his testimony and with that i will yield to the ranking member the gentleman from massachusetts mr. lynch for five minutes. >> thank you very much mr. chairman and thank you to our witnesses for helping with this work. mr. chairman this is a timely hearing on her ongoing military involvement in afghanistan. they also want to thank the special inspector general sopko for afghan reconstruction for appearing before us today to help this committee carry out the mandate for the title of this hearing rightly notes that the u.s. has been at war in afghanistan from all 16 years. this war has spanned a generation and costs about $714 billion between $714 billion in $2 trillion in taxpayer dollars and over 2400 u.s. casualties. while our mission has narrowed the focus on training devising and assisting of the afghan security forces, excuse me. sorry. i've only got three pages here. there are some pages missing from my remarks. >> that's okay. our force levels have sharply dropped from 211 to over 100,000 is the current estimate and it's just as critical we have a clear strategy. this is why i reque

. >> begs the question, mr. lynch, what is your go-to? >> i love the heath bar. one of the things i've done this year and tried to cut out sugar, refined sugar. i've dropped a few pounds and i love everybody. >> it's not too bad. >> you have to pick jr. poison. >> it's really any kind of snickers. give me a snickers, and i'm yours. stand by for lsu and alabama. >> so long, everybody. sfx: tinny headphone music sfx: feet shuffling life can change in an instant. be covered when it does... ...with a health plan through covered california. we offer free expert help choosing the best plan for you. and all of our plans include free preventive care. financial help is available, so check for yourself to see what savings you qualify for. for health insurance starting january 1st, enroll by december 15th. because you never know when life... ...will change. get covered today. the energy conscious whopeople among usle? say small actions can add up to something... humongous. a little thing here. a little thing there. starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. who ar

coming and look forward to hearing his testimony and with that i will yield to the ranking member, mr. lynch for five minutes. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman and thank you to the witnesses for helping the committee with its work. this is an extremely timely hearing on our ongoing military involvement in afghanistan. i also want to thank senator for helping the committee carry out its oversight mandate. the title of the hearing rightly notes the u.s. has been at war in afghanistan over 16 years. this has panned a generation at the kaush of 714 -- between $714 billion and $2 trillion in taxpayer dollars and over 2400 u.s. casualties. while our mission has narrowed to train, advise and assist of the afghan national defense and security forces and -- excuse me. sorry. i only got three pages here. there's some pages missing from my remark. okay. and our force levels have sharply dropped to over 100,000 to the current estimate of 9800. it's just as critical we have a clear strategy. this is why i requested this past june and again with my colleague, mr. welch that the oversight committee hol

mr. lynch: thank you for holding this hearing. it is my understanding that this hearing will discuss national security challenges related to the relocation of the embassy and tel aviv to jerusalem, i would like to thank our witnesses for appearing today. thank you, gentlemen. enduringg and bilateral relationship with israel is based on genuine bonds of friendship and can ship that ip that areh unshakable. these ties are reflected in our unwavering commitment to israel's security, as well as israeli cooperation on a range of critical issues, economic, intelligence, and defense matters. respect toaximum jerusalem and its holy sites to israel. i joined the chairman in my own experience and with many of our colleagues, having been to jerusalem on many occasions. we appreciate the religious freedom that is available now in jerusalem, and we have taken full advantage of those opportunities to spend time with our friends in jerusalem and enjoy the wonderful benefits of that city. unilaterally and imme

we look forward to hearing your testimony and i'm happy to recognize my friend the ranking member mr. lynch for five minutes. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman and thank you for holding this hearing. it is my understanding that today's hearing will include the examination of the national security challenges related to the immediate relocation of the u.s. embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem and to this end i'd like to thank all of our witnesses for appearing before the committee today to help us with our work. thank you, gentlemen. our strong and enduring bye bilateral relationship with the state of israel is founded on genuine bonds of friendship and indeed kinship that are unshakeable. these profound and long-standing ties with our closest regional ally are reflected in our unwavering commitment to israel's security as well as robust u.s./israeli cooperation on a range of critical issues, economic against, and defense matters. we also afford maximum respect to historic and religious significance of jerusalem and its holy sites to israel. i do join the chairman in my own experie

lynch: mr. chairman, i make a motion except the reports offered by inspector general sopko regarding the new classification regime instituted recently. rep. desantis: without objection. do you have copies you can provide? mr. sopko: a can give you copies. i am memo >> without objection. >> the gentleman yield back. we recognize the vice chairman of the committee. >> thank you for holding this hearing. i guess i have one basic question to begin with, and then we will take the discussion from there. first off, thank you for what you do. i mean that with all sincerity. but what are the consequences of ?uitting that is hard for me to describe. the consequences for quitting in afghanistan? sure. >> the administration's statement is that if we do, the country will turn into a terrorist haven. >> i agree with that assessment, and i think that ought to frame everything, mr. chairman, that this hearing focuses on. it will be very easy to talk about time, money, and many other things. we will hear from ma

