snowden. sen. collins: so the answer is no? ms. gabbard: correct. sen. collins: in 2020 you introduced the protective rape whistleblowers act which would amend the espionage act to make it more difficult to prosecute individuals who reveal classified information. in particular the bill would allow individuals to disclose top-secret information as long as it is not done with the specific intent to injure the united states or advantage any foreign nation. your bill would have created an affirmative defense for public disclosure of classified information were made for several reasons, one of which'twas to expose gross waste of funds. i strongly opposed this legislation which would hamper our ability to prosecute people who give our adversaries classified information. let me ask you this. do you still support providing individuals who have access to top-secret information with the ability to make their own decisions regarding whether that information should be publicly disclosed, even though discl

as that report made clear, snowden was not a whistleblower. he was and is a traitor to this na nation. ms. gabbard and anyone who is interested in understanding the impact of the leaked secrets has access to the declassified house intelligence committee report and many other public sources of information explaining the damage that snowden caused for our national security. yet she continues to believe her own sources of information instead, and to this day will not say that snowden betrayed this country. let me be clear, edward snowden is not a whistleblower. he is a traitor. ms. gabbard should know this full well. if we confirm her as our next director of national intelligence, ms. gabbard will be responsible for transmitting lawful whistleblower complaints to congress. her past statements on snowden reveal deficient understanding of our nation's whistleblower laws that should be patently disqualifying for any director of national intelligence much less any national security appointee. when my colleagues in the intelligence committee pressed m

of course, i'm speaking about her support for edward snowden. in 2020, while she was a member of the united states house of representatives, she introduced a resolution suggesting that the federal government should drop all charges against edward snowden. there was only one other member who cosponsored this resolution, and that was former congressman matt gaetz. now in 2025, ms. gabbard still refuses to call snowden what he is -- a traitor to the united states. when she was asked about that at her hearing, she was given several opportunities to indicate that she understood that he had yard snowden is a -- edward snowden is a tax rater who put at risk the -- is a -- the lives of thousands of men's. she refees us to acknowledge that he is a traitor. such a track record. how are we supposed to expect that she will properly classify our enemies? how are we to expect that she would label xi jinping or kim jong-un as enemies of the united states or simply as foreign leaders or as friends? who knows what ms. gabbard will do. i think there's a stark dif

gabbard has celebrated snowden as a, quote, brave whistleblower, and advocated his pardon. someone that my friend, tom cotton, called a traitor who should, quote, rot in jail for the rest of his life. a week ago at the hearing, member after member, particularly my republican friends, gave her chance and again to just be willing to call out snowden as a traitor. she repeatedly declined. instead she said, and i quote, the dni has no role in determining whether or not edward snowden is a whistleblower. not only did she seem to believe did someone who divulged national secrets to russia and china should be celebrated as brave and not denounced as a traitor, she does not seem to understand the d nifrn's role in whistleblower determinations. in fact, the dni has a significant role in transmitting lawful whistleblower complaints to the intelligence committees. it would be irresponsible to confirm someone lo cannot distinguish -- who cannot distinguish between complaints made lawfully and those that are not. further, it is the statutory responsibility of a dni to, quote, protect in

vice chairman, edward snowden broke the law. don't agree with all the intelligence he released nor the way in which he did it. there would have been opportunities for him to come to you in this committee or seek out the i.g. to release that information. the fact is he also, even as he broke the law, released information that exposed egregious illegal and unconstitutional programs happening within our government that led to serious reforms that congress undertook. sen. warner: chairman, we have five minutes. while i'll take your answer, and these are your quotes, brave, please join my bipartisan legislation calling for charges to be dropped against him. do you disagree that legislation was not appropriate? do you believe he is brave or not? back those words? ms. gabbard: once again, senator, edward snowden broke the law, he also released information that exposed the united states government illegal programs. sen. warner: your legislation and your words are still your beliefs, yes or no, please. ms. gabbard: edward snowden broke t

