Gen. Flynn: Mateen 911 transcript another blunder for the WH
Former intelligence officer sounds off on decision to reverse redacting Orlando killer's ISIS pledge on 'The Kelly File'
This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," June 20, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Breaking tonight, a stunning new twist involving the wife of the Orlando terrorist as her family tries to prove she had nothing to her husband's murderous rampage.
Welcome to "The Kelly File," everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. New information tonight on the ongoing investigation into Orlando including a defense of sorts for the terrorist's wife Noor Salman. Her family appears to be arguing that Salman could not have been an accomplice because she was in special ed back in middle school. In moments, we will hear from Judge Jeanine Pirro on that.
But first, Trace Gallagher has more. He is here in New York with us tonight. Trace.
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Megyn, we're talking about Noor Salman's teacher in California in the San Francisco Bay area where Salman grew up. The teacher is now retired and is only being identified as Susan but she claims when the killer's wife was enrolled in middle school, she was a special day class student, meaning she was enrolled only in special education classes because she had learning difficulties. The teacher went on to say, that Salman she tried hard and was very sweet but that she needed special help. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had difficulty with retention. She had difficulty with conceptualizing and understanding. I thought she is incapable of being an accomplice. Absolutely incapable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Not only that Noor Salman's family confirming the teacher's account, they're echoing it again and again even using it as a defense, releasing a statement to ABC News saying, quote, "Noor is completely innocent and was unaware of the attacks." Adding that she doesn't understand, quote, "cause and effect." The FBI says, it's looking closely at Salman at her possible connection to the attacks as well her prior knowledge.
Remember the Feds reportedly have surveillance video showing the wife shopping with her husband while he buys ammunition as well as statements that she feared he was planning an attack and pleaded with him to stop and reports that during the attack her husband texted her asking if she heard the news and she texted back I love you and tried to call him but never called authorities. The family is now hoping authorities believe she simply didn't understand -- Megyn.
KELLY: Hmm. Trace, thank you. Well, it's important to note Salman has not been charged, she's not been mentioned as a possible suspect. In fact, the Feds seem reluctant to talk about her status in any way. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON HOPPER, FBI ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: With respect to the wife, I can tell you that, that is only one of many interviews that we've done and will continue to do in this investigation.
LEE BENTLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY, MIDDLE DISTRICT, FLA.: I'm not going to speculate to say as to any charges that may be brought or indeed about whether any charges will be brought in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Joining me now, Judge Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News legal analyst and host of "Justice with Judge Jeanine." Good to see you, Judge.
JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Good to see you.
KELLY: So, she was in special ed in middle school. It's no accident that this teacher came forward and the family's touting it.
PIRRO: You know, Megyn, I find it amazing that as these facts are coming out, you can see the defense team saying, look let's get someone out there to make it seem like she didn't understand cause and effect. There's this whole campaign going on now and the reason they're doing that is because the evidence seems extremely strong right now. You have a woman who accompanied him, actually drove the shooter to the scene of the massacre to case it ahead of time. She was with him when he bought ammunition as well as I understand the Sig Sauer which was gun that he used.
She also is someone that he texted at 4:00 a.m. For them to say she didn't know what was going on is absurd because what he says to her is, have you seen the news? Her response to that is I love you. Not where are you? What are you doing? And by the way, you have a three-year-old. What are you doing up at 4:00 in the morning?
KELLY: Well, here is the weird thing. I think she said no, and he wrote back I love you. But here's one of the many weird things. She claims she didn't find out until after 2:00 a.m. when his mother contacted Noor Salman to say she was concerned about Omar's whereabouts. Whose mother calls at 4:00 in the morning, 2:00 in the morning to say, do you know where Omar is?
(CROSSTALK)
PIRRO: You know, as a prosecutor Megyn, the first thing I think of is mamma knew too. Why is mama worried at 2:00 in the morning before even contacted his wife? But the amazing part is that, you know, this woman had a learning disability in middle school or grammar school. I don't care. Well, maybe you could argue with it's a mitigation but here is the bottom- line --
KELLY: You need to prosecute these bad guys.
PIRRO: Of course, I did.
KELLY: I mean, I'm sure you prosecuted many people who had learning disabilities.
PIRRO: Do you know how many people said they were too stupid to commit a crime? It doesn't fly. She graduated from high school. She graduated from college. She doesn't know cause and effect, why did she divorce her first husband? How did she meet her second husband online and then marry him and drive him at Pulse two hours away. How could she hasn't been charge with neglecting a child (ph) if she doesn't know cause and effect?
KELLY: Uh-hm.
PIRRO: This is ridiculous.
