to, they deserve an answer, why is russia trying to undermine our form of democracy. >> senator patrick leahy vermont, dean of the senate, thank you very much. >>> we have breaking news right now. >> announcer: this is stone in breaking news. >>> good morning, everyone, i'm p poppy harlow. >> i'm john berman. thanks for joining us. in the next 60 minutes, we're waiting to hear from two leading democrats, senate minority leader chuck schumer and house minority leader nancy pelosi. overnight sessions said sessions should flat out resign. she accused him of lying under oath, under penalty of perjury uhrour when he said this back in january. >> if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the trump campaign communicated with the russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do? >> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate a time or two in that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians. >>

a little later in the morning, senator patrick leahy, the longest-serving member on the judiciary committee, address the topic on the senate floor. senator leahy: i wondered each day of this is going to happen because every day we learn more about the trouble and connections between the russian government and both president and hisadministration campaign, but last night, it kind of topped everything. a revelation that attorney general sessions met with russian officials during the height of the presidential campaign. that raises a new level of alarm. one of the reasons it does is because we know the attorney misled, under oath, the senate judiciary committee in response to my direct question about his contact with russian officials. i asked then, senator sessions, if he had been in contact with anyone connected in any part of the russian government about the 2016 election. his answer was unequivocal. he said, "no." you provided a similar senatorng response to frank to say he was not aware of any connections between the trump campaign in the russian government. -- and those of us, especially

inaudible conversations] >> to former chairman of the judiciary committee in the room, senator patrick leahy patting the shoulder of senator orrin hatch, about ten minutes away from the start of the actual hearing, judge gorsuch nominated to the u.s. supreme court and other members filing in. we saw senator john kennedy from louisiana as well. wanted to remind you that our coverage here on c-span2 throughout the day but we also covering the house intelligence committee today and their hearing on russian interference with the u.s. presidential election. that hearing underway and it's over on c-span2 and throughout the day on c-span3. c-span3. from editing director, fbi director james comey is testifying and has testified that he confirmed the fbi's counterintelligence division is investigating the nature between the trump campaign and russia. that hearing continues live over on c-span and c-span3, and you can also stream live at c-span.org and listen live just like this hearing on the free c-span radio app. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudib

a little later in the morning, senator patrick leahy, the longest-serving member on the judiciary committee, address the topic on the senate floor. senator leahy: i wondered each day of this is going to happen because every day we learn more about the trouble and connections between the russian government and both president and hisadministration campaign, but last night, it kind of topped everything. a revelation that attorney general sessions met with russian officials during the

. >> vermont democrat patrick leahy told a website "i'm not inclined to filibuster even though i'm not inclined to vote for him." he clarified i am never -- i need to see how judge gorsuch answers the cues under oath. there will be intense pressure on democrats. among those up for reelection and states won by president trump. leaders say gorsuch will be confirmed. >> it will be up to them. how the process to confirm judge gorsuch goes forward. >> mcconnell could do these so-called nuclear option to change the senate rules but there are those who worry about the impact of doing that. >> shannon: it would be historic. mike emanuel. thank you. the number two democrat in the house as republicans need members of his caucus in order to avoid a government shutdown. peter doocy tells us g.o.p. lawmakers are having a hard time coming together on ways to support the new president's agenda and keep the government running. >> republicans in congress are again preparing to tell president trump they can't help them deliver on a key campaign promise. last week it was repealing and replacing obamacare

i want to read part of the state from senator patrick leahy, a democrat from vermont, as we're gettingst development. "the abrupt friday night fire are of aucll remaining u.s. attorneys is another reminder that the independence of the justice department is at risk under this administration. alice, what's rereaction to that? >> there's no disputing preet bharara's credentials in taking and wall street and fighting description, but the fact remains that president trump was completely within his authority to let all the u.s. attorneys go. bill clinton did the same thing, firing more than 90 u.s. attorneys at the drop of a hat. that's not uncommon to do so. this was an important step, the president wants his own team. the fact remains he's completely in his authority to do so and this will be a good step to getting jeff sessions a loyal, committed team of u.s. attorneys standing behind him. >> when you say a loyal, committed team, these people are public servants who are nonpartisan in how they are approaching investigations. isn't that the case with these positions? >> absolutely. and the

