Mark Levin: Schumer is undermining the Constitution
'LevinTV' host speaks out about response to FBI Director Comey's firing on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," May 10, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And thanks to our friends on "The Five." Welcome to "Hannity." And this is a Fox News Alert, another massive breaking news night. Now, the great one, Mark Levin, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Malkin, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Jay Sekulow, Geraldo Rivera all here tonight with reaction.
But first, tinfoil hat conspiracy liberals in Congress, the destroy Trump media -- they are absolutely losing it! They're completely unhinged, of course, over James Comey being fired, which needed to happen. And that is tonight's important "Opening Monologue."
All right, so you have deranged liberal crackpots, they're at it again. And they're using President Trump's decision -- very important decision -- to fire the now former FBI director to push all kinds of brand-new, completely insane, bizarre conspiracy theories.
Now, earlier today in Oval Office, President Trump was asked why he decided to fire James Comey. Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Why did you fire Director Comey?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Because he wasn't doing a good job, very simply. He was not doing a good job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That is a simple, basic fundamental truth that liberals refuse to face. James Comey was shown the door. He did not do his job.
Now, Comey failed you, remember this, the American people. He disrespected the Constitution. He made a mockery out of the rule of law and equal justice under the law. He sat on his hands while your 4th Amendment privacy rights were being trampled on. And he created most dangerously a two-tiered justice system, one for Bill and Hillary Clinton and one for everybody else.
Now, that man's conduct was and is shameful and inexcusable. In fact, it's why not that long ago, Democrats were calling for Comey's head. This is the funny part. They're now suffering a massive case of selective amnesia and are feigning moral outrage. Well, we're going to show you examples of that stunning hypocrisy in just a second.
But first, I want to highlight how facts do not matter to the left in America today. For example, the destroy Trump media, they've has been going insane and ballistic and running wild with the most absurd kinds of conspiracy theories over why Comey was fired. This is insanity on display representing itself as news! Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's a grotesque abuse of power by the president of the United States. This is the kind of thing that goes on in non-democracies.
I have not seen anything like this since October 20th, 1973, when President Nixon fired Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor.
VAN JONES, CNN COMMENTATOR: The only winner, the only people who've got to be happy tonight are sitting in the Kremlin. This is the result of letting someone like Putin throw marbles on the stairs, banana peels on the sidewalk for American democracy and not having the president stand up and say, "You know what? I want this to stop."
CLINT WATTS, FORMER FBI AGENT, MSNBC: President Trump said America first. Tonight, President Trump put himself first.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC HOST: A little whiff of fascism tonight, I think it's fair to say.
WATTS: Absolutely.
MATTHEWS: A little whiff of, I don't care about the law, I'm the boss.
I do see the Romanov aspect of this administration. The people he trusts are his family members, the people that -- his bodyguards deliver that kind of information, his body man. It's monarchical.
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: Firing Archibald Cox was the first shovel into President Nixon's political grave, and it always, always works like that.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HANNITY: Saturday night massacre? Whiff of fascism, NBC News? This is beyond outrageous, but it's not surprising.
Now, the liberal media, they want to destroy President Trump. They want him out of office. Now they will do and say anything to make that happen. Now, keep in mind, the destroy Trump media, they're the same people it was proven colluded with Hillary Rodham Clinton during her campaign, and of course, they tried to help her win the White House.
Now, they ignore the fact that Hillary Clinton -- look at your screen! They broke multiple laws! Right there, you can see them. Having a private email server that contained secret -- top-secret, special access programs, classified information. Now, we're the only ones really in the media that told you the truth about the Clintons while the rest of the media covered it all up and colluded.
And one more thing about the destroy Trump media. They have been lying -- lying! -- for months to the American people about this Trump-Russia fake news talking point. And they're continuing it even still!
There is zero evidence so far that Donald Trump -- his campaign, his transition ever colluded with the Russians. It is a bizarre conspiracy theory. And honestly, they have to know the truth but won't tell you the truth.
