World leaders express skepticism of, opposition to Trump Twitter ban

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World leaders express skepticism of, opposition to Trump Twitter ban

FOX News contributors David Webb and Joe Concha share reactions and analysis on 'The Story'

This is a rush transcript from "The Story with Martha MacCallum" January 12, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha
MacCallum in New York. And tonight, there are big developments in our top
story right now. So, we're watching what looks like a tidal shift on the
Hill ahead of tomorrow's key vote on impeachment as longtime allies turn on
the president and most markedly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
signals that he believes that the president has committed impeachable
offenses.

McConnell is said to be furious and gunning for the president's purge from
the Republican Party. At least three House Republicans have now announced
that they will vote to impeach the president. In moments. Karl Rove and
Jonathan Turley weigh in. But first, we go to Chief Congressional
Correspondent Mike Emanuel with the breaking news as these numbers continue
to change tonight, where the House Judiciary Committee has just released
their impeachment report. Hi, Mike.

MIKE EMANUEL, CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Martha, good evening.
Sources say Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is furious with
President Trump, done with him. And the two men have not spoken recently. I
am told McConnell is angry about the president's actions leading up to the
riot last Wednesday. McConnell also blames the president's comments and
actions for losing the Republican majority in the Senate one week ago
today.

There is some reporting suggesting McConnell is pleased about House
Democrats moving forward with impeachment. I'm told that is not the case,
but sources say McConnell does see this could potentially help rid the
Republican Party of both President Trump and his movement. I'm told
McConnell hasn't made up his mind on what to do with impeachment once the
House sends it over. But those close to him say McConnell doesn't see this
as a partisan exercise like the previous impeachment effort.

On the House side, the number three Republican in leadership, Liz Cheney,
now says she will vote to impeach. Last night on a conference call with
Republican lawmakers, Cheney referred to impeachment as a vote of
conscience. And tonight, she says, the president could have immediately and
forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never
been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office
and his oath to the Constitution.

Now, Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger also yes, there is no
doubt in my mind that the President of the United States broke his oath of
office and incited this insurrection. He used his position in the executive
to attack the legislative. Kinzinger concludes, I will vote in favor of
impeachment.

And New York Republican Congressman John Katko was the first to break
ranks, saying he is also a yes on impeachment this afternoon. This hour,
House lawmakers are expected to vote on a measure to encourage Vice
President Mike Pence to use the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump
from office, since Pence is not expected to take action that sets the stage
for an impeachment vote in the House tomorrow, a week before the president
is due to leave office. House Republican leadership is not going to push
members to vote against it, allowing them to vote their conscience, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Thank you, Mike. Mike Emanuel on the Hill tonight. Karl Rove,
former Deputy Chief of Staff under President George W. Bush, and Jonathan
Turley, George Washington University law professor, both are Fox News
Contributors. It is remarkable to look at where we are right now. This has
been the most eventful presidency for the last four years of any of that, I
think any of us can remember for quite some time. So, comparisons being
made to Andrew Johnson and the way that he exited the White House at the
end of his term. Karl, as you look at this list of Republicans, your
thoughts tonight.

KARL ROVE, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, the biggest
one would be Leader McConnell, of course, first of all, there are several
different possibilities here. One is that this is a rumor and not true. The
report came originally in The New York Times. It could be that the leader
believes this is inevitable. Speaker Pelosi has made it clear; she intends
to impeach the president. And this measure is coming to the Senate and he
may welcome that, realizing that it's going to tie up the Senate for the
first couple of weeks of President Biden's term.

Or it could be that he's had enough that after Georgia, after all the
charges of stolen elections, after what happened on Wednesday, an assault
on the Capitol, that Leader McConnell has had enough and is welcoming the
chance for the Senate to take up the issue, doesn't necessarily guarantee
that he's going to vote for impeachment, but he may recognize that having
been impeached, even if he's not removed from office or can't be removed
from office because he's already left, that this further discredits
President Trump and makes it easier for the party to move on beyond him. We
don't know and we won't know until the leader tells us exactly what he
thinks.

