>> it looks like tomorrow will be tax tuesday. we have a great lineup of guests. >> sandra: newt gingrich, david bossie, steve amerson and his performance. >> one other guest not to be named. >> bill: good morning, everybody. breaking news now. new information on the massive power outage that helped cripple the nation's busiest airport in atlanta. thousands still stuck there. more on this coming up inside "america's newsroom" this morning. that's a big story. first this is a critical week for the white house and it kicks off at this hour. president trump set to deliver a speech unveiling his vision for national security as the white house inches closer to its first major legislative victory. hope you had a great christmas, hanukkah holiday weekend. brand-new week starts right now. i'm bill hemmer live in "america's newsroom." >> sandra: a lot going on here.

let's get to it. i'm sandra smith. we have the developments in the mueller investigation. the president saying he is not considering firing the special counsel but the trump transition claims his investigators obtained tens of thousands of private emails illegally. president trump reacted to the serious accusation. >> not looking good. quite sad to see that. my people were very upset about it. i can't imagine there is anything on them, frankly. as we said, there is no collusion whatsoever. but a lot of lawyers thought it was pretty sad. >> sandra: we have fox team coverage for you this morning. judge napolitano is standing by. first we go to john roberts live on the north lawn. what about this idea that the president wants to fire robert mueller? >> good morning, to you, sandra. this is an idea floated by a democratic member of congress who with no evidence to back it

up suggested that she has heard the president wants to fire the special counsel robert mueller. this is something that has been speculated time and time again over the last few months. at every turn the president's legal team, the president, press secretary knocks it down. sources tell me the president's legal team has a very good relationship with robert mueller. meeting with him this week, by the way. the last thing they would want is for mueller to be fired and a new special counsel appointed and the whole process started over from scratch. something that could drag this investigation on for years. on the way back from camp david the president responded to new rumors that he was going to fire mueller saying it's not something he is even thinking about. listen here. >> no, i'm not, no. >> at the same time, the trump transition team, has sent a letter of complaint to the relevant oversight committees in the house and the senate saying that the gsa and the

special counsel's office acted improperly when the special counsel requested of and got from the gsa tens of thousands of emails that were sent back and forth by the trump transition team in between november 8th election and the january 20th inauguration of 2016. as they say the gsa at the very least should have contacted the presidential transition team to say they got the request and that they were planning to fulfill it. a lot of those emails i'm told contain privileged information. the gsa and special counsel's office deny any wrongdoing in a statement the special counsel's office saying when we have obtained e-mailings in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation we have secured consent or appropriate criminal process. i'm sure you and bill will talk more with the judge about this in a couple of seconds. >> sandra: what can you tell us about the president's speech that we're expecting this afternoon? >> 2:00 the reagan building this afternoon the president will lay out his national

security strategy, his vision for america's place in the world and how to preserve peace and prosperity and security the world over. it relies on five pillars. let's put them on the screen so you can follow along. first protect the american people, the homeland and the american way of life. that's my strengthening border security, reforming immigration among other things and promoting american prosperity, rejuvenate the economy through regulatory and tax reform. new trade deals. preserve peace through strength by rebuilding and requipping the u.s. military. one reason why he is giving it at the reason building. advance american influence around the world. champion american values while not seeking to impose our way of life on anyone and pursue a regional security strategy in an entire region, not just in individual countries. this really is a change from the bush administration era national security strategy which sought to promote

democracy the world over. some past administrations have bitten off more than they can chew and this president doesn't want to do that. >> realistic about what america's power can achieve in the world and a frank recognition the president's critique he gave during the campaign of the past couple decades of american foreign policy it tried to do too much. it overly defined what america's national interests were and american foreign policy. also tried to do things that we've learned through hard experience were perhaps not achievable. >> the bedrock of the president's security strategy is american first but encouraging other countries including most of america's allies to put their citizens first as well in order to build and preserve peace and security around the world at 2:00 this afternoon, reagan building. we'll be there. >> sandra: thanks for helping us kick off a big week. >> bill: we'll be watching. i'm bringing judge napolitano, fox news judicial analyst. three big topics.

the president says i won't fire mueller. is that the end of that, judge? >> i don't know if it's tend of it. i hope. if he does fire bob mueller the investigation doesn't go away it ratchets up and may give the president some personal gratification to fire his tormenter, some new tormenter will come into play. it comes back because of the perception that bob mueller has a political axe to grind rather than a legal one. that perception is widely held among the president's supporters. >> now the emails during the transition phase. you say you are appalled by the accusation. >> i'm appalled by the accusation. the trustee is the successor for the corporation. the lawyer for the trustee said we found out all our records

were sup aoen added by mueller. a grand jury sup aoen as. in order to do that mueller's people have to testify before it under oath why they need the records. once the records are served on the gsa the custodian of the transition records it's the gsa's duty to tell the transition we got a subpoena, we will comply with it unless you get a judge to interfere with it. >> bill: you are saying it's law school 101. >> they're arguing that how do you not impair future transitional teams coming into the white house in a new administration? what's the defense on that. >> you either don't send anything to the tsa and they sent -- to the gsa, excuse me, and they sent everything to the gsa. or you enter into a written agreement with the gsa which says if you receive a subpoena from any law enforcement entity before complying with a subpoena you'll tell us first.

so if the feds want your banking records, let's say you bank as chase. they serve a subpoena at chase. it is not their duty to tell you that, it's chase's duty. >> bill: the final point is the bigger picture about the transition and how devastating the interviews could have been now between the f.b.i. and members of the administration because you would argue if you have the emails, you have the information and now you have your line of questioning and you are arguing the transition team had no idea that happened. >> many people from the transition work in the west wing and almost all were interviewed by the f.b.i. at the time of those interviews the f.b.i. had read their emails. if they asked them questions about their emails and it showed deception or lying to the f.b.i. because the person being interviewed didn't know the f.b.i. had that, that is potentially devastating to them.