gabbard has been publicly outspoken in praise and defense of edward snowden. someone who betrayed the trust and jeopardized the security of our nation. the vast majority of the information he stole and leaked before, mind you, he ran off to hide tail in china and russia. most of this information had nothing to do with america's privacy, but did compromise our nation's most collected sources and methodsment in a way we're still paying a price for snowden betrayal and beyond dispute that his actions put our men and women in uniform in places like iraq and afghanistan at risk, yet, ms. gabbard has excited snowden as a whistleblower and, senator cotton called a traitor and he should rot in jail for the rest of his life. a week ago at the hearing, member after member, particularly my republican friends, gave her chance and again to just be willing to call out snowden as a traitor. she repeatedly declined. instead she said, and i quote, the dni has no role in determining whether or not edward snowden is a lawful whistleblower. now, not only does she seem to believe

but it's not just snowden. america's most powerful intelligence tools, a law called something we call section 702. she left us totally confused on views ton that and as well her lack of adjustment, whether it's going to visit assad head of syria, taking trips, paid for by sketchy groups or echoing putin's comments somehow nato started the war in ukraine. that is not the judgment of somebody that would run 18 intelligence agencies. >> we will watch to see those republican senators. i want to ask you as well about what's happening at the fbi and the justice department. president trump campaigned on this promise is restructure the government. seems like he is implementing that this week. between the fbi and justice department, we have seen at least 20 terminations. some are calling this a purge. but is it overstating it if we are seeing 20 people lose their jobs? >> well, if you were suddenly taking out the most experienced folks at justice or the fbi, how does that make a stronger -- and what he is saying is ever

was edward snowden a traitor? >> senator, my heart is with my commitment to our constitution and our nation security. >> hours two. >> thank you. i have shown throughout my almost 22 years of service in the military as well as my time in congress how seriously i take the privilege of having access to classified information and our nation's secrets. that's why i am committed if confirmed to join you in making sure there is no future of eight snowden type leak but i would do so by taking four specific actions. number one make sure there are no illegal and unconstitutional programs. limiting in a big way those who have access to our nation's top secret food reform. making sure every single person in that workforce knows about the legal whistleblower channels available to them. they make sure this a direct line available to me should anyone have concerns. people choose to step outside of the legal channels to raise any concerns about programs or actions that existed in the intelligence community that are classified, t

. >> was edward snowden a traitor? >> my heart is with my commitment to our constitution. >> i would never do anything unconstitutional or unlawful. >> president trump's most controversial nominees face off on capitol hill, but will they all be confirmed? my guest this morning, homeland security secretary, kristi noem, republican senator eric schmidt of missouri, and democratic senator mark kelly of arizona. joining me for insight and analysis are nbc news senior white house correspondent, kelly o'donnell, nbc news chief capitol hill correspondent, ryan nobel, marc short, former director of legislative affairs to president trump, and former democratic congresswoman, stephanie murphy of florida. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> reporter: from nbc news in washington, the longest-running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with kristen welker. >>> good sunday morning. after just two weeks in office, president trump is waging battles across the globe and inside his own government. overnight, he

is edward snowden a traitor? >> look, i think it's -- it's so interesting that this lexicon that gets manipulated now, there were certain words you needed to say during covid. there were certain words you needed to say now. the fact of the matter is, the people that were most correspond, the ones most pushing this narrative are the same ones that had no issues whatsoever with the intelligence community spying on a presidential candidate that happened to be president trump, suppressing the hunter biden laptop story, when he was running again, and of course, the law fare that included. i think people are tired of these games, this kind of gotcha stuff. look, he's been indicted. if he ever comes back to the united states, he's have a trial. but this idea of trying to disqualify people by using these terms is ridiculous. >> well, what i'm doing really, these are questions that were asked by your republican colleagues, including senator langford, who asked very simply, is he a traitor? a government contractor who leak

she has defended edward snowden. snowden is widely viewed by folks in our intelligence community, our national security apparatus, our armed forces, and many here as a traitor who betrayed some of the most important secrets that are critical to keeping the united states secure. she would not, in her confirmation hearings, answer the question, is edward snowden a traitor? ms. gabbard bemoaned the rise of hts in syria, which recently overthrew the brutal dictator bashar al-assad, without mentioning the fall of assad. she mentioned how tragic it was that hts overran da mackus without mentioning the side benefit of the fall of a brutal dictator and in her confirmation hearings repeatedly dodged questions about fisa and section 702, key tools for our intelligence community. all of this is in keeping with a long-standing record as an apologist for authoritarians and even enemies of the united states. she has repeatedly blamed the united states and nato for russia's full-scale invasion of ukraine in 2022. i will tell you as

