Skip to main content

tv   Special Report With Bret Baier  FOX News  April 25, 2024 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT

3:00 pm
>> judge jeanine: you sounded brilliant. >> harold: a.j. mccarthy is going to crack the top. >> jesse: british marathoners had a glass of wine per mile at the london marathon. typical british move always showing off 25 glasses of wine while running a marathon, finished under four hours. >> harold: are you kidding me? >> jesse: seriously. >> harold: what is wrong with him? >> jesse: because you don't drink. john j asked about biden's uncle bosie eaten by cannibals. >> joe biden is like a bag of dope. trump cocaine. slow joe or cocaine? >> what do you want the heroin or cocaine? >> both of them. i'm in recovery. >> jesse: wow. johnny, there it is. >> greg: harold, we don't have time for you. >> judge jeanine: we love you. ♪ ♪
3:01 pm
>> gillian: good evening good evening, welcome to washington i'm gillian in for bret baier. one major university just canceled graduation. are others going to follow? plus this, president biden is now facing more disappointing economiccous. former president trump says he's worse than jimmy carter harvey weinstein's rape convictions one of the cases spawned the me too movement now suddenly overturned. what's going to come next? >> gillian: first, breaking tonight, two hugely important court cases involving former president trump and his ability to pursue another term in the oval office. the first ever criminal trial of a former president is continuing in new york with more testimony from trump's former ally kicking off the prosecution's case today. meanwhile, here in washington, at the u.s. supreme court, trump's attorneys tried to convince justices he has wide ranging immunity from prosecution in an election interference case. we got fox team conch for you. nate foy is in new york with
3:02 pm
testimony from former tabloid publisher david pecker. but we begin with fox news chief legal correspondent also anchor of "fox news sunday" shannon bream. she's outside the supreme court tonight. hi, shannon. >> shannon: hello, gillian. this is a question the supreme court has never before answered. and it has an impact, potentially far beyond this year's contentious presidential election and all the legal battles. its impact could actually be felt for generations to come. >> we're writing a rule for the ages. >> it is a task for the history books. after nearly three hours of arguments, the nine justices must now wrestle whether a former president has some measure of immunity acts taken while in office. of which the january 6th allegations were the private actions of candidate trump vs. something officially within the purview of then president trump? many of the justices signaled their thinking far beyond the case at hand and trying to gauge the real life fallout of resolving those complex debates,
3:03 pm
including justice alito. >> if an incumbent, who loses a very close, hotly contested election, knows that a real possibility, after leaving office, is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent. >> alito asking whether that would lead the country into a cycle that ends up destabilizing democracy. while justice jackson worried about the implications of the court granting sweeping criminal immunity for all future presidents. >> if the potential for criminal liability is taken off the table, wouldn't there be a significant risk that future presidents would be emboldened to commit crimes with a abandon while they are in office? >> those questions provoking other justices to ask about whether a president can pardon
3:04 pm
himself in advance in the waning days of. facing possible criminal charges after leaving office. justice kagan noted the framers did not include a presidential immunity clause in the constitution. >> they were reacting against a monarch who claims to be above the law. wasn't the whole point that the president was not a monarch and the president was not supposed to be above the law? >> shannon: if the court does operate as it wriewcially does, then tomorrow there will be a vote behind closed doors a private one. and the justices then from there will begin the job of writing the opinions and you know that they can and both do change during that process. remember they can decide there is much more to be done at this level kicking it down for more action based on their action and gillian that, could delay this whole thing for many more months. >> all right, shannon bream wrapping up the day for us at the supreme court. thank you. shannon, quick question for you, sorry, before i let you go. there is also action on the state level with election
3:05 pm
interference charges. what can you tell us about that? >> it appears now that a grand jury has indicted 18 people in arizona in an allegation that they were involved in a conspiracy to keep president trump in power wrongfully after the 2020 election. they appear to include people like rudy giuliani and former white house chief of staff mark meadows now all facing apparently several felony charges, gillian? >> gillian: leaving it there for now right now, shannon. thank you. >> you got it. >> gillian: publisher described for the court today how he helped buy negative stories about then candidate trump before the 2016 election. correspondent nate foy has that story from new york. >> today in court, former american media ceo and president david pecker testified he paid former playboy model karen macdougall $150,000 for the lifetime rights to her story about an alleged affair with former president donald trump. when asked why he paid that money, pecker said, quote: we didn't want this story to embarrass mr. trump or embarrass
3:06 pm
or hurt the campaign. pecker clarified those concerns came from himself and trump's former lawyer, michael cohen. not trump, who says this trial is politically motivated. >> today was breath-taking in this room. you saw what went on. it was breath-taking. and amazing testimony. this is a trial that should have never happened. this is a case that should have never been filed. >> pecker eventually backed out of a reimbursement deal with cohen for the rights to macdougall's story over legal concerns. then, after pecker refused to pay adult film actress stormy daniels for her story cohen paid daniels $130,000. when pecker later asked trump about paying cohen back at cohen's request he said the former president had no idea what pecker was talking about. during today's morning session, the manhattan's d.a. was office submitted four more examples where prosecutors argued trump broke the judge's gag order.
