But before the impeachment announcement the jury judiciary to apartment the one of russian collusion with Trump Campaign youll remember in 2016. One of directly finding bias, Michael Horwitz conclusion was a really damning combination of the tactic used by Law Enforcement agents to start and continue digging for information on district mr. Trump and his team. While just a few hours after the democrats went to the podium to make therefore historic announcement. I had the opportunity to speak at length with attorney general william bar with about a speech meant and reports. We began with impeachment. While the attorney general was now willing to discuss it any length cam he did weigh in on one of the chargers to. I dont believe its the case that we, somebody including a branch of government, is asserting a legal privilege that they have under the law that that constitutes obstruction. Gerry the second article said president tromp had the categorical defiance of pinots and given the constitution gives the house all responsibility for impeachment. This is itself a represent and tatian of obstruction. I just said what i said. It was predicated on advancing claims of privilege that have been previously been advanced and other administrations. And i dont consider that obstruction. Gerry is not unprecedented customer. No. Gerry lets look at what was occupying her tension yesterday which was the complication of the report of the justice Michael Horwitz into the origins and the conduct of the investigation of President Trump and his associates around the russia allegations about collusion with russia. Mr. Horwitz in his report said yesterday, we concluded that the fbi had an authorized purpose when it opened crossfire hurricane, that was the name of the given to the investigation, to obtain information about or protect against National Security protects and crime. You said a response that yesterday the fbi and launch an intrusive investigation of the thinness of suspicions which were insufficient to justify the steps taken. Could you tell us what exactly, where you disagree with mr. Horwitz . Well first let me say that i think there are three parts or issues, lets say categories of analysis in the report. The first is was the investigation adequately predicated . The start of it . The second one is how is it conducted . And i break that down into two things. How is it conducted before the election, how is it conducted after the election . The real meat of horwitzs work and the thrust of the report actually deals with the conduct of the investigation. Where i think it quickly became apparent that it was a travesty. And there were many abuses, and that by far is the most important part of the report. And i think mike horwitz would agree with that. Its been nine these particularly pertaining to the pfizer application . And also from the facts of day one they got exculpatory information and nothing that substantiated in a type of collusion. But put that aside for a minute and go back to the issue. Many ways the issue of whether they were technically adequately predicated the something of academic interest. Where i disagree, and by the way mike knows i disagree with him, there are still people in this town where you can have, we can be adults and professionals and have a disagreement without tearing into those hearts out. Its just one of those things, we have disagreements the department of justice. I think the basic, its a big deal to use the Law Enforcement and the intelligence resources of the United States government to investigate campaign, especially opposing. The opposing party. Im sure there are instances in the past, but i cant think of any recent incidents. Gerry really quickly on this, the phis application, again the report is very crystal. Document 17 omissions or errors under the initial three subsequent applications with the fisa court for surveillance of carter page as we know. But the report does say that it resulted in by the reputations that it may appear that the information supporting probable cause was stronger than was actually the case. To you think that, given that, those phis application should never been made . Yes, this is the meat of the issue and if you actually spent time to look at what happened, i think youd be appalled. Your member they say we are not gonna go talk to the campaign, we are can ascend people in wire them up and talk to the individuals. That happened. That happens in august, september, and october. And it all came back exculpatory. People saying oh, you dont know were talking about. Its not only exculpatory in the relationship to were russians, but to the specific pack facts. And that a, they never did a thing about that they just pressed ahead. Megabyte theyd ever inform the court. They were told they did not have probable cause to get a warrant. So they took the steele dossier, which they had done nothing to verify, and they use that to get the warrants and collapse everything. They withheld from the court all the exculpatory information and they withheld from the Court Information about the lack of reliability of steel. The real interesting thing here, the major take away, actually is after the election. Because in january, steel was dealing with one person. And thats what we call the primary sub source. In it was that person you have the network of sub sources. When they finally got around to talking to him, he said i dont know it steals talking about. I didnt tell him this. Its mostly barroom talk, rumor, i made it clear to him this was my own suppositions and theories. And at that. , it was clear that the dossier was a sham. So what happens . What happens at that. . They dont tell the court and they continue to get pfizer warranted based on that dossier and more damning. And more damning is they actually filed with the court the statement saying that weve talked to the sub source and we found him credible and cooperative. And they put that into bolster. [inaudible] what he is being truthful about is that the dossier was garbage. So its hard to look at this stuff, and not think it was a gross abuse. Gerry lummi put another way do you think those separate judges in that court were deadly misled . s. Yes. Gerry looking into the practices of big tech companies. Coming up next. Lets be honest, quitting smoking is freaking hard. Like quitting every monday hard. Quitting feels so big. So, try making it smaller. And youll be surprised at how easily starting