Rep. Jim Jordan questions the 'missing' FBI text messages
Congressman and the panel react to the latest revelations on 'Hannity.'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 23, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: All right, Tucker. Great show as always. Thank you.
And welcome to "Hannity."
We have massive new breaking developments tonight. The Trump-hating FBI agent Peter Strzok makes a stunning admission about the Russia investigation in these latest newly released text messages.
Now, before even joining Robert Mueller's team, Strzok said there was, quote, no big there there, proving that President Trump has been right about the entire Russian investigation from the start. It is a complete hoax. It is time to shut down Mueller's partisan and very corrupt witch hunt.
And also tonight, I suspect what we are seeing v happening is the special counsel and his team are leaking information to The New York Times and The Washington Post. Why? They want to distract the media and you, the American people, because the heat is now on. I'll explain.
Also, Congressman Trey Gowdy is revealing that the day after president Trump's election and his win, Strzok and his FBI lawyer mistress Lisa Page talked about a, quote, secret society within the FBI? Is this a banana republic? And the DOJ that could have been working against Donald Trump from November 9, 2016 on?
Now, Representative Gowdy is also saying there is a text between Strzok and Page about destroying all their messages. We've seen this movie before. And congressional Republicans are now moving forward with a plan to publicly release that classified memo that highlights massive FISA abuse. And tonight, sources are telling Fox News it could happen any day.
We are asking your help, those of you watching. Help make this happen. Tell your members of Congress to release the memo, #releasethememo.
All of that in tonight's very important breaking news opening monologue.
(MUSIC)
HANNITY: All right. Tonight, the vindication continuous. We have a lot of brand-new information to share with you. The truth about the Russian investigation is being exposed as a sham, a Democratic political operation, and it has now turned into a witch hunt.
The entire basis of Robert Mueller's so-called investigation is based and predicated on a lie and a conspiracy theory that was cooked up by the Obama administration, by Democrats, and by your liberal news media as an excuse for why Hillary Clinton lost the election. That was never supposed to happen.
And for over a year, what has it been? Trump. Russia. Trump. Russia. Collusion. Collusion. Collusion.
We have no evidence to date. The only evidence we do have tonight is that Hillary Clinton bought and paid for a salacious phony document filled with Russian lies to try and influence all of you during that election. That's what Mueller should really be looking into. But in instead, his investigation is now morphed into a Democratic political hit job to remove a duly elected president from office and use the powerful tools of intelligence and the FISA courts to do it.
Now, with more damaging information coming out every day, it looks like special counsel Robert Mueller and his partisan hacks, they are trying now to change the narrative with their lame stream media friends with selective leaking today. Every one of them is a nonstory, not worthy of your attention, unless you work for the fake news media.
Now, before we get to tonight's new information, remember this. Comey is a corrupt as they come. He gave those memos to the Columbia professor for the very purpose of leaking to the press so a special counsel would be appointed, hoping that this would all come to pass. And Comey also reportedly coordinated his congressional testimony with Robert Mueller. That sounds like collusion.
And in spite of these facts, the delusional Comey is actually trying to fashion himself as a martyr, as he recently tweeted "Good to read reports of people standing up for what they believed in," then he quotes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Wait a minute? He put the fix in so Hillary wouldn't be charged in spite of the evidence he knew existed. This is an embarrassment, a national disgrace, and beyond laughable. He deserved to be fired. We'll explain why in a minute.
And also tonight, we have more evidence of just how fraudulent, unethical, and nefarious Mueller's investigation really is. Now, here are the new texts released today between anti-Trump FBI officials which confirms everything we have been telling you.
On May 19, two days after Robert Mueller appointed the special counsel, Strzok writes to Page: "You and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely, I'd be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern is no big there there," meaning Trump- Russia collusion.
So, you have Strzok, he was a high-ranking intelligence official at the FBI that specialized in Russia, signed the paperwork to start the entire Russian investigation, knowing there is no there there. In other words, it's always been a hoax and this proves it. It was part of an attempt to stop Trump, A, from winning, and then to remove him from office. If it means breaking the law, using the intelligence community, so be it.
We never should have gone down this road and the mainstream media and their hacks in the media, CNN, MSNBC, every broadcast channel, New York Times, Washington Post, they have been giving you nothing but lies and propaganda now for a year. And now, those involved, those responsible for crimes that were committed -- they are now trying to cover it up. They are not going to get away with it.
