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Published January 24, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," September 22, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST, "THE KELLY FILE": Breaking tonight, reports just coming in that the FBI has recovered personal emails from the computer server that the Clinton camp thought it had wiped clean.
Welcome to "The Kelly File" everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. We just got this report a few minutes ago. Bloomberg Media quoting a source saying, the FBI has recovered personal, personal and work related emails from the private computer server used by Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state. This is a big deal because any success at salvaging the emails that Mrs. Clinton said had been deleted raises the possibility that the democratic presidential candidate's correspondence eventually could become public.
Now, our Ed Henry just questioned the Clinton campaign about the breaking news. He is rushing to the Washington Bureau right now. He will be on camera with us in a moment, stand by.
Our other big breaking story tonight. New fallout from Pope Francis' first visit to the United States, as the media declare the historic visit historically bad for Republicans. Those in general and in particular the 2016 GOP field. Hours ago, President Obama greeting the pontiff as he arrived in Washington, DC. Tomorrow, the Pope attends a welcoming ceremony at the White House. And on Thursday, he addresses a Joint Session of Congress. But even before the Pope speaks, the media declaring this visit, quote, "Damaging for Republicans." Politico says, the visit brings, quote, "Hope for Dems, trepidation for GOP." Reuters predicting this quote, "May deepen Republicans Hispanic problem." CNN has been running the headline, quote, "The Pope versus the GOP."
Joining us on this story tonight, republican presidential candidates Senator Ted Cruz, Dr. Ben Carson and Governor Bobby Jindal.
But we begin tonight with Howie Kurtz who is host of "MediaBuzz." So, there you have it, Howie. This is terrible development for Republicans. A wonderful one for Democrats.
HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS HOST, "MEDIABUZZ": Well, some news outlets have been fair today. New York Times today say, Pope's visit could benefit both Left and Right. But I confess the major theme of the coverage for weeks has been because this Pope speaks out against the excesses of capitalism and for helping the poor. Because he's sounded -- nor on gays because he's issued a treaties on combating climate change in this was an awkward, very difficult headache for the GOP. What is far less emphasize is that this pope and his church, vehemently oppose abortion --
KELLY: Oh, they do.
KURTZ: Yes. That's part of the story. He's landing on the day when Senate Democrats block the vote to outlaw late term abortions. Now, Francis and the Catholic Church oppose gay marriage, oppose contraception which as you know has been -- of the Obama administration. So, it's a problem for Democrats as well.
KELLY: First of all, on the "New York Times," I'll challenge you on that. Ted Cruz is up next. And we're going to talk with him about the headline that ran on Pelosi and abortion versus what they have said about the Pope and the GOP. We'll get to that in a minute. But let me ask you this. It's to the point where the media was pummeling the pontiff so badly on the plane, on the way over here about how he must be against the Republicans and how he's really a liberal, that the Pope had to come out -- the Pope -- to say, I am not a liberal. I am pursuing and pushing long standing church doctrines. I am not a liberal, he says.
KURTZ: What the pontiff said, according to his counts I've seen, is that he has said some things that could be seen as leftist. But in fact that's a misinterpretation, he hasn't changed church doctrine. That needs to be part of the coverage. This is a humble pope and inspirational pope but it's a pope who through his tones and actions creates some political complications for both parties here in Washington.
KELLY: Howie, great to see you.
KURTZ: Thanks, Megyn.
KELLY: As Howie mentioned in the hours before the Pope landed, Senate Democrats killed a ban on late term abortions. Something the Catholic Church isn't exactly in favor of if you paid any attention at all to Sunday school.
Joining me now, republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz. Senator, thank you very much for being with us tonight. So, let's start with that. Do you think there's a reason why the media is trying to draw some sort -- draw this is some sort of a rift between the Republicans running for office, all of them and the Holy Father.
