This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," December 15, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." And tonight, I have a message for the crybaby sore loser left, and that is Donald Trump won. Stop whining. Accept it already! And that's tonight's "Opening Monologue."
Finally, enough is enough. It's time for the coddled left to stop trying to undermine President-elect Donald Trump. Admit the fact he won fair and square.
Now, since election night, the left has been plotting to try and prevent him from actually occupying the Oval Office. Remember the recount attempts? Well, that was a complete disaster. Donald Trump actually ended up getting more votes in Wisconsin.
Now this Russian hacking story Democrats are pushing, well, that's a total failure because it's not based on concrete evidence or any new information or fact. But Democrats can't let it go.
Now, here's what White House press secretary and propagandist Josh Earnest said today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Mr. Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him and hurting Secretary Clinton's campaign. And again, these are all facts that are not in dispute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, let's break this down. Josh Earnest, he would obviously not be making that claim without the approval of his boss, President Obama. And by the way, the Democrats, well, they weren't caring about the Constitution for the past eight years as Obama was stomping on it. So you have the outgoing president of the United States now actively trying to delegitimize his successor.
And that's not the only tactic that the Democrats are deploying. They're plotting basically what amounts to a political coup. You heard it right. They're trying to undermine our democracy and create a constitutional crisis all because their corrupt candidate lost and you didn't vote for her.
Now, on Monday, members of the Electoral College, they will meet to officially cast their ballots for president and vice president. And the left, they're doing everything they can do to try and convince these electors not to do their job and not vote for Donald Trump.
And not surprisingly, Hollywood liberals, they're throwing their support behind this very radical idea to create a constitutional crisis. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN SHEEN, ACTOR: Republican members of the Electoral College, this message is for you. As you know, our Founding Fathers built the Electoral College to safeguard the American people from the dangers of a demagogue and to ensure that the presidency only goes to someone who is to an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.
DEBRA MESSING, ACTRESS: An eminent degree, someone who is highly qualified for the job.
JAMES CROMWELL, ACTOR: The Electoral College was created specifically to prevent an unfit candidate from becoming president.
B.D. WONG, ACTOR: There are 538 members of the Electoral College. You--
NOAH WYLE, ACTOR: And just 36 other conscientious Republican electors can make a difference.
FREDA PAYNE, SINGER: By voting your conscience on December 19th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, it even gets worse. We're learning tonight also that President Obama and Hillary Clinton are directly tied to this plan. Now, the DailyCaller is reporting that a public relations firm that represents some of these, quote, "faithless electors" was co-founded by former White House adviser Van Jones. He now, by the way, works at the "Clinton News Network," CNN. Now, the company is reportedly filled with board members who have worked for President Obama and Clinton's campaign in the past.
And that's not all. The left is also using extreme tactics to try and influence these electors, including threats of violence. Take a look at what's been happening to a Michigan Electoral College voter in that state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "RISK & REWARD"/FBN)
MIKE BANERIAN, GOP ELECTORAL COLLEGE DELEGATE: I've been inundated with hundreds and hundreds of letters to my house, Facebook messages, and some of those messages were death threats. I've had people threatening to put a bullet in the back of my mouth, people saying to throw myself in front of a bus, sending me pictures of a noose, saying if I don't do the right thing that they'll get me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And crazy leftists like the washed-up Keith Olbermann, they're even coming out of the woodwork to attack Donald Trump. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, GQ)
KEITH OLBERMANN, GQ SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: He has been helped into the White House by the evil of another nation, and yet all our politicians will do is promise reviews and committees whose words will be too measured and too late.
The voters have guaranteed themselves slavery, defeat, economic disaster and the need to soon or late save this nation and restore freedom by extricating ourselves from a Trump regime by whatever process provides itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right. How far Keith has fallen. Imagine if I said the same thing back in 2008 after Barack Obama had won the election?
Now, Democrats, they're being total hypocrites. Ever since Clinton lost, President Obama, he's been floating the idea that Russia could have influenced the election. But back in October, he was actually mocking Donald Trump for raising concerns. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, OCT. 18)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The larger point that I want to emphasize here is that there is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even -- you could even rig America's elections.
