leonard leo's goal in life is to repeal roe. he comes up with a list. you think you put any slackers in his opinion on that list? no. judge kavanagh got the nomination not because he will be an impartial judge on behalf of all americans, but because he passed president trump's litmus freedomrepeal women's for their reproductive rights, repeal america's health care including protection of pre-existing conditions. if judge kavanaugh was to be can confirmed, women's reproductive rights would be in the hands of five men on the supreme court. women or menat the of america want. judge kavanaugh's own writings make clear that he would rule gets reproductive rights and freedoms and that he would welcome challenges to the constitutionality of the affordable care act of our health care act. judge kavanaugh has argued that the supreme court should question the constitutionality of the affordable care act. he openly criticized the supreme court when they upheld the law. he is no neutral arbiter. he has already made up his mind. he would not have been approved by th

wade then leonard leo. normally in the senate we have a process of advising consent on the supreme court. in the old days the president would consult with their publicans and democrats in the senate on a qualified judge and then after careful deliberation nominate a jurors they could get bipartisan support. what we have here is the exact opposite. the president has gone to too far out of the mainstream right groups, the heritage foundation and the federalist society and is them, not the senate , too advise and consent on the supreme court nomination. whomever the president looks tonight that nominee is from the preapproved list selected by leo and the heritage foundation everyone ought to understand what it means for the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions and for the protection for americans, the pre-existing conditions, those rights will be gravely threatened. mr. president, now we will hear a lot this summer about precedence. the traditional question on these matters has been, will t

wade than the federalist society's leonard leo. if anyone believes that judge kavanaugh or anyone else on the list would uphold roe v. wade, then i have a bridge to sell them. leonard leo's goal in life is to repeal roe. he comes up with the list. do you think he put any slack ardz, -- slackards, in his opinion, on that list? no. judge kavanaugh got the nomination, not because he will an impartial judge on behalf of all americans, but because he passed president trump's litmus tests -- repeal women's freedom or their reproductive rights, repeal americans' health care, including protection of preexisting conditions. if judge kavanaugh was to be confirmed, women's reproductive rights would be in the hands of five men on the supreme court. that's not what the women or the men of america want. judge kavanaugh's own writings make clear that he would rule against reproductive rights and freedoms and that he would welcome challenges to the constitutionality of the affordable care act, of our health care act. judge kavanaugh has argued tha

wade than the federalist society's leonard leo. that has been your goal. >> my goal first and foremost has always been to find people to serve on the court who believe in the constitution as it's written. that's really ultimately what drives the conservative legal movement. you want judges on the court who understand that the best way to preserve freedom and dignity and prosperity in this country is to have people who are going to interpret the constitution as it's written and not play politics when they're judges. >> are you confident that anyone the president nominates tomorrow night can get confirmed before the mid-terms, that the democrats would not be able to hold up the nomination until after the mid-terms? >> i'm very confident with this president's enthusiasm and with leader mcconnell's enthusiasm that they can get anybody confirmed. >> leonard leo, thanks very much. let's get a response from the other side. senator richard blumenthal. democrat from connecticut. member of the senate judiciary committee. you heard leonard le

he would not be approved by the federalist society if leonard leo wasn't certain he would repeal roe versus wade. >> judge kavanaugh has argued that the trump administration to keep a young girl in federal custody to prevent her from obtaining constitutionally prevented healthcare. he has argued that employers should be able to deny their employees access to affordable contraceptive coverage. judge kavanaugh feels that way about contraceptive rights, imagine what he feels about women's right to choose. another point, he is a deeply conservative justice way out of the mainstream. he's written troubling decisions about gun laws. he has undone environmental protections. he has challenge her clean-air clean water act would be at risk. it would make it far more difficult for regulations to exist and enforce those laws. here's the most amazing thing, he has gone so far as to say that the president does not need to follow the law if he quote deems it unconstitutional. folks, here we have a president, president trump who cares less about rule of law, less about the restraints that every othe

leonard leo's goal in life is to repeal it. he comes up with the list. did he put any slackers on this? no. judge kavanaugh got the nomination, not because he'll be an impartial judge, but as he passed the litmus test to repeal america's women's equal rights. if judge kavanaugh would be confirmed, women's reproductive rights would be in the hands of five men on the supreme court. that is not what the women or men of america want. judge kavanaugh's own writings makes clear he would rule against it. that he welcomes and challenges to the constitutionality of the fair to both care act. george kavanaugh has argued the supreme court should question the constitutionality of the affordable care act. he criticized the supreme court when he upheld the law. is not a mutual arbiter, he's already made up his mind. he would not have been approved by the heritage foundation if he wasn't certain he would repeal the aca. judge kavanaugh has argued the trump administration could keep a young girl in federal custody to prevent her from obtaining healthcare and employer sh