joining me now is democratic senator patrick leahy of vermont, he is on the judiciary committee. >> happyappy st. patrick's day to you. >> i'm having lunch with the prime minister and the president this noon. >> fantastic. have a great lunch. in the meantime, yesterday dianne feinstein, the ranking member of your committee and the chair of the committee, chuck grassley, met with fbi director james comey. senator feinstein said the briefing was all on sensitive matters, highly classified. are you satisfied now, senator, that the fbi is providing the information that your committee is seeking on the president's claims that he was wiretapped by former president obama? >> i am satisfied that president trump was never wiretapped by former president obama. it's a terrible thing for him to say. he ought to have apologized to the american public. he ought to have apologized to president obama for not telling the truth. you know, this idea that president obama could have personally ordered a wiretap, i don't know why president trump makes these outlandish statements. he knows they're not true. he

. >> reporter: in a questionnaire, senator patrick leahy asked sessions if, quote, you have been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the russian government about the 2016 election. either before or after election day. sessions' response, no. but sessions said he did not mislead the committee, saying that the two meeting with the russian ambassador were not tied to his role in the trump campaign. >> i was taken aback a little bit about this brand-new information, this allegation that surrogates and i had been called a surrogate for donald trump, had been meeting continuously with russian officials, and that's what i -- struck me very hard and that's what i focused my answer on. and in retrospect, i should have slowed down and -- >> reporter: democrats say that sessions' recusal is hardly eough. demanding that he resign. >> the fact that the attorney general, the top cop in our country, lied under oath to the american people is grounds for him to resign. >> reporter: senate democratic leader chuck schumer wouldn't say if sessions committed perjury, but called for a special prosecu

vermont democratic senator patrick leahy. you said this morning in a the attorney general should recuse himself, that a special counsellor should be appointed, if you will, a special prosecutor. our leadership has gone further. this is what minority leader chuck schumer said this morning. >> there cannot be even the s scintilla of doubt about the impartiality and fairness of the attorney general, the top law enforcement official of the land. after this, it's clear attorney general sessions does not meet that test. because the department of justice should be above reproach for the good of the country, attorney general sessions should resign. >> nancy pelosi also said that sessions should go. as we've learned more today, senator, any change in your view on what jeff sessions should do? >> i think we should make sure we do things that can be done right now. and should be done. attorney general sessions said, if appropriate, he would recuse himself. well, that's not his decision. the justice department is very, very clear on what

we had patrick leahy, dianne feinstein all supported unanimously gorsuch when he was confirmed back in 2006 to the 10th circuit court of appeals. >> the good news is she doesn't have a vote in the u.s. senate. i actually participated in the process. senators take it very seriously, and i trust that when they get right down to it, they're going to vote their conscious and actually recognize, oh, by the way, how do i explain to my people back home how i voted for him and now i don't vote for him. especially those midwestern senators, if you listen to his testimony, earlier reverence those roots and some of those people are up for reelection, number one. number two, he also noted, and we know as a fact, that's why he kept talking about his facts, his background. he has sided with the majority on the majority of the cases. so what are you going to do? cherry-pick a couple of cases? and the cases that are the hot button cases, he hasn't even ruled on. so i think it's appropriate for him to say, listen, i can't answer that question because i haven't had an opportunity to have the facts befor

not diane feinstein, not patrick leahy, not barack obama, not joe biden, not hillary clinton. every one of them went along with confirming him to the court of appeals, a question anyone should ask is if they supported him being on the court of appeals a decade ago, what's changed. the only thing that has changed is our energized activist friends that have democratic senators terrified they will get primary from the left in a democratic primary. that's the only thing that's changed. on substance, we now have, in addition to his impeccable qualifications to the court of appeal judge, we have over a decade of proven record on the court of appeals and the universal assessment of his tenure. as a judge he is a judge who follows the law without partiality to any litigant, without partiality to any policy outcome. that's what we want and deserve in judges. a final point, this judicial nomination, i believe, was the most transparent judicial nomination in history. indeed it is without precedent. last year candidate donald trump released a list of 21 names from whom he would choose to