scott: i yield one minute to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. lynch: good afternoon, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, for yielding me this time. i thank him for his leadership on behalf of american workers. mr. speaker, i rise to express my strong opposition to h.r. 3441. because of the modern use of temporary staffing agencies and subcontractors, the national labor relations board has properly defined the term joint employer as two or more businesses who co-determine or share control over a worker ear -- worker's terms of employment such as rate of pay or work schedule. if enacted, 3441 would cripple workers' rights to collective by hi bargain or seek redress when workers are found to have joint employers. the opportunity collectively bargain over wages and conditions of employment is diminished if some parties that control employment are given the option to refuse to bargain and avoid liability as employers. as a result this bill will open the

i never recognize the ranking member mr. lynch. >> thank you very much, mr. cha. dr.koplow, the united states is currently relying on the cooperation of our arab allies like egypt, saudi arabia and jordan in cooperation to really stabilize the security interest in the region, including for israel. jordan, we that unequivocal support from king abdullah against isis -- we've had -- he said we won't a quote, he quoted a relentless war against isis and hit them and all ground -- own graphic he is an unequivocal support for efforts there. i harken back to, in egypt, when the morrissey regime came in after a these, mubarak removal, the actually were considering abrogating the 1979 egypt-israeli peace agreement that was negotiated between anwar sadat and menachem begin r which they received the nobel peace prize. now with the lcc regime in there, they lived up to the letter of the law and secured the situation on israel's southern border with respect to gaza. in deciding if we should move the u.s. embassy now, should the u.s. at least consider and engage these neighbors in t

we have the email thanks to judicial watch from loretta lynch threatening mr.ampbell, threatening this informant saying if you don't keep to your non-disclosure agreement, i will get you imprisoned. we have an acting a.g. threatening an american citizen to keep your mouth shut about what you know about the uranium deal. that's pretty damning evidence. david: thank you for being here. president trump says the chinese decision to send an envoy to north korea for talks is a big move. david: in our online poll last night we asked do you think the d.o.j. is reluctant to investigate children tomorrow corruption because it would ex goes corruption within its leadership and 93% of you said yes. china is sending an envoy to pyongyang. first from china to visit in two years. president trump on twitter called it a quote big move. joining me now is fred fleitz, former chief of staff to ambassador john bolton. will the envoy make any difference? >> this is a significant development and i think it stems from the president's successful trip to asia. north korea and china have

we have the email thanks to judicial watch from loretta lynch threatening mr. threatening this informant saying if you don't keep to your non-disclosure agreement, i will get you imprisoned. we have an acting a.g. threatening an american citizen to keep your mouth shut about what you know about the uranium deal. that's pretty damning evidence. david: thank you for being here. president trump says the chinese decision to send an envoy to north korea for talks is a big move. (group conversation) ♪wooooo oo waa ahhh ♪it's a beautiful mornin' thank you ♪ahhh, ah ahhh ♪each bird helping small businesses. damage your vehicle? we got you covered. [ glass shatters ] property damage? that's what general liability's for. what?! -injured employee? -ow. workers' comp helps you pay for a replacement. what's happening? this is carla. how's it going? and if anything comes up, our experts are standing by. ♪ boo! ♪ it's time for the sleep number semi-annual sale on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort your sleep number setting. and snoring? does your be

we have the email thanks to judicial watch from loretta lynch threatening mr.pbell, threatening this informant saying if you don't keep to your non-disclosure agreement, i will get you imprisoned. we have an acting a.g. threatening an american citizen to keep your mouth shut about what you know about the uranium deal. that's pretty damning evidence. david: thank you for being here. president trump says the chinese decision to send an envoy to north korea for talks is a big move. whoooo. looking for a hotel that fits... ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. show of hands. let's get started. who wants customizable options chains? ones that make it fast and easy to analyze and take action? how about some of the lowest options fees? are you raising your hand? good then it's time for power e*trade the platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. alright one quick game of rock, paper, scissors. 1, 2, 3, go. e*trade. the