. >> of snowden were.ood because of the work. >> that the house committee. >> did, that. >> clear that he. >> wasn't a whistleblower, but that what he had done was, you know. way out of line with what. anybody should have done who was part of our intelligence community. and i think. >> here's what i really think, rachel, i think she is caught in this. i'm not. >> sure what the word. >> means, but. >> i. >> was thinking about it when you were. >> describing what was. >> going on, a. >> miasma of this. >> this kind. of confused social media. >> chatter that. outside of any. hearing where. >> you're actually being tested on. something maybe makes sense, or maybe feels like something you can get away with. the same thing with bobby kennedy's half truths that the second that he's on in front of a panel where there are actual doctors who are. republicans who are asking him questions, he can't answer the. questions anymore because it's not just people that are. >> nodding along. >> and agreeing with the half. >>

snowden is brave?roke the law. i do. >> not agree with. >> or support with all of the information and. >> intelligence that he released. >> nor the way. >> in which he did it. >> was he a traitor. >> at the. >> time when. >> he took america's secrets. released them. >> in. >> public. >> and then ran to china and became a russian citizen? >> senator, i'm focused. on the future and how we can prevent something like this from happening again. >> yes or no? is edward snowden a traitor to the united states. >> of america? >> as someone. >> who has. worn our. uniform in. >> combat. >> i understand how critical. our national security. >> apparently you don't. >> well. >> y'all just. >> let that. >> a lot of. just let that sit in for you. you can't answer that question. i mean, it was so directly placed. i mean. >> and i guess the reason it's an important question to the people on the dais is because it's an important question to the people with whom she will lead. why does this matter so much for folks that a

and the case of edward snowden in tulsi gabbard. think the maga movement will decide, but it's donald trump who will decide how much capital he wants to spend and how much pressure he wants to put on republican senators to get tulsi gabbard over the finish line. >> george: have we seen any sense yet that republicans on the committee don't want to go along? how overt does the president have to be? >> he'll have to be pretty overt. you mentioned hegseth. in that case, thom tillis indicated he was troubled -- he was a possible no vote. donald trump got on the phone with him for two hours and he relented and that's the kind of pressure that trump alone can bring, and we'll see if he does that in these cases. >> george: you believe gabbard is in more trouble? >> i think she's in trouble because of questions like that snowden question. a fairly straight forward question that is shared bipartisan -- views are that snowden has been a traitor. she had another moment when she said she wouldn't seek to pardon -- from president trump and that s

his concerns about her past statements about edward snowden.dicated that he had conversations not just with j.d. vance, but also with donald trump. over the weekend, he said that trump urged him to vote his conscience. he said they had a good conversation. he also said he spoke to elon musk as well. musk has been a vocal proponent of tulsi gabbard, with young indicated that there was no threats to him at all. he said that there was just his efforts to try to get reassurance that she would deal with people who leak classified information, come down on them, would not support their efforts to try to push out unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence. that was enough to get him to yes. and other republicans. also, susan collins of maine, who sits on this committee, a swing vote on so many issues, indicated that she would support this nomination going in. so 9 to 8, this vote, expected to be on, was expected to be on party lines. all indications are that it was on party lines. now has the full senate which will consider this nomination af

was edward. >> snowden a traitor?nator, my heart is with my commitment to our constitution and our nation's security. >> was he a traitor at the time when he took america's secrets, released him in public, and then ran to china. >> and became. >> a russian citizen? >> senator, i'm focused on the future and how we can prevent something like this from happening again. >> so farnoosh does gabbard have the votes right now to become the director of national intelligence? >> yeah, i mean. >> she is one of the few nominees that went in with more support and left with less. i mean, it is really stunning. you saw the clips you just played republican and democrats were trying to help her make clearer where she stands on this issue, which is obviously very important to members of congress. obviously, a very controversial issue. but she continuously refused to say the words that edward snowden is a traitor, and she left with many more republicans who obviously, you know, democrats would be. in addition, if she gets those, that's