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, of course there is. You know, it's great to be with you, Megyn. You know, the mainstream media, they're not fair and impartial observers. They are partisans. They are Obama's number one protectors and they are rooting for Hillary. And, you know, Pope Francis has been an incredible voice for life. He's been an incredible voice for marriage, he's been an incredible voice for religious liberty, and on all three of them, we are seeing an assault that is unprecedented in the history of our country.
You know, the Democrats in the media don't want to talk about the fact that today Senate Democrats stood virtually united in support of late term abortion. They don't want to talk about this horrifying Plan Parenthood videos that show them selling the body parts of unborn children. They don't want to talk about the assault on marriage that Pope Francis has stoop up against. And they certainly don't address the continued assault on religious liberty. You know, in Egypt when we saw 22 Coptic Christians beheaded by ISIS and the Obama White House described it, as they're being killed because of their Egyptian citizenship. Pope Francis powerfully spoke out. He said their blood confesses Jesus Christ --
KELLY: Uh-mm.
CRUZ: I'm very glad to welcome Pope Francis to America. I'm very glad he's with us.
KELLY: And some are suggesting while these Republicans are going to have to avoid photo ops with the Pope because they don't want the distinctions drawn. And yet, nobody talked about, you know, the point you made about Christians and whether the United States and this administration has done enough to protect them which has been an ongoing narrative in some media outlets. Or, for example, forget the abortion thing which we'll talk about in a minute. But what about Little Sisters of the Poor?
CRUZ: Yes.
KELLY: Which the Obama administration has successfully sued to make them give the okay in writing, such that their employees can give contraception, which Pope Francis may not love.
CRUZ: Well, Megyn, you're exactly right. And as you know, I had pledged that if I'm elected president, on the first day in office, I will instruct the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the Planned Parenthood and these horrific videos. And on the first day in office, I will instruct every federal agency that the persecution of religious liberty ends that day. And that will mean among other things, that the case against The Little Sisters of the Poor will be dismissed. I mean, this is an administration, the Obama administration that is litigating against a Catholic charity, the little sisters, attempting to force the nuns to pay millions of dollars of fines under ObamaCare in order to try to force them to pay for abortion-inducing drugs. It makes no sense. It's radical and extreme. And I'm curious if the mainstream media will ask Democrats how they feel about litigating against nuns while the Holy Father is here in America.
KELLY: Oh, I'm sure he's on the other side. This is what you're up against, though, as a republican running for the White House. You know, the media chooses to focus on the divide between the Republican Party and this Pope when it comes to issues like immigration or climate change, income inequality. Okay, those may be legitimate flips. But where's the focus on the fact that he's going to go addresses the Joint Session of Congress that just today refused to sign off on a ban of 20 week abortions, of a five-month-old baby in the womb.
They stood up and said, we don't want to ban that. Even if there's an exception for the life of the mother. We're still not going to get behind that. That is not highlighted. And yet, the same media -- but the same media in "The New York Times," look at the headlines they put up about Nancy Pelosi. On September 24th, look at this. "In Pelosi, strong Catholic faith and abortion rights co-exist." That's fine. You can co- exist if it's pro-choice. But you don't want to co-exist when it comes to income equality or immigration, you need to avoid your photo ops with the Pope.
CRUZ: Well, you know, the media as I said are partisans. And they're trying to distract the public. They're trying to lie to the public. But there is power to truth. You know, one of the reasons I think that our presidential campaign has such tremendous momentum. Because speaking the truth, speaking it with a smile has power. You know, Megyn, coming out of that first debate that you moderated, you know, in the hundred hours that followed that debate, our campaign raised over a million dollars in 100 hours as people all over the country went to TedCruz.org contributed. The second debate that just ended, we raised over a million, not in a hundred hours, in 48 hours, less than half as much time.
KELLY: How does that compare to your compadres running for the office?
CRUZ: Well, none of them had announced their results. So that suggests that they didn't do all that well. What I can tell you is in the campaign so far out of 17 republican candidates, our campaign has raised the most money. We have had some 300,000 contributions. The average contribution is $81. People go to TedCruz.org.
