>> dana: and you would never wear a hat like that. >> jesse: you look great. set your dvrs. never miss an episode of "the five." "special report" is up next. chris wallace in for bret. >> thank you. this is a fox news alert. i'm chris wallace in for bret baier. will less than six hours away from the second partial government shutdown of the new year. we are two hours past the end of another wild and wall street. dow dropping more than 1,000 points. that's the second biggest point drop in history. the dow finished off 1,033 points, a loss of more than 4%, sending the stock average to its lowest point since last november. the s&p 500 fell 101. nasdaq lost 275. we have fox team coverage. deirdre bolton of the fox business network is in new york to tell us what happened on the markets.

we begin with chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel on capitol hill with the latest on the efforts to pass the budget deal to keep the government open. >> good evening. the senate is in a bit of a holding pattern as kentucky senator rand paul is on the senate floor this hour protesting the budget agreement, breaking existing spending caps. a bit of an effort a moment ago by majority leader mitch mcconnell and senate democratic leader chuck schumer to see if senator paul would move things along, noting time is getting short. senator paul objected. he is making his case now. ahead of votes in the senate and eventually the house, there's been some serious pushback. >> going to have this much of an increase in spending and almost nothing in the way of pay fors. i like bipartisanship. it seems like we could do it in a bipartisan way.

>> deficit hawks express their disgust. the budget package includes more spending on the military. democrats demanded $131 billion more, nearly dollar for dollar come in domestic spending, and erase the debt ceiling through march -- a raise of the debt ceiling. >> he is concerned about spending in washington. let me say we do support the two-year spending bill that's being discussed and voted on in the house and senate. it lifts the caps on defense spending. >> package includes $90 billion in disaster relief money for hurricane victims in texas, florida, puerto rico. money for wildfire victims in california. senate leaders focused on getting it done. >> i'm confident knows how to turn either side of the aisle believes this is a perfect belt but i'm also confident this is our best chance to begin rebuilding our military and make progress on issues directly affecting the american people. >> leading senate democrat

called this to your budget of breakthrough. >> for too long, this gridlocked congress has lurched from one continuing resolution, to another. it's prevented us from working together to craft appropriations bills that save taxpayers money. >> on the house side, democratic leader nancy pelosi negotiated the agreement but spoke out against it because a deal for the so-called dreamers is not included. >> don't say to the house we remove your dignity and your

role in this. an issue being discussed throughout the country. >> speaker paul ryan tried to reassure pelosi's rank-and-file members. >> to anyone who doubts my intention to solve this problem and bring up a daca and immigration reform bill, do not. we will bring a solution to the floor, one of the president will sign. we must pass this budget agreement first. >> the stakes are high and lawmakers stumble we can -- be headed to our second government shutdown of 2018. >> chris: we will come to you for more developments. let's get more on the wall street plunge and why it's continuing. deirdre bolton joins us. >> we saw the fifth day of 500 plus point swings. for the dow, fifth day of heavy selling. it's down 10% from its recent record high which means it's officially in a correction. this sustained selling makes some investors anxious but others see the return of volatility is long overdue. we had almost an entire decade of stocks moving higher year on year. strategists telling in the u.s. economy is solid. american corporations are delivering on earnings and sales. we had 17 year low unemployment. we have wage growth for the first time in almost a decade

and corporate america is beating estimates. in this last quarter, almost 80% of the time. the higher highs and lower lows, it's part of the investing landscape. thanks to computer guided programs. humans write trading programs to kick in automatically when markets hit certain levels but in only one part of the market. looking at hedge funds, quantitative funds are responsible for almost 30% of all u.s. stock trades. that's double the amount of a decade ago. the bottom line here is that there's more machines in the mix. they process in greater volume with greater speed than humans and the result is higher volatility. in today's session, the bond market fell. your 10-year treasury yields up. it affects consumers because all borrowing gets more expensive. mortgage rates are already taking up. 3.9 3.95% in january. this week 4.32%. historically low but if

consumers want to borrow money to buy a house or car, it's going to cost more. for corporations, borrowing also more expensive. house and senate voting on the sweeping budget deal that would stave off another shutdown but it also increases federal expenses over the next two years. some strategists sang the idea of another three or billion dollars in spending and how we are going to pay for it is another part of market anxiety. >> chris: other than that, everything is great. as congress tries to pass the budget deal and avoid the government shutdown, splits exposed among top democrats. peter doocy has the story of nancy pelosi versus chuck schumer. >> top two democrats in congress both gave their input to republican counterparts writing the spending deal. the left side of the table left the toxic split. senate leader wants people to vote yes. >> it will be easy to say i didn't like this.

