Federal judge blocks Trump policy on indefinite detention for asylum seekers

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Federal judge blocks Trump policy on indefinite detention for asylum seekers

Policy would keep asylum seekers detained while their cases are pending; reaction from former acting ICE director Tom Homan and immigration attorney Gunther Sanabria.

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," July 2, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

RAYMOND ARROYO, ANCHOR: Thank you. I'm Raymond Arroyo in for Laura Ingraham and this is “The Ingraham Angle” from New York tonight. Nike pulls a shoe featuring an American flag after a backlash from national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick. It's just one of several instances of Patriotism Under Fire as we approach Independence Day. We'll take a closer look.

Also, we have breaking immigration news for you tonight. A federal judge is blocking Trump's latest border efforts. The former Acting Director of ICE will be here to respond. Plus, two more polls show just how bad Joe Biden fared in that last Democratic debate. Is the tide turning on the former VP? Matt Schlapp and Juan Williams are here to break it all down.

New developments tonight in the brutal ANTIFA attack on conservative journalist Andy Ngo. His attorney is here exclusively to lay out the next steps that she plans to take to get justice. And comedian Tom Shillue will join me to reveal the celebrity obsession with Robert Mueller snuffing out smoking at Netflix and much, much more.

But first, we open with patriotism and history under fire, a troubling new Gallup poll finds that only 45 percent of U.S. adults are extremely proud to be American. That is an 18-year low down from 51 percent just two years ago. Most tellingly, Democrats extreme pride in the poll fell to its lowest level in the survey's history to 22 percent. Meanwhile, 76 percent of Republicans are extremely proud of the country. Now for context, the Republicans extreme pride in America has never fallen below 67 percent even during the Obama administration. Obviously, partisanship is accelerating this dwindling pride in the country. And frankly, it shouldn't, no matter who's elected president, no matter who's calling the shots in Congress that should in no way disturb our love of country, the freedoms we enjoy, the prosperity all around us, the liberty that we too often take for granted, part of our problem is, there is so little that unites us today.

This was a republic founded on an idea, not blood or race, but an ideal of freedom and self-governance. It was predicated on morality and common purpose. But over the last few decades, we have run down the reputation of the founders, disparaged even the founding itself and strafed our own history. Today, we're fighting over Betsy Ross's flag and stripping murals of the founding fathers from schools all of which we're going to debate in just moments. But this self-loathing, this destructive cultural crusade to strike the memory of any individual that fails to measure up to the shifting mores of the day will only further divide us and hasten our forgetting of self.

History is made by human beings who are by their nature flawed and broken, and amid their failings our great lessons that cannot and should not be forgotten. One quick example, you no doubt remember the removal of the series of Confederate monuments and statues in my native New Orleans in 2017. Now whatever you might think of the historical figures depicted or recalled by these statues, they existed. These individuals shaped America's story for good or ill. And it's up to us to acknowledge them and explain their legacy to our children, sins and all. There was one statue, I probably passed this thing a hundred times outside of City Park in New Orleans. I went to school in that park. It was this one. PGT Beauregard. He was a Confederate General. What I did not know until I did some research as they dismantled his statue was that Beauregard ordered the attack on Fort Sumter. He designed the Confederate flag, but it's his post-Civil War life that's far more important. He invented the cable powered streetcars that have become synonymous with New Orleans and most tellingly in 1873, he founded a political party, made up of whites and free people of color that fought for black rights and for the black vote.

Beauregard had a change of heart on race in his later life. It is outrageous to me that a story of redemption like Beauregard has been stripped from our physical memory, from our American consciousness and not only his many others. We owe it to our children to offer them the whole American story, the good, the bad, the sins and the glory. How else will they learn how to avoid in the future what to emulate and what to be proud of as Americans.

And now we turn to the shoe giant Nike pulling its Fourth of July sneaker featuring a Betsy Ross flag. Now this comes after NFL star - former NFL star, Colin Kaepernick reportedly intervened. He claimed the flag was offensive and racially insensitive. Now Nike in a statement today said, they made the decision based on concerns that the sneaker could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation's patriotic holiday.

Joining me now with some reaction is Burgess Owens. He's a Super Bowl Champion and conservative commentator and Leo Terrell, Civil Rights Attorney. Thank you both for being here. Burgess, do you buy Nike's explanation that this is racially insensitive, unintentionally offensive.

BURGESS OWENS, FORMER NFL PLAYER: No, I don't. This is what we have to recognize. We truly are. We're fighting for the hearts of our country and company is nothing but a tool, it's a tool for the Marxist that sit on the boards of Nike that in essence this will be fighting against. We're dealing with an organization that are global organizations that can care less about our American way and they do everything they can to demean and steal the faith and the love our country for our kids by giving these messages that actually just divide us more than anything else. So, no I don't I don't buy that the company has the power to do this. There is something that these guys have been thinking about for months and they pulled at a time where it impacts the most, our time - our celebration for our country. ARROYO: Leo, what's your take. Is this racially insensitive? I mean it's the flag with the 13 colonies. That's what it really is.