3:07 pm
membermerchan will vote whethert to hold him in contempt of court. >> i am glad i was here it was a very interesting day in a certain way. >> there will be a hearing about the gag order on wednesday of next week. in the last hour of court today, the defense began its cross-examination of proximate o testified that he alerted trump of negative stories concerning him dating back to 1998. pecker said he hasn't spoken to trump since the winter of 2019. but still considers him a friend and a mentor. gillian? >> gillian: all right, nate foy outside that courthouse all day in new york for us. thank you. well, confrontations between police and anti-israel protesters are igniting at college campuses across the nation. correspondent steve harrigan is at columbia university in new york city. my alma mater right now. hi, steve. >> steve: gillian, usc had to cancel its graduation ceremony due to security concerns and now columbia might have to do the
3:08 pm
same. [chanting long live intifada. >> universities around the country scrambling to shut down anti-israel protests and encampments before they spiral and take over like at columbia. >> it's definitely getting out of control. [screams] >> chaos at emory university in atlanta this morning as protesters were tased, pepper sprayed and carried away. just hours after they tried to set up an encampment. the school is blaming outside agitators. [shouting] >> police and protesters clashing at emerson college in boston, after tents in a public alley were removed. more than 100 people were arrested. campus remains closed to outsiders at the university of southern california. after police were called in and arrested more than 90 people. [chanting] >> protesters returned to the university of texas at austin today. [shouting] >> on wednesday, nearly 60 were detained as police in riot gear
3:09 pm
and some on horseback pushed back. back at the epicenter in new york, congresswoman ilhan omar visited the columbia encampment with her daughter, whose a student there. >> i just wanted to see and make sure that we were hearing from the young people that it is peaceful. >> protesters face a friday deadline to dismantle their tents. >> listen to our demands. we are advocating for life. we are advocating for an end to massacre. >> but the silent majority says enough is enough. >> there needs to be a serious disciplinary process that nypd would take them off our campus. thee students need to get off the lawns so that i can graduate. >> we expect a pro-israel march led by conservative christians to begin here in just a few minutes time. then a counter march so police presence here is stepped up. jillian, back to you. >> steve harrigan outside of columbia university for us. thank you.
3:10 pm
>> gillian: well, significant drop in the nation's economic output during the first quarter of the year, g.d.p. slowed to 1.6% annual rate. president biden tried to sound an optimistic note during a speech this afternoon. here is white house correspondent jacqui heinrich. hi, jacqui. >> hey, gillian. president biden spent his day in new york for a mix of official and campaign events far away from the campus protest we have seen lately. although some chanted cease-fire now as he made his way into syracuse to talk about the economy. >> stocks sliding thursday, following news the u.s. economy slowed in the first quarter. g.d.p. growth coming in at 1.6%, under the 2.4% forecast. and the slowest reading since spring of 2022. inflation also proved more stubborn than expected. personal consumption expenditures the fed's preferred inflation gauge rising at 3.4%. far exceeding the 1.8% space last quarter. a rain clouds on hopes for
3:11 pm
interest rate cuts. the president with a positive outlook touting new semiconductor chips manufacturing upstate new york taxpayer dollars and investment in micron. >> unemployment has not been this low for this long for 50 years. wages are rising. >> also taking addition at digst republicans. >> they oppose the chips and science act. congressman williams called it corporate welfare. bless me, father. >> the white house brushing off today's data. >> once you get under the hood, you take out some of those more volatile components, consumer spending and investment look great. >> but biden also announced plans this week to let the trump era tax cuts expire. analysis from the tax foundation says that doesn't give with his pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than 400 grand a year. a single person making 75,000 could see 1700 annual tax increase. >> is he the worst president in the history of our country.