And so I'd advise Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And President Obama, maybe you and Hillary, maybe it's time for you to stop whining.
Then there's Hillary Clinton. Remember how she was relentlessly attacking Donald Trump after he said he would wait until after the election before accepting the results? Let's take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
HILLARY CLINTON, D-FORMER PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE, OCT. 19: That's horrifying. You know, every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is is rigged against him.
CLINTON, OCT. 21: Now, make no mistake, by doing that, he is threatening our democracy.
CLINTON, OCT. 24: I got to tell you, as your secretary of state, I went to 112 countries, and I went to countries where people were jailed for being political opponents, where they were exiled, where they were killed. I take this really seriously. And for me, the peaceful transfer of power is one of the things that makes our country great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: I guess not. So why won't the Democrats listen to their own advice and criticism on this issue? Well, here's the fact. It's because they don't care about you, the people they think are irredeemable, the basket of deplorables. The left only cares about people who live, apparently, in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and of course, where the sewer is so corrupt, in Washington, D.C. But middle America, well, they might as well not even exist.
Now, the sore loser left, they need to take a long look at this electoral map from 2016. You see all that red there? That means Donald Trump won, and he did it by listening to the American people. He actually went there to all those states and campaigned on issues. Now, if the left is so tolerant and accepting as they always claim to be, well, then maybe it's time to act like it and once and for all recognize Donald Trump is going to be our next president.
But let's be honest. President Obama, he's not going to do that. He will be attacking Donald Trump at every turn, which is the exact opposite of what President George W. Bush did to him.
Here with reaction, syndicated columnist, host of the series "Michelle Malkin Investigates" on CRTTV.com, our friend, Michelle Malkin. Michelle, how are you? Good to see you.
MICHELLE MALKIN, CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: Good. I'm very good, Sean. Apparently, though, our friends on the left are still suffering from post-election trauma!
HANNITY: Or Trump derangement syndrome already? Is there a new word for this?
MALKIN: (INAUDIBLE) that's right! I mean, we really need to call 911 and call the wambulance. I mean, they just need to all be--
HANNITY: The wambulance!
MALKIN: -- called into the wambulance and taken somewhere where they can recover in private instead of public. I -- you know, I was mad about it at first, but now I really pity these people.
Now, you know I'm in Colorado. I'm back home after being on tour for the CRTV series. And this is the state, of course, that gave us those faithless electors who fashioned themselves some of constitutional heroes, naming themselves after Hamilton. These are not heroes. These are zeros. They're not faithless electors. These are feckless electors.
I mean, they're traitors. They're saboteurs. And this is their last stand of self-indulgence. So of course, they're trying to hype drama before Monday. But once again, it's the same kind of hype that we saw before the election. These people are way out of touch with reality and what's going to happen on Monday!
HANNITY: Think about it. First it was the recount, now we have the Putin Russian conspiracy--
MALKIN: Oh!
HANNITY: -- great conspiracy theorists. And now it gets a little more dark because now they're talking about and they are involved in the intimidation of some of these electors. It's really all one big effort, though, isn't it. And I remember. I was there the night Newt Gingrich was elected. And by Christmas, after the November election in '94, he was the Gingrich that stole Christmas and broke poor Tiny Tim's crutch.
So I got to believe this is really all about one thing, delegitimizing Trump even before he gets there. Does that mean at the end of day, their goal is to destroy him, to make sure that he fails, to create an impression that he's not legitimately elected?
MALKIN: Yes. Absolutely. And you know what? These progressives, of course, live by the life and political motto by any means necessary. And this is how, of course, you have these electors who are reporting, and The New York Post reported on this, of the intimidation, the slew of death threats and phone calls and relentless e-mails that they're getting. They're the ones that accuse us of a climate of fear and intimidation and bullying? Look in the mirror!
