Congressmen give a chilling description of the shooting
Anti-Trump gunman targets Republican lawmakers; reaction on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," June 14, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity," and this is a Fox News Alert. The deep state targets President Trump in a huge act of retribution, and one of the biggest we've ever seen this county. And The Washington Post, as we all know now, experience recently, has a record of being totally wrong -- they are reporting tonight that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, is investigating President Trump for possible obstruction of justice.
We're going to explain tonight something the mainstream media will not tell you, why James Comey, Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch are the people, in fact, who should, be under investigation, not the president, and why Robert Mueller and the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, they must resign immediately! We're going to have so much more on that later tonight.
But first, we are on the scene tonight in Alexandria, Virginia, where earlier today, an anti-Trump left-wing gunmen targeted and fired a hail of bullets at Republican lawmakers who were practicing for a charity baseball game that's going to take place tomorrow night.
The majority whip, the third in charge in the U.S. House of Representatives, Steve Scalise -- he was shot in the hip, and by the way, is currently in critical condition at a Washington, D.C., hospital. Three others were also wounded.
We also have dramatic video tonight that captures the beginning of this rampage. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Do we know where he's at?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know where he's at?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's behind home plate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That guy who's been shot, is he OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay down! Stay down! Stay down!
(VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And here's more of how this horrifying scene played out today right here in Alexandria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Shortly after 7:00 AM this morning, a gunman opened fire on members of Congress and their staffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He asked me if this team was the Republican or Democrat team practicing. I responded that it was the Republican team practicing, and he proceeded to shoot Republicans.
TRUMP: Congressman Steve Scalise was shot and badly wounded.
SEN. JEFF FLAKE, R-ARIZ.: One staffer was shot out in the field. And he ran with a wound to the dugout.
REP. JOE BARTON, R-TEXAS: The heroes are the police officers who attacked the shooter, and in doing so, probably saved many, many lives.
REP. PAUL RYAN, WIS., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us!
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HANNITY: And earlier tonight, President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump -- they visited the hospital where Congressman Steve Scalise is being treated tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are obviously with him, his family, the other victims, and of course, their families.
Joining us now with reactions, several Republican lawmakers, Congressman Jeff Duncan, who says that he may have spoken to gunman moments before the shooting, Congressman Gary Palmer -- now, he, by the way, was playing shortstop right next to Steve Scalise when the shooting broke out -- Congressman Mark Walker, who says the suspect planned to kill as many Republicans as possible. And also with us, Congressmen Bill Johnson and Roger Marshall, and they are on the congressional baseball team.
We (ph) were not at the scene when the shooting actually occurred.
OK, good to see you all, Congressmen. Congressman Duncan, why don't you tell us what happened.
REP. JEFF DUNCAN, R-S.C.: So Ron DeSantis and I had finished batting practice. We had shagged (ph) all the infield that we wanted to. He rides with me to the park, and he looked at me -- he's a third base on (ph) the shortstop, and he said, When do you want to leave? And I said, We can leave at any time. Let's let Chairman Conaway, who was in the batter's box, finish his rotation. So when Chairman Conaway finished, we walked off the field. I actually walked by Scalise and fist-bumped him.
I talked to Gary (ph), who was standing beside him for a brief moment, and then Ron and I walked to the car. And on the way to the car, we encountered an individual who asked me who was practicing today, Republicans or Democrats. And I said, This is the Republican team. He said, OK, thanks, and turned around and walked apparently to his car.
We didn't find out about the shooting until we got back to Capitol Hill.
HANNITY: That's kind of -- it's -- you know, I know they showed you the picture of him because I also talked to Rhonda Sanders (ph), who was with you.
DUNCAN: Yes.
HANNITY: That's got to be a little scary from your side. All right, here's this guy. Are they Republicans or Democrats? Republicans. OK, let's attack them.
DUNCAN: Yes. Looking back at it, I could have been the first victim had he chose (sic) to start this act of violence right there in the parking lot. Luckily, he didn't. And we're all praying for Steve Scalise and the officers that showed heroicism (sic) today, taking out an active shooter. And not just the law enforcement, the staffers that were there that were wounded, but also, our teammates who applied tourniquets and covered each other. Just amazing stories that you hear from this and...
HANNITY: I heard Mo Brooks in particular put a tourniquet on one of the congressional aides?