MACCALLUM: As you point out, all of these are sort of stories that have
been out there. And we've been hearing them this afternoon, late this
evening from different sources. But he has not said for himself how he
would act in all of this. Karl, just staying with you for a moment, just to
make it clear to everybody at home, the Senate is not in session. So,
there's no way and we haven't heard about any sort of emergency session on
the Senate side. Correct?

ROVE: That's correct. And remember, the Senate, by unanimous consent said
it would not come back in until January 19th. So, if it is called back into
session, if one member objects, they cannot meet. This was an agreement by
every member house of the chamber, Democrat and Republican, unanimously
agreed were out until the 19th of January.

MACCALLUM: Jonathan, I want to bring you in here, just getting some
reports. There's a lot coming in tonight as we're talking. And we've seen
so far three announced Republicans and there are some reports, John Roberts
reporting that it could be 10 to 20 on the House side that are ready to
vote with Republicans on impeachment. And then CNN saying that Adam Schiff
believes that there's an earthquake underway on the Senate side. You know
that remains to be seen. But your thoughts tonight, Jonathan.

JONATHAN TURLEY, GWU LAW PROFESSOR: I don't fault any member who views this
as an impeachable offense to vote that way. These are close questions. My
misgiving is over the use of a snap impeachment. They did not even hold a
single hearing to talk about the implications of creating this type of fast
track to impeachment. And so, impeachment not supposed to be some bang bang
play. It's not supposed to happen on impulse. It's designed for the
opposite purpose.

So, my main objection is the lack of any hearing at all looking at the
implications of what they're doing. There's also real questions there about
the underlying charge. I do not believe that what the president said would
qualify as criminal incitement. People of good faith can disagree on that.
But as a long time, criminal defense attorney, I don't find that very
credible. That doesn't mean that he didn't incite the crowd. It's just not
criminal incitement. And that's not the sole measure of whether you have a
legitimate article of impeachment.

So, those people who are pushing for impeachment certainly can argue this
might not be criminal, but we still believe it's impeachable. But they
should deal, at least in a single hearing with the question of how do you
deal with this for the future? It's not about President Trump. You're
combining a new snap impeachment mechanism with this rather ambiguous
standard that a president can be impeached, even though he said he wanted
his people to go peacefully to the Capitol and cheer on supporters and boo
those against challenges.

You're saying that, well, he can be vicariously responsible for the riot.
That's not - I don't think that's a ridiculous position by any means. I
condemn the speech while it was going on. I support the censure of the
president. But we should talk about this. And that's why I've just been
saying, we need to have some caution. Now that caution may have to come in
the Senate. I mean, they may have to do what the House usually does. So
that is hold a hearing on what this type of impeachment would mean.

MACCALLUM: So, Karl, with that as a backdrop, there is this notion that if
the president was impeached, that he would not be able to run again. And it
may be that that is the motivation of a lot of people here, because he has
said quite clearly, even just a few days ago, even on January 6th, he said,
we're just beginning whether or not there's any appetite for that in the
Republican Party or in the country after all of this remains to be seen.
But we have seen - we have seen some pretty surprising things happen over
the last four years. So, what do you think about his future in this moment?

ROVE: Well, I think he's going to leave office disgraced and discredited,
even among a significant share, a number of his supporters, people who
supported him because of his policies, not because of his personality or
persona.

But I think I agree with Professor Turley. Look, I think one of the
powerful points that Representative Cheney made was that the president sat
there in the Oval Office as we watched in horror as this assault was made
on the Capitol and did nothing. He did not go out and call upon his
supporters to withdraw from the Capitol and to leave in peace. Then it was
hours later. And he didn't even - even then, he couldn't bring himself to
condemn the violence.

But having said that, the rush to judgment in the House, the lack of a
thoughtful process, and it immediately dumped on the United States Senate
to fill in the blanks that the House is willing to establish by having a
hearing and discussion and controversy and questioning and so forth is, I
think, very problematic for the country. This is not going to be good. This
is not going to be good for the country, whether you're in favor of
removing the president from office or not.

And remember, he's not going to be removed from office if this does happen
until he's out of office. And that gets to be a real question as to whether
or not the impeachment power ends with the president leaves office. We've
never had this done before with the president. We've had it happen with a
member of a president's cabinet under Ulysses S. Grant. The secretary of
war was impeached after he left office, but then he was acquitted by the
Senate and in part because he was already gone, disgraced, and gone. So, I
agree with the professor. This is unseemly and however it goes forward;
it's not going to be good for the country.

