Can Pelosi head off a potential challenge to her leadership?

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Can Pelosi head off a potential challenge to her leadership?

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds a closed-door meeting with Rep. Marcia Fudge; reaction from Fox News contributors Lisa Boothe and Richard Fowler.

This is a rush transcript from "The Story with Martha MacCallum," November 16, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

ED HENRY, FOX NEWS: Breaking tonight: Nancy Pelosi keeping her friends close and her potential enemies a bit closer tonight. Meeting face to face on the Hill with the woman emerging as the most talked-about potential contender to take her on in the race for the speaker's gavel. As some Democrats are declaring it's time for not just women, but a woman of color to get a prominent spot in the congressional leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARCIA FUDGE, D-OHIO: I'm hearing it from lobbyists, from labor, from tons and tons of people. And so, there's a great deal of excitement about. The fact that there could be new leadership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: New leadership, maybe. Good evening, everybody. I'm Ed Henry, in for Martha MacCallum. If Congresswoman Marcia Fudge does run, it would further complicate Pelosi's already shaky quest for the gavel.

While several members of the crucial Congressional Black Caucus have expressed their support early on for Pelosi, some now say they're quote- unquote, waiting to see what happens in the wake of Fudge's potential run.

This as a growing list of Democrats refused to fall in line as the week began with newcomers like New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, staging a sit-in outside the former speaker's office. It's ending with freshman and veteran lawmakers alike. Hitting the airwaves to voice their concerns about Pelosi being the face and voice of her party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D), CONGRESSMAN-ELECT, VIRGINIA: One of the things that I talk about frequently on the campaign trail was the need to have new voices in Congress, the need to turn the new page.

REP. SETH MOULTON (D), MASSACHUSETTS: If we answer that call for new leadership by reinstalling the same status quo, establishment leadership that we've had in this party since 2006, then we're letting down the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Our chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel is live on Capitol Hill. Again, with where Pelosi stands tonight. Good evening, Mike.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ed, good evening to you. As Ohio Congressman Marcia Fudge considers whether to run for Speaker of the House, she made this comparison between House Democrats and the National Football League's lowly Cleveland Browns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FUDGE: The Browns had the same team today that they have through weeks ago. We change coaches and they started to win. Same people, sometimes you just need a different voice. Sometimes you just need a different kind of a vision. But I want to be clear that I have not said anything negative about Nancy, because I think she's a very good leader.

EMANUEL: Fudge's flirtation with running has put prominent African- American House Democrats in an awkward spot. Karen Bass, Hakeem Jeffries, Sheila Jackson Lee, and civil rights icon, John Lewis say they're still behind Pelosi. But the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus sounds intrigued about the possibility of Fudge for speaker.

REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA), CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: I'm not anti-Pelosi, not at all. I consider the speaker to be a very talented speaker, a remarkable speaker. I consider her to be a friend, but I'm closer to Marsha. So, if Marsha ran up, that's why I would be.

EMANUEL: Pelosi, says she intends to win the speakership with Democratic votes, and suggest she has overwhelming support. But she appears to have a math problem with at least 17 Democrats, saying they will not support her.

Pelosi and Fudge met for 45 minutes today with Pelosi saying, "We had a candid and respectful conversation." After that, Fudge said she was heading back to Ohio to consider whether she will run.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said you would decide after Thanksgiving. How soon we expected to hear from you, on your decision?

FUDGE: After Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that can be months after weeks after --

(CROSSTALK)

FUDGE: No, no, no, no, no. It wouldn't be. I mean, literally, after Thanksgiving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

EMANUEL: If Fudge decides to run, time is precious. After all, House Democrats are expected to vote for the next speaker by secret ballot in just 12 days. Ed?

HENRY: All right, have a good weekend fellow.

EMANUEL: Thank you.

HENRY: Meanwhile, Lisa Boothe and Richard Fowler, both are Fox News contributors. They are here tonight. Good evening both of you.

LISA BOOTHE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Ed.

RICHARD FOWLER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you, Ed.

HENRY: Richard, I'm struck by the comparison to the Cleveland Browns. For people who don't follow the NFL, I'm not sure if you do, let me see a check. Going back to 2016, they've won only four games. Is that the best analogy for Democrats tonight?

FOWLER: I'm sure that's the best analogy. But here's -- well, here's what we do know, I mean, I think -- here's the thing. Either even whether it's Nancy Pelosi or Marcia Fudge, they both be incredible speakers.

But I hear, if Nancy Pelosi is going to win this, I think she's going to have to make a couple of changes. And she said in her interview recently on other network that one thing her father taught her, the former mayor of Baltimore was, "You got to know how to count." And she knows how to count.

Here are some of the changes that she's going to have to make. One, I think, she'd have to come with a succession plan. Two, I think she's going to have to do with the Republican caucus did and create term limits for chairmanships. Three, she'd have to diversify her leadership team.

Right now, a lot of folks on our leadership team probably qualify for Medicaid, or Medicare, excuse me.

