'Hannity' on Biden's cognitive decline, Democrats searching for answers

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They know the president is a cognitive wreck: Sean Hannity

Sean Hannity discusses Biden’s latest gaffe and how the president's cognitive decline is only continuing to worsen on ‘Hannity.’

This is a rush transcript of "Hannity" on September 30, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: All right. Welcome to "Hannity".

We begin tonight with this FOX News alert, and breaking tonight, we're going to continue to track the very latest developments all across the state of Florida after hurricane Ian carved out a path of destruction all across the states, southwest coast and right into the central part of Florida and then up the East Coast.

Look at your screen. You have entire communities wiped out and destroyed. Fort Myers Beach absolutely devastated. We're continuing to receive more and more updates on the extent of this damage. And, of course, the search and rescue operations are underway.

First responders, they have been mobilized emergency crews they're doing everything they can to rescue those that are trapped as residents now continue to suffer under the devastating storm surge, you know, from Naples to Sarasota, Fort Myers, beyond. The storm is now barreling towards the coast of South Carolina. It looks to be headed straight towards Charleston.

We'll have full FOX coverage throughout the night tonight. But, first, as we have shown you on this program night after night your president the president of the United States of America Joe Biden is not well, he is weak, he is frail, frankly, decrepit, he is deteriorating cognitively at a pretty rapid pace and he's not fit to be the commander-in-chief. Yesterday, frankly, may have been Joe Biden's lowest moment yet, which is kind of saying a lot.

During a White House event on combating hunger which honored the late Indiana Congresswoman Jackie Walorski -- well, Joe Biden called out for the deceased congresswoman. At one point said, I guess, Jackie, where's Jackie? And wondered where she was, where she seated in the audience. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank all of you here for including bipartisan elected officials like representative, governor, Senator Braun, Senator Booker, Representative Jackie -- are you here? Where's Jackie? I don't think she was going to be here to help make this a reality.

(EDN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Corey Booker here, where's Jackie? Not funny.

Sadly, this may have been one of Joe's most disturbing moments and that's again saying a lot. Remember at the time of her death, Biden ordered flags to be lowered at half mast. He released a heartfelt tribute to the long- serving lawmaker, and then Joe Biden apparently forgot ruining what would have been a moving and heart heartfelt tribute which is what it was supposed to be.

And the White House, they tried to play defense for Biden. That ended up just making it much worse and here's Biden's press secretary rambling on and on and on, and it's pretty bad. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What happened in the hunger event today, the president appeared to look around the room for an audience member -- a member of Congress who passed away last month, he seemed to indicate she might be in the room?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: So the president was -- as you all know, you guys were watching today's event, a very important event on food insecurity, the president was naming the congressional champions on this issue.

REPORTER: He said, Jackie, are you here? Where's Jackie? She must not be here.

JEAN-PIERRE: I totally understand. I just -- I just explained she was on top of mind.

REPORTER: I'm trying to get my head around the response. If the late congresswoman was top of mind for the president and her family was expected to be here and that's what he was thinking about what? Why was he looking for? I'm not trying to be snarky here.

JEAN-PIERREE: No, I mean --

REPORTER: We're saying what he said there.

JEAN-PIERRE: And again, I think people can understand.

REPORTER: One more time back to the question about the congresswoman.

JEAN-PIERRE: I'm not sure why. Why? Why one more time.

REPORTER: The confusing part is why, if she and the family is top of mind, does the president think that she's living and in the room.

JEAN-PIERRE: I don't find that confusing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Ever wonder why the media mob never would speak out against me pointing out the obvious because they all saw what we saw. We were the only ones brave enough to say it. And ask yourself, why couldn't the Biden White House just admit to the error? Why can't they for once kind of be honest, a little transparent with you the American people? You already know it is because they know the president is a cognitive wreck and they are the enablers that are covering for him.

They know he's not fit to serve. That's why they hide him that's why he does less than one event on average per day. That's why he's at the beach all the time. God only knows how many times he's really seeing doctors.

And they know with each passing day, Joe Biden is going from bad to worse in every way imaginable. Worse on policy, worse on stamina, worse on energy, worse on every front but of course Biden's unquestioning allies in the mob and the media, they didn't think it was that big a deal but maybe we need to ask a question or two.