i didn't like that. but this is the time to come together. >> the house leader says she's going to vote no. >> i'm not pleased with the process. >> loyal house democrats following her lead. >> i support what nancy pelosi said and then going to vote against it. >> on the senate side, some democrats aren't sure why pelosi is ditching her own deal. speak we can't control the discussion in the house. i'm sure there's going to be a variety of opinions in the house of representatives. >> senate minority leader schumer saluted pelosi's eight hour protest of a deal he still supports. >> leader pelosi shouldn't have to stand and speak for eight hours. i respect her for doing it. >> pelosi stresses she's going to vote no because her letter says "we have always said nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. even house democrats who say daca isn't their biggest priority are backing their

leader. >> what i am sad about is not nancy. i'm sad we haven't had a chance to vote on this. my hope and my job is to come to the floor and vote. >> republicans watching the dissent among democrats and they see it as helpful in their quest to keep control of the house. >> this is a challenge she has decided she wants to stay in the minority on, the daca fight when the senate is moving forward. we have bipartisan agreements to reach a solution and she has decided it is worth staking the entire caucus on. >> a couple weeks ago, republicans pegged the lapse in government funding as the schumer shutdown. this time schumer is on their side. pelosi is expected to be the lone leader voting against the spending deal. we will soon find out if that helps or hurts her standing on the left. >> chris: thank you. one of president trump's top

aides is gone tonight. there are growing questions about his white house chief of staff. staff secretary rob porter who announced his resignation yesterday admitted domestic abuse allegations is now officially out. today chief white house correspondent john roberts spoke with porter's first wife. >> the white house confirmed staff secretary rob porter has left after resigning yesterday, adding that the president first learned of the allegations against porter on tuesday night. >> he was surprised. he, like many of us, did not see that and rob porter. did not see what these allegations have brought forward. he was surprised by it, disheartened, saddened. >> that spotlight shifted to senior staff including john kelly and when he learned of the allegations. >> he became fully aware yesterday. not going to get into specifics

regarding who may have known what pieces of information because they were all part of an ongoing background check investigation. i think we all became aware of the news reports that emerged wednesday morning and some of the graphic images. >> reporter: did he know any of this in november? >> not going to get into specifics. >> not going to say when kelly or other staff became aware of the allegations but colbie holderness told fox news she spoke to the fbi voted on january 25, 2017, more than a year ago. as part of a security clearance investigation, she told the fbi about several incidents of abuse, including vacation in florence, italy, where she says porter punched her in the eye. porter's second wife, jennifer willoughby, said she spoke to the fbi. >> i told them the details of my marriage, including verbal and

emotional abuse and including an incident when he pulled me out of the shower. they were made aware of the protective order i signed in june of 2010. they were made aware of another time when i had called the police to our home after a domestic disturbance. >> the white house repeated porter's denials. said he was not denied a security clearance. >> his background investigation was ongoing. he was operating on an interim security clearance. his clearance was never denied and he resigned. >> colbie holderness told fox news she had warned the fbi porter could be susceptible to blackmail because of his history. the fact that he was betting most of the documents that landed on the president's desk without a full security clearance raised eyebrows on capitol hill. >> operating a year without a security clearance, i didn't understand that and i still don't. what general kelly knew and when he knew it. >> the white house won't say

when chief of staff callie first learned of the allegations, there was a dramatic shift between wednesday afternoon and wednesday night. in the afternoon, kelly praised porter, saying "rob porter is a man of true integrity and honor. i can't say enough good things about him. he is a friend, a confidant, and trusted professional. i am proud to serve alongside him." that statement was crafted by a number of white house officials including communications director hope hicks who is romantically involved with porter. after the photos of a bruised and battered colbie holderness went public, chief of staff did a quick about-face, saying "i was shocked by the new allegations released today against porter. there is no place for domestic violence in our society. i stand by my previous comments of the rob porter that i have come to know since becoming chief of staff and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation." the white house insists it takes allegations of domestic abuse seriously and acknowledges white house staff could have done a better job in responding

