Chairman Grassley: Not wise to impeach Justice Kavanaugh

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Chairman Grassley: Not wise to impeach Justice Kavanaugh

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman speaks out on 'The Story' after the contentious confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh.

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," October 9, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, HOST: So, tonight in a "Story" exclusive, Chairman Chuck Grassley is speaking out for the first time about the bitter battle to confirmation and the calls to impeach Justice Kavanaugh after his first day on the bench. Also, Chairman Grassley has a message for women.

Also, tonight, the White House caught off guard by the stunning resignation of GOP superstar, Nikki Haley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I just want to let you know.  So, at the end of the year, Nikki will be leaving.

NIKKI HALEY, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: It has been an honor of a lifetime. I think that it's just very important for government officials to understand when it's time to step aside.

MACCALLUM: Haley has been outspoken at the U.N., putting America first in her speeches, and has bought more gravity to the ambassador position than we have seen there in a very long time.

HALEY: Russian corruption is like a virus. For too long the human rights council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias.

Who does this? Only a monster does this. The Syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again. The United States is locked and loaded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACCALLUM: The President waits in no time fueling rampant speculation about her would-be replacement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, Dina is certainly a person I would consider, and she is under consideration, we have actually many names. I think Ivanka would be incredible that doesn't mean that you know it. I pick her because you'd be accused of nepotism. Even though I'm not sure there's anybody more confident in the world but that's OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, there is that. Chief National Correspondent Ed Henry, live at the White House tonight as the speculation continues to grow. Hi, Ed.

ED HENRY, FOX NEWS CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Martha.  And there is some news breaking this hour. Some new comments we've gotten from the president, certainly, do a lot of Washington insiders that sounded like a trial balloon from the president that maybe Ivanka Trump, his daughter, could be the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

But a few moments ago, Ivanka Trump herself tweeted out she has no plans to replace Nikki Haley. The president a couple of moments ago told reporters that he has a list of five names. He's only revealing two of those names.  We'll get to that in a moment.

These are big shoes to fill with Nikki Haley. As you mentioned, she's been seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Also, someone who was thriving on the world stage. As she put it, she was going into the U.N. with body armor every single day.

Calling out Russia, Syria, Iran, while also helping to craft the tough talk that was mixed with delicate diplomacy that has brought progress with North Korea.

Now, given Haley a central role in all of those hot spots, it surprised a lot of people. Such an abrupt announcement that Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff John Kelly, had a little inkling this was happening.

Usually, big personnel announcements are held until after the midterms.  That enabled the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez to declare, this suggests more chaos. Saying, "I am deeply concerned about the leadership vacuum she leaves and the national security impact of her departure at this time of what he calls continued disarray for this administration."

Now, the president countered that he got a heads-up about six months ago from Haley that she wanted a breather after jumping right into this big post after a busy tenure as governor of South Carolina and while Haley had been a skeptic of the candidate Trump in 2016.

She decided today unprompted to tell reporters she has no plans to challenge him in 2020. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: I can't promise you, what I'll be doing is campaigning for this one.

TRUMP: I think it's become maybe a more glamorous position than it was two years ago. Maybe, I wonder why, but it is. Yes, I mean, she's made it a very glamorous position. She is ready to a more important -- more importantly, a more important position.

So, we have -- I can almost say, many people that want to do it and they're very good people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, breaking this hour, I mentioned the president said five names.  He mentioned one of them, Dina, on the left there. That would be Dina Powell, former deputy national security advisor here at the White House, close with Ivanka Trump. Rick Grenell, he's won praise as ambassador to Germany, for not just getting tough with Iran, but also tough with European companies trying to do business with Iran.

But a few moments ago, the president told reporters, he thinks Grenell is doing such a great job. He may want to keep him in Germany. President would not reveal the other three names.

By the way, there's a lot of speculation washing tonight that maybe Haley wants to make a little bit of money. She's been in the public sector for a long time, and then, could run for Senate down the road in South Carolina or even though she shut the door on 2020, she could run for president in 2024. Martha?

MACCALLUM: Absolutely. Ed, thank you very much. So, joining me now, Marc Thiessen, American Enterprise Institute scholar. Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist, both are Fox News contributors. And Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner, commentary writer, great to have all of you with us tonight.

MARC THIESSEN, RESIDENT FELLOW, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Good to be with you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Molly, let me start with you. Why do you think she left and why now?

