he and his fiancee, sylvia hayes are investigated following reports hayes used her connections to the governor to win contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. and routinely used the governor's mansion to host meetings with clients. despite pressure from senior democrats and reports that he told aides he was stepping down, the governor says otherwise. >> a lot of talk today. do you have any intentions of resigning? >> no, i do not. as i indicated last week i recognize i've been getting a lot of pressure from many to do so. don't intend to do so. i got elected. a lot of people spent a lot of time and money and energy to get me in this position and i owe it to them to do the job as best i can. >> nbc's zach roth has more. let's get the background on this case and does it look like the governor can survive it? >> well there have already been some reports and my sources saying the same thing that the governor may indeed resign early afternoon oregon time. everybody stressing that could change. these are just rumors at the moment. but that's kind of the latest. in terms of the back

it's isolated to him and sylvia hayes and a few aids that might be involved. not any indication the investigation is beyond that two. oregon is a very blue state, the second longest streak of electing democratic governors. now that kate brown is in charge, she will face voters again to fill out the rest of his term in the november of 2016 so a presidential year in a very blue state, a state that hasn't been competitive for a long time. i don't think this dooms any democrat's chances but it's going to put kate brown in a prominent position to be sort of active in one of the very few states only seven in the country that are totally controlled by democrats. she really get to drive the agenda and has a liberal record to begin with. if she adds to that or advocates her liberal positions then i think you'll see a pretty interesting agenda coming out of oregon. >> one of the collateral effects migts be making kate brown into a star. she set that record we'll watch the situation closely. it is ripe with intrigue. "washington post" reporter reed wilson, thanks for the

the investigation involving over sylvia hayes who made over $200,000 as a consultant during the time she was acting as first lady and unpaid advisor to the governor. back to "bulls and bears." >>> look out. here comes more snow and dangerously low temperatures. northeast getting hammered and the green crowd says blame it on global warming. why do i keep saying that? i mean climate change. the government spending big money to go green. necessary? >> absolutely not. when did it go from global warming to climate change? isn't climate change something we have every sing dale? it's a little hotter cooler, it snows? it's not so much the science. it's the science of predictions. i went back through some of the predictions that scientists climatologists. they predicted an ice age in 1999 glaciers would be gone. in 2007 global warming would cause fewer hurricanes. in 2012 they said global warming will cause more hurricanes. so the science if you will is all over that. you only need to do one thing like woodward and bernstein, follow the money. in 1992, we spent as a country $1 billion on clim

in fact that investigation got really serious when she said that sylvia hayes must turn over her e-mailsicial and that has been the contention all along from john kit labber. she ills my fiancee has her own career. it's separate from mine. she is not a public official, but again, on the web site they listed her as the fie yç lady and they also said she was an unpaid adviser on environmental issues so it's tough to get around that. but there's a criminal investigation, both hayes and kitzhaber this week have hired criminal attorneys. >> the governor is stepping down. >> reporter: he is an icon in oregon, has been there a long time. >> thank you, dan. almost all activity at dozens of major west coast ports now at a halt as dock workers fight over pay and benefits. the ports handle a quart of owe of trade in and another ofxáz the u.s., a trillion dollars worth of cargo each year. ships packed with goods from car ;3jlóçw to medical equipment to furniture, now anchored outside the ports in los angeles seattle, and elsewhere up and down the west coast. the shutdown could cost stores as much as

. >> contracts sylvia hayes good garnered in miss last term. >> allegations that his fiancee used their relationship to win state contracts for their clean energy consulting business and failed to report tens of thousands of dollars in income. that investigation has led to revelations of other scandals involving hayes who has sometimes called herself oregon's first lady. hayes has admitted to buying a house in 19 never to grow marijuana. marrying an undocumented immigrant so he could stay in the u.s. she offered a tearful apologize in orbiting. >> i apologize deeply for my action he and omissions, first and foremost to john, the person i love and respect above all others. >> reporter: but ultimately it's the investigation led by oregon's attorney general about his ability to govern. led to his resignation earlier this week. >> any time that the governor is not able to move about freely to engage in important conversations, because the discussion is always about the investigations is a clear example of why he's not able to gauge on the work of the people. >> kitzhaber's resignation will