DUNCAN: He and Jeff Flake, tourniquet. Steve Scalise dragging himself across the field away from the shooter, just a lot of stories my colleagues will tell you. And -- but I ended up going back down to the Alexandria Police Department providing a statement to them, giving them a layout of the ballpark and what exactly transpired, described the guy that I encountered who ultimately was the shooter, and described him to a T. There's absolutely no doubt that the guy (INAUDIBLE)
HANNITY: It was him, the guy that talked to you and Congressman DeSantis. No doubt.
DUNCAN: No doubt
HANNITY: Congressman Palmer, you're right next to Steve Scalise as this happens. It's got to be pretty, you know, scary experience for you too.
REP. GARY PALMER (R), AL: I heard the gunshot and I knew immediately what it was. Congressman Trent Kelly of Mississippi was at third base, and I yelled at Trent that it was a gunshot. And Trent said, yes, and then he said, He's got a gun. Get out of here, or run or something. And we started trying to get to cover, and at least two more shots were fired, and I saw Steve get hit. I saw him go down. I knew he was...
HANNITY: (INAUDIBLE) the tape now.
PALMER: He was shot...
HANNITY: I'm hearing these shots. He's throwing off a lot of shots.
PALMER: Yes. Well, I knew Steve was hit low. I didn't know if he was hit in the hip or the leg. We got through the gate in the fence behind an oak tree, and Steve was crawling out of the infield, out into the outfield, and -- and...
BANFIELD: Was he still trying to shoot specifically?
PALMER: At that point, Sean, I think he was spraying (ph) around. He was trying to shoot people who were trying to get into the dugout. I was yelling at Steve to stay down, to stay still. And the shooter then moved from the third base side around to where we were. And special agent David Bailey and special agent Crystal Griner -- they ran to the gun. I mean, they ran to the gun.
HANNITY: And this is important, I think, to note, and you all tell me if I'm wrong here, but you were able to tell me earlier -- they were -- they were out in the open.
PALMER: Yes.
HANNITY: This guy's got a rifle, they got a pistol.
PALMER: And -- well, when he moved around, they moved back around. And at some point, Special Agent Griner was hit in the ankle. And I saw her pull herself up on her SUV to continue to return fire on this guy. They saved our lives, Sean.
HANNITY: And from what I understand, and would know, you were very close to Scalise. He goes down how early when the incident starts?
PALMER: Probably second or third shot. As we were moving toward that gate, Steve was to my left a little bit ahead of me, and I saw him get hit and go down. And I want to say it was the third shot.
HANNITY: Was it really? Who was playing the third base, which was almost point-blank range?
PALMER: Trent Kelly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trent Kelly.
HANNITY: Trent Kelly.
PALMER: And when I yelled at Trent that it was a gunshot and he turned around, the gun was pointing directly at him. I could not believe he missed (INAUDIBLE) It was a miracle.
HANNITY: And he shot right at him.
PALMER: He missed -- - he shot his first shot from back from the fence, and he may have hit the fence, but I -- it's incredible that Trent was not injured.
HANNITY: Congressman Douglas (ph), I want to really talk about these two Capitol Police people because, I mean, you know, I remember at 9/11. I remember, you know, the rest of the world that works at the Trade Center, they're going down, and here's a group of guys, firemen, paramedics, policemen, first responders, they're going up. Everyone going down -- they're helping everyone get down.
And here they're going out in a wide open field with a pistol against a guy with a rifle. I've been a marksman my whole life. It's really not a comparison.
REP. MARK WALKER, R-N.C.: Well, there's no doubt about it, Sean. We talked about this at our team meeting tonight. Fifteen or twenty members of Congress and staff would be dead this evening had it not been for the heroic efforts by David and Crystal, who were willing to run to the attack. Now, you don't see that every day. And by doing so, we celebrate them, their lives, and we also want to remember the other staffer and aides, Matt and...
HANNITY: Absolutely.
WALKER: ... and Mr. Garth there that suffered injuries, as well. But specifically, Steve, who is still working through some surgeries this evening, as well.
HANNITY: Yes. Have any of you all got an update on his health? I heard he really took -- he kind of took a little turn for the worse this afternoon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's still critical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's still critical.
WALKER: Another surgery's scheduled -- third surgery's sceduled. It's upcoming.
HANNITY: Used to be a pastor, greater love, right, hath no man?
WALKER: It is, but...
