Pulse survivor: Acquittal of shooter's wife is 'devastating'

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Pulse survivor: Acquittal of shooter's wife is 'devastating'

The widow of the Pulse nightclub shooter is acquitted of charges she aided in the 2016 massacre; shooting survivor Tiara Parker shares her reaction on 'The Story.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," March 30, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SANDRA SMITH, HOST: Thanks. Good evening to you, Shannon. Thank you. We pick up the story from here. The not guilty verdict sending shock waves across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have anything to say to the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a great day for Ms. Salman, she just needs some time to be with her family right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you like to tell your son?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's always told her son she loves him more than anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: For the first time, we are seeing Noor Salman, the widow of the Pulse nightclub shooter, a free woman tonight after being acquitted earlier today on charges she helped her husband, Omar Mateen, plan one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

Good evening, I'm Sandra Smith in for Martha MacCallum. Prosecutors say Salman knew about Mateen's guns, his affinity for violent Muslim extremist videos and his intention to attack a location but did nothing to stop him. June 12th, 2016, he opened fire at the Orlando nightclub killing 49 people, injuring 58 others. Mateen was killed in a gun battle with police. Tonight, the victims and their families are overcome with anger, outrage, and heart break. As we have learned, Salman cried with joy after the verdict was announced. A spokeswoman for her family says, Noor is the real victim here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family is elated. Noor can go home now to her son, Zac, resume her life, and try to pick up the pieces from two years in jail. The family really wants the very first day that we're very sorry for the family members and friends of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and also the survivors of that horrible attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Tiara Parker was held hostage inside the bathroom at Pulse nightclub for hours with the gunman as he murdered dozens of innocent people, including Parker's 18-year-old cousin -- Parker herself was shot twice. Tiara joins me now for exclusive reaction. Tiara, good evening to you. Thank you for coming on the show.

TIARA PARKER, PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Yes, hi, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.

SMITH: I'm sure this has been a difficult day for you and your family.

PARKER: I would have to say it's definitely difficult for us. I can't really speak much on my family. I haven't spoken to them in a while. I've been on hiatus with everyone I definitely have to say, it's definitely devastating for me today and my mother, because she just feels like, you know, there was no justice served here regardless of her little two years that she spent in jail. I've seen the government lock up people for so much smaller -- much smaller. And for her to be acquitted of all charges, it really, really bothers me to know that there was no real justice served here for us.

And I'm not talking for me, I'm not just going to speak for the survivors who are those who are still living and able to walk, talk, and breathe, and talk about some of these things even though that their life may not be the same. But for those who can't speak, who can't walk, who can't talk -- and that's what we are here for, that's what the survivors are here for. People -- any survivor of any mass shooting, this is what we're here for tonight: to understand that we have to speak for those who can't, and that is why I'm here. I'm speaking for those who can't and I'm speaking for my cousin as well.

SMITH: What did you think there when you heard the defense attorney for Noor Salman say that she's the real victim here, she has maintained her innocence since the beginning. She says she did not know anything that her husband planned to carry out.

PARKER: You know, I have to kind of laugh at that because there's no way she didn't know. You married the man; the vow is still until death do us part. You know every little thing that man does, you knew everything that he was doing. His first destination was Disney world. There was footage of you there with him the day he was going to do it; you knew. So, he also, then he picked other destination which happened to be the Pulse nightclub. And you chose -- he chose to shoot that place up and she knew, she knew about it. And I'm pretty sure, you know, that's not a one-man army. I'm pretty sure she was in on it as well as other people.

SMITH: Well, the defense described her as a simple woman with a low I.Q. that was abused by her husband. They claimed he was cheating on her and kept many things from her. Prosecutors, they say, were not able to follow through on their promises to prove that she knew about the weapons that he was obtaining and that she even helped him scout out targets.

PARKER: You know, we're so far past this that she's a victim. We are so far past that. Because if that was the case, if you were truly a victim, you would have been left that scenario a long time ago. And I get it because I witnessed domestic violence firsthand. And I have to say, if you wanted to get out there, she would have got out of there. She would've done what she had to do to get out for her child -- not just for herself, but for her child. And what kind of message does this send to the world? This sends to the world that it's OK to do things like this. And that's not what this is -- that's not what we're here for. That's not what this is for.