KELLY: Interesting.
CRUZ: And they're looking for someone to tell the truth. To stand up -- try to speak with precision.
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: There's like a dollar fee for making you go through the process. All right. Senator Cruz, it's always great to see you.
CRUZ: It's great to be with you, Megyn. Thank you.
KELLY: All the best.
CRUZ: Back now to our breaking news on reports that the FBI has recovered personal, personal e-mails from the computer server that the Clinton campaign thought it had deleted from that server. If you're just joining us, Bloomberg Media tonight, quoting a source, saying the FBI has recovered personal and work-related e-mails from the private computer server used by Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state.
Our own Ed Henry just questioned the Clinton campaign about the report. He joins us now live from the bureau. Ed?
ED HENRY, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Megyn, good to see you. Things could not be any higher for Hillary Clinton. Obviously, she's been sliding in the polls already. This Bloomberg report, quoting one anonymous source familiar with the FBI investigation is suggesting, as you say, that the FBI has uncovered not just personal e-mails, but work- related e-mails. Why is that significant? Go back to the beginning when Hillary Clinton first revealed this at that news conference on March 10th at the United Nations. Her narrative was that she had deleted roughly 30,000 personal e-mails that were just about yoga, her daughter's wedding and that the rest were work-related e-mails that she turned over.
If the FBI has now recovered work-related e-mails, official e-mails, that were deleted, this would be a game changer, number one, and change the narrative and suggest that she was not telling the truth on March 10th. Secondly, if they are recovering work-related e-mails, does that raise the specter of more classified information in those work related emails being on the personal server despite Hillary Clinton also at that March 10th news conference, saying, no, there's no classified information? I just got off the phone with Nick Morrow, Hillary Clinton's spokesman, he is literally in Des Moines taking off at the airport leaving after their campaign event tonight. He told me two things.
Number one, he said we've always cooperated with the FBI. And number two, he said, we simply don't know what the FBI has and does not have. They're in the dark about where this investigation is going. That's very scary for Hillary Clinton. Final point, two other big things happened today. Under political pressure, to try and police the Left, Hillary Clinton today for the first time took a position on the Keystone Pipeline and to appease environmentalists said that she's now against the pipeline.
KELLY: Right.
HENRY: Number one. Number two, there was a man at the White House with Vice President Joe Biden. African-American leaders and they were chanting run Joe run. If there's more information spilling out from this FBI investigation in the days end, you're going to hear that more and more about it.
KELLY: I have to ask you this before I let you go. You tell me where I misread the report. To me, it was significant that they had uncovered personal e-mails because she said that is what she deleted. The report seem to be suggesting the deleted e-mails, the one she wiped cleaned from the server, has been recovered. They have been recovered. And now will be determined whether they were personal or they were work-related. When I read that they've recovered work-related e-mails, I just figured, well, they recovered the ones that she's already produced. What they seem to be telling us is, the bottom-line is they got the e-mails that she thought she wipe cleaned and they're going through them right now.
HENRY: Right. And both could be significant is the bottom-line, Megyn. Because there could be ones that she deemed personal and deleted that they've now recovered and that as others look at it, independently might say, actually that was work-related. That was about something else. And then, in terms of work-related, why I think that's significant is, she said I turned these over to the State Department, anything work-related. You're right. Maybe she turned them over and then deleted them or maybe she turned it over 80 percent of them or 90 percent of them and there are other work related ones they were finding. We still don't know.
KELLY: The point is her claims are now being checked by the FBI --
HENRY: And they are being challenged.
KELLY: And they've got the e-mails. Ted, great to see you.
HENRY: Thank you.
KELLY: More on that in the days to come. We are also hearing from the Carson campaign tonight on stories suggesting that he's changing his stance regarding his comment about a Muslim president. Dr. Carson says it's not true. He's not changing his stance. He'll join us to explain, next.
Then, Governor Bobby Jindal is also here to respond a suggestion that the entire republican field has a big problem with religion in this race.
