Greenwald: Democratic Party the epitome of fascism they claim to fight

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Greenwald: Democratic Party the epitome of fascism they claim to fight

Journalist tells 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' how Democrats exploit their power to regulate corporations and monopolies

This is a rush transcript from "Tucker Carlson Tonight," January 25, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST: Good evening, and welcome to "Tucker Carlson Tonight." Happy Monday. 

Even his allies concede the Joe Biden isn't as quick as he used to be. It now takes him an hour and a half to watch "60 Minutes." But to be fair, Biden's administration may be the fastest in history. We are less than a week in and the White House has already ended immigration enforcement, sent American troops into armed conflict, crippled the last remaining independent sector of our economy, and officially for the first time in human history, denied the biological reality of sex differences. 

That'll happened in three and a half business days. Amazing. Google is getting its money's worth. 

Now, Congress is about to get involved in changing this country. Democrats control the entire legislative branch of government, so this should be a swift process, too. Their priority is House Resolution number one. It's called that because it is the first bill in the legislative pipeline. 

So what exactly is in that bill? It's possible that CNN hasn't brought you all the details yet. They're too busy trying to save the country from forbidden ideas and internet chat rooms. They're on the case there. 

As for the actual legislation pending before Congress, we will let Nancy Pelosi herself explain what's in it. Here's what she said about H.R. 1 back in October. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF.: We have plenty of work to do in the Joe Biden administration. We're going to build the infrastructure of America in a green way. We're going to make sure healthcare is available to all Americans, lower the cost of prescription drugs. 

We're going to have H.R. 1 -- H.R. 1 right off the bat be about cleaner government so that we can reduce the role of big dark, special interest money. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CARLSON: H.R. 1 is all about that big, dark, special interest money. Scary. But you have to wonder why Nancy Pelosi is still using the term "dark" as a euphemism for bad, but whatever, it is Nancy Pelosi, so we can be sure it's not racism. Nancy Pelosi is a good person unlike you. 

The real question is how the party of ruthless corporate monopolies gets away with fake populist talking points like that. "We need cleaner government," shriek the puppets of Silicon Valley. The answer, of course is they get away with it because no one stops them. 

This is the, quote, "For the People Act" we're talking about here. It's for the people, so shut up. What exactly does the Democratic Party intend to do for the people? Well, if you guessed enshrine their own rule by force forever, you win today's Daily Double. 

I'll take authoritarian political movements for a thousand, Alex. Good job. The For the People Act is the foundation of the Democratic Party's strategy to control the Federal government well into your grandchildren's middle age. 

Take a look at it. Like most revolutionary documents, it's not a very exciting read. Nothing in it sounds especially radical at first until you think about it. The bill begins by declaring that contrary to Article I of the United States Constitution, Congress has, quote, "The ultimate supervisory power over Federal elections." That's a big change. 

Under our current law, states get to decide how much fraud they will tolerate. Florida requires you to show photo identification in order to vote. California just wants you to vote Democrat. If H.R. one passes, all 50 states will be California. The entire country will have ballot harvesting and mail-in voting. Think about that. 

On January 6th, we had a riot at the U.S. Capitol. Why did that happen? It happened because millions of American voters were convinced that the last election was not fair. Where did they get that idea? Well, it wasn't simply because the last President told them so, you're hearing that now as if they are animals who take commands and do what they're told, but they're not animals, they are people. They are American citizens who can see what's happening and come to their own conclusions about it. 

They saw the radical increase in mail-in voting, millions did and it corroded their faith and the public's faith in our systems of election. They were enraged by that and some of them exploded. 

According to Democrats, the lesson of that terrible day is that we need more of the corrupt policies that caused it in the first place. We need more mail-in voting. We need more ballot harvesting, more corruption. That will unite the country. 

We're not overstating any of this. H.R. 1 would literally enshrine fraud. Here's a direct quote from that legislation. Quote, "A state may not require an individual to provide any form of identification as a condition of obtaining an absentee ballot, any form of identification, no identification whatsoever, nor can signatures be validated." 

Here's another direct quote from H.R. 1 quote, "A state may not require notarization or witness signature or other formal authentication (other than the voter's word for it) as a condition of a staining or casting an absentee ballot." 