SMITH: Tiara, you lost your cousin that night. You were just 20 years old, and your cousin was 18, and she died that night. What has life been like for you since then? I know you that you've said it, it's changed everything for you.

PARKER: I'm sorry. So, my life has not been the same since. Not saying things when things are like things are supposed to go back to being normal. Your life will never be normal after something like this occurs, nobody's life will. Even for the people who weren't harmed or who weren't a victim there, who wasn't there, people who know about it, it affected them as well. Your life will never be normal. But my life, after my cousin was killed that night was not normal. It wasn't normal. Everything just spiraled down. Nothing positive came from that, nothing. Outside of the fact that I'm still living and breathing and now I'm putting up a fight, other than that, when it comes to my family and people who have something to do with me -- I'm not going to cry, not today. I'm sorry.

SMITH: We can't imagine what you went through that night. It was, you know, something that most of us cannot even imagine. What do you think needs to happen now?

PARKER: I do feel like that there should be a fight. I would love for the prosecutors to keep pushing to keep fighting, because this is sending the wrong messages to the world. Look at Parkland, there's a possibility that that boy might get off because of his mental issues. So, and I feel like there is still a punishment there. He killed 17 people. For Omar Mateen, his wife, she knew -- 49 died that night. There's a message that this is sending, like oh, OK, hey, it's OK, as long as I knew about it, I just didn't do it.

That is sending the wrong messages, that this is not what we're going to do. I feel like that we could push a lot harder and a lot more to make sure that there is justice for Orlando. I actually put that hashtag on Facebook -- #JusticeForOrlando. I went live on Facebook and had a break down. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to go and talk about it, but it didn't quite work out that way, it didn't. And the breaking down, and I was losing myself because I was so angry; there needs to be justice.

SMITH: I know that you are part of support groups. Victims continue to get together and discuss what happened that night, and how to change things. I know that's a big part of your conversation, and I saw that Facebook live and I know you're very passionate about making sure something like this doesn't happen again. Tiara, thank you for coming on and sharing your reaction to this with us and we will continue to follow your story. Thank you.

PARKER: Thank you so much.

SMITH: Here's more on this, is Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings. Sheriff, thank you for coming on. I know you've been listening to that. What did you think of that verdict that came down today, not guilty, the shooter's widow on all charges?

JERRY DEMINGS, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF: My initial reaction was one of really disappointment because my heart really felt for the families and the victims who survived. It was an emotional event for our community as well as America. But this is the system that we have in our country and the jury heard the evidence and they came back with a particular verdict. But what we say here in Orlando is that we do not want what happened on that very dark day to really define us. We are looking forward to the future and trying to make certain that to the extent we can and never happens in our community, and we really don't want it to happen anywhere soon in the world.

SMITH: How is your community reacting? I can't even imagine the healing process that a community has to go through after something like this.

DEMINGS: Well, it brings back a lot of emotion from that day. And so, theres a lot of sadness, there's a lot of frustration. And some regards there's some anger, and other regards there's some relief because we now know that the trial is over and the verdict is in. And so, people really now have to have a new normal, especially if you were one of the surviving victims or the family members, and I've had the opportunity to speak with many of them. And they are so emotionally charged over this issue. Some of them have moved on. So, it's really a difference depending upon the individual itself.

SMITH: Since the beginning, this shooter said she had nothing to do with this. You know, some say they were surprised by the outcome, others weren't. Were you surprised, sheriff?

DEMINGS: You know, I was prepared for the worst. And what I can tell you is that, you know, I've heard several of the jurors say that while they believed that she probably was aware and knew of it, they just -- the prosecutors just couldn't prove it based upon the current laws and so we have learned much from this. And so, as a law enforcement officer, we are working to try to prevent a similar attack from ever happening again in our community.

SMITH: All the best to your community, sheriff. Thank you for coming on tonight.

DEMINGS: Thank you so much.

