Jeb Bush slams Trump's view of history as 'just wrong'
Presidential candidate says the business mogul is not a serious candidate as it relates to foreign policy; Jeb fires back on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," October 19, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." Tonight, 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is in a major war of words with his Republican rival, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, over who is to blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Now, here's what Trump has been saying in recent days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think I'm much more competent than all of them. When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time.
I would have been much different, I must tell you. Somebody says, well, it wouldn't have been any different. Well, it would have been. I am extremely, extremely tough on illegal immigration. I'm extremely tough on people coming into this country.
I believe that if I were running things, I doubt those families would have -- I doubt that those people would have been in the country.
Jeb said we were safe during his reign. That wasn't true. And that's the only thing I pointed out. And I'm not blaming anybody, and I'm not blaming George Bush, although, if you look at his three primary agencies, they hated each other. They weren't talking. It wasn't that they weren't talking by mistake, they hated each other. A good leader would have made sure they get along and they talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And here's part of Governor Bush's response to Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have grave doubts, to be honest with you. And it's only because of the things he says. It looks as though he's not taking the responsibility -- the possibility of being president of the United States really seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here to respond in more detail is 2016 Republican presidential candidate former Florida governor Jeb Bush.
Governor, good to see you.
That question that you were -- you were answering is whether or not you trust Donald Trump to have his finger on our nuclear arsenal. And your answer was no.
BUSH: Well, look, I mean you've got -- you have the Palestinian uprising, incited by the -- by the Palestinian Authority. You have Syria in complete disarray. You have Iran -- Iran interests in the region on the run. Russia now has -- has as much or more influence than the United States in the region. And we need a steady hand. We need someone that understands the grave threats and America's leadership in the role -- in the world.
And his -- his view of history is just wrong. The simple fact is that when -- when we were attacked, my brother created an environment, where for 2,600 days, we were safe. No one attacked us again. And he changed the laws, he did everything necessary, he united the country, and he kept us safe.
And just a tip of the hat to that and moving on to what the threats are today is what we ought to be focused on. Donald Trump is not a serious candidate as it relates to foreign policy.
HANNITY: Yes, but does that mean that -- we've had this big issue about whether or not every Republican candidate would support the eventual nominee. Would that mean, if you don't trust him to have his finger on the nuclear button, that you wouldn't support him...
BUSH: Look...
HANNITY: ... if he became the nominee?
BUSH: ... Sean, all I said was I have grave doubts. And that's what campaigns (sic) about. He can -- he can convince the American people that he's capable of being the commander-in-chief, but I think he has to -- to show that he's capable. It's not just all about him. It's about policies. It's about a strategy. It's about understanding how the world works and how American leadership matters.
Look, look at Syria. In the last month, Donald Trump has said, Let ISIS take out Assad, and then he says, Let Russia take out ISIS. He was happy that Russia is in Syria.
That is not in our strategic interests to allow Russia to gain influence. They're barrel-bombing the innocents in Syria. This problem is cascading out throughout the region. There are millions of refugees heading towards Europe.
You can't expect the Soviet Union (sic), whose only objective is, is to prop up its client state, Assad, to take out ISIS. They're not -- that's not their intention.
And this lack of understanding of how the world works is what the problem is.
HANNITY: I want to ask you, as it relates to -- I think this is an important question because if we don't learn from the mistakes in the past, I would argue, we're doomed to repeat them. And you're right, when you talk about the -- all the different issues in -- that are going on in the world right now, it's a pretty scary time, in my opinion.
In my first book, which I wrote in 2002, "Let Freedom Ring," I actually described how Mansoor Ijaz tried to broker a deal between the U.S. and Sudan, where literally, the Sudanese were offering -- they wanted sanctions lifted. And they offered bin Laden on a silver platter!
In a speech before the Long Island Business Authority, an old friend of mine, Matt Crossin (ph), actually asked Bill Clinton about this issue. And I'm going to play it for you. And here's what he said.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: Mr. Bin Laden used to live in Sudan. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991. Then he went to Sudan. And we've been hearing that the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with them again. They released him.
At the time, 1996, he had committed no crimes against America, so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America. So I pleaded with the Saudis to take him, because they could have, but they thought he was a hot potato and didn't. And that's how he wound up in Afghanistan.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HANNITY: If Bill Clinton knew he wanted to commit crimes against America and was offered him and he didn't take him, isn't that in and of itself a legal basis to take the guy? I mean, if we're going to really delve into this issue...
BUSH: Look...
HANNITY: ... that seems to me like an admission.
BUSH: I think there's two ways to look at Islamic terrorism. One is a threat that has to be taken out as it relates to, you know, creating a strategy that calls it a war. Or we view it as a law enforcement operation, where people have rights.