to the revelations. white house press secretary raj shah said hope hicks recused herself of several discussions about porter today. >> chris: john roberts at the white house. thank you. al qaeda remains remarkably resilient and is a greater threat than isis and several regions. that's the word from the u.n. new counterterrorism chief. correspondent bryan llenas tells us what else he is saying. >> on thursday, u.n. security council warned that while the islamic state is weaker, it is a still great threat. since january 2015, isis has lost 97% of its captured territory in syria and iraq after three years of u.s.-led military actions. according to u.n. reports, isis is adapting to the pressure. the islamic state is showing a willingness to work together with its enemy, al qaeda.

there's also a shift in strateg strategy. territory and new recruits, isis counting on more terror attacks through individuals or small or. >> fighters from isis will try to return to their homes and take their fight to new fronts. together with al qaeda, isis cells and affiliates present a grave threat to expand the spread of terror. >> having lost more than 90% of its revenue from oil and gas, there is no concern isis could infiltrate construction companies. >> member states must step up their efforts to crack down on the sources. fox news obtained a second u.n. report calling al qaeda "remarkably resilient," saying that the terror group poses a greater threat than isis in several regions. including yemen and somalia. al qaeda in the arabian

peninsula remains the propaganda hub. al qaeda touts usama bin laden's son as a new leader. recruiting more fighters in syria. affiliates in africa remain stronger than isis in somalia and east africa. >> responding to the revelations, deputy press secretary revealed the communications director -- >> isis fighters have nowhere to go. the u.n. is warning nations for possible influx of jihadists trying to eat influence trying to influence. >> chris: fbi informant says russia routed millions of dollars to the u.s. in an effort to buy influence with the obama administration and with bill and hillary clinton. catherine herridge explains. >> fox news confirms an fbi informant who has not gone public spent four hours once

answer questions from staffers on the senate as well as house oversight and intelligence committees. their focus is an obama administration deal that allowed a russian nuclear energy agent to gain a controlling stake in uranium one. canadian-based company with mining interest in the western u.s. >> early 2010, the fix was in. >> the fbi informant's lawyer says russians laid the groundwork after bill clinton and a wealthy canadian full philanthropist went to kazakhstan. he said he sold his stake before the deal went through and 18 months before hillary clinton became secretary of state. by 20 2010, the russians made r move. >> and hillary clinton became secretary of state, that's when the russians went to town and said we can go in there and we are going to get this uranium

one business done. >> clinton did not have the final say. the deal considered by the committee on foreign investment in the united states required approval from nine different agencies. critics point to a $500,000 speaking fee for bill clinton in multimillion dollar donations to the clinton foundation as payback for facilitating the deal. hillary clinton denied the allegations in a radio interview with wabc. >> i had nothing to do with the decision. it was delegated to somebody else in the state department. nine people had to agree and they all agreed from all the different agencies. two republican governors had to agree. >> her office called the story a secret informant charade. along with the fbi text messages and republican drafted surveillance memo eight trifecta of scandals designed to distract from the presidents problems and the threat to democracy poses.

senior democrats as the fbi briefed lawmakers they had lost confidence in the fbi informant. republicans say they did point to the ongoing justice department investigation into the clinton foundation and pay to play allegations. >> chris: thank you. sometime in the future a police officer may stop you and ask to see your cell phone. we'll tell youal why. with liberi needed to do to get an estimate was snap a photo of the damage and voila! voila! i wish my insurance company had that... wait! hold it... hold it boys... there's supposed to be three of you... where's your brother? where's your brother? hey, where's charlie? charlie?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you. liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance. ♪ i'm walkin♪ wow! nshine ♪ i'm walking on sunshine ♪ wow!