LEO TERRELL, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes. Well, let me just say, first of all, I love your opening statement and I'm proud to be an American. But wait a minute, Marxist company. Let me tell Mr. Owens something very basic. That flag represents a time, period, when I as an African American with Mr. Owens is African American was considered as property. So, I applaud Nike because that's the wrong flag for the Fourth of July. And I would submit to Mr. Owens the following statement. Mr. Owens that flag - if 34 million of African Americans were considered property. How can we take pride in that particular flag on the Fourth of July? And with all due respect, every conservative, anyone who believes in free market, Nike has the right to pull this.

ARROYO: OK. I want to--

TERRELL: And not think they're communist.

ARROYO: Let me--

TERRELL: Why don't you say that?

ARROYO: Guys, before we talk over each other, let's wait a second. I want to play something for you. I want to talk about that flag. I went on the streets of New York today and I asked voters what they thought of this controversy. Listen, and then I want to get your reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Colin Kaepernick got Nike to rescind a pair of sneakers because it had the Betsy Ross flag on it. He says that's racist. And so, they've withdrawn sales of those sneakers. Was that a good idea.?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree with that because I mean if you look at our history that is a flag that is not representative of our people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a shame. I mean we've got a history. You know we have to really. History is history. Why take it away. So, I don't think it's racist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does he have that much power as an athlete. I can't buy them because he's an offended athlete, you don't get it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Colin Kaepernick is an absolute joke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone's entitled to their First Amendment speech, but so are other people who choose to say negative things about him or Nike and choose not to buy as a result of those actions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I grew up with sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you. And now, Betsy Ross flag shoes is offensive. Something is definitely wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a flag that has, is now represented by a group of people that are known racist. So, when you look at that flag then I think that they should have done it. ARROYO: The founders. Who was - is someone using it now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm talking about KKK members.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This doesn't make sense to me. It's American, it's American, it's American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: OK. Now, I read an article today, it claims Leo and Burgess that the flag was used - this so-called Betsy Ross flag was adopted in the 1980's by the American Nazi Party. Now I had never heard of this. None of the people I talked to today had ever heard of this particular connection. My question is because of a group - because of a group of extremists happened to wrestle a piece of Americana and use it to their ends, why should they be allowed to hijack American history. I mean if they show up with the Statue of Liberty mask on, should we then strike the Statue of Liberty. Leo.

OWENS: Can I say - this is where our problem is. We have the greatest country in history of mankind. We have people like ourselves sitting here, living American dream and we're putting down our history. Little bit of history here. Slavery has been around for 3,000, 4,000 years at a time, the words We the People written 89 years later with the lives of 300,000 white union soldiers, we ended slavery and our race has been moving forward ever since. These kinds of issues, these kinds of people, the elitists that are telling our young people that this country is not for them is the worst thing it could happen to our country. We should be proud of our nation, proud of the sacrifice of every single culture that came through including black community and stop this - of our country.

ARROYO: Burgess I want to give Leo a shot.

TERRELL: I have to respond to this, that flag - at the time that flag was created Mr. Owens and I or anyone of African American descent was consider as property and we had to go through and Mr. Owens is saying, we have made progress. Yes, those kids in Birmingham, Alabama were killed at a church, we had to go through losing lives--

OWENS: KKK.

TERRELL: With all due respect, how in the world can you simply say that flag is OK, when you and I were considered as property. Just answer that question.

OWENS: My friend, we're not property today. We're free, we are successful because we live in a country that gives us the American dream and it's time for us to be made - and stop and down to the opportunities. ARROYO: OK, I've got to play this for you. This is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell commenting on this Betsy Ross flag Nike controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, R-KY: If we're in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think we've got a problem. I hope Nike either releases issues or some other Shoemaker picks up the flag puts it on a pair of shoes and starts selling it. I'll make the first order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Leo does that make Mitch McConnell a racist.

TERRELL: No. No. That comment is disingenuous. Raymond, we're not talking about today's flag. Let's be clear. That's a trick, that's a politician trick. That flag that's on the Nike shoe which I'm glad they pull represents a flag of 240 years ago when I could not sit next to you because I was property.

ARROYO: Leo. My big concern here. Wait, one second. My big concern is if we start playing this game where we go back and find every sin of history and use that to enlighten it all, we've got to strike down Monticello. We should rip down Mount Vernon. These people were actual slave owners and it's a corrupted founding, isn't it Burgess?

OWENS: You know the first martyr for this country was Crispus Attuck, a black man who loved this country throughout our history. We had black people who come to the aid and helped our country to grow. It's time for us to stop this. This socialist Marxist division of putting our country down, our God country and family. That's what they're after guys.