that's the trap that general flynn fell into. when the f.b.i. asked him about his conversations with the ambassador they had the transcripts of the conversations. >> bill: that's the danger in the legal sense. nice to see you on a monday. more coming up on this. >> sandra: we have a big show on tap for you today. first up jason chaffetz at the bottom of the hour and then alan dershowitz joins us in the next hour of "america's newsroom." stay tuned for all of that. atlanta's international airport crippled yesterday by a power outage. power was restored around midnight. the nation's busiest airport was brought to a stand still 1:00 p.m. sunday afternoon after a fire in an underground electrical facility caused the entire airport to go dark. more than 1,000 flights were grounded leaving thousands of holiday travelers stranded. now this morning a whole new

holiday nightmare begins as airlines scramble to fix their schedules and get people to their destinations. it make take days to sort through the mess causing a problem for people trying to get home to see family and friends. >> they feel badly for everybody. you see the hoards of people. there weren't a lot of complaints about how could this possibly happen to an airport this important and this size? >> a bit more clear what was happening. we were shoved outside and i didn't know what was happening. it was a little annoying. >> sandra: that is not enjoyable. we wish those people the best. it will be a major process to get those people where they were going. >> bill: where are the backup power? sounds like a hack in atlanta. that's a big deal. live report from atlanta. back on the hill republicans poised to achieve their first legislative victory this week as they gear up on a vote on a

tax reform bill. will any democrats cross over and vote yes? democratic senator john manchin is on deck live coming up here. >> sandra: the senior doj official demoted for taking meetings with the agency behind that unverified trump dossier facing the senate intelligence committee today. details next. >> bill: also one of our top stories, trump transition team leveling serious accusations to bob mueller with growing outrage of what they call anti-trump bias at the f.b.i. and doj. >> there are two fundamental questions. did the f.b.i. pay christopher steele and was the dossier for getting warrants for people associated with president trump's campaign. if the answer is yes to either of those questions this is as terrible as it gets, as wrong as it gets. tries to get in my way? watch me. ♪ i've tried lots of things for my joint pain.

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>> sandra: fox news alert. bruce ohr preparing to testify before the senate intelligence committee in a closed-door hearing today. the justice department official who was demoted in the wake of revelations about undisclosed meetings with fusion gps. that's the company behind the dossier containing unverified allegations about then candidate donald trump. ohr's wife, nelly, was employed by fusion gps. >> can you say flatly that congress will pass this tax plan this week and send it to

the president to sign before christmas? >> i can. it's an historic moment and we're excited to be here. it has been a terrific process with the house and senate working together in conference and there is a terrific bill that will get to the president to sign. >> bill: chris wallace selling the tax bill on sunday. it will be up for a vote this week in the house and senate. all signs indicate republicans will have a bill on the president's desk before christmas. will they have a democrat voting with them? they will not have arizona senator john mccain as of today. he will be absent for the vote. headed back now in arizona. democratic west virginia senator joe manchin on the appropriations committee. good morning, senator, merry christmas. thank you for coming back. what will you tell a family of four in west virginia why you cannot vote for a tax cut for a family? >> first of all it's not permanent for the individual. you know, if we'll put our priorities based on our values

they're the ones that need it the most, a permanent tax cut, okay? >> bill: 10 years is better than nothing. if you have a family of four. they make $84,000 a year instantly it's $2,000 in their bank account. sounds like a good deal. >> on top of that you have the mandate which we have a fix for the bill. we have a lamarr alexander. they're getting rid of the mandate that will basically disrupt the markets, i think, drastically. there are so many things. the biggest thing is the deficit. there is no guarantee and no trigger to prevent us from going off the financial cliff. >> bill: they would argue the growth that will come with the law will make up for that. do you buy that? >> i hope that happens. all i've said is can't you reduce the corporate tax just to stop it at 25%? every corporation is tickled to

death. i think there needs to be reform and reductions and i've been able over the last three months to share with the white house and share with my colleagues the four different timelines and things we would agree on or that we could discuss. once they decided it would be a partisan bill only with 51 votes needed as republicans we were no longer in the mix. >> bill: no democrats will vote for this, are they? >> the last one i gave i can't see anybody. the last one, the four different things. 25%, we've said remove the mandate and the outsourcing which creates tax savings and the large tax deductions for the very, very wealthy at this point in time. because military is in dire need. if this was reform, which is not reform, it's a tax cut. everybody will get a little bit of something. >> bill: you strike me as a pro energy, pro business senator.

i think you can't always get what you want and in fact sometimes you have to give a little and take a little along the way and that's what even republicans are doing on this bill. last comment. >> if i can say somebody should be concerned about the $20 trillion. as soon as this is passed, they'll come back and ask for more tax credits to be given away for the extenders. if you had true reform you wouldn't need that. in january they'll bust the budget caps because our military, we were all briefed on how desperate the military needs money. >> bill: if that's the case voters will decide next november. this crossed my desk earlier today. you gave an interview with regard to al franken's eventual resignation. >> the most that's hypocrisy at the highest level. it made me sick. you are talking about democrats there. >> i'm talking about human

beings, democrats, republicans. anybody that acts under these conditions. the women should have a process where they are protected to come out and not retaliation as far as their jobs or their careers. i want to make sure every female is protected in any walk of life in any job setting. on the other hand you want to make sure there is a process. we have a process within the congress, senate and house which is called the ethics probe. and he is willing to -- al said take me through this, please. i'll live by whatever the outcome and recommendation. if they say i'm a predator and i should leave, i'll leave. everyone that listened to al's speech on the floor. first time for him to speak out openly, maybe had second thoughts. i'm thinking maybe they'll come to their senses. >> bill: you are arguing for due process. a very pointed question. is your comment directed toward kristin gillibrand and others? >> everyone who thinks they had -- i hope they have second those.

you don't ask for a person the day before to please leave and don't be an associate of mine any longer. and then sit on the floor and go hug him. thank you for leaving. i'm glad you took my recommendation. i'm sure he would have been stunned. they are destroying a human being's life. that's not who he are or what i was sent here to do. i won't be jury and judge. i think a person needs due process. after an investigation, if it shows he should no longer be seated we'll get rid of him. if not, then we should come to the conclusion it was not the extent to where he should be removed. let him have that process still. >> bill: thank you for your time. i'm out of time now but i look forward to speaking to you again. joe manchin, democrat from west virginia. thank you. >> sandra: bill, the nightmare at atlanta's airport has just begun.

airlines scrambling to reschedule more than a thousand flights. >> bill: wildfires still roaring through southern california. that's coming up next. what they are waking up to this monday morning.

>> sandra: that power outage at the nation's busiest airport not the way you want to start off the holiday travel rush that's for sure. folks hoping they can get to their destinations now that power is finally restored with christmas just about one week away. jonathan serrie is live from the atlanta airport. jonathan, i'm sure some very upset, frustrated people wandering around there. >> yeah, sandra. you can see all these people behind me lining up trying to book. in most cases rebook flights. delta airlines alone the

flagship carrier here at the international airport canceled 1,000 flights yesterday as a result of the power outage and canceled 300 flights, most of those early this morning. but this outage affected all of the airlines. you are talking about the jetways unable to go to aircraft so it took long to board and disembark people from the various aircraft. escalators weren't working and there were no lights in some of the corridors creating a spooky environment. passengers describe the scene. >> it is absurd. people are sleeping on the floor like homeless people. i've never seen anything like this at all. >> sandra, because this is the holiday travel season, even though the power is back on and flights are quickly returning

to normal, there aren't a lot of free seats. so a lot of these people it may take days before they are able to rebook on flights and get home or to their various final destinations. >> sandra: it's an incredible story. you think about people traveling this time of year with babies and children and older folks and people with health needs. what happens now going forward? >> georgia power says it is trying to figure out exactly what went wrong so that this never happens again. this wasn't supposed to happen in the first place. they have redundant power lines feeding into this airport but that fire that broke out in the underground substation apparently the flames were so intense it not only knocked out that underground station but also took out the redundant lines, the backup emergency lines leading to the airport. so there was no power going into these buildings here, sandra. >> sandra: an unbelievable story that is not over yet. thank you, sir.

