Transcripts For FOXNEWSW MediaBuzz 20180923

You this woman has no incentive to make it up where the judge has every incentive to deny it. Her story is not a misunderstanding. It is not something thats very gray. Shes talking about a vile ebt assault. Violent assault. Because Brett Kavanaugh is a man, therefore he is guilty. All men are guilty, it is the y chromosome. Is the press treating her fairly since ford told her story to the Washington Post and became the target of online threats and abuse . Are some pundits quick to assume kavanaugh is lying when the judge says no such assault happened 36 years ago . And are the pundits rushing to judgment based on raw partisanship . A stunning New York Times report citing unnamed sources says Deputy Attorney general rosenstein suggested he secretly record President Trump and talked about invoking the 25th amendment. He calls it inaccurate. Some sources say his remarks were sarcastic. How solid is the story . A reporter catches google red handed with executives talking about opposing the president S Immigration policy by tampering, tampering with online searches. Im howard kurtz and this is media buzz. The media explosion began when Christine Ford told the Washington Post that she was the anonymous accuser charging that Brett Kavanaugh back in high School Sexual assaulted her while drunk at a party. As kavanaugh unequivocally denied the allegations and ford reached a tentative deal with the Senate Judiciary committee to testify this thursday. President trump for several days refrained from criticizing the accuser. I really would want to see what she has to say, but i want to give it all the time they need. I think hes an extraordinary man. I think hes a man of great intellect and has unblemished record. We are not attacking her. A lot of people are attacking him and his family. Moments later trump tweeted i have no idea if the attack on dr. Ford was as bad as she says charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask she bring those filings forward so we can learn date time and place. Joining us now to analyze the coverage. Emily jashinsky, the culture editor. Sarah fischer and capri cafaro. The media was giving President Trump credit for being disciplined, but then they sharply criticized him when he tweeted that about why didnt she report it when she was 15. Suddenly it flips on a dime and they are happy to scrutinize him again and be critical of him again. This is a really tough story. I have seen good restraint from the media. I have seen not so good restraint from the media. The bottom line it is something everyone is working through. Theres some mistakes. Howard i have seen some women coming out like patty davis, Ronald Reagans daughter writing an oped in the washington host says she never told anyone when she was raped 40 years ago. What about the commentators who say that even if fords account is true, it was a long time ago, it was high school, maybe he was drunk, and are we really going to hold it against Brett Kavanaugh . I think what were seeing in the coverage of the Kavanaugh Ford story right now is this larger sort of picture of the layers that this story touches upon including, you know, when President Trump turned around and started to tweet about this accuser basically all of a sudden that actually prompted the hashtag why i didnt report entire sort of social media outlet. So you talk about patty davis, alyssa milano, who is an actress talked about that. I do think theres something to be said about the fact that Media Outlets depending on their individual bias for lack of a better term tend to try to latch upon certain aspects about either kavanaugh or ford to be able to advance their own sort of agenda. Howard sara, when the New York Times reported there had been Death Threats against Christine Ford, her email was hacked, she moved her family out of their house, essentially shes in hiding. By the way theres been threats against kavanaughs wife too. Theres people online who said so what, shes a liar, she deserves it an indication not just of partisanship but ugliness. Attend of the day at the end of the day, anybody who feels like they are in hiding for coming forward about Sexual Harassment shouldnt be harassed for trying to defend themselves. Anyone who is trying to latch on to the narrative, shes going too far, why is she in hiding, she made it up anyway, they are going to lose out. We are in the me too era. You cant afford not to take this stuff seriously. Whether you are on the right or the left. If youre going to come out and get that narrative, you are going to lose no matter what. Howard fox news poll out this morning says that 50 of those surveyed oppose kavanaughs nomination, 40 support. By slight plurality more believe Christine Ford than judge kavanaugh, many undecided. So lets talk about kavanaugh who flatly denies that anything happened. I mean hes being attacked by some commentators as a predator, as a sex offender, that even if he gets confirmed, this is going to stain his reputation permanently because a woman said this happened 36 years ago and he says it did not. Right, exactly, not only that, but now we have people who were identified by ford as the people being at the party saying they dont remember the incident, they dont remember the allegations and on top of this, it is not being helped by people like joe biden who have very powerful voices and were coming up to the year mark of the me too movement are saying when women step forward with stories like this, we should presume they are telling