3:12 pm
he makes jimmy carter look great. >> during his time in syracuse, the president met with the families of two syracuse police officers killed in the line of duty last week. he also acknowledged their deaths in his opening remarks. the police union urged the white house to reschedule biden's visit so the city could mourn their loss. but the police department itself did not request a delay, gillian. >> gillian: jacqui, the administration is renewing call for hamas to release hostages in gaza now after hamas proposed laying down arms in exchange for territory. what can you tell us about that? >> jacqui: the white house flatly rejected that plan, gillian, saying there is not going to be a palestinian state with hamas in control. the terror organization proposed laying down their arms for five years and converting into a political party in exchange for a palestinian state drawn along pre1967 borders. the u.s. and 17 other countries also re-upped their calls for hamas to release hostages. all the hostages, including
3:13 pm
their own citizens now 200 days into captivity. talks for hostage release appear to be at a stalemate, gillian. >> gillian: jacqui heinrich at the white house for us. thank you. take a look at this: stocks were down over the aforementioned weak g.d.p. growth. the dow lost 375. the s&p 500 fell 23. nasdaq was off 101. plus, a new rule from the environmental protection reasonable doubt agency would force coal-fired power plants to capture smokestack emissions or shut down. the measure is a key part of president biden's pledge to eliminate carbon pollution from the sector 2025. that plan is likely to be challenged from industry groups as well as republican leaning states. coming up next, george washington university law school professor jonathan turley is here to talk about trump's two big cases. first, here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 13 in portland where mayor ted wheeler presents his updated
3:14 pm
public camping ordinance to the city council. is he focused on insuring it will meet standards and also be enforceable. this comes after the city's event camping bands were met with legal challenges. fox 45 in baltimore. the first cargo ship there passes through a newly opened deep water channel. the vets had been stuck in the harbor since the francis scott key bridge collapsed a month ago. halting most, if not all maritime traffic through the city's port. some good news there. plus this, a live look detroit fox 2. one of the big stories there tonight, the nfl draft about to get underway. massive crowds and several road closures crowding the downtown area. the first selections are scheduled for around 8:00 p.m. eastern. less than two hours from now. that's a live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ how bad do you need it ♪ are you eating, sleeping, dreamingith that one thing on your mind ♪ howit bad do you want it
3:15 pm
mutu. we got a bit of a situation. [ metal groans] sure, i can hold. ♪ liberty liberty liberty liberty ♪ in theaters now. everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white provides 2 shades whiter teeth and 24/7 sensitivity protection. i think it's a great product. it's going to help a lot of patients.
3:16 pm
it's time to feed the dogs real food, not highly processed pellets. the farmer's dog is fresh food made with whole meat and veggies. it's not dry food. it's not wet food. it's just real food. it's an idea whose time has come. a test or approve a medication. we didn't have to worry about any of those things thanks to the donations. and our family is forever grateful because it's completely changed our lives.
3:17 pm
3:18 pm
3:19 pm
3:20 pm
let's bring in jonathan turley. >> thank you. >> gillian: you have been listening and talking about this all day. you are just heard there. a lot of talk today about the future and nature of the decision that these justices are going to make. isn't it also true that they are probably going to rule in a way that is as narrow as possible and try to avoid making a decision that's best stone for all presidents for all eternity? >> i think so. you know, this is an incrementalist court. they like small steps. not great leaps. and you saw that in the argument. you know, the justices didn't seem to be buying the argument on either side with any relish. there were some. the liberal justices looked like they would be voting for the special counsel, which is not too surprising. but, many of the justices were as concerned about the sweeping
3:21 pm
implications of what jack smith is arguing as they were what donald trump was arguing and there seems to be an interest in finding a third option. but that third option would require likely a remand and a further delay of that case. >> gillian: we kept hearing today from the dissent that -- excuse me from the prosecution that, you know, there is in common understanding that presidents are subject to criminal liability. take a listen to that side of today. >> it's baked into the constitution that any president knows that they are exposed to potential criminal prosecution. it's common ground that all former presidents have known that they could be indicted and convicted and watergate cemented that understanding. >> so, what place do you think this so-called common understanding has in the law and in this case specifically?
