Jeff Sessions slams Russia collusion allegations

This is a rush transcript from "The Five," June 13, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: Hello everyone. I'm Dana Perino, along with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Juan Williams, Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld. It's 9 o'clock in New York City and this is "The Five."

More high drama on Capitol Hill today as Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee and push back hard against any suggestion he was colluding with the Russians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Let me state this clearly, colleagues. I have never met with or had any conversation with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election in the United States. Further, I have no knowledge of any such conversations about anyone connected to the Trump campaign. I was your colleague in this body for 20 years, at least some of you.

And I participated -- and the suggestion that I participated in any collusion, that I was aware of any collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country, which I have served with honor for 35 years, or to undermine the integrity of our Democratic process, is an appalling and detestable lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: After a series of combative accusations from Democrats on the panel, Republican Senator Tom Cotton came to such his defense by mocking their line of questioning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM COTTON: Do you like spy fiction? John Le Carre --

(CROSSTALK)

COTTON: Do you like Jason Bourne or James Bond movies?

SESSIONS: No. Yes, I do.

COTTON: Have you ever in any of these fantastical situations heard of a plot line so ridiculous that a sitting United States senator and an ambassador of a foreign government colluded in an open setting with hundreds of other people to pull off the greatest caper in the history of espionage?

SESSIONS: Thank you for saying that, Senator Cotton. It is just like through the looking glass. I mean, what is this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: All right. We're going to take it on the table here. Jesse, I thought there was a fabulous part of the hearing for Attorney General Sessions and the one that was sort of model. But I think the most important one was the one that he mailed the first sound bite that we showed in which he was the first really who had been accused of this collusion and the sort of like whispering around town in Washington, D.C., to come out and say, how dare you question my patriotism? You have known me. I have worked here. I dedicated my life to public service, so how dare you? I thought that was the best part.

JESSE WATTERS, CO-HOST: It was a great part. The Democrats are trying to paint Jeff Sessions out to be a traitor. The man is not a traitor he is a patriot. He's worked in the Attorney's Office, he was a part of the Department of Justice. He's from Alabama, he is Trump's attorney general. This guy is a red-blooded American as you can possibly get. There's no way he would then try to undermine our constitutional Republic in broad daylight with a foreign power. It doesn't make sense.

Today was just another nail in the coffin for the Russia hoax. No one landed any punches on the sky. It was a lot of innuendo, not a lot of facts, and the reason they keep on shifting targets is because they keep witting. First, they start with Trump. And then they go to Jared Kushner, then they tried to make a thing out of Comey. Now, it's Sessions and they keep coming up empty handed. The facts are, this guy, Jeff Sessions, did not meet as a surrogate with any Russian officials, he meant as a senator twice last year. Once was just after a speech he gave at the RNC in Cleveland with a lot of other people and then once he had a meeting in his office and it was about the Ukraine invasion.

PERINO: Right.

WATTERS: He's not trying to cook up anything, and after about seven or eight months, the Senate Intelligence Committee has found zero evidence of any collusion between Trump campaign officials and the Russians. So, I don't know where the evidence is. It does not exist. The Obama director of National Intelligence, Obama CIA director, now the Attorney General, say there is no evidence of collusion. There is evidence of collusion between the Democrats in the media, but that's beside the point.

PERINO: It's interesting, Kimberly that Attorney General Session started his testimony by talking about Russian interference and saying it is real, it is a problem. We had a story today that said, that there was an attempt, at least 39 states. So, he is actually openly saying like we recognize that we have a problem here, but the collusion part, that is not something that I did.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: Right. I thought this was very good. You know, it's sad that we are at this point where we have to waste taxpayer dollars. That is appalling and detestable because they deserve better of the time of the people on Capitol Hill, of their senators, of their attorney general to be able to focus on issues that are real, not conjured up genii out of a bottle, KGB, Russian fantasy, the likes of which you would read about in a novel.

So, I like Tom Cotton's point. And I like the fact that the Attorney General Sessions was able to stand up for himself. Enough is enough already. He was aggressive, good for him. If people making, you know, false and serious allegations against you, impugning your character and integrity when you have served with, you know, patriotism for 35 years of this country, he deserves better and so do the American people.

I'm glad he stood up for himself, he answer the questions, he's not a afraid of the truth, and he was honest when he said that we know that the Russians try to interfere, but that does not mean that there was any collusion. And believe me, there are even Democrats saying, there is no evidence of this. There is no there there. So are they going to conjure up something, because we had Comey testified too. And up into the point that he was dismissed, there was no evidence to substantiate any of this. Enough already with the witch-hunt.

PERINO: A credible witness today to you, Greg? Like he was calm, under pressure, he's cool, collected, genuine.

GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: He's like a wingless bird. Unflappable. Don't let his elfish qualities fool you.

GUILFOYLE: Just like you.

GUTFELD: Yes. Exactly. I am a woodland creature like himself. He's scrappy. Very scrappy. When you get on, and he comes back and he fight. But the one thing we learned today is something that we've always learned, we've learned when we were children, the Russians like to mess with us. That is a one-sided problem that we have to deal with. There was no collusion. What is happening is, we have them bothering us. This is what I like to call a nothing-stroganoff. Little Russian there.

But I don't get the Democrats definition of a meeting. It's like, so you're in the same hotel, so technically I've met with a lot of interesting people. Lou Dobbs. But anyway, if you get outside of the media bubble, if you get out of the political bubble, no one gives a damn.

WATTERS: You're right.

