Rep. Devin Nunes: Dems packed memo full of sources, methods

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Rep. Devin Nunes: Dems packed memo full of sources, methods

House Intelligence Committee chairman says on 'Sunday Morning Futures' that the Democrats included sensitive material in their FISA memo, causing the White House to block its release.

This is a rush transcript from "Sunday Morning Futures," February 11, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Good Sunday morning. Abuse of power at the FBI. Democrats will go back to the drawing board this weekend if they want their counter memo on alleged abuse at the Justice Department released. With the budget battle in the rearview mirror now President Trump gets set to reveal his infrastructure plan this upcoming week. And will the rollercoaster ride on Wall Street continue? Hi, everybody! Thanks so much for joining me this morning. This is SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES, I'm Maria Bartiromo. The White House declining to release the Democratic counter memo on alleged surveillance abuses at the FBI, citing national security risks. Did Democrats play politics to force the President's hand? I'll talk with House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes coming up about that. And how far up the ladder does the corruption at the Justice Department go? Does it reach Barack Obama? Also, a new budget is in place including more than a trillion dollars in defense spending over the next two years. Is that enough? Retired Four Star General Jack Keane joins me live. Plus a topsy-turvy week for stock prices on Wall Street. What's behind all this volatility? What does it mean for you as we look ahead right now on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES.

And we kick it off now with the abuse of power at the top of the FBI, dueling memos, dividing Washington this weekend as the White House declines the request to release a Democrat counter memo to a GOP document alleging surveillance abuses at the FBI and Department of Justice. The Republican lawmaker behind the initial memo is now setting his sights on the State Department as part of his ongoing investigation of corruption in our top law enforcement agencies continues. That lawmaker joins me right now, House Intel Committee Chairman Devin Nunes. Mr. Chairman, It's good to see you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.

REP. DEVIN NUNES, R-CALIF., CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It's great to be with you.

BARTIROMO: So, let me kick it off with that and the fact that the White House has denied the request to release Adam Schiff's memo. What can you tell us about that memo? You've seen it. What do we need to understand about this?

NUNES: Well first off, this was not a surprise. So this was -- after they had accused the Republicans of putting sources and methods into our memo, we actually did not, we just put in what we thought the American people needed to know. It was clear from the development of the Democratic memo from the very beginning that they packed it full of sources and methods. Now for the viewers out there, what are sources and methods? We don't want to give up the way that our intelligence committee recruits sources, the methods that they may use to recruit sources, so these are things that don't need to be made public. However, the Democrats knew this, they packed their memo full of sources and methods. Now, on Friday night we received a letter back from the White House. The White House did not deny that the release of the Democratic memo. What they did is they said look, you need to make some redactions and technical corrections here and we will get it out right away. Now, from that point, we've heard nothing but crickets. The Democrats have been on T.V. all weekend long. Their memo is sitting at the House Intelligence Committee down at the bottom of the Capitol waiting to be redacted. If they really wanted to get it out they'd be down there all day yesterday redacting it, getting it back over to the White House so that the public can know what's in it. So this is -- this is nothing but politics.

BARTIROMO: And within the Democratic memo, there was no rejection of the point of your memo which was bottom line, the FBI used government resources to spy on a political enemy.

NUNES: Well right. We actually want the Democratic memo out. We think it's ridiculous on the face of it. We think it's very political about how they attacked myself, they attacked Chairman Gowdy, they turn Carter Page into some super-secret Russian spy, they talk about how Christopher Steele is a really, really good source when we know that he lied to the FBI. So we want this out. We don't know why they're not in this weekend redacting it so that we can get it back to the White House so the President can declassify it.

BARTIROMO: Right and -- but they did not deny the omission of information that has taken place here. Basically, the FBI goes to the FISA Court and presents this so-called dossier of unverified information about Donald Trump during an election and they do not tell the FISA Court that the dossier was actually paid for by Hillary Clinton.

NUNES: Yes, and not only that. I mean that's the crux of our argument and why are going through all this. Well, phase I of our investigation was to look at the FISA abuse. So we very simply said look, the court didn't know that the Democrats paid for this. Now, remember, this is an investigation into the other campaign. I would think the judge would need to know that. They also admitted the fact after they discovered that Christopher Steele wouldn't talk to multiple media outlets and that they had used some of those media outlets -- some of those stories to cooperate the dossier, you would think somehow, someone somewhere would say hey we better go tell the FISA Court this. And they didn't do it the first time, they didn't do it the second time, third time, in fact, they didn't even do it the fourth time. So a full year, they were spying on an American citizen who was affiliated with the Trump campaign and the court didn't know any of that for four times in a row.

