David French explains why he is not running for president
National Review writer and Iraq War veteran speaks out on 'The Kelly File' after making his decision
This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," June 6, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Breaking tonight in the middle of perhaps his biggest controversy to date new reports surfacing from Bloomberg News tonight that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is not only -- not backing down from his attack on a federal judge but he is actually asking surrogates to ramp up questions about this judge.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. Donald Trump's attacks on the judge hearing the fraud case against his Trump University is where we begin tonight. Trump University was a school Trump founded promising students how to get rich selling real estate. Many students were very happy with what they've got but thousands of others were not. They went on online, they rode to the better business bureau. They filed individual lawsuits. Then they filed a class action lawsuit alleging that they were bilked out of their hard earned money and retirement savings.
These were cops, vets retirees, not rich people. Mr. Trump has tried repeatedly to get this case dismissed. He has been unsuccessful. Some have suggested that there's a political component to this case because the law firm representing the plaintiffs, one of them has paid Bill and Hillary Clinton for speeches. However, the case against Trump University was filed in April 2010 long before Trump was a politician and even a full year before he demanded to see President Obama's birth certificate. Some argue that Trump is right to be indignant that one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs, not the plaintiffs themselves, not even the judge has supported the Democrats, that the law firm has, but a law firm can have any political leanings it wants.
The plaintiff's law firm is not expected to love the defendant. The relevant question is whether the judge and the trial effect can be fair. Now, the judge here Gonzalo Curiel has been on the case for three years. He's issued several rulings in favor of Mr. Trump but some big rulings against him. Trump unhappy with the lawsuits now alleges that this judge is biased against him because Judge Curiel born in Indiana is of Mexican descent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESUMPTIVE GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been treated very unfairly by this judge. Now this judge is of Mexican heritage. I'm building a wall.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's from Indiana.
TRUMP: He has Mexican heritage and he's very proud of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Now some pundits are demanding that Judge Curiel step down to eliminate doubts as to his motivations but that is not the way our system works. Judges must indeed avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest but litigants do not get to create that appearance by vocally complaining about the judge. Any litigant who moved to disqualify a judge based on his heritage would actually be sanctioned, punished by any court and it's happened in the past rightfully.
Moreover, if a litigant making a stink about a judge necessarily resulted in a conflict that would force a judge to step down it would lead to chaos in our court system, it would prejudice the other party who is not complaining or taking their leaks and would lead to more parties throwing fits in order to bounce judges off the case whose rulings they do not like. Simply put this is not the way our system was designed to work. And today with all this controversy coming to a head, Bloomberg a bombshell report quoting sources who are on a phone call with Mr. Trump saying, the candidate called on supporters to join him in questioning the judge's credibility and went on to ask them to also attack the reporters who asked about it.
We have a powerful KELLY FILE lineup tonight of political guests including Glenn Beck who is here in a KELLY FILE exclusive on talk about how the RNC is efforting, their effort to recruit him to help unify the Republican Party. Dr. Ben Carson released a statement just hours ago, does he think Mr. Trump crossed the line here?
David French is with us in a primetime exclusive. He is the veteran drafted by the Never Trump movement to run for the White House.
Plus, while Hillary Clinton is hitting Trump, Judge Napolitano is here on new headaches for her campaign as he fact checks her new effort to avoid some e-mail questions.
But we begin tonight with New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark- Viverito who led a protest today in front of Trump headquarters. And Katrina Pierson, Trump's campaign national spokesperson. Great to see you both.
Katrina, let me start with you on, you know, what -- I'm offering my take there as a lawyer. You know, I've been doing legal analysis for the channel. I mean, Trump can argue -- he can argue the merits, he's going to get his day in court on the merits, I have no idea if he's going to win or lose this lawsuit. But your take on the, you know, he can't create a conflict of interest about a judge just by complaining about him.
KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Well, Megyn, the history of the case is extremely important too because you're right this has been going on for a couple of years but this was not the original judge on the case. When this judge got to the case, he appointed the law firm that you mentioned as well as another one who does support Barack Obama.
KELLY: Let me just stop you right there. Okay. Because I want to make sure that the record is clear. What happened in this case, there was a judge. She retired. As she retired her cases got reassigned. Judge Curiel took the case. He did not assign a law firm. The law firm that paid Hillary and Bill speaking fees was already on the case, Katrina. They were already on the case.