For example, the former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has said many, many times he has seen no evidence of Russian collusion. Here's one example.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MARCH 5, "MEET THE PRESS"/NBC)
CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR: Let me ask you this. Does intelligence exist that can definitively answer the following question, whether there were improper contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian official?
JAMES CLAPPER, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: We did not include any evidence in our report -- when I say "our," that's NSA, FBI and CIA with my office, the director of national intelligence -- that had anything -- that had any reflection of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and the Russians. There was no evidence of that included in -- in our report.
TODD: I understand that, but does it exist?
CLAPPER: Not to my knowledge. We had no evidence of such collusion.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HANNITY: "Not to my knowledge, no evidence of collusion." Then, of course, you have the deranged Democrats. Now, they're pretending to be so outraged over Comey's firing and saying the most insane things. You talk about selective moral outrage? This is it on steroids. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-N.Y., MINORITY LEADER: We know Director Comey was leading an investigation on whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians, a serious offense. Were those investigations getting too close to home for the president? The dismissal of Director Comey establishes a very troubling pattern.
SEN. TIM KAINE, D-VA., "GMA"/ABC: We have a deeply insecure president who understands that the noose is tightening because of this Russia investigation. And that's why I believe he has let Jim Comey go.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, D-CONN., CNN: What we have now is really a looming constitutional crisis that is deadly serious.
Ultimately, there may be subpoenas to the president of the United States, just as occurred in 1973, precipitating United States versus Nixon and a similar firing of a special prosecutor.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, D-MASS.: Comey was not fired because of Hillary. Comey was fired because of the Russians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, MSNBC: First of all, as you pointed out, the whole echo of Watergate is very strong here.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, D-MD.: There is absolutely no accountability with regard to this president. He basically seems to be able to do whatever he wants. And the Republicans -- our Republican friends are aiding and abetting that situation.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HANNITY: Now, this hypocrisy coming from the Democrats is off the charts even for their standards. Now, let me remind them all that it wasn't a very long ago, was it, when they were viciously attacking, oh, James Comey. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JOHN PODESTA, FORMER CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIR, "THIS WEEK"/ABC, NOV. 6, 2016: We're all disturbed, first of all, by the letter, which really broke precedent, was over the advice of the leaders in the Justice Department. You know, I'm not challenging Mr. Comey's motivation. But I do think it was unwarranted. It was a mistake.
SCHUMER, OCT 31, 2016: He's got a big burden of proof, so to speak, on him for why he did what seems to be such an appalling act that goes against the tradition of prosecutors at every level of government. It was -- when I heard about it, I found it hard to believe that Comey, who I thought had some degree of integrity, would do this.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF., MINORITY LEADER, CNN, NOV. 2, 2016: I think he made a mistake on this. And he clearly has a double standard. In these jobs, if you're not in it for a while, you can't take the heat. And I think he just couldn't take the heat from the Republicans. I
t's really unfortunate because I do believe he is a good person. Maybe he's not in the right job.
SEN. HARRY REID, D-NEV., FMR. SENATE MINORITY LEADER, DEC. 10, 2016 : I am so disappointed in Comey. He has let the country down for partisan purposes. That is why I call him the new J. Edgar Hoover because I believe that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe that Jim Comey should resign, Senator Reid?
REID: Of course. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: "Of course. Yes."
Now, let me specifically remind "Crocodile Tears" Senator Chucky Schumer and what he said about James Comey just back in November, just days before the election. Quote, "I do not have confidence in him any longer. To restore my faith, I'm going to have to sit down and talk to him and get an explanation for why he did this."
HANNITY: Now, that's just more proof that Schumer, the Democrats, are full of it when it comes to James Comey. And on top of all of that, just last week, Hillary Clinton blamed James Comey for her election loss. I bet she's a big fan today. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL, MAY 2)
HILLARY CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28th and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the mind of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: No.
But here's the point tonight: There is no getting through to these tinfoil hat conspiracy liberals on the left. They're detached from reality. They're oblivious to truth today. It's time to diagnose them with what it is, Trump derangement syndrome. And sadly, there's not a cure. That's the worst part. This will go on for four years, probably eight years.