GUTFELD: I'm watching this, and I'm trying to take myself out of my job, and I'm sitting there, and I am looking at this, and I go, I don't give a crap. And I can't believe anybody actually cares about this. We know how the world works. People know how the world works. There are spies, there are people that always try to tinker with the government, or tinker with your elections. We have done that, they do that. We understand it. So, meanwhile, North Korea is basically executing an American citizen, ISIS, we are fighting ISIS over here. We have got all of these horrible things going on, and we are spending all of our time on a conversation on what was talked about between two men --

PERINO: In a passing reference out of reception.

GUTFELD: Yes. Exactly. That is what this is about.

PERINO: And yet the Democrats were not satisfied with the hearing today. They say there are going to be more, and tonight I see Juan that several senators including Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren are calling for the resignation of Jeff Sessions, saying that he misled the committee. Do you think that will stick?

JUAN WILLIAMS, CO-HOST: I think it will stick among Democrats, if that's what you're asking. Do I think it will result in Sessions leaving office? No.

PERINO: So then, why do they overplay their hand on something like that?

GUILFOYLE: They want to run for president.

WILLIAMS: Oh, I don't think they are overplaying their hands. Let's just stop for a second and look back. A week ago, we learned that President Trump wanted Sessions to resign. He was mad at him for having recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. And then, the question was, why did Sessions recused himself if the President hadn't encouraged him to do so, and it was unclear. And then we heard from the former FBI Director Jim Comey that there was more, there was more that somehow not publicly known about Sessions' involvement with the Russians that led him to recuse himself. So, there were some outstanding questions there.

WATTERS: He called bs on that today.

WILLIAMS: Well, can I finish?

WATTERS: Yes. Go ahead.

WILLIAMS: Thank you very much. So, what happened today is that you hear the Attorney General say, no there is nothing secret here. I don't have any secrets. I don't know what Comey is talking about basically, he said. But then he goes on and refuses to discuss the conversations he has had with the President. So you get people, he says to Kamala Harris, slow down, slow down, you are making me nervous. I don't want to speak so quick. I can't respond to these questions so quickly.

You get Senator Ron Wyden. You get Senator Martin Heinrich. All of them saying, gee, you are stonewalling. This is what happened with Dan Coates, this is what happened with Mike Rogers, the director of National Intelligence, the director of National Security. You guys don't want to talk about what you are saying.

GUTFELD: Wait. Wait. Wait. Kamala Harris didn't want him to answer the question. He had this great strategy where she would ask a question that cut them off at the point where it sounds like he was saying something else. It's very clever, but after a while, you realize how hackneyed it was. And as for Wyden, I mean, Sessions was very generous to Wyden because he handed his ass to him.

WILLIAMS: I don't think he handed his ass.

GUTFELD: Oh, yes, he did.

WILLIAMS: That goes back to the idea that the Democrats right now feel like Sessions was not being responsive. That if he had something to say, say it. Let's get out of here. But you know what? When he testified, when he was being confirmed and didn't reveal the additional meeting, that really opened the door. That made him more vulnerable to these attacks from the Democrats.

WATTERS: Kimberly, real quick. And then we'll --

GUILFOYLE: Yes. I just wanted to say that it's like, you know, people like Senator Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren who are auditioning. These are auditions. Democratic open auditions to lead the Democratic Party so they're playing foosball with anybody that's associated with President Trump like Sessions and trying to take wax at him, and see a big show. I know. I mean, this is what happens. I worked at the San Francisco District Attorney and had a chance to head the DA there.

WATTERS: And this is what they do. And just like Juan mentioned Democrats for the accusations against Sessions earlier. Stonewalling, obstruction. Let's play a little bit of that sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON WYDEN, D-ORE.: I believe the American people have had it with stonewalling.

SESSIONS: Senator Wyden, I am not stonewalling.

WYDEN: You are not answering questions. You're impeding this investigation.

SESSIONS: Senator, I'm protecting the President's constitutional right by not giving it away before he has a chance to review it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, I have just a few --

SESSIONS: Will you let me qualify it? If I don't qualify it, you accuse me of lying. So, I need to be correct as best I can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do want you to be honest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: So the stonewalling charge seems to be the one thing Democrats have come away with this hearing from. My question to you is, Juan, if you are a cabinet member, and you have a conversation with the President, and then you get called into a hearing and you just have to say whatever you talk to the President about, how's the President ever going to trust any cabinet officially brings him into the oval?

WILLIAMS: Well, the President has the right to invoke executive privilege. He has not done it. But to your point, Jesse. I am really am responsive to it. Because I think if I was reading about it today, people describe it as a gray area. Is it the case that the Congress can say to someone with no executive privilege that is applicable here, say, tell us what you said to the President? Or is it the case that the official who was, you know, representing the President can say, well, I want to preserve his right to exercise executive privilege.

WATTERS: Right. Well, I think out of difference to the confidentiality and the privacy of these communications. You want to give the President the benefit of the doubt so he can invoke executive privilege later on if need be. Right, Kimberly?

GUILFOYLE: Yes. Absolutely. This is nothing that is illegal. It is constitutional, it makes sense. And so good for, you know, Attorney General Sessions for standing up and doing the right thing and putting his foot down. I mean, he is the highest ranking law enforcement, you know, officer in the country, by being the head of the Attorney General's office. He knows what he's doing, he's highly capable and qualified, and he was on point today. So, big rumors of a breakup between Sessions and President Trump. Don't believe it.

WATTERS: I think the Democrats are being a little hypocritical here, Greg, because when officials were testifying against, you know, the Fast and Furious scandal, or the IRS, or Benghazi, or the Hillary Clinton email investigation, there were shredding of documents, there was pleading of the Fifth, invoking executive privilege, the Democrats weren't saying that was obstruction. They were okay with that.

GUTFELD: Well, we have to be fair. The hypocrisy then becomes a two-way street, because now we are saying it is okay, but back then we were saying it wasn't. So --

WATTERS: He didn't take the Fifth though.