small. Can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette shaq chime magenta . I hate cartridges not magenta not magenta. Im not going back to the store. Magenta cartridges are so. buzzer vo the epson ecotank. No more cartridges. It comes with an incredible amount of ink that can save you a lot of frustration. The epson ecotank. Just fill and chill. Available at. Its an honor to tell you that [ applause ] thank you. Liberty mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. I love you only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Its been reported that theres a cyberattack on business every 39 seconds. Ouch. I dont even want to think about it. Comcast business has a solution. We go beyond fast with a cloudbased Security System that automatically updates, so you always have the latest protection. Phishing. Malware. Risky sites. It can help block all of that. Its one less thing for us to worry about. Comcast Business Securityedge automatically protects all the devices on your network. Call 18005016000 today. Now you can, with shipsticks. Com no more lugging your clubs through the airport or risk having your clubs lost or damaged by the airlines. Sending your own clubs ahead with shipsticks. Com makes it fast easy to get to your golf destination. With just a few clicks or a phone call, well pick up and deliver your clubs ontime, guaranteed, for as low as 39. 99. Shipsticks. Com saves you time and money. Make it simple. Make it ship sticks. Gerry more noun when im my meeting with attorney general william barr. Earlier this sure the Justice Department announced a Major Investigation of Big Technology firms. And i asked him when that investigation might happen. We started in earnest in july, and its been moving very quickly. We have a very ambitious schedule and things are keeping up to schedule. We are talking very broadly with people getting a lot of input from people in the industry and experts and so forth. And we are doing our analysis. I would like to have it completed sometime next year. I think its important to move quickly on things, that something i can talk about later. But these things have a cost to the marketplace and businesses. And i think at some. The government has to fish or cut bait. Gerry were the issues here these are not enormous countries they dont dominate the economy in the markets, but its well established that the scale alone that is not sufficient to warrant antitrust enforcement action or even to raise necessary concerns about unfair behavior. So what would be the concerns about what google, facebook, amazon, abelard and others are doing . Let me just say that our review is not just limited to antitrust. Antitrust is of course the front and center, but there are other concerns relating to these companies. That other laws might apply to. There is some pressure, or some people suggested, strongarming the antitrust laws to reach things that were not really intended to be covered by the antitrust laws. And im not really in line with that. I dont mind updating, making sure that we are properly applying the antitrust laws to new situations, but we are looking at antitrust, and we are looking at behavior across the board. And how that implicates other laws. The problem, obviously, and i said this in my confirmation hearing, big is not bad. I worked for verizon and i really appreciated that. But the question is when you have the kind of market power that some companies have in their markets, then some conduct which may have made sense when they were sort of being the insurgent company in a growing industry. Can become anticompetitive because it ends up fortifying the monopoly. And so theres conduct that is grown up in these businesses that we have to take a look at and see this extent to which it really involves maintaining a monopoly. Also, this is particularly true will we have a powerful network like we do in these sectors. And the other thing is these are businesses that operate in multiple submarkets, and you have to do a lot of thinking on how they are potentially leveraging power towards another. And also the role the data plays in that. Gerry a couple of issues again you may or may not want to comment on. But some of the people are raising concerns about things like bias results. They could be the algorithms could possibly conceivably beef favoring either their own products or people who paid. Is that a possibility . Is it something youd look into . I can take exactly what looking into. I think google has made public they receive civil investigative demands, but i think its kind of apparent to everybody the practices that are there. Gerry what about the simple scale of online advertising. Is that in itself a scale that they have . Is that a source of concern . That goes to the market power and then you have to look at particular practice that may essentially exclude other competitors and lock in their market power. Just successfully competing in getting into a dominant position is not itself wrong. Gerry up nestle attorney general raises concerns about liberty in this country. Stay with us. vo the moth without hope, struggles in the spiders web. With every attempt to free itself, it only becomes more entangled. Unaware that an exhilarating escape is just within reach. Defy the laws of human nature. At the season of audi sales event. But you dont feel good. With polycythemia vera, pv, symptoms can change so slowly over time you might not notice. But new or changing symptoms can mean your pv is changing. Lets change the way we see pv. You track and discuss blood counts with your doctor. But its just as vital to discuss changing symptoms as well. Take notice and take action. Discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. Visit takeactionpv. Com dischere, it all startstoms withello hi . How can i help . A data plan for everyone. Everyone . Everyone. Lets send to everyone wifi up there . Uhh. Sure, why not . Howd he get out . a camera might figure it out. That was easy glad i could help. At xfinity, were here to make life simple. Easy. Awesome. So come ask, shop, discover at your local xfinity store today. Gerry at the end of my discussion this week with william barr, the attorney general said he lamented the way government has moved away from supporting religious rights. Legally speaking there used to be a consensus, it was just ten years ago, 15 years ago, that there should be an accommodation and religion. In fact that pass overwhelmingly