KELLY: So, you think the fact that they're coming out with that shows they're worried about the stuff that she actually did do. Forget whether she actively knew that this was a plan or was aware on the night in question but she knew enough, for participated enough in the lead out that they can get her.
PIRRO: Right. What they know right now is sufficient for the defense to be worried. They say wait a minute, she cased the joint with him, she bought the weapons with him. Life insurance, bank accounts were made accessible to her right before the attack. The house is given to the brother I believe for for quit claim deed --
KELLY: She was a witness to that.
PIRRO: Right. Exactly. So come on, they know that she is in the Feds sights. There is no question about it.
KELLY: Uh-hm. And next we'll hear is battered woman syndrome potentially because he did that to first wife and he may have done it to this --
PIRRO: Well, you know what? Prove that.
KELLY: Yes. Prove it. We'll get there. Judge, great to see you.
PIRRO: Good to see you.
KELLY: Thanks for being here.
Well, no matter what happens with Noor Salman, his wife, the people who survived her husband's terror attack are likely going to struggle for a very long time. One of those survivors spoke last week about how that felt in a message that got worldwide attention. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATIENCE CARTER, SURVIVOR, FLORIDA TERRORIST ATTACK: The guilt of feeling lucky to be alive is heavy. It's like the weight of the ocean's wall is crushing uncontrolled, like being drug through the grass with a shattered leg and thrown on the back of a Chevy. It's like being rushed to the hospital and told you're going to make it when you laid beside individuals whose lives were brutally taken. The guilt of being alive is heavy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Ladies, thank you so much for being here with us tonight. We greatly appreciate it. Patience, let me start with you. The three of you went down to Florida. It was your first trip there to celebrate Akyra's graduation from high school. She had gotten a scholarship to play basketball and her parents were there with you. They agreed to let you go to this club. You just Googled because it looked like a great club. You went in together and just tell us about the first moments you heard the gun fire.
CARTER: Well, the first time I heard the gun shots we were in the back which I now know to be the Adonis room of Pulse nightclub and we were just finished dancing. That's when we start hearing the gun shots going off and that's when everybody started scrambling and running around.
KELLY: You went down ostensibly to the floor.
CARTER: Yes.
KELLY: And amazingly you and Akyra got out. You got out.
CARTER: Yes.
KELLY: And then you realized you needed to go back in there and find your friend Tiara who was sitting to your left right now. Was there any hesitation about returning into such a dangerous spot?
CARTER: At that time, no, there was no hesitation. Everything was moving so fast anyway. So, when I was going on the floor, I was just moving backwards and there was an exit right by those chairs and then I saw Akyra get up and run towards my direction. I kept shouting, get down, get down. And then she came and said, where is Tiara, where is Tiara? And (INAUDIBLE) we got to go get her.
KELLY: So the three of you found yourself in the same stall in the bathroom. It was a handicapped stall --
CARTER: Yes, it was a handicapped stall. We were one of the last three to come inside the bathroom.
KELLY: And Tiara, let me ask you, how many of you were there inside that one stall?
TIARA PARKER, SURVIVOR, FLORIDA TERRORIST ATTACK: I believe there was about, I'm going to say, 15 to 20 people just in that particular stall that we were in.
KELLY: Patience, take us back to the first moment when you heard the gunman come in.
CARTER: You didn't hear the gunman come in. You just heard the bullets come in and you're hearing the bullets flying inside the bathroom and feeling pellets on your legs from the walls -- from the bullets hitting the wall, the wall side -- that's what you heard. You didn't hear him at all. You just heard his gun.
KELLY: Did you know when you were shot that you had been shot?
PARKER: I couldn't believe I was shot. It felt like somebody dropped a 300 pound weight on my side. That's what it felt like. It didn't feel like a bullet just went in my side. I just remember like -- I do remember when I got hit but it just felt like somebody fell on me or something but I remember turning over and like grabbing my side and I could feel the hole. I could feel where the hole was and that's how I knew. And I had all this blood in my hands and I just remember looking at my hands and said, I can't believe it.
KELLY: Was he speaking to you?
CARTER: Yes, he said multiple things in the bathroom to all of us.
KELLY: I know, he spoke of his motivation, right? He talked about how he was doing this for his country, he mentioned ISIS specifically correct.
CARTER: Yes, that's what he said word for word.
KELLY: When you heard that. How did it change things for you?
CARTER: It made things more real for me because I realized that he actually had a motive behind what he was doing. It wasn't that he was just crazy or that he was just deranged, he was trying to get a message out and that's what scared me more. It was nothing that any of us could say to him, it was nothing that we could ever try to convince him to do because he had a plan already so and that was the most scary thing.
