting, attempting or even carrying out terrorist attacks. we spend countless dollars a year, and we have thousands of federal officers and investigators who do nothing but run around the country trying the stop terrorist attacks for no other reason than because we make the mistake of letting people in who harbor hatred for this country. our immigration system should not be a vehicle for admitting people who have anything but love in their hearts fo

whatever kelly ayotte says, you have another white house aide saying that's exactly what neil gorsuch said. let's take him at his word. >> it's almost certainly splitting hairs too much here, though, if this was a situation where gorsuch was asked a pointed question by blumenthal and then gorsuch said, you know -- he used the words, as the spokesman confirmed, he used the words demoralized and dishorten dishodi disheartened but trying to draw a distinction that i'm just making a general statement. that's what the white house indicated. at the briefing today when sean spicer was asked, in general who president trump continue to make these comments about the judiciary and about judges in the future that is what sean spicer said. >> the president will continue to speak like this? >> of course he will. the president will speak his mind. goes back to thomas jefferson, that presidents have commented on judicial nominees. i mean, the idea of one branch talking about or commenting on another branch is as old as our republic. >> what about that idea, david french? i am curious. because, for in

and republican senator kelly ayotte who has been shepherding judge gorsuch around capitol hill also issued a statement this morning saying in part, quote, while judge gorsuch made clear he was not referring to any specific case, he said he find any criticism of a judge's independence and integrity demoralizing. first of all, there's all this nonsense about did he or didn't he. it seems right after senator blumenthal said this what he said, gorsuch's office confirmed that he did say that the comments were disheartening and demoralizing. that doesn't actually seem to be in dispute. >> reporter: you're right. not only did yesterday an associate tell us that, yes, that is the language what he used but today as you noted, kelly ayotte, the sherpa as they describe her on capitol hill with judge gorsuch said effectively the same thing. nonetheless, this is the pushback we've been getting this morning from the white house, specifically kellyanne conway attacking the public statement by richard blumenthal a short time ago. listen to what she said. >> he's saying that the judge was misrepresented an

the white house considered several other potential sherpas before settling on kelly ayotte.itch mcconnell had been discussed. typically, they are veteran staffers. in terms of the timing of how this process will go, when it will start, the new york times with a look at that this morning. expect this to drag on for months. elena kagan was confirmed 87 days after she was nominated in 2010. 's took 66 days. events would have to unfold very smoothly for the nominee to be confirmed by april 26, the date of the last scheduled arguments in the current court term. part of that piece that john just referenced from "the new york times" also talks about the scrutiny of every word of the paper record -- the nominee will probably undergo mock questioning from advisers in what is politely known as the murder board. let's go to amanda in new york. democrats line. caller: good morning. calling on the concern of just being concerned of anybody that trump picks. his whole cabinet and everybody , they all seem very complacent with him issuing gag orders and telling people not to talk. firing s

kelly ayotte in the new sherpa role just in case. thanks for sharing your sunday morning with us.itics" live at noon and up next "state of the union" with jake tapper. afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me. where do you spend the most time sitting? your couch? your car? what about your office? all that time spent in a chair has made sitting the new smoking. because your body was built for more than sitting. it was built to move. and varidesk was built to help get you moving. varidesk arrives fully assembled. instantly converts your current desk into a height adjustable standing desk. effortlessly raises and lowers. and transforms your workspace into a healthier more productive environment. varidesk work elevated. >>> travel ban battle s.president trump's immigration order headed to the supreme court? >> i have no doubt that we'll win. >> what is his next move in this political showdown. >

former senator kelly ayotte, who has been guiding judge gor seven through -- gorsech. >> and democrats have opposed the as well. after learning he introduced legislation that would have benefited drug companies. however, some had comments about the president's comments on travel bans. richard tweeted, donald trump, obviously, you are afraid to withdraw the gorsech nommation. sad. >> sandy said, so gorsech breaks ranks. and finally, mark j. robinson is feeling a bit unsettled about the supreme court nominee. he tweeted, gorsech gives me a spooky feeling. is he an american or not? so far, the courts haven't done christians one favor in 50 years. >>> what do you think about the gorsech nommation to -- nomination to the supreme court? log onto any of our wusa 9 social media pa conversation. >>> protestors fought with police as they tried to stop the deportation of a woman in arizona. that was the scene overnight in phoenix, where police say they arrested about seven demonstrators. they were trying to prevent the transfer of 36-year-old guadalupe garcia dureos. she was convicted of working