PIERSON: And the other law firm. Do you have that one?
KELLY: Already on the case. Yes. Three women. It was the first, law firm of three women that started the case, and then they brought in a big dog law firm, went to became a class action and both of them were on the case before Judge Curiel was.
PIERSON: And this judge is a friend of that lawyer that used to work together in the U.S. Attorney's Office.
KELLY: They both worked together in the U.S. Attorney's Office. How does that make him biased?
PIERSON: And that law firm has contributed -- and contributed, there is a number of things. You have to look at every single factor.
KELLY: Let's go through it. I want to do it.
PIERSON: As I said many times -- as I said many times, we're only talking about one side of the issue here. There are a number of things like the law firm.
KELLY: Let's go through it.
PIERSON: That donated $15,000 to the attorney general's law firm.
KELLY: Why does the law firm need to share the opinions of the defendants they are suing?
PIERSON: As a lawyer, Megyn, if the plaintiff of a case drops out, shouldn't the case be thrown out?
KELLY: No. The named plaintiffs in class actions drop out all the time. The reason she dropped out, she said Donald Trump made her life a living hell with these counter suites. That's fine. He can go after her aggressively. That's fair game, fair game for him to go after her.
PIERSON: But the point is the plaintiff including this woman --
KELLY: Lawsuits goes away.
PIERSON: Including this plaintiff all of the other plaintiffs who are on this case have reports that are out there that 98 percent approval.com has 10,000 students who were extremely satisfied.
KELLY: Okay. Now I got you. Let me bring in Melissa on that. That is one thing that Trump has in his favor that there was a high approval rating at Trump University.
MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER: You know, this is just an example of how facts don't matter. Right? The truth doesn't matter here. This is really about the most serious position in this country and he is defaming and detracting attention away from this essence of this case. This is an individual, Donald Trump, who is a Charlatan and who is racist. What he has done is set up this university and he has bilked individuals for money.
KELLY: Well, he'll have his -- on that. He'll have his day in court.
MARK-VIVERITO: But this is a distraction. The fact that he's trying to focus and create an issue where there is none around the character of this judge who has an incredible record and is impeccable just based on throwing out that he happens to be Mexican-American or Mexican descent is a distraction and he is trying to draw attention to that issue as opposed to the facts of this case which is that he has bilked individuals of their money, he has basically tried to take advantage of Latinos in particular of the foreclosure crisis.
PIERSON: But for the record --
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: But Katrina, let me ask you, I mean, what is it about Judge Curiel's Mexican heritage that makes him unable to hear the case because that's what Trump has been saying repeatedly.
PIERSON: For the record, Megyn, this was the media and his opponents talking about Trump University. He didn't volunteer this information.
KELLY: He brought it up on the campaign trail.
PIERSON: Of course he did because he's defending himself and he is defending the school that he started because there were 10,000 people who were happy.
KELLY: What about the Judge's heritage that makes it unfair?
PIERSON: It's connected to the activism and it's also connected to his policy and people keep leaving out that second part. Hold on. Because this woman just had a press conference with the National Action Network whose entire premise is based upon injustice. The report is out there.
(TALKING OVER EACH OTHER)
KELLY: Hold on. Hold on. Don't go over each other. Don't go over each other.
PIERSON: But you need to tell people who you are. You started progressive. You are the co-chair of a progressive caucus. You are a liberal.
KELLY: But Katrina, that's not conceded. She is a liberal. She doesn't like Donald Trump but who cares. She's not here for Trump University. She is here to offer the other side. My question to you is, what is it about the judge's heritage that makes him unable to hear the case?
PIERSON: Mr. Trump's policies again as he has said, he wants to build the wall, he wants to deport illegal aliens who are here, this particular judge aside from all of the things I just mentioned who was also, and I heard on your show you were talking about the La Raza Lawyer's Association, and you're right, it's not a chapter of the La Raza Council, however the two organizations do work together, and the founder of the La Raza Lawyers Association has traveled and given speeches --
KELLY: Hold on. Let me respond, let me respond --
PIERSON: -- like the one in San Francisco in 2008, like the one in 2008.
KELLY: Just for the record, they're not affiliated. They are not.
PIERSON: They're not affiliated.
KELLY: Go ahead, Melissa.
(TALKING OVER EACH OTHER)
MARK-VIVERITO: This is again --
PIERSON: But they do work together and the founder of the Lawyer's Association -- Megyn, this is important. Megyn, this is important.
