Transcripts For CURRENT Full Court Press 20120423

was. does that mean he wouldn't have shot him if he had known he was only 17? we'll talk about that and a whole lot more. first, let's get all of the latest out in los angeles with this current tv news update. we say good morning to jacki schechner. hey, jacki. >> good morning, bill. good morning monday, everybody. as bill mentioned george zimmerman is out of jail this morning. he posted $150,000 bond and cameras caught him loo leaving the john e. polk correctional facility. he leaves wearinginging an electronic monitoring device and what appears to be a bulletproof vest. since the gps device he has on keeps track of him anywhere in the u.s., he may be allowed to leave florida for his own safety while he awaits trial of course, accused of second-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. john edwards trial begins today. the former u.s. senator and presidential hopeful is charged with accepting and using illegal campaign donations to cover up his affair with rielle hunter. edwards conspired to illicit $900,000 from two wealthy donors knowing he wasn't allowed to take the money then not reporting it. he faces six felony charges. his defense charges this ises government overreach. the money isn't subject to regulations. finally, we can expect more fallout from the secret service scandal down in colombia. the senate homeland security committee is going to send a list of questions to the secret service asking if this was a one-shot deal or if there is an indication of a pattern of bad behavior. they have upped the number of agents involved from 11 to 12. six have left their jobs and the u.s. military is still investigating 11 of its own troops for any involvement in the incident. we've got plenty on bill press coming up and you can join us live in chat at current.com/bill press. we'll be right back. fun... indulgence... one square inch of bliss. hershey's bliss. attack on women that perhaps the majority of the population woke up? >> idaho is not known as approaching act i.v. you had hundreds of women show up, thousands signed petitions. they made their voices heard. what happens is that now, the legislators are running scared. very similar laws have passed quietly in other states for the past 10 years, really in the past two years have intensified. pennsylvania a similar law was shelved, idaho this proved to be political poison. women are paying attention and having their voices heard. >> thanks for coming in. >> the aclu considers a demand that to get a job you have to let an employer open your private mail, the senate wants to make it illegal to hand over a password to your facebook account. >>this is outrageous! [[vo]]cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the rest of the media seems like, "ho-hum, no big deal." we've have no choice, we've lost our democracy here. just refreshing to hear. no other television show does that. we're keeping it real. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: caroline maloney says we need more women in the secret service. if we had, they wouldn't be bringing prostitutes back to their rooms. that's for sure. hello, everybody. happy monday, april 23rd. so good to see you today. hope you had a great weekend. relaxing weekend. got your batteries recharged because here we go into a very busy week here. five primaries tomorrow. did you realize that? oh, my god, the voters in connecticut and rhode island and delaware and pennsylvania and new york heading to the polls except there's nobody out there except mitt and oh, yeah, that's right, newt, newt, oh, yeah, he's still traipsing around delaware. sure, he'll be back in the race. a lot to talk about on the political front. we'll talk about the john edwards trial today. trayvon martin out on jail which he should never be. warning signs from iran that they say they've got that drone they've figured out its secrets and they'll be able to build their own drone now and use it. it could be trouble. so much to talk about. so much you're going to want to get into and you do so, you know by giving us a call at 866-55-press. the "full court press" here on sirius x.m. radio. your local progressive radio talk station and talk tv, lots of ways to join us, us being the whole teen. peter ogborn and dan henning and videographer cyprian bolling. everything good? >> yes sir we're here. >> bill: yeah, we're here. starting out fifth week on current tv. >> yes sir. good times. the longest i've ever held a job >> bill: yeah, well, don't -- don't push your luck, right? and by the way, it's a cold and a rainy day here in washington. it was a cold and a rainy yesterday in washington but not as bad as up on the frontier. it looks like western new york could really get slammed today if our good friends up in buffalo and ithaca, that part and syracuse, rochester here we go. here's what the focuser says. >> i'm looking for anywhere between five and nine inches in the buffalo metro area. over the southern western tier, they're looking at possibly a foot, foot and a half of snow. so, they're looking at possibly a crippling situation. >> bill: now, you know, i went to school at niagara university so i spent three years on the frontier. we used to have snow on the ground from october roughly october to may. we didn't have snow the in april. it didn't start in april as it did this year. >> the snow that's going to be coming down by the way is going to be -- the snow is going to be messy and thick and gloopy. just gross snow that is going to make a mess. i went to ithaca. >> we've had snow in may. it has snowed on graduation day at ithaca college. >> bill: is that right? >> absolutely. there's snow on the ground through april. this was such a warm winter. this is a classic nor'easter. >> bill: it gives me hope that maybe we'll get a snow here in washington, d.c. >> i don't know about that. >> i can tell you, at this point, i don't want any snow -- this kind of snow -- >> bill: just so we can say we have one snow. coming in studio with us, very excited to have eleanor holmes norton, our one representative in congress, in studio as well as eric burns, a friend of bill. we'll check in with legal beagle avery friedman about the trayvon martin case and the john edwards case. >> but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> on this monday, other headlines making news, a great picture of chicago white sox pitcher -- a great picture of chicago white sox pitcher phil humberg graced newspapers and web sites yesterday morning showing him staring at all zeros on the scoreboard behind him as seattle pitched a perfect game on saturday against the mariners. no hits, no walks, no errors, no men on base. the ap notes he's only the 21st pitcher to reach that accomplishment. it was a nice turnaround after a rough week. his grandfather passed away, also his wife is eight months pregnant. >> bill: good for him. perfect game. exciting to see. >> i have to tell you really quickly, for anybody wondering what married life is like. we were in the car while this was happening, i saw on my phone he was approaching a perfect game. so, i find the game on the radio. on my satellite radio. i'm listening and he goes into the ninth inning two outs and here comes the designated hitter going to take over, maybe going to try to get a hit here. we parked, my wife turns off the car. i said what are you doing? what's going on! >> wow. >> she had no idea. no idea. [ laughter ] >> the penn state football stadium will likely not be named after the late coach joe paterno. espn and the patriot news reports that paterno's family rejected an offer to rename beaver stadium as paterno stadium. it was part of an attempt to avoid being sued by the family after firing paterno after the child sex abuse scandal. the school has already handed over $3 million in payments that were being withheld and more cash to them is on its way. >> bill: it should. peter, you remind me of al bundy. >> okay. >> bill: we'll talk about that a little bit later. a scene from "married with children." >> nbc late night host jimmy fallon has scored another member of the obama family as a guest. the president will be on the show. the first lady michelle obama of course was on the show back in february with fallon when she did that fitness challenge together at the white house. >> bill: okay, dan, thank you. hey, i gotta tell you here's how i would like to start the day. it is something that's really got me burned up. that is what's happening in greensboro, north carolina today. we knew this was coming. today is the first day of the trial of john edwards. you remember john edwards. once one of the brightest rising stars of the democratic party. ran for president. john kerry's running mate. ran for president again. and then he started getting in trouble. he was cheating on his wife, elizabeth who has since passed away of breast cancer. and so what john edwards -- this trial, if you ask me is a total colossal waste of money. and you talk about the federal government out of control. this is a prime example, i believe. so, here's what the facts in this case are. edwards is charged with six counts of abuse of campaign funds. okay? and he's being pursued by the obama justice department and by the federal attorney down in north carolina. the facts of the case are back in 2007-2008 when he was running for president, he was having this affair with this woman rielle hunter, had a kid by her if you recall. and he knew this could blow up and destroy his chances. so, he asked a couple of friends to -- who were supporters of his campaign to help him out. and to give this woman some money to buy her a house to set her up with a monthly allowance so that she would be happy and keep quiet. all right. whatever you think about that, was it really a federal crime? they gave her the money. they did not give him the money. the records although this. they did not give his campaign the money. he did not write the checks to her. the campaign did not write the checks to her. it was a third party giving money to a third party. the money again never went through john edwards bank account. never went through the campaign bank account. those are the facts of the case. there has never, in history been a case like this brought in federal court. never, never never. has one person been charged with a federal crime for something that two other people did. that third parties were involved in. but edwards is charged with again six counts -- five counts. each of which could get six years in prison. he could get 30 years in prison. why are they pursuing this? the guy's personal life is destroyed. his wife has since died. his political career is totally destroyed. he's got heart disease. and this -- by the way one of the little facts here, okay, that i think is important is that this case was brought originally it was brought by under the bush administration by the -- the u.s. attorney in north carolina whose name was george holding. very political guy republican. who ended up quitting his job and running for congress. he used this case to make a name for himself as a tough ass prosecutor down in north carolina. he deliberately used this for political purposes. said he was going to be running for congress. while he was u.s. attorney. they've got all of the statements of his. then he gets the case brought. then he quits runs for congress as a republican, i think he lost a primary or lost a general whatever, he's not in congress today. but why would the obama administration pick this up and continue this case? not just because edwards happens to be a democrat. but because how can this be a case of campaign abuses when campaign funds were never used to pay off rielle hunter. they were funds from campaign supporters that went directly to her. they did not again go through the campaign. the other thing here's what really i find outrageous about this is -- so that happened in 2007-2008. so look what's happening today. look what's happening today where we have more money in politics today than ever before because citizens united, we have exxon and all of these big corporations and the koch brothers that are writing millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars in contributions unlimited contributions to political candidates and to pacs because at citizens united we have these super pacs which are dominating every race every single race, the romney super pac the newt gingrich super pac the rick santorum super pac. we have individuals like foster freeze for santorum, sheldon adelson for gingrich who are writing checks for $10 million $50 million to these super pacs and we know because we've heard so much evidence on this show and we've seen it that the super pacs are coordinating with the campaigns when they're not supposed to. there is all of this money anonymous money illegal money and nobody is doing anything about it. the only case that's being brought is against this has been politician from north carolina. why are we doing this? i don't get it. it is one of those times when you just wonder why -- i mean the justice department is part of the obama administration. it is not like the supreme court. it is not like you have -- it is not a different branch of government. it is not like obama couldn't do anything about this. i don't understand in a case like this, why president obama didn't call up eric holder and say drop this case. this is nonsense. this is george bush republican politics against john edwards. i mean drop it. it is not worth pursuing. instead, this is the number one priority of the justice department today and the trial starts in greensboro, north carolina, today. i think it is a disgrace and a total waste. how about you? 866-55-press. don't we have more important things we ought to be doing? when it comes to politics in terms of getting money out of politics? this case, however is not going to solve one single problem about campaign finance reform. and again, a case like this never, never never brought before. the first time. why? i don't get it. maybe you can help me out. explain it. 866-55-press. >> announcer: radio meets television... the "bill press show." now on current tv. it's completely inappropriate for television. the newest voice in cable news is on the new news network. >>it is an independent progressive voice and i love that. >>jennifer granholm joins current tv. a former two term governor. >>people like somebody who's got a spine. >>determined to find solutions... >>we need government to ensure that people have freedom. >>driven to find the truth... >>what's really going on? >>fearless, independent and above all, politically direct. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: 24 minutes after the hour. avery friedman legal analyst for cnn joins us in the next segment to talk about the trayvon martin and george zimmerman release. we're talking about another legal matter which is john edwards' trial starting today. first time that i can remember that a sex scandal became a federal crime. you may not like what john edwards was up to but is this really what we want the department of justice to be spending time on? i don't. ron is in -- is it moni, illinois. hey, ron, good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. yeah, you know, it is an election year. if the president gets involved in anything, especially since john edwards was a democrat, you'll have people like rush limbaugh, sean hannity spreading it all over fox news and the radio stations about how he's biased and he's unfair. i think the president is kind of staying away from it. >> bill: yeah, but he could have dropped it a couple of years ago when it would not have been an election year. this trial -- i mean they've been pursuing this since 2008, right? so, certainly when obama was in office, they were pursuing it. i don't know. it seems to me that they could have rearen'treviewed all of the cases when he became president. i'm sure she did and said this is -- i'm sure they did. this is worth spending time on and this isn't. i'm sure they have to decide what -- >> caller: i'm not saying the president does the smartest thing. we could go into the healthcare bill. it is better than nothing. >> bill: i agree. >> caller: it could have been better. >> bill: i agree. this is not to slam obama thing. it is a regret as taxpayer even that we're spending all of this money on this case. i don't think we ought to have anything to do with. roberto is in dallas, texas. what do you say roberto? >> caller: this is not a prime example. eric holder i think is the worst attorney general we've ever had. not only is this case but whatever happened to that governor in the south that was prosecuted and put in jail by a rove-appointed attorney general. >> bill: don siegel, the former president -- that was a case -- another rogue federal attorney went after siegel -- karl rove put in there. he got him on trumped up charges. siegel is still writing to clear his name. >> caller: again, eric holder needs to go after the super pacs because they are coordinating. >> bill: yes. >> caller: they are talking to each other. that supposedly is a federal crime. i don't want taxpayer money spent like this. that's insane. >> bill: you're right. there's a lot he ought to be going after where they're doing nothing about it. i don't have anything against holder but he hasn't impressed me as being a particularly strong or smart attorney general. abby is in new york city. what do you say? >> caller: before john edwards' extramarital thing exploded, i wanted to harken back to when he was running for president. his campaign was the most focused anticorporate campaign around. and it seems at some point someone needs to do a story on how he was gone after like vultures to totally disemvow him and disimvow the concept of questioning corporate america with the decision that he was doing above obama. >> bill: well, you're right. i didn't make the connection myself. but i mean nobody spoke more eloquently about the two americas that he called. he talked about poverty and the growing inequality -- income and inequality which today president obama says is the defining issue of our time. edwards is the one who first brought that out. i'm not sure -- i don't know, abby whether i want to make the leap that that's why they went after him. but i just think that with all of the abuses today that we see right in front of us, you know, with the koch brothers having these meetings raising millions of dollars from these corporations and it is pouring into political campaigns. and a lot of it, we don't know where the money is coming from. there is probably money from foreign corporations. and they're going after edwards? give me a break. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." we will not settle for easy answers. (vo) the former governor of ny eliot spitzer, joins the new news network. >>every night we will drill down on the days top stories in search of facts that inform. >> we don't stop until we get answers that are truthful, serious, and not based on simplistic answers. >>we're here because we're independent. >> announcer: listen and watch the "bill press show" on your favorite radio station and now on current tv. this is the "bill press show". welcome to the spin room. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. happy monday, april 23rd. good to have you with us today here on the "full court press." hey, if you don't already have one, go to our web site, "bill press show."com, get your signed copy of the "the obama hate machine." the lies distortions and personal attacks on the president and who is behind them. a must-read if i must say so myself for this political season. exposing the big hate machine put together by the koch brothers. you can get it at your local bookstore or online at amazon but if you want a signed copy dedicated to you or someone else to make a gift to, let us know. we'll send it out to you signed any way you tell us at "bill press show."com. we've been talking about the john edwards trial. also the trayvon martin hearing on friday. he is now out of jail. we'll talk to cnn legal analyst avery friedman about both in just a second. first, we have to jump into the spin room. as we mentioned, there are five primaries up tomorrow, not getting a lot of attention because almost everybody has dropped out except newt. he is campaigning fiercely in delaware and predicts he's going to win delaware and then be back in the race. here he is up in new york state. >> yeah, buffalo. >> bill: he was in buffalo where he says mitt may be ahead but i'm not out yet. >> governor romney's ahead. but he's only about halfway to the number he needs for the nomination. he can raise a lot more money than i can but i think we have a lot more people than he has. [ laughter ] >> bill: get out of here, newty. not even calista believes his bs anymore, do you think? >> no! of course not. he doesn't believe that. >> bill: if you just count up the number of votes. now he's really silly. at one time, he was sort of taken as a serious candidate. not by me but now it is just silly. >> i can't think of one scenario in which newt gingrich would win. even if romney was to get into an awful scandal. >> bill: they wouldn't go for newt. >> they would find somebody else. >> bill: he sue him on cnn on the weekends. legal analyst avery friedman joining us on the line this morning. >> way to, go bill. this is pretty wild stuff going on. >> bill: there is a lot of wild stuff going on. help me out. i watched this hearing on friday. but did george zimmerman deserve to get out of jail? >> of course he did. if george zimmerman were really a threat to society and were really a likelihood of being a flight risk, you gotta keep him in jail. the fact is this guy is going nowhere. they'll have him gpsed up. i thought the bond was a little lower than most people thought. >> bill: i guess after not being charged for so long, right, which was a real injustice, i felt and -- >> i agree. you're right about that. >> bill: that on top of it, he gets out of jail to me was just -- just sort of runs salt in the wounds. i hear you. legally, they made the case. but here's what -- i thought the defense, avery was very, very smart. i hate to give them any credit but boy, they dress this guy up. suit and tie, you know. gave him a chance to make his little apology. what was that all about? >> well, it was very smart defense work. of course, you notice that that suit was a bit bulked up. bulletproof vest underneath it. >> bill: right, you could see that. >> i showed up at these rallies many instances, i was the only white guy there saying look, if the system is going to work, you have to arrest this guy. finally, that's done and now it is show time. now we have to see what's going to happen. i actually thought that hearing was very dramatic. i agree with you. i think mark o'mara did a terrific job in trying to humanize this guy. i think he really did a good job and you know what? one of the things he did o'mara, was to beat up the chief prosecution witness. >> bill: yes. and the witness, the chief prosecution witness, chief prosecutor said when he was asked, now, do you know who started -- do you have any evidence as to what started this confrontation or the fight right? he said he had no evidence. why did he say that? couldn't he have said like from everything that we have discovered, right, all of the information we have, we have come to the conclusion that george zimmerman got out of his car -- you and i could have answered that better. >> this is an experienced guy dale gilbert who would you expect would be quicker on his feet. the fact is he wasn't there so he had no idea but the question was put in the context of gilbert's statement that it was zimmerman that "confronted" martin. so that really opened up the pandora's box. >> bill: he could have pointed out he was told not to pursue him, he was told not to get out of his car. he should not have had a gun. >> gilbert was too expense to you come up with a dumb answer like that. the only explanation for the way the police handled it is they were just downs way too many krispy kremes. the reality is that there are holes all over the place. you couple that with independent people doing investigations, having evidence that the cops never had, bill, and man oh, man, you would have expected some kind of homicide charge but wow! second-degree murder? this is going to be a tough one bill. it is going to be a tough one. >> bill: the other surprise to me with that hearing was the wife shows up by phone. right? >> yes. >> bill: because zimmerman had been charged with domestic abuse before. i'm not sure if it was against her. >> it was against his girlfriend. >> bill: i had never heard of a wife. i never heard of the fact that he was now married until this testimony. >> well, it was a goofy statement coming out of mrs. zimmerman who said that in the years they've been together, she has never seen him get angry. unless this guy winds up in the saints hall of fame, i mean aisle bate you even mrs.-- i'll bet even mrs. press has seen you get angry. >> bill: you're damn right. already this morning! [ laughter ] >> and all of a sudden, mr. zimmerman has never ever been angry. you know what? the court credited it in the formula of letting this guy out and you know what? they're going to ship this guy out of state. they're going to gps him up all over the place because someone is going to shoot this guy. i'm telling you. >> bill: god, i hope you're wrong on that. >> that's why they have to get him out of the jurisdiction. >> bill: how long before the trial begins? >> i think we're going to see a trial set fairly quickly. the next couple weeks. florida is sort of infamous in dragging things out including a hearing like this. but they've gotta move on it. >> bill: let's talk about what's going on, avery friedman is our guest. avery friedman.com. we have a link on our web site of course. it is action-v-e-r-y. let's talk about what's going on in greensboro, north carolina. why is the justice department making such a big case out of this? it happened so long ago. a case like this has never been brought before as you point out. >> never! this is an untested fairly weak nearly being pursued by the u.s. attorney's office with the help of the public integrity section. department of justice. it is troubling to me -- there's nothing left of john edwards. >> bill: no. >> all the guy has left is a license. they gave him a deal. they offered him saying we'll drop it down to misdemeanor. that will be the end of it. we won't even pursue objections if the bar association wants to get rid of you. that doesn't mean anything because it is not the court it is the bar association that determines whether or not you have a right to practice. john knew it was a set-up. it is all or nothing for this guy. all or nothing. >> bill: well, i mean, the charge is, that these two people, friends of his gave money to his mistress. they didn't give it to the campaign and the campaign right a check to rielle hunter so how is it an abuse of campaign funds? >> if you're the prosecution you're arguing look, the guys that came up with the money, one of whom is dead and the other one is 101 years old understood that this really was campaign money. we needed to keep a family