BARTIROMO: In terms of their surveillance, did they also capture Steve Bannon and other people within the Trump campaign

NUNES: Well look, I mean we don't -- we know that Carter Page, we know now because it's been declassified. We know anyone who was talking to Carter Page was likely picked up by authorities. Now that would include -- remember, Carter Page has been a suspect of Congress. We have interviewed him. I think the Senate has interviewed him, so this is scary stuff, right? I mean this would mean they would have Congressional communications from our branch of government. They would have anybody that he was talking to in the White House. And look, let's just, you know Carter Page is an interesting individual, OK? But he also was a guy who cooperated with the FBI back in 2013. They used him in a court case to say the Russians actually didn't even want to recruit Carter Page. But look, I don't agree with Carter Page on very much but the guy shouldn't have his e-mails or phone calls listened to and eavesdropped into.

BARTIROMO: Give us the new information that you're seeking. You have asked the FISA court for what? What are you seeking now, congressman?

NUNES: Well, one of the things this past week that we sent -- we sent a letter to the FISA court asking for the transcripts of the four appearances before the FISA court so if the FISA court approved the warrant, we want to know what transpired so we sent a letter to the court this week asking for those transcripts so that we can make either -- at least we can have those in a classified setting and if there's anything we would need to make public or need to make other members of Congress aware we would.

BARTIROMO: People want to know where this is all leading Congressman. Now I want to ask you about the Graham-Grassley memo because that memo from Lindsay Graham and Chuck Grassley, that memo confirms everything basically in your memo, but it also recommends charges. Tell us about those charges that this memo is recommending. Charges against the British spy Christopher Steele.

NUNES: Yes, so it's pretty clear. The good thing about the Grassley-Graham memo not only is -- it was actually a letter, it was a criminal referral to justice. It was written before our memo was put together. So any type of -- essentially what it does is it corroborates what we had said and it goes further than that and it really points out how Carter -- how Christopher Steele lied to the FBI. So it is a clear-cut case. Christopher Steele lied to the FBI and I can't for the life of me know when you have the House who said that hey this guy lied to the FBI, and you have the Senate who said this guy lied to the FBI, Christopher Steele, what is the Justice Department doing? Where is the prosecution of Christopher Steele? This is a slam dunk case, they have all of the documents. And this is what makes people really wonder about having confidence that the DOJ and FBI are playing this straight up.

BARTIROMO: That's right.

NUNES: If they're playing it straight up, they would have -- they would have immediately went after once they were notified by Congress, hey, Christopher Steele lied to you, they would bust him for lying to the FBI. They also, still the big felony in all this that nobody talks about from the very beginning was the leak of highly classified information when they leaked the phone call of the Russian Ambassador talks to General Mike Flynn right before the inauguration. That was a felony. Nothing has ever been done about it and people are sitting like myself are sitting there, hey, you want to go after people who were colluding with the Russians, great but let's first start with the felonies that we actually know that took place. And for some reason, nobody thinks that that's important to do. Nothing has been done and it's absolutely outrageous.

BARTIROMO: Well, that's what I'm saying. I mean, there are more felonies that you can point to. I mean, the idea that Cheryl Mills got immunity after lying to the FBI and a number of other Clintons getting immunity after actually lying to the FBI. The idea that two FBI agents Peter Strzok and his lover, the lawyer Lisa Page are saying OK, he's winning we need an insurance policy, what was the insurance policy? Creating all this nonsense and noise around a Russia probe and getting a special counsel involved? So the bottom line is where are the charges? Who will we see get prosecuted as a result of this massive abuse of power, congressman?

NUNES: So what we can do, what can we do in our branch of government, in the legislative branch of government? We provide oversight, right? So we look at these agencies. We can investigate them and at the end of the day, we can make criminal referrals, but criminal referrals only. We don't have -- we don't have people that can go out and arrest people and bring them down to the Capitol and hold them, you know, in the bowels of the Capitol. All we can do is make criminal referrals. So if DOJ and FBI are not going to prosecute what seemed to be very clear cases like with Christopher Steel lying to them or if they're not going to investigate clear felonies like the leak of very highly sensitive classified information in terms of phone calls that were intercepted, if they're not going to go after those, at some point the bucks are going to have to stop with someone and you know we will continue our investigation but I think ultimately it will be the American people who will put the pressure not only on Congress but the other branches of government to make sure that justice is served.