KELLY: Because Akyra did, she pleaded with him at one point, didn't she, Tiara?
PARKER: Yes.
KELLY: She pleaded with him to let you go and she had been shot.
PARKER: To let all of us go.
KELLY: She had been shot in her arm.
PARKER: Uh-huh.
KELLY: And Tiara, I understand that you and Akyra were cousins and you were tapping each other just to make sure during these three hour wait just to make sure you were still both alive. I assume you didn't want to speak in front of him.
PARKER: Yes. So, I'm pretty sure a lot of people are familiar with Morse code, you know, the tapping on the -- so that's kind of what we were doing was physically tapping each other. I would grab Patience's leg and I would kind of feel her hand go up like this like she was okay. And Akyra, she would tap me back or she would probably like scratch me. So it was something like just to know that she was still breathing, she was alive. We were all alive and I remember her blaming herself about being there and I had to tell her this is not our fault. This is not what we asked for. We came here to enjoy ourselves. This is not our fault. Don't you blame yourself.
KELLY: When did the tapping stop?
PARKER: The tapping stopped right -- I'm sorry. The tapping stopped right before the shooter came into the stall and shot three more times and killed whoever was on the side where Patience was laying.
KELLY: You three had been out to celebrate your friend's and your cousin's 18th birthday and within hours your surrounded by dead bodies, blood and have bullets in your own bodies. Is there any way to communicate where you were mentally at that time.
CARTER: I gave up. It was so much fear. I didn't want to be scared any more so I made peace with God.
KELLY: What do you make of the, you know, the police have taken some criticism for the three hours between the initial gun fire and the breaching of the walls. They believe the man had a bomb. I know, he told you he had snipers outside. Do you have any thoughts on the three-hour delay?
CARTER: I understand that they had to think about the best way to go about the situation, but it was too long. Three hours bleeding on the floor is too long. Three hours being held hostage with a man who could easily end your life is too long. When the plan just ended up being busting through walls. I feel like they could have came a little bit faster and I feel like people bled to death on the floor. I felt like if they did get inside just a little bit faster that some people, including Akyra Murray would still be here.
KELLY: And then there came a moment when help did come, when you saw a member of the S.W.A.T. team reach down and pick you up. Take us through that. What was that like, Tiara?
PARKER: I got enough strength to get from up off the floor to put a camera on to my lap, to try to wake her up, screaming to the top of my lungs telling her to wake up, help is here, wake up. I realized my cousin was not saying anything to me but I knew she was breathing. You could not tell me she was not still alive.
KELLY: Do you appreciate the courage it took for you to turn around and go back into that club?
CARTER: At the time I wasn't trying to be a hero, I was trying to get my friends out and I kind of wish -- I said this to Akyra's mom before that and Tiara's mom, I wish I would have told her to stay outside and I would have went back in there myself because at that point I felt responsible for telling us to go back inside. I felt the grass under my hands. She was outside. I looked up at her and the sky was behind us. She was outside. She was safe.
KELLY: Unbelievable in the strength shown by those two young women and what an event that just happened just over a week ago was remarkable. They did not do anything to bring those injuries upon themselves nor do their friend do anything to bring her death upon herself. It is on one man, and one man only and perhaps those who helped him and that's where the story will go now.
Well, there was also a stunning reversal by the DOJ today as it backtracked on a controversial decision in the Orlando investigation. The former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency joins us next with his thoughts on what's happening there.
Plus, some top Democratic lawmakers are tonight accusing the GOP of selling weapons to the terrorists.
Nomiki Konst and Dana Loesch are just ahead on that.
And then when news broke today that Donald Trump had fired his campaign manager, the reporter in the middle of the now infamous dust up with the manager took to Twitter with a message that got a lot of attention. Stay tuned for Michelle Fields on Corey Lewandowski. Next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Why were you fired?
COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I don't know. I don't know the answer to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight. A stunning reversal by the Obama administration after critics accused the DOJ of trying to manipulate Americans in the aftermath of the Orlando terror attack. Yesterday, the Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the release of transcripts of the terrorist phone call to 911 during the massacre. She said portions would be blocked out to protect the victims and the country. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We'll be releasing that partial transcript tomorrow. What we're not going to do is further proclaim this individual's pledge of allegiance to terrorist groups and further his propaganda. We are trying not to re-victimize those who went through the horror. The reason why we're going to limit these transcripts is to avoid re-victimizing those who went through this horror. It's arguably as transparent as possible in this investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: But after 24 hours of getting hammered for that decision the DOJ reverse course late today is raising even more questions.
Lieutenant General Michael Flynn joins us now. He's a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency which is the intelligence arm of the U.S. Military. He is also the author of the soon to be released book, "The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies." General, good to see you.