Under H.R. 1, paid political operatives could freely go house to house, apartment to apartment collecting unknown thousands of ballots, then dump them all at a ballot drop box. And no one would have any idea if those ballots had been tampered with at any point along the way, nor would there be any way to prove it if they had been tampered with. 

And by the way, H.R. 1 also makes it harder for election observers to file complaints about any of this because complaining is racist. 

A system like that is suicidal for a democracy. No other free country would tolerate it. France and Canada don't tolerate it. They have banned mail-in ballots. They don't want fraud. 

By the way, now, there's Amazon.com. It's a real company. Jeff Bezos who owns it is strongly for mail-in voting when mail-in voting allows his parties to take control of everything. You're a bigot if you oppose that. But when it comes to Union elections in his own company, elections that might require Jeff Bezos to pay his long suffering workers decent wages and benefits, Jeff Bezos is totally opposed to it. 

Amazon is fighting mail-in balloting in its union election in Alabama right now; Amazon.com's position is that an election decided by mail-in ballots wouldn't be -- and we're quoting, "valid or fair." 

When it's their power at stake, Democrats have a totally different position. And that's true in California right now. You may have heard there was a recall effort underway in that state. Voters are trying to boot their comically incompetent Governor, Gavin Newsom. More than a million people have signed on so far to that effort. 

But it's not so easy to get it done because Democrats are requiring in- person signatures for those petitions. Suddenly, they're very worried about voter fraud. 

You should know this is not hypocrisy. Republicans often call it hypocrisy, but it is not; it is far more profound than that. Democrats don't care about hypocrisy. They don't mind if they're caught breaking their own rules. They're not offended by double standards. They want power. 

This is a power grab. That's all it is. And you're complaining about it means nothing to them. 

If you needed more evidence of that -- as if you needed more evidence -- consider new legislation from Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. She's a Democrat from Orlando, Murphy has proposed a bill that would ban anyone with the wrong opinions from having a significant job in the Federal government. Believe forbidden things and you don't get a security clearance. You can't work here. 

Murphy's bill would require Federal investigators to ask all applicants whether they had quote, " ... associated with or knowingly engaged in activities conducted by an organization or movement that spreads conspiracy theories and false information about the United States government," end quote. 

Wait a second? Conspiracy theories and false information about the United States government? Whoa, sounds like these people could be in trouble. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-CALIF.: You can see evidence in plain sight on the issue of collusion. 

So there's clear evidence on the issue of collusion and this adds to that body of evidence. 

And there is significant evidence of collusion. 

There is ample evidence and indeed there is -- of collusion of people in the Trump campaign with the Russians. 

I think there's plenty of evidence of collusion or conspiracy. 

All of this is evidence of collusion. 

There is significant evidence, much of it in the public domain on the issue of collusion. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CARLSON: Just kidding. The people who spent years peddling ludicrous conspiracy theories, disproven factually, theories that Vladimir Putin secretly controlled the Federal government, those people will be fine, because at this point, that would include pretty much everyone currently in power. 

Yes, they were knee deep in conspiracy theories that actually hurt our country in measurable ways, but this legislation isn't designed to punish them. Just the opposite. This legislation is designed to protect them from your criticism. 

Under Stephanie Murphy's bill, anyone who criticizes Stephanie Murphy could be punished. Oh, makes sense now?  

Now, you'd think all this might raise some eyebrows among traditional civil liberties people, civil liberties folks, as they call themselves. Come on, now? It's 2021. The media love laws like this. 

Laws like this are aimed directly at the media's sworn archenemies, people who went to state schools and other undesirables. Listen as the geniuses explain how the single biggest threat to this country isn't Chinese hegemony, or even the coming hyperinflation, pretty much a certainty now, which was a hundred percent caused by elite mismanagement of our economy. 

But no, let's not talk about that. The real threat is a forbidden idea. It's something called QAnon. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next, what to do about QAnon and it's droves of loyal followers? Is it too little too late to bring our loved ones back to reality? 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many of those who believe the totally unfounded conspiracies and prophecies of QAnon expected January 20th to be judgment day. 

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: As far right figures and QAnon conspiracy theorists are joined by Trump supporters who believe the election was stolen. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: QAnon is better viewed as an on ramp to various different extremism circles. 

THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, OP-ED COLUMNIST, THE NEW YORK TIMES: How many people in the country have been marinated in these conspiracy theories, QAnon craziness and it is frightening. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CARLSON: Oh, Mr. Tom Friedman thinks this is all pretty frightening, and he is right, but not as usual for the reasons he thinks. 

We're watching a profound change taking place in American society. That's happening very fast. The stakes could not be higher. There is a clear line between democracy and tyranny, between self-government and dictatorship, and here's what that line is. That line is your conscience. They cannot cross that. 

Government has every right to tell you what to do. Controlling the behavior of citizens is one of the basic prerogatives of any organized societies when we have it. Government can try to prevent you from committing murder, or rape, or from speeding or jaywalking. That's all allowed, it's legitimate. 

But no democratic government can ever tell you what to think. Your mind belongs to you. It is yours and yours alone. Once politicians attempt to control what you believe, they are no longer politicians, they are by definition dictators. And if they succeed in controlling what you believe, you are no longer a citizen. You are not a free man, you are a slave. 

So yes, Tom Friedman, this is frightening. It's everywhere, all of a sudden. No one is pushing back. Instead, they have all -- almost every one of them join the mob of sensors, hysterics and Jacobin destroyers, all working on behalf of entrenched power to take total control of everything. Overstatement? No, it's not. 

Their new idea is that this channel shouldn't be allowed. Now, they're not arguing that FOX News is inaccurate and dishonest and you shouldn't watch it. They're arguing that you shouldn't be able to watch FOX News because FOX News should be eliminated by force. 

A few days ago, a former New York Times columnist called Anand Giridharadas posted this question on Twitter quote, "Should Fox News be allowed to exist?" "No," he quickly concluded, " ... Fox News, 'shouldn't be legal.'" 

No one online seemed especially surprised by this view. Among a certain group, it is a gathering consensus. CNN certainly agrees with it. CNN is our direct competitor, of course. So you might imagine they would recuse themselves from this conversation, oh, but just the opposite. 

CNN is staring down the barrel of some pretty lean years, ratings wise, now that their reason for existing has departed for Mar-a-Lago. They would love one less news channel on the dial. 

So over the weekend, the Dwarf King summoned a pair of his most pliable minions up from the cellar, and turn them loose to explain that actually, allowing people to watch what they want to watch on TV is a massive threat to democracy. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: President Biden seems to understand that right wing radicalization is a real problem. His team seems to recognize how FOX and Facebook and QAnon fantasies and all of that has caused the separate realities in the United States. 

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: And it remains a threat to our democracy. It is the reason -- it is the reason why there were hundreds of Trump supporters storming the Capitol on January 6th, and until that poison, that toxin is drained from the national political discourse in this country, Brian, I do think that these forces represent a potential existential threat to this country. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CARLSON: Oh, it's existential. It is existential. It is existential. Now, you should know that no one on CNN has ever been asked to spell or define the word existential. The day that happens is the day they stopped using the word. Instead, they called in reinforcements from Jeff Bezos, who also has expressed interest in buying CNN because of course, Bezos's employee, Margaret Sullivan at "The Washington Post" wrote an entire column about how the continued existence of a single news channel that at times disagrees with all the other news channels is -- you guessed it -- a threat to democracy. 

That's too much choice. That's not democratic. Quote, "Corporations that advertise on FOX News should walk away," Sullivan wrote, " ... and citizens you care about the truth should demand that they do so." 

Again, Margaret Sullivan didn't ask people to stop watching FOX News, she asked for us to be unemployed. Her colleague Max Boot agreed with that. Max Boot also labors for Jeff Bezos at "The Washington Post." Noticing a theme here? When you work for the world's richest man, people tend to listen to you. When you call for government officials to crush dissent, that's not a small thing. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

MAX BOOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: And there's also I think, the possibility of reviving the Fairness Doctrine, which the F.C.C. enforced until 1987 and which mandated some minimal standards of factuality and balance on the part of TV stations, and since that's disappeared, it's just been a complete free for all with all sorts of lunacy being fed directly into the right-wing ecosystem. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CARLSON: Max Boot, ladies and gentlemen, the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine -- it is pretty amusing. Ignore the fact that the Fairness Doctrine does not even apply to cable news since the U.S. government doesn't own the cable lines. What you should consider is the idea that Max Boot just explained that it is quote, "unfair" for one news outlets to disagree with every other news outlet in the country. 

