Newt Gingrich: We're in a clear-cut cultural civil war

Gingrich: We're in a clear-cut cultural civil war

On 'Hannity,' the former House speaker on why former attorney general Lynch is back in the spotlight

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," June 13, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Welcome to "Hannity," and this is a "Fox News Alert." We are following two big breaking news stories tonight. The attorney general, Jeff Sessions, obliterates the left and their black helicopter tinfoil hat Russia collusion conspiracy theories and slams the Democrats for spreading detestable lies during his very, very powerful Senate testimony earlier today.

Also Newt Gingrich, Gregg Jarrett, Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter, Geraldo Rivera are all here tonight with reaction.

Plus, we are awaiting tonight the return to the United States of an American student who was jailed in North Korea for more than a year. He is in need of serious medical treatment and is currently in a coma. We are following that story closely.

But first, Jeff Sessions's testimony today a huge win for President Trump and his administration as they continue to fight back against the unprecedented attacks against them. And that is tonight's very important "Opening Monologue."

The Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, he came out of the box earlier today swinging and ready to shoot down the massive lie that has been pushed endlessly by the Democrats, and of course the destroy Trump media, about so- called Trump Russian collusion despite no evidence to this point. It is up to now been a complete and utter lie and a total fabrication.

So when the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, was pressed about it by the Democrats, well, guess what? He punched back hard in a major way. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF SESSIONS, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I was your colleague in this body for 20 years, at least some of you, and I participated -- and the suggestion that I participated in any collusion, that I was aware of any collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country, which I have served with honor for 35 years, or to undermine the integrity of our democratic process is an appalling and detestable lie!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Good for the attorney general. And he wasn't finished because once again, despite no evidence of so-called Trump-Russia collusion, the Democrats, they still continue to push this baseless black helicopter conspiracy theory. Take a look at this testy exchange between the attorney general and liberal Senator Ron Wyden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON WYDEN, D-ORE.: Mr. Comey said that there were matters with respect to the recusal that were problematic, and he couldn't talk about them. What are they?

SESSIONS: That -- why don't you tell me? They are none, Senator Wyden. There are none. I can tell you that for absolute certainty.

WYDEN: We can -- we can...

SESSIONS: You tell -- this is a secret innuendo being leaked out there about me, and I don't appreciate it. And I tried to give my best and truthful answers to any committee I've appeared before. And it's really -- people are suggesting through innuendo that I have been not honest about matters, and I've tried to be honest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right, checkmate. Now, what's so disgusting about all of this is that Democrats, including some who are actually on this Senate Intelligence Committee and were actually questioning Jeff Sessions today, have admitted themselves no evidence of collusion. Now, since some of these Democrats are so partisan that they have forgotten, let us remind them of their own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, "THIS WEEK"/ABC, JUNE 11: Do you agree with this conclusion that the president has reached that there is no evidence of collusion?

SEN. JOE MANCHIN-D-W.VA.: You know, we haven't seen any of that whatsoever, George. We've been looking and showing everything that they possibly have. That has not led to that.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN, MAY 18: The last time we spoke, Senator, I asked you if you'd actually seen evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, and you said to me, and I'm quoting you now -- you said, "not at this time." Has anything changed since we spoke last?

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, D-CALIF.: Well, not -- no, it hasn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, MSNBC, MAY 18: I know and we need to go soon, but just to be clear, we haven't -- there has been no actual evidence yet of collusion.

REP. MAXINE WATERS, D-CALIF.: No, it has not been.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I just wanted to...

WATERS: No, it has not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Wow! So despite the fact that all those prominent Democrats have been forced, based on the facts as we know them, based on the evidence, to say no Russia collusion, no evidence at this time, well, many on the left and in the destroy Trump media, they're still running completely insanely wild with the completely false conspiracy theory.

Now, that just proves we have been telling on this show you all along. This is not about getting to the truth, finding answers, finding out what the facts are. The Democrats, members of the liberal mainstream media, they don't care about any of that. Why? Because their goal, if we're going to be blunt and honest, is to destroy and discredit President Trump now by any means necessary! And in this case, that means embarrassing themselves by pushing debunked conspiracy theories.

Now, the left in this country has become so unhinged about the Trump Russia collusion conspiracy that doesn't exist that in today's hearing, Senator Tom Cotton, he decided to call it out for what it really is, a fantasy, and something that you'd only read about in a Tom Clancy spy novel. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM COTTON, R-ARK.: Mr. Sessions, are you familiar with what spies call tradecraft?

SESSIONS: A little bit.

COTTON: That involves things like covert communications and dead drops and brush passes, right?