of snowden. and this.mittee focused on. snowden as. >> an issue was because it was a. >> convenient way. >> to get at. >> the lack of. >> national security. experience across the intelligence community that that she. that she. >> doesn't have. and so there was this. sense that. we would that the committee would focus on that issue as to why she responded. >> in the way. >> that. she did. it's. >> not clear. >> and we don't. >> have reporting. >> to suggest. >> that she was doing that because trump had. >> told her to or that there was. >> particular loyalty issues. >> but she has been outspoken defenders. >> of. >> people who. >> have been. >> critical. >> of the united states. in previous years. and so i think there was a. >> weird melting pot of ideologies for her in that hearing, and it became very difficult. >> and that could be something that could, you know, potentially be a problem for her, because now we've got republican senator josh hawley, who says he supports gabbard, saying he's worried by wha

whistleblower do you still think that he is right. >> edward snowden broke the law.edy jr. is dominated hhs and over vaccines and trial lawyers pharmaceutical industry, the origin of life rated kennedy was was a harsh critic of donald trump calling him a terrible president and a threat to democracy calling but kennedy had a change of heart or also early was a job and i don't think there's ever been a doctor running our legal system, but there may soon be a trial lawyer new york healthcare system. he's nominees they faced committee votes, if the committee approves. the full senate votes. >> one person paying close attention is the chair of the house judiciary committee change order for the great state of ohio and welcome and is to see you as always. >> event good to be with you trey gowdy. trey: i thought kash patel did it really good job and how he would change bureau what did you think. >> i thought that he was confident and i thought that it was composed and he did determine his job taking the questions from both sides and you know i know that kash patel, is commit

i don't think edward snowden is a traitor, or i would have said so. or anybody in the administration really cares about that. they care that she's going to go in there and, you know, as they're hoping with other nominees that she's going to induce chaos, paralyze these institutions and make them some servant subservient to donald trump. >> well, in the meantime, the rest of us better care about it because it's our country and our safety that is at risk here. tom, thanks as always, tom nichols. we'll be right back. >> work, play. blink. >> relief. >> work. play. blink. relief. the only three and one extended relief formula for dry eyes. blink. safelite repair. >> perfecting your swing is hard. >> nice shot. dad. oh. so flat. replace. >> but replacing your windshield >> but replacing your windshield doesn't have to be. go still have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis... ...or crohn's disease symptoms after taking... ...a medication like humira or remicade? put them in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when symptoms tried to take control, i got ra

now, edward snowden is a former national security agency contractor who, back in 2013, had revealed the existence of a bulk collection of american phone records by the nsa before fleeing to russia. now we know that gabbard has said previously that she believed snowden should not face any sort of prosecution back in the united states, but she wasn't very clear when asked directly by lawmakers if she believed that still to be the case, or whether snowden was a traitor to the united states. now, i was also told that gabbard, since that confirmation hearing, it took place on thursday, has been meeting behind closed doors with senators, mainly republican senators, trying to assuage some of their concerns. one white house official told me that they believe that those sessions went well, and that she has been able to kind of ease some of the concerns and anxieties that people have about her confirmation process. but again, it's going to, you know, we still have to see whether or not they can get out of confirmation and be voted out of their different committees to the full senate floor. now, o

. >> snowden was. >> a traitor five times today? that. i'm questioning her judgment. >> and he's not the only one. trump's pick for director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard, did not appear to help her confirmation chances during her confirmation. confirmation hearing yesterday. was he a traitor at the. >> time when. >> he took america's secrets, released him in. >> public and then ran to china and became a russian citizen? >> senator, i'm focused on. >> the future. >> and how. >> we can. >> prevent something like this. >> from. >> happening again. >> does russia get a pass. >> in either your mind or. >> your heart? >> senator. >> i'm offended by the question. >> this war and suffering could have easily been avoided if biden administration slash nato had simply acknowledged russia's legitimate, legitimate security concerns regarding ukraine's becoming a member of nato. did you say that yes or no? >> i believe. >> you're reading. >> my tweet, senator. >> yes is the answer. >> i believe you're reading my tweet, which is yes, un