So diversity of opinion is unfair; sameness is fair that is why it should be mandatory. It's inclusive. Hilarious. 

In addition to everything else, you may have figured this out already, these people are stupid. Of course, they are stupid. That's why our country is in trouble because the people who run our country can't find their butts with both hands. 

Max Boot has no choice but to work at The Washington Post. No self- respecting landscaping company would have Max Boot. But that doesn't mean Max Boot won't win. It's a mistake to imagine that simply because an idea is wrong, or stupid, or immoral that it cannot prevail, at least for a while, of course it can prevail. 

History is filled with examples of this. New Coke was a real beverage. The French Revolution actually happened. So we should be worried when large numbers of people start saying irrational things and they definitely are saying them. 

Joe Scarborough has a morning show over on MSNBC. Joe Scarborough isn't stupid, hardly. Look up animal cunning in the dictionary and you will find Joe Scarborough's picture. What Joe Scarborough is, is a herd animal. He's flexible. If all the kids are doing it, he wants a seat on the bus, he wants in. 

Watch Joe Scarborough explain the people who appear on Fox News need to be forced to shut up immediately. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: Fox News had -- someone I know -- a former leader of the Republican Party saying that Democrats wanted -- and I'm using his words here -- Democrats wanted to, quote "exterminate" -- exterminate all Republicans. 

Let me say that again, for Fox News sponsors, you know, for Fox News sponsors to let you know what's happening now on Fox News. That they are getting people who are FOX News contributors who were saying that Democrats, Joe Biden and Democrats want to, quote, "Exterminate all Republicans." 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CARLSON: I'm saying this for FOX News sponsors. So how honest do you want to be here? The man you just saw has been accused in public by the President of the United States of murdering a young woman, not many cable news host can say that. Now, we're not taking a position on Joe Scarborough's guilt or innocence in that case, we're not a law enforcement agency. It's not our place to do that. 

But one thing we did not do and would never do is go on TV to demand that because Joe Scarborough was accused of violence by a politician, American companies should not be allowed to sell their products to his viewers. Doing that never even occurred to us, not for a second. We're not fascists, or for that matter, middle aged performers running away from their own consciences. 

We're Americans. We think people we disagree with should still be allowed to talk in public. 

The tech monopolies have never believed that, they're not American companies. They are global conglomerates that don't answer to voters. They are more powerful than our government at this point, you should know. 

Last week on CNN, the former chief security officer at Facebook -- how does that title strike you -- a man called Alex Stamos said all of this out loud. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 

ALEX STAMOS, FORMER CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER AT FACEBOOK: It's really hard because what's happening is people are able to seek out the information that makes them feel good. That is what happening -- you know, people have so much choice now. 

They can choose what their news sources are. They can choose what influencers they want to follow. 

We have to turn down the capability of these conservative influencers to reach these huge audiences. There are people on YouTube, for example, that have a larger data -- larger audience than daytime CNN, and they are extremely radical and pushing extremely radical views. 

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

CARLSON: So in the name of democracy, clearly the term of the moment -- in the defense of the people's will, we must censor people and make certain that individuals can't read and hear what they choose to read and hear. At least they're being honest about it. 

Information is power. They want the power, therefore, they must control the information. And so they are, that's what's happening. We told you a moment ago that nobody seems to be fighting back against this tide of repression. But that's not entirely true. 

This weekend, Rupert Murdoch, the man who started this company won an award from a foundation in the U.K. and here's part of what he said when he accepted it, quote: "For those of us in the media, there is a real challenge to confront a wave of censorship that seeks to silence conversation, to stifle debate, to ultimately stop individuals and societies from realizing their potential. This rigidly enforced conformity aided and abetted by so-called social media. It is a straightjacket on sensibility." 

"Too many people have fought too hard in too many places for freedom of speech to be suppressed by this awful woke orthodoxy." 

This awful woke orthodoxy. Now we don't quote our boss on this show very often, ever actually. But that is exactly right. Awful woke Orthodoxy is precisely what this is. There's nothing worse for the country or for journalism by the way, every publisher, every owner of every media company should be saying this in public every single day. But they're not. Only ours is. No wonder they hate us. 

Glenn Greenwald is a journalist. You can find his work, which we hope you support on "Substack." He joins us now. 