ARROYO: OK. Let me hear quickly. I've got to get to one other topic gentlemen. There is a mural in a San Francisco school district. The school district is spending $600,000 to erase it. And here's the rub. It was created by a left of center muralist who actually depicts Washington with slaves in the background. You see the corpses of Native Americans. It was actually a critical commentary on Washington to broaden the perception of this founding father. Is this a good idea Leo to strike this mural, which has been up since 1936?

TERRELL: Is it a good idea to take that mural down. Yes, because you know why Raymond in 1936, how many blacks, how many Native Americans participated in deciding whether or not to put that mural up there. It was decided by white people - look at the people that picked it. How many blacks and how many Native Americans were involved in the decision making to put that mural up there. Zero.

ARROYO: Leo, mural sought to encourage conversation and a reflection on history, it depicts something quite controversial. It's not a Lily-White gilded portrait of Washington. It shows the sins of the man and his glories. See, I defend that, Burgess very quickly. We've got to get off.

OWENS: Yes, the Marxist, Karl Marx said very simply, the first battleground is rewriting of our history. We have black races today, white races today trying to divide us. So, let's learn our history, let's be proud of it and realize we have the greatest country in history of mankind and the freest black Americans in our world because of this great--

ARROYO: OK.

OWENS: Let's learn it and not try to put it down.

ARROYO: I have to leave it there. Thank you both, gentlemen. The politics of race is taking center stage in the Democratic Party. Today, Mayor Pete courted African American voters at Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago. Now it's become a popular stop for the 2020 Democrats, but Buttigieg took the opportunity to make his pitch once again for slavery reparations. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG, D-IND.: Every dollar plundered. 150 years ago, cost the descendants of the victim a thousand today. Each year we do not act, the bill grows larger and the costs cut deeper. The fact that some of this theft came a very long time ago doesn't make it better. It makes it worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: A new poll reveals why Buttigieg is so desperate to win this voting bloc. Joining me to discuss is Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union. And with me on set Juan Williams, Fox News Political Analyst and Co-Host of The Five.

Gents, Quinnipiac poll has Buttigieg at 0 percent among black voters. Biden leads the pack with 31 percent, followed by Kamala Harris at 27 percent. Juan, my first question, why is Biden beating everyone else with black voters.

JUAN WILLIAMS, HOST: Well, I don't think it's too hard. He was Vice President to the first black President, but also, he has a long history with black voters, so I think there is a certain sense of familiarity and a certain sense of trust. Now you saw what happened in the first debate where Kamala Harris, a commanding performance--

ARROYO: Wipe the floor.

WILLIAMS: I don't know about wipe the floor, but she clearly put him on the defense Raymond, and when she did that, I think she ate into the sense that he is the inevitable winner of this contest. ARROYO: Matt, when you watch this, when you look at these polling numbers, your thought on why Biden is still commanding and even ahead of Kamala Harris. I would have thought she'd win black voters. Given her strong stand at that debate and why is Buttigieg doing so poorly.

MATT SCHLAPP, AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION CHAIR: A couple of interesting things in these polls. Like I would take these poll numbers that show that Joe Biden with a commanding double-digit lead amongst African Americans and I'd go to Democrats in the Fox screen room and other places and say, explain this to me with two prominent African American at least two prominent African American candidates. Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, how is or black candidates - how is Joe Biden doing so well and they all said, look, just like Juan said, he was right there at Barack Obama's side, he has a long history of civil rights. But to me, I'm not a Democrat, as an outsider looking into this process, it seems like at some point one of these black candidates was going to stand up and have the moral voice to try to pull these voters back. And I think that's exactly what Kamala Harris did.

Raymond quickly the second interesting thing in the polls is that the second - most of these polls it shows the number two, pick a Biden voter. Is Bernie Sanders. So, what you're really seeing is potentially African American voters or black voters getting behind Kamala while Bernie will benefit from some other voters if Biden continues to have shaky performances.

ARROYO: OK, I want to ask you about something else Buttigieg said today, here he is on criminal justice reform. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUTTIGIEG: I believe we can and must achieve a 50 percent reduction in incarceration in this country without an increase in crime. We can do it by legalizing marijuana and eliminating incarceration for simple drug possession. We knew by abolishing private federal prisons and putting an end to petty fines and fees that criminalized poverty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Juan, you heard Buttigieg's kind of pie in the sky approach there. How does that stack up against Trump's actual criminal justice reform, which people on the right and left are giving a major kudos for.

WILLIAMS: Right. So, I don't get it, why does it have to stack up, I mean clearly what Buttigieg is talking about is perspective. He's looking about what can be done in the future, he talks about reducing incarceration rates and I think across the aisle, there are Republicans, sometimes very concerned Republicans who agree on this point. I hope you know this. And so, I think lots of people think we have overdone the whole notion of incarceration in this society and now we're in large conversation about how you rehabilitate people and get them back into society in time of low unemployment saying, hey, you know what, we want people who are contributing to our society.