SESSIONS: That is part of it.

COTTON: Do you like spy fiction, John Le Carre, Daniel Silva, Jason Matthews?

SESSIONS: Yes, Alan Furst (ph), David Ignatius.

(CROSSTALK)

SESSIONS: There's David Ignatius's book.

COTTON: Do you like Jason Bourne or James Bond movies?

Have you ever in any of these fantastical situations heard of a plot line so ridiculous that a sitting United States senator and an ambassador of a foreign government colluded at an open setting with hundreds of other people to pull off the greatest caper in the history of espionage?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: By the way, I happen to love Bourne and Bond movies.

All right, but in all seriousness, Senator Cotton absolutely nailed it here, and he deserves a lot of credit for calling out these Democrats, and of course, the destroy Trump media's lies about what's really going on here. This has now become nothing more than a witch hunt, plain and simple.

And there's another massive part of this story that involves actual scandals, actual crimes that have been committed, that they're ignoring, something the destroy Trump media refuses to tell you about. We'll tell you here on this show.

Let's start with the leader of this political witch hunt. Right now, that would be special counsel Robert Mueller, who should be closing up shop. One, he has stunning conflicts of interest, like the fact he's known James Comey for years. They're good friends. In fact, Comey testified that the reason he had a friend leak a memo, which we believe is illegal, to The New York Times, was to bring about the appointment of a special counsel. And big surprise, it ended up being Robert Mueller.

And Fox News previously reported Comey's testimony last week was, quote, "closely coordinated" with the special counsel! So think about this for a minute. You have a disgruntled former fired employee in James Comey, clearly spiteful, clearly angry, out for revenge, and now one of his closest personal friends is now leading the investigation into President Trump, who Comey is accusing of wrongdoing. There is no way that this investigation can be fair or objective. It is now impossible.

So who do you think Mueller is going to side with, his friend or the president? A friend, by the way, that he's going after, his friend is going after. This is a massive conflict of interest. It cannot be ignored. And that is why our colleague and friend Gregg Jarrett here at the Fox News Channel, who will join us later in the program, is calling it all out.

And according to Gregg, Comey and Mueller's relationship may violate two federal laws. Here's the first one. And by the way, we'll just read the header -- 28 CFR 452 or 45.2, "Disqualification Arising from Personal or Political Relationship." Now, that's what we're describing with Comey and Mueller's relationship.

And here's the next law, 28 CFR 600.7 "Conduct and Accountability." Now, this says that the attorney general can fire a special counsel if he or she has a conflict of interest.

But that's not all. It gets even worse and more outrageous. Several outlets have reported that three key people on Mueller's investigation team have actually donated to the Democrats! Now, that's why we tonight are calling for this special counsel to be shut down.

And by the way, that brings us to the real scandal that has been completely ignored by the media, by the Democrats, and the fact is this: The former attorney general, Loretta Lynch, tried to obstruct justice by interfering the FBI's Clinton email server investigation. Now, here's how James Comey described it last week in front of this very same committee. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: The Clinton campaign at the time was using all kinds of euphemisms, security review, matters, things like that, for what was going on. We were getting to a place where the attorney general and I were both going to have to testify and talk publicly about it, and I wanted to know was she going to authorize us to confirm we had an investigation. And she said, "Yes, but don't call it that, call it a matter." And I said, "Why Would I do that?" And she said," Just call it a matter."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Wow! Add that to, of course, the tarmac meeting with Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton and much more. This is the real scandal here tonight, and it's only getting bigger. Circa News's Sara Carter, who will also be with us later tonight, she's been blowing this scandal wide open, along with her colleague, John Solomon. Now, take a look at this headline. "Comey got 'steely silence' after confronting Loretta Lynch about Clinton's email probe."

Now, according to Sara's report, James Comey actually confronted Loretta Lynch over attempts to influence the Clinton problem. Now, if Robert Mueller wants to investigate real obstruction of justice, then he should be looking into Loretta Lynch and what she did.

And if Democrats, if want to talk about collusion, since their conspiracy theories about President Trump have now been completely debunked, then let's talk about Hillary Clinton colluding with Vladimir Putin, the Uranium One deal. And remember she signed off as secretary of state, handing over 20 percent of America's uranium to Putin and the Russians. Of course, the foundational material to make a nuclear weapon.

And while people, by the way, all involved in this deal, they were donating big bucks to the Clinton Foundation, and her husband, Bill Clinton -- well, he was doubling his speaking fees in Moscow.

Now, the propaganda media has completely gotten this wrong and they're backwards. They have absolutely hit a new low. They're the worst.