the truth, that the essence of what they are saying is real. Thats why you see people like joy behar saying what she said on the view that kavanaugh is probably guilty. Theres mounting evidence that supports his side of this. Howard so just to clarify what you said, the New York Times reporting this morning that theres a third person, her name is leland kaiser, a friend of ford, she says she doesnt know kavanaugh and says she doesnt have any recollection of being at such a party. She was one of those named at least privately as ford she does say she believes the allegation. Howard but she has no firsthand knowledge. Think of the challenge of Something Like this, this did happen 37 years ago and the media i think is struggling trying to identify appropriate sources, what happens when media or excuse me when memories get worn down. It is a very tough issue to cover. Howard what about the notion that some, perhaps for ideological reasons, are convicting kavanaugh in advance when in fact beyond Christine Fords account there is at the moment there is no corroborating evidence . Well, i think you are seeing it on both sides. I think, you know, we saw in the intro clip that there are obviously more liberal commentators that are saying, you know, this is it, hes guilty. You know, hes a scum bag, whatever. But you also see drudge and others including actually on the opinion side here, at this network, talking about, you know, certain allegations about her dr. Ford being criticized on rate my professor. Com. Drudge throwing around things like ford is mad and troubled. And a whole litany of other things that have gone viral including, you know, the fact that she was out there with a not my president sign. So, you know, both sides howard just to be clear, that is false. That is false. Howard the rate my professor thing was about somebody with a similar name. Exactly. Howard lets talk about the friend of kavanaugh, president of the ethics and Public Policy center here in washington, he posted an extraordinary bizarre conspiracy theory, sara, in which he suggested that the attacker was another friend from Georgetown Prep where they all went to high school. He said he posted pictures of a house, saying i think this is the house where it took place. This is the guy whose house it was. And he named this guy, and it was an extraordinary reckless thing to do, was it not . And he had to walk it back. He said it was a complete mistake. But the problem with why these things are so damaging is that it creates a Virtuous Cycle of misinformation. After he put out that conspiracy, a ton of fringe right websites went with it. Even though he walked it back and said it was incorrect those sites are not going to walk it back. That means it is going to live in the far right ecosystem perpetually which will then drive those false rumors. You know, those false conspiracy theorys that you mentioned, they keep perpetuating. Howard when this came up on fox and friends, ed henry jumped in and quoted Christine Ford put out a statement theres zero chance that she confused Brett Kavanaugh with this other guy who nobody else is naming because he probably has nothing to do with it. So look, there is i dont think it is unfair to Christine Ford to say theres a certain vagueness to her story, obviously she came forward late. But what about the commentators who go from that to saying she cant prove it to shes an outright liar . Because theres a lot of that from people who would like to see kavanaugh on the high court. I think thats plainly ridiculous. I think it was ridiculous especially early. I think as the evidence continues to come out, which the story changes constantly because this is just playing out in the media, playing out in the court of public opinion, as the story is playing out, i think we are seeing mounting evidence in favor of kavanaugh. Partially because were dealing with a 36 year allegation. So hard to prove. Partially we have all the people who could provide any corroborating evidence saying they dont remember this party. It is just difficult. I dont think anybody on the right i think one thing we have learned in me too is you take women seriously. You allow them to prove their credibility. You dont assume that they are telling the truth. You dont assume that the men are guilty. But we have to be serious about this. I hope as this goes through the week, the media will be fair as evidence continues to mount. Howard right because it is going to be such a television spectacle. If it in fact happens on thursday. Kavanaugh immediately said he will testify, put out a couple statements. How can he disprove it when ford was unable to say for sure what year this happened, where the house was, and so i fear that he you know, i dont know whether hes telling the truth or not. I dont know whether shes telling the truth or not, but there is this cloud that can be hard to disprove something when theres not a lot of corroboration. How do you disprove a negative . Right. That i think again goes back to the challenge of all of this. This is the court of public opinion. This is basically who do you want to believe more . And if you want to believe Brett Kavanaugh, you will find ways to believe him. If you want to believe dr. Ford, you will find ways to believe her. But back to your point in regards to you hope that the media, you know, is fair, i do believe that they have been very fair in the coverage of Chuck Grassley and the fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee Leadership has tried to accommodate dr. Ford, recognized