>> bill: fire will account for a lot of things. >> sandra: i don't wish that on anyone. >> bill: a lot of open-ended questions if you've got backup systems and whatever the truth is in the end that shows you how reliant we are on technology. people trying to rebook flights and they can't do it and standing in lines for 12 hours. >> sandra: a big struggle for the next few days. >> bill: 28 past. back to this russia matter. strong words from jason chaffetz. have a listen on this. >> i don't think the attorney general is up to the job that he is doing. he is absent from this. the reason there is a special counsel is because he had to recuse himself from everything. >> bill: he is talking about jeff sessions. does he still feel that way? the former congressman is on deck right after the break on that and more coming up. >> sandra: the pentagon trying to answer the age-old question are we alone in the universe? what we're now learning about a top secret military program.

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>> sandra: this is a fox news alert. whoa, look at the stock market opening for trading just a few moments ago off to the races, dow up 133 points. out of the gate. remember, investors are taking in all the detail we got friday night about the republican tax bill. it was released after the close of trading on friday. this is the first opportunity that this market has to react, bill. i will point out -- choked up about this -- i'm letting you know if we close another record that's a new record for the stock market. if we close another record today it's the 70th record breaking day this year for u.s. stocks. >> bill: we likely will never see this again. on the way up when you see it move like this. every day last week market sets another record. >> sandra: check out your 401k,

up 25%. >> bill: dow 25,000? why not. >> sandra: 200 points away, wow. watch it. >> bill: in the meantime we have the sun coming up on the west coast and check this out. they're still fighting this deadly blaze burning northwest of la. flames scorching 270,000 acres since the fire started two weeks ago. the third largest wildfire in the state's modern history. adam housley is live in ventura, california. how goes it right before sun-up? >> it's hard to believe that two weeks ago tonight is when that fire started. we were here tuesday morning on this street driving by this home and others like it. firefighters dousing the homes with their water and they still weren't able to save it. two weeks later you can see the destruction is massive through here. about 1,000 different buildings were destroyed by this fire so far. it has been a few days since they lost one thankfully and starting to get a handful on it.

the winds and weather starting to finally get better here. for two weeks the fire has been going on now. 270,000 acres, the third largest in california his traoe. unbelievable. it is nearly 420 square miles, almost the size of the city of san antonio. 45% contained at this hour. the number is expected to go up with some 8500 firefighters still battling the flames in a number of different flanks of this fire. starting to get a better handle on it. they won't have full containment until after new year's. things were calmer today and over the weekend, erratic winds and still dry here. the santa ana winds gusted up to 65 miles per hour on saturday caused a few flare-ups 35 miles from us. 18,000 homes and businesses are officially at risk and this fire again has already burned some 1,000 structures. >> we were able to do prepping in these areas days before to

allow the fire to back burn around some of the homes and fire out some of them. unfortunately when you have winds that severe and we all saw it yesterday, you just physically cannot save every home. >> a somber day on sunday. the funeral procession stretching 200 miles from ventura to san diego was held for a firefighter who died on thursday from smoke inhalation as burns fighting the fire. hundreds lined the roads waving american flags. the 32-year-old iverson leaves behind his pregnant wife, ashley and 2-year-old daughter. donations from a go fund me account continue to pour into the family. i can tell you bill, as i give it back to you in this area in ventura, i know a number of folks who live here were on the overpasses watching that procession posting videos online. once that was done they came here to homes like this and spent hours helping their neighbors sift through the

ashes and any little mom -- thing they find they post it on social media as something that made it through. there is so much that didn't make it through. it could be the largest in the state's history. the largest is the creek fire from 2003 that we covered as well. >> bill: good luck. wish you would get rain and keep the winds down. good luck there. back on the east coast we're waiting to hear from white house and president trump in a few hours he will give a significant national security strategy speech and here are the four pillars. protecting the homeland, promoting american prosperity, preserving peace through strength and advancing american influence abroad. what does all that mean? john sununu with me, good morning to you, merry christmas. what does it mean to you, this trump doctrine of sorts? >> you know, it's coming at a very important and appropriate time. the president is about to get his tax plan through.

it's a major accomplishment on the domestic side and he is basically, i think, laying out for the world the agenda for his other responsibility and that is not only president of the united states, but leader of the free world. i think the world is beginning to understand that this mueller hunt has nothing behind it and so they are, i believe, waiting to hear exactly the agenda the president will lay out. i think 2018 is going to be a foreign policy year. and i hope that the president takes full advantage of the momentum he has coming out with this domestic success of legislation. >> bill: why next year in terms of foreign policy? what would be so different now given the pressures from north korea, etc. >> i think what will be different is the world, i think, the leaders of the world were kind of holding their breath to see if there was any

substance behind all this mueller investigation. i think they have now come to the conclusion that there is nothing there and they are ready to partner aggressively with the u.s. to try and reshape what's going on around the world. >> bill: that's very interesting. we'll watch that. newt gingrich wrote a peace. trump's national security, tradition of reality, not fantasy. he will not sketch out or express a preemptive military action which runs counter a little bit to bush 43. he will call china a strategic competitor which is something 43 did as well. what do you think of that? >> i think the president is moving us back from fantasyland that really dominated the obama approach to foreign policy. i think realism is a good choice of words. i think this is a president that understands that we do live in a world with tough neighborhoods and we have to have policies that put fences around those tough

neighborhoods or else those problems will seep into the united states and into our friends in europe. >> bill: speech at 2:00 this afternoon live here on fox. vladimir putin got a little help on behalf of the cia and president trump is disrupting a terror plot in st. petersburg. what do you think of this phone call? how do you square this relationship based on what we know today? >> look, we have always had an interesting relationship with the soviet union over the past few decades. we recognize them as our principle national security competitor but we also understand that we are able to cooperate to get significant success. we will not solve the north korea problem without the help of the old soviet union, russia today. without russia being aggressive and active in it. i think the two phone calls they had last week will be helpful in that respect. >> bill: and you think the mueller matter goes nowhere?