HANNITY: Yes, it's amazing. All right, Michelle Malkin, tell us a little bit -- what is the new investigative report series going to be about?
MALKIN: Oh, well, thank you so much for asking, Sean. It's CRTV.com, "Michelle Malkin Investigates." I'm digging deep with four episodes that are available right now to subscribers. It's something I've always wanted to do--
HANNITY: That's awesome.
MALKIN: -- in my 25-year career of journalism. And we've got some really jaw-dropping investigations that we've got available for viewing right now.
HANNITY: All right, very proud of you. Thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
MALKIN: You bet. Thank you.
HANNITY: Now, President-elect Donald Trump -- he's back on his thank you tour. Tonight, he's in Pennsylvania. We'll play highlights from his rally.
And also tonight--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PETER KING, R-N.Y.: It's almost as if people in the intelligence community are carrying out a disinformation campaign against the president-elect of the United States. It's absolutely disgraceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Congressman King accusing the intel community of playing politics. Is that happening? We'll get reaction. Laura Ingraham is with us.
And also coming up later--
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ASSANGE: Our source is not the Russian government.
HANNITY: So in other words, let me be clear. Russia did not give you the Podesta documents or anything from the DNC.
ASSANGE: That's correct.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HANNITY: Earlier today, I interviewed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We spoke out and he spoke out about Russian hacking and the reports and much more. We've got highlights of that interview. And we'll get reaction from "The Five's" Kimberly Guilfoyle and Eric Bolling as this busy news night continues here on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." President-elect Trump -- he continues his thank you tour and speaking to supporters. Here are more highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: I'm here today for one main reason, to say thank you to the incredible people of Pennsylvania. Thank you. Thank you.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Your drive, your dedication and your love for your country pushed us across the finish line. And boy, did we get across that line, right?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: The patriots in this arena tonight stood up for themselves and for their families and showed the whole world that the American people still run our country!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We're not respected now, and believe me, it's going to turn. And we're going to have this great, incredible, powerful military. But you know what? I don't think we're ever going to have to use it, and that would be very, very nice.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: America first. Be very, very nice.
My administration will focus squarely on the vital national security interests of the United States. And that means crushing ISIS and defeating radical Islamic terrorism! We're going to defeat them quickly.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But to be a strong nation, we must also be a wealthy or a rich nation. Some people say, Mr. Trump -- now they say Mr. President-elect, can you believe it?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: All right, also tonight, President-elect Trump -- he's responding to the hacking hysteria from the left. Now, he tweeted earlier today, "If Russia or some other entity was hacking, why did the White House act to long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?"
And Congressman Pete King -- he thinks that some in the intelligence community may be trying to undermine President-elect Trump. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: All we've heard from the intelligence community over the last several months is that they could not say that there was any attempt to undermine Hillary Clinton to help Donald Trump. There was nothing at all ever told to us. In fact, they said that they couldn't prove it, that there was an attempt to favor one candidate over the other. Director Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said that publicly on November 17th.
It's almost as if people in the intelligence community are carrying out a disinformation campaign against the president-elect of the United States. It's absolutely disgraceful. And if they're not doing it, then it must be someone in the House or the Senate who's leaking false information. And there should be a full investigation of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with us now, Fox News contributor, editor-in-chief of Lifezette, nationally syndicated radio host Laura Ingraham.
All right, there was nothing new here, Laura. We know that. We know that the director of national intelligence, the FBI disagree. And on top of that, we know that the CIA has played politics in the past -- Benghazi, great example. They never talked to the people on the ground. They went forward with a narrative out of Langley that supported Hillary's lie.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It's almost like the intelligence community wants everyone to forget all of, you know, its (INAUDIBLE) black spots over the last, you know, several years, the things that they missed about Chinese space militarization, the threat at the border being open. Obviously, Benghazi's a big one, and many more.
And it's, like -- it's almost like the shiny object of Trump is over here so no one will focus on the deficiencies that obviously exist.
There are great men and women in the intelligence agencies. But this smacks of such bitterness, Sean, and sour grapes. The fact of the matter is, there is absolutely no proof that this changed the outcome of the election.