and then supporting edward snowden who stole u. s. secrets at she is not really backed off of any of those positions. and interestingly, she's a former democrat and actually ran for president as a democrat in the 2020 election. i lost that and then really lost the face of most of the democrats in congress. of course, all of them all 48 and the senate voting against her. so she's a very controversial figure one that even some republicans don't favor. senator chuck schumer stood up. he was the senate democratic leader stood up and said, i know if this were a silent vote that not interview would vote for chelsea gabbert. i know we all know what a terrible candidate she is. he said. but he suggested that it was really an example of how republicans had fallen under the thrall of president donald trump and were willing to vote against their own interest into their own judgment in order to secure nomination for one of his most controversial nominees. uh, there is also a procedural load going on right now for another controversial nominee,

including her refusal to denounce edward snowden as a traitor. snowden leaked government secrets and has been living in russia. gabbard also faced criticism for visiting former syrian dictator bashar al assad. and accusations of appearing sympathetic to vladimir putin. >> i, tulsi gabbard -- >> reporter: but tonight, she was sworn in in the oval office. this, as trump's pick for health secretary, robert f. kennedy jr., moves a big step closer to his own confirmation. >> department of health and human services, robert f. kennedy jr. of california, to be secretary. >> reporter: the senate voting along party lines to advance his nomination to a full vote tomorrow. and robert f. kennedy jr. does appear to have the support he needs to be confirmed tomorrow. one republican, senator, bill cassidy, who is also a doctor, was on the fence. he expressed some concern about the misinformation that kennedy has pushed surrounding vaccines. but cassidy is up for re-election next year. he has now said that he will, in fact, be supporting kennedy, keenly aware of

but she got hammered about edward snowden. she refused to call him a traitor, which was a question that she got asked time and time again by republicans and democrats. she got hammered for her positions on russia and ukraine, as well as her trip to syria to to visit president bashar al-assad. but none of those actually, in the end, impacted her. her confirmation. senators collins. um, uh, senator collins came around on the senate intelligence committee because she because gabbard ended up agreeing to saying that she would streamline the office of the director of national intelligence. todd young was another holdout, and he was essentially comforted by what gabbard had said about, uh, proceeding with what's called section 702. >> alex. no, alex, i want to ask you about this, because those are all, uh, lot of concerns that that people had on both sides of the aisle, including republicans. i got a text from a senate republican who said, well, yeah, i have reservations, but i'm going to vote yes anyway, because the dni, even thoug

she was pummeled in her confirmation hearing about, uh, about about edward snowden and a desire to pardon him. time after time, she was questioned about whether he was a traitor. and she she wouldn't say that that was that. susan collins, republican on the senate intelligence committee, coming out of the gate asking about that, her past statements about putin and ukraine and how the west and ukraine provoked that war, her visit to assad in syria, um, she did manage to convince the swing republican votes on the senate intelligence committee. susan collins and todd young, to vote for her. so she got out of committee. and so it does appear that she is on her way to a glide path for this nomination. um, it is it is not without its complications, and it is not without its reservations. but it does appear that because of the backing of trump, that she will get those republicans to to line up behind her. >> you're watching senator ron wyden, a democrat on the floor, speaking now, alayna treene, who's over for us at the white house. i want to talk to you because alex makes a good point about kind

. >> what would you do about edward snowden? as far as what would you do? what are you doing? >> dropping the charges. >> president of the world. >> right now. >> what are you dropping. >> the charges? >> edward snowden. >> broke the law. >> i do. >> not. >> agree with. >> or support with all. >> of the information. >> and intelligence that he. >> released. >> nor the way in which he did it. >> i do believe. >> that autism. >> does come from. >> vaccines. will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification, that the measles and hepatitis b vaccines do not cause autism? if the data is there, i will absolutely do that. >> all right. my panel is back. a confirmation conversion is really nothing new. it's happened time and time and again, but it has been pretty remarkable this time around. we saw pete hegseth do the same thing in his confirmation hearings about women in combat. he was very clear a month before he was nominated. he thought it was a bad idea for women to be in combat. but then changed his tune before the senate. before the senate. during his testimony,