>> i think the mueller matter has gone nowhere already. >> bill: governor, thank you for your time. john sununu there in new hampshire with us today. thank you, sir. 20 minutes before the hour. >> sandra: sunday's game between the steelers and patriots causing heads to spin. pittsburgh down three trying to get the win. roethlisberger gets his touchdown. it has to stand, right? no, wrong. james catches the ball but loses control once he lands. the refs take another look. are you watching? they rule it incomplete saying it is not a catch. no touchdown. the patriots would hang onto the win and refs getting the heat for many believe is a blown call. i'm sure that doesn't go over well. >> bill: i was watching that. we were yelling at the tv.

right there you think maybe he is down just short of the goal line but then he crossed. the ruling is you cannot allow the ground to dislodge the foot ball from the possession of the receiver and in this case that was the ruling. it went that way. i'm a cincinnati fan. i hate pittsburgh but i think the steelers got ripped off. that's what i feel and think. >> sandra: i picture bill hemmer off his chair yelling at the tv. >> bill: i was on my feet. this is what instant replay does for a game that moves faster than the eye can see. just about an hour away right now from a vote at the u.n. on the president's decision to move our u.s. embassy to jerusalem. we're watching that coming up momentarily here. >> sandra: everyone is in the holiday spirit. why one criminal failed doing his best santa impression. hum. >> there is lots of room for santa but it has to be a right santa, not the criminal santa.

>> bill: we have a man finding himself in jail after police say he tried to pull off a heist using santa's route. he is 32 and he is arrested on suspicion of trying to rob a business in citrus heights, california. firefighters say he tried to slide down the old chimney and that's when he became stuck. >> probably figuring the chimney would go straight down into the fireplace and it actually took a 90 degree corner. he was in there for quite a while before he made the phone call and i think he was getting a little >> bill: he had a cell phone and he was able to move enough to use the phone.

we hear one of these every year. i want to know the guy who is successful and goes down the chimney. >> sandra: you don't hear those very often. >> bill: comes out covered in soot. that's our fellow right there. >> sandra: if i may stop for a moment on this monday morning. the week ahead of christmas is no slacker week. this is a very consequential week for this president. >> bill: the new normal. >> sandra: here we are with days left and they are promising -- steve mnuchin over the weekend saying it is no doubt going to get done, tax reform. >> bill: i think the move with senator mccain and his health flying back to arizona, it would seem to be publicly a nod of confidence that they can pass it without his vote. >> the president saying if we need him he'll come. right now they're okay. >> bill: there is a question about cochrane's health. some suggested they could survive a yes vote if they lose both of them. you have the vice president coming in to break a tie once you get to 50.

we're waiting to see that. you have santa's helper out there down the chimney in california. >> sandra: i want to bring in marc thiessen. fellow american enterprise institute. this is a lot on this president's agenda this week. a huge, ambitious timeline and congress is set to pass this thing. and the stock market is -- i'm looking at a dow up 200 points right now. >> this is one of the most important weeks of donald trump's presidency. he announced a sweeping progress in regulatory reform pulling back the wet blanket of regulations smothering the economy. a big national security strategy this week. he helped stop a terrorist attack in st. petersburg by sharing intelligence with the russians. later this week he is going to

-- if all goes well -- pass the most sweeping tax reform in three decades. no president since ronald reagan has been able to achieve and he will get a deal by the end of this week to avoid a government shutdown i promise you. this is going to be a huge, huge week for donald trump's presidency and a a huge week for the country. >> sandra: there is critical russia testimony we anticipate, bruce ohr set to testify today senate intel committee. he is now demoted d.o.j. official. he will be testifying, andrew mccabe the f.b.i. deputy director set to testify tomorrow. the house intel committee. you have some advice for the president based on all the accomplishments you just listed off and how well all these things are going, and then this testimony coming this week, you would tell him what? >> i would tell him ignore it and do your job. this is a huge week. all the things that -- you'll pass the first comprehensive tax reform in three decades.

it's an enormous achievement. everyone was saying you couldn't get it passed. don't get distracted by mueller and these hearings. the democrats won't shut down the government. everyone is worrying about the democrats shutting down the government because there is funding in that short term spending bill for children's health. the democrats aren't going to -- on the eve of christmas take healthcare away from poor children because they want daca passed right now. he will get a big victory when it comes to pushing through a government spending bill. he is announcing his national security strategy. all big, presidential things. historic presidential things. focus on that, let the mueller thing pass. don't get distracted and don't tweet. be president. this is a huge week for you. don't make the mistake of letting them drag you down. >> sandra: democrats against tax reform a piece, the gop has had no help passing these cuts yet not a single senate

democrat seems willing to vote to cut the top rate to 37% or reform a corporate tax code that democrats have long recognized as anti-competitive. had they engaged with republicans to provide 60 votes they surely could have influenced the bill. is this something they will live to regret? marc. >> absolutely. there are 10 democrats running last year in states trump won and five that he won by double digits. none of those democrats are voting for this tax bill or bothered to engage the president to try to work with him on the tax bill. i think donald trump when this bill passes, he needs to go to every one of those five states and say if it was up to your senator, we would not have this huge tax reform and you would not be getting the tax cut and the wage increase in your pocket. >> sandra: we have so much going on we have to leave it there. a great to get your take on things. >> bill: watch that. also from overseas, a violent

checkpoint raid in afghanistan's capital leading to the deaths of 11 afghan officers. what we're learning about that attack as the war on terror continues in the region. come on back right after this.

>> bill: breaking news alert from london, england. don't have a lot of information. we'll work through it as we go. british police are responding to what is considered a significant incident at the royal air force base that is used by the u.s. air force as well. this is north and east of london. an individual in a vehicle tried to force his way through a checkpoint. this, however, has not been confirmed. we are getting this from the associated press and others working the story in england.

royal air force officials referring calls to police. we'll hold our fire so to speak and wait for more information to figure out what's happening there. more in a moment. >> sandra: wait for further detail. fox news alert isis on attack in afghanistan. they storm a building near a training center and having a gun battle with security forces in the heart of the afghan capital. greg palkot is live for us with the latest. >> it appears to be over but it appears to be another attack or attempted attack by isis right in the center of the afghanistan capital of kabul. three of their fighters said to storm a building there under construction at the country's national spy headquarters. they used a car bomb, they used rpgs, there was an intense fight. these three militants apparently were killed by afghan security forces. there is no other casualties being reported. the once secure afghan capital has been a battleground over

the past several months. in may we saw a truck bomb attack that left 150 dead. it all comes on the heels of a report by the pentagon to congress on friday saying all was going well with the fight in afghanistan but noted in the past six months there have been 2,500 operations or strikes involving u.s. special force operators along with afghan security members. they were going after both the taliban and the isis. remember, president trump has put 14,000 troops in this country right now. and that war has been going on for 16 plus years. back to you. >> sandra: greg palkot in london, thank you. >> bill: as we come up to the top of the hour. in a moment there is a top justice department official with ties to fusion gps about to go under oath before the senate intelligence committee. more on this coming up just moments away. top of the hour and a busy monday morning. come on back.