HANNITY: (INAUDIBLE) wrong person be quoted, huh?
WALKER: It's...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm on the center page of that book, but...
WALKER: But it's OK to have righteous indignation sometimes. And we took a little heat today because we called this an attack on Republican Congress members instead of saying...
HANNITY: Excuse me. This -- this -- this was a radical left winger that tried to assassinate Republicans.
WALKER: He knew where we were practicing. This was not public information. We had not shared this. And the specific efforts to ask Jeff and Ron, Is this Republicans out here -- and if you look at his page, he said Republicans are the Taliban. Is there any question this was a specific attack?
HANNITY: I want to get into that question because I don't care if they're radical Islamists. I don't care who they happen to be. So soon after they commit these evil acts or atrocities, we find out they telegraphed it to the world.
Congressman Johnson, you were kind enough to take me to the field earlier. I am shocked at the proximity of the shooter. We're not allowed to go back, obviously. You can probably see some of the tape here behind us, the police tape. But the proximity of where this shooter was by, let's say, the third base dugout, right behind it, and then moved his way back in the field when he was going after people that were -- had a better angle towards the people in the first base dugout -- the proximity was amazingly close, especially with the type of rifle we're talking about.
REP. BILL JOHNSON, R-OHIO: Well, it is. And you and I have talked about it a little bit, Sean. Thank God. And it had to have been an act of God to throw his marksmanship off because the members were sitting ducks out there. Many of them were stationary when the shooting started. But he saw many of those members jump into that first base dugout, and that's why he started working his way around behind the fence, trying to get...
HANNITY: Including the son of one of the congressmen.
JOHNSON: That's right.
HANNITY: A 10-year-old.
JOHNSON: That's right.
HANNITY: A 10-year-old kid.
JOHNSON: That's right, Joe Barton's son.
HANNITY: Yes.
JOHNSON: So I mean, we can't say enough about the heroic actions of the two Capitol Hill police because had they not done what they did, if he had gotten around the corner and gotten a bead on that first base dugout, we'd be setting up for a lot of funerals today.
HANNITY: Congressman Marshall, you are not from Louisiana.
REP. ROGER MARSHALL, R-KANSAS: That's correct.
HANNITY: But you're wearing that shirt in honor of your colleague.
MARSHALL: Right. I want to, you know, shout out and let just Steve and Jennifer (ph) know we're praying for them. And what they mean -- people don't realize that this is my friend, a very good friend and mentor to all of us. And their two wonderful children, Hunter (ph) and -- excuse me, Harrison (ph) and -- help me out, guys -- Madison (ph). Yes, Madison -- sort of shout to them that their daddy's going to be OK. God's going to take care of him and -- today, an American politician -- an American congressman was shot today.
HANNITY: Well, an attempted assassination today. And by the way, it was against many Republicans out there.
I want to talk more about the heroism of the Capital Police, the important role that they played in this. I think it has greater implications.
The rhetoric that has been going on -- we have ISIS poses with the head of the president bloodied. You know, we have a play where they're killing off a presidential lookalike. I can literally spend the next hour with the incendiary rhetoric that has been used by the left against the president. We'll get to all of that.
So these congressmen are going to stay with us. They're going to tell us more of their personal story from earlier tonight. We'll stay with the Republican lawmakers after the break.
Also tonight, the left-wing attacks against the GOP and the president have now stooped to new lows. We're going to explain. We have a monologue coming up in our next segment.
And later, it is the revenge of the deep state. There are new leaks tonight that are aimed to take down President Trump. We're going to explain why James Comey, Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch -- they need to be prosecuted. And Robert Mueller, Rod Rosenstein need to resign, recuse themselves immediately.
That and more as we continue, a sad night, Alexandria, Virginia, earlier today, a left-wing assassination attempt on GOP lawmakers. And we'll continue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARTON: I yelled at Brad, my oldest son, get Jack and get down. And they both did. He crawled under a car outside of the fence, and he was under a car with the bleachers between him and the shooter.
I finally saw one of the security officers rush the shooter with his pistol drawn, and said, Drop the pistol, or drop the pistol or pistol down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And this is a Fox News Alert. A left-wing gunman targeting and attacking a Republican lawmaker earlier today during baseball practice, an attack that looked like an assassination attempt against Republicans, authorities now working around the around the clock, investigating the background of this monster responsible for today's horrific shooting
Now, tonight, we're going to explain what we know about the shooter and what may have actually drove him to carry out these heinous acts. And that is the subject of tonight's important mini monologue.
