Nunes accuses Department of Justice of stonewalling
Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee weighs in on 'Hannity.'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," May 7, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: All right. Tucker, great show as always.
All right. Welcome to 'Hannity.'
This is an amazing news night. We will tell you, we'll break it all down, but we got a lot to cover.
All right. So, the nuclear deal with Iran -- well, that now weighs in the balance. We will have an answer tomorrow. The president said to decide the fate of this very flawed, highly irresponsible agreement. Now, John Kerry, the former secretary of state, is waging a sketchy, unauthorized, illegitimate campaign in order to save this reckless deal he was in part responsible for negotiating. Is he violating the law, the Logan Act? We'll investigate.
And also, we'll call out Kerry shadow diplomacy and we'll show you just, why this Obama era nuclear deal puts the United States and our allies in danger, why it needs to be scrapped immediately.
Plus, the stonewalling, the obstruction from the Department of Justice is out of control. Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein, other DOJ officials are now actively hindering ongoing congressional investigations. They need to be held responsible. Nobody is above the law. And what are they hiding and why are they obstructing Congress? We have a full report.
And it's safe to say, the deep state did not have a good weekend after a federal judge issue what is a stunning rebuke of Mueller's witch-hunt and a mitigated judicial beat down another judge after that flatly rejecting a crucial request for Mueller's team.
Now, this has been a horrible week for Mueller's witch-hunt, two massive beat-downs for the office of special counsel we'll show you all of that and the highlights from the judge.
And breaking on Friday, FBI lovebird Lisa Page, along with Comey ally James Baker, they resigned from the FBI. Is Peter Strzok next?
And also tonight, President Trump picks the head of the CIA, Gina Haspel, has reportedly offered to withdraw her nomination after getting lambasted by the left for being too tough on terrorists? We're going to tell you why she's a true American hero.
Plus, we'll show you highlights from Melania Trump's "Be Best" campaign unveiling from earlier today.
And later, breaking news about the liberal New York attorney general who may in big trouble tonight.
But, first, a very important breaking news opening monologue.
(MUSIC)
HANNITY: Tonight, we start with what is shaping up to be a horrible bad five days for Robert Mueller in the office of special counsel. This out-of-control witch-hunt just suffered two massive major blows. On Friday and what was the single biggest beat-down I have ever seen in my life, a federal judge utterly rebuked the special counsel and his investigation, slamming its political motivations and calling out the scope for being way out of bounds and way beyond their mandate.
The judge's name is T.S. Ellis III. He told a top Mueller prosecutor, listen to this, watch: 'You don't really care about Mr. Manafort's bank fraud. Well, the government does. What you really care about is what information Mr. Manafort can give you that would reflect on Mr. Trump or lead to his prosecution or his impeachment or whatever. That's what you're really interested in.' Wow.
And then Ellis continued: 'None of that information has anything to do with links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump. So I don't see what relation this indictment has with anything the special prosecutor is authorized to investigate -- because this goes back to 2005.'
The judge also quoted, quote: 'It looks to me instead that what is happening is that this investigation was underway. It had something. The special prosecutor took it, got indictments and then in a time-honored practice which I'm fully familiar with, it exists largely in the drug area. If you get somebody in a conspiracy and get something against them, well then you can tighten the screws and they will begin to provide information in what you're really interested in.'
Ellis finished his epic beat-down by saying: 'well, what we don't want in this country is we don't want anyone with unfettered power.'
This dressing down wasn't the only legal setback for team Mueller. On Saturday, yet another federal judge denied the special counsel's request for delay in its case against Russian election troll farms. And meanwhile, a series of new polls are showing that Mueller's witch-hunt is becoming more and more unpopular with you, the American people, all while President Trump's poll numbers continue to climb to his highest levels ever.
Late Friday, we also learned a former member of Mueller's team of investigators, there she is, FBI lovebird Lisa Page, she has resigned in disgrace months after her viciously anti-Trump text revealed the extreme bias at some of the highest levels of the FBI.
And Page wasn't alone in resigning. Another prominent deep state FBI official, longtime Comey ally James A. Baker, he also resigned late on Friday. So, is the deep state now starting to crack?
We're learning even more positive news about the Inspector General Michael Horowitz's review of Hillary Clinton's email case. His testimony before Congress has now been postponed but for an interesting reason after reports show he's finding new leads in this ongoing investigation. We're going to have all of this and break it all down tonight with Sarah Carter, Gregg Jarrett, attorney David Schoen in just a minute.