blamed a media frenzy insisting he will be cleared in two investigations involving his fiancee sylvia hayes, who he calls his first lady. >> i apologize deeply for my actions and omissions. >> reporter: the oregonian reports she tried to make money from firms trying to do business with the state. yet another controversial headline after the revelation she broke federal law two decades ago by accepting money for a green card marriage. >> there are serious consequences. i made a very serious mistake. >> reporter: the tipping point? a criminal investigation opened just this week that had even kitzhaber's fellow democrats reconsidering their support. >> i think the situation over the last couple of days has really indicated his inability to focus on his job and has undermined his ability to govern. >> reporter: now the governor's 35-year career in public service reduced to a single sentence as he steps down. secretary of state kate brown ready to step in. late today, secretary brown talked with reporters calling this a sad day for oregon and adding there's a lot of work to be done between now a

when you push down to the core, someone bribed sylvia hayes to influence the governor and influence an> reporter: observers say replacing kits aber who had republicans allies and among education and pension reformers may push oregon even farther to the left. >> kate brown more of an urban beast. she's someone who's a favorite of the environmentalists but not the wunlzones who live in the woods. >> reporter: while brown promised immediate reforms, it could be months before the former first couple learn whether they will face criminal charges. experts say the most serious could be similar to those that landed former virginia governor bob mcdonnell a two year prison sentence. he has not been seen publicly since announcing his regularsignation resignation. the new governor faces a special election to keep her job next year. >>> president obama says grievances of potential terrorists should be addressed in order to fight extremism. that and more when we come back. well, a mortgage shouldn't be a problem your credit is in pretty good shape. >>pretty good? i know i have a 798 fico score thank

stunning fall comes amid a growing scandal involving the role of his fiancee, the state's first lady sylvia hayes state business. investigators are looking into concerns that she advised state employees on energy policy while getting paid by a group advocating for a specific position. the state attorney general has given hayes seven days to disclose her private emails regarding state business. this is not the first time controversy has swirled around hayes. in 1997 show married an ethiopian immigrant for $5,000 to help him get a green card. she also bought land with an ex-boyfriend that year allegedly to grow marijuana, but denied financial involvement. today's news caps a week of will he or won't he speculation. on wednesday it seemed kitzhaber was ready to step down. he requested a designated replacement, secretary of state kate brown, to fly back from washington, d.c. to oregon. then it appeared he had a change of heart. brown detailed the exchange in a statement thursday saying "i asked him what he wanted to talk about. the governor told me he was not resigning. after which he began a discuss

john kitzhaber has consistently maintained that he and his fiancee, sylvia hayes, worked hard to avoid conflicts between her public and private roles. here is a portion of the audio statement that was released. >> i am announcing today that i will resign as governor of the state of oregon. it is not in my nature to walk away from a job that i have undertaken. it is to stand and fight for the cause. so i apologize to all those people who gave their faith time, energy, and resources to elect me to a fourth term last year and who have supported me over the past three decades. i promise you that i will continue to share -- pursue our shared goals in the venue. i must also say it is deeply troubling to me to realize we have come to a place in the history of this great state of ours where a person can be charged, trout, convicted, and sentenced by the media with no due process and no independent process of the allegations involved. and even more troubling on a personal level, as someone who was given 35 years as public service to oregon, is that so many of my former allies have been willing

he ran his fourth term as governor and has been embroiled in an ethics scandal by his fiancee sylvia hayes. billionaire environmental activist tom desire funded one of the groups that paid hayes. another black eye for the green agenda and tipping point for kitzhaber loyalists. >> i came to the conclusion that this is the right time to ask the governor to do the right thing for the citizens of the state and step aside, focus on his criminal defense and let somebody else lead the government. >> the state attorney general, also a democrat, opened a criminal investigation. and has ordered hayes to turn over her e-mails. kitzhaber and hayes have hired criminal defense attorneys. the secretary of state will be sworn in as the next governor. also a democrat, she too abandoned kitzhaber calling his recent actions bizarre and unprecedented. on his way out, kitzhaber said he has broken no laws and has done nothing dishonorable and took a swipe at the media. >> it is deeply trouble to go realize we have come to a place in this great state of ours where a pepper can be charged, tried, convicted and se