All right, so the man responsible for today's shooting spree, James Hodgkinson, he died earlier today after Capitol Hill police officers wounded him. Now, he targeted Republican members while they were actually practicing for an annual congressional baseball game.
And according to reports, Hodgkinson is an Illinois resident, and by the way, a staunch left-wing liberal leftist with an apparent hatred for all things Republican, conservative, and especially President Trump. And by the way, reportedly belonged to a group called Terminate the Republican Party, a Facebook group.
Now, during the 2016 campaign, he allegedly volunteered for presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders in his run for the presidency. Earlier today, this is what Senator Sanders had to say about this evil man. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT., FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Madam President, I have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the Republican baseball practice this morning is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign.
I am sickened by this despicable act, and let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society, and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, Senator Sanders, he was not responsible, but he did do the right thing denouncing this gunman. And of course, look, we're not naive. We know this man does not represent all Bernie Sanders supporters. And by the way, on this show, guess what? We're not going to stoop as low as, you may remember, former president Bill Clinton back in the 1990s -- he blamed talk radio. He blamed Rush Limbaugh, remember? For the Oklahoma City bombing? We won't do that here.
Tonight, the biggest issue we need to address as a country is what is a record level of vicious left-wing hate that is being spewed day after day, hour after hour by a left-wing news media that wants to destroy the president, liberals all across the country.
For example, just this week, remember? The opening night performance, Shakespeare in the Park, "Julius Caesar," New York City, Central Park. What did it feature? A Donald Trump lookalike getting brutally stabbed and murdered. By the way, taxpayer dollars funded that in part.
But that's not all. My next example is beyond graphic. Before we put it up on the screen, give yourself a little time in case your kids are in the room. Remember comedian, so-called comedian Kathy Griffin? And she put this fake bloodied severed head of President Trump as part of what, looking like a disgusting ISIS-style photo shoot? And you might also recall this vile rant from Madonna back in January. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADONNA, SINGER: And to our detractors that insist that this march will never add up to anything, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MADONNA: Yes, I'm angry. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And before Madonna's infamous rant, about, "Well, I've thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House," remember this music video from the rapper Snoop Dogg, where he actually pretends to shoot President Trump with a fake gun? Take a look.
(MUSIC VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: I can spend hours on this program giving example after example of the -- these left-wing celebrities, these Trump detractors glorifying violence against the president of the United States, and virtually no one on the left has denounced this vile behavior, especially Soros-Clinton groups that attack conservatives for everything they can say.
Now, what can we expect, by the way, from a party that has every election season alleged, like Barack Obama did -- remember? Republicans want to dirty air and dirty water, oh, and Paul Ryan look-alikes throwing Granny over the cliff. And Republicans are racist and sexist and misogynistic and Islamophobic and homophobic and xenophobic. Every single election season. When Democrats continue to dehumanize Republicans and paint them as monsters day in and day out, year in and year out, well, the climate around the country, it becomes more than toxic and the tragic results, of course, follow.
We continue now with Congressmen Duncan, Palmer, Walker, Johnson, Marshall. And by the way, joining us now also is Congressman Jack Bergman. Congressman Bergman, good to see you. We don't have as much time in this segment, but I wanted you to talk about your perspective today.
REP. JACK BERGMAN, R-MICH. Yes, thanks, Sean. Well, I know you heard from all my colleagues. We were all at different places in the field. And everybody stepped up in their own right to react exactly as you would expect people to do it when the stuff hits the fan. So you know, we're here by God's grace.
HANNITY: You know, let me ask all of you -- you've seen the ISIS pose. You've seen the Shakespeare play. You've heard the rhetoric, thing if I said, I'd be targeted, boycotted and probably thrown off the air in 30 seconds. Is this worse than you've ever seen or heard it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
HANNITY: Absolutely?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We're in a very tough spot in our nation's history, Sean. Literally, the fabric -- social fabric is fraying on the edges, the extreme edges. We have got to do whatever we can to bring people back together because what's really at stake here is the future of the country.
BERGMAN: Sean, we've actually been here before. You know, we went through something very similar to this in the 1960s, when the American people saw the Vietnam war televised into their living rooms.
HANNITY: RFK?
BERGMAN: That's right.