SMITH: Thank you, to you. Well, up next, a top Facebook executive warns that the social media giant could get people killed. But it's OK if it's for the greater good? Plus, the top border agents praising Trump's progress on building the wall. So, why are many in the media claiming that agents on the front lines don't support the president on this? Mr. Ed Henry separates fact from fiction. He joining me on set next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD VITIELLO, ACTING DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, CBP: The truth is walls work and the data show it, and agents know it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: Breaking tonight, growth at any cost -- even death. That is the theme of an explosive new memo burning through the Internet tonight, written by top Facebook executive, Andrew Bosworth, defending company's data mining practices, saying: "So we connect more people. That can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies, maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools, and still we connect people." Trace Gallagher is live in our West Coast Newsroom with this story. Trace?

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Sandra, the memo authored by Andrew Bosworth is titled "The Ugly". It was released internally to Facebook employees back in June of 2016 and it reveals that Facebook certainly understands the physical and social risks their product carries. But Bosworth, who is among Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg's trusted lieutenants, also makes it very clear that as long as the company is growing, the dangers are secondary. And it should be noted that Facebook's growth is astounding. The company has more than two billion users and a market value of nearly half trillion dollars. Buzzfeed reports that inside Facebook, Andrew Bosworth is known for being blunt but not diplomatic.

In the memo, Bosworth argues that connecting people is paramount despite what could be catastrophic consequences. Quoting here: "The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is de facto good. It is perhaps the only area where the metrics do tell the true story as far as we are concerned." The memo was actually posted internally one day after the shooting death of a man in Chicago was captured live on Facebook. And shortly after the memo was posted, an Israeli teen was stabbed to death by a terrorist who boasted on Facebook that he planned to die as a martyr. And Facebook has been under fire in recent weeks for allowing its user profiles to be acquired and used for political purposes.

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, responded to the release of the memo saying, "Boz is a talented leader who says many provocative things. This was one that most people at Facebook, including myself disagreed with strongly. We never believed the ends justify the means." And Bosworth himself is weighing in, saying the memo was certainly meant to be provocative and rally the troops and he also laments the fact that it was leaked, quoting again: "this is the very real cost of leaks. We had a sensitive topic that we could engage on openly and explore even bad ideas, even if just to eliminate them." Though, in looking at Facebook's track record, critics wonder if the bad ideas truly are being eliminated. Sandra?

SMITH: Trace, thank you for that. Here now, Allie Stuckey, Conservative Review T.V. Host; and Jessica Tarlov, Senior Director of Research at Bustle.com, she's also a Fox News Contributor. Thanks to both of you both for being here. Allie, let me start with you first, you know, people are wondering just what the heck is going on here. And now, the latest for them, this leaked memo. I mean, it's circulating not all around Silicon Valley, which it did first, but all over the world -- people have seen this thing. And it's basically saying, you know, people get killed, people fall in love. Either way, we are connecting people. And that's our mission. Is that OK?

ALLIE STUCKEY, CONSERVATIVE REVIEW T.V. HOST: Well, I'm not really surprised by this, and I actually think he's being a little bit too kind about Facebook. Facebook cares about growth not because they care about connectivity or community, but because they care about money. And I think we've seen that pretty blatantly over the last couple weeks. The way that Mark Zuckerberg became a millionaire, the way that Facebook has a market cap of over $400 billion is not through Farmville, it's through selling our information. They don't care about user privacy, they don't care about protecting our data. they've always only been about the bottom line. That's not really what concerns me, though, I've known that for a while. They're open about it in their terms and conditions. What I think is funny about this whole thing I don't think that we would be talking about it if Donald Trump were not president. No one has really been that concerned about Facebook's integrity as it concerns with politics until it concerned Donald Trump. They weren't concerned over those Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, but now that Donald Trump is president, he used it as a means to win.

SMITH: Well, no question about that too.

JESSICA TARLOV, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR AND SENIOR DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH ATBUSTLE.COM: They all used Facebook the way that Cambridge Analytica used Facebook is very different from the way the Obama campaign and Hillary Clinton campaign used Facebook. So, that's why it matters that it's Donald Trump. The rest of what you said, I agree with.