Here's how the ladies at that that hard-hitting news show "The View" greeted his remarks. Listen specifically to Joyless Behar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": You can go after him for forgetting that someone has passed. I mean -- and she passed last month, not like a hundred years ago, okay?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know I think what it really shows is that this country is so ageist. This country has a problem with age. You know, you go to other countries and their elders are revered. They're revered because of the knowledge that they have acquired, and this is a man who has worked in government his entire life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Ageists. Oh, we missed joyless.

Anyway today, it didn't get all that much better for Joey where he appeared to forget the name of his very own FEMA administrator and then aimlessly once again wandered off, shaking air, doing that usual thing that he does that is very awkward and embarrassing.

But unfortunately, his vice president she's not doing a whole lot better because again today, another word salad. She found a way to uh let's say embarrass the entire U.S. on the world stage. She was visiting the DMZ, proclaiming that America had an alliance with North Korea, little rocket man, Kim Jong-un. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So the United States shares a very important relationship which is an alliance with the Republic of North Korea, and it is an alliance that is strong and enduring. And today, there were several demonstrations of just that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right. But the blunders for the White House didn't stop there. The vice president had this awkward moment while observing the DMZ. Again, does she know anything about world events, history, where she is, what she's doing, where she's going, who she's talking to? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It's something to actually see this with your own eyes. And it's so close.

SOLDIER: It's 50 meters away, ma'am. That's North Korea --

HARRIS: Right. That's it. That's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right. There you have it, America. These are the far left failures that are running your country, and it's why Democrats are that desperate to distract from Biden's disaster as a president, and of course, desperate to demonize Republicans at all costs.

Here is just a small sample Obama saying -- well, Republicans don't like Joe's uh border policy because they don't want people of a different color coming into the country, Clinton comparing Trump's supporters to Nazis, then the big bad Biden MAGA Republican speech. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: The biggest fuel behind the Republican agenda is related to immigration and the fear that somehow of America's character is going to be changed if people of darker shades there are too many of them here.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: You saw the rally in Ohio the other night, Trump is there ranting and raving for more than an hour and you have these rows of young men with their arms raised. I thought, what is going on?

BIDEN: Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represented extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Democrats, we know they can't run on their record. They can't run on the economy. What, a 41-year high of inflation?

They can't run on border security. We now set a record, two million and we have one quarter left in the year. This will be the biggest year for illegal immigration in the country's history.

They can't run on foreign policy. They can't run on their record on crime. You know, defund, dismantle, no bail laws. They can't run on their student loan free handout record. They can't run on their record on anything.

The price of gas -- they can't run on that either. Anyway so I will ask you again tonight because in 40 -- what -- two days now, are you better off now than before Joe Biden took office as your president? Are you better off under the surging inflation, the sinking 401ks?

Are you better off with these higher gas prices? Are you better off paying higher prices for everything you buy at every store you go to? Are you better off with open borders?

Are you better off with opioids and fentanyl pouring into this country, human traffickers fueling crime and chaos all across this great land of ours? Are you better off under the growing threat of nuclear war? Are you better off under Biden's weak diplomacy?

Can you name a single thing that Joe Biden has done to make your life better? Has he done anything to improve the country just one thing? Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, you know, they can't go one day without baffling blunders and bizarre word salads and embarrassing the entire country.

They can't go a day without baselessly slandering, smearing Republicans, conservatives and demonizing conservatives. They can't go one day without surrendering their agenda to their far left climate alarmist religious cult base. They run the party. They're hell-bent on destroying our way of life and destroying capitalism.

In 40 short days, 40 days, not 42, you get the final say. You get to send the message. This is your opportunity to get this country back on track. These far left socialists disasters are not the direction that we need for this country.

Instead, we should want an agenda centered around law and order and safety and security so you can pursue happiness. Border laws, national sovereignty, say -- you know, all of these things we talk about every day, we have to control our borders. We need background checks. We need health checks during a pandemic, make sure people won't be -- will be able to take care of themselves financially, won't be a burden on the American people.

How about fixing the disaster of our educational system, offer choice to parents and education? How about less government taxation, less government bureaucracy?

Not only go back to the Trump policies of American energy independence, how about American energy dominance? And so much more.

Here with reaction, he's the host of `Unfiltered", there's no such thing as a filtered Dan Bongino, anyway, Dan Bongino's with us. And the co-host of the hit show "The Five", Geraldo Rivera. We all know there's no -- a filtered Geraldo as well.