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>> sandra: the senate intelligence committee setting its sights on a top justice official with troubling ties to the anti-trump dossier. former associate deputy attorney general bruce ohr facing tough questions as senate investigators examine ties to the company behind that dossier. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom," i'm sandra smith. it is a busy day here and in washington >> bill: how was the weekend, good? >> sandra: fabulous. wrapping presents. fun. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer, good morning. fusion gps, a key player in all of this now. ohr was demoted over undisclosed meetings from the research company that commissioned the dossier and his wife worked for them. >> sandra: kevin corke is live in washington good morning to you, kevin. >> listen, this is a very -- i mean very serious inquiry that involves bruce ohr, what

they're trying to get to the bottom of, what was ohr's hand in the phony dossier? was that dossier used to create a fisa warrant to survey the communications of trump team members? and ultimately people want to know did that lead to the unmasking of americans? people also would say who is this guy bruce ohr? a former deputy ag. as bill mentioned he was demoted about revelations with the meetings of fusion gps where his wife worked. it is the group with ties to the dnc and ties to the clinton campaign and produced to phony trump dossier. on capitol hill lawmakers would like to know if he, his wife and others at the d.o.j. including some involved in the mueller investigation weaponized that phony dossier and they would like to know if they were anti-trump as some recently publicized text messages seem to suggest. >> we are going to subpoena

andrew mccabe, peter strzok, bruce ohr. they're central to this. his wife, and lisa page and also i think the chief of staff for the f.b.i. needs to be brought in. let's get all the documents and bring them in for depositions. >> you heard jordan mention mccain as in andrew mccabe. he is scheduled to testify tuesday in front of the committee about peter strzok who was actually removed from mueller's team over text messages that were critical of president trump during the 2016 campaign. all this is happening as others are looking at this idea, sandra, at creating perhaps another special counsel or prosecutor. to look into the ongoing clinton probe that people haven't been talking about. what happened with fusion gps

and political implications moving forward. we'll keep an eye on it for you. >> sandra: not your typical holiday week for sure. thank you. >> bill: watching that. watching this one, too, big story. the republican tax reform battle could be now in the homestretch. congress is expected to pass a final bill this week which would give republicans and the president a big legislative win. while democrats may not vote for it in any capacity, republicans are already talking about victory. >> president trump: we have a tremendous spirit for the tax reform. this is going to be one of the great christmas gifts to middle income people. >> this will be the largest change in fixing a broken tax system that we've ever had. people said we couldn't do it. we will do it and i couldn't be more excited to see the president sign it this week. >> we aren't waiting 31 years to become competitive again. we'll continue to mass the moves of our competitors and continue to make the changes in our tax code so we can bring

these jobs back to america and our local businesses can compete and win. >> bill: peter doocy is on the hill watching this bounce back and forth. any last-minute hiccups. >> there may be some last-minute hiccups. republican senator bob corker is saying when leadership was looking for his vote and sent staff to brief him at his office about the ways this final tax bill came out of the conference committee was different from the senate's proposal. they never mentioned a provision that could potentially mean big bucks for people with a lot of money tied up in real estate. now he has written a letter to the finance committee chairman orrin hatch and he closes with this line. because this issue has raised concerns i would ask that you provide an explanation of the evolution of this provision and how it made it into the final conference report. i think because of many sensitivities, clarity on this issue is very important and i hope that you will respond in an expeditious manner.

so while corker waits for hatch to write him back, democrats are saying that republicans just used this provision to get corker's vote. >> i don't know how it got in. what we know they are behind closed doors. a whole army of lobbyists surrounding them. the longer they're in there the more you see the special interest provisions. >> corker insists that isn't the reason he decided to vote yes and the majority whip john cornyn says to take one provision out of a 1,000 page bill doesn't have any proper context. >> bill: give us the time frame, the structure. what has to happen before the vote begins? >> next up this afternoon the bill will be before the house rules committee. that's where they will chart out the course for a vote that is expected to happen in the house tomorrow. from there over to the senate and then the president's desk and if there are no problems with that, then they can finally start talking about

keeping the government open because right now they are barreling toward a government shutdown on friday night into saturday if they cannot agree on a way to fund the government for a couple months. >> bill: keep jumping through the hoops. peter doocy live on the hill. thank you, peter. >> sandra: fox news alert air travel slowly resuming in atlanta after that power outage. it canceled more than 1,000 flights at the world's busiest airport. the airlines say expect more cancellations and delays today as they try to clear a backlog of passengers stranded, stuck overnight. ellen carmichael one of them. she joins us now by phone. ellen, thank you for your time and calling in. this is still a bit of a mystery what happened to cause this power outage. can you describe the moment it happened? >> well, we weren't here when it happened. we were notified about 40 minutes prior to our landing that there was going to be an issue at the atlanta airport

regarding a power outage. we thought it had been solved because it happened earlier in the morning. when we arrived around 3:40 yesterday we were notified that we weren't going to be going to the gate and we looked out the window and saw hundreds of airplanes on the runway just sheer pandemonium. fire trucks. it was wild. >> sandra: have you been given any explanation for why this happened? >> all we really know is there was a power outage with georgia power and that it was something either a cut cord is what we were initially told. it was potentially a fire. obviously when there is a fire in an airport people speculate if there is terrorism. people wondered if it was safe to get off the plane and just for the safety of everybody involved once we saw the police involved and an evacuation at the airport we pull up, no lights on. it was pretty terrifying situation.

>> sandra: on facebook you go into some detail. you describe the scene like something out of a movie only worse. it lasted more than six hours total and that's on top of the 10 1/2 hours you've spent in flight. what were you doing for food and water? >> there was none. about five hours into the flight -- onto the tarmac they walked around with cups of water. and eventually some pretzels. there were a lot of children on board. it was pretty stressful. the delta pilot was tremendous and came around and talked to us and let us know what was going on. after being on the plane for 16 hours in total there was a lot of cabin fever and people were clapping and ready to get off the plane when we were finally allowed to disembark. >> sandra: for many of us who travel you can see the other people even if you try to hold it together, other people can get very frustrated and very

tired and these situations can go from bad to worse. how were other passengers reacting to this? >> some handled it better than others. the children were very well behaved. i don't know i would have been at that age. i think people were joking about it at first and then starting to get pretty wound up and distressed. overall i think people handled it pretty well. all things considered. once we were off the plane it was sort of chaos trying to figure out our bags didn't arrive because they hadn't been screened yet. people didn't know if there would be a shelter or anybody would provide anything for us. when we got to the help center with delta there were thousands of people. so my husband and i opted to get a hotel and leave. otherwise everybody was chaotic >> sandra: were you traveling for work or pleasure? >> we were visiting our in laws

in austria. we're grateful to have arrived safely. delta was fantastic. >> sandra: good news that came out of this you said the airlines handled things quite well for you. they were very accommodating. >> yeah, absolutely. delta has gone above and beyond with us. we are really grateful. everybody has been very communicative. the pilot on board was fantastic and everybody really understanding and gracious about the whole ordeal. this is not their fault, it is an issue with the airport. everyone will be out-of-pocket for their own money. >> sandra: how much are you out money-wise? >> so far probably $350 for the hotel and taxi and food. it could be a lot worse. we're grateful to be heading on our way shortly. there are tens of thousands of people running around here now. it's a little chaotic here. our flight isn't canceled.