I know the Fox News poll showed that 59 percent of the respondents don't think it had any impact on the election. The idea that the voters were obsessed about -- that Russia getting into DNC emails -- the question is and still is the importance of what was in Hillary's e-mails. Why did she delete emails? Why did she go about, you know, scrubbing and BleachBitting her e-mail device? Why did that happen?
So it's almost like we forgot the main part of this, which is her letting all of this information be vulnerable to hacking. Instead, it's this completely made-up deal about, Oh, this is affecting the integrity of the election. The election is done. Electoral College will meet. Trump's going to be president. This is just an effort to undermine any mandate that he believes he has.
HANNITY: And delegitimize him. What do you make of the intimidation of these electors we've been talking about?
INGRAHAM: Oh, I think it's abominable. I had one on my show today, a guy from Colorado who's going to vote for Hillary. He was a Bernie supporter. And his -- and he's just grasping onto to the Russia thing. So it's Russia, Russia, Russia. That's all they have. I mean, they tried all their other things. They tried Comey. They tried, Well, we got to get rid of the Electoral College. They tried the recount with Jill Stein.
They tried all that. None of it worked. So now it's all about Russia, you know, stole the election for Trump. We have to vote in John Kasich. That's what this guy today said to me. We're going to vote -- we're going to make sure the House votes for John Kasich or John McCain. I mean, it's the craziest stuff.
HANNITY: Well, that's what the Hollywood people are trying to say now, too--
INGRAHAM: Right.
HANNITY: -- I mean, with this ridiculous campaign. And you don't have to like Hillary, you don't have to vote Hillary. For the first time in our lives, oh, the Constitution that Barack Obama ignored and shredded the past eight years -- you've got to listen to that Constitution. And they're trying to appeal to it.
It's obviously not going to work. But there's a certain depth of, you know, wanting almost a coup over all of this!
INGRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: It's really severe, the reaction.
INGRAHAM: Well, and especially since they were so hot on Trump saying that he would accept the election outcome. Now, you played that clip last night. I mean, they beat on Trump for weeks on the legitimacy of any election outcome. And he wins, and they spend the next, you know, six weeks or whatever it's been trying to figure out a way to say, No, he didn't really win. It's so transparent!
And it's -- and instead of actually fixing the problems they have in their own party, that even someone like a Joe Manchin admitted today, that they have real problems appealing to middle class voters -- instead of doing that, they go to, you know, this hyper-speed mode on conspiracy theories and Russia. I mean, I just think it makes them look weaker. It -- it makes -- I think it makes Trump look stronger and it makes them look just--
HANNITY: All right, so my next question--
INGRAHAM: -- silly at this point.
HANNITY: -- is this a preview of coming attractions? First they try to delegitimize him, but in the end, isn't this going to be an ongoing effort- -
INGRAHAM: Assault.
HANNITY: -- where they keep ratcheting it up and ratcheting it up and ratcheting it up to the point where they really want to destroy Trump. They want to render his presidency impotent. Isn't that what the real goal is here?
INGRAHAM: Yes. I mean, this is going to be warfare every day for the Trump administration. I think, you know, Bannon is ready for that. You know, Kellyanne understands that. You know, they're going to -- they're going to -- I think they're going to be ready for it.
But it's going to -- it's real. I mean, if the economy starts getting a lot better, which I think it will, it will begin to look more and more irrelevant. But it's not going to stop them. That group Center for American Progress, John Podesta's organization -- you know, they have this 501(c)(4) they started that is going to be just a war room against Trump. David Brock has his organization that's just going to be devoted to going after Trump morning, noon and night.
But this is what they do. This is their life blood. And it's -- but Trump -- Trump's the -- is the big trophy. They want to try to take him down. And so everybody who supports Trump and his agenda have to be aware of that and have to be really smart in how they stay on the offensive and don't start back-pedaling with every criticism or allegation.
HANNITY: To me, it all comes down to a very simple formula. You made a lot of promises, very specific. Keep your promises. Check them off the list. Keep your promises.