HENRY: A Medicare, yes.

FOWLER: And that's going to have to change. And I think if she makes those changes, I think she could probably see the speaker's mantle once again. Making her the first female speaker, and the first female to regain the gavel.

HENRY: All right. Well, there's a lot to unpack there.

Lisa, let's start with the diversity question. Because conservatives have long criticized Pelosi. Now, the Democrat of leadership playing what they call identity politics. And I wonder when a Democrat like Seth Moulton says, "We need more women, including women of color in congressional leadership."

Is that game of identity politics sort of boomeranging on the Democratic leadership now?

BOOTHE: Potentially, and that's going to be Nancy Pelosi having to deal with it. But if this wrangling that she's already trying to do to get the speaker's gavels. Any indication of what this next Congress going to look like. She's in a lot of trouble because one thing that is really interesting.

Remember, a lot who we've seen with the House freedom caucus and the difficulty of the speaker Ryan trying to keep Republicans in line. Nancy Pelosi is going to have the same problem with the Progressive Caucus. And estimates show that they're going to have around 90 members this next Congress. That is a very big voting bloc.

And for Nancy Pelosi to try to exert power particularly with a Republican- controlled Senate, and Donald Trump, and the White House as a Republican, she's going to need to keep her caucus in line. And that's going to be really difficult for her next Congress.

So, that is what I'm interested in watching next Congress. I think it's -- she's can have a really difficult time on her hands.

HENRY: Richard, you can weigh in on that. But I want to follow up, you mentioned the word diversity. And I'm interested, you said they need to diversify the leadership.

As you know, there's already an African-American man in the Democratic leadership, Jim Clyburn, a longtime Democratic lawmaker. And he seems upset by the way that there's been this whisper campaign among Democrats, not Republicans to push him out.

Here's what he said in the last couple days, "Someone came to me over the weekend and told me that they heard when I was whip before," as in majority whip, when the Democrats were in charge, "I was a figurehead. The suggestion that, as the only black member of the leadership team, he was a token and not an effective leader, was tantamount to quote, 'the little dog whistles that have been floating around this side for a long time."

What in the world is happening if Democrats, according to Jim Clyburn are using racist dog whistles to suggest he's been a figurehead.

FOWLER: I can't see that. I was talking about more so diversity in age, right? I think we have a caucus that is very young, you have the youngest members in Congress now, just in the Democratic side. Whether it's Lauren Underwood from -- Lauren Underwood from Illinois, who is the youngest African-American in the caucus. To with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest person in Congress' period.

HENRY: Sure.

FOWLER: So, I think we need to diversify in age, and we also need to diversify in how the caucus looks. We have the first Native American, woman elects the Congress.

HENRY: Right.

FOWLER: We have the first lesbian elected and first lesbian Native American elected to Congress. I mean, I can go all of that deserved their voice and their say in the Caucus.

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: I appreciate of them. Further, I appreciate all of that but you didn't answer -- right. Pardon me.

FOWLER: And I think to make that a reality, the caucus has to look more like the -- both caucuses, in both leadership structures, both the Democrat and the Republican structure have to look more like the American people.  So, if you look at the census that would be what, 13 or 14 percent African- American.

HENRY: Right.

FOWLER: 13 or 14 percent Latino just representing how the American people look. (INAUDIBLE)

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: Well, OK, (INAUDIBLE) but you didn't answer my question directly.  You already have an African American leader in the Democratic leadership.  Would you, at least, admit it's not a good look for the Democratic Party that even Jim Clyburn is claiming that people are trying to push him out?

FOWLER: Well, like I said, I think Nancy Pelosi has a larger problem when it comes to diversifying her caucus -- her caucus leadership overall. I think Clyburn has been a very effective leader and I think his result speaks for themselves. So, people are trying to push him on the run on whisper campaign. They're making a huge mistake because Jim Clyburn is one of the most effective legislators, and I would argue in American history.

But beyond this answer, Lisa's point about having trouble with our caucus, we have actually learned from the Republicans in that one. Somebody from the progressive caucus is running to be in the leadership, and like in all likelihood point to the fact that they will win --

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: Yes. OK.

BOOTHE: Doesn't sound like you guys are together though.

FOWLER: And both, both moveon.org and indivisibles have already endorsement to Pelosi.

BOOTHE: Wait, Richard, it certainly doesn't sound like you guys are together. And I think one thing that's been really interesting to watch on the left is the fact that Democrats or at least, the establishment have always done a really good job of keeping their progressive wing of the party under wraps and controlling it.

And I think that they've -- ever since Hillary Clinton loss, who is obviously an establishment figure. And also the appearance that the DNC was in the tank for Hillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders, now you've got a bunch of progressives that are exerting power.

You had a lot of increase of progressives running in primary, and Democrats had a different -- difficult time keeping those primaries under wrap. So, I actually think, you've got a big problem on your hands on the left of keeping progressives under control.