this is a sensitive issue and i think they have appropriately covered that. Howard let me get you in on this, to all the back and forth saying she wasnt going to testify unless there was an fbi investigation first, and she wanted to go first, and all of that, you have conservative pundits of attacking her for sort of dictating the terms, and you have liberal pundits defending her argument that shes being bullied. Again, straight down the middle partisanship. Yes, straight down the middle, but then you have people in the media like bob woodward who said Chuck Grassley is somebody who wants to help work out, but you dont always see everybody on each side taking a look at grassley and what this committee is doing. No matter what, they are going to take his and their actions as well as the actions of her lawyers to the side that is going to make their argument better. So howard one other strange side bar, friend of Christine Fords Christina King miranda went on facebook and said i went to that school and this was talked about for days, despite the fact that ford said she didnt tell anybody for decades. This became a huge thing. And she took down the post. She said it was a media circus. She wasnt going to participate. But some liberal outlets played that out saying this was the talk of the school which contradicts ford. The New York Times saying Rod Rosenstein was talking of wearing a wire, a story hes denying. Later, google again caught red handed scheming to oppose the president by fiddling with search results. Are you done yet . Does it look like im done . Shouldnt you be at work . [ mockingly ] shouldnt you be at work . Todd. Hold on. 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Upmc does more livingdonor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. Find out more and get out of line today. I decided that i wanted to go for Electrical Engineering and you need to go to college for that. If i didnt have internet in the home i would have to give up more time with my kids. Which is the main reason i left the military. Everybody wants more for their kids, but i feel like with my kids, they measurably get more than i ever got. And i get to do that. I get to provide that for them. Howard the New York Times has sparked an uproar with a story based on unnamed sources saying rosenstein spoke last year of wearing a wire to secretly tape the president. That he was considering that. And said he might consult with cabinet members about challenging President Trumps fitness for office through the 25th amendment. The Deputy Attorney general called the story inaccurate and some Media Outlets are challenging the reporting but theres no question the piece was a bombshell. Just the incredible idea that the Deputy Attorney general seriously contemplated a, taping the president , wearing a wire, and b, trying to get him removed from office is really extraordinary. Lets be clear, if the New York Times reporting is accurate, the president tonight should seriously consider whether Rod Rosenstein should remain on the job. Howard emily, bombshell claims of course. Some of them based on sources who have seen a memo, recounting some of these meetings by andrew mccabe, the fired former fbi Deputy Director and again you are back to the question of unnamed sources and where does the right emphasis on this story . Unnamed sources briefed on a memo who we dont know were in this meeting when these these meetings when these statements were made. We dont know whether anyone was in the room or not. Exactly. Rosenstein said he was being sarcastic and joking. It was like what on earth are we supposed to make on this story other than the fact that competing camps in the doj are putting their perspectives through the media, the Washington Post on one side, and the people who are spreading this about rosenstein in the times. It is crazy. Howard rosenstein is not directly saying hes being sarcastic but sources sympathetic to him are saying that. He said it was inaccurate and factually incorrect story, sourced biassed against doj advancing their own personal agenda, thats probably true, and he said there is no basis for invoking the 25th amendment, so apparently the report said he got called into john kellys office and that produced denial number two which was more specific i never pursued or authorized recording the president and any suggestion that i would ever advance for the removal of the president advocate for the removal of the president is absolutely false. Thats evolved. It has. I think at the end of the day, you have New York Times now coming out and saying look even though you have denied this and we put your denial in the piece, be it a few paragraphs down, we stand by our reporting. A lengthy interview was done walking through exactly what he meant by background sources. Rosenstein trying to come out and saying this report is false and that we cant necessarily trust it, the New York Times is coming back and fighting that hand and tooth. Howard even in the second denial, i never authorized, i never advocated doesnt mean it wasnt talked about. Senior Justice Department official tells fox that rosenstein was in a heated argument with mccabe about whether he was impeding an fbi investigation of trump and that he sarcastically said what do you want me to do, wear a blanking wire . Washington post also gives some credence to sources saying this was sarcasm. Msnbc has been challenging the story and its own sources are in the sarcasm camp. New york times standing by the story. Adam goldman says this was