GUTFELD: Right, and nobody died from this.

WATTERS: Right.

GUTFELD: The Benghazi thing, we still haven't learn the lesson of Benghazi, which is when you don't blame the evil for evil, you keep getting evil.

WATTERS: Right. The lesson from Benghazi is Orlando, is Manchester, is the London Bridge. Whenever you don't say what causes terror, you get more terror.

GUILFOYLE: The San Bernardino.

GUTFELD: But you know, what? The thing is, you noticed, there are shifting from collusion to obstruction. And I am wondering what's next, it will probably be cyber bullying. I am not sure where they need to go. But there was way more collusion under President Obama. And guess what, I stole from Juan. Guess what, it was on tape. Obama told the outgoing Russian president that, you know, he will have more flexibility after the election. That was actually on tape.

WATTERS: Greg makes a great point, Dana. They shift the narrative when they keep not hitting the target. You know, they go from target to target, they go from charge to charge and nothing is sticking.

PERINO: On the collusion part. And I hope that we, obviously Bob Mueller has an investigation and that will play out and hopefully wraps up soon so that America can move on. And at that point, if it still bears out that there is no evidence of collusion, and then I hope the Democrats can accept that. We have a much bigger problem, and that is as a country, when we have an election coming in just three-and-a-half short years. That one has to be full of integrity, and so we have to do something now in order to protect ourselves and all of the states. And that's a huge undertaking that will require everybody working together on that front.

GUTFELD: Outsource it.

PERINO: Two robots, hopefully.

GUTFELD: Yes. Robots will run it.

PERINO: I mean, that are the answer.

GUTFELD: And they should actually also run for office.

PERINO: Absolutely.

WATTERS: Dana saying, yes, there's 39 states or something like that where allegedly hacked by Russian but that never was really brought up by Democrats at the hearing. They were focused more on Trump.

WILLIAMS: Well, I think that knowledge wasn't available until recently.

PERINO: Well, it was available this morning and actually Attorney General Sessions lead with it in his opening statement.

WILLIAMS: Right. Correct. That's what you said. But I just want to make mention of the fact that there was also a question about if Comey, I'm sorry, if Sessions recused himself, then how did he become involved in the firing of Jim Comey?

WATTERS: Because he says the firing wasn't strictly about Russia, it was about his performance handling the Hillary Clinton email investigation and some of the other factors.

PERINO: Follow up questions, that is probably where he had the most difficult time, like basically being a little bit muddled because he was saying that and at one point, he also says, we will just let the President's words stand, and the President had changed the explanation when he had that interview with Lester Holt.

WILLIAMS: Right, and at one point, he's asked, he says, I based the firing on what Rod Rosenstein wrote. And then he said, well, you know, maybe the case, according to Sessions today, that there were discussions with Rosenstein before, and that Rosenstein knew, and then of course, what the President says to Lester Holt is, it was because of the Russians. So, it's kind of confusing, but I think people want to understand. If you recuse yourself from the Russia investigation, how did you get involved in the firing of Jim Comey?

GUILFOYLE: He recused himself because of the DOJ regulations that required him to do so because he was a campaign --

WILLIAMS: But that still leads to the question, how did he got involved in the firing of the FBI director after he recused himself?

WATTERS: Because he said it has to do with his performance regarding the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation. He overstepped his bounds with Loretta Lynch.

WILLIAMS: Who did? I mean, Comey.

WATTERS: Comey did.

WILLIAMS: But he says that he never spoke to Comey about, as Comey testified, they never gave him any indication that there was any problem with the FBI.

WATTERS: Comey also claimed that Sessions never gave him a heads up about this whole deal and then Sessions came out and says, I have the email to prove it. So, I don't think Comey came out looking that great in this hearing either.

GUTFELD: And again, it's all about -- I mean, this is amazing. There has got to be 200 million Americans sitting there going like, this is all about a conversation. Nobody died. This is about a conversation, it's about a party trying to prevent another party from succeeding in its agenda.

GUILFOYLE: That's it.

GUTFELD: And the media spends 85 percent of their time, they are like those cats chasing laser pointers. That is all this is. So, their paws are hitting an iPad because there is an image there. But nobody gives a damn.

PERINO: Do you know that that creates obsessive compulsive disorder in cats?

GUTFELD: I figured that out.

WILLIAMS: Or epileptic seizures. But let me just say, there is an alternative view.

GUTFELD: Okay.

WILLIAMS: The alternative view is that in fact, if you compromise the integrity of our elections, that is not good.

GUTFELD: No, no, I agree.

WILLIAMS: That is not good, Greg.

GUTFELD: No, no, no, I agree. Last year, when we first were stumbling onto the story, I was the loudest screamer about Russian interference.

WILLIAMS: Well, that's why, they are not cat paws. I mean, serious business --

GUTFELD: No, no, no, now it's cat paws.

PERINO: The collusion piece.

GUTFELD: I think we've come up with, it's a cat paw. They're like, ga-ga- ga, and there is nothing there.

GUILFOYLE: They want to catnip. They want President Trump.

WILLIAMS: There is nothing there we know about in an ongoing investigation.

GUTFELD: Well, you can say that until the day we die.

WILLIAMS: No, no, no. I hope that Robert Mueller gets this done quickly.

GUTFELD: Maybe they all figured it out and something righteously pops up after Comey had been fired in between the time when Mueller is taken over. I mean, I don't think so.

WATTERS: I don't think so. All right. The White House reaction to the Sessions' hearing straight ahead.

And we are awaiting the arrival of an American student who has been held captive by North Korea for more than a year.

PERINO: Oh my God!

