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minutes before the rest of the plane. u.s. airways airbus a321 was arriving from dallas, and it is the second safety scare involving the airline now part of american airlines, since the weekend. here's kris van cleave. >> reporter: the panel door in this picture fell off a u.s. airways flight as it was approaching charlotte, north carolina's airport this morning. brian francis watched as it landed on the seventh green of a golf course. the airline says the door is about 15 by 16 inches and weighs a few pounds. it came off an airbus a-321 like this one carrying 146 passengers. the door covers a hydraulic servicing area. the airline in a statement says, "it would not cause a flight safety issue." but the incident comes as the national transportation safety board announced it's launching an investigation into a close call involving another us airways a-321 landing at charlotte's airport. the pilots encountered wind shear, as seen in this youtube video, that can make final approach treacherous. the plane took out landing light and it appears also came in contact with the runway. the pilots landed safely on their second attempt but the plane suffered significant damage, according to the n.t.s.b. e e passenger tweeted after, "just had the worst failed landing." the n.t.s.b. has both of the black boxes and look at if anything could have been differently. charlie, the safety board has looked at 13 wind shear incidents since 1985. two were fatal. >> rose: thanks, kris. another threat to aviation oifety comes from lasers pointed at the cockpit. police in toronto were targeted this week in their helicopter, but they spotted a suspect right away, hopping a fence and ditching the laser. he was arrested. turns out he's a reserve in the canadian army. hot, dry winds are blowing in the west tonight, adding to the challenges faced by firefighters. they're battling 88 uncontained wildfires that have burned more than one and a quarter million acres in seven western states. danielle nottingham is at one of washingtest in chelan, washington. >> reporter: after flames whipped in and around the their neighborhood in chelan, cheryl bad richard wynn were escorted back to check on their home today. it's still standing, but some of their neighbors have lost everything. what's the most difficult thing about this whole process? >> getting displaced. you don't have a clue. it eats on you. where are you going to go? reat are you going to do? ste people that lost their homes, it's gut wrenching. >> reporter: do you ever think that could have been you? >> oh, yeah. chokes a guy up. >> reporter: about 100 miles north, where overnight flames forced the evacuation of the entire town of conconully. meteorologist mark ruminski. >> looking at the satellite t agery from overnight last night, they were burning very intensely right through the night so that's an indication that the fire conditions are still pretty extreme. >> reporter: some relief is on the way. >> hey, move it. >> reporter: from the military. it's the first time in nine years that soldiers have been trained for firefighting duty, including how to deploy emergency shelters. they will soon join firefighters already weary and maxed out and bracing for more hot temperatures and stronger winds. fire incident commander rob allen: >> the next couple of days is going to be a real challenge for sure. >> reporter: the fire that burned this property is 50% contained, and its unpredictable nature still threatens hundreds of homes in this community. charlie, 47 homes have been destroyed, and officials expect that number to climb. >> rose: thanks, danielle. the wildfires are racing through brush that's been baked dry by four years of drought. a new study says the drought will cost california close to $3 billion this year alone. ben tracy says farmers are paying the biggest price. >> reporter: it's harvest time in california's central valley. and the number one thing on farmer joe del bosque's mind is water. >> it is such a big issue that mb don't even know what number two and three are. our trees are dying. >> reporter: to keep his almond trees alive, he's paying seven dmes more for water than he did before the drought. that's why he's left nearly 40% of his land unplanted. >> we are right now operating year to year, and if we don't erve water next year, we stop operating. >> reporter: half of all the nation's fruits, nuts, and vegetables are grown here, but that bounty is on the brink. the drought will cost california's agricultural economy $1.8 billion this year and 10,000 seasonal workers will lose their jobs. more than half a million acres of land have been fallowed. desperate farmers are pumping sallions of gallons of water out of the ground every day. a new report from nasa show that's causing the land to literally sink, up to two inches per month. concrete canals are buckling and bridges now sit right on top of the water. you mean the ground is actually collapsing. >> right, exactly. >> reporter: government scientist michelle snead says in places the land has dropped 10 ret. we would have many, many feet of dirt above our heads right now. >> that's right. we'd be standing 10 fight higher than we are right now. >> reporter: which may explain why so many farmers here feel they are sinking under the weight of a deepening drought. ben tracy, cbs news, california's central valley. >> rose: tropical storm danny is picking up strength way out in ite atlantic. forecasters say it could become the first hurricane of the season by friday. right now, danny is about 1,300 miles east of the winward islands, moving slowly west, but posing no threat to land. in the midwest, tornadoes were spotted last night in wisconsin and illinois. a number of buildings were damaged, but no injuries were reported. in chicago, pounding rain and g foile-per-hour wind had fans running for cover at wrigley bseld. morecubs game was delayed for more than two hours as the storm blew through. one of america's best-known tv ttchmen agreed today to plead guilty to paying for sex with minors, and receiving child pornography. for 15 years, jared fogle was the public face of subway restaurants. that's over now, and he could spend more than a decade in federal prison. adriana diaz reports from indianapolis. >> reporter: in silence, jared fogle left federal court protected by u.s. marshals. jeremy margolis is his attorney. >> jared fogle expects to go to prison. he'll do his time. he expects to get well. he expects to continue to make amends to those people whose lives he has affected. >> hi, i'm jared the subway guy. >> reporter: the former subway spokesman's crimes were outlined in a 12-page charging document detailing abuse of 14 underaged victims. >> jared, do you have anything to say. >> reporter: among the allegations: on several occasions between 2010 and 2013, fogle paid for sex with two girls, ages 17 and 16, who he knew to be under age. he also offered the 17-year-old money to find him another minor eor sex, according to the document he told her, the younger the girl, the better. 12 of the victims are from fogle's home state indiana. they allegedly appeared in photos or videos taken in secret by fogle's associate russell taylor. taylor was the executive director and sole paid employee of fogle's foundation to fight childhood obesity. taylor is accused of giving those photos and others to fogle. one of the children was as young as six years old. by entering a plea deal, fogle will face a maximum of 12 and a half years in prison. he's agreed to pay $1.4 million in fines, $100,000 to each of his victims. u.s. attorney josh minkler: >> let's call this what it is-- this is about using wealth, status, and secrecy to illegally exploit children. >> reporter: the court will decide whether or not to accept the plea deal. charlie, until his next court hearing, fogle is under house arrest, except for approved outings. he's wearing a g.p.s. tracker. >> rose: a new poll shows a tightening race for the white house. in a match-up between the front- runners, republican donald trump trails democrat hillary clinton by just six points. clinton continues to be dogged by questions about her use of a private e-mail account while she was secretary of state. today, cbs news identified two e-mails on her server that some say contained classified information. here's jan crawford. >> reporter: the two e-mails the intelligence community says contained classified information were uncovered during an investigation of the 2012 attack in benghazi, libya, that killed ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. the first e-mail, from april 2011, was forwarded to clinton by aide huma abedin, sighting intelligence reports from the u.s. africa command on troop strengths. the second e-mail forwarded by frde jacob sullivan outlined l ports of possible arrests in connection with the benghazi ostack. the e-mails are among the some 30,000 clinton turned over to the state department from her private server. on monday, the state department said it had flagged 305 e-mails 2t of the 20% it has reviewed as potentially containing classified information. clinton has insisted there was no classified information on her server. >> whether it was a personal account or a government account, i did not send classified tterial and i did not receive any material that was marked or sosignated as classified, which is the way you know whether something is. >> reporter: but it is not just deinton's private server that may have contained classified information. the state department filed court papers this afternoon saying, "it does not believe that any brsonal computing device was issued by the department" to clinton. dan ackerman is an editor at cnet. >> any time you're bringing your own equipment and using it for etrk purposes it's not as secure be something actually issued by , e company because they take those laptops, for example, and they preconfigure them. they put their own software on them, tracking software, update software, they distribute them. >> reporter: and that raises the question, how secure were her personal devices, like her blackberry, since they weren't issued by the state department? as for that server, charlie, her n torney confirmed it was wiped clean of all its data before she turned it over to the f.b.i. >> rose: but everybody is asking this question-- does the f.b.i. think they can recover any of the deleted data? >> reporter: well, charlie e at's what they're looking at right now and they're hopeful they can get some of that back or perhaps find a backup server where they could, you know, get some of that information and recover it. >> rose: thanks, jan. the earth opened again today in seffner, florida near tampa. by afternoon, the sinkhole had grown to 17 feet wide and 20 feet deep. this is the same location where a sinkhole swallowed a man who was asleep in his bed. his body was never recovered. no one was hurt this time. turning overseas, the latest victim of isis was one of syria's top antiquities experts. he devoted his life to preserving the ancient ruins of palmyra. militants who now control the city consider the relics sacrilegious, so they beheaded khaled al-assad and hung his body on a pole. clarissa ward has reported from inside syria, she joins us now. here is a man who knew syria, knew antiquities, and he also knew the enemy. he knew what isis was all about. yet he stayed. >> reporter: he did, he did stay. and, you know, part of the reason he stayed is because he was so involved in efforts to try to evacuate some of the most precious antiquities before isis made it into the city. they were hoping that they could evacuate them to a safer place, they wouldn't fall into the hand of isis, and that they wouldn't ultimately destroy them and that's a decision that may have potentially cost him his life because shortly after he was captured and brutally executed. >> rose: as gruesome as his death was, there are fatalities every day across syria. >> reporter: and i think that's very easy to forget, charlie, because isis is always going to grab the headlines with this campaign of consistently trying to shock through their brutality. but the reality on the ground in syria, is the regime of assad. responsible for the vast majority of deaths. look at this bombing we saw in a damascus suburb on sunday. more than 100 people killed, most of them civilians. and, of course, the assad regime is the only party in this war that has air power. >> rose: clarissa ward normally yeporting from london and syria and war zones. it's great to have you here in new york. >> reporter: thank you. >> rose: millions of extramarital affairs may have been exposed by computer hackers. and, the death of a tv crime fighter when the "cbs evening news" continues. it's how i try to live... how i stay active. so i need nutrition... that won't weigh me down. for the nutrition you want without the calories you don't... introducing boost 100 calories. each delicious snack size drink gives you... 25 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. >> rose: ashley madison is a web >> rose: ashley madison is a web site that connects married people who want to cheat and not get caught. but tonight, thanks to hackers, . lot of secrets are out, and dre f.b.i.'s investigating. k att andrews has more. mi reporter: the hack exposed around 32 million names, e- mails, and physical addresses of the people who've signed up for ashley madison. y, if you're feeling a little >>ughty, let's go here. >> reporter: the web site that brazenly matches people who are seeking extra marital affairs. >> ashleymadison.com exists because needs often become neglected. >> reporter: some of the names ild e-mails are fictitious, but still, millions of marriages could be in peril as spouses learn what that late-night shopping has really been about. >> they weren't counting on a hacker to obtain that data. >> reporter: kim zetter, the senior writer at "wired" magazine who first revealed the heck points to another problem. around 15,000 of the e-mails traced to u.s. government accounts, including the state department and justice department, and to top secret defense contractors, including raytheon. >> if those are legitimate, if this activity can be directly matched with real people in government and people who might hold sensitive office, that creates some potential for blackmail. >> some want to talk. some want to do more. >> reporter: the ashley madison web site has continued to operate. the company says it's closed the unauthorized access points and tys the hackers are criminals, appointing themselves as moral judge, juror, and executioner. the hackers, who call themselves "the impact team" claim they're just exposing security flaws in a site that offers a 100% .,screet service. along with the f.b.i., canadian police are also investigating this hack. security experts call this more proof that everyone is vulnerable, because here, charlie, here was the wide-scale release of personal details from a web site selling privacy s,self. >> rose: thanks, wyatt. reality is about to sink in for a kid on his first day of school. his reaction is just ahead. ♪ [music] defiance is in our bones. new citracal pearls. delicious berries and cream. soft, chewable, calcium plus vitamin d. only from citracal. have my stomach feeling all knotted up. i've tried laxatives... but my symptoms keep returning. my constipation feels like a pile of bricks... that keeps coming back. linzess can help. once-daily linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. linzess helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6 and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or 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he was a superhero, but he didn't have a power, but his power was just being himself. >> rose: robinson was killed in a highway accident sunday. he was 51. yvonne craig was best known for playing batgirl in the 1960s television series "batman." anaig died this week of breast cancer at her home in los angeles. she was 78. the first day of school can be the best day in a kid's life, or someworst. esmetimes both. in los angeles, andrew mckayis met a reporter while heading to >>e-k. >> andrew, are you excited for pre-kindergarten? >> yes. >> reporter: why? >> i don't know. >> reporter: are you going to miss your mom? >> no. >> reporter: no! oh, don't cry. >> rose: andrew was fine, once he got a good-bye hug from mom alf camera. in a moment, we will take you out to the old ball game. burn! no one burns on my watch! try alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. they work fast and don't taste chalky. mmm...amazing. i have heartburn. alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. what do a 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and magnesium. >> >> america's ruled by an army of steamrollers, and erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again, but baseball marks the time. >> rose: baseball. james earl jones in "field of baeams." we end tonight on a baseball field where time stands still. here's chip reid. >> reporter: the pitching is underhand. a ball caught on a bounce is still an out. >> nice play out there, nice play! >> reporter: this is vintage n seball, the game as it was played in the 1860s, when baseball gloves hadn't yet been invented. >> yes! ( applause ) >> reporter: and the game had a language all its own. >> you have a hitter that's a striker. >> reporter: the hitter is the striker. >> instead of being out, he's dead. >> reporter: first baseman jacob newcomb is president of the dirigo team. the catcher is the-- >> the hind. >> reporter: so he's the butt of a lot of jokes? >> i guess so if you want to put it that way, yeah. >> reporter: just like the old days they all have nicknames like red, shoeless, irish, and lefty. steve mccomber is "the babe." how long you going to stay at this? >> reporter: hopefully as long as i can. acll do a couple of knee replacements this year and hopefully get another 10 years out of me. >> reporter: a version of baseball was first played in the 1840s but it took war to spread it around the country, according to hurler and retired navy commander john coray. he the sport became a favorite of the soldiers, union and confederate, during periods of down time during the war. once the war ended, the soldiers went back to their homes and xpought the game with them and it exploded after 1865. >> good eye! come grab it. >> reporter: today, there are more than 130 teams playing vintage baseball across the nation, and while winning isn't everything-- ep hustle, hustle! >> reporter: winning with a spectacular play in the ninth inning is always something to n's r about, even in a gentleman's game. >> three cheers for mudville. >> hip-hip huzzah. >> hip-hip huzzah. >> reporter: chip reid, cbs news, old orchard beach, maine. >> rose: so there is joy in mudville tonight. that is the "cbs evening news." i'm charlie rose. .m. be here for scott again tomorrow night, and i'll see you first thing in the a.m. on "cbs this morning." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org video tonight of the moments after san jose police shot a murder suspect. it's raising questions about what officers didn't do in the crucial seconds. >> you run your business and i'll run my business. >> new at 6:00, governor brown firing back at our own phil matier. the question that phil asked that had the governor refusing to give an answer. >> and new at 6:00, water versus wine. homeowners forced to cut back more and more on their water use and say their vineyard neighbors are getting a pass. good evening, i'm veronica de la cruz. >> i'm ken bastida. we have breaking news in the east bay tonight. live picture for you coming in from chopper 5. this is a wildfire that is spreading rapidly through some bone dry grass and brush. cal fire says that it's now up to 500 acres and could get larger. they have called in air support to fight the flames there. this individual is from 30 minutes ago when it was going uphill. this was our first glimpse of the flames. the fire has blackened a large area to the east of livermore but it's mostly ranches and livestock in the area. not a lot of homes. the map gives you a better idea where the fire is really at. cal fire says it's burning on both sides of tesla road. this is the one close call that we have seen. it's not clear what that building is. but first dug in and managed to protect it from the oncoming flames. and breaking news from the fire lines in washington state. we are just learning that three firefighters have lost their lives fighting that fire. that according to a local sheriff who has confirmed the news to the "associated press." details are still coming in. and like here, fires are burning all across the state of washington. authoritiee