But first, other news: Iran -- that deal weighs in the balance tonight. Remember, three years ago, the Obama administration signed off on what they promised would make the world a better, safer place. In reality, the Iranian nuclear deal sent boatloads of cash, $150 billion worth to a regime actively plotting to destroy the United States and our best ally, Israel, all while funding terrorism and proxy wars all around the world. Death to America, death to Israel.
All told, we sent $1.7 billion in your cash to Iran, then unfroze about $150 billion in assets and loosened a series of sanctions. What did America get in return? Oh, a promise from the mullahs chanting death to America that the rogue Islamic theocracy would temporarily halt its nuclear weapons program. And, of course, we knew the mullahs of Iran were liars.
And last week, they were proven liars by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he unveiled Iran's secret plans to further their nuclear ambitions, including a project aimed at creating five warheads, each containing a ten kiloton yield. Given these damning recent developments, President Trump is now set to decide the fate of this agreement tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 Pacific.
Let us be clear, the mullahs of Iran are not good people. They've killed Americans in Iraq. They fought proxy wars. They want death to Israel and death to America. You cannot trust people like this.
This agreement does not sufficiently check their nuclear weapons programs. But none of that seems to matter to former secretary of state John Kerry, because this deal was the shining jewel of his time in the Obama State Department, and he is reportedly pulling out all the stops to save this horrific deal which puts the world in danger, including meeting with Iran's foreign minister, really? And other foreign officials from Germany and France and the E.U. who are involved in the agreement?
This kind of shadow diplomacy, it undermines the United States on the world stage. It undermines our commander-in-chief, and it needs to stop. The president tweeted this, quote: 'The U.S. does not need John Kerry's possibly illegal shadow diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran deal.' He was the one that created this mess in the first place. Kerry spokesman responded in part, quote, 'Secretary Kerry stays in touch with his former counterparts around the world, just like every previous secretary of state.'
Of course, but this reveals yet, what, another standard in our two-tier justice system. Let me remind you, remember the former acting attorney general Sally Yates, she told Congress that General Michael Flynn was being investigated in part over Logan Act violations after he spoke with a Russian ambassador, his soon-to-be counterpart during President Trump's transition -- I repeat, during the transition Flynn was preparing to take over as national security adviser. But there's no Logan Act violation for John Kerry?
Where are the agents in the FBI and the DOJ breaking down John Kerry's door? Another blatant example of a two-tier justice system sadly in this country today.
We will have full analysis of this incredibly flawed Iran deal and John Kerry's unauthorized actions, we'll ask the question tonight, did John Kerry violate the law?
But, first, the obstruction and stonewalling from our Department of Justice has now reached a fever pitch. Thousands upon thousands of documents that have been requested and subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee, by the House Oversight Committee, by the House Intel Committee are still being slow-walked and withheld or massively redacted in what is a clear effort to impair the constitutional right and duty of Congress to check the DOJ and the executive branch.
The Intel Committee Chairman Devin Nunes who will join us in a second is now actively encouraging fellow lawmakers to hold the Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt of Congress. Earlier today, Sessions responded.
Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF SESSIONS, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Department of Justice has written him a letter and responded as appropriate to him. The request he's made is one that the intelligence community and the Department of Justice feel is not grantable. We've explained that we'd like -- we'd be willing to talk to him about it before, the details of which I couldn't discuss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Mr. Attorney General, I say this with all respect -- where is your urgency? You need to do your job. This has gone on way too long. These are legitimate important requests. You are not impervious nor the DOJ impervious to the rule of law and our federal system of co-equal branches of power and checks and balances. This is within their congressional authority, constitutional authority.
And the DOJ is clearly stonewalling to prevent further embarrassment given their pathetic track record and Hillary Clinton's email case. The rampant potential we know FISA abuses, the ongoing witch hunt into Trump-Russia collusion which never happen.
If the attorney general does not take significant measures to find urgency and speed up the delivery of these requests it for months and even years of unredacted documents, then it is time for Sessions, Rosenstein and anyone else who is obstructing Congress's investigation to be held in contempt and face the serious legal consequences associated with it.
In other words, Mr. Attorney General, Mr. Deputy Attorney General, it's time to decide, are you part of the swamp? Are you part of the deep state? Are you going to fix our justice system and let Congress do their job? This country has a Constitution, again, separation of powers, co-equal branches of government. Congress has a constitutional role in oversight, stop obstructing and slow-walking them.
Let's turn to what might be the most insane display of left-wing lunacy in a very long time. President Trump has picked Gina Haspel to lead the CIA. Over the weekend, she actually offered to withdraw her name from consideration a bad idea. She has faced a firestorm of criticism only from Democrats in the mainstream media because they're corrupt.