WATTERS: Twenty two-year-old Otto Warmbier is on his way back to the United States, but he is not in good condition. He is in a coma and in need of medical care. He is expected to arrive in Cincinnati very soon. We are keeping a very close eye on that. So stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUILFOYLE: The liberal media and Democrats keep pushing this Russia Trump conspiracy theory with zero proof of collusion according to this former Attorney General.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MUKASEY, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: I don't see evidence of any crime having been committed by anybody in relation to this investigation. Nobody has found any evidence of collusion, and if there were, it wouldn't be a crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTFELD: I didn't even know about it.

GUILFOYLE: It's interesting, the left isn't paying much attention or Greg to this news.

(LAUGHTER)

Revelations that three members on the team of Special Counsel Robert Mueller have donated to Democratic presidential campaigns. Newt Gingrich is calling out the fairness of the investigation. He says he spoke with President Trump about it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: He called me because I have been very clear about the fact that Mueller hiring four Democrats, his first four attorneys are all Democrats, one of them worked for the Clinton Foundation, he could not find a single pro-Trump attorney to hire. And I just think that that's a regain, I think it's a mistake to pretend that this is going to be some neutral investigation.

GUILFOYLE: Okay. So we are hearing a lot of discussion now about obstruction of justice, as Greg you've mentioned, the shift has gone from collusion to obstruction.

GUTFELD: It's fake news.

WATTERS: Oh, good one.

GUTFELD: Fake news! You know what? Donald Trump reminds me, so he's trying to get all this stuff done. It's like those old swashbuckler movies where the hearing was constantly, he is up on a -- he's always like this.

GUILFOYLE: Swashbuckling.

GUTFELD: And then he's down like on a ramp, and then he said, going to the streets. But he's going to get dinner. So, Trump all the time has to be doing this while he is getting his other stuff done. So, he's kind of basically -- they are trying to keep -- they're throwing all their stuff at him, but he's still trying to get through the side battles while trying to fight the front battle. It would just be interesting if the Democrats could just loosen up on their delayed release convulsion. Because that's what this is. It is a delayed released convulsion since the election. It's like, it's never let go. They are still going through it. So, they've got to learn to live with it.

GUILFOYLE: All right. Dana, do you buy the DRC theory? Deny, release --

(LAUGHTER)

PERINO: Look, it is interesting. You know, two weeks ago when Bob Mueller was announced, everybody pretty much on the same page, a great guy, amazing public servant. Served in both Republican and Democratic institutions. Has friends all over the place. Never a show boat. Like he's the perfect guy for it. And now all of a sudden, they are like talking about he should be removed.

And it is slightly ironic for Republicans to be complaining that there were donations to Democrats given that President Trump himself and his family have donated to Democrats over the years many times. So, I actually think that people can do their jobs in a nonpartisan way regardless of who they have actually supported or have given money to. If it becomes such an issue, then they want to hire a couple of pro-Trump lawyers. I actually think that's fine. I guess if you want, but it's unfortunate that an independent investigation that should be pure from all of that is basically getting tarnished.

I think that what is setting it up to be is that building it up so much so that Democrats then can say, oh, look, we told you all along that there was collusion. Or Republicans can say, oh, actually we told you all along that there was no collusion and it's a good thing Bob Mueller went our way. I don't like any of that, I think that people can actually be professional in Washington.

GUILFOYLE: All right.

PERINO: I still have hope.

WATTERS: Look, people could be working the refs a little bit. You know, it's just kind of pre-empting thing that could come down against their wishes. But I mean, I think a lot of people in the beginning thought Mueller was the right pick, and an alarm bells starts going off. And it's a few things.

Juan, if the former FBI director says that there is no collusion and there is no obstruction of justice, then what exactly is Mueller investigating, that is one. And not only is he hiring three out of the five lawyers now, he is bringing democratic donors to the tune of $50,000 or something like that. You know, they are maxing out to Hillary, they're maxing out to Obama, they're maxing out to the DNC, it's not just a donation here, donation there. One of these people represented Hillary Clinton's Foundation.

Same woman represented Hillary Clinton during her email investigation defense. You know, some of these things, one of the other lawyers that they just hired is representing or represented the guy that smashed Hillary Clinton's iPhone with a hammer. The IT guy. So, you have that. And in the other hand, you have the relationship between Mueller and Comey. And I think that's a new information that is starting to come out.

They worked together for over a decade, they were close friends of the Department of Justice and the FBI, they were, quote-unquote, "joined at the hip." It was a mentor protege situation, so if Mueller is going to come in and look at the dinner between Trump and Comey, and his good close friend is the star witness, or potentially the target, can he be impartial? So, those are the kind of questions people are asking, and like we've said before, a lot of times these special prosecutors are like a hammer in search of a nail.

WILLIAMS: Well, let me just say, I don't know how it's new information that Bob Mueller has some relationship to the FBI Director Comey. I mean - -

WATTERS: It absolutely came out.

WILLIAMS: No, no, no, they were in the same administration together ten years ago. Everybody knows this.

WATTERS: But let me just say, I think the root of this whole conversation is, Chris Ruddy of Newsmax comes out and says, the President may fire Mueller, the special counselor. Everybody, whoa, what are you talking about? And then Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, the chair of the Republican Party says there is nothing here. This is really a politically motivated illegitimate investigation. Why do you need to have an investigation? And to me, now they are starting to attack the people who are doing the investigation and suggest that they are illegitimate and politically motivated.

PERINO: Yes.

WILLIAMS: But remember, remember, the Justice Department looked into whether Mueller, because he came from a law firm that had represented people in Trump's family, had any conflict of interest. That would benefit, Trump, by the way, Jesse.

WATTERS: Uh-hm.