HANNITY: MLK?
BERGMAN: Absolutely.
HANNITY: Kent State?
BERGMAN: Absolutely, And now the American people are today seeing inside of the American political and governing machine from a perspective that they've never seen before, and many of them don't like watching the sausage being made.
HANNITY: Do you make the connection between rhetoric -- look, I can't blame Bernie Sanders because he's a supporter. Bernie Sanders is a nice guy. He's liberal, socialist, but he's -- seriously, he -- his supporters aren't like that. It's one guy. If it was a conservative, they had a Hannity Limbaugh Mark Levin book, Laura Ingraham book -- oh, see? We inspired them to do something insane.
WALKER: Sure. Yes, I do believe he's a nice gentleman. I didn't care for the way that he attacked Russ Boat (ph) the other day about his faith.
HANNITY: Right.
WALKER: But some of that constant pushback rhetoric, it does drive this up. I do have to commend Speaker Ryan today for his display in leadership of unity today. However, we can still act like statesmen but still hold fast to our principles. It's like you have to choose one or the other. We don't have to...
HANNITY: Disagree without disagreeable...
WALKER: Yes, we don't have to compromise our values, Sean.
HANNITY: Am I naive? I don't think that can happen.
DUNCAN: Well, you've seen the vitriol since the election from the left, the town halls that members of Congress have had all over the country and how they've been treated, the yelling, the domination by the Indivisible group. It's -- I've never seen anything -- I've been in politics as an elected official since 2002, and I've never seen anything like this.
HANNITY: Yes. I'll give you the last word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sean, I'm not a politician, I'm a physician, but the anger that I'm feeling throughout this country right now has got to stop. We have to find a way we can make progress and get this country moving in the right direction. Somehow, we got to take this situation and find the good in it. There has to be some good in it. God promised that if we trust in him, we'll find something good and get this country back in the right direction.
HANNITY: We'll leave on that good note, and with our thoughts and prayers being with Congressman Scalise, the other victims and all their families. And thank you all for sharing the story with America tonight.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: We appreciate you all being with us. Thank you.
And coming up tonight, it is the revenge of the deep state. You won't believe the new leaks that are aimed specifically within our government to take down the president. It's a clear and present danger. Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter, Gregg Jarrett -- they have reaction tonight.
But first, more on why we are broadcasting tonight live. We're in Alexandria, Virginia. Earlier today, a left-wing assassination attempt on Republican lawmakers. Geraldo Rivera is here with us on the scene. He'll join us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We can all agree that we are blessed to be Americans, that our children deserve to grow up in a nation of safety and peace, and that we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good.
Please take a moment today to cherish those you love, and always remember those who serve and keep us safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: President Trump earlier today addressing the nation following today's leftwing assassination attempt on Republican lawmakers. Joining us now here on the scene is FOX News' correspondent at large Geraldo Rivera. Throughout the course of your incredible career, you have covered sad stories like this. This was are they Republican or Democrat? Point blank in some cases, five people, it could have been so much worse, but it's scary. This is scary.
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: This was attempted partisan mass murder is what it was, Sean. Can you imagine if the thin blue line -- first, let me interrupt myself. That is the president we need right now to guide this country. That's the tone, that's the message. He is the president for all America. He was really -- that is the man we need to bring this grotesquely divided country together.
HANNITY: Geraldo, they hate him. He's -- you've got ISIS poses. You've got Shakespeare plays.
RIVERA: Now, let me got back to your first question, and I want to get back to the Shakespeare play. Can you imagine if those two Capitol cops were not here? You had the Congressman here. You look at the field. You would have had another Pulse nightclub. You would've had this shooter, armed with the military style assault weapon, plus the pistol, unlimited rounds. He would've gone congressperson to congressperson, he would have killed this one, walked over and killed that one. He would've had blood all over that field. Sean, it was a miracle that those two cops, a man and a woman, stood their ground and ultimately took him out. Even after giving him a chance to surrender 10 times after that the local police arrived to back them up.
In terms of the hatred that is out there, we have gone from partisan rancor to an unbelievable, profound, wicked hatred of the other party. It is absolutely indefensible, and the miracle is that you don't see more of this. That's the bottom line.