When all is said and done, this is going to make Watergate look like a kid stealing candy from a store. And as we reported yesterday, five months of key text messages are missing between Strzok and Page. Here's what happened during this critical time frame. This is from December 14, 2016 to May 17, 2017.
Now, in March, President Trump remember he claimed yes, there were wiretapping at Trump Tower. We broke that nearly a year ago right here on this program. Then, BuzzFeed published -- this is during the five missing months -- that Clinton bought and paid for phony Russian lying dossier. That was in January. All of a sudden, the texts stop. And that was used in part and later on to get the FISA warrant to spy on the Trump campaign. Remember that, it was before that.
And later that month, former National Security Adviser Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, he's interviewed by the FBI, and wouldn't luck have it, it was Peter Strzok who actually was the official that oversaw that interview. On May 9, the FBI Director James Comey was fired. And then on May 17, Robert Mueller was named a special counsel.
Now, those are the major events, and how conveniently, it happens that the messages, some 50,000 of them, this is the time period where Strzok and Page's messages are missing. And the FBI is trying to blame it on Samsung who supplied the phones. You got to be kidding me.
It's the FBI that specializes in intelligence and evidence-gathering. They can't find the messages? I don't believe that's possible. And given the inherent anti-Trump bias that we have seen from Strzok and Page -- they hated Trump -- and their involvement in almost everything involving the Russian investigation, well, we must now know what they were talking about during these five critical months. The FBI should find those messages, maybe make a call to Samsung, because if you can't get it, I bet they can.
Now, there's also stunning new revelation tonight about these missing text messages. Congressman Trey Gowdy is saying that there is a message between Strzok and Page about deleting these text conversations. You can't make this up for a novel.
Look at this new information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TREY GOWDY, R-S.C.: Laid inside this glaring five-month gap and texts that the world's premier law enforcement agency somehow missed -- lay that aside. What we have seen, what I saw today was a text about not keeping texts. We saw more manifest bias against President Trump all the way through the election into the transition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Hatred of Trump, bias against Trump, and not keeping the text messages. Well, that sounds like obstruction of justice.
And, by the way, it's not the first time, is it, that we've all seen this happen. Every single solitary time the Obama administration and their officials are backed into a corner and in serious legal trouble, all of a sudden, all the evidence just magically disappears.
For example, this is their modus operandi. Hillary Clinton, 33,000 subpoenaed emails deleted. Just to make extra, extra sure, acid washed, Bleach Bit the whole entire hard drive to make sure the evidence is completely destroyed. And just case it made it to one of our BlackBerrys or mobile devices, she sends an aide out with a hammer. Boom! Let's smash that sucker. And the only phones they gave the FBI? They had no SIM cards. I'm sure it was just an accident, right? Do you believe that? I'll sell you a bridge to nowhere.
And there's also the IRS targeting conservatives. Remember that scandal? The emails from corrupt officials, Lois Lerner, they disappeared for two years. And the IRS claimed at the time they were lost because of a system crash. And we can't forget about Debbie Wasserman Schultz, her I.T. aide, and the reports of smashed hard drives in his garage. Now, predictably, the aide's lawyer denied it happened.
Now, I know this is a lot to take in. Let me slow down here. But there's even more new information tonight we will be giving it to you throughout the hour. According to Congressman John Ratcliffe, Strzok and Page were also talking about -- imagine this -- a secret society meeting the day after President Trump won the election.
Who is in the secret society? Let's see, could it be Page? And Strzok? And McCabe? And Comey? And let's see, Bruce Ohr? Could it be Rod Rosenstein? Who else is in the special secret society? Aren't they supposed to be transparent? Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE, R-TEXAS: We learned today about information that after -- in the immediate aftermath of the elections, there may have been a secret society of folks within the Department of Justice and the FBI to include Page and Strzok that would be working against him. I'm not saying that actually happened, but when folks speak in those terms, they need to come forward to explain the context in which they spoke those terms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: As you just heard, Congressman Ratcliffe say there's no concrete evidence yet that the secret society ever met.
But here's what we do know. Strzok and Page and who we think is the deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, were meeting about, remember, the insurance policy, just in case Hillary lost election. It's like dying if you're 40.