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and according to people in the room, what was said is basically what gorsuch's statement from kelly ayotte said, that he was speaking generally. at this point people are going to have to decide whether they trust neil gorsuch and what his recollection is or whether they trust the democratic senators. >> hold on, i want to turn to this really quick. president trump is reigniting his on again/off again attacks today with senator john mccain. this time for his assessment of the recent u.s. raid in yemen. the white house has been calling the mission a success for the intelligence that it gathered. navy s.e.a.l. william ryan owens, you will remember, lost his life in the operation. we'll get back to this conversation in a second but let's go live to the white house, the oval office. jeff sessions is about to become the next attorney general of the united states. >> i've worked with them over the years. i know how good they are. their talents need to be directed at this nation's benefit in a lot of different ways. we have a crime problem. i wish the blip -- i wish the rise that we're seeing in c

were going to ask about the patriots. >> i will. >> you can get a second. >> can you talk about kelly ayotte's role shepherding the role on capitol hill. >> sure. senator ayotte is someone who's respected on both sides of the aisle. she has great relationships. she's a former attorney general. he understands the judicial process very well. she's also -- i mean, this process is a relationship process, by and far. you're going around, introducing a judge, someone who is not generally been exposed to the legislative process, definitely not a congressional process, to the extent -- >> her relationship with president trump, a strange other campaign -- >> that's right. and i think that goes and shows, as i've mentioned several times both through the transition and early, the president's not holding some kind of test about what degree of support you had for him. he wants the best and brightest to continue to serve this country in whatever capacity they can. and i think senator ayotte very, very helpfully offered up her services. she's got a lot of relationships on both sides of the aisle. she's got a

. >> reporter: but former senator kelly ayotte, who has been guiding judge gorsuch through the senate meetings, confirmed the judge made the statements. weijia jang, cbs news, the white house. ♪[ music ] >>> we know president trump uses twitter a lot. but coming up, why the bay area company isn't seeing the boost it had hoped for. >> plus, they tried garlic fries and those were a hit. now mcdonald's is testing a new menu item at some bay area locations. >> and from the kpix weather center, we are taking a bird's- eye view out from the transamerica pyramid towards the very rainy bay bridge which is just getting hammered with moderate to heavy rain east of the bay, as well. we are on storm watch tracking this latest storm together as the news continues. ♪[ music ] ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, here's a live look in oakland... maria medina... some of the bay area's mo >>> we have breaking news in the santa cruz mountains. here's kpix 5's maria medina. >> reporter: michelle, kenny, if you were watching my live shot just a few minutes ago, you heard a lot of honking at the end of my live shot. that wa

kelly ayotte there who has been tasked with shepherding gorsuch through the sort of capitol hill confirmationcess speak with senator majority leader mitch mcconnell. let's listen in. >> my honor to escort judge gorsuch to capitol hill for his first meeting. we look forward to members of the united states senate discharging their constitutional duty and having an opportunity to get to know this judge. they'll come to understand the enthusiasm the president of the united states has for ha pointment to the supreme court of the united states. make him available to members of the senate and, it's, again, grateful for the warm hospitality of leader mcconnell today. >> some democrats are already saying judge gorsuch is out of the mainstream. >> thanks, everybody. appreciate your time. >> thank you, everyone. >> so that is the scene inside mitch mcconnell's office. you heard no questions taken from neil gorsuch, from senator mcconnell, from vice president pence or kelly ayotte. that was meeting one. in the meantime, my colleague here at nbc news and msnbc, kasie hunt is saying chuck grassley said the

it is as you said, senator blumenthal, republican senator ben sas se, chuck schumer, kelly ayotte shepherding the communication, and the only person who said that he didn't say that is the leader of the free world. what kind of -- you know, wink and a nod do senators think that they're getting from the white house? do they think they're being played or do they think this is just trump being trump? >> the thinking in actuality is gorsuch being gorsuch. he is not entirely cozy with trump, even though he is the supreme court nominee and he has his own views about the role of the judiciary and he's not trying to play to trump at all. in fact, they were not real sure -- the white house privately is telling me, in essence, that gorsuch said what he said in these meetings and they're not going to counter what gorsuch said because he's so firm in his views, even if the president thinks that these views are being misrepresented, it is what gorsuch said. >> eugene, i want to play something for you. you and i lived some of these moments. i want to travel down memory lane with you. watch. >> i have a jud

kelly ayotte shepherding gorsuch backed it up saying judge gorsuch has made it clear in his discussions with senators, including blumenthal, he could not comment on any specific cases and the judicial ethics prevent him from commenting on political matters. he was not referring to any specific case he finds any criticism of a judge's integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing. we're also expecting the ninth circuit court of appeals could come down with a ruling as early today on whether or not they'll lift the temporary restraining order. sessions was confirmed last night and the president happy about all that sending out a congratulatory postcard to senator. now the big push is aimed at tom price to be confirmed for hhs secretary. the president could not move ahead on his plan to repeal and replace obamacare unless congressman price is in place. democrats know that which is one of the reasons why they have been slowing his confirmation process down. he made it through the committee yesterday and likely be confirmed in a vote tomorrow. the scorecard as far as confirmation