So all right, Laura. Great to see you.
INGRAHAM: Good to see you.
HANNITY: Thanks for being with us.
And up next on this busy news night tonight here on "Hannity"--
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ASSANGE: Our source is not the Russian government.
HANNITY: So in other words, let me be clear. Russia did not give you the Podesta documents or anything from the DNC.
ASSANGE: That's correct.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, earlier today, I spoke with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about the hacking hysteria and Russia. We've got the highlights. We'll get reaction from "The Five's" Kimberly Guilfoyle and Eric Bolling. They'll join us next.
Also tonight, a Democratic senator from West Virginia! Joe Manchin will actually come on the show and talk about the incoming Trump administration and his meeting with Donald Trump, and much more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." So Democratic crybabies all across the country -- they're having a very hard time accepting the crushing defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, and they're now trying to blame their loss on Russian interference.
Now, earlier today on my radio show, I interviewed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and asked him about this and much more. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ASSANGE: Our source is not the Russian government.
HANNITY: So in other words, let me be clear, Russia did not give you the Podesta documents or anything from the DNC.
ASSANGE: That's correct.
HANNITY: Can you confirm whether or not you have information involving hacked info from the RNC?
ASSANGE: We received about three pages of information to do with the RNC and Trump. But it was already public somewhere else.
HANNITY: Without revealing your sources, would it be fair to say that the information as it relates to Wikileaks and John Podesta's e-mails came from within United States to you?
ASSANGE: We have said it has not come from a state party. We know where it came from originally, of course. It's John Podesta. It's from the DNC, et cetera. There's been no claim that has been held up, not even maintained anymore, that any of the information has been modified or is fake.
HANNITY: So you can't confirm or deny if this information came from within the United States?
ASSANGE: We're unhappy that we felt that we needed to even say that it wasn't a state party. Normally, we say nothing at all. But we have a conflict of interest. We have an excellent reputation, a strong interest in protecting our sources, and so we're never saying anything about them, never rule anyone in or anyone out. Sometimes do it. We don't like to do it. We have another interest, which is maximizing the impact of our publications.
HANNITY: Let me ask you this then. Could you--
ASSANGE: And so here, in order to prevent a distraction attack against our publications, we've had to come out and say, No, it's not a state party. Stop trying to distract in that way. Pay attention to the content of the publication?
HANNITY: So in other words, when you say state party, it wasn't another state, like Russia or some other country.
ASSANGE: Correct.
HANNITY: How secure is America's agencies, American government, America's secrets?
ASSANGE: Everything is almost completely insecure now. The computer systems have become so complex that it is not possible to understand all the parts, let alone secure them. It's just impossible.
HANNITY: So -- and that goes for individuals as well as the government.
ASSANGE: It goes for all of us.
HANNITY: Let me ask you about the -- Craig Murray (ph), former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, an associate of yours. He was quoted in The Daily Mail that he flew to Washington, D.C., for the e-mails. He claimed he had a clandestine handoff in a wooded area near American University with one of the e-mail sources, and the leaker's motivation was, quote, "discussed" at the corruption of the Clinton Foundation and the tilting of the primary election playing field against Bernie Sanders, and he said the source had legal access to the information. The documents came from inside leaks, not from hacks.
ASSANGE: Yes. Craig Murray is a former U.K. ambassador. He is a friend of mine. He is not authorized to speak on behalf of WikiLeaks.
HANNITY: Are you angry that he gave this interview?
ASSANGE: I just don't want to go anywhere near that.
HANNITY: Is it much more likely that would have happened versus the Russians?
ASSANGE: I don't want to be drawn on this. We have to protect our sources.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: Here now with reaction, the co-hosts of the hit show "The Five," Eric Bolling, Kimberly Guilfoyle. You know, it's amazing, they ignored the collusion between the media and the Clinton camp. They ignored that, the racism, misogyny, sexism, anti-Semitism of the DNC. The only thing that matters here, if it hurts Donald Trump, let's make it up even though he denies it and there's no evidence that disproves it.