MACCALLUM: On a more specific legal question before I let you go, Jonathan
Turley, there was a story today talking about how they were discussing the
potential for civil charges or civil cases to be brought against the
president. And some of the tape that we've seen now, the videotape that
we've seen of these, it's horrific to watch of these Capitol Police
officers being dragged through the crowd and beaten over the head with
sticks.

And meanwhile, people are chanting, hang Vice President Pence. Right. So,
when you look at the damage that was done and the deaths that happened in
this situation, is there, do you think, some kind of civil liability? One
of the lines they said they were explained it to the president by saying,
it's like O.J. in terms of civil liabilities that came later.

TURLEY: Well, the civil liability has the benefit of having a lower
standard of proof. So, you just have proof by preponderance of the
evidence, not by beyond a reasonable doubt. So that's a big difference. But
we still don't know a lot of things. That's part of the problem with the
snap impeachment. We don't know what Trump knew, what Trump said. What
Trump did in the Oval Office.

One of the reasons I believe that's clear that there's a case for
condemnation and a censure and there may be a basis for impeachment is that
we still just need to know some of those facts. But there's clearly a basis
or combination. I agree entirely with Karl. I was really livid watching
this unfold and not hearing from the president. There may be culpability
there, but I got to tell you, honestly, I think it would be very hard to
establish.

I mean, I know that it would be - there's a certain cathartic aspect to
saying, well, at least there'll be some civil liability. But I don't want
to give people the wrong idea. I think both on the criminal and civil side
thus far be very difficult to establish liability or guilt.

MACCALLUM: Great point. Great points on both sides. Thank you very much to
both. Jonathan Turley, Karl Rove, great to see you tonight. Thank you,
gentlemen.

ROVE: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Lots going on. So, along with the rioters, thousands of decent
Americans, some with their families, they showed up at this Capitol Hill
event on the Ellipse. They expected a peaceful gathering and a speech from
the president. Now, some of them fear that their presence could make them
targets and that they could be canceled for their politics. Bill McGurn
wrote about them today and about so many others in The Wall Street Journal.
He and Ari Fleischer join us after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: So, as we sit together here tonight, the FBI is hunting across
the country for the rioters at the U.S. Capitol. They need to find these
people before the inaugural is now urgent. D.C. is already bracing, and the
same organizers seek to raise armed protests at all 50 state capitols
across the country beginning on January 17.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SHERWIN, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY IN D.C.: We've already charged over
70 cases, and again, that number, I suspect, is going to grow into the
hundreds. We're looking at and treating this just like a significant
international counterterrorism or counterintelligence operation. You will
be charged, and you will be found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Offenses being investigated include beating and assaulting
police officers, planting pipe bombs at the RNC and the DNC entrances,
theft, sedition and more. While this continued threat is obviously chilling
for all law-abiding Americans, another different kind of threat is underway
to limit constitutional freedoms, job opportunities, even education or
travel for some Americans. And that is chilling on a whole different level
as well.

Consider this from Bill McGurn, who speaks of the families that he knows
who went to the Ellipse that day to hear the president speak, they are
decent, ordinary Americans who didn't enter the Capitol and wouldn't dream
of disobeying a police officer. They are now terrified that they will be
docked or perhaps fired from their jobs if it gets out, they were in
Washington for the rally.

Listen to this from House Homeland Security Chair Bennie Thompson to mark
Senators Cruz and Hawley as domestic terrorists and prevent them from
flying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If these folks are found liable, should they be on a no-
fly list?

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): Well, there's no question about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Or this editorial in Forbes magazine which calls for banning
these people from job opportunities who worked in the Trump administration.
So, let's bring in the aforementioned Bill McGurn, Wall Street Journal
editorial board. And Ari Fleischer, we're going to work on getting Bill
back, but we've got Ari Fleischer, former White House Press Secretary and
Fox News Contributor.