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I really have no idea why she left. But I think it is --

MACCALLUM: (INAUDIBLE).

HEMINGWAY: She's leaving. And I -- and I'm load to speculate as a result.  But I think it really is interesting what she has done in the last two years. She was a Tea Party candidate in 2010. I think, people might not remember that Sarah Palin endorsed her, whereas John McCain endorsed her opponent in the Republican primary back in 2010.

She had her differences with Donald Trump. But she did not go the never Trump route that so many other people did. She thought about how to work with him to improve the country and also serve the Republican Party.

And in doing so, she is leaving with a much higher, a national profile now.  And with a -- and she's broadly liked by a -- by a wide cross-section of the Republican Party and Americans.

THIESSEN: Yes.

MACCALLUM: I mean, Marc, no doubt the president has a long memory.

THIESSEN: Yes.

MACCALLUM: And she was very negative about him in the early going, but they do seem to have found -- you know a place where they see eye to eye.  And he seemed genuinely proud of the work that she did at the U.N.

THIESSEN: And he -- and he should be. She did a fantastic job. She rallied. She got Russia and China to sign on to sanctions in North Korea.  She was a fierce defender of Israel, and she basically said, we're taking names of countries that don't have our backs in the United Nations. So, she was a terrific United Nations ambassador, and very popular. She had a 63 percent approval most of highest approval rating of anyone in the cabinet. And 55 percent approval among Democrats.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

THIESSEN: Which is -- which is unheard of in this age of polarization.  But you know, the interesting thing is we don't know what the reasons are for why she -- why she stepped down. But let's say they were policy reasons, there is policy disagreements of some kind. It wouldn't it be refreshing the fact that we don't know that she didn't go decide and leaked them and publicly air her differences.

I remember when the -- when that the senior official wrote that infamous op-ed in the New York Times, she wrote a counter op-ed in The Washington Post in which she said, "I'm also a senior official in the Trump administration. I support the president, his direction, but we don't agree on everything. And when I disagree with him, I pick up the phone and call him, and tell him."

So, if there was a policy difference here, what a classy lady that she didn't air that -- air those differences in any way in the public but just told the president to his face.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Absolutely. And -- you know, I mean, Ed mentioned the possibility of money. And -- you know, obviously, we do see people leave public service for a few years. I wouldn't be surprised to see her -- you know, write a book, to see her do some of the things that people do when they want to kind of fill up the coffers especially if she does have presidential ambitions which I think a lot of people believe she should have time. Tom.

TOM ROGAN, COMMENTARY WRITER, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Yes. I also think there are a couple of other factors here that might be guiding her. I mean, she has said she will stay to the end of the year. And -- but, as we get to the end of the year, especially next month with Iran, with the oil exports being cutoff, with North Korea with the timeline, I think the expectation of the administration there will be at least some kind of progress by the end of the year if they can see this as being viable.

Those things carry with them a lot of foreign policy risks. So, for someone who I think most analysts myself included would suggest probably does have further ambitions somewhere down the line, it might be prudent to step away now with this record of very clear success, moral clarity being a powerful voice for the country on the world stage.

MACCALLUM: Interesting.

ROGAN: Also someone actually very well-liked by the other ambassadors at the United Nations. So, the -- you know, there are-- there are some contextual things here that might also be playing interest.

MACCALLUM: Yes, to leave while the going is good, so to speak. Mollie, who would be on your mind as possible replacements? The president raised Ivanka today, his daughter. She came out promptly and said that she did not consider herself somebody who would be wanting that role. But Dina Powell is clearly somebody that the family likes and would probably be supportive of and here's a picture that was on Nikki Haley's Twitter feed just a couple of weeks ago, I believe. It was Saturday.

Her, with Dina Powell, and Dina Powell's husband as she is showing the couple some of her favorite places in South Carolina. So, anything to read into that?

HEMINGWAY: Yes. I think, in her own remarks today at the White House she seemed to be strongly promoting Jared and Ivanka is really helpful advisers. And so, that got the chatter going. I think it's really important to have in this position someone who can act as a surrogate of the president, who really shares that foreign policy vision that was so powerful and got so many Republicans excited.

A turn away from the previous 16 years of warfighting mistakes. And so, I think, Richard Grenell would be a great example. He has that experience from the Bush White House. He served in the U.N. for eight years there.  And yet, he also was a strong proponent of Donald Trump, and he really seems to get him and his impulses.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HEMINGWAY: He would be a good follow-on to Nikki Haley, I think.

MACCALLUM: Marc, what do you think?

THIESSEN: Someone in the mold of Nikki Haley would be Kelly Ayotte, former senator from New Hampshire.

MACCALLUM: Interesting idea.

THIESSEN: Who also was a Trump critic here in the campaign, but came around to be a Trump supporter. She was the Sherpa that helped Neil Gorsuch through the Senate during his confirmation hearings. Former member of the Armed Services Committee. A really good foreign policy mind, she'd be an outstanding choice to replace her.

MACCALLUM: All right. We'll leave it there. More talk to come. Thank you guys.

THIESSEN: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Good to see you all. So, still ahead, Democratic Senator Susan Collins under major fire for voting yes on Brett Kavanaugh. She's even being called a fake feminist.

And now, there's a $3 million dollar fund to defeat her in the State of Maine. But Chuck Grassley is not having it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, R-IOWA, CHAIRMAN, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I'm going to help raise $3 million to match that. Because that criticism is absolutely abominable that they would say that about her for everything that she has stood for in her lifetime related to feminist issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands. I mean, to redo the NAFTA deal the way he did. What I have done working with him on the Middle East peace plan, it is so unbelievably well done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Nikki Haley, today praising Jared Kushner's work on the NAFTA agreement. My next guest, Canada's former prime minister, is praising the ambassador tonight, as well for what he calls her forceful, unorthodox voice on the world stage.

Joining me now exclusively, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who worked with four U.S. ambassadors to the U.N. in his nine years as Canada's leader. His new book is out tonight and it is entitled Right Here Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption. What could that be referring to? Good to see you tonight, Prime Minister Harper.

STEPHEN HARPER, FORMER PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: Good to be here.

MACCALLUM: Thank you very much for being here. What do you think is lost by Nikki Haley's voice leaving the U.N.?

HARPER: As I said earlier today, she was very effective in communicating a very different American approach to foreign policy. It's an unorthodox one, also one that you know, was not an easy one to deliver but she did it in a way that I think got her respect and was effective. And you know, there's often -- it's often positioned that the president to take these stronger positions on foreign affairs must somehow be inherently disagreeable and I think she showed that you can be respected and be very effective well-delivering messages that a lot of people don't want to hear.  So I was -- I knew her when she was governor of South Carolina. I've always been very impressed with her.

MACCALLUM: What did you think about the NAFTA to deal? Because Trudeau is under some pressure, apparently the dairy farmers are not that happy with it, and politically in Canada, there appears to be a movement towards conservatism right now, so do you think he's in trouble?

HARPER: I don't tend to speculate on politics within the country these days. I'm chairman of the IDU which is the global Federation of Conservative Parties. I tend not to comment on day-to-day Canadian politics. I'll just say this. Obviously, the deal creates some difficulties for the government and at the same time, it does give Canada assured comprehensive access to the American market which is essential.

And I would also say, Martha, that something hasn't been reported a lot.  It gives a real opportunity I think to both the governments of Canada and Mexico. There are some pretty strong incentives in there for Canada and Mexico to work with the United States on trying to open up the Chinese market which is a problem that both of that our governments should share.  So I hope our government takes advantage of those provisions.

MACCALLUM: When you look around the E.U., you look at Canada, you look at Brexit you know, and you wrote a book about the age of the politics of disruption. How -- you know Rob Ford's brother Doug Ford had a very successful election. They've got a lot more conservatives in the government. I mean, it has to be catching the attention of people in Canada in terms of what's going on in --

HARPER: Yes, Canada's politics to this point have been I would say there's changes in government but they're relatively traditional in nature. You know the kind of the Trump phenomenon, Brexit, the populist movements in Europe. We haven't had anything like that but because I travel the world and share this global federation I certainly noticed what is going on and I'm really concerned that I see a lot of people simply bemoaning or condemning this where I think there are actually some very good reasons these things are happening that we should be listening better to people and that we as conservatives are in a better position to actually respond positively than people on the left.

MACCALLUM: So is globalization fail -- is it failing around the world?

HARPER: Globalization I think two things. First of all, globalization has taken more people out of poverty than ever before, a billion people in the last generation, nothing like it in history. But in a lot of Western societies, there are lots of middle and working class people who have not done very well. And in many cases, they've not done very well because globalization hasn't been done very well. Some of the trade and immigration and market policies have not been ideal. And you know, we did it differently in Canada which is why you know, we've had income growth in Canada for middle and working class people and so I think there are things to be learned from the Canadian experience.