ERIC BOLLING, FOX NEWS HOST: Liberal, anti-Trumpers. Remember, Hillary Clinton didn't want to come out and concede the election that night. Allegedly reports say she got very violent with Podesta and Robby Mook. OK, it was their fault first. Then it became voter fraud. So we had to go through the charade song and dance of recounts. That didn't work out. Then it became the Russian's fault. The Russians affected the election. It's none of the above. They had a flawed candidate. Hillary Clinton is the worst candidate, not necessarily the worst human being, but the worst candidate to run for president in my lifetime. The Russians didn't make her say "deplorables" and it wasn't Donald Trump who made Obamacare premiums skyrocket, double in some cases, the week of the election.
HANNITY: Julian Assange was very clear it wasn't the Russians and no state whatsoever. There was a report earlier today, DailyMail.com, about Craig Murray, WikiLeaks, former ambassador to Uzbekistan, claiming he had a meeting, a clandestine handoff in a wooded area near American University with a source and that the source was within the Clinton campaign and they disgusted at the corruption of the Clinton Foundation and the tilting of the primary election field against Bernie Sanders, and that this source had legal access to those e-mails.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, FOX NEWS HOST: Pretty compelling factual narrative there to say exactly what the genesis of this was. But you have to understand that doesn't comport with what they want to tell the American people is the story. They want to be able to try to undermine the presidency to come of Donald Trump, the movement that put him in, and to discount the flawed nature of their candidate who had no regard for the law of the American people and concealed and destroyed evidence and caused lives to be lost in Benghazi. That's the real story.
BAIER: We know the CIA did politicize what happened in Benghazi because they had the false narrative about a YouTube video, spontaneous demonstrations, and the spontaneous demonstrators just happened to have mortars and RPGs in their back pocket. Are either of you worried at all about the electors that are being intimidated?
BOLLING: I'm not worried about the electors. I'm concerned that the CIA wouldn't put -- they're supposed to be a house Intel committee meeting tomorrow behind closed doors, not off the record, on the record but in private, and the CIA wouldn't put an intel agent --
HANNITY: Maybe they think the evidence is flimsy and weak?
BOLLING: Or since they made the original claim that the Russians affected the outcome of the election, since then they've come up with more evidence proving that maybe they didn't or they were wrong in the first place. At the very least, show up and let the House Intel Committee find out.
GUILFOYLE: My sources in the CIA that I spoke to about this told me there's a divide within the CIA, that many of the old guard, the actual operatives, the people doing the hard work in and out, are I guess basically in conflict with some of the younger analysts types who are more politically leaned toward Hillary Clinton and that's really what has gone on here. And it shouldn't be that way. But so far you're not hearing specific evidence, credible evidence to say that the Russians had anything to do with hacking or in fact affecting any voter fraud in the outcome of the United States presidential election.
HANNITY: Thanks both of you for sticking around late. We appreciate you always being here. Thank you.
BOLLING: Thanks, Sean.
GUILFOYLE: Thanks, Sean.
HANNITY: And coming up, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin will join us next. We'll ask him about the incoming administration and more.
And also tonight --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Crowds have been chanting "lock her up" at these Trump thank you rallies. Will Hillary Clinton ever be prosecuted? Does Trump have a say in it legally? We'll talk about it with Judge Jeanine Pirro straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity." So according to reports, two moderate Democratic senators, Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota have been under consideration for positions in president-elect Trump's cabinet. After the two met with the president- elect, sources are now telling Fox News that Senate Democrats are launching a, quote, "full court press" to prevent the senators from moving to the White House and leaving vacant seats in the U.S. Senate. Senator Manchin now says he plans to stay in the Senate. Here to discuss that and more, Democratic senator from the great state of West Virginia, Joe Manchin. How are you, senator? Good to see you.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN, D-W.VA.: Hey, Sean, good to see you, too, again.