And as we have explained right here on this program, there are five forces now working to take down President Trump. This is a real clear present danger to the president you elected last November.

First, of course, and I think the most dangerous, the deep state, those selectively leaking information to damage the president. By the way, kind of like James Comey did.

Second, the destroy Trump media, a bunch of tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists caught red-handed, colluding with the Clinton campaign, as WikiLeaks revealed.

Also, of course, you got the unhinged Democrats, a bunch of sore losers, obstructionists at this point, who, by the way, are just bitter about the election. They never got over the fact that Donald Trump won.

Then, of course, sorry to say, you got weak, spineless Republicans, no backbone, never supported Donald Trump to begin with.

And by the way, and then you got the whole never-Trump crowd. They want relevance. They want vindication. They want to see the president fail, so they can say, "See? We told you so."

But this has now become a serious moment of truth for the United States of America. We're either going to lose to these forces and allow them to distract this president from getting people off of poverty, out of food stamps, and back in the labor force, buying homes, the president and the agenda you elected him to enact, or we can stop it right now, what they're trying to do to this man because they don't want his success. Their success -- his success is their failure.

To do this, James Comey and Loretta Lynch need to be investigated. Robert Mueller needs to go. And with all due respect, it's time for Hillary Clinton to be prosecuted.

Joining us now with reaction, the author of the brand-new book just out today, it's called "Understanding Trump, the former speaker of the House, Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich. Mr. Speaker, great to see you.

NEWT GINGRICH, R-FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.

HANNITY: All right, do you see what I just said, five forces at work destroying the president and that this is a clear and present danger for the country?

GINGRICH: Well, look, I think we're in a clear-cut cultural civil war. I think that there are number of Republicans who don't get it. I would start with the very beginning of your monologue, and I wish every Republican would look at the lesson that the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, gave them today. He was passionate. He used strong language. He didn't back down. He had the facts. And he is prepared to go nose to nose with liberals every time they smeared him.

And I think he clearly won because he was willing to be even more judgmental and more emotional and more committed than were the Democrats. Now, if every Republican learned that -- and let me take the example of Attorney General Lynch. It's been I think a week since the head, the Democratic ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Feinstein, said she thought that the Congress ought to look into whether or not Attorney General Lynch was, in fact, obstructing justice.

Now, I can't understand a Republican Party which is offered on a platter by the ranking Democrat of the Intelligence Committee, a very senior respected member of the Senate, an opportunity to open up an investigation of the Democratic attorney general. And I've heard nothing. And this is just typical. We allow the left to set the agenda. We allow the left to define the terms of debate. We are passive, and I think that it's really a huge, huge mistake to not take these people head-on.

HANNITY: Let me stay on Loretta Lynch while you're there because I think this is important. By the way, I would agree. Sessions eviscerated these Democrats today. And it should be an abject (sic) lesson for every Republican. That's how you fight. That's how you stand up for truth. And I don't see -- look, I think there are so many weak Republicans, it is frankly embarrassing and pathetic on both the agenda, getting work done in the Congress, and secondly, standing up for the things that they promised the American people.

But back to Loretta Lynch. You have the tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton in a plane, totally inappropriate, possible collusion, possible obstruction. Then it gets even worse than that. She gets James Comey to take the word investigation and turn it into a matter. Later, Sara Carter, as I was explaining the opening monologue, that James Comey confronts her that she had put the kibosh on any possible indictment regardless of where the evidence led and gave him a steely, silent look, and then said, Anything else?

And that, to me -- if she doesn't get brought before a committee and investigated, we don't have justice in this country!

GINGRICH: Let's go back to your very first point. How can you have a Republican House and a Republican Senate and not bring in the attorney general and the former president under oath and get each of them to describe what they were discussing? I mean, I think this is -- in terms of why people are sick of Washington, the idea that they happen to be at the same airport, that this is, remember, four or five days before they're going to interview secretary Clinton, which they did, by the way, not under oath.

I mean, you go through this whole thing, and it's no wonder the average American is disgusted. As you know, I was just out at Ridgewood, New Jersey, tonight with my new book, "Understanding Trump," and had hundreds of people there. And the number of them who get everything you just said tonight and cannot understand why the Republicans are not standing up and fighting I think we startling to me, how intense it is, how rapidly it's spreading, for example, that Mueller -- there are actually four people he's hired who donated to the Democrats. One of them worked for the Clinton Foundation. And one of them, by the way...

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: You know what she did for the Clinton Foundation? She was fighting Freedom of Information Act requests...

GINGRICH: Right.

HANNITY: ... as it relates to the Clinton Foundation!

GINGRICH: And another one...

HANNITY: Wow! How did she get on this?