. >> white house counsel don mcgann and leonard leo are said to be spearheading the search, drawing from a list of more than two dozen reliably conive jurists. the confirmation battle on capitol hill is pectedo be fierce. democrats contend that when the mexicans majority leer mitch mcconnell stole the nomination of mira garland t,urnabout is fair play. e he said we will not allow a supreme court juduring an election year, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander. we shoul not allow justice in an election year. >> it was a lowta sard, if you will, but it was a standard. i think others haven't forgotten that as you sow, so y reap. >> while the high court battle looms in washington, a number of major stories are developing. were no questions about u.s. troop levels in germany, the fast approaching nato mmit talks of a highly anticipated one-on-one between president trump and russian president vladimir putin. with ukraine, crimea and syria among the many topics to be discussed when they meet in helsinki july 16th. >> creis: kevin corke porting for the white house. thanks for that

also we continue with leonard leo. the president's outside advisor on judicial nominees who's been with the president and inside the white house on this from the very beginning. it's great to have all of you on. leonard, we were just talking about this issue of murkowski and collins, two republican senators who are pro-choice and to the left had been courting to oppose this nominee. can our viewers at fox tonight assume that they have been consulted on this nomination? or is the president confident that in the end, they will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh? >> the president spoke with senator collins. senator collins made it clear what the road map is for confirmation. she said she wanted a judge was going to adhere to the constitution and the laws and she wanted someone who was going to respect major precedent in the court. if you look at brett kavanaugh's record, that's what you get. you get someone who struggles in grapples with precedent. he knows it's important and you've got to figure it out. and he adheres to th

leonard leo's a man who also has strong ties to the judicial crisis network. that's the right-wing organization which helped block scores of obama judicial nominees and was key in the pr blitz to outright deny a hearing to president obama's last supreme court justice pick, judge merrick garland. helping mitch mcconnell effectively steal that supreme court seat. leonard leo is also connected to the dark money organization called bh group which according to the non-profit watchdog group open secrets, donated $1 million to the trump inauguration though it tried mightily to keep it a secret by donating anonymously. >> president trump during the campaign asked leonard leo, the founder of the federalist society, to assemble a list of possible supreme court justices for him to pick from. mr. leo was not only aware of candidates trump preferenced for a supreme court that would reverse voe v. wade. he himself spent his career in pursuit of it. no one has been more dedicated to overturning roe v. wade than the very man who chose the list of 25. >> so any one of presiden

wade than leonard leo. now, normally in the senate, we have a process of advising consent on the supreme court. in the old days, the president would consult with republicans and democrats in the senate on a qualified judge and after careful deliberation, nominate a jurist that could get support. what we have here is the opposite. the president has gone to two far hard right groups, the heritage foundation and the federalist society. asked them, not the senate, to advise and consent on a supreme court nomination. whomever is president selects tonight, if that nominee is from the preapproved list selected by leo and the heritage foundation, every one ought to understand what it means for the freedom of women to make their own healthcare decisions. and for the protection for americans with pre-existing conditions. those rights will be gravely threatened. mr. president, we're going to hear a lot this summer about precedence. the traditional question will be will the nominee defer to precedent. nominees will be

wade and the federalist society, leonard leo. of united states outsource this decision to the federalist society and other groups long intent on they produced for him a list. he selected from that list and the rest is an unfortunate, deeply tragic chapter in american history. the heritage foundation has been vehement in its desire to overturn and strike down the affordable care act, and deny many americans access to health insurance. it has fought to end the protection to people who suffer from these conditions, and they arend not only the ones i mentioned, but also many others that are common throughout our society. it's efforts to shape the supreme court are a part of a conscious concerted strategy in a war on the aca. and perhaps as troubling as any of the fact about this nominee, too many of us who have seen the horrific, unspeakable effects of gun violence, judge kavanaugh is the dream candidate of the nra. he has taken the view that almost all common sense sensible measures to stop gun violence violate the constitution. he