And I think it's going to be tough for Nancy Pelosi if she does get the speaker's gavel to try to keep them on in line. So, how fun with that?

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: Richard, what -- go ahead, Richard.

FOWLER: When it comes to -- but when it comes to -- here's the difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. When it comes to the issues, Democrats fundamentally agree, we believe that all Americans who have pre-existing conditions we covered.

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: You don't agree on who's going to be speaker right now, it seems.

FOWLER: We agree -- excuse me. We agree -- we agree -- we agree that we should invest in public education, we agree that prescription drugs should be affordable for everybody.

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: Single payer, what do you think of that?

FOWLER: And that's are we going I think the Congress to do.

HENRY: OK. Let's Lisa jump in now. Lisa, they can push all those bills whether it's single-payer, healthcare, or whatever, but the Republicans as, you know, Lisa have an increased majority in the Senate.

BOOTHE Right.

HENRY: So, the bills they passed, they've still got to get a consensus, don't they?

BOOTHE: Right. And those things aren't going to happen. At least looking at things there, at least, what progresses once thing like single-payer that's not going to happen with the Republican-controlled Senate and President Trump and the White House, Republicans have more power than Democrats do at this time.

The way that Democrats are going to try to exert power or use their leverage is primarily going to be around spending bills. That's when they're going to be able to try to exercise their power looking at debt ceiling increases, things of that nature.

HENRY: All right.

BOOTHE: That's when you're going to see Nancy Pelosi really needing to keep her House in line to try to get concession from Republicans.

FOWLER: I think that -- there's just one point -- one point to remember is in this past election, 7 million more Americans voted for Democrats than Republicans. And I think, Republicans would be very careful --

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: And you guys having control the House since 2010, Richard. And we won that Senate 2014. The White House in 2016, my friend.

FOWLER: Wait a minute. Let me just make my point.

HENRY: All right.

FOWLER: 7 million more Americans voted for Democrats than Republicans.  And if you guys want to retain the House and regain suburban Republicans, maybe --

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: Congratulations on finally win it.

FOWLER: Maybe you guys should care about pre-existing conditions like we do.

HENRY: All right. Final word.

BOOTHE: Congratulations on finally winning something.

HENRY: Lisa, Richard --

FOWLER: It's because we care about pre-existing conditions, Lisa.

HENRY: All right, Richard, you made a point. Lisa, we thank you so much.

BOOTHE: OK, we care about those things too, and the economy. Thank you.

HENRY: Thank you both. Meanwhile, remember when everyone was claiming the Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh would try to lay low during his first few months on the bench. Turns out that's not the case.

What happened last night when he stepped back into the spotlight when Karl Rove joins me live, next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The sanctions are on, the missiles have stopped, the rockets have stopped, the hostages our home, the great heroes have been coming home. I probably left Singapore four or five months ago and we made more progress in that four or five months than they've made in 70 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Last week President Trump certainly sounded confident that North Korea was not working on new missiles. But now the regime appears to be testing the U.S. sending very mixed messages. Today, North Korea announcing vaguely that it had tested a "newly developed ultra-modern weapon" but hours later it released a U.S. citizen accused of trying to illegally enter North Korea about a month ago. All this as the U.S. remains publicly optimistic about nuclear talks with the North.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES: We are in the process of planning another summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Joining me now live Michael Waltz, he's a Republican Congressman- elect from Florida, former Green Beret Commander and former counterterrorism adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. Good evening, Congressman-Elect.

REP. MICHAEL WALTZ (R), CONGRESSMAN-ELECT, FLORIDA: Hey, thanks Ed. I appreciate it.

HENRY: What do you make about this announcement first from North Korea about this ultra-modern weapon? How significant is it?

WALTZ: Well I don't know. I don't think we know what to make. But I'll tell you just from my perspective, I'm increasingly growing very concerned.  I was -- I was close to the six-party talks when I worked in the Bush administration and saw what can happen when North Koreans can drag us along. And make no mistake, Ed, their missile engineers you know, they haven't been taking a vacation in the last year. They've been busy little bees. If we remember when they were testing, you know, they got the ICBM in the air and all they have to do is perfect its reentry capability to be able to strike the United States.

And then secondly and we've left the sanctions in place but sanctions are only as good as the enforcement mechanism and I don't think for a second that the Chinese and the Russians have kept up the pressure you know, like where we have them diplomatically a year ago. So I'm increasingly growing concern and I think it's also worth remembering that Secretary Pompeo when he with CIA director last year estimated we had about one year until they perfected that missile capability. I think that's about where we are now so you know, where we going with all of this.

HENRY: Are you afraid then that this was -- that Singapore would that the President mentioned, the summit that I attended and covered, would -- that was a stall tactic and they made nice to North Koreans and that maybe now they're inching closer to doing something dramatic?