And all of the other evidence points to one simple fundamental basic fact. Top ranking Obama administration officials in the Department of Justice, FBI, not rank-and-file, the top people, protected Hillary Clinton from prosecution. We know that happened. And then they use that phony Russian dossier that Hillary bought and paid for full of Russian salacious lies to go after the Trump campaign to try and influence the election.
After all, it worked and stealing the primary for poor Bernie Sanders. As we have now been saying for months, the fix was in in the Clinton email investigation. Why? Because they wanted Hillary to run and they didn't want Trump to win.
Here's why. Another text message from Peter Strzok and Lisa Page appears to show that they and Obama's Attorney General Loretta Lynch, they all knew that Clinton wouldn't be prosecuted. By the way, before they ever interviewed Clinton or the other main participants in all of this, they didn't do the investigation. Remember in May, James Comey and Peter Strzok, and other top FBI officials, they were drafting the exoneration of Hillary months before they ever interviewed her and several other key witnesses.
How can you actually exonerate somebody before ever talking to them? That's called the fix it being in. That's being rigged. That is corruption 101.
Let's take a look at James Comey denying under oath that he reached his legal conclusion before interviewing Hillary Clinton. Now, remember, we have all the different drafts and his original drafts all pointed to a case of Hillary being guilty as hell. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, SEPT. 28, 2016)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Director, did you make the decision not to recommend criminal charges related to classified information before or after Hillary Clinton was interviewed by the FBI on July the 2nd?
JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: After. Colleagues of ours believe I am lying about when I made this decision, please urge them to contact me privately so we can have a conversation about this. All I can do is tell you again, the decision was made after that because I didn't know what was going to happen in the interview. She maybe lied in the interview in a way we could prove.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: I will call you, can I have your number? I have a lot of questions for you. It sounds to me like Comey lied in that case under oath, because we know, we had the drafts, how he was exonerating Clinton months before her FBI interview.
And tonight, just breaking, Politico is now reporting this hour that Congressman Ratcliffe is saying that he wants to interview Comey again under oath about all these inconsistencies in his previous testimony.
Let's go back to the timeline.
At the end of June of 2016, Bill Clinton decides to meet Loretta Lynch, remember that, on the tarmac for 40 minutes and talking about their grandkids. And then on July 1, Lynch says she's going to step away from the investigation, she will accept whatever the FBI concludes. Remember, she encouraged Comey, it's a matter, it's not an investigation. This is all before Hillary Clinton, three days before she was ever even interviewed, that happened on the Fourth of July weekend.
So, after Lynch's statement that she was taking a backseat, Strzok writes his mistress-girlfriend Page, "Timing looks like hell." Page replies, "Yeah, that is awful timing." And then later adds: "it's a real profile in courage since she knows no charges will be brought." They hadn't interviewed Hillary Clinton.
Four days later, they finally interviewed Hillary Clinton on the third day. Then Comey comes out with what he was already writing in early May in his press conference, giving Hillary Clinton a pass on everything. So, Strzok knew. Page knew. Comey knew. Lynch knew. And I assume McCabe knew as well, nothing was going to happen to Hillary because the fix was in. And if Lisa Page knew, then that probably means she was advising Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. So, what else are they lying about? Were they aware the FBI was giving Clinton cover?
And if Comey, Lynch, and all the top law enforcement officials knew that this was their agreement to not go after Clinton because they wanted her in the race to defeat Donald Trump because they know better than you who should be president, then it's a pretty darn good chance that someone in the Obama White House also was doing the wink and nod thing, and they knew the fix was in. In other words, the fix was in. It was rigged.
Now, there is another component to this story. We have even more breaking news tonight about the effort by congressional Republicans to release the four-page classified memo That exposes the FISA abuses against the Trump campaign. Byron York reporting nearly 200 members of Congress have now seen this and Fox News is reporting tonight that the memo could be released any day now.
But we are still calling on you, the American people, once again. Call up your member of Congress and demand that the memo be released. Release the memo. Call the number at the bottom of your screen, 202-224-3121. Tell your members of Congress, we deserve to know the truth about what is likely the biggest scandal in American history.
There is so much information. So many players involved in all of this. Let me tie it together.
Hillary Clinton rigged the primary. If you are Bernie Sanders supporter, you should be pissed. Why you're not? I don't know.