Glenn, I want to ask you about this bill from Stephanie Murphy, which strikes me as particularly ominous in the context of the moment we are in that would ban people who fall within some category that she is defining, who have certain beliefs from effectively from serving in government. 

Should your personal beliefs be a criterion for employment in the Federal government? 

GLENN GREENWALD, JOURNALIST: Well, the through line for everything that just talked about, Tucker, is that the Democratic Party, which now controls the House, the Senate and the White House genuinely believes they have a monopoly on objective truth. They believe they're the party of science and rationality, and that the only way to disagree with them is if you're either a deranged conspiracy theorist or a seditionist, somebody who is engaged in criminal conduct or terrorism. 

And therefore, they genuinely believe, it's not a show. It's not a pretext. They all have convinced one another through this echo chamber that they've created, essentially, the entire media except this network, which is why they want to shut it down, that if you disagree with their orthodoxies and their consensus, you are a threat and a danger. 

And it's so ironic they spent four years claiming they are fighting fascism and authoritarianism, and what are they trying to do now? They're trying to harness corporate and monopoly power to silence everyone who disagrees with them, the very hallmark, the epitome of the fascism they claim to be fighting, but which in reality they embody. 

CARLSON: Well, it is kind of amusing. I'm trying to stay amused. I think it's important that they cite Russia as the thing that we hate most, because they crack down on press freedoms and it's not a true democracy as a pretext for imposing censorship on the press in the United States. 

I mean, is there no self-awareness at all? Or do they just don't care? 

GREENWALD: It's like they are -- it's like they are envious of Putin in that he's managed to consolidate the power that they wish they could wield and are trying to wield now. 

Tucker, they genuinely want everyone who disagrees with them silenced. I know it sounds like hyperbole if you don't pay attention constantly to the news. And it's not just random people who are saying it, it is leading members of the Democratic Party, they're going to have partners in like the Liz Cheney wing of the Republican Party as well. 

CARLSON: That's right. 

GREENWALD: They want to exploit their power to regulate corporations and monopolies to -- they're saying it outright. They're saying, we now control and regulate your industry and we demand that you stop using your advertising money for this network that criticizes us, the party in control. Now, if that isn't authoritarianism, what is? 

They want to shut everybody off the internet. They destroyed an entire social media platform. They just took it off of the internet, because they instructed Silicon Valley monopolies that it was their obligation to remove it. 

It is very chilling. You really can't overstate how bloodthirsty they are and the control that they're trying to exert over our discourse. 

CARLSON: I told you before, but there were times years ago, I thought maybe Glenn's a little bit paranoid. I don't -- I don't think that at all anymore. I think you're prophetic and I appreciate your coming on. Thank you. Good to see you. 

GREENWALD: Thanks, Tucker. 

CARLSON: So the people with the most power in the world aren't simply trying to destroy FOX News, though they are. We're not making that up. They're open about it. 

They would also like to unravel the social fabric of this country, things like gender and men and women. Those are the foundations of any civilization and all of a sudden, they have no meaning. 

Abigail Shrier has thought a lot in the face of an awful lot of hostility and opposition about what this means for the rest of us. She joins us next. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CARLSON: As we told you the other night, Joe Biden has just signed an Executive Order, it is one of his first acts as President that essentially invalidates the idea of biological sex. It has many implications, long term implications, but one of them is that will allow biological men to compete in women's sports. 

To understand what effect this will have in practical terms, consider this one fact. Three hundred male high school students in this country have faster 400 meter times than the fastest female sprinter in the world. So it's not a small thing for all of us, but particularly for women's sports. 

Abigail Shrier is one of the very few people who thought this through, brought her conclusions public and faced the enormous hostility and threats that have resulted. She's the author of the book "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters." We're happy to have her on tonight. 

Abigail Shrier, thanks so much for coming on. Again, you're one of the very few people in our public conversation who is willing to say what you do and present your conclusions without apology. What do you think of this executive order? 

ABIGAIL SHRIER, AUTHOR, "IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE": I mean, this order spells the destruction of women's sports. It's probably the greatest blow to women's rights we've seen in decades. 

You know, Allyson Felix is the Olympian you mentioned who is a remarkable, possibly the greatest female sprinter of all time. She has more Olympic medals than Usain Bolt. And as you said, you know, her time for the 400 meter is 49.26 seconds. Okay? 