. >> yet it was kitzhaber's engagement to sylvia hayes that undid him.serving as an unpaid adviser to the governor on energy issues, hayes reportedly earned over $200,000 from outside green groups including the clean economy development center whose tax-exempt status the irs eventually revoked and the energy foundation, a non-profit funded in part by liberal billionaire tom stier. >> clean energy companies depend on government subsidies. >> federal figures show green energy accounted for 3.5 million jobs in 2011 about 2.5% of all jobs. in 2012 alone, the obama administration reportedly steered $12 billion through taxpayer-funded loans, grants and tax breaks. among them a loan guarantee to the now bankrupt solyndra. and yet solar electric power generation has generated only 500 private sector jobs nationwide. >> thenamored of green energy. but the magical systems they put together are extremely expensive and cannot operate absent government intervention. >> green energy advocates say governor kitzhaber's fall from power will hardly deal a setback to their

is regarding several things but the main point here is the investigation around the first lady sylvia hayesas allegedly received some benefits some funds from a group that she started. at the same time she's acted as an adviser to the governor regarding environmental policy. clearly if that is the case, that is a conflict of interest. we've also learned -- well we've learned recently as statement came out in october they have been under fire and she has acknowledged some other bizarre things from her past. she has acknowledged and apologized back in 1997 that she participated in a sham marriage to allow somebody to get a green card and she also has acknowledged that she was with an ex-boyfriend who had purchased some property that they had intended to use to grow marijuana. so these are things that have come out in light of this investigation. the final point i should make here brooke, is that this is going to be effective, his resignation resignation, 10:00 a.m., this is going to be on a wednesday in february. so he's got a couple of days to get this together and the secretary of state, sh

reporter there who sort of uncovered this, his wife the first lady, fiancÉ first lady of oregon, sylvia hayeswas working with energy consultants, taking $200,000 in fees from energy consultants while also being part of the governor's administration. so tony, a lot of people thought wait a second. she's lobbying on energy policy. she is with the governor. this is really untoward. she had her own office. there are further allegations to this and this is really what did in the governor. those allegations were that his office tried to have his personal e-mails deleted from the archive there. that seemed a little fishy to a lot of people. >> right, and i guess its public statements have been wanting to say the least. how have members of his party been reacting to this entire situation? >> well, you know, the democratic party in oregon is quite strong. this is more about the man than it is about the party there. so i don't know that it's going to take down democratic politics at all in oregon it's a all as much as its taking down the governor. the president of the senate there, the secretary of the

stunning fall comes amid a growing scandal involving the role of his fiancee, the state's first lady sylvia hayeser state business. investigators are looking into concerns that hayes' advised state employees on energy policy while getting paid by a group advocating for a specific position. the state attorney general has given hayes seven days to disclose her private e-mails regarding state business. this is not the first time controversy has swirled around hayes. in 1997 she married an ethiopian immigrant for $5,000 to help him get a green card. she also bought land with an ex-boyfriend that year allegedly to grow marijuana but denied financial involvement. today's news caps a week of will he or won't he speculation. on wednesday, it seemed kitzhaber was ready to step down. he requested his designated replacement, secretary of state kate brown, to fly back from washington, d.c. to oregon. but then it appeared he had a change of heart. brown detailed the exchange in a statement thursday saying i asked him what he wanted to talk about. the governor told me he was not resigning after which he began

