Rashid Khalidi Blasts Chicago Politics

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," October 30, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: And this is a "FOX News Alert." We are following several breaking developments tonight in stories that we have followed right here on this program and on "Hannity's America".

Now, first tonight, by now you are all familiar with this man, Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. Now the Los Angeles Times is still refusing to release a videotape of Senator Obama at a party for Khalidi at which several offensive things were allegedly said.

Mr. Khalidi rejected our request for an interview. But with five days left before the election and there being so many unanswered questions about this story, we took our cameras to find him and find him we did.

• Video: Click here to watch the EXPLOSIVE new tape of Griff Jenkins questioning Rashid Khalidi about his involvement with Barack Obama

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Professor Khalidi? Hi, Griff Jenkins with FOX. Can I ask you a quick question?

(CROSSTALK)

JENKINS: Can you just tell me? What's your relationship with Senator Obama? Sir, you clarify it, sir? I apologize for interrupting but you have become the centerpiece of the election. Will you at least call for the "L.A. Times" to release the video? What was said? What was said at the speech?

RASHID KHALIDI, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: Go away. Get this guy out of here.

JENKINS: Will you talk to us?

KHALIDI: I will not.

JENKINS: Were you the spokesman for the PLO? Will you confirm that?

KHALIDI: Get these guys out.

JENKINS: You're at the center of the election, sir. Just some quick clarifications then we'll leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

JENKINS: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: That's Arafat's former spokesman a little quiet there. So why is it every time we find one of these associates of Barack Obama they run away and refuse to say anything? Why do they all seem to look so guilty?

But that's not the only tape we obtained today of Mr. Khalidi. Now take a look at this speech. He gave this speech in 1998 and he is discussing how American foreign policy gets corrupted by domestic politics but the example that he uses, that's what caught our attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALIDI: The second thing to keep in mind about American foreign policy is that it is largely determined by domestic considerations almost all the time. There are many other things that go into it. But domestic considerations are always extremely important.

And these are often quite mundane, indeed these are sometimes appallingly crass interest. They are the kind of things that move domestic politics in Chicago — money, votes, corruption, bribery, influence peddling, back-door deals.

The kind of things that Cook County, the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois, the politics on the local level work through and because of. The kind of you scratch my back and I scratch yours kind of (INAUDIBLE) type of dealing, which we — which we — when it's talked about in the Middle East it's considered revolting and degrading and third world corruption.

It's actually what oils American politics. If you don't know this you're not living in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Now anybody know any politicians from Chicago? Now Khalidi makes it sound like corruption is just part of life in windy city politics.

Now, good thing Senator Obama doesn't know any one, let's see, like Tony Rezko? But that's not all. In just a few minutes, we're going to reveal some shocking and potentially explosive details about the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers.

We have just confirmed — you see this book here — today and you won't believe what we're going to show you and who this book by Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn was dedicated to. That's coming up.

But joining us first tonight with more on these stories is former Democratic pollster Pat Caddell, columnist Ann Coulter.

You know here's a guy, the L.A. Times went — there is a tape that he is praising this man, former, you know, terrorist spokesman for Yasser Arafat. We know that he — you know, viewed the creation of Israel as a disaster.

ANN COULTER, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST & AUTHOR: Right.

HANNITY: And anti-Semitic things were said at this event and Barack Obama praised Khalidi.

COULTER: Right.

HANNITY: So, but of course, nobody cares.

COULTER: Right, I mean, even what little they reported about the event, it is shocking that a presidential candidate of a major party would be there. You have Ayers and Dohrn again, of course. You have this Khalidi. You have Obama who's apparently constantly having dinner with the Khalidis.

HANNITY: They ear dinner frequently. They were frequent dinner companions.

COULTER: And you have also — now, you know, questions about who paid his Harvard tuition and people don't even know about this story? We have yet another, you know, the father of the Black Panthers and another Muslim has apparently paid Obama's tuition.

According to — his name is Percy Sutton, a big, you know.

HANNITY: That's right.

COULTER: . civil rights activist here in New York. That's what he said.

HANNITY: And we reported that. We played that tape on "Hannity's America".

COULTER: We got Ayers.

HANNITY: Nobody else in the media has.

COULTER: We got Jeremiah Wright and now we have to have Griff Jenkins chasing down Khalidi here. Where is the rest of the media?

HANNITY: You know, Pat, I don't want to say anything, but we first interviewed, you know, Reverend Wright in March of '87. We followed the Bill Ayers story. Wait until you hear — because I know who you admire, Pat. I know your Democratic roots.

When you hear who this book is dedicated to, you are not going to be happy. And here is the question. Why are so many people in this country willing to just not pay attention to these radical associations?

PAT CADDELL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, look, I don't know about associations. I think some of them are spurious. I think others, you know, deserve questioning.

But here's the point. You're running for president of the United States. I want to say this about the "L.A. Times" story. It appeared in April. Obviously, you would think logic might dictate that maybe it was given over by somebody who is a supporter of Clintons because it was in the primaries.

