next. here she is. >> sandra: thank you, dana and bill. fox news alert here as we begin a new hour, pressure is mounting for the presidents at harvard and m.i.t. to resign after the university of pennsylvania's president stepped down. all three failing to outright condemn the anti-semitism raging on their elite campuses. welcome and this is "the faulkner focus." i'm sandra smith in for harris today. the congressional testimony last tuesday sparked massive and ongoing backlash. they said they would need context to tell if a call for genocide violates their school's codes of conduct. then on saturday u penn announced president liz mcgill's resignation. one editorial board says quote, one awful university precedent down. most of u.s. academia to go. another the ivy league mask falls. it argues this, the furor over anti-semitism on campus is a rare and welcome example of accountability at american universities. but it will not amount to much if the only result is the resignation of a couple of university presidents. mcgill will stay on until an interim replacement is named and also still a tenured faculty member at u penn's law school. hugo gurdon weighed in. >> the departure of liz mcgill is a small step in what needs to be a marathon. the other two who testified in congress the other day they are just as bad and need to go. >> sandra: lawmakers demanding more accountability. >> we will subpoena their records, emails, any documents, anything that proves that these universities aren't creating a safe environment for their jewish students and if they aren't, then we will pull their federal funding. that's the bottom line. there is a giant double standard here. these universities have become cess pools for left wing political activism. >> sandra: it seems the fallout is only growing at this hour. >> that's right, sandra. the harvard corporation is meeting today for the second day in a row amid pressure from more than 500 harvard faculty members to not fire harvard president claudine gay. the harvard crimson newspaper reports a letter sent to the board last night urges harvard to quote, resist political pressures from politicians and alumni saying harvard's culture cannot be dictated by outside forces. the pressure continues to rise on harvard to fire gay after her congressional testimony last week in which she failed to say that calling for the genocide of jews violates the school's code of conduct. the only rabbi on the newly-formed anti-semitism task force at harvard resigned saying this about the protests taking place on campus. >> if you want to express yourself in a paper or you want to say something publicly at a rally, nobody thinks that's illegitimate. that isn't what's going on here. what is going on here is that a certain group is being systematically targeted over and over and over again. supporters of israel and particularly jews. >> it was donor pressure that seemed to be the last straw for the university of pennsylvania president liz mcgill who resigned on saturday following her congressional testimony. president biden is speaking today at an event in philadelphia alongside pennsylvania governor josh shapiro, who is jewish. he held a rally against anti-semitism yesterday and called mcgill's comments, quote, shameful. congresswoman stefanik said one down, two to go. m.i.t.'s board says their president has their unreserved support amid a congressional investigation opened into universities and where they say anti-semitism is running rampant. >> sandra: bryan, thank you. jason chaffetz joining us now. good to have you here to kick things off for us. what exactly is going on here? people are having a hard time making out just how bad in is on our college campuses. >> look, these university presidents were given a week to think about the answers that they wanted to give. the question was not some big surprise question that they caught up on. they delivered a message that they wanted to deliver and it was not unequivocal and not the right answer and they do deserve to get fired. by the way, president mcgill, that's a very soft landing. let's not pretend she got fired. they resigned into a soft landing in a position. so i don't think they've taken the proper action yet to protect the jewish citizens, the jewish students there on campus and other religious minorities, by the way. it is -- where is the common sense? these professors -- these presidents are failing the test of common sense. >> sandra: one could easily make that case. the headline of the "new york times." as fury erupts over campus anti-semitism conservatives seize the moment. for republicans the rise of anti-semitic speech and the timid responses of some academic leaders presented a long-sought opportunity to flip the political script and cast liberals or their institutions as hateful and intolerant. the potency of the critique was underscored by how many democrats joined the attack. to that you say what, jason? >> well, it is amazing to me that diversity, equity and inclusion has been the primary thing rather than protecting some of the minority students that have been involved there. they do it to the exclusion of others and i think you see so many jewish americans saying there is no home in the democratic anymore for us. because if you are not of a certain class or a certain color or a certain background, then there is no room for us. all these people preaching tolerance to us end up being the least tolerant of anybody. if adolph hitler himself showed up on campus and started preaching the genocide and extermination of jews, these university presidents would be saying well, it depends on the context of which adolph hitler said these comments. are you kidding me? in america today? that's just ridiculous. >> sandra: that is happening. there is a column in the free press calling out the treason of the intellectuals pointing to then harvard university dean claudine gay and her statement after the killing of george floyd. she said there is an acute sense of vulnerability and reminder even the most mundane activities carry inordinate risk. he said the reason gay's carefully phrased answers on thursday infuriated her critics, they weren't technically incorrect but so clearly at odds with her own record. in nothing that gay said last tuesday did she seem aware that jewish students might have felt the same way after october 7th. that is an obvious