in the last four months new questions surfaced about whether his first lady sylvia hayes, tried to leverageelationship to make money from firms hoping to do business with the statement revelations she broke laws two decades ago by accepting money to marry an 18-year-old ethiopian man who wanted a green card. kitzhaber has insisted he did nothing wrong, calling it deeply troubling. >> a person can be charged, tried, convicted and sentenced by the media with no due process. >> this is truly a sad day for the state of oregon. >> his successor, secretary of state kate brown, will be sworn in next week becoming the country's first openly by sexual governor. and while gay rights advocates acknowledge she'll make history, the more important thing is she is supremely capable of leading the state to better days ahead. as for that criminal investigation, the state has until march 10th to return the documents requested in the subpoena, alex. the fbi, by the way, not commenting on any of this which is not atypical given some of this information could end up in the hands of a grand jury. alex? >> hallie

john -- has been under pressure to leave office under allegations his fiance sylvia hayes used his office contracts for her consulting business. he has always denied wrongdoing. he released a statement yesterday saying he has no intention of leaving office. >>> testimony resumes in a texas courtroom in the so-called american sniper trial. chris kyle's widow was the first to testify recounting the last time she saw her husband before he was shot to death. the jury also heard about chris kyle's last text message describing his accused killer. here now abc's ryan owens. >> reporter: taya kyle the first witness telling her story to the people that matter most. millions know what this widow has endured thanks to see yaen that miller's performance in the blockbuster american sniper. from the stand here grief is all too real. one of the prosecutor's first questions, who were you married to? she breaks down trying to answer. chris kyle, she whispers. the judge will not allow aud yes witnesses to be broadcast but you don't need to hear her to see her pain. clutching dog tags in her hand she walks

they all center on his fiancee sylvia hayes, who made over $200,000 as a consultant at the same timet lady and an unpaid adviser to the governor. two men who got her the jobs were close campaign advisers to the governor who then were handed jobs in his administration. hayes and kitzhaber have both hired criminal defense lawyers. she has not been seen in days. if kitzhaber decides to dig in and fight, he can survive for at least several more months. oregon does not have a means by which the legislature can impeach and remove him, so so he can stay there for a while. heather: i didn't know that a girlfriend or fiancee could be the first lady. i didn't know that much. >> reporter: well, exactly. when she moved into the governor's mansion, there were some eyebrows raised. she had a web site to that effect, and she was an adviser of his. heather: thank you, dan springer, live. gregg: breaking news on wall street the dow jones industrial average going above 18,000. now, that's a real milestone. yes, it did hit it two days before christmas, if i recall, of last year but then it dropped lowe

. >> for the first time tonight we can tell you without a doubt he and his fiancee sylvia hayes are facingcrutiny. we have kgw live team coverage where it's been anything but business as usual. >> following the story so closely. to say the last few days have been wild would be an under statement. it's an emotional roller coaster, so much so that the halls of the state capitol for a ghost town by afternoon. a lot of lawmakers feeded to escape the chaos. not before weighing in on the big news of the day. >> hell of a way to celebrate a state's birthday. >> reporter: volunteers got ready for oregon es 156th birthday party. the decorations coming hours after governor kitzhaber announced his resignation. >> i understand i have become a liability to thor very institutions and policies to which i have dedicated my career and my adult life. >> reporter: the governor delivered new in an audio clip and written statement. the decision to reion wasn't one the governor took lightly. >> it is not in my nature to walk away from a job. it is to stand and fight for the cause. >> reporter: news spread quick

here is fi -- he and his fiancee, sylvia hayes, continue to be investigated for misusing their influenceor personal financial gain. his resignation will take affect on wednesday at which point the secretary of state will take over. we will go back to our phone lines and the state of the media in america. andrew is on the line for republicans. caller: people often complain about corporations being people. corporations are made up about employees. -- by employees. their unions can take actions. if other groups to get together and form political action committees so that they can have a voice, corporations need to have an equal standing. people often joke about that. "corporations are people." they are made up of people in the industry. it is annoying to listen to people. if you turn around and ask them, fine. should every group not be able to get together and have a political voice." ? they will immediately say, no. it is that clash on anyone who makes a profit. also i would bet that the oregon governor did not get federally prosecuted as did bob dell from virginia because he has is a demo