Even though there is a incontrovertible evidence she broke the law, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Loretta Lynch, all put the fix in and allowed her to stay in this presidential race. They ignored the rule of law, the Constitution, and Clinton and the DNC that she controlled spent over $12 million to influence the election with a bought and paid for dossier full of Russian lies and propaganda that was shipped off to compliant media.
The Obama administration weaponized the powerful tools of intelligence that we need to keep our country safe, but in this case, they used it to target members of the Trump campaign.
This, so you understand, is so all much bigger than Watergate. It's about our Constitution, about the rule of law. It has been shredded, all because powerful people at the highest level in the DOJ and the FBI thought they knew better than you as to who should be president.
There needs to be serious ramifications if we are going to save our country in all of this. People must be held accountable, they must be investigated, they must be indicted, and probably many of them thrown in jail.
Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is with us. Fox News contributor Sara Carter, former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino.
Congressman, am I missing anything here?
REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OHIO: No, you're not. The central player in this entire drama is the guy you identified, Peter Strzok. The first batch of text messages, he talked about the insurance policy in case the American people make Donald Trump president.
This latest batch, he talks about unfinished business. I unleashed it during the midyear exam, which is the code name they had for the Clinton investigation. Now, he says, I need to finish it and fix it. Four minutes after that text message, he sent another message to Lisa Page where he said an investigation that leads to impeachment.
If that doesn't go to their entire motive, their entire plan, what they had in store, and the animus they had for President Trump, I don't know what does. And never forget, as you pointed out in your monologue, Peter Strzok was the key guy in the Clinton investigation, interviewed Mills, interviewed Abedin, interviewed Clinton. He was the guy who changed the exoneration --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Are we going to get the truth, Congressman?
JORDAN: Yes, we are.
HANNITY: Are we going to get to the one-yard line and it dies? We don't get -- in other words, we don't get --
JORDAN: We see it building.
HANNITY: What's that?
JORDAN: You can see a building. Yes, you can see it building amongst the members of Congress. Two hundred members of Congress have read that memo. Guess what? I bet the score is 200-0 in favor of releasing it because this is the kind of thing that is so wrong.
When the FBI says -- think about this, Sean. The FBI is investigating you and you lose important documents or you lose text messages or you delete emails --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Bring me the cake with a file, because I'll be in jail. Bring me the cake.
JORDAN: No kidding, no kidding. That's what drives Americans crazy.
HANNITY: Let me go to Sara Carter.
Sara, it's been almost a year since you and John Solomon broke the story about the warrants at Trump Tower, the investigation. Look at where we are today. Your thoughts? Where are we going? I hear this is just the tip of the spear.
SARA CARTER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: This is just the tip of the spear, Sean. Look, right now, we have Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, but they were reporting to someone.
We are focused on them, with good reason, but think about the people they were reporting to. I want to know what Andrew McCabe, who is the deputy director was texting to others, how he was involved in it. James Rybicki, who just left the FBI. And now we know McCabe is leaving in march. There is so much more to this story.
And the unmasking and director Brennan, former Director Brennan of the CIA --
HANNITY: Yes, Samantha Power, unmasking 300 people. Great.
CARTER: Yes.
HANNITY: What did that power come from?
CARTER: Yes, where did that come from? And now she says she told Trey Gowdy that someone signed those unmaskings in her name.
HANNITY: I'd like to know who. Let's find out who was impersonating the U.N. ambassador and were unmasking Americans.
You know, fundamentally, Dan Bongino, I am really -- this five-month gap, this is so much bigger than 18-1/2 minute gap of tape in the Watergate tapes. Five months, the most critical time period.
With your experience in law enforcement, the Secret Service, the NYPD, are we able to retrieve those forensically? I don't believe they are lost.
DAN BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Sean, let me tell you something. And I'm willing to put my credibility behind this on your show tonight.
Those messages aren't lost. I absolutely believe this is some kind of canary trap to out leakers again. We've seen this pattern before. False information put out there to catch people leaking information. We saw it in the Donald Trump Jr. WikiLeaks story, with the Deutsche Bank story. We also saw it with the Mike Flynn story.
Now, let me say something here. That five-month period is critical because that's also the five-month period where this Logan Act conspiracy, or what I've been calling a reverse-engineering of a crime, happens in the DOJ and FBI. Listen to me, make the mistake on this. Donald Trump was set up.
