Texas firefighter organized volunteers to save hundreds
Houston firefighter describes using social media to put together team on 'The Story'
This is a rush transcript from "The Story," August 31, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, "THE STORY" HOST: Receding waters in parts of Texas reveal dangerous and some deadly surprises out there, as the vice president sees it all firsthand and doubles down on the president's pledge to rebuild stronger than before. That is where "The Story" begins tonight. I'm Martha MacCallum. So, the hardest hit county in Texas now says that its morgue is reaching capacity. 38 deaths reported now statewide from this disaster, and it's not over yet. 25 miles outside of Houston, fires are breaking out and containers exploding, releasing choking black smoke at a chemical plant. More than a dozen police officers rushed to the hospital and people ordered to evacuate for nearly two miles in all directions at Crosby. We'll take you there later tonight.
And in Beaumont, Texas, the city's water supply knocked out, forcing the evacuation of a local hospital -- and you see the good people attending to those who need them. And in Houston, firefighters starting a long and difficult road of door-to-door, block-by-block home searches as reports come in like this one. Children begging for help: dozens of foster children and one home with one day left of drinking water. These stories pile up and they continue to come in with no sign of letting up tonight. Here is the Vice President and the Governor, Greg Abbott, of Texas, just moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We saw devastation from Rockport to Aransas County, all the way over to Victoria. We saw broken homes and we talked to so many people with broken hearts. The word of gratitude to all your first responders here in Texas. Those who, at this very hour, are continuing to put themselves in harm's way for protecting people and deliver from danger. They -- and you have inspired the nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So, with that as our backdrop, there is another hurricane that is growing in the Atlantic tonight. And yet another storm that may develop in the Gulf over the next week. So, we're watching these very closely and we'll update you on those storms systems as we get more information. So, we go tonight, once again, to Trace Gallagher who has been doing yeoman's work in Houston all week. He joins us again tonight. Hi, Trace.
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Hi, Martha. You know, you read the headlines and it says that the flood waters in Beaumont and Port Arthur are rising, and the waters in Houston are receding. That's a bit misleading considering we are in Houston right now in this neighborhood just flooded late yesterday afternoon. I mean, keep in mind, these people are out and they are looking to rescue people and we rode along with them again today in both trucks and boats, pulling out families, and their pets.
In this area alone today, Martha, we pulled out at least 60 people or saw 60 people being rescued and they're going back in because more people are in there. They really are at the mercy of the reservoirs here because what happens is that they don't let enough water out of the reservoirs that surround these areas than the dam breaks and everybody gets flooded. If they do let a ton of water out, well, then, certain neighborhoods get flooded. That is exactly what is happening here today.
But you see several people around Houston going back in and assessing the damage because the water has dropped and other people are packing up and getting out. Moments ago, we spoke to a prominent Houston judge. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY JOHNSON, JUDGE, 178TH CRIMINAL DISTRICT: You know, this has been a really emotional day because you see all of these great Houstonians coming together, thinking it's over. And I just let the community that's just been pillaged by letting the aqueduct go and seeing canoes come down a street when you can drive one block over and they're dry. I mean, it's just really unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: It's unbelievable. And imagine, if you will, Martha, that six days after the storm, right, the sun is shining, it's 90 degrees, you know the storm is way off in a distance and somebody comes and knocks on your door and says, you have to get out because the water is coming. It's hard to believe. Some people stayed behind, many left, but yet, the water did come, and they are saying, for the next several days, until these reservoirs equal out, that water could come again and again. And the misery index level keeps rising with the water. Martha.
MACCALLUM: Yes. It's really frightening. At any moment, it could be flooding in your direction. Trace, thank you so much. So, joining us by phone's Kevin Hannes, he is the Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA's response to Hurricane Harvey. Kevin, you've got a big job on your hands. Give us some insight into what you are seeing out there now.
KEVIN HANNES, FEDERAL COORDINATING OFFICER, FEMA: Martha, good evening. What we're seeing right now is we're focused along with our state partners and local partners down in southeast Texas and Beaumont as well as in Harris County. We're really looking to continue the search and rescue mission until it is complete until we have rescued those that we can rescue.