of course, snowden is a former national security agency contractor who in 2013 revealed the existence of the bulk collection of american phone records by the nsa before fleeing to russia. gabbard in the past had supported legislation urging lawmakers to drop in the federal government to drop all charges against snowden. but look, this is something when i talked to one white house official, they said that gabbard was meeting, following that hearing privately with different senators and that they had had encouraging conversations, really trying to assuage their concerns on this issue. all to say, we've seen many of the president's nominees face tough and really uphill confirmation battles. the fact that many of donald trump's allies and at times even president trump himself, have been making calls to to make sure these people get through, is not necessarily surprising. i think the key question, of course, is what is going to happen now and whether or not these calls are really working to help assuage those broader concerns. victor marc o'mara. >> alayna treene, thank you so much. certai

. >> snowden. >> who you know, who tulsi gabbard was asked.n committee and whose answers were. >> not seen as. >> a shining example of success for a nominee. given that there. >> are concerns. >> on both sides of the aisle. >> there was also. >> questions about fisa section 702, the surveillance power, the warrantless surveillance power of foreign targets that gabbard has previously called for repealing. she now says she supports. she didn't exactly. >> explain her. >> position there. now, chris, to the second part of your question, will we know how they vote? probably yes, because their votes are not secretive and senators can freely say they can freely tell us how they voted. and given how few people are on this committee, given that democrats appear to be pretty resolutely against gabbard, any republican who votes no can probably be flushed out. and that's what this all boils down to, chris. >> we're seeing it. >> across the board with donald trump's nominees. republicans are deeply reluctant to cross him. he has a lot of power with. >> rep

edward snowden broke the law. i do not agree with or support with all of the information and intelligence that he released, nor the way in which he did it. >> i do believe that autism does come from vaccines. >> will you reassure. >> mothers unequivocally and without. >> qualification. >> that the measles and hepatitis b. >> vaccines do not. >> cause autism? >> if the data is there, i will absolutely do that. >> all right. my panel is back. a confirmation conversion is really nothing new. it's happened time and time and again. but it has been pretty remarkable this time around. we saw pete hegseth do the same thing in his confirmation hearings about women in combat. he was very clear a month before he was nominated. he thought it was a bad idea for women to be in combat, but then changed his tune before the senate. before the senate during his testimony. how do we. but it's very clear two people are in trouble right now rfk jr.. and tulsi gabbard, can they get the votes to be confirmed? >> i think both of those no

he talks about her comments about edward snowden refusing to call him a traitor. and then he goes on to say, which dovetails into the conversation that you're already having, that russia, russia's escalation of its unprovoked war of aggression against ukraine threatens americans interests and is solely the responsibility of vladimir putin. and that's in reference to the fact that in the past, tulsi gabbard has made statements about the russia-ukraine war, in which she suggests that perhaps there's blame to go around on both sides. so the important part of this is mitch mcconnell can issue all the most strongly worded statements that he wants. she still was confirmed and confirmed relatively easy with another a number of republicans who had expressed concerns about especially that confirmation hearing she had, where she failed to answer very basic questions about united states national security and her view on it, which led to many republicans questioning whether or not she could be confirmed. all of them flipped. james lankford voted yes. lisa murkowski voted yes.

to play little bit more because it's important to the next question, watch. >> she has celebrated snowdenote, braid whistle-blower, blaming nato for russia's 2022 invasion of ukraine. terrible judgement, and confirmation hearing, she seemed unable to recognize the national security interest of the united states, maybe better protected of tiktok, a social media application we have cent to millions of americans was actually under american ownership. >> trace: i think the important news is that the contacts us to canal it -- taken of all of those things. do you think they are valid concerns nicole? >> i have the privilege and opportunity to testify before congress alongside tulsi gabbert and what i can say is she is a true patriot, she has served our country for over 22 years. when i have the opportunity to meet her, she literally emanates and exudes light and strength back she is a woman of integrity, and i believe that she will do amazing things for our intelligence community. president trump is right on task as he has nominated individuals, very unconventional nonstatus pecks, that is wha