3:22 pm
>> well, it's not quite as clear as what the did. two nixon cases one granted absolute immunity on civil cases. and the court has never answered to what extent that extends to criminal cases. there is also the first president ever to stand trial for a crime. president grant was arrested and had a small fine but that's it. so the history is rather thin on this point. and that does worry these justices and, you know, the special counsel came up and said, look, you know, perish the thought that we can't be trusted with this power and that he would ever be vindictive. there is a little bit of chuckling with that and one of the justices said whoa, you know, putting aside recent years, the department of justice has a long history of abusive prosecution and the response from the special counsel was sort of like well, trust us. we're the government that was
3:23 pm
clearly not selling the argument to these justices. they wanted more to guarantee the civility. >> gillian: always goes down with people. we have to leave it there, jonathan. thank you for staying with us. and explaining your analysis. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> gillian: coming up next, harvey weinstein's conviction on rape charges has now been overturned. why the me too movement says this is a clarion call, not a setback. coming up later, the country's top diplomat is trying to ease tensions with china. will he succeed?
3:24 pm
3:25 pm
3:26 pm
3:27 pm
3:28 pm
with tons of storage. so you can take all the pics! so many selfies. a preposterous amount of pano! i and get a new iphone 15 pro - on us. only on verizon. ♪ >> gillian: welcome back. breaking tonight, new york's highest court has now overturned the sexual assault and rape conviction of former hollywood producer harvey weinstein. 4-3 decision at the state court of appeals reopens the landmark
3:29 pm
state that launched the me too movement. senior correspondent alicia acuna has the details tonight. hi, alicia. >> alvin bragg's office sent fox news this statement after the decision came down saying, quote: we will do everything in our power to retry this case and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault. this, after a new york appeals court reversed harvey weinstein's 2020 conviction for rape and assault of two women. the 4-3 majority finding the trial judgerred by allowing women who were not a part of the case to testify about their own accusations against the disgraced entertainment mogul accusations with charges never materialized. weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in the new york case. in part of majority opinion criticizing the trial judge saying it is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant's character but sheds no light on their
3:30 pm
credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them. weinstein's attorneys say they will be ready on day one should the new york case be retried today actress ashley judd one of the first to publicly accuse weinstein joined other advocates in response to the news. >> this today is an acted of institutional betrayal i want you to hear this. this is not a blow to the movement it is a clarion call, and we are prepared to answer that call rye main in custody while the next steps play out. is he also set to serve a 16 year sentence for los angeles rape conviction on the side of 2022, a case is he also appealing. gillian?
3:31 pm
>> alicia acuna on that, thank you. a former public defender working for george gascon is facing almost a dozen felony charges tonight. diana tarren is accused of illegally accessing law enforcement personnel files. california's attorney general says she used the information in her job as a trusted adviser for gascon. the unauthorized history is now available on fox nation five part look at the history of silicone valley and the rise of today's major tech giants. >> bret: tsmc is thought world's largest and most advanced chip maker. with almost all of its factories located on taiwan's western shore, just miles from the taiwan straits as china becomes more aggressive the role in the
3:32 pm
semiconductor industry has emerged as a critical part of taiwan's defensive strategy. >> the question is sidgesz china says taiwan is part of their nation and if they decide to seize taiwan there goes the western economy's supply of logic chips. and that's now an issue of national security that policymakers in washington have to decide, you know, how invested are we in not protecting taiwan but protecting tmsc. >> gillian: catchall five episodes of the unauthorized history of silicone valley streaming right now on fox nation. >> gillian: president biden's top diplomat is talking with chinese leaders about newly authorized aid for taiwan and also legislation demanding the sale of social media site tiktok. senior national correspondent rich edson has the latest from the state department tonight. >> secretary of state antony blinken is in china to manage a relationship that has somehow only become more challenging over the past year.