This was a sting operation the entire time, and this Logan Act conspiracy to hit Mike Flynn on while they were listening to his calls was a legal patina or cover --
HANNITY: If that was a perjury trap, I bet my life on it. And it was illegal the information they had beforehand.
All right. Sara and Congressman, when are we going to get the memo? When do we get it?
Congressman?
JORDAN: I think -- yes, I think soon. I'm hoping even next week. I know I talked to Chairman Nunes. He is committed to making sure the committee calls its hearing, has a vote, and then we start that five-day process.
I believe, frankly, the White House will give us the thumbs up right away. If that passes the committee with a majority vote, I think President Trump will say, let the American people see it.
HANNITY: Sara, are we going to --
CARTER: Congressman Jordan, yes, he definitely brought up what I was hearing as well. There will be a vote next week. That's what I've been told. After that, it goes to the president. I'm sure he will allow that to go public.
HANNITY: I hear there's a lot more even coming behind that memo. Do both of you glean that from what you heard?
JORDAN: Yes.
HANITY: Yes, OK.
JORDAN: I think there will be more memos, Sean.
HANNITY: Wow.
JORDAN: Sean, here's the other thing I think is important. Why didn't Rod Rosenstein, when he testified just last month, why didn't he tell us they were missing text messages?
HANNITY: Wait a minute, exactly. Bring him back. Did he extend that FISA warrant? Do you know that, Congressman? Did he extend that?
JORDAN: I can't get into who signed what. That's part of this -- I just can't get into that.
HANNITY: My guess is he did.
JORDAN: Rod Rosenstein came and testified and was asked about the text messages. That was the day before he testified was when we got the first batch of the Strzok text messages. The FBI turned them all over.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: He went into Paul Ryan's office begging not to release any of this. That constitutes the memo.
Dan Bongino, last word.
BONGINO: Sean, don't discount the name John Carlin either within the DOJ. He knew it was going on here in conjunction with Sally Yates. And this is the connection that I take to the White House on this.
Don't discount that name. He left under very suspicious circumstances.
HANNITY: By the way, that's another point in the timeline, Sara, I forgot to mention.
CARTER: Yes, it is an important point, a crucial point, but I think an even bigger point now is that Ratcliffe wants to interview Comey, interview Comey, interview Carlin, interview Sally Yates. Let's find out what is going on with them. I think we will start to see the story unraveled.
HANNITY: All right. Guys, amazing work, all of you. We really appreciate it.
JORDAN: Thanks, Sean.
HANNITY: Release the memo and find the texts.
All right. When we come back, he was on fire last night. Reaction to my opening monologue. We will check in with the chief counsel for the American Center of Law and Justice, President Trump's attorney, Jay Sekulow, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: He is the chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, President Trump's attorney, Jay Sekulow.
A secret society? A secret society?
JAY SEKULOW, PRESIDENT'S ATTORNEY: Yes. Look, Sean, I mean, you could start or the secret society, you could end with the missing text messages or you could start where Senator Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said, conclusions first, fact gathering second, that's no way to run an investigation.
HANNITY: I think we have a tape of Ratcliffe. I want to show this to everybody.
SEKULOW: Sure.
HANNITY: Because he's asked this question. This is a key moment. We'll go back to this here, and I'll get your response to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RATCLIFFE: Director, did you make the decision not to recommend criminal charges relating to classified information before or after Hillary Clinton was interviewed by the FBI on July the second?
COMEY: After. But of colleagues of ours believe I am lying about when I made this decision, please urge them to contact me privately so we can have a conversation about this. All I can do is tell you again, the decision was made after that because I didn't know what was going to happen in that interview. She may be lied in an interview in a way we could prove it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Then, why did he write an exoneration?
SEKULOW: Well, you notice something he just said. Maybe she would have lied during the interview, in other words, where they, what, trying to set up a perjury trap? So, really, you know, you've got to listen to what James Comey just said. First he said he made the conclusion after the interview. We know that is a false statement, because he made the decision months before the interview. By the way, it wasn't just the interview of the former Secretary of State. Other witnesses were granted immunity that have not yet been interviewed when he made his exculpatory statement saying that she is not responsible and no violation of law months before the key witnesses were put forward or interview.