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♪ >> chris: president trump says the u.s. is a nation of believers. the president spoke this morning at the annual national prayer breakfast. >> as long as we open our eyes to god's grace and open our hearts to god's love, america will ever be the land of the

free, home of the brave and the light unto all nations. >> chris: the president said god's grace can be seen in every facet of american society. usa gymnastics is establishing a fund to assist sexual abuse victims of former team doctor larry nasser. more than 260 women and girls have said he abuse them. the money gives them access to counseling and mental health services. nassar has been sentenced to hundreds of years in prison. your driver's license may become the latest life essential to go digital. several states experimenting with the concept of putting your license on your phone. correspondent alicia acuna shows us from denver. >> your driver's license could soon be replaced by an app on your phone. >> we already have wallets on our phones. let's add a mobile license. >> think boarding pass but with more half.

it's a pilot program funded by the commerce department. testing in four states and the district of columbia. >> gives you the ability to select specific information. >> app designer say it works without wi-fi, is segregated from other information on your phone and requires adding layers of security. >> the person verifying it never takes on the liability of having to hold your cell phone or handle it. >> even with privacy protection in place, not everyone is convinced. >> the possibility of privacy invasion by the government. >> attorney and advocate says it couldn't clear the way for an invasive national database. critics cautioned safeguards in place now could be whittled away later. >> what keeps the government from overreaching? what keeps them from going the

next step? it really is only another step or two to a national i.d. where they know everything. >> unlike of plastic driver's license, you can restrict the information to the situation. when shopping at a liquor store, the app only shows your photo and whether you can legally buy alcohol. >> it's a great idea. especially in a store where we have thousands of transactions a day, the speed of getting through the checkout is imperative. >> consumer appetite for convenience could draw concerns especially with the prospect of fewer dmv lines and a driver's license that can be updated remotely. pilot program has another year to go. it will be up to the individual states to decide how or if to allow the digital credentials. >> chris: thank you. following up last night story about the new hampshire woman who wants to claim a half billion dollar powerball jackpot anonymously. a judge has scheduled a hearing for next week. the woman could have avoided her

name becoming public if instead of signing the back of the lottery ticket she had written the name of a trust instead. remember that the next time you win a half-million dollar jackpot. she has yet to claim her prize. up next, the u.s. as it was self-defense. syria calls it terrorism. we will tell you why fighting is escalating in syria. here's what some of our fox affiliates around the country covering tonight. q13 in seattle, the city announces plans to vacate misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions before pot was legal. the move will help bring justice. fox 2, st. louis. a request to rename a park goes to president trump's desk. missouri lawmakers voted to change the name from the jefferson national expansion memorial to the gateway arch national park. they say the name will make it

more recognizable to visitors. this is a live look at philadelphia from fox 29. big story there tonight: hundreds of thousands of fans turned out to celebrate the super bowl victory by the eagles. 17 buses carried the nfl champs along a 5-mile route down broad street and benjamin franklin parkway. the eagles won their first super bowl on sunday, defeating the new england patriots. that's tonight live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. heartburn.

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♪ >> chris: serious media says a u.s. attack on troops backing the assad regime is a new effort to support terrorism. the pentagon's as american troops were just defending themselves. national security correspondent jennifer griffin tells us what happened and why and some of the images in her report may be

disturbing. >> for more than two years, the russians have protected the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad even amidst mounting evidence like this video released by a syrian aid group today that the syrian government continues to bomb its own people. pounding civilians in the suburb outside damascus. now there is a rising concern following the defeat of isis that the syrian civil war is turning into a proxy fight between the u.s. and russia putting the lives of 2,000 american troops on the ground in syria at risk. overnight in eastern syria, the u.s. military responded with overwhelming force when russian backed fighters loyal to assad began with the pentagon calls an unprovoked attack. syria's's state run media. russia says it will raise the issue at the u.n. security council. >> the u.s. was never invited to syria. >> if we are attacked, we will

defend ourselves. >> 500 russian backed fighters attacked an outpost used by u.s. forces. the euphrates river has become the demarcation line separating u.s.-backed fighters and russian-backed syrian forces. >> the coalition observed a buildup of pro regime forces over the past week. >> artillery, tank, and mortar rounds landed five football fields from u.s. troops. american special operations forces on the ground called in an air strike killing 100 syrian fighters. secretary mattis pushed back on accusations the u.s. is getting sucked into a broader fight in syria. he could not say whether pro-regime russian or iranian forces had been killed in the u.s. air strike. >> chris: jennifer, i understand and other action that there's been a major capture of isis militants in syria tonight. >> that's right. u.s. officials tell us the last