ARROYO: Right. Matt for the first time might Republicans actually be competitive on the African American vote. I mean we saw a little of that last time. Trump certainly got a larger share of African American support than his most recent predecessors did. SCHLAPP: Look, I think the key for President Trump, for all Republicans really, but especially for President Trump is this question about is the economy doing better. And I think for voters, no matter what their heritage, no matter what their ethnicity skin color, the idea that you have more economic opportunities is a big deal. The problem for Mayor Pete Buttigieg is that he's actually in a tough job in the city of South Bend, spent a lot of time in South Bend.

And the problem when he goes out there and says, we should, we should, we should. He was the mayor of a town that has substantial racial strife, that had big policing problems that have alienated the African American community. And for sitting mayor to talk about what we should in the future decriminalize marijuana crimes et cetera. Well, Mayor Pete what have you been doing in your town is a fair attack that other Democrats going to raise.

ARROYO: Juan very quickly before we're out of time. Do you agree that this will hurt Buttigieg what's happening in the shooting in South Bend, the way he handled it?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I mean clearly, he even said in the debate room and he said you know I failed in terms of raising the numbers of blacks on the police department, trying to heal what Matt was talking about, the divisions in the society. And I think that message is across the nation turns the black community, they don't see Mayor Pete as having made any substantial inroads in building a record on race.

ARROYO: Thank you. Juan Williams, Matt Schlapp. We'll check in with you soon. We have a Fox News alert. A federal judge is blocking Trump's policy on detaining asylum seekers. Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan is here to tell us how this could further complicate the border crisis. All of that next, stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ARROYO: This is a Fox News alert. A federal judge now blocking Trump's policy keeping thousands of asylum seekers in detention pending their immigration cases, demanding a bond hearing within seven days. If not, those illegal immigrants must be released. Joining me now is Tom Homan, former Acting ICE Director and Fox News Contributor and Gunther Sanabria, I'll get it right, Immigration Attorney. Gents what effect will this ruling have on the border crisis. Tom, you ran this show for a while.

THOMAS HOMAN, CONTIRBUTOR: It's going to continue and it's going to get worse. I mean the reason these family units are coming across now, please you bring a child you won't be detained, if we detained you, detained for a few days because of for some agreement. The children come in because they can't be detained for one to 72 hours by statute. They get released to sponsors or parents or given to HHS. So, if they want to expand who they can't detain. What do you think will happen? You think you're in a crisis now. Hold on tight. It's going to get worse.

ARROYO: And the judge said you have to give them a bond hearing within seven days which means you can't hold him for more than seven days. Do we have the facilities? I mean we're looking at some of the facilities that came out in this new report which I'm going to get to in a moment. Do we have the facilities to hold this volume of people or are we just going to have to release everybody, if it's a seven-day retainer?

HOMAN: ICE certain has capability of expanding their detention beds depending on funding from Congress. They can put their hands on 10,000 more beds in a month so that they can certainly expand detention. But you know if you look at what ICE does like last year 92 percent, 92 percent of everybody ICE removed from the United States were removed from a detention bed. Once they get released as you can see, by the immigration court already said 90 percent removal orders were in absentia which means they weren't in court to get the rule of order.

So, detention works, consequence works. So, if that can provide a solid address and they're going to be at that address, and they can show who they are without a doubt and you know they should be detained. ARROYO: Gunther, your reaction, isn't this a challenge. I mean how many of these people are showing up for their actual immigration hearings once they're released into the country.

GUNTHER SANABRIA, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: Well, we don't know how many are appearing just because they told them to apply for asylum, but this is a problem. This is a bottleneck, and this is a bottleneck caused by Donald Trump. Donald Trump stopped the bond hearings, stopped the power that the judges had to decide a case, and this is what is happening. We have overcrowded jails, overcrowded system. So, the judge said, enough, we can fix this problem.

The law allows us to give them a bond hearing and that's what we're going to do. There is no reason why we're holding a mother and a father and a child in a detention center waiting days and sometimes months for a bond hearing. This is our system; our legal system allows the judges to grant a bond based on certain requirements and if they have the requirements then they should be released on a bond. ARROYO: Tom very quickly, why do we hold these kids and these families in detention?

HOMAN: Because they're likely to escape. Look at the data, data is clear. 90 percent (removal orders) are in absentia which means they didn't go to court. I mean that's just the facts. SANABRIA: But those numbers are not accurate.

HOMAN: They're absolutely accurate. Come on now. If you look at those claiming - those claiming asylum at the border almost half of them don't even file, the claims--

ARROYO: Wait a second.

SANABRIA: Appear in court, sir. 100 percent of my clients that--

ARROYO: That's your clients, but he's talking about the national numbers.

HOMAN: Look, all you guys do is, go to the DOJ stat website, look at EIR, 90 percent of removal orders in absentia.

SANABRIA: And I can't tell you--

HOMAN: One thing they never want to talk about--

ARROYO: Wait.