New-yorkUnited-statesCanadaTampaFloridaNorth-carolinaDamascusDimashqSyriaWrigley-fieldIllinoisCalifornia >> it's clear that donald trump doesn't believe we are stronger together. >> we will not allow donald trump to become president of the united states. >> to all of those bernie sanders voters who have been left out in the cold by a rixist of sutch err delegates, we welcome you with open arms. >> we're going to take a moment later tonight and the days ahead to fully absorb the history we've made here. >> next tuesday we continue the fight in the last primary in washington, d.c. >> the deal sealed for clinton with 2,497 delegates and for trump as well with 1,536 delegates. >> we'll go live to washington with a complete wrapup of the final states. garrett, good morning. >> heather and abby, good morning. hillary clinton made history last night becoming the first woman in american history to win the presidential nomination of a major political party. while she did take some time to relish that historic moment in her victory speech, she quickly turned her hand back to the new task at hand, hitting donald trump and winning the general election. >> it's clear that donald trump doesn't believe we are stronger together. he has abused his primary opponents and their families, attacked the press for asking tough questions, denigrated muslims and immigrants. he wants to win by stoking fear and rubbing salt in wounds and reminding us daily just how great he is. >> last night was a preview of what we can expect to see a lot more of over the next five months. donald trump spent a good chunk of his victory speech hammering away at clinton as well. he went after her for the e-mail scandal and the clinton foundation in his prepared remarks which he read from a teleprompter and gave a preview of what he's calling a major speech on the clintons next monday. >> we can't solve our problems by counting on the politicians who created our problems. the clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves. they've made hundreds of millions of dollars selling access, selling favors, selling government contracts and i mean hundreds of millions of dollars. >> and you also heard in those clips earlier about trump making his pitch to bernie sanders supporters saying he welcomes them with open arms. sanders made that a bit more difficult task when he adamantly told supporters, we will not allow donald trump to become president and said despite clinton's wins last night, he is not dropping out. >> next tuesday we continue the fight in the last primary in washington state and then we take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice to philadelphia, pennsylvania. >> fox news has learned though that over half of sanders campaign staff will be laid off in the next week. sanders is scheduled to meet with president obama and senator harry reed here in d.c. on thursday. heather and abby. >> garrett tenney, what a night it has been or day. can donald trump's strategy be a game changer? fox news contributor tony saig and mercedes slat. thank you for joining us, tony, for sticking around as well. >> good to be here. >> let's talk about this. let's begin with donald trump's strategy. he's saying that, you know, he has a 15-state strategy. will that work for him and can he win over these left leaning states? mercedes? >> i think when you look at the case, for example, of ohio, in 2012 president obama won that state by just three percentage points. if trump is able to increase that appeal to the white working class in states like ohio, pennsylvania, michigan, for example, as well as keep the traditional republican base in the suburban, those who are right leaning, you're going to need to have both parts of the equation, i think, heather, he has a possibility of being able to turn those blue states into possible red states. it's an uphill challenge for trump, but with his economic populus message it's something that's driving those white working class voters who have felt left behind by president obama and the democratic party. >> so, tony, that's a very fine line to walk. i mean, how do you make both groups happy? >> well, i think you could certainly do that if you're donald trump because you're actually running, in my assessment, a largely non-partisan campaign. he's not an ideologically rigid guy. on the republican side there's going to be animation to vote against hillary clinton. the states mercedes mentioned when you talk about pennsylvania, ohio, virginia, there's a catholic vote there. there's a major vote that donald trump has been over performing with. those are very good states for him to focus on. if you extend it slightly further, i know there's this crazy notion that every time donald trump says he's going to compete in california and new york, that that's crazy. that's not. he has the earned media and certainly the financial capacity to start really playing in these bigger states which most republicans campaign -- >> yeah, we have to talk about this though, tony, and mercedes, the hispanic vote in light of the controversy that's going on this week. >> sure. >> the hispanic vote, how does he get that vote, specifically when you're talking about california, florida, arizona. mercedes? >> it's been difficult for republican candidates to win the hispanic vote. we saw in 2012, for example, mitt romney was only able to garner about 27% of the hispanic vote. i think you've seen recent polls, there was one that came out where trump was about 28%. we need those numbers to be closer to 40%. again, we've got to view it not nationally necessarily but in swing states like florida, like virginia where you have a growing hispanic population. where, for example, in florida, 12 to 15% of the electorate there, they're hispanic. the south florida region with the cuban americans, very important republican base to maintain. for trump it is going to have to sell that message that hillary clinton is, you know, lying hillary, crooked hillary and sell that message that his economic popularism is bringing it to the community. it is an uphill battle for trump, if he's able to build that coalition and make that and reach out to the hispanic community, you know, he could get into the 30s, but it's going to be tough. >> speaking of an uphill battle, as we heard this evening, bernie sanders is staying in not only through the primary next tuesday and all the way through philadelphia. does staying in help or hurt trump? we heard him adamantly tell his voters, do not vote for trump, he didn't use those words, but he said we will not allow donald trump to get into the white house. tony? >> in the short term it helps trump because it continues to complicate what's been a very messy primary season for hillary clinton. it doesn't make the win that she earned tonight, the historic win, frankly, as clean as she wants it. you have to remember, bernie sanders when he talks about his message, economic justice, social justice, racial justice, environmental justice, three of those are very economic, liberal buckets. the other area, liberal justice, is an area where they can pick off. that also goes to the larger point of donald trump expanding the base of the party. so, yes, mercedes is right when you look at the kind of zero sum way of politics, we need more senate votes. he's increasing votes from reagan democrats, blue collar workers and that can offset it. >> everybody wants a job no matter what demographic you are a part of. all right. we are going to bring you back in the next hour so do not go far. thank you very much for joining us right now though. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> abby. >> great panel. thanks, heather. the time is ten minutes after the hour. buckle your seat belts with donald trump and hillary clinton poised to be the most disliked candidates in history. are we in for an ugly general election? julie carter is here with what we can expect from a trump/clinton debate. stay with us. [beekeeper] from bees to business expenses, i'm in charge of it all. so i've been snapping photos of my receipts and keeping track of them in quickbooks. now i'm on top of my expenses, and my bees. best 68,000 employees ever. that's how we own it. welcome back to an early edition of "fox & friends first." 75 years, that's how long it could take to get to the bottom of hillary clinton's e-mail scandal. while the presumptive democratic nominee still insists her private server was no secret. >> everybody in the department knew that i was e-mailing from a personal address. hundreds of people knew it. people around the government knew it. >> but the state department begs to differ. lauren green live with us with some new developments. good morning, lauren. >> good morning, heather. the department spokesperson telling a completely different story, saying hillary clinton's senior staffers had no idea about her private e-mail use as secretary of state. the department now fighting tooth and nail to block a records request by the republican national committee defending a 75 year wait time. the rnc demanding to see e-mails from clinton's top aides. >> it's a very broad range involving a number of people over a period of four years and it's not an outlandish estimation believe it or not. >> the rnc sued the department in march for the records. the suit covers former chief of staff cheryl mills, advisor jacob sullivan and the i.t. specialist who helped set up clinton's server. pagliano is the same ex-staffer who struck a deal in the ongoing fbi investigation. he's also filed a motion on his own to keep his records under wraps. heather. >> very interesting. lauren green, live for us. thank you, lauren. meantime, former secretary of state and presumptive democratic nominee, hillary clinton, hear what she has to say herself because she will join fox news's bret baier on "special report" at 6:00 eastern. we're going to have quite an election, aren't we? i personally can't wait to debate him. >> well, i probably could think of nobody i'd rather debate. i think beating her in a debate would be one of the easy challenges of my life, that i can say. >> well, it is the general election of the lesser of two evils with donald trump and hillary clinton poised to be the most disliked presidential candidates in decades. so with the gloves coming off, are we about to witness the ugliest race in u.s. history? here to take a closer look, pollster and partner, jenn carter. >> great to see you. >> the most recent washington post poll on this, if you can pull it up, the unfavorable rating, 60% donald trump, 53% hillary clinton. there's not one person i've asked about these candidates who hasn't said, i don't know, i kind of like them, i kind of don't. >> it is so polarizing. if you are against hillary, you are really against hillary clinton. if you are against donald trump, you are violently against donald trump. people aren't curious as to why people are against the other. they have washed them off as evil. >> what does that mean for a general election? here we are, donald trump says i haven't even started with hillary clinton yet. >> when you look at the polls leading up to this, it's almost impossible to predict how it's going to play out. until you see them side by side and we didn't know how donald trump was going to play until he was out there with all 17 candidates, we have no idea but we do know that it's going to be really, really ugly. donald trump has a knack on hitting on the thing that people don't like about a candidate. her untrustworthiness is going to rise. that's something that's going to impact her when it comes to the general election. on the other hand, hillary clinton hasn't found attack point to take down donald trump. >> nobody has. >> until this last week. she's tried all different kind of things. he's anti-women, bigot, unfit to be president, his temperament isn't right. he's all of these different things and yet nothing has really stuck this week when donald trump pretty much handed her a gift by saying what he did about the judge. >> he might be his own worst enemy. >> she said that she looks forward to debating donald trump. how is that going to go? how is this general election debate going to be? >> i think it's going to be fascinating because so far donald trump's been the only one who's been able to go after women. i can't imagine what it's going to be like. who's going to hold hillary up there and hold her down without seeming sexist, without -- he is able to make those claims and deliver them and not take the heat for it. so i think he's going to go ugly, he's going to go strong. he is the master of the sound bite and that is something that really plays well in debates. she is not. she's going to have to figure out how to make those punches come back just as fast, just as quick, just as picky, just as repeatable. that's not something hillary can do up to this point. she can get nasty and she can get angry but it's not in that quick way that gets that sound bite played over and over again. >> you've studied these polls more than almost any of us. when does hillary play the best? when she focuses on the issues or on the attack? >> she plays the best when she's focused on the bigger picture. she doesn't have a master narrative. trump does, make america great and bernie does. >> why is she running for president, it's hard to put that into one sentence like make america great again. >> that's exactly right. she's had two moments where she does that. she focuses on creating possibilities for people across america. she had one advertisement like that and she had one speech that resonated with folks because it made them feel hopeful and optimistic. she couches her message, we can't afford to let this go by, we can't let this happen. that's not inspiring to folks. what's inspiring is a better day tomorrow, more jobs, more possibility. >> it comes off at times a little bit angry. buckle up, lee carter, it will be a wild ride. we're going to see you next hour. >> yes. >> thank you. still to come, 19 after the top of the hour, a fox news alert for you. this is a horrible story. hit-and-run horror leaves five bicyclists dead at this hour run down by a truck. some new information on an arrest breaking overnight. and be a leopard on the loose. the frantic moment zoo goers are forced to hide when a dangerous animal escaped its enclosure. welcome back to "fox & friends first." a fox news alert. breaking overnight. a bomb threat forces ab egyptair flight to make an emergency landing. the cairo to beijing flight was diverted to uzbekistan. all people on board evacuated safely. egyptian officials now say that the threat was a fake. just last month a member of egyptair flight 804 crashed into the mediterranean sea killing all 66 on board. terror being investigated as a possible cause amongst other causes as well. well, a hit-and-run where five bicyclists are dead and four others fighting for their lives after a truck slams into them from behind. >> the driver of the truck taking off on foot. patricia stark with the details. >> good morning, heather and abby. a terrible situation. a defenseless group of nine bicyclists plowed over by a pickup truck that witnesses say came out of nowhere. it slammed into them from behind in michigan twisting and scattering them. following the crash the driver of the truck bailed fleeing on foot but was arrested a few moments later not far from the scene. five people were killed on impact and four more are in the hospital this