Plus, Senator Marco Rubio tonight hit Donald Trump hard on foreign policy. Brit Hume is here with the latest on that fight.
And then the ACLU is now pushing to have Kim Davis thrown back in jail, claiming the clerk is causing new problems for same-sex couples trying to get married. By the way, she's with us here tomorrow night.
Tonight, our lawyers, Mark and Arthur are here, on the possibility that Davis could be headed back to jail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight, many in the media now accusing Dr. Ben Carson of walking back remarks he made about whether he would support a Muslim president. But tonight, Dr. Carson says that's not true. Here's the original interview that set it all off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD CHUCK, NBC HOST, "MEET THE PRESS": So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?
DR. BEN CARSON, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I do not. I would not advocate that we would put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: And here is Dr. Carson earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARSON: I said I would support anyone if -- again, it seems to be hard for people to actually hear English and understand it. I said I would support anyone regardless of their background if, in fact, they embraced American values and are constitution and are willing to place that above their believes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Joining me now, republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Carson, thank you for being here. So, have you changed your position from what you were saying on "Meet the Press"?
CARSON: No. If you look at the "Meet the Press" interview, you'll see that I said that anybody who embraces our American values and our constitution is somebody who is acceptable to me. And then the follow-up question to that was about a Muslim for president.
KELLY: Uh-hmm.
CARSON: If I said that anybody who embraces our values and our constitution, obviously the question is asked in context of somebody who doesn't. And of course, if they don't, I don't want them to be the president of the United States. That's fairly simple and straight forward.
KELLY: Well, it was confusing the way it came out. Because your answer to that second question sounded absolute. You know, no. I absolutely couldn't get behind a Muslim for president. And so that's what led to people believing that's how you felt. But you're stating now you have no problem with a Muslim being president. You said earlier today, that would be if he would renounce Sharia law. Now, you know, is that where you stand? Because many and others have come out today and said, well, is that some sort of a litmus test? Is that a suggestion that Muslims have to do more if they want to run for higher office than Jews or Christians?
CARSON: Well, bear in mind, in the standard corpus juris of the authoritative doctrines of Islam you cannot separate church and state. So, in order to be eligible to be president of the United States, you're going to have to renounce that, which makes you a heretic and an infidel. But as long as they're willing to do that, and to clearly place the United States constitution above their personal believes, that's like anybody else. Bear in mind, if there was a Christian running and that Christian wanted to establish a theocracy, I could not support that person, either.
KELLY: Um-hmm. Do you -- CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations which has been labeled terrorist group by the UAE I think it is, they're very angry. They came out and said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIHAD AWAD, CAIR, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Not long ago, some people thought that a Catholic cannot be a president, and African-American cannot be a president, they were wrong then and they are wrong now. We asked Mr. Ben Carson withdraw from the presidential race because he's unfit to live, because his views are in contradiction with the United States constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Any response to CAIR?
CARSON: Yes, I would say that my believes are completely in line with the United States constitution. And if they can show me something that I have said that is out of whack with it, I'm certainly happy to consider that. But I believe, in fact, that their believes, if you looked throughout the world, at Muslim government, I see discrimination against women, discrimination against gays, subjugation of other religious believes. And I would be very interested in somebody showing me one of the Muslim nations where that is not occurring. I haven't seen it.
KELLY: I have got to ask you quickly before you go.
(CROSSTALK)
Sorry, there is quite a moment today where you and this is on a different subject, but it made news and it was unbelievable in Ohio. Where you were introduced by now a grown man who was once a five-year-old boy on whose brain you operated and whose life you saved. Adam Brandt who said you are now his hero, came out and introduced you to the world today talking about how you saved his life and operated on a brain tumor. What was that like for you?
CARSON: Well, you know, it's wonderful. You know, I've operated on so many thousands of people and I get to see them all the time now. That was actually the second time today that I saw somebody that I operated on before. You know, some people think that being a politician is a great thing or being a businessman is a great thing. But I can tell you, there's nothing that compares to being able to intervene in people's lives and gives them quality of life and longevity.