HANNITY: Geraldo, this is -- I'm going to go back to these two police officers. You know I've been a marksman since I'm 11, pistol marksman. I can shoot a rifle, but my expertise is in his pistol shooting. Do you realize pistols in an open field against a rifle -- you're basically saying kill me. They opened themselves up for death tonight, and they won and protected probably 20 other lives.
RIVERA: At least, and both of them wounded.
HANNITY: Both of them got up.
RIVERA: Both of them wounded, got up, and I just think that it is magnificent. Really, when you honor cops, you have to honor these people.
I want to go back to what you brought up about Shakespeare in the Park and the theatrical stabbing of Julius Caesar, aka Donald Trump, and then Kathy Griffin with the --
HANNITY: ISIS pose.
RIVERA: They didn't cause this, they didn't cause what happened.
HANNITY: Agreed.
RIVERA: But they are the symptom of a division where this kind of festering hatred has been allowed to metastasize to a place now where anything is possible, where anything goes. And I really think that the president has to now calm things down. I understand --
HANNITY: Didn't he do it? He did do it.
RIVERA: He was terrific. And our thoughts and prayers out to both the wounded Congressman.
HANNITY: And the other families.
RIVERA: And when you get hit in the hip with a military style assault weapon.
HANNITY: I saw the bullet, the same style bullets. It's devastating.
RIVERA: It's devastating. And I think that because you say he got hit in the hip you tend to minimize what happened. This is real, real serious stuff.
HANNITY: You're going to be reporting from Fox all days tomorrow here?
RIVERA: I won't be. I'm actually going to my daughter's graduation. But if anything comes up I will. She's graduating from Northwestern.
HANNITY: It's great to see you.
RIVERA: Thank you.
HANNITY: When we come back, it is a very important story tonight, the revenge of the deep state. There are brand-new leaks, by the way Washington Post has been wrong so often, to take on the president. Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter, Gregg Jarrett all join us next with reaction as we continue from Alexandria, Virginia, tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: This is a Fox News alert. We are live on the scene in Alexandria, Virginia, tonight, where an anti-Trumpet, leftist gunmen targeting Republican congressmen at a practice charity baseball game for assassination. The House majority whip, the third in charge of the House, was shot and is in critical condition tonight. We are following that story very closely, and we will have updates as we get them tonight.
Also, anonymous sources telling The Washington Post that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, is investigating President Trump for possible obstruction of justice. Now, this is the biggest act, I want you to pay attention, of retribution we have ever seen from the deep state in the history of this country. And just as we have been saying on this program, it is now turned into a political witch hunt against the president of the United States.
We're going to explain more next in our mini monologue.
All right, so The Washington Post citing once again anonymous sources -- as if they haven't been wrong enough recently --reporting tonight that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, is actually looking into possible obstruction of justice by the president.
Now, you've got to keep in mind the same newspaper, The Washington Post that has been wrong time and time again, just in the last six weeks, when it comes to breaking so-called new stories about the president.
For example, The Post was dead wrong when they reported the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to quit because of James Comey's firing. Rosenstein actually said the exact opposite on camera at a TV station in Washington, D.C.
Then, The Washington Post flat out wrong about James Comey asking for more resources for the Russian investigation just before he was fired. The acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe later testified under oath that never happened. They had enough money.
And of course The Washington Post, they're not the only members of this destroy-Trump media that we've been talking about that has gotten it wrong over and over again. ABC, CNN, The New York Times, they have all done the exact same thing.
So tonight, and over the next few days, when the media predictably is going to breathlessly and hyperventilate all kinds of reports and brand-new black helicopters and tinfoil hat conspiracy theories to you, the American people, as they lie again, remember they have zero credibility left. And it's only a matter of time before this too will be debunked like everything else they've reported in pretty much the last 11 months.
Now, here is the only massive issue being ignored in all of this. We have actual crimes, actual collusion, that needs to be fully completed, investigated, and prosecuted. And they have nothing to do with President Trump or his administration. James Comey testified Loretta Lynch tried to influence the FBI's Clinton email investigation. That is called obstruction of justice. Comey also may have broken the law. Remember, we talked about 18 USC-4, 18 USC-641. If he thought it was obstruction, he had a moral and legal obligation to tell people immediately.
Robert Mueller, this guy has more conflicts of interest than, by the way, we can count on this show, which also are violations of federal law. Mueller and Comey have been close friends for a long time. Comey admitted he leaked the memo to the New York Times to the press, hoping it would bring about a special counsel, which, by the way, turned out to be his best buddy, his BFF, Robert Mueller.
