i think joe liebermann is viewed as very political for obvious reasons.doesn't mean he wouldn't do the job well. but if we can have another choice that doesn't have as much political emphasis, i think it is better for the country. there will be more confidence in the decisions made going forward. >> is this sour grapes over the fact that then senator joe liebermann endorsed john mccain over barack obama? >> i can't speak for everyone. i think we're in a deeping crisis here in washington and around the country on this issue. and i honestly believe there is a lot of members that are putting the country first. and this could be an indication where we're saying, look, let's get politics de-emphasized here, at least here in such an important role and let's go in that direction. >> in the boston marathon bombing investigation, you worked, you know, hand in hand with others, but along with former fbi director robert mueller, who is now the special counsel. give us some color and insight into how you think he will handle this? >> well, when he was here, he approa

he points to liebermann. seem to be happening and now they're back to the drawing board. i wonder if it's just hard to find anybody to fill this job right now because a lot of people don't want this right now because of the comey firing and the entire russia investigation in the hands of a special council hanging over it. >> maybe he thought he was going to be a layup and it's not going to be one. trump connected with the working man and women in this country, those who want higher ages, living check to check. these medicaid cuts, what is the chance he winds up biting into the muscle and bone of his base? >> without a doubt he will. they're proposed $800 billion medicate cuts in ten years. you know this budget proposal is not going anywhere. even republicans on capitol hill were saying that yesterday. this is just the beginning of a negotiation. but it does show where president trump's priorities are. it's not just medicate, chris. i think there are several places in this budget. let's go agriculture. you kno

let's go to oren liebermann as well, our correspondent based in jerusalem. this is a significant week. this is jerusalem week. this is also a president trying to walk quite a tight rope here after quite a dust-up within the administration over comments on the western wall just ahead of this trip. >> reporter: and so far, he's walking that tight rope very well, navigating the sensitivities and all of the delicate issues that surround jerusalem. jerusalem itself is the most sensitive issue in the israeli/palestinian conflict, and the old city of jerusalem here behind us is the most sensitive issue in jerusalem. it appears trump and the white house realize that and have taken great pains to avoid prejudging this, right? it's always been up to u.s. foreign policy for decades now that the final status of jerusalem would be decided only in negotiations between israelis and palestinians. that's why the embassy hasn't ever moved from tel aviv to jerusalem. it would be the white house and the u.s. saying that jerusalem is the undivided capital of israel. it would ess

democrats coming out rather quickly and saying, no, no, no, should not be liebermann.do you say? >> there is a strong feeling among many of my colleagues, and i share it, that the director of the fbi should be someone with a real strong background and expertise and experience in criminal justice, rather than partisan politics. >> is it just he was an elected official or a little that you feel he's differential to trump. he works at a firm that trump used. he's too friendly to trump and you don't like it? >> i respect him, but there is a strong feeling that the fbi director, now more than ever, has to be above politics with unquestionable credibility in the law enforcement community, rather than involvement in politics. and that goes back to the questions you were raising. he is a prosecutor's prosecutor, just as jim comey in many ways is. they both share that ethos that they will pursue wrongdoing wherever it goes and the congress and independent commission have a responsibility to produce a report that will enable us to deter and defend our nation against these kinds

oren liebermann for us in jerusalem, thank you.me, sir. >>> controversy surrounding house majority leader kevin mccarthy comes from a report in the "washington post." a meeting where kevin mccarthy told fellow republican leaders one year ago, he joked, he says, that vladimir putin pays donald trump. the "washington post" listened to a recording of this. they also provided a transcript. this is what was said. republican leaders were talking about the dnc hack last summer when kevin mccarthy said, "there's two people, i think, that putin pays, rohrabacher and trump." after some laughter in the room, mccarthy said "swear to god." then paul ryan continued "this is an off the record, no leaks, all right?" then he added, "this is how we know we're a real family here." speaker ryan's office says this was just a joke and today mccarthy also says it was just a joke. >> because if you listen to it, it says everybody laughs, so you know it's a joke and that's all there is to it. no one believes it to be true. >> last hour i had a chance to sp

live in jerusalem, orren lieberma liebermann, good morning to you. a number of issues, including the western wall, the embassy move, and of course, the order from netanyahu. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dave. this should have been an easy trip. it's a republican president with a republican senate and congress, meeting a conservative prime minister. this should be as easy as it gets, and yet, all of the issues and misunderstandings and worse that you've been talking about cloud this meeting between israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and president donald trump. the latest is that netanyahu had to order his ministers to attend the arrival ceremony when trump lands here in tel aviv, here in israel, and that's because many of the ministers when they realized they wouldn't get a chance to shake trump's hand, wouldn't get that photo op, decided, why go? well, netanyahu made it clear they will be there, that coming down as an order. that's on the israeli side. there have been many more on the american side, including as you mentione