GINGRICH: Look, another of them cheated and refused to give the defense information it should have in two major cases, Enron and Arthur Anderson. That lawyer helped destroy 85,000 jobs, and later, when it was too late, the Supreme Court voted 9 to zero that what he had done was wrong.

Now, when Mueller -- you know, my point earlier today was if Mueller wanted to prove he was reasonable, let's cut a deal. You have to hire one pro- Trump lawyer for every anti-Trump lawyer. And let's see whether or not he's willing to actually do that.

But I had a former -- you know, I had a news person today say to me, Well, are you suggesting -- maybe he just hired the four best people in the country. And I said, Let me get this straight. You believe there's no Republican lawyer capable of being on that team? I mean, this is the mindset of the elite media that I think just tells you how sick the system is.

HANNITY: All right, but there's three things here. And I got to go to a break. And one is it's Comey's best friend, the special -- the special counsel. Number two, hires Clinton's lawyer for the Clinton Foundation who is fighting Freedom of Information requests. You forget to mention that a number of them are also Obama, Clinton donors. And it gets worse.

All right, by the way, Speaker Gingrich has a brand-new book out. It's on Amazon.com, book stores everywhere, "Understanding Trump." We'll ask him about that. We'll also ask him why the special counsel should get out of the way tomorrow and what Republicans should do. He'll join us after the break.

And also, coming up next tonight...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SESSIONS: We have got to restore a regular order principle. We cannot have persons in our intelligence agencies, our investigative agencies or in Congress leaking sensitive matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: The attorney general, Jeff Sessions, tears it up today explaining how damaging and dangerous the leaks out of Washington are for our national security. Newt Gingrich has reaction on that. And later tonight, Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter, Gregg Jarrett -- they weigh in on Sessions's testimony and Sara Carter's big breaking news about James Comey and Loretta Lynch, and possibly Loretta Lynch putting the kibosh on any indictment on Clinton.

Also tonight -- now, last night, we told you about the disturbing play going on in New York City depicting the assassination of President Trump. But guess what? You won't believe that taxpayer dollars were actually given to the so-called Shakespeare in the Park Festival. That and more on this busy breaking news night tonight. We're glad you're with us on "Hannity."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COTTON: Are these leaks serious threats to our national security, and is the Department of Justice taking them with the appropriate degree of seriousness and investigating and ultimately going to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law?

SESSIONS: Thank you, Senator Cotton. We have had one successful case very recently in Georgia. That person has been denied bail, I believe, and is being held in custody. But some of these leaks, as you well know, are extraordinarily damaging to the United States security. And we have got to restore a regular order principle. We cannot have persons in our intelligence agencies, our investigative agencies, or in Congress leaking sensitive matters!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right, that was the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, earlier today stressing just how dangerous, how damaging the leaks are, the selective leaks out of Washington for the security of this country.

We continue now with former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. By the way, his brand-new book out is in book stores everywhere as of tonight, and of course, on Amazon.com, Hannity.com, "Understanding Trump."

You know, Mr. -- I think about what you just heard there, and the president's attorney mentioned that this week, the selective leaks to damage the president. To me, if the Obama holdovers aren't removed now, if the deep state, those that have been leaking, aren't dealt with and prosecuted now -- and the attorney general mentioned just one prosecution, but there are others and I think at a much higher level -- to me, they got a minnow and they really need to get the great whites.

I don't think this ever ends for the president if he doesn't get the...

GINGRICH: Well...

HANNITY: I'm glad I can make you laugh. You liked (ph) a very colorful analogy.

GINGRICH: Well, no, I...

HANNITY: But if we don't get these top people, it's dangerous.

GINGRICH: But let me be clear. This is not about the president or getting the president. I agree with General Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, who said about a week ago many of these verge on treason. I mean, this is about the survival and the safety of the United States of America and the people of the United States. I don't care if you're pro- Trump or you're anti-Trump, there is no excuse for people taking on themselves the right to take secrets and release them. And candidly, there's no excuse for the news media picking them up and printing them.

We've gotten into this entire cycle of I think unpatriotic behavior in which people are utterly irresponsible.

HANNITY: Illegal!

GINGRICH: And I think they should be prosecuted. I think it should be aggressive and vigorous. And I frankly think, for example, everybody in the White House should have to go through a session on what the secrecy laws are. I think all new political appointees should have to go through a session on what the secrecy laws are and what the consequences will be if you violate them.

HANNITY: You know, we know crimes were committed. One was committed against General Flynn in the violation of the Espionage Act. We know these leaks, with all of this raw intelligence, they're all illegal acts.