WALTZ: No, I think the President was absolutely right on and doing -- in having the Singapore summit. You know, what we've tried hasn't worked for decades and decades. Trying something unconventional I think was absolutely right. And then it also look, if we do one day have to go to the military option, he needs to be able to look at the American people and at the Congress and say that he absolutely left it all on the table and tried every option and the door was absolutely open diplomatically. I think the question is how long do we leave that door open and when are we going to see a full disclosure of North Korea's missile sites and their nuclear capability and get the ball rolling towards denuclearization. If we don't then that pressure needs to amp right back up.

HENRY: Before the Midterms, the President talked about what Vice President Pence mentioned that soundbite, a second summit following up on Singapore.  What are the stakes there if that happens and what does President Trump need the demand of Kim Jong-un?

WALTZ: Well I think there need to be -- there needs to be some preconditions and first and foremost is a full disclosure of their program.  Now, the North Koreans are balking at that and saying basically they're handing us a target list. Look, we have a target list and we can take that program out. It's how are we going to resolve this peacefully so that we don't have to go to that option which would be absolutely horrific. So I think that precondition has to be in place.

HENRY: I've got one minute. Let's shift to Saudi Arabia, another big story, just breaking in the last few moments. The Washington Post broke a story suggesting the CIA has now done an assessment suggesting the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia was behind the assassination of that Washington Post columnist. The Wall Street Journal has just confirmed the story as well.  What do you make of that? How serious is that?

WALTZ: Well, I think that's incredibly serious, you know. I mean, that just runs -- you know, this type of violence against journalists runs against every grain in American values. We have a lot of hopes on the Crown Prince for reforming not only the Saudi society but their economy and kind of their place in the Middle East. They're also a bulwark against Iran and an increasingly aggressive Iran so this is -- this incredibly serious situation. I am somewhat you know, I guess somewhat reinsured to see a very experienced ambassador going over in former General John Abizaid. He needs to be on board--

HENRY: Just nominated this week.

WALTZ: Just nominated this week but you know he needs to be on board with the tough line were taken against Iran as well and I hope he is.

HENRY: All right, Congressman-Elect Michael Waltz, big issues to confront in the days and you will be sworn into that new Congress in January to confront it we appreciate you coming on tonight to talk about it.

WALTZ: Thanks, Ed.

HENRY: All right, I appreciate it. After one of the most contentious confirmation processes as we've ever seen, it appears Judge Brett Kavanaugh, now Justice Kavanagh is ready to step back into the spotlight and wait to see what happens when he went out and saw some conservatives last night. Look at this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: Well, after one of the most contentious confirmation battles we've ever seen, many assume Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh might try to lay low during his first few months on the bench. But last night he stepped back in the spotlight where the response he received was anything but mixed.

Joining me now Karl Rove former Deputy Chief of Staff of course to President George W. Bush and a Fox News Contributor. Good evening Karl.

KARL ROVE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good evening.

HENRY: That was a dinner in Washington for the Federalist Society which has you know helped the President as a candidate put together that list of potential Supreme Court justices. Now there have been two names scratched off the list. How significant is it that the Conservatives are not only excited about Justice Kavanaugh being on the bench despite all the controversy but moving forward the Republicans now have a bigger majority in the Senate not just for Supreme Court justices but for all these federal nominations the President put him out.

ROVE: Yes, as Senator McConnell says the Senate's and the people business and having 53 -- it looks like 53 members of the Senate to 47 for the Democrats is going to make the process of confirming not only judicial nominees but also members of the executive branch a little bit easier. 53 is a magic number. It gives the Republicans on every committee a two- person majority rather than a one-person majority. And they've got 30 -- I think it's 32 judicial nominees who have already come through the judiciary -- Senate Judiciary Committee and are ready for floor action either in the lame-duck or in the new session and there are about a dozen more nominees coming through the Judiciary Committee I believe right now.

HENRY: And you have retiring Republican Senator Jeff Flake this week who tried to block those nominations but in at least in the short term by saying he wanted it tied to a protect Robert Mueller special counsel bill and he's been rebuffed by some of his fellow Republicans who have been Trump critics like Bob Corker. What does that tell you about the mood in the Senate among Republicans to get these judicial nominations through?

ROVE: Well there's a lot of enthusiasm to get this job done. There are a lot of vacancies for some reason and the Obama administration did not fill vacancies. They did so early on in 2009 and 2010 then the sort of the steam went out of it so there are a large number of vacancies and a lot of Republicans see an opportunity to shape the courts in a more conservative and restrained direction for years to come.

And so yes, Senator Flake did make the threat. it was actually not a very meaningful threat because there are 32 nominees who are -- through the committee and it's unlikely that there are going to be any additional people who come out through the committee. So all he's doing is delay in the confirmation of those 32 individuals from the lame-duck until early next year. So not much -- not much impact there.

HENRY: Karl, we've had about a week and a half for the dust to settle on the Midterms. You wrote a very thought-provoking column right after the Midterms in the Wall Street Journal where he basically said it was like to you a youth soccer game as I recall. Everybody went home with some kind of a ribbon. The Democrats got the House, the Republicans strengthen the majority in the Senate, but since then there's been this move on the left to say it was a much bigger night for them than anyone like you anticipated and that there really was a blue wave. What say you?

ROVE: Yes. Well, as I said in my column, the Republicans suffered a grave defeat in the House and it's only gotten worse since I wrote that column Thursday -- after the Tuesday election. The Democrats are up to now I think 231. There are three seats that they lead in. They could end up being at 235 seats or 234 seats excuse me, and the Republicans -- leaving the Republicans at 201. That's bigger than we thought it would be on election night.

Now, admittedly a large number of them are small of you know narrow victories, but a narrow victory is as good a victory and as I said of my column on that Thursday, the Republicans have got big problems in the suburbs. Take a look at the suburban house seats that we lost. The sub -- the New Jersey suburbs of both New York and Philadelphia, the Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C. Richmond and Tidewater, the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, Miami, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, the Republican -- two Republican suburbs in DuPage County, suburban Republican Congressmen gone and the Democrats elected their first countywide official interagency a Republican stronghold since 1934. And you keep going west, Houston, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Dallas, you name it.

HENRY: Sure, but Karl, tell me, what's the answer there? What do you think is the answer? How do Republicans deal with that and should they take solace in the fact that it's up to we think 53 in the Senate?

ROVE: Yes. They should take solace in that. And that was because we had a red map. As I -- as I said many times during the course of the campaign you could go back to 1914 and the first election in which we voted for senators by popular vote not legislators and you will never find a map as favorable to the party in power as this map was. But our success there and I think we're going to build on that success in 2020, and maybe add one or two more seats. That shouldn't hide the fact that we got a problem in the suburbs. There's no easy answer to it. Our problem was with college- educated voters particularly college-educated women. And if we don't solve that problem, it's going to be hard to get the House back.

HENRY: Carl Rove breaking it down better than anyone, I appreciate you coming in tonight.

ROVE: Thanks for having me, Ed.

HENRY: All right, a school officer widely accused of not doing enough to prevent a gunman from killing 17 people in Florida now a no show in court? We will get reaction to that from a victim's brother next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: Developing tonight, the controversial deputy who was on campus during February's school shooting in Florida is back in the headlines, declining to testify before state commission investigating that tragedy.

Scot Peterson's attorney suggests his client is not getting a fair shake and is now seeking the public's help to pay for his legal fees. In moments, we'll speak to the brother of one of the victims.

But we begin with our correspondent Trace Gallagher reporting from our west coast newsroom. Good evening, Trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Ed. Not only did former school resource officer Scot Peterson ignore a subpoena and fail to show up at the state commission investigating the February shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High. He then turned around and sued the commission hoping to quash the subpoena.

Peterson's attorney came to the meeting, presented the lawsuit and left without addressing the media but later issued a statement accusing the commission of not acting as a, quote, "neutral fact-finding body" and saying it has, quote, "succumbed to the not so thinly veiled personal agendas of the commission's members."

Max Schachter who sits on the commission whose son Alex was killed in the shooting asked if Peterson could be held in contempt. State lawyers are now reviewing that. And commission member Ryan Petty whose daughter Alaina died in the attack says Peterson is simply causing confusion and delaying the findings.

As for Scot Peterson, he has not spoken publicly since he went on The Today Show back in June and said he went by the book. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOT PETERSON, FORMER BROWARD SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: I didn't violate any policy or procedure. I have been with the agency 32 years. I know the policies. I know the procedures. I communicated right on that scene. I did everything that I felt at the time was appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: After Nikolas Cruz opened fire inside the high school Peterson failed to enter the building and stood by a brick wall claiming he didn't know where the shots were coming from building 1200. But radio transmissions tell a different story. Listen.

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

Peterson: I think we have got shots fired. Possible shots fired 1200 building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Seconds later he said again on the radio, quote, "we are talking about the 1200 building." Then he told first responders the shooter was on the second or third floor. But warned them to stay away. The father of Meadow Pollack who died in the attack has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Scot Peterson. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW POLLACK, MEADOW POLLACK'S FATHER: Not only walls he a coward. He prevented the other first responders from going inside the building where they could have saved other kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Attorneys for the Pollack family will depose Scot Peterson on Tuesday. Peterson's hearing to dismiss the Pollack lawsuit is December 12th. A Go Fund Me page to fund Peterson's legal fees has not gotten any donations. Ed?

HENRY: Trace Gallagher, I appreciate that report. My next guest's beloved sister was killed in the attack. Meadow Pollack was shot nine times. Her family is suing Peterson and others as you just heard, Hunter Pollack is her brother and is joining me right now. Thank you, Hunter, I appreciate you coming. In.

HUNTER POLLACK, MEADOW POLLACK'S BROTHER: Thank you for having me, Ed.

HENRY: What do you think first of all about Peterson being a no show?