WILLIAMS: They said, no, nothing is there. And then the question was -- what about the fact that some of the people he's hired have given political donations to Democrats. And they are finding from the ethics office, at the Justice Department was, no there is no reason. We've had previous investigations done by people who have made political contributions, either side. That does not mean that you are incapable of rendering an impartial judgment.

WATTERS: All right. I would agree with that. Maybe they can't find any Trump -- in Washington, DC that want to hack on board. Who knows?

GUILFOYLE: Yes. It's interesting because this is what you do. You get people on obstruction, or lying when you can't get them on the core crime and there is no evidence of that. It was like Martha Stewart. There was no evidence of collusion, now they've changed the path to obstruction.

GUTFELD: Comey's biggest crime was putting poor Martha Stewart behind bars.

GUILFOYLE: Right. Recused like meeting Poncio --

WATTERS: But Hillary gets to walk --

GUTFELD: Yes. The injustice.

GUILFOYLE: Unbelievable. Another big story of concern is the revelation from James Comey that former Attorney General Loretta Lynch instructed him to downplay the Clinton e-mail investigation. President Trump tweeted this morning that, "Lynch made law enforcement decisions for political purposes and gave Hillary Clinton a free pass and protection. Totally a legal!" Dana.

PERINO: There's a frustration from the Republican side saying why isn't this story getting more attention? And part of the reason is I think because Hillary Clinton lost as Jesse showed us a few weeks ago. He was out looking for her in the woods. She is still in the wilderness trying to figure out like what she's going to do.

She just started a PAC and they've all moved on. So once an administration moves on its hard I guess to go back. But the story line actually sticks and it does, again, muddy the waters for the Democrats and they are not pure.

GUILFOYLE: Difficult indeed. All right, Jesse.

WATTERS: Yes, so there are three things with her. One, she allegedly told Comey to downplay the language that he used from a lot of criminal investigations to a matter in order to jive with Hillary Clinton's rhetoric about it, which she found to make him queasy. He's very queasy so he's getting queasy. And he actually listened to her, and then he did say that in front of the congressional hearing.

Also, the secret meeting with bill Clinton on the tarmac -- also very troubling. Apparently they were talking about their grandchildren for 45 minutes. They must have a lot of grandchildren, who knows. And then there was a news report from Circa News from Sara Carter, and this is new information that Comey went to Loretta Lynch with communications, evidence, conversation between two top Democrats that were kind of alluding to the fact that if the Hillary Clinton investigation ever rose to a certain level, Loretta Lynch would spike it. And he confronted Loretta Lynch with it and she just sat there and stared at him in cold silence.

PERINO: Like in a movie.

WATTERS: Yes. What a drama with Comey. A lot of drama going on. So I don't know. There's a lot of stuff swirling around.

GUILFOYLE: He's very nauseous. Queasy, nauseous.

WATTERS: Yes, not a good guy.

GUILFOYLE: (INAUDIBLE). OK, Juan, what do you make of this?

WILLIAMS: Well, I mean again, I think it's a distraction. I mean, Comey, by his own --

GUTFELD: Wait, this is a distraction?

WILLIAMS: Total distraction. Comey by his own admission says, you know, there was no evidence, nothing, no crime committed by Hillary Clinton. That was his finding. He said because of the tarmac --

WATTERS: No, he's (INAUDIBLE) prosecutor --

WILLIAMS: Correct.

WATTERS: -- knowing this charge, it wasn't his job to announce.

WILLIAMS: He said there was no case, Jesse. There was no evidence that would justify bringing a criminal prosecution of anybody. Period. That's what he said. So all we're talking about --

WATTERS: Would you like to rebuff that?

GUILFOYLE: I don't know. Your cheeks are up here.

WATTERS: OK, I'm dying here.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: Go ahead, why don't you interrupt. Go ahead.

WATTERS: I will interrupt briefly. He contorted the statute to say --

WILLIAMS: He contorted?

WATTERS: -- there was no intent. It didn't need intent. She violated the law, and if her name wasn't Clinton, she would have been behind bars.

WILLIAMS: Oh, my gosh.

WATTERS: Everybody knows it.

WILLIAMS: Get out of town.

GUILFOYLE: If it was Smith, she had been a goner.

GUTFELD: This is the confirmation bias of team sport politics. If you look at -- you have two perfect examples here. You look at Lynch and you go, oh, absolutely, there's no there there. If you look at Trump there's not there there. It depends what side you're on.

But at least you -- Comey actually said that Lynch pressured him to use campaign language --

GUILFOYLE: Right.

GUTFELD: -- to help Hillary win. So that's, I mean, he's actually saying that happened and the only reason why it's being ignored --

GUILFOYLE: So there's proof of that!

GUTFELD: Yes, there is proof. But wait, and it's not new.

WILLIAMS: That's not true, but that's what he said --

GUILFOYLE: Oh, now you don't want to believe it.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: But that's not twisted proof.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I don't know, but I'm just saying, her side, the Lynch side of the story is it's not just a meeting between the two of them, but a group of people come together and she says the FBI doesn't disclose that we're doing an investigation or not doing an investigation.

GUTFELD: Would you feel differently if this were Trump's fault?

GUILFOYLE: Right, and how do you explain snakes on a plane? How do you explain the whole thing teaming on a plane during the -- yes --

GUTFELD: There was a snake on the plane.

GUILFOYLE: Yes, I know Bill Clinton's --

(LAUGHTER)

GUILFOYLE: Bill Clinton's involvement.

PERINO: It wasn't flow (ph).

GUTFELD: I'm saying snake on a plane that's for him.

GUILFOYULE: The sand blasting, yes,

GUTFELD: There's only one snake on that -- never mind.

(LAUGHTER)

GUTFELD: Never mind.

GUILFOYLE: I beg to differ.

WILLIAMS: Goodness.

PERINO: She begs to differ.