SMITH: Well, it's just -- so there are some stories breaking right now that Hillary Clinton used Facebook, her campaign used Facebook in ways that could be questionable as well. We're still waiting for more to come out on that. But it's interesting, Jessica, in the wake of all of this, it seems that there's a lot of outrage by this Andrew Bosworth or Boz, as he's known inside of the company -- he's really in the inner circle. One of Zuckerberg's closest and most trusted lieutenant, that they're really worried about the cost of the leaks. It's almost like they're more worried about the leaks than what is actually being let out from this. But, I have to ask you, is this really the cost of a company, which was a young company, building itself, a technology company, and perhaps the way of defending this is you got to throw everything out there, right, to see what sticks? And this was an internal conversation, Jessica.

TARLOV: It was internal conversation but amongst hundreds of thousands of people. This isn't like a mom and pop shop or you're circulating a letter to 10 people and you want to talk that idea. And when he defends it I think, you have to push the envelope -- rally troop. I don't know what kind of troops you are trying to rally when you're talking about losing another human being to connect people? That's something that Mark Zuckerberg said, you know, I didn't agree with, and majority of employees didn't agree with. I don't understand how this wasn't something that was stamped out immediately and frankly circulated earlier. I have a friend who works at YouTube on the communications team, and she says it's their number one concern to make sure that videos from terrorists' organizations.

SMITH: They're not exactly perfect at that either, by the way.

TARLOV: No, no, they're not but they would never write -- I don't work for YouTube, I'm just saying it is a concern of social media companies to make sure that they're not in any way helping terrorists, helping murder, helping people who want to do harm to other people. And I don't how that tool that you should use to "rally".

SMITH: I want to mention though, that Boz, this person we keep talking about that wrote this memo, Allie. He issued a statement, saying that he's absolutely heartbroken over this, OK? But this is important right here, what he says: "This is the very real cost of leaks. We had a sensitive topic that we could engage on openly and explore even bad ideas, even if just to eliminate them." Allie, does that, maybe, take them off the hook here? We have to explore the bad ideas, too.

STUCKEY: That doesn't really make any sense. He wasn't talking about bad ideas when he listed those provocative ideas here. He was talking about consequences. That I think is the problem that we have, not that bad ideas come and go. OK, that's fine. I think we are all familiar with brainstorming, but that he is saying the end justifies -- or yes, the means justify the end. But if someone murders someone that it's not that big of a big because, hey, we grew more and we raised our profits by selling more user data. I don't think that has anything to do with bad ideas, and I think it's very duplicitous of him to say that.

SMITH: Well, that was what he wrote in the memo -- his response to all of this is that last night when he, you know, realized that this was circulating, that he was --

TARLOV: Well, there are going to be a lot more things out there when Mark Zuckerberg goes to testify that he's probably not going to be happy about, too.

SMITH: We will see. Because that is a man that we have not heard much from since he founded this company and since he has been heading it up now for many, many years; he's been very quiet. The stock has taken a big hit. We'll see what happens and if they can withstand the storm. Thanks to both of you for coming on tonight.

TARLOV: Thank you. Have a great weekend.

SMITH: Allie and Jessica, you too. Coming up, new reports: Michigan State University pay a P.R. firm, hundreds of thousands of dollars to track Larry Nassar's victims as they prepared to testify against him. Rachel Denhollander was one of those women. She joins me tonight with reaction to that. Plus, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt in hot water with the White House. Chief National Correspondent Ed Henry is here to tell us why. Plus, brand new information on progress to build Trump's big beautiful wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We started building our wall. I'm so proud of it. And we're getting that sucker built, and you think that's easy? People said oh, has he given up on the wall? I never give up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VITIELLO: Let me be clear, without the president and the administration's leadership and a commitment to border security, the funding for construction for these projects would not be possible. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 018 advances critical DHS mission priorities including the construction of approximately 100 miles of border wall system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The acting head of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection making it clear, President Trump's wall is getting built. But how to fund the rest of it is the looming question. The current budget only includes 1.6 of the $25 billion needed to build a new border system. The Pentagon saying that the president has now spoken with Defense Secretary Mattis about an idea he floated earlier in the week using military money to pay for it. The many critics say that's not practical or possible. Chief National Correspondent Ed Henry is here now with more on this lovely Friday evening. Thanks for being here, Ed.