KELLY: Hold on. Let Melissa speak. She let you speak. Go ahead.
MARK-VIVERITO: She's had plenty to say and not much actually of substance, but what we're saying is that --
PIERSON: This is really an important fact here.
MARK-VIVERITO: -- fact matter in this case.
PIERSON: Apparently not.
MARK-VIVERITO: Donald Trump does not present any facts. This judge again is he's questioning the character of a judge without foundation. This is a judge who has a stellar record, who actually had to have protection because he was defending and trying to ensure that we were not getting drugs --
KELLY: He went after the Mexican drug cartel.
MARK-VIVERITO: He went after the Mexican cartel.
KELLY: Yes. He had to live in hiding for a year.
MARK-VIVERITO: He had to live in hiding.
KELLY: Listen --
MARK-VIVERITO: So, he had protection so he has put his life on the line for this country.
KELLY: I'm going to leave it for this segment.
MARK-VIVERITO: And I think that is important to remember --
PIERSON: But the founder of the --
(TALKING OVER EACH OTHER)
KELLY: And he's going to get his day in court. He doesn't have to destroy the Judge in the process.
PIERSON: He traveled telling lawyers how to avoid negative immigration incidents when crimes are committed. That is a problem.
KELLY: I got to go because I have to talk to Ben Carson but I love having you both here. Thank you very much for the spirited debate.
MARK-VIVERITO: Thank you.
KELLY: Today former Republican presidential candidate and Trump supporter Dr. Ben Carson issued a statement on the Trump-Judge controversy saying, quote, "Every human being is an individual first rather than a member of an identity group. The moment we forget that is the moment we enter into a face of moral descent."
Dr. Carson joins me now. Dr. Carson, good to see you. You know, this is - -
DR. BEN CARSON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to see you, Megyn.
KELLY: What's your take on it? Because, you know, Trump has said repeatedly for days now that it's the mere fact that the guy has Mexican parents, he of Mexican descent, is disqualifier for him?
CARSON: Yes. I actually think it's actually a pretty simple thing to solve. We simply ask Donald Trump, do you believe that a person of Mexican descent can judge fairly in a case that involves, you know, the wall, that involves immigration, legal or illegal. Ask him that question. Rather than all of these people going off and speculating. This is what he means and that is what he means.
KELLY: But this case doesn't involve the wall or illegal immigration.
CARSON: Yes. Here's the points that I'm making. People assume on the bases of something that is said what a person believes when they could just ask him.
KELLY: Dr. Carson, Donald Trump has been asked repeatedly, repeatedly, what it is about the judge and repeatedly he has said he's Mexican, that is what he says. He's not Mexican, you know, he's of Mexican heritage. He says I'm Mexican and I'm building a wall. I'm building a wall.
CARSON: All right.
KELLY: The assumption is that he must be pro-Mexico and he must be anti- Trump's immigration policies which is not necessarily true.
CARSON: I heard him say today that it doesn't matter what nationality the person is. He said the reason that he was against this judge was because of the judgments not because of his nationality. I heard those words come out of his mouth.
KELLY: Okay. Dr. Carson, let's set the record straight on O'Reilly-Trump moments ago, Trump appeared to walk it back without doing so explicitly and said. I don't care what he is. You know, I don't care whether he's Mexican or what he is, but just to show you, this is -- he said that today which is Monday. Do we have the sound bite? This is what he's been saying. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump, a hater. He's a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel who happens to be we believe Mexican which is great.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What does the Mexican heritage of the judge in the Trump University case have do with anything.
TRUMP: I think it has a lot to do with it. I've been treated very unfairly by this judge. This judge is of Mexican heritage. He's a member of a club or society very strongly pro-Mexican which is all fine, but I say he's got bias.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Anyway, he's made clear over the past few days that it's the fact that he's of Mexican heritage that's a deal breaker for him.
CARSON: But a seasoned politician before he even got into that would say, I believe that all people should be treated fairly, I have nothing against this group or that group. They always say that first and then they go into it so that there's not the same opportunity for miss interpretation. He's not a seasoned politician. I don't think he ever will be a seasoned politician. So this will not be last time that this kind of thing happens.
KELLY: What did you mean when you're saying we're going into moral descent?
CARSON: Well, I mean that anybody who accepts that a person because of their nationality or the group that they identity with has a certain way that they must think is absolutely wrong and is hurting our society. This is what the progressive movement tends to do.