GUILFOYLE: Never mind.

GUTFELD: I think we're saying the same thing.

GUILFOYLE: Exactly. OK, Juan, the point is there is actual statement to back this up.

WILLIAMS: Oh, what is that?

GUILFOYLE: This is the problem. Well, no, that problems is that when you look at this (INAUDIBLE) I want to talk to you about Comey for second, is he literally laid out as a prosecutor everything that shows that Hillary Clinton was guilty of this, and then at the end, he takes the role away from Loretta Lynch because he's upset about what' transpired before and says that there should be no further prosecution.

Overstepping his bounds and saying that there should be intent, that there is no intent and that the statute that requires intent which is totally erroneous.

WILLIAMS: Well he said --

GUILFOYLE: Untrue, and not in the statute.

WILLIAMS: As I remember he said --

GUILFOYLE: No, he listed the whole thing and I was like wow, this is going to happen and then he goes and I wouldn't recommend any prosecution because I think she did not intend it.

PERINO: I wonder about that. I wonder in some ways, because he knew that Loretta Lynch had this tendency to sort of pressure and use the campaign language and that -- I wonder if he did that press conference. Remember when he laid out all the terrible -- list of horrible things that Hillary Clinton has done and then doesn't recommend prosecution.

But remember during that time and you had talked about as a lawyer that it was weird, like the investigator usually just turns over the document, the file and lets the DOJ decide. But may be Comey was thinking, if I do that this will never see the light of day because he knew they were going to bury it. That's a possibility.

GUILFOYLE: There is a great "Washington Post" article about this.

WILLIAMS: But is it about last year that in fact Jim Comey in his own, you know, by his own testimony said, no evidence, no case. Apart from whatever language and talking about, did we describe this as (INAUDIBLE), do we confirm that there was an investigation. When he looked into the matter, his investigation, the FBI could not find evidence of any wrongdoing.

WATTERS: You know what I think about --

GUILFOYLE: No, of intent. And intent isn't required.

WATTERS: Every time they push these Russia narratives, all of a sudden Susan Rice gets a subpoena. And now Loretta Lynch is in trouble or Reality Winner is now in handcuffs. It keeps coming back to the Democrats, and no Republican has never really got caught doing anything wrong.

PERINO: The other thing that Bob Mueller is looking into as part of the investigation is the unmasking issue which again, like that's been a shifting narrative as well. The Republicans are really focused on that about a month ago, but that is also a part of this entire investigation.

So there are things to be learned even if there is no collusion, and hopefully there is not. Let those chips fall where they are. The unmasking is also an issue that the Republicans are demanding some sort of explanation on.

GUILFOYLE: And shouldn't they though?

PERINO: Well, yes, that's what I mean. That's why I'm saying that the Republicans should want Bob Mueller's investigation to continue because the White House has the ability to say there is an investigation, we're going to let them do it, we're going to focus on doing all the great things we want to do for America. And in the meantime, we hope that not only will they look into this, but they're also considering what the Obama administration did on unmasking, because we need answers on that too.

GUILFOYLE: The should be the most concern to Americans in terms of violation of privacy, the unmasking for political purposes, that is the big story that should be like at the top of the ten.

WILLIAMS: I mean, there is no evidence of any wrongdoing. And they said (INAUDIBLE) believe that they have -- everybody keeps a record of who requests, a name and why it was requested, I don't expect that. But I will say, that today the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and the House majority leader Kevin McCarthy both said there is no reason to fire Bob Mueller, which is I think basically --

PERINO: So did the deputy attorney generalcan.

WILLIAMS: -- put that up there as a trial balloon for President Trump.

GUILFOYLE: Well, the deputy AG said that. By the way, no one is objecting to a fair and impartial investigation.

GUTFELD: I am.

GUILFOYLE: Well, because you have a lot to hide, but other than that --

GUTFELD: I think it's a waste of time this has been because you start with all of the stuff about collusion, and then you get obstruction, then you go back to Lynch. All of this side just keeps going around and around and around and the great thing is, all of it leads back to Hillary, because if it wasn't for Hillary, there would not have been a Lynch meeting.

GUILFOYLE: And also if they haven't -- is she hadn't made that decision about private e-mail server.

GUTFELD: Yes, so it just reminds you what you could have as a president, which is far worse than Trump.

GUIFOYLE: And if she had just let Joe Biden run when it was his turn and - -

WATTERS: They might win again.

PERINO: This should be a very different show.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: She was entitled to it like she was entitled to everything.

GUILFOYLE: There you go. All right, she really wanted that commemorative Franklin plate didn't she? Up next, what did the White House think of the attorney general's hearing on Capitol Hill? We're going take you there live, and we're still keeping a close eye on the expected arrival of an American student freed by North Korea. Otto Warmbier is flying home to Cincinnati in a coma. Tucker Carlson is going to have an exclusive interview with his parents tomorrow night. Please make sure to watch that on 8:00 p.m. eastern on Fox News. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIAMS: Back now to today's big, big hearing on Capitol Hill. Attorney general Sessions came out swinging against a firing squad of Democrats. They were skeptical about his answers on the Russia collusion inquiry. Reactions now from the White house. Let's bring in chief national correspondent Ed Henry. Ed, after Comey testified last week, the president said vindicated in a tweet. What is he saying tonight?

ED HENRY, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS: Well, it's interesting, you know, there is no briefing here and Dana knows when the president's travelling, he just came back from Wisconsin. So on Air Force One on the way back here to the White House, Sarah Huckabee Sanders briefed reporters and basically said that the president believes that Jeff Sessions did a "very good job."

She went on to say something else that's kind of interesting that you were just talking about with Bob Mueller, that at this point the president has no intention to fire the special counselor. You can bet Democrats are going to jump on the words no intention to say that the door is still open.