wade than leonard leo. now, normally in the senate, we have a process of advise and consent on the supreme court. in the old days, the president would consult with republicans and democrats in the senate on a qualified judge. and then after careful deliberation, nominated jurists that could get bipartisan support. what we have here is the exact opposite. the president has gone to two far out of the mainstream, hard-right groups, the heritage foundation and the federalist society, and asked them, not the senate, to advise and consent on a supreme court nomination. whomever the president selects tonight, if that nominee is from the preapproved list selected by leo and the heritage foundation, everyone ought to understand what it means for the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions. and for the protection for americans with pre-existing conditions. those rights will be gravely threatened. mr. president, now, we're going to hear a lot this summer about precedence. the traditional question on t

. >> chris: we will handicap possible nominees with leonard leo, who will play a key role in the president's choice. and how will democrats try to block the confirmation? we will ask dick durbin, the senate number two democrat who wants to delay a vote until after the midterms. plus. >> journalist, like all americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job. >> chris: critics of president trump link his attacks on the press to the shooting deaths of five people at a newspaper in maryland. we will ask our sunday panel about both sides playing a disturbing blame game. all right now on "fox news sunday." and hello again from fox news in washington. as america settles in for the fourth of july holiday, president trump has set an ambitious agenda for this week. he's finalizing his supreme court pick to be announced in just eight days and preparing for a trip to europe, including a summit with russian president vladimir putin. in a moment we will talk with national security advisor john bolton, who is just back from moscow. but first let's bring in correspond

wade, then the federalist society's leonard leo. the very man who chose the list of 25. that's what we are up against here. and that is why america is on tenterhooks. >> when he does this he is very serious. i mean i've known him for all r me. but the boots and compositional rides in the dumpster. but you have now become part of the story, how does that feel? >> you know, he made the supreme court the dividing issue in this election. he took ownership of this list and it was his idea. they propelled him to victory and helped to hold the senate. he continued that momentum with neil gorsuch and he hasne been n the driver's seat this entire process. this is not outsourced, and he owns this process. senator schumer, he is just hysterical. they will be hysterical through this process. and they will see the constitution, they love the constitution. >> laura: but they say you republicans didn't give barack obama and mary garland, and of courseve senator mcconnell, black back nominations from going forward. i think now, they think it's payback time. >> well if people didn't look

leonard leo. he created the list. similarly one more point here on health care. president trump said he wanted to repeal aca unlike what justice roberts wanted to do. and the heritage foundation, which also vetted this list, is firmly in favor of repealing. so you put those things together, trump, what he said, who he was going to choose, and the vetting of this list -- this nominee will repeal roe, and women's reproductive freedom, will repeal aca far against what the american people want. >> i hear you. senatr, let me get in a question, please. senator, when you questioned brett kavanaugh previously for an appointment, you asked him specifically about roe v. wade, and brett kavanaugh said that he believed that is binding precedent of the court, and he would follow that. it has been reaffirmed many times, so why do you believe that abortion rights in this country are under threat? >> binding -- when you say will follow binding precedent, that's been a trick. look what happened last week. justice

i want to go to now, as promised, to leonard leo. "the wall street journal" -- mr. leo calls you, quote, the conservative activist who plays a critical role in supreme court picks. "the l.a. times" says you're the man to see if you aspire to the supreme court. the fourth pick you've played a role in. gorsuch actually told the senate judiciary committee his whole journey started, quote, when i was contacted with leonard leo working with the president-elect's transition team regarding the supreme court vacancy. here we are, leonard. the final countdown. final two, maybe four contenders. obviously you know things you're not going to be able to share right now but what was the hardest part of choosing here in these final hours? >> well, i think the president was extraordinarily engaged and very transparent. i think he really worked hard to make the right decision. he had extensive meetings with all of the finalists. he talked at length with his senior administration staff, particularly white house counsel don mcgahn. i think this has been, frankly, the most transparent

wade in the federalist society's leonard leo." this piclieve replacing kennedy for finally be the nail in the coffin of abortion rights? >> roe v. wade has been a scare tactic that is gone back 36 years going back to center o'connor's nominationon to the court. thatning is hapappen during period of time. for me it is not about roe v. wade. it is not what it is about. it is about interpretingng the constitution as it is written. basically, interpreting the limits on government power. juan: can you talk about leonard leo, specifically, his role, the reportss that he is a member of the knights of malta, a secret right-wing organization within the catholic church and his role specifically in the vetting of these nominees of the republican president's especially president trump, to the court? >> leonard leo is a very, very conservative guy who sits rate close to the apex of this society network i was just describing. he just knows who everyone is. that is his value to republican presidents is that when you become president, yet to fill