we have the email thanks to judicial watch from loretta lynch threatening mr.l, threatening this informant saying if you don't keep to your non-disclosure agreement, i will get you imprisoned. we have an acting a.g. threatening an american citizen to keep your mouth shut about what you know about the uranium deal. that's pretty damning evidence. david: thank you for being here. president trump says the chinese decision to send an envoy to north korea for talks is a big move. ♪ ♪ i can do more to lower my a1c. because my body can still make its own insulin. and i take trulicity once a week to activate my body to release it, like it's supposed to. trulicity is not insulin. it comes in a once-weekly, truly easy-to-use pen. the pen where you don't have to see or handle a needle. and it works 24/7. trulicity is a once-weekly injectable medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it should not be the first medicine to treat diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take trulicity

mr. trump has launched a secondary battle against marshawn lynch who sat for the u.s.ational anthem and stood for the mexican anthem. president trump said he should be suspended for the remainder of the season. the nfl's that i had no comment on the president's comment. the wife of the raiders head coach said she regrets voting for mr. trump. >> shannon: and lots of comments on no comments in more comments. thank you. keeping us up-to-date. we are getting worried that he u.s. airman has died and another in this in the hospital after a training exercise in texas. air force official says their jet crashed just outside laughlin air force base in del rio texas. it happened this afternoon. no word yet on the cause. this era, authorities in west texas continuing to scour the area after the death of a border patrol agent and an attack that left a second agent in critical condition. casey stegall has the latest. >> federal law enforcement agency they're currently working to piece together a timeline of events to gain a better understanding of what exactly happened in this rura

mr. sessions: if i am not recused, i have the authority and responsibility to make that decision. >> as it relates to loretta lynch using the pseudonym elizabeth carlyle, are you recused on that matter? are you recused on the fusion gps matter? mr. sessions: i don't think so. i am not going to comment about that but i would say in defense of attorney general lynch, i have a pseudonym also. i understand all caps and officials do. maybe some sub-cabinet officials do. they probably have been following the advice of the department of justice. i am just saying, we have to be careful. thatjust want to be clear as it relates to the uranium one matter, you do believe you have the authority to appoint a special counsel and you do not believe the authority you have is subject to any recusal at this time? >> i cannot say that. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california for five minutes. >> donald trump has asked various individuals to pledge a loath of loyalty to him. has he asked you? mr. sessions: no. i of donald trump were to ask --, would you do so question >> if donald trump were to ask you to pledge a loath of

mr. renton, the anti-lynching bill. petitions for these measures and joined organizations to advocate and contributed money and will continue to do so. i will take my philosophy from thomas payne, thomas jefferson, abraham lincoln, and i will not be dictated to or intimidated by matterwhom the kkk, as a of committee record, is an acceptable american institution. that on manyer questions of public interest my opinions as a citizen have not always been with the opinions of the majority. they are not now nor have they ever been fixed and unchanging. nor are they now fixed or unchangeable. right or wrong, i claim, and i insist upon my rights to speak freely, to join the republican ,arty or the communist party the democratic, or the prohibition party, to publish whatever i please. to fix my mind or change my mind without dictation from anyone. to offer any criticism i see fitting of any public official or policy. to join any organization i please no matter what certain legislatures may think of them. above all, i challenge t

lynch did stand for the mexican national anthem. the president called it great disrespect and said the nfl should suspend him for the remainder of the season. mayor schaaf took aim at mr. trump calling him the bully in chief. >> he needs to worry about his own approval ratings. he needs to do his job and stop picking on americans who are exercising their freedom of speech. >> lynch's mother got into this twitter feud saying what nfl team does trump own? oh, yeah, they wouldn't let him have one. lynch has refused to stand during the anthem since he joined the raid thers year. >>> sexual harassment allegations are costing one of the most powerful lawmakers in sacramento his job. raul bocanegro will be resigning and not running for reelection. seven women from come forward to accuse him. he says that he will resign at the end of the current session which does not end any next september. some lawmakers want the democrat to resign immediately. >>> happening today the sfmta board of directors will consider bang marijuana advertising on its property. in january recreational pot will become legal torah dults in california. a muni star report recommends a six month ban on new

mr. comey calling it a matter and not an investigation, and loretta lynch meeting on the tau mack three daysclinton was scheduled to be interviewed by the fbi, and we learned last week if there was any collusion it was hillary clinton's campaign paying for the dossier. i think that's important news and why it's important that we are going to investigate those issues moving forward, and we should have done that a long time ago. >> why do you seem more focused on hillary clinton and what happened then than on a investigation connected to a sitting president and the election a year ago? >> i am interested in the facts. why would comey call the matter and not an investigation? three days before the fbi is scheduled to meet with hillary clinton, and the attorney general and bill clinton meet on the tarmac. i am focused on the facts did the dnc -- >> you are more interested in the hillary clinton facts -- >> because there is no evidence of any collusion between the trump campaign and russia but there are all kinds of evidence showing links between the clinton campaign and the dossier, and the doss