And I look at Robert Mueller, and I see similarities to Patrick Fitzgerald who knew on day one it was Richard Armitage. What did that go on for, three years? Here Mueller knows today there's no obstruction. Here he knows today the president was not involved in collusion. Here he knows today that he wasn't being investigated, and he's hiring all of these Obama, Clinton supporters, donors, and even Clinton's attorney to go after the president! Now -- this is bad!

GINGRICH: And well -- and remember who appoints Fitzpatrick. It's James Comey, who at that time is an assistant attorney general. And he knows when he does it -- he knows that Richard Armitage of the State Department was the leak. He knows that none of it was illegal. There was no crime involved. And he appoints Fitzpatrick anyway. Fitzpatrick then says to Armitage, Be quiet, and he goes after Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, because what he wants to do is coerce Libby into turning on the vice president. And Libby is...

HANNITY: And sets up a perjury trap.

GINGRICH: ... an honorable man and refuses to do so. That's why...

HANNITY: So that's...

GINGRICH: That's why I worry about the team that Mueller is assembling. I don't think they're going to get Trump, but I would -- I think they're going to get other people because when you're involved in this kind of criminal investigation, people who have the power of the government can set you up for all sorts of secondary charges and can ruin your life and can bankrupt you hiring lawyers. And I think this is a bad deal.

HANNITY: Mr. Speaker, this is a bad deal. I think there's great danger here. There's also investigative creep, as we call it. He starts out investigating one thing, it goes on for three years, he ends up with somebody falling into a perjury trap because they didn't remember, they made a mistake. Nobody gets to revise and extend their remarks, if you will.

So the question is what do Republicans do now, knowing there's no obstruction, knowing there's no collusion?

GINGRICH: I think -- I think...

HANNITY: Shouldn't this be shut down?

GINGRICH: Look, I think the two Intelligence Committees have an easy task. You bring in Mueller and you say to him, How often do you talk with Comey? How often did you swap information with Comey? Did you review Comey's testimony before he gave it? How many of Comey's various memos did you get out of regular order? I mean, I think you start with this whole question.

I was initially in favor of Mueller, given his past record. I initially -- I tweeted favorable things. But the minute Comey explained with enormous arrogance that he had deliberately leaked a memo for the purpose of forcing a special counsel, who just happens to be his close friend, from that minute on, I thought the fix is in and this is really sick.

HANNITY: I want to go back to one of the earlier questions I asked you tonight, and that was the five different groups that I argue are after Trump, starting with the deep state. And I want to tie it to something. You have this new book out today, and I think you have probably the keenest insight. Nobody thought that Trump would beat 16 other people in a primary. The media never thought that Donald Trump would be president. They're still in a state of shock.

But there's also a state of anger and revenge that has emerged. And now it's about them, as you've described on this program before, them waking up every day. And how can we destroy him now? Now, in the process, the American people are being hurt, the millions in poverty, on food stamps, out of the labor force.

GINGRICH: (INAUDIBLE) it hit me today trying to explain when you look at a tax-paid (ph) play in New York City which has the assassination of the president and the first lady, when you look at a so-called comedian holding the head of the president bleeding, the closest analogy I can come to is Arthur Miller's great play, "The Crucible" which is about the witchcraft trials in Salem in the late 17th century. And it's that kind of mood. That's a play about mass hysteria. It's a play about people who suddenly decided that their neighbors were witches and had to be burned at the stake. You're seeing an entire process of psychological dislocation on the left leading to behaviors that no reasonable person -- I even find now liberals reporters beginning to flinch when they see things like this play where the president is assassinated and the first lady is assassinated, there's a sickness. When you look at Kathy Griffin and her holding up the president's head, there is a sickness out there that is beginning to sink into people and they're beginning to realize how really bad it is.

And I think you're even going to see moderate liberals began to split away and say, that's crazy, and you've got to quit doing it. But that's the mood --

HANNITY: I would like to agree with you. I respectfully disagree. There is no evidence. It gets worse and worse. Imagine for almost 11 months now the media just lying to the American people with no evidence. The people on that very committee today say no evidence of collusion, and sanctimoniously creating smoke where there is none.

But it's called "Understanding Trump," bookstores everywhere, Amazon.com. Mr. Speaker, thanks for being with us.

GINGRICH: Great to be with you.

HANNITY: See you soon.

And coming up, we have a lot more on the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and his fiery Senate showdown from earlier today. Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter, Gregg Jarrett are all here to weigh in.

Also, Sara's explosive new report involving James Comey and Loretta Lynch. Did Loretta Lynch put the fix in for Hillary? That's next.