But get this -- she's being criticized for being too tough on terrorists. I actually like people that are tougher on terrorists take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, MSNBC: In 2002, she ran a secret CIA prison for suspected terrorists in Thailand that used harsh interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, even squeezing detainees into coffins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have questions from the left and the right on her role in the enhanced interrogation techniques, her role and potentially destroying the videotapes of the torture and she's going to have a tough hearing on Wednesday.
ARI MELBER, MSNBC: At this moment, Donald Trump is effectively asking the U.S. Senate to promote torture because Trump is asking the Senate to promote a U.S. official involved in torture to run the CIA, nominating Gina Haspel, Mike Pompeo's deputy for the job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Excuse me. Harsh? You know what Gitmo? You the taxpayers paid for a soccer field for those involved in engaging and killing Americans and we took care of every dietary concern and we treated -- there are only three people that were waterboarded.
President Trump rightly is not backing down to this ridiculous criticism, he reportedly has pushed Haspel to stay the course. I say the same thing tonight.
Haspel's confirmation hearing will take place this week, and rightfully so. I met Gina Haspel once. She is a patriot. She loves her country. She has worked hard to protect the American people. She more than deserves this job.
And I'll take it a step further -- we should all thank God for the people like Gina Haspel and the important work they did after 9/11, to keep this country safe and save American lives only three people ever waterboarded. One of them, oh, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, another former high-ranking CIA official. Remember Jose Rodriguez on this very show said no waterboarding we wouldn't have found Osama bin Laden's courier and we wouldn't have gotten bin Laden.
Thank you, Gina Haspel, for being a hero.
And finally tonight, some more good news from the Trump administration, this time from the first lady. Amazing day today. Earlier, Melania Trump unveiled her brand new initiative. It's called "Be Best".
The program focuses on America's children, the hard issues that they face on a daily basis. Three pillars of the plan include physical, mental wellbeing, social media use and ramifications for opioid abuse.
Here's what the first lady had to say earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY: I feel strongly that as adults, we can and should be best at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life. So, today, I'm very excited to announce "Be Best", an awareness campaign dedicated to the most valuable and fragile among us, our children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: It's amazing. Melania Trump, she speaks five languages. English is her fifth language. An amazing initiative and she deserves a lot of credit.
We'll bring you updates of the program over the next several months because right here on "Hannity", we actually show the full picture of the Trump administration, like all the success that the media will never tell you about.
All right. We have a lot of ground to cover tonight. Joining us first, we begin with Devin Nunes. He is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He's a California congressman.
Congressman, you say that you will move to hold the attorney general of the United States in contempt of Congress. Explain how they have been slow- walking, using redactions in the name of national security that turn out not to be true and how they have been unwilling to answer Congress's subpoena and how that is the constitutional role of Congress?
REP. DEVIN NUNES, R—CALIF., HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Well, thanks, Sean. First of all, you don't have enough time left on your show in order for me to get to all of the stonewalling that DOJ and FBI have done throughout our investigation. Let's just maybe pick a few at the top.
Just last week, after six weeks, we discovered that for the first time, the American people now know that James Comey testified before Congress, that he was not that -- that the FBI agents that interviewed Flynn didn't think he was lying. It took us six weeks for the FBI and DOJ to get rid of those redactions. That was finally released late on a Friday night.
If you go back to the things that they've dealt with. If you look at with Fusion GPS and getting documents that were pertinent for that fight, that's just another good example of, you know, the fact that we weren't able to figure out that the FBI and DOJ actually knew that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee had paid for the dirt on --
HANNITY: How long did they know that, sir, because we didn't find out if I'm correct him for a year later?
NUNES: Well, look, we believe that they knew it -- they knew it basically from the very beginning.
HANNITY: Wait, that would mean they knew that Clinton paid for when they've made the FISA application and they never verified the Clinton dossier by a foreign agent, citing unverified Russian sources? They knew all of this. Did they lie to a FISA judge?
NUNES: Well, they know things -- here's the funny thing is that they know things -- they know things that aren't true like the fact that James Comey testified and even said on Bret Baier's show that Republicans had started the dossier. So, that wasn't true.
Now, what is true is, is that the Democratic committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign paid for the dirt, but, of course, Mr. Comey didn't tell that to Congress.
Now, let's get to --
HANNITY: So, he lied. Because Christopher Steel was not brought in, I saw that interview. He was not brought in until Hillary started paying that bill, correct?