BARTIROMO: Yes, so where does the buck stop? We're going to take a break and when we come back I want to ask you a little more about this Congressman because you're at a World Ag Expo right now and this is turning into a street fight between you and the left whose attacking not only you but the entire farming community. We're going to talk about where you are this morning as well as how far off the chain of command goes in terms of the corruption at the FBI. Does it reach Barack Obama? We'll talk about this after this short break. Stay with us, Congressman Devin Nunes. Follow me on Twitter @MariaBartiromo, @SundayFutures. Let us know what you want to hear from Congressman Devin Nunes. He will be back with us after this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back. We're back now with the Chairman of the House Intel Committee Devin Nunes. And Congressman, you know we're talking about this FBI investigation and want to get to phase two of your investigation and what you're looking at the State Department. Let's explain where you are this morning. You're coming to us from the World Ag Expo, the agriculture farmers, the annual expo there and you know, this investigation in general has turned into something of a street fight between you and the Democrats in particular Adam Schiff whose attacking you all the time, Nancy Pelosi coming out last week saying Devin Nunes is not fit to run because you are seeking the truth. It's also impacting the entire industry isn't it, farmers?

NUNES: Yes, I mean, this is a part of the world, I always call this area the canary in the coal mine. I always warn my conservative friends and Republican allies across the country that we've been dealing with these people for a really longtime. So we're in the agricultural mecca of the world, over 300 different crops grow here, we will have the largest international Ag equipment show in the world. We'll start here tomorrow and so -- but we have been attacked by Hollywood and San Francisco for years. In fact, so much so that a lot of the land in this area, even though it's the most fertile and productive farmland in the world, we struggle every year because constantly they take our water and they let it flow out to the ocean. So this is not something that were -- that is unusual. People ask me well, how can you know you're getting attacked? Look we're used to getting attacked here in California. There's been a war on people who actually build things, grow things, work with their hands. They think that you know if you're in the D.C. Beltway or New York City, no offense to where you are now, but San Francisco and Los Angeles that this is somehow the people who make this country work. And the fact is they don't have a clue. They don't have a clue where their food comes from. And so when they attack me, it means that I know exactly what's up. It means that they are, we have the facts. They do not and they don't want the American people to know that the DOJ and FBI use political dirt from one campaign, paid for by the Democrats to go and spy on the Trump campaign.

BARTIROMO: And that's what we're learning more and more. Thank you for what you've done in terms of water for the Central Valley and your district because I know that they're trying to get all this economic activity and just put a stop to it by creating the Central Valley and putting it back to its natural dessert-like fashion, killing all that farming. So that's a whole other story, we're going to do a lot of that on "MORNINGS WITH MARIA" on the Fox Business Network coming up in the next couple of weeks. But let me ask you about phase two of this investigation, you're investigating now the State Department, what went on?

NUNES: So what we originally said is that we had an investigation into the State Department and how information was coming into the State Department and then getting to other agencies. Since we announced that just a little over a week ago, we've had numerous people that were at the State Department at the time who have now come out and are spilling their guts. In fact so much so one of them actually wrote an Op-Ed as to why I was investigating him. It was published in the Washington Post which I thought was a little bizarre because we hadn't even reached out to him yet. The only people that I know had reached out to him or had named that individual was Chuck Grassley, Senator Grassley who was also conducting an investigation. So names are beginning to spill out. Names that I think would ring a bell-like Cody Shearer and Sidney Blumenthal who are known long-time Hillary Clinton advocates. This was actually before my time in Washington when they were up to a lot of shenanigans but most of the people have been around a longtime know these characters, they know they're bad characters in terms of the types of things that they're willing to use against political adversaries. Somehow, what it appears like if you believe the Washington Post editorial or op-ed is that these cast of characters were putting information similar to the original Steel Dossier-- what appears to be a different steel dossier -- if you believe them which was attacking Trump and feeding that into the FBI. And that's not all we're looking at. I'm glad that they came out and puked their guts out in the Washington Post. I'd like more people to do that but we are actually looking at additional challenges of information that went into the State Department and went to the FBI to be used against the Republicans.