Plus, it's the play in the park the speaker was just talking about that will make you cringe. Some New Yorkers are loving it. A rendition of "Julius Caesar" showing President Trump --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: And this is a Fox News alert. We have brand-new video. Cincinnati, Ohio, tonight, where the American student, you remember him, who is now in a coma and in need of very serious medical attention. He just arrived in the U.S. after being jailed in North Korea for more than a year. If you remember, he was arrested last year, jailed for allegedly stealing a political sign. Fifteen years he was sentenced to hard labor. We're going to have an update foir you and find out more.

And also tonight, the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, he held nothing back today. He hit back hard testifying on Capitol Hill. And in an op-ed for FoxNews.com, our very own Gregg Jarrett asked this question tonight, "Where does Jeff Sessions go to get his good name back?" How about the president? Gregg will join us in just a minute.

Also tonight, though, John Solomon, Sara Carter with CircaNews.com, an explosive new report. It reads this, quote, "Comey got steely silence after confronting Loretta Lynch about Clinton's email probe." Joining us now with more, from the American Center for Law and Justice, also part of the president's legal team, Jay Sekulow, from CircaNews.com Sara Carter, and Fox News anchor, attorney Gregg Jarrett.

Sara, let me start with you because we have got to get to Sessions, but this report that is being ignored. So we have the tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton, number one. We have Loretta Lynch saying to Comey, it's not an investigation, it's a matter. And he capitulated to that. Now you're saying Comey confronted Loretta Lynch on the issue of her had already decided to put the kibosh and cover for Hillary Clinton no matter what the evidence showed, basically?

SARA CARTER, "CIRCA NEWS": Well, I think what Comey was trying to do was trying to get her reaction to the evidence that he had in his hand. What we know is that he's been briefing lawmakers on this. He has a communication. It is a private communication between two political figures that is considered classified because of the way the FBI obtained that communication and evidence. And what happened was, he had gone to Loretta Lynch, he went to the Department of Justice. He talked to her about meeting Bill Clinton on the tarmac in 2016.

And then he showed her this piece of evidence. And he said, according to the lawmakers that were briefed by him, he said could you please look at this. And when she actually looked at it, she looked back up at him with steely silence, which he said lasted for a long time, and asked him if he had any more questions, and if not he should leave. And that was it.

And that's what we don't know. What is it that he has in his hand? What was it that he's looking at? What is it that he's been briefing lawmakers in those classified sessions that made him so concerned that he approached her? But then again in the end, right, he didn't move forward to the Department of Justice. He didn't pursue the case against Hillary Clinton. So this is a contradiction here. This is the irony here.

HANNITY: This is so amazing to me. Jay Sekulow, let's go to the legal side of this. OK, that would certainly demand an investigation into possible obstruction of justice, possible the fix was in for Hillary Clinton from the beginning. If we go back to the email investigation alone, remember, the legal standard is gross negligence. He said she was extremely careless. We already know she mishandled classified information and top-secret information and special access program information in a mom and shop bathroom closet. And of course, she destroyed such information. Two of those issues are felonies, are they not?

JAY SEKULOW, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE: They are, and of course, you know, extreme carelessness is what "gross negligence" means. So that's part of the legal definition.

But the idea, and I think Dianne Feinstein, the senator from California, said this correct when she said that whole exchange with former FBI director Comey about the decision to call this a matter, and by the way, when the FBI does something it's an investigation, but calling it a matter she said it needs to be investigated.

Now I think that there is a deeper issue here, and that is, why is it that those kinds of issues did not get any discussion? Why is it that James Comey, for instance, went to the TV cameras about 11 months ago and said that he made the determination there was not a prosecutable case against Hillary Clinton, which, by the way, is not his decision. But yet after assuring the president three times, as he acknowledges is in his written testimony, that the president was not and has not been a subject of an investigation, he would not get that information out. That he would not get out. And by the way, you remember, I was very critical of what James Comey did to Hillary Clinton, going on and off again.

HANNITY: You had a great Supreme Court case in Georgia last year. You won seven-zero. Let me get Gregg in the segment because we have another segment with all of you. And I think Gregg this is very key because you have been focused in on 18USC-4, which of course would say that James Comey if he thought there was obstruction had a legal obligation to say it immediately.

Also the Records Act, 18 US Code 641, this was government material he leaked to The New York Times. Where is his investigation into him, and if he did it to get a special counsel who ends up being his best friend?

GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS ANCHOR AND ATTORNEY: And where has James Comey been since this meeting took place with Loretta Lynch? Look, as to President Trump, under the law there can be no obstruction of justice because there is no lie, threat, or bribe. But, which is required under the law -- but what about Loretta Lynch? If she tried to quash this investigation and prosecution of Hillary Clinton, is there an accompanying lie? Well, yes there would be if she is trying to get James Comey to lie.