HOMAN: Those who claim asylum at the border, half of them don't even follow a case with immigration court. I mean this just was being played and you have to admit that.

ARROYO: OK, Gunther quickly respond.

SANABRIA: Quickly respond. Look, immigration causes a lot of these problems because they don't do their job properly. They're not prepared, they're not trained. I have clients that come a year ago and immigration is sending them their notice for hearing a year and a half later. They move. Yes. They don't get the notice. Correct.

ARROYO: OK.

HOMAN: It's incredible they can find a way from Central America to United States, but they can't find a way to an immigration court in the city they live. I guarantee they'll find a way to a welfare office; I guarantee they'll find a way to CIS to get court information documents--

ARROYO: Gent, I'm going to have to--

HOMAN: It's just ridiculous.

ARROYO: I have to get to this important report. A new report from the DHS Office of Inspector General and it calls on the Trump administration to take immediate steps to address the conditions in the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol facilities. As we've reported that area is one of the busiest and easiest for illegals to cross, because there is little or no border wall in place. The Rio Grande River serves as the natural barrier, which as we've shown you is not much of a deterrent. “The Ingraham Angle” went down there. But one of these processing centers in Del Rio. And yes, they're overcrowded.

But the agents we saw are working and going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure all of these immigrants are cared and protected. Now here is what they didn't share in the IG report. OK. The media has not shared. There has been 124 percent increase in the number of apprehensions versus the same period in 2018. In May of 2017 less than 700 people a day cross the border illegally. In May of 2019, nearly 5000 are entering daily. Tom, you've been in these facilities. What is this new IG report getting wrong about the crisis at the border and the media coverage of it?

HOMAN: Look, I've said it a thousand times the past week. The Border Patrol facilities were not built for children and women family units. That is why the Border Patrol has begged Congress, the Secretary Macklin has begged Congress, the President has asked Congress to fund HHS money to buy - so they can get more HHS beds that are built to house families, they have the proper facilities for children. But Congress has failed to do nothing about this crisis.

ARROYO: Gunther, isn't that part of the backup here. You don't have ICE or HHS with the facilities to house the families and the children that by court order, by law have to be housed separately and make comfortable.

SANABRIA: That is correct. We were never prepared to jump from 500 to 5000, but that is something that is not new. This isn't going on for a year and President Trump have been told over and over and over by immigration attorneys, immigration judges to provide more resources to process these people.

ARROYO: Well, he's been asking Congress - so what's I mean very quickly. What's the answer? How do we stop this extraordinary flow that we're seeing? Tom Homan.

HOMAN: You close the loopholes. If a family unit wants to come across and claim asylum. Let us hold them long enough to see a judge. That's the only way we can guarantee they're going to see a judge. We did it in FY2015. We built our first family detention center and guess what, 90 percent loss of cases, we sent him home. The border numbers plummeted. It works.

ARROYO: I wish I had more time. I could be here all night with you guys Thank you, Gunther, Tom. Coming up, we have new details about President Trump's Fourth of July salute to America. Is he politicizing a holiday or just encouraging patriotism? A live report, your thoughts, and a hot debate, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: We're going to have a great Fourth of July in Washington, D.C. It will be like no other. It will be special, and I hope a lot of people come. And it's going to be about this country, and it's a salute to America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: I'm Raymond Arroyo, welcome back to “The Ingraham Angle.” New tonight, we are learning exactly what the president has planned for his July 4th extravaganza. It is going to feature music and flyovers, fireworks, and much more. Fox's Kristin Fisher is live at the White House tonight with the story. Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, CORRESPONDENT: Raymond, this is shaping up to be quite a spectacle. President Trump is promising the biggest fireworks display ever. There is going to be a flyover of Air Force One, Marine One, the Blue Angels, and more. And then there are the tanks, which is one of the more unique and controversial aspects of the president's Fourth of July plans. Several U.S. Army tanks will be on display on the National Mall, including some M1A1 Abrams. Each one weighs more than 60 tons, and they've had to be transported by train to get here. You're not going to see them moving because their big treads could really rip up the roads, something that local D.C. officials are very worried about. And they are already saying that they'll ask the federal government to reimburse them for any damages.

And to top it off, President Trump himself will be speaking at the Lincoln Memorial. He is promising to deliver a nonpartisan speech, one that will focus on patriotism and not politics. But critics, like his 2020 rival Tim Ryan, say, quote, "The president is showboating and wasting taxpayer funding just to inflate his ego. Our Armed Forces and military assets not politically props. We know we are the most powerful country in the world. We don't need to brag about it. This isn't North Korea." But then again, of course President Trump says this is a celebration for all Americans and not a political rally.

So Raymond, the big question now is, of course, how much is this going to cost? "The Washington Post" is reporting that National Park Service is diverting about $2.5 million, but of course, that is only be a small fraction of the total price tag. And the Trump administration so far is isn't saying exactly what the final cost will be in the end to taxpayers. Raymond?