Then he said, she may have lied during the interview, and that maybe would've changed it and that was a perjury trap. This is kind of Washington speak for what? An examination or investigation that permits outset, let's look at what it transpired here, let us put it in to context. Number one, just weeks ago, we had a revelation about the number Department of Justice Bruce Ohr, whose wife is working for fusion GPS with Christopher Steele on the dossier. While her husband was serving as the number four in the United States Department of Justice. That is one. Number two, the missing -- this seems to be, I hate to say this, but I've had this experience because of the litigation that we have engaged involving the IRS targeting cases. You had the missing lowest learner emails. To get to the point of the case where this is the critical time, the prime time, and what happens? Gone. The evidence can be recovered.
We won the case, we got the damages two years later. This is a pattern and practice. There is no explanation appeared what is the explanation for this? The FBI gave out faulty devices and didn't know there was a problem for five months? I hope that is not the case, because that in and of itself is bad as well. It is complete lack of leadership.
HANNITY: We know Page and Strzok know that he thought there was no there-there. That is fascinating, considering his position and what he did with Russia and that is number one. They knew the fix was in. They talked about an insurance policy with McCabe. Strzok, Page and McCabe, Comey is writing the exoneration before investigation. Now we see Page say it's a profile in courage. She knows there's not going to be anything here. They all knew that there was no shot and hell that there was ever going to be any real investigation into Hillary.
SEKULOW: You know Sean, I said it last night. These aren't investigations. They are political setups. The reality is, there's nothing in the investigation that is investigatory. In other words, when you look at what happens, the way it transpires, the missing documents, the witnesses, the statement from Peter Strzok, I mean that is the classic one. You said there is no big there-there, so why will they waste my time going onto special councils? Which he does a couple days later. You have all of this back-and-forth, but realize what was going on. He would have known there was no there, because he was on the so-called collusion investigation from the outset.
HANNITY: From a week tonight, I want to ask you this and I don't know if you can answer this, that Robert Mueller wants to ask about the firing of Comey and about General Flynn. I'm not a lawyer, I will give you my take. Never in a million years under these conditions with his team of only Democratic donors, and the track record of people like Andrew Weissmann, had whatever let a President talk to this man, ever?
SEKULOW: Let me just say this. As the President's lawyers, we evaluate the situation, we evaluate the facts, and we evaluate the circumstances. Sean, let me respond here. I understand what you're saying. As the lawyers, we evaluate the entire matter. I will not disclose what conversations we have or have not had with the special counsel. I will tell you this, this has been the most transparent investigation in history. We have turned over, what I say we, the President, transition team, the campaign, the White House, over 1,000 documents. We have had all the witness voluntarily complied. There has been no assertion before the special counsel's office of any type of privilege, executive privilege, attorney-client or anything at this point. Nothing. I always asked the question, asked the President about what? That is what you want to know. I'm not going to disclose the conversations that we are having or not having. We are representing the client's interest. That is what I'll say.
HANNITY: All right. Fair answer. I understand your position. Jay Sekulow, thank you so much for being with us. When we come back, former Mexican President Vicente Fox, a Hannity classic shoot-out is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Big news out of our nation's capital tonight involving President Trump's a border wall and negotiations with Democrats. Chuck Schumer went back on his word. Joining us alive, Fox News national correspondent Ed Henry, Ed?
ED HENRY, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sean, good to see you. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate is under heavy pressure from his liberal critic in their words he cave to President Trump in those negotiations over the government shutdown. What's "happening now" is the want him to stand strong and keep the government close until he got DACA legislation. Moderate Democrats see they felt uncomfortable about a showdown basically on standing up for illegal immigration. Schumer gave in, he got a fig leaf from the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell who agreed to take of DACA legislation by February 8 when government funding runs out again. There's no guarantee that anything that passes in the senate will actually be agreed to by conservatives in the house. While the President and Schumer discussed funding for the wall on the southern border when they met in the oval office last Friday over cheeseburgers before the shutdown, the senator is now trying to backtrack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to have to start on a new basis. The wall offer is off the table.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Senator Schumer take something off the table, I'm sure we will take something off the table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: And Obama veteran who is also boasting about leading the resistance, is claiming "Democrats won multiple battles over the shutdown. That chip upon it, reopen the government, commitment from GOP on DACA vote. If they are lying in the government shuts down again before DACA expires, GOP cave, GOP lost big time. It's time Trump resigns." You can see the approach to some Democrats. If we won, but if we end up not winning, the President should resign. That is not something that will carry around here.