3:33 pm
>> we're dealing with areas where we have real differences with china. dealing with them directly, communicating clearly. >> justice blinken set off for this trip to shanghai in beijing, the state department issued its annual human rights report, accusing china of grave abuses, including genocide against uyghurs in xi jinping. president biden called xi jinpia dictator. signed a bill to counter china and requiring tiktok's parent company to sell the app. >> we have been clear about the substance of our national security concerns. and i have no doubt that these things will continue to come up. >> china's government has threatened to block tiktok sale. american officials say they will also press china to inhibit the shipment of deadly fentanyl chemicals to the u.s. just last week a house committee on china issued a report accusing the chinese government of directly subsidizing those materials. then, there's china's support of russia's manufacturing. accusations it's helping vladimir putin's war effort
3:34 pm
against ukraine. >> he was getting support for the russian defense industrial base from china. and this is not lost on us. >> the chinese government has warnings of its own, especially on u.s. support for the self-governed island of taiwan, which beijing views as its territory. >> taiwan is china's taiwan. the taiwan question is at the core of china's interest. and is the first red line that should not be crossed in china-u.s. relations. >> the u.s. military says china is employing an increasingly aggressive campaign of pressure and coercion against taiwan. blinken will likely discuss that and more as he next travels to beijing and meets with officials there. gillian? >> gillian: thank you, rich. coming up next, bret baier continue series on toxic towns across america. china launching a 3-member crew to its orbiting space station all part of the country's highly ambitious program that aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.
3:35 pm
spacecraft three-member crew relieve the current occupants who have been at the space station since last october. plus, this: aerial enreresigns as the prime minister of haiti. this amid gang violence injured more than 2500 people between january and march. the council has been sworn in with the task of now choosing a new prime minister and an entire cabinet. plus, this is a live look at rome. one of the big stories there tonight. just up north, in the city of venice, italy, a new pilot program launched to charge day trippers there about $5.35 as an entry fee. officials hope it's going to discourage visitors from arriving there on peak days and make the city more livable for the dwindling number of year around residents. these are just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. that's amore ♪ ♪ when you dance down the
3:36 pm
street
3:37 pm
ah, these bills are crazy. she
3:38 pm
has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com.
3:39 pm
during my entire life i have been somewhat of an outdoors person. golf, gardening around here. how can i stay out of the sun? so about two years ago i was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma. when they discussed the mohs surgery on my face, i was not really a fan of that because the scarring can be disfiguring. if you've been affected by skin cancer, surgery is no longer your only option. we chose gentlecure. gentlecure is a surgery-free treatment that uses low energy x-rays to kill skin cancer cells with a 99% cure rate. plus, there's no cutting, no surgical scarring and no downtime. the results are absolutely fabulous. see why so many people,
3:40 pm
including doctors, are choosing gentlecure. call today or go to gentlecure.com. ♪ >> gillian: welcome back. this evening we're continuing our series, taking a look at toxic sites in missouri. as we told you last night, much of the public was unaware of contaminated sites in st. louis for decades. tonight my colleague bret baier
3:41 pm
digs into historical records that show how much the government made known work to dispose of radioactive waste. >> gillian: we'll bring you more of that coming up next. some tech problems on our end. coming up next, we're going to have the panel on the politics of presidential immunity and then later on in the show, a special day for a world war ii veteran. stick with us. it crushed my confidence. but no longer will psoriasis get a piece of me. i can love my skin again. with bimzelx. only bimzelx targets and blocks il-17a plus f to calm inflammation. i can control my plaques, and start getting myself back. bimzelx helps adults with moderate to severe psoriasis control plaques, to deliver clearer skin fast, for results that last. i will give myself back the freedom of shorts. dare to wear black again from head to toe. (♪)
3:42 pm
most people got 100% clear skin. some after the first dose. serious side effects, including suicidal thoughts and behavior, infections and lowered ability to fight them, liver problems, and inflammatory bowel disease, have occurred. tell your doctor if these happen or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. (♪) start to get yourself back, with bimzelx. ask your dermatologist about bimzelx today. summer is not just a season, it's an adventure.