observation but a worthy one, jason. >> yeah, i believe it was with stefanik, we have to roll the tape who asked if you turn the tables and said it about black americans and the genocide was -- you had to put it in context, but president gay did not answer that question. i think she is bankrupt here. for certain things but not anybody. it depends on the color of your skin and your ethnic persuasion. that's why everybody is infuriated. not just conservatives. true liberals would also be outraged by this. but, you know, thus far they haven't taken the action that they need to. only the parents, students themselves and the donor class can actually take care of this by excluding these ivy league schools and stop attending and stop sending their money. >> sandra: the backlash is mighty. see what happens in the coming hours and days as it progresses. good to see you. just a few minutes ago rockets lighting up the sky fighting intensifying in gaza as the idf says it is surrounding palestine square in central gaza city. hamas responding with threats to kill the remaining hostages if its demand for aid and more prisoner releases aren't met. meantime the attacks on u.s. bases in the middle east continue. two more over the weekend. the total now more than 85 since mid-october. the u.s. believes that, like hamas, the attackers are backed by iran. general jack keane said the white house is going too soft on tehran. >> we aren't doing nearly enough here. it is absolutely insufficient. in my judgment, i think it's reckless that we're not standing up here and making certain that our national interests and our troops are going to be protected in the region. what is happening here is the white house, i'm convinced based on my sources, is paralyzed by the fear of us escalating would lead to a direct confrontation with iran. the history of 43 years of dealing with iran does not support that assumption. >> sandra: jennifer griffin has more for us. threat from the houthis is getting worse. >> the houthis and iranian backed militias in iraq and syria. the 900 u.s. troops in syria and 1600 american troops as bases across iraq are sitting ducks right now taking incoming rocket, drone and mortar fire from proxy forces daily. there are reports of additional attacks today. successfully stopped by u.s. forces. late saturday u.s. troops shot down two incoming one-way attack drones in eastern syria and one targeting the mission support base euphrates that brought the total to 87 attacks on u.s. troops in iraq and syria since october 17th not including a significant escalation of missile and drone attacks by the houthis which is disrupting international shipping in the red sea. this video released by the u.s. navy in conjunction with the army navy game this weekend shows sailors on the u.s.s. carney. there were missiles fired from yemen that they have successfully intercepted. 17,000 ships pass through the strait every year. 10% of commercial traffic, 9 million barrels of oil every day go through there. over the weekend the french navy shot down two houthi drones patrolling the red sea. on that same day houthi leaders said their forces will target any ship heading to or from israel. israel's prime minister netanyahu reportedly told president biden if he doesn't handle the houthis, israel will. the u.s. is focusing on expanding a multi-national naval task force to address the alarming rise in attacks. sandra. >> sandra: jennifer griffin reporting live at the pentagon. thank you. the crisis at the southern border reaching a new breaking point. officers so overwhelmed they are releasing thousands of illegal immigrants in the u.s. every day. republican outrage is growing after hunter biden's tax indictment. >> he is the perpetrator on the american people. he has brought money back into the big guy and really compromised now the office of the presidency. so don't play the victim, hunter biden. >> sandra: the first son's legal problems are complicating his father's re-election prospects. former prosecutor phil holloway will join us live next. of bringing textile manufacturing back to america. we're taking the best fibers our farm can produce, spinning it at one location, weaving it, then finally into a cut and sewn product. there's value in buying american made it has a real life impact up and down the supply chain. we want our customers to feel how special this product is, right when they open the box. go to redlandcotton.com and receive 20% off your order with code fox 20. the virus that causes 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(vo) make the switch. it's your business. it's your verizon. ♪ unnecessary action hero! ♪ -missing punches? -unnecessary! -check reversals? -unnecessary! -time sheet corrections? -unnecessary! -unentered sick time? -unnecessary! -go! -unnecessary! -go! -unnecessary! -when you can take this phone, you'll be ready. -make the unnecessary, unnecessary. let your employees do their own payroll. >> sandra: the u.s. announced a short time ago the air force has disciplined 15 people in connection to the intel leaks from air national guardsman jack teixeira. he served with the massachusetts air national guard's 102 pbte intelligence wing was charged with sharing hundreds of classified documents online in june. he pleaded guilty to six counts. the air force is investigation said a small number of individuals in teixeira's unit had a more complete picture of his intelligence seeking behaviors but failed to report him appropriately. the punishments range from being relieved from positions to non-judicial punishment under the uniform code of military justice. the commander of his unit was relieved of his command. president biden on his way to philadelphia to fundraise and announce new grants to firefighters. his son's indictment on federal tax charges is putting a dark cloud over all of it. the sprawling 56-page indictment filled with scathing details about hunter biden's extravagant lifestyle is sure to be political capital for republicans already weighing an impeachment inquiry into the president. his son accused of evading more than a million dollars in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while his father was pushing for the wealthy to pay their fair share. former assistant u.s. attorney andy mccarthy summed it up with this headline. the hunter biden tax indictment is a disaster for the white house. house republicans insist there is plenty of evidence for them to dig through. >> there is so much circumstantial evidence, we would not be doing our constitutional duty if we didn't pursue it. >> his actions were inappropriate in not pay to play and why we are elevating the investigation. >> president joe biden was part of so many things that hunter biden was doing. we need to continue to investigate. >> sandra: democrats firing back. >> an extreme political stunt. 