wade than leonard leo. now normally in the senate, we have a process of advising consent on the supreme court. in the old days, the president would consult with republicans and democrats in the senate on a qualified judge and then after careful deliberation nominate a jurist to get bipartisan support. what we have here is the exact opposite. the president has gone to two hard right groups, the heritage foundation and the federalist society, and asked them, not the senate, to advise and consent on a supreme court nomination. whomever the president selects tonight, if that nominee is from the preapproved list selected by leo and the heritage foundation, everyone ought to understand what it means for the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions and for the protection for americans with preexisting conditions. those rights will be gravely threatened. mr. president, we're going to hear a lot this summer about precedence. the traditional question on these matters has been will the nominee defer to

. >> neil: fair and balanced for leonard leo to speak for himself. adviser to the president and a key player in the selection of judge brett kavanaugh. very good to have you. >> great to be here. >> neil: you've been painted as this right wing evil force. how do you respond to that? >> what senator schumer is saying is insulting and offensive to the president. from the very beginning, this president made the supreme court a defining issue in his campaign and the presidency. he came up with the idea of doing the list. he owns that list. he campaigned on it. this whole supreme court issue was was part of a campaign more than any other candidate. propelled him to victory and helped hold the senate. >> neil: did you build the list or -- >> it's a list. i played a role it in. it's a list that any objective observer of the courts -- >> neil: and the 25 are justices. >> yes. >> neil: and a lot of investigations in the list and behind it, you behind it, tom carter, a fellow -- used to be your number 2 or worked with you at the federalist society and elsewher

chris: leonard leo says the democratic party is using ro e w. wade as scare tactic. >> this is a line that's been drawn whether we are going criminalize women and whether we are going to be arresting women for making decisions about their bodies. this is not a fire drill. chris: senator no one is talking about arresting women, isn't that the definition of a scare tactic what kirsten gillibrand is saying. >> your question goes back to second amendment, you came back to it and said what about roe w. wade. chris: even if roe v. wade no one is suggesting that women will be arrested, it would go back to states, i'm not saying it's not a big deal but nobody suggesting that women would be arrested if roe v wade would be overturned. >> the basic issue at hand is whether or not a woman has the power to make decisions, the freedom to make decisions regarding her own body and own life. that's the fundamental issue here and when you start denying that to women across america, those are fighting words because these women believe that they have the right to m

"the federalist" society led by len in order leo, whose -- leonard leo whose goal is to repeal roe v. wade putting it together and trump rubber-stamping it. given what the president has said, it is virtually certain that members of the list of 25 would vote to overturn roe. so let this be a call to action for americans from all corners of the country to rise up and speak out. don't let this new court, this new nominee, whomever he or she may be, turn back the clock on issue after issue or after issue, because president trump has embraced a hard-right group who has a veto power over nominees. don't let us turn back the clock, america. stand up. speak out. democrats, republicans, liberals, conservatives, all should want a much fairer process. america, tell your senators that if you do not want a supreme court justice who will overturn roe v. wade, those senators should not vote for a candidate from the list. i yield the i want to comment on the news that is very clearly closely connected. it is clear that justice kennedy's retirement

leonard leo, thanks for dropping in. we know what to buy the time for you. an ad war is brewing over the supreme court with that vacancy. big money pouring in. liberal group demand justice plans to spend $5 million opposing the president's back, we do know who it is yet for the judicial crisis network launches a seven-figure add urging another great justice counting dresses neil gorsuch. >> like they did before, extremists rely and attack the nominee. but don't be fooled. president trump celeste includes the best of the best. >> shannon: chief counsel of the judicial council network joins us live. >> thank you. >> shannon: did you ever expect there will be a second seat open this quickly for president trump? >> i think it was only a matter of time. we all expected that this person would have at least one or maybe two vacancies. it's not surprising. i'm excited for this opportunity. we have seen such great success with justice gorsuch. >> shannon: we hope he chooses another one. but let me play an ad from the other side as well. this comes from naral, the pro