for the latest, let's bring in cnn's oren liebermann live for us in jerusalem. good morning. we know the president has left saudi arabia. he is on route to israel. we expect him to land in tel aviv later this morning, maybe an hour, couple hours or so. so, what are officials there saying, oren? >> reporter: well, look, this should be an easy trip. it's a republican president, it's a conservative prime minister, and it should be easy for these two to get along, and they've certainly sent signals and messages to each other that they look forward to hosting each other and meeting with each other, trump even saying recently that he's a great lover of israel, looks forward to showing that. yet, there have been a number of these you call them hitches or misunderstandings or issues or even worse. one is netanyahu having to order his ministers to attend the arrival ceremony at tel aviv. many of them when they realized they wouldn't be able to shake the president's hand and get that photo op intended to skip. on the american side, there have been far more. first, confusion about what

. >> oren liebermann for the reporting. joining me david gregory, david rose, online news director for "the new yorker" and even ham hoffer from the council on american islamic relations. david gregory the president said recently "i think it might not be as difficult as people have thought in terms of reaching a peace agreement wean the palestinians and israelis" following comments from last month from ma mad abbhmoud abba mr. president with you we have hope." >> there's a lot of bluser that comes out of the administration what the ultimate deal as the president calls it that can be achieved. it's going to require a lot of time, a lot of effort, and there can be a lot of failure associated with it. but the president is doing something that a lot of administrations don't do. he's jumping into this very early, and pursuing a peace deal, and putting his son-in-law, jared kushner, as a mediator, someone who has great authority within the white house to try, and so any president should be commended for trying to bring the two si

. >>> joe liebermann removed his name from consideration in search for a new fbi director. liebermann cited the potential of a conflict after president trump hired his long time attorney. mr. liebermann represents the president in the investigation of russia and the 2016 elections. >> regardless of your background, remember where you came from. hold onto the way so many of you reaching out to mentors. hold onto the way you engage in this community. make sure to bring that commitment to whatever walk of life you choose. >> bravery, not perfection was the key that unlocked every door that i have walked through since. it took me 33 years to figure out that brown girls can do white guys things, too. >> you are here because of a lot of health. you understand that now it is time to help others. that's what this is all about. >> saturday night at 8:00 eastern, 2017 commencement speeches. this weekend including speaker arnold schwarzenegger and joe biden in maine. arizona governor doug oc

official at the fbi responded to a question from reporters that said we had a good conversation and liebermannsaid it was a good meeting. trump has said he could name a candidate by the end of the week before he leaves for his foreign trip. first one is president. nicole: fbi chief robert mueller appointed a special influence of the u.s. presidential election. but finally get to the bottom of the bottom of all the leaks surrounding the trump white house? joining us now, ron christie to president george w. bush and ceo of christie strategies. brian, good morning. are you surprised by the appointment? >> and surprised by the appointment because there's been a lot of allegations. the russian government. we haven't seen a crime when you look at obstruction of justice come we need to have specific intent. the actor trying to obstruct justice. as it pertains to the leaks, these weeks are going to stop until we get more trump administration officials in office and in a position to really frankly replace the obama replacement who might be at the bottom of these weeks. lauren: how microsoft is expected

liebermann was a partner at the same law firm, but trump wants to see a broader range of candidate force the job. >> kirsten powers is here, ma nusbaum. how big of a deal is it for the attorney general not to have included others, if it was just the russians, i can see that a bigger problem than him just not disclosing anyone. that according to him he was told he didn't have to. >> in the context of everything that was going on over the summer and during the course of election season, to not put them on there, i think that was a mistake, he should have put them on there. that said, the justice department just put out a statement that he specifically was advised, not only by his own staff, but by the fbi investigator that was helping him fill out this form, that he didn't need to list every contact he had in the business of being a senator. i honestly don't think there was any maliciousness or an attempt to conceal, i think the staff was just trying to churn through a cumbersome process in the most efficient way possible. but these two meetings, you would have thought would have certainly

wilson debates started not to focus too much on him but what scholars like cat nelson and robert liebermann had been writing about helps make sense of the dualty of the administration where these two parts of the progressive era that really cannot be seen separate anymore. so the debate that we had about wilson was really a debate and a tougher look at the character of american liberalism before the 1960s. so all of these are just a few parts of the legacies of woodrow wilson but the legacies of american politics in the early 1900s and 1910s that i argued and believe and not only supporting of our historians and ourselves trying to understand the moment but a reoccurring theme of the political development of the united states since that time right through our day today. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you all, my colleagues have panelists have done such a thorough job in covering what i have to say today. i want to echo to be the first point of redundancy of where sam and others made about the futility of thinking about this good offout waying good, of somehow quantifying and tallying up t