. >> reporter: democratic senators like patrick leahy are still seething that republicans blocked presidentbama's nomination of judge merrick garland. >> it was totally unprecedented in our country's whole history. >> reporter: they also took aim at president trump and questioned gorsuch's commitment to judicial independence, connecticut's richard blumenthal. >> the possibility of the supreme court needing to enforce a subpoena against the president is no longer idle speculation. >> reporter: but republican senators said the hearing was not about judge garland or the president north carolina's thom tillis. >> i hope the nomination hearing focuses on one person before us who will go on, i believe, to full fill the supreme court. >>> oil is expected to keep on moving through the dakota access pipeline this week. two have battled the pipeline for months arguing the pipeline is a threat to their water supply. in a court order filed yesterday said there have been coordinated attacks along the line. >>> new york city police had to rescue another teenager who fell through the ice in new york's cen

senator patrick leahy says he is scratching his head.l ryan asked about this earlier. he said they like they were restructuring the military, but again i spoke with another member of congress who told me a lot will have to change between budgetand the next talks. will the gridlock over health care essentially prevent the key elements of the agenda that investors are keen on? will it prevent them being passed? is growing you there thatrn here in washington they will need to pass some type of partial government funding to avert a partial government shutdown. they have not said what legislative vehicle they will use to keep government whether it is health care or the budget proposal, that remains to be seen. there could be some political risk. -- e could be that is why this growing festering among tea party members could be a concern simply because of the april 28 deadline. vonnie: that is kevin cirilli, our chief washington correspondent. let's get back to the federal reserve's decision to raise interest rates. -- domestic issues have with

patrick leahy, he asked about the president's claim that he was wiretapped by president obama.this. >> the question is does the president have the unilateral authority to wiretap somebody's phones? >> i don't know the details, and i'm reluctant as a lawyer to comment on that. in a criminal investigation, the answer would certainly be no. >> retired -- james galliano. thank you for being here. >> it's good to be with you. i want to get your take. what is your sense of the relationship right now between the fbi director and the president? how critical that relationship is and what the statement that you heard -- nonstatement that you heard from sean spicer there means? >> sure. just to unpack that, a couple of things here, kate. first of all, the fbi director from everyone i have talked to in the fbi has the trust and confidence in the rank-and-file agents as well as the folks, the senior executive at fbi headquarters. his relationship with the president, of course, that's something i certainly couldn't speak to. in the history of the fbi only one director has ever been fired whe

senator patrick leahy questioned him about the president's travel ban but was careful not to give his opinion about it. >> i will apply the law. i will apply the law faithfully and fearlessly and without regard to persons. >> how about with regard to religion. >> anyone, any law is going to get a fair and square deal with me. >> gorsuch also called attacks on federal judges disheartening and demoralizing after president trump called the judge who rejected his first travel ban a so-called judge. >>> and we've learned the emergency order banning large electronic devices from overseas flights what apparently promised u.s. intelligence sources say they discovered that isis was working to smuggle explosive laden electronics on to u.s. bound flights and restriction banzs all devices bigger than a cell phone coming from ten 5r79s in middle eastern countries as well as african countries. >>> deadly storms hitting parts of the south overnight. at least one person died in georgia after a tree fell on a house. now, that state also hit with drenching rain, gusty winds and large hail. thousands ar