BARTIROMO: Congressman, how far up the chain does this go? Was Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton basically pulling the strings?

NUNES: Well, we know that the Attorney General was briefed in the spring of 2016, so we know she was made aware. We know now by the people from the State Department who have said that John Kerry, Secretary Kerry was briefed on the dossier. We know most of the news media was briefed on the dossier, so all of this was out there, everybody I think but the Trump campaign and Republicans and the American people, everybody else outside of those three groups knew about the dossier and were actively trying to open an investigation, start investigations to use this dirt to go after the other campaign.

BARTIROMO: Incredible so we know that Hillary Clinton goes to run for president and she's got the full weight and strength and power of the U.S. government behind her where FBI and other agencies are completely politicized to make sure she wins, and she still lost. This is just an extraordinary story.

NUNES: And not only that, Maria, but I'd also add that the collusion is right in front of our eyes.

BARTIROMO: Yes.

NUNES: Right? People -- just because you hire a lawyer who hires a firm who hires a former British spy to make contacts with Russians, that means that you were colluding with the Russians.

BARTIROMO: Right. That's called collusion, yes, collusion and corruption.

NUNES: That's called collusion and nobody's looking -- nobody's looking at that.

BARTIROMO: Congressman, we are. Thank you so much, sir. Thanks for joining us this morning.

NUNES: Thank you.

BARTIROMO: We'll be right back.

NUNES: My pleasure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back. More coming up on the FBI corruption later on in the program but first this, President Trump signed a bill this past Friday to fund the government and end a very brief government shutdown, Thursday night into Friday. The deal boosts Pentagon spending over the next two years and scraps the spending cap set by the 2011 sequester which completely really hammers the military. I want to bring in retired Four Star General Jack Keane right now. He's the Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and a Fox News Senior Strategic Analyst. General, it's always a pleasure. It's good to see you, Sir.

JACK KEANE, FOX NEWS SENIOR STRATEGIC ANALYST: Yes, great to be here, Maria.

BARTIROMO: We talked a lot about these budget requirements and what needed to be done, going into this budget deal. Your thoughts on what we just saw?

KEANE: Well, this is very significant, so I already understand we have not had a budget increase like this in defense spending since the early years of the Reagan administration in the 1980s. That is how significant this is. In 2018, the plus up from the ceiling on the budget caps is $80 billion over what that budget cap was. And now, we can begin to make a down payment on what the military really needs. Here is what they need. They need to have increase their readiness. What that means is spare parts for our airplanes and all of our vehicles and things that we use, training for the pilots, training for our organizations, desperate need of that. That's why half of the airplanes aren't flying and we have so many maintenance problems. The second thing is, Maria, we have the smallest military we have had in 75 years, yet we have global responsibilities that are significant, therefore, we're stretching that military, stressing that military and we've got to start growing it. What am I talking about? More people, more airplanes, more ships, and we've got to also increase our future capacity. The Russians and the Chinese have caught us. We no longer have the technological advantage that we used to enjoy for multiple generations, that's over. We've got to get back out there with increased capability over our adversary. So this is good news. Next year another plus up again. We've got to do it, Maria, for about five to six years steady.

BARTIROMO: Yes. You make a lot of good points because the truth is now we've got the budget done but now comes the appropriations. Where does this money get appropriated? And that's what we're going to hear in the next couple of weeks. But you know, there's a lot of people out there even on the Republican side basically saying the Republicans have lost fiscal discipline. This budget is going to mean trillion dollar deficits for years out, for as long as the eye can see and as you said, it's a significant increase in military spending but that would not have been agreed upon had the Republicans not agreed on discretionary spending increases as well. So what's your take when you look at these budget numbers and all the complaints about the Republicans today because you are talking about the return to trillion dollar deficits?

KEANE: Well certainly, I think that's a concern that we all have to be sure. The political reality is that was likely not going to be a defense increase unless there was a similar increase on a domestic side for the Democrats. That's the -- that's the political reality we're dealing with Washington. But here's what I'm encouraged by. We're not going to be able to sustain these numbers from five to six years unless something happens here. And here is what I'm talking about. Our economy has got to grow. And if our economy begins to grow, we can afford these budgets and that's where we're heading. And we're off to a good start this year with the growth in this economy. You know, we talk about on your show about we're finally seeing wage increases.