. >> reporter: but former senator kelly ayotte, who is guiding gorsuch around the capitol hhours earlier confirmed that gorsuch had, indeed, says sade he found any criticism of a judge's integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing. republican senator ben sass, also said gorsuch was upset. >> he got a little bit emotional and he said that, "any attack or any criticism of his brothers and sisters of the robe is an attack or a criticism on everybody wearing the robe." >> courts seem to be so political. >> reporter: mr. trump has lashed out at federal judges who have questioned his immigration order. white house spokesman sean spicer: >> in other words, the president will continue to speak like that. >> of course, he will. the president's going to speak his mind. it goes back to thomas jefferson that presidents have commented on judicial nominees. >> reporter: earlier today, the president hit back at republican senator john mccain for his criticism of a u.s. raid against al qaeda in yemen, which killed navy seal ryan owens and several civilians. mccain said the operation was no

we know that former republican senator kelly ayotte, who is helping with mr gorsuch‘s confirmation, issuednot referring to any specific case but that he finds any criticism of a judge's integrity and independence to be "disheartening and demoralising." so that backs up that the words were used, though it's not the same as mr gorsuch saying so. and it doesn't confirm the context. i guess that means we cannot be too precise about whether the president is right or wrong? right, it is all second—hand information, and what i think this will do is increase the pressure onjudge think this will do is increase the pressure on judge gorsuch to either confirm or deny he said that personally. i imagine at the senate confirmation hearings for is just a ship he will be asked directly, do you agree with what donald trump is doing with his immigration order in questioning the judgment of so—called judges, and he will have to a nswer so—called judges, and he will have to answer that or dodge it, but in the background there will be these stories about how he has already told people with the cameras running

and kelly ayotte who lost her seat who was herself a never trumper testified the comments. said while he made clear he was not referring to any specific case, he said he find any criticism of a judge's integrity and independent understand disheartening and demoralizing. liberal control of appellate courts is not to be ignored. libra majorities control 70% of our appellate court. they handle ear of overwhelming number of cases in our judicial system. never mind the 53 senators have law degrees. we won't pay attention to that. and don't pay attention to the fact that 214 out of 435 members of the house of representatives have law degrees as well. there is a problem here, don't you think? and it's one we should be thinking about and talk about and doing something about. as for the president's criticism of the judiciary. president trump publicly rebuked the supreme court during this 2010 state of the union address. where was judge gorsuch's disheartened moment then? president trump at the time talking about the citizens united decision to which judge alito responded, "not true.

. >> interestingly, they made a good strategic choice in having former senator kelly ayotte who has good relationships with all the senators, she was there six years. lost her race in norv november. she'll be his guide. >> don't dare use the nuclear option. only reason it is on the table because of harry reid. >> they call it the reid option. >> just like the difference between isis and isil. >> on the politics, wouldn't dems save fire power for the second one? >> maybe they will. >> they did do that with chief justice roberts, do you remember what that was about. ruth baiter decided to announce, chief justice announced. they looked at everything he had ever written. labor day weekend, 2005, remember what happened? chief justice rehnquist died and democrats said he is fine, confirm him. >> talk about democrats, republicans, mccain, cruz, if hilary clinton was elected, maybe we wouldn't ever, ever approve any democratic nominee and stick with four and four because it has become so partisan. you have people like michael moore saying democrats, if you don't fight this, you are primaried fro

a spokesman for gorsuch said the comments are accurate, so did ben sasse and chuck schumer and kelly ayott. she's working with judge gorsuch in the nomination process and was in the room, in the meeting with senator blumenthal. the president has taken shots at the federal judge in seattle that lifted the travel ban nationwide. today he went after senator blumenthal's credibility. >> ask senator blumenthal vietnam record that didn't exist after he said it did. ask him about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. >> shepard: the president is referring to blumenthal's said that he served in vietnam. he later clarified said he served during the vietnam war as a member of the marine corps reserves, which he did. senator blumenthal responded to the president today. >> there is no question about what judge gorsuch said to me. the white house staff was there. it was confirmed by judge gorsuch's own spokesperson. >> senator blumenthal says he wants more. he's calling on judge gorsuch to publicly condemn the president's comments. so far that's not happe