image. that's what they're going to argue. they're going to have rielle hunter having to explain that look, this had nothing to do with the campaign. you're going to see kate edwards, john edwards' wonderful daughter, recent harvard grad who is going to testify and listen to this, fred barron's widow, fred's dad going to be testifying. i think that will blow up. >> bill: you mean testifying for -- >> for john. >> bill: for john edwards, right. >> caller: all you've got essentially for the prosecution is the tell-all, highly lacking in credibility -- >> bill: andrew young. his former aide. the guy who wrote the book, made a million dollars off the book. >> he might have made a million dollars but he has to give it to all of his lawyers over stealing the sex tape. this guy is pathetic and that's what the government is hanging their hat on. >> bill: if this started under the bush administration, it started under former federal attorney down there who ended up running for congress as a republican -- >> who hates john edwards. >> bill: who hates john edwards. when the obama administration took over and eric holder comes in don't they routinely look at the cases and make a decision about which ones they're going to pursue and which with ones they're not? >> absolutely. the difficulty here politically is what is eric holder going to do? is he going to pull the plug and assign pulling the plug to a decision made politically by the obama administration? to be honest with you, holder has gotten a lot of heat on this. i don't think he could have done anything other than what they're doing. this trial is going to take four to six weeks. i hope that john edwards is going to walk on this. a lot of people disagree with me. it is pathetic. >> bill: i think he will. i think holder is going to end up having egg on his face. >> it may very well happen. but he had to move forward. >> bill:. ry, good man -- avery good man. thank you. >> bill: avery friedman.com. so, there you go. we'll take more of your calls coming up here on the john edwards trial. waste, waste waste. and the george zimmerman walking free. i guess we gotta admit, you know, that under the law they couldn't keep him in jail but geez, i hate to think about the fact that this guy is out on the beach or golf course somewhere. and trayvon martin lying in his cold grave. no justice there that's for sure. your calls 866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." a race car. polymers, hydo-carbons, thermal plastics, math and science? you bet it is. many kids don't understand how important these subjects can be that's why time warner cable developed connect a million minds. to introduce kids in our communities to the opportunities that inspire them to develop these important skills. how can my car go faster? maybe your child will figure it out. find out more at connectamillionminds.com >>i'm a political junkie. this show is my fix. [[vo]]this former two-term governor is ... >> announcer: the latest from the world of politics, this is the "bill press show". >> bill: eric burns from bullfight strategies joining us in studio, a friend of bill in the next hour. and then karl davenport from the national journal talking about earth day and energy policy. hey, every time i turn around, see a story in the news about identity theft. here's another one out of baltimore. a woman and her daughter sentenced in an identity theft scheme using information that they got from patients at a prominent baltimore hospital to open up credit card accounts. yep, there you go again. that's why i recommend getting some protection like i have against identity theft and i recommend life lock ultimate. i've got it and you need it. it is the most comprehensive i.d. theft protection ever made. goes way beyond guarding your identity or good credit. those are essential but now life lock is the only i.d. theft protection company that also monitors your bank accounts for takeover fraud. life lock can't protect you or your bank account if you're not a member. call now. mention press 60 for 60 risk-free days of protection. if you're not happy, you can call them within another 60 days and get a free refund. see lifelock.com for details and give them a call 800-356-5967 for lifelock ultimate protection. here is steve calling from just outside of washington, manassas, virginia. hey, steve, good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. absolutely love your show. love the crew. i hope you had a normal friday. >> bill: well, it was not too bad, actually. busy friday. oh that's right. >> different kind of normal friday. >> bill: i got it. >> caller: okay. listen to your show constantly. love it. regarding this john edwards issue, it is interesting that they prosecute john while at the same time leaving people like john ensen from nevada alone. >> bill: yeah, hello right? or david vidder. >> caller: exactly. john ensen had an affair with the wife of one of his staff workers. and his family -- >> bill: his parents. >> caller: who are casino owners and with contributing money from sheldon adelson tried to buy off the woman. >> bill: i'm glad you reminded us of that. his parents paid her -- him i think the husband or the woman that couple $100,000 as hush money, right? >> caller: exactly. >> bill: never prosecuted. >> caller: right. go after him. >> bill: he's out of the senate just like john edwards is. there is no way -- i hope avery friedman is right. i hope the defense just embarrasses the hell out of the justice department on this case. but you know what? you and i are paying for this circus down there! that's what i don't like about it. roy is out in chicago. what do you say, roy? >> caller: yeah, bill, i'm kind of disappointed with you today. i listen to your show every day. i think you have a great show but i don't understand why you're trying to put the president in the middle of this? the president and eric holder do not go down to north carolina and select this to prosecute. this was done before him. so why in the world don't you try to support the president and instead of calling him obama. the president is not doing this, bill. >> bill: roy roy. roy, let me tell you something. i totally support president obama but that's why i asked. ry friedman the question. when a new administration comes in, they can look -- they do, they review all of the cases that are before them. this case down there was brought by a karl rowe republican -- karl rove republican federal attorney who hated john edwards and went after him and used that as his ticket for running for congress. eric holder could easily have dropped this case and said this was a political prosecution. >> caller: you can't do that when it has been started. what do you think they would do if they found out that president obama told those attorneys to drop this case? >> bill: if he had done it three years ago nobody would be talking about it roy. nobody would be talking about it, i'm telling you. >> caller: telling him what he can do. >> bill: here's the case, roy. here's the case. he had a chance to say no to this case and instead holder and you know holder works for the president they said we're going to go through with it. i don't think the federal government should be prosecuting john edwards. period. and the fact it is being done by the obama administration makes it worse as far as i'm concerned. you gotta make some decisions. what's your priority? this should not be a priority. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." what makes hershey's s'mores special? pure chocolate goodness that brings people together. hershey's makes it a s'more... you make it special. pure hershey's. añañ current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: okay on the john edwards trial glenda cox says too bad eric holder thinks all this crap is way more important speaking of the john edwards trial, is way more important than all of the voters suppression that's being waged today. good point glenda. caroline anderson says i'm thrilled to have you on tv every morning. keep you are your reputation as a mature thoughtful voice for liberals. don't let anybody press you to become more -- pressure you to become more entertaining. oh, yeah and get a new makeup person. [ laughter ] >> i think krusty the clown is doing a great job. >> bill: i think tawny does a good job. i'm not going to fire tony. >> bill: lisa says i live in florida. mark is such an tool it isn't funny. the only hispanic he doesn't speak for is ponch cho via. that's his nickname i think. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show". >> bill: it is monday, monday april 23rd. good morning, everybody and welcome to the "full court press." your new morning show on current tv. good to see you today. hope you had a great weekend. we've got lots and lots to talk about with stuff happening here in our nation's capital and around the globe and of all things to talk about, how about this. your tax dollars and mine are paying for big trial that's getting underway today. down in greensboro, north carolina. it is the federal government versus john edwards over payments that two of his supporters made to his mistress back in 2008. no campaign money was involved. but john edwards is being charged with five counts, six counts, actually of abusing campaign funds. why are we wasting time on this? we'll get into that and a whole lot more but first let's get all of the latest here with this current tv news update in los angeles, jacki schechner. good morning jacki. >> good morning bill and everyone. president obama is in d.c. today giving a speech at the holocaust museum. he's going to tour the facility arrive his statement with writer and holocaust survivor in remembrance of holocaust remembrance day which was last thursday. you can watch the speech online at 9:40 eastern time on the museum's web site. later today, the president's going to meet with senior advisors in the oval office and then he's going to give the commander in chief trophy to the air force academy football team. mitt romney is in pennsylvania today in preparation for tomorrow's primary. there will also be voting in rhode island, new york connecticut and delaware. in pennsylvania, voters who go to the polls are going to have to bring photo i.d. for the very first time. in spite of heavy democratic opposition, republican lawmakers in the state passed a voter i.d. rule and then governor tom corbett, a republican, signed that into law last month. voters who don't have proper photo i.d. will not be turned away tomorrow. it is being considered a soft launch or a dry run to see how much work needs to be done before the november 6th election day. progressive groups and democratic lawmakers are doing what they can to soften the blow of the new law giving out information and also helping people find a way to get the proper approved photo identification. and "the washington post" took a closer look at president obama's fcc filings showing he's getting more money from hollywood than wall street on this time around. you can read that on "washington post."com. and we'll be right back. attack on women that perhaps the majority of the population woke up? >> idaho is not known as approaching act i.v. you had hundreds of women show up, thousands signed petitions. they made their voices heard. what happens is that now, the legislators are running scared. very similar laws have passed quietly in other states for the past 10 years, really in the past two years have intensified. pennsylvania a similar law was shelved, idaho this proved to be political poison. women are paying attention and having their voices heard. >> thanks for coming in. >> the aclu considers a demand that to get a job you have to let an employer open your private mail, the senate wants to make it illegal to hand over password to your facebook account. ♪ ♪ so, this is delicious okay... is this where we're at now we don't care anymore? we just eat whatever tastes good? excuse me? [ man ] like these sweet honey clusters they're awesome so no way they're good for you. but i guess that's okay right? actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? ya know? cancel the gym membership. bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. we will not settle for easy answers. (vo) the former governor of ny eliot spitzer, joins the new news network. >>every night we will drill down on the days top stories in search of facts that inform. >> we don't stop until we get answers that are truthful, serious, and not based on simplistic answers. >>we're here because we're independent. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: george zimmerman walks free. why? why not keep him in jail? took long enough to get him there. why let him go? i don't get it. good morning everybody. there's a lot i don't get that goes on. good to see you today. it is monday monday april 23rd. thanks for joining us here on the "full court press." coming to you live coast-to-coast from our radio studio and tv studio here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. good to see you today. hope you had a great weekend. we've got lots to talk about and lots of help to do so. joining us in studio is a friend of bill this hour, our good friend eric burns from bullfight strategies. >> all right. thanks for having me bill. >> bill: good to see you again. >> you're on fire this morning. i love it. >> bill: i always start off the week with a bang and by the end of the week, i run out of gas. >> i don't really care. this happens. >> bill: i start off with a full tank. with the help of peter ogborn, dan henning. >> good morning. >> and cyprian bolling our videographer who we never see nor hear. >> we see him. >> bill: we only get to hear him when we're talking sports. or we bring him in. i don't know about you guys last night, i was very excited to watch part of fox news 25th anniversary special. >> to be clear, it is just fox. not fox news. >> bill: the fox network's 25th anniversary special and the rerun of the first episode of "married with children." >> i saw it. it took me back. >> bill: my all-time favorite tv show. >> the very best show of all-time on television according to you. >> bill: the museum of broadcasting. >> i would go with "arrested development" but that's just me. >> bill: i just love to banter back and forth. bundy. really classic character. >> he was almost like an archie bunker. >> at 8:00 last night, they did this whole anniversary special. they brought out a 30-year-older ed o'neil and katey sagal. they talked about it with ryan seacrest. >> they're both still working. very high profile shows. >> bill: i understand "modern family" is good. >> so good. my wife and i watch it every week. it is really funny. >> you gotta watch. and she's on sons of anarchy which is another great show. >> christina applegate is working. >> then there's david faustino. he was the son. >> bud. >> he's got nothing. >> he serves a mean burger though. working at waffle house. >> bill: the other event of the weekend, i saw this headline in drudge. last week, was it delta i think, the plane leaving jfk. >> united. >> bill: flew into the flock of birds. >> i thought it was the wing clip you were talking about. >> bill: then turned around and came back. incredibly cool as a cucumber pilot said we were just hit by a flock of birds. we're going to have to turn around and come back. it happened with air force ii coming into santa barbara over the weekend. here is the cool pilot of air force ii. >> santa barbara tower good evening. air force ii two miles runway. >> air force ii, good evening. runway seven to the ramp. north from 7. >> land runway seven air force ii. >> bill: what got me was the headline says biden plane hits bird. i think it was the bird that hit the plane. sort of like the way the headline is that they were chasing the bird. i'll get that damn bird got him! >> i'm sure we'll hear some commentary from rush limbaugh, hannity about how biden hates birds. that's a scary thing man a bird strike is serious. >> oh, yeah. >> you wouldn't think it would be with those giant engines but apparently the birds gum up the works. >> a lot of the birds they're hitting are geese. big geese. if you get a gaggle of geese that are in the air and you suck five or six of them, that's a large hunk of animal that's being sucked into a jet. >> a geese is not like a little morning dove. it is like a 20-pound bird. >> that would not be one of the announcements i would like to hear. we've just hit a flock of birds. >> we have some bad news. we just ran into a flock of birds. also thanksgiving dinner is served. >> we're going down. >> your in-flight meal will be -- >> thank god nothing happened. >> bill: can i save this show? shut up. >> somebody needs to. [ laughter ] >> bill: we'll talking with karl davenport from national journal. spillover from earth day. and why it wasn't more celebrated. eleanor holmes norton will be joining us. the one representative from the district of columbia in congress. she doesn't have a vote but she's there fighting the good fight. she'll be with us next hour but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> on this monday, other headlines making news, in sports a rare wagner baseball card sold at auction on friday for $1.2 million. "the associated press" reports a man from new jersey bought it. the card from 1909. wagner mostly played for the pittsburgh pirates and was one of the first to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame. the card was one of about 200 produced. they were sold inside cigarette packs but wagner likely asked to have those cards pulled because he didn't want to encourage smoke even though he chewed tobacco as he played. there are about 60 honus wagner cards left in the world. >> wow. >> ever collect baseball cards? >> i didn't. >> i did. my dad did as a kid. he had some pretty amazing cards. my grandfather threw them out when he went to college. my father never forgot it. >> i still have a huge collection of very valuable baseball cards. what am i going to do? >> bill: very valuable? >> my mark mcgwire rookie card isn't quite worth what it used to be. >> i have a coin collection. >> i don't have any honus wagner. >> if your name is metta world peace, you would think you wouldn't get objected from a basketball game for a violent action. he beat his chest in celebration after making a slam dunk and elbowed oklahoma city thunder player james harden in the process. harden left the game with a concussion. world peace who was born with the name ron artest. >> you'll remember ron artest. >> he was objected. did he later apologize on twitter saying he was watching the play again and admitted his celebration was excessive. he hopes that hardin would be okay. >> is he going to make him change his name? this guy cannot keep metta world peace. >> he's had it since last september. >> bill: who won the game? >> the lakers. double overtime. >> and more names announced on the white house correspondent's guest list. martha stewart will be sitting at one of its tables along with kelly ripa and mark conswale os. jimmy kimle is the headliner. jimmy kimmel is the headliner. >> i will be at the afterparties. >> bill: i'm going to get some autographs. >> i'm a little bitter about it. >> let me know if you run into martha stewart. i'll get home decorating tips from you? >> bill: how would you like to serve a massive hotel meal and have martha stewart sitting saying what's this crap? >> sitting there in quiet judgment. >> bill: eric burns, so much to talk about. of course we had to talk about the biggest story in american politics today and that is dog gate. we're calling it. >> oh, yes. i was having some dog this morning. >> bill: i mean first of all what i don't understand is why is the romney campaign -- why did they still try to defend putting schamus on top of the car. i'm sure you heard this before. just in case. this is diane sawyer interviewing mitt and ann together romney and the question is would you do this all over again given all of the grief that you got for putting seamus on top of the car. >> certainly all of the attention it received. >> it was the most wounding thing of the campaign. >> the dog loved it but he got sick. >> once. we traveled all the time. he ate the turkey on the counter. he had the runs. >> thank you. they tied him to the top of the car for a road trip as i remember it. >> bill: he was in the kennel but then the kennel was strapped down. first, she indicates they did it more than once. >> yes. >> bill: and she's defending it. she says the dog loved it. why don't they just say you know what? we've all done some dumb things in our life. it was a different time and certainly i wouldn't do that again. >> in hindsight, perhaps not. especially after coming off a week where they were drown out by the hilary rosen nonsense. her birthday party was hosted by a guy who had been arrested for killing and barbecuing a dog. i thought man -- >> bill: he was involved with it. we heard he was arrested. but the idea of defending it. so then not only do they defend it but then they come out and say oh, yeah, but that's not as bad as what obama did. >> which is just ridiculous. this is -- a man who is a young boy, you know. was given -- a dog in culture where is that happened. >> bill: 6 years old. >> he's 6 years old. >> bill: his stepfather says we're going to try a little dog little tiger, a little snake. his stepfather was into some branch of islam which believes you inherit the qualities of the animal that you eat. what's he supposed to do? at 6 years old say no, i'm going to run for president of the united states some day. >> if he had done that, they would be going after him for that too. >> bill: the idea that the actions of a grownup man in america could be compared to a 6-year-old in indonesia. >> absurd. >> bill: totally absurd. >> this is how these guys roll. >> bill: on a more serious matter, we've heard a lot lately. you've been working on this about alec, the american legislative exchange council which nobody heard of before until trayvon martin stand your ground law and suddenly, what is alec all about? what's going on with him? >> look, it is common cause a progressive organization that's been doing a lot of due diligence to kind of expose their ties to big corporate money. and i think that there are some real questions here about if they're really within the lines of their c3 charitable tax status because one of the key elements of being in the 301c -- 501c-p, you're not supposed to lobby. they've got a network all over the country. every time we see these coordinated bills coming out from the right i mean, it is alec, generally that's driving it. some of the worst legislation we've seen. >> bill: "the new york times" on saturday, a big front page story. and the headline, nonprofit meaning alec acts as a stealth business lobbyist. so what they do is -- this is, by the way i talk about -- >> funded by the koch brothers. >> bill: by the obama hate machine. funded by the koch brothers. they have all of this corporate money and then they write model legislation to get the state legislators, invite them to conferences. they hand out the bills. you want to do something on immigration. all of the antiimmigrant legislation. arizona, alabama georgia, all of these other states, alec legislation. the stand your ground laws kill at will law. all alec legislation. the voter suppression laws in i don't know how many, 20 some states, all written by alec. they hand them out these state legislators paid to go to these conferences, all expenses paid. they run home, introduce these bills and it is all corporate -- it is -- it is -- the corporate end run around lobbying laws. >> absolutely. a lot of cases, you have in the state of virginia, the state was paying often for the ticket for the state legislators to go to these conferences. so, it is a matter of not just the state forking out travel expenses but if you look at all of the healthcare bills that have been introduced in various states that have to be defended in court, that costs the taxpayers money. it is really, really political. i think one thing the way i view alec as a political strategist, this is more than about legislation. it is about controlling the political climate, the political debate in a state and local market. they can make the conversation about why african-americans shouldn't be able to go and vote without an i.d. because they want to suppress black voter turnout. they frame the conversation the way they want to have it. it is beneficial to the republican party lectorrally. >> bill: two things happened last week. one thing is a dozen or so corporate sponsors including pepsi, coca-cola mcdonald's have dropped out saying we didn't know our money was going to this kind of stuff. not sure. >> they just got caught. >> bill: alec said we're going to stick to where we started under koch brothers which was environmental antiregulation, pollute at will and get away from the gun control. now, is that going to -- is that enough for alec? >> destroying the e.p.a., i don't know. that's been a great holy grail since tom delay ran for congress back in the day. probably with alec legislation. >> bill: probably. >> likely. but is it enough for them? you know, i don't think so. i think that this is a huge machine that has been really uncovered and brought to public light for the first time. i don't believe that they're going to stick with that. >> bill: what i love is the fact that this is not legislation that did this. these are good, progressive organizations using social media common cause people for the american way color of change. they've all exposed alec and brought them to light and the corporations are saying whoa, we don't want anything to do with that. we didn't know we were somehow responsible for what happened to trayvon martin. 866-55-press. if you want to join the conversation. eric burns bullfight strategies bullfightstrategies.com. we'll take your calls and continue our conversation on this monday edition of the "full court press." 866-55-press. you always have a seat at the table. and that's your ticket to it. 866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. just telling you what's going on in politics today. >>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now. >>this is outrageous! [[vo]]cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the rest of the media seems like, "ho-hum, no big deal." we've have no choice, we've lost our democracy here. just refreshing to hear. no other television show does that. we're keeping it real. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 27 minutes after the hour. the "full court press" on this monday, april 23rd. in studio with us, eric burns from bullfight tratgies, carl davenport from national journal joining us in the next segment. eric, here is the biggest secret in american politics today. >> tell me. >> bill: tomorrow, april 24, there are five republican primaries in delaware, new york, pennsylvania connecticut and rhode island. i bet you didn't know that. >> i actually had no idea. after what, this grueling, horrific blood letting -- >> bill: after we studied it and followed it step by step by step, i'll bet you the networks aren't even going to do anything tomorrow. to have coverage tomorrow night. why should they? >> newt will have a fit because he's out there he's running around. this could be his chance, bill you never know. [ laughter ] >> bill: that's what newt says. this is newt in buffalo over the weekend. >> governor romney is ahead but he's only about halfway to the number he needs for the nomination. he can raise a lot more money than i can but i think we have a lot more people than he has. [ laughter ] >> he needs to go back and take a math class. >> bill: he has -- he's actually said -- i had lunch with one of my brothers and one of my sisters yesterday from delaware. they said he's in delaware and he said he's going to win delaware. we'll see. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." is on the new news network. >>it is an independent progressive voice and i love that. >>jennifer granholm joins current tv. a former two term governor. >>people like somebody who's got a spine. >>determined to find solutions... >>we need government to ensure that people have freedom. >>driven to find the truth... >>what's really going on? >>fearless, independent and above all, politically direct. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: it is 33 minutes after the hour. the "full court press" on this rainy, kind of cold day here in washington, d.c. the day after earth day. seems like the planet is sad and weeping because there wasn't more attention paid to earth day yesterday. eric burns, friend of bills in studio where we're joined by energy and environmental correspondent by the national journal, kara davenport. why wasn't there more celebration of earth day? >> i think it's fallen off the radar. >> bill: i think thate is falling off the radar. >> certainly, the environment as a political issue is -- well, it is a highly politicized issue but i think it is something that regular people don't really feel is invested in. >> bill: something we still ought to be talking about. >> absolutely. i don't know if i would call myself an environmentalist but i'm comfortable in quoting scientists. most scientists in saying that in the next 20, 30, 40, 50 years, we with may be on the brink of a significant environmental catastrophe. >> they don't know what they're talking about, those scientists. scientists shmientishs. >> bill: you can teach evolution in wisconsin. this article in the -- "the new york times" really burned me. the headline is no place for heated opinion. so, discovery channel has this new thing called the frozen planet. peter, you were telling me you've been tivoing this. watching it your kids. >> yeah. >> bill: it is graphic stuff. real cold at both ends of the earth. the north and in the south but look what's happening. icecap is melting and the polar bears are losing their ice. all of these changes and nowhere in this series -- >> did it talk about why. >> bill: does it talk about why. what's going on when the discovery channel -- here is a great opportunity to -- to tell the truth for one thing. >> it is only giving half the story. and so it is very surprising. what's the point of telling the story of this crisis that's happening if you don't then put together the pieces and then tell why. it is a one-two -- pretty simple equation. >> bill: alec baldwin is the narrator. he says categorically, the ends of the earth are changing but the series never says why. >> that's really disappointing. alec baldwin being involved, as politically engaged as he is, i'm surprised he ended up being the narrator there. >> bill: i don't know but to me, they've got corporate sponsors and the corporate -- one of two things. either the network is just gun-shy and they don't want any controversy and they don't want anybody to be able to accuse them of being lefty liberal, al gore kind of environmentalist and/or maybe both, they've got corporate sponsors who say we won't give you any money if you get into what's causing global warming. >> that was surprising because the times story does not get into that. they talked to the procedures at -- the producers at discovery. they said we don't want to get into anything controversial. what's interesting about that is the issue of whether or not carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels trap heat inside the globe's atmosphere is not controversial. that's been known by basic physics for over 100 years and as recently as 2007, here in washington, the debate had gotten to the point where this was acknowledged at a bipartisan level. the first sponsors of major legislation in the senate to deal with this were republicans john mccain was -- who was a sponsor of legislation to deal with this problem while he was running for president. while he was a republican nominee. it wasn't a controversial issue until very recently. >> bill: he and barack obama both agreed global warming was real, was man-made or caused by human activity and we had to do something about it. >> john mccain had ran -- >> he said hey this is no longer an issue. >> he said this is no longer an issue. his campaign ads for president he didn't run away from it. he wasn't one of these republicans who said well, okay, i'm going to go campaign on something else. he put it in his campaign ads and here in washington on the hill, the debate was among other republicans. the debate was very much, this is a given fact. that part is not controversial at all. the controversy is what do you do about it? >> to me, the politicians you expect them to be some of the chicken or cowards or owned by corporate money, right? this is the discovery channel. it is similar to, in my latest book, "the obama hate machine," the national history museum on the mall -- >> i was going to bring this up. yes. i saw this exhibition. >> bill: big exhibition. it is the david koch -- funded by dade koch at any rate. where they have -- they tell you all about the -- here it is. right. good. david h. koch hall of human origins. >> amazing. >> bill: at the end of the exhibit, your ainformed that levels of carbon dioxide are higher today than they've ever been before but of course paid for by the koch brothers, the smithsonian has nothing about why that's happening and that's the smithsonian. >> it is a fascinating exhibition. i just saw it a couple of months ago and you know, was walking through, got to the end and saw that and hadn't actually seen the sponsor. and i was just surprised. i said -- it is like this discovery channel thing. what's the next piece? it is just very fuzzy. it says this is happening. it kind of gets very fuzzy. and then at the end, you see the sponsor and of course, you know koch industries has been one of the leading advocates against legislation to cap carbon emissions. >> coral, i want to ask you it does strike me, this is a huge issue for democrats or even evangelical christians that are conservative are concerned about this. why do you think democrats and progressives aren't more vocal when really this debate was all but over several years ago? >> i think it is very difficult to find democrats who would question the fundamental science of climate change. joe manchin of west virginia who shot the cap and trade bill and is questioning whether or not he's going to vote for obama falls into that category. by in large -- i actually did a survey on this. >> bill: we were talking about democrats. i'm not sure you should include joe manchin. >> it is very difficult to find democrats who -- democrats are pretty comfortable acknowledging the science of climate change. the difficulty is addressing it as an issue. once you acknowledge it, you have to -- you have manufacturers who come from coal states, oil states states that need cheap gasoline and if you address the issue of climate change, if you take the step of saying i'm going to do something about this, you're probably going to hurt some of those economies so democrats like clair mccaskill who comes from missouri heavily dependent on coal are in a tough spot on this issue. she's very comfortable saying i believe in climate change. humans are causing it. but also if there were to be a climate change law, it probably would hurt a lot of people in rural missouri and she could lose her job because of it. so, that's kind of an issue that democrats were quiet on. >> bill: in terms of what we can do about it, you've just written in the "national journal" america could have a cleaner, brighter energy future. i know you don't write the headline. a cleaner, writer energy future if the government did research. here are five technological innovations that could one day change our lives and change the world. that's big stuff. so, for earth day, you wrote this piece. like what? solar energy you're talking about? your atalking about wind? electric cars? >> what's interesting about technology -- technology that runs with low or zero carbon emissions is all of that technology is out there right now. we have solar. we have electric cars. it is too expensive. if i'm going to turn on my light bulb, i don't want to pay more for electricity that was more expensively generated with wind or solar. >> bill: not even to save the planet. >> i don't have a choice. my utility will make the choice what kind of electricity to purchase and they're going to purchase the stuff that's the cheapest. if i'm driving my car, i don't want to pay more for -- i don't want to pay more for an electric car. i don't want to spend the time to plug it in. it needs to be affordable. so, all of those technologies like electric vehicles, solar and wind electricity are all out there. they're just too expensive. a lot of them are sitting in labs, waiting to be scaled up. waiting to be manufactured. but the market forces aren't there to make them competitive. >> bill: but the computer was too expensive at one time. the cell phone was too expensive at one time. you put it out there. >> it seems like there is a market for some of this and i wonder to what extent there are market forces, there clearly is a consumer market for hybrid vehicles and what they have done despite everything you said being true. a lot of the big oil companies and energy companies, they could easily be leading the way on this and probably make a whole lot of money you know. over the next 50 60 years. but they're so -- tell me if i'm wrong. they're so tied to the revenue. >> g.m. and -- g.m. which makes the chevy volt. a lot of automakers in combination with the federal government which is put in place the higher fuel economy standards are helping to start drive that market for high mileage, low-emitting cars. but you know, when i talk to people about these technologies, they'll say all of the stuff is out there. the solutions are out there. there's one market signal that you need. you change one thing about the market and all of the stuff gets unleashed. you don't need government subsidies. that's to put a price on carbon. once it becomes more expensive to pollute, then the market is driven toward choosing these other technologies. >> bill: that's the legislation of course that -- that they're fighting. >> probably alec legislation. >> bill: yeah, probably. >> alec did write a bill that they sent out to state legislatures that was about rolling back or stopping a lot of these. >> bill: there it is. the ugly head of alec again. coral davenport national journal in studio with us and eric burns from bullfight strategies and you you have a place at the table always. 866-55-press. we're talking about earth day, energy and environment and what we ought to be doing about it here on the monday edition of the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." [ male announcer ] cookies with smooth caramel and chocolate. ♪ ♪ hmm twix. also available in peanut butter. >>just refreshing to hear. no other television show does that. we're keeping it real. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 12 minutes before the top of the hour here. eleanor holmes norton, congresswoman from the district of columbia in studio with us in the next hour. right now with coral davenport from the national journal and eric burns from bullfight strategies, we're talking about energy, environment and we're going to solve the problem of global warming in the next five minutes. so, let's go. we know what we've gotta do. it is just a matter of having the political will to do it. i've got a radical radical idea. how about if we get rid of the subsidies going to the big oil companies and take that money and invest it in renewable energy. >> well, you know, nancy pelosi couldn't get that through the democratic house. so, democrats have been trying to do for a long time. about $4 billion annually. that's a huge amount of money. >> bill: it would do a huge amount of good. >> it could do -- pay down the deficit with it. there are a lot of good things. >> bill: you could invest it in technology. to make -- to bring the cost of the lec trk car down -- of the electric car down. >> the president has tried to do. the democrats in congress have tried to do that. they have failed with the republican house of representatives. i mean, the oil lobby is so powerful, they've managed to keep that from happening although i will say i think it will be on the table next year when they do corporate tax reform, the tax breaks will be back on the table once again. >> bill: here is another radical idea then. you look at so much of our technology -- starting with the computer because the pentagon, the military put the initial money into developing this system for national security purposes. what if the pentagon started spending money on some of these new technologies. >> the pentagon is taking a tremendously active role in pursuing alternative energy technologies. they're not doing the research in the way they did with the internet and that kind of thing. what they're doing -- this has been driven since the bush administration the pentagon's oil and fuel costs are through the roof. it costs -- the amount of money it costs to get a gallon of jet fuel or diesel fuel to the front lines of combat to iraq, to afghanistan, the actual gallon of jet fuel can cost about $4 a gallon. it costs about $40 a gallon if you add in all of the costs of getting to the front line not to mention the deaths. the fuel convoys traveling across the desert in iraq and afghanistan, people guarding those, we've seen hundreds of troops and contractor deaths. so the pentagon does not have a green agenda whatsoever. they have an agenda to not spend that much money and not risk that many lives for this fuel and so they have started buying things like hybrid tanks. they have started -- they put out bids to major defense contractors to make things like this. they have started bringing incredibly high tech solar technology to the front lines of iraq and afghanistan. there are a couple of bases in helmand province. they're small but they run almost entirely on solar technology. >> i think it is fascinating. they don't have a green agenda. >> not at all. >> they have a cost-saving agenda an efficiency agenda and that really i think is the answer. yes, folks are going to have a green agenda but there seems to me, there is a way this is a model from the pentagon of all places, we can't get the democrats to take action on it. >> bill: it is a green agenda in the terms of saving money agenda. it is green green if you will. >> here's what's difficult about it. some of these technologies are more expensive at the outset and so -- >> bill: that's the point. >> the pentagon has to make the case to congressional appropriators who control the purse strings, it is worth while to buy these technologies at the outset because you're going to save money you know, over five or ten years and not having the fuel costs which is the same -- >> bill: there are also certain economies of scale. >> yes. >> bill: which the economy -- >> they can help drive that. >> bill: small business does not. >> exactly. >> bill: eventually, the small business will be able to reap those benefits. i told you we were going to solve the problem in five minutes. >> if only the gsa had really embraced us when they were going to do their conference, they might have cut the budget for that thing in half. who knows. [ laughter ] >> bill: i don't think we want to discuss that controversy. if they've been dealing with this stuff instead of -- >> eisenhower building the highway system. big cost up-front. big payoff 70 years down the road. >> bill: coral davenport, good to see you. eric burns, good to have you in here, man, as always. i'll let you know what the president is up to today. big day for the white house. come back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate. it's completely inappropriate for television. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show". >> bill: hey, in just a little less than an hour from now president obama leaving the white house to go maybe half a mile away to the holocaust museum. he will be visiting the holocaust museum this morning and introduced at a gathering there by holocaust survivor and great author elie wiesel, winner of the nobel prize. then the president goes back to the white house, gets the daily briefing meeting with his senior advisors and then this afternoon, another sports team coming in, the air force academy football team will be given the commander in chief trophy by the commander in chief himself this afternoon. later this afternoon, the president will be meeting in the ole office with secretary of state hillary clinton. he meets with the secretary of state, the secretary of defense and the secretary of treasury on a weekly basis and at 12:30 p.m., press secretary jay carney will be holding his briefing at the white house. i'm going to be there or i'm going to try to ask him today if i get a chance about the john edwards trial and why the obama administration and the department of justice is pursuing this. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, good morning everybody. it is monday, monday april 23rd. good to see you today. welcome to the "full court press." your new morning show on current tv. so good to be with you and glad that you're there as we tackle the issues of the day. here in our nation's capital around the country and around the globe. there's lots to talk about today! here's the thing that's really got me burned up this morning and that is late last night george zimmerman walked out of a florida jail. yeah, he's gpsed up but he's still a free man. he says now and he said it in court on friday, he's sorry about trayvon martin. he didn't realize he was as young as he was. yeah, what does that mean? that he wouldn't have shot him if he knew he was only 17 years old? this guy should be still in jail. we'll talk about that and a whole lot more. first, here are the latest headlines, today's current tv news update in los angeles here's jacki schechner. good morning jacki. >> hi, bill, good morning, everyone. 66% of voters under the age of 30 voted for president obama in 2008 and he knows he's gotta get young people excited to vote for him again this time around. in that vain, he's starting a small tour of college campuses starting tomorrow at the university of north carolina to talk about student loans and his push for congress to take action to stop those federal student loan rates from doubling this july. he's also going to make an appearance on late night with jimmy fallon tomorrow night. mitt romney says that if he's president, he intends to bring government spending down to 20% of the u.s. economy and in order to do that, he's gotta make some troubling cuts. right now, we're at 23.5% and as the ap points out that, means mitt romney will make cuts to medicaid, food inspection, border security and education. he also is promising more money for the pentagon which would mean deeper cuts than even he's talking about at this point. that would mean cuts to social security and medicare, some domestic agencies and other social programs like unemployment insurance and pensions for our veterans. and according to the hill, it is cyberweek on capitol hill. the house is going to take up four cybersecurity bills the most controversial and prominent of them is called cyberintelligence sharing and protection act or cispa. it would let companies share internet user's data without legal restriction. unfortunately, this one has high tech support like facebook and microsoft so it won't encounter what sopa did in terms of opposition. we'll be right back. in 2012 alone. go to our website, current.com. up next it's out to the campaign trail. a surprising new poll, and that's next right here inside "the war room." is on the new news network. >>welcome to the war room. >>jennifer granholm joins current tv. a former two-term governor. >>make your voice heard. >>detremined to find solutions. >>that partnership in order to invest in our country is critical. >>driven to find the truth. >>how did romney get his groove back? >>fearless, independent and above all, politically direct. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey hello everybody. good to see you today. it is monday, monday april 23rd. kind of a cold and rainy day here in our nation's capital. we've got a lot going on. lots to talk about. good to have you with us. and we're coming to you live from washington, d.c. our studio on capitol hill. bringing you to the big stories of the day here from washington, around the country and around the globe and of course, taking your calls as always at 866-55-press. we're very proud to be joined in studio today by our representative from the district of columbia, we're sitting in her district in the district of columbia, the honorable eleanor holmes norton, congresswoman good to see you this morning. >> good morning, bill. you really are on capitol hill. it is the only studio i know that can really say they're on capitol hill because this is where capitol hill is. >> bill: six blocks from the capitol building in the shadow of the capitol dome. congresswoman, i, as you know, am a neighbor of yours. we live within a block or so of this studio. and here we are pay taxes do all of the good things citizens are supposed to do but in washington, d.c., we don't have the vote. why not? >> well, people have begun to know a little bit about the vote and by the way the polls show 80% of american people think if you pay taxes you ought to have a vote in the congress. you live in this country the congress taxes you. i of course, bill, as you know, voting committee. but i do not have a vote on the house floor, when, for example when we invaded iraq, my folks are there. i had no vote. and that's the way it has been for 200 years. so, this is something that grabs us and when americans know about it and most do not, it grabs them. >> bill: and is the opposition -- you would think that if republicans opposed it but when a democrat is in the white house, we could get done. >> we got very close. very close. republicans oppose it only because we're democrats. this is a big city. they oppose -- >> bill: largely a democratic city. >> like most big cities. they opposed it even though we got some republicans for us even when we almost got it a couple of years ago. when we were paired with utah. that was a sure republican vote. we had republican senators for us. we had a few republican members of the house. even with that wash, with each side getting an additional vote, we couldn't get it. the reason we couldn't get it is the gun lobby the nra came in and threatened and did indeed attach an amendment that would have wiped out all of the gun laws. >> bill: in the district of columbia. >> this is a city where the president, where the cabinet officials are. wipe them all out. obviously we couldn't trade our liberty for -- our public safety for our vote. so, that was a complete and total tragedy. >> bill: now short of -- so, in effect, just to finish on that, we're sort of like a colony, aren't we? >> that is a very good word for it and it is not -- we're not stretching. we're ruled by the national legislature in the sense that they can -- they can even and in fact do, bill, make us bring a local budget to capitol hill to have the senate and the house mull over it before we can spend our own local funds $3 billion of it raised right here in the district of columbia. >> bill: if we can't get the vote and there is no reason why we shouldn't the bumper stick -- the license plates in the district of columbia say taxation without representation. that's really what it is. >> that's what it is. >> bill: that's what we out if the revolution about right? >> that's really why people went to war and why we have the united states of america today. >> bill: it still exists here in the district. if we can't get the vote, you've been fighting toward getting at least, as you just mentioned budget autonomy. >> budget autonomy. here, we're having some surprising developments because first of all, there is a poll that's just come out. very interesting poll done by a bipartisan group that shows 70% of the american people think that if the district raises its own money then -- >> bill: we should be able to spend -- >> exactly. you know they attach what we call riders, amendments that overturn our laws. if you want your money then of course, you can't spend your money on x y and z. more than 70% say you cannot attach what you want to somebody else's budget. so, we've got the people, now all we need is the accounting list. we're beginning to get them. the republican chair of the committee with some jurisdiction over the district, darrell issa, no softy listened in a hearing to a description of what the district goes through. it is interesting he had his witnesses, we had our witnesses. >> bill: that's the oversight committee? >> it is. their witnesses and our witnesses said first of all the district's budget was in better shape than virtually any budget in the united states. isn't that interesting to note? we have a surplus most people do not. and the only problem the district has is one inflicted by the congress and that is we pay a premium. we who live here. because our budget has to go to a body called the united states congress. so on wall street, you pay a premium for that uncertainty. schools will open before the budget here is done because the budget here is done on september 30th. the reason -- in fact, every jurisdiction has june 30th at the end of their fiscal year is because of schools. they want to prepare for schools. so, you can imagine what the district of columbia goes through when its budget isn't out, even when it is on time. >> bill: so it makes sense -- the idea that those bug me. that these people from -- wyoming, utah, whatever, would sit on a committee and make decisions affecting the residents of washington, d.c. >> about whom -- for whom there is no accountability. if we don't agree with them, there's nothing we can do about it. >> bill: so, you think a budget autonomy is the republican leadership in the house -- >> beginning to get there. when you have majority leader kantor who is known -- if anything, as a hard-liner for coming out to say he's for budget autonomy. you have darrell issa, of course, the chair mapp saying he's for budget autonomy and governor mcdonnell governor of virginia, why would he come out for it? he says for two reasons. one, 100,000 virginians work in the district. if you close down the district because the federal government hasn't gotten its budget done and you make the district bring its budget there, they get caught up in that, you inconvenience all virginians. then he said something he said he didn't see how the mayor of the district could run for the city when he didn't know if his budget was going to come out or when it was going to come out. when you have republicans lining up, the president is already in his budget, that he submitted said he wanted to work with the congress to pass budget autonomy, we're closer than we've ever been, bill. >> bill: thanks to your good leadership. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton in studio with us again. you may have heard me say it. there is always an extra seat at the table for you. give us a call. a question about the district or any of the other issues facing the congress today. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton at 866-55-press. now, as a member of the oversight committee, not necessarily related to the district but you've had a couple of big issues that you're dealing with. out of control -- two out of control representatives -- out-of-control representatives of two federal agencies, i don't want to put a black mark on the entire agency. one is gsa with this wow party. how did you find out about that and what's being done about it? >> i found out the way most members did. that's too bad because i have been fair of the oversight. i'm a member of the oversight committee. nobody knew about it until a woman i work with, now deputy administrator susan britter. the whistle was blown by a political appointee of the obama administration. and she blew the whistle on what looks like a rogue region, the western region. we hope it is a rogue region. we don't have any evidence of the other parts of gsa are involved but here -- they were supposed to spend $300,000 for a conference for the entire western region so that goes all the way from southern california all the way up so that's a lot of territory. ended up more than twice as much and then they said they wanted to "go over the top." >> bill: they did. >> they succeeded. they succeeded. and everything from clowns to tuxedos to -- they violated every rule in the federal book and they are the ones that are the procurers. they do the procurement for the federal government. so, they make the rules so they are really tarnished by -- >> bill: they're the ones that should set the example of appropriate spending levels and all the way across the board in terms of products that they buy furniture that they buy. rents that they pay. all of that that you count on them for doing that. >> by the way, bill -- >> bill: should the director, the administrator have lost her job? >> should have. >> bill: and did. >> and did. she resigned. two others were fired. the president wasted no time and we gotta give him credit for that. you hear about how when something happens in agencies over the years they go down and find some hands on public servant and the head rolls and the head of the agency was there. the president took out the entire top of the agency and look who he put in. i do want to say that. he put in dan take lini. a former administrator. now is top official of the treasury for management and for finances. cool as a cucumber. ethics -- way above board. the president, the moment he fired them, put tangalini in there. he's begun an entire audit of the agency to find out in any region is implicated. >> he's a capitol hill resident as well. >> right up here. >> really good man. >> then the other big scandal of course, secret service scandal which you've had already one hearing on. what's going on there? what do you know? have we seen the end of it? >> the secret service scandal our oversight committee hasn't had it yet. but let me tell you we know a lot about it on the oversight committee. let me tell you the good news, everybody. you know when you look at gsa and the secret service you find susan britter is the hero of the gsa scandal because she blew the whistle and started the investigation. what people don't know yet is who started the investigation in colombia of the secret service. it was an african-american woman who comes from this part of the country, she comes from maryland. >> bill: a secret service agent? >> secret service agent supervisor recently sent down there as a supervisor. a lot of people were concerned because she's strait-laced, top supervisor. no nonsense supervisor. you know, the old boys down there said how come you sent this woman here from washington? she's held high positions. i mean in the white house and in that kind of duty. but it is considered a plum assignment. watch out, fellas. when you got a woman with you in colombia and she gets any hint of this, she rounded up these fellas. she's the one that put them on the plane. don't want to hear it. she's the one who did it. it is only beginning to come out. her picture is beginning to be shown. watch for her. i don't even know her name, shame on me because she has just become known as the person who started the investigation blew the whistle isn't quite the word for this one because the woman who didn't get paid blew the whistle in the hall. when she screamed she wanted her money. but somebody had to know what to do. she could do an investigation down there, pick and choose. she said the whole unit is gone. >> bill: good for her. >> that's tough because people say oh, wait a minute. what kind of camaraderie is that? that's what you do -- embarrassing the united states of america. >> bill: congresswoman eleanor holmes norton in studio with us. gsa, secret service budget autonomy, the vote with the district of columbia. 866-55-press is our toll free number. we'll be right back. >> announcer: on your radio on tv the "bill press show." new on current tv. the show. >>and humor and politics with a west coast edge. >>politically direct means no bs, cutting through the clutter. >>bill press and stephanie miller, current's new morning news block. weekdays six to noon. ♪ ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? attack on women that perhaps the majority of the population woke up? >> idaho is not known as approaching act i.v. you had hundreds of women show up, thousands signed petitions. they made their voices heard. what happens is that now, the legislators are running scared. very similar laws have passed quietly in other states for the past 10 years, really in the past two years have intensified. pennsylvania a similar law was shelved, idaho this proved to be political poison. women are paying attention and having their voices heard. >> thanks for coming in. >> the aclu considers a demand that to get a job you have to let an employer open your private mail, the senate wants to make it illegal to hand over a password to your facebook account. eliot spitzer joins the new news network. >>we don't stop until we get answers that are truthful, serious and not based on simplistic answers. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: 25 minutes after the hour now. monday, april 23rd. in studio with us, representing the district of columbia in the united states congress, she has a vote on committee but not on the floor. sad to say. that's the case still in the united states of america. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton. congresswoman, jim is calling from san mountain, alabama. hi jim. >> caller: hello. i enjoy your show. i'm a little more conservative than you but i think you're a fair man and i watch you and listen to you when i can. >> bill: you're very kind. thank you. >> caller: well, eleanor holmes norton, your screener said for me to say this. i was teasing him. i said even though she has a couple of degrees from yale, i'm a harvard man. i will not hold that against her. >> i appreciate that. [ laughter ] >> caller: okay, first of all the transportation infrastructure committee if you could briefly -- i have a two-part question and let me finish and then you guys -- briefly, tell me what you think of the one or two most important concerns for your other committee but my real question -- i guess my most important question is once you discover some egregious stain on your oversight committee what are your policing or what are your law enforcement things that the committee can do? who do you report to and who do you get to implic ate your discoveries? >> bill: we've got it, jim. you want to take the answer on that? what powers do you have? >> this is such an interesting question. you notice you hear a lot of anger from the congress and by the way, anger is what you should hear. indeed, some of my friends on the other side were saying well, maybe we ought to just take a part and get rid of the gsa. there's some things you can't get rid of. these are the people who do the real estate operator. i don't think they meant it. i think the peak at what happened. enforcement isn't in the congress. this is what can happen. the appropriators they have real penalty potential because they can cut off money or they can direct that money must be used for x y and z. i'm on the oversight committee. we can make them report. we can send them to hearings and embarrass them. we can make them submit all kinds of materials. when i was chair of this very same committee jurisdiction over the gsa i had more subcommittee hearings than anybody else in the congress because it was right after katrina. >> bill: oh, yeah. >> there was a lot to do. but if the truth be told, the reason that you hear a lot of anger in the congress is that the congress wants to show that it is on top of it and looking into it but in a separation of powers government, you can embarrass the administration if the administration doesn't go at it. the president usurped that role for us because he took out the people who had done it and you can do "oversight" but in terms of enforcement nothing. >> bill: congresswoman eleanor holmes norton, so good to have you in studio. >> thank you very much. >> bill: come back again soon. >> congratulations on your new show. >> bill: love it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." [[vo]]cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the rest of the media seems like, "ho-hum, no big deal." we've have no choice, we've lost our democracy here. just refreshing to hear. no other television show does that. we're keeping it real. ah, claim trouble. [ dennis ] you should just switch to allstate, and get their new claim satisfaction guarantee. hey, he's right man. [ dennis ] only allstate puts their money where their mouth is. yup. [ dennis ] claim service so good, it's guaranteed. 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(vo) and there's only one place you'll find us: >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey how about it. 33 minutes after the hour. the "full court press" here on this monday, monday april 23rd. and brought to you today by the international association of ironworkers. good men and women of the ironworkers, period. the sky is the limit for them. you can visit them at their web site www.ironworkers.org. under the leadership of president walter weiss. a couple of trials to talk about here and take your calls on as we wrap up here last half hour together this monday morning. you know the number, 866-55-press. the first is the trayvon martin case. you may have seen, i watched the whole damn thing on friday, the hearing, the bond hearing. bail hearing for george zimmerman. he -- they dressed him all up in a suit and tie cleaned him up to make him look presentable. got his wife on the phone to say i've never seen him angry the whole time we've been married. by the way, have you ever heard about a wife? >> no. that was news to me. >> bill: he had been charged with domestic abuse for beating up some girlfriend. there was a restraining order some girlfriend had. i didn't know he was married. then they had -- both his wife and father on the phone and then they put him on the stand and he says i'm sorry. i'm sorry. >> i wanted to say i'm sorry for the loss of your son. i did not know how old he was. i thought he was a little bit younger than i am and i did not know if he was armed or not. >> bill: i find that surprising statement. i mean i did not know how young he was. what is he saying, right? if i had known he was that young, i never would have shot and killed him. i thought he was my age. >> weird thing to say. >> bill: weird, weird thing to say. and then the judge and the defense or the prosecution i should say did a very bad job. the defense did a good job again of cleaning him up and making him look like a victim and people feel sorry for him including the judge who then turns around and announces that he's going to give him what they want. >> i'm going to grant the motion, set bond in the amount of $150,000 with the following conditions. electronic monitoring, gps i'm going to require the state and the defense to meet with the sheriff's department to accomplish that. >> bill: so, he walked last night, he walked. he's gotta wear a gps bfd. he's out there, he can play golf, go to the beach, go out to restaurants, he can enjoy his life unlike trayvon martin. he's free until he has to come back for trial. i know i'm not a lawyer but i know enough about the law to say that if they can prove that he's not a flight risk and he's not a threat to other people then the judge had to grant him bail. i hate to see it. i hate to see it because after all the time that he had, that over a month from the time he shot and killed trayvon martin to the fact he was even charged with anything and booked in jail, i think he deserves to stay in jail until the trial if i was