Now, here with reaction is the host of "LevinTV" at CRTV network -- I call him "The Great One" -- Mark Levin, my friend.
All these analogies -- Watergate, Watergate, Saturday night massacre, whiff of fascism, the tinfoil hat conspiracy theories being spun, Russia, Russia, Russia -- no evidence of Russia, Mark.
One, tell us why this was necessary from your legal perspective. Two, how this hypocrisy and these conspiracies are actually really dangerous.
MARK LEVIN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: First of all, the president didn't order an end to the Russia investigation, now, did he. Now, we have a lot of legal and historical illiterates posing as TV hosts and commentators, like Jeffrey Toobin and -- among others.
Let me be very specific. Richard Nixon during Watergate ordered the attorney general to fire the special prosecutor. He refused. Then he ordered the deputy attorney general to fire the special prosecutor, and he refused.
Here, the deputy attorney general writes a memorandum urging the attorney general and the president to fire the FBI director. The attorney general attaches it to a letter, endorses it, and the president of the United States fires him.
It has nothing to do with Watergate. But of course, the media and the Democrats -- one and the same -- want it to deal with Watergate. The president did not order in any respect an end to the Russian investigation!
But I have a couple questions, if I might, for Chuck Schumer, who is the leading demagogue in all this. Tell me something, Mr. Schumer. Can you name a single Russian, just one, who colluded with Donald Trump and his campaign? Just give us one! One!
You got intelligence committees who've been investigating. You've had this interminable federal investigation that's gone on. Let's have it!
Now, I have another question for Mr. Schumer. You like these independent special prosecutors. Sean, have you noticed they all use the same phrases? We can't trust the Justice Department to investigate. They can't even name the FBI agents who are involved in this investigation! I'm sure they are career agents that'll do their job regardless of who the FBI director is.
But Mr. Schumer likes these independent special prosecutors. Let me ask you something, sir. Do you support an independent special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton and her multiple violations of the Espionage Act? Do you support an independent special prosecutor for the Obama administration's surveillance and unmasking of Trump transition team members and God knows who else? The Israeli ambassador was surveilled! The prime minister of Israel was surveilled! Members of Congress were surveilled! Jewish leaders and Jewish groups were surveilled! How about an independent investigation of that?
Got another one, Mr. Schumer. How about an independent special prosecutor to investigate this whole seedy Iranian deal, with the secret deals, the ransom payments, the release of terrorists that we find out after the fact?
Let me tell you what's going on here, Sean. The president of the United States followed the Constitution, followed the law and followed the advice of a deputy attorney general who won 94 to 6 his confirmation on April 25th. That means almost every single Democrat voted for him! You want to know why? The guy doesn't have a political bone in his body. He's worked for Bill Clinton. He's worked for George Bush. He is a career public integrity prosecutor, a criminal prosecutor. He's been an assistant U.S. attorney and a U.S. attorney.
And Sean, the two big left-wing senators from Maryland went to his confirmation hearing, introduced him and urged the committee to support him for deputy attorney general! This man comes into the Justice Department, he hears what Schumer has said! He hears what Clinton has said! And he has seen with his own eyes what Comey did. Then he watches Comey's testimony the week before, last week, in which Comey doubles down...
HANNITY: Mark...
LEVIN: ... on his outrageous behavior! And what happens? He writes a memo to the attorney general and says, Mr. Attorney General, this director of the FBI -- I have to deal with him. He's my direct report. I don't trust him. He needs to go.
And the president of the United States in the end did exactly the right thing. He did what Barack Obama didn't have the courage to do, which is to remove an FBI director that didn't have the temperament to be an FBI director!
HANNITY: Well said. Let's talk about this from the legal point of view. And you studied the Constitution your entire life. You were Ed Meese's chief of staff when he was the attorney general of the United States.
When we talk about, Mark, equal justice under the law, when we talk about a two-tiered justice system -- it is overwhelming and incontrovertible the evidence that Hillary Clinton violated numerous laws, committed numerous felonies. And that's just on the e-mail server scandal. The Iranian Uranium One deal in which you mention (ph), the Clinton Foundation, all the -- she signed off 20 percent of America's uranium going to Vladimir Putin - - now, there's a Russian conspiracy.