I think the Clinton administration made a mistake of thinking bin Laden had to be viewed from a law enforcement perspective. Similarly, the -- President Obama's policies seem to be focused on that, as well.
This is a war against Western civilization. And without the United States' leadership, this will be a problem for generations to come. And I think we need to be much more forceful, both here to protect the homeland, as well as overseas, to create a strategy to unite the world against this grave threat.
And I don't believe Donald Trump has the capability of doing that.
HANNITY: You see the backlash emerging now in Europe over these -- the refugee problem from Syria and Iraq. And the president said he's going to bring in 250,000 refugees into this country. My fear is -- and our national intelligence director, James Clapper, said that ISIS in Iraq will infiltrate the refugee population.
I -- if that's the case, I don't think we can risk taking one refugee in, although we can help, probably, on a humanitarian basis.
What's your position on that?
BUSH: The principal thing we should focus on is the strategy to take out Assad and to take out ISIS. And I laid out that strategy two months ago, where we create a no-fly zone and a safe haven for a force, where both Europe and the Arab world would unite behind a force that was well trained, where our air support can make a difference.
That's -- that's the way to restrict the number of refugees leaving. We can't take 250,000 refugees. I've -- I've never heard that. And that would be impossible to imagine logistically for us to screen.
And it's going to be a huge problem from Europe, as well. Russia has made this worse. And Donald Trump believes that Russia's presence is a good thing in Syria. It just makes no sense at all.
HANNITY: Well...
BUSH: He's running for president of the United States. He should be commander-in-chief. He's running for commander-in-chief. He should have a policy that -- that projects America's leadership and presence in the world, not to applaud Putin for -- for filling our void.
HANNITY: Let me ask you two other foreign policy questions because I think they're important. One is, the president now signing off on this whole Iranian deal. They get $150 billion, spin their centrifuges.
BUSH: Yes.
HANNITY: We got nothing out of the deal, 24 days notice for inspections. They build a nice -- they build their ICBMs. They build missile defense. They get more conventional weapons.
That, coupled with John Kerry last week -- here Israelis are getting killed, and he tried to create a moral equivalency between Palestinian terrorists and Israel!
What are your reactions to those two specific, I think, huge mistakes?
BUSH: Well, first, they go hand in glove because the -- you know, legitimizing the Iranian regime to now empower them to continue to be the largest sponsor of terrorism in the world, which is what we've done, in an unverifiable agreement, is only sending fear throughout the region. And Israel correctly views this as an existential threat.
I don't believe it's necessarily a coincidence that the Palestinian authority is inciting violence against innocent -- innocent Israelis.
We have some say in -- as it relates to the Palestinian Authority, given the fact that we provide aid. And we should be very clear that there is no moral equivalence, that inciting terror inside of Israel is not the equivalency of what Israel does in self-defense.
They do this in their schools to incite a feeling of hatred toward Israel. Israel is responding as any sovereign nation would. We should be completely on their side on this.
And frankly, the next president of the United States ought to be getting Israel's back. We need to make sure that we continue to support Israel, providing them with the most sophisticated equipment. To create a deterrent effect as it relates to Iran, I think, one of the ways to do it is to show our support for Israel.
HANNITY: What a -- we have a few political issues emerging. The latest on Joe Biden getting in, Hillary Clinton's got a big showdown with the Benghazi select committee. And the Republicans can't seem to find a speaker. Thoughts on all three.
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: Well, I think Joe Biden will be a -- he'll be a strong candidate, for sure. It'll be interesting to see, as they -- as they trip over themselves to move to the left, it creates a huge opportunity for us to be able to regain the center with conservative principles and conservative policies, drawing people towards our cause. So I'm excited about that. I hope they have a fierce primary battle.
And as it relates to the speakership, hopefully, that will sort itself out soon. And finally -- what was the last question?
HANNITY: About...
BUSH: The...
HANNITY: ... about Hillary, the Benghazi select committee.
BUSH: Hillary. Yes. The idea that she thinks that this is a joke, that she literally laughs out loud when it's brought up about her e-mails and about Benghazi, when there's an FBI investigation and a congressional inquiry that's run by an honorable man, Trey Gowdy, that's not politicizing this, I think shows how vulnerable she is.
HANNITY: All right, if you get...
BUSH: And I hope that the -- the committee shows that.
HANNITY: All right, so if you have grave doubts about Trump with a nuclear weapon, do you have grave doubts about -- who would you rather have with a -- with their finger on the button, Obama, Trump or Hillary, or do all three scare you?
BUSH: No, look, I'd rather have the Republican nominee. That's who I'd rather have.
HANNITY: OK.