3:43 pm
experience the thrill of fly fishing from our expert guides along north america's finest trout stream. explore thousands of acres of wilderness on majestic trails. then replenish at our world class spa. and when the sun goes down, enjoy an intimate country music concert. this summer, discover the west kept secret. book your all inclusive luxury experience at three forks ranch.com. it's better outside with a ninja woodfire xl grill and smoker.
3:44 pm
multitask with the ninja pro connect app, monitor control and cook from your phone. cook two proteins to different levels of doneness at the same time. it's better outside with ninja. it's hard to run a business on your own. make it easier on yourself. with shopify, you can have your inventory, payments, and customers in sync across all the places you sell. start your journey with a free trial today. every day, more dog people are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. at st. jude, the mission is just something that everyone can truly get behind. look at our little st. jude pin there on the fridge! we're just regular people donating. yeah. and i think it's cool to be able to make a difference in someone's lives in a way that is meaningful.
3:45 pm
3:46 pm
>> gillian: here is bret baier continuing series on toxic sites in missouri. >> bret: thanks, gillian. radioactive materials that date back to the manhattan project have been found at several sites in st. louis, tonight, we look at recently uncovered documents and how much officials knew about the possibility of contamination there. >> this is the best kept secret of st. louis. >> bret: since founding their group stl moms, karen nickel and dawn chapman have worked it to put together the story how toxic waste contaminated their neighborhood. >> over the years we had heard bits and pieces of the story and what we thought was the story. >> we have been looking into this, there are thousands of documents that show the government knew of the dangers of that waste, when did the public start to find out about that? >> well, i think as early as the 1960s you had the public beginning to get some sense of it. but, really it wasn't until the 80's and 90's that the full
3:47 pm
scope of this began to come into view. bret, as recently as last year we got a new k cache of documens that showed the full extent of the government's knowledge. the government knew 30, 40, 50 years ago that the poisoned the creek. >> two moms started sorting through the documents. >> right away we are going oh my god. this is not -- this is so different than what we thought. >> the evidence was there. the facts were there. and it told the story from beginning to end. >> bret: st. louis was key in producing chemicals for nuclear weapons throughout the 1940s and 50's. >> in fact, st. louis was a uranium processing site. so was kentucky, so was tennessee, that the extent of the testing that was done in the west, the american west was far greater than we knew. [explosion] >> bret: the u.s. government hired chemical works to process uranium at its plant in st. louis amid the effort to build the atomic bomb. the uranium was often sent to a
3:48 pm
lab in chicago and helped create the first sustained nuclear chain reaction. >> it's a powerful energy. >> after the uranium processing facility in st. louis during the manhattan project shut down, the government didn't dispose of the waste properly or really at all. >> bret: federal officials bought land near the st. louis airport to store the byproduct. >> right away you could see that the government knew how dangerous this waste was. >> in an internal memo from 1949, the company discussed health and safety concerns surrounding the disintegrating k 65 drums at the airport that were left open to the elements. >> piles of waste, barrels of waste were sitting at the airport site. >> the document includes discussions to move the waste and recognized the current location as a severe problem. it also considered the possibility of stream pollution in nearby cold water creek. >> didn't know how much. south of the st. louis airport. it stretches 14 miles and flows
3:49 pm
into the missouri river. >> high water and threatening floods are an annual occurrence along the creek. >> wind and rain and also flooding events took some of those contaminants, they were carried down the stream in a sediment and then deposited during flooding events and also just during the normal flow. >> bret: the memo health expert for. pollution in cold water creek. >> they were so toings that they were told do not touch those. just let them go ahead and leak into the creek. this was before homes were built. and. and lo and behold in the 50's, like 50's and 60's, homes were being built on top of this. >> throughout the 1960s and 70s, the waste was moved to a different location neither airport and cold water creek and, again, left out in the open. >> the controls back in the day were surely not what they are now. that's why we're in the current