KELLY: You do not think that's what Trump is doing here.
CARSON: Like me for instance -- no, they take something on like me for instance was black and they say, you must think this way, you must believe this way. And if you don't, you know, you're this, that or the other. That's something that the conservatives cannot get into just because the progressives do that. And I think if you talk to Mr. Trump about that, he will fortify what I just said that he has an awkward way of saying things sometimes.
KELLY: Honestly, I hope to. I've actually asked him if he'll talk to me about it. And we can have a good debate about him. And I'd love to talk to him directly.
CARSON: I would encourage you.
KELLY: Dr. Ben Carson, good to see you.
CARSON: You too, Megyn.
KELLY: Well, we also have a prime time exclusive tonight with David French, the writer and veteran recruited to challenge Trump as a third- party candidate.
Plus, there are new reports that the RNC is recruiting folks like Glenn Beck to help unify the party. Glenn's response coming up on that.
And then while everyone was focused on Trump, Hillary Clinton made a new effort to explain away her e-mail scandal and Judge Napolitano is here to check the facts and show us what it could mean for 2016.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I had to -- if I had to do it over again, I certainly wouldn't. But I think that the rules were not clarified until after I had left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: And now to a KELLY FILE follow-up on the 2016 race. We brought you the story last week of David French, the conservative, writer and veteran being recruited to mount a third-party challenge to Donald Trump. Almost immediately some Republican leaders dismissed the idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: I don't see it going anywhere. I think in order to be a viable third-party candidate I think you have to have national name ID and a ton of cash in order to get even a blip on the radar. So I just don't really even think about it. I think it's sort of silly to tell you the truth. And I have to say, I think the people involved with it are embarrassing themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Embarrassing themselves. Yesterday David French announced he's not running but went on to take issue with those remarks from the RNC Chair asking what is more embarrassing, quote, "is it," quote he writes, "doing your best to defend the nation you love from two people who are unworthy of the highest office or is it using your God given gifts and talents to advance the interests of a man who cares only for himself and who rejects the very values you've long claimed to uphold.
Joining me now, National Review writer and Iraq war veteran David French. David, great to see you.
DAVID FRENCH, NATIONAL REVIEW STAFF WRITER: Thanks for having me.
KELLY: (INAUDIBLE) So, good for you. Thank you for your service to our nation.
FRENCH: My privilege.
KELLY: What was it that made you decide now to do it?
FRENCH: You know, I'm going to say few things. Number one I did an eight day serious look at this and I discovered there is a path for an Independent. It does exist. There's a lot of people who say no, the challenges are too much, that's not true. Sixty five percent of Americans are interested in another option. Ninety percent of millennials interested in another option but then I'm not the right person to do this. I think I'm looking at it, what you got to have is somebody with their own independent constituency, somebody who can hit the ground not just running but hit the ground sprinting.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
FRENCH: And if they can do that, they can make a dramatic national splash. And so, you know, I at the end of the day didn't want to do more harm than good. You know, I took a look at it because these are sad times for our country and I felt like somebody should step up, but I also know that -- there are times when somebody is not in fact better than nobody if there's a possibility that that somebody could actually hurt the cause that you love.
KELLY: How would it have hurt the cause?
FRENCH: Well, you know, there's a reality that if somebody steps into the arena and they don't have huge name ID as Rantz noted, he's a decent political analyst even if he's covering for a man who is doing terrible things. If you don't have that big name recognition, there's a chance -- there's a chance that if it fizzles people will get an impression that there is a movement to preserve conservative ideas, to preserve conservative integrity, to maintain integrity in the party of Lincoln is weaker than it really is.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
FRENCH: It's really quite strong and people need to know that.
KELLY: What kind of blowback if any did you get when you were mulling it over.
FRENCH: Instantaneous massive blowback. It was really interesting. For somebody who was supposed to be completely irrelevant here, it was stunning the level of blow back I got. A Trump operative tracked down one of my wife's family members in Tennessee to say that it was going to be really rough for me if I tried this, there was pressure placed on me. A number of pressure points. And that didn't deter me because you know if you're going to go into this poisonous political environment, you should expect to get hit immediately. It didn't even matter what my biography was. It doesn't matter what he had done in my life --
KELLY: Uh-hm.