HANNITY: Real quick, is this topsy-turvy? They are investigating the wrong side, but there really is a scandal?

JARRETT: They may now be investigating Loretta Lynch.

HANNITY: What, Loretta Lynch, James Comey himself? All right, we'll get back into this. More with Sara, more with Jay, more with Gregg.

And also tonight, a performance of "Julius Caesar" in New York City is now causing an outrage. Shakespeare in the Park, it features the brutal, sick, twisted, evil assassination of President Trump, lookalike. You won't believe whose footing the bill for this. Geraldo weighs in on that on this busy breaking news night tonight. We're glad you're with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: This is a Fox News alert. New pictures, a massive fire in London tonight. And firefighters are struggling to control the blaze at a high- rise residential building. We're going to keep an eye on this story all night here on the Fox News Channel.

We continue with Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter, Gregg Jarrett. All right, Jay, let me go back to you. On all of the issues that we now know - - the president was never under investigation. There is no collusion whatsoever as it relates to Russia. Then it raises the question, why are we even in -- it looks like we might have lost Jay.

SEKULOW: No, I'm here.

HANNITY: I'm sorry, that's the high-rise fire. I apologize. Why are we even in this situation where this investigation, and there is no collusion?

SEKULOW: We are in the situation because, unfortunately, and I think this is a real travesty in a lot of it. This investigation, by the way, we are acting like this started when Robert Mueller was appointed special counselor. This has been going on for 10 months. And all of these witnesses have come forward, including Democratic senators, intelligence officials, and said we have seen no evidence of collusion. We don't see any evidence of collusion. James Comey said that. The president was not and has not been under investigation, no collusion that he could tell. He was one of the witnesses on this.

So then he leaks the memo. And I go back to that memo leak. Here's what you got, think about this. He has a private conversation with the president of United States. His capacity is the director of the FBI. He then goes to his car, which is an FBI vehicle, goes to his FBI computer and types out a memorandum which he puts in his FBI desk, which then he gets terminated and he leaks it to a friend to give to "The New York Times" for the sole purpose of getting a special counsel, which he got. This whole scenario, Sean, to me, is problematic from the start.

HANNITY: Let me remind our audience what they are looking at on the side of their screen. This is devastating. This is a high-rise tonight in London. As you can see, a massive, massive fire. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our friends and those people that might be at risk tonight and the firefighters who have to deal with all of that tonight.

Sara, let me go back to you. It seems now it comes down to Comey, Mueller, Lynch, and, yes, Hillary Clinton. And Hillary Clinton, it's not just gross negligence. It was beyond that. Crimes were committed. And again, if Loretta Lynch put the kibosh on it, that now puts her in legal jeopardy, does it not?

CARTER: Absolutely. And I think this is going to lead us to another series. If Congress does not call her to testify, then something is wrong because she needs to answer these questions.

You know, Sean, Jay also brought up this point earlier, but the evidence is all on the other side. What we have been looking at is leaks, very coordinated leaks of unmasking, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as the national security advisor to the president.

HANNITY: What was the percentage increase in the election season, 350 percent reported by you and John?

CARTER: Yes, as reported by John and I, it was over 300 percent. And that is something to be concerned about. All of these unmaskings, remember how narrow this was. Very few people knew Michael Flynn's name. I keep going there. People within the FBI and maybe some within the DOJ, somebody in there, somebody in there read those transcripts, text cut, and leaked it. That's a fact.

HANNITY: If you were to tell the president tonight how important it is for him to get rid of the Obama holdovers, the deep state that are selectively leaking to hurt him?

CARTER: I think if you're asking me that question, I think that is a question that needs to be left up to the president. He needs to take a very hard look at what's happening in Washington and who is who, and who is on first. There a lot of people within the FBI, within the DOJ, within the intelligence communities that probably don't want to see him there. And he has to wonder where all these leaks are coming from. What we know is that a lot of them are illegal.

HANNITY: Let me go to Gregg Jarrett. We'll put up on the side. This is one of the most devastating fires I think I've ever seen. This is a high- rise. It's in London tonight. This is beyond scary, what we are seeing come out of there.

And Gregg Jarrett, I want to go to you. By the way, I thought it was great, you brought up the Ray Donovan line from back in the Reagan investigation. He's investigating, he comes out and says where do I go to get my good name back? Where does Sessions go, where does the president go considering there is no collusion, as we all have discussed? There's not collusion, and not only did he not obstruct, he said, oh, I want you to continue the investigation. Nobody obstructed. But the question is, as it relates to Lynch, Comey, Mueller, and Clinton, legally, where should we go, Gregg?