in a written question from senator patrick leahy, a more tightly focused question, saying, have you, meaning senator sessions, have you had any contact with the russians about the campaign and he said no. they say that was the context in which he was answering senator franken's question. >> in terms of the attorney general himself, we ran that tape we got with him this morning where we caught up with him. we haven't seen much of him today, i don't think. should we read anything that or because he's a busy guy? >> we don't normally see attorneys general -- we normally wouldn't have seen him at all had we not been at his house this morning. what his next public appearance will be, i can't say. >> do they -- does his office think this is a lot of noise about nothing? >> i wouldn't put it that way. i think they understand the questions. remember, some of his former senate colleagues, some of former congressional colleagues are answering these quons, too. i suspect that he, especially from his background as both u.s. attorney and most recently as a senator, is his instinct is to want to g

. >> reporter: democratic senators like patrick leahy are still seething that republicans blocked presidentma's nomination a year ago this week of judge merrick garland. >> it was totally unprecedented in our country's whole history. >> reporter: they also took aim at president trump and questioned gorsuch's commitment to judicial independence. connecticut's richard blumenthal. >> the possibility of the supreme court needing to enforce a subpoena against the president is no longer idle speculation. >> reporter: but republican senators said the hearing was not about judge garland or the president. north carolina's thom tillis. i hope this nomination hearing will focus on the one person here before us who i hope will go on to fill the supreme court. >> reporter: democrats are promising a judge gorsuch's record with a focus on workers' right, civil liberties and women's rights. he will be in this hot seat for about ten hours tomorrow, scott, and again on wednesday. >> pelley: jan crawford for us tonight. jan, thank you. in breaking news this evening, a new terrorist threat has been discovered,

graduate came across more relaxed than some of the senate's more senior democrats like vermont's patrick leahy a lawyer from a small town. >> right, i've heard that story. >> reporter: republicans like south carolina's lindsey graham use their time to try to fend off democratic attacks and show gorsuch's independence from president trump. >> did he ever ask you to over-rule "roe v. wade"? >> no, senator. >> what would you have done if he had asked? >> senator, i would have walked up on the the door. >> reporter: as the day went on, democrats had had enough. >> the neil gorsuch in these emails seems to be very, very familiar with politics. >> reporter: minnesota's al franken quoted emails gorsuch wrote in 2004 when he wanted to joint bush administration. >> "i spent in sometime in ohio working on the election. this is you. "what a magnificent result for the country. for me, personally the experience invigorating and a great deal of fun." now, that doesn't sound like someone who steers clear of politics to me. >> reporter: now, no democrat has said they will vote for gorsuch, and, scott, right n

patrick leahy tried to pin him down on the executive order making its way to the court. >> senator, he has no idea how i would rule in that case. senator, i'm not going to say anything here that would give anybody any idea how i would rule in any case like that that could come before the spreem supreme court or my court of the tenths circuit it would be grossly improper of a judge to do that. kennedy: republicans engaged in partisan foot rubs and hand holding. >> i'm pleads the american people are about to learn why president trump choice as his nominee for the supreme court. i look forward to hearing from judge gorsuch and i encourage my colleagues to consider the nominee on the merits and nothing else. >> i think you are a man of the law, and i really want to congratulate the president to pick you. president trump could not have done better in choosing you. kennedy: senator dick durbin tried to make some illinois by doing this. >> will you stand up to this president or anywhere president if he fails to protect fundamental human rights. kennedy: he's been forthcoming of the role of th

here is our interview with senator patrick leahy of vermont. >> do you remember who the first nominee was at your first supreme court conformation hearing? >> the first nominee i recall was john paul stevens but that was killed almost immediately and unanimously. we have had a lot since. some contentious and some not.