NUNES: Well, we don't know. He had been -- I think he had been a source before. He had been affiliated. But the bottom line is, is that at this about the same time, the FBI started getting information, at the same time, the DNC was paying Mr. Steel. So, we know that much.
(CROSSTALK)
NUNES: So, now, we get to -- so let's get to where we're at today. We sent a letter two weeks ago to the Department of Justice, a classified letter. They ignored that letter. We had to then issue a subpoena last week. We issued a subpoena.
Then finally on Thursday, they got back to us and said they weren't going to comply with the subpoena. Now, over the course of the last few days, they continue to leak ridiculous stories, leaked stories of classified meetings that occurred at the White House that quite frankly some of us weren't even aware of these meetings but they're coming to us with accusations that clearly had to have been leaked by the Department of Justice in the FBI. So, these sides never learned.
HANNITY: How soon do you hold Jeff Sessions in contempt?
NUNES: Look, as far -- so I want to talk to Mr. Sessions. So, he -- so the Attorney General Sessions said today that he wants to discuss things. That's good, I want to talk to him. I actually don't believe that Mr. Sessions saw my letter. I really don't. I don't think the attorney general saw it. So, then we had to move to the subpoena, which I'm sure he found out about that.
But, you know, at the end of the day, he's in charge there, I think there's enough information now that the attorney -- that's out there now between what you saw in the court that you had in your monologue on Friday
HANNITY: Wow.
NUNES: I think the attorney general should -- I mean, at some point, the recusal --
HANNITY: I've always --
NUNES: -- is ridiculous.
HANNITY: I am -- I am befuddled and bewildered where the look, for example, you know, there's a great piece by Andrew McCarthy, why all the secrecy outrageous redactions to the Russia report?
Rod Rosenstein up to the final minute, we would never have gotten a Nunes memo or the Grassley/Graham report about FISA abuse because Rod Rosenstein, according to my sources, was begging Paul Ryan not to hand that information that you subpoenaed way in advance and he waited to the last hour to hand it over. Why is Rod Rosenstein doing this?
Why are they now, the FBI refusing to pursue the personal Strzok-Page text when we know there are gaps missing in that? And at what point do we see this as an obstruction case?
NUNES: Well, I agree with you that they should just stop digging. I don't know what's going on in their minds I mean there's enough information out there now, they should know that what's occurred here now was inappropriate. They know that they can't investigate themselves. And so, you know, if you want to actually get to solving the problem, just stop making the problem worse.
HANNITY: What did you think --
NUNES: Give us the information in a timely manner. I mean, just give us all the information. Just give it to us so that the investigators that have the oversight role can properly go through everything. But when they -- the more that they spread this out bit by bit by bit, the more ridiculous they look and the more dishonest they look and the more corrupt --
HANNITY: Sir --
NUNES: -- it looks to the American people.
HANNITY: If I've been wrong, you -- I know you follow the show. Is there -- I only have 20 seconds. Is there anything I've been wrong about on this show because it's now seems to everything is because now falling into place and we see what's happening and Rod Rosenstein said the Justice Department won't be word extorted?
Last word. You have about 20 seconds.
NUNES: Yes, that statement was totally ridiculous. They just need to give us the documents, Sean.
Look, this is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. There's a lot more information out there that the American public has a right to know.
HANNITY: Have I been wrong?
NUNES: And you have not been wrong on anything that I've seen, but you're – but you know what your challenge is? You haven't seen all the information and you have right to see it.
HANNITY: It's worse.
NUNES: And it's worse.
HANNITY: Unbelievable.
All right, sir. Thank you for the good work you're doing, to be transparent with the American people.
When we come back, a major enemy of the president who was in serious trouble and Sara Carter, David Schoen, Gregg Jarrett new information and Sebastian Gorka, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: A longtime enemy of President Trump, the New York attorney general, his name is Eric Schneiderman, is possibly in serious trouble tonight.
Joining us now from our West Coast newsroom with more on this breaking news, Fox News's Trace Gallagher.
Wow. This is blowing up fast.
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It is indeed, Sean. Of the four women now accusing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of sexual misconduct, two have publicly identified themselves, two have not. But they all paint a similar portrait of a man who they claimed drinks heavily and engages in physical and mental abuse.
One of the women describes being in Schneiderman's Upper West Side apartment in Manhattan following a night out saying he backed her up to the bed and, quote, all of the sudden, he just slapped me, open handed and with great force across the face, landing the blow directly onto my ear.
Schneiderman has now responded, quoting again: In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone.
But all of the accusers deny any role-playing or games. A Sri Lankan woman says the attorney general called her his, quote, brown slave, and wanted her to call him master.