Ari, great to have you here. You know, I think that Bill's piece and I hope
we get him back in a moment, but I think that his piece really highlights
the big question about all of those people in America who supported so many
things that President Trump talked about and that he acted on a safer
border, patriotism, a firmer stance in our defense against China, all of
that, things that they care about, bringing manufacturing back home. And
now they feel like they're getting swept in with these people who are -
would be criminals that are being stopped by the FBI.

ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Absolutely, Bill's piece
did a superb job putting his finger on a time-honored American tradition
enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution, which is the right to
peacefully assemble. And for anybody who was on the Ellipse, who took a
flight to Washington, wanted to fly home, or even came up to the Capitol so
long as they stayed outside the Capitol and engaged in no violence, they
are exercising their First Amendment right to protest, to carry signs and I
look at the exact same way I did the rioters this summer.

If you walk down the street chanting and carrying a sign, God bless you,
you are exercising that right. If you looted, if you committed violence, if
you burned down a police station, if you entered the Capitol, if you
attacked a cop, blue lives matter then you should be prosecuted to the full
extent of the law. But there is an immense difference between those who
break the law and those who peacefully gather, and every politician should
be sensitive to that.

MACCALLUM: I agree with you, 100 percent, and I felt that way last summer
and I feel that way now. And it seems as if there are a lot of people who
can't make that bridge, right, who can't say every American has the right
to stick up for what they believe in, every American right - and they have
the right to come to Washington with their families and to say, look, these
are things that we care about. We support law enforcement. We support the
right for churches to open, all of the things that we've been talking about
that are passions of these folks.

And I want to bring Bill McGurn back in here. Bill, when you - you want to
make it very clear to people that there are a lot of people out there in
those 74 million who voted for President Trump, who would never have made
the mistakes that we saw some of these criminals make and they deserve to
be heard to.

BILL MCGURN, WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER: You only deserve not to be treated
like criminals. I think there's an effort to tar every one of the 74
million people who voted for Donald Trump as agitators and rioters. You
know, you see that picture of that crazy guy with the horns and the deer
fur, like, say this is a Trump voter. I mean, I think that's silly. And as
I said, I know people who went there. I'm not going to say who they are.
And some of them went with their families. These are the most law-abiding
people in the world. And things were ruined for them by these goons that
assaulted Capitol Hill police and charged the Capitol.

MACCALLUM: Ari, it takes me back in my mind to the original - one of the
original comments by President Obama, talking about people who cling to
their guns and religion. Right. So that was defining this whole group that
candidate Trump then tapped into and resonated with, there's no doubt.

And then you look at the basket of deplorable description of them, which
all of that angered people who have these deeply felt beliefs across the
country and who now don't want to be tarred with this brush. Now, the
latest, from Anderson Cooper, who told them to go back to the Olive Garden.
I mean, I've heard that comment over and over in the past few days about
the Olive Garden and the disdain, and then you've got people saying that
anyone who worked in the White House shouldn't even be able to have a job
when they get out, your thoughts.

FLEISCHER: Right. Look, this whole breakdown, remember, some of its
antecedents were when President Trump's Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee,
went to a restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, and was hounded and
forced out of the restaurant by the guests in the restaurant with the
support of management. When Ted Cruz went to a restaurant in Washington and
was hounded by protesters inside the restaurant. When Congresswoman Maxine
Waters, Democrat from California, supported these efforts and told people
to get in the faces of Republicans, if you see them in a restaurant, if you
see them on the street, no rest.

And the slogan, no peace, no justice, no justice, no peace. People are
threatening and engaging in violence. Now, the problem Republicans have, at
least, is we lost the high ground when these people took the Hill.
Republicans were the party of public safety, law and order and blue lives
matter. And these idiots who stormed Capitol Hill have damaged the cause
for everybody else. But don't forget where so much of this incivility began
and it all needs to end. You need to treat people with respect, politeness,
disagree, but we're all Americans.

MACCALLUM: Ari and Bill, thank you. Great to see you both tonight. Thanks,
gentlemen.

MCGURN: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: All right, so when Europe and Mexico and others blanch at the
infringement of speech and the blocking of Facebook and Twitter users here
in America, while the president-elect and the VP-elect support shutting
down those conservative voices, that's a story we're digging into. David
Webb and Joe Concha, do it for us next.
 