. >> reporter: democratic senators like patrick leahy are still seething that republicans blocked president obama's nomination a year ago this week of judge merrick garland. >> it was totally unprecedented in our country's whole history. >> reporter: they also took aim at president trump and questioned gorsuch's commitment to judicial independence. connecticut's richard blumenthal. >> the possibility of the supreme court needing to enforce a subpoena against the president is no longer idle speculation. >> reporter: but republican senators said the hearing was not about judge garland or the president. north carolina's tom tillis. >> i hope that this nomination hearing focuses on the one person here before us who i hope will go on to fill the supreme court. >> reporter: democrats are promising a thorough review of judge gorsuch's record with focus on workers' rights, civil liberties and women's rights. he will be in this hot seat about ten hours tomorrow, scott, and again on wednesday. >> jan crawford, thanks. >>> in breaking news this evening, a new terrorist threat has been discovered, and

graduate came across as more relaxed than some of the senate's more senior democrats, like vermont's patrick leahyawyer from a small town. >> yeah, right. i've heard that story. >> reporter: republicans like south carolina's lindsey graham used their time to try to fend off democratic attacks and show gorsuch's independence from president trump. >> did he ever ask you to over-rule "roe v. wade"? >> no, senator. >> what would you have done if he had asked? >> senator, i would have walked out the door. >> reporter: as the day went on, democrats had enough. >> the neil gorsuch in those emails seems to be very, very familiar with politics. >> reporter: minnesota's al franken quoted emails gorsuch wrote in 2004 when he wanted to join the bush administration. >> "i spent some time in ohio working on the election." this is you. "what a magnificent result for the country. for me personally, the experience was invigorating and a great deal of fun." now, that doesn't sound like someone who "steers clear" of politics to me. >> reporter: now, no democrat has said they will vote for gorsuch, and, scott, right

asked in written questionnaire roughly the same question by patrick leahy.e president-elect's nominees or senior advisers have russian ties. have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day? that's straightforward question. >> can i jump in, all the defenders keep saying he was only referring to himself as senator, not a surrogate. he's the one who said i was a surrogate, called a surrogate for the campaign and i never met with the russians. >> brought in as adviser in february. >> it wasn't franken who used word surrogate, sessions used it to describe himself and then said i never met the russians. i agree perjury is hard to prove. can't know -- but what he said was not true. trying to parse he thought only referring to senate meetings, not borne out by the transcript. >> the transcript -- >> paris i got to get to break. stand by. no, i'm good. come on, moe. i have to go. (vo) we always trusted our subaru impreza would be there for him someday. ok. that's it. (v

>> further to attorney general sessions' statement, washington post is reporting that senator patrick leahy had a written question to the attorney general. this is what it said. several of the president-elect nominees senior advisors have russian ties. have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the russian government about the 2016 election either before or after election days and sessions' reply to that was "no." again, if this turns out to be true, robert, are we looking at a situation that he's committed perjury and we know that attorney general segs takes perjury very seriously? >> i think john's given good advice about recusal. i think that's the least of his wore esies. if he tonight do that i think there will be perjury issues. who is lying, who is not telling the truth and why and what are they trying to cover up? as you know, the coverup is always the worst. >> the white house then put out a statement a little while ago as we talk ashlt responding to this. they say this is the latest of attacks against the trump administration by partisan democrats. general sessi

must recuse himself separately, writes "the new york patrick leahy asked senator sessions in a writtenstionnaire whether "he has been in contact with anyone within the russian government about the 2016 election either before or after election day." senator sessions at the time simply replied no. dawn, chesapeake, virginia, good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. how are you? host: we're fine, thank you. caller: i got a question. back when obama was president and he was talking to the had moreabout how he flexibility when he would be reelected, what was that all about? also, hillary, they asked her a question about lying and she said "i try not to." i mean, the democrats need to get back on their medicine or something. they are really losing it. they are starting to evaporate. democratser seen more flipping over to republican in one year since i have been alive. and that's 60 years ago. much fornks ray joining us. the president, by the way, down in hampton roads, newport news -- thanks very much for joining us. the president, by the way, down news,pton roads, newport to see a new ai

when asked by senators al franken and patrick leahy if he had been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the russian government about the 2016 election, sessions replied "no." and he reaffirmed that position this morning when he met reporters on the street... say about that." this morning, his this say about that." this morning, his representatives say there is nothing misleading about what the attorney general is saying now, or what he said during his confirmation hearing... because he claims met with the russian ambassador in his capacity as a senator and not as a surrogate of the trump campaign. some democratic lawmakers aren't buying that and are calling for sessions to recuse himself from any russia investigation. others are going a step further -- like congressman elijah cummings -- and suggesting that sessions resign. voice of rep. elijah cummings / -d- maryland: "a lie is a lie is a lie, period. "he knows the law. he's probably prosecuted people for telling untrue statements to the fbi and others." earlier this morning the attorney general released a statement saying