And unfortunately, as he reported, we are going to find some recoveries. As tragic as that is, we are here to support the state in that search and rescue. We're conducting the evacuation of the hospital. We are also conducting a general population evacuation in support of the local officials there in Jefferson County.
I think it's important to remember that this is a large event, it's large in scale, it's large in devastation, but Texas will recover, and FEMA, along with all of our federal partners across the entire federal family and as well as other states that are contributing to this response and will contribute to the recovery, are here for Texans to make them build back stronger and more resilient.
MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, it's remarkable -- what we're seeing and how everybody is pulling together, and the help of people like you who've just been completely selfless and your commitment to making sure you're doing everything you can. You know, when you evacuate a hospital, where's everybody going? Give us a sense of when these people are being taken out of their homes. Are there still places that are warm and dry that you can take them to?
HANNES: So, for the hospital, we rely heavily on our partners over at HHS, Health, and Human Services, that will coordinate that for us with the local officials. We take them from one hospital to another hospital that can meet their medical needs. Each patient is triaged if you will; segregated out to go to the proper hospital to meet their needs. It's a very orderly process, we have very good tracking of where they are going so that we can keep their family members aware of not only their condition but where they are being taken. And once the hospital is able to return to full service, we'll be able to bring them back.
As far as the homes of those being evacuated, we are taking them a place that is high and dry. Shelters operated not only by the state of Texas but by the American Red Cross. And we are supporting those shelters with commodities such as food, water, medical care, infant and toddler kits, durable medical equipment, things that those with have access and functional needs will require -- medications. The larger shelters you've seen, that your folks have been at also have our disaster teams that provide medical assistance right there.
We can create almost a mini hospital inside those large shelters to provide the full service of medical care while they're there in the shelter. But the ultimate goal is to get those folks out of the congruent shelter and into a more stable, interim sheltering situation so that we can help them rebuild their homes and get them back into their own neighborhoods.
MACCALLUM: Yes, that's key. The sort of interim solution. You know, you go to the convention center or you go to a shelter and you're still thankful that you have some place that's clean and dry that you can stay. What's the plan for where they'll be moved to? We all remember the fields of trailers that people lived in for month, after month, after Katrina.
What is the plan there?
HANNES: Well, right now, we're trying to make sure we get folks out of their flooded homes, into those concrete shelters. From there, we'll move them either to hotels or them, sometimes, will go with friends and family and will work with them for transportation assistance to get there. As well as we provide what we call rental assistance under or individual assistance program, where he will provide them additional money so that they can rent an apartment while they're repairing their home.
We have a multitude of options as we look for that long term solution, whether it gets them into an apartment, or they can go back and build some commercial facilities, but to make them either apartments or construct new ones, and rebuild ones that are there. We have the ability to use various means of housing to support them in the long term. I have a team, not only in D.C., working with Hud, but also here with me, creating that long-term plan to present to the state of Texas in the near term so that we can start that process now and not wait until it's too late.
MACCALLUM: You are doing a great job and we thank you so much. Kevin Hannes, first speaking with us tonight from FEMA. Best of luck to you, Sir.
HANNES: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: Best of luck. So, our next guest has spent the last six days rescuing hundreds of people trapped by the floodwaters. Here are some of the footage that they captured. You're going by on your boat, and that's the top of the car. It gives you a sense of how deep this water is. Darren Ott is a firefighter with the Houston Fire Department; he's been organizing volunteers while still doing his day job. And Dakota Wheeler is a friend and one of those people who pitched in to help. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. Your story is incredible and Darren, explain to us what you've been doing for your Facebook page when you realized that so many people were calling 911 that it was flooding the calls, and a lot of people couldn't get their calls answered.
DARREN OTT, FIREFIGHTER, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, when I woke up, I believe about 8:00 Sunday, I turned on the news and it said, we need all the boats we can, we can't keep up. And I took to Facebook, I took social media and posted, "Hey, calling all boats, jet skis, who has anything that can help." And probably within 15-20 minutes, I started receiving phone calls. So, Dakota called me up, he goes, "Hey, I got four guys coming with boats." And I had a couple other guys call me with boats and we loaded up and started heading to areas that were -- they needed because of the devastation. We started out in the Inwood area, and we rescued probably about, I would say 20 to 30 families there and we just started moving all over the city.
In the meantime, while we are rescuing, people just started tagging me, "Hey, I have a boat. I have a boat." And then, more people started posting to Facebook and copying and sharing my post that said, "Hey, contact the Darren Ott." And we put together a pretty large team. We teamed up with the Texas Freedom Force, which is our 501C3, and they have swift water boats, they have just about everything. I've been working with Joyce, and she's in contact with the office of Emergency Management with different cities here. We probably had a combined network of about 150 people, more than 40 boats, all different types of boats.
MACCALLUM: Let me bring in Dakota. You know, everybody looks at you two, and says, you know, you're brave, and you're heroes. And you could have just been sitting on a couch and watching all of this but you decide to get up and do something about it. But it's scary to be out there at times, I would imagine, Dakota, is it?
DAKOTA WHEELER, RESCUE VOLUNTEER: Well, we just made the decision. We just couldn't sit on the couch and watch what was going on. We're all Texans. We're here to help each other. And we all came together. It started out with just three people and went from three to 15 to 4o to over 100 with Darren's help. And we all just came together.
MACCALLUM: That's amazing. I mean, Darren, we just have a little time left. What's sort of the biggest surprise for you in all of this?
OTT: It's like a war zone. You know, I was doing rescues after the volunteering and the volunteer group up together. And you know, one of the things we went to, we -- I went to the city the next day and immediately, we loaded up in a truck and we went to East Houston and there were about 100 people stranded in a post office with no bathroom, food, water, nothing. And when we pulled up, it was like something you would see in a movie when you have 100 people running at you that want to jump on the truck all at the same time, and you're the only truck there and you're telling some people they can't go back right now and they're not wanting to hear it. It was definitely something that -- definitely touching. Unbelievable.
MACCALLUM: Wow! You know what, you guys are doing amazing things. And those images are going to be with you for the rest of your life and you need to know that you have been there when you were needed and that so many people are grateful to you. And also, the social media outreach which, you know, sometimes can be a bad thing in our lives, in this case, it was a very, very good thing. So, Darren and Dakota, thank you both. Thank you so much. Good for you.
WHEELER: You're welcome.
MACCALLUM: All right. So, also breaking tonight, Fox News learned that President Trump may be on the brink of ending the Obama-era program that protected so-called dreamers. The latest and what promises to be a very heated fight over this. And Nancy Pelosi weighed in on the violent radical left-wing Antifa activists. But what about the rest of her party? What Marc Thiessen wants to know, he and Jonathan Turley are here next.
Plus, we will continue to go back to Texas, of course, with the pictures and images that are coming into us by the minute. The devastating effects of Harvey as it goes on to 96 now, including the evacuation of almost 200 patients, most of them are elderly from this hospital. Evangelist, Beth Moore, is here to shine some brightness on this tragedy. She will be with us right after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY POOLE, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, BAPTIST HOSPITALS: We went to bed last night, it a business as usual, and we got a call at 1:00 a.m. this morning that said the city had lost their water source. So, we felt that it was time to move our patients.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POOLE: We had 193 patients in the hospital last night at midnight, and we got a call about 1:00 a.m. this morning from the city telling us that they had lost the city water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: So, the after effects of Hurricane Harvey is setting in among many areas of Texas. Now, this hospital in Beaumont forced to evacuate almost 200 patients, some of those people need machinery, and medicine, and constant care to survive, and they couldn't get it because the local water supply failed. And something we just got word of tonight, a building housing dozens of foster kids will reportedly be out of water by sunrise tomorrow. Rick Leventhal, live in Beaumont with more on that for us tonight. Hi, Rick.
RICK LEVENTHAL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Martha, so much happening here. We're at the Jack Brooks Regional Airport, this is a staging area for the Texas National Guard which has some 14,000 troops here now deployed across the state from Corpus Christi to the Louisiana line, and more officers -- more soldiers on the way according to the Task Force Harvey commander who I spoke with a short time ago, who says they will be here for as long as they're needed and they have plenty of assets to air, land, and sea rescues, including these high water vehicles that are being used to being pulled people out from the worst of the flooded neighborhoods, particularly in Beaumont. The president said earlier today that there are 100,000 homes that have been damaged by the storm, and we've seen many of them across this particular city.
The other major concern here right now is the pump stations, the water. There is no running water for the city of nearly 120,000 people. They lost the main pump station and the secondary water source overnight, and that's why those nearly 200 patients from Baptist Beaumont Hospital had to be evacuated. The hospital spokesperson told us they're prepared for any storm that the building was flooded proof and they have plenty of resources and generators for power, but they cannot operate without running water. That was a game changer and that is why they began early this morning, beginning with 16 nursing home patients, who some of which needed dialysis treatment, putting them on a helicopter. Those patients were taken to Jasper. Others, to other hospitals across the region that were capable of taking care of them.
But not just people need saving here, Martha. We saw an incredible rescue earlier today in a neighborhood on the north end of Beaumont where the Beaumont firefighters were called out because of two horses that had escaped their stable and had wound up on the front porch of a deeply flooded home in a neighborhood. And the horses were scared and stuck and couldn't get out, so these firefighters went back in there with a flat boat and I got out of the boat and started corralling these horses and trying to encourage them to make their way to dry land and it took a while. We watch them struggle with the first one horse and then the second horse.
And I want to give props to those firefighters, as well as Kenneth Netherton, who was one of the many volunteers out here with boats, who able to help as well. He drove us out there and he helped these firefighters get these horses out of that deep water and they are being taken care of tonight. It is just -- it remains a disaster area, Martha. That neighborhood, the water is actually higher today than it was yesterday. And the skies are completely clear.
MACCALLUM: Yes, it's amazing just to see that horse, you know, with his ears sticking out, it tells you how deep everything is out there, and what an amazing rescue. And for all the people in the hospital, I can't imagine how terrified their families are, trying to figure out where they're being sent to. And as we've heard from the gentleman from FEMA before, he says they're working in a very organized manner to make sure everybody is notified. Rick, thank you. Thank you so much. We'll talk to you later.
So, Vice President Pence, getting his hands dirty today while visiting Texas. He held storm debris in Rockport. The vice president, consoling hurricane victims and praying with them and offering this message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: We are here today. We will be here tomorrow. And we will be here every day until the city and this state and this region rebuild bigger and fatter than ever before. The challenges will be great. But we know that the generosity and the prayers and the faith of the people of Texas and the American people will be greater still.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: It's an important element here. That message of faith brings us to our next guest. Evangelist Beth Moore is an International Figure to the Christian Community. But right now, she is first and foremost a Houstonian who is lending a hand. She along with the ministry, living proof ministries, and the Texas community, are just getting in there to do everything that they can to help people get their lives back together because that's what they do. Beth Moore joins us now. Hi, Beth, how are you?
BETH MOORE, EVANGELIST AND FOUNDER OF LIVING PROOF MINISTRY: Hey, Martha, thank you so much for having me tonight.
MACCALLUM: It's great to have you. Tell us a little bit about what the impact it's been on you. And I know that you say when you heard that two- word forecast, "unprecedented hurricane," even for a Texan, those are hard words to wrap your brain around.
MOORE: I cannot even begin to tell you the weight of them because we are no strangers to flooding. We're not even strangers to hurricanes. So, when those words were said, "unprecedented flooding," every single person sat straight up and our hearts just dropped. And then to watch it come to pass and just to see the devastation, and just as you're broadcasting, it is just a storm that keeps on going and going and going.
MACCALLUM: You know, I can't even imagine just being in your home, and you know, the rain is pounding and pounding, and then, the next thing you know that the water starts rising all around you. So, when you look at yourself in your capacity, as a minister, and as a Houstonian, what do you think to yourself? You know, what do I do? How can I help? How?
MOORE: Well, I think the way I want to help is what everyone wants to do, and that's just the next thing that meets the next need. What we don't need in Houston right now, and I think everyone would say that across the gulf coast of Houston that's been impacted by it -- they would say the same thing as Beaumont -- we're not looking for people to try to be heroes. This is a really long haul. So, it's just what is the next thing you can do? So, yesterday for me, it was -- throw on a baseball cap and sweat.
We set up a distribution center for our relief volunteers. I did a lot of grocery shopping until I could no longer, literally, I could not push my basket any further. It was that heavy, get that where it needs to be. Sweep, get out, wet backs, whatever it takes. So, that's what I want to do. Then, to help financially, to encourage people. And one thing I think someone of my situation can do, anyone with any kind of platform whatsoever, just bring attention to the need. Speak out and say, we are really devastated. Listen, we need your help. I think that just anything I can do, Martha, that's what I want to do. Whatever that is tomorrow, I want to be out there doing it.
MACCALLUM: You know, what about the spiritual side of it, Beth? You heard you know, the vice president talking about prayer and praying with people there. You know, for people who feel like they can't take it anymore, what do you say to them?
MOORE: Yes. It's one thing I really wanted to ask people to pray about tonight, is that the trauma would not just stay on us and cause us to become a people just with the dread and fear all over us. That we would be so victorious through this. Please pray that for us. And I think that to see the people coming together is incredibly important, people are encouraging one another, and holding one another up, and the diversity is such a beautiful thing.
We're really having to focus on everything Houston and our area of the country has to offer because it's a strong part of the country, and it's got a lot of heart to it. And so, we're really seeing that right now. And that's what we're going to have to focus on. One of the things I keep saying to people is right now, today, in Houston, Texas and the areas around us, the hands of Jesus have wet backs and saws in them, and the feet of Jesus is wearing rubber boots walking in deep water. You understand what I am saying --
MACCALLUM: I do. I do. I've even seen the pictures and it looks like he's all over, all over there.
MOORE: I'll pray that.
MACCALLUM: Beth, thank you so much. I really appreciate you being here tonight and everything that you and everybody are doing there to pull everyone together. Beth Moore, thank you very much.
So, still ahead tonight, Antifa's growing violence is drawing a strong rebuke from one of the nation's top Democrats. So, what about the rest of the party? That is the question on a lot of people's minds after the brutal violence that we saw in Berkeley last weekend.
Plus, the future of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants hangs in the balance tonight as the White House is reportedly very close to a major decision on DACA. Former Congressman Jason Chaffetz and Juan Williams, here to debate an emotionally charged topic that is very much on the front burner right now. When we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to show great heart. DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me. I will tell you. To me it is one of the most difficult subjects because you have these incredible kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Remember that. That was President Trump just after he took office, talking about the Obama arrow DACA program, which basically allowed children who were brought illegally to this country by their parents to stay in the United States. A very, very hot issue. Today, we learned that the president is very close to his decision and that it looks like, from the indications we have, that he will end the program as early as tomorrow. The White House push back on that here today. Here's this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BOSSERT, ADVISER, WHITE HOUSE HONELAND SECURITY: Of my position is that the administration is reviewing the policy.
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: In terms of DACA, echoing on what Tom said, final decision has not been made. When it is, we'll inform everyone in this room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Here now, former Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who serve as House Committee Chairman and he is now a Fox News contributor. And Juan Williams, co-host of "The Five" and political analyst. Maybe Friday, maybe four or 5:00, Jason?
JASON CHAFFETZ, HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Friday before Labor Day. The program expires. One of the options for the president is to simply let it expire. I think he'll probably do a little bit more than that. He may allow, grandfather in these kids so there is not this immediacy to just pulling it all back. The president does have options. What he did originally should have never happened. The president can't unilaterally change the law.
JUAN WILLIAMS, "THE FIVE" CO-HOST: You mean President Obama?
CHAFFETZ: What President Obama did originally -- he had the house, the senate and the presidency, the Democrats and they didn't do anything on this issue. It wasn't until 2012, a month before an election, that he did this. I think it was wrong at the beginning, and I want to have compassion to deal with a 2-year-old who was brought here, no fault of their own, by their parents, but you have to live by the law.
MACCALLUM: Juan?
WILLIAMS: I think President Trump is playing poker here. He is betting by saying that he will end this program, Martha, that there were people in congress who will say that as we enter the September of budget negotiations, people will say, hold off, we'll make a trade with you. You'll get your wall but we get to DACA back. I think he is placing a bad bet because not only do the opinion polls show that most Americans favor DACA and want the program to continue, you also have a situation where I think the Democrats are willing to push the president on this and say we are not negotiating with the fate of these children who have come here. Some of whom have served in the U.S. Military.
MACCALLUM: As Jason Assange, there could be exemptions. It's possible he is going to find some middle ground where he is showing compassion for some elements of this group and clearly, I would imagine, at the top of the list. That is an interesting theory. If that is true, if what Juan are saying is true, that the president is laying down a marker that he thinks will be a bargaining chip for him in September where there will be a lot of bargaining, whether on the debt ceiling or budget or anything else, in that case, he would put down strongly, I would imagine.
CHAFFETZ: This is where I think Donald Trump is in a very good position, to be able to deal with this. For years, I sat in the house on the Democrats said it would be comprehensive, which was also a word for amnesty, which those of us that want to see a lot of reform, would never, ever do amnesty. It could happen in a position now where he can actually get the Democrats, the Luis Gutierrez's of the world to come to the table and say there's a lot of things that we do agree with, but we will locked on the border, we won't do amnesty, and we won't give you a blanket pass to allow these people to stay here illegally.
WILLIAMS: One problem in the congress may be that, guess what, the Democrats and Republicans may preempt the president because they, what is called a discharge, they simply say they have a vote on it and this would meet your needs, which is to say congress should act on it, it shouldn't be an independent action by the executive. If congress is, we want to do it right now, again, that would preempt his bet that they would back down.
MACCALLUM: In a lot of different places on this issue, he was very hard- core during the campaign. You saw him they are saying, this is a struggle for me. I do think these kids here not under their own volition should be exempt. Now it looks -- is that Jeff Sessions, John Kelly? Who are the forces that are pushing him back this way?
CHAFFETZ: People like Mike Coffman, the congressman out of Colorado, who said he will enter into this discharge petition, which means if you get 218 people to sign it, the speaker has to bring that up immediately for a vote. That portion of the Republican Party that actually wants to see this continue. All the Democrats that want to see continue. On the other side, you have people like Congressman Steve King and others who helped get the president in the place that don't want to see this. It is a contentious issue. It's not an easy one by any means.
MACCALLUM: All right. Thanks, you guys. Good to see you both. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Coming up, the former FBI Director James Comey cleared Hillary Clinton in the email investigation before interviewing key witnesses including the most key witness of all. The candidate herself. That story is straight ahead. Our Antifa the mirror image of neo Nazi? Marc Thiessen think so, he is here next along with professor Jonathan Turley, "the story" goes on after this.
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MACCALLUM: The images of the violent clashes from the hands of Antifa in Berkeley prompted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to publicly condemn the group, but noting that Antifa is not the same as some of the groups they protest. Saying "people are highlighting Hitler and they do have a group that is Antifa, Antifascist. They have been there forever. Some people may have infiltrated them. We'll see. That is not an equivalence in my view." here not to respond, Marc Thiessen, an American Enterprise Institute Scholar and Fox News contributor. And Jonathan Turley is a George Washington law professor. Welcome to both of you. Good to have you here. Thank you for being here. I am struck by one of the images we just had on the screen a moment ago, a big sign that says "no hate, and the guy next to it has a black mask on and is wielding a huge wooden stick at someone. If there is a lot of contradictions here.
MARC THIESSEN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISING SCHOLAR AND FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely. The whole movement is alive. They are not Antifascists. They attacked lots of people who are not neo-Nazis. You had two college Republicans were chased by these people and attacked at a gas station by the protesters. The woman who organized the protest in Berkeley that they disrupted is a transsexual Trump supporter. Here in the inauguration they broke windows of a Starbucks and they set a limousine on fire that was owned by a Muslim business man. Their name is alive to begin with. Who are they? Antifa, there is a professor in Dartmouth who has written a book supporting Antifa. This is how he describes them. They are Marxist, Leninist, revolutionary leftists, who have no allegiance to liberal democracy, and believe that physical violence is both ethically justifiable and strategically effective. That makes them the equivalent of the neo- Nazi. They commit violence in the name of an ideology that killed 25 million people in the 20th century. These people, Antifa, our neo- communists who commit violence in the name of an ideology that killed 100 million people in the 20th century. They are morally indistinguishable and need to be rejected by the Democratic Party, just like Republicans have rejected the neo-Nazis.
MACCALLUM: Pick your favorite extremist, Hitler or Stalin. You see the intersection, the background, and the fundamental theories of these two groups. Jonathan Turley, do you agree with that?
JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF LAW: What concerns me most about Antifa is that they are built on this intolerance for free speech. They recognize that they don't believe that people have a right to speak freely, that they believe that some people are unworthy of free speech because of their views. Certainly, Professor Brady has commented that in his book with some apparent support with the notion that not all speech is equal. That really challenges the basic of our country. Once you start to create this generation of speech intolerant kids, the question is, where we are heading. Who will decide what views are unworthy and what are not. I think the problem I have with Nancy Pelosi's statement is this effort to try to draw distinctions is not necessary and it's a bit dangerous. We are denouncing extremist groups, trying to keep others from speaking through intimidation or violence. That should be the measure. I don't see the distinction.
MACCALLUM: Just saying you don't see in equivalents in some way, it ought to be fairly easy, Marc, do say that violent extremists are bad. No?
THIESSEN: Absolutely. That is what everyone said about Donald Trump. Condemning neo-Nazis is the easiest thing a president should do. Condemning neo-communists should be easy as well. What's amazing is that the Democrats have declared themselves as the resistance, not just the opposition, they are the resistance. Antifa claims to be the pointy edge of the spear of that resistance. It is incumbent on Democrats to make clear that they reject not just their violent tactics, but their ideology, and their doctrines, just as it was incumbent on Republicans and Republicans did make clear that they rejected the neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
MACCALLUM: We are talking about the tips of these two movements. When you go down the chain a little bit, Jonathan, you have regular college students who think that they are on board with something that is meaningful. Why is that?
TURLEY: That is what worries me. First of all, you have academics who have become enablers. People like Professor Brady who has written this book and seems to support many of the values of this group, not necessarily all of them. But you have a lot of faculty that support, not just Antifa but also speech codes and the erosion of free speech. We have had professors who have actively engaged in tearing down displays, even assaulting, and one case in California, pro-life demonstrators. She wasn't fired. She was criminally charged with the faculty stood behind her. What is troubling is that we are losing our sense of values that define us as academic institutions.
MACCALLUM: Gentlemen, thank you very much. Good to see both tonight. He still ahead, shocking claims this evening that James Comey drafted his decision on the clicked on my Clinton investigation before the FBI interviewed her. And several other people that may have been involved. Byron York lays it out for us coming up next.
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MACCALLUM: Bombshell revelations from two Republican Senators today alleges that former FBI Director James Comey was drafted in Clinton's exoneration before his agents had interviewed some of the key witnesses, in fact, 17 are believed to be in that group, including the Democratic presidential candidate herself. Joining me now, Byron York, chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner. And a Fox News contributor and Zak Petkanas former DNC Senior adviser. Gentlemen welcome to both of you. This popped up this afternoon after they had time to review after these documents and input from the people on Comey's team. One of them said that he had drafted a similar statement to what we saw on July 5th, way back in May. He hadn't interviewed Brian Paglia on outcome a lot of people involved in the immunity agreements for Heather Samuelson and Sheryl Mills were not in place yet. Byron, what you make of that?