HANNITY: All right. Ed Henry, thank you. Joining is now the brand-new book, "Let Us Move On: Beyond Fear and False Profits," former Mexican President Vicente Fox is with us. Sir, good to see you. How are you? We've had some fights before. When you were president, in the year 2002, you deported, you kicked out of your country 140,000 people that entered Mexico illegally -- from Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador. You threw them out, and you say we do that where are racist and this is unfair and unkind and unjust. You did this very thing you don't want us to do.
VICENTE FOX, FORMER MEXICAN PRESIDENT: No. This is an issue that I agree with you 100 percent.
HANNITY: So we should kick out the illegals?
FOX: Wait a minute. Borders must be secure, and borders must be safe, and we must keep order like we try to do with President Bush and Senator McCain and Senator Kennedy. We put together a bill that was presented in congress. The bills will go over this issue.
HANNITY: Why did you call the wall stupid? Why did you give -- tell Trump to go to hell? You set all these things. Why if the wall is good, why do you say build the wall like Trump said with a door? We could let our friends in, but not the drug dealers.
FOX: We are not against the wall. It is good if you want to build a wall. But we are against is Mexico is paying for that wall.
(LAUGHTER)
That is a stupid idea. Making Mexico pay for the wall.
HANNITY: He is negotiating. I think he is part.
FOX: I know better ways of negotiating. It's a win-win situation we both can win. All of that is dealt in the book. Let's move ahead. This book is not a good book confront. It's reasoning ideas, proposals. That is where you will read there.
HANNITY: Forget about who pays for it for a minute. A wall that America builds on the southern border. Forget about the payment. If we build a wall, but I think Mexico -- I think we should be best friends. I think America and Canada should be best friends. Mexico, Canada, and the United States should all be best friends. But we need to protect our homeland, and I think you disrespect that.
FOX: Not at all. I want security. I worked at six years with President Bush for that purpose. We had a good partnership for prosperity and security. We came out with a thing that can cure had to security. I do not have a problem with that. They called Mexicans criminals.
HANNITY: He never said all Mexicans. He said some. Be fair. He said some. Some are murderers. And that is true.
FOX: He said Mexico is the worst. 35 million Hispanics work here and made this country competitive.
HANNITY: You want them to become citizens. Here's the thing. You agree and the rule of law. You were a President. If you don't respect American law and you come here illegally, then you do not respect our -- wait a minute. All these people want to come in. What we give it to the people that do it the right way and respect our laws.
FOX: This is not the United States I know. This is not the United States of its founding fathers.
HANNITY: Absolutely is. All four of my grandparents came from Ireland, and they came through Ellis Island, they didn't have any money, they were broke, and they came here legally. All we are saying, we will be good neighbors. You have to respect our border. Respect our law.
FOX: That is what we have to come up with wise, bright ideas, and not this anymore. That doesn't help the image of the United States.
HANNITY: Why do you call the President stupid? He can go to hell? You put your middle finger up. You say he is an idiot. Why do you say all of that?
FOX: Because that is what I proceeded from him. I invited him to come.
HANNITY: He went to Mexico.
FOX: That was a mistake because --
HANNITY: Why was it a mistake? He want to talk, he want a solution.
FOX: He shouldn't have been, but that is another issue.
HANNITY: No he should had been, because the American people decided.
FOX: 30 percent of the people.
HANNITY: 40 some odd percent. That is how our system works but how many people voted for you?
FOX: For me? 46 percent.
HANNITY: You didn't have a majority either.
FOX: I didn't go against opposition. I try to unite.
HANNITY: Let's end this on a good note. You were a lot calmer this time than the last time we had a big fight. I would say, we need borders to protect our country.
FOX: Agreed.
HANNITY: And I would say, at the President is right.
FOX: You don't need walls, you need borders.
HANNITY: Walls.
FOX: What for? It is a waste of money.
HANNITY: Let us decide what we are going to do. We will build the wall with a big door, and we can all be friends. But America has the right not to let people enter here illegally.
FOX: Who will pay for that wall and that door?
HANNITY: I don't know, hopefully Mexico and not the United States.
FOX: U.S. taxpayers and nobody else.
HANNITY: OK. The wall is built with a big door. You would be happy with a wall?
FOX: With a big door?
HANNITY: With a door that people come legally.
FOX: I don't mind the wall being built, I'm just trying to advise American citizens, I love you country United States, don't waste your money.