But clearly, the White House trying to temp down any speculation that was put out there over the last 24 hours about the possibility of the president firing Robert Mueller. They certainly know here the political firestorm that was created by him firing James Comey, Juan.

WILLIAMS: Ed, a question now from Jesse Watters.

WATTERS: OK, Ed, twp part question here. One, do you think this is now going to be the blueprint for defending against the Russian attacks because Sessions was very, very strong in his rebuttal and kind of like, you know, how dare you question my integrity. And at the same time, are we getting to the point where the White House feels it's turned the page on this? In fact, a lot of very serious consequential testimony in the last two weeks, are they turning the page on this point or not?

HENRY: Well, they haven't turned the page with Robert Mueller in business and really just staffing up as you were talking about it a moment ago. This is around for months or even years so you can't turn the page completely, but the advisor to the president that I have talked to in the last couple of hours believe that they're starting to turn the page, I guess you would say.

They certainly feel better. And I think you hit on an important point about Jeff Sessions playing not just defense, but really going on offense and saying I'm sick and tired of this. Don't question my integrity. Frankly, what took so long? We have not heard people around this president really speaking out in that way. Part of it is that others have not really testified up there.

James Comey has had his chance. The president's inner circle hasn't really gotten their chance to push back. This idea of a war room being created around the White House never really materialized. So there's been a vacuum, and what it has been filled by? It's been filled by the president and his tweets. So maybe now, Sessions will be a turning point where they say, hey, this is the playbook. Get out there and don't just play defense, get on offense.

WATTERS: Ed, get ready for cross examination from Counsellor Guilfoyle.

(LAUGHTER)

GUILFOYLE: all right, don't worry. Don't be afraid Ed. So, it seems here now that this stabilized a little bit especially with the relationship between Attorney General Sessions and the president with Sessions performing I believe so well today in terms of being a bit, you know, defiant, being a bit almost like insulted by what he is being accused of and with good reasons given the fact that he has served this country so admirably. What do you think that the White House is thinking of in terms of next steps going from here? Maybe they don't need a war room to deal with the Russian situation if things are going to continue in this way.

HENRY: Yes. Two important points I think you hit on. First of all, with Jeff Sessions, yes, the fact of the matter is, this is somebody who got out there and showed that maybe it's been either fake news or a fake narrative at least, this idea that he and the president are at each other's throats. Yes, they all but confirmed a few days back that Jeff Sessions offered to resign some weeks back before the president's foreign trip because he believed that the president was really frustrated that he recused himself and that opened the door to a special counsel being named.

But I think you're right, that based on his performance today, Jeff Sessions did not look like somebody who was uncomfortable. He did not look like someone who was at odds with his president. If anything, he didn't just stand up for himself, he stood up for the commander-in-chief and this entire ad administration.

So that narrative out there seems maybe somewhat ridiculous, number one. And number two, I think look, look what the president was doing. I mentioned he was in Milwaukee talking about jobs this afternoon and evening. So, if they've got folks like Sessions playing defense and offense and the president getting back to what he was elected to do, they may have a playbook.

WILLIAMS: So, Ed, get ready for Sean Spicer's role model, Dana Perino.

PERINO: Oh no, maybe other way around. OK so, today the workforce and vocational training. You just talked about that. I wanted to ask if you could talk about things that happened that the president didn't exactly get a chance to talk about today but were important nonetheless. One, is that the House passed the Veterans Affairs Bill, which allows them to be able to fire people that are probably civil servants but they need to be fired so that they can start those VA reforms.

And that bill is headed to the president's desk by next week. In addition to that, the president met with GOP senators. He talked to them about the health care bill. He's pressing them. Apparently he said it was mean. He wants them to fix it. But that bill is actually on its way in there expecting a vote in the Senate before the 4th of July.

They're moving forward on Afghan troop levels. Apparently, the president is going to allow General Mattis to make a decision. So there are a lot of things that are happening while all of this is going on in the Senate Intelligence Committee.

HENRY: Yes, and you build on the Veterans Bill allowing the fire (ph) workers who should be fired with the fact that Secretary Shulkin has been pushing hard to modernize their system so, veterans actually get the benefits and the health care they need and this president can rightly say that he is out there innovating and doing some of those things he was elected to do.

On the other hand, you mentioned health care, yes, he shows with this launch, with the senators here are the White House that maybe things are getting back on track, but that comment about will House bills is kind of mean, you have to fix it. That's a gift to Democrats. It's another self- inflicted wound perhaps for this administration because you have all these House Republicans as you know Dana, who went out on a limb to vote for that bill that the president celebrated in the Rose Garden and now he's saying it was mean. That's a campaign --

PERINO: Well, then, I do think that gives them a chance actually. They'll be able to get a conference together that they could all support.

WILLIAMS: Hey Ed, guess what? You know, Greg has been busy all day. He was helping to prep --

GUTFELD: Can I just ask him a question?

WILLIAMS: -- to prep that man. Yes, Jeff Sessions.

GUTFELD: I got a fact and a question for you. Fact, I did nine anagrams of your name and my favorite one is "a nerd." All right, here's my question. I ask on behalf of all Americans when will these stupid vacuous story finally end?

HENRY: You know what Greg, I thought long and hard about this because I knew you were going to throw me a hard ball, and I think today was a nothing frankfurter (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

GUTFELD: Very good.

HENRY: I know you've been nothingburger. I'm going to start nothingfrankfurter.

GUTFELD: You ruin everything Henry.

WILLIAMS: Oh, my gosh.

HENRY: It's all American.

WILLIAMS: Hey Ed, one quick thing before we go, I think that the poll numbers indicate right now that the president is at like 37 perrcent in Gallup. What's the reaction to that?