FRENCH: It was the fact that I was considering taking on Donald Trump meant that I had to be attacked and I was.
KELLY: What are you going to do now? Who are you going to vote for?
FRENCH: I'm not going to vote for Hillary Clinton, I'm not going to vote for Donald Trump, who I actually vote for is to be determined. I mean, look, we have two candidates here of historic levels of corruption. I mean, neither one I believe is qualified to be president. We've talked a lot about Trump that as a military lawyer had I done -- had I handled classified information in the way that we know Hillary Clinton handled classified information. My one goal right now would be to negotiate a lenient plea bargain.
KELLY: Uh-hm.
FRENCH: And so, you know, that's the kind of world we're dealing with right now. And it's time to think about how do we restore what we've lost and rebuild going into the future.
KELLY: Great to see you, David. Thanks for being here.
FRENCH: Thank you.
KELLY: All the best to you and your family.
FRENCH: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it.
KELLY: Well, we also have a stunning new investigation tonight saying the Obama administration lied about the release of felons in the United States, folks who were here illegally and the crimes they committed after they were let go.
Plus, roughly two weeks ago Glenn Beck and Brad Thor had a conversation dubbed so controversial it earned Glenn a week long suspension from Sirius Radio. He talks about it in a KELLY FILE exclusive. Next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD THOR, NOVELIST: With the feckless spineless Congress we have, who will stand in the way of Donald Trump overstepping his constitutional authority as president. If Congress won't remove him from office, what patriot will step up and do that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Breaking tonight. New fall out from reports that the Republican National Committee is trying to recruit conservative radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and Glenn Beck to help unite the Republican Party behind Donald Trump. The story broke early Friday morning and mentioned a possible meeting in the works between RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and Beck, a man who has criticized the RNC in more than one occasion in this primary season. So, is Beck ready to back Trump?
Joining me now is Glenn Beck. Radio talk show host and founder of The Blaze. Hi, Glenn.
GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: How are you? How are you, Megyn?
KELLY: I take it that's a no, the laughter.
BECK: I know, I was just going to say you should guess what you think a meeting, if they could meet with me and convince me to be a shill for anybody, what do you think the odds of that are?
KELLY: Yes. I don't know what they could possibly say. You've made it very clear that never means never when it comes to Never Trump. So, what else could you possibly give them?
BECK: Well, I don't know. I mean, I think this is -- at this point, you know, there's nothing that anybody can say that should convince anybody one way or another. This is a personal decision for everybody now and I honestly don't know what the right thing do is. I know what I have decided to do. I know what I can do and the only way I can sleep at night, but that might be different for everybody. And I just think presenting the facts and for instance I'm doing a series on the radio show in the next two weeks. I had David Horowitz who is a guy is very pro-Trump now. Tomorrow I have Mary Madeleine (ph) on and she's anti, in fact, she left the Republican Party. And then Thursday, I hope to have somebody from the Trump camp. So far they're not returning our calls but I hope to have somebody there.
KELLY: Do any of these people persuade you when you listen to Horowitz? Are you feeling anything?
BECK: I'm not doing it for me. I'm doing did for the listeners because I think the country is really, really struggling with this. There are a lot of really good people that are like I don't want to vote for him, but I know what Clinton is going to give me. And I think this is a personal decision for everybody.
KELLY: What do you make of the fact that now David French has said he will not be an independent candidate? He believes the path is there for someone, but he thinks it needs to be somebody with a lot of money and name recognition, sort of who could start in a running start?
BECK: Yeah, I mean, I've thought of this a lot myself because a lot of people have called me and said you have to convince Ted Cruz -- I'm not convincing anybody to do anything, but I think Marco Rubio could win. I think if Marco and Ted came in, but it would be left up to the House in the end because it would be a split. And I don't know if I would feel good about that. There are no good answers here. None.
KELLY: What do you make of Marco Rubio coming out and saying that not only will he get behind Trump, but he will speak at the convention on his behalf after all the things, you know, Rubio has said about Trump?
BECK: Megyn, I don't know about you but I'm a recovering alcoholic and I lost my credibility through alcoholism, and made some really bad choices and lied to people about things. And when you lose everything in your life and you don't have your credibility and your family won't even believe you on things anymore, you realize that's the only thing of value that you actually possess. And so, I made a vow 20 years ago, say what you mean, mean what you say. I just want my credibility back. I can't understand people who can come out and say the things that Marco Rubio did or the things that I did and then say well, but for politics I'm going to go with him. You either meant it or you didn't. And it's not like I have disagreements with his policies, it was more along the lines of he is deeply flawed and dangerous as a human being. That's different. That's not policies.