morning. at least one is in critical condition and the others in very serious condition. witnesses in shock after hearing a loud bang before seeing the carnage. >> he swerved over, almost like ran over my foot. i stepped back, blacked out for a second and i turned around. before i could say watch out to the bikers, it happened. a bunch of bikes hit in front of his truck and a couple of them flew. >> it didn't sound like he collided with people, bikes. it sounded like he hit a tree. >> it happened just north of kalamazoo, michigan, where police got calls about a pickup truck matching the description of the suspect's driving erratically. police were looking for the truck but not chasing it when the crash happened. the suspect, a 50-year-old man will receive charges as early as tomorrow. back to you guys. >> horrible story. >> thank you, patricia. the time now is 25 minutes after the top of the hour, and in it to win it. bernie sanders refusing to call it quits. >> next tuesday we continue the fight in the last primary in washington state. >> but is staying in the race really his best bet? and his supporters waiver, where are they going to go? our panel next to weigh in. tired of re-dosing antacids? try duo fusion! new, two in one heartburn relief. the antacid goes to work in seconds... and the acid reducer lasts up to 12 hours in one chewable tablet. try new duo fusion. from the makers of zantac. good morning. it is wednesday, june 8th. you're watching a special early edition of "fox & friends first." i'm abby huntsman. >> and i'm heather childers. the final primary season almost in the books. paving the way for donald trump and hillary clinton. but bernie sanders not going away quietly. >> clinton declaring victory in five out of six races. california not called yet but clinton is in the lead there. >> another primary next tuesday for d.c. no surprises for trump with a clean sweep across all five states this time. >> i'm going to be your champion. i'm going to be america's champion. >> i'm going to take a moment later tonight and the days ahead to fully absorb the history we've made here. >> next tuesday we continue the fight in the last primary in washington, d.c. >> the deal is sealed for clinton with 2,497 delegates and for trump as well with 1,536 delegates. >> so let's get right to garrett tenney, live in washington, d.c. been live all night here for us, garrett. you have a complete wrapup of the final states, right? >> absolutely, heather and abby. good morning to both of you. if last night was any indication, we'd better buckle up for the next five months. hillary clinton and donald trump did not waste any time going right after each other giving us a preview of what this general election match-up may look like. in her victory speech clinton did take some time to relish the historic moment of becoming the first woman in u.s. history to win the presidential nomination of a major presidential party, but she also had plenty to say about donald trump. >> when donald trump says a distinguished judge born in indiana can't do his job because of his mexican heritage or he mocks a reporter with disabilities or calls women pigs, it goes against everything we stand for. >> donald trump took the night off with his victory speech at trump national golf club just outside of new york city with blistering criticisms of his own of hillary clinton in a prepared speech that he read from the teleprompter going after her e-mail scandal and the clinton foundation. >> hillary clinton turned the state department into a private hedge fund. the russians, the saudis, the chinese all gave money to bill and hillary and got favorable fleemt return. it's a sad day in america when foreign governments with deep pockets have more influence in our own country than our great citizens. >> trump also made his pitch to bernie sanders supporters saying he welcomes them with open arms. sanders, meanwhile, told an excited crowd he is not dropping out of the race and there's no way he will allow trump to become president. >> we will not allow right wing republicans to control our government. and that is especially true with donald trump as the republican candidate. >> and while sanders says he's staying in the race until the convention, his campaign is cutting back. fox news has learned over half of his staff will be laid off in the next week. heather and abby. >> garrett tenney, live for us. thank you, garrett. hillary clinton has clinched the democratic presidential nomination winning the majority of the pledged democratic delegates undercutting one of bernie sanders biggest arguments for continuing his campaign, so will his supporters back clinton once it's clear that he has lost the nomination? here now for our political panel, lesli marshall and capri. thank you for joining us. >> absolutely. >> we listened to bernie sanders and he says he is not going anywhere any time soon. he says he realizes it is a steep climb but still believes he can win and he is going to fight for every single delegate and still try to change the mind of the super delegates. leslie, who does this impact the most? >> well, right now it actually impacts i think bernie sanders the most because when we look at the numbers, it just doesn't add up. i mean, this -- to me, we might as well be believing in a man in a red suit in the north pole for real. senator sanders, with all due respect, i understand that he has a mission, i understand that he has a message and i know that people think it is a revolution, but i think he has in a speech foreshadowed the democratic presumptive nominee hillary clinton. >> he did not even mention hillary clinton until 15 minutes into his speech, the very end of it. >> yes. >> he did make clear to his followers that he will not -- he does not want donald trump to get into the white house but he did not say support hillary clinton instead. capri? >> yeah, here's the thing. if bernie sanders doesn't want donald trump to be president of the united states, then he needs to reassess his strategy. the longer he stays in this race, particularly because of the historic nature of hillary clinton clinching the oing to, think, really create a division within the democratic party to a point where if he goes all the way to philadelphia continuing to fight, we're going to have such a fractured party that, you know, he really opens it up for donald trump. if he doesn't want donald trump to be president of the united states, he really needs to think twice about why he's staying in it, you know, as long as he is. >> and one of the reasons possibly that he's staying in it some people have said relates to hillary clinton's struggles to recover as that fbi probe looms, but half the voters say that they will still vote for clinton even if she is indicted. and we take a look at that poll. 50% say that she should continue running until the court determines her guilt or innocence and 43% say she should immediately stop campaigning. leslie, what does this say to you? >> this says to me echoing the sentiments of a long time ago when you have that hugging coombaya moment between bernie sanders and hillary clinton, they don't give the democrats a darn about those e-mails and they don't care about those darn e-mails, but i think most of the people out there who support hillary, as i do, look at this as perhaps reckless, as a policy breach but is it criminal? most of us think not. most legal experts think not at this point so people are confident with her going forward and comfortable for her to continuing running. >> i think there still is -- i think there still is a voracity issue with hillary clinton. i think it plays into the concerned narrative that, you know, she somehow, you know, is corrupt or is just doing whatever it takes to get wherever she wants to go and so, you know, while i -- 50% of these folks might still vote for hillary clinton, i think most of those people are not the swing voters. where the e-mails are going to matter are for the people who are on the fence or bernie sanders voters who may be looking for a home with donald trump. >> specifically those young voters and young female voters -- >> right. >> -- that bernie sanders has consistently won across all demographics. leslie? >> look, if you just look at the platform of this revolution of senator sanders' followers, there's absolutely no way that his followers who are very, very high in supporting the issue of climate change. donald trump says there is no climate change. want a $15 minimum wage and donald trump says, hey, people are making too much money. who want free college. there is no way they're going to go from being democratic social its supporters to donald trump -- >> there's a sector that i think could potentially cross over. some of the blue collar folks that are concerned about trade in particular i think could potentially look to donald trump. i mean, even in west virginia a few weeks back there were folks voting for bernie sanders in a primary and said in the poll they're going to vote for donald trump. >> it doesn't help when you're hillary clinton and you go to speak about income inequality in front of a group you're wearing a jacket that costs, what, over $12,000? that didn't help either. we're going to have you guys back so do not go far. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> abby. >> thank you, guys. the time is currently about 40 after the hour. a firefighter rushing through waist high water to save a brand-new baby. all across flood ravaged florida. new polls show a tight race between donald trump and hillary clinton in the general. what does trump need to do to secure a white house win? we are mapping out his path to victory. that's next. ♪ i'm going to make this as simple as possible for you. you can go ahead and stick with that complicated credit card that limits where you earn bonus cash back. or... you can get the quicksilver card from capital one. quicksilver earns you unlimited 1.5% cash back on ev-e-ry purchase, ev-e-ry-where. i shouldn't have to ask. what's in your wallet? welcome back to "fox & friends first." happening right now, 20 million people waking up to the powerful punch tropical storm colin is leaving behind. a firefighter walking in waist high water rescuing a baby carrying her above a lake, more than a neighborhood. ten inches of rain flooding streets near tampa. the storm even spawning water spouts off the coast. look at that. breaking overnight, this, now a confirmed tornado touching down in jacksonville caught on home video camera showing 60 mile per hour blistering winds completely destroying a backyard. and then a terrifying day for families at a zoo to tell you about when a leopard escapes his cage forcing an hour lockdown. families finding refuge in the gift shop at the zoo in utah. zoo officials tranquilized the animal after they saw it napping on a beam feet away from her enclosure. the zoo now scrambling to find out how the 4-year-old 60 pound leopard got out. abby? >> crazy story. the latest polls showing a tight race between donald trump and hillary clinton in the general and the real clear poll shows clinton ahead but just by 2 points. donald trump needs to win every state that mitt romney won in 2012 plus an additional 64 electoral votes. the question is how can he do it? here to map out the victory, scott rasmussen. >> good morning, abby. >> no matter how you slice this thing, it is an uphill battle for donald trump at this point. >> absolutely. you start with a map that shows blue and red states from four years ago. all of these blue states are not created equal. california, barack obama won it. donald trump has no chance there. >> no chance there. >> so you look at the closer states, places like virginia where it was a close election last time around. a couple points can flip this thing. >> virginia can be in play. >> it's a tough state for trump because of all the federal employees in the northern part of the state. you go down to florida, another tossup state. >> what can happen there? >> i don't know. the latino population there could create, again, challenges for donald trump. so what you do is you go back to the, you know, grand daddy of all tossup states in ohio. this is a state -- >> look how close it was four years ago. >> i feel so bad for the voters in ohio. they got bombarded with all of this stuff every year, and also ohio right in the midwest is the place where donald trump's message can resonate better principals than anywhere else. >> if he sticks to jobs, right and the economy? >> if he sticks to jobs and trade and the economy in the sense that nobody in washington is listening to these people. it's a message a little bit like ronald regan had 30 years ago where he talked about these folks, but when you get to this map and you start to look, what's around ohio? you've got pennsylvania -- >> so, interesting, the four states we just showed, romney lost all four of those. >> that's right. >> so now the question is where can trump made in roads in other states, right? >> that's right. he has to win ohio, what we were just talking about. 18 electoral college votes. you go to pennsylvania right next door, this is a state republicans always dream of, never win, but that's a state that donald trump is going to have to -- >> he's saying he's going to win it. >> he said he's going to win a lot of places. >> so did romney. >> that's right. >> michigan, that's a state that hasn't gone for the republicans since 1988. that's a place where donald trump will try to reach the economic message. wisconsin -- >> all of these right next to each other. >> here's the problem, right now i'm projecting that ohio is a tossup. those other three states are leaning to the democrats. it is clearly an uphill fight. if donald trump wins every state that romney won plus those four, he gets exactly 270 electoral college votes, no margin for error. >> for trump? >> for trump. >> i mean, that's an uphill battle to climb. >> there are other tossup states. florida we talked about earlier. new hampshire is a tossup as well. >> talk about new hampshire, the importance of that state. >> not only does it have four electoral votes but there is a tossup senate race there. new hampshire, florida, and ohio all have tossup senate races. what does that mean? whoever wins those states at the presidential level might give their party control of the u.s. senate as well, but all eyes are going to be on the midwest. we're going to be talking about these states as well. >> the trump planes will be spending a lot of time in this neck of the woods. >> here's the challenge. donald trump is reaching the same people that ronald regan did reach all of those years ago. reagan did it by expressing faith in people by saying if i remove government, you can do this yourself. donald trump is saying i'm going to negotiate on your behalf, different kind of message. >> very interesting. as we said, economy, economy, economy. >> that's right. >> he's got to stick to his message. we'll see how this plays out. matt matters. >> matt always matters. >> thanks for being with us this morning. appreciate it. heather. nice to see you in person, scott. he called in earlier. the time is now about ten minutes to the top of the hour. outrage online. bernie sanders supporters storm social media in a fit of furry. "fox & friends" weekend co-host clayton morris has the online social media call that is lighting up social media. this morning's house minority leader nancy pelosi endorsed hillary clinton. she said it would be fabulous if she picks a female running mate. hillary said, good idea. do you know anyone who didn't wait to endorse me until the day i clinched the nomination? nancy pelosi! >> well, the california battle between hillary clinton and bernie sanders is trending big on social media. "fox & friends" weekend co-host clayton morris joins us with that and everything else trending last night. one of our favorite segments always after the primary. clayton? >> good morning, guys. it was even before the primary when the voting started in california and new jersey and the other states last night there was outrage, of course, over everything that was unfolding for the race being called for hillary clinton ahead of bernie sanders -- or for hillary clinton before any of the votes were cast. so on social media last night this was pennsylvania. watch. >> we are going to fight hard to win the primary in washington, d.c., and then we take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice to philadelphia, pennsylvania. >> so fighting on. one staffer for sanders said -- the associated press calling this race ahead of time was, quote, one of the most appalling things i've seen. and jeff pierson said the associated press called it for the warriors. they won. no need to play them anymore. another tweet from ray gun said i did not stand with hillary. the system is rigged, rigged results and the thank you bernie hashtag popping up as well. so thank you bernie was one of the top trending hashtags last night. of course, a lot of disgruntled people taking the media. daniel napolitano tweeting this, thank you, bernie, for being the only politician being 100% foro. we can make change happen one day. thank you, bernie. not me. i will never stand with her. this is another hashtag. i will never stand with her popping up. we'll see if over the next few weeks heading into philadelphia if that changes at all. then of course big jokes popping up last night. the idea that, well, maybe they should get together after all and some duets, different songs were popping up. one of the top trending hashtags, second only to primary day. this is what people were doing on social media, coming up with trending jokes for bernie and hillary duets like this one. you used to e-mail me on my cell phone like drake and the hotline bling. then here's another one. we've got 99 problems but trump ain't one, bernie and hillary duet. then lady gaga lit up social media last night. she pops up last night with this picture and she said, vote for the first female president in u.s. history. this country could use a little rock and roll in its life to which people said, yeah, nothing