Schneiderman's ex-wife, Jennifer Cunningham, says the allegations are completely inconsistent with the man she knows.
But it's worth noting that in 2013, Donald Trump tweeted quoting again: Weiner is gone, Spitzer is gone, next will be lightweight A.G. Eric Schneiderman. Is he a crook? Wait and see, worse than Spitzer or Weiner.
And last year, when Schneiderman sued the Weinstein Company for not protecting employees from the alleged abuse of Harvey Weinstein, Schneiderman made it clear that intimidation and threats of violence would not be tolerated. Now, New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for Schneiderman to resign -- Sean.
HANNITY: All right. Trace Gallagher in our L.A. bureau tonight.
Joining us now with more reaction to my opening monologue, FOX News contributor Sara Carter, civil rights criminal defense attorney David Schoen, the author of the upcoming book, I love this book, I've seen a lot of it, "The Russian Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump", FOX News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett.
I love the title of that book.
GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you.
HANNITY: OK, wow, Cuomo wants this attorney-general out. Donald Trump tweeted that in 2012, Weiner, Spitzer --
JARRETT: Yes.
HANNITY: -- Schneiderman.
JARRETT: He must have known something and maybe it was something else and not this. But, you know, Schneiderman's excuse to be that this was just about sex and I never crossed the line into assault. Well, that doesn't seem to be what these accusers are now saying.
Schneiderman's finished, he just doesn't know it yet.
HANNITY: Right. I'd look at the cover or the headline on "Drudge", I've got so much ground to cover tonight.
Let me go to the contempt issue that we just spoke with Devon Nunes about. David Schoen, let's get your take on that.
DAVID SCHOEN, CIVIL RIGHTS AND CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it's the government working for Congressman Nunes to go forward with this. Look, we risk a constitutional crisis here, but not the kind of constitutional crisis Senator Schumer and others have talked about.
When we have a rogue special prosecutor run amok, when we have a Justice Department not responding to legitimate concerns from the Article I body of Congress, we risk a constitutional crisis. There must be cooperation, and I'm sorry if it has to come to contempt I think. We maybe need to look to changing people in positions.
HANNITY: Either they do their job now. This has gone on for well over a year. There's one Jason Chaffetz will join us later. He was asking for this information.
Sara, I have read all pages of what happened in the Manafort case. Well, now, four times, I've read it all four times. I showed our audience just the highlights.
This was the biggest judicial beat-down. I used to read Scalia and his scathing defense. This is a far bigger beat-down to Mueller or Andrew Weissman who we warned was the lead attorney in the courtroom that day, although not arguing for the special counsel.
SARA CARTER, CONTRIBUTOR, FOX NEWS: It's huge. And I think he taught everyone a lesson in what happens in the expanse of powers. And Judge Ellis is basically saying you don't have full authority here. You cannot expand your powers to this extent. He also reprimanded Rosenstein and the others for giving them a 75 percent redacted memo.
I mean, he couldn't even see what the expanse of powers were for special counsel Mueller. He said I want it unredacted in my office, I want it in my hand. I can't understand.
And what was even more interesting, Sean, was how they refuse to answer the judge's questions. Every time he would ask them you know, he would say this has nothing to do with Russia.
HANNITY: Answer my question.
CARTER: Answer my questions. And they refused to answer the judge's questions. I think Mueller is in a world of hurt right now, I think he's in the world of hurt in other parts of this case and I think he knows it. And think that right now what we are going to see is an unraveling of this that is going to be could potentially change the whole course of this investigation.
HANNITY: Let me -- you've read a lot of cases throughout your career.
GREGG JARRETT, LEGAL ANALYST, FOX NEWS: Sure.
HANNITY: You have been involved in a lot of cases in your career. I've read a lot of court transcripts. I have never seen anything like this.
JARRETT: It was -- it was a withering examination of Mueller and his team. And it was gratifying to actually see the judge pierce the bail of the sham that Mueller has perpetrated. Because Mueller's only authority is to investigate Trump-Russian collusion and any evidence arising there from. The charges against Manafort didn't arrive there from.
HANNITY: But he put the screws to them.
JARRETT: Right.
HANNITY: So basically they only charged them--
JARRETT: Right.
HANNITY: -- this is 2005.
JARRETT: To get him to sing.
HANNITY: To get -- and he used the word sing. Get him to sing.
JARRETT: Right.
HANNITY: But be careful, he may compose. What does compose mean? He'll say anything to get out of trouble.
JARRETT: Suborning perjury and prosecutors do it all the time. They get witnesses to lie because they threaten those witnesses. Mueller went in the archives of the DOJ and dug up an old, a decade old case.