So, first of all, they seem to be saying we're going to hold back, we're going to release it, but we're not going to include the stuff about the head of ISIS and ISIS propaganda. Because we're doing the terrorist beating for him. Why would we repeat the message he wants to get out there. What say you?
LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN, FORMER DEFENSE INTEL AGENCY DIRECTOR: You know, I don't know where to begin. This White House has a terrible track record of sending senior members of its administration out on a Sunday talk show circuit to try to, you know, baloney or, you know, talk above the United States American public. I mean, this is just unbelievable and there's three examples of this where Susan Rice came out on Benghazi, Ben Rhodes came on the Iranian nuclear deal. Now, Attorney General Lynch has come on this particular issue.
I mean, you know, the American people are smarter than that and frankly this attempt at censorship, it's just, you know, when you're talking about something that is this dramatic and I just listened to the last piece that you had on which actually makes me more irritated because at this problem that we're facing because we can actually defeat this radical Islamist group that we are facing.
I will tell you that one of the phrases that I like to use Megyn is the truth fears no questions and had Loretta Lynch come out yesterday and told the truth about this. They wouldn't have had this problem. The other point about this is that, this shows a real communications breakdown between the White House, the FBI and the attorney general's office. I mean, this change in the last 24 hours and frankly her going in there --
KELLY: She was everywhere touting and defending it.
FLYNN: Because they were trying to censor and not tell the truth to the American public who is being bombarded by this unbelievable tragedy that just happen.
KELLY: So, what is the real reason? Is it political correctness? It's the same AG who says, you are going to get charged with a crime if you engaged in any talk that demonized Muslims which then she had to pull back because speech is not illegal.
FLYNN: Right. I mean, this is, again, it's back to a narrative that the White House and frankly President Obama and those around him do not want this, the message of radical Muslims or radical Islamists are in our midst. They are in the homeland. I mean, this is just another example and sadly there will be others. Now, we can't just keep sort of meeting like this and having these same debates and this distraction of gun control. This ought to be focused on what this particular type of organization, they do not believe in the values that we have, which is the freedom of choice.
I mean, very very little discussion about the attack on the LGBT community and the gays that are in this particular club. I mean, the Islamists group --
KELLY: By the terrorists, you're talking about.
FLYNN: By the terrorists. By the terrorists. By this radical Islamists. They do not believe in that way of life. They do not believe in the way of life of someone who is a Christian or someone who is a Jew. This is about a belief system, an ideology that we can actually win this.
KELLY: Yes.
FLYNN: I mean, there are ways to defeat this ideology and we have to make sure that we do all the things we can to keep the focus on this issue and not some of these other things that are happening out there.
KELLY: It starts with honesty.
FLYNN: So, it really starts with honesty.
KELLY: I got to go, Colonel.
FLYNN: I mean, the number one word is trust.
KELLY: Thank you, sir.
Joining us now with more. Ali Soufan who is the CEO of the Soufan Group and a former FBI special agent who investigated the 9/11 terror attacks and interrogated the world's worst terrorists including one of the -- senior lieutenant. It's great to see you, Ali. Thank you for being here.
ALI SOUFAN, SOUFAN GROUP CEO: Good to see you.
KELLY: So, was this a blunder? Was this a blunder by the administration to try to redact this stuff?
SOUFAN: I believe so. I mean, how can you defend something like this? First of all, they put transcript out that doesn't have ISIS and doesn't have Baghdadi but at the same time the FBI director already had a press conference and he said that during the 911 call, he pledged allegiance to ISIS.
KELLY: And the victims heard it.
SOUFAN: And the victims heard it and he called the TV station and said it on the TV station, so it's kind of like very silly and I have no idea who came up with this thing.
KELLY: What do you think the real motivation is though? You know, they say they didn't want to re-victimize the victims which is, I've never heard them say that before in any investigation.
SOUFAN: Yes. I honestly don't understand the reason behind it. I tried to understand it. I don't understand it. I mean, we already know that he pledged allegiance to al Baghdadi. We already that he's said he's a member of ISIS and he said it to so many people. And officially the U.S. government and the FBI director already told the American public about that. So it's kind of like very --
KELLY: I mean, we could understand if he was like reciting the ingredients of a bomb.
SOUFAN: Sure.
KELLY: You know, I mean, we struggle that as news organization. Do we reprint the stuff that the Boston marathon bombers use to make this homemade bomb? You know, there is a responsibility that you have as law enforcement, as new people, but this one seemed like a no-brainer.