. >> in a written answer patrick leahy was a member of the committee after the confirmation hearing. he asked him if he had contact with russians about the campaign. senator sessions answer was a one-word answer, no. so, that's what the justice department is saying here, stephanie. his answers were in context of thinking about the campaign. they point out he met with dozens of ambassadors from april through the end of last year. in his role as a member of the senate armed services committee. >> without setting our hair on fire here, jeff sessions on monday said, if this situation called for it, he would recuse himself during potential russian investigation and he made that point again this morning. could one make the argument, here we are. this situation calls for it. >> this is the third time he was asked if he would recuse or if the appropriate time came. he hasn't ruled out recusing himself on this. i was trying to think what the last time an attorney general recused and there was a special prosecutor. his choices are these, continue as he is doing now or recuse himself, let the d

. >> reporter: in a questionnaire, senator patrick leahy asked sessions if, quote, you have been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the russian government about the 2016 election? either before or after election day? sessions' response, no. but sessions said he did not mislead the committee, saying that the two meetings with the russian ambassador were not tied to his role in the trump campaign. >> i was taken aback a little bit about this brand-new information, this allegation that a surrogate -- and i had been called a surrogate for donald trump -- had been meeting continuously with russian officials, and that's what i -- struck me very hard and that's what i focused my answer on. and retrospect, i should have slowed down and -- >> reporter: democrats say that sessions' recusal is hardly enough. demanding that he resign. >> the fact that the attorney general, the top cop in our country, lied under oath to the american people, is grounds for him to resign. >> reporter: senate democratic leader chuck schumer wouldn't say if sessions committed perjury, but called for a special p

patrick leahy, democratic senator from vermont. thank you for the time. >> thank you very much. >> okay, and on the other side of the aisle now, we are joined by the attorney general of texas, ken paxton. thank you for the time. we appreciate it. he say that was a stain on the senate. to leave that seat open in anticipation of the election nearly a full year later. do you think he has a point there? >> well first of all, thanks for having me on, second, i would say that the american people, i believe, spoke in this election. had they elected hillary clinton, i think it would be very likely you'd see garland as the next supreme court justice. given that they spoke in a different direction and we ended up with donald trump, this is we're going to end up with a different result. and that's just the -- as president obama often said, elections have consequences, and this election proved that. >> is it a healthy precedent though? going forward. i'm just imagining the shoe on the other foot. you're a republican, the republican gets electe

here is clarence thomas in his confirmation hearing in 1991 telling senator patrick leahy that even though v. wade was decided when he was in law school, he neff talked about it, ne never formed an opinion about it. >> have you ever had discussion of roe v. wade other than in this room? in the 17 or 18 years it's been there? >> only i guess, senator, in the fact in the most general sense that other individuals expressed concerns one way or the other and you listen and you try to be thoughtful. if you're asking me whether or not i've ever debated the contents of it, the answer of that is, no, senator. >> have you ever, pretty gatherings or otherwise, stated whether you felt that it was properly decided or not? >> senator, in trying to recall and reflect on that, i don't recollect commenting one way or the other. there were, again, debates about it in various places but i generally did not participate. i don't remember or recall participating, sir. >> judging by pat leahy's follow-up question, he didn't actually believe that answer. that was the moment i decided clarence thomas was willing t