a serious not a flippant remark. It brings us back to the question of sources and agenda. You mentioned msnbc some leftleaning sources they want to say the concept of the fact could be sarcasm because they theoretically want to protect rosenstein because they dont want him fired. This is my huge take on this issue. I see this as sort of the perils of talking about fake news. Right now this is a story that actually helps bolster what President Trump has been trying to say as far as individuals undermining him within the justice system. But it is coming from the failing New York Times. How can you say that this is legitimate if you have ill legitimized this particular news outlet and you have also said that leaks and Anonymous Sources are bad until they are good. Howard you stole my next question which is the president often beating up on the New York Times, but now some people in the administration are seizing on it. Theres a split. Sean hannity said rosenstein should not be fire. This is a trap. Laura ingraham said he should go. And so the times credibility. It all depends on whether the story is helping you or hurting you in terms of whether you cite it. Yes, going back to what you were saying calling the New York Times the failing New York Times, we have seen this time and time again. When it comes to President Trump, hes going to use whatever rhetoric makes sense for him at the time to support his position at the time. It seems his base doesnt worry about it. Howard hes not the only politician is a theys this story in the Washington Post poll situation that says this story in the Washington Post hes not the only politician that says oh the Washington Post says this. Thank you. Up next, billionaire basketball owner mark cuban chokes up and apologizes and an overdue apology from jane fonda as well. music throughout howard mark cuban the tech executive who owns the Dallas Mavericks wants you to know he is sorry. Hes one time pal of donald trump who wound up campaigning against him and then said he might run for president in 2020. He agreed to donate 10 Million Dollars to womens groups following an internal investigation sparked by a Sports Illustrated story that found two decades of Sexual Harassment and Improper Conduct in the mavericks basketball organization. Cuban was contrite in an interview with espn. First just an apology to the women involved, and not just to them, but their families. Im just sorry i didnt see it. Im just sorry i didnt recognize it. In hindsight, it was staring me right in the face and i missed it. You know, i think you know, i wasnt as focused on the business as i should have been. The pain that people went through, the pain that people shared with me that this happened, the tears that i saw, it just it hurt, and the way i felt is nothing compared the way they felt. Howard this was a huge failure by mark cuban who refused twice to fire an employee arrested for domestic violence. I have to give him credit for going on television with that emotional apology. And speaking of apologies, jane fonda in a sit down with Steven Colbert offered her the strongest regrets yet of what she did during the vietnam war that earned her the nickname of hanoi jane. From the moment i did what i did, i sat on an antiaircraft gun in North Vietnam, i wasnt even thinking what i was doing and photographs were taken and that image went out and the image makes it looks like i was against our soldiers which was never the case but that image is there. And i will go to my grave regretting that. Howard jane fonda made a horrible mistake in becoming a propaganda tool for North Vietnam and im glad decades later she fully recognizes that. Ahead on media buzz, Katrina Pierson joins us with the president s point of view on the kavanaugh nomination fight and the russia investigation. But first a deeper look at how the media culture has changed with the kavanaugh accusations from the anita hill allegations against Clarence Thomas nearly three decades ago. George woke up in pain. But he has plans today. Hey dad. So he took aleve. If hed taken tylenol, hed be stopping for more pills right now. Only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. Aleve. All day strong. This is the angel oak. Some say the oldest living thing east of the mississippi. Its weathered countless storms. Battered, but never broken, it stands for the resilience within us all. Howard the media spot light on Christine Ford and kavanaugh have prompted plenty of journalists to comparesons with what happened 27 years ago with anita hill and Clarence Thomas. An several occasions, thomas told me graphically of his own sexual prowess he said if i ever told anyone of his behavior that it would ruin his career. This is a circus. It is a national disgrace. And for my standpoint, as a black american, as far as im concerned, it is a hightech lynching for uppity blacks. Is todays media and political culture really any differe different . Joining us is Susan Ferrechio and mara liasson. Has the media culture changed to the point that ford is being taken more seriously in the press than hill was . Its changed a lot. Theres more media, so many ways for people to communicate and talk about this. More women in media . A lot more women in media. If you look at the pictures of the old press conferences, you see a lot of white males doing the coverage, and now if you look in congressional hearings you see a lot of young women covering these events which is extremely important to have that kind of balance and coverage. And also a balance in