two british jihadists known as the beatles were captured by syrian kurdish forces last month. these four brits from london appeared in multiple isis propaganda videos. "the two are believed to have acted as guards and interpreters involved in isis a legal captivity of western hostages and i thought to of links to the british terrorist often called jihadi john. they were called the beatles because of their british accent accents." u.s. officials believe they were responsible for 27 beheadings. fingerprints have confirmed their identities. perhaps a bit of relief tonight. >> chris: that is good news. pentagon consolidating its harassment and bullying policies. officials say it will be easier for victims to report problems, seek help, and see the

consequences for offenders. the new policy states personnel who harass or bully people on the job or online can now be certain of a permanent mark on their service record. the winter olympics in south korea are underway. while the opening ceremonies are still a few hours off, competition has already begun in some events. the political jockeying continues between the u.s. and north korea. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot reports tonight from seoul. >> the torches brought to the site and there is saber rattling on both sides. vice president pence arriving in south korea as head of the u.s. delegation had strong words about north korea and its nuclear missile program. >> the united states of america will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder in our effort to bring maximum pressure to bear on north korea.

>> in pyongyang, a military parade marking the anniversary of the founding of the north korean army. complete with intercontinental ballistic missiles had to be at the type that could potentially target the u.s. with nuclear warheads. presiding over at all, north korean leader kim jong un. >> translator: as long as the anti-north korea policy of the united states continues, the mission of our military which is to protect our country people, and secure peace can never change. >> and yet by north korean standards, the parade was relatively low-key. it was not broadcast live for example. experts say that's due in large part to the presence of north korean athletes, artists, cheerleaders and officials at the games. the south hopes that can help pave the way to broader regional discussions. >> translator: we certainly hope to utilize this opportunity to the maximum. so that the winter olympic games can become an avenue that leads to dialogue. >> the north announced today that the sister and close confidant of kim jong un kim yo

un would have lunch on saturday with president moon. >> we are seeing serious efforts to use the olympics to start a new page. >> peon gang seemed to close the door on thursday on their delegation speaking with the united states. north korean state television saying their delegates had no intention of talking with the americans after listening to the words of vice president pence in the last couple days, maybe the feeling is mutual. >> chris: greg palkot live from south korea. thank you. up next, the panel on the content and other possible government shutdown in today's market meltdown. first, beyond our borders tonight. a lawyer from the lone surviving

terrorist of the paris attacks of 2015 says the gunfight with belgian police was criminal, not terrorism. he and another man are currently charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context. refusing to testify in his defense. prosecutor at the international criminal court says she's opening preliminary probes into alleged crimes by police and secure divorces in the philippines and venezuela. thousands of people have allegedly been killed in the philippines since 2016. venezuelan government forces accused of using excessive force to put down demonstrations. scientists are training for mars by practicing in the desert of oman in the arabian peninsula. more than 200 scientists from 25 nations are spending four weeks field testing technology for a future and mission to the red planet. those are just some of the other stories beyond our borders

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otezla. show more of you. >> this is our best chance to begin rebuilding our military and make progress on issues directly affecting the american people. >> it's a good deal for the american people and it's a strong signal that we can break the gridlock that has overwhelmed this body and work together for the good of the country. >> chris: senate leaders mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer busy today pushing the budget deal they negotiated to avoid another government shutdown. let's bring our panel. jonah goldberg of national review. mara liasson from national public radio. brian kilmeade, cohost of "fox & friends." author of the best seller "andrew jackson and the miracle of new orleans, the battle that shaped america's destiny." mara, the bill, the budget deal stuck for the moment and for

several hours on a procedural issue in this sentiment but even if it passes there, there's real question what happens in the house when he got opposition from budget deficit hawks and democrats who want to see the dreamers included. what are the chances tomorrow morning we are going to have another government shutdown? >> i think there is a chance we could have one. you have to get over the procedural hurdle of rand paul which i think is doable. in the house, paul ryan wants the majority of the majority, about 118 republicans to vote for it. i don't know if he's going to get that. the fewer republicans he gets, the more he needs from democrats and they are not in the mood to help him out. they wanted to guarantee. nancy pelosi looking for a guarantee from him that he would bring up some kind of daca legislation. she hasn't gotten what he she wanted. spew endemic