KELLY: It's as if these politicians expect us to completely forget everything they said and just excuse the lie. Was it a lie when you said the bad things about Trump to help yourself in the political campaign or is it a lie now when you say he's great and you'll support him in the Oval Office?
BECK: I had a conversation last night with a talk radio giant and we were talking about it, and he asked me, so what are you going to do. And I said I'm going to stay the course. That's who I am. But we were talking about everyone is being watched right now. And there's no way to win. If you -- if you say OK, I'm for Trump now and you're Rubio, you lose because people will remember. If I stay in my position, I lose. If I move my position, I lose. There's nothing happening now because we've lost the point of reason where we can actually sit down and talk to each other as human beings and say OK, this is my point of view, this is what I have to do, but that doesn't mean I hate you.
KELLY: Two personalities, you know, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump engender such strong feelings on both sides. It's unlike anything I've seen in recent history. I haven't seen this in McCain or Obama, or Romney and Obama.
BECK: No. Megyn, I think the biggest disappointment that I've seen for a while was that Austen Petersen wasn't nominated as the nominee for the libertarian side, because I think the libertarians have a real opportunity to make a case if they begin to behave like a serious contender and not just trying to.
KELLY: How about Gary Johnson?
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Hi, Gary.
BECK: I'm not a fan of Gary, you know, but hey, to each his own.
KELLY: OK. I want to ask you about a couple of more things. First of all, your thoughts on Trump and the comments about this judge in Trump University, not backing down, in fact, anybody who comes after him on it reporters included ought to be -- they're racist for talking about his comments.
BECK: It is the same kind of nonsense that we have been dealing with this current president where he'll destroy you. You disagree with him and he'll destroy you. He'll call you a racist and at times it has nothing to do with race. Donald Trump frightens me with the way he treats the press, and some things he does with the press, I like -- I like the fact that he says wait a minute, that's not right. But his press conference last week was a little disturbing. And now, to turn on people, there's no way that you can take that comment any other way than racist. He is saying this guy who was born in Indiana cannot give me a fair shake because of his genetic makeup, that his parents were from Mexico. I mean, that's insane. There's no other way to look at that.
KELLY: You, Glenn, made some news two weeks ago. You had Brad Thor on the show. He's a frequent guest here as well and beloved.
BECK: Yeah.
KELLY: And he made a comment that caused all sorts of reaction. Let's just play it and I'll get your reaction to what happened after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD THOR, AMERICAN AUTHOR: It is a hypothetical I'm going to ask as a thriller writer with the spineless Congress we have, who will stand in the way of Donald Trump overstepping his constitutional authority as president? If Congress won't remove him from office, what patriot will step up and do that if, if he oversteps his mandate as president, his constitutional granted authority, I should say as president -- if he oversteps that, how do we get him out of office and I don't think there is a legal means available, I think it will be a terrible, terrible position the American people will be in to get Trump out of office because you won't be able to do it through Congress.
BECK: Oh, I would agree with you on that, and I don't think that you actually have the voice as we've been talking about this off air for a while. I think the voices like ours go away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: That in the wake of that, Glenn, you went on vacation and SiriusXM suspended the show for a week, right, and you say this is all a misunderstanding. Brad Thor was not.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: What patriot will step up if Trump oversteps his mandate as president, it wasn't a death threat, which is how many people took it.
BECK: Well, the secret service didn't take it that way. No law enforcement agency took it that way. There were no phone calls. It was really no outrage. It was internal politics that really brought this to the forefront. Let me just say this. Megyn, you've known me for a long time. Have you ever heard any conservative that's talked more about Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and peace, and love, and no violence as the answer, have you heard anyone say more about that than me in the last six years?
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: In your defense, in your response to Brad did not express -- there wasn't.
BECK: No, because I honestly -- what was in my mind was who is going to be that Jimmy Stewart who will stand alone because without Congress, they're not going to do it. So who is going to stand there and rally the people and my comment back is because you won't have voices like mine or quite honestly, you know, possibly voices like yours, although you were running your fingers through Donald Trump's hair.
KELLY: That was back in 2011. That was a long time ago, Glenn.
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: A lot has changed.