And then of course, General Flynn, the one law we know was broken was when this man was, OK, incidentally surveilled, but then unmasked. And then the surveillance leaked and his entire reputation destroyed. That's a felony under the Espionage Act.
For the average person that is maybe hearing some of these tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists, what does it mean to this country if we have a two- tiered justice system and we don't have equal justice under the law?
LEVIN: Well, the people of this country need to understand what the president of the United States did was take the advice of a career prosecutor, who was confirmed 94 to 6 by the United States Senate and backed by almost every Democrat. And that career prosecutor, as opposed to Chuck Schumer, who is a career political hack demagogue -- that career prosecutor looked at this case -- and I might add James Comey is under investigation by the inspector general of the Department of Justice, too.
That career prosecutor, who's now the deputy attorney general, nonpartisan, nonpolitical, looked at what Comey had done. He got in there April 25th. And by the way, I find it fascinating that Democrats say, Why did he act now? The same Democrats who have stonewalled the confirmation of almost all of the president's cabinet selections, let alone his second-tier cabinet selections!
Finally, this outstanding choice for deputy attorney general is confirmed two weeks ago.
HANNITY: All right, we got to...
LEVIN: And then he looks at this situation and he says, This man needs to be removed. The answer is the president followed the Constitution and Chuck Schumer is undermining the Constitution.
HANNITY: All right, Mark, a rare appearance. I ask all of Mark's fans to tell Mark, write Mark to come on the show more often. We love having you. Thank you, sir.
And on this busy breaking news night, up next tonight on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: The simple fact is Director Comey had lost the confidence of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: The vice president, Mike Pence, forcefully defending President Trump's decision to fire James Comey. We'll check in with former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He's next.
And also tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!"/ABC)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST: This is the kind of thing dictators do. This is the kind of thing reality TV hosts do. They fire someone every week.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: Maybe that's what happened. He thinks he's still on "Celebrity Apprentice."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Late-night hosts -- they couldn't control their outrage after the president fired Comey. I'll explain, a mini monologue. We'll get reaction from Michelle Malkin, also Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Jay Sekulow, Geraldo Rivera on this busy breaking news night tonight on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: I'm confident as we go forward that the president will choose an individual who will be able to restore the confidence of our nation in our leading law enforcement agency. President Trump made the right decision at the right time.
The former director of national intelligence has said there is no evidence of collusion. The president and I remain confident that the committees in the House and the Senate that are looking into every aspect of issues that arise out of last year's election will be able to do their work and do it in an orderly way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That was the vice president, Mike Pence, earlier today defending President Trump's decision to fire James Comey.
Here now with reaction, the author of the soon to be released book, "Understanding Trump," former speaker of the House, FOX News contributor Newt Gingrich.
If it wasn't so serious, the bizarre tinfoil hat conspiracies -- they'd actually be funny. But it's now become more organic in spite of, as I pointed out in the last segment, Admiral Rogers and Clapper and so many others -- there's not a shred of evidence, not a shred!
NEWT GINGRICH, R-FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Right.
HANNITY: So it would be funny...
GINGRICH: Well, I'll tell you what's equally amazing, some of the liberal networks are now actually reminding Democrats of what they said about Comey in the last few months. And I mean, I've never see them do this before.
I think the Democrats are now so out of sync with reality that even the more liberal networks are beginning to have to say, Now, wait a second. Remember when you said this and you said this and you said this?
The objective fact is that there is no evidence that President Trump did anything in any way that that was inappropriate. And I think that part of what you have -- and you saw this with Hillary Clinton last week -- they can't look in the mirror and say, I lost. So there's got to be some -- you know, somebody did it to them.
And I'm -- I think the next phase after this burns out, will be Martians. I think...
(LAUGHTER)
GINGRICH: ... they'll go back and pull up...
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRICH: They're going to pull up -- they're going to pull up Mars attacks as a movie...