HENDRY: Well, look, he's got to get those numbers up. I mean, this is a president who in the campaign talked about the poles constantly. They eventually went his way, now he's got to get them back on his side again.

WILLIAMS: Ed, you know you're the best. Thanks so much. Ahead, a stunning racial demands by actor Mark Ruffalo for NBC, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUILFOYLE: Wow. I know, so aggressive.

GUTFELD: Oh, Lemme (ph). Potato-faced actor Mark Ruffalo is demanding MSNBC stop hiring white people. He actually tweeted a petition saying, "Tell MSNBC and NBC News to stop the white conservative hiring spree." The petition implores "Don't promote right-wing hate." How cowardly to cast divergent opinion as hateful. I guess they know their lefty dribble can't compete so they smear other voices as evil to eliminate actual diversity of ideas.

So, who are these hateful people that this networks is hiring? George Will. Nicole Wallace. Greta. Yes, real alt-right goons. If only Mark have the guts to focus on the violent fascists on his side. The scum who throw urine at young women at protests, who stab police horses, who demand days to celebrate racism -- that's your people Marko.

Look, Mark's not that bright. So he masks his insecurities and social justice tantrums. But isn't it time to ask Hollywood to stop hiring white actors like him. Seriously, why doesn't Ruffalo accelerate diversity by rejecting roles and allow people of color to replace him? This guy has been in like 70 movies. Ruffalo's own selfish desire to saturate the marketplace makes him an obstacle for diversity.

He's racist. In fact, all of those roles were opportunities for gays, lesbians, men and women of color that he took for himself. His callous appropriation of such roles deprive others of meaningful work. He's a selfish old white male and Hollywood should stop hiring him. I would circulate a petition, but unlike Marko, I have a life.

Shouldn't he live by the sword die by the sword, Dana?

PERINO: It was a great suggestion. I actually might be like wearing a her shirt tonight saying that, you know what, Greg Gutfeld's right. He probably hasn't realized this.

GUTFELD: Yes, exactly. If you actually feel that there are too many white people in a certain occupation Mark, it's on you. He's in like five movies a year, Jesse. He doesn't need to work that much. And every role he takes means a person of color doesn't get that role. He played the Hulk. He didn't have to be a white guy to play the Hulk.

WATTERS: That's a lot of (INAUDIBLE) for a potato-faced, Greg.

GUTFELD: Yes.

PERINO: I mean, wow --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: No, that's a compliment I like potatoes.

WATTERS: You know I like, I like when the left eats its own. That's what I will enjoy. Could you imagine if a conservative Hollywood actor said Fox News needs to stop hiring so many liberal blacks. Could you imagine the outrage about something like that? It's crazy.

GUTFELD: Juan would be outraged.

(LAUGHTER)

WATTERS: MSNBC, that's too conservative for Mark Ruffalo. That is too conservative.

GUTFELD: I know, exactly. Exactly.

GUILFOYLE: Juan's kind of be.

WILLIAMS: Yes, in fact, you know, when you were talking about potato face, there was (INAUDIBLE) that Manuel Noriega was called pineapple face.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: I don't understand how this green guy suddenly gets into this racial conversation. But I will say that there is a legitimate conversation going on about the fact that you have people like Tamron Hall, no longer work in there -- Melissa Harris-Perry and Michael (INAUDIBLE) and it seems like what's going on? Are they making a decision to move away from the left and move towards a more centrist approach?

GUILFOYLE: They made it very hard on Megyn Kelly when she moved over there. The press and the media because Tamron Hall then went off. They weren't going to keep Tamron anyway.

WILLIAMS: Right, but I mean, people like Jose Diaz-Balart, you know, Tamron Hall, Toure --

GUTFELD: I've never heard of these people.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: You know Toure, remember.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

GUILFOYLE: Toure was on CNN, the shot (ph) member.

GUTFELD: Oh, "The Cycle." Was it called "The Cycle?"

WILLIAMS: Yes, they're trying to imitate us.

GUTFELD: They're trying to imitate "The Five."

GUILFOYLE: Worked out well.

WATTERS: With Krystall Ball.

GUTFELD: Yes, exactly.

WATTERS: Was she on that show?

GUTFELD: It's like a child dressing up as a cowboy on Halloween, you're not really a cowboy.

GUILFOYLE: But she's on here now.

GUTFELD: Who?

WATTERS: Yes, Krystal Ball. We like her so much.

GUTFELD: But this is an example, Kimberly, of a person who doesn't want any opposing views. He doesn't realize it could make him stronger.

GUILFOYLE: Let me tell you something. This is part of a bigger -- get some elevation on this if you will. Get up on a step ladder or something.

(LAUGHTER)

GUTFELD: I did not deserve that. This show is over

GUILFOYLE: It's over. But, when you think about it, the discrimination and prejudice that is being exhibited by the alt-left is unbelievable. If you don't agree with them, then everybody else is racist and sexist, and they get to preach and pontificate and exclude others from college campuses and from speaking venues and from whatever events they're having, et cetera, et cetera, because it's what they decide has the purity and the moral objective. That's what I find extremely limited and small minded.

PERINO: Well the other thing I think that MSNBC has decided is that in terms on racial diversity, but they've realized the diversity of thought actually good for their bottom line. I think they've seen a marketing and a business decision.

GUTFELD: Yes. People like to be challenged. They like to hear new things. That is why "The Five" is the most successful to show in history of television.

GUILFOYLE: Exhilarating and thrilling.

GUTFELD: There's been nothing like this.

WATTERS: Except "The Cycle."

GUILFOYLE: Right.

GUTFELD: Except "The Cycle."

GUILFOYLE: We can go in any time slot.

GUTFELD: "Hannity" is up next. Don't miss it.

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