KELLY: Wow! Must be quite a thing to look at this man now cancer- free since he was 12. Thanks so much to you, sir.
CARSON: Absolutely.
KELLY: Thanks for being here.
CARSON: Thank you, Megyn.
KELLY: Also, late today, Senator Marco Rubio went after Donald Trump hard on the issue of foreign policy. Just ahead, Brit Hume will explain why this is significant and what it tells us.
Plus, republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal is here next on suggestions the entire republican field has a problem with religion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm -- the only thing I'm surprised about is that the sort of the Muslim bashing has taken this long to come out in the GOP field.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Well, you just heard Dr. Ben Carson offering an explanation for his remarks about Muslims and the presidency and the media coverage over the last day or so has been brutal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm -- the only thing I'm surprised about is that the sort of the Muslim bashing has taken this long to come out in the GOP field.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a real problem for Ben Carson. And, unfortunately, it's a real problem for the Republican Party right now until this is cleaned up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Governor Bobby Jindal is the governor of Louisiana. He's also a republican presidential candidate. Good to see you tonight, Governor. So now you've heard Scarboro there and some others suggesting, this is a problem for the entire GOP field. This now a litmus test, that all of you need to be asked what you think about whether President Obama is a Muslim, whether he was born in the United States and whether we can have a Muslim president. Is that where we are now?
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL, R-LA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Megyn, first of all, look, the GOP doesn't have a Muslim problem. Now, America has got a radical Islam problem. Here is why this is such a silly gotcha question to Republicans. Show me, you know, they keep asking presidential candidates like myself, would you vote for a Muslim for president? Find me, show me that Muslim republican who's going to fighting for religious liberty, vowed to destroy ISIS, who is going to fight to repeal ObamaCare. Who is going to preserve our Judeo-Christian heritage, show me that candidate, I'd be happy to consider --
KELLY: How about Zuhdi Jasser?
JINDAL: I'm sorry?
KELLY: How about Zuhdi Jasser?
JINDAL: Megyn, I'm sorry. Look, I think that a conservative is in the end --
KELLY: My point is there are Muslims who are, you know, somebody who might like, who are conservative thinkers who stands for religious liberty. They are. They're out there.
JINDAL: Well, and that's why I think this is such a silly gotcha questions. We've got six now candidates running for president. I think the best qualified candidate for president is a conservative Christian from Louisiana. At the end of the day, I'm going to vote for somebody who I think will do the best job that shares my value and this race I think it's me. And I think that the media loves the gotcha games with the Republicans, I love to play silly games. Now look, our country does have a problem with radical Islam. Our president doesn't want to say that. He doesn't want to say that the Muslim leaders, they need to denounce individuals who commit acts of terror, not just generic acts of violence. He doesn't want to say that Muslim leaders and they explicitly endorsed religious liberty for people of other faiths that they want for themselves. But these are just silly gotcha questions from the media. At the end of the day, I think I'm the best qualified candidate. I happen to be a conservative Christian from Louisiana. And I'm happy for every republican to vote for me.
KELLY: All right. Now, let me ask you this because Scott Walker dropped out of the race this week. Saying, I got to get out. Because I got to clear the field for some strong candidate to emerge and take down the current frontrunner Donald Trump. That was his statement. I heard similar remarks from Rick Perry. Your polling numbers are obviously not near the top. What do you make of that message?