BUSH: I'm a loyal Republican. I've been that way for a long while.
HANNITY: All right, Governor, good to see you again. Thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.
BUSH: Thank you.
HANNITY: Coming up, we'll have more on this reaction, this battle between Donald Trump and Governor Bush.
Plus, Hillary Clinton -- she gets ready to face the Benghazi select committee, and she's laughing her head off. We'll detail how her story has changed when it comes to the terror attack that did, in fact, leave four Americans dead.
Plus, Donald Trump was invited to appear on "Fox News Sunday" and "Saturday Night Live." But guests on "Saturday Night Live" -- one group's pretty unhappy about it. We'll tell you who.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So the political battle between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush over 9/11 and who's to blame continues to intensify. Now, Governor Bush just joined us to respond to Trump's comments. Here with reaction, Fox News contributor Michelle Fields, editor of National Review Rich Lowry, Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson, Jr.
To me -- I brought up this whole issue of what Bill Clinton said. We could have taken him. We knew he wanted to create damage in the States. Isn't that -- when he says that very thing, isn't that an admission that you -- of a conspiracy to commit harm against the United States -- isn't that a legal basis to take him?
PETER JOHNSON, JR., FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: You know, a lot of folks over time have said that if any political figure blew it in terms of preventing the 9/11 disaster, if you were to point to any figure, then it would be Mr. Clinton and his presidency.
HANNITY: But his exact words were, "I didn't bring him here because he had committed no crimes against America. We had no basis on which to hold him, although we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America." Doesn't that represent a conspiracy that you could bring him on that charge alone?
JOHNSON: And his failure to do so, that makes him complicit in it?
HANNITY: Yes.
JOHNSON: Yes, I guess you can make that argument. I don't think that's a strong argument. A stronger argument was that they had an opportunity to kill bin Laden, and they didn't kill him. And he should have been killed.
(CROSSTALK)
RICH LOWRY, NATIONAL REVIEW, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Bill Clinton -- that is the very representation of the pre-9/11 mindset, which is this is a crime, a criminal conspiracy, rather than an act of war.
And look, Trump is absolutely right. This is a massive government failure at all levels that we experienced this attack on our shores, and Bush was the head of the government at that time. But he was only in there nine months.
And the politics here, though, Jeb has to be so -- he's been so reactive this entire campaign.
HANNITY: You think that's a mistake.
LOWRY: Trump has set the agenda, set the debate. If I were Bush, I'd be desperate to get out there and start my own fight not with Trump, but with the left, with the media...
HANNITY: With Hillary.
LOWRY: ... with the Democrats. Correct.
HANNITY: But one other thing. Let me go back to what Bill Clinton also said. "The only place bin Laden ever went to that we knew he was there occasionally, he went to Kandahar. He would always spend the night there in a compound with 200 women and children. I could have on any given night ordered an attack that I know would have killed 200 women and children."
And he didn't do it. Is that the same pre-9/11 mentality you're talking about?
LOWRY: Absolutely. Everyone would have taken that shot after we saw those towers fall.
HANNITY: But this was prior to that.
LOWRY: And this was a threat that -- this was a threat that wasn't taken seriously enough over the course of about two decades.
HANNITY: Yes. What do you think? Do you agree with Rich, Michelle, in terms of should Jeb be responding to this? I mean, obviously, I asked him about it. It's in the news. You know, he said, I have grave doubts about whether Donald Trump should have his finger on the button, so I've got to ask him about it.
MICHELLE FIELDS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think he should try to run away from the issue because every time they bring this up, what Trump is doing is reminding people that Jeb's last name is Bush and that he's part of the Bush family. And I think that's one of the biggest weaknesses of Jeb Bush.
But in terms of what Donald Trump said, I do think there's some truth to it. I mean, I don't think he articulated it correctly, but you know, George W. Bush was president at the time. The FBI and the CIA were not communicating and coordinating with one another. We know that many warnings were given from intelligence officials to the Bush administration, and they did not take it seriously.
So there's blame to be passed around on both the Bush administration and also the Clinton administration.
HANNITY: I'd actually put more on the Clinton administration myself, especially based on what Clinton himself has admitted.
JOHNSON: And at some point, history has to...
FIELDS: But the problem...
JOHNSON: ... be taken into account in a serious way. In American history, we know from time to time -- go back to the Pearl Harbor attack. A lot of folks said there was a conspiracy. Roosevelt knew about it. So there's always this conspiracy mentality in American politics and American history.
I think the Trump shot is not fact-based. I think it's a cheap shot. But it's a great political shot across the Bush bow.
FIELDS: But the thing is, is that Republicans...
JOHNSON: The idea -- how does he respond? It is not factually based.
HANNITY: Michelle -- what do you say, Michelle?