Nearly 300 high school boys in 2018 in America alone could beat it. So what we're talking about is a world in which no one's ever heard of Allyson Felix, a world in which Allyson Felix doesn't even make the team. 

CARLSON: I just wonder why. I mean, you make this -- and I think there are a lot of implications, this would affect all of us, regardless of sex, but it certainly would seem a direct attack on the women's rights you just explained, Title 9, for example. 

I don't see any women's groups standing up in the face of this to point that out. Why? 

SHRIER: Well, you know, there is sort of the hard left, and it has its deconstructionist reasons and then there are the useful idiots who are going along with it. And I think a lot of people, you know, believe in -- you know, they tend to hide behind language of inclusivity. This is more inclusive. 

The truth is, if you want it to be inclusive, what you would do, of course, would be to make sure that transgender athletes who have male bodies feel welcome and comfortable on the male teams because putting male bodies against male bodies, that's what sports is about. It's about bodies. It's not about identification. 

CARLSON: Right. So, but by doing that, you would be conceding that sex differences are biological and unchanging, and the cosmetic surgery doesn't make them go away and you can't concede that because you have to play along with the why or else they hurt you. 

SHRIER: Well, you know, this is the stuff that's -- this is actual science, right? It's actually, right -- also common sense. I mean, look, you can lower someone's activation, all levels of testosterone, okay? But it won't make an important difference. And the reason is -- or it won't make enough of a difference and the reason is that male puberty confers a massive and unbridgeable and permanent advantage on male bodies. We know that. 

They have faster -- they have larger hearts, larger lungs, more fast twitch muscle fiber, vastly greater muscle mass and bone density, all things necessary in contests of strength and speed. 

CARLSON: So I mean, what our high school biology class is going to look like? Is every biology teacher going to have to go along with the lie? 

SHRIER: I hope not. You know, at some point, I would really encourage Americans for when this comes to your school, it's time to stand up. It's time to stand up for our girls. 

CARLSON: Amen. You're a brave person and I hope that your example inspires people. I really do. Abigail Shrier, thank you very much. 

SHRIER: Thank you. Thank you. 

CARLSON: We told you last week about an internal e-mail sent from a senior I.C.E. official in Texas. That e-mail ordered the quote, "release of all illegal immigrants in Federal custody." There have been some major developments tonight on that order and we'll tell you what they are. 

We will be joined by former White House adviser Stephen Miller. We'll be right back. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CARLSON: As we reported to you last week on Friday, immigration officials were told in an internal e-mail on Thursday to release all migrants from detention quote, "immediately." 

We have more detail tonight on this e-mail and on the internal response to it as the Justice Department released the e-mail and related correspondence in court today. 

Now that filing shows that the orders in this e-mail were retracted after this show reached out to D.H.S. on Friday afternoon for comment, quote, this was their response internally, "Retract this directive immediately. Please direct your supervisors to follow the memorandum issued. Operational guidance is being developed and will be issued in the coming days," end quote. 

Now that retraction came a day and a half after the initial e-mail once again, right after we called about it. Another I.C.E. official chimed in and said that the order to release migrants only applied to some detainees who were set to be deported, but now wouldn't be removed due to the new presidential order. 

This group of detainees is considered a quote "high risk" of getting ill from COVID. Detainees qualify if they're over the age of 55, have high blood pressure or have diabetes, all of them can thank this order for the special treatment they are getting. 

The roll out of this deportation moratorium clearly, at very least, has been chaotic, but it also has implications for the rule of law, for the nature of this country going forward. 

Stephen Miller has thought a lot about this. He is a former White House Senior adviser. He joins us tonight. Stephen Miller, thanks so much for coming on. 

STEPHEN MILLER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: Thank you for having me, Tucker. 

CARLSON: So explain since you just spent four years in the face of very intense opposition both outside the White House and within it, working on this issue. What does this mean? Tell us that the implications of Joe Biden's presidential directive on immigration? 

MILLER: Thank you, Tucker. This is the most extreme direction I would argue, really in the history of modern law enforcement that's ever been issued. Let me break it down for everybody. 

Acting Secretary Pekoske issued a memorandum on the evening of January 20th, the day of the Inauguration, putting into place a 100-day deportation moratorium. There's very narrow exceptions in that memorandum that would apply to only a handful of people in a given year. 