an outside individual, leonard leo and colleagues at the federalist society, essentially made up this list. he needs to come in and talk about what he asked, what questions were asked, what the process was, how you qualified to get on that list. what promises were made to leonard leo who in turn then can communicate to the white house, yep, he's a good guy, don't worry about it. >> he was a candidate. mitch mcconnell folded up this paper, this was his cover after access hollywood for why he was going to vote for donald trump. >> we now know there is quite a bit of evidence tying leonard leo to a $1 million donation to the trump inaugural committee. is that the going price of a supreme court justice? >> charlie? >> i don't know what the connection there is, but keep in mind this is the least trumpian of the appointments we're seeing here because donald trump has outsourced this list to the federalist society and the letter to leo, which means you have -- they're very, very conservative. >> right. >> but i think you actually have a pretty solid list, but i do think the senate needs to a

leonard leo has taken a leave from the federalist society to do this work on behalf of the white house. but the vetting is in two phases. it really refers to looking back through the judge's writings. now, in some cases this is a tall task. brett kavanaugh on the court of appeals has written something like 295 opinions but amy barrett and another have been on the court of appeals for only about a year. they have lower court decisions, at least one of them does, to look at but it's basically that's what the vetting is. it's looking back through their previous opinions. do they have the kind of view of the constitution that the president and don mcgahn like. now, the second part of it is, and i'm not sure how they get this done in time, is what the fbi does in terms of a background investigation. they have a bit of a head start here, though, because they're all appeals court judges so they have been through this at least once, so it's not like they have to start from scratch, but this still is compressing the time frame pretty dramatically. remember that the white house is going to try v

take a listen to leonard leo last week on "fox news sunday." he's currently on leave from the federal society and he put together the supreme court list for president trump. >> i don't think at the end of the day it's about roe v. wade. it's about having judges on the court were going to interpret the constitution the way it's written. and part of interpreting the constitution is taking into account major precedents and that's going to happen. >> dana: conservative say the concern about roe v. wade is more of a scare tactic than reality, how do you see a? >> ilyse: we take the president at his word. he is the president of the united states and he is certainly the first major party nominee who put a litmus test on supreme court justices and that was to actually overturn roe v. wade purity, so we believe him. he's gotta vice president -- we think that's the mind-set that many americans are actually going into this with because it was such vocal talking point for him. we also know that the backpedaling that's happening now from people who had warn

he said leonard leo was a visionary. he figured out 20 years ago that conservatives had lost the culture war. abortion, gay rights, contraception, conservatives didn't have a chance if public opinion prevailed so they needed to stack the courts. >> that's right. that's exactly right. now, i would take a little exception with what zerlina said in that i don't think they need to promise everything in the 2018 election. the nominee, whoever it is, will be a conservative, we know that. we know they have been picked by the federalist society so they tick off a whole host of things. but i think what you referred to, the women's march is spot on. i think if you make one or two issues a priority in this midterm election, you will galvanize exactly who you need to galvanize if you're a democrat and want to take back the house, because we're going into moderate districts, swing districts. so i think if you start bringing up everything, that's not necessarily a strategy to win. and republicans will jump on that because it's the who

the group's vice president, leonard leo today insisted that while the next justice will be conservative, the president has reached out to both sides of the aisle. >> i've never seen a president work harder and reach out more broadly than this one to really make sure he gets it right. >> the senate majority leader, who also consult with the president on his choice over the weekend fired back at schumer that the left has been using the same scare tactics for 40 years, even employing that playbook against justice anthony kennedy. >> these far left special interest groups impinge his character. they cooked up apocalyptic warnings. of course the american people didn't buy it. >> with john mccain ailing, president trump can only count on 50 republican votes for his nominee. the white house believes senator joe manson, joe donnelly at heidi heitkamp, democrats in tough reelection battles in states president trump won will be hard pressed to not for his nominee. >> there's nobody that president trump could nominate from a conservative bent that will get many democratic votes, but this is a nigh

wade than the federalist society's leonard leo. if anyone believes that judge kavanaugh or anyone else on the list would uphold roe v. wade, then i have a bridge to sell them. leonard leo's goal in life is to repeal roe. he comes up with the list. do you think he put any slack ardz, -- slackards, in his opinion, on that list? no. judge kavanaugh got the nomination, not because he will an impartial judge on behalf of all americans, but because he passed president trump's litmus tests -- repeal women's freedom or their reproductive rights, repeal americans' health care, including protection of preexisting conditions. if judge kavanaugh was to be confirmed, women's reproductive rights would be in the hands of five men on the supreme court. that's not what the women or the men of america want. judge kavanaugh's own writings make clear that he would rule against reproductive rights and freedoms and that he would welcome challenges to the constitutionality of the affordable care act, of our health care act. judge kavanaugh has argued tha