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: From afar, leaders across the globe, from Germany to Mexico to
Australia, are looking at the blocking of conservative voices on Twitter
and Facebook, and they speak out warning about what they see as the dangers
to freedom over here and their ally of the United States.

But here at home, even from the incoming president and VP, nods of approval
and claims that it's all for your safety, America. So, who's right? Joining
me now, David Webb, host of SiriusXM Patriot 125 in Fox Nation, and Joe
Concha, opinion columnist for The Hill. Both are Fox News contributor.
David, let me start with you. It is an interesting cry coming from these
other countries who have the distance to look at what's happening here in
the United States and express concern given their own histories.

DAVID WEBB, HOST, SIRIUSXM PATRIOT 125: You know, I prefer the U.S. model,
of course, because our protections are in the Constitution and Angela
Merkel and these other world leaders, they don't have the same
Constitution. These companies don't have the same protections.

So, I think it's fair for these -- or not fair but reasonable for these
companies to consider that they may be at peril in these other countries.
What happens when lawmakers make decisions and they change their minds or
their moods and consider that the European Union, France, Germany, those
countries within have all come up with more punishing rules against social
media companies.

So, while they enjoy American protections and they act like government with
mass suppression, they may not enjoy that somewhere else. And these world
leaders see that.

MACCALLUM (on camera):  Yes. I mean, what does it say that we are not
hearing that, Joe, from the incoming president-elect and the vice
president-elect. Kamala Harris spoke out on the debate stage at one point,
she went after Elizabeth Warren. She said I believe the president's Twitter
feed needs to come down. Why won't you stand with me on this? She
challenged her on that.

JOE CONCHA, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  I always like to follow the money in
these situations, Martha. And social media companies donated to the Biden
campaign over the Trump campaign by a 15 to 1 ratio. We obviously saw the
suppression of stories particularly in October around Hunter Biden by
social media that could have been damaging to Joe Biden, so of course you
don't want to bite the hand that feeds you in these situations.

But, you know, I like what E.U. had to say about this as far as who stays
and who goes. Who gets banned and who doesn't get banned? He said, quote,
this should be decided by citizens, not by a CEO. And when you think about
it now on Twitter alone you have 330 million daily active users. On
Facebook, 1.7 billion active users.

Obviously, we're talking about worldwide. Yet it's only a handful of people
within the social media giants who are making these decisions as far as who
stays and who goes and the worst part about this and the most chilling is
that it's done without due process. It's just, you're gone. You don't have
a case. You should not present why you should be able to stay and that's
the scary part, Martha.

MACCALLUM:  Yes. David, as Joe rightly points out money and lobbying is a
huge part of this. And you know, there is a little bit of greasing the palm
so the people who will be in power so that they'll stay off your back. And
they are not going to regulate you.

WEBB:  Yes. Over the past few days, Martha, and certainly with all of this
latest suppression that's going on by big tech overall, the search engines
and more, I decided to call some of those major lobbyists some of the big
players in Washington, D.C. and they are getting a lot of money from big
tech companies to go talk to senators and congressmen and regulators on
both sides or the bureaucratic angle to make sure that they are protected.

Joe is right about following the money, not just in the donations but also
in the tax subsidies the breaks that they get. They don't make a hammer, a
widget, a car, a product that you buy. You're the product. Your data is the
product, and they sell it. So, they need to make sure they protect that.

And when you look at Twitter, it was a one day dropped but on the NASDAQ,
they went down 6.41 percent. We'll see if that trend continues over time.
Maybe their investors and the purchasers of the stock they might weigh in
on this.

MACCALLUM:  They might. When you look back at the railroads, Joe, and you
think about, you know, bust -- the trust busting that occurred to sort of
prevent that kind of monopoly. And you look at these pathways and all of
these, you know, sort of platforms across the country for communication, is
there a way, do you think it would be wise for the government to sort of
try to treat it as a utility across the spectrum and make some rules for
navigation on it.

CONCHA:  That's the rub, Martha, right? That the government now is
Democratically controlled House, a Democratically controlled Senate and a
Democrat in the White House. So, you would need to be actually moving
forward with those sorts of efforts in order to try to break up these
monopolies. But the problem is, that also these companies have tremendous
resources.