BARTIROMO: That's right.

KEANE: And we haven't seen that in years. If that continues to happen, this economy is going to take off and that's where our revenue growth will be so that we can afford defense spending, so we can afford infrastructure payments.

BARTIROMO: It's a great point. We are going to be speaking on "MORNINGS WITH MARIA" on the Fox Business Network the show you just referenced with Speaker Paul Ryan. He will be my special guest on Tuesday so we'll get into all these budget issues with Speaker Ryan. Let me ask you to switch gears for a moment General because I want to ask you about North Korea. Obviously, Vice President Mike Pence going to the Olympics sitting right in front of Kim Jong-un's sister, what's your take in terms of what we saw from the optics in -- there's Mike Pence with the head of South Korea but we know that the South Koreans and the North Koreans marched together in the Winter Games.

KEANE: Yes, well certainly, the Olympics are a special thing and I think most people in the world get you know, inspired by what takes place with these --with these great athletes and hats off to that 17-year-old youngster we got that won a gold medal yesterday. But listen, I think there's a lot of optics out there something the North is talking to the south. Talking is better than shooting that's for sure but I know for a fact, Maria, because I was talking to key leaders in our administration just this last week, they are very clear-eyed about what is happening with North Korea and South Korea. They know full well the North Koreans here this is a propaganda game for them. They're trying to drive a wedge between the South Koreans and the United States. That's not going to happen. And certainly what they're continuing to do is advance the technology programs to nuclearize ICBM's. We know that's happening. We also know, Maria, there's a showdown coming. We're just likely months away from there having a full throttle capability. The United States is going to have to pull out all the stops to stop that from actually taking place. And I know the administration is up to that task.

BARTIROMO: Yes. So in terms of when this showdown is happening, I mean, what's your timeframe in terms of when push comes to shove and the U.S. has to make a change in terms of what it's doing in its approach to North Korea and its nuclear efforts?

KEANE: Yes, well, Director Pompeo of the CIA has told us it's months away likely from the summer. He said that once before in the months close and North Korea still hadn't got full capability, so hopefully, while he says it's months away, it actually takes longer than that. But I do believe that there's some things that we can do right now. I would -- I would close the back door into North Korea from the sea which we know is happening and, you know, where supplies are getting in. I'd put Navy Ships up there, we call it a blockade, stop it you know? And I start bringing into the theatre logistical infrastructure that we would need if we need a military operation. I want North Koreans to see that the United States is serious about a military operation and it's not just words. And I'd stop sending military families to South Korea because we don't want them there obviously if a conflict takes place. We'd have to take -- bring the ones that are there home. So there's some things that we can do in the meantime. And I also believe, Maria, that the Chinese have not shut the door completely and we're going to have to go toe to toe with the Chinese over that reality.

BARTIROMO: Yes, that's a really important point. All right, we'll be watching that. General, it's good to see you, sir. Thanks so much.

KEANE: It's good talking to you, Maria.

BARTIROMO: General Jack Keane, always a pleasure. Up next, the White House withholding the Democratic counter memo, for now, saying that it contains highly sensitive information. Are the Democrats just playing politics? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will join me on that as well as the budget and the economy as we look ahead on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES right now back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Our top story this morning, the dueling FISA memos. Just moments ago we heard from House Intel Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and he told us about phase two of his investigation. Now investigating the State Department as he investigates an abuse of power at the top of the FBI and the Department of Justice during the election. I want to bring in Fox News Contributor, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He's also the author of the best-selling book Understanding Trump and it is great to see you Mr. Speaker. Thanks so much for weighing in here.

NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good to be with you. It's amazing story.

BARTIROMO: It's an amazing story. Obviously, the FBI and the Department of Justice decided to just use government resources to spy on the political enemy of Hillary Clinton.