earlier i spoke to donald trump's judicial advisor leonard leo and asked him what will sway the pres.'s ultimate decision and he told me. >> he is right on top of it. if he wants to get a nomination on july 9th he has to start right away. >> he has had a list he stuck to since november of last year and says that is it. >> is the list and he assist counsel, don mccann working off that list and many working on these, it is a busy week them. >> any chance he goes off the list? >> i think know chance but it is the president's prerogative. the list is the 25 best of the best in the judicial world, a list anyone looking for someone who will stick to the constitution would put up. >> how important is it to have somebody with a long record when it comes to their decision-making so we can be sure he knows what path they are? >> the pres. made clear he wants someone who is extraordinarily well-qualified and someone who will interpret the constitution the way the framers meant it to be. to get those things you have to have a deep and expensive record, judicial opinions are great but there are pr

that is when "fox news sunday," with leonard leo said they have been very careful in selecting the final candidates. >> none of the people being talked about right now in the public space and media are people of a clear position on roe v. wade. the most important thing here is a record showing fairness. someone who listens carefully to arguments on both sides. someone who tries to keep an open mind. >> among these positions will be a deciding factor for republican senator susan collins. collins said there are several names on the president's list of candidate that she couldn't support because of the issue and she wants to see a nominee who respects precedent. >> a candidate for this important position who would overturn roe v. wade would not be acceptable to me because that would indicate an activist agenda that i don't clemency a judge has. >> democrats don't have the votes to shut down the nominee on their own, but given the type margins the gop is working with, they will make the confirmation process is difficult as possible. >> one or two republican senators believe this choice in th

leonard leo is our guest live to talk about where we are now, sir. thank you for your time and good morning. i'll begin the questioning, shannon will be here as well. you met with the president yesterday. tell us about that. >> spoke with him on the phone yesterday and it's a really extraordinary process. he has worked so hard. he has met with the four candidates, spoken with them. he has looked at their records. he has talked to his advisors. he has had his white house counsel reach out to members of both sides of the aisle and talk to them about this process. i've never seen a president work harder and reach out more broadly than this one to really make sure he gets it right. >> bill: what did he ask you yesterday, leonard? >> well, he told me quite clearly that he knew all of the four people pretty well and that really was very heartening to me. he has looked at their records carefully. and basically he said that he is going to be making a decision was either last night or this morning. and i think he is well prepared, very well prepared. >> bill:

jon: leonard leo is the man helping the president narrow down his list. here's what he had to say about the people who might make it. >> none of the people that are being talked about right now out in the public space and the media are people who have a clear position on roe v wade. the most important thing is a record showing fairness, someone who listens very carefully to arguments on both sides, someone who tries to keep an open mind and prospective nominees like brett cavanaugh and amy barrett are people who have not specifically said they oppose roe v wade. their writings and work show they're very fair. jon: the democrats who signaled they're not open to supporting almost anybody that this president would nominate, it's not necessarily because of the credentials of the jurist. it's because of the man who's occupying the oval office. >> that really seems to be a sticking point for these senate democrats, just like you said. it doesn't really seem to be about whether or not this nominee would support overturning roe v wade but this is someone that was

leonard leo helped the president create his list of candidates. >> he spent a significant amount of time over the weekend asking questions, talking to people, thinking about this further, this is a really big decision for him. >> reporter: cbs news is learned it is down to four contenders, appeals court judges 80 -- amy cody barrett, >> they are excellent, you can't go wrong. >> reporter: the president is focusing most closely on cavanaugh and hardeman -- kavanaugh and hardiman. mitch mcconnell has told the president that they may be the easiest to confirm. >> simple math tells you, if john mccain is absent, it is a 50-49 senate, one republican senator can decide the fate of cbs news, the white house. the >> the president is expected to make that announcement at 6 pm, live right here on kpix 5. >>> 600 homes are threatened by deadly wildfire on the oregon border, in siskiyou county, has burned 35,000 acres, only 25% contained right now. the fire killed one woman in her home and destroyed 81 structures, 2500 firefighters are on the front lines, the cause is under investigation. >>> in nap