0 evidence that links the president to any business dealings or wrong doings of hunter. >> sandra, house republicans are saying they have to push for this impeachment inquiry because they claim the biden white house is holding out on them. >> they have nothing to hide they should not be fighting this impeachment query. we get to the bottom of it. if he had nothing to hide he would be completely transparent. open the books. >> the white house has organized a war room. they say the impeachment inquire eave is a way for speaker johnson to keep his right frank happy. >> throws red meat to the base the same way kevin mccarthy did this summer to launch this political exercise to attack the president when we should be focusing on real issues. the president will focus on real issues and we'll push back against this stunt very hard. it won't distract the president from ukraine aid that they won't take up before they leave town for a month. >> all of this stems from overseas work that hunter biden admits he did and now he is suggesting that his dad's political rivals may be trying to get him to relapse on drugs. >> they are trying to destroy a presidency and so it's not about me. and their most base way, what they are trying to do is they are trying to kill me knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle. and so therefore destroying a presidency in that way. >> president biden has not said one word about hunter biden's latest indictment. ignoring questions about it twice already today. sandra. >> sandra: peter doocy live at the white house. the day is early. well oh he see you again in a bit. phil holloway, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor joining us now. the day is young. who knows where it goes next. your thoughts and hunter biden in his own words. republicans are trying to kill me. what is your reaction to that? >> great to be with you as always. listen, these indictments. of course let's remember there are two of them, they are very well founded and as we say in the law, i think his goose is cooked. hunter biden is most likely, barring some kind of presidential pardon, most likely going to be convicted eventually and do some time in jail. his own words like he mentioned in the podcast, he wrote a book about this. he wrote memoirs and in those memoirs he detailed in his own words a lot of the salacious information that was quoted by weiss and his team of attorneys in these indictments, sandra. he goes into detail about all of the things involving the hookers and the drugs and everything else. here is the thing. he admits that for large periods of time during the relevant time period he wasn't paying taxes, he was high, out of his gourd on crack cocaine for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. so this begs the question, how can someone in that state manage to earn enough legitimate revenue, sandra, such they would owe more than a million dollars in taxes on it? so all of the things about the lifestyle, the hookers, and the women and the drugs, all that is certainly interesting and what people want to talk about, but we have to focus on the source of this revenue. where did it come from? why did it come from wherever it came from? who knew about it and who participated and who benefited? weiss isn't interesting in investigating that issue. it will be up to the house of representatives to get to the bottom of it. it is the source of the revenue, not how it was spent. >> sandra: hunter biden's attorney accused prosecutors of caving to republican political pressure. he also said this earlier about the tax case, listen to this. >> when they're late or whether there is a mistake or when there is something to be done what the i.r.s. and government does is they ask questions, they ask for backup, they bring civil actions, what they don't do is take a two-count misdemeanor in june and turn it into a 56 indictment in december. why he was as everybody knows at the bottom of the barrel of his addiction to crack cocaine which explains a lot of his misconduct and also addresses whether he was in what they call a scheme as opposed to just being at the dullest part of addiction. >> sandra: what about that? is political pressure fueling this case? is being an addict a defense? >> well, being an addict is not really a defense. if you listen to what his attorney is saying, he is not addressing really the merits of the cases against hunter biden, which i submit are very strong. but there is the reference to the earlier case that would have resulted in this sweetheart plea deal. that plea deal is looking really good, i'm sure now, in the rearview mirror now that it is gone. now that it was rejected by the judge. it allows all this other stuff to happen. but let's not forget that a lot of potential crimes prior to 2016 are now barred by the statute of limitations. weiss apparently missed any opportunity to investigate or even charge any of those types of things. so congress, though, congress is not bound by the statute of limitations. it is incumbent upon congress to be back further and explore whether or not there was, in fact, any kind of pay for play. in other words, was hunter biden trading on his father's name? did his father benefit from it? did his father know about it or even participate? these are the fundamental questions that are absolutely critical to be resolved and the nation needs to know these things and so if weiss is not going to do it, the house of representatives apparently has to. >> sandra: interesting perspective analysis. this holiday season is less sparkly and bright in some cities across the country. why public celebrations are being canceled from coast to coast. plus a showdown in congress over the crises unfolding on president biden's watch both at home and abroad. >> the president wants funding for ukraine. republicans want to secure the border. we won't negotiate on ukraine until we secure the border.