understanding what its like to come forward and talk about Something Like this publicly. One of the most remarkable things about all of this is the way it provoked this outpouring on social media, on the internet, of people say well, Something Like this happened to me when i was 9, when i was 15, when i was at a party. So youve got this sort of connection where people are talking about this, and i think that, you know, it changes the discussion about whats been going on in our history where women have been going through these experiences and not talking about it. Howard im reading this every hour, it seems, journalists who have i have known for decades talking about bad sexual experiences, assault, abuse, that they underwent so that probably is healthy, but at the same time, is that overshadowing or is it suggesting that Christine Blasey ford must be telling the truth, because bad things have happened to so many women . Those are two separate issues. Of course everything gets mashed together, but the question about should kavanaugh be confirmed, should blasey ford be believed and then theres the cultural moment that were all in. And the thing is this is so different from 27 years ago. You couldnt have filled two panels with all female journalists or commentators back then. But look at the reaction to Donald Trumps tweet where he said im sure if this happened, they would have reported it, dripping with sarcasm, they would have reported it, i want to see the filings. Show me where you filed a report. And the reaction to that was hashtag why i didnt report. And you not only saw the outpouring of women saying about incidents that happened to them, but explaining why they didnt come forward at the time. And men who were abused by priests saying why i didnt come forward at the time. Howard you have a lot of that in the Catholic Church scandal which is very depressing and unfolding before our eyes. So heres the sentence in the New York Times story this morning, calling this probable testimony on the hill this week. A wrenching apex in the decades long struggle over legal and social status of american women unfolding in the shadow of a presidency that has alienated many women. Thats in a news story. Is that conflating the moment me too, the desire for women to be taken seriously, to be heard with this core question of should Brett Kavanaugh be denied a seat on the Supreme Court because of what Christine Blasey says happened in high school . Or because of what everybody who doesnt like donald trump thinks of donald trump. I mean, the way that were connecting the dots here is kind of a little strange in my opinion. And i feel like the New York Times and the Washington Post in particular have tried to create this story line where the in fact, i think i saw this headline, is the president responsible for this hashtag why i didnt tell . I mean, come on. You know, were really stretching it here. That was a reaction to his saying to her why didnt she tell . But, you know what . Theres a whole other story line and it starts on College Campuses where young men have been accused of things without due process. Their lives have been ruined. There are two sides to these stories, and thats getting drowned out. Again, thats the problem here with all of this. Howard speaking of two sides, is it harder for a man in this case Brett Kavanaugh but there have been many other cases to defend himself in this me too climate when kavanaugh says flatly nothing like this ever happened . Is there too much of a media presumption that oh, he must be covering it up. This is the problem. What were going through is not a court of law. Its not a kind of hunt for the truth. This is a political exercise. Thats why you have Mitch Mcconnell standing up and saying dont worry about everything you hear. Were going to plow through this and confirm kavanaugh. Thats one big fight. Then theres the fallout that might or might not affect the midterm elections. Will the way that the all male republican senators treat her make women even madder in november than they already are . There are a lot of layers to this. I agree. Everything is getting conflated and it should be teased apart but were in a highly fraught political moment. Howard im glad she was able to come forward and she will be heard. That doesnt mean she is telling the truth. Is there a presumption in the media that a man who is accused in this case kavanaugh may well be guilty because so many other men, bill cosby is about to be sentenced, harvey weinstein, les moonves and the list goes on and on. Theres some media that have ignored the story i just mentioned about the due process on campuses where men have their lives ruined by false accusations or accusations unproven. Thats an important part of the story here. You are right. I think democrats want to conflate this because it makes it easier for them to make the case that kavanaugh doesnt belong on the high court. This is a fight over the direction of the Supreme Court. Heading in a conservative direction for the first time in almost 70 years. You have fighting for politics and then trying to conflate wit the emotion of everything. It is all going do boil down to the testimony this week, how she sounds on camera, how she sounds in public and then what the public says in response to that. Howard a lot of threads to untangle here. Great discussion. Thank you very much for joining us. Coming up, how is the trump camp pushing back against an avalanche of negative stories . Katrina pierson is on deck. A bombshell story raises the question, can