'H & C' Update: Supporter Defends Controversial Univ. Lecturer's Theories About 9/11

This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," July 12, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BARRETT, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: I do know — I don't believe — I know that 9/11 was an inside job. Professor Steven Jones has found residue on the steel samples from the World Trade Center. We now know that it was taken down in a controlled demolition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: That was a clip from our exclusive interview Monday night with University of Wisconsin Islamic studies professor Kevin Barrett. Now the university, in fact, says they will allow him to teach his class on Islam, in spite of his controversial theories about 9/11.

But Professor Barrett isn't alone in his beliefs. One of his supporters joins us now. Dr. Bob Bowman is a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, currently a Florida Democratic congressional candidate.

All right. So you believe this is an inside job. You believe this was a controlled demolition as he does? Do you believe that, you know, Madrid and Bali and Zarqawi carried out by military intelligence, you believe these conspiracy theories?

DR. BOB BOWMAN (D), FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: No. As a matter of fact, I believe that the truth about 9/11 is that we don't know the truth about 9/11, and we should.

I'm agnostic about these conspiracy theories. I think Professor Barrett has every reason to say his –- expound his theories just as you do yours. I mean, we know it was a conspiracy.

HANNITY: There's a difference. Kids go into a classroom.

BOWMAN: There was a lot of people involved.

HANNITY: And they are a captive audience, Dr. Bowman. There's a big difference between watching a television show and listening to a radio show. And the question here is whether or not he's the right man for a job.

You know what? It wasn't an inside job. We can see the planes. The planes hit the building — it wasn't a controlled demolition — and the buildings came down.

It's just is beyond bizarre that he believes it, but he's entitled to. But he's not entitled — he doesn't have a right to teach our students in the classroom. That's not a right.

BOWMAN: Well, he has every right, because his conspiracy theory is far more believable than yours.

HANNITY: No conspiracy theory. The planes hit the building the buildings came down.

BOWMAN: There is absolutely no evidence against these guys, Usama bin Laden.

HANNITY: The planes — we have video — actually hit the building. When a big plane hits a building...

BOWMAN: I believe planes hit the building.

HANNITY: ... the building is going to come tumbling down. Do you think George Bush did it? Do you think Israel did it? I've heard so many sick, twisted conspiracy theories. What — you know, what are you leaning towards?

BOWMAN: I don't know who did it, and neither do you. And we need the American people to get the truth. We have a right to know who did it. And so do the families of the victims.

HANNITY: Yes. You know what? You can believe whatever you want. I don't really care. And this teacher can believe whatever he wants. I don't really care. I think you're both a little nutty. But putting that aside, this is what I'm sick of.

I'm sick of sending our kids into college classrooms and having incompetent teachers with bizarre political agendas, having a compelled audience that has to be there to get their education, listen to this drivel.

BOWMAN: No, they don't have to be there any more than your listeners have to be listening to your show.

HANNITY: ... when there are far more competent, better educated — better educated people that are more qualified for those positions. Parents are sick of this, that their kids are indoctrinated.

BOWMAN: He is not incompetent, and his theories are no more bizarre than yours.

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Hey, Bob, it’s Alan Colmes. I'm kind of agnostic, as well.

And what troubles me, rather than debate whether, you know, whose theory is right. What troubles me is if we took out of the classroom every teacher who had a bizarre theory on something, or any job, there'd be nobody left doing any jobs. We all have bizarre theories on something.

As I understand it, this theory, while propounded in his class, put forth, is not central to what he's teaching in his class. As a matter of fact, 400 pages are provided supporting the official government version and 75 pages supporting the alternative version that we're debating here.

BOWMAN: That's correct. Even though there's far more evidence for the alternative version.

COLMES: And it just troubles me that, if you have one idea that's crazy — we can debate what crazy is — they want to yank people out of the classroom because they may have a particular crazy idea.

BOWMAN: Well, you're absolutely right. I just feel that we need a truly independent investigation to find out the truth. That's all I want to find out. The American people need the truth, and the most unbelievable of all the wild conspiracy theories is the one that our government has told us.

COLMES: You believe the United States government itself is putting forth a conspiracy theory when it talks about 19 people with box cutters in an airplane and Usama bin Laden being the mastermind? That is a conspiracy theory?

BOWMAN: Well, absolutely. There is 20 people involved, right? That makes it a conspiracy. It was a crime. More than one person plans a crime. That's a conspiracy.

COLMES: But if you're right, you would have to have so many people involved somebody would have had to leak it. This would have come out. This couldn't have been carried out the way you're suggesting without it coming out somehow and this being leaked.

BOWMAN: Wait a minute. I haven't suggested how it's been done. Did I suggest any theory?

HANNITY: You know what, Mr. Bowman? I'm glad you're a Democrat. You belong in the party of Howard Dean.

COLMES: This has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans.

HANNITY: Thank you for being with us.

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