POLLACK: He didn't show because his lawyer knows he lied. He lied about where he was. What he heard, and what he did. But now he has no choice to show up to her deposition on Tuesday and if he doesn't, he is entitled to be contempt of court so we'll see him on Tuesday.

HENRY: And when he's told The Today Show that he did everything that was appropriate, what does that even mean?

POLLACK: He did everything that was appropriate to look out for himself. When he said that, my sister was like a child to him. He blatantly lied on live television. He is biggest embarrassment to police officers in the entire country. He is a coward. He put up a Go Fund Me.

Can you imagine? He is supposed to be asking for our forgiveness, not trying to raise money for legal fees. And if you actually go back to the Go Fund Me page, they took it down because he had more hate comments than he did donations. And that's just embarrassing.

HENRY: I understand how emotional the situation is in that Today Show interview he did say I'm sorry for what happened. It doesn't sound like that's good enough but do you think that was a first step when he apologized to your family and the other families?

POLLACK: No, as a fellow man what we do when we are sorry is we apologize to each other's faces. It's been nine months and he has failed to do so. Going on live TV and putting a pity story in front of the nation it doesn't -- it's not sincere. He had nine months.

Keep in mind nine months and he has failed to acknowledge the 17 lives that were taken from him. He is hiding somewhere. He could go on TV all he wants. But we are waiting for the face-to-face apology.

HENRY: Tell me about that lawsuit that your father has filed and what your family is seeking.

POLLACK: We are just seeking to expose him. This isn't about the money, this isn't about the fame. This is about making sure that everyone that failed my beautiful sister is held accountable because I'm pissed off because it's nine months later and no one has been held accountable. So that's what we are seeking from this.

HENRY: The shooter is obviously in prison. Who else needs to be held accountable? Sheriff Israel has also been under the microscope. He is still in power as well.

POLLACK: Yes. Sheriff Israel needs to go. He failed to fix the radio failures from Fort Lauderdale. He failed -- he hired inadequate people to highly ranked positions like Jan Jordan the captain who other officers said was ineffective during the shooting.

And he failed to require SROS to go to active shooter training. So now with the help of DeSantis we are looking to get rid of Israel come 2019--

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: So, you think--

POLLACK: --and then we need to hold our superintendent accountable, too.

HENRY: Because Ron DeSantis we believe has been elected governor.

POLLACK: Yes.

HENRY: Do you believe he going to hold these officials accountable?

POLLACK: Governor-elect Ron DeSantis knows what went wrong. He knows. He's talked to my family on multiple occasions. And yes, when he is in office in 2019, we are going to drain the swamp of Broward County. Right now, I'm ashamed to live there, it is the laughingstock of the entire country and me, my father, we want to fix it.

We want to make sure Broward County is not full of corruption. For example, I'm a registered Republican in Broward County. I don't even know if my vote counted in the past election. I have friends who served in the military who don't know if their votes counted from absentee ballot.

HENRY: Yes.

POLLACK: And we need to fix all of this.

HENRY: Meanwhile--

POLLACK: We need to clean this mess up.

HENRY: Hunter, meanwhile as you know, the shooter, I don't even want to give his name, the killer in this case--

POLLACK: Thank you.

HENRY: -- he is somehow registered to vote in Broward County.

POLLACK: Yes.

HENRY: How does that make you feel?

POLLACK: It's sickening because this would have been my sister's first election and due to her being shot nine times by this kid, she is not able to vote. And he is. So, that right should have been taken away from him but it wasn't.

So, the jail -- the sheriff has to get permission for the supervisors of elections office to go in and there register them. And that's just blatantly disgusting.

HENRY: Hunter Pollack, we can obviously hear the pain in your voice tonight. We grieve with you. And we--

(CROSSTALK)

POLLACK: Yes, I'm angry.

HENRY: We certainly hope your family finds some peace in the days ahead. Thanks for joining us tonight.

POLLACK: Thank you for having me.

HENRY: OK. All right. Interesting moment at the White House today, what do Elvis Presley, Justice Scalia and Babe Ruth all have in common? They just made a bunch of people mad. People are actually mad that they were honored today at the White House. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: Well, the numbers out of California tonight are staggering. At least 63 people are dead. More than 600 others are listed as missing. In that state's deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record. Nearly the entire Northern California town of Paradise has been reduced to ash as search crews and cadaver dogs are searching for more bodies in the burned out remains of that town.

The president just spoke to Chris Wallace about his trip to California tomorrow to see that damage up close.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nobody has ever seen what's going on over there. And now they are saying it could be as many as 600. This just came out before we met.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: Right.

TRUMP: It could be as many as 600 people killed. Up by 400. It's incredible what's going on. And burned beyond recognition. They can't even see the bodies. It's incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Claudia Cowan is live in California where the number of people missing continues to skyrocket as you heard the president mention there. Good evening, Claudia.

