democrats. garrett in chicago, thank you. >> you've got it. >> john: fox news alert, waiting to hear from the white house after new attacks on the troops in the middle east. national security adviser jake sullivan will be there to field questions from the assembled white house press corps and with that, begin hour two. john roberts in washington. welcome back to another busy week of news. >> good to be with you, this is "america reports". that attack seen as the biggest escalation yet against u.s. troops in the region. it is sparking alarm that president biden is failing to head off a wider war in the middle east. iranian backed militias are responsible for at least 75 attacks on american troops in the region in just the last six weeks. >> john: complete coverage now, daniel davis moments away why the biden administration is not doing more to protect american troops in harm's way. >> sandra: first chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin live at the pentagon for us. does the military consider this incident an attack on the u.s.s. carney? >> well, interesting enough, they do not. they say that the drone go close enough that the u.s. carney decided to shoot it down but do not believe that the carney was the target. it's a bit of a nuanced argument at this point. but the u.s.s. carney did shoot down not one, but three drones launched by the houthis from yemen sunday. pentagon does not assess that u.s. vessels were the target but the sailors were authorized to act. in total, four attacks by houthi forces against three commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern red sea near yemen. according to centcom, they are connected to 14 nations. they blamed iran, the attacks, louched by the houthis in yemen, a u.s. navy responded to the distress calls during the attacks by the houthis on the ships, the carney detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired at a bahamian-flagged british-owned bulk cargo ship. three years later the same ship detected another ballistic missile fired from the houthi controlled area. 90 minutes later, a panamavessel was struck by a houthi missile and began taking on water. about the same time the u.s.s. carney shot down a drone as it was trying to render assistance. there have been more than 75 attacks on u.s. forces in iraq and syria by iran proxies. prior to sunday's attacks, defense secretary lloyd austin promised the u.s. will not sit idly by. >> these attacks must stop. until they do, we will do what we need to do to protect our troops. and to impose costs on those who attack them. >> separately u.s. forces did carry out an airstrike in northern iraq sunday, killing five iranian proxy fighters who were preparing to launch a drone toward a u.s. base in iraq. >> sandra: jennifer, thank you. john. >> john: retired lieutenant colonel daniel davis, senior fellow at defense priority. centcom said in a statement, lieutenant colonel, we also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the houthis in yemen, are fully enabled by iran. so the question is, why aren't we sending a stronger message to iran? >> well, the main reason is because we are trying to avoid escalating the war. we already have enough issues with just trying to keep the israeli-hamas war contained to gaza and the last thing we need to do send more messages to iran, iran will almost certainly escalate if we do that. what america needs to do, a great piece in "the hill" by jason beardsly says we need to withdraw troops from iraq and syria. america is much stronger when we get to determine the type of engagement we have or even if, as opposed to what we have right now, where they are sitting in the desert and easy access to the groups, otherwise they would have no way to attack american interests. it's not in our interest to go deeper in to continue striking, especially into iran, if that draws us into a war. now, we'll see anyone who has attacked american forces should be responded to and killed, not just some message sent but the people who actually tried to do it. we have an obligation to defend our troops. >> john: what leon panetta said over the weekend. >> we have to go in and hit those that are responsible for doing it. so i would be much more aggressive about going after those that attack our u.s. forces. >> so you think to date that our response has been too soft? >> i think -- i think it's been a little bit too selective. i mean, we hit some ammo dumps, other targets. i want to go after those who are firing missiles at our troops. and make sure they understand that when they fire a missile, they are going to die. >> john: well, five iranian-backed proxies, or five members of the proxy, got the message over the weekend, they were trying to launch as jen griffin was saying a drone and one of our drones took them out. we are a little tougher but do we need to get a lot tougher? >> i'm telling you, john, the best thing for american national security is remove the point of vulnerability so we don't even have to worry about whether americans are killed, but i do strongly agree that if individuals do take americans under fire, no matter the circumstances, it should be those people we go after so we actually destroy the people who are physically trying to kill americans. that's what needs to be going after. i do agree on that point. >> john: on october 25th in the rose garden, president biden said right out, did not suggest it, came out and said attacks against u.s. forces have nothing to do with the war in israel. >> my warning to the ayatollah was if they continued to move against those troops we will respond and he should be prepared. having nothing to do with israel. >> john: nothing to do with israel. listen to the houthi military spokesman who said yemeni armed forces prevent israeli ships