GINGRICH: Well, look, I think it goes deeper than that. The one text message in which the FBI agent says we've got to brief Comey because President Obama wants to know everything really raises a whole series of questions about what the devil is going on. I mean, I think you probably have the President involved. You have the Attorney General Loretta Lynch who you'll remember met in secret with Bill Clinton the week they were interviewing Hillary. You now have evidence that Comey, the Director of the FBI at the time was writing the statement exonerating Hillary two months before the interview. I mean let's go down this list and then on both -- on both the protect Hillary side and the get Trump side, it is the most extraordinary example of the deep state totally abusing the rule of law and it's -- Devin Nunes has shown enormous courage but it's way beyond Devin Nunes now. I mean, you have Chairman Ron Johnson in the Senate releasing things. You have Chairman Chuck Grassley in the Senate releasing things. There are a lot of different players now engaged in this and they seem to be pretty consistently lining up except of course for Adam Schiff and the Democrats who are in the see no evil, report no evil, just hide with evil for the weekend kind of group.

BARTIROMO: Yes, that's absolutely right. And by the way, we should point out that ten people at least have been fired or reassigned at the FBI or the Department of Justice. I mean, this is not some, you know, conspiracy theory. I mean, you've got people from Jim Comey to the attorney from the southern district Preet Bharara, general -- attorney -- Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, James Rybicki, Dana Boente, Hugh Chen, Mary McCord, Bruce Ohr, James Baker, Peter Strzok reassigned all these people have been reassigned or fired, so obviously, someone -- yes, go ahead, Newt.

GINGRICH: Well let me just point out. To show you how sick the elite media is, they report all that as though it's something bad about Trump.

BARTIROMO: Right.

GINGRICH: And they say, look at all of the people who have left. Yes, they've all left because they are all engaged in what was probably criminal behavior. And the truth is that the Attorney General should intervene. He is not recused on any of this. And the attorney general should intervene and should appoint a special counsel for all those people including the Director of the FBI, including the Former Attorney General. I mean we have a very serious problem of corruption at the very top of our judicial system and our FBI system in a way which I think is pretty frightening.

BARTIROMO: But what are the consequences, Newt? I mean, that's what I keep hearing from our audience. Where is this going and who will get prosecuted? Who's going to jail and does this go all the way up to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton basically calling shots on her own election to try to investigate and come up with dirt on her opponent?

GINGRICH: Look, in any reasonable system of law, Secretary Clinton would already be in jail. All of her senior aids would be in jail. I mean you look at the -- you eliminate 33,000 e-mails. Every single one of them is account in terms of how the State Department lists what are secrets. 33,000, you have her aids who are totally engaged in this and who are being treated by the way with kid gloves by the FBI. You have -- I mean, I don't, I think the first question has to be asked by the Congress is to Comey to say, what did it mean that he was briefing the President? Give us copies of what you use to brief him. What was the president asking? I don't think you can get to Obama until you first get to Comey and to Lynch. But certainly, the one text message I thought was the equivalent of Alexander Butterfield in Watergate saying oh, you know there's this taping system. I mean we now have a very senior FBI agent, the number two guy in counterintelligence involved in text messages with his girlfriend saying, you know, we really got to put this together so Comey can brief Obama who wants to know everything.

BARTIROMO: Right.

GINGRICH: Well, does that mean he was in the middle of both covering up Hillary and going after Trump? I'm not saying I know anything except that somebody had better be preparing for some very serious hearings.

BARTIROMO: Well, that's absolutely right. I mean, you know, the gentleman you're talking about, let's see Peter Strzok, rather pardon me, Peter Strzok was on both investigations. He was on the Trump investigation, so- called collusion which never materialized and also on the e-mail scandal investigation of Hillary Clinton. And let's not forget that Loretta Lynch told Jim Comey to call it a matter. Don't call it a criminal investigation even though it was a criminal investigation. See, I've been told by insiders that Comey was basically just used and told what to do by Andy McCabe and Loretta Lynch, that they were really pulling the strings. So if Loretta Lynch is basically telling Comey call it a matter, not an investigation, do this, say it this way, I'm going to go meet with Bill Clinton on a tarmac in Arizona, she's obviously getting the word from her boss who is Barack Obama.

GINGRICH: Well, I think that's probably true but we don't know that yet which is why I think we have to start with Comey and put him under oath and say were you briefing the President or did Strzok lie. And then bring Strzok in and have him testify why didn't you think his briefing the President and also Strzok's girlfriend who was part of that conversation.

BARTIROMO: That's right.