we really trust google . If youre waiting patiy for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. Its time to get out of line with upmc. At upmc, livingdonor transplants put you first. So you dont die waiting. Upmc does more livingdonor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. Find out more and get out of line today. With tripadvisor, finding your Perfect Hotel at the lowest price. Is as easy as dates, deals, done simply enter your destination and dates. And see all the hotels for your stay tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites. To show you the lowest prices. So you can get the best deal on the right hotel for you. Dates, deals, done tripadvisor. Visit tripadvisor. Com be right back. With moderate to severe Crohns Disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. Is she alright . I hope so. So i talked to my doctor about humira. I learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of Crohns Disease after trying other medications. And the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Howard response to the tidal wave of stories about the kavanaugh nomination and rosenstein in this intense week. Senior advisor to President Trumps 2020 reelection campaign, Katrina Pierson. The New York Times reporting as we have been discussing that rosenstein spoke to the fbis mccabe and others about the idea of secretly recording President Trump, consulting with cabinet members about invoking the 25th amendment, the Deputy Attorney general absolutely disputes the time story. What should happen to rosenstein . Look, i have been an advocate for months now for firing rosenstein. We didnt need this New York Times bombshell report outlining memos from 2017 to let us know that this guy probably didnt have the best intentions when he took the post. We can look at the doj inspector generals report, we can look at what the House Intelligence Committee has been reporting with his obstruction and their own investigation with the whole russia hoax. We already know that this guy is compromised in a sense not to mention the number of conflicts of interest that hes had going into the mueller probe. The problem is, its not President Trumps responsibility to fire him today. Howard hold on. The president appointed rosenstein. He did appoint him. He could fire him tomorrow. He could fire him whenever hes good and ready. This is a question for his boss, his immediate superior Jeff Sessions. Why . Because it is sessions department. It occurred under his watch with his senior staff. Hes the one that needs to address this issue. Howard the president it is no secret is not a fan of the New York Times, criticized the failing New York Times, challenged the credibility of the paper, so in saying this, i know youve had this position before, this latest bombshell story, but it sounds like you believe the New York Times story in this instance and should that be the basis for rosenstein getting booted out . Well, look, i think that there are many journalists over at the New York Times, and not all of them are happy to push out fake news and thats true probably with all Media Outlets. But in this case, this is something extremely explosive because Jeff Sessions has an employee that now is apparently articulating the exact same thing that was recently outlined the anonymous oped just a couple of weeks ago, this is very serious. This is occurring under Jeff Sessions nose. And hes the one that should address it. Howard when rosenstein says that the story is false, it is inaccurate, you dont believe him . I dont believe him at all. As i said before, for months we have been hearing a number of disturbing things that have come out of the inspector generals report as well as the House Intelligence Committee that shine a big light on Rod Rosenstein and his behavior as well as his intentions and i think it should be investigated. Several white house aides reported to be urging president not to fire rosenstein at least not now. Lets go to the kavanaugh nomination. Some in the media were praising the president for handling this in an even handed way, but then came the tweet in which he questioned why she hasnt reported a Sexual Assault when she was 15 years old. Collins said she was appalled. A lot of media criticism. Your reaction . I think after a few days and more and more we find out that there is no evidence and there is no corroboration, what we know is that the democrats didnt deem these allegations to be credible because they had them two months ago. There was no reports to the authorities at that time. Not even to the committee or to judge kavanaugh himself. And you could argue, howard, that the democrats never believed these allegations because they didnt adopt them until after they were leaked. Its truly unfortunate that this woman trusted the democrats with clearly a tragedy in her life, and not only did they betray her confidence, but they thrust her tragedy into the public sphere. I will tell you as a woman, i believe her story should be heard. As a parent, i insist that her story be told. But it should be told to the Maryland Police department. The United States Senate Howard shouldnt be told to the Senate Judiciary committee . They can listen to it if they would like listen to. Howard the Republican Leadership under grassley has said she can testify. My point is there are criminal allegations here and the authorities are nowhere involved. The police should investigate this. What republicans should be doing moving forward is getting on with the business of confirming