HANNITY: We should all be friends.
FOX: That is what we are working for.
HANNITY: Nice to see you.
FOX: Good to see you.
HANNITY: God bless you. When we come back, Jesse Watters, Jessica Tarlov. That and more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right. Joining us now, cohost of "The Five," it's his world, we live in it, Jesse, you got to do it?
JESSICA TARLOV, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: There you go.
HANNITY: And Fox News contributor, Jessica Tarlov, back to our top story. We had this five-month critical gap. The emails evaporate. Hillary Clinton's emails deleted, Bleach Bit and hammered. What's her name? Of Debbie Wassermann Schultz has an I.T. Aide broken hard drive busted up in his garage? Do you see a pattern here Jessica with your side? Doesn't it sound like a cover up to you? Doesn't your intellect tell you it's a cover up?
JESSICA TARLOV, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I break so many computers because I'm a liberal. Not with hammers. I have not used bleach. I think you've asked me that before. It still the same answer. I've never used bleach. It doesn't seem like a cover up to me. It doesn't.
JESSE WATTERS, "THE FIVE" CO-HOST: All the emails from five months all of the sudden disappear. Wouldn't that be suspicious?
HANNITY: Ding, ding, ding. Point for Watters.
TARLOV: You can't score a like that. It is not a common thing. With the number of technological problems that can occur, why was the FBI -- don't you think the people who took this oath to uphold justice in this country wouldn't back off of something they said and wouldn't get rid of those text messages?
HANNITY: This is the same FBI. We got to go through this. Lisa Page, Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, James Comey. Did you ever -- do you think law enforcement rights exoneration before investigation? Does that sound normal to you?
TARLOV: We have talked about this.
HANNITY: Does that sound normal to you?
TARLOV: Not before I researched it. Now there were numbers in.
WATTERS: They were doing a frame job on Trump.
TARLOV: A-frame job? What does that look like?
WATTERS: They dirty swamp cops that came in, they admitted there is no collusion. He joined the Mueller investigation to finish unfinished business that would lead to impeachment. That alone cost the insurance policy to present the risk of the Trump presidency.
TARLOV: What is that insurance policy?
WATTERS: Should bail me and you, because this guy is completely crooked.
HANNITY: I have a point of agreement. I think you will agree on one point. Hillary bought and paid for Russian lies about Trump. Wait a minute. Forget that part. Used as a basis to get a warrant on an opposition Party in election year. And then use to investigate and surveilled a President-Elect. Is there any civil libertarian in you that says this is really bad?
TARLOV: That isn't the complete story of what went on here. As of the evidence that they corroborated a good deal within the dossier.
HANNITY: Fact, nobody cooperated. Glenn Simpson never even tried to cooperate.
TARLOV: Why are there FBI officials put aside the idea that they were out for Trump, because they were not going to have the entire FBI out for him.
WATTERS: They corroborate from the dossier. You said there was corroboration.
TARLOV: I read reports that said -
HANNITY: Who?
TARLOV: The FBI.
HANNITY: No, wrong.
TARLOV: Let me finish a sentence. I just had FBI. I can't be wrong.
HANNITY: You said you corroborated to hookers in the (inaudible) paying Donald Trump.
TARLOV: I don't think that happened. What I read --
WATTERS: they also said Michael Collins went to the Czech Republic and his password that he never went to the Czech Republic.
TARLOV: I will leave you two guys alone.
HANNITY: You give up?
TARLOV: No, I don't give up. But you have to let me finish a sentence before getting all flipped out here. What I'm saying is that the reason that the dossier -- were done.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Hannity hotline ringing off the hook. Our video of the day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, you are parents with a child who rides a school bus. They got so much trouble on school buses. This video is going to terrify you. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
This icy morning was in Sutton, Massachusetts. Look at the school bus full of kids sliding out of control downhill. Now, it knocked over a mailbox and then in a good way, thankfully, it hit this car and nobody was injured. It stopped right there. Wow. Scary. Think out there ok. Time for the hotline. Here we go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey Hannity, you are doing a great job. Go get them! Get them with all you've got. I think Trump is awesome. By the way, if nobody wants those hats, I will take one. Thank you. Bye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do nothing to the political discussion. Except for your hateful and rhetoric, you are a horrible person and I wish you would just relive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right. Always fair and balanced, never the destroy Trump media.
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