3:50 pm
situation. >> bret: how difficult is it to clean that up? >> well, not nearly as difficult as the government has made it. for years the people of st. louis were told don't worry, there's no significant radiation or they were told, hey, we have cleaned it all up. in fact, those things were not true. >> according to 1977 tennessee oak ridge national laboratory report, scientists conducted surface soil sampling at the airport storage site and cold water creek. >> it has taken years to do testing and really get the scope and magnitude of how contaminated north county is. >> samples from drainage ditches carry run off water into the creek show average radiation levels were almost five times higher than usual. >> we haven't seen that level at these sites since i have been here for sure. >> bret: the waste was moved once again in the 1970s to the westlake landfill, a location near the neighborhood where karen, dawn, and thousands of other residents would eventually call home. >> it is not possible in these united states of america to
3:51 pm
purchase a home next to a site that has manhattan project radio radioactive waste sitting out for decades. >> there are dozens and dozens of missouri lawmakers who have been in office for these decades. why are you the first that's raising the alarm bell here? >> you know, i wish i had a good answer to that question. but, here's the truth is that the time to act is now. i mean, really, the people of missouri, this should have been done 50 years ago. >> bret: 15 years ago most of the public was unaware that cold water creek and the westlake landfill were contaminated with radioactive waste. while more has come to light about those sites, advocates are still facing hurdles in getting them cleaned up. take a look at that next time. we'll send it back to you. >> gillian: all right, thank you, bret. let's go ahead now. >> if you don't have immunity, you're not going to do anything. you're going to become a ceremonial president. >> the president does have to have immunity for the acts that
3:52 pm
he takes within the authority of the presidency, within the ambient of his constitutional responsibility. >> trump will certainly lose on the absolute immunity claim. i don't think the supreme court has to get to the question of the extent of the immunity. it can simply say these are not official acts. >> gillian: all right, now, for real, let's go ahead and bring in our panel. "the washington post" columnist marc thiessen, syndicated radio host hugh houthi and julia manchester national politics reporter for the hill. thank you for being with us today at the very long and grueling day for everybody. let's start where we left off there, marc, with immunity. the justices could obviously determine that the president requires full or partial or, i guess, no immunity whatsoever, having worked hand in glove with presidents at the white house from your perspective what do they actually need? >> yes. so trump is basically claiming absolute immunity. three liberal justices are leaning towards no immunity and the six conservative justices
3:53 pm
who will decide the case are seem to be leaning toward some sort of qualified immunity there would be immunity for official acts but not immunity for private acts that were for his own gain. i think that sounds about right. a president needs to be free to make controversial decisions without fearing that he is going to be prosecuted after he leaves office. putting aside trump and whatever you think of what he did. but, he shouldn't be free from prosecution if he commits a crime like takes a bribe or something like that. so i think they are going to come up with a compromise. also important to remember why we're here. the reason to believe this case is being decided because no president until now has ever been prosecuted, former president. and we're now experiencing a case of lawfare against this president. 91 charges against the president at the federal, state and local level. that's unprecedented. that's why this case is now before the court. >> gillian: julia, justice jackson said she's concerned that giving president near total immunities or total immunity would lead to the oval office becoming, this is a quote: the seat of criminal activity.