from navigating the red sea until gaza strip stopped. and those associated with israelis, includes us, they will become legitimate target if they violate what is stated in the statement. all about israel, nothing to do with anything else but israel. >> it's never been -- we do periodically take attacks and have over extended period, but a massive spike since the 17th of october, ten days after the israeli response to the hamas terrorists started. so of course it has to do. you don't need anybody to have to confirm that. it's self-evident that's the case, but it's not a good look for the president of the united states to threaten we are going to do something and then not do it. much better if he says hey, we are going to reduce our vulnerability and what's best for the country, but don't claim you are going to do something against iran if you are not ready to do it, that invites more attacks. >> john: remember obama's famous line in the sand. syria crossed that without consequence. lieutenant colonel dan davis, good to get your thoughts. i have a sense this is going to continue until the biden administration decides we have to be ronald reagan or donald trump here and the iranians have to know they cannot keep can pushing this. >> sandra: why all the updates we get almost daily, john, from the white house are so essential and we have this one coming up here, we were told a short time before our show began that jake sullivan would be at the podium, so expected to be underway any moment now. we will listen for changing stance as michael waltz said at the top of the 1:00 hour, john, he hopes he hears a change in policy from this administration on how we are responding to the continued attacks. >> john: they did step it up a bit, they killed some iranian proxy fighters but the master of puppets in tehran is pulling the strings. >> sandra: as this fighting rages on in the middle east, hamas is still holding dozens of hostages in captivity. we will speak to one man whose cousin was presumed to be taken hostage while trying to fight off hamas. he'll join us live to share his story and what he says needs to be done to secure 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[ting] ♪ live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to a $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yep, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network and that powers more businesses than anyone else. learn how you can get $1000 back for your business today. comcast business. powering possibilities. >> sandra: house oversight chairman james comer says his committee is finding a pattern among the biden family and payments disguised as loans from china. comes as he believes house republicans would have enough votes for a formal impeachment inquiry into the president. all this as hunter biden is set to head to capitol hill next week for a closed door deposition and possible public hearing. jonathan turley, with a head's up, professor, that the white house briefing is, we are inside the two-minute window set to begin, we want to get an update from there. you're writing about the hunter biden personalities that may testify before congress. possibilities, hunter the genius, hunter the international businessman, hunter the drug addict, hunter the hunted. explain. >> well, this has been a series of efforts to reinvent hunter as the scandal has gotten to be more and more serious, as the circle is closed in tighter around the biden family and a lot of the personalities don't make sense anymore. idea that hunter biden was a blacked out junkie to raise corruption to insult all reformed people who fought addiction is ridiculous. he was at the center of a global effort of influence peddling that produced millions of dollars for the biden family through a complex series of accounts and shell companies. now, it just does not add up. so he's going to have to answer questions now and a lot of these past excuses are just not going to hold. >> sandra: so over the weekend comer discussed a bank investigator's concerns as we mentioned, jonathan, concerning -- concerns regarding loan payments made to hunter from china, saying the evidence fits a pattern with the biden family. here is comer on sunday morning features. >> subpoenaed bank records that show hunter biden business entity, made direct monthly payments to joe biden. this wasn't a payment from hunter biden's personal account but account for his corporation that received payments from china and other shady corners of the world. >> sandra: also says he's confident house republicans will have the floor votes to offer a formal impeachment inquiry into the president. how does this change things, jonathan? >> i think that vote is long overdue. when i testified in the first biden impeachment hearing i said there was ample evidence to justify an impeachment inquiry and formal vote should be held. i cannot imagine any one will look at the evidence and not believe a formal inquiry should begin. a litany of lies out of the biden family and the white house. president denied knowing about business arrangements, even hunter said it was not true. and called clients, meetings, photographs with the clients and now we see joint accounts where money is moving to joe biden. we even have joe biden's house being listed for some of these payments by hunter biden. it's rather daunting to imagine what you need according to the democrats. i think the moment of truth has arrived. democrats have to show they stand against corruption or approve an inquiry or take ownership of this. influence peddling is the favorite form of corruption in washington but none of us have seen the likes of this. >> sandra: all interesting developments, comer adding over the weekend he's confident house gop will have the votes for a formal