Geraldo, I'll just throw the question at you. Tell me what Joe Biden and the Democratic socialist, tell me what they've done, what policies are working for the American people? I'd love to hear it.

GERALDO RIVERA, "THE FIVE" CO-HOST: Well, first of all, I was brought up to respect my elders, and Joe Biden and I are the same age, so I'm very defensive of him, perhaps more so --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Geraldo, let me let me step in your defense here. Geraldo, we're friends. Dan Bongino will back me up. I promise you, you are sharp, you are bright, you are articulate, you are engaged, you are no Joe Biden.

Dan, I'm sure you agree.

DAN BONGINO, HOST OF "UNFILTERED": Yeah, no, no doubt about it. I mean, I'll let Geraldo take it from here, but that's a bit -- you're not making the point you think you're making, Geraldo.

HANNITY: Exactly.

BONGINO: But go right ahead. Make it anyway.

Well, I submit, Dan, that there are times when you seem dazed and confused. But, you know, don't know, man, you you're half my age.

BONGINO: That's the --

RIVERA: I feel badly for -- I feel badly for President Biden. It's obvious this is a staff failure all around. I mean, someone should have reminded him that --

HANNITY: Geraldo, wait a minute. This is wrong with me to do this, but I'm going to add one thing.

I feel bad for the country. I feel bad for the poor, the middle class, people on fixed incomes that are suffering because of his failed policies. I put them above one person.

RIVERA: Oh, sure, sure, we do, Sean. But this is a case where the White House could have very easily said he misspoke, he apologizes, he's called the family and regret -- I mean, when I write about or talk about anybody, I check on Wikipedia whether they're alive or dead.

I mean, my staffers should have done that. His should have done that. They should have be cleared on the on the teleprompter and so forth.

Judge him by the policy. It's nice that he had this program to end world hunger. That should be what we're talking about particularly with this horrible mess in Florida, so many people suffering. We need a president who is compassionate. We have a governor down there who's compassionate and effective, DeSantis.

So they're doing -- they're working in a bipartisan way. I'm not sure this is the day where we single out a guy's flub, you know, when it could have very easily been corrected by a staffer.

HANNITY: Dan?

BONGINO: Okay, number one, on the dazed and confused thing, my brother, you were like a studio 54 guy back in the day. So I'm going to take a hard pass on days then because -- you probably, Geraldo, there were probably decades of your life you don't even remember.

RIVERA: That's another story --

(CROSSTALK)

BONGINO: We can, another time. Maybe on a radio show or something.

But having said that, no, you're reading this thing entirely wrong, okay?

Respect for your elders and respect for the power of the office of the presidency are two different things. I respect my elders. I'm not mad at Joe Biden because he's clearly suffering some kind of frontal lobe deficit that a lot of senior Americans at that age, it may be me too at that age will suffer. It's a serious thing.

You know, I went to graduate school for neuropsychology. I'm very serious about this stuff. It's not -- it's not a joke. It's not funny.

Having said, the man's the commander-in-chief are the most powerful military machine in the history of Planet Earth. I mean, he could literally, not figuratively, annihilate the planet tomorrow morning. I mean, it's not too much to ask to, you know, doubt the guy know who's alive and dead in a room especially when you're a rather prominent congresswoman who was involved in an accident, just about everybody involved in politics knows about.

Here's point number two that you're missing, too. You know, I've got a little bit of experience in this space. The president of the United States, every single footstep he takes is marked out, everything he's going to do is put down and he's briefed on it.

You will do this. You will work a rope line right to left. You will exit stage left. You will take six pictures. Six police, two fire photos afterwards.

Everything he does is lying down. How the hell is this guy always confused about what to do after an event? I'll tell you, you don't see this with any other president, not to the degree with this guy. Why is it?

I've done a hundred of these events if not more because they brief them on what to do, he's clearly cognitively impaired and he forgets. It's -- Geraldo, it's no more complicated than that.

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: Come on, Dan. What about the Emmy Award? What about the Emmys? What about the Emmys, the Academy Awards, a person wins the statuette then they don't know where to go. They don't know where to go because it's a -- it's a new setting -- a new kind of physical space --

(CROSSTALK)

BONGINO: They're not setting off nuclear explosives at the Academy Awards. Are you seriously putting these two people on par? Come on, man. This -- you're not being serious right now.