. >> leonard leo there, adviser to the president on judicial nominations, downplaying the concerns that the pick for the supreme court will seal the fate of roe v. wade. johnny moore tells the ap there's a high level of confidence that overturning roe is finally possible. joining me, former executive director of the new york commentary and sherry sheffield. with a welcome to you both. basil you first, leonard leo is one of several pointing to a respect for precedence of one of their priorities, linds si graham also making similar remarks. are they trying to create cover for their vul votes? >> in a way i think they are. my advice would be to any activist concerned about the overturn of roe v. wade is don't buy this. senator graham talked about this concept that precedent should stand and the court will respect that. and you know, in 1954, when the court overturned plessy versus ferguson. the court had a unanimous decision, a sense of by maipart decision-making, go pack to the fact they gutted the voting rights acts. there's a.m. many evidence to subject these nominees -- the president's

leonard leo told me, the head of the federal society who put this list together for the president that the president never asked anybody about their feelings on roe v. wade. just listen to you can believe me that he said it. >> in all of my dealings with the president, and in all of the meetings he's had with perspective nominees, you mentioned three during the earlier process, the president's never asked a single nominee about roe v. wade or abortion or any other case. and he's never talked to me about it. >> once again my guidance on this is it's often what is not said in this particular process you have to pay attention to. would he be on that list if he had said to leonard leo or any of these other people in the midst of the conservative angle, i tell you what i would never overturn that case, i think it's good law. >> absolutely not. the president asked the federal society to put this list together. and the federal society knows what the president's commitment was. so saying the president has never asked about this is meaningless. those folks were vetted long before they made it i

he'll go one on one with leonard leo. the man who put together the list for president trump of nominees. >> and he'll go one on one with the president's personal attorney, rudy giuliani. >>> time now for the weather and several stories are brewing, including the heat in the west. it's fueling wildfires. rob is tracking it all. >> we're watching what could be hurricanes. they're tropical storms now. one weakening. one strengthening. tropical storm chris was a depression yesterday off the coast of the carolinas. by 150 miles. should stay that way. it will be a hurricane by tuesday night. rip currents will be the story from the carolinas up through long island. tropical storm beryl. on a weakening trend. expected to continue to stay fairly weak and stay fairly small. tropical storm warnings out for islands hit by maria last year. hopefully, won't get hit too hard. as it traverses towards puerto rico. we're watching the fires in the west. another hot day, especiall >>> good sunday morning i'm abc 7 news meteorologist mike nic

leonard leo, the executive vice president of the federalist society who advised president trump on supreme court nominees, went on a radio show and called the cahoots claim garbage. watch. >> anyone who knows justice anthony kennedy knows that that is garbage. he treats his office with tremendous dignity and independence, and there is no way in the world that that would have happened. >> of all the liberal outrage at the nomination of brett kavanaugh, former virginia governor and potential 2020 presidential candidate terry mcauliffe may have issued the boldest statement saying "kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades." shannon. >> shannon: wonder if he gets asked about that claim when he's before the senate judiciary committee. trace, thank you very much. red state democrats like west virginia's joe manchin say the resistance his party is putting up against brett kavanaugh is wrong. other democrats are urging party members to stick together to their political guns ahead of the midterms. >> they understand it's an historic decision. it's about more than the ne

leonard leo is with us next. condemning cynthia nixon running for governor of new york. she called i see terrorist organization. president trump this morning said we need to support them not condemn them like the democrats do. we are on it. boston allowed in most collections. lindstrom, one of the republican candidates taken on elizabeth warren and massachusetts is with us later this hour. you are watching the second hour of "varney & company." ♪ stuart: we are off and running. a big day. look at this market. i call this a summer rally up 130 points. 24,900 is where we are. price of oil going up somewhere. at $74 a barrel, .79%, to $74 per barrel. gasoline not yet responded to the recent run-up in oil prices, which is still 286. that is for now the national average. the next case, look at this video. hundreds of protesters rallied out by the supreme court after president trump picked brett kavanaugh for the supreme court. shannon bream had stuart: have a live show from the court. then she tweeted she felt threatened and had to be. here is what she said. literally had t