HANNITY: You know, I'm sitting here...
GINGRICH: ... and they're going to say, See?
HANNITY: The next phase of this is going to be -- and I'm expecting (ph) something profound and Martians. OK, Laura said last night, Cuckoo for cocoa puffs.
GINGRICH: It is profound! That's right.
HANNITY: I got it. I understand. You know, I want to go to, though, Rod Rosenstein. I mean, here's a -- what was it, April 25th, 94 to 6, Democrats approved him. They loved him. He was appointed by Obama to I guess be the U.S. attorney in Maryland. And he and all of these other attorney generals during the Ford era, even -- even, for crying out loud, Eric Holder and others, all say the same thing, Mukasey and so many really smart attorney generals, deputy attorney generals from all these past administrations.
GINGRICH: Look, the fact is, that's the real argument that the Democrats have. Here is somebody who is a career professional. I think he served starting back in the Clinton administration, in the Justice Department. He was picked -- he was Obama's choice to be the U.S. attorney for Maryland. As you pointed out, he's endorsed 94 to 6, and he's the guy who writes the memo that says, We will never be able to rebuild the FBI as long as Comey is there.
Now, if you're the president of the United States and out of a nonpartisan career professional you get a memo like that, you have a pretty strong pressure to act and to do the right thing for the country. And I believe, in firing Comey, that President Trump did exactly the right thing.
HANNITY: OK. So as the great historian that you are -- and this is your love and passion, and I've always felt you were more...
GINGRICH: Here we go.
HANNITY: I'm not setting you up -- more professorial, you actually were a professor -- all of these analogies for Watergate -- Mark touched on it a little bit in the last segment -- they're so inadequate and false, and it's almost universal. And then it goes a little further and NBC with the "whiffs of fascism" comments -- do you want to just address that from a historical perspective, it's not the Saturday night massacre?
GINGRICH: No, well, first of all, they're totally different environments. The fact is that you are now dealing with a desperation on the left. I mean, I think the only way you can understand the news media and the left- wing Democrats is that it's a pathology. I mean, it's not a political event, it's a psychosis brought about by the shock on election night that the world they knew was coming, namely, Hillary Clinton, a liberal Supreme Court, imposing radical values using the power of government -- sometime around 8:00 or 9:00 o'clock that night, it disappeared and they have never gotten over it.
And as a result, you see these kind of nutty statements. You know, when President Clinton fired the director of the FBI, I don't remember anybody jumping up and saying there was a whiff of fascism about doing it. The objective reality is that the president was given advise by a career professional who was acceptable to Obama, acceptable by 94 to 6 to the Senate. He took that advice.
But my deeper point here, Sean, is if President Trump comes out tomorrow morning and announces that he has decided that the United States flag is red, white and blue, Chuck Schumer's going to jump up and say, You see? Once again, he's wrong because it's fuschia. Don't all of you understand that it's fuschia? Because they can't -- they can't agree on anything that Trump wants.
HANNITY: Yes.
GINGRICH: And so it's kind of like they wake up in the morning and they go, they say, I know Trump's guilty. What is it he did? And that's their whole approach right now.
And it's -- we just saw in Omaha, by the way, that a good guy running for mayor had a real chance to win, and the more people realized who the Democrats were, the more his campaign collapsed.
HANNITY: All right, Mr. Speaker, thank you for being with us. And I really appreciate the Martian analogy. Why am I not...
GINGRICH: Good to be with you.
HANNITY: I won't be shocked when it happens. I mean it. I really think it can happen.
GINGRICH: Part of my professorial role, right, my professorial role.
HANNITY: That's correct. All right, sir. Thank you.
And up next on this busy breaking news night tonight here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMEL: This is the kind of thing dictators do. This is the kind of reality TV hosts do. They fire someone every week.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: Maybe that's what happened. He thinks he's still on the "Celebrity Apprentice".
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, late-night hosts becoming unhinged after news breaking that President Trump fired James Comey. Now, we're going to tell you what they said. We'll get reaction. Michelle Malkin coming up.