You're telling me like Brad Pitt and Joe Biden have the same level of importance. Brad Pitt was the -- was the guy in that Christian Slater movie who was dazed and confused on the couch, wasn't he? It's not the same job, man. I mean, come on, the guy is the commander-in-chief of the United States military.

If you're telling him, exit stage right, shake hands with this guy and leave and he forgets five minutes later, you know, Geraldo, one more thing, I don't want to monopolize a segment but we're not the only ones watching this. Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin are watching this too. They clearly know the man has --

RIVERA: Ask Vladimir Putin, ask, Dan, my brother, ask Vladimir Putin whether or not Joe Biden is formidable or senile. Ask him about how U.S. intelligence totally blew a whistle on Putin's invasion of Ukraine and have backed Ukraine in a very formidable and stunned the Russians.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Let me get this back on track. Geraldo, I want to ask you a question. Geraldo, do you believe everybody around Joe Biden sees what we we're talking about? Do they see what's happening to this guy, yes or no? Are they aware of it probably more --

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: I don't know what's happening to this guy, Sean. Some people --

HANNITY: The cognitive mess that he is, Geraldo.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Geraldo, if I saw you on TV --

BONGINO: No.

HANNITY: -- and you -- and this was you on a regular basis, I would fly to where you are, I would sit down with you, and I'd say you've had an incredible 50-year career, please, please, it's time to retire. But you're not that way.

RIVERA: Fifty-two, and I appreciate the sentiment. I do, because you would be kind to me. He's the neglect --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Dan?

BONGINO: Sean, I got to get a word of you. I'm sorry, could be cut you -- want kind, get a freaking dog, bro. This is the president of the United States. You want a dog to like --

RIVERA: I have a new dog.

BONGINO: Get a dog to lick your feet. My dog is great. She's a submissive. She pees when I come in now, she gets so excited. I -- yeah, I don't want the president doing that too.

I mean, come -- be kind? And in your point before about Vladimir Putin thinks Biden's a tough guy, he waited for Trump to leave office before he invaded Ukraine, what are you talking about? I mean, I don't even know how that makes any sense.

RIVERA: Well, he invaded Ukraine and as a result Russia is going down the primrose path, much to the chagrin of many people on the right and American politics. You can debate that.

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: Biden did the right thing and he has done the right thing.

HANNITY: I want --

RIVERA: Go ahead, Sean. Sorry.

HANNITY: Now, all right, let's give Dan the last word tonight. We started with you, Geraldo.

RIVERA: Okay.

BONGINO: Yeah, I just don't know what you're talking about. He clearly is not respected by world leaders. When Trump was in office, there was no serious threat to cross the street to Taiwan by China, that's happening every day now. Kim Jong-un's threatening his seventh nuclear test, and Vladimir Putin is annexing portions of Ukraine.

I have no idea what you're talking about but they respect this guy. They're laughing at him. I wish they weren't. I'm a U.S. citizen. I'm proud of my country, but let's not -- let's not be silly here. Nobody respects this guy.

HANNITY: Dan, good to see you and thank you. And by the way, I had one other name, Geraldo, Bernie Sanders, as sharp as a tack. He's older than Biden.

RIVERA: True.

HANNITY: He's not -- he doesn't skip a beat. This guy --

RIVERA: He's got three houses.

HANNITY: Where's Jackie or shaking thin air, kind of embarrassing.

All right. Thank you both.

Coming up, our own Steve Harrigan, Bryan Norcross, they'll bring us the latest the devastation that is Hurricane Ian. By the way, if you're in South Carolina, pay attention.

Also, explosive allegations of political bias at the FBI, worse than ever. Jim Jordan will break it down as we continue, a "Hannity" investigation tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. This is a FOX News alert. Today in southwest Florida, rescuers, they got their first look at the unimaginable devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

For example, look at your screen, this is the commercial center, this is Fort Myers Beach known as Times Square, which along with its iconic pier, which is no longer existing, completely destroyed by this storm. Our very own Steve Harrigan is live in Florida tonight with the very latest on the damage they discovered all day.

Steve, I have friends in Naples, friends in Fort Myers, friends in Sarasota, friends all throughout the state, and I've been getting videos and pictures all day. It is a disaster.

STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It is, Sean. The destruction is simply catastrophic, and it's sad, it's sad to see. I'm standing among houses here in a neighborhood here which is completely destroyed in some of the parts of southwest Florida now hit so hard by those 150 mile per hour winds.

