Page 1019 - Contempt News Today

>> then why arent you answering my question? mr. coats, same series of questions. whats your basis for refusal to answer these questions today? >> im not sure i have a legal basis. >> thats a pretty remarkable answer from the director of national intelligence. >> you can be assured that the president is going to ream him out about that too. >> you think so? >> i think so. >> so what does this mean for the ability of congress to actually effectuate oversight, particularly on this particular topic...

Particularly on this particular topic that obviously we know the president is extremely sensitive about? >> i think that were going to be able to get to the bottom of this. it may be in closed session, but we will get answers to these questions. and i think the senates frustration today was obvious. they could have, i guess, held them in contempt tore nfor not answering their questions. i dont think they wanted to go that far. at this point, theyre going to rely on closed session to get the answ...

>> if you go to court, you have to have an answer for why youre not testifying other than i just dont have a reason -- >> could they be held in contempt? >> they certainly could be. absolutely. >> i think we knew what the answer was if we were reading between the lines today. a few senators acknowledged we understand that you all work for president trump right now and he could fire you if you give the wrong answer. dan coats could have said no and i never add conversation like this with the pres...

Irredeemable but thankfully they are not america. steve: thats where the irredeemable t-shirts came right there. ever since big election loss democrats getting sound bites, you cant win votes by showing contempt for voters, right? but our next guest claims liberal disdain for middle america is baked in the idea of identity politics, here now to explain is wall street journal columnist and former steech writer for president w. bush, bill. >> good morning. >> in your column you talk about crazy th...

President has confidence in jeff sessions. that is not a trick question. >> and they wont answer. >> ill ask brian really without my partisan hat on but eric culver did resign. there had to be discussions about that. >> he stepped down after six and a half years. >> he was accused of contempt in congress. >> that was a partisan vote. >> well, still it was congress. i dont think it was a partisan vote. fast and furious. dont act like -- >> all right. your point, congressman? >> let me say this. ...

Fast and furious. >> my only goal was to make sure he was laid to rest with honors. that honor has been insulted by coverups and deception by the very people he served. >> border patrol agent died in december 2010, killed by guns tied to an obama administration plan that armed mexicans. officials tried to hide the scandal. >> the belated admission that those 64,000 pages are not privileged for gold seal of authenticity on the houses partisan vote to hold the attorney general in contempt. >> emai...

P pr prologue, completely ignoring the substance of the leaks. and what a contrast between the testimony that we heard on cnn today from coats and from rogers and their unwillingness, without asserting any privilege, to discuss the facts of the interactions that they had with the president, which i found appalling. if they werent in uniform, if it werent for a member of the u.s. senate, i think you would have heard someone on that committee say, you know, we need to hold you in contempt. were pe...

You pointed out it is a privilege ofheresint. you dont have the privilege on your own behalf unless youre asserting the fifth amendment. >> how can the senate -- compel it? >> you can always go for contempt. >> theyre not going to do that? >> i dont think so. what they are probably likely to do is a low conversation between lawyers to say, look, what the hill is the issue and can we do it in closed hearing? >> over lunch the lawyers probably called these two and say you cant do that. the senate ...

Privilege, so they have no justification for not giving the most basic answers to this committee. >> so youve heard the criticism. some suggesting maybe they should be held in contempt for not answering senators questions. do you believe that? >> well, i think we -- the american people and this committee deserve the question -- the answers to those questions, and were not going to stop. were going to get the answers to those questions. >> the -- the national security agency, director admiral rog...

Trump views of american leadership. in march mr. brezenski called mr. trumps handling of foreign affairs chaotic, unclear unfocused. mr. brezenskis career was spent thinking about and defending a pax americana, built around post-war alliances and formal institutions. it is hard to convey how strongly that expansive world view is rejected in mr. trumps white house. the presidents inner circle makes america sound like an aging, declining hedgemon with a grievance, one that may squeeze a few more y...