Also the president calling out hypocritical opportunists in the Democratic Party who are now feigning outrage over Comey's firing. Dr. Gorka, and then later, Jay Sekulow, Geraldo Rivera stop by on this busy news night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACKIE IBANEZ, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening and live from America's news headquarters, I am Jackie Ibanez in New York.
The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn. It comes after Flynn failed to meet a deadline to submit documents related to the committee's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the election. President Trump fired Flynn back February after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about the do contents of his discussion with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.
And President Trump meeting with two of Russia's top diplomats today in the highest level face-to-face meeting between the administration and Moscow since Trump took office. President Trump stressing ways to end the civil war in Syria and improving U.S.-Russia relations during his meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
I'm Jackie Ibanez. Now back to "Hannity." For all of your headlines, logon on FoxNews.com. You're watching the most powerful name and news, Fox News Channel.
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So last night after the president fired the FBI Director James Comey, America's liberal late-night hosts went into full on freak out mode, only the latest example that proves they are becoming totally unhinged. That's tonight's mini- monologue.
Nationally two of the most prominent late-night Trump haters, Jimmy Kimmel, Steve Colbert, they led the way but their biased coverage of Comey's firing. Watch Colbert's audience in particular.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
KIMMEL: He fired the director of the FBI while the director was investigating his people with possible collusion with Russia. This is unbelievable. This is the kind of thing dictators do. This is the kind of thing reality TV hosts do. They fire someone every week.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: Maybe that's what happened. He thinks he's still on the "Celebrity Apprentice." It was between James Comey and Meatloaf and, well, the Loaf won again.
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW"/NBC: FBI Director James Comey has just been fired by Donald Trump.
(APPLAUSE)
COLBERT: Huge, huge Donald Trump fans here tomorrow night.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: My pulse is racing. He fired the FBI director who had the said under oath that he is investigating the Trump campaign ties with Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HANNITY: I don't think the Colbert audience knew what side they supposed to be on.
If you think that's bad, it doesn't even begin to skim the surface of these constant one-sided, nightly, brutal, vile attacks on the president and his family beyond his policies. Of course every president since the beginning of modern late-night TV has been the butt of many jokes, but President Trump by far has had it worse than anybody. According to a George Mason University study, President Trump faced 1,060 late-night jokes during only his first 100 days, a number that Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Barack Obama didn't hit in their first entire year in office.
But it's not just the volume of anti-Trump jokes that is concerning. These unhinged late-night hosts have proven there are zero limits in the age of Trump, very different than the Obama years. They not only attack the president viciously, they are going after his wife, the first lady Melania Trump, his daughter, Ivanka, his 11-year-old son, female members of his staff that serve in his administration, like Kellyanne Conway.
Where is Hillary Clinton? Where are all the defenders of women's rights coming to their defense?
Joining us now, the host of "Michelle Malkin Investigates" on CRTV. You know, I won't mention Colbert from last week or -- Bill Maher is making incest jokes about the daughter of the president. Imagine in the error of Obama if that happened. What would be the reaction of the country?
MICHELLE MALKIN, HOST, "MICHELLE MALKIN INVESTIGATES": Yes, I don't call him Bill Maher, Sean. I call him "Pig Maher" because he really is one of the most vile misogynists in the entertainment industry. He's gotten away with it for so long. And as you say, unfortunately, it has reached a fever pitch. We are seeing the late-night comedy clown car crash and burn.
And I have to say, can I just go back to that Colbert moment where the audience didn't realize where it was supposed to be? The sheep were baaing the wrong moment. And then they had to realize, or, wait, wait, we have to catch up, we have to catch up to this, the current Democrat talking points. I think it's just a revelation of just what tools these people are. This isn't about entertainment. It's about using their platform to forward an ideological agenda and then disclaim any kind of partisanship.
But the question is, where were these people? I could understand it if there is some sort of equal opportunity in using their brutal wit, whoever is in power. But for eight years, they snoozed along with the rest of the lapdogs in the mainstream media when there were many ripe opportunities to tear Obama down.
HANNITY: Michelle, we've got to roll. Always good to see you and appreciate your insight and congrats on the new show.