we're among the fortunate. thousands of flights have been canceled. >> sandra: it is refreshing to hear your optimism and keeping things positive. >> we're all okay and we're grateful to be all right. >> sandra: we are glad you are keeping your spirits up. happy holidays for you and thanks for calling in. >> thank you. >> bill: you admire her patience. want to bring you back to london now. we mentioned this 20 minutes ago. british police the incident is contained. a man has been detained. the front gate was rammed at an raf royal air force base that is used by the u.s. air force. this in suffolk, england north and east of london. the situation has been resolved after reporting a significant incident there. it looks like everything has been managed. the update from overseas. back at home now look at the

big board. the dow is roaring already. a moment ago was up over 200 points. pulling back a touch at 184 and sandra, that's dow 25,000 watch at the moment. >> sandra: with the markets opened a while ago. i got tweets saying 25,000? it will happen today or tomorrow. a stone's throw from there. we'll watch that. a lot of optimism in the stock market. another story we're watching. the united nations heading to revoke president trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. >> bill: why president trump's transition team argues robert mueller improperly obtained tens of thousands of emails and documents from them during the transition period into the white house. what is that all about? is it legal or not? we'll debate it coming up. >> president trump: quite sad to see that. my people were upset about it. i can't imagine there is

anything on them, frankly. as we said, there is no collusion. there is no collusion whatsoever. but a lot of lawyers thought that was pretty sad. l every day. it traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, so i feel lighter. try metamucil, and begin to feel what lighter feels like.

>> sandra: fox news alert on a major development in the russia investigation. president trump saying he has no plans to fire robert mueller. even as the trump transition team levels serious charges against the special counsel

claiming his investigators improperly obtained personal emails. katie pavlich. editor of town hall.com and mary anne marsh, senior advisor to john kerry. good to see you both this morning on monday morning. a lot going on here. the root of the question is did mueller improperly, katie, obtain those emails? >> that's what the reporting shows. and we should give a little background here on the tactics that have been allegedly used by a number of the attorneys on mueller's team not just on the special counsel, but also in previous federal cases. there are a number of federal prosecutors who worked with robert mueller in the past and many attorneys on his team who have called into question in black and white and op eds and newspapers around the country about the things they've done in the past to obtain information and the legal grounds were a little shaky. i'm not an attorney so i won't go down that road. there have been questions in the past about their conduct. now, here is the main question.

the special counsel was appointed to look into russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election for the sake of protecting our democracy. so the question is why then is robert mueller looking into transition documents after president trump was duly elected by the voters? a lot of people are asking that question. >> sandra: let mary anne answer that question. you said mueller had all the right to gather as much possible evidence as possible and that this was within his rights. >> i think this is pretty simple. when you work on the transition, that is a public entity. the emails, your business, everything you are doing is part of the government. it is a dot gov account. therefore it's public. these weren't private emails on private servers obtained illegally. these were all public. that's the difference here. mueller went out of his way to show that he obtained them legally by either getting them

from the person on the account, or through the appropriate criminal process. to me the most interesting thing that happened about all of this is that mueller, who has been slandered and smeared for months now by trump and his allies for the first time responded to this specific accusation by saying this is a criminal investigation and the appropriate criminal procedures were followed to get these emails. that is telling. >> sandra: katie, i would question mueller getting smeared and slandered. for a lot of this it has been his team with the revelations now, we've got bruce ohr set to testify today closed-door hearing. he was the demoted d.o.j. official, key figure into the anti-trump dossier. then andrew mccabe, the f.b.i. deputy director is testifying tomorrow house intel committee. there are big questions about his team, katie. >> based on the information we have about the text messages

going back and forth about an insurance policy if president trump were to win and the f.b.i. director having to be taken off the special counsel. the number of people working as attorneys on the special counsel, one of which went to hillary clinton's victory party which turned out not to be a victory party. there are serious questions about the impropriety of this investigation and the fact that there are these huge conflicts makes not trump -- everyone in the country as a whole look at the institution and say what is the outcome of this going to be? again, i haven't heard mary anne talk about collusion because we've moved from the allegation of collusion between the trump campaign and russia to a criminal investigation of a transition team. >> sandra: few seconds. >> here is where it goes. if it's a criminal investigation that implies crimes were committed and what he is exploring. if there was coordination in any way, shape or form between the trump team and the russians that either helped in the

election or in government, that is a crime. >> sandra: the lawyers aren't happy about it. we'll see where it goes. the president saying he does not have intention to fire mueller. katie and mary anne, thank you for a monday morning. >> bill: a lot more coming up on this story. alan dershowitz is on deck in nine minutes and talk to him at 10:30 eastern time. later former deputy campaign manager david bossie is here as well. plus a new report on this attack in western africa that left four americans dead. what we're now learning about how sergeant la david johnson died. people would stare. psoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last.

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>> sandra: a fox news alert. one of the army personnel died in the attack. la david johnson, one of four soldiers killed in the october fire fight. his death drew national attention when congresswoman frederica wilson criticized president trump over a phone call he made to sergeant johnson's widow. >> bill: u.n. security council will vote later this hour on president trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. that announcement sparked outrage in the middle east. many arab nations are hoping to nullify the decision. eric shawn outside the u.n. with more. good morning. >> good morning, bill. it really is a vote against president trump and his policy even though his name is not on it. for the first time u.s. ambassador to the united nations nikki haley will expect to use the u.s. veto to drop the measure. it was sponsored by egypt and

pushes back against the president's policy declaring jerusalem as israel's capital. it calls on nations not to establish embassies in jerusalem and to obey previous security council resolutions coming just over a week after they condemned president trump's policy on this. it says that the security council expresses, quote, its deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of jerusalem. that any decisions and actions which purchase port to have altered the character, status or demographic are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the security council. the palestinian observer supports it. >> jerusalem is in the heart of the global international community, jerusalem is the city of peace. from jerusalem we can have

peace and without jerusalem we cannot have peace. >> ambassador haley is expected to criticize the u.n. stance on israel. while palestinians have called for the capital of the palestinian state in east jerusalem a u.n. ambassador said the president's policy is the correct way to go. >> jerusalem is the capital of israel period. today millions of jews will celebrate hanukkah. it is about the connection of jews to jerusalem started 2,000 years ago and no u.n. discussion or resolution will change the history of the jewish people. >> this goes to the general assembly which already supported a similar measure by a vote of 151 to 6. among the nations voting against that, israel and the united states as well as by the way the solomon islands. back to you. >> bill: eric shawn at the u.n. here in new york city. >> sandra: new york city

preparing for the holidays after an attempted terror attack near time square. >> of course i'm concerned. we have the pay attention to what goes on not just in the city but we have to pay attention what goes on around the world. >> sandra: what extra precautions police are now taking before a million people converge on time square. >> bill: also special counsel robert mueller under firing for seizing trump transition emails. what was that move all about and was it illegal? alan dershowitz answers that next? >> what was the f.b.i. doing to inject itself in the campaign? i think i know the answer but i won't tell you. are you kidding me? that's unacceptable. i think answers like that that are walking these guys into potential contempt citations.