ARROYO: Kristin, thank you for the report.

Joining me now to debate the president's July 4th celebration is Marc Lotter, he is the director of strategic communications with President Trump's reelection campaign, and Luis Miranda, he is the former DNC communications director. Marc, what do you say the critics who say this is just a taxpayer-funded Trump rally? You heard Kristin's report there and what it's going to cost.

MARC LOTTER, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I think it's nonsense. This is obviously a celebration of not only the independence but the United States military. And I'll tell you, when the founding fathers closed out the Declaration of Independence by saying they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to this country, they knew it was to take more than a piece of paper. It was going to take men and women fighting to save and to establish this country. The president wants to honor the people who are still fighting to protect that freedom.

ARROYO: Luis I spoke to a number of people on the streets of New York today and got their reaction to this. I was kind of surprised by the reaction. I'm going play it for you to get your reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he should. I think it is great. We should be more patriotic. I'm all for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think July 4th celebrating the country is a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's probably politicizing July 4th. There's more about the people of the country. I'm a veteran. So I don't want you to say look, I'm the king of the world. We don't have a king, right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's an absolutely good idea. I'm very patriotic and I think he's doing a good job being patriotic, so yes, love it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're actually going to be going to that. We're going to be there in Washington. It's fantastic. Why wouldn't you want the president of the United States addressing the country on its birthday? It's not political, it's just the president should have been doing this. To be honest, I'm kind of shocked it hasn't been happening before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Luis, your reaction. What is wrong with that? The president is the president, why shouldn't he celebrate America? It's just a speech.

LUIS MIRANDA: I think one of the problems is that he is going to politicize it. He's already politicizing it. They're already giving out tickets to the RNC to give them prime spots so that they can rake in more fundraising money out of it. And that is what the problem is. Unless they are going to start doing that for the DNC on the other side, then it becomes a political event instead of what it's supposed to be, which is a celebration of America's independence.

But I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with putting on a display of support for our military in some ways. I grew up in south Florida, I'm in Fort Lauderdale right now where we have an annual air show where we see the Blue Angels, we see the Thunderbirds. So there is a place for that. I just think that what he's trying to do here it really compensate for his insecurities, as he always does. This is a guy who has fake "Time" magazine covers at all of his golf clubs. This is a guy who is always worried about his crowd sizes, who fired Jim Mattis because Jim Mattis dared disagree with him about troop pullout. So he's really covering up for a deep-seated insecurity.

ARROYO: Luis, it is a parade and a concert. He's only speaking for a little bit if it. The fireworks are long after, an hour and a half or two hours after he speaks. I get people worried about the one speech, but really it's a day of festivities. I want to show you how the media is reporting this, and then I want Marc to jump in here. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a part of the president's tough guy image.

MARK JACOBSON, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, DEFENSE SECRETARY ASH CARTER: This is exactly the opposite of what the founding fathers meant in terms of symbolism. It is not supposed to look like North Korea or the Soviet Union.

EUGENE ROBINSON, "WASHINGTON POST" COLUMNIST: It's just obscene. President don't speak at the Fourth of July. I think it's awful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: John Adams did say the day should be celebrated with pomp and illuminations and noise and display. Marc, your reaction here, and to Luis' critique that you are all giving away privileged tickets to this event, reserve tickets to donors. Is that happening?

LOTTER: Let me explain one thing. At the other end of the National Mall at the Capitol. I was there last year. There was no general admission line. All of those tickets are given out by leadership. And I'm sure Nancy Pelosi controls who is going to be on the House side of that this year. I don't see any outrage. It happens every year. This is just partisan nonsense.

And to people who have been around forever like Eugene Robinson and the others, I don't remember the outrage when Ronald Reagan commanded three days of attension during that liberty celebration over the Fourth of July, standing on the USS John F. Kennedy giving a speech with fireworks in the background, the military was there. Where was the outrage then? This is Trump derangement syndrome run amok.

ARROYO: Luis, I have to get your reaction before I run out of time. a new poll -- no, no, let me ask this, Luis. Let me ask this. Fifty-two percent of Americans support the president speaking at his celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, only 34 percent oppose it. It seems the majority of Americans. Why be opposed to something like this?

MIRANDA: He is the president. He should speak. Nobody is saying he shouldn't speak. It's just the politicization. I do think Democrats are wasting their time fighting over this. I think it looks tawdry. It will look bad when he makes it political just like we know he's done because he's done this at military bases. He's done it plenty of times. It really is about his ego. But it's not worth really getting into it, because at the end of the day the focus should be on our nation's independence. And our founding fathers meant for this to be a day we celebrated democracy, representation. We fought the Revolutionary War precisely because we had taxation without representation.

ARROYO: OK, I have to go, guys.

MIRANDA: It wasn't about military might, but it's fine.