biden impeachment inquiry. mike johnson said a vote is necessary, the necessary next step after he claimed the administration stone walled the investigation into the first family. hunter biden heading to capitol hill for testimony, what are your expectations for that as we leave off here. what will that look and sound like? >> well, i think he's going to do a mix of all these different images that have been created by his team. i think he's going to claim that he has no memory because of his past drug addiction on some issues, he'll state with clarity of other issues. just won't wash. this circle is tightening around the bidens in a way that they can no longer expect an enabling media to protect them. >> sandra: very interesting stuff. jonathan turley, as always, thank you so much, sir. john. >> john: the white house briefing has started by just a little bit of housekeeping by karine jean-pierre. we'll get to that when jake sullivan comes up. meantime, federal appeals court says former president trump can be sued over the january 6th riot. the judge ruled he does not have presidential immunity since he's not currently holding an office. presidents can be charged like any other citizen. david spunt live from the justice department with more. does any of this move the president's trial date? >> john, right now all things are full steam ahead for march 4th of 2024, and this appeals court ruling think police officers, others there that day that want to sue the former president in a civil manner. this was just one of the setbacks the former president received on friday. the district court judge who is overseeing the case for attempts to try to overturn the 2020 election going to trial, she ruled against him. says he is not immune and does not have any type of presidential or absolute immunity from being prosecuted. he wanted to dismiss the case on those charges. she said i'm sorry, that's not going to happen. whatever immunity the sitting president may enjoy, the united states has only one chief executive at a time and that does not confer a lifelong get out of jail free pass. back to you. >> sandra: david spunt, thank you. jake sullivan is talking about the israel war. let's join in. >> i met with the families of americans who are still being held hostage by hamas. it was my second such meeting by myself, i also joined the president's meeting with the families and i can tell you it has not gotten any easier what these families are going through is gut wrenching, heart-wrenching, and unimaginable, unthinkable for any of us. we continue to do everything in our power under the president's leadership and guidance with his direct involvement and participation to try to bring all of these americans home, as well as all the hostages and we will not rest until we have succeeded in doing so. the president and i, along with director burns will stay in touch with the qatari counterparts and egyptian counterparts to press hamas on this issue. right now hamas is refusing to release civilian women who should have been part of the agreement. and it is that refusal by hamas that has caused the end of the hostage agreement and therefore the end of the pause in hostilities. since october 7th, we have worked very hard on the humanitarian assistance front. we have announced $100 million for the palestinian people, including through unwar and other agencies as well as humanitarian actors and call to fulfill the flash appeal. working to try to overcome remaining obstacles to increasing and sustaining the flow of humanitarian assistance to innocent palestinians in gaza. secretary blinken made it a focus of his trip to the region this week and we will do everything to flow assistance into the region. last week we had a successful airlift, over 50,000 pounds of medical and food aid to the civilians in gaza, the number of planned deliveries over the coming days. beyond what's happening in israel and gaza, developments in the region more broadly. this past weekend saw four attacks against three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern red sea. three vessels that are connected to 14 different nations, which goes to show you the extent to which this is truly source of global concern and a threat to international peace and stability. as dod has relayed, a destroyer u.s.s. carney responded to the distress calls from these ships and provided assistance. in doing so, it detected three uabs at three different times heading in its direction and took action against all three of those uabs. centcom reported this weekend, we cannot assess at this time whether the carney was a target but the carney took prudent action in taking down those three uabs, and we will continue as we go forward to consult very d partners to determine and take all appropriate responses. we have every reason to believe that these attacks, while they were launched by the houthis in yemen, were fully enabled by iran. on ukraine as you have seen earlier today, the omb director sent a letter to congressional leaders, explaining without congressional action, administration will run out of resources by the end of the year to procure more weapons and equipment for ukraine and provide equipment from u.s. military stocks without impacting our own military readiness. the resources congress has provided for ukraine and other security needs have halted russia's advances in ukraine, helped ukraine achieve significant military victories, including taking back more than 50% of the territory russia had occupied, and our own industrial base, jump starting and expanding production lines and supporting good paying jobs across the country. now it's up to congress. congress has to decide whether to support the fight for freedom in ukraine, as part of the 50 nation coalition that president biden has buil