kavanaugh and the reason i say this howard let me jump in. I understand you are pro kavanaugh. But i asked you about the president s tweet. Wouldnt you agree that many women for various reasons dont report rape and sexual allegations and that especially in a case where they will be thrown into a media maelstrom, she was 15 years old why should the president challenge her on this when so many women reach this very personal decision . Many women do reach that personal decision. But i believe this is the broader context whereas democrats had received this accusation, these criminal accusations howard you keep going to the democrats and they didnt report it. Howard im asking you about the president s tweet. I will give you one more opportunity. Do you want to disagree his challenging her not reporting it when she was a teen . I believe if they continue to delay the vote on judge kavanaugh, they are sending a message to every husband and to every son in this country that an accusation from high school alone without corroboration or evidence is enough to destroy your character and your legacy. Howard we have a minute left. You mentioned Jeff Sessions earlier. The president in an interview with hill tv said this week i dont have an attorney general. Its sad. Now, he later clarified the reports he didnt mean literally there was no attorney general. But did he mean that Jeff Sessions he doesnt have an attorney general who protects him . Is that why hes mad at Jeff Sessions . I think hes mad at Jeff Sessions because he had an attorney general that wasnt up front with him when he recused himself. I mean, were sitting here talking about this bombshell report from the New York Times about Rod Rosenstein who only has the ability to abuse the power that Jeff Sessions himself has howard it is a year later. Should the president fire Jeff Sessions if hes so unhappy that he keeps taunting him . I think the president should really clean house. I know a lot of people say he shouldnt do it now. He should wait. I understand that. But politically the American People elected donald trump because hes not political. He does whats right. And not whats political. But i also think we should also let the president make that decision and put the onerous on Jeff Sessions when it comes to rosenstein. Howard appreciate your coming by this sunday. Thank you very much. Good to see you. Thank you. Howard after the break google says it doesnt let politics affect the product, but thats a little harder to believe after the wall street journal exposes a plan to use searches up to show opposition to the president S Immigration policy. Thats next. Get ready for the wild life complete multivitamins with key nutrients that address 6 concerns of aging, including heart health, supported by bvitamins. Your one a day is showing. woman learned ao play second language. Applied to college. Applied for a loan. Started a business. Started a blog. Shared a picture. Shared a moment. Turn your wish list into a checklist. Learn more. Do more. Share more. At home, with internet essentials. I decided that i wanted to go for Electrical Engineering and you need to go to college for that. If i didnt have internet in the home i would have to give up more time with my kids. Which is the main reason i left the military. Everybody wants more for their kids, but i feel like with my kids, they measurably get more than i ever got. And i get to do that. I get to provide that for them. Howard a remarkable piece in the wall street journal revealed that some google executives reacted to President Trumps travel ban by discussing how to tamper with the companys searches to show users for example how to contribute to pro immigration groups and contact lawmakers. An internal emails they talked about leveraging search functions and other steps to counter what they viewed as islamophobic results from the search terms islam, muslim and iran and what they viewed as biassed results from searches of mexico, hispanic and latino. One official saying i think this is sort of super timely and imperative information we need as we know this country and google would not exist without immigration. Joining us now to sort through this Shana Glenzer Technology Executive and commentator in washington. Google always swears that it is liberal antitrump views of the top people doesnt affect the search product. But here is documented proof of some google executives wanting to tamper with searches as a form of political activism. What do you think . These emails are preposterous. Google controls the way that we see the worlds information. And that as employees based on political beliefs would manipulate that or mess with that is absurd and dangerous. Howard i will put you down as absurd and dangerous. Google as a company tried to dismiss this journal story by saying these were only musings of junior officials and had to walk that back and admit some Senior Executives were involved. The company is sort of trying to minimize this as a harmless exercise. How do you think google is handling this . Google cant brush this off. You know, but that said and this might be hard pill to swallow, these changes werent implemented, you know, google has checks and balances in place to make sure that these things, you know, cant easily happen. They understand the power that they wield, and they make sure that their technology is protected from political, you know, viewpoints. Now do their employees understand that . Cheeri clearly not. Clearly not. Howard it was only an attempted bank robbery it turns