JINDAL: Well, look, I don't think the RNC, the establishment, the donors, should try to pick our candidates. Every time they try to clear the field, it backfires and conservative activists are on to this. The party wants to get behind in an establishment candidate like Jeb Bush. The reality is, we need to fight for our conservative principles. We're running a great campaign here on the ground, in Iowa we're doing great, building great crowds. I think it's time to fire all the establishments in DC, get rid of all the incumbents that Republican and a Democratic Party. You know, the Republicans said they were going to fight ObamaCare, amnesty, they said they were going to defund my Planned Parenthood. They said they were going to stop by the Iran deal. They haven't done any of it, I've got more -- I'm actually angry at the Republicans. I've got more --
KELLY: They tried. They tried. They didn't have --
(CROSSTALK)
JINDAL: They say they tried, but they hadn't voted ones on a replacement for ObamaCare. They won't use a nuclear option to get rid of the Iran deal. They're afraid to defund Planned Parenthood because the President opposes it.
KELLY: Okay.
JINDAL: You know, we got lying conservatives and honest socialist. I wish they'd fight half as hard as the Democrats did for their values. They're not trying. They're sparking emotion. It's time to fire all of them and elect a real conservatives to the White House.
KELLY: Governor, great to see you.
JINDAL: It's time to get term limits. Thank you, Megyn.
KELLY: Thank you, sir. Thank you for being here.
We've got breaking news and new outrage tonight from the military community as a decorated green beret who stood up to a child rapist gets some very bad news in the fight to keep his job.
Plus, Senator Marco Rubio issued a strong challenge to Donald Trump on the issue of foreign policy tonight. And Brit Hume is next on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, R-FLA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: National security, the government is in charge of that and you better have a president that understands the threats we face and what we have to do about it and if you can't articulate that as a candidate, you cannot be commander-in-chief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the world headquarters of Fox News, it's "The Kelly File" with Megyn Kelly.
KELLY: A new twist in the Republican race for the White House tonight as senator and Republican presidential candidate, Marco Rubio, speaks out against frontrunner, Donald Trump. The two have stayed partly (ph) out of each other way until now as Rubio hits Trump on his foreign policy stumbles tonight with Special Report. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRET BAIER, "SPECIAL REPORT" HOST: Is Donald Trump qualified to be president of the United States?
RUBIO: Well, I have -- as I said, I think that the most important thing a president will ever do is provide for the national security of our country. And I think up until now he hasn't answered serious questions about national security. And until he does, there shouldn't be concerns, not just about him but about any candidate that's not able to speak in detail with clarity and seriousness about the national security threats that we face. The government doesn't run the economy. The economy is run by the private sector. The job of the president is to ensure we have policies that allow the private sector to grow and prosper. But national security, the government is in charge of that. And you better have a president that understand the threats we face and what we have to do about it. And if you can't articulate that as a candidate, you cannot be commander in chief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Fox News' senior political analyst, Bret Hume, joins us now. Is this the argument about why an outsider doesn't make the most sense, Brit?
BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it depends on the outsider, Megyn. When Ronald Reagan, who although he has been governor of California and he came to Washington to be president, he has been speaking and writing on national and international issues for years and he brought a philosophy and a broad concept of foreign policy with some specificity in details to the task. And that is something we have yet to see as Marco Rubio correctly points out about Donald Trump.
Rubio's point is well taken, especially in this respect. He makes the point that foreign policy is the province of the government, not just the government, the federal government, and not just the federal government but the executive branch of the federal government and that falls principally, therefore, on the president. And I've always thought that the real job, the main job, the big job of any president was to conduct the foreign policy and national defense.
And that is an area where Donald Trump to date -- to be fair, to date has not said very much. He's talked about how is he's going to build the strongest military, one so strong that no one would dare challenge, and he's talked ant his negotiating skills and how he put them to work as president and how he would negotiate, and indeed, even get along with Vladimir Putin and others. But that's -- so far, that's about all he has really given us. Now, he promises more, and perhaps, in time, he will produce more. But I really do think it's not unreasonable to say that he needs to.
KELLY: It's -- he's promises more on some subjects, but then he's had an interesting exchange with Hugh Hewitt this week where he would press (ph) him on what he would do if Pakistan, which has nukes, went rogue and this is how Trump answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to have a certain -- you know, people can't know exactly what your intentions are. You want to have a certain amount of -- you want to have a little bit of guesswork for the enemy. And I just don't want to be telling people -- and this is - - by the way, this has nothing to do with lack of knowledge because I think I know as much about Pakistan as most other people. But I will tell you, I don't want to broadcast my intentions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Is that fair?