SOUFAN: It is. And you know what we know that ISIS is trying to kill us. We didn't censor stuff when Bin Laden did 9/11. We said Bin Laden did 9/11. We said al Qaeda did the USS Cole. We said al Qaeda and Bin Laden did the East Africa Embassy bombing. We said who did 7/7 and the Madrid bombing. We said who did San Bernardino. So it's not a secret that we're fighting this threat. And I think --
KELLY: And it doesn't make Muslims who are not radical Muslims hate America. Right?
SOUFAN: No. I mean, no, no, absolutely not. I mean, look, you know, I think you and I and the general, we can call it radical Islam, we can call it radical Jihad. We can call it violent Jihad. But I think people when they are inside the U.S. government and they are dealing with countries around the world and they dealing with 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, they have to use that term, they have to watch the terminology that they use.
KELLY: So, you're okay with the President's reluctance not to use that particular term.
SOUFAN: I'm OK. I give him a pass on that. The thing that I'm more concerned about, that what are we doing about this threat. Look, Megyn, on the eve of 9/11, we had 400 members who pledged allegiance to al Qaeda. Look at the narrative of Osama Bin Laden today, we have thousands and thousands of people around the world who believe in the narrative of Osama Bin Laden. Nusra in Syria which is official affiliate of Al Qaeda have more members that Osama Bin Laden ever dreamt of having.
KELLY: Yes. We're going in the wrong direction.
SOUFAN: You know, yes. You look at Yemen AQAP Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which is probably one of the most dangerous affiliates of al Qaeda, last year they had 1,000 member. Today they have 4,000 members after the war in Yemen. So, I think we're going in the wrong direction and the narrative of Osama Bin Laden is spreading like wildfire. And ISIS is part of the narrative of Osama Bin Laden. Remember, ISIS is, you know, a poisonous branch from that poisonous tree that Osama Bin Laden planted back in 1996.
KELLY: Yes. Ali, thank you for being here.
SOUFAN: Thank you, Megyn.
KELLY: All the best.
SOUFAN: Glad to be with you. Thanks.
KELLY: Well, when Trump campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski was accused of roughing up a female reporter, his boss backed him straight through it. So, why did Donald Trump fire him now? Answers are next.
Plus, as Congress works late tonight on a series of gun measures, the Democrats are coming out with explosive new allegations about Republicans and terrorists. Dana Loesch and Nomiki Konst are here in studio. Look at well they're getting along. Right after the break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terrorists today are using assault weapons rather than IEDs or airplanes to attack Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight, in the wake of the Orlando terror attack, Washington has taken up the gun debate and in just the last couple of hours the Senate rejected four different gun control amendments including two by the Republicans, and tonight the democrats are now going so far as to claim the Republicans want to give guns to Isis.
Joining me now is Dana Loesch who is the author of the new book "Flyover Nation" which hits the shelves tomorrow and Nomiki Konst, the Bernie Sanders supporter and host of "The Filter" on Sirius, great to see you. So Dana, the Republicans want to give guns to Isis. That's the latest tweet.
DANA LOESCH, THE BLAZE TV "DANA SHOW" HOST: That's the apparent let's say accusation that's coming. I think it was about Chris Murphy (ph) was the first one to level that out.
KELLY: Is it a bridge too far.
LOESCH: It's a bridge -- definitely a bridge too far. Denying due process and then comparing the denial of due process to actually giving guns to terrorist. Look, the administration was the one, this administration and the DOJ, Eric Holder -- they were the ones that armed Mexican drug cartels. They walked guns across the border and fast and furious. So, if they want to have that conversation, we can have that conversation. This is about due process.
There are legal options there for them to exercise if they want to go ahead and that they want to bar terrorists the right of purchase, they have a right purchase and they want to kick them off, whatever, they have a legal recourse to do without infringing on the rights of innocent Americans.
KELLY: Nomiki, what do you make of it?
KONST: Well, one of the votes tonight was actually about that due process giving -- if you are on that list, that terror watch list, that no fly list, then you have four days to go through a due process. So, that was a Republican sponsored bill. There was also a Democratic sponsored bill at the same time (ph) that offered the same option.
The problem is that you have 58 Republicans who voted against this and they have all received collectively $36 million from the NRA. In 2014 alone, $40 million from gun manufacturers went right into lobbying congress. This is why we have a problem here, nine out of ten Americans, 71 percent of NRA members...
KELLY: Don't forget Harry Reid.
KONST: No, but -- but 71 percent of NRA members agree that we should close out the terror loophole.
KELLY: Wait, wait. It looks like...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why isn't it getting passed?
(Crosstalk)
LOESCH: How do you know that's that because the NRA membership list isn't public? So, that's a -- that's a made up -- we talked about this before.