HANNITY: By the way, maybe after this interview, if it goes well for you, you can tell your Democratic colleagues that I'm not Lucifer, I'm not Satan. I'm actually a nice person, because they don't like to come on the show which I think is their loss. But we do appreciate you coming on.
Before I get to the Trump meeting, I want to ask you this. I thought about the people of West Virginia when Hillary Clinton said she's going to put coal miners out of work and coal companies out of business. And I'm like, really? I was thinking, if I'm a coal miner, I had a coal company, that's my entire life career and savings. What did you think?
MANCHIN: Sean, it went through me like a knife. You know, I had talked to Hillary before that and I've known President Bill Clinton and Hillary for quite some time. They've always been good to our state and they've always been a good friend to me, so I've always had a good relationship. And we had talked earlier about that. I said a lot of our miners have lost their jobs. And it's horrible what's going on. And the coal companies are closing down declaring bankruptcy and on and on and on. And she told me we're not going to believe anybody behind. I said we can't. There's no plan.
There's no sympathy or empathy whatsoever from the Obama administration or President Obama, what they have done or the perception or what they have done to my state. So we went back and forth and talked about all of that. And when it came out it just rocked me pretty bad. I went to her and talked, and I said this is horrible. She said, I made a mistake. I'm so sorry. And I said it's going to be very hard for the people to accept it. She would not have won West Virginia no matter what, but surely that took it down a little further than what she would have been maybe.
HANNITY: After the meeting you had with Donald Trump, you said you had a very productive, informative meeting with the president-elect. You were honored and humble to be considered for secretary of energy, which you took yourself out of consideration. Tell us about the meeting. How did it go? What did you talk about? What were you impressions as a Democrat dealing with the Republican president-elect?
MANCHIN: Sean, I think you've known me well enough and you've followed me. I don't like at the identification of being a "D" or an "R." We're all Americans. We just have a little bit of a different approach on how we want to make sure that the county stays strong and stays free and gives us all the opportunity and the American dream is still alive. So that being said, I went into it excited and encouraged to be able to sit and talk to our president-elect.
You know, he's my president. I'm going to fight like the dickens to make him the best I can. People have because I'm a Democrat, what will you do in Donald Trump wins? I said I'm going to do my job. My job is to represent the people of West Virginia and help our president be the best person he can be. And if we're going to disagree --
HANNITY: It will be respectful. By the way, I wish it were that way. I think moderate conservative Democrats are dinosaurs and they don't exist. I think your party went pretty far to the left.
Let's just do yes or no. Will you support -- is there any one of his choices for his cabinet so far that you think you would be against, or do you like his choices?
MANCHIN: First of all, I'm not saying that I would be opposed to anybody because I believe there should be deference to the executive selection of putting his team together. And I was an executive and I asked the state senate to please give me the chance to put my people together. If they don't perform it's on me, not you, but give us a chance.
So I have said this. I know pretty much a lot of the people he has announced who he wants to be, I know Jeff Sessions. Jeff is a friend of mine and I said I will support Jeff. The things they're saying about Jeff, I've never seen any trace of that.
HANNITY: Let me ask you this, because I'm running out of time.
MANCHIN: There's going to be a vetting process.
HANNITY: There will be. And there's going to be politics played, and then we have the issue of the nuclear option. I'll stay away from that.
MANCHIN: Rex Tillerson, look at Rex. Rex and I worked on the Boy Scout camp at West Virginia, one of the greatest Boy Scout camps in the country. He's just a tremendous person.
Now, they said, are you worried about Rex because he might have a relationship with Putin? I said I hope somebody does because we haven't been talking to the Russians, and I'm concerned that we don't have any type of rapport with them whatsoever. What you should be asking in checking with Rex Tillerson is making sure he can divest himself from his financial holdings so it's not tied to the performance of Exxon Mobil once he leaves. If that can all be separated, they we should move on.
HANNITY: Senator, I hope we can continue these discussions with little more time in the future. Thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.