It would be, you know, terrorists and spies and really extraordinary cases. But the 180,000 people that I.C.E. removed last year, those same 180,000 people could not be removed this year as a result of that deportation moratorium. 

Now, of those 180,000 people, Tucker, 92 percent of them are criminals, either charged or convicted of a crime. In this memo, there is no exceptions clause for criminals. I repeat, there is no exceptions clause for criminals. 

What does this mean, operationally? And why was that e-mail sent? What it means Tucker, is that the work of I.C.E. officers will grind to a halt beginning February 1st. 

Why February 1st? Because that's the date by which I.C.E. has to come up with implementing guidance for the memo. And so every Sheriff's Office, every Police Department, every Correctional Facility in the country that for years has been handing over illegal aliens to I.C.E. to pick them up and take them home, which is the bread and butter of I.C.E.'s work, all of those people will not get picked up anymore. 

Why won't they get picked up? Because you cannot arrest someone you can't deport. That's a foundational principle of immigration law. I.C.E. is not a jail. I.C.E. has detention facilities exclusively for staging people for removal. You cannot pick up somebody that you're not going to remove. 

So beginning in just a few days, about 12,000 criminals a month are going to be released into U.S. communities. I'm basing that 12,000 number on what the average was last year of how many arrests were given in a particular month or how many arrests were made of a particular month. 

It could actually be higher than that because last year, obviously, the pandemic numbers went down a bit with the vaccine, arrest normally, you would expect them to go back up. So I'd say between 12,000 to 15,000 criminals a month, Tucker, are going to be loose back into U.S. communities. 

But it gets even worse. In addition to that, they are forbidden by the terms of this memo for removing visa overstays. Any student who comes here, any foreign worker who comes here on a temporary visa that expiration date now means nothing. Worksite enforcement, Tucker, gone. It doesn't exist anymore. 

As of January 20th, Joe Biden has declared there is no more workplace immigration law. You as a U.S. citizen do not have the protection of your laws. Your civil rights do not matter. 

What about immigration courts, Tucker? What if you fail to appear in immigration court? Can you be deported under this memo? No. What if you show up in immigration court, you're already removed, but decide not to go home? Can someone come pick you up and take you home? No. 

The whole system, Tucker, is dismantled. 

CARLSON: This is -- I don't think we fully understood the implications of this when we reported on this order last week, and they are far more terrifying than I even thought and I'm grateful to you for explaining that, but really bothered by that. I hope you'll come back. Stephen Miller, thank you. 

MILLER: Thank you so much, Tucker. 

CARLSON: It turns out Joe Biden isn't simply a new President. He's a holy man. He's a miracle worker. From California to Illinois to the State of Michigan, suddenly coronavirus restrictions as if by magic have been lifted. What's changed exactly apart from his healing touch? We'll tell you after the break. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CARLSON: Joe Biden is now the President and you know what that means. It means it's time for science. You know what science is. That's when you get people in lab coats to nod vigorously as you lay out your political decrees. 

In practical terms, it means the coronavirus has changed once again. California, Illinois and Washington, D.C. have all announced that indoor dining isn't dangerous anymore. That was fast. He's a healer, that Joe Biden. 

In the State of Michigan, officials said they'll lift the indoor dining ban on February 1st even though daily coronavirus deaths in that state are still higher than they were when the indoor dining ban was announced. So it didn't work. But we're now going to nods, and we are doing it anyway, because Joe Biden is the President. 

How did he do that? How does he get so holy? Chadwick Moore is a columnist with Spectator U.S.A. He's not a theologian, but he joins us tonight to assess Joe Biden's healing powers. What do you make of this, Chadwick Moore? It is great to see you, by the way. 

CHADWICK MOORE, COLUMNIST, SPECTATOR U.S.A.: Well, it's not unheard of. You know, I heard that when Kim Il-sung the founder of North Korea was born, a new star appeared in the sky and a double rainbow. 

So you know, some leaders just had that touch here when Joe Biden was coronated, not only did this broken and fractured land that a dictator had destroyed suddenly become healed and united, but the virus is gone, amazingly. 