FIELDS: Well, the problem is, is, you know, Republicans constantly say, Oh, you know, Obama's responsible and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the time was responsible for Benghazi because they were the ones who were at the top and in charge when this occurred.
Well, the same can be said about George W. Bush and the same...
JOHNSON: Well, there's no comparison whatsoever.
(CROSSTALK)
FIELDS: There's no comparison?
JOHNSON: ... whatsoever. We're talking about...
FIELDS: If the roles were reversed...
JOHNSON: We're talking about a decision potentially withholding assistance to Americans at Benghazi.
FIELDS: But we're also talking about...
JOHNSON: No one has made that malicious charge against...
FIELDS: ... warnings that were made -- OK, but warnings...
JOHNSON: ... George Bush. And to say that George Bush...
FIELDS: ... were given to Bush administration...
JOHNSON: ... is responsible for the attack by a fatwa...
FIELDS: I'm not saying he's responsible. I'm saying...
JOHNSON: ... that was declared -- well, there's a lot of reasons we were attacked, but I'm not going to blame the president of the United States...
FIELDS: But I think if roles were reversed...
JOHNSON: ... for the attack. And I think...
FIELDS: ... you would be. You would be!
JOHNSON: ... Donald Trump, as much as I like him and love him in some ways, he's wrong about this.
HANNITY: But you think a good political move.
JOHNSON: It's a great political move, but it's absent any fact...
HANNITY: All right, let me...
JOHNSON: ... and it's bankrupt in every way!
HANNITY: You know, in many ways, we are repeating history because I would argue that if the Iranians get their nuclear weapon and use it, Obama's going to be long gone!
LOWRY: Exactly.
FIELDS: Yes.
HANNITY: And what are we going to...
LOWRY: The cost of the weakness comes after you're gone usually. And that happened with Clinton. It's probably going to happen with Obama.
I think what's most objectionable about Trump's statements about this, though, is his contention that he just would have magically stopped these attacks from happening. But it goes to his...
HANNITY: I think he's talking about immigration there, but that's a separate issue.
LOWRY: Well, I'm not even sure -- even if he had the same views that as he does now about immigration, you're not going to do it in nine months, you know, by September of 2011, if he's -- 2001, if elected the same time Bush is.
But it goes to his broader critique. The immigration system has been broken forever in this country. We suffered a catastrophic attack on our shores partly because of it, and it's still not fixed!
FIELDS: Yes.
HANNITY: Let me -- let me add one other thing. If you see what's happening in Europe right now, there's such a backlash, especially to the Syrian, Iraqi migrant refugee crisis. I think that same political sentiment is growing leaps and bounds here, will be a major factor a year from now when this election takes place.
JOHNSON: I think that's right. And I think you always -- you really hit it, this 9/11 mentality, pre-9/11 mentality. Post-9/11, we have a pre- 9/11 mentality...
HANNITY: Scary.
JOHNSON: ... again...
HANNITY: Scary.
JOHNSON: ... in this country and this administration. And -- and I just -- I...
HANNITY: You can see it in Iran. You can see it with Israel.
JOHNSON: In too many different ways.
HANNITY: Yes.
JOHNSON: Too many different ways.
HANNITY: All right, thank you, all.
And coming up -- Hillary Clinton set to testify this week in front of the Benghazi select committee. Now, ahead of her testimony, we're going to explain how Clinton from the beginning has changed her story about the terrorist attack that left four Americans dead.
And then later -- Donald Trump is booked to host "Saturday Night Live" next month, but one group is furious he got the invite. Find out why.
Plus Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is here in studio to talk about the funding of Planned Parenthood in his state and much more. Straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." Hillary Clinton will be in the hot seat this week on Thursday. The former secretary of state will finally testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
Now, this hearing comes at a bad time for Clinton, as damning new evidence was just uncovered showing that Ambassador Chris Stevens requested more security, but was turned down by the State Department months before he was murdered in the Benghazi attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TREY GOWDY, R-S.C.: Our ambassador also asked for public messaging advice on the violence in Libya. Victoria Nuland e-mails him and says, we need help with your public messaging advice. He needed help with security, John! He didn't need help with PR. He was asking for more security. And on one occasion, he even joked in an e-mail, Maybe we should ask another government to pay for our security upgrades because our government isn't willing to do it!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Unbelievable. And while Clinton will likely face pressing questions over why her State Department failed to meet the security needs of an important diplomatic compound, well, she may encounter even harsher criticisms for a stand-down order given to personnel at the adjacent CIA annex. Now, it's an order that the State Department denies but was all too real for the security forces there on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Was a stand-down order given to you, Chris (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand-down order was given to John Tegen (ph). I was told to wait twice. The semantics and the words that we're playing with here are ridiculous. The order was given. It cost lives. That's enough said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And that's not all. Clinton will likely also come under fire for what she said days after the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, THEN-SECRETARY OF STATE: We've seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We've seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, that statement seems especially odd considering a 2012 report from the U.S. Senate concluded the following. Quote, "Senior officials from the IC, the Department of State and the FBI who participated in briefings and interviews with the committee said they believed the attack on the mission facility in Benghazi to be a terrorist attack immediately or almost immediately after it occurred."