And if you think they will go quietly from a legal perspective, then
probably not and it would take years upon years to actually accomplish
something like that. But I think in the end, why people should be concerned
at home as it affects them.

And let's say you are one of 74 million people that voted for Donald Trump,
you now have to scrub your social media accounts because when you are a
candidate for a job, background checks are done by checking somebody's
social media invariably.

MACCALLUM:  It's just (Inaudible).

CONCHA:  And if the boss is somebody who voted for Joe Biden, then you may
not get the job even though you're qualified because of who you may have
supported in the election and that is chilling as well, Martha.

MACCALLUM:  Yes. I think there will be a self-suppression on a lot of
activity on these platforms just because of that. Because people would want
to go back to being private about their feelings, about a lot of these
things we've been maybe way too public and how we've been sharing
information when it comes to some of the stuff.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, David. Great to see you both tonight.

WEBB:  Thank you, Martha.

CONCHA:  Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM:  So, listen to this, Chinese President Xi mocking capitalism and
saying that the sharp tensions in the U.S. are, quote, the world is
undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, but time and the situation
are in our favor. he says. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on that,
next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM (on camera):  Chinese leader Xi Jinping seeming to cheer the
siege on American democracy saying, quote, the world is undergoing profound
changes unseen in a century, but time and the situation are in China's
favor.

Beijing is now using images of the chaos for propaganda purposes. With
China state global time news tweeting in part, the riots have ripped off
the fake mask of U.S. democracy. The attractiveness of the U.S. democracy
has been severely weakened, they write. Other commentaries reads, quote,
violence has shaken the roots and foundation of American democracy. The
long celebrated American democracy has finally fallen from its altar.

Joining me now White House trade advisor and longtime China watcher, Peter
Navarro joins me now. Peter, good to have you with us tonight.

PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER:  Good evening.

MACCALLUM:  So, your reaction, you know, when they posted these pictures of
these horrific images from the U.S. Capitol. The communist youth league of
China said that it was a beautiful sight to behold. How damaging is this?
And how much does this help the Chinese propaganda?

NAVARRO:  Martha, I think we are entering one of the most dangerous times
in U.S.-China relations particularly over the next six months. What China
wants to do or really a couple of things. One, they want to demonstrate the
supremacy of dictatorship over democracy. At the same time, they want to
exploit any kind of chaos and the pandemic to advance their geopolitical.

And so, during this pandemic, which they started they infected us with,
they have already crushed democracy in Hong Kong. They invaded India in a
search for territory there. What we are seeing now essentially is no
difference between the great firewall of China, which is used to censor and
sometimes imprisoned Chinese nationals and our great firewall of Silicon
Valley, which is engaged perversely in the same kind of censorship.

So, if Xi Jinping looks at the Zuckerbergs of this world and the Twitters
of this world, he goes, they can never criticize us again. That's all we do
for the sake of harmony and unity. Right?

So, I think what we are going to see over the next six months and maybe
sooner, they are going to test Biden. On Taiwan I think that will probably
be the next hot button and then just going to let us -- let us have this
inner turmoil. Congress' Nancy Pelosi to bring politics above the republic.
And they are just going to play into this narrative that China is pushing
that democracy has broken and dictatorship works.

MACCALLUM:  Yes. Interesting headline today on Barbara Boxer just as a side
note here. She -- she is working for a company, a Chinese company to
provide strategic consulting services to the Chinese surveillance --

NAVARRO:  Yes.

MACCALLUM:  -- to the Chinese surveillance firm Hikvision to their U.S.
subsidiary. So, she filed as a foreign agent for consulting services on
that --

NAVARRO:  Yes.

MACCALLUM:  -- and the Biden team said, you know, I don't want to be
associated with that. So, they gave back her $500 donation. Is this a
company that a former U.S. senator should be involved with in any way?

NAVARRO:  Martha, I have been here for four years with the president and
this swamp. And these people in this town disgust me. It's one big,
revolving door between government and these lobbyists. And you are just
seeing these lobbyists jump on the president, jump on, on behalf of these
social media companies and censorship to make sure that Congress doesn't
take any action to him.

I mean, this is business as usual in the swamp. There is a reason why that
Congress has an approval rating that's about 10 percent across America.