HANNITY: Because they want to put the screws to Manafort.
JARRETT: That is it.
HANNITY: And this--
(CROSSTALK)
JARRETT: This is to go after Trump.
HANNITY: This was disposed of. They were not investigating this anymore.
JARRETT: That's right.
HANNITY: That's 2005.
JARRETT: And the judge essentially saying to Mueller, where is your authority? You don't have any authority.
HANNITY: And David, there is no mandate here. This is not part of the mandate. And the dates mean something. They were -- they literally raided this guy's home in the early morning and then they got permission from Rosenstein. It was the 26th of July on the raid. August 6 when Rosenstein expands the mandate. Sorry, wrong order. That is not how it works.
DAVID SCHOEN, CIVIL RIGHTS AND CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You have identified a huge development in this case. This is a judge universally respected, brilliant academic credentials who had his eye on the ball. He's not a political actor, he's a judge doing what a judge does. He held their feet to the fire. He pointed out the exact regulation at issue here, section 600.4. What the authority is of the special counsel and what it is not. And they had no answer for it. And this by the way--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: All right. Last word, Sara. I have a quick question. Last word, Sara. I don't mean to rush everybody. Sorry.
CARTER: Absolutely. You know, David has a wonderful point there. I think we're going to see a lot more developments in the upcoming future. And remember, I once again, I stress Horowitz's report is going to be coming out and he has found more and more evidence.
HANNITY: When? When?
CARTER: Well, we know it's been delayed but I guarantee you it's going to be out within the next three weeks.
HANNITY: Did John Kerry violate the Logan Act?
JARRETT: Absolutely.
HANNITY: David, did he violate the Logan Act?
SCHOEN: Absolutely.
CARTER: Yes.
SCHOEN: Absolutely. No question about it.
HANNITY: OK.
SCHOEN: Meets the definition of every factor.
HANNITY: Look at what they said about Michael Flynn. This is so far worse.
JARRETT: That's right.
HANNITY: Let's see when that investigation begins. All right. We have more breaking news tonight. Jason Chaffetz knows a thing or two about being delayed and redactions and not handing over documents. He, and Dan Bongino are next. A busy news night. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right. Joining us now, Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz, and NRATV contributor, former Secret Service agent, Dan Bongino. You just saw Devin Nunes, congressman. How far back were you subpoenaing these documents?
JASON CHAFFETZ, R, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: I believe it was September of 2016. It's been that long. There have been a series of letters and requests but actual subpoenas. But can I -- the Department of Justice doesn't care. If they issue a subpoena, you better comply or they are going to take you to court. But if Congress issues one, yes, whatever.
Fortunately, Nunes has got some guts and some political capital that he is willing to spend with his own political leadership. He's got people like Gowdy, Ratchliffe, Meadows, Joe, DeSantis behind him to support him. But other than that, you know, that's the front line and Devin is leading the charge.
HANNITY: But they are not handing it over, they are not cooperating. They were obstructing. They are putting in, national security concerns that are non-existent like James Comey's embarrassment last week. You know what? They didn't want that exposed.
So I am looking at this, Dan Bongino and I'm saying you know what? The American people have a right to know. Congress has constitutional authority. I'll quote the judge in the Manafort case. Nobody wants any one branch of government to have unfettered power. You know, people like Devin Nunes are doing their job but they are not letting them doing their job.
What is the attorney general doing? And if he won't do his job needs to go.
DAN BONGINO, CONTRIBUTOR, NRATV: You know, Sean, sadly, there are elements within the DOJ that are running right now their own personal star chamber. It seems to be a rogue operation. I don't think they understand that they are not running an independent industry.
Let me give you a quick example. It's now clear that the unredacted redactions about the Flynn interview where Comey had acknowledged -- by the way, against what he said in other interviews -- that Flynn wasn't being dishonest, that was a cosmetic redaction meant to not embarrass the DOJ.
It had nothing to do with as we say in the government operational security or op-sec. It had everything to do with CYA, cover your caboose. That's all it was. This was not op-sec. It's nonsense.
HANNITY: It's all nonsense. I have here these 50 pages here. let me see if we can get in here. This is 50 pages. I have read it four times. Congressman Nunes, this is the biggest freaking judicial beat-down. If I'm Robert Mueller, I am humiliated over what this judge rightly analyzed here.
They are putting the screws to Manafort. They went back to 2005 to do it. It has nothing to do with Russia but the Ukraine. And they are doing it to make Manafort sing or compose, which means suborn perjury and make up a story to get out of trouble. What has happened to the country, congressman?