Here with reaction, former deputy national security adviser for the Clinton administration Nancy Soderberg and from the American Center for Law and Justice, Jay Sekulow.
Nancy, so what we got here is before the attacks, we have Chris Stevens, the ambassador, requested security numerous times. It was denied. We need to know why. People died because it was denied.
During the attack, people there, five of them, testified that a stand- down order was given. And then we have evidence that shows they knew immediately it was a terror attack, but yet we get this whole lie that was created by Clinton and others that it was a spontaneous demonstration related to a YouTube video.
So aren't these really serious, legitimate questions that we need answers to?
NANCY SODERBERG, FMR. CLINTON DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, I'll answer that in one minute. Let me take a second to respond to a previous segment.
As a former Bill Clinton official, I just need to correct the record that Bill Clinton was not trying to kill bin Laden before 9/11. He spent the last three years of his presidency trying to target bin Laden. And as we found under President Bush when he took over...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: That's the way...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: That's not what it said!
SODERBERG: That's another segment that...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... he didn't have the legal authority to take him, even though we know he wanted to commit crimes against America.
SODERBERG: That was well -- that...
HANNITY: That's his own voice! That's his own words!
SODERBERG: That was well before we were trying to actually kill him, which was the whole last three years.
HANNITY: Excuse me! He's saying that -- you're making my point.
JAY SEKULOW, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE: Well, you're conflating a police action, that's what I think the reality is...
SODERBERG: Yes, and that was not...
(CROSSTALK)
SEKULOW: ... as a police action, not as acts of terror.
(CROSSTALK)
SEKULOW: That's the difference, and that's why they reacted...
SODERBERG: That is a...
SEKULOW: ... incorrectly.
HANNITY: All right, let me go to Jay Sekulow...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Jay...
SODERBERG: Anyway, let me...
HANNITY: ... before, during and after...
SODERBERG: Let me just answer you on the -- just me just answer you on the Hillary issue, which is what you turned me -- turned for me to. I think you have to look at the Accountability Review Board, which is a nonpartisan review, these seven other congressional committees that put out what was the facts here, which is, number one, this is a tragic death of four brave Americans, and I think you have to pause -- and this is using those deaths for blatant political partisan action. There was no stand- down order given by Hillary Clinton.
HANNITY: Whoa, whoa! Stop for a second! Nancy...
SODERBERG: There was a chaos...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: On this show -- wait a minute! Wait a minute! Five people that were there, five of them -- are you calling them liars?
SODERBERG: Who have no idea...
HANNITY: Wait, wait, wait! Five of them were on my show. Are you saying...
SODERBERG: They have no idea what...
HANNITY: Are you saying...
SODERBERG: I am saying...
HANNITY: ... that those men are liars?
SODERBERG: No, I'm saying...
HANNITY: Because that's what you're saying!
SODERBERG: No, I'm saying that there -- Hillary Clinton did not give any stand-down order.
HANNITY: I didn't say she did! I said...
(CROSSTALK)
SEKULOW: Hillary Clinton was the secretary of state and...
SODERBERG: The implication of your question...
SEKULOW: ... and as secretary of state...
SODERBERG: ... is that she did that.
SODERBERG: ... is responsible for the actions. The ambassador had...
(CROSSTALK)
SEKULOW: ... and it was denied. So she's responsible.
SODERBERG: Look at the seven reports that have come back there. There were certainly steps that -- Hillary Clinton asked for review of this. There were lots of nonpartisan recommendations going forward. You should take a look at those.
But you got to look at this committee on Thursday morning. It is a political witch hunt...
HANNITY: All right, you said that three times now.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I got your talking point.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: We got your talking point!
SEKULOW: With due respect...
SODERBERG: What have we gotten out of this committee?
SEKULOW: ... how about answering the fundamental question? OK, the fundamental question -- we knew that there was an increased security need because the ambassador notified the State Department. That's un -- no dispute! Indisputable fact, number one! Number two, we know no increased security was given. Again, not in dispute! Number three, the secretary of state was Hillary Clinton. She is ultimately responsible for that increase of security being denied! And the fourth thing we know is that the narrative that the Obama administration wanted was the video on the Internet which also we knew immediately was not the reason for this attack, that this was a planned, pre-calculated attack. And those are the real facts that I hope come up in the committee and I'm sure they will. But that's the reality of what we're dealing with.