MACCALLUM: Thank you very much Prime Minister Harper. Good to have you here.

HARPER: Thanks for having me.

MACCALLUM: Good luck with the book and with your travels.

HARPER: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Good to see you, sir. So still ahead tonight, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley's first interview since the vote on Brett Kavanaugh. So now that he's a Justice Brett Kavanaugh, what about the issue at the heart of the battle?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Do you think there's a possibility that this court in its new composition could in the foreseeable future overturn Roe v Wade?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'd like to thank another man whose principled leadership has earned widespread admiration, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Senator Chuck Grassley. Thank you, Chuck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: The Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley was at the center of the storm during the wildly contentious confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh who today spent his first day in the robes and on the court. I sat down exclusively with the senator in the very room where Kavanaugh and Ford's dramatic testimony played out. Grassley has seen 15 confirmation hearings since he joined the Judiciary Committee. There he is back in 1981, but he has not seen anything like this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACCALLUM: So last night the President thanked you at the swearing-in. He thanked you for your principled leadership and he said that your handling of the confirmation earned widespread admiration but this was challenging from the get-go. When you began the first hearing Kamala Harris and Cory Booker the Senators both wanted to derail it right out of the gate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF.: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to be recognized to ask a question before we proceed.

SEN. CORY BOOKER, -N.J.: Mr. Chairman, I appeal to the chair to recognize myself or one of my colleagues.

GRASSLEY: You're out of order.

BOOKER: Mr. Chairman, I appeal to be recognized on your sense of decency and integrity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: What is what you witnessed in this incredibly contentious environment tell you about the politics of today?

GRASSLEY: Well, it's very divided, but don't forget it the grassroots of America, it's divided as well. And if you want Congress to reflect the grassroots, you shouldn't be surprised if some of it permeates up to the Congress as a whole. I would hope we set a better example so there'd be less of it at the grassroots but that doesn't seem to be the situation.  But where I started out was to make sure who had a fair and thorough hearing. And even though it took a long longer than the average Supreme Court justice takes by about three or four weeks, I think we still had a fair and thorough that I promised the people and everybody had a chance to voice their convictions.

MACCALLUM: So you don't think that this process was more contentious, more vicious than what you've seen in the past.

GRASSLEY: No, it was very much more contentious and more vicious but I don't want to lead people to believe that that's the way Congress is going to function into the future except maybe on judges, yes, but on legislation generally, no, we can work in a bipartisan way.

MACCALLUM: What do you say to those who saw what they reveal -- what was revealed about Judge Kavanaugh in the final hearings as too political, too partisan and then last night when he was thanking individuals who were involved, he only thanked the Republican senators who were part of the process. Was that a mistake?

GRASSLEY: I don't want to be in Judge Kavanagh his head but I think he's looking to the future. And he said that when he goes to the Supreme Court where he is this very week that there isn't a hole between Republicans and Democrats. They meet together as a group and he's part of a team and he's going to be part of that team. And I think that he expressed what was a fact of life in his speech last night that Republicans were going to generally agree with him and thought he had the qualifications and knew he had the qualifications beyond the court and the Democrats knew he had the qualifications to be on the court but they were going to make sure he didn't get on the court.

MACCALLUM: In terms of the allegations that came up against Judge Kavanaugh, the most extreme was the one that came from Julie Swetnick and her attorney Michael Avenatti. Was that a turning point in all of this, do you believe?

GRASSLEY: I think with Avenatti's reputation that he is established as a lawyer for the porn world that that raised questions about the legitimacy of Swetnick. Now, I think when you look at all sexual assault allegations, they all got to be taken very seriously because, until recent years, there was never much thought given about it. And it's a good thing that the MeToo Movement has come about because it has brought to the surface something that we ought to be talking about being more cognizant out. But when you have that combination, it didn't bring the credibility that it ought to be brought.

I think dr. Ford brought credibility to the whole issue and -- but beyond that you know, you raised some questions.

MACCALLUM: What do you say you know, when you look at the protesters and they were in the Hart building the other day and outside on the Supreme Court steps today holding posters some of them that say that old white men can't be fair about these issues.