CHAFFETZ: Well, thank goodness for Judge Ellis who has put it in place. And we'll see. The end of next week they have come up with the scope memo. I love that the judge just said look, you don't get to make that decision. You don't get to redact things. I'm the judge. I get to make these redactions.
He was appointed by President Reagan, he's a tough judge. I hope he holds the line. But if it comes to -- I liked Senator Sessions. But Attorney General Sessions is there in name only. He is absolutely worthless, it is a rudderless Department of Justice.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: And isn't it Rod Rosenstein -- isn't it he conflicted as it relates to he said fire Comey? Isn't he is one that signed one of the FISA renewal applications? Isn't he when the -- by the way, the judge on Friday said, isn't he recused? He didn't say that by accident, Dan Bongino.
BONGINO: Sean, Rosenstein not only signed one of the FISA warrants against supposed super spy Carter Page who manages just to go out on cable every night and talk about whatever he wants. He was also the United States attorney on the Uranium One precursor case.
Sean, this is the most conflicted investigative team I've seen in my life. There are two investigators on the Mueller team, lawyers that represented people involved with the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton scandal.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: What about the IG report?
BONGINO: And they are investigating Trump?
HANNITY: I got to ask, Congressman Chaffetz. All right. I heard it was coming in April. I heard it was coming in May. I heard it was coming yesterday. OK. I know he has new evidence. When are we getting this report? How long does it take to investigate the Clinton e-mail investigation? Because then he has to move on to the FISA abuse investigation and corruption there.
CHAFFETZ: Yes. Fortunately, he's got 450 people working with him so they can walk and chew gum as well. They are in the final stages. I believe they are getting the security clearances. You have to have it cleared by the intelligence community.
Then you are going to bump into Memorial Day but I really think that first week back after Memorial Day you're going to see that congressional hearing. It will be before the oversight committee with chair -- with Trey Gowdy as the chairman.
HANNITY: All right. I, the American people, we have been right -- Congressman Nunes, have I been wrong on my analysis on this? And has the media been wrong about the Trump Russia collusion?
CHAFFETZ: No. Nunes has been spot-on.
HANNITY: Spot-on.
CHAFFETZ: You are laying it out every night.
HANNITY: Yes. Dan, do you agree?
VONGINO: Yes, Sean. I think you've been right. I think the real scandal is going to be that intelligence back channel through the bureaucracy, not through the intel community to try to take down Trump.
HANNITY: It's try to take down and sabotage Trump. And literally cover and rig an investigation for Hillary. In the United States, and FISA abuse and spying on Americans and lying to FISA court judges. We better not become Venezuela. That is how serious this all is becoming.
All right. Still to come tonight, the president has a big decision. He will announce it tomorrow on the Iranian nuclear deal. Ed Henry has the latest out of Washington.
An analysis, Sebastian Gorka and Daniel Hoffman. Stay with us. A lot of news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: This is a Fox News alert. Long-time Donald Trump nemesis, the New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman has just resigned from office over multiple allegations of serious sexual abuse. We'll have more on this in a moment.
But first with more on the president's upcoming decision, big day tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 Pacific.
Ed Henry, the Iranian deal is up. If I had to bet I'd say it's over.
ED HENRY, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS: That's right, Sean. At least that's the way the president appears to be leaning. Remember, as a candidate he called this deal a disaster negotiated by then President Obama and vowed that if he was elected he would rip up the Iran nuclear deal.
What some people are speculating about tonight is the possibility that maybe the president throws a bone to our European allies by having either a caveat that says they have say a 30-day window to try to negotiate a tougher deal or at least something that exempts European allies like France and Germany from some of the tough new sanctions it looks like the president is about to institute on Iran.
All of this, of course, coming just days after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had put out some new intelligence about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
And by the way, there are new reports out of Israel today suggesting Iran is planning to further destabilize the Mideast by planning to attack Israel as retaliation for their strikes on Syria in April which killed seven Iranian military advisers.
That may help explain why the Iranian president -- you see him there -- was so aggressive this weekend in trying to save the nuclear deal. He wants the status quo in place.
Today, the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was in Washington followed on trips from French and German leaders who you know were at the White House recently. He met with Vice President Mike Pence, as well as the national security adviser John Bolton trying to lobby with the idea of what I mentioned maybe a window here. A caveat so the European allies can try to negotiate a tougher deal that could keep the president in.