And coming up next on this busy news night on "Hannity."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: "Lock her up." President-elect Trump's supporters still want to see Hillary Clinton prosecuted. The Daily Caller reporting that officials at the New York FBI field office have been instructed to keep looking into practices at the Clinton Foundation. We'll check in with Judge Jeanine Pirro and more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: It's pretty clear, "lock her up," President Donald Trump's supporters want his incoming attorney general to look into possible charges against Hillary Clinton. Now, a recent Rasmussen polls shows that 56 percent of Republicans want the new administration to keep investigating Clinton and her closest aides. "The Daily Caller" is also reporting, quote, "Officials at the FBI headquarters instructed its New York field office to continue its corruption investigation into the Clinton Foundation following the election of Republican candidate Donald Trump."
Here with reaction, the host of "Justice," Judge Jeanine Pirro. Here is the most important thing. This is happening at every thank you rally he's been to. Everybody, "Lock her up," "CNN sucks," those are two of the mains ones, OK. But it really isn't Donald Trump's call, is it?
JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO, HOST, "JUSTICE": No, it isn't because you've got an independent department of justice and you've also got an independent FBI. I think if anything, Jim Comey showed us that during the election. But what Donald Trump said was that he wanted to go forward. He didn't take it off the table.
HANNITY: He said I'm not out to hurt her.
PIRRO: You know what, and as a prosecutor I wasn't out to hurt people, but I was out to do my job.
And just recently, we have had a couple of Democratic Congress people, one indicted and one convicted, both African-American, on corruption, 10 years, far less money laundering and corruption. So are we saying that African- Americans who are Democrats should be subject to these criminal charges but not the Clintons? Because you don't really want to go there.
What we've got is an incredible amount of money here in the Clinton Foundation. We've got the FBI in D.C. --
HANNITY: And the email server.
PIRRO: And the email --- nobody cares about the email server. But the genesis, the reason for the server was to cover up.
HANNITY: The mishandling of classified information.
PIRRO: You know what, they're not going with that misdemeanor. They're not. This is about the foundation.
HANNITY: There are felonies involved here.
PIRRO: They're not going there. This is about money.
HANNITY: So she can get away with felonies?
PIRRO: This is about -- no. They're going after money laundering, conspiracy, RICO, corruption, and foreign countries are doing this, too, Sean.
HANNITY: Should Donald Trump weigh in in any way or should he stay out of it? I argue he should stay out of it. I thought it was wrong when Obama weighed in on "60 Minutes" and said she didn't do anything wrong.
PIRRO: But Donald Trump hasn't done that. What Donald Trump has said --
HANNITY: Who needs to be quiet?
PIRRO: I'm not saying he should or shouldn't. What I'm saying is he hasn't said anything like Barack Obama said. Barack Obama prejudged and made a decision ahead --
HANNITY: Do you have any doubt she committed crimes?
PIRRO: Do I any doubts? I haven't seen all of the evidence, but what I can tell you based on what I've seen, this needs to be in a grand jury. You've got a money laundering investigation out of L.A. with her talking about the Clinton Foundation. You've got all of the foreign policy countries now who are looking at her.
HANNITY: If they don't apply the law equally, what does that tell every American?
PIRRO: What it tells everyone is that there is no such thing as equal justice in the United States under the law, and that if you're African- American, you may be going to jail, but not if you're a Clinton.
HANNITY: Here is a new FOX News poll. Should Obama pardon Hillary? No, 68 percent. Do you think he will?
PIRRO: I don't know.
HANNITY: For crimes may have been committed, just like the language President Ford used against President Nixon.
PIRRO: Do you know what? Obama has been anti law enforcement this whole term.
HANNITY: When we come back, we need your help, an important "Question of the Day." Judge, thank you. We'll continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Time for our "Question of the Day." Do Democrats and liberals in the press need to stop trying to undermine Donald J. Trump's victory? We want to hear from you. Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter, let us know what you think. That's all the time we have left this evening. We hope you'll set your DVR so you never miss an episode. And we'll see you back here tomorrow night.
Content and Programming Copyright 2016 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2016 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox