Gowdy on Jeh Johnson testimony, Loretta Lynch controversy
House Intelligence Committee member speaks out on 'The Story with Martha MacCallum'
This is a rush transcript from "The Story," June 21, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, "THE STORY" HOST: So, we are awaiting President Trump right now at a rally in Iowa, where we expect his first remarks since Republicans won two critical special elections last night, as Democrats enter a bit of a period of soul- searching after losing all four of the seats in Congress that were vacated by President Trump's Cabinet picks.
Good evening, everybody. I'm Martha MacCallum, and here is "The Story" for tonight. Republican Karen Handel defeated young up-and-comer Democrat Jon Ossoff in a race for George's Sixth Congressional District last night. Today, some are downplaying it to some extent, the record shows that at least in terms of perception, plenty was riding on these four races.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The special congressional elections that are taking place, Republicans are worried about some of these.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ossoff has made it a referendum on Trump, as has the Democratic candidate in Kansas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Montana's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to turn more now to that high-stakes special election in Georgia.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It is seen by many as a referendum on President Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So, what now? The GOP, for now, sees some positives here for their agenda and Democrats are starting to point fingers. So, what is the takeaway tonight? Mercedes Schlapp, Fox News Contributor and former Spokesperson for President George W. Bush; and Zac Petkanas, former senior DNC adviser and aide to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, so glad to have you both in New York on the longest day of the year. So, Zac, what do you make of that assessment about how Dems are feeling today?
ZAC PETKANAS, FORMER SENIOR DNC ADVISOR AND HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN AIDE: Well, look - I mean, what I'm really wondering is why Republicans are so celebratory after this? I mean, we had a seat that just been held by Republicans for 37 years. We have a seat that was won by the Republicans last November by 23 points. And we've had outside Republican groups having to fly into this district and spend $20 million to save this Republican in a safe Republican seat. I mean, this was a pretty big repudiation of Donald Trump, given the swing that we have seen towards the Democrats, not only in the seat but in the South Carolina race-
MACCALLUM: So, the win is not a win.
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR AND FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: You can try to sugarcoat this loss, Zac, but I've got to tell you, I think for the Democrats and all the media hype those been around this special election, it really shows that when you link these Democratic candidates to a Nancy Pelosi, that is a time-tested tactic that Republicans have used and Nancy Pelosi is very unpopular in these types of conservative districts. And it's interesting because, Karen Handel, when she started talking about Trump, the people in the room were cheering for Trump.
MACCALLUM: Yes, that was interesting.
SCHLAPP: So, I do think that, while there is a sign of cautious here in the terms of Republicans. Republicans need to be thinking about, just because we won these last four races and these Special Elections, you shouldn't get too comfortable in your seat. You got to be ready to fight because there are these 23 or so these swing districts where it depends on who the Democrats put as their candidates. If they're moderate candidates, then, that really makes it to be a tougher race for these Republicans.
MACCALLUM: One of the things that were interesting about Jon Ossoff, was that he sort of did try to play the middle-of-the-road of it. He said he was willing to work across the aisle, and there has been some backlash even against the town that he took in this campaign. Here's from Neera Tanden, who worked on the Clinton campaign, here's what she had to say about that, "One important lesson is that when they go low, going high doesn't f***ing work." Impressive, as always.
PETKANAS: Look, I mean, I think there's nothing particularly wrong with Jon Ossoff's message. What is going to be different between his race and the other races is that Karen Handel, the Republican, never voted on the health care bill. That is not something that every other House Republican can say. And that Republican health care bill is extremely unpopular. I mean, you know, so you're going to be seeing ads about-
MACCALLUM: But remember, Democrats lost the national election in large part due to the fact that people started to see the premiums in October. It was a huge issue. So, how does with the Democrats are doing now, which is sort of resistance to changing anything about ObamaCare? We had Anthem pull out of several states again today. You know, does not work for them?
SCHLAPP: The problem is that Democrats are not providing any solution. They're not willing, necessarily to extend the hands, to say how do we fix ObamaCare? So, what are the Republicans trying to do? They're trying to rescue the individual market; they're trying to stabilize the market, because what we're seeing with health care right now, not only are premiums going up, but you have less options in so many of these counties across the country. Republicans are trying to bring a solution, trying to bring a fix. Democrats, on the other hand, are saying, we are going to obstruct; we're going to grind the Senate to a halt.
MACCALLUM: Democrats have come across the aisle, you talk about liking Jon Ossoff, you know, in part. Should - I mean, at what point are people going to expect something more than resistance?
PETKANAS: I mean, first off, Democrats, from the very beginning have said they're willing to work with the Republicans to try to fix ObamaCare, fix the Affordable Care Act. But if you're actually talking about why these health insurance companies, over the last four months, have been pulling out of the market, they themselves are saying it's because of the instability created by Donald Trump and the Republicans, not because of what's inherent and with actual bill.
MACCALLUM: They've been pulling out for years.
PETKANAS: I'm just actually quoting these actual insurance company heads who were saying why, including Anthem, of why they're pulling out.
MACCALLUM: The reality of the matter is that companies across the country, small companies, which make up most of the business place, are horrified at how high their numbers have grown up.
PETKANAS: Absolutely. And this is because, again, if you quote the actual insurance companies, "because of the instability created by Republicans." And-
SCHLAPP: You all created ObamaCare, how can you say that it's Republican's fault?
MACCALLUM: That doesn't get us anywhere. I got to wrap it up. Zac and Mercedes, thank you very much for coming to New York, enjoy your shows. So, Democrat Party Leadership finds themselves under fire from some disgruntled members with Fox News reporting moments ago that there is "distrust" of Nancy Pelosi and her Lieutenants across the entire Democratic Caucus. Chief National Correspondent, Ed Henry, live with the details on this breaking news tonight from Washington. Hi, Ed.
ED HENRY, FOX NEWS CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good evening, Martha. Democrats tried so hard last night's to spin the Georgia's Special Election as a referendum on President Trump, as you noted. But now that the Republican has won, it is boomeranged into a referendum, yes, on the long rain of Nancy Pelosi. Major Democratic campaign donors are furious about another $26 million being flushed down the drain as Jon Ossoff lost in that race, as you noted after Republicans tied him to Nancy Pelosi and her San Francisco brand of liberalism.
Democrat Tim Ryan, a moderate from Ohio, who challenged Pelosi for the post of House Democratic Leader last year, declared today: Pelosi is a drag on the party. "Our brand is worse than Trump, we can't just run against Trump," declared Ryan, who also pointed the finger at Pelosi for being a right target for GOP attack ads, adding, "they're still running against her, and still winning races, and it's still a problem." House Democratic leaders raced into damage control mode, insisting they can take control of the House next year by winning 24 seats that are currently held by Republicans.
Pelosi needs noting, "Some polls show Republican leaders are even more unpopular." And the only reason she's facing scorn from the GOP is because former President Barack Obama and former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are now off the stage, at least mostly. One problem with that is some of the harshest attacks on Pelosi are coming from Democrats. Congressman Filemon Vela telling Politico, "I think you'd have to be an idiot to think we could win the House with Pelosi at the top." While Congresswoman Cathleen Rice said, "there comes a time when every leader has to say, `for the good of the order and for the betterment of the party, it's time for me to step aside,' and I wish that would happen right now."
New tonight, under sieged Pelosi, has just circulated a letter to Democratic colleagues declaring: "The party should be proud that it gave Republicans a run for their money on GOP turf," and added, "they should not agonize but instead organize the left ahead of the midterms." Martha.
MACCALLUM: Ed, thank you very much. Joining me now in New York: Dana Perino, former Bush White House press secretary and co-Host of "The Five." Dana, good to see you a moment early out on the set here.
DANA PERINO, "THE FIVE" CO-HOST AND FORMER BUSH WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Thanks for having me.
MACCALLUM: Wow! They went after Nancy Pelosi really hard.
PERINO: Yes, and that was swift. But if you think about that she lost the majority in 2010, doesn't get it back in 2012, doesn't get it back in 2016. And now, they're going into 2018, and a year where I think that this idea of a wave election for Democrats is really increasingly out of reach for them unless major things happen, obviously, there are contingencies. And I also I think that Republicans could be in a position to increase the number of seats they have in the Senate, in particular, if you look at where the races are happening: Missouri.
Claire McCaskill is up for re-election, she's a big Hillary Clinton supporter. But Donald Trump, the president, has big support in Missouri, and he won there big. So, I think when he goes to rallies like the one he's doing tonight, some people on the coast might gripe about that, but his supporters are solid. And he lets them have some fun. It doesn't seem like anyone the Democratic Party as having any fun right now.
MACCALLUM: No. In fact, let's play this little montage that we have that show some of the disgruntlement that's going on in the Democratic side. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALI., HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: The president's fitness for office is something that is being called into question.
REP. MAXINE WATERS, D-CALIFORNIA: He's a liar. He cannot be trusted.
TOM PEREZ, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: Those Republican leaders and President Trump don't give a [bleep] about the people they were trying to hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: I apologize for all the bad language on this show. It's just going to get worse, I promise. Is that working for them? You talk about Claire McCaskill, like if you're Claire McCaskill, how do you win this race? Do you go that way or where do you go?
PERINO: Well, so, you talked in the previous segment or block about Neera Tanden, who as a big Hillary Clinton supporter and - you know, I like to listen to her because I think she's got a finger on the pulse of what the Democrats are thinking. And she says, basically, that Ossoff down in Georgia should have burned it down. That's what they were all doing. That is actually not working. Now, I think that they think that they need to match aggressiveness, Trump style, but only Trump has that style, and he's Teflon. He has said things that most people in politics would never recover from, and he just walks away from it. That doesn't mean that other people-
MACCALLUM: I don't know when you look at the approval numbers or do you not believe those numbers when you look at what's happening in his base?
PERINO: I think that I wouldn't worry so much about the - If I were in the White House, I wouldn't worry much about the day-to-day tracking numbers because his base is solid, and I think that when you see over the summer, if they are able to get some legislation that he can sign so that Republicans who have been with him in large part can say, all right, this is what we want. He might not be everything that we wanted, but we want it bad. We wanted the health care thing, we want the tax reform, we like the foreign policy peace. I think that the approval ratings are lagging, but in the races where they need to win, and the swing districts and in the states that matter, I think that Trump will be successful.
MACCALLUM: Maybe there's backlash from this Russia thing. You know people- we went out on the street today and spoke to some people about what they thought about that whole thing in Times Square, where a lot of people come from different places across the country, and we're going to show that in a little while. But I think there's a lot tired of it.
PERINO: Yes, they're tired of it. The thing is that these investigations do take a long time. But the one thing that there is consensus on is that Russia did try to interfere. Russia is upping its game and that while they did not change a single vote in this past election; we have to be on our guard for the next election. So, that's actually something everyone could worry on and the president, and the Democrats, everybody needs to work on that going forward. But right now, no, there's nothing to worry about.
MACCALLUM: Thank you, Dana.
PERINO: We'll see you at 9:00.
MACCALLUM: OK. All right, still ahead here on THE STORY, terror in the homeland. A knife-wielding man and stabs a Michigan Police Officer in the neck while yelling "Allahu Akbar," the latest from the FBI on this investigation tonight. And Eric Holder wants to be the face of Trump resistance as he considers running for president in 2020; Newt Gingrich with can't-miss reaction to that piece of news. And former Obama Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson, was on the Hill today with some answers that Democrats may not want to hear. Oversight Chairman, Trey Gowdy, joins me coming up next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TREY GOWDY, R-SOUTH CAROLINA: Why would the victim of a crime not turn over a server to the intelligence community or to law enforcement?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: Breaking tonight, former Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, becoming the latest top intelligence officials to reject the idea that there was some grand scheme between associates of President Trump and the Russians to tip the election. Watch this exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOWDY: At the time you separated from service in January of 2017, you have seen no evidence that the Russians were successful at changing voter tallies or voter totals?
JEH JOHNSON, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Correct.
GOWDY: Had you seen any evidence that Donald Trump or any member of his campaign colluded, conspired, or coordinated with the Russians or anyone else to infiltrate or impact our voter infrastructure?
JOHNSON: Not beyond what has been out there open source.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So, Jeh Johnson also expressed his displeasure with the DNC after he said they refused to turn their servers over after they were hacked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: I recall very clearly that I was not pleased that we were not in there helping them patch this vulnerability. DHS does not have the power to issue a search warrant or get a search warrant and go in and patch their vulnerabilities over their objections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Weird, right? Raising the question: what was in there that they, perhaps, didn't want authorities to see? Why wouldn't they turn over those servers to get some help? Here now, a man behind many of those questions today: House Intelligence Committee Congressman Trey Gowdy. Congressman, good evening. Good to have you with us as always.
GOWDY: Yes, ma'am. Thank you.
MACCALLUM: So, what struck you most about your conversation with Jeh Johnson today?
GOWDY: A couple things. He's in a unique position to answer one of those four approaches. More of, again, remember, we're looking at what did Russia do with whom? If anyone, did they do it? What was the government's response in 2016? And he was the Secretary of DHS at all relevant times. So, I was really interested in what the Obama administration knew, and when, and what efforts they took to thwart the Russians or to notify potential victims.
You just played a clip where we had a victim-the DNC, and not only did they not cooperate with Jeh Johnson, they didn't turn the server over to the FBI. So, I think it's a little ironic to now criticize, as some Democrats are, Jay Johnson and Jim Comey and others for not giving enough in 2016 when you had a really good piece of evidence you didn't bother to turn over.
MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, it is - it's really a head scratcher when you take a look at it from that perspective and you put yourself back there during the election, and you remember the emails that were leaked, very embarrassing for John Podesta, Neera Tanden, and a number of people. And that was the main thing that Democrats pegged their election laws on. They said, look because these emails were released-they call it the Russian hacking, which is apparently where it came from-but you have remembered the content of it, it was embarrassing emails that came out. So, at that same time, they were asked by the FBI and by DHS, give us your servers, let's figure out who's getting into them and how? Why would they say no? Why would they not want to cooperate with that investigation?
GOWDY: Well, Let me hazard a wild guess that there may be something else on that server that they didn't want law enforcement to see? I mean, that's where you start. I don't like speculating, but I have dealt in the past with victims who would not cooperate with investigations. And typically, the reason is, there's something else you don't want law enforcement to see. There is no reason to not allow DHS to patch or fix a vulnerability in the DNC system. And heavens knows, there's no reason to not give the world's premier law enforcement agency, which is the FBI, the evidence they may need to stop another attack from hurting someone else.
MACCALLUM: Yes. Well, it could be that the words "e-mail server" were somewhat toxic at that moment, if everyone remembers the political environment that was going on, and Hillary Clinton's e-mail server was all the talk at that point. So, maybe, you know, the idea that someone wanted their servers made them proprietary over that server. I want to get you into something else before we were not of time, that of Loretta Lynch, because we've now learned that based on Jim Comey's testimony, he opened sort of, you know, a new Pandora's Box of her influence on the investigation into Hillary Clinton's e-mail server. What do you want to question her about, and what's the process with regards to her now?
GOWDY: Well, Martha, I don't know that the House Intel would be the proper venue for those questions to take place, and maybe House or Senate Judiciary. I am always interested when any person we hired to work for that blindfolded woman holding a set of scales whether it's a Republican or Democrat, does anything to put his or her finger on the scale. And if it is accurate that she asked Director Comey and others to refer to the investigation as a matter and not an investigation, that is the attorney general putting her finger on the scale and to doing so for political reasons, and that's what undercuts your viewer's confidence in the justice system.
MACCALLUM: So, James Comey said that made them queasy and that he felt she might have a conflict of interest and that's why he took over the investigation. Would do you want him to come back and testify more on that?
GOWDY: I would, now. And in fairness to Director Comey, he has been before House Intel in a closed-door setting, and he did extrapolate more on that and other reasons, frankly, that he appropriated the decision to himself. But to the extent that my Democrat friends want all of this aired in public, even some of it which may be shouldn't be aired in public for classification reasons, I would love to hear her explanation of why she wanted to call an investigation a matter. I did it for two decades. We never referred to it as matters. So, I don't know what her point was, although, I think I do know what her objective was.
MACCALLUM: Potentially, political. So, we'll see where that goes. Trey Gowdy, thank you very much. Good to see you, sir.
GOWDY: Yes, ma'am, you too.
MACCALLUM: So, today is the longest day of the year and as it is hot in New York City, so we decided to go out to Times Square and ask some folks on the crossroads of America, as it is known. What do you think about this Russia investigation and where it's going? Here are some of their responses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They haven't done anything substantial. He's the president now; they should get over it and do what's important for the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is important for the country?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like they're just looking for something, anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a witch hunt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. It's exactly, exactly. I feel the same way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anyone really knows what happened. It was probably some e-mails and obviously, there's something there but whether it's material that's made out to be, who knows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen a lot of weird behavior.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anyone knows what happens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. If I'm stodgy and trying to avoid things, they usually mean that I've done something wrong. I definitely think Congress should get to the bottom of what's going on with Russia for sure.
MACCALLUM: Some of what's going on at Times Square today. So, tonight, we have something to show you of a very serious nature. It is new police dash cam video that shows the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by newly acquitted Police Officer, Geronimo Yanez. So, why is the NRA being asked, in no uncertain terms, to speak out in defense of Philando Castile? When we come back. Plus there's this, the anti-Trump resistance is about to get a new public face: Eric Holder, stepping into the breach. The former Obama attorney general, reportedly getting ready against the president, and perhaps, runs for president himself. Newt Gingrich warming up on this reacts next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: So, former Attorney General Eric Holder has been waging war on President Trump's agenda from behind closed doors now four months. But now, sources are saying that Mr. Holder is opening the door to the idea of a presidential run in 2020. Ed Henry, live in Washington with the latest of these rumblings around his plans. Ed.
HENRY: Good to see you again, Martha. Be still the hearts of liberal activists who are disappointed that Barack Obama can't run for a third term in office, because for them they may get the next best thing: Eric Holder, Obama's controversial former Attorney General. With Holder flat out declaring his closeness to Obama and his race could be huge bonuses for him if he were to jump into the 2020 Democratic presidential race, especially, on the left. Remember, Hillary Clinton struggled to fend off a challenge from socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. So, Holder signaled his willingness to become the public face of the resistance against President Trump and said that could help in the Democratic primaries the next time around by firing up the left.
Holder telling Yahoo News, "I have a certain status as a former attorney general: a certain familiarity as the first African-American attorney general. There's a justified perception that I am close to President Obama." He added, "I want to use whatever skills I have, whatever notoriety I have to be effective in opposing things that are, at the end of the day, just bad for the country. Now is the time to be more visible, now is the time to be heard." There was no mention of fast and furious and other controversies in the Obama years during that interview or when Holder traveled to California to speak up in favor of state legislation aimed at preventing the president from pushing local police officials to deport undocumented immigrants. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC HOLDER, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: California is doing the right thing. This is something that needs to be done nationwide. I have carefully analyzed this legislation, and we have concluded that it is constitutional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, it may seem a little too soon for Democrats to be talking about 2020, but in fairness, the president's already jumping in too. We learn today the president's holding his first re-election fundraiser next week. Where: the Trump International Hotel in Washington, of course.
MACCALLUM: Here we go again. Ed, thank you. Joining me now with more: former House Speaker and Fox News political contributor, Newt Gingrich, he's the author of the new book, "Understanding Trump," which just hit number one on the New York Times' bestseller list. Newt, good evening. Good to see you tonight. So, your thoughts on this potential run by Eric Holder, the former attorney general; what do you think?
NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR AND FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, first of all, since they just lost Georgia and South Carolina last night, following having lost Kansas and Montana. Probably, 2020 is a less painful thing for them to think about. It's far enough away, there's no score, there's no way of telling if it's reality. Holder is a very smart guy and I respect him a lot. He's very hard working. Certainly, if he wants to be a leading member of the left, he can do that. He has the credentials. And I think he's as valid as any other candidate. There's problem though, if you notice, he talks about what he's against. He wants to go out and lead the resistance against. One of the problems the Democrats have right now is to tell us what are they for? We know what Trump is for. He's for more jobs. He's for better trade deals. He's for lower taxes. What are the Democrats for, since they apparently are against all of those things?
MACCALLUM: You know he's sort of doing all of the things that you would do. He's working in California. He's doing speeches in Virginia. He's got a speech coming up in North Carolina. So he's laying that groundwork. But he does, as Ed Henry pointed out, draw on, and specifically, state himself the fact that he's African-American, former attorney general, that he's friends with President Obama, as, you know, sort of reasons why he is the person who should lead the charge, who have this voice. And yet, as you have said many times in the past, you don't feel that he did that much to improve racial tensions and issues in this country when he had the opportunity.
GINGRICH: No. Look, just the opposite. You just made the point now. He wants us to know he's an African-American. Well, we know he's an African- American. But by itself, that's not particularly credential. That's like saying the fact that Trump is white is a credential. Normally, that would be considered racism. But of course, if you're on the left, you can say it and it's not racism. If all Eric Holder does is mobilize people on an ethnic basis, he wants even to close to the nomination. The country doesn't want division. We're sickened by how much divisiveness there already is. A country wants someone to pull us together. I think, frankly, somebody like Governor McCullough of Virginia, may be a more formidable candidate in 2020, because he can occupy a more centrist position.
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRICH: . I'd love to run against Eric Holder.
MACCALLUM: All right. Let me ask you this before you go. You're going to be on Capitol Hill tomorrow. Who are you meeting with and what are you going to tell them?
GINGRICH: Well, we're going to talk about how we handle moving toward 2018, what the lessons are from these four special elections, and laying out -- a meeting with some of the house Republican congress, trying to lay out a positive strategy for job creation, for modernizing government, for getting to a better health system, the things that really matter to the American people.
MACCALLUM: All right. Very quickly, you said you think that CNN, the president should cancel relations basically with CNN and exclude them from the briefing room? Really?
GINGRICH: Look, when harbored reports that a network is 93 percent negative, they're not a news network. They're an attack network. Why play with them as though they were serious. These people find excuses. They have talking points to attack Donald Trump all day, every day. Macron, the new president of France just kicked two networks outs because he said they were propaganda network. Well, I regard CNN as a propaganda network.
MACCALLUM: Well, the prior administration suggested the same thing about Fox News and the other organizations stuck up for us. So, do you think that's fair play?
GINGRICH: I don't think Fox News is anywhere close to 93 percent negative.
MACCALLUM: That's true.
GINGRICH: I actually think you were remarkably fair and balanced. And I think that that's the difference. I mean, explained to me why, if you look at a reporter who you know 9 times out of 10 is going to be negative, why would you allow them to ask a question? What good does it possibly serve the president?
MACCALLUM: Well, you know, all the important questions need to be asked and there's need to be transparency in the White House, and they need to answer questions now that the thinking is that's going to happen more like once a week. So we'll see where it goes. I got to leave it there. Newt Gingrich, thank you very much. Good to see you, sir.
GINGRICH: Take care.
MACCALLUM: You bet. So straight ahead, we have chilling new details on the man who opened fire on Republican members of congress and what else he had in mind. And a tropical storm ready to rip through the gulf coast. An officer and a potential act of terror on our homeland. And Jared Kushner, so low in the Middle East, straight ahead on The Story, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: Welcome back. Here are the other stories out there tonight, the gulf coast is bracing for the arrival of tropical storm, Cindy, which is expected just hours from now. We will be tracking it throughout the night. The storm is packing winds of up to 50 miles an hour and threatening over a foot of rainfall in some areas. It's already claimed the life of a 10-year- old boy in Alabama. It is a dangerous system, and we will keep you posted on that.
And to Flint, Michigan, where officials are investigation an airport stabbing as an act of terrorism, after a man reportedly pulls out a knife and yells, Allahu Akbar, stabbing airport police officer Jeff Neville in the neck. We are told he's doing OK. He's in stable condition. The suspect is in FBI custody.
And to the Middle East, where Jared Kushner is on his first solo visit to the region, he just wrapped up meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Kushner's trip is an effort to revive U.S. efforts for Middle East peace, a goal that President Trump has labeled, quote, the ultimate deal. And yes, it would be.
And finally, Uber's embattled CEO is out, Travis Kalanick telling shareholders that he will step aside for the billion-dollar company that he created from the ground up in 2009. Uber has been rocked by a series of scandals as of late, including sexual harassment, and misleading government regulators.
To this now, as we get new details tonight on the Illinois man who shot a GOP congressional baseball practice area in Alexandria, one week ago today. This, as we get some good news on Congressman Steve Scalise, he's in the hospital, of course, still, but his condition is upgraded to fair. We wish him well. The FBI confirming that the shooter, James Hodgkinson, acted alone. He was carrying a list of six Republican members of congress, which we told you about here on The Story when that news broke. He took photos of the ball field, and he ambushed in the days prior to that attack.
Also, on the night before the shooting, he did an internet search involving the words 2017 Republican convention, and that's back in April, he visited the office of Senator Bernie Sanders. So they tracked his movements in those of the things they found. Here now with reaction to all of this, Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger. Congressman, good to see you tonight. Thank you for being here. So a week later, how would you say this attack is still reverberating among all of you on Capitol Hill?
ADAM KINZINGER, U.S. CONGRESSMAN: So there's a reverberation among the tone of people. I think people are more conscious of what they say, not in the debate, not in the partisanship, we need partisanship, frankly, we need debate. That's a good thing. But I think in terms of taking it to the next level, making it too personal, there still a real feeling. But there's also a very kind of a somber reflection. We had our meeting with the Republican conference yesterday morning, and we said some prayers, and we kind of reflect on what happened. We talked about Steve Scalise. And I think it's an understanding that, you know, a lot of the times we get channeled with what's going on in Washington, D.C., and we get focused on what the latest of a legislation is, but the understanding at the end of the day, we're all humans and Mrs. Humanity.
MACCALLUM: And you just said something interesting on your Facebook page. You posted some of the really brutal things that you received in the mail, and I'm sure you're not alone, and these came through email. Take a look at some of those. It says, too bad that you weren't on second base, and it goes on from there. And you did a collection of all of these that said, now we are a family, expletive, you wants someone to save -- and more expletive. Why did you decide to put these all together on these page and put them on Facebook for everyone to look at?
KINZINGER: So as a Christian, I have -- kind of a belief in a biblical principle that the best way to expose darkness is to show the light to it. And so, I think in many cases, people look at our Facebook of their congressman or woman's Facebook and you see what they post, but you don't see the comments and the things under it. I want to bring a few of those after the shooting, these are comments after the shooting, to present them to people to say this is what's going on, and kind of the dark underworld of social media because I think to bring light to darkness is how you disinfect the darkness in the first place.
MACCALLUM: I mean, I think it's a great point. And I commend you for doing it. All of us who are in any way in the public sphere experience things along these lines, but those are particularly rough. And I'm sure, given what happened it's up for you to see them. You guys have thick skin and -- but it's important to get that message out there because we need to cool this rhetoric. And speaking of cooling the rhetoric, something happened at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. And let's put that up on the screen from a person who is an associate professor, who posted this. It's past time for the racially oppressed to do what people who believe themselves to be white will not do, put end to the vectors of their destructive mythology of whiteness and their supremacy system. And then, you can see the hashtag at the bottom there. They had to close the campus for a while, this coming from one of their associate professors. I mean, it goes to your point.
KINZINGER: It does. And let me just say this, when it comes to violence, when it comes to -- sometimes people looking at the idea of revolution or civil war longingly, I've been to places torn up by civil war. I was in Liberia, a place where you have generations denied of opportunity because they fought themselves all over the Middle East. We need to be a country united. We can have differences in view. And we need to go out on the floor of the House of Representatives and debate them, but we're all Americans because the alternative is far worse, and people need to remember that, no matter how heated things get.
MACCALLUM: Adam Kinzinger, Congressman, thank you very much for sharing that message with us tonight. We appreciate it. We hope it get spread all over Capitol Hill. All right. So here's what coming up here. You're looking live at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where everybody is patiently waiting and filling the stance there where President Trump is about to take the stage, moments away. We will take you there when that happens. And he is expected to touch on a number of issues, including last night victory for the GOP in Georgia 6. I don't think he'll mention that to you? Yeah, that he will. All right. He's going to be on stage. We'll take you there as soon as that goes underway.
Plus, new dash cam footage that we have been talking about tonight that are sparking outrage in the shooting of Philando Castile, as calls grow now for the NRA to stand up for this man who was shot in his car. That is from the Facebook posting that his girlfriend posted during it, we all remember how awful that was. Now, we see it from the police officer's point of view, outside the car when we come back. Katie Pavlich and Matt Bennett on that, right after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. Please don't tell me he's dead. Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: The NRA facing growing backlash tonight in the shooting case of Philando Castile. The police dash cam being released to the public just yesterday after the police officer involved in last year's traffic stop shooting was found not guilty of manslaughter last Friday. Critics are asking the NRA to speak out because Castile was shot over a gun that he legally owned, he had a permit, and one that he clearly and calmly told the police officer he had on him, which is exactly what you're supposed to do in this situation. So a warning first, this video that you're about to see is extremely graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: . firearm on me.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Don't reach for it then. Don't pull it out. Don't pull it out.
(GUN SHOT)
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just killed my boyfriend.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Don't pull it out.
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wasn't.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move.
(BLEEP)
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move.
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move.
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move.
UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't move, baby.
UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Code three. Get the baby out of here.
(BLEEP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Awful. I mean -- let's talk about it. Katie Pavlich joins us now, editor of TownHall.com, and a Fox News contributor. Matt Bennett is co-founder of Third Way. And one of the controversies here today, it's all over twitter and social media, is criticism that the NRA hasn't spoken out in this case. Instead, this is exactly what Philando Castile, as a carrying permit gun owner, should have done, and this reaction should never have happened. And somehow, this police officer was acquitted. Katie, what you think about this?
KATIE PAVLICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: That criticism is completely fair when you obtain a concealed to carry a license, you are told to do exactly what this young man did with the police officer. And he clearly gave the man two commands and panicked and this is the result. And the fact that he isn't guilty of what happened, there are a lot of questions there. But in terms of the criticism of the NRA, the NRA is expected to comment on every single thing that always comes up. And this isn't about the left wanting to protect the gun rights of minorities. This is about the left attacking the NRA, which they always make the villain.
And one thing that I think is very important to point out is the argument is being made that the NRA doesn't care about the second amendment rights of minorities, which is garbage and a smear. The NRA is an organization that supported Chicago (INAUDIBLE) They're the ones who support and fought for minorities living in section 8 housing to have handguns to protect themselves against criminals. And finally, NRA president Charlton Heston marched with Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement.
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: I think what people are saying is, you know, we have had so much divisiveness in this country, and police shooting incident like this one. This is, in many ways, a good, for lack of a better word, opportunity for them to say, we don't just stick up for the second amendment rights of people you would expect. We stick up for everyone. And in this situation, this man had every right to have that gun, and he was shot in a heinous act. Matt, what do you think?
MATT BENNET, THIRD WAY CO-FOUNDER: Well, look, it has to be said, it isn't just the left that's attacking the NRA over this. As you pointed out, Martha, there's all kinds of chatter.
MACCALLUM: Members of the NRA.
BENNETT: Yeah, they're very unhappy. I don't know what the motive of the NRA is for staying out of this. I do know that they're not allergic to controversy. Wayne LaPierre gave an unhinged press conference a week after the Sandy Hook tragedy that was widely criticized by all kinds of people, including some of his own members. And the other thing is the NRA has a history of taking very narrow stance. I mean, they purport to represent 100 million gun owners and 400 million NRA members, but what they really represent is a tiny fringe of even their own membership that believes in this kind of radical approach to gun rights. And so, they're often not on the same side as law-abiding.
(CROSSTALK)
MACCALLUM: They don't do themselves any good. Here's point. When you look at the Becket Fund, for example, who support, very successfully, religious liberties in this country. And they support the religious liberties of a Muslim prisoner to grow his beard, the little sisters of the poor. The Slants who we showed last night, is a case that they just won. I think that's an example that the NRA would benefit from learning from. And that would help people to perhaps better understand their cause, Katie.
PAVLICH: Well, I agree. I think this is a teachable moment for everybody. I think it's a teachable moment for the police to show this video and say this is not how you ask a law abiding concealed carry holder to -- this is not how you react to the situation when someone voluntarily tells you they have a firearm in the car. There are a number of different ways he could have handled that. The NRA, absolutely, could come out and say something. The reason they're probably holding back is because they believe they saw past statements that they made that they only criticized regardless. So, why even jump into the conversation?
MACCALLUM: That's not very brave. All right, we got to go. We've got to leave it there. Matt, thank you. Katie, thank you as well. So breaking tonight, President Trump about to take the stage in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a big rally. We'll take you there live as soon as it gets underway. And video that you have to see to believe when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACCALLUM: Breaking news in Iowa, Cedar Rapids, to be exact. We understand that President Trump is now in the building, and will be making his appearance on stage very shortly, as the crowds gather there. This is a, Make America Great Again, rally. We bring you that in full as soon as it gets underway. But end tonight with something for you. It's a wild scene that was caught on camera in British Columbia. Ashton Phillips took this video, he said he and his friends were fishing, Friday, near Vancouver Island when their freshly caught salmon was stolen right off their boat by, guess who, watch this.
MACCALLUM: Best to watch in's low motion, as the American eagle swoops in. And this is a nice piece of salmon. He's like, that looks so yummy, and you guys got it all bone and ready for me? Look at the tail feathers, isn't that gorgeous? Isn't that beautiful? That's why -- bird. All right, so thank you everybody for being here. That's viral, as you might imagine on Facebook. So if you have any videos like that that you want to share or a story of yours that we can share with America, send it to us at @thestoryFNC, and you can see us on twitter as well. President Trump and Tucker coming up next.
END
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