ED HENRY, FOX NEWS CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Happy Easter.

SMITH: So, he talked to Mattis and what do we know? Is it happening?

HENRY: The big picture is that it's not going to fly, probably, to take money out of Pentagon, you know, the billions and billions in that big omnibus that is 2,000 pages. The president said, I don't want to sign, but it's got defense money. He's trying to say, look, this is an emergency, this is national defense to build a wall. That's all well and good, there's something called the constitution, which basically says Congress has the power of the purse.

So, they passed this bill that he signed into law. And money is supposed to go to the Pentagon, and there probably would have to be a separate vote if you want to shift the money around. But here's the real point: it might not matter because what we saw from the border chief today is they're going to take a little bit of money here.

A little bit of money there, and while Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are saying, you're not going to build the wall, they're building it already as we speak two miles at a time. For a quick example, Calexico in California, the border. There are a lot of critics this week's saying, oh there was already a wall there from the 1990s. That is not the wall. What they are doing now is taking a small bit that we recycled steel or something and turning into 30 foot ballers for two mile stretch. 30 feet is basically a wall. That's another way to say it.

SMITH: It's not a question, if it's going to get that built.

HENRY: Instead of 2,000 miles at a time, they are going to do two miles, they are going to do five miles. And so, critics are going to say this and that, the President is building it.

SMITH: So from big one big campaign promise to another. He promised jobs.

HENRY: Yes.

SMITH: And we are seeing a rebound in Trump country with a warning that that could be short-lived, why?

HENRY: This is your bailiwick. The economy, business, you know all about this and the bottom-line is The Washington Post sat down. They are clearly not friends of the President, but they looked honestly and fairly at the Labor Department data and where the jobs going? Where is the economy? Where are people feeling it? And they found it's in the places that Donald Trump won. The places in Pennsylvania. Ohio, they talked about the forgotten man and the forgotten woman.

SMITH: That's good.

HENRY: Why is that important? It shows that by Nancy Pelosi's saying, oh this is the crumbs of the tax cut, people are not going to feel it. People are feeling it. Yes, the Post story also said it might be short-lived, the economy could change, yes, we are seeing all this market volatility.

SMITH: Yes.

HENRY: Nothing as you know, stays the same forever, but the point is he promised people in this battleground states, I'm going to help you. In the short-term, they are being helped according to this data.

SMITH: Yes, it's good, the timing could be interesting or to see how everybody is feeling come mid-terms, come fall.

HENRY: Absolutely.

SMITH: You know, where the stock market is. How many jobs we have seen grow? Things might feel really good right now, but memories can be short.

HENRY: Absolutely.

SMITH: We will see how that turns out. Meanwhile, Scott Pruitt, the EPA Administrator, what is happening -- what's going on with his department?

HENRY: ABC News, has this story that basically says that he was living in D.C., from Oklahoma, say, looking for housing, to get the condo in D.C. He is only paying $50 a night, I believe. And pretty pricy, that was bad as New York. It was pretty price in Washington. $50 a night seems a little low. And it turns out that --

SMITH: You are sitting in New York City.

HENRY: Yes, this is the spot. Here's the point. It's -- the condo is co- owned by the wife of an energy lobbyist. He is the APPA Chief, the environment, oversees some energy policy. This looks bad. His office says no, no, no. We ran it past the Ethics Office, it is all good, but when you talk about the cabinet shuffles, this is the kind of things that is going to get a lot of attention, raise a lot of eyebrows and just as past week, the EPA Chief's Office invited me to come in and interview them on mother's stuff --

SMITH: Yes.

HENRY: -- so, we are doing that, this coming week for the show, for the story.

SMITH: Interesting timing.

HENRY: Can't wait to talk to him, get his side of the story.

SMITH: Is it fair to say the White House needs to do a better job of getting out in front of this kind of stuff?

HENRY: Checking out the expenses -- I mean, look, the V.A. Secretary was really about, did he want to privatize the V.A. or not, but what really tripped him up was that Wimbledon trip with his wife. He said, it was no big deal, David Shulkin, but that report was scathing. And that tripped him up and he never recovered. Will Pruitt recover at the EPA, we will see.