MACCALLUM:  Yes, I hear you.

NAVARRO:  But I want to emphasize here.

MACCALLUM:  Go ahead.

NAVARRO:  That China, communist China's comment they've been coming at us.
They seeded and accelerated the spread of this virus in this country. We've
got chaos as a result of this and a different president than everybody
thought we would have. They are going to press us and push and I do not
have faith at this point and the people that Joe Biden is putting in place.

It is Obama/Biden term three and they are the same people that lay down for
China. So, this is a great segment to have. And I appreciate you talking
about this because you're looking at how where this puck is going to be in
a few months. And it's going to be trouble.

MACCALLUM:  Yes. It is a scary time in a lot of ways. And you know, just
the thought that any American senator is dealing with a company in China
that does surveillance of Uyghurs --

NAVARRO:  Disgusting.

MACCALLUM:  -- of Uyghur camps is --

NAVARRO:  Disgusting.

MACCALLUM:  -- absolutely appalling. And you know, I'm going to continue to
dig into this because I just want to know where this whole story goes.

Peter, thank you. Good to have you here tonight.

NAVARRO:  Yes, ma'am. ba-bye.

MACCALLUM:  So, a member of the squad who tested positive for COVID is
lashing out at who she calls cruel Republicans who went maskless. But here
she is on the video. I guess in that picture but we'll get you (Inaudible)
here, she's not wearing her mask in this picture. But she's lashing out at
other people for not doing it. Anyway, Raymond Arroyo weighs in on all of
that and much more coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM (on camera):  So at least three lawmakers have tested positive
for COVID-19 since the siege on Capitol Hill. Among them Congresswoman
Pramila Jayapal who pointed the finger at Republicans saying, quote,
"several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask, but
recklessly mocked colleagues whose staff who offered any member who refuses
to wear a mask should be immediately removed from the floor by the Sergeant
at Arms. This is not a joke," she says.

But the so-called squad member now getting called out over this video. You
can see she just turned around her face with there, anyway, she is not
wearing a mask while they were sheltering in place while they have a whole
lot of things to worry about at the same time.

Joining me now, Raymond Arroyo, EWTN News managing editor and a Fox News
contributor. Raymond, good to have you here tonight.

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM:  You know, I mean, it's like, you know, we live in this era
where, you know, we can make sort of the saddest most cynical jokes about
things but I can't help but think given everything that has happened on
Capitol Hill last week, you know, that you long for the times when like all
we had to worry about was this horrific, horrific pandemic that has taken
so many lives.

So now lay on top of that, this situation that is ongoing while they are in
there and then, you know, the mask issue and the finger-pointing comes out
of it in the end.

ARROYO:  Well, you've nailed it. I mean, this is the demonization caucus in
action, Martha. And two thoughts as I watch that CBS video of Senator
Jayapal and she has crouched in the gallery of the House chamber. Well,
this is a huge open space. She is socially distant but the biggest problem
is, is she now a contact tracer and infectious disease expert? She knows
exactly how she got COVID? I rather doubt it.

And if you are looking for candidates, there is a member screaming in
prayer next to her throughout this video. Maybe she is spraying COVID on
her. I don't know. But to say it's the Republicans fault and you want them
banished from the floor and fine because they're not wearing mask when
you're not wearing a mask.

I mean, this is the height of hypocrisy but it speaks to something deeper.
It's beyond the story, Martha. This is an attempt to attach ideological
opponents to deadly violence and now infectious disease spread. It's
cynical, it's horrible, and it's just what we don't need in the midst of
this violence and tension in the country.

MACCALLUM:  Yes. You keep waiting for someone to sort of -- there is just a
lot taking the easy, the easy punch. You know, the easy, low ground --

ARROYO:  Yes.

MACCALLUM:  -- and all of this. You know, it would be great for someone to
say. And you know, and also the Republicans should say, you know, wear your
mask. I will stay distant from you if you're not comfortable with me not
wearing one.

ARROYO:  Sure.

MACCALLUM:  Whatever. Like all of these normal, human considerations that
should be taken into place. But you know, you're right. Like nobody knows
where they caught it so she's not going to point the finger.

ARROYO:  Yes.