at democratic leaders not pushing to vote no. some leaders think they are going to vote against it. >> she said there's a lot of good stuff in here for democrat democrats. she is not whipping it to get her members to vote no but she's not personally voting for it. >> chris: this is going to blow up the deficit. this is what the budget deal would include. defense spending over two years. another $160 billion for the military and state department. 131 billion more for domestic spending. 90 billion in disaster relief. 20 billion for infrastructure and 6 billion for the opioid crisis. taken together, that's more than $500 billion over two years, added military and domestic spending and then add the tax bill which is going to cost

1.5 trillion over the next decade. comparison, this total obama stimulus package, you turn $35 billion. as you might imagine, deficit hawks are furious. >> if we support the reckless spending we have for so long criticized it will mean an end of general genuine fiscal cons. >> chris: what happened to the g.o.p. as the party of fiscal discipline? people have to say we can be fiscally disciplined. nothing gets done. now you have a situation where leadership says we have to go find the government. we want to get a two-year deal. they watched secretary of defense mattis come out and say the thing that's hurting our defense and the pentagon worse than any other enemy is what's happening in congress, not fully funding us. we can't exist like this. what paul ryan and mitch mcconnell say is they want

domestic spending. we want defense spending. we get this money to domestic spending and if you look at it, a lot of it goes to what the trump agenda is. infrastructure, it goes to opioid, cancer research, you get the trump agenda moving forward on one hand. then you fully fund the defense department for two full years, and then what you do is do entitlements after that. it's the automatic withdrawal from the bank account which is hurting us, not the discretionary spending. >> chris: i also want to talk about the split among democrats. you've got chuck schumer, leader of the democrats in the senate, saying this is a great deal and then near of nancy pelosi who helped negotiated but now she's against it. take a look. >> i have an unease with it and i hope the speaker will man up and decide we in the house can also have what mitch mcconnell guaranteed in the senate, a vote

on the floor. >> chris: jonah, how serious is the divide among democrats given the fact that it can't pass the senate or house without a lot of democratic votes. >> i think mara is right. it will pass in the senate. it will just take longer. in the house, you have the problem. what nancy pelosi did is an exercise in virtue signally. the base of the party deeply committed to getting something on daca. she can't force anything so she wants to be on record with some big symbolic show. on the entitlement thing, i disagree -- one of the reasons in such a great deal for democrats as it would make any possibility of republicans doing anything to reconciliation possible. reconciliation, . >> chris: they need to pass a budget. >> there is no way the

republicans are unable to do entitlement reform and get enough democrats to vote for. basically guarantees the republicans going into 20 team will have no other big legislative items on their agenda. they're not going be able to do anything of the fixes to obamacare they wanted. this for the reasons why chuck schumer really likes the deal. except for the daca part, there is nothing the deal the democrats shouldn't love, and there is individual spending i can defend, this amounts to a death knell messaging. >> a lot of democrat senators in red states. after they get it done, there's going to be a lot of saying i need to be fiscally responsible. you need about eight. if they get the budget they want and there's this sense they will get some type of daca deal, why do you think we can be a little bit optimistic people are going

to see welfare is a mess. social security needs to be addressed. medicare. >> i've been paying attention to congress for the last 15 years. >> it's not going to happen. president trump has promised not to cut medicare, medicaid, social security. you don't -- >> he says he's going to build the wall. then he says he's going to use technology. he could pull back on it. >> chris: at least you are optimistic. we can appreciate that. next up, allegations of domestic abuse against one of the president's top aides. now, it's as easy as pie. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? the markets change...