ARROYO: It is about celebrating America, and I think we are all in agreement that is a wonderful thing. And having a president speak, that's not bad either. Happy Fourth of July to both of you.

Coming up, brand-new video by Fox news puts Jussie Smollett and those Nigerian brothers at the scene of that hate crime hoax. Plus, Andy Ngo's attorney is here to reveal new details of his attack on her next legal move to shut down Antifa. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ARROYO: Just when you thought that Jussie Smollett saga had ended, it's back. In a file dumped by the Chicago police last week, Smollett was seen on police body camera in his apartment after the alleged attack still wearing the noose around his neck. You can even hear the police ask, do you want to take that off? If that weren't bizarre enough, some more videos discovered by Fox News raises new red flags against Smollett. For all the details we go to Fox News correspondent Matt Finn in Chicago. Matt.

MATT FINN, CORRESPONDENT: Raymond, Fox News obtained this video, the Freedom of Information request, and really it appears to show for the first time Jussie Smollett and the Osundairo brothers walking around the area of the alleged crime the night it happened. The first piece of video appears to show the Osundairo brothers walking towards Smollett apartment on the sidewalk. Chicago police and the brothers' attorney tell us this video is the brothers, and in it you can clearly see the flash of red brimmed hat. Police notes and surveillance video shows one of the brothers apparently purchasing a red brimmed hat along with other items like thin, white rope to be used during the alleged hoax.

Also, the new video shows Smollett walking in the middle of the street in the same white sweater he was later seen wearing when police arrived. He might have been smoking on that walk according to the police notes. And as you can see on the video, it was such a frigid night in Chicago, hardly anyone else is in sight other than what appears to be Smollett and the brothers.

And this piece of new video from a garage appears to show Smollett in the white sweater again, looking calm, perhaps a cell phone in his hand. And then a very short while later what also appears to be but not certain the Osundairo brothers seen walking down the same sidewalk. The attorney for the brothers tells us that they were likely early and kind of circling the area waiting for Smollett to return.

Jussie Smollett and his legal team maintain that he was the true victim of a hate crime and had nothing to do with a hoax.

ARROYO: Thank you, Matt.

We turn now from an alleged attack to an actual one, captured on video this week. Last night, we told you about Antifa assault on conservative journalist Andy Ngo and the authorities in Portland who allegedly did nothing to intervene. Tonight, we began with Ngo earlier today excoriating the police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY NGO, JOURNALIST: I just kept thinking at any moment after the first punch to the back of my head that police were going to swoop in and save me, but it never happened. How many more people have to be beaten and attacked in the city of Portland before things change? Policing has remained the same, which is a policy of not engaging with militant protesters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: Joining me now is Harmeet Dhillon, she's the attorney for Andy Ngo. Harmeet, thank you for being here. How is Andy doing tonight, and what new information have you learned about the attack on your client?

HARMEET DHILLON, ATTORNEY FOR ANDY NGO: Well, Andy is struggling, to be frank. A lot of the speech affect that you see there is much slower than his normal way of talking and his pace of speaking, so it is very troubling for anybody who knows him to see him like that. We're going to be sure that he gets some neurological tests and support going forward so that he recovers fully, because he is a very bright young man. He just published a piece in "The Wall Street Journal" tonight about his ordeal.

So what we have learned since the attack is a lot more details about who did what and in what sequence. There's been a great amount of people on the Internet helping to source identification from different angles of the attackers. And so with all of the pressure that has gone on the press, from the press on what happened there, we have had a lot of pressure on the police to identify specific assailants and then seek support from the public to put a name to a face. So this afternoon the police department put out a press release identifying pictures of some people and asking for the public to help identify and putting out a reward as well.

ARROYO: It is terrifying. I'm reading reports of fiberglass in the clubs, steel knuckles. It's terrifying what is going on. You tweeted out earlier, Harmeet, that you would sue into oblivion the people who did this. Are you talking about the Antifa protesters, or the city, the city themselves who you allege stood by and did nothing?

DHILLON: I'm going to reserve judgment on who in government deserves, should be sued. I think that is an open question, and today we are seeing some fissures between the police department and the mayor's office. It looks like they're pointing fingers at each other over this situation.

But I think what is indisputable from experts who are watching the crowd control situation there is that the police staffing was understaffed for the type of event that it was, the anticipated riots. They've had these riots frequently, and they don't prepare for them properly. This isn't a Podunk town. It's a big city.

But in terms of actual criminals, they get away with it. They're allowed to walk around with masks. Oregon is a state that does not ban masks. Ironically California does ban masks in the use of a crime. So they get away with it. They come again and again. It's same people. They knew Andy's name.

And this has to stop. And even if they're broke and living in their parents' basement, I intend to sue these people into oblivion and make sure they are never able to do anything like this again. I don't care if they're bankrupt, we will make sure they feel pain for what they did to Andy.

ARROYO: Harmeet Dhillon, thank you for being here. We will check in with you as this case proceeds.