HANNITY: And Nancy, I have another question. You weren't there. The committee reporters weren't there. Why would they not take into account the five consistent voices that said stand-down orders were given?
SODERBERG: I have no idea who gave those --
HANNITY: Why would they keep citing a report that actually doesn't take into account their testimony?
SEKULOW: Right.
SODERBERG: All I'm questioning is Hillary Clinton, you cannot pin that on Hillary Clinton. What you need to look at is --
HANNITY: I didn't mention Hillary's name in that.
SEKULOW: That's the ultimate responsible party in the State Department.
SODERBERG: If you look at the nonpartisan reports that have been put out there including the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services committee said when things were unfolding, when you look back --
SEKULOW: But the facts remain.
SODERBERG: And you got to be careful about exploiting the --
HANNITY: But the security was denied.
SODERBERG: -- a tragedy.
HANNITY: Before security was denied. Five people that were there say a stand-down order was given. And now what we know to be a false narrative was given to the American people after.
SEKULOW: Right.
SODERBERG: I've been in the White House when Bosnia happened. The first reports that come in are never accurate.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: But they knew a week later.
SEKULOW: You're acting as if these are.
SODERBERG: They corrected it as soon as -- things are chaotic when things happen.
HANNITY: We got to go.
SODERBERG: -- in Iran, and everybody knows that.
SEKULOW: The secretary of state was asked for additional, the ambassador asked for additional help, he didn't get it.
HANNITY: He didn't get it. That's right.
Coming up, 2016 Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, he is set to host "Saturday Night Live" next month. Not everyone is happy about it. We'll explain.
The later, Governor Bobby Jindal is trying to defund Planned Parenthood in his home state of Louisiana. He's hitting some road blocks with the Clinton administration. He'll join us later in studio straight ahead
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." Donald Trump is set to host "Saturday Night Live" on November the 7th. While some can't wait for his appearance, others are calling on NBC to pull the plug. In a letter sent to executives, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts wrote in part, quote, "Allowing Trump to host "SNL" will legitimize and validate his anti-Latino comments. And the NHLA had praised NBC Universal when it severed its ties with Donald Trump. We are appalled that you would enable Trump's hateful speech for nothing less than ratings, a ratings ploy, and we ask that you rescind your "SNL" invitation." Trump responded earlier today when he was on "Fox & Friends."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm leading in the polls with Hispanics. If you look at polls in Nevada, I'm leading in the polls with the Hispanics because I produce jobs and they know it. I have thousands of Hispanics that work for me. My relationship with Hispanics is I think better than those groups. Those groups are looking to fundraise. I know all about those groups.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with reaction, from the Washington Times, Charles Hurt, and the chairman and co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts Felix Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez, thank you for being with us. What specifically caused you to write a letter such as this? When you say anti-Latino comments, what specifically are you referring to?
FELIX SANCHEZ, NATIONAL HISPANIC FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS: Well, I think, you know, as we all know Trump in his announcement speech referred to Mexican immigrants as, you know, rapists and murderers. And that kind of rhetoric really offended --
HANNITY: Mr. Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: -- a large percentage.
HANNITY: I have been down to the border some 10 times. I sat in on a security briefing. In the state of Texas alone, 654,000 crimes were committed by illegal immigrants including murder and rape. I asked Trump myself. He was talking about those people that break the law by not having controlled borders. Are you not allowed to say that -- do you not acknowledge that some people crossing our border illegally commit crimes like murder and rape? Are you denying that truth?
SANCHEZ: You know, the issue really --
HANNITY: I asked a question. I didn't ask you what the issue was. I asked you are you denying that some illegal immigrants commit horrible crimes against American citizens? Are you denying that truth?
SANCHEZ: I don't know the level, but --
HANNITY: I didn't ask you the level. Are you denying that people commit -- no, this is not a small issue.
SANCHEZ: May I try to respond.
HANNITY: Are you denying that people do not respect American law and sovereignty and enter this country illegally also when they get here commit crimes against American citizens?
SANCHEZ: I can't speak for that.
HANNITY: You don't know the truth about that?
SANCHEZ: I think that we all know that crime occurs.
HANNITY: By illegal immigrants.
SANCHEZ: It occurs by every segment of society. We see crime.
HANNITY: Including illegal immigrants.
SANCHEZ: And I'm sure that there are, you know, the statistics are there to show that most illegal immigrants that are in this country --
HANNITY: He even said that. Not all. He said some. He said that in a statement to which you're referring.