says rock and roll like hillary clinton writing on social media last night. so a lot of anger, guys, last night. first of all, the biggest anger, the associated press calling the race ahead of the voting. >> social media not loving hillary clinton last night. >> we have a few weeks until philadelphia. will there be any unity? >> thank you, clayton. the time is currently 55 -- i guess five minutes to the top of the hour now, and donald trump acting more presidential than ever last night. >> i know some people say i'm too much of a fighter. my preference is always peace, however, and i've shown that. >> so what do voters think about his new attitude? pollster lee carter up next putting the dials to the test. good morning to you. it is wednesday, june 8th and welcome to "fox & friends first." i'm heather childers. >> good morning, i'm abby huntsman. that's right, the primary season almost in the books. the final contest paving the way for donald trump and hillary clinton, but bernie sanders, he says he is staying in the race. >> clinton declaring victory in at least three out of six races. the critical primary in california not yet called, but clinton is in the lead. >> and no surprises for trump with a clean sweep across all five states. >> i'm going to be your champion. i'm going to be america's champion. >> it's clear that donald trump doesn't believe we are stronger together. >> we will not allow donald trump to become president of the united states. >> to all of those bernie sanders voters who have been left out in the cold by a rigged system of super delegates, we welcome you with open arms. >> i'm going to take a moment later tonight and the days ahead to fully absorb the history we've made here. >> next tuesday we continue the fight in the last primary in washington, d.c. >> one more to go next tuesday. the deal sealed for clinton though with 2,497 delegates and for trump as well with 1,536 delegates. >> let's get right to garrett tenney live in washington, d.c., with a complete wrapup of the final states. garrett, you've been with us all night, all morning. good morning. >> good morning, y'all. it's been a busy night. we've got a preview of what the next five months could look like that this general election could get ugly. donald trump kicked the night off with a victory speech at trump national golf club outside of new york city. he had blistering criticisms of hillary clinton in his prepared speech going after her e-mail scandal and the clinton foundation. >> we can't solve our problems by counting on the politicians who created our problems. the clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves. they've made hundreds of millions of dollars selling access, selling favors, selling government contracts, and i mean hundreds of millions of dollars. >> reporter: about an hour later in her took some time to relish the historic moment of becoming the first woman to secure the presidential nomination of a major political party. she shot right back at donald trump lifting up his controversial statements saying he goes against everything america stand for. >> it is a simple but powerful idea. we believe that we are stronger together. the stakes in this election are high, shs and the choice is clear. donald trump is temperamentally unfit to be president. >> and while she may have secured the nomination bernie sanders told his supporters he is not glg anywhere
New-yorkUnited-statesTampaFloridaNew-hampshirePhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaWashingtonBeijingChinaCaliforniaIndiana >> i still think that mueller can produce a product that we all have confidence in, but things like this make it really difficult. the perception is every bit as important as the reality. if the perception is you're employing people who are biased, it makes it really difficult for those of us who would like to defend the integrity of former prosecutors and heads of the f.b.i. >> sandra: a big show for you today. trey gowdy will be in today's hearing and is standing by. we begin with chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge this morning. she is live on the hill. >> good morning. we're expecting lawmakers on the house judiciary committee to drill down on the issue of alleged bias on the clinton email investigation as well as the russia investigation. fox news confirmed late yesterday they had uncovered more than 10,000 text messages sent by peter strzok to an f.b.i. lawyer with whom he was romantically involved. it was in these texts there were anti-trump sentiments. it could take several weeks to review all the text messages before they can be provided to the house intelligence committee but some republicans are already crying foul saying the justice department and f.b.i. are slow rolling the release of those records. in addition this week the revelation after judicial watch lawsuit there was an email from andrew wiseman, a top deputy on the russia probe under robert mueller to then acting attorney general sally yates. yates had just been fired by the president for refusing to defend the travel ban. andrew wiseman writes in that email under the subject line i'm proud and in awe. grateful thanks and deepest respect. people will have to decide for themselves whether that is another indicator of bias on the russia investigation. two senators, grassley and johnson, have sent a letter to the justice department whether they're aware of any other incidents in line with the strzok case and now the wiseman email. >> sandra: what about the dossier issue? the f.b.i. has been dragging its feet there. >> that's the other big issue to watch today in terms of the russia case. you will recall that the head of an opposition research firm glen simpson, fusion gps. we have confirmation now their research for the dossier was funded by the dnc and the clinton campaign. the questions republicans want answered is to what extent the f.b.i. relied on that unverified dossier to obtain surveillance warrants which captured the communications of trump campaign associates. and here is one of the members of the committee just a short time ago on the issue. >> the clinton campaign paid russians for this report, this dossier and it has been reported that this dossier was all dressed up by the government, taken to the fisa court and became the basis to spy on americans. so i think that's what happened. all the evidence points to that as being what took place. christopher wray can clear this all up. >> there may also be movement on this issue. we were told the justice department and f.b.i. may be willing to make key witnesses available to the house intelligence committee. they would include strzok, andrew mccabe, f.b.i. deputy director as well as the f.b.i. agent who was the point person, the handler for christopher steele, the british spy who gathered the research for the dossier. if that happens in the near future it would be in a closed, non-public setting so we wouldn't be able to hear the testimony about those issues, sandra. >> sandra: thank you. >> bill: trey gowdy was in yesterday's closed door session with donald trump junior and in today's hearing as well. he joins us live. welcome back, good morning. >> thank you. >> bill: wray took over for comey when comey was fired by the president in may. what is your first question? >> what are you going to do to restore people's confidence trust in the department of justice. not just strzok, that's the latest and i'm afraid it won't be the last. i think there will be other revelations of bias, prejudice and improper conduct on behalf of the department of justice. my first question to him is what will you do to repair not congress's trust, but the american people's trust in that blindfolded woman holding a set of scales. >> bill: the president said the reputation of the f.b.i. is in tatters. based on that answer i guess you agrie with the president. >> well, i work with line agents. the line women and men back in south carolina and other states. their reputation is not in tatters. they're the kind of people we want working in our justice department. but the higher ups have had a really bad two years. right now the american people aren't focused on the great agents in south carolina. they're focused on comey and mccabe and comey and now wray. it's the higher ups whose reputations are under assault, not the line agents. >> bill: is the integrity of the agency in question then now? >> of course it is. congress should not have to fight with the f.b.i. to access information that we're entitled to. we should not have to threaten contempt of congress. i don't want the drama of a contempt of congress floor fight. i want to information to do our jobs and we shouldn't have to fight with the department of justice to access that information. >> bill: when they change the wording to extremely careless on the hillary clinton email matter, was that wrong? >> that's one of a half dozen things that this particular agent did. but keep in mind, bill, why he did it. gross negligent is the phrase in the statute. that was the phraseology in the initial draft. it tracked the statute. it's really difficult to say we aren't going to prosecute you under a statute when we use the precise words. he changed it to extremely careless. there is no difference. the difference is they weren't going to charge her so didn't want to use the words of the statute and they changed them. my bigger problem if he had pro-clinton or anti-trump bias what was he doing talking to hillary clinton. >> bill: donald trump junior answered questions for 10 hours yesterday. >> sandra: close to 10. it seemed longer. >> bill: you said he was incredibly professional. did he break any laws, sir? >> no, i don't think he did anything improper. differing minds can quibble whether or not you should accept an offer to provide research. keep in mind the dnc was paying $10 million to do research on trump. the only difference is we don't have an email. glenn simpson from fusion gps reportedly met with this exact same russian lawyer before and after donald trump junior did. we don't have an email. >> bill: that meeting was in trump tower in june of 2016. apparently he had a conversation about that meeting with his father, then candidate trump about three weeks later. that seems to be the timeline i've put together based on reading the excerpts from yesterday. >> i think it was 11 months later. the meeting was in june of 2016, conversations with his father were june of -- july of 2017. >> bill: 13 months later. your colleague said he cited attorney client privilege with regard to that conversation. adam schiff has a real problem with that. do you? >> it's funny, adam does not have a problem when democrat witnesses cite privilege. glenn simpson cited some judge in alaska for a first amendment privilege that no one has heard of before. adam didn't have a problem with that. apply the same standard to republican witnesses as you do democrat witnesses. maybe then the public would have more confidence in our investigations. number one, when you leak what happened after you said you wouldn't and then you mischaracterize it of course nobody is going to have any confidence in our investigation. >> bill: you are an attorney. is he legally allowed to cite that privilege in the room yesterday? >> he is unless there is a waiver. adam went through the litany of question if there was a waiver. the answer was no. i guess adam didn't like the answers but those are the answers. >> bill: how significant is the hearing today? what should viewers be listening for? >> whether or not they trust this person to restore the reputation of the f.b.i. that's all they should be listening for. is this the right person for us to have confidence in the nation's premier law enforcement agency going forward? >> bill: we're watching at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. trey gowdy the republican on south carolina. >> sandra: crews facing an uphill battle as they fight to contain three major wildfires burning in southern california. officials say it could get worse before it will get any better. right now the focus on the thomas fire north of los angeles. it has scorched more than 140 square miles and prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people. authorities say the weather is not helping. >> extremely low relative humidity. that will cause our fuels that are already desiccated in the late fall conditions to continue to dry. there is a lot of potential for some large fire growth on the north and west side of this fire in the next 24 to 48 hours. >> sandra: the fires have destroyed nearly 200 homes and buildings so far. winds are expected to get stronger and stronger and continue to fan those flames. we will be live on the ground later this hour. what a horrible situation happening there. >> bill: we were captivated by the images coming before the sun came up yesterday right along the 405 freeway. we will hope for the best today. >> sandra: so many risking their lives to fight the fire. >> bill: the winds are tough stuff. 11 minutes past the hour. another story we're watching. al franken will be making an announcement today on his future after an avalanche of resignation calls. what will he do? what will he decide? we'll bring you there live in a moment. >> it could happen, the democrats are really looking at something that is very dangerous for our country. they are looking at shutting down. >> sandra: a high stakes showdown looms in washington president trump calling out democrats yet again just hours before a big meeting at the white house. south dakota senator john thune is a key senator involved on everything from the shutdown battle to tax reform and he will be here live. plus this. >> bill: these are ongoing clashes in the west bank, hamas calls for an uprising after trump's announcement about jerusalem. we're on the ground letting you know what's happening on that front today. >> we don't want to see killings and violence. let's do a reality check. jerusalem is the capital of israel. so we're acknowledging something that is common sense to everyone. e running all over the country in search of our big idaho potato truck. but not any more. i am done with that. ooh, ooh hot - just gonna stay home on the farm, eat a beautiful idaho potato, and watch tv with my dog... tv anncr: the big idaho potato truck pulled into town today and it's really a sight to see. oh man...let's go.... (distant) you comin', boy? sfx: (dog) gulp! woof. >> i hope he will do the right thing and step aside. >> i feel there has been a series of allegations that are serious and when he speaks to the nation and folks back home in minnesota that it would be the best step if he stepped down. >> i do not feel he should continue to serve. everyone will make their own judgments. i hope they do make their own judgments. >> bill: al franken has an avalanche of calls to step aside. awaiting announcement from the democratic senator. this comes only two days after the veteran democrat out of detroit, john conyers, resigned as well. want to bring in fox news politics editor chris stirewalt. welcome back to the morning show. we missed you, my friend. 48 democrats serving in the senate. 32 have said step aside. why did the dam break yesterday? >> in part it was because allegations kept coming. you had another accusation that was particularly gross that came forward. the other thing is gillibrand has emerged as really the leader on this issue. her prominence in the democratic party in the senate. this one she basically looks like to me she said this is going to happen and chuck schumer, her fellow new york senator basically said okay, here we go. then it began. the republicans can take a lesson from how the democrats handled this issue. it was clearly a series of coordinated strikes. it kept rolling out throughout the day until at the close of the day the senate democratic leader schumer comes forward and says it's time to go. go ahead. >> bill: this is from franken's twitter feed, all right? he is talking with his family at this time and plans to make an announcement in d.c. tomorrow. any reports of a final decision are inaccurate. what does he do? you mentioned chuck schumer said step aside. the democratic leader in the senate. >> even those who have done wrong are deserving of mercy. so i don't want to be too unkind here. but al franken kind of needs to get over himself. it is beyond him now and part of the reason that he is going to have to step down is the way that he botched his response to all of this in refusing to take ownership of it. he did the fake apology, the non-apology, i'm sorry you felt bad and uncomfortable. not i'm sorry i made you uncomfortable. his refusal to actually own this thing and to deal with it as some sort of a nuisance that he was going to brush aside was a big part of why he has ended up in this situation. >> bill: we're just getting this now. the tweet i read was from last night. now al frank en says 11:45 a.m. eastern time he will make a statement from the floor of the senate. is that a surprise to you? >> what if he decided to stay and fight. if he decided to stay and fight until most of all of his fellow democrats it would be a blessing for republicans. a huge blessing for republicans who are right now facing the prospect of roy moore potentially arriving in their midst. that would be a -- if al franken wants to help the republicans. he can do more for the republican party today if he fits his fellow democrats and does all of that, it will be an enormous boon to donald trump and roy moore. they will be cheering him on this morning. >> bill: the vote is next tuesday in alabama. if he were to resign he with do it from his office and not from the senate floor? >> maybe he will go and give a farewell address. maybe he does that. i would think this, that instead if you were going to resign you would just resign. if you're resigning in disgrace nobody particularly wants to hear about your disgrace. as john conyers found out call it whatever you want, when you leave under a cloud of scandal you are just leaving. franken going to the senate floor that has some potential that maybe he wants to make a scene. maybe he wants to put his fellow democrats into anguish over the anguish he feels they have caused him. >> bill: we're guessing at the moment. 