just put yourself in carter page's position. about carterthink page, i don't think he's james bond. they put this guy through hell. there are other people that probably spent thousands of dollars on legal fees at a time when i think the investigation should have stopped. thank you, all very much. see you wednesday. >> good afternoon, everybody. i hope everyone had a nice

weekend. and i usually make a football comment -- the bills lost but they played well. since my giants have so deserted me, now i go to the afc where i am a bills fan. ok. for years president trump and his republican allies in congress and the media have speculated wildly about deep state conspiracies against his presidency. they are based on the claim that the fbi opened an investigation into the president's campaign with political motives. today, we just got a report from the department of justice inspector general that puts these conspiracy theories to rest once and for all. this report conclusively debunks the baseless conspiracy that the investigation into mr. trump's

campaign and its ties to russia originated with political bias. let me repeat so that all of those conspiracy theorists out there hear it. this report confirms that the predicate for the fbi's investigation was valid and without political bias. in fact, the report quotes the fbi deputy general counsel as saying "the fbi would have been derelict in our responsibility had we not opened a case." i am sure my republican friends will do their level best to reject the report's conclusion but f.b.i. director ray appointed by president trump has already embraced the central report.of the asked whether he thought the fbi unfairly targeted the trump campaign, director ray said -- i do not.

i am sure some of my republican friends will, given their m.o., i am sure some of my republican friends well question the integrity of the report's author, inspector general horowitz. but it is ironic that the very same people who questioned the i.g. report today like attorney general barr, chairman graham, have praised the inspector general in the past. a.g. barr said last week, horowitz is "a fiercely independent and superb investigator." and attorney general barr ought this fiercely independent and superb conclusions.s chairman graham earlier this has thete that, "he utmost confidence in his integrity, fairness and impartiality."

senator graham ought not because the i.g. issued a report whose conclusions he does not like ought to not question what he upheld last week. the integrity, fairness, and impartiality of inspector general horowitz. the bottom line is clear. the i.g. report, written by someone who republicans repeatedly praised, embraced the trump appointed fbi director shows there is no bias for the president's absurd claim that the investigation into his campaign was a hoax or a conspiracy against him. now, this report comes at an important time. republicans on both sides of the capitol have engaged in a new defense of the president, this time developed by vladimir putin

that ukraine and not putin interfered in the 2016 elections. it does not matter that it has been debunked. including testimony under both from senior officials serving and the trump administration and again by the i.g. report today. the president's defenders have repeated this conspiracy anyway, including, shamefully, several of my colleagues in the senate. in an effort to protect the president at all costs, the grand old party in the senate has become the conspiracy caucus. one conspiracy theory after another. none of them with basis in fact. it is no laughing matter. these conspiracies are not harmless. they are sinister, they are insidious, they damage our democracy. the president has spent three years undermining the credibility and faith in our law enforcement and in our intelligence community.

and he has forced the d.o.j. to use resources on those conspiracies. instead of fighting the opioid epidemic, countering chinese intellectual property theft and cyber operations or countering russian aggression, the d.o.j. attorneyhest of general barr, was sent on this chase.ose when republicans in the senate repeat the falsehood developed by vladimir putin's service, it helps deflect blame from putin and drives a wedge between the united states and ukraine, one of his top goals. the fact that senate republicans are willing to put wild wind into the sails of these baseless conspiracy theories is beyond alarming. it hurts our country. it hurts our country. the i.g. report today which roundly did you bunks one of the

theories,s wild should serve as a wake-up call members of thean conspiracy caucus. questions on this subject. >> senator, what about the other central finding report that the 17.i. engaged, there were instances where they didn't theyde good information or misread the -- [indiscernible] this is not a clean bill of health for the fbi. sen. schumer:no, but it was a health in of debunking the conspiracy theory that the investigation into with russiavities was politically motivated. that was the main finding of the report and that is what i am addressing. >> are you concerned that durham is continuing to investigate? disagrees? he put out a statement today. sen. schumer: when attorney barr picked durham, i was skeptical, because attorney

barr has proven to be a mouthpiece for president trump wrongdoing. not an enforce rule of law attorney general. durham's statement today confirms it. if durham was so nonpolitical he never would have issued that statement. >> is there any legislation you would consider -- [indiscernible] >> not at the moment. >> can i ask you about the hearings happening today? quickly -- have you started any conversations with leader mcconnell on how a trial would look? sen. schumer: it's premature to do that until we see what the produces.ally thank you, everybody.

announcer: c-span's "washington journal" live every day with and policy issues that impact you. tuesday morning, we're getting monday's housen judiciary committee hearings on evidence.t join the conversation with phone calls, emails and tweets. join the discussion. >> here is a look at our live coverage tuesday on c-span. democrats are holding a news conference to discuss the next phase of the impeachment inquiry against president trump. then the house meets at generalm. eastern for speeches followed by legislative

business at noon. members are working on a bill to establish new programs to mitigate the impact of climate change on u.s. coastal areas. on c-span2 at 8:35, several lawmakers are speaking at a women's leadership summit hosted by politico. senatefollowed by the returning at 10:00 a.m. to consider judicial nominations ninth circuit court of appeals. and in the evening, president trump will hold a campaign rally in hershey, pennsylvania. on c-span3 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the house oversight hearing toolds a consider possible changes to paid family and medical leave law. current federal later in the day, a house foreign affairs subcommittee looks at u.s. polin