. >> that's why it was start from the beginning by mcgahn and leonard leo. >> so the senator was right, this was all approved by the higher authorities. >> yeah. i think this was a reaction to roberts and to suter. they don't want any wild cards. >> meaning moderates. >> yeah. they don't want anybody who's going to surprise them. so they just outsourced the selection to a bunch of political operatives who can make sure that anybody he picks is going to go down the line and be essentially in the same place that clarence thomas -- >> and alito i guess. >> but let's also not rewrite kennedy's history here. he is certainly the swing vote on a handful of very important issues. but what would matter much more is if trump gets to select a replacement for ginsburg or for breyer. >> that's the fight. >> yeah. >> that's where he's going. how are the democrats going to do any better when they have the same numbers -- unless you're right, ruth says go for more numbers. >> democrats are banking on a 2020 takeover. but that's -- >> i think you make the point you made earlier, senator, which is sure

this list was curated by leonard leo, vice president of the federal society, a staunch catholic and anti—abortionist. senators know all they need to know by virtue that judge brett kavanaugh was on the list in the first place. are you suggesting if this goes ahead that the supreme court could revisit that case, that president? it is certainly a possibility. my sense is that oncejudge brett kavanaugh is confirmed, if he is confirmed, states will start passing abortion restrictions, marriage bans against 93v restrictions, marriage bans against gay marriage, just to test the new appointee to the supreme court to see if they can get a fivejustice majority on the court to revisit and perhaps overturn those key precedents in the areas of abortion, reproductive rights, lgbt queue rights and likely affirmative action as well. professor amanda hollis—brusky, thank you for your thoughts. appreciate you having me. now let's get the very latest on the daring mission to rescue the remaining boys trapped in a cave in northern thailand. rescue divers say they will try today to free the last four members of a you

leonard leo who runs the federalist society, his goal in life is to get of supreme court to repeal role. does anyone think any of these 25 names including judge cavanaugh would protect row? they would not be on the list if they were, you know that, i know that, the president knows that and the american people are going to know it here is what judge kavanaugh argued. that the trump administration should keep a young woman in detention and allow her to make her own choice about medical care. amazingly, he said the courts should consider a constitutional challenge to the healthcare law and openly criticize the supreme court decision to uphold the affordable care act including america's right now. to protect pre-pre-existing conditions and still get insurance. president trump had litmus test. judge kavanaugh's rulings do not stop there. he has even argued that sitting presidents should not face criminal investigation. no investigation of a president. is it ever need wonder president trump chose him from the list of 25? we know he is obsessed with this investigation. he even said that a pres

from leonard leo and the federalist society and from the heritage foundation. is not moderate, he's not mainstream. it is hard rightand wants to pull america back decades. thank you everybody . >> thank you. >> judge kavanaugh is on capitol hill beginning to meet with senators. this from earlier with mike pence and mitch mcconnell. >>

the federalist society is run by a man named leonard leo whose goal in life is to repeal roe v. wade. no one has done more to create a supreme court that will repeal r roe then leonard leo. >> senator -- >> similarly, one more point, on health care, president trump said he wanted to repeal aca, unlike what justice reports wanted to do. the heritage foundation which also vetted this list is firmly in favor of repealing. so you put those things together. trump, what he said, who he was going to choose and the vetting of this list. these two -- this nominee will repeal roe and women's reproductive free democrat -- >> senator, you -- >> far against what the american people want -- >> let me just get a question -- >> when they learn this, they're going to oppose the nominee. >> when you questioned kavanaugh previously for an appointment, you asked him specifically about roe versus wade and kavanaugh said he believes it is binding precedent of the court and he would follow that. why do you believe abortion rights in this country are under threat? >> binding -- when you say follow bind

this is leonard leo who made the list for the supreme court picks: this was him denying that roe was a litmus test it get on the list. >> is it fair to say that anyone who made it on to your list is likely to be an opponent of roe v. wade. >> no. first of all, nobody really knows. we've been talking about this for 36 years, going back to the nomination of sandra o'connor. after that 36-year period, we only had a single individual who said he would overturn roe. i think it's a scare tactic and rank speculation more than anything else. >> why do republicans do that? why do they pretend it isn't a litmus test, when everyone knows what it is? >> probably 90% of the platforms of the republican party each state has a caveat in there about pro-life. it is the base of our party, it is what shows up devote. it is what supports our candidates and we all understand that. at the end of the day, he has validity. in 36 years, it hasn't been overturned. i would project it won't be overturned. we have a lot of business to take care of. while we're having this conversation, donald trump is a winner.