Now, Fox News previously reported Comey's testimony last week was, quote, "closely coordinated with the special counsel." These are massive conflicts of interest that cannot be ignored. According to my colleague, Gregg Jarrett, Comey and Mueller's relationship may in fact violate two laws. We're putting them up on the side of your screen right now. You can read them.
And it gets worse. Mueller's investigative team -- let's see, three people donated to Democrats, including Hillary and Obama, and one investigator, the very same lawyer that represented Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, and, by the way, tried to oppose Freedom of Information Act requests.
Now, speaking, by the way, of the Clintons, we know Hillary Clinton committed felonies with her email private server scandals. If the Democrats want to talk about collusion, great. Let's talk about it and take a look at the collusion with Vladimir Putin, Uranium One, 20 percent of the foundational material to make nuclear weapons. While serving as secretary of state, she signed off on a waiver giving 20 percent of that uranium to Putin, to the Russians, all while people involved in that deal were funneling millions of dollars back to the Clinton Foundation. There you go, Russia conspiracy. And her husband doubled his speaking fees in Moscow.
And by the way, what we are seeing now -- this is so deep, it's a deep state. They want retribution. This is now about an unelected part of your government looking to overturn the results of a duly elected president. By the way, whoever leaked this information to The Washington Post -- unnamed sources, five of them, unnamed sources -- they need to be arrested, prosecuted, and put in jail.
It is time once and for all, we have got to get a grip on Obama deep state holdovers, every one of the need to go or this will never end. And those people that are leaking top-secret information, special access information, classified information, and Comey, Clinton, and Lynch, all need to be prosecuted based on just the facts as we know them now. And Mueller and Rod Rosenstein? Recuse themselves. Resign immediately.
Here with reaction, Fox News anchor and attorney Gregg Jarrett. He's from New York tonight. And here in Alexandria, from the American Center for Law and Justice and also an attorney for the president, Jay Sekulow, and from "Circa News," Sara Carter. I don't get to see you guys often, good to see you.
SARA CARTER, "CIRCA NEWS": Great to see you.
HANNITY: Let me start with you. Anything I got wrong?
JAY SEKULOW, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE: No. Here is the outrage of this. If this is true, which again, as you said, Sean, The Washington Post not exactly been a credible source on this. But if this is true that five individuals inside of the United States government, whether it was the FBI or special counsel office, wherever it came from, leaked information about the president of the United States to The Washington Post, information about a supposed investigation, that is a crime.
We can say it's outrageous. We can say it's responsible. The leak of this information is a crime. I don't care if you're Republican, Democrat, it doesn't matter. Why in the world would we allow in the United States of America for information like this to be released? After all, it was Rod Rosenstein's document, his letter --
HANNITY: Wait a minute, nobody has read this fully. I read it four times.
SEKULOW: He's the one who said that James Comey, the director, was wrong to usurp the attorney general's authority under Loretta Lynch.
HANNITY: Thank you.
SEKULOW: Compounding the error, the director ignored longstanding principles. And I want to read this. "We do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information." No, they're not holding press conferences. They're just leaking internal information if it happened to The Washington Post.
HANNITY: He needs to go, right or wrong?
SEKULOW: Look, here's how you handle it --
HANNITY: He needs to go.
SEKULOW: Look, here's the situation. I'm one of the president's lawyers.
HANNITY: All right, I'll say it. He needs to go.
SEKULOW: What I'm saying is this. His basis upon which he brought this memorandum, which I understand, was the basis upon which you take action. It wasn't about Russia. And by the way, you know what this also shows without question? This Russia investigation is gone nowhere, so they'll coming up with new charges.
HANNITY: Where is the special counsel, investigator, prosecutor for the people that met on the tarmac, a woman by the name of Loretta Lynch, the very same woman that apparently according to information Comey presented to Lynch had already decided to collude with Clinton and put the kibosh?
SARA CARTER, "CIRCA NEWS": There's enough evidence out there for a special counsel to investigate that. What we know are facts, right. And Comey himself admitted it, that she asked him to call it a "matter," not an "investigation." Then he presents her --
HANNITY: And he did it.
CARTER: And he did it.
HANNITY: Oh, my God.
CARTER: And he did it. And remember, that was his excuse, right. His excuse was that he felt the impropriety of Loretta Lynch meeting Bill Clinton on that tarmac was excuse enough for him to make a decision which really wasn't his to make.