GRASSLEY: Well, first of all, there's only two of us on the Judiciary Committee that are old and I'm one of them. Everybody else is young. So I don't like to bring races issues into it. I like to see people as Americans first and only as Americans. Now, you can be proud of your background being an African-American, Hispanic, being from Italy, being from any place. You can be proud of your background, but I think we ought to not divide America. We ought to be thinking that we're all Americans and bringing America together not separate America. But the -- I wish we had women on the Republican side of the Judiciary Committee.

MACCALLUM: You were criticized the other day for saying that women -- you couldn't get women to be on this committee in this room. Maybe it's too much work.

GRASSLEY: Well, and I shouldn't have accepted the proposition that women aren't on it. They just don't want to be on it. Just like we had a man that would serve on it, not because of work, I think it's because it's ideologically divided. And also from the standpoint of the number of times we meet, you know almost every Thursday there's descendants and sanctions.  We have an executive session. Most committees don't have an executive session every week like we do. So whether you're --

MACCALLUM: So there's a lot of work and they don't want to do that.

GRASSLEY: So whether you're a man or a woman, there's a lot of work on the Judiciary Committee.

MACCALLUM: Will there be an effort to find -- to get a little bit more diversity on this committee?

GRASSLEY: Of course there will be and there should be.

MACCALLUM: Susan Collins who gave a seminal speech when she established that she was going to vote yes is being roundly criticized. She was called a fake feminist. And now there's $3 million in a fundraising effort against her in Maine. What do you think about that?

GRASSLEY: I'm going to help raise $3 million to match that because that criticism is absolutely abominable that they would say that about her for everything that she has stood for in her lifetime related to feminist issues. And she's in been in the forefront of everything. It just goes to show you how narrow the thinking of the opposition to Kavanaugh was that they would say those extremists' anti-column positions about a person that's been with them most of the time.

MACCALLUM: So, today is the first day that Judge Kavanaugh will wear the robes. Do you think there's a possibility that this court in its new composition could in the foreseeable future overturn Roe v. Wade?

GRASSLEY: No. Based upon what Kavanaugh said but even if Kavanaugh hadn't said it, a longer a president is in place the more apt it is to say.

MACCALLUM: Even if there is more technology that is more informative about when a fetus feels pain, you know, we have lots of new information now so is it possible that any of that could lead to the reevaluation of Roe v. Wade?

GRASSLEY: I think that legislatures, state legislatures are operating in this area trying to find something that is more based upon modern medicine and the science of life, to find answers and pain is one of them. That you will find some states and laws being upheld, but that is way short of overthrowing Roe v. Wade.

MACCALLUM: Nancy Pelosi would like to see all the FBI documents that were called from this investigation made public. There are a lot of headlines this morning on the editorial pages that the resistance should not back down, and if there is a civil war in America.

That just because Kavanaugh is now on the court, it doesn't mean that the fight that was undertaken to keep him from there would be given up. What do you see in the future with regard to that?

GRASSLEY: Well, I think that there is, if Democrats take over the House, the new chairman would be the new chairman Nadler of New York. He said he's going to do that.

MACCALLUM: Do you think there will be enough effort to try to impeach Judge Kavanaugh if Democrats take the House.

GRASSLEY: They said they would be, I hope it isn't. I don't think it's a wise thing to do and I don't think they'll find a basis for impeaching, but here, don't you see all this talk, whether it was prior to Saturday's vote or since Saturday's vote, every effort that has been made in the last month has been to detract from his outstanding qualifications and academic background.

And his 20 -- 12 years on the D.C. circuit court of appeals, nobody said that he wasn't qualified to be. So when they couldn't this keep him off the bench, by pointing out that he wasn't qualified, then they threw everything at him that he could. They threw it on the wall, if it didn't stick on Monday, they threw something on the wall on Tuesday. If it didn't stick, it came back with something.

Even on the day that he was going to be voted to the Supreme Court, there were still people digging around to find some reason that this guy shouldn't be on the court.

MACCALLUM: Do you think that the changes in the filibuster rules first for the lower court judges and now for the Supreme Court judges, is there any turning back from that? Could anyone get to this process if it required 60 votes in the Senate?

GRASSLEY: The two people that are on the Supreme Court by this president would not be there if it took 60 votes. But I want to remind you between 1789 and about 2001, there wasn't filibusters of Supreme Court justices.