KONST: Making phone calls. We can do what people (inaudible)
(Crosstalk)
LOESCH: I trust a poll that's actually been taken by Michael Bloomberg. It was a push call (ph) Megyn, but 72 percent of the NRA...
KONST: Bloomberg, NBC polls.
KELLY: What should be done Dana in your view to stop the terrorists from getting guns like this guy?
LOESCH: Bring charges. Open up a federal investigation first who is already on the watch list. It's going to be flagged if you try to make a purchase. The watch list didn't prevent the Orlando terrorist.
KONST: Not the private sales.
LOESCH: Well, first off, private sale is already illegal. If you're a prohibited possessor, if you sell a firearm to a prohibited possessor, that's a felony. You're looking at losing more.
(Crosstalk)
KELLY: Nomiki, the inside was -- he wasn't marked at all.
KONST: He wasn't marked, but he was investigated by the FBI three times.
LOESCH: They let him off because of political correctness.
KONST: They let him off because Florida has the loosest gun laws in the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's not why...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is why...
KONST: It's a private sale. It is a private sale.
(Crosstalk)
KELLY: I do want to talk about this.
LOESCH: People don't understand the gun laws.
KELLY: Can you see what this is because I feel like a lot of our viewers will understand this.
LOESCH: That's my actual -- that's my single action Colt...
KELLY: It says "Flyover Nation: You Can't Run a Country You've Never Been to." I feel like a lot of our viewers understand this completely because they feel like the west coast and the east coast want to run their lives without understanding this.
LOESCH: You know, there are -- of the NRA membership -- there are so many, millions of NRA members. Some many of the flyover nation citizen and this misunderstanding of gun law is exactly -- I mean I have a chapter, of course -- I have chapter about guns in this book -- I write about this. People don't understand what our gun laws are.
You can't be someone who's barred from legal purchase and have someone just sell a firearm to you. It's a felony on both counts. My stepdad is on a watch list. When were flying internationally, the very first time, Megyn, he flew on vacation internationally -- he got pulled aside, he was interrogated for two hours and he was detained because he was on a watch list. There was an 8-year-old cub scout who was on this list.
There are a lot of errors. Stephen Hayes from Fox, he's on this list, J. Christian Adams -- there are a lot of errors. The point is, is that there are so many legal actions right now the Democrats and Republicans to take to make sure that doesn't happen, but more importantly, follow the laws on the books and I get into all of that in mine.
KELLY: This has been endorsed by Glenn Beck, David Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and Brad Thor. Just in case you might happen to like any of those guys, you might enjoy this book as well. Great title here Dana. Good luck with it.
LOESCH: Thank you, Megyn
KELLY: Great to see you too Nomiki, thank you.
KONST: Thank you.
KELLY: Coming up four Americans are dead already and new warnings on the way as a dangerous weather pattern starts spreading across this country. We'll have the details on that. Plus Donald Trump says you're fired to his campaign manager and up next, Ben Domenech and Tucker Carlson join us with the story behind the story. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump fires a long time campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in his biggest campaign shakeup to date. Lewandowski for his part says he has no regrets. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: The most I've had a great relationship with the family and I think I continue to do so. I think what you have is a transition in the campaign from a very, very successful 37 state primary victory process to look to a bigger picture and that's okay.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Corey, you're painting a very nice picture of the Trump campaign and the state of play. If it was that great, why wouldn't you still be the campaign manager?
LEWANDOWSKI: I'm proud of the campaign. I really am, but I also understand the reality of building an infrastructure coupled with the RNC's 500 people on the ground and all the resources necessary.
BASH: So why couldn't you be the person to do it? Why do you think that you are not the person to do it?
LEWANDOWSKI: I don't know the answer to that.
BASH: Biggest regret?
LEWANDOWSKI: On this campaign, none professionally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Well, it's good news surrounding Lewandowski was at its most intense when then Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields filed a police report for battery on the former Trump campaign manager after she says Lewandowski grabbed her arm which the video clearly shows him doing.
Joining me now, Michelle Fields, she's the author of the new book out tomorrow, "Barons of the Beltway: Inside the Princely World of Our Washington Elite and How to Overthrow Them". Michelle, great to see you. So, what's your thought? What was it upon seeing him fired?
MICHELLE FIELDS, FORMER BREITBART REPORTER: Well, I'm not going to say that I was happy to see someone lose their income but, you know, I really, truly love this country and I think having someone like Corey Lewandowski in the White House would be detrimental for this country.
I mean, this is someone who has pushed reporters, who yanked my arm, who you know, has said awful thing things to women, has a terrible history. I don't think that's a type of person we want in the White House.