Up next, which celebs are lining up to audition for a new Mueller Report movie, or are they? The very funny Tom Shillue is here with the story and a few others. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ARROYO: You know the saying there aren't small parts, just small actors. Apparently, there is both. Some actors are now participating in fake auditions, I said fake, for, you guessed it, a fake movie based on the Mueller Report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to Comey's account --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At one point during the dinner --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president stated --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need loyalty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I expect loyalty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need loyalty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I expect loyalty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What? OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you imagine if this were from the real report?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seriously?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No -- way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the real Mueller Report word for word?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: So embarrassing. Just as Hollywood prepares to reboot "Charlie's Angels" again to prove they are really out of ideas, we now have a mock audition for a fake Mueller Movie. What is going on?

Joining me with answers is the very funny Tom Shillue. So Tom, you were captivated by this trailer. Why didn't they call you to read?

TOM SHILLUE, CONTRIBUTOR: That's what I want to know. I didn't get a call. I would have submitted an audition. I'm ready to go.

ARROYO: Believe me, you would have been an improvement over what I just saw.

SHILLUE: A lot of people, how many dramatic readings of the Mueller Report are we going to have. Congress tried it.

ARROYO: Right.

SHILLUE: And then we had the one that was on stage.

ARROYO: Here at a church at riverside, right, on the west side of Manhattan.

SHILLUE: A-list actors.

ARROYO: Big names.

SHILLUE: A lot of conservatives I thought missed the boat on this because they said look at these people trying to breathe life into the Mueller Report. It is so boring. It is this lawyerly -- it's actually not boring. It is not lawyerly. The report is very dramatic. It's full of dialogue and stage direction. I'm telling you Mueller report wrote it for these people. It's for the Hollywood crowd. So it's really, this is where he wanted it to be.

ARROYO: And this is Tom Steyer, who is a billionaire, it's his schtick to try to raise the profile of the Mueller Report again.

SHILLUE: Maybe in 70 millimeter next time.

ARROYO: Depictions of smoking among young people are on the rise once more, especially on Netflix apparently. A follow-up report to the Truth Initiative's 2018 study on the depictions of smoking on streaming services reveals that Netflix's "Stranger Things" is leading the pack. Of the 13 shows surveyed, "Stranger Things" accounts for 22 percent of the tobacco depictions. The report found that appearances of tobacco have nearly tripled compared to the 2015, 2016 season.

So Tom, don't you wish they had something like this for sexual depictions and subversive themes being given to our youth?

SHILLUE: That's the thing. I don't let my kids watch any of this stuff. Tobacco was the last thing I'm worried about.

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: Do you have a light?

SHILLUE: You're breaking all sorts of rules.

ARROYO: No, I'm not smoking it. I'm not smoking it. Just a schtick.

SHILLUE: But my kids watch almost exclusively tobacco smoking in their entertainment because I watch all the old movies. We watch "Casablanca," we watch "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," everybody was smoking.

ARROYO: It was cool then.

SHILLUE: We watch "Get Smart" together. I will only watch the old shows because its much cleaner content, but everybody of smoking.

ARROYO: You can even watch the old news report. Edward R. Murrow, everyone had an ashtray.

SHILLUE: Johnny Carson, come back from the commercial, he'd be smoking.

ARROYO: It looked like incense.

SHILLUE: Didn't hurt me. Did I end up smoking? No.

ARROYO: It didn't. I hate smoking, very bad for you.

In a shocking story out of Seattle this week, the University of Washington Department of Radiology, Tom, is reportedly paying pregnant women to join a study exploring how marijuana use affects unborn infants. The university received a grant of $190,000 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for the study and the women who complete it get $300. Talk about payment disparity.

SHILLUE: To spend however they wish?

ARROYO: That is odd. They gave us a statement, the University of Washington. They said the study is enrolling women who have already used or are using marijuana, so they are not paying to make the women smoke marijuana.

SHILLUE: It's like the old Dentine commercial, four out of five dentists recommend for the patients who chew gum. So this is only for people who are already smoking and pregnant. We recommend that you don't do that. But to tell you the truth, if someone is smoking while they are pregnant, I would rather somebody do a study, monitor them. They're probably --

ARROYO: And warn everybody else. Marijuana mommies, not good. Not a good thing. Tom, thanks. And thanks for having me on "Quiz Show" this week on Fox Nation, which you should check out. A lot of fun. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ARROYO: I want to thank you all for joining us, wish you a happy Independence Day. It's a spectacular time to share our history and our traditions with our families.

And I want to remind you, this break is a great time to read something together as a family. That is part of sharing your ideas, your history. My "Will Wilder" series, the latest "Will Wilder, The Amulet of Power" is in bookstores everywhere. Go grab it, read it to your family. Get the audiobook. Have a good time. Shannon Bream and the "Fox News @ Night" team take it from here.

Shannon?

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