apparently what prompted that is cording to colleagues is presence of former new hampshire senator kelly ayotte who is helping shepherd through the nomination of neil gorsuch to be on the supreme court. he was talking about how thousands of people were bussed from massachusetts to new hampshire to vote illegally in that state, a state that he lost. these are unsubstantiated, unfounded claims. must make clear. altogether additional new claims to the ones he made i don't know how many days ago it was now, talked about three to five million illegal votes costing him the popular voechlt continues to discuss these issues of so-called voter fraud he's claiming that there's absolutely no proof for. don. >> thank you all. what can you say? i appreciate it. come back, the handshake that went on and on and on. and on. >> [ inaudible ]. >> all right thank you. >> thank everybody. adios, honey, hasta la vista, baby. (sing-songy) fat guy in a little coat. that rug really tied the room together. any questions? bueller? bueller? that's the unlimited effect. stream your entertainment and more with unlimited da

. >> i would like to ask you about kell kellie ayotte's role on capitol hill? >> sure, look. senator ayotte is someone who is respected on both sides of the aisle, she's a former attorney general and understands the judicial process. this process is a relationship process, you're going around introducing a judge someone who is not generally been expose today the legislative process, the congressional process -- >> her relationship with president trump is -- >> that goes and shows as i mentioned several times both through the transition early, the president's not holding some kind of test about what degree of support you had for him. he wants the best an brightest to continue to serve this country whatever capacity they can. i think senator ayotte very, very helpfully offered up her services, she's got a lot of relationships on both sides of the aisle, i think the president thought she was extremely qualified to do this to help shepherd this through this process, so she as well as the team gathered and staff here are going to help get judge gorsuch through the process. and as

ask you about kelly ayotte's role sheparding, hoping you don't say the patriots. >> i second it. >> reporter: can you talk about sheparding judgegorsuch around capitol hill? >> sure, senator ayotte is someone respected on both sides of the aisle. she has great relationships, a former attorney general, she understands the judicial process very well. this process is a relationship process by and far. you're going around introducing a judge, someone who is not generally been exposed to the legislative process, definitely not the congressional process to the extent -- >> reporter: her relationship with president trump is strained during the campaign. >> correct, and that goes and shows as i mentioned for the transition early, the president's not holding some kind of test about what degree of support you had for him. he wants the best and brightest to continue to serve the country in whatever capacity they can. i think senator ayotte very, very helpfully offered up her services, she's got a lot of relationships on both sides of the aisle. a tremendous amount of experience in this field and i thin

they have former senator kelly ayotte shepherding the hopeful justice around the hill. they brought in a capitol hill professional. i was struck unlike the other rollout leadership wasn't consulted and cabinet not consulted they're going down the chain and doing something very typical for washington in most administrations but does not afternoon happen with the trump world. >> you're left with the dynamic of this staff, as we've been discussing tonight. you have bannon and miller and kellyanne conway and you have reince priebus. the buck's got to stop in that office before it goes into the oval. chief of staff in the white house is everything. >> yeah. that's absolutely true. in this last botched rollout, there were two camps and factions of blame. we viewed it as the people active, steve bannon and miller making policy and trike to push trump in one hard right direction. then the people inherently reactive and reince priebus and sean spicer who have to take this and try to smooth out the edges and explain away some of these disasters, there is a thought someone like re

. >> former republican senator kelly ayotte, who has been escorting judge gorsich through capitol hill meetings confirms that the judge did make the comments as senator blue men thal said. >>> carly fiorina, getting back into politics. the fairfax resident says she may challenge fiorina next year. after an unsuccessful bid to unseat senator barbara boxer of california. she abandoned her presidential campaign, one year ago. you'll recall that she followed by joining senator ted cruz as his vice presidential running mate. >>> tracking metro. and tonight, the agency, trying to urgently make you feel safe. >>> new numbers say violent attacks are on the rise. pete muntean found out, there's a new plan. it's a good thing but not good enough for the agency. it's a good reason why riders leaving the system. and you're about to hear from one of them. >> deja norris. >> i've had situations with people like grabbing me, touching me. so i just don't do it as much. >> she is exactly who metro is worried about. the assaults on customers went up in 2016. police say there were 151 aggravated assaults.