Charles, here's the point. Charles, we got a situation where -- I understand. I've been down to the border, 10, 12 times. I look at one side of the border there's poverty, and the other side is half million dollar, million dollar homes. I get why people want to come here. There's more opportunity, better environment. But I'm only asking people to do it legally. And that's what Donald Trump says. It gets twisted into this, which I find frustrating.
CHARLES HURT, WASHINGTON TIMES: And the other reason that they come here is because we're a nation of laws and we believe in laws and laws aren't to be disregarded.
And honestly, Mr. Sanchez seems like a nice guy and everything, but I feel like so many people are undermining their own message by denying or trying to conflate what Donald Trump said talking about the illegals who came here, who are coming here committing horrible, heinous, disgusting crimes by somehow conflating those people with all of the good, law abiding people who do come here legally.
HANNITY: Come here legally, right.
HURT: Come here legally, wait in line.
HANNITY: And contribute to our society.
HURT: Absolutely.
HANNITY: Mr. Sanchez, respond to that.
SANCHEZ: Yes, I mean, the issue is, you know, the narrative that gets portrayed about immigrants that are coming from Mexico is that it's an overwhelming negative message. And that negative message extends then to people whose ancestry is from Mexico. And so Mexican-Americans and many Latinos found those comments very offensive.
HANNITY: Mr. Sanchez, he's only talking about those that commit crimes and those that don't respect our laws. Shouldn't people respect our laws if they want to come in the country? That's a question. Should people respect our laws and come in legally?
SANCHEZ: He's creating wedge issues like this.
HANNITY: I'm asking you a question. Mr. Sanchez, should people come in legally? Is there anything wrong with asking that? Because if you go illegally to Mexico, they put you in jail or send you back to the country from which you came.
SANCHEZ: I think that a lot of the way these bigoted comments found its way to be offensive to the majority of the 56 million Latinos that are here, and 125,000 --
HURT: And the polls suggest that they did not find --
SANCHEZ: Also agree that Trump should be removed from --
HANNITY: We're running out of time. I apologize. We will do this again another day. We need more time on this. Thank you, both.
Coming up, Governor Bobby Jindal in studio. He's trying to defund Planned Parenthood in Louisiana. A federal judge is attempting to block this. The 2016 Republican presidential candidate joins me next to explain how he's going to respond to the administration. Also Shannon Bream has a full report straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is fighting to defund Planned Parenthood. Earlier today a federal judge ordered that his state must continue to fund clinics for another 14 days while the legal fight continues. The 2016 presidential candidate will join us in just a second, but first standing by in Washington with all the detail on this, our very own Shannon Bream. Shannon?
SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sean, today was set to be the day that millions in Medicaid funding would be blocked from streaming into Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana. But late last night in a 59-page ruling that was made public this morning a federal judge put the brakes on the plan for at least 14 days as that fight plays out.
Just weeks ago Governor Jindal cancelled a contract providing state Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood saying that according to Louisiana's contract with the organization either party was free to cancel the contract at will. He cited these undercover videos released earlier this year by the Center for Medical Progress, or CMP, videos which prolife advocates allege show the abortion provider engaging in illegal activities, like altering abortion procedures or methods for the specific purpose of harvesting fetal body parts or illegally profiting from their sale. Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing. The federal judge who is now blocking Jindal's move says the video in question don't relate to clinics specifically in Louisiana and that Planned Parenthood would be able to prove ultimately that the state's attempts to strip it of Medicaid funding are unrelated to its competence as a health care provider. Sean?
HANNITY: All right, Shannon, thank you so much.
Joining us now, the of the brand new book "American Will, The Forgotten Choices that Changed our Republic and Offer lessons for its Future," 2016 Republican presidential candidate, he is the governor of the great state of Louisiana. Governor Jindal, how are you, sir? Good to see you.
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Great to see you, Sean. Thank you for having me.
HANNITY: I appreciate your fight. I wish we had the same fight in Congress over Planned Parenthood, immigration, et cetera, ObamaCare. We don't have that fight.
JINDAL: Sean, I couldn't agree with you more. The Republicans in D.C. have become the surrender caucus. All they say is they can't. They can't defund Planned Parenthood, they can't stop amnesty, the can't stop ObamaCare.
HANNITY: Is it they can't or they won't?
JINDAL: Well, both. The reality is they need a backbone transplant. I don't like what Pelosi and Reid are doing to our country, but at least they fight for their principles. I'm proud of it. I'm proud of this lawsuit, quite frankly.
Look, the Obama attorneys might as well get comfortable in Baton Rouge. We're not backing down from this fight. We're going to fight to owe protect innocent human life. I know there are a lot of Republicans in D.C. that like to talk. It's time for them to act, including a lot of these Republicans running for president. A lot of these senators, whether it's Cruz or Rubio or Graham or Paul, we need folks to actually act on the front lines. I hope every governor will defund Planned Parenthood. They can't sue us all. They can't come after us all.