>> sandra: we're learning more about that incident at the royal air force base used by the u.s. air force in suffolk, england. we're hearing the situation is now over. the base was put into lockdown

and units responded immediately. shots were fired by american service personnel and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody. no other people have been injured as a result of this incident. >> president trump: not looking good. quite sad to see that. my people were very upset about it. i can't imagine there is anything on it, frankly. as we said, there is no collusion. there is no collusion whatsoever, but a lot of lawyers thought that was pretty sad. >> bill: that from last night returning home from camp david. bob mueller under fire for sweeping up thousands of trump transition team emails. they are fired up about this. is it an issue in the end? alan dershowitz harvard law professor, sir, welcome back here and good morning to you. i have a few specific questions for you, emails.

trump says he won't fire mueller. >> it is a legal possibility. it would be foolish to do. mueller is in a good position. a lot of american public think he is biased against trump and it may lead him to lean over backwards in favor of trump. so if i were trump, i wouldn't try to fire him. i would continue to keep the pressure on and raise issues about the emails, etc. now, mueller is playing into his hands. mueller was really foolish in not seeking warrants for those emails. it is a close question but why not seek the warrant? getting warrants is like getting candy at christmas. it is very easy to get. not getting the warrant gives the defense an opportunity to challenge it in court. >> bill: an interesting answer on that. let me circle back on that. answer this broad question. do you think mueller has a credibility problem or is it just an opinion on behalf of some republicans in washington and folks at the white house?

>> i'm not a republican, i'm a democrat. i think he has a credibility problem. he should have been more careful about who he hired. he should have disclosed he had taken that f.b.i. agent off the case after his messages came out. i think he has a credibility problem on these emails without a warrant. i think he has a credibility problem if he used the dossier in order to get national security wiretaps. he has been conducting a sloppy investigation and that's atypical of him. i'm surprised. when you are going after the president you have to be caesar's wife. you have to be above reproach. you can't give the other side any ammunition and he has given the other side plenty of ammunition. >> bill: so that brings us to the broad question about these emails. andrew napolitano last hour said it is no big deal. first year law students know this is a possibility. they are government documents, he argues and he argues this.

give it a listen. >> the trustee says we just found out that all of our records were subpoenaed by bob mueller. bob mueller doesn't subpoena anybody, a grand jury does. in order to get a grand jury subpoena mueller's people have to testify why they need the record. >> bill: that would directly contradict the legal finding you are issuing here, professor. >> the judge should know better. getting a subpoena from a grand jury is routine. i've never heard of a case where a grand jury turned down a subpoena request. he would have been much better off seeking a judicial warrant. i agree it's a closed question. is the transition a government entity or a private entity? it is somewhere in between >> bill: close question or closed question? >> close question, it could go either way in the courts.

i can imagine a court saying a transition is different from a sitting president. you just don't want to open up every single email sent by transition members to each other to be able to be reviewed by a prosecutor without something any degree of probable cause. i think it was foolish for mueller not to take the precautionary step of seeking a warrant which he easily would have obtained. >> bill: you could find a favorable judge to get the emails tossed off. napolitano is saying if your f.b.i. is reading your emails and you go in for an interview and had no idea the emails were exposed you could be up against the wall and that was the primary point that the judge is making on that. >> well, every time i take my client in for an interview i demand to see what they have. what they've subpoenaed so my client is not out there in the open or in the cold not knowing what they've subpoena had. i also ask my client what

emails he's sent, what his vulnerabilities are. you have to prepare a client carefully to be interviewed by the f.b.i. or grand jury. too many people have gone to jail for telling lies to prosecutors. most people don't know it's a crime to lie to a prosecutor. they know it's a crime to lie under oath but you have to prepare your witnesses very carefully to speak to an f.b.i. agent. i don't allow my clients to speak to f.b.i. agents except in extraordinary cases. >> bill: i hope you can come back and we'll go back and forth on it again. alan dershowitz with us today in miami, florida. >> sandra: new york city police are now adjusting security plans ahead of the new year's eve celebration that draws every year hundreds of thousands of people to time square. the move comes after that attempted suicide bombing in the subway system right near time square. the nypd working closely with federal authorities to keep everyone safe. let's go to rick leventhal who

has -- what changes are they going to make, rick? >> i interviewed the nypd commissioner last night about the challenges facing the largest police department in america during these trying times. you may remember a day after o'neill was sworn in a terrorist set off a bomb in chelsea and halloween of this year a terror truck attack killed eight. one week ago the isis sympathizer set off a pipe bomb trying to kill himself, he said and as many others as possible. so now the nypd's super bowl, new year's eve just two weeks away. >> i used to love three or four days out of the year. i used to love fourth of july and thanksgiving and new year's eve. i like them but i want to get through them. the commitment -- there will be thousands of nypd officers not just in time square but all around the city. the work doesn't start that afternoon. we've been working on this since january 2, 2017.

>> are you more worried this year than years past? >> i'm concerned. we have to pay attention to what goes on not just in the city but we have to pay attention to what goes on around the world. >> concerned by the commissioner says they'll be ready. >> sandra: rick, what specific changes can we expect to see on that popular night that happens in time square every year? >> the nypd has to adopt to the evolving threat environment. installing barricades and pulling sand filled trucks of blockers because of vehicle attacks and putting more snipers on rooftops because of the mass shooting in las vegas and officers with radiation and chemical detectors and canines to sniff out explosives. chuck schumer said there should be new bomb detectors deployed here in new york as well that are being tested. >> thank god we haven't had a suicide bomber in the new york

city subways whose maimed and hurt a lot of people. it is only a matter of time before isis tries again. >> the tsa says it may bring those devices here but in the meantime the nypd is preparing for the most massive security challenge of the year. >> sandra: do you think this will stop people from going out at all? >> no, i think you'll see a big crowd in time square ke you do every single year. you'll also see more security than you have in years past. >> sandra: we hope to head out there. >> bill: president is now set to outline his approach on national security in a major speech today that you'll see live. what can we expect in the trump doctrine? we'll talk to his former campaign manager david bossie and more live coming up next. >> it is highly unusual for a president to roll out a comprehensive national security strategy within the first year. so this is yet another amazing milestone for this presidency and this administration. looking for balance in your digestive system?