KELLY: Had reportedly used threatening language with Hope Hicks, who is a very nice young woman, Trump's campaign, you know, messaging person although he's the messenger. She's sort of his press secretary. He's threatened yours truly, I mean, there's a long history. However, he was in Trump's employ for a very long time so, what do you think it tells us that he's now gone?
FIELDS: Well, I think the Trump campaign is trying to professionalize the campaign going into the general election. Corey Lewandowski was great at organizing Trump's huge events where he would draw tons of crowds during the primary, but now they need to move into general election mode and I think that Corey is not the guy.
You know, put aside his personal issues and the way that he manages people, he's not a seasoned veteran. So, I think Trump needs someone which he's now surrounding himself with people who understand how to run a national campaign and he's pretty much a body man.
KELLY: You know, you -- he obviously grabbed you even though he denied it, but then you filed a charge because they sort of baited you into doing it saying if it happened why don't you file a charge and you did, the prosecution decided not to pursue it and then he said he really felt vindicated. Do you feel vindicated today?
FIELDS: I do. I do feel vindicated. You know, I think that when you're a bad person you do bad things eventually there are consequences and I feel like with Corey, he's finally, you know, there's finally consequences for what he did. He defamed me, he lied and he really shook my life. I lost my job. There were also lots of threats. So, I'm happy to see that there is some justice.
KELLY: You know your book is about outsiders, Trump and Lewandowski, do they count?
FIELDS: No, but I think that Trump is in a very good job at masquerading himself as an outsider but I think someone who, you know, schmoozing (ph) with political, you know, brokers in Washington and is giving money to both Democrats and Republicans is not someone who is an outsider.
He's not motivated by ideology. Trump is motivated by power and money, and I think if you look at his history, you know, with lobbyists, this is not someone who is an outsider. But I think him and Corey have done a great job about trying to portray themselves as that.
KELLY: Michelle, it's good to see you. Hope you're well. So, while Mr. Trump did not offer specifics on why he axed Lewandowski, the "The Washington Post" offered this bit of analysis.
First, Trump at this point polling worse than Bush in 2004, McCain in 2008 and Romney in 2012. Next, the margin between Trump and Hillary Clinton now nears McCain's deficit to Barack Obama in 2008, of course Obama won that race. Third, the AP reports that the campaign has about 30 paid staff compared to Clinton's more than 600.
And fourth, at this time in 2012 the Romney campaign and its supporters spent about $38 million in ads in swing states. This time around Trump has spent zero in those swing states. Of course Romney went under lose (ph).
Joining me now, Ben Domenech, publisher of "The Federalist" and Tucker Carlson, editor-in-chief of the Daily Caller and weekly (ph) co-host at "Fox and Friends." So, to all the states -- say this Tucker, CNN puts 4-1 resources on any story to Fox News. We run a very lean operation over here and yet we're number one bigger (ph). We win and we win and we win. So, you know, i trump on to something with the lean staff of 30 to 600 ratio?
TUCKER CARLSON, DAILY CALLER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: It worked in the primaries. I mean, there's probably some middle ground. I mean, I think in Washington we overstate the value of paid campaign ads and of paid campaign staff because that's what we do and so, all my neighbors, everyone I know...
KELLY: Right. We're invaluable.
CARLSON: We have a vested interest in pretending that is central to a campaign's success. Obviously it's not, but the message matters most.
KELLY: But this has been. The Lewandowski separation is actually a very big moment for the Trump campaign.
CARLSON: Of course, it isn't probably a good thing. I mean, look, Lewandowski was never the campaign manager in a traditional sense. He traveled with Trump. You can't manage the campaign if you're on the road.
He really was, you know, a bag handler and I think the wrap was probably true he reinforced Trump's worst instincts and I think he was not a good diplomatic and he always reminded me of the cop who pulls you over to steal your beer. Doesn't make him an evil person but it's probably not someone who's expanding the tent, if you know what I mean.
KELLY: Right, and you know, most cops don't, you know, well, we'll just leave it at that. Ben, your thoughts on what this means for Trump.
BEN DOMENECH, THE FEDEREALIST PUBLISHER: I think this is a critical moment for the Trump campaign. It could turn out to be one of the best decisions that he's made. It's was obviously one that was reported as being urged by his family and children for some time. It's good that I think he finally took it.
To Tucker's point, moving from a small tent to a big tent experience in a general election campaign requires somebody who can lead a lot of different personalities, bring a lot of different organizations together in order to mount a winning effort. You haver this gorilla effort that stayed in that small tent with Corey Lewandowski and Donald Trump during the primary, but he was never able to make that transition as more people came into -- in the factoring the campaign.
From my perspective, if this turns out to be the most disruptive day for the Trump campaign going forward, that bodes very well for the opportunities in the fall.