There are real questions about whether or not to rebuild. It's not just houses that have been wiped out but the infrastructure as well and aid has been flowing in from across the country to Florida, people eager to help, first responders coming for more than states. It doesn't get everywhere though. In some pockets like where I am now, it's really at this point still neighbor helping neighbor.

Now, the governor of Florida has said this is a 500-year flood. Some areas got more than two feet of rain and those search and rescue operations started immediately, one o'clock in the morning. As soon as the winds dip below 40 miles per hour, they were out there risking their lives to try to save people by boat, by helicopter, and by land. They've carried out more than 700 rescue missions.

But still at this point, more than million people without power and it's been complicated too to get around without communication. Many roads down, many bridges down and this is to an aging population. More than 40 nursing homes across the state have had to be evacuated.

As far as the storm itself, it's not over yet. It's been re-energized as it's moving north it's expected to hit the coast of South Carolina Friday midday as a category one hurricane.

Sean, back to you.

HANNITY: All right. Steve Harrigan, thank you for that report. Our prayers are with the people in Florida and if you're in South Carolina, it looks like it's on a direct path to your coast, the entire coast, and then aimed right at Charleston and we'll more on that in a second.

At this hour, Ian is now re-strengthening into another category -- category one hurricane. And for the very latest on where the storm is headed, South Carolina, we bring in FOX weather hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross.

Bryan, from what I'm seeing and observing, this is going to hit the entire coast of South Carolina. It looks like it's aimed right at Charleston and from my understanding there could be a storm surge of, what, nine feet?

BRYAN NORCOSS, FOX WEATHER HURRICANE SPECIALIST: Well, they're forecasting four to seven feet, Sean, and it's going to be close to Charleston. We can cross our fingers and hope it goes just to the north because Charleston is very, very Lowcountry. I mean, it's called the Lowcountry and the historic city of Charleston floods even in high, high tides which we have this time of year called the king tide season.

If we think of the southwest coast of Florida, that destruction is being phase one. The record flooding in central Florida as being phase two and now we're on to phase three of Ian.

Take a look at the satellite picture here where it is now. It looks like this very disheveled storm, but very strong winds maybe even stronger than the 75 miles per hour the hurricane center was estimating back at eight o'clock from the hurricane hunters. I just looked at their observations.

But even with this disheveled look, the winds are still strong and look at the direction they're pointing, they're pointing at the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, so though there is storm surge there that is expected.

Now, it's got all to do with the tides and so let's time this out so here's the idea storm strengthens a little bit maybe up to miles an hour or now based on the observations I've seen maybe a little bit stronger but not a crazy strong storm, the atmospheric conditions are just not conducive for that.

And then arriving at the South Carolina coast tomorrow, it says p.m., but I think midday is about the right time frame to think about that, and then moving north.

Now, we're talking about the wind part of the storm first. And look at this here, this red area is where tropical storm force winds are expected in the purple area is where hurricane force winds are possible. So -- and in this area here as well, tornadoes tomorrow, so this is going to be a terrible day across the low country of the Carolinas there and then it moves up into the mountains and, of course, tropical moisture and mountains a terrible combination.

Here's what the rain forecast is. So wind was first, rain a second and this corridor of rain going up to at least the Winston-Salem area, if not up into the mountains of North Carolina is going to be a significant flash flood threat. The National Weather service has identified this region as very likely to have flash flooding. They identified central Florida yesterday and that's what we had tremendous flooding record flooding there today.

So it's this area in Raleigh, up into the mountains and back down to around Columbia to Charleston. That's a high threat area for flooding strong winds and tornadoes tomorrow.

And now, let's talk about storm surge. So, storm surge is the water being pushed by the wind. So it's all about the direction of the wind. So this orange area is where the hurricane force gusts are forecast to be. So watch as we go forward and in time.

Now we're at midnight tonight so the high tide is around midnight. It's a little before midnight, high tide makes a tremendous difference there. At low tide, they wouldn't even know it was storm surge. At high tide, it's seven feet higher and over the shoreline, over the islands and so forth.

So this tonight at midnight is the first time and then we get to a low tide at six in the morning as the winds start to pick up. But look at the timing here, we get up to noon tomorrow around high tide, and this is when the strongest winds are forecast to be on the South Carolina coast up to just north of Myrtle Beach, pushing water into the shoreline. This is the high threat time.