When we come back, President Trump defends the firing of James Comey. Also, he's calling out the hypocritical people on the left, those that once brutalized and criticized the FBI director but are now hysterical he was let go, selective moral outrage. Dr. Gorka will join us with reaction.
And later, Jay Sekulow on the law, Geraldo Rivera, their insight, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So President Trump is of course defending his decision to fire James Comey. He sent out several tweets this morning, such as "The Democrats have said some of the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad. James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI. Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down they will be thanking me."
Here with reaction, deputy assistant to the president, Dr. Sebastian Gorka. And you said that the firing was an example of how decisive the president is. I would also argue the president was kind of fair and give him a pretty good shot in spite of obvious laws violated that he refused to pursue.
DR. SEBASTIAN GORKA, DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely, Sean. Remember, the director of the FBI reports to the deputy attorney general, and the deputy attorney general reports to the leading law enforcement officer of the land, that is the attorney general, and he's a member of the president's cabinet. So this isn't some random act. This is an individual who was given a chance to do what had to be done and he failed. And his last testimony was that last straw that broke the camel's back.
Do you know what happened last year? He usurped the then attorney general by saying he is going to make the decision with regards to whether or not Hillary Clinton should be prosecuted. That is not the job of the director of the FBI. He lost the confidence -- I worked for years with the FBI before I came into government on January 20th. I know the agents. I know the intelligence analysts. When he gave that 14 minute press conference last year -- 13 minutes of which was a slam dunk that Hillary should be prosecuted --
HANNITY: A stinging indictment.
GORKA: A stinging indictment. And in the last 60 seconds he punts it. I know from an internal source that half the field office, half the agents in a specific field office, when they heard that last minute, got up from their desks, put on their jackets, and didn't return to the work until the following Monday. James Comey lost the respect of his agency.
HANNITY: He lays out the 13 minute case and he even admits extreme carelessness. The legal standard is gross negligence. What's the difference? Let me ask you this --
GORKA: Can I just stay on that for a second.
HANNITY: Yes, sir.
GORKA: There is also one really crucial thing. He talked about we did not find any intent. Well, he has to know that it is one of the peculiarities of U.S. administrative law and federal law that in the case of classified materials handling, it is one of the rare exceptions that intent is totally irrelevant. If you are careless, you have committed a felony if you have allowed top-secret classified information to be taken off a government system. Intent is irrelevant and he knew that.
HANNITY: Let me ask this. Remember when the issue of Donald Trump taking on the leaks and intelligence issues, et cetera, which I think we are trampling on Fourth Amendment rights, and the numbers in this election season are almost triple what they normally would be. There better be a good excuse. I think there's going to be a lot of news on this as time unfolds.
Remember when Chuck Schumer said why take on the intelligence community? They'll get you six ways from Sunday. The deep state, in other words, those that might have leaks, not the good people that do the hard work every day of gathering intelligence to keep us safe -- is that the same with the FBI? Do we now have to worry deep state officials that gather intelligence are going to go after Americans and go after the president politically, or the FBI, some that don't like him might be leaking to hurt this president? Is that a fear?
GORKA: Sean, you've met these people, I've worked with these people. The vast majority of the individuals in the intelligence community and federal law enforcement and U.S. government, they are patriots. They're true Americans. The real danger is those political appointees, the Ben Rhodes of the world, the Collin Cauls (ph), the Rices, who will not recognize that the American people chose Donald Trump to be their president -- they think they are still in power. They're hanging out with their buddies. They're writing attack pieces against the president, against you, against key members of this administration. It's time for them to realize through the new president is.
HANNITY: Dr. Gorka, good to see you, and congratulation on your position, and we will have you back on national security issues soon.
When we come back, the White House does say that President Trump was thinking about firing Comey since the day he was elected. We will check in with Jay Sekulow, Geraldo Rivera. They are next with reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The president had lost, again, like I said, he lost confidence in Director Comey, and, frankly, he had been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected. But he did have a conversation with the deputy attorney general on Monday where they had come to him to express their concerns. The president asked that they put those concerns and their recommendation in writing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That was White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier today at the White House press briefing smashing all these leftwing tinfoil conspiracy talking points about President Trump and his firing of James Comey.