But here's the point. I — all right. Let's assume for a moment that they claim that they had an agreement in their source not to release the tape. Why not the transcript? In 2006 they had a tape of Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about a hot Latino legislature.

Now the L.A. Times has given that they didn't release a tape. But they released a full transcript. Where is the full transcript? They leave people believing that either there is something wrong in there that they don't want to do, which they claim is not the case. Or that there is something problematic with the reporting.

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Pat, they wrote an article in April and they were fully — it was not a pro-Obama article. It talked about this dinner where he praised this guy.

CADDELL: Yes.

COLMES: . Khalidi and it was not exactly favorable to Obama.

CADDELL: I'm just saying why not release the transcript.

COLMES: The L.A. Times broke the story. If they didn't want to reveal anything, they wouldn't have.

CADDELL: It makes a story out of nothing, you're saying. Well, the point is why don't you just release the transcript? That's — that would be the end of this.

COLMES: Transcript of what, the dinner?

CADDELL: No. The tape that they have.

COULTER: The tape.

COLMES: The tape. All right. Well, you know, because they probably have promised the source.

CADDELL: The transcript, just like Arnold.

COULTER: That's crazy.

COLMES: They would not do that.

COULTER: That's crazy.

(CROSSTALK)

COULTER: A source does not give a tape to a newspaper and say but don't play the tape.

CADDELL: You can't give somebody a story.

COLMES: If Khalidi is such a big problem doesn't John McCain have a problem about his group that he headed, he funded Khalidi's group to the tune of 448,000 plus dollars?

COULTER: No, it was.

COLMES: John McCain gave this guy a grant to do his work.

COULTER: Right. Well.

COLMES: Isn't that problem for John McCain?

COULTER: No, it's much more distant in that case.

COLMES: No, it's not.

COULTER: Absolutely it is. This is — this Republican International Institute that supports democracy around the globe. It wasn't the group that the Wood fund was giving money to.

COLMES: No. It was giving money to a group headed by Khalidi.

COULTER: Right.

COLMES: . for Khalidi to continue doing this work. If Khalidi is such a bad guy.

COULTER: No, no, no, no, no.

COLMES: If Khalidi is such a bad guy.

COULTER: You say — no, no, no, no.

COLMES: . why did McCain funded him?

COULTER: You just elided over a rather important point.

COLMES: No, no, no, no.

COULTER: You said for Khalidi to continue to do this work. What was the work, Alan? I can tell you what the work was. It was for the Palestinians to have an election. It's to promote a democracy.

COLMES: Well, wait a second. But if Khalidi is such a bad guy, Pat Caddell.

COULTER: No, no, no. Wait a second.

COLMES: . why does a guy — why give them any money?

COULTER: No, you are not moving to Pat yet because.

CADDELL: Wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, my turn.

COULTER: . I am not saying that everything he does, that every single does in every part of his life is wrong.

COLMES: All right, let's dissect that.

COULTER: But what — what Obama was praising him for, yes. That's not good.

COLMES: But wait a minute, wait a minute. All Obama have said — did was — know the guy, have dinner with him and talk with him. And you're talking about John McCain.

COULTER: He ate dinner at his dinner table.

CADDELL: And Alan, John McCain did some.

(CROSSTALK)

COULTER: So John McCain belonged to an association that gave money to an association that this guy had.

COLMES: He grant this — you know, you're really parsing here.

COULTER: It's far more distant.

COLMES: Pat Caddell.

COULTER: Bad for McCain, how about you answer that question.

COLMES: I think — Pat.

COULTER: Is it bad for Obama to be eating at his dinner table then?

COLMES: Hold on. Pat Caddell, John McCain gave the guy half a million dollars. Is that good or bad?

COULTER: He didn't give the guy half a million dollars.

(CROSSTALK)

CADDELL: Ann, let me speak, please. The fact of the matter is that ought to be an issue. But I am saying, Alan.

COLMES: Well, let's make it an issue.

CADDELL: .. back to this other point. But let's make this — let me go back to the point you said. If somebody gives you a tape and it allows to you write a story on it you have the right to run the transcript. That's all I'm saying, the — the issue here is journalism and it's the right of the people to know. Just like they have a right to know whether McCain gave money to him or not.

(CROSSTALK)

COLMES: You forgot to go over McCain's involvement because you want to go after Obama.

CADDELL: I'm not. I'm saying.

(CROSSTALK)

CADDELL: I think it could be a serious problem.

COLMES: Half a million dollars.

CADDELL: I think.

COULTER: He didn't give it to him to be a spokesman for Arafat. He gave it to him to take polls among the Palestinians. It's the general democracy promoting organization.

COLMES: It was his organization.

(CROSSTALK)

COULTER: We are not saying that every (INAUDIBLE) belongs to is a terrorist organization.

CADDELL: All I want to say I think this is going to hurt Obama with the Jewish vote in Florida particularly.

HANNITY: All right guys. Hang on a second. We've got to take a break. Now we have more to come with Ann and Pat. And by the way, there is more breaking news ahead.

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