SMITH: It's really good to have you here tonight.

HENRY: Great to see you in person.

SMITH: Thanks for keeping me company, you know, it's Friday night, before the holiday.

HENRY: Happy Easter.

SMITH: Yes, Happy Easter, to you too.

Still to come, the so-called affluenza teen is set to be released from jail after serving just two years for killing four people while driving drunk. The friend of one of those victims will be here to respond. Plus, new fallout in the Larry Nassar scandal. What the Karolyis' are now saying about the disgraced doctor in his role in USA gymnastics. It's shocking. Rachael Denhollander is the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of abuse. We will have her reaction, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHAEL DENHOLLANDER, FIRST WOMAN TO PUBLICLY ACCUSE NASSAR OF ABUSE: Well, the Karolyi's knew what we ate. They knew how much we weighed. They knew when we trained. They knew who they wanted on the world and Olympic team. And to say that they didn't know absolutely anything is questionable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Do you think what the Karolyi's knew what Larry was doing?

MATTIE LARSON, NASSAR ABUSE SURVIVOR: It's hard for me to believe that they didn't. I also think that just honestly did not care. They didn't -- they didn't -- I'm sure they didn't even ask how are the athletes doing? What are their injuries? I'm sure -- they just didn't care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: That was former elite gymnast Mattie Larson, telling Martha, earlier this year about what happened behind closed doors at the fame Karolyis Ranch and the abused by former Kim Doctor Larry Nassar. And now the most powerful couple in USA gymnastics history is responding in deposition obtain exclusively by CNN, Bella and Martha Karolyi, said they had very little to do with the day-to-day operation of the ranch which was a required training facility for those with Olympic dreams.

Former National Team Coordinator, Martha Karolyis, saying quote, "well, he was hired by USA Gymnastics. He definitely wasn't hired by me or reported to me." This as there are disturbing new developments at Michigan State University, where Nassar was employed for nearly 20 years.

His former boss, William Strampel, has been charged with sexual misconduct of his own. He is the first person to be arrested as part of the probe into the school's failure to follow up on warnings about Nassar's sexual behavior. This comes as a new report alleges the University paid half a million dollars to spy on victims of Larry Nassar.

Paying a P.R. Firm to track the social media activity of those surrounding the Nassar case. Here now Rachel Denhollander. She is the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of abuse at MSU. Rachel, thank you for coming on tonight.

DENHOLLANDER: Thank you for having me.

SMITH: There are many new developments in the story all very close to home for you. As I -- we understand it, your family was spied upon.

DENHOLLANDER: That is correct. My husband's social media was tracked.
And the only reason that mine couldn't be is because I had set all of my mine to private, because the only other person to try to track my social media profile other than Michigan State University, was my pedophile abuser and his defense attorneys.

SMITH: So $500,000 that is a lot of people, time, money, resources thrown at spying on the victims. Why would they do this?

DENHOLLANDER: I think it's very clear, why they did this. MSU's priority from the very beginning has been institutional protectionism. It has been to attack and to vilify and to shame the victims. That -- it had only been a matter of weeks after I filed my police report that one of the board of trustee's members went on public television and called us ambulance chasers who are looking for a payday.

It was within 24 hours of my graphic testimony coming out that Dean Strampel was literally mocking what I said. Mocking my police report. Mocking my testimony. All the way up to the MSU progress. And it didn't bother anyone at MSU that, that was the way they were responding to sexual harassment on MSU's campus. At every possible turn, MSU has sided with the abuser. And they have used the exact same tactic against the survivors that Larry and his defense attorneys used.

SMITH: How did you finally find out about this spying?

DENHOLLANDER: There were records that were obtained by local journalists.

SMITH: It's unbelievable as a New York P.R. Firm, $517,000. 1400 hours of work. 18 different employees. Some of them getting paid 200 to $600 an hour, I know that you have said in the past that actions speak louder than words. And as you see this situation trying to heal and victims trying to heal and you now learned things like this. What does it tell you about the progress that is being made?