KELLY: Well, you know, one of the greatest things Trump has going for him Tucker is his daughter, Ivanka Trump, who had seemed to be a voice of reason for him from the beginning and she didn't like reportedly the way he spoke, Lewandowski to Hope Hicks and she didn't like what happened with the Michelle Fields incident, and she apparently according to the reports was pushing Trump to go with Paul Manafort and to cut loose this loose cannon who may have been very loyal to Mr. Trump, I think that's clear, but perhaps did not serve him as well as the candidate believed.
CARLSON: I think that's right. And apparently her husband, Jared Kushner, was also pushing for that. Kushner is one of the people maybe the person on the campaign who would have swayed vets a lot of their hires and a smart guy, a capable guy. So, yeah, they were against him. (Inaudible), it's not just the Trump campaign running for the White house. There's an entire Republican Party whose fortunes are directly tied to the success or failure of the Trump campaign.
KELLY: But where are they? I mean, that's one of the stories today.
CARLSON: See, because they don't believe -- they believe that Trump is discredited in the Republican Party, that maybe true, but they don't understand because they're not that sharp. That what happens to Trump will have a direct effect on him. It may be bad for them if he wins, it will be much worse for them if he loses -- that haven't penetrated yet.
KELLY: But today was the day where Trump attempted to stop the bleeding if you will, Ben, because the poll numbers have been sinking. Hillary's been in the last three polls beating him by double digits. He has no money according to the reports -- "The New York Times" is reporting -- and not spending on ads, and the RNC is not spending to support him so he's got to turn these things around.
DOMENECH: It's no accident this is happening on the day that the FCC (ph) reports were due that showed the RNC really lagging (ph) the money that they needed to mount a competitive campaign. I think you're exactly right. This is the kind of decision that could determine the ultimately outcome of how this campaign works with the RNC going forward.
KELLY: And Paul Manafort, the new guy, he knows what he's doing, right. You guys -- you both have faith in him?
CARLSON: He's a tough character, for sure.
DOMENECH: He is a tough character, yes.
(Laughter)
KELLY: The last guy was a tough character too. Tough, might not be the only...
DOMENECH: Maybe a little less smooth -- maybe a little less smooth.
KELLY: We need more things besides toughness as it turns out. All right guys, good to see you.
CARLSON: Thanks Megyn.
DOMENECH: Good to see you.
KELLY: So up next, new warnings about the weather system that has already killed four Americans and is now threatening many more. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: An already deadly heat wave is now threatening more than 40 million Americans and on top of the heat, it is also helping feed a dangerous series of wildfires. Trace Gallagher back in the studio again for us tonight tracking this, Trace.
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Megyn, you know it's hot when Phoenix breaks a 50-year heat record. The previous high in Phoenix was 115, today 118, tomorrow could be 120. It was so hot at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix a United flight from Houston was turned back because regulations say you cannot land or take off if the runway is above 120.
The heat is already blamed for at least five deaths in Arizona including four hikers and a mountain biker and it's not helping the growing fire danger in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Some progress was made against the massive wildfire near Santa Barbara, but a fire near the California/Mexico border got bigger forcing more evacuations and a 28 square mile fire in New Mexico that destroyed 24 homes is still totally out of control.
If you are not among the 30 million or 40 million people who are sweltering on the first day of summer, Janice Dean (ph) says the odds are you will be. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANICE DEAN, FNC SENIOR METEREOLOGIST: High pressure is going to break down a little bit but it's going to move eastward so we'll deal with a potential put record highs across the central and southern plains Tuesday and Wednesday with temperatures well above 100 degrees. And with the heat index, it's going to be oppressive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Oppressive and the southwest will bake for at least another four days. It could go long as a week unless that high pressure kind of dwindles away. Megyn, glad I'm here and not there.
KELLY: I was going to say it's a (inaudible) and what are you doing here in New York? It's nice to have you here.
GALLAGHER: I came in to fill in for Shepard and of course to see you.
KELLY: Excellent. It's been a long time. I was telling, Trace, viewers at home that it kind of irritates me that he doesn't age. He doesn't age. Look at him.
GALLAGHER: Check the hair.
KELLY: I've known you for 12 years. Pisses me off. Great to see you. I mean, great to see you. We'll be right back. It's late. I can say that, can't I?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: We've been getting a lot of feedback already on our guests at the top of the hour, Patience (ph), Carter and Tiara Parker. If you'd like to see the entire unedited interview, we'll be posting it to facebook.com/thekellyfile in just a bit, the full 20 minutes is a powerful thing to watch. Those two young ladies are remarkable. Thanks for watching.
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