BECK: Right. The American people -- and really, we are so close it could be anyone. Let's talk Donald Trump out of this and let's make it Barack Obama. If Barack Obama, many conservatives had this very conversation, Glenn -- I always thought it was crazy, Glenn, what if he suspended the next election and stayed in?
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Just for the record, you've talked to Brad as well, neither one of you was suggesting that there should be an assassination or an attempt on Donald Trump's life because people don't want to hear -- people don't want to hear that and I know you don't want to hear that.
BECK: I don't want to hear that and that's why for six years I've been saying violence is coming on the streets, but violence will be there because anger is going to be -- I actually expect it on the left and I've been saying to people for the longest time, Martin Luther King was right, no violence to expect that I had somebody on my show that I wouldn't call on the carpet or that I would agree with a theory like that is absolutely nuts.
KELLY: You know, in my own experience you've been -- you have a history of standing up for the weak and condemning that kind of thing, so there you go. I'll leave it on that happy note. Glenn, it's always a pleasure.
BECK: It's mine. Thank you, Megyn.
KELLY: Good to see you.
While most of the attention has focused on Trump, Judge Napolitano is here to fact check Hillary's new e-mail claims. Plus, wait and see -- she finally took questions today? Wait until you hear what they were about.
And also, an explosive investigation into claims the Obama administration is covering up the number of violent crimes being carried out by illegal immigrants. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight, the Associated Press reporting that Hillary Clinton now has enough committed delegates to become the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president. The Clinton camp calls that a quote important milestone but they say they're looking ahead to the six key contests tomorrow night, including California. That news comes on the same day former Secret Service agent is slamming the former first lady in a new book suggesting that she not only had White House staffers living in fear, but that he thinks she has not changed one bit. Correspondent Shannon Bream has more from the White House. Shannon.
SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: As Hillary Clinton struggles to wrap up the Democratic nomination, her campaign is facing a new challenge, a book full of unflattering allegations about her time as first lady. The book by a former secret service officer Gary Byrne is due out later this month.
Byrne claims that White House staff quote lived in terror of Mrs. Clinton. He also details what he calls a quote violent encounter between the first couple, and having to deal with President Clinton's quote reckless behavior, including having to dispose of a quote White House towel that contained lipstick from another woman as well as the president's own bodily fluids. Former secret service agent Dan Bongino who served on protective detail in both Bush 43 and Obama administration said he would not share such personal anecdotes, but gets why author chose to do so now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: I understand why a former uniform division officer, the one who wrote the book, would say to himself, you know, I feel like it's time, I feel like it's time to tell the real truth about this woman because I think the penalty of electing her president far supersedes the penalty I'll take for coming off as someone who violated that unwritten oath of silence.
BREAM: The Clinton campaign responds quote Gary Byrnes joins the ranks of Ed Klein and other authors in this latest in the long line of books attempting to cash in on the election cycle with their nonsense. It should be put in the fantasy section of the bookstore. He believes his recollections prove Mrs. Clinton doesn't have the integrity or temperament to be president, but it remains to be seen whether the allegations will sway critical primary voters in California on Tuesday or presumably in the fall's general election. Megyn.
KELLY: Shannon, thank you.
So when Hillary Clinton met with the media earlier today after going about a month without speaking with them, no one asked her about the Secret Service book or about the inspector general report slamming her on her e- mails. She was asked about the IG report on ABC this past weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I thought that the report actually made it clear that the practice I used was used by other secretaries, other high ranging state department officials. I will say it was a mistake. I would not do it again, but I think that the rules were not clarified until after I had left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you had any contact yet with the FBI, you or your agents over this matter?
CLINTON: I have not been asked to come in for an interview.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Judge Napolitano, Andrew Napolitano, our Fox News senior judicial analyst.
ANDREW NAPOLITANO, FOX NEWS SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST: I am surprised she lies so openly knowing that the FBI is monitoring everything she says in public.
KELLY: What was the lie?
NAPOLITANO: That I have not been asked to come in. Her lawyers have certainly been asked by the Justice Department to bring her in. Second lie, what she did had been done before. No Secretary of State before or since has ever had a server in his or her home that diverted 100 percent of the e-mails including the top secret ones.
KELLY: She continues to say this about Colin Powell that he also used personal e-mail. And the inspector general report did acknowledge that and found that inappropriate. But is it the same as what she did?