You know, I know that some of these Democratic leaders in places like New York and California only had about six or seven months to see that they could reopen their states like Florida and Texas or Georgia, and have everything be basically fine. But it's amazing that just suddenly, after the Inauguration, suddenly after all the final pieces were laid and the Electoral College vote was confirmed, you had Andrew Cuomo first leading the charge. 

And then of course, we all knew that California, Illinois and these other states would follow suit. It's just interesting that these Democrat voters don't see that, you know, there is this speculation that these governors held their states hostage, a vise grip, psychologically and economically, is mainly just too dark for some people to fathom. But that certainly seems to be what happened here. 

All for political optics, all to keep the economic numbers down to hurt Trump before the election and just to wait until Joe Biden came into office. 

CARLSON: So if what happened on January 6th is now being described as an armed racist insurrection, the question is how long until we hear that the lockdowns were imposed on this nation by right-wing racist evangelical QAnon extremists? 

MOORE: Well, they might try to spin or they probably just won't acknowledge it. It's not like they have anything to worry about with the media calling them out on this behavior. 

CARLSON: Good point. 

MOORE: Obviously, they're protected. I mean, Andrew Cuomo got an Emmy for his press conferences, before he wrote a book congratulating himself on handling the virus before it was even over. Of course, New York, for example, their virus rates are higher today than they were a month ago. But in a lot of these places, the rates are higher. 

And yet, still now it's fine to open. It seems like they were holding people hostage. I don't think they'll want to even acknowledge that this is what it looks like. You know, the lesson here seems to be that things are much nicer when the Democrats control everything, so you better keep us in power because we can take it away again. 

CARLSON: Of course. They've done a great job of Chicago. Chadwick Moore, great to see you tonight. Thank you so much. 

MOORE: Thank you. 

CARLSON: If you're noticing a theme here, it's that in modern America, all of us are forced to lie about the obvious all the time. The one thing you can't say are the things that are right in front of your face. The more obvious it is, the more forbidden it is to note. What does it do to a society after a while? 

Well, if you thought coronavirus vaccine meant your kids could go back to school, oh, no. Teachers unions aren't for that. We will tell you what they're saying straight ahead. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) 

CARLSON: Teachers unions all over the country are still refusing to go back to work, vaccine or not. In Chicago, the teachers union is defying the government's reopening ban, the third largest school district in the country. 

Kids have killed themselves because of the displacement of these lockdowns. Joe Biden said today he supports the teachers union's decision. 

Dr. Marc Siegel is a Fox News medical contributor. He joins us tonight to assess this decision. Doctor, good to see you. 

DR. MARC SIEGEL, FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Tucker, let's start with the fact -- good evening, let's start with the fact that the Chicago teachers union is the boy who cried wolf. They struck in 2012 for seven days. In 2019, they struck for 15 days and inconvenienced drastically 300,000 kids in the school district. So it's hard to believe them now with their posturing. 

They're claiming, well, there may not be enough precautions in place. But Chicago Public Schools reports spending $100 million on their schools to make them safe for ventilation, for distancing, for masking, for proper testing. The district down the road, Lagrange is already doing saliva testing on all of their students. There's no reason whatsoever, these schools can't be open, especially given what you said, you know, the collateral damage here. 

Over in Clark County where Las Vegas is, there's been 3,100 calls to suicide hotlines from kids, Tucker, over the course of their schools being closed and 18 children have committed suicide over the nine months of the pandemic, 18 children and that's the same thing that can happen in Chicago. 

But let me point out something which is that COVID-19 does not spread easily among children. It does not spread easily from children to teachers and we know that. 

What does spread easily is despair, is anxiety, is depression, is not getting your teeth taken care of, or your eyes examined or not having you looked at for developmental delays -- all the things you need in school. 

So I will say this to Chicago teachers union tonight, Tucker, the vaccine is coming. Next week, you guys qualify, all the teachers can get the vaccine. Hey, Tucker, I bet when the Chicago teachers union gets the vaccine, they're going to reopen everything right, Tucker? 

CARLSON: Responsible adults would rather get COVID than hurt kids. Period. It's just that simple and I wish they understood. 

Dr. Siegel, great to see you. Thank you. 

SIEGEL: Absolutely. Thank you, Tucker. 

CARLSON: We are out of time, sadly. We'll be back tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m., the show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink. 

Sean Hannity is standing by in New York. Take it away, Sean. 

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