CLAUDIA COWAN, FOX NEWS REPORTER: Good evening to you, Ed. Well, the hope is that those 631 people listed as unaccounted for on the Butte County web site managed to escape the fires safely and just can't be found. They may not know that anyone is looking for them. Here is the Butte County sheriff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KORY HONEA, SHRIFF & COROMER, BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: I want you to understand that there are a lot of people displaced we are finding that a lot of people don't know that we are looking for them. And that is why we are publishing this list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COWAN: Officials are hoping people will check the list and mark themselves safe. Of course, that means having access to computers and the internet. That's not always possible. But sadly, it's likely that the death toll here will rise. Search and recovery teams say they are finding human remains in burned out communities just about every hour. Seven more victims were found yesterday.

Meantime, hundreds of wildfire evacuees are now living at encampment that has been set up here at the Chico Walmart in the parking lot. They are getting donations of clothing, of food, of water. There are port-a-potties here. Some people have pitched tents, others sleeping in their cars.

But this was always intended to be a short-term solution to a long-term problem. And the volunteers who organized this distribution center are actually ramping it down to push people into shelters. They are arranging transportation to take people to evacuation centers that are now opening farther away because the ones here are mostly full.

Some 1,300 people are being housed at shelters here. They are also looking at turning an empty Toys r Us store into a temporary housing solution. Airbnb is helping to match homeowners with extra room with evacuees who need a room. But nothing has been decided yet in terms of that Toys r Us.

The only thing we know is that this tent city is slated to close on Sunday. Progress is being made on the fire itself. These pictures taken today show the eastern edge of the Camp Fire and you can see all the smoke billowing out from the canyon. The smoke is making the air quality so poor classes and outdoor activities are being cancelled in the San Francisco bay area 170 miles away.

Some reports say the air in San Francisco is just about the worst in the world. The Camp Fire has now burned 142,000 acres. It is 45 percent contained. Nearly 6,000 firefighters will be glad to get some rain later next week. It is in the forecast.

But, Ed, bad weather will only make life more miserable, adding to the hardships for so many evacuees here if they haven't found a better option.

HENRY: Wow.

COWAN: Back to you.

HENRY: Praying for rain for sure. Those smoke clouds look so ominous. Claudia, thank you for your report.

Up next, the president accused of sending a racist message by giving the Medal of Freedom to Elvis? Really?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: Breaking news out of Georgia tonight where it appears the Republican Brian Kemp is finally going to be named officially the governor. The president tweeting a moment ago, "Congratulations, Brian Kemp, on becoming the new governor of Georgia. Stacey Abrams, the Democrat fought brilliantly and hard. She will have a terrific political future. Brian, he says, was unrelenting and will become a great governor for the truly wonderful people of Georgia."

This comes a short time after Stacey Abrams, the Democrat, you see her there, said this at what was supposed to be a concession speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY ABRAMS, GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, (D) GEORGIA: And I will not concede because the erosion of our democracy did is not right. Regardless of party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Well, a prominent female candidate for governor, perfect for ladies' night. We are going to have Lisa Marie Boothe, and Rochelle Ritchie, and Jessica Tarlov.

Jessica, I want to start with you. How did Stacey Abrams try to get away with saying it's a concession speech but I'm not really conceding?

JESSICA TARLOV, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I actually think she made the points that she needed to while making it clear Brian Kemp will be the next governor of Georgia. She has accepted the certified results looking as 55,000 vote differential which is actually pretty small considering in Georgia and she accomplished a tremendous amount.

But I think she thought, you know, I have a few more minutes with the national stage and I'm going to make points about voter suppression in the state and what went on during this election that she deemed inappropriate. And I don't fault her for that after a hard-fought campaign.

And for people making the comparison like Rich Lowry tweeting like, you know, why wasn't she like Martha McSally there was nothing funny going on in Arizona.

LISA BOOTHE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Right.

TARLOV: People just wanted Kyrsten Sinema to win and not Martha McSally.

HENRY: Well, that's not necessarily true, though, Lisa, right? Because in Arizona there were Republicans who believed there was funny business going on and yet they accepted the results that the Democrat won.

BOOTHE: I think Martha McSally was graceful in her exit and concession and Stacey Abrams was not. And Democrats have alleged that this race was stolen. It absolutely wasn't. She lost fair and square. And now she is being a sore loser.

And the things that she is alleging voter suppression and Democrats are as well. If you don't like Georgia laws like use it or lose it are exact match, take that up with the Georgia state legislature and get the laws changed there because Brian Kemp's job as secretary of state was to follow the laws on the books.

And so, those claims are absolutely ridiculous. And the shuttering of polling places that has nothing to do with him. That is up to the counties. So, the allegations that are being made against him--

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: But the fault is it disenfranchises voters. That was the point. It wasn't just Brian--

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: But the implication -- no, but there has been finger pointing at Brian Kemp and nothing--

ROCHELLE RITCHIE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: But he should have--

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: It looks like we're shouting here.

RITCHIE: He should have stepped down though, Lisa, you have to admit. I mean, there--

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: As secretary of state?

RITCHIE: Yes. There's really a clear conflict of interest here.