mr. newbury, came and told me as there had never been a lynching in that part they thought it woll that i should leave at once to be sure of my life. so these are the repercussions of black women gaining the right to vote. and as they went forward, despite all of these challenges they found that their communities needed them and without the black women and their continued courage we wonder where the community would be today despite the problems we see today we know now that there are of course continued challenges but we know that black women are at the forefront. and i want to leave you with this. and it's a quote from sojourner truth. when i think of the -- a woman on joy reid's program who complained of being marginalized as a black woman despite all the work she was doing, sojourner truth, i can hear her voice possibly saying, and i quote, "if women want rights more than they got, why don't they just take them and not be talking about it?" about it?" thank you. captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008 captioning performed by vitac

mr. trump has taken on an african-american athlete. >> that's three shocks. there's marshawn lynchlavar ball, steph curry and collin kaepernick bup not a word after steve kerr. nothing like the words for nfl players that knelt during the national anthem. >> wouldn't you love to see the owners when somebody disrespects our flag to say get that [bleep] off the field right now? he's fired. he's fired. >> joining us now, is an intern tanment journist. good to have you with us. >> thank you. >> recently married, congrats. so the president, i'm going to ask you to spell it out. what do you see as a commonality in terms of when he takes on black sports figures versus letting the criticisms he may have faced from white -- >> white, the coaches were white. okay. >> what's going on here? >> aps difficult to criticize greg pop vich because he's former military and won nba champions. so it would go against everything that trump talks about as he jangles his keys and does smoke and mirrors. he doesn't go after him or steve kerr because they are rich white men. he goes after nba players because

which basically said that mar shon lynch with the oakland raid ers should be suspended for the rest of the season after he refused to stand for the national anthem. mr. swear so i s he decided to put out a tweet of his own because of what he saw from mr. trump. let's show you this tweet now. it says attention pwc s, or prince william county school students and staff you are not required to stand for the national anthem or pledge. there will be no action taken against you for chootion to not stand or participating. he went onto say our president is a bona fide idiot, but you are safe in prince william county schools. we should point out that it's been in the student handbook for quite sometime now that students are not required to stand for the national anthem. so all he was doing was reinforcing what's already been a rule out here in prince william county. we spoke with the president of the school board just a little w didn't put it out. i mean i certainly maybe have raised an elevation with my tweet which i certainly didn't expect to get the attention that it did. i find no shame making sure what students and families know what their rights are in

mr.-- [laughter] stuart: okay, okay. marshawn lynchand you say what? >> total disrespect. i think that was totally disrespect, and the commissioner should suspend him for it. i think people that are right now kneeling or sitting or whatever, i think they need to be punished. right now we're at a crisis right now in the united states. stuart: okay. >> and i think the commissioner should have took hand of this at the very beginning and say everyone stand for the national anthem. when the season is over, we'll go to washington, and we can picket, do whatever we want to do then. stuart: all right. we appreciate your opinion. now i want to see that truck. show it to me, please, that truck outside, the monster specially painted for this. when you say you're giving it away, how does this work? >> what we're going to do is take, we're going to take current veterans with the military, active members of the military and first responders that, and they can go on rocket ridgegear.com to register to win this truck. stuart: yes. >> and then in march

lynch did stand for the mexican national anthem. the president called it great disrespect and said the nfl should suspend him for the remainder of the season. mayor schaaf took aim at mrm the bully in chief. >>> he needs to worry about his own approval ratings. he needs to do his job and stop picking on americans exercising their freedom of speech. >> lynch's mom got into the twitter feud saying what nfl team do trump own desh oh, yeah, they wouldn't let him have one. lynch has refused to stand during the anthem since he joined the raiders this year. >>> sexual harassment allegations are causing one of the most powerful lawmakers in san francisco his job. raul bocanegra is resigning astha as majority wip. he says he will resign at the end of the current session which shuz not end until next september. some lawmakers say that is not soon enough and they want him to resign immediately. >>> breaking news, federal prosecutors have just charged an iranian national for hacking into hbo and releasing episodes of "game of thrones." we first told you about this hack over the summer. federal prosecutors have charged basad med dri and he is accused of releasing episodes of he un