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>> i can tell you rob has been effective in his role as staff secretary and the president and chief of staff have full confidence in his abilities and performance. >> rob porter has repeatedly denied these allegations publicly. that doesn't change how serious and disturbing the allegations are. they are upsetting. >> chris: dramatic shift in tone at the white house podium from yesterday to today. troubling alleged domestic abuse case of top presidential advisor rob porter. back with the panel. mara, how badly did the white house handle this? rushing to porter's defense. chief of staff, white house spokesman, after the first allegations came out and then having to pull it back dramatically over the last 24 hours. >> i think it is a problem. raj shah said they could've done better.

and they could have. makes no sense why they would go so far in supporting him and praising him and then just hours later suddenly they see that photo. they knew from the fbi about the problems with his vetting process and why he didn't have a security clearance. it's a basic level of competence. you can't go out there unless you know the answers to the questions. what happens now is unclear. we have heard the president is saddened then disturbed but certainly we haven't heard he's unhappy with john kelly or feels he should make any big changes. >> chris: i want to the turn to the case of john kelly. his earlier statement, kelly said "rob porter is a man of true integrity and honor. i can't say enough good things about him. he is a friend, a confidant, and a trusted professional. i am proud to serve alongside him." last night as the scandal grew, kelly put out a second revised

statement. "i was shocked by the new allegations released today against rob porter. there is no place for domestic violence in our society. i stand by my previous comment of the rob porter i have come to know since becoming chief of staff and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation. was quote senators are questioning kelly's future. >> what general kelly knew and when he knew it is important. he will have to explain to the president what he knew and when he knew it and the president will have to make a decision how important it is in terms of keeping general kelly where he is. >> if he is covering enough, he needs to be held accountable. he better have a really good reason. >> chris: brian, how much trouble do you think general kelly is in? >> i cannot answer for general kelly. in general, i think people watching know someone they work with are they think they know

personally and it turns out there's ugly things about them you don't want to believe. whether it's wall street, our business, whether it's the white house, the media. you find these things out. if this is the reality of who this guy is and he saw those pictures, that's one thing. my sense, general kelly who was sent straight, said i saw the pictures. i look at the background of porter. it's a low profile position. he was nominated, he comes in and he's doing a heck of a job. the president of the united states is a businessman. he is not used to saying, what is your family like? did you ever do this, that, did you ever drive drunk? he is not used to that. >> white house vetter's do that.

there's a whole apparatus in the white house that asks you is there anything that would embarrass us? any court findings. court records about this. >> why are they still deliberating a year and a half later? >> that's a good question. people like to talk about how the trump administration is a bit of a reality show. the reality got dark this week with this story. porter. there is a legitimate paper trail. general kelly giving him the benefit of the doubt, it's more an indication of bunker mentality. all these allegations come up, a lot of them turn out to be true -- turn out not to be true. he is going to come out guns blazing to defend him. >> chris: panel, thank you.

when we come back, city council in texas turns into a dance party before they get to work. ♪ ♪ with the chase mobile app, michaela deprince could pay practically anyone, at any bank, all while performing a grand jeté between two grand pianos. . . she could... in a commercial. in real life she uses it to pay her sister, from her couch, for that sweater she stained. what sweater? (phone buzzes) life, lived michaela's way. chase. make more of what's yours.

♪ ♪ >> chris: finally tonight. if you have ever had any doubts that austin, texas, is one of the cooler places to live, check out how city council members and staff there got ready for their first meeting of 2018. >> all right, guys. so just go ahead and start left to right. tap in the center. good. 2, 1. clap well. good. excellent. go right. good. yeah. awesome. i like it. good job. give yourself a hand, y'all. great job. >> chris: the austin city council. think how difference congress would be if paul ryan and nancy pelosi did that before every session of the u.s. house.

and that's "special report" for tonight. i'm chris wallace in washington. "the story" with martha maccallum is up next. martha, do you guys start with a dance party? >> absolutely. every night. chris, thank you very much. good to see you tonight. we have some breaking news for you this evening on the story. there are brand new text messages obtained exclusively by fox news that reveal a questionable relationship between the top democrat in the russia investigation and a lobbyist representing a russian oligarch. good evening, everybody, i'm martha maccallum and this is the story for tonight. senator mark warner of virginia who held numerous press conferences over the past year promising a fair and bipartisan investigation into president trump's supposed ties to russia was apparently trying to gain access through the russians to christopher steele, the author of the infamous anti-trump dossier writing in part in these text messages that are just being revealed for the first time we have so much to discuss. you need to be