BOOTHE: It is not unprecedented though.

RITCHIE: I mean, he is the guardian of the electoral process in Georgia. And he is running for governor. I mean, regardless of what, you know, whether people like Abrams or they like Kemp, at the end of the day, to make it fair, he should have stepped down. How is it that the person who is overseeing the vote is running for governor and on the day of the election he is overseeing the votes. That's not right.

HENRY: Give Lisa a chance.

BOOTHE: But Rochelle, you've worked in politics, you know that plenty of secretary of states have ran for other positions while retaining their office. Alison Grimes did the same thing when she ran against Mitch McConnell in 2014. It's a statewide position. Many people use it as launching pad for another step.

To allege that anything was stolen from Stacey Abrams is ridiculous. Brian Kemp won fair and square. I'm sorry she did not win. But, act with class and exit with class.

(CROSSTALK)

RITCHIE: She's definitely act with class, Lisa.

BOOTHE: And the same thing goes for people like Bill Nelson--

HENRY: All right.

BOOTHE: -- Hillary Clinton who is still disputing the results of the 2016 election.

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: That's not true.

BOOTHE: She may try to figure out to figure out what happened. What happened was she lost.

RITCHIE: She may have been upset, I get that. But to say that she didn't have class during this process--

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: It was not concession, Rochelle.

RITCHIE: -- is not -- is not true, it is not fair.

HENRY: All right.

BOOTHE: It was not a concession.

HENRY: Let's talk--

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: It feels like Ed wants to say something else.

HENRY: Well, maybe, let's talk about Elvis. I wanted to say a lighter topic, and yet, the president gives the Medal of Freedom, which is supposed to be a happy occasion to Elvis Presley posthumous, of course.

And this gentleman, Chris Richards writes in the Washington Post, "A little nod to the good old days black when black visionaries could invent rock and roll but only a white man could become the king."

Jessica, can't we just give a medal to Elvis Presley, king of rock and roll without it becoming a controversy?

TARLOV: Yes. I actually think that this critic from the Washington Post is pretty far out on the limb here. I think there are a lot of things that go on in this administration and from President Trump where can you have legitimate conversations about whether it had racial undertones or overt racist overtones. I guess I should say then. But this one I'm all for Elvis Presley and the medal.

HENRY: Rochelle?

RITCHIE: You know, I think, you know, this kind of leads to a bigger conversation to me about, you would be very hard-pressed to maybe find an American hero that does not have a tattered past in some sort of way. I mean, you can you say Abraham Lincoln, for instance, yes, he freed the slaves but at the same time he thought that people that looked like me should not be allowed to vote or hold public office.

So, it just goes to this notion that in America you can be considered a racist or you can dabble in racism and still be a hero.

Now, as far as Elvis, James Brown and B.B. King said a lot of positive things about Elvis. And so, you know, I don't -- I just think there is bigger issues right now and I don't think that, you know, I'm going to lose anything as a result of Elvis getting the Medal of Freedom. I just really don't.

HENRY: What do you think?

BOOTHE: I'm pretty sure, President Trump has said I could cure cancer and people would still criticize me for it.

(CROSSTALK)

RITCHIE: He also said he can shoot in the head when--

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: In the middle of Fifth Avenue, right.

BOOTHE. He can't do anything without being criticized. You look at the list of people that he chose to reward. You look at Elvis who is the king of rock. Babe Ruth one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Antonin Scalia one of the most revered Supreme Court justice unanimously confirmed at the time. So, Meriam Avildsen even who he has been criticized for picking.

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: The biggest donor, right?

RITCHIE: She deserves it.

BOOTHE: Tom Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres were all donors of President Obama.

HENRY: I thought Rich (Ph) just got ambassadorships, though, Lisa, and now they are getting presidential medal.

BOOTHE: But she is a doctor who has dedicated her life to fighting substance abuse and helping people who have those problems.

HENRY: True.

BOOTHE: So, she has done a lot of good in this world as well. So, people make so much over everything with this -- and it's ridiculous.

(CROSSTALK)

RITCHIE: But why Elvis. What did Elvis do?

BOOTHE: He's the king of rock. He shapes music.

HENRY: Well, these medals to be care off are about cultural achievement.

RITCHIE: It was a lot of cultural appropriation with his music as well.

BOOTHE: Cultural contributions are part of what are considered for the presidential medal.

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: Can we talk about that weird comment he made, though, to Scalia's wife?

HENRY: Quick. What he did he say?

TARLOV: Well, about how many kids they had and it was like the weird like- -

HENRY: He wanted to say they had a big family.

RITCHIE: Yes.

HENRY: Jessica, Rochelle, Lisa, thanks for coming in. That's "The Story" for this Friday night. Martha is back Monday night. I promise she's back. She had sore throat. We love her. A busy night for me. I'll be hosting "Fox News @ Night" at 11, "Fox & Friends" tomorrow. Thanks for starting your Friday night with us.

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