DENHOLLANDER: There is absolutely no progress being made. In fact, MSU is walking in the opposite direction. 18 months ago they had the opportunity when all of this broke to do the right thing, to take leadership. To be the first institution in the country that said this matters and we're going to find out why this happened.

And, instead, they circled the wagons. They vilified the victims. They shamed the victims. They attacked our character and our motivation. That has not changed. Just a few weeks ago, the interim President, Angler, testified before the Michigan Higher Education Committee and he told a lot of the exact same lies about our character and our motivations as related to the legislative package that I had put forward. MSU has continued their pursuit of institutional protectionism from day one to the present day.

SMITH: You were the last one to confront Larry Nassar in court. And as we led into this, we also made sure everybody know that you have been a leader in this. You were the first woman to publicly accuse him.

How are you feeling today, knowing that he is behind bars for the rest of his life, obviously learning things like this about being spied upon and by a P.R. Firm hired by the University doesn't help things. But how are you doing? And are you talking to the other gymnasts?

DENHOLLANDER: You know, it has been an incredibly grievous process, because what has become more and more apparent through the last 18 months is that we had sexual assault victims couldn't -- not only couldn't trust Larry, we couldn't trust anyone who surrounded Larry. And we still can't. The very people who should have been protecting us as children were active in concealing and covering up the abuse.

And we're really dealing with this situation now. MSU's internal reports where they were tracking the social media profiles complained that my husband was one of the ringleaders in the social media war. And the reason that he had to be was because MSU wasn't taking leadership. MSU wasn't doing what they should have done.

They should have been grieving. They should have been pouring time and resources and energy into finding out how they could have the worst sexual assault scandal in campus history right there. And instead they were preoccupied with trying to dig up dirt on the survivors. At the exact time they were doing this, we had 256 women coming into court to confront their abuser.

And MSU was more preoccupied with protecting the institution and digging up dirt on the victims or trying to dig up dirt on the victims than they were at finding out why there was a pedophile flourishing on their campus abusing little girls for 20 years.

SMITH: Such a difficult story and -- I am sure it is difficult for you to talk to us, HANKS: you had been a leader through this and inspired others to come forward and we appreciate you coming on.

DENHOLLANDER: Thank you.

SMITH: Thank you and the best to you and your family. Well, up next, we've got affluenza teen Ethan Couch, who argued, he killed four people in a drunk driving accident, because his rich parents never taught him right from wrong. He is set to be released from jail on Monday. A close friend of one of the victims joins me next.

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DEE ANDERSON, TARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF: All he has been worried about since the moment that this started is himself and the way to get out of it.

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SMITH: Monday, affluenza teen Ethan Couch is set to be released from jail. Five years ago, Couch killed four people after getting behind the wheel, drunk on beer, he stole from a Texas Walmart. Couch got no jail time for his actions after arguing in court he suffered from affluenza. A disorder that left him unable to tell right from wrong, because his wealthy parents never taught him how to behave responsibly. Couch went on to violate his parole in 2016, landing him in jail for two years. In moments, we will hear from a close friend of one of Couch's victims, and why he makes weekly visits to Couch in jail. But, first, Trace Gallagher, once again in our West Coast Newsroom with the back story. Trace?

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Sandra, as part of his lenient sentence and probation, Ethan Couch was told to steer clear of alcohol and drugs, yet later video emerged of Couch, at a Party where alcohol was being served. To avoid the probation hearing and jail time for being around alcohol, Couch and his mom fled to Mexico. But, he was arrested south of the border. Brought back to Texas and summarily sentenced to 720 days in jail.

That is 180 days for each of the four people that he killed. But three days from now on April 2nd, affluenza teen, Ethan Couch, will walk out of jail just days before his 21st birthday. He still has several years left on probation and he will be required to wear a GPS monitor, maintain a curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Have to drive with a camera equipped ignition unlocking device and submit to daily drug and alcohol testing. If for any reason his probation is revoked, he faces up to 40 years in prison and the man who initially prosecuted the then 16-year-old, says it is unlikely Ethan Couch will play by the rules. Watch.