the white house for a session on discussing the supreme court nominee judge neal gore such paid kelly ayottethe former senator from new hampshire who lost her bid for another term back in november, is shepherding him around, she was here at the white house, according to sources, the president said she would have won her seat in new hampshire, again, had people not voted illegally from out-of-state. so the president keeping this controversy alive. we still haven't heard yet about an investigation been lost into the registration of voter fraud, we should hear that so now that sender jeff sessions has been sworn in -- senator jeff sessions has been sworn in. i imagine that friends will come down soon. >> chris: jeff roberts reporting on another busy day. john, thank you. john, one of the problem the president is facing is a flood f leaks from within his own administration. fox news media analyst howard kurtz is here to talk about that tonight. are these leaks just embarrassing or are some of them doing serious damage to the president and his team? >> they are taking a toll. "washington post" re

president trump claimed during the thursday lunch with senators that he and republican senator kelly ayotteost in new hampshire because of voters bussed in from out of state. the president's comments reportedly caused an uncomfortable silence in the room. ellen weintrach asked for the president to show his information. >> the issue of bussing voters into new hampshire is widely known by anyone who worked in new hampshire politics, it is very real, it is very serious. this morning on this show is not the venue to lay out all the evidence, but i can tell you this, voter fraud is a serious problem in this country. >> you have provided absolutely no evidence. the president has made a statement. >> the white house showed lots of evidence. dead people are voting, non-citizens being registered to vote, george, it's a fact, and you will not deny it that there are massive numbers of non-citizens in this country who are registered to vote. that is a scandal. we should stop the presses. and as a country, we should be aghast at the fact that you have people of no right to vote in this country, register

a formal confirmation from kelly ayotte who has been a sherpa for judge gorsuch. he said he finds criticism of a judge disheartening and demolling. richard blumenthal made it clear the judge, some republicans criticized him f revealing publicly. he revealed publicly a private conversation. take a listen. >> judge gorsuch specifically said you should feel free to mention what i said about these attacks being disheartening and demoralizing. i suggest donald trump needs to be better informed about what his nominee said to all of us, so far, on capitol hill. >> reporter: spoke to a senior adviser to the president trying to get a sense if the white house knew this language was going to be used, if they had a conversation with him in advance of the meetings. they brushed it off. they wouldn't give formal conversation on that thought. at least on the judge's part, it softens his image with the democrats that might help him on the confirmation. >> columnist for the new york daily news, good morning to both of you. michael, i'm going to start with you. the judge's own spok

. >> reporter: there's this from former senator kelly ayotte, a statement out today saying judge gorsuch emphasized the importance of an independent judiciary and while he made clear he was not referring to any specific case, he said that he finds any criticism of a judge's integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing. so more support for the notion that judge gorsuch apparently said what he said, despite the fact that the president is calling that into question. we could get more on this today in these airline meetings with ceos and the president, and there will be another opportunity to hear from the president on it when he attends the swearing in of his newly minted attorney general. back to you. >> can't wait to hear if the president speaks out loud this morning on these subjects, not just on twitter. joe johns, thanks so much. let's talk about all this with our panel, cnn political commentator from "the washington post" david swerdlick, patricia murphy and cnn senior legal analyst and former federal pro can you teller jeffrey toobin. just so people know what we're talki

you also saw kelly ayotte, the former senator from maine despite the fact that she's no longer a sitting. senator, asked her to participate there in walking him around. i want to bring in paul rallstein and a professor of practice in constitutional law at american universities -- excuse me. american universities washington college of law. sorry about that. professor, presidentrump said that the judge had a, quote, extraordinary resume. here's more of what president trump said. >> the qualifications of judge gorsuch are beyond dispute. he is the man of our country and a man who our country really needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice. >> professor, are his credentials in fact beyond dispute? >> he has very good credentials. there are things about him that the democrats -- the liberals will not like but he is mainstream and i think he's about the best that the democrats could expect from a republican president. this is from the standpoint of the democrats. they are not going to get anything more to their liking and i think the democrats would be best serve

escorted by vice president mike pence and former senator kelly ayotte. here's a look.

to support it, he mentioned new hampshire specifically as the reason both he and former senator kelly ayotteost, claiming voters were brought in by the bust full from massachusetts. eric has been digging for that pack on this claim, he joins us with more. >> hello, we could not find one case brought by prosecutors of voter fraud, people who took a bus from massachusetts to new hampshire as alleged to vote illegally peered voter fraud does happen, but in the case of elected officials, it is isolated and sporadic, there are cases in the last election being investigated. it's been long believed that some of the out-of-state presidential campaign workers have voted in the states first in the nation primary, but that is legal because the state does not have a residency requirement. you can vote by declaring a domicile, state attorney foster insists it does not happen in the thousands, saying "simply put, the allegations by president trump are baseless. we know of no widespread voter fraud nor has any been brought to our attention, it is simply untrue." the state does have a photo i.d. law where i