Here with reaction from the American Center for Law and Justice Jay Sekulow, Fox News senior correspondent Geraldo Rivera is with us. Jay, let me start with you on the issue of the law. We went through this all last night. There are so many issues, and if you just look at the Obama appointee, Rod Rosenstein and what he laid out, the office of the deputy attorney general, he's an Obama appointee. He's worked for Republicans and Democrats, 94 to six just April 25th. This is not a rightwing conspiracy. Everybody is wrong on the Nixonian comparisons here as we explained earlier.
JAY SEKULOW, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE: Absolutely. Look, Rosenstein came into office and he was charged with as one of his functions, he's the deputy A.G., is to look at this entire mess because, let's face it, the former FBI director James Comey created this mess himself. He created it.
Some people are calling it a constitutional crisis. It's not. The president was well within his constitutional authority in terminating the director of the FBI, in this case, for, in my view, gross incompetence. Look, the intervention into the presidential campaign three times was unprecedented. The fact is that he then went into the situation where he took over basically the role of the attorney general and decided he was going to be judge, jury, and executioner. Then he didn't get to do that. And then he had to go back to Congress again two days ago to correct his testimony again because of a misstatement regarding the email situation.
So I think what happened here was the department of justice did what it is supposed to do. A new deputy A.G. came in, not from a political bias at all. No one can argue that. As you said, he was confirmed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support. He looked at it and said James Comey did not do what a director of the FBI agency is supposed to do. And the net result of that was he gets terminated. That was the correct result.
HANNITY: Geraldo?
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I think, first of all, you are overlooking the gorilla in the room. Timing is everything in life. If Trump had fired Director Comey on January 20th, the whole world on both sides of the aisle would be applauding. The fact of the matter is he let it go too long and he let it go too deep into this story.
HANNITY: The Wall Street Journal said that.
RIVERA: It gave the ability of his detractors, and my God, there are legions of them -- you and I know, Sean, that this president unlike any president in the last two centuries has a bull's-eye on his back, a gigantic bull's-eye. Every misstep, they are looking to stab him in the back. They are looking to really get him. When he gives them an opportunity, and opening like this, they ran right into it.
Let me say something revolutionary here. Wait a second, Jay. This I think is very important. Going back to the original sin, what is the allegation here? The allegation that some people in the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians? I submit to you, and I just had a conversation with Judge Napolitano on this. I have been scratching my head about this for months. What is the crime? If the Russian KGB chief is talking to Paul Manafort and the chief says I've got this dirt here that says Hillary Clinton was this and that. And Paul Manafort says next Wednesday, I want you to release that. That would be great for us. I don't know that that is a crime at all. What's the crime?
HANNITY: But Jay, Obama did try to undermine Bibi Netanyahu and influence their elections.
SEKULOW: Of course, to go over to the United States government, money from the United States government and have that money go to a group in Israel to defeat the prime minister. But Geraldo, I want to ask you a question. There is no question under the constitution -- let me just ask this brief and we will go through them. President Trump -- if President Trump had the authority to terminate the director of the FBI --
RIVERA: No question he serves at the pleasure of the president. There is no constitutional crisis, period.
HANNITY: Real quick, Jay.
SEKULOW: OK, number two, that the instigation by the director of the FBI into the election three different times was a basis for he then if he wanted to later on to terminate.
RIVERA: I agree Comey was the dork that screwed up the election.
(LAUGHTER)
SEKULOW: And then two days ago, this is number three, the FBI director has to go back and correct his testimony again. You don't think that gives the president the right to do it right then when he did it yesterday?
RIVERA: The president should have done it, as I said, over 100 days ago.
HANNITY: All right, I've got to let you go.
SEKULOW: They would have been screaming about that, too.
HANNITY: Thank you both. I can't believe they are agreeing. This is history in the making. When we come back, an important "Question of the Day" as we continue.
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