HANNITY: Why do you think your campaign has not broken out till this point? You have a great record as governor. You're a conservative. You fought on a lot of issues. Is it too much noise in the room? Is it the year of the insurgent, people don't want any politician?
JINDAL: Sean, we focused our time in Iowa. We're actually in the top five in the polls in Iowa. We're building momentum in the 53 counties in the town halls. We're building a movement, and it's based on what you said. We're the only candidate that cut government spending. Everybody talks about it. We've actually cut out budget 26 percent. Most pro-life states six years or out, highest legislative award from the NRA. We're pro Second Amendment. We fought for religious liberty. We're a top 10 state for job creation. So we've got a proven conservative record. But we're winning in the early state. I know a lot of folks ignoring Iowa and New Hampshire. I think that is a mistake. For 50 years our nominees all have won one of those states. We're going to win in Iowa in the first week of February.
HANNITY: Who is ignoring those states?
JINDAL: I think that there are a lot of establishment folks, a lot of donors that want to move away. You've heard the chairman of the RNC even suggest maybe Iowa shouldn't be first. I think it's a mistake just to look at national polls. Let the voters, not the donors decide. I think a lot of establishment wants to clear the field for Jeb, and I think that is a mistake.
HANNITY: Do you really believe that's the case? He's at four percent in the polls.
JINDAL: I think voters get to decide. Democracy is messy. They didn't like it when Donald Trump ran. I think it's better to let the voters decide. They're so frustrated. I said when Boehner stepped aside. I said, look, if McConnell is not willing to fight for us, he needs to follow Boehner's lead. I think voters are angrier at Republicans than Democrats. At least the Democrats are honest. They call themselves socialist, so your choices are honest socialists on the left, lying conservatives on the right. Voters are pretty frustrated. I think we've doing well in Iowa because we have proven that we will fight for conservative values.
HANNITY: You give a little bit of a history lesson here about some ups and downs and challenges we face. Did you do that through the prism of, hey, America has been through a lot already and we should learn from the past?
JINDAL: Absolutely. I hope people enjoy this book. Some of these forgotten stories -- we live in the greatest country of the history of the world but there are incredible leaders that made the right decisions at the right moment in time. One of the forgotten stories for example, we talk about Reagan, we all loved Reagan. He took on President Nixon in his own party over welfare expansion. Nixon, a Republican.
HANNITY: He also took on a sitting Republican president and nearly won.
JINDAL: That is exactly right, took on Ford as well. But Nixon was the one that was trying to federalize welfare. Does this sound familiar, was trying to say we need to have more able-bodied Americans dependent on government. You had Reagan fighting against the tide and he successfully won that fight.
HANNITY: Sounds familiar.
JINDAL: Absolutely.
HANNITY: All right, governor, good to see you. Good luck. It's called American will in bookstores now. Good to see you, Governor.
JINDAL: Thanks, Sean.
HANNITY: Coming up, when we come back, very important "Question of the Day." We need your help. And our "Ask Sean" segment is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, time for our "Question of the Day." So in light of the latest feud over 9/11, we want to know this. Do you agree with either Jeb Bush or Trump, or me, because I think Bill Clinton, that tape reveals a lot. You tell me. Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter and let us know what you think.
It's now time for our ask Sean segment. Thank you, by the way, for sending your questions via Facebook and Twitter. Remember, if you like to ask me, well, you can put it on tape like this person.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Sean. I appreciate Governor Walker's and Perry's example of getting out of the race, allowing others a better chance at a more successful run for president. My question at this point is what drives many of the candidates to still be in the race?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Great question. I agree with you. I think 16 people at this point is a little too much in terms of people. I'd like to see that number pared down so we can really watch these candidates interact with one another. I don't know what motives are. I assume most of them have great intentions. They had success in whatever their background and career happened to be and they think they can be the best president. And so I assume that is what motivates them.
But at some point you've got to realize if you're Lindsey Graham that you're not going to be president. So, anyway, thank you for the question.
And if you have a question for me just go to Twitter and use the #AskSean, better yet, like that person, just send in a video and you can be on TV.
Quick programming note, be sure to tune in tomorrow night, 10:00 eastern. Donald Trump will be here to respond to Governor Bush who was on tonight about their growing feud and the other issues of the day. That's all the time we have left this evening. I hope you'll set your DVR so you never miss an episode. We take attendance. It hurts our feelings when you're not here. Not that I'm trying to guilt trip you. We'll see you back tomorrow night. Thanks for being with us.
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