GINGRICH: Then you have the conversations in Andy McCabe's office and remember, his wife had gotten I think 700,000 dollars as a Democratic candidate. So now you have the Deputy Director of the FBI and it was in his office that Strzok said they had talks about how terrible it would be if Trump won. I mean, you share opinion -- if you put all the pieces up on the wall, it is impossible to reach any conclusion other than that there was an enormous conspiracy at the very top. Again let me be clear. Most FBI agents are honest, honorable, decent people. The top one percent was apparently stunningly engaged in corruption

BARTIROMO: Right. And one by one those ten people are being fired or reassigned. I agree with you about the FBI in general. A word before you go, Newt, on Jeff Sessions. Is he going to get involved in any of this? I mean, at the end of the day, he's holding the ball in terms of where this goes for prosecutions.

GINGRICH: Look, he is a very good friend of mine but I have to tell you, I am very disappointed. He is not in any way recused on this information. He should be appointing an independent counsel. He should be demanding that we get to the bottom of this. He should be the guy in charge of the cleanup and there's no reason he can't be. This has nothing to do with the so-called Russian investigation and therefore he's not recused in any way. And I frankly am very surprised that he has been so passive about this.

BARTIROMO: Well what's the answer? Does he always have lawyers around him basically saying don't say a word about it because you recused yourself?

GINGRICH: Look, you are a great interviewer, invite him on your show and ask him. I don't know what the answer is. I'm totally mystified because he's a great guy. He's a solid conservative, he certainly is in his career has been a fighter and this behavior is just totally unlike everything I knew about Jeff Sessions before the last six or eight months.

BARTIROMO: Yes. All right, we'll be watching that, so on Jeff Sessions, we will be following the story as you know it. Newt Gingrich, always a pleasure sir, thank you.

GINGRICH: Good to be with you.

BARTIROMO: And then there's this, the economy and a rollercoaster week on Wall Street. What can we expect tomorrow? Have Republicans lost fiscal discipline with their latest budget? Our panel will weigh in as we look ahead on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES back in a moment.

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BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Time for the panel. Ed Rollins is former White House Advisor to President Reagan. James Freeman is the Assistant Editor of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page. Both are Fox News Contributors and it is a pleasure to have you both on the program.

ED ROLLINS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

JAMES FREEMAN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: It's great to be here.

BARTIROMO: Good morning gentleman. Your thoughts on the FISA memo, corruption at the top of the FBI, Ed Rollins?

ROLLINS: Well it's there, no question about it's there. And now you've seen the stuff with Sidney Blumenthal and others at the top of the FBI, apparently, stuff is going into the State Department that had no business being there. And I think they said it and I think it goes right to the top.

BARTIROMO: So they paid for the dossier and actually they wrote part of it, the Clintons. They even wrote part of it.

ROLLINS: It was the opposition research of the Democratic National Committee and her campaign and I think the idea for the FBI and the State Department to pick it up and run with it while investigating shows that they clearly were -- the ball was tipped against Trump and clearly in her favor.

BARTIROMO: I'll tell you, it's extraordinary, James.

FREEMAN: It is. And I think people want to know. I'd like to see the Democratic memo. I'd like to also hear from the FISA judge. I think Americans want to know, is it really that easy to get a warrant to spy on your political opponents because we've heard a lot about the civil liberties being protected when you have a judge looking at these wiretap requests and in this case, it looks like they weren't.

BARTIROMO: Can anyone explain Jeff Sessions?

ROLLINS: No, I think he's just missing in action. I think he basically is a job he always wanted and he doesn't want to function. And I think the reality is the person who just resigned, the number three position is just a very important position and better be a Trump loyalist.

FREEMAN: You'd like someone running the Justice Department that would be helpful. The problem is you probably couldn't get anyone else confirmed through the Senate right now, so --

BARTIROMO: That's good point. A very important point you just made.

FREEMAN: Yes. So we have this really kind of disturbing moment where the big decisions are not being made by the duly-elected authority in the executive branch but people who are more or less independent.

BARTIROMO: We're going to hear a lot more about Bruce Ohr. Bruce Ohr Was the number three Department of Justice official. His wife worked for Fusion GPS who put together the dossier. Nobody at the Department of Justice knew that Bruce Ohr'swife worked for Fusion GPS, I mean this is a joke.