We're hopeful for the folks in Charleston that this comes ashore just north of Charleston because the winds go this way then it's not pushing water into Charleston, but it's just too close to call and, of course, high concern for the folks that are up the coast with that onshore winds all the way into North Carolina, Sean.

HANNITY: If it does sit there that Lowcountry as you call it in the Charleston area and you have a storm surge let's say seven feet on top of the rain that you're talking about, what would that mean for Charleston?

NORCROSS: Well, the problem is that the old city of Charleston down by the battery is very low. And now that we have these king tides that are higher than ever, it actually floods there in regular high tide. So this is a stunning threat to the old part of the city of Charleston and that Lowcountry.

Like I said, I hope it misses there but there's a lot of other South Carolina coast and Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms all up the coast there and the threat is significant for those people and the local authorities there have been talking about this all day and I hope that everybody gets to a safe place.

HANNITY: You'd recommend evacuation?

NORCROSS: Well, I hesitate to preempt what local officials say but whatever the local officials are saying, they're not going to take any chance --

HANNITY: How about this? What would you do if you were in the middle of Charleston, in that area, what would you do?

NORCROSS: If I was in a place that that I knew was subject to the ocean coming up to my place I would be out of there. I would have been out of there already a long time ago.

HANNITY: All right. There's the litmus test.

NORCROSS: This is a high threat situation. Yes, exactly.

HANNITY: All right, Bryan. Great report, our prayers with the people in South Carolina tonight, thank you.

Now, we'll continue to monitor the storm but first tonight, we have breaking news. Whistleblowers are now coming forward to Ohio congressman Jim Jordan just like they have been to Charles Grassley and Ron Johnson and they are alleging that your FBI as we have been talking about a lot has now been completely politicized and now trying to even purge any conservative employees.

Jordan writes in a letter to a senior FBI human resources official that whistleblowers have alleged that the agency now is revoking the security clearances of conservative employees and even outright suspending them.

The FBI's telling FOX News in a statement that the FBI does not target, or take adverse action against any employees for exercising their First Amendment rights or for their political views.

Okay, if that is true, then why did the attorney general I'm arguing is weaponizing the Department of Justice, Merrick Garland, why is he trying to stop the whistle-blowers in the FBI from talking to members of Congress? You might remember, he sent out that little memo after Donald Trump said we have over 20 whistle-blowers last month. He sent to DOJ employees reminding them that no department, employee may communicate with members of Congress or congressional staff without advance approval from the office of legislative affairs.

Is he trying to intimidate these whistle-blowers into silence?

Here with more, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan.

It sounds to me, I thought we had whistle-blower laws, I thought we like whistleblowers. I thought we put hearsay whistle-blowers up on a pedestal.

So, FBI whistle-blowers are being told to shut up they're not allowed to talk to likes of you or Grassley or Johnson, that's how interpret it.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): No, you're exactly right. That's the law, Sean, and it's supposed to be followed. But I think it's interesting and you pointed this out. A few weeks ago when I was on your show we talked about the 14 whistle-blowers, FBI agents come to our office, the very next day, the very next day Merrick Garland sends that memo out saying here are the rules if you're going to speak to Congress. It was a memo designed to chill the speech of brave whistle-blowers who want to come forward and tells the truth.

We also know that some of those whistle-blowers have had their security clearance revoked, which is always the first step in terminating someone at the FBI. And now, we think that there is immense a bit retaliation against whistle-blower who has been suspended. And this is one of the very first whistle-blowers we had who's been suspended. He came to us back last fall the school board issue we learn that memorandum that came from Attorney General Garland designed to say, we're going to use the counterterrorism measures against moms and dads, and 20-some parents investigated by the FBI for simple showing up the school board meeting.

So it continues to escalate, and then you view it in context of everything we're doing, this is frightening stuff.

HANNITY: All right. Let me talk about, during the course of your investigation, and I'm hearing that maybe as many as 30 whistle-blowers, you actually said in a letter that you received protected whistle-blower disclosures that the FBI is engaging in his purge of conservatives.

Now, there are two things seemingly going on simultaneously. If they're purging conservatives, silencing them, now Merrick Garland is intimidating them, basically saying they're not allowed to talk to elected officials, that would contradict in my opinion whistle-blower protection laws, but they are saying not only has been politicized, now it's a purging.