lynch did stand for the mexican national anthem. the president calls it great disrespect and says the nfl should suspend him for the remainder of the season. mayor schaaf called mr >> he needs to worry about his own approval ratings. he needs to do his job and stop picking on americans who are exercising their freedom of speech. >> lynch's mom got into the twitter feud saying what nfl team do trump own? oh, yeah, they wouldn't let him have one. lynch has refused to stand during the anthem since he joined the raiders this year. >>> sexual harassment allegations are causing assemblyman raul bocanegra his job. he says he will not run for reelection. seven women have come forward to accuse him of groping and forcing himself on him. he will resign at the end of the current session and that doesn't end until next september. some lawmakers say that is not soon enough and you they want the san fernando valley democrat to resign immediately. >>> russian president vladimir putin is praising syrian president bashar al assad for his work fighting isis. those two leaders met in sochi ahead of a summit scheduled for tomorrow between russia, turkey and iran. the russia militar

lynch. will you abide by congressional appropriations limitations on marijuana when it conflicts with sick laws? mr. sessions: i believe -- with state laws? mr. sessions: i believe we are bound on that. your -- replieve cohen: i believe your work on cocaine was good. that hearing it to discriminate against the disparity against african-americans and minorities and you ought to look at that. mr. sessions: the net effect of that legislation was to significantly -- cohen: it was good, sir. it may be the better analysis of the 18 to one. it is generally considered a more dangerous drug. cohen: heroine is a much more dangerous drug than marijuana. would you agree? mr. sessions: yes. rep. cohen: 29 states have legalized it for medical purposes. brandeis famously said that the states are the laboratories of democracy. i would hope you will look at marijuana and look at states as laboratories of democracy and see how they have helped. in states where they have medical marijuana, they have 28% lower opioid abuse. i would hope you would take a look at that. mr. sessions: we will be looking at some rigorous a

lynch justice department. that's our concern. when you have all these questions, let's appoint a special counsel. we think mr. mueller is inherently compromised. let's appoint a special counsel to get the answers -- it is not about jeff sessions but answers for the american people. >> sandra: some of the questions you ask why did jim comey call the clinton investigation a matter not an investigation. why did he begin drafting an exoneration letter for secretary of state hillary clinton who he called grossly negligent before completing the investigation and why did he publicize the clinton investigation? one of a dozen questions you ask in this matter. >> why call it a matter rather than an investigation. it's an investigation. think about what james comey did. misled the american people trying to call the clinton investigation a matter and miss l*ed the american people when he let the public believe president trump was under investigation when he wasn't. he misled the american people twice. we got the focus from mr. mueller on possible collusion on the trump campaign to influence the election. we know the jus

former miss lynch and former holder was let go for his own stonewalling for fast and furious. i expect, mr. attorney general, that you will be more willing to candidly answer questions from members on both sides of the i/o. you will hear question after question today concerning our knowledge of and involvement with russia. efforts tolies interfere in the 2016 presidential election. whether it concerns a work on behalf of now president trump during the campaign or your service in the senate, i suspect this theme will be a constant refrain from my friends on the other side of the aisle. while i understand your decision to recuse yourself was an effort to do the right thing, i believe you, as a person of integrity, will be impartial and fair and follow the facts wherever they lead. i have chosen as chairman of robertmmittee to elect mueller to do his job, free from undue political influence. at the same time, this committee will do its duty and conduct oversight at the department of justice. to that end, we sent two letters to you calling on you to name a second as special counsel to restore

lynch holder became the first attorney general -- for the reckless operation fast and furious. i expect, mrrney general, you will be more willing to candidly answer questions from members on both sides of the aisle. you will hear question after question today concerning your knowledge of or involvement with russia. and it's i alleged efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. whether it concerns your work on behalf of now president trump during the campaign or your service in the senate, i suspect this theme will be a constant refrain from my friends on the other side of the aisle. while i understand your decision to recuse yourself was an effort by you to do the right thing, i believe you as a person of integrity, would have been impartial and fair in following the facts wherever they led. i have chosen as chairman of this committee to let special counsel robert mueller do his job free from undue political influence. at the same time, however, this committee will do its duty and conduct oversight of the department of justice. to that end we sent two letters to you, one in july

mr. jordan: why in 2016 would james comey call the matter not an investigation. he wasn't director of the federal bureau of matters. why in 2016 would loretta lynch one month before the benghazi report is supposed to come out, why would she meet with bill clinton on the tarmac in 2016. in the days following that will meeting with the former president when the attorney general corresponding, why would lynch not use her real name. if we are just talking about grandkid and golf, you could probably use your real name. why have we learned recently, rurming the f.b.i. be christopher steele the author of the dosier. we had previous speakers and had this focus the last several months on potential russia-trum col like. we know something pretty clearly. the justice department tried to influence the election. we can see that without a doubt. and what did we learn today? the gentleman from florida was talking about the dossier. reported today that the was meeting with the russian lawyer was meeting with her before the meeting that she had with donald trump junior and after the meeting she had with donald trump junior. i find that interesting. the story keeps