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RICHARD ALPERT, FORMER PROSECUTOR: The time of incarceration that he has had, I would like to think it would have changed him. But my position hasn't changed. Ethan's character is what it is. His character was formed long before the conduct that brought him into contact with the D.A.'s office. And I would be very surprised, if he completes his probation.

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GALLAGHER: Remember, along with killing four people, Ethan Couch had two teens riding in the bed of his pickup truck who were severely injured. We are told one of those teens continues to suffer the effects of a significant brain injury. And now Couch's mom is behind bars days before her son is set to get out. After Tanya Couch was caught in Mexico, she was arrested and charged with money laundering and hindering the apprehension of a felon. She was freed on bond, but as a condition of her release from-- she was prohibited from drugs and alcohol. She failed a urine test on Wednesday and she was taken back into custody in Tarrant County, Texas, again. Sandra?

SMITH: Trace, thank you. My next guest lost his best friend in that 2013 crash. Tim Williams, said he struggled for a long time after his childhood friend Brian Jennings, there on the left was killed and the person responsible was not punished. But with a background in ministry, he became a visiting chaplain at Couch's jail, spending time with him almost every week for the past two years. Minister Tim Williams, joins me now. Thank you for coming on with us tonight. It's something that many people might find hard to believe that this is someone who killed your childhood friend and you decided to visit him weekly while he was in jail. Why?

TIM WILLIAMS, FRIEND KILLED IN 2013 CRASH: Well, there was certainly a lot of personal things I had to work through before I could even think about visiting with him. But, really, it was something that I felt Brian would do if he was here. And so I checked with a few friends and we had a consensus that this was his heart, but also, you know, extending forgiveness is such a biblical act and so those are some of the core motivators for why I began to visit with Ethan.

SMITH: You widowed your best friend's wife, made her a widow, I should say. He caused his children, not to grow up with a dad. It's an incredibly difficult story and it is one possibly of forgiveness. Have you found the ability to forgive him for what he did?

WILLIAMS: I have -- I found the ability, the strength to forgive before I met with Ethan. And it wasn't connected with meeting with him. And certainly it is a very painful thing for all the victims, all the family members who lost loved ones.

SMITH: Is he a different person today than he was then?

WILLIAMS: I think that his character has shifted. I think that he is a different person. I have seen him become more honest and actually own what he caused.

SMITH: What does the future hold for him, do you think?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think Ethan has a good long road ahead of him to be compliant with the terms of his condition. I do think that he does want to work and keep the conditions of probation. I believe he does want to work with his dad.

SMITH: Can you give us an idea -- sort of what you two would talk about and what he shared with you? What was the conversation?

WILLIAMS: Well, the initial visits really set the framework. And in the bible there's a book called, Romans, and in chapter eight, the opening line is, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And I said, Ethan that is the real context of me coming to you today. There is a lot of reason for me to have anger and hate or condemnation of you, because have you caused so much pain and destruction to many of my closest friends, including my family.

SMITH: He claimed that he didn't -- go ahead.

WILLIAMS: Well, I was just going to say, I wanted to begin, Ethan, and just see if maybe, if there is hope for you. Can we maybe begin a conversation to see if you are wanting to grow forward or if we are going to hear excuses?

SMITH: He claimed then, that he didn't know right from wrong. Does he know that now?

WILLIAMS: I would say he does, yes.

SMITH: You know, it's an amazing story of hope, but one of sadness, I mean he killed four people and those people will never come back. You know, one might say, you are doing god's work by trying to meet with him and see if he is a changed man. We will continue to follow this story as he will -- he will walk out on Monday. Thank you.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Thank you.

SMITH: Thanks for joining us tonight, Tim. We'll be right back.

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SMITH: This Sunday don't miss Brian Kilmeade's new mini-series "Legends and Lies, the civil war." This week's episode covers the early union set backs on the battlefield and Lincoln's search for an aggressive general, who will take the fight to the enemy. It airs Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on FNC. That is our story for tonight. Join me every weekday morning, live on "America's Newsroom" at 9:00 a.m. and again on "Outnumbered" at noon. Have a great holiday weekend, everybody. Happy Easter. Tucker Carlson is up next.

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