out the bank wasnt robbed and so nothing to see here because in the end it didnt happen. It is true in the end it didnt happen but these are serious people plotting to change the searches which google sells to us as being fair and unbiassed. I understand we have the leaked emails this week, but im going to argue possibly unpopular perspective which is that, you know, if nothing happened, isnt this sort of the idea you know, exchange of ideas and free speech that so many people, you know, argue for when it comes to, you know, social media, you know, google is not responsible for controlling its employees but it is making sure that they cant implement changes that reflect their belief. Howard hold on, free speech is fine. Google executives can march and protest. They can donate money. They can do whatever they want. I dont think its free speech. The video you referred to the top google executives the founders after trumps election ranting about how awful it was. I dont think its free speech when they are talking about tampering with the product that they sell to americans. Why should people still believe this tech giant . Is it losing credibility . Google needs to continue to show increased transparency around these issues and respond. That said these are smart people that are in a time of millennials taking action and doing something, so they are responding in a way they know how and they are familiar with, and that was, you know, what youre seeing in these emails. It is not google making changes reflective of these behavior. Howard thanks. Still to come, julie chen is leaving her cbs talk show, hint, it is about her husband. And Time Magazine being sold again. Can only the super wealthy now own print publications . music throughout of great savings and service. With such a long history, its easy to trust geico thank you todd. Its not just easy. Itsbeingamasterofhypnotism easy. Hey, i got your text sleep doug, when i snap my fingers youre going to clean my gutters. Ooh i should clean your gutters great idea. Its not just easy. Its geico easy. Todd, you will go make me a frittata. If youre waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. Its time to get out of line with upmc. At upmc, livingdonor transplants put you first. So you dont die waiting. Upmc does more livingdonor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. Find out more and get out of line today. Touch shows how we really feel. But does psoriasis ever get in the way . Embrace the chance of 100 clear skin with taltz, the first and only treatment of its kind offering people with moderate to severe psoriasis a chance at 100 clear skin. With taltz, up to 90 of people quickly saw a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. Dont use if youre allergic to taltz. Before starting, you should be checked for tuberculosis. Taltz may increase risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, symptoms, or received a vaccine or plan to. Inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz, including worsening of symptoms. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Ready for a chance at 100 clear skin . Ask your doctor about taltz. Howard julie chen is leaving the talk after almost a decade of cohosting the cbs daytime show and the reason is no mystery. Her husband les moonves was just ousted as cbs chairman after serious allegations of sexual misconduct. Right now i need to spend more time at home with my husband and our young son. So ive decided to leave the talk. I want to thank everyone at the show for the wonderful years together. Howard no comment obviously on the allegations. And it would have been awkward for her to stay on as a commentator at the network that just fired her husband, but i feel some sympathy for julie chen since she did nothing wrong. Time magazine has been sold again. The tech Billionaire Co founder of the Company Sales force personally bought the once dominant news weekly with his wife from Meredith Corporation which had bought it from time inc. And he says he doesnt plan to impose his political views. The good news time was able to fetch 190 Million Dollars, the not so good news, print magazines are struggling obviously, which is why it seems that only billionaires like jeff bezos and the Washington Post can afford to run them anymore. Thats it for this edition of immediate kra media buzz. Im howard kurtz. Check out my pod cast, we kick around the days most important stories, you can subscribe on apple itunes, android, fox news pod cast. Com. What a show today, so many levels and layers of the kavanaugh nomination, looks like we will get more of it this week. Incredible media spectacular. Hope you like my facebook page, i post daily columns there. Check it out. Continue the conversation on twitter at howard kurtz. Come at me on those platforms. I will come you next sunday, see you 11 eastern with the latest buzz. A dramatic showdown is playing out in our nations capitol, sources telling fox news that there is a tentative agreement for Supreme Court Justice Nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser dr. Christine blasey ford to testify before the Senate Judiciary committee this thursday about her allegations that kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a house party when both were teenagers in the early 80s, but at this moment there appear to be many details that need to be worked out. Hello everyone. Welcome to americas news headquarters. Im arthel neville. Eric hello everyone. Im eric shawn. Thank you for joining us. This all comes as a f