So what is going on with our Department of Justice? What is happening here? And when we get to the bottom of it, because of that's the case, that would explain why we don't have equal justice or equal application of laws in our country which would scare the hell out of every American?

JORDAN: Well, I think it's all designed. I think the plan is all designed to fit this narrative that Joe Biden has laid out there, that half the country are fascist and extremist, this crazy claim that he's made.

And now, they have to as I said, juice the numbers, we've had some whistle- blowers talk about that another getting pressure to label all cases as domestic violence extremism cases to juice the numbers and to cook the books because the way that they're cataloguing these cases to make it appear that they are domestic violence extremists all over the country. All to fit this narrative and you now see it manifest in what happened just a week ago, in outside of Philadelphia with this pastor and his family.

So, that seems to be what they're -- what they're up to. And, of course, if you have conservative, if you have FBI agents or following the law and doing with her supposed to, they're not going to go along with that, that's why they're coming to us and they are trying to stop them to come forward and give us the truth.

HANNITY: I want to understand something. So, we're now 40 days out from the election. We're going to have more January 6 hearings in the lead up to the election. We know that everybody on the committee has a political bias, that's fine. They're allowed to have their opinions.

But they ignore the 574 riots that injured thousands of cops, with bricks, rocks, bottles, Molotov cocktails. They ignore the fact that those 574 riots that a lot of Democrats said were mostly peaceful and encouraged by the likes of Kamala Harris, by the way, tweeting out support for a bail fund, praising defunding the LAPD, we had billions of property damage and dozens of dead Americans, where's that committee investigating those riots by left-wing groups?

JORDAN: Or, Sean, the dozens, dozens of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that were attacked in the aftermath of leaking the draft opinions, and the churches that were vandalized in the aftermath of leaking a draft opinion. Where are those investigations? Why do we hear about those?

Are they -- are they raiding with 20 FBI agents those kind of places, the people who did that harm like it did to this pastor outside of Philadelphia? So that is the thing that bothers so many of the American families and I think that they're going to remember that when they go to vote in 40 days.

HANNITY: I hope they do. A lot at stake. Jim Jordan, congressman, Ohio, thank you for being with us.

When we come back, OK, Senate candidate from Wisconsin, guy by the name of Mandela Barnes -- wait to hear what he said after the Steve Scalise shooting back in 2017 the nearly killed him. We'll show you that.

Plus, crimes surging all over the country especially New York City. The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, where's her priorities? Where are the liberal compassionate Democrats in New York? We'll talk about that, all things election, 40 days until the all-important midterms. Your best election coverage is right here on "Hannity."

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HANNITY: All right. We are only 40 days away from these all important midterm elections. and the left, they have selected the most radical group of candidates ever, included Wisconsin Senate candidate Mandela Barnes. Look at this guy here. He's repeatedly called for the prison population to be cut in half, which is just slightly more prisoners let out then the trust fund brat in Pennsylvania that is running, you know, the guy in the hoodie that never worked a real job in his life, that wants moratorium on fracking, no restrictions on abortion, all these candidates are so over the top.

Now in Wisconsin, Barnes also trust the founding of our country. But his worst moment may have come in 2017 when he actually mocked Congressman Steve Scalise. Remember, he almost died in that ball field when he was shot by Bernie supporter. Anyway, taking one for the team. I question how people vote against self-interest but this is the next level. He literally almost died on this hill. After he was shot by a deranged Bernie Sanders.

All right. Here with reaction, former speaker of the House, FOX News contributor Newt Gingrich.

Mr. Speaker, you know, if look at all these candidates we have a phenomenon that they are taken a page at a Joe Biden. They all seem to be hiding. They don't have an answer any questions the press. They're -- they all seem to have tens of millions of dollars that they are dumping on Republican candidates with negative ads. If they debate, they'll agree to a debate a week before the election after the voting -- you know, after half the state has already voted.

And then you look at their positions, no exceptions on abortion, no restrictions all. Cut the prison population in half, defund the police. Don't be energy independent, wide open borders, no law and order, it's defund, dismantle, no bail, no correcting on disastrous school system.

Are they going to be able to win with that game plan?

NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think you see both with Fetterman in Pennsylvania and with Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin that the weight of their radical ideas is gradually telling their campaigns. The lead that Fetterman had when he was unknown and people didn't realize how pro-murderer he was, how pro-drug legalization he was, how much she was in fact a threat to the very safety of the community.