. >> she couldn't call edward snowden a traitor.ies around the world? >> reporter: kash patel is likely the easiest to confirm if republicans stick together. also up for vote soon, chris wright for secretary of energy and doug collins to run the rah v.a. both should score bipartisan support. griff? griff: chad pergram live on the hill, thank you. >>> well, for more on the confirmation hearing, let's bring in today's political panel. with us now, prospective strategies' ryan taylor and the president of corcoran treat group president, brad howard. brian, brad, thank you very much. let's get to that. now, we are going to go into these nominees, but i'm hearing reports just now the dnc is electing their new chairman. the person to lead them forward. and, you know, i think it's no secret that in the blistering november if elections the dnc has really taken its lumps. democrats receiving -- and i'm looks at you, brad, i'm coming to you first -- [laughter] >> yeah. griff: americans view the democrat party unfavorably. you have an emboldene

and i questioned to her extensively about her views on edward snowden and i am now satisfied that she will not seek in any way to have him pardoned. >> harris: you will remember the edward snowden case behind one of the biggest classified document leaks in u.s. history. now senior congressional correspondent chad pergram is on capitol hill with more. a lot of staccato quick movement now. >> absolutely. also doug collins is up for v.a. they'll vote on him today. the finance committee voted 14-13 along party lines to send kennedy's nomination to the floor. g.o.p. louisiana senator bill cassidy agreed to vote yes after what he termed quote intense conversations. still questions linger about vaccines. >> the only way that bobby kennedy and i will get crosswise is if he does all actually take a position against the safety of proven vaccines. that will be a problem for me. >> a week or more before his nomination hits the floor. but there could be g.o.p. news there. democrats are united in their opposition of kennedy. >> do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health scie

. >> it's flabbergasting to me that she couldn't even bring herself to call edward snowden a traitor.omeone i think all of us involved in the intelligence community feels is a traitor r.f.k. jr. barely escaped committee. cassidy worried about his stance on vaccines. >> i will use my authority as chairman of the senate committee with oversight of hhs to rebuff any attempt to remove the public's access to life-saving vaccines without ironclad causational scientific evidence. president trump posted that autism exploded over the past two decades telling followers, quote: we need bobby. democrats are skeptic. >> mr. kennedy appears more obsessed in chasing conspiracy theories than chasing solutions to lower healthcare costs. >> kennedy and gabbard are days away from a floor vote. the senate today confirmed doug collins as v.a. secretary. there's been bipartisan support for nine of the ten nominees confirmed so far the senate votes later to confirm pam bondi. as attorney general that starts around 7:00. >> bret: chad pergram on capitol hill. thanks. waiting for the trump news conference. we

reservations about her past sympathetic statements towards russia and classified documents leaker snowdenvice president jd vance is making his first formal trip since taking office. he joined a dinner held by french president emmanuel macron in paris. it followed a summit of a.i. he will be meeting with macron to discuss ukraine and the middle east. vance will travel to germany later this week. >>> the justice department ordereds prosecutors to drop charges against new york city mayor adams and stop the ongoing investigation. adams pleaded not guilty of accepting bribes of illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel perks. he has been cozying up to the trump administration critics say to get the charges dropped. it is said the case was politically motivated and interfering with adams' ability to help president trump with the immigration crack down nlt former governor rod blagojevich received a pardon from president trump it it came five years after trump commuted his 14-year prison sentence on political corruption charges during his first term. he served eight years. he was convicted

are are again, edward snowden, where she refused to condemn snowden in one question after another question vote for tulsi gabbard except for political expediency. and fear, is there, richard? i'll put that in question form. thank you for that rhetorical question, joe. no. what comes to mind, joe, is i remember abba eban, the former israeli foreign minister, and he once famously said about palestinians, they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. well, susan collins never misses an opportunity to disappoint. she is a serial disappointment, and tulsi gabbard rarely misses an opportunity to get it wrong. you know, the only good news is this is not the most critical job in the us government. the office of the director of national intelligence has a you know, i'm not saying it's insignificant, but there's more important jobs. secretary of defense, the head of the cia, and so forth. but that said, she's not qualified for the job. she's been, shall we say, consistently wrong in her judgments. and the idea that she might be confirmed for this is another what, just another disappointment