And then, Schumer gave the same speech that we can bring ideology into it. That poisoned the well. He wanted to make sure that George W. Bush didn't get a Hispanic on the card. And so, you know, it establishes a pattern through eight years of George W. Bush.

And then obviously, it was continued by Republicans when there was a Democrat president and it continues today. I would like to have somebody to sit down with me that's a Democrat, and say, you know, we've had enough of this. We are going to go back to the way that judges were viewed between 1789 and the year 2001 that ideology didn't pay a major role. It was only based upon your confidence and you and your judicial temperament.

In other words, were you going to be a judge or were you going to be a super legislature? That's basically what went into it. And this thing has been an uproar since then.

You know, some people would say well, Grassley, you're wrong, look at the way they treated Bork, yes. Look at the way they treated Thomas, yes. But then there was a period of time during the 1990s when there seem to be common sense prevailed and Ginsburg and Breyer were approved almost unanimously.

And then all of a sudden George Bush gets elected president, the Supreme Court decides he ought to be president, instead of recounting millions and millions of votes, and that's when Schumer gave his speech and that's why the well has been poisoned since.

MACCALLUM: Last question. Merrick Garland is someone that a lot of people point to as the beginning of the most recent poisoning of this process. If there is an opening on the court, in the election year, in 2020, do you believe that the Senate should take up a nomination during that period?

GRASSLEY: If I'm chairman, they won't take it up, no. Because I pledged that in 2016, that if the ball is the same as it is -- now, if somebody else is the chairman of the committee, they have to decide for themselves. But that's a decision I made a long time ago.

MACCALLUM: Thank you very much, Senator Grassley. Good to see and speak with you this morning.

GRASSLEY: You bet. Thank you.

MACCALLUM: So with exactly four weeks to go until some of that could all be shaken up, THE STORY sends our cameras to Indiana today to investigate how the Kavanaugh effect is playing out in the state's Senate race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do find Christine Blasey Ford absolutely credible. I think that the fact that the FBI only was given a few days to investigate is obscene. I think that was a joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My quest for Judge Kavanaugh on the first day. If President Trump put up bugs bunny, might could have said, he should go on the court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what you should -- could have gotten from the recent spectacle there is that the Democrats, including Joe Donnelly will do or say anything when it comes to their political interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So stakes are pretty high in Indiana where Justice Brett Kavanaugh confirmation dominated last night's debate between Democratic incumbent Senator Joe Donnelly and Republican Mike Braun.

We send our cameras there to get a sense of what the voters on the ground are thinking right now about Kavanaugh, about President Trump at about these two candidates who are slugging it out in Indiana for the Senate seat.

Fox News correspondent Matt Finn joins us now. Hi, Matt.

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martha. Well, it was a fiery first Senate debate in Indiana. Today we got to talk exclusively with Republican candidate Mike Braun about this potential Kavanaugh effect, and he tells us he thinks in his race it's going to be a huge boost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BRAUN, SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, R-IND.: First of all, the ability to fund raise off of an issue like the Kavanaugh factor, it's extreme.

The poor guy went through, you know, as about as much trauma as I think you could in a nomination. When it comes to Kavanaugh himself, it exposed an ugly underbelly of how, you know, the Democrats might pursue stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINN: Justice Kavanaugh's first day on the job today, but voters in Indiana still don't know whether he should be there in the first place.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kavanaugh it was difficult to say if he was guilty or not of that allegation. But the way he defended himself I think disqualified him from being a judge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a disgrace, the people want Justice Kavanaugh, a fine jurist who has an impeccable record and these people are going back to his high school yearbook?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINN: Senator Joe Donnelly is one of 10 red state Democrats looking to defend his seat this November in Indiana. Donnelly might have to defend his seat against the Kavanaugh effect and strong support for President Trump who won the Hoosier state by 19 points in 2016. But it's possible Trump may not be as popular as he was in 2016.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can you respect a man that got out of military service only because he has a rich father? I mean, that he was a millionaire himself by the time he was eight years old. A self-made man my (muted).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has completed the work that the Republicans and the Governor Holcomb and his administration have done here in Indiana improving the lives for every Hoosier, and good jobs and wages and improvement in their daily lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINN: Senator Donnelly turned down our request for an interview but his spokesperson says over the past few years he has crisscrossed Indiana to support the people of the state. But some Hoosier seems to disagree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy (Ph) who's gone to all 92 counties. In the last four years held 544 events in the state alone and what he is seeing is Hoosiers want somebody who is going to put them first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Donnelly came in northwest Indiana six years ago, made a lot of promises, shook a lot of hands, and kissed a lot of babies, said he was going to be back to take care of northwest Indiana but we haven't seen him since.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time for sleeping Joe Donnelly to go. He doesn't represent Indiana, he doesn't represent Hoosiers, he doesn't represent our best interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINN: In the most recent Fox News poll, Indiana Senate Republican candidate Mike Braun gained two points jumping to 45 percent. Donnelly remained steady at 43 percent, and Libertarian candidate Lucy Brenton substantially drills both.