BYRON YORK, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: This thing actually looked fishy at the time. Remember, the FBI interviewed Hillary Clinton over the Fourth of July weekend last year. They interviewed her on Saturday, July 2nd, and the fourth of July was Monday and Tuesday, the fifth, James Comey comes out and says that she would not be charged. In addition, you have the others you just mentioned. One of the most common features of Washington investigations is trying to determine whether someone has made false statements to investigators, to the FBI, the grand jury, to somebody. That is often the way these things end up is in charge of the false statements. Was it appears here, the 17 people that they had not interviewed by the time that Mr. Comey began drawing his conclusions, and the 48 hours they gave themselves to evaluate all of Hillary Clinton three and a half hour of testimony, they just really weren't looking to see if these people were telling him the truth or not.
MACCALLUM: I just want to play for everybody and exchange between James Comey and Richard Burr, the head of the committee, during the discussion that they had on Capitol Hill. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BURR, SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Was your decision influenced by the Attorney General's tarmac meeting with the former President Bill Clinton?
JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: Yes. Ultimately, in a conclusive way.
BURR: Were there other things that contributed to that that you can describe it in open session?
COMEY: At one point, the Attorney General had directed me not to call it an investigation but instead to call it a matter, which confused me and concerned me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: Zac, what you make of this tonight?
ZAC PETKANAS, DNC SENIOR ADVISER: I think a couple things. First off, the Republicans need to get their story straight. What they were first arguing is that James Comey was fired because he was too hard on Hillary Clinton. Now they are arguing that he was fired because he was too soft on Hillary Clinton. Both things cannot be true. The second thing that I would say is that, look, he said under oath that he made the decisions in July. If he said he committed perjury, they should just come out and say it. The third thing I would say is that the timing of this is incredibly fishy. It comes on the same day that we learn that Donald Trump's own lawyers are sending a memo to the special counsel where they are trashing James Comey in what appears to be an attempt to undermine his reputation, as we learn he is the star witness, are very likely of the star witness and the obstruction of justice case against President Donald Trump. The fact that this came out today is incredibly fishy. It should raise a lot of eyebrows. The second thing about timing is that it comes 24 hours after we know that Donald Trump called Chuck Grassley.
MACCALLUM: I got you. You are putting a lot of things together here. Byron, does that make sense to?
YORK: Actually, there were people in the Justice Department and the FBI who were unhappy that -- with the way Comey treated Hillary Clinton in July, on July 5th when he made that announcement. Again, on October 28th, when he came out, days before the election, and said that he was restarting or reopening the email investigation. There were certainly people in law enforcement who said on July 5th, a - the head of the FBI should not come out and give a long explanation for what they were doing. They shouldn't have done it again on October 28th.
MACCALLUM: I got to go. Gentlemen, thank you very much. Coming up, remembering Princess Diana. After this.
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MACCALLUM: 20 years ago today, the world was shocked by the sudden death of Princess Diana. The funeral was watched by 2.5 billion people around the globe. Now her grown sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, are remembering their mother, reading well-wishers out here outside of Kensington palaces yesterday and now Prince William is speaking out in a way like never before about her life, the impact of her death on all of them. His words are our quote of the night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: When you have something as dramatic as the death of your mother when you are 15, as very sadly many people have experienced, and no one want to experience, it leaves you, it will either make or break you. I wouldn't let it break me. I wanted to make me. I wanted her to be proud of the person I would become. I didn't want her worried or her legacy to be that William and/or Harry were completely devastated by it and all the hard work and love and energy she put into us would go into waste.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACCALLUM: They lived without their mother for 20 years and both of them said that losing her gave them empathy for other children who grew up without their mother. This week, this little girl unfortunately joined that group. George and Grace, three years old. Her mother fought to keep her head above the water as they were swept away in the violent floods in Houston. Her mom did not make it. Jordan is doing fine and said that her mom was praying the whole time. That is "the story" tonight. We'll see you tomorrow night. Tucker is up next.
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