in congress, Chuck Schumer was a cosponsor. I think Teddy Kennedy and hatch were involved. And which is the maximum accommodations to religion. Religion is a good thing and we may have a general role, but for steps on somebodys toes week try to accommodate it. Thats done by the boards. And now, some people seem to take the right enforcing that particular group that would accept something that is in after much to them. I think humans have dealt with an evolved with religion for 50,000 years. And im not saying is just utilitarian thing, but it has been a very important part of our ability to live together in a community. And our founders believed that they could provide the kind of freedom they did in the system precisely because they felt the moral values that people had primarily from religion, they would be able to control themselves so we could give them maximum freedom. If they dont have that, then society becomes more and more tyrannical and starts making all the rules. I feel there has been an in breakdown of selfcontrol, and the government has performed the mediator of consequences of that. Subsidizing misconduct and we are getting more and more of that and less and less selfcontrol periods. Gerry chief executives are recently demanded to take public stances on some of these issues in ways that a lot of religious people object to. Is that a threat to again the religious freedom . My view is i dont think its a Good Development to have in all of these social warriors essentially pushing companies to take positions on these kinds of things. But those companies that do, thats fine, thats their choice if the shareholders are happy, thats fine too. But i was saying, and i think i said this at my confirmation, i personally do not believe that gay people should be discriminated against and work. Thats not currently under law, but i have no problem with that. I think thats the right thing. But on the other hand i think there has to be accommodations so that if a Catholic School system doesnt want to have a gay person whos leaving in a single marriage is a teacher, they should be able to say that. So my attitude is live and let live. There has to be space for different, real diversity. When people talk about diversity theyre not really talking about diversity purity i want real diversity in our society. I want people to be able to find their own communities and live according to their values. I think there is a group in our society that views their mission is going around and bludgeoning everyone into uniformity. Gerry that was attorney general william barr. Just ahead americas not the only place where history was made this week. What happened in britain thursday could have important locations for politics here. May your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. Lease the c 300 sedan for just 399 a month at the mercedesbenz winter event. Hurry in today. And my lack of impulse control, is about to become your problem. Ahh no, come on. I saw you eating poop earlier. Hey my focus is on the road, and thats saving me cash with drivewise. Whos the dummy now . Whoof whoof so get allstate where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. Sorry hes a baby brakes screeching okay. So, today youre going to leave your phone with a guy named flip. ding but its more than your phone, its your business, your customer data, your sales figures. And who can forget, those happy hour selfies . Not flip. honking, gasping this isnt working. Introducing samsung Business Security solutions, with knox software. With the galaxy note10, you can remotely wipe data or lock phones, so your business is secure even when your phone isnt. Samsung business solutions. Even when your phone isnt. 1 in 5 people you meet wear yeah. That many but right now, is not the time to talk about it. So when youre ready, search my denture care. Poligrip and polident. Fixed. Fresh. And just between us. As a doctor, i agree with cdc guidance. I recommend topical pain relievers first. Like salonpas patch large. Its powerful, fdaapproved to relieve moderate pain, yet nonaddictive and gentle on the body. Salonpas. Its good medicine. Hisamitsu. Do you recall, not long ago we would walk on the sidewalk all around the wind blows we would only hold on to let go blow a kiss into the sun we need someone to lean on blow a kiss into the sun we needed somebody to lean on all we need is someone to lean on history was made in america, the same could also be said of the united kingdom. The British Conservative Party under Prime Minister boris johnson, wanted decisive victory on the general election on thursday. Will the vote was driven primarily by british domestic issues as you could expect, the more important is to finally deliver brexit after three long years of delay. There were some parallels to consider for american politics. Just as donald trump has been transforming the republican party, and winning over bluecollar workers in parts of the country that republicans havent won for decades. So mr. Johns and his conservative party won similar voters in similar rocksolid labor areas by remaking the party is a party that prioritizes national identity. Over issues of naturalization and brexit. There might also be a message for democrats in that vote. British voters emphatically were adjusted and labor party with a far left platform and a far left leader Jeremy Corbin who was promising Massive Public spending increases, higher taxes, and a lot of extreme social liberalism. Many of the same ideas of been hearing on the campaign trail for those vying to be the one to face President Trump in the 2020 election. The democrats begin to choose their candidate early next year to take on President Trump and next years election may want to take a moche closer look at what just happened across the pond. While thats it for us this week. For the latest show updates be sure to follow me on twitter, facebook, an instagram. I will be back next weekend as we head into the holiday season. Ill be talking to george weikel about how the Catholic Church has responded to the many challenges of modern times. Thats right here on the wall street journal at large. Thank you very much for joining. You know, my friends, that god blesses us a blessing to his kingdom, to his work, to his people. Appeal, we have the most amazing challenge opportunity for us to meet all of our financial obligations for the 2025 vision. By so many of you to that vision, to the ends of the earth