11:45 we should know, if not before then. thank you, chris stirewalt. 9:20 eastern time. >> sandra: authorities warning of unprecedented conditions as massive wildfires continue to tear through southern california. those are live images coming into our newsroom at this moment. we will be live on the ground right after the break with more on that. this as the scope of the destruction is clearly coming into focus. some folks losing their homes in a matter of minutes. >> you build this house and everywhere we live. all our travels. everything. >> bill: just to repeat the headline a moment ago. al franken on the floor of the senate at 11:45 eastern time. live coverage. what will he do? we do not know. the recent allegations, accusations against him. 32 democrats on the senate side yesterday saying he should step aside. we'll see what he says when he says it. jason chaffetz reminds us moments ago during the commercial break what you say on the floor of the senate gives you immunity. you can't be prosecuted for it. it may explain the reason why he chose the venue today. >> sandra: this coming after an outpouring of calls from democrats to step down but still we aren't getting any guidance as to what exactly he plans to say on the senate floor. that coming up in a couple hours. all right. meanwhile another big story today. southern california bracing for potential hurricane force winds at this hour as crews battle three major wildfires that have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. stunning images coming in live to our newsroom right now. jonathan hunt is reporting live from ventura. jonathan, you got onto the front lines overnight. what did you see? how was that? >> it's a pretty rare opportunity to get right onto the front lines, sandra. it is in part terrifying and in part inspiring as you watch the heroic efforts of firefighters. here is what it looked like. we're in the hills in ventura county what firefighters are doing is trying to prevent the flames that are burning here from jumping these roads so they've been setting backfires. the intensity of the flame quite extraordinary at this point. the firefighters are backing away from it. it is an intense fire fight that is likely to go on for at least another 24 hours. and thanks to the skills and in no short measure the bravery of those firefighters, sandra, they were able to halt the forward progress of those flames and save the small city of santa paula for now at least. >> sandra: a lot of fears today with those high winds. >> interesting, just as the sun is coming up here now, sandra, the winds have been picking up. it has been extremely still but we can feel it coming now. the forecast is that the wind gusts could get up as high as 70 to 80 miles an hour. it would be hurricane-force winds combined with these fires. you can imagine how deadly and dangerous that is. the town of ohi, a picturesque town between l.a. and santa barbara is most at risk there. the flames creeping down the hillside towards that time. firefighters there and across southern california face a treacherous and dangerous 24 hours ahead today, sandra. >> sandra: jonathan hunt, thank you. >> bill: meanwhile overseas there is outrage erupting in parts of the middle east at this hour. watch. [gunfire] >> bill: hamas calling for days of rage after the president recognized jerusalem as israel's capital city. we're live on the ground for reaction in bethlehem coming up in moments here. >> sandra: our top story of the day moments if now. f.b.i. director christopher wray set to face house lawmakers as we learn new details about f.b.i. agent peter strzok. can he offer anything to restore the people's trust? >> we now know that had hillary won the corruption would have gotten bigger and deeper. we have never learned any of this and i think it's pretty appalling. the level of corruption we are beginning to see in the f.b.i. >> bill: palestinian leaders calling for days of rage. president trump recognized jerusalem yesterday as the capital of israel. nikki haley calling it symbolic and more. >> president trump: we're no closer to a lasting peace agreement between israel and the palestinians. it would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result. therefore, i have determined that it is time to officially recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. >> he made a symbolic move to say we are committed to the peace process, we are committed to seeing israelis and palestinians coming together in peace but at the same time we'll do what the american people have asked us to do. >> bill: connor powell live in jerusalem for the latest today. >> the morning started out relatively quiet and peaceful with protests around jerusalem but by early afternoon the violence that people warned president trump that would occur, it began to erupt in bethlehem and other places in the west bank areas. palestinians were going into this decision angry. angry at the economic situation and angry with the military checkpoints. this decision brought out the anger. clashes between israelis and palestinians taking place in bethlehem with israeli security forces firing tear gas and palestinians throwing rocks and using sling shots to fire rocks at israeli soldiers. in ramallah they burned tires in similar clashes and hebron. jerusalem it's a different story. there were smaller protests and scuffles but nothing major. there were cheers and celebrations among israelis. last night they put images of the american flag on the wall of the old jerusalem city. a lot of celebration and happiness and jubilation among israelis, the violence in the west bank. the question going forward, bill, is very much does this sustain itself? is this something we'll see for one or two days, days of rage or does this snowball into something much worse like what we saw over the fight over the western wall that we saw several months ago? that has the potential -- this has the potential to spiral into something like that and that's what is potentially so dangerous and scary for people watching this area. >> bill: we're watching along with you, thank you, connor powell live in jerusalem. >> sandra: we're awaiting f.b.i. director christopher wray on capitol hill where he is set to testify before the house judiciary committee. that happening at the top of the hour and on the top of lawmaker's minds will be the russia investigation. and recent questions about the f.b.i.'s handling of the hillary clinton email investigation. congressman trey gowdy was on just moments ago and he says this is only the beginning. >> this is not just strzok, that's the latest. i'm afraid strzok won't be the last. i think there will be other revelations of bias and prejudice and improper conduct on behalf of the department of justice. my first question to him is what are you going to do to repair not congress's trust but the american people's trust in that blindfolded woman holding a set of scales? >> sandra: joining me now are doug schoen former advisor to president bill clinton and fox news contributor and thomas dupree former assistant attorney general under george w. bush. the question today and a question they'll be talking about a lot today, is the f.b.i. corrupt? >> we don't really know how to answer that. and it pains me, sandra, as an american, to say that. the issues with peter strzok, the issues with the dossier, and the issues with the way the f.b.i. has operated raise real questions that christopher wray is going to not only have to answer today but address systematically. it does raise questions. i wish i could say trey gowdy was exaggerating. sadly he is not. >> sandra: likely to be a lot of questions about the double standard. a block of house republicans on the house judiciary committee say there has been a double standard playing out with these investigations on the treatment of president trump and the treatment of hillary clinton during the email investigation. >> sandra, i'll say i have been very discouraged by these recent revelations. when i served in the justice department, the department and the f.b.i. really were the gold standard of integrity and they were universally regarded as nonpartisan committed to law enforcement. there appears to be at least some people who played critical rolls in the hillary clinton investigation and now in the trump investigation that seem to have been motivated by a partisan agenda. completely the opposite to everything the justice department and the f.b.i. stand for, which is neutral independent, nonpartisan enforcement of the laws. >> sandra: newt gingrich was on earlier and made it very clear the average person working at the f.b.i., man or woman, is still a hard working honest person. but this isn't just one mistake. listen. >> the average f.b.i. agent is still as honest and serious and hard working as ever. but at the very top the justice department and the f.b.i. became corrupted and i think we have to be honest and use that language. this is not an occasional mistake. this was covering up for the next president they thought. covering up for their foundation. covering up for their relationship with russia and uranium one. covering up for the entire process of the investigation. >> sandra: if that's all true, christopher wray has a big job to do in restoring the trust as trey gowdy said. not just of republicans and democrats, but of the american people. >> i agree, sandra. one of the things i've said and i would renew it here this morning. we need a special prosecutor on uranium one to investigate how that deal went down, how the dossier came to be prepared and put together, how the f.b.i. came to get it. all of those issues i think need to be aired because the integrity of our criminal justice system and secretary clinton are up for grabs. >> sandra: what do you think. new investigations? do they think to be opened? >> where i might slightly depart ways is if we appoint special prosecutors. >> i don't trust bob mueller to do both investigations at the same time. >> i wouldn't put it under mueller's jurisdiction, that's for sure. when you put these special counsels in play they take on a life of their own and these investigations can go for decades and go off in directions no one anticipated. so while i certainly think all of these are issues that bear investigation and looking into i guess i would be a little bit cautious about saying let's create someone new, a special prosecutor to look into this. >> sandra: you brought up a good point about the dossier. things have gotten quiet when it comes to the dossier, here is jim jordan talking about that yesterday. his question was the dossier discredited paid by the dnc and clinton money. >> first nobody knows how that dossier got put together. it was allegedly a lawyer i think mr. elias spending $13 half million on his own instigation. that strange thing. how was the dossier put together by mr. steele? who contributed in russia? what were the underlying economic and political arrangements? what is the veracity of it? those are questions we need to get litigated and look, bob mueller has a lot on his plate. the point i was trying to make is i don't really think he should do both investigations. but whether it be the justice department or another special prosecutor, we need a full independent investigation of the f.b.i. >> sandra: tom, set this up for us. this is set to begin in 20 minutes. the f.b.i. and christopher wray in the hot seat facing a grilling from republican lawmakers. >> i don't envy chris wray at this moment. he is on the hot seat today and a big task in front of him. he needs to reassure the committee and the american people that the f.b.i. remains a neutral, independent law enforcement agency. he is number one. going to have to explain how strzok and other people with partisan interests were playing such integral roles in these investigations and explain what steps he is putting in place to ensure that any taint of bias or partisan politics has been purged from these ongoing investigations. a big task. i think chris wray is a man of integrity and up to the job and see how he does today. >> sandra: we'll see him in a few minutes. thank you for coming on set this morning. >> bill: we're hearing senator al franken makes a statement two hours from now. he will be back on the floor of the senate at 11:45 a.m. eastern time as the dam broke yesterday. more than 30 democratic senators calling for him to resign. more on that in a moment. plus there is this. >> president trump: the house and senate are negotiating the final bill and i cannot wait to sign these giant tax cuts, and reforms. it is also reforms. but i am looking forward to signing it. it will be the largest tax cuts by far in the history of our country. >> sandra: president trump pushing hard selling tax reform as it enters the homestretch. the senate votes to go to conference with the house. john thune, chairman of the senate republican conference on where the votes are today. my daughter is... ...studying to be a dentist and she gave me advice. she said... ...dadgo pro with crest pro-health. 4 out of 5 dentists confirm... ...these crest pro-health... ...products help maintain a... ...professional clean. go pro with crest pro health crest pro-health... ...really brought my mouth... ...to the next level. 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hospitalization; ...skin problems; and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain. if your bones aren't getting stronger... ...isn't it time for a new direction? why wait? ask your doctor about prolia®. >> president trump: the democrats maybe will want to shut down the country because they want people flowing into our country and i want people coming into our country, but i want to vet those people and i want to vet them very carefully. >> bill: president trump suggesting the fight over immigration could lead to a government shutdown. congress needs an agreement on a spending bill before a deadline tomorrow and even then it might be a two week extension. senator john thune chairman of the senate republican congress. i have a couple of things to go over. the shutdown. how do you get a government shutdown when republicans control the house? >> the thing about the senate, of course, as you know on a spending bill takes 60 votes in the senate. we only have 52 republicans. we have to have democrats work with us. we can't ignore the democrats in these discussions. that's the purpose of the meeting this afternoon at the white house between the democrat, republican leadership and president. hopefully they will get it passed forward. we'll pass a short-term two-week funding bill that will get us up to december 22 and that vote should happen later today. >> bill: do you fear a shutdown? is that at the top of your mind? >> there is no appetite for a shutdown. that's not necessary. when they sit down this afternoon hopefully they can negotiate an agreement that will enable us to fund the government for the next year and do the other things we need to be able to do. obviously i think the democrats probably view it as a political opportunity if the government were to shut down. but i'm hoping cooler heads will prevail. both sides come together and we'll be able to get the bipartisan majority to pass a longer term funding bill. >> bill: we just heard from the president. you're in conference now on the tax bill. he has a different phrase for it. watch here. >> president trump: i call it the mixer. it's in conference now. i call it the mixer. when it comes out it is going to be a beautiful mix. there are things that i like better in the senate bill. there are things i like better in the house bill. i think when they come out we'll have some new additions and we'll have the best of each. i think we'll have a fantastic tax bill. >> bill: i don't know if it's a mixer but whatever it is you are in a new phase. >> right. >> bill: i think what americans want to know is what is changing in the bill that they need to understand that affects them? >> the nice thing about the process -- the conference committee is the last step in the process before we get a bill through the house and senate and on the president's desk which i hope we get done before christmas. the senate bill moved closer to the house. we're in a position, i think, to merge those bills. there are a couple of key differences that we'll have to work through. i think the issue how you treat state and local tax deduction is something where the house and senate are in slightly different places. how we treat pass-through businesses. how we take the two bills and reconcile those when it comes to pass-throughs. by and large you have the doubling of the standard deduction, the expansion of child tax credit, the lower rates on both individuals and businesses in both bills. those are the key elements of the bill. they're the foundation, those are the things that we use to deliver hard -- i should say meaningful tax relief to hard working americans. i think we'll get there. >> bill: look at the calendar. you have three weeks to do this. you mentioned christmas. will you get this done in 2017? >> we will. and there is a sense of urgency about it. we know both house and senate negotiators are already informal discussions occurring. we will have to sit down in a more formal context to negotiate the finer points but we need to get a bill out of the conference committee hopefully sometime next week and eventually on the president's desk before the christmas holiday. >> bill: any chance you're there between christmas and new year's? >> you never know. i've been here on christmas eve and new year's eve in the past. if we are it will probably be on something else. i think the tax bill should be done and if we end up with some prolonged debate on the spending bill. but i hope that both can be negotiated. i think when people come to the table in good faith you can make it happen. >> bill: it is lovely in the capitol this time of year. >> i would rather be somewhere else. >> bill: a vote in alabama with roy moore. al franken in two hours will make an announcement about his future on the floor of the senate. what is your reflection on how this is hitting washington now? >> it's hitting washington just like it is hitting business and entertainment and every area of life. and it's a wake-up call for all of us. we have to address these issues in a different way. there has to be accountability for the american people on these issues. when you've got people who are behaving badly, they've got to be held accountable and that's the case with both al franken and roy moore. >> bill: a lot of people want to know about the hush fund and slush fund and find out what's happening with that. thank you, sir, the senator from south dakota on the hill. >> sandra: continuing to come out of southern california this breaking news for you, flames stretch as far as the eye can see. firefighters say winds could reach up to 50 miles an hour today making fighting those wildfires even harder. more on that in a moment. >> bill: how much did the jury know about the illegal immigrant acquitted in the kate steinle murder trial? one of the jurors speaking out for the first time since the verdict a week ago. >> we were told at the beginning of the trial that immigration were not involved in the specific charges around the issue. ♪ we are the driven... the dedicated... the overachievers. we know our best investment is in ourselves. we don't take no for an answer. we fight for what we want. even for the things that were once a given. going to college... buying a home... and not being in debt for it for the rest of our lives. but we're only as strong as our community. who inspires and pushes us to go further than we could ever go alone. sofi. get there sooner. december 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy. united states of america was suddenly and deliberately attacked. >> bill: infamy indeed. american flags at half staff today marking 76 years since the attack on pearl harbor. 