3:54 pm
do you think that's a real possibility? >> well, i think that's what you're hearing liberals raise. i thought it was interesting when you heard justice sonia sotomayor ask former president trump's attorney, you know, would this apply to a political assassination, for example? and he said, you know it, okay these are certainly some eyebrowing scenarios but these are all hypotheticals. we have to remember that i think trump's team is definitely saying these are hypotheticals. but, ultimately, i think marc is right. we are going to land somewhere in the middle. and then also, ultimately, this is a delay for former president trump. he wants to keep delaying and delaying and delaying until after the election. and right now it seems to be moving that direction with these cases. >> gillian: hugh, the two trials that trump was involved with today were 200 miles apart. new york and washington. they didn't overlap in any real legal sense. but i don't think there is any question that in a -- in the public realm they intersect and impact one another and certainly
3:55 pm
in the minds of voters. >> let me geek out a little bit and inform the audience that they go to two hour and 20-minute mark in the oral argument that c-span has posted, justice barrett raises the question of state prosecutors, implying come on, at least aren't we going to give the president immunity from state prosecutors? isn't that obvious? and in the background, of course, is the abuse of law being conducted by alvin bragg, which san embarrassment for anyone who is a prosecutor in name and in reality with an obligation to their oath. but i will say this about the argument. it's the common law greatest hit marbury vs. madison. care matsu is in there. every case you ever talked about, it's a genuine case of first impression. it will be remanded. and if i had any guess to make at all, it's that the chief justice will keep this opinion to himself because it's going to be up there with another one that was mentioned youngstown she can and two. a touch stone. no one decided this before. last day of the term no. one will be happy. it will be very important
3:56 pm
precedent not justice, they made the point this president president trump or president biden but for every president for all time. so they will take their time. very important case. >> gillian: marc, take a look at this nbc poll takes a look at trump's sort of criminal cases right now more broadly and finds that 50% of voters think trump is being held to the same legal standard as everybody else iie treated fairly but then 4 #% say he is being treated unfairly and targeted. translate that to us in terms of the general election. >> i think that his base sees him being treated unfairly and the left thinks he is not being treated unfairly and the swing voters going to decide this election. i don't think they will decide it on this. they will decide it on inflation and chaos in the country. it's clearly energized his base and the reason why he is the republican nominee. if you look at that case that we're seeing in new york. so he is being charged with -- trying to influence election by suppressing a negative news
3:57 pm
story. if that's the standard, why don't we prosecute joe biden who collected conspired with the fbi and intelligence community to suppress the hunter biden laptop story and call it russian disinformation. or bill clinton who suppressed constantly suppressed bimbo eruptions not by paying people off but hiring reams of lawyers to dig through records and sex lives and try to intimidate and harass them? suppressing bad stories is what campaigns do. and it's been done in much worse ways than what donald trump is accused of doing. so, this is just an example of how, you know, people who wouldn't necessarily support donald trump but see the unfairness of how he is being treated rally around him. and it's why he is the nominee and why he -- joe biden might lose to him. >> gillian: hugh, trump earlier in the morning in new york met with the. will met with a grouch construction and union members trying to win over the endorsement of the teamsters as is now sort of customary fashion for him. is he turning turning trial events into campaign events.
3:58 pm
do you think that ultimately, these trials and these cases are making -- are hamstringing? can you even say? i don't know that's a word. is he hamstrung or helped by them? >> i think is he helped by them. he is not doing rallies. he is doing very focused events. i would like to see him at columbia like speaker johnson courageously did today. i love that the went to the bodega. president trump is inventive. he knows new york. he knows where to go if queens. he is the best performer best president in my lifetime. 1968 all over again. i think is he going to come out on top. >> gillian: hugh, julia mentioned anti-israel protests igniting around the country some of them turning blatantly anti-semitic, what are your thoughts about that. >> as we head into election year, we are seeing that once again this is an example of the foreign policy issue really impacting an election. so you have president trump and president biden forced to respond to this issue.
3:59 pm
it's easy for president trump and republicans to respond to it because it seems like the republican base is very united on their feelings towards israel. for president biden, it's much more tricky. and that's why when he was asked about these protests the other day, he condemned the protests but at the same time, he condemned people who didn't understand what the palestinians are going through. so he has a very very line to walk between pro-israel democrats and very progressive democrats. >> gillian: a very, very fine line. panel, we have got leave it there thank you for coming in to the studio in person. great to see you today. >> great to see you. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ >> gillian: finally tonight, it is a very special day. >> i feel proud because i'm an american citizen living in the greatest country on earth and i served my country. i was glad to be part of it. >> gillian: that's 96-year-old world war ii veteran and national treasurer leonard. he was honored for his service
4:00 pm
during tuesday's stanley cup playoff. part of the panthers hero among us program. leonard himself was drafted into the u.s. army and deployed to the philippines during the war as a member of the criminal investigation division. his panthers won that game and they're looking to go 3-up on the lightning tonight. god bless leonard. coming up tomorrow on "special report," we're going to continue our toxic town series with bret baier taking a look at the effort to clean up the contaminated sites across missouri. remember, if you can't catch us live, be sure to set your dvr to 6:00 p.m. eastern, that's 3:00 p.m. out on the west coast. thanks for watching "special report," i'm gillian turner in washington. "the ingraham angle" is next. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> laura: all right. good evening, everyone. i'm laura in