JARRETT: Well, there ought to be special prosecutor, an independent counsel appointed to investigate the Hillary Clinton case. Given what we just learned a few days ago from James Comey that Loretta Lynch was trying to influence him by perpetuating a lie that it was a mere matter and not a criminal investigation.

Donald Trump promised if you elect me president I will have my attorney general appoint a special counsel to investigate the Hillary Clinton case. Now there is renewed reason for that because Comey mangled the law when he said she didn't intend to violate the law. That is not the legal standard. He got it all wrong.

HANNITY: You know what's amazing --

SEKULOW: Sean, Jeff Sessions, got his good name back today. He got his name back today. He did an incredible job.

HANNITY: Yes, I agree. All right guys, we should just spend the whole hour on this with the three of you because we could go all night. Again, we will come back. We'll continue. The Shakespeare performance in New York City --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: And this is Fox News, we are following breaking news tonight, a massive fire in a high-rise out of London. Firefighters struggling to contain that blaze that has now engulfed this major residential building.

And also tonight, a new disgusting attack against President Trump. A brand-new production, Shakespeare in the Park, New York City, this year's play features a President Donald Trump lookalike brutally stabbed and murdered in a modern interpretation of the play "Julius Caesar." In case you were wondering, who's paying for this? You might want to check your own wallet. According to Forbes, quote, "Julius Caesar's parent company, the New York Shakespeare Festival, received $30 million from taxpayers."

Joining us now with more is Fox News correspondent at large Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo, we can't not comment. I'm looking at the scene tonight, and it is one of the worst high-rise fires I think I have ever seen. And wow, what a job the firefighters in London have. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people there. That looks devastating.

GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: At least 40 fire trucks are on the scene there, Sean. It's called the Grenfell Tower. It's variously described as 24 to 27 stories. The fire started on one side but now it's engulfed the entire -- that whole building, as you can clearly see, and it's spreading through the block. There are hundreds of people on the street outside. The police are trying to move the crowds away to let the ambulances drive through. No word on what started this blaze. Obviously, it's not under control yet. We have no --

HANNITY: You know what is scary, Geraldo? Look at every single level of that apartment, resident apartment complex is now on fire. You've got to pray nobody is in that building right now.

RIVERA: One of the reports says that there were people with flashlights up top early on. Hopefully they were evacuated there. Helicopters overhead, you know, so obviously, the information is preliminary. But the audience at home can see that this is an unprecedented blaze. The temperature generated by that thing.

HANNITY: It's every floor, every single floor.

RIVERA: You wonder what it was made of. Again, we don't know --

HANNITY: You've got to pray everybody gets out of there.

RIVERA: Any indication of criminal activity or casualties yet, but we are watching.

Now the play itself, yes, the New York Shakespeare Festival does get money generally from the National Endowment for the Arts, in other words, all of us. It's interesting to note that the National Endowment for the Arts is also embattled under the Trump administration. They are fighting to keep their endowment. This controversy over "Julius Caesar" certainly will not help them make the case. We know that Bank of America and Delta have already pulled out. But two of the remaining sponsors are stubbornly digging in their heels and backing this very distasteful presentation of Julius Caesar are "The New York Times" company, interesting enough --

HANNITY: And standing by it.

RIVERA: And standing by it. And Time Warner, the parent company of CNN, both journalistic institutions, obviously bitter enemies of Donald Trump.

HANNITY: Yes, fake news networks. All right --

RIVERA: But here you go. Here is art that goes a bit too far, Sean.

HANNITY: You know, Geraldo, I'm thinking about this as I watch this fire tonight. And if you just imagine for a second if this was Barack Obama and an ISIS-style beheading picture that the 11-year-old son of the president has to see. The attacks on the first lady have been disgusting and despicable, the first daughter, disgusting and despicable, I mean, all across the board, unprecedented. And if you replace the words "President Trump" with "President Obama," you and I both know the reaction in this country would be dramatically different.

RIVERA: I think the Barack Obama test is an excellent test for artists and comics. How would you react if it were up Barack Obama's head? How would you react if it was Barack Obama getting stabbed and Michelle on the stage, a pouty Slavic woman they describe the actress in "Julius Caesar."

HANNITY: All right, I've got to roll.

RIVERA: OK, man.

HANNITY: Listen, you've been great. Thank you so much. Our prayers for the people of London.

That's all the time we have for this evening. As always, thank you for being with us. Stay with the Fox News Channel. Tucker Carlson.

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