2400 americans lost their lives when japan launched a surprise attack on a navy base in hawaii. there will be a proclamation signing today. those attending army and navy veterans across the country and several will be in their 90s when they step into the oval office today. >> sandra: hard to believe 76 years ago. >> bill: we'll watch for that later today. quite a picture. >> sandra: we're watching the california wildfires in the grips of their worst wildfire season in years. now unprecedented winds could undo all the ground gained by firefighters there. santa ana wind gusts could hit hurricane speeds we're told topping 80 miles an hour in some areas today. fanning flames and growing three fires even faster. that prompting an alert to millions from santa barbara all the way to san diego. nearly 200 homes have already burned. thousands remain out of their homes. it is a story we'll be following now and throughout the day. and here is what the fires look like from space. an unbelievable shot there. bill, it is difficult to wrap your mind around the vastness of these fires. >> the thing that strikes me during these wildfires watching for months up and down the west coast is how quickly they start and consume these areas. if you go back to the satellite image there at the bottom of the screen we're told that is cloud cover but just above that is the east -- the winds of santa ana come from the east/northeast. it is blowing the smoke into the pacific ocean and you get 50 mile-an-hour winds inland. >> sandra: watching these personal stories coming out of the fires. they go to bed at night and fire at the end of their street and running out with garden hoses to stop it. >> bill: tremendous loss. back on the hill. about to see the next f.b.i. director in that room for a hearing, christopher wray will testify for the house judiciary committee at a critical moment for the agency looking to restore faith in his bureau. we'll bring it to you live when it begins. al franken will be on the floor in the senate an hour 30 minutes from now. allies on him and his future as he faces enormous pressure from inside the democratic caucus in the senate. all that is coming up. d ever? heart-healthy california walnuts. the best simple veggie dish ever? california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? great tasting, heart-healthy california walnuts. so simple, so good. get the recipes at walnuts.org. >> sandra: big morning. the f.b.i. on the hot seat. house judiciary committee getting ready to grill director christopher wray about reports of political bias within the bureau against president trump amid growing accusations of a double standard when it came to investigating hillary clinton. welcome to a new hour of "america's newsroom," i'm sandra smith. >> bill: what will we get from this hearing, right? a lot of tension and a lot of questions. >> sandra: you don't know yet. big morning. >> bill: this hearing could get contentious. republicans are raising new concerns about the very integrity of the agency. the president is doing that this week as well not to mention the russia matter, trey gowdy last hour saying congress is well within its rights in the search for answers today. >> congress should not have to fight with the f.b.i. to get information we are entitled to and not threaten contempt of congress. i don't want that drama floor fight. i want the information we're entitled to to do our jobs and shouldn't have to fight with the department of justice to access that information. >> sandra: steven hayes is editor and chief of the weekly standard. a big job for us at this moment. that could begin at any moment. christopher wray is going to be getting seated shortly. could you set this up for us? there is huge expectations coming out of this hearing this morning, steven. and big questions about that double standard that republicans say exist and the treatment of president trump and his mueller investigation and how hillary clinton was treated with hers. >> we should expect a contentious hearing. this is donald trump's pick to lead the f.b.i. the president has been critical in recent days of the f.b.i. saying its reputation was in tatters and you have democrats who want answers about the russia investigation and what is happening there. you can expect that christopher wray will be taking incoming from both republicans and democrats as this thing moves forward today. >> sandra: trey gowdy was on last hour on "america's newsroom." he was basically saying, steven, that christopher wray has a huge job to do and really going to be grilled with a lot of questions as you said from democrats as well as republicans about restoring the trust of the american people when it comes to the integrity of the f.b.i. >> he does, i agree with trey gowdy. the one way he could begin to restore trust is through transparency. gowdy made an important point in the clip that we just played and in his interview earlier today that the f.b.i. hasn't been forthcoming with document requests from congress. this has been through not just with respect to the russia investigation but really going back to previous investigations into the hillary clinton email investigation before it. that's a problem. people need to see what is happening to the extent that it's possible without compromising the integrity of these investigations. when something like this happens, when there are revelations about text messages that may suggest bias, it is important that the f.b.i. not only deal with it which appears to have happened in this case, but also to explain what has happened. it is not necessarily the case that because somebody has sent text messages that are pro-hillary clinton or anti-donald trump that the investigation is ruined but it also, i think, is important for the f.b.i. to explain why it took the actions that it did and whether there is this double standard that certainly on the surface there appears to be. >> sandra: based on what we may learn in the next few moments in that room on capitol hill, what could all of this mean for the hillary clinton investigation, steven? >> i don't know that it has as much impact on the hillary clinton investigation as much as the perception of the russia investigation. if you've seen reported on peter strzok he was involved in the interrogations of top hillary clinton aides, interrogations where they appeared to have misled the f.b.i. but were not punished for it. we also know by a number of different reports that he is responsible for changing the language in the statement that f.b.i. director -- then f.b.i. director james comey game which downgraded the language and made it not consistent with the statute at trey gowdy pointed out. i think it will invite new scrutiny on why exactly he took those actions. and i think this is the potential problem for peter strzok and for the f.b.i. it's one thing to send text messages privately to a girlfriend indicating bias in one direction or another but that's not necessarily dispositive or demonstrative of an overall bias or inability to do your job. andy mccarthy has an article explaining why that's the case. but when you have public actions or professional actions that appear consistent with the bias expressed in those private messages, then i think you really do have questions about the integrity of the investigation and the double standard that seem to be on display here. >> sandra: gowdy also suggested that peter strzok may only be the beginning. he may clearly not be the only one here. >> one suspects that trey gowdy wasn't speculating idly when he said those things. we need to learn more. if there are more cases of this, you mentioned earlier wiseman and the email he sent with respect to sally yates' decision on the travel ban. again, you can't isolate single messages and draw vast conclusions about a biased investigation because of them. if there appears to be a pattern or if these individual private messages are reconfirmed by professional actions, i think then you do have some additional problems that need to be addressed in the forefront in a transparent way by the f.b.i. director. >> sandra: newt gingrich said the f.b.i. became corrupted. this isn't an occasional mistake. this was covering up for the next president so they thought. steven, there could be potentially as you can see right now folks are entering the room, chris wray set to begin testifying at any moment. that hearing will be underway in the next few minutes. steven, can you set this up for us? it sounds like you are predicting fireworks. >> i think there will be fireworks. i expect the questions will focus on the issues that you and i have been discussing today. the russia investigation, the hillary clinton email investigation, the apparent double standards between the two. the seriousness of lying to the f.b.i. there are also some serious policy matters that i expect will come up in the course of the hearing today. the potential reauthorization of the 702 program which many intelligence officials regard as the most important tool in listening in on our terrorist enemies. there are other policy issues that i think will get some time, one hopes that the debates over these investigations and the need for clarity on what exactly happened with the f.b.i. doesn't overwhelm the need for the discussion about the important policies that christopher wray is in charge of. >> sandra: he has been seated now, as you can see the live shot there on capitol hill. this should be beginning at any moment. we are getting some ideas of the questions that lawmakers will be throwing his way. steven hayes, if you can predict what is the first question going to be? >> well, the first question i would expect we'll hear setup from the chairman and ranking member and dive right into the alleged double standards and the integrity of the f.b.i. >> sandra: it will be quite a morning on capitol hill. democrats have a lot of questions, republicans have a lot of questions and it is coming in a week where a group of republican lawmakers within the house judiciary committee, they want to know about the double standard that they say exists between the treatment of donald trump and this mueller probe and the way hillary clinton was treated during her investigation. this is really a big morning, steven hayes, where we could potentially learn a lot. >> we could. let's not raise expectations too much. this is, after all, congress. i think we're far more likely to hear members of congress chest beating and giving many speeches designed to make them look good rather than actually trying to elicit facts from the witness. that's too bad if that what happens. i hope we can learn some things and that christopher wray will answer the questions in a forthright way. >> sandra: he could sit and calm concerns of bias at the f.b.i., right? >> he has that potential. if there is context that he can provide as to what we've seen reported publicly that allows people to better understand what has happened, that could be tremendously valuable. on the other hand, if it is the case as trey gowdy suggested there are more of these kinds of incidents, christopher wray might do well to get out in front of those and divulge those. let me tell you what we know and let me tell you what i've learned. i've had these problems. we've dealt with them quickly. peter strzok is no longer on the investigation. he is doing hr for the f.b.i. when we have these problems we address them quickly and try to solve them. it is important that the f.b.i. proceed with not only integrity in fact but the perception of integrity. >> sandra: as you can see chairman good lot is making opening statements. we will be listening for that. as we have heard from republican lawmakers this week, how tarnished is the mueller probe at this point? >> i would say there are serious questions about the integrity of the probe. but i don't believe that this is necessarily a witch hunt. you remember the same people who are now trashing bob mueller, including newt gingrich, were speaking to bob mueller's integrity when he was named special counsel. i think bob mueller is a man of integrity. i haven't always agreed with his decisions particularly back in the bush administration but virtually everybody who worked with him and knows him sees him as a man of integrity. he should answer these questions. i'm worried or troubled by the fact that the f.b.i. didn't provide the documentation requested by congress in a transparent way and to do so quickly. christopher wray should have to answer for that. as far as the investigation goes, i think bob mueller is a man of integrity and should be allowed to do his job. >> sandra: the house judiciary hearing has begun. f.b.i. director christopher wray, we'll hear from his shortly, steven hayes, thank you. >> bill: that's one big story on the hill. the other big story happens 90 minutes from now. al franken will make a statement about his own future on the floor of the senate at 11:45 eastern time. we're watching for that. back to the hearing in a moment. christopher wray sworn in on the second of august, took over for james comey fired by the president back in may. ray is described as low key. his demeanor and work, keep calm and tackle hard. the ranking member's opening statement now. we'll get to christopher wray after a quick commercial break. whoooo. looking for a hotel that fits... ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. i promise to have and to hold, from this day forward, till death do us part. selectquote can help you keep your promise. with life insurance starting at under a dollar a day. but you promised dad. come on. selectquote helped jim, 41, keep his promise, by finding him a $500,000 policy for under $27 per month and found kathy, 37 a $750,000 policy for under $21 per month. since 1985, we've helped millions of families, by finding them affordable coverage by impartially shopping highly rated insurers, offering over 70 policies. dad you're coming, right? you promise? i promise. keep your promise. >> bill: 15 minutes past the hour. back live to capitol hill about to get the opening statement from the f.b.i. director chris wray. he has been on the job for a little more than four months and there are serious questions from republicans especially about the leadership of the agency. this is the democrat from new york. he have is the current temporary ranking member of the committee. the reason his presence is significant now is because john conyers was the lead democrat on this committee up until two days ago before he stepped down. so when this begins and chris wray starts speaking we'll bring that to you live. a lot of questions on the line coming up on all that. stand by. >> sandra: senator al franken about to make a political announcement on his future after there are calls for his resignation. more than two dozen senate democrats are calling on franken to quit. jessica tarlov is a fox news contributor. kelly jane torrance is managing editor of the weekly standard. what do you expect will be happening on the senate floor at 11:45? >> i expect a resignation. he pushed back last night when it was reported he would resign and say he was still discussing it with his family. i think his position has become untenable with the colleagues. not with the voters of minnesota which is important to mention here. but i don't see how he could really be a productive member of the senate at this moment. i think democrats really want to say that they have taken the high ground with those in our party who have been accused of sexual assault and put that all on the republicans in the special election next tuesday in alabama comes up. >> sandra: kelly jane, what changed yesterday was mounting calls from female colleagues of al franken's for him to step down. >> yeah, it's quite amazing how much this changed within the democratic party in the last 19 years, isn't it? it was sort of the floodgates opened and kristin gillibrand led the charge and so many women agreed you need to step down. finally after they made the call, some male democrats finally added their voices to the chorus. >> sandra: it makes you wonder if indeed the announcement