HANNITY: Gregg, we love you back in New York, obviously with the breaking news tonight. I'm promise Gregg Jarrett get a full when we get back. Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter, as we continue, Alexandria, Virginia, the site of where there was an attempted assassination of Republicans today, and of course praying for the victims.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to Hannity broadcasting live tonight. We're in Alexandria, Virginia as we continue with Gregg Jarrett, Jay Sekulow, Sara Carter. Gregg, I'm so sorry. We've been long, obviously, for breaking news.
GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS ANCHOR AND ATTORNEY: It's OK.
HANNITY: You sent me a note today that I thought hit so many good points. I will let you explain.
JARRETT: If this "Washington Post" story is true, then it is abundantly clear that Mueller must resign. The special counsel statute says if you have a personal relationship with someone substantially involved in the case you shall not serve as special counsel. It's mandatory language. So it's incomprehensible --
HANNITY: He must recuse.
JARRETT: He must recuse. It is unconscionable that this is a man who is close friends with the star witness and will now decide whether the president violated the law based on his dealings with his longtime close personal friend, ally.
HANNITY: And hiring Clinton's lawyer, and Obama, Clinton donors, Gregg, seriously?
JARRETT: Look, if Mueller has any fidelity to the law and legal ethics he will resign. It's not just a violation of the statute, but the canon of ethics and the code of professional responsibility.
HANNITY: What about Rosenstein?
JARRETT: Rosenstein, I'm absolutely with you. I have no idea what was going through his brain when he chose Robert Mueller. Everyone knew that James Comey would be the key pivotal witness. You cannot have a prosecutor that close to the and perhaps only principle witness.
HANNITY: I think the three of us, I'm sorry, the four of us, the three of you, are the only people that seemed to be talking about the real issues here. Go ahead. What's going on?
SEKULOW: That's the question. So why is not the FBI tonight finding out who these five leakers are? Why is not the FBI tonight sending agents to people's houses?
HANNITY: What about Loretta Lynch's investigation? Why isn't Hillary in jail, Jay?
SEKULOW: Well, of course, but here's the thing, Sean. This is ongoing right now for the sitting president of the United States, this illegal, as we've been saying for weeks. But now, how in the world are we allowing the Federal Bureau of Investigation or special counsel office, wherever this originated of, to leak this information to The Washington Post. This is not the way the justice system is supposed to work.
HANNITY: This is the 50th leak though, Jay.
JARRETT: Maybe it was Comey who leaked it.
SEKULOW: This is a different level because the call for the special counsel takes place -- I've got a question. Where did this come from? I hope the special counsel is investigating that tonight.
HANNITY: Where is James Comey's investigation, Loretta Lynch's investigation? How does Hillary get to commit felonies?
SEKULOW: But this is what happened, James Comey when he went and testified, you know what he did, he ended the obstruction case against the president of the United States, his own testimony ended that. So what has happened after this? You've got the news story.
HANNITY: Sara?
CARTER: And there is a point there. When you look at it, obstruction, they talked to all the intelligence chiefs. They've asked everyone over and over again in Congress before in testimony, did President Trump try to obstruct this investigation. They all said no. So my question is, if they are now lying and backtracking, and now people are leaking, I just find it hard to believe that they would lie before Congress.
HANNITY: Everything is ass-backwards here. They are investigating the wrong people. And the country has been lied to at a profound level.
SEKULOW: Look.
HANNITY: Real quick.
SEKULOW: This is the fundamental issue of a constitutional republic. That's what this is. We have a constitution, if we can keep it, and that's the key.
HANNITY: Dual standard of justice by James Comey, the Clinton standard and the rest of us standard. And Comey should be investigated. Loretta Lynch should be investigated. These other two should recuse themselves and get out.
SEKULOW: Worse than that.
HANNITY: Worse than that, agreed.
All right, when we come back, we are going wrap things up. A very tough day here, Alexandria, Virginia. It's "Hannity" on the road. Thanks for being with us. We'll continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, that's going to wrap things up from Alexandria, Virginia, tonight. Again, our thoughts and prayers with Congressman Scalise and all the other victims and their families tonight. As always, thank you for being with us. And we will see you back here from Washington, D.C. Stay tuned. Tucker Carlson is live next. We'll see you tomorrow night.
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