. >> democratic senator patrick leahy of vermont calling on attorney general sessions to appear before the judiciary committee once again. this time to explain what leahy calls his misleading testimony under oath. at least 16 democratic senators are now demanding that sessions step down. they believe he lied during his confirmation hearing and is lying now. listen to the argument being made by senate minority leader chuck schumer. >> the attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer of the land, and already his integrity and independence has been questioned. it would be better for the country if he'd resign. >> democratic senator claire mccaskill of missouri cleaning up her own mess, meanwhile. take a look at this tweet from thursday. she writes, i have been on the armtd armed committee services for ten years. no call with russian ambassadors ever. turns out that is not entirely true. mccaskill now admitting she did speak to the russian ambassador about the iran nuclear deal. she is blaming twitter's character limit for confusing her point. >> all right. this morning we are lea

. >> reporter: with no evidence of either, senator patrick leahy tells cnn this source doesn't cut it this is the president of the united states. he has access to all the intelligence in this country. he knows it's not true. >> reporter: and now pressure is building for fbi director james comey to come out with exactly what he knows. director comey have you seen any evidence president obama wiretapped trump tower? the leading members of the senate intelligence committee did have a chance to meet with director comey. they released a joint statement today saying that based on what they've seen so far, there's no evidence of any government surveillance happening at trump tower. in new york, maggie rulli, abc 7 news. >> maggie, when can we expect to hear from director comey? >> that's the big question. so far director comey issue nod public statement on the topic but he's going to have his moment soon, larry, monday scheduled to appear before congress and lawmakers are already saying they're going to come at him with tough questions. they want to know what he knows, how he knows it and if

fit, senator patrick leahy former democratic chairman of the judiciary committee, talked to c-span last week about his philosophy going into supreme court confirmation hearings. we will have full coverage on monday of the confirmation hearing on c-span2. [video clip] >> i think of these as a chance for the american people to have a window on how supreme court justices think. the supreme court is one court that does not allow cameras in. i think it is a mistake. i think the american people have a far better understanding of what goes on as they had cameras. at least in the hearings, there are cameras. you will be covering it. others will be covering it. >> how many confirmation hearings have you done? what number will this be? >> i will have been here for 16. but i was chair of a couple, ranking member of a couple of others. they are all different. they are all fascinating. i go in trying to get some idea of who the person is in front of us because if they are you will never in your life have a chance to ask them another question. >> has the way you prepare for these hearings changed ove

. >> let me ask you in response to this statement put out by senator patrick leahy, where he writes that the removal of something like bharara has now called into question the independence of the justice department. according to this statement. do you see it that way? >> i do not. senator leahy has been as much involved in the plit tiization of the removal of u.s. attorneys as schumer has. there is no basis to make that statement. again, without even knowing who's going to be the next u.s. attorney in that position. and how that office is going to function going forward. i tha that's a premature statement. >> alberto gonzales, thank you for joining us tonight. i appreciate it. former adviser to four u.s. presidents, david, you've worked in the white house. completely normal as we've been discussing for a new president to come in and want a new team of u.s. attorneys. but the way this was handled has given a lot of people pause. >> it should. it should. there's no question. there are a couple of things that are different. one is, when in the past when there's been sort of mass firings, as

democratic senator patrick leahy of vermont now asking questions. >> two royal canadian mounties escortedr. the evidence will show she was training to do these abortions working for the ss so she could abort the women prisoners that they had impregnated so they could keep on using these women that way before they put them in the gas chambers. he looked at the names of the people who would be the potential jurors. now, i applaud the senior senator from california for raising the issue she did. yesterday i asked about your connections to billionaire super donor phillip anschultz. his role is extensive in lobbying the white house to get you on the tenth circuit. once on the court, you said you recused yourself from cases involving him, and i commend you for that, you did the right thing. but you wrote in your senate questionnaire that you currently follow recusal standard broader than what is required by the supreme court, and if confirmed you would follow the weaker supreme court standard. does that mean if confirmed you would no longer recuse yourself from cases involving mr. anschultz? >>