ROLLINS: Well, you know, it's kind of high-level positions and I had the privilege of serving on some of them. You have to have a core of your own beliefs and you have to basically say I think there's a conflict of interest here, I think I'll step aside. Unfortunately, the only person who stepped aside is Jeff Sessions who should be fully engaged. He has no -- he has reason not be fully engaged today as the Attorney General and he is. But these other -- these other people who have been active -- did have conflicts and they weren't there

BARTIROMO: I think it's also interesting to note that every time Jim Comey had a meeting with Donald Trump, he took lots of copious notes. Every time he had a meeting with Hillary Clinton it was off the record, no notes.

FREEMAN: Well, we'd also like to know about is meetings with Barack Obama and specifically what was said about these various investigations. Did they discuss the Clinton one? Did they discuss the Russia investigation? I mean the truth is that the FBI director despite what you see in a lot of media does work for the president but of course Barack Obama said on your network that he didn't discuss investigations.

BARTIROMO: That's right.

FREEMAN: The FBI Director or the A.G.

ROLLINS: I also think the A.G. when she met accidentally with --

BARTIROMO: Bill Clinton?

ROLLINS: Bill Clinton, they weren't talking about golf and grandkids.

BARTIROMO: Accidentally, they met accidentally? Because everybody just so happens to run into their friends on a tarmac in Arizona.

ROLLINS: This is in the…

BARTIROMO: Yes, absolutely. Let's take a break. When we come back, a thousand point swings, James Freeman in the stock market, are they here to stay? Should we care? We're taking a look at the economy and markets when we come back as we look ahead on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES back in a moment.

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BARTIROMO: Welcome back. We're back with our panel, Ed Rollins, and James Freeman. James, 1,000 point moves and wild swings in the market has become common place. What's going on?

FREEMAN: Yes, I know it's sort of uncomfortable for people to look at their 401(k) statements right now, this kind of volatility but I think it is healthy. It's moving from an economy dominated by government, central banks and more toward private decision-making so it could be, it could make people a little nervous but the economy is good, corporate profits are rising. It's a good news story.

BARTIROMO: Should you not worry about yields in terms of interest rates because when we look at the Dow versus the yields, like the 10-year getting up to three percent, that's been one source of upset right, that people are saying rates are going higher so let me take my money out of the stock market, less risk in treasury.

FREEMAN: Yes, I was thinking about this, you know, this kind of freak out over three percent. That's still historically very low. Ed remembers the mid-1980s, we had double-digit rates on the ten-year bond from spring of 83 to spring of 84, it went up 300 basis points or more and what was the economy doing? Crushed it.

BARTIROMO: Exactly. I mean, this is all for good reason right, Ed?

ROLLINS: Every sign of the economy is strong. The market is up and down and crazy and it may settle itself out. The thing I think I worry about a little bit though is we now have -- we've raised the entire budget process to a much higher level and we're going to have deficits that are going to go back to the mark and that's not fair to the next generation. Plus with the interest rates going up, it's going to be a very substantial dollar sum that they're going have to pay in just interest. So we need to be very, very restrained on this especially domestic spending.

BARTIROMO: But doesn't growth help that. I mean, that's the whole point. The Republicans say growth is the priority. Does growth help on the debt? You're right, a trillion dollar deficits is what this market is worried about.

ROLLINS: It certainly will if we get the growth and I hope we do.

BARTIROMO: Do you think we're going to get it, James?

FREEMAN: Yes, and I think that's the signal and we want to see that productivity growth as well. But I agree, this is the threat and people focus on the stock market. I think the real bubble is in government bonds. They've never been more expensive than 5,000 years of recorded history and I think the Republicans really missed an opportunity this past week to start to bring us back toward fiscal sanity.

BARTIROMO: That's definitely the word. Well, we'll see what happens on entitlements. Probably nothing in an election year.

ROLLINS: Certainly nothing in the election.

BARTIROMO: Good to see you both. James Freeman, Ed Rollins, always a pleasure, gentleman. Thank you. Join me for "MORNINGS WITH MARIA" on The Fox Business Network this week. This Tuesday, I've got an exclusive special interview for you with House Speaker Paul Ryan. That is Tuesday morning at 8:00 A.M. Eastern on the Fox Business Network. Please join me then and join me every weekday on Fox Business for mornings with Maria 6:00-9:00 a.m. Eastern. Have a great day everybody. SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES comes back next Sunday right here, I'm Maria Bartiromo. Stay with Fox News. Back in a moment.

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