gabbard, who refused to call edward snowden a traitor for stealing classified documents, will now overseeh documents and the nation's intelligence agencies. and yet another major storm is spreading snow and ice from the central plains to the great lakes and into the northeast overnight. and as heavy rain moves into the west, there's a threat of mudslides in southern california. ♪ ♪ if it felt like you were paying more to feed your family or get to and from work last month, today's report on january's consumer prices proved you right. wall street couldn't shake the news of an unexcited increase in inflation with the dow and s&p ending in the red. add to that a looming threat for president trump to impose more tariffs on imported goods and you have a recipe for economic uncertainty. so let's turn to martin baccardax, street" to help sort it out. martin, good to be with you aga. first give me your read on the inflation numbers, what you took away and what it might mean for the future. >> i do believe it caught wall street on the back foot initially. when we dug into the numbers, it began to

and if you did have a snowden, what's to say that russia or the chinese communist party wouldn't getheir phones? what devices are they bringing in there? this is serious stuff. and we do know we've had cyber attacks from adversaries. i don't trust them. i want to get this bill done. lots of my colleagues have joined on. we should put this guardrail into place, and we should roll up our sleeves and get serious about the cost crisis, not these types of flagrant mismanagement actions that are spooking the american people. >> michigan congresswoman haley stevens, thank you very much for joining us tonight. thank you. and coming up, why would elon musk and donald trump lie about the united states agency for international development? i mean, think about it. why won't they tell the truth? the answer is because they haven't actually found anything that usaid does that is wrong or objectionable. that's why they're lying about my name's dan and i live here in san antonio, texas. that's why they're lying about it. i ran my own hvac business and now i'm retired. i'm not good being retired. i'm

. >> thoughts on edward snowden. >> i know. >> snowden. >> you've mentioned in the past you're thinking about. pardoning him. are you still and. >> what do you think. >> about that? >> no, i don't talk to him about it right now. i just people feel very differently. some people think he should be pardoned, and some people think it would be a terrible thing to do. but i don't get involved in that. >> mr. president, what are you discussing. >> with mr. murdoch? >> and i. >> just respect i have great respect for rupert murdoch. i disagree with him a lot of times with the wall street journal, but it's all right. we've disagreed before, but and i'm sure they didn't have any idea what they were talking about because already you see what's happening. look at look at columbia. look at what happened with that. everybody said that with columbia it was going to be a disaster in 1 in 1 hour, everything was settled. you know why? tariffs. tariffs. without tariffs they wouldn't have been the same way. they weren't would not have treated me the way they treated me, which was extremely nicely. and i don

to strengthening our national security, and i questioned her extensively about her views on edward snowden seek in any way to have him pardoned, which was a question that i answered in open session. >> also yesterday, the senate voted to confirm chris wright as secretary of energy. eight democrats voted in favor. the senate also narrowly voted to advance pam bondi's nomination to be attorney general to a full chamber vote. joining us now, former communications director for republican senator cory gardner, annaliese keller, we also have jonathan cott. he's a former senior adviser to democratic senator chris. guys, thanks for joining. and elise, i'll start with you. what do you make of the difficulty that cassidy clearly is struggling with here publicly in regards to rfk's nomination? does he ultimately come around? >> you know. >> i think he is ultimately. >> going to come around ali. >> but i think he has a lot on the line here. >> he is. >> up for reelection, which. >> i think should not be. >> lost in this conversation. he has, of course, voted to impeach president donald trump. and that

he also was not satisfied with how she addressed the edward snowden question. james lankford, too, was concerned about her not calling him a traitor. snowden a traitor during that testimony. gabbard over the weekend tried to clean it up. she put out an op ed saying that she didn't want to call, label him a name, just deal with the facts, not with not with the actual name calling and the like. is that enough to win over those republicans? a big question, because there are some concerns about other senators who are not on the committee. if it does advance to the floor. >> you are going to have one of many busy days tomorrow. manu, thank you so much for that reporting. thank you for watching inside politics today. cnn news central starts after the break. >> the boeing 747 has crashed in the lockerbie area., trying to. >> find out the why of it became everything. >> nothing is what it seems in the lockerbie story. >> lockerbie, the bombing of pan am flight 103, february 16th on. >> a vacation starts with how you get there. a private jet experience from one flight's