NAPOLITANO: No, the inspector general report reflected that General Powell used personal email on three dozen occasions, more or less, to respond to e-mails from staff, never in occasion while the confidential secret or top secret. Mrs. Clinton used her own e-mail 100 percent of the time, which by her count is 66,000 e-mails, 2,200 of which had state secrets in them.
KELLY: And top, top secret information according to the reports. Now, the next thing that happened today, Judge, was she finally spoke to the press. They didn't -- she was getting hit for not speaking to the press for over a month.
NAPOLITANO: Right.
KELLY: Eight minutes of questions, not a single question about the IG report because they were very busy asking her you are the cusp of being the first female nominee, what does that mean to you. You might be making some serious history tomorrow, question mark, come on.
NAPOLITANO: Donald Trump says the press is corrupt. The press is weak. The press is tepid. They had an opportunity to go directly for her, you lied to George Stephanopoulos a half a dozen times. Isn't it true you're going to talk to the FBI in the next two weeks, isn't it true your lawyers have been negotiating with the FBI, isn't it true that no other Secretary of State did what did you, isn't it true you exposed state secrets to hacking, which General Hayden who run the CIA in the Bush years says was done by the Chinese and Russians, and the Israelis.
KELLY: You just put the report in front of her and ask her. Here's the last one, and ask her, it is not that hard. I don't know why. Here's the last one, you see people here come up to you and get tears in their eyes, do you feel the weight of what this means to people. Come on.
(CROSSTALK)
NAPOLITANO: Is this her campaign staff?
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: . Donald Trump, but he is out there all the time. He submits himself to questioning all the time. And he doesn't have to do it. There's a reason he puts his foot in his mouth a lot of time, he's out there talking. She never talks. She is always polished. But we know there's more to the story.
NAPOLITANO: We do. She knows that the FBI knows every lie she's told. She knows if she goes in to talk to the FBI, they're going to confront her with those lies. She knows if she lies to them in that confrontation, they will seek an indictment for lying to...
(CROSSTALK)
NAPOLITANO: For lying to them.
KELLY: Meanwhile, the secret service agent has a book out saying she was too erratic and uncontrollable and occasionally violent.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: He's not a fan. She says his book should be in a fantasy section. I wonder what else is in there. Judge, good to see you.
NAPOLITANO: Always a pleasure. No matter what we talk about, it's always a pleasure.
KELLY: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: From the World Headquarters of Fox News, it's "The Kelly File" with Megyn Kelly.
KELLY: Developing tonight, a new investigation by the Boston Globe is suggesting a cover-up by the Obama administration. The Globe reporting that illegal immigrants with serious criminal backgrounds have been released from prison in secret across the United States, that they are committing serious new crimes and that the administration is hiding the facts. Trace Gallagher has more. Trace.
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS: Megyn, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, just told us the vast majority of criminal aliens being released in this country are mandated by court order, either because they've been held too long or because their home countries won't take them back, but ICE has also long maintained these criminal aliens pose little threat to the public saying re-offenders are, quote, isolated examples. The head of ICE even told Congress the recidivism rate was less than 10 percent. Well, now a three-year investigation by the Boston Globe reveals the problem is more prevalent and more dangerous. And the only reason the Globe was able to get the information is by suing the federal government to get the names of criminal aliens released. The Globe then scoured court records to find out how many of those illegals had reoffended. It turns out the number wasn't 10 percent, it was closer to 30 percent including rape, attempted murder, and child molestation. The newspaper focused mainly on New England, but also came up with some interesting national numbers. For example, ICE told the Boston Globe between 2008 and 2014, courts mandated the release of 12,941 criminal aliens. But in April, the ICE director told Congress the agency released more than 36,000 in 2013, alone, and 86,000 from 2013 to 2015.
KELLY: Wow. Trace Gallagher, thank you. We'll be right back. Don't go way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: So don't miss our special extravaganza on "The Kelly File" tomorrow night. We're live from California as the votes come in. We've got a huge live audience set in beautiful San Diego. Plus, a Frank Luntz focus group as well as Brit Hume, Chris Stirewalt, Stu Stevens, and much, much more. It's going to be a very exciting hour, that you will not want to miss. And then, Brit and I will have special coverage for you as the results come in and both sides of this race may finally be wrapped up. Tomorrow night. Thanks for watching, everybody. I'm Megyn Kelly. This is "The Kelly File."
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