the judge that's what i would have decided. here he is. 866-55-press. the parents said they accept the decision. they had no choice. i think it was the wrong decision. and speaking about wrong decisions, the other legal matter loved your comments, 866-55-press is what's happening today down in greensboro, north carolina. this, to me is such a colossal waste of time and money. i'm talking about the trial of john edwards. the federal government, our justice department, is pursuing john edwards for alleged violations of campaign finance campaign laws, campaign funds. back in 2000 and 2008 when he was running for president. so this is -- the department of justice has filed this case and filed cheese charges five counts against john edwards. each of which could get six years in prison. he could get 30 years in prison, pay a $250,000 fine for each of those charges. and that means your taxpayers and mine, we're paying for this trial. here's why i think it is such a waste. what this is all about is back when he was running for president, he starts having this affair with, as we know with rielle hunter. he ends up having a kid with her. at that time, he knew if this came out and he's still married to elizabeth this could blow his whole political career apart and destroy his chances of being elected president. so, he got a couple of friends of his who also had given money to his campaign, he got a couple of friends of his independently of the campaign, one of them, fred baron has since died. the other is 101 years old today by the way. goes to friends gave money to rielle hunter. they bought her a house about $900,000, they bought her a house and paid her so much a month so she would be happy and she wouldn't talk. the federal government is charging them with abuse of campaign funds. even though none of the money went into his campaign first. none of the money went to him first. the money went from them, these two people to rielle hunter. third party to third party and yet john edwards is being charged with the five counts of campaign finance abuse even though no campaign funds were involved. it is the first time a federal case has ever been filed like this. first time ever. two third parties and yet john edwards is being charged with it. that's one thing wrong with it. the other thing is to me, for this case, that first of all john edwards let'ses at face it. he's done. his political career is destroyed. his wife has since died. he's got heart disease. why go after this guy? especially in light of the point i started to make today. with all of the money in this campaign system today with the citizens united decision and corporations pouring millions and millions of dollars into these pacs and then individuals like shell and we know them with these super pacs and all of the money they're pouring in. tens of millions of dollars to support these candidates. we're just awash in campaign money and we know the super pacs are coordinating with the campaigns. we talk about so much on the show and the department of justice is doing nothing about that. instead, they're wasting all of this time on john edwards. why? i don't get it. i think it is a colossal waste and this started under george bush. why, i don't understand why the obama administration and why eric holder didn't just drop this thing once they took over. instead, they're pursuing it and now they're in court today. vanessa is calling from atlanta georgia. hi vanessa. >> caller: hi, bill, how are you? >> bill: i'm good. what do you think about this? >> caller: i agree with roy who called in earlier that i just don't agree with your spin on the coverage regarding this issue. because -- >> bill: do you think we should be doing it? >> caller: i don't have a problem with it. i don't think the president should have spent any of his political capital on day one on john edwards. john edwards made his bed and he needs to lie in it. now is his time in a court of law to prove he's innocent or he's guilty of these charges. i just don't think the president should have spent capital on it. furthermore, this is a play we can take from the republicans. they stand united and behind their leaders and we should stand united behind president obama and not second-guess his executive decisions. >> bill: my real problem -- yeah, look eric holder works for the president. but eric holder is the attorney general. eric holder has a lot of fish to fry, right? he says -- he makes decisions every day vanessa about -- pardon me, i'm going to go after this case or i'm not going to go after that case. every day, he has to make decisions. they only have so many people and so many resources. why this? why aren't they go going after the super pacs today or after sheldon adelson and foster freeze and the koch brothers? why john edwards? >> the biggest point i thinkú you're missing. this was already on the president's plate when he stepped into office. it is not worthy -- it was not worthy of president obama to say -- >> bill: whoa, whoa, vanessa. i appreciate it. listen, i very much appreciate it. but i didn't miss that point at all. i made that point. yes, it started under the bush administration. yes, it started under a republican u.s. attorney appointed by karl rove who uses, as a political ploy against john edwards to build a race for congress and once the charges are filed, this guy george holding, quit his job as u.s. attorney, ran for congress as a republican. so, it was a political prosecution from the very, very start which is all the more reason why when obama and eric holder take over and they look at the pending stuff in the justice department, they should have said this is pure politics. we're dropping it. instead, here we are in greensboro, north carolina today. i'm sorry. this is part of the obama administration. it is not the supreme court doing this. it is not the congress. this is the u.s. department of justice which is part of the administration. just a waste of time and money. and obama's gotta take some of the blame. eric holder taking most of the blame. that's how i see it. how about you? 866-55-press. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. show in the world. as i understand it in radio they can't see you, so this is big for me. >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's new morning news block. >>it's completely inappropriate for television. >>sharp tongue, quick wit and about all, politically direct. >>politically direct to me means no bs, the real thing, cutting through the clutter. my show is the most important show in the world. the newest voice in cable news is on the new news network. >>jennifer granholm joins current tv. this former two term governor is politically direct. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour taking your calls about the john edwards case underway today. first, a little word of advice for those of who you finding is hard to make ends meet at the end of the month and who's not. how about ever think about earning some extra money from home? well, the folks at income at home.com are here to help you. they're america's leading work from home business. rated a plus for their business ethics doing business today in over 80 countries. they know what they're doing. you can do this no matter your age, education or experience. you can literally earn money on your laptop from your kitchen table 24/7. all you need is a little extra time and the one on one coaching you'll get from income at home.com. if you're sick of living paycheck to paycheck worried about job security or retirement or ready to make extra money from home full time or part-time, check them out. incomeathome.com adding listeners in record numbers. even giving away $1,000 to somebody for checking them out. that could be you. it is incomeathome.com. claudia in new york. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i'm with you bill. edwards hab already paid the ultimate price. he's been ost raized politically. -- ostracized politically. this is overreach. you have to start spending money wisely in this country and stop spending it on overreach issues. we have real criminals and edwards is not one of them. >> bill: in the campaign finance area, that's my point. there are so many egregious examples today. >> caller: exactly. >> bill: thanks to citizens united that this is so old and it is pennies compared to what the koch brothers are spending. >> caller: exactly. >> bill: again, it is a matter of priorities. and i'm sorry. i mean i know it started under the bush administration. all the more reason to drop it. every prosecutor has to decide every day do i take this case or that case? why did the john edwards stay on the books? cecilia in st. claire shores, michigan. hi cecilia. >> caller: i agree with you, too, bill. i'll tell you, truthfully, why aren't they prosecuting wall street? >> bill: good point! yeah. for example, right? >> caller: yeah. for example that should have been the fist case on hand for all of the damn screwups we're paying for. >> bill: none of the wall street executives, charges have not been filed against any of them. none of them going to jail. >> caller: exactly. >> bill: instead, we're going after john edwards? >> caller: enough. >> bill: i don't get it. cecilia, good to hear from you. thank you. and we go now to birmingham, alabama, great town. frank, hi, frank. >> caller: hi, bill. so glad you're back on the air. current guy. >> bill: good to be here for you. what do you think? >> caller: bill, one when eric holder, my great friend attorney general came in with our president, he immediately terminated all events, indictments against ted stevens in alaska. and this guy was guiltier than sin. i don't understand it. we here in alabama the don case where governor seigman put it back on the board. he had paid off a bill like john, had nothing to do with seigman himself. he paid off the lottery bill that we had, ran and failed. the big debt. and so that's the thing that people with big money do. governor seigman's case has gone all the way up to the court. we had one of the great civil rights leaders die. the attorney general came to 16th street baptist church to talk about justice and seigman was sitting in the audience. one of the popular preachers asked why don't do you something about this? they still did nothing. i don't understand it. >> bill: you know, i'm glad -- i met don segelman once. a case again maybe our viewers and listeners aren't familiar with this case. a u.s. attorney appointed by karl rove for political purposes in north carolina that went after john edwards. this guy, forget his name, in alabama, went after governor don siegelman on phony charges political prosecution, was able to bring him down and siegelman is still fighting today to restore his reputation, get his good name back and get those charges -- pardon me get those charges dropped. and it was again trumped up case for political reasons. fidel is calling from jersey city. what do you want to say? >> caller: i wanted to touch on what cecilia said about going after wall street. you know this doj is really infuriating because they could very easily restack the deck as they've done many times. they now say the reason why they can't go after all of the crony capital that has taken place is because they don't have enough agents. well, the reason is because they've taken agents from that department and moved them around to other departments. he could have done the same thing with this investigation into john edwards taken the attorneys off the case. >> bill: right. >> caller: reshuffled them into the investigations of wall street and said sorry we can't do that. we don't have enough agents. there is a law on the books that imply the doj to go after these crooks and it is called sarbanes-oxley. he should be going after them but he doesn't because he doesn't want to -- it is against us, the people. it is not against each politician. this is a game against us, the people. >> bill: all right, fidel, i appreciate it. it is -- you're saying in a different way what i've been saying. it is a matter of priorities. every prosecutor, every law enforcement agency has to decide what the priority is. john edwards should not be a priority and appreciate your calls on that. i'll have a final word, final parting shot about the john edwards case coming up next. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." for the energy to keep you going. who wouldn't want to be a part of that? payday. the sweet taste of energy. it's completely inappropriate for television. ♪ >> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. and on monday, april 23rd, my parting shot for today summing up what we've been talking about. if you want to see an example of the federal government totally out of control in a colossal waste of taxpayer time and money, just look today at greensboro north carolina. because in a federal courtroom down there is where the trial of john edwards gets underway. yes, today when the supreme court allows corporations to give unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns and do so anonymously, yes today when because of citizens united, individuals like foster freeze and sheldon adelson will single-handedly bankroll super pacs with millions of dollars and nobody makes anything about it, the department of justice sis trying to convict john edwards for money two of his supporters gave his mistress in 2007 and 2008. this whole trial is unsane! this whole trial is insane. why is the obama administration doing it? senator brown will be here. you better be here, too tomorrow. see you then. have a good one!

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