Now this Friday Donnelly brings in former Vice President Joe Biden, while Braun bringing in Vice President and fellow Hoosier Mike Pence. And then, former President George Bush comes on Monday.

And Martha, with the Kavanaugh confirmation, we see how critical every one of these Senate seats are. It seems like the Kavanaugh effect might already be taking place in Indiana so this is a race to keep your eye on. Martha?

MACCALLUM: Yes. That is a race tight. Fascinating to watch. Thank you very much, Matt.

So, coming up next, our first preview of Bill and Hillary's message. They are going on the road on kind of a concert tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, D-FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for and what you care about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I am concerned about it and I don't like hearing about it. And hopefully that will sort itself out. Right now nobody knows anything about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: That's becoming a big issue. The hunt is on for a missing journalist who entered Saudi Arabia's consulate in Turkey last week, never to be seen again. And tonight the international community is demanding answers.

Trace Gallagher in our west coast newsroom explains a back story here. High, Trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martha. The reason we know Jamal Khashoggi went into the Saudi consulate in Turkey, is because there is surveillance video and eyewitness accounts to back it up.

But Turkish police who provide security for the consulate say the cameras show no video of Khashoggi leading on foot. the 59-year-old journalist went to the consulate on October 2nd with his Turkish fiance to get documents for their upcoming marriage. The fiance waited outside for five hours until finally calling police.

Turkish investigators believe Khashoggi was killed shortly after he entered the building and that his body was dismembered and removed.

And a Turkish newspaper with ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says on the day Khashoggi went missing two private jets from Saudi Arabia arrived in Turkey carrying 15 Saudi nationals, many of whom went directly to the consulate and returned to the airport a few hours later.

Turkish investigators believe this was a Saudi hit team targeting Jamal Khashoggi, But Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman denies his country had any involvement, saying his government was, quote, "very keen to know what happened to him."

To which award-winning journalist Judy Miller writes, quoting, "There is unfortunately no Arabic word for chutzpah since such an egregious act would undoubtedly have required the brash 33-year-old prince's authorization or acquiescence."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is calling for transparency from the Saudi government but the State Department is, for now, holding its opinion. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER NAUERT, SPOKESPERSON, DEPARTMENT OF STATE: Now what has happened to him, we don't have any information on that. That's why I want to say we don't want to make any judgments about what happened and we call for a thorough and transparent investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: The Saudi consulate has agreed to allow Turkish forensic investigators into the building, they just haven't said when. Martha?

MACCALLUM: What a mystery. Trace, thank you very much. Coming up, the New Yorker facing scrutiny as motivations behind some of their Kavanaugh investigations are revealed.

Tom Shillue and Kat Timpf here to weigh in on this brewing controversy tonight, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: There are some serious new questions tonight about the origins of the New Yorker story about the second accuser Deborah Ramirez who said that Brett Kavanaugh harassed her.

Jane Mayer who co-author the controversial report with Ronan Farrow prompting new scrutiny with these remarks about her own work that suggest that she had a larger agenda. Quote, "I knew that key issues would be whether the judge had a pattern of similar behavior since that helps establish who is telling the truth when there's a standoff and whether there were corroborators on either side.

Knowing this is why Ronan Farrow and I were so alert to the significance of other accusers such as Deborah Ramirez. Her allegations show that if true, yes, there was a pattern of misconduct, and likely another side of the judge."

Here now Tom Shillue and Kat Timpf, both are Fox News contributor. Both Byron York and Lisa Boothe called this out today, essentially saying that they were looking for a pattern. But when what they were looking for didn't show up in terms of evidence, they wrote the piece anyway, Tom.

TOM SHILLUE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, they were alert, they were very alert to other accusers. By alert they mean they were phoning everyone whoever went to school with the guy and so they were searching anybody out.