MACCALLUM:  I didn't get this from this Democratic colleague over next to
me. I got it from the Republican. You know, it's just, it's just -- I just
want us to get to a better place.

ARROYO:  Well, it's all politically motivated, and its ideology moving in a
very dangerous direction in the country, Martha. We all have to condemn not
only the horrible violence we saw throughout the summer and last week at
the capitol, but also this ideological violence that as strange as our
politics, it turns American against American. And I worry about alienating
half of the country no matter which side of this debate you're.

MACCALLUM:  So, do I.

ARROYO:  All voices have to be heard and we shouldn't take the cheap shot
or try to attach people to death and violence when they may not be
responsible, and in many cases are not. They're just citizens trying to get
engaged and involved. Persecute -- prosecute the people responsible but you
don't paint everyone with a broad brush. It's cruel and wrong.

MACCALLUM:  We got to get past that. Raymond, thank you very much.

ARROYO:  Thank you, Martha.

MACCALLUM:  Always good to see you. More of THE STORY after this. Stay with
us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM (on camera):  So just a bit of breaking news. A moment ago, we
have confirmation that the Vice President Mike Pence has written a letter
to Nancy Pelosi saying that he will not seek to invoke the 25th amendment.
So that would trigger, according to her own words and parameters of what
she set, that that means they will move forward tomorrow with the
impeachment procedure for the president in the House of Representatives.

And today, President Trump traveled to Texas on what will be one of his
final official trips. This week was supposed to be about highlighting
administration accomplishments. But it's been pretty difficult to stay on
that message, the way many would've hoped before last week.

No doubt border policy is set to change dramatically in the Biden
administration, so we will look ahead to what that might entail with Jacqui
Heinrich who is live in Wilmington, Delaware with the story tonight. Hi,
Jacqui.

JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (on camera):  Good evening, Martha.

President-elect Joe Biden plans to immediately send an immigration bill for
committees to review and he indicated last fall that it would include a
path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people in America, but he
also said last week he won't hesitate to use executive action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:  I will, in
fact, counterman executive orders that the president has in fact initiated
that are contrary to what I think is either his authority and/or even if
it's his authority contrary to the interests of the United States on
environment and a whole range of other things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH (on camera):  Biden acknowledged in August reversing President
Trump's asylum policies will require millions of dollars in spending for
judges and various other needs including structural resources to monitor
who is trying to come across the border.

Biden has already spoken with Mexico's president to start addressing the
root causes of migration from Central American countries. But a big and
immediate challenge in the opening months of Biden's presidency will be
making good on his promise to not construct another foot of border wall.

The Trump administration in the final hours of its authority has secured
building contracts including in private areas where land has not yet been
acquired reportedly, which will force Biden's administration to settle
agreements with contractors for each project that's cancelled.

Now we don't have a clear answer on how the Biden administration will
approach that but he's also attacked President Trump for family separations
at the border. And he said last week his nominee for attorney general will
consider prosecuting officials responsible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN:  But there will be a thorough, thorough investigation of who is
responsible. And whether or not the responsibility is criminal. And if that
is concluded, the attorney general will make that judgment. I will not
intervene to tell him who he should or shouldn't indict of if he should
indict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRICH (on camera):  Now instead of building more wall, Biden says he
wants to invest in technology at ports of entry. But he said that a lot of
these initiatives won't get done on day one and a lot of it will hinge on
whether or not Congress is on board. Martha.

MACCALLUM:  We'll be watching the border. Jacqui, thank you very much.

So, before we go tonight, we want to wish Rush Limbaugh a happy 70th
birthday today. The king of conservative talk radio was given the Medal of
Freedom last year by the president for his contributions to democracy and
American thought.

He has been fighting lung cancer for some time and conveyed an emotional
message at Christmas saying that he was grateful to be outliving his
prognosis and grateful for every day with his work and his dear family and
friends.

So, we want to say from THE STORY and from me personally, happy birthday to
you, Rush, on this 70th birthday for you.

So that is THE STORY of Tuesday, January the 12th, 2021. But as always, THE
STORY continues with fair, balanced coverage, so we will see you right back
here tomorrow night at seven. Have a good night, everybody. Tucker Carlson
is up next.


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