Remember, Philadelphia yesterday had their 1,000th carjacking of the year, setting an all-time record for the number of carjackings in Philadelphia. So, over 70 percent of the voters in Philadelphia say that crime is the greatest concern and safety is their greatest concern. That is a huge burden for Fetterman and you begin to see it in the polls.

In Wisconsin, once they got through the primary and Ron Johnson begin to point out how really radical, how pro-criminal, how anti-victim Mandela Barnes was, Barnes fell behind and I suspect that race may be a blow away by the time the done because Barnes's positions are so radical. He is in a sense so full of himself. That's a whole point of the way that he made fun of Steve Scalise.

I mean, these people verge on being sick. In the case of Fetterman, of course, he apparently had a tattoo that was either a reference to a song in favor of heroin use, or was attribute to the Crips which was a Los Angeles- based very violent gang, which actually was in Fetterman's hometown, and which worked with Fetterman in his election.

So, you look at that and you think, how much does the average Pennsylvanian want to have a pro-criminal, pro murderer candidate who is also for much higher taxes, is against oil and gas is an industry, and generally would represents virtually no value that exists in Pennsylvania.

In Wisconsin, you have the same problem with Mandela Barnes, and I think outside of maybe the Madison -- University of Wisconsin crowd, Barnes is going to find that Wisconsin is a very tough state this year.

HANNITY: Let me ask you, you really have a gift in terms of being able to see wave elections and all the years that I've been interviewing you, you usually turn out right.

I know a lot of people are optimistic that believe that this will be a wave election year. Where do you see the House going? And when you look at, you know, all these Senate races, Florida, Georgia, North, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, Washington state, Arizona, Nevada, what you see the Senate coming down in terms of at the end of the day who will be the winners in the election?

GINGRICH: You know, Sean, I do three newsletters a week. I did one on the long term structural analysis of the election, the two most successful models use historic data to partake the came in at about the same number, they predict 44-46 gained seats for the House.

I also just did this last week analyzing the polling numbers. Remember, the Democrats get places like California by such huge margins. If you see a ballot nationwide that's not most recent one was three points Republican, that means that when you get out of California, the Republican generic advantage is enormous. In fact, in the swing states even "The Washington Post" last week reported that Republicans have had something like 57-35 in the swing districts.

HANNITY: Give me your Senate predictions, what is your Senate predictions?

GINGRICH: Plus three to plus seven in the Senate. Plus 20 to plus 50 in the house.

HANNITY: Wow. I hope you're right, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

All right. We turn our attention now to the surge in crime all across America's liberal cities with a new disturbing report out of New York where an EMT worker was stabbed to death in the latest brutal attack. Here with more, House Republican Conference chair, Congressman Elise Stefanik.

This is what no bail laws get you. This is what defund and dismantle get you, and a governor, and a mayor in New York that have no desire to fix.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): What a tragedy, Sean, to have yet another headline of an innocent public servant. Alison Russo is an attendant in -- she's an EMT officer, has served for over 20 years. She was just going to a bodega and broad daylight and in 2:20 p.m. was stabbed violently and ultimately passed away. These are tragedies.

The governor of New York state and the mayor of New York City have blood on their hands. Democrats, and radicals have been pushing this defund the police movement and the failed bail reform policies that prioritizes the criminals over law-abiding citizens.

I would tell you, that there is a crime crisis across New York state which is why New Yorkers, whether they're Republican, independents or Democrats, they're going to vote for a new direction. We need everyone to step up to help save our streets, save our communities.

And it's why House Republicans are committed in our Commitment to America to a nation that's safe, to support our law enforcement, to make sure that our municipalities and our states have the resources to hire additional police officers. But this is impacting every community, Sean.

HANNITY: We've had a crime problem all across the country because of no bail, defund, dismantle. Congresswoman, we appreciate you being with us.

Quick break, we'll come back. More "Hannity" right after this.

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HANNITY: All right. Unfortunately, that is all the time we have left this evening. As always, thank you for being with us. Thank you for making the show possible. We hope your set your DVR so you never ever miss an episode of "Hannity." For news any time, foxnews.com, Hannity.com.

Again, our thoughts, our prayers, a lot of work and a lot of disruption for our friends in Florida. You're in our prayers tonight.

In the meantime, let not your heart be troubled, stay tuned to. She's got a great show, "The Ingraham Angle," Laura is here. Hi.

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