I think the funny thing is a lot of people were saying well, his reputation is going to take a hit for this. I mean, I'm not impressed with the guy at all to begin with. You know, his first -- just because his first story had the guiltiest guy in the world. Harvey Weinstein. But we know how he does business. He is shoddy. So who are we talking about?

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: You're talking about Ronan Farrow.

SHILLUE: Ronan Farrow and her, and they obviously had an agenda. And the whole thing they are not alone, though. It's not just them. It was the entire press. They went all in on this. And they were, you know, legitimate people were combing through his yearbook and talking about devil's triangle. It was ridiculous.

MACCALLUM: All right. I want to get in this two other two topics real quick, so I'm going to put Hillary Clinton's sound bite up. Because Hillary and Bill are going on the road with Live Nation which is a huge concert promoter is promoting the Hillary and Bill show and you can spend hundreds of dollars to go see them. And here's what -- here's a preview of what you might hear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about. That's why I believe if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and/or the Senate, that's when civility can start again. But until then the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Strength and dirty politics are completely anathema to the Clintons. And she can't wait for them to win so that she can return to civility. But until then, Kat, that's her off.

KAT TIMPF, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: That's such a joke. Because if you want to actually have a dialogue where people are going to listen to what you have to say, then you should be civil with them. Because, I don't know about you, but if someone starts calling me names or someone starts being a jerk to me, I stop listening to that person because I love myself. And anyone who loves themselves should have that kind of respect.

Speaking of people who love themselves, you don't love yourself if you are spending $745 to go see Hillary and Bill on a Saturday night. If you don't know what to do with the Saturday night with that, hit me up. I'll send you a few ideas, guys. There's plenty of fun out there in the world to be had.

MACCALLUM: Do you think people are going to like going on to step up to buy tickets for the Hillary and Bill Live Nation concert tour?

SHILLUE: I think I'd rather go see Miley Cyrus.

MACCALLUM: I would love to see Miley Cyrus.

SHILLUE: Yes, you would?

MACCALLUM: Absolutely.

SHILLUE: OK. I'm trying to think--

(CROSSTALK)

TIMPF: Miley Cyrus is an excellent performer.

MACCALLUM: Yes, absolutely.

SHILLUE: It was a good one, though.

MACCALLUM: That was easy.

TIMPF: Yes.

MACCALLUM: Give me other one. How can Kanye West?

SHILLUE: A Kanye, I would see -- yes, I mean, obviously I'd rather see anything but Bill and Hillary other than the curiosity factor because seeing them together that's going to -- that's the only thing that's going to sell tickets.

MACCALLUM: So that would be interesting actually the dynamics and see how the chemistry like on stage.

SHILLUE: Yes.

MACCALLUM: Like when you go to see any good band, right?

SHILLUE: Yes.

MACCALLUM: You're always looking for that interaction between the band members.

So Kanye West is headed to the White House, I believe on Thursday. Here he is on SNL, and he was going to talk about some serious topics with the president. Remember this?

(OFF-MIC)

KANYE WEST, RAPPER: (Inaudible) a white person say, how did you like Trump, he is a racist. Well, if I'm to start about racist then I'm going to go down our parents a long time ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Wearing the MAGA hat on stage at SNL, Kat, and now he's going to talk about manufacturing and prison reform with the president.

TIMPF: Well, a lot of people are talking smack about how Kanye has been acting recently. But he has a meeting with the president. I would say to all these people, what's on your agenda for the next coming week?

What's on my own agenda? I could say I'm going to go home, I'm going to order a salad, I'm going to eat it, and I'm going to watch the "Mindy Project." Not that exciting. So I'm not going to be one talking smack about Kanye West. And a lot of things he's talking about are very important issues like prison reform.

That's a very important issue to me and also to a lot of liberals. To the liberals that are all upset about this should be happy because Kim Kardashian had some success in getting President Trump to use his pardon powers--

MACCALLUM: Yes, you're right.

TIMPF: -- so they should be happy to see this.

MACCALLUM: We'll see how it goes. Tom and Kat, thanks, guys.

SHILLUE: Yes.

MACCALLUM: Good to see you. So that is our story on this Tuesday night. Let us know what you think. Tweet me at Martha MacCallum using the #thestory. We'll be back here tomorrow night at 7:00. Tucker Carlson coming up next in D.C. Good night, everybody.
 
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