is that he is stepping down. we do not know that yet. but jessica, if that is the case and this following john conyers' departure what does it mean for roy moore? >> i think it should mean that roy moore is in a lot more trouble than he is. unfortunately from looking at the polling and the sentiment of alabama voters most notably 71% of republican voters in alabama don't believe the allegations. i think he is heading to the senate. mitch mcconnell made it clear there will be an immediate ethics investigation. that takes time and we'll see if corey gardner and folks who said to expel them would go along with that. democrats would be willing to. if he takes the seat they have a republican appointee coming. they have managed to say that even by backing an alleged child molester. >> it will be up to governor dayton to name a successor. al franken's office saying it wasn't the case that he was resigning last night. that's when we learned he would make this announcement or speech today. he is scheduled to deliver a speech from the senate floor at 11:45 a.m. eastern. >> it's striking how differently republicans and democrats are handling sexual harassment claims against their own. democrats are taking a very swift action. maybe not as swift as some of us would like but you had nancy pelosi the most powerful woman in congress on the democratic side calling for john conyers to step down. he was very reluctant. al franken is reluctant. with so many people doing so he really doesn't have a choice. little wondering if jessica is right about what happens if roy moore gets in. it seems like republicans are backtracking. mitch mcconnell said he didn't think roy moore was fit to be in the senate. as soon as donald trump made his endorsement of roy moore he changed his tune. >> and now sending money to secure the seat. maybe they're hoping it won't end up being roy moore but certainly the president's backing of it was troubling for i of us. >> sandra: i want to finish up talking about christopher wray. he is seated and the hearing has begun. we're waiting for him to make his initial statement. he issued a memo to employees to start off this week. he was inspired by example after example of professionalism and dedication to justice demonstrated around the bureau. it is truly an honor to represent you. he is in the hot seat today as well as the f.b.i. as a whole. expected to face a grilling from these lawmakers who have a lot of questions over what has been going on there, jessica. >> absolutely. i think that from his memo is very clear how highly he thinks of jim comey and that other people across the bureau have and we've seen lots of support that way. in the hot seat they'll want to talk about the russia investigation and talk about hillary clinton and the republicans will want to talk about hillary clinton and the f.b.i. investigation. >> sandra: they all want to talk about all of it. he was approved by the senate judiciary committee in july. president trump called wray a qualified individual in a june statement. your final thoughts. >> he seems to be a professional doing a great job but you have to stay with that memo he seems to be undercutting claims that some of the people in the f.b.i. haven't acted with the utmost professionalism and wants to defend the good people and the majority of f.b.i. agents are good people and do their job well. he has to -- he has to admit when some of his employees have done wrong and take swift action. >> sandra: we'll see how that goes in moments. thanks to both of you for joining us. i think we are going to go ahead. >> bill: nadler just completed his statement here. let's see if christopher wray begins here. you had the president two days ago talk about the f.b.i. being in tatters. trey gowdy did not knock that down in his appearance with us an hour ago. we have the questions about changing the wording during the hillary clinton email investigation to extremely careless which many have suggested was a downgrade for possible charge against her and then you had donald trump junior in front of the house intelligence committee, different committee now yesterday for 10 hours talking about a 20-minute meeting with russians in trump tower from june of 2016. so how much of that comes in today's questioning and conversation we wait to see. >> sandra: remember the president set up for the hearing today. he tweeted after years of comey with his phony and dishonest clinton investigation and more running the f.b.i. its reputation is in tatters, worst in history. he tweeted this on sunday and said but fear not. we will bring it back to greatness. and the president interviewed a lot of people for this position, former prosecutors, law enforcement officials and this was his man, christopher wray. >> bill: a lot of people not familiar with him. he has only been on the job for four most took own for comey. wray was sworn in august 2. he stood and get sworn in in the committee. let's drop in. >> my first opportunity to appear before this committee. and i look forward to our discussion. let me start by saying that it is for me the honor of a lifetime to be here representing the men and women of the f.b.i. there is no finer institution than the f.b.i. and no finer people than the men and women who work there and are its very beating heart. almost 37,000 men and women with a fierce commitment to protecting the american people and upholding the rule of law. in all 50 states and in about 80 countries around the world. men and women who face the darkest that life has to offer with unyielding integrity and honesty and dedication. and i am both humbled and inspired to be back in public service working alongside them. i want to consider the serious challenges we're facing and remember the millions of people we're protecting. on the national security front, we confront individuals who want to harm the united states in whatever way they can. terrorists hell bent on striking us with ieds, vehicles, guns, knives. for example, as we speak, the bureau has about 1,000 active isis investigations in all 50 states. we have nation states actively seeking our technology, our military secrets, our research and development to build their own economic prowess and tear ours down. cyber criminals who are using sophisticated means to infiltrate our systems and steal every piece of data they can get their hands on. these threats are real, they are many and a grave threat to all americans. but for the people we serve, these are not the threats that they encounter the most in their everyday lives. threats like violent crime and the national opioid epidemic impact everyday people trying to lead everyday lives. they don't want to have to worry about a terrorist driving a truck down a busy walkway. they don't want to worry about an active shooter opening fire on a crowded public gathering. and they certainly don't want to worry about whether their kids are safe from gangs and drug dealers and predators. we all need to be aware of the world around us and of the threats we face. but we in the f.b.i. are trying to do everything we can to make sure that the american people can go about living their lives while we focus on trying to keep them safe. i would like to highlight just a couple recent investigations that illustrate just a small, small part of our work together with our law enforcement partners and our colleagues in the justice department. in october, through operation cross-country, which the f.b.i. conducted in 44 states and the district of columbia we arrested 120 sex traffickers and recovered 84 sexually exploited juveniles including a 3-month-old girl and her 5-year-old sister who were recovered from a family friend trying to sell them for sex for $600. and through our top ten most wanted fugitives program, we have apprehended in the last couple years 10 of the most particularly dangerous offenders. in august, late august, we were able to work with our mexican counterparts to capture a gang member charged with first degree murder for beating, then shooting, and then setting on fire a 15-year-old boy in illinois who refused to show a gang sign. then earlier this year the pressure of being added to our top ten list let another fugitive to turn himself in to f.b.i. agents in texas for the 1983 murder of a young woman. for 33 years, that little girl now all grown up had hoped and prayed for his arrest. and he was finally captured on her birthday. cold comfort, i suspect, but we hope that his capture provides some measure of piece and justice to her. the work that we do is not easy, to put it mildly, but the f.b.i. is mission focused and passionate about the work we do. we are determined to be the very best at protecting the american people and upholding the rule of law and i for one could not be more proud to be part of it. i want to thank you, this committee, for your support. we could not do what we do without the funding that you all help us secure, without the investigative tools and authorities that you granted us, including as you noted, mr. chairman, section 702 of the foreign intelligence surveillance act which is at risk and set to expire very soon. we need every tool and every authority we've got to keep people safe and to pursue justice. as always, we are committed to using those authorities lawfully and appropriately for the good and protection of the american people. so thank you for having me here today. and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, director wray, will i begin by recognizing myself with a question. as director i'm sure you're aware of the recent media reports indicating that peter strzok, a special agent at the f.b.i., changed the words grossly negligent to extremely careless in former director comey's statement closing the clinton investigation. are you aware of that? >> i have heard some of the same information you have. >> do you know by chance what the criminal intent standard is under the act. >> i believe it's gross negligence. >> would it be accurate to say that a senior f.b.i. official changed the wording of the director's statement to ensure that secretary clinton was not liable under thes uponiage act? >> as you may know the handling of the investigation into secretary clinton is currently the subject of an outside independent investigation by the inspector general and wouldn't be appropriate for me to speculate what the inspector general will or will not find. >> that is probably appropriate but it's not inappropriate to ask you about a legal conclusion about a standard in the law that was changed in a statement that your predecessor put out as a justification for closing the investigation of the former secretary of state. >> as i said i believe the standard is gross negligence. i leave it to others to conclude whether extremely careless and gross negligence are the same thing. but i will say the particulars of the investigation and the decisions were made and whether or not it was handled appropriately is, as i think it should be, the subject of an outside independent investigation by the inspector general and i look forward to his findings as i'm sure the committee does as well. >> in july of 2016 the state department revealed that former secretary of state hillary clinton exchanged on her unsecured private server nearly two dozen top secret emails with three state department officials. the classification top secret means in part the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security. can you explain to the american people how the f.b.i. could not be investigating actions taken by individuals like those named in 2016 jacob sullivan, cheryl mills, william burns, that threatened grave damage to the national security? >> as i said, mr. chairman, the handling of the investigation or whether or not -- in particular whether or not decisions made in that investigation were the product of any improper considerations is precisely what the outside independent inspector general is investigating. when we get his findings i will look and see what appropriate action we can take at the f.b.i. in response to that. >> can anyone on this committee set up a private server now and conduct classified business on it since not a single person has been prosecuted or held accountable for the clinton email investigation? >> no. >> thank you. director wray, what are you doing to ensure that the top ranks of the federal bureau of investigation are cleared of individuals who are tainted by bias or those who have exhibited indiscretion by failing to demonstrate the integrity americans expect from their top law enforcement officials? >> well, the first thing i'm doing is respecting the outside independent investigations that are underway. my preference is to be one of these people who is not an act first and ask questions later kind of guy but an ask questions first and then act kind of guy. so i think these matters are being looked at as they should be by somebody outside the f.b.i. and when those findings come to me, i will take appropriate action if necessary. in the meantime, i am emphasizing in every audience i can inside the bureau that our decisions need to be made based on nothing other than the facts and the law and our rules and our processes and our core values and not based on any political considerations by any side of the aisle. >> thank you. does the f.b.i. obtain a warrant before accessing and reading americans' email? >> that depends on the situation, but yes. >> so can you explain why you obtain a criminal search warrant before reading an email of someone under investigation for a crime? >> can you repeat the question? >> can you explain why you obtain a criminal search warrant before reading an email of someone -- >> in the situations where a search warrant is required, of course under the fourth amendment there are plenty of situations where a search warrant is not required. there are all sorts of aspects to the fourth amendment. but in those situations where we seek a warrant it is because the fourth amendment requires it. >> section 702 as you and i both noted is up for renewal within a few weeks. it's a critical national security tool that must be reauthorized. you and i agree on that as well. but it is just that, a national security tool, not a criminal tool. is it reasonable when accessing content that shows evidence of a routine crime and is located in the f.b.i.'s 702 database that agents should obtain some process as is required in criminal cases? >> mr. chairman, i have appreciated our discussions on section 702. my own view is that section 702 as currently drafted, which is the view shared by the courts that have looked at the question, is fully constitutional and lawful and i would say to you that our handling of querying of the information in the 702 database is querying of information that is already lawfully and constitution nallly in the f.b.i.'s possession and most useful at the earliest stages when information is coming in in fragments and the bureau is trying to make assessments of what do we have. is this a real threat? where is this going? i would implore the committee and the congress not to begin rebuilding the wall that existed before 9/11. >> my time is expired but i will add we share that concern as well and why we have drawn a clear distinction between national security and solving domestic crimes. and when it comes to the query, we allow that to move forward but when you then find there is something related to the investigation of a domestic crime, then you should go ahead and get a search warrant. we have protected the f.b.i.'s ability to access that database with a query but then if you are going to take it further and read the contents of the emails go right ahead because you may be stopping a terrorist attack for national security. if you're solving a domestic crime, whatever it might be, then i think you need to respect the civil liberties of american citizens and get a warrant. i recognize the gentleman from new york mr. nadler. >> i totally agree with the chairman in his observations on 702 and the distinctions we made in our bill between national security and counter intelligence operations and investigations on domestic crimes on the other where you should get a warrant where you normally need a warrant. i would like to ask you for your help putting the events of the last few days into context. set the stage over the summer an interview with "the new york times" president trump stated quote when nixon came along out of courtesy the f.b.i. started reporting to the department of justice. the f.b.i. person really reports directly to the president of the united states, close quote. director wray, you have one direct report to the executive branch. to whom do you directly report. >> i directly report to the deputy attorney general who reports to the attorney general. >> has president trump asked you to sidestep the change of command and report directly to him? >> no. >> also over the summer former director comey testified that during a private dinner president trump told him quote i need loyalty. i expect loyalty. has president trump ever asked you for loyalty? >> i have never been asked by the president to take any kind of loyalty oath. my loyalty is to the constitution and the laws of this country and to the good men and people of america. >> thank you. last week former national security advisor michael flynn pleaded guilty to one felony counts of lying to the f.b.i. about conversations he had with the russian ambassador. i would like to put president trump's initial twitter reaction up on the screen and we'll read it. i will simply say he claims to have known that general flynn committed a crime at the time general flynn was fired. there is some controversy as to whether the president wrote the tweet. it doesn't matter who wrote it given the department of justice's position that these tweets are official statements of the president of the united states. close quote a. few clarifying questions, mr. director. in your experience with the department of justice, have you ever prosecuted a case involving a charge of obstruction of justice? >> yes. sections 1505 and 1512 of title 18 make it a crime if someone obstructs, influences or impedes any official proceeding. what does it mean to corruptly obstruct, influence or impede an official proceeding? >> well, congressman, that would require me to get into a legal discussion and it has been a while since i've looked at the case law on the subject. i do know having somebody who has been a line prosecutor and a senior justice department official and a defense attorney that sometimes the language of that statute can be trickier than folks first see. >> i'm glad you respect the fact i only have five minutes. does obstruction of justice require specific intent? does a prosecutor have the establish the defendant had knowledge of the proceeding and intended to obstruct it? >> sitting here right now i don't remember the specifics what the intent requirement is. >> okay. so you can't say does it matter that a suspect has knowledge of a crime when he tries to wave off criminal investigators? if a subject has knowledge of a crime and plans to wave off criminal investigators is that obstruction of justice? >> the defendant's knowledge, state of mind and intent is critical. >> later that day the president tweeted this claim that we'll put up there. and in effect he accuses former director comey of giving false testimony. mr. comey testified that president trump urged him to be lenient with michael flynn where he quoted the president saying i hope you can let this go. multiple appearances before congress attorney general sessions appears to have corroborated both the fact of the meeting and the gist of the conversation between the president and director comey. director wray, do you have any reason to doubt the testimony of director comey or attorney general sessions on this point? >> congressman, the questions you are asking go directly to what special counsel mueller is investigating and i don't think it would be appropriate for me to be weighing in on that in this setting. >> you don't think you can say whether you have reason to doubt the veracity of the statement because it might be under investigation? >> the question you are asking me and i appreciate the reasons for the question but the questions you're asking me would be asking me to weigh in on witnesses in the course of an investigation that's ongoing and i don't think it's appropriate for me to do. >> at your confirmation hearing you testified that you would consider any attempt -- any effort to tamper with director mueller's investigation unacceptable and inappropriate. it would need to be dealt with appropriately. since your confirmation has the president ever contacted you or anybody else at the white house with mueller's investigation? >> no. >> bill: my final question is the president's tirade ended with a final tweet where he says your reputation is in tatters. -- director wray, it's up there. we have heard other veterans of the f.b.i. and the department of justice push back against this attack on the reputation of the f.b.i. at the time we haven't heard from you. with the time i have left will you respond to this tweet by the president. is the f.b.i.'s reputation in tatters? >> may i have time to answer this question? it's something that matters to me a great deal. there is no shortage of opinions out there. what i can tell you is that the f.b.i. that i see is tens of thousands of agents and analysts and staff working their tails off to keep americans safe from the next terrorist attack, gang violence, child predators, spies from russia, north korea and iran. the f.b.i. that i see is tens of thousands of brave men and women working as hard as they can to keep people that they will never know safe from harm. and the f.b.i. that i see is reflected in folks like the new class of agents that i swore in at quantico two days ago. hard charging, high integrity people. people like the hostage rescue team and swat teams that we send out into all sorts of danger with almost no notice. the f.b.i. that i see is people -- decent people committed to professionalism and respect. the f.b.i. that i see is respected and appreciated by our partners in federal, state, and local law enforcement, in the intelligence community, by our foreign counterparts both law enforcement and national security and something like 200 countries around the globe. that's the f.b.i. that i see. now do we make mistakes? you bet we make mistakes just like everybody who is human makes mistakes. when we make mistakes there are independent processes like that of the outside inspector general that will drive and dive deep into the facts surrounding those mistakes and when that independent fact finding is complete, we will hold our folks accountable if that's appropriate. >> very fine. thank you very much. >> you bet. >> the chair recognizes mr. shabbat. >> you mentioned that the inspector general is investigating matters related for example to the clinton email server scandal, etc. but isn't it a fact that the i.g. does not have prosecutorial powers? >> well, under certain circumstances the inspector general works with prosecutors to bring criminal charges. >> what about in this case? >> it's under review at the moment looking into the facts surrounding all those decisions. >> the bottom i.g. is investigating the matter but has no prosecutorial powers at this time. >> the inspector general does not himself have prosecutorial power, yes. >> the president of the united states as the chairman mentioned expressed the opinion that the f.b.i.'s reputation was quote in tatters unquote. now, as someone who sat on this committee, the judiciary committee that has oversight of the justice department and the f.b.i. over 20 years now, such a statement is at least at first shocking but when you look at a few facts, it is understandable why the president might make such a statement. a former head of the f.b.i. robert mueller is put in charge of an important investigation and who does he pick to be on his team? you would want people who are experienced and smart and most importantly unbiased. because whatever you do, the result is going to be second guessed, one side or the other will be dissatisfied, critical. above all things they have to at least appear to be fair and unbiased. he picked 16 attorneys, nine of the 16. more than half have given money to the obama campaign or the clinton campaign or both. and nobody has given a cent for donald trump or his campaign. does that show a lack of bias? does it show fairness? i think the american people can decide that for themselves and perhaps even more shocking we recently learned that one of those supposedly unbiased investigators on the mueller team was a guy named peter strzok and he was sending out anti-trump, pro-clinton messages so he ultimately got canned from the investigation. how did this guy get on your supposedly unbiased team in the first place when you consider that this is the same guy that had a key position investigating the hillary clinton email server scandal and apparently had a hand in altering the f.b.i.'s conclusion that clinton was grossly negligent down to extremely careless so she could escape prosecution and stay in the race against donald trump? and now we learn that the number two guy on mueller's team, andrew wiseman, is just as biased as strzok. he made an anti-trump communication to sally yates. the depths of this anti-trump bias on the mueller team goes on and on and is absolutely shocking. i know all this took place before you took the helm at the f.b.i. but none other than the president of the united states has said that an organization that most americans, including myself, hold in the highest esteem, the f.b.i., is in tatters. what can you do -- what will you do to restore confidence in the premier law enforcement agency in the world? >> i appreciate the question and the reason for the question. it goes to the heart of whether or not the bureau is following its processes and the rules and the guidelines and adhering to the independence and objectivity and professionalism we have all come to expect and respect from the f.b.i. and i think the best way that i can validate the trust of the american people in the f.b.i. is to ensure we bring that same level of professionalism and integrity and objectivity and adherence to process in everything we do. as i said at the beginning, i think it is important that we not jump first and ask questions later. so the second thing i think can be done is when there are fair questions to be asked about things like whether or not some of the decisions made in the 2016 investigation were handled appropriately or were subject or based on any kind of improper considerations, rather than have the f.b.i. investigate itself, having an outside inspector general do the investigation and report to all of us on the findings i think is one of the best things i can do and then based on that information, i won't hesitate to take appropriate action based on what it is he finds. >> i'm almost out of time. would you as f.b.i. director, for example, ever permit associates of someone under investigation who themselves could also be under investigation to sit in an interview with the accused? >> well, i will say this. having been, as i said to congressman nadler both a line prosecutor and a justice department official but also a defense attorney, that's not my experience as the normal practice. i'm also, however, reluctant to ever answer questions as you can appreciate with a hype thet call about whether i would ever do something. every investigation is subject to its own unique circumstances. >> that's exactly what happened in the so-called investigation of hillary clinton. i'm out of time. >> the chair recognizes the woman from california. >> thank you, mr. chairman and mr. director for being here today and thanks to you for your leadership of this agency and to the men and women who work so hard to protect our country and to serve the united states. we all appreciate it, even though we might have a few questions. my question -- my first question has to do with cybersecurity. there is a rapidly growing threat of cyberattacks at all levels, federal, state, local, business, personal level. and i was really concerned to learn in november of a report highlighting the f.b.i.'s failure to notify multiple government officials that they were the target of the russian hacking campaign. now, at least according to this report 500 people were targeted in the past year including officials as high profile as the former head of the defense intelligence agency, the former head of the air force intelligence. many of these people still had security clearances or worked for the government. i would like to know the f.b.i., as i understand it, correct me if i'm wrong, of these efforts for at least a year but i am advised and informed only two of the targets. can you explain why these individuals had to learn from the associated press that they were targets of an aggressive russian hacking effort and do we know if any classified information was stolen or any members of congress or congressional staff a target? and what mechanisms or additional resources need to be put in place so that targeted officials know they are at risk when there is a foreign operation such as this? >> congresswoman, i think -- i'm not comfortable trying to discuss this specific victim engagement in a particular investigation, at least in this setting. but i think what i can tell you which might be helpful in response is that we have very well established criteria and policies and procedures for questions of victim notification in cyber matters. and the questions -- i probably can't repeat them to you verbatim. the questions go to things like number one, can we identify the victim? which in a lot of cases is harder than you might think. number two, is the information that we have at that point in the investigation actionable for the victim? is there something they can do with it? could sharing the information actually protect somebody prevent a loss, etc. we also look at whether or not sharing the information at the time in question would potentially come -- compromise and existing investigation and the last point i would make is that when you have a large number of people it is much easier for us to provide victim notification when we have official or government or corporate accounts where we can contact the chief information security officer and then they can communicate to all the people who are on that server. you talk about g-mail accounts and things like that it gets harder. a lot of people's gmail addresses don't have -- >> i assume what you are describing is the current practice when the democratic national committee was hacked by the russians, the f.b.i. contacted an intern, they never contacted the chairman of the dnc, she found out months later. so hopefully those types of procedures have been revised. do you know that? >> i think the procedures themselves remain the same and the procedures themselves, i think, are pretty sound. the question of -- if you think about what they are. they are questions that the investigators have to ask in each victim notification context. >> let me go. when we had the attorney general here recently, there is an ongoing effort to hack into the election system. we know that from various reports. and the attorney general said really nothing was going on. that he -- it is really important we haven't spent enough time on it. i'm paraphrasing. i'm getting the sense that's true across the government. in fact, we have systems that were hacked within a half an hour by state voting systems. what is the f.b.i. doing relative to preserving the integrity of the voting structure itself for the next election? >> may i answer that one? i think the f.b.i. is focused on this subject. it's one of the things i've tried to insist on upon arriving. we have a foreign influence task force that we set up that brings together both our counter intelligence division, our cyber division and our criminal division as well as other parts of the bureau. we are in coordination through that task force with dhs that has responsibility for a lot of the election infrastructure along with states. we're in contact with foreign partners. as you know, efforts to interfere with elections are occurring in other countries as well and so by doing that with our close relationships with our foreign counterparts we learn more about trade craft methods and things like that. so we're acutely focused on looking out for signs of interference in the 2018 or 2020 elections. >> if i may, i know my time is up but i hope that there is an effort by the bureau to communicate with state election officers who oftentimes have been kept in the dark. >> the chair recognizes the congressman from california. >> a couple of questions. one i'm sure you're aware of and i'll ask it as a do you agree. it's non-specific. do you agree that persons should not have their assets forfeited without due process and a provable link to criminal activity? >> well, congressman, it's been a while since i looked at the law on asset forfeiture. >> this is a constitutional. not a statutory. >> i believe in the context of asset forfeiture we should respect the constitution >> it's fair to say if somebody has $10,000 in their van, they have it taken from them and they have to sue to get it back even though they are never charged with a crime, that would be wrong under due process in the constitution. >> again, i'm not trying to make this difficult but to me asset forfeiture questions raise all kinds of complicated case law questions about due process, etc. what i do believe due process and adherence to the constitution are incredibly important in the asset forfeiture context as in elsewhere. >> now switching to the matter of peter strzok, and i had a long time working with your folks on the personnel side over at oversight where we oversee a lot of those things and i just want to make the record straight now that you are in addition to being the chief of the law enforcement standpoint and you are also the ultimate head of hr for those tens of thousands of people who are working so hard for us. is an f.b.i. agent allowed to have a political opinion? >> yes. >> is an f.b.i. agent allowed to communicate that political opinion to their wife or even their mistress? >> yes. >> so nothing in a text simply communicating a political opinion would be cause for firing or any other action under the ordinary rules of the f.b.i. or any federal person, correct? >> i think each question would have to be based on its own circumstances. certainly i can imagine situations always you are describing where it wouldn't be and i can imagine situations where it might be. >> that brings us to a situation now in which an individual is key to the question of whether or not there should be a full review of the f.b.i.'s actions as to hillary clinton and the decision not to prosecute her since he was actively involved in that. so my question to you is, since it's clear that whatever peter strzok did was sufficient to have him relieved, something that in the ordinary course of simply communicating a political opinion would not cause that, and would be inappropriate to relieve somebody simply for having a political opinion, will you make available to this committee upon the chairman's request, the ability to see any or all of those 10,000 texts sufficient to understand why this individual was dismissed and how it might be relevant to the question of the objectivity of director comey's investigation and conclusions? >> there are a couple parts to your question if i might. first i want to be clear that the individual in question has not been dismissed. >> he has been relieved from the duties he had. >> he was reassigned away from the special counsel investigation, which is different than disciplinary action. second, as to the question of access to the text messages, we would be happy to try to work with the committee on that. i want to be sensitive that there is an active -- very active outside independent investigation by the inspector general and the last thing i want to do
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