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>> bill: stunning development from the nfl. the carolina panthers are up for sale. the owner, jerry richardson, saying it is time for new ownership. investigators looking into allegations of sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace. he reportedly had made several confidential settlements over the years. it became public over the weekend. a long statement out sunday afternoon and now the panthers in charlotte will be sold. did not see that coming. >> sandra: back to our top story of the day. trump's transition team saying they believe mueller's team improperly obtained tens of thousands of documents. mueller's investigators saying they did everything by the book. joining me now one of the co-authors of the new book "let trump be trump" former campaign manager for donald trump david bossie on the president's transition team. very important point there. you were on the transition team

and president trump's lawyers are very upset about the fact that mueller got access to these many documents. your thoughts. >> i think this is a troubling issue only because the campaign has cooperated with the mueller investigation. and the transition through the same lawyers are cooperating. so for mueller to go and kind of circumvent the process is the troubling aspect of it. when people are cooperating you don't do that. the reality is, the fundamentals are there is nothing there. so it's interesting that they are on a fishing expedition looking for something that they have found no collusion, coordination at all. there hasn't been any evidence. we see this place leaking like a sieve and so if there was something there, it would have been out. there is nothing to this investigation. the president has been emphatic.

the rest of us know there has been nothing to do with russia or any of it. it's a made up fantasy. >> sandra: do you think the mueller is capable of conducting a fair and independent investigation still? >> look, i've always respected the former director of the f.b.i. i think he is a good man. i just think you look at some of these agents and what they have done and look, i credit mueller with firing the guy off of the investigation, but he didn't let anyone know it for several months, almost four months. i worry about what is going on in that investigation and how politicized it is from the inside. >> sandra: there is a lot of talk that the president plans to fire mueller. the president poured cold water on that immediately saying he has no intention to do so. he did say -- >> that's a democratic congresswoman making claims that she knows something that

she doesn't. the president never was going to fire mueller. i don't see that happening. it's no evidence of it. he is not talking about doing it. >> sandra: how should we perceive the president saying as a result of everything we're talking about. all the documents from the transition period being turned over without notice says the president's lawyers. the president says it does not look good. how should we perceive that? >> here is why it doesn't look good. what i understand the mueller team went to the gsa, who has access to those documents. the director of the gsa turned mueller down. and then they went back a second time and were turned down. the gentleman actually was incapacitated in the hospital, the head of the gsa at the time. and he ended up passing away. and so now we see that the mueller team has gone back through another route and gotten them. so i think there is a lot of questions about what they did

and how they did it. it is really why did -- what is the evidentiary trail that they are following? there is nothing there. >> sandra: now we're set to hear testimony from bruce ohr, a closed-door hearing today, andy mccabe december filing tomorrow. trae gowdy over the weekend saying mccabe may not be the deputy director for long. >> it's troubling. they have a lot of explaining to do. they have to tell the american people what's going on. the f.b.i., you know, it's one of the great institutions in america. we have to preserve that. so we can't let these bad apples, you know, strzok and these others, really demean the bureau. so we need to get to the bottom of it and get to the bottom of it very quickly. >> sandra: i'm sorry moving

through topics fast. it's a busy week. a lot to get to. a big speech. we're waiting from the president. national security. he will be talking this afternoon. a big moment for this presidency. >> this goes to why he was elected president, to get back to peace through strength so that we're not overseas with our blood and our treasure every minute of every day everywhere. this is about this president rebuilding this great military that we have. supporting the men and women. giving them the rules of engagement to not only defend themselves but to take the fight to isis on the battlefields overseas so they aren't coming here to bring their death and mayhem to the american people. >> sandra: newt gingrich writing a piece today. trump's national security tradition of truman, reagan and reality not elite fantasies. it looks like you'll jump in on that. >> newt is fabulous on this

topic. the president believes in america first, whether it's securing our borders with a wall, or rebuilding our military, he is going the lay out a national security plan and i'm looking forward to hearing about it. >> sandra: david bossie, thank you for coming on. good to see you. >> bill: a quick tease. jon scott next on "happening now." good morning. >> good morning. sandra was talking about it with david bossie. president trump gearing up for a major speech on his national security strategy. what we expect from his remarks plus firefighters still fighting an uphill battle against the third largest fire in california's modern history. a nightmare nor travelers in atlanta that affected the entire country. a power outrage grounded thousands of flights at the world's busiest airport a week before christmas top of the hour. >> bill: in a moment the real life hunt for e.t. what did you get for a $20 million top secret program that went looking deep into outer

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>> bill: the pentagon saying it funded a secret program looking for u.f.o.'s deep in space. it was started by former senate majority leader harry reed. what did they learn? brett, how are you? >> the truth is out there we're learning. >> bill: what did they find? did they find the truth? >> they didn't find e.t., very disappointing. we did see the pretty dramatic video from the fighter pilots

following this object that they initially you see it on the left side of your screen. it is an interesting thing to see. it is more interesting. they are talking about look at how this thing is moving. is this a drone, an unidentified object? it's one of the pieces of information that we got. >> bill: the u.s. military, the u.s. government was using taxpayer dollars $22 million to try and find u.f.o.'s. this is a real story. >> sandra: the real thing. not the first time our government has done this. back from 48 to 69 also looked -- 47 to 69 also looked into the same thing. 22 years and 12,000 plus incidents. >> bill: did they find anything? >> several -- almost 1,000 were considered unexplained. you hear harry reed talk about it.

>> bill: we have evidence to support asking the questions. if american doesn't take the lead in answering these questions others will. >> i like that point as a take away from all of this. yes, they're looking into unidentified flying objects that could have alien origin? but what if it is some sort of technology that russia and china is working on? we want the stay ahead of the game on this. we don't want to have any surprises fly over and be unidentified. >> bill: this is not fake news. >> it is not fake. i think we'll get more out this. >> bill: karaoke king right here, brett larson. here is sandra with more. >> sandra: what stayed in that room stays in that room. lawmakers with a few days left to get a lot done before christmas. taxes avoiding a government shutdown and lots of russia testimony just to name a few. more on that next.

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>> bill: so you know i have a

problem with the christmas -- how are you doing with wrapping presents? the shopping and lists. >> sandra: are you stressed? >> bill: i'm trying to manage it. am i doing okay? >> sandra: you're keeping it together. all right. enjoy the holidays, everyone. "happening now" starts right now. >> and we begin with a fox news alert on the america first national security strategy while we now await the details of the president's plan, one that could dramatically change the relationship the u.s. has with the rest of the world. >> president trump set to turn his campaign promises into government policy when less than three hours from now he outlines his blueprint for the military and foreign policy vision. >> while the president takes aim at special counsel robert mueller over the thousands of trump team emails but makes it clear he is not going to fire mueller over it. chief whe us