But Rudy Giuliani took some time out this weekend from serving as the president's lead attorney on the Russia probe to attend a conference here in Washington on the Iranian issue. And he suggested that the president is about to take a hard line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: We have a president who is tough, a president who doesn't listen to the people who are naysayers and a president that is as committed to regime change as we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Meanwhile, Republicans on the Hill are signaling tonight they may have the votes to get confirmation for Gina Haspel as the next CIA director. She still has to get through a confirmation hearing as early as Wednesday.
Administration officials had quietly gone over to CIA headquarters on Friday to talk her out of pulling out. She was concerned about the Democratic attacks about her support previously for harsh interrogation techniques.
The bottom line is there are a lot of people here at the White House who hope that the Democrats try to block this nomination by the --and the idea that she has been too tough on terrorists. They want to -- they want to run on that in the midterms, Sean.
HANNITY: All right. Ed Henry at the White House tonight. And joining us now, Fox News national security strategist Sebastian Gorka, retired CIA senior intelligence officer and Sonoram Policy Group vice president, Daniel Hoffman.
Number one, Gina Haspel is an American hero. And those who that have smeared and slandered her, we don't get the courier without KSMB waterboarded and we don't get Bin Laden. So this slander has to stop. She would be a great CIA director. Mr. Hoffman?
DANIEL HOFFMAN, RETIRED SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: I couldn't agree more. I served with Gina for many years and I think very high of her. She's got tremendously high level of intellectual honesty and integrity and dedication to our mission. The people at the agency think the world of her. She has all the experience.
And listen, for the past 15 months she's been deputy director. That's a tremendous audition for this administration. They know what they are getting. We do, too. She is the right choice. And I just hope that the Congress does the right thing and confirms her.
HANNITY: Dr. Gorka, I know Ed Henry just reported that maybe the president wants to throw a bone to our allies. The one thing people don't seem to understand about President Trump he keeps his promises. He keeps them all.
I expect -- look, I don't have a crystal ball. I have no insight. My guess is he pulls us out of the horrific deal. And John Kerry's conduct has been despicable and disgusting. We had two lawyers tonight say he violated the Logan Act.
SEBASTIAN GORKA, NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGIST, FOX NEWS: Yes. This is I know it's shocking for most people that this is a politician who keeps his promises. But that is Donald Trump. He has wanted to kill the Iran deal for two years now. I expect there is not going to be any pulled punches tomorrow. We've had basically eight years under Obama of what? Treating our enemies like Iran--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Appeasement.
GORKA: -- as friends.
HANNITY: Bribery of dictators.
HANNITY: And Sean, Sean, it was very easy. For eight years our enemies were treated like friends like Iran given boatloads of cash. And our friends like Israel were treated as enemies. That has all stopped. We are moving the embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing it as the capitol of the eternal state of Israel and the Iran deal has to be killed. It has to be shot in the head because it is bad for America, it's bad for the world and it's bad for our friends.
HANNITY: Well said. With all the talk about foreign interference in elections we all forget, Daniel Hoffman, we all forget that Obama tried to, work hard to defeat Benjamin Netanyahu, the person with more moral clarity, with more strength on the world stage than any other leader besides now Donald Trump.
HOFFMAN: Well, yes, and let me just add one more point about the Iran deal. Look, it's a highly flawed deal as we all know. Iran is technically complying with the deal. But the challenge for the administration is having been left with this--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Look at the intelligence. Look what we learned last week from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
HOFFMAN: Absolutely. And that's -- and the challenge though is the other signatories to the deal they don't agree with us. Russia and China are not going to support us. Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Bashir.
HANNITY: Too bad.
HOFFMAN: That the French have major economic interests. This is going to be a real diplomatic challenge for our administration. I would just highlight as well a challenge--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I've got to run.
HOFFMAN: -- for our intelligence community collect intelligence on Iran's intentions if we do terminate the deal.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Little rocket man.
HOFFMAN: And military to make it clear that we are going--
HANNITY: I got to run.
HOFFMAN: How we would launch attacks in the event that Iran does restart its program--
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Little rocket man caved. All right. Incredible video of the day next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right. Tonight's video of the day comes from Democratic National Committee chairman. The head of the DNC, Keith Ellison. During a parade in Minneapolis this weekend he was sporting a t-shirt advocating the elimination of U.S. borders and it was in Spanish. It translates I don't believe in borders.
Well, I do. I believe in American sovereignty, the American Constitution. Wow. Now I think Republicans should pay close attention. Maybe, maybe wear those t-shirts to make a point.
All right, that's all the time we have left. Busy night, we have more tomorrow. We'll always be fair and balanced. We're not the destroy Trump media. Let not your heart be troubled.
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