HUME: Well, once -- campaigning can be defined -- running for president can be defined as broadcasting your intentions. Now, that doesn't mean that if you have a military operation in mind or a particular strategy of attack or counter attack of defense that you would articulate that. But it does mean that you -- when somebody talks about some possibility like Pakistan going rogue, which is certainly not outside the realm of possibility, you got to do better than to say, "I don't want to tell you." I mean I think that's probably not going to stand and I suspect perhaps he knows that and will attempt to have better answers in the future. But overtime, as this goes on, national security will become, I think, a more important part of the debate than it has been so far, and he can be -- he'll be expected to have some more specific answers.
KELLY: How big a role do you think that played in the softening we saw in Trump's poll numbers in that CNN poll. A lot of people are saying, "Look at this other polls." Those other polls have online components, and thus, they are unreliable and not cited by Fox News ever, not just in this race, not -- we don't cite those polls because you go online, you can vote many times, and it's not been reliable. Anyway, how big of a roll do you think the foreign policy exchange that Trump, in particular with Fiorina and Rubio, on Russia and Putin had on the softening we saw on his members?
HUME: It's really impossible to say and I'm a little concerned about that particular CNN poll anyway. It's a sample of what 404 voters, plus or minus 5-point margin of error.
KELLY: Too big?
HUME: So before we can conclude that he is really taking a hit, it seems to me we may want to wait to see some more polls and it's hard to know what everybody was thinking. But you know, there's got to be more said about this and more answers will be expected. And I think what the effect as Rubio comment today would be to raise the issue in a way that will make sure that he comes up and he was presented with it again and again.
KELLY: on the meantime, Trump re-tweeted something calling in Marco amnesty last night. So he was sort of already see the line of things is going to go.
HUME: Yes. It never fails, does it?
KELLY: Great to see you, Brit?
HUME: Thanks, Megyn.
KELLY: It's kind of hefty (ph). Also, today, the ACLU is now pushing to have Kim Davis thrown back in jail, claiming the clerk is causing new problems for same-sex couples trying to get married. Our lawyers, (inaudible), are here tonight on the possibility that Davis could land behind bars again. By the way, she is with us tomorrow night.
But next, we have breaking news on this decorated Green Beret who got in trouble for confronting and admitted child rapist who also happens to be an Afghan ally. Up next, while this fight has now gone all the way to the White House and the Green Beret is losing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: For the policy to sort of govern the relationship between U.S. Military personnel serving Afghanistan and their Afghan counterparts have been (inaudible) Department of Defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Breaking tonight, a Green Beret ordered discharged after he confronted an alleged child rapist in Afghanistan has learned that the Army has denied his appeal. Last month "The Kelly File" reported on Sergeant First Class Charles Martland and his fight to continue serving his country after he and his team leader got in trouble for striking an Afghan police commander accused of raping a young boy and beating up the child's mother.
Trace Gallagher live in our West Coast Newsroom with the very latest. Trace?
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR, WEST COAST NEWSROOM: And Megyn, the memo sent to Sergeant First Class Charles Martland says that his appeal to remain in the Army is denied because there is no new evidence, but it's the original evidence that has made the story so controversial. In 2011, Martland a decorated Green Beret was helping train Afghan police officers in the Kunduz Province when a woman came into their camp claiming one of the Afghan police commanders had repeatedly raped her 12-year-old son and badly beaten her.
Sergeant Martland and his team May (ph) Captain Daniel Quinn confronted the Afghan police commander and Captain Quinn told "The Kelly File" and the police commander confessed. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL QUINN, FORMER U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES CAPTAIN: Then he started laughing, won't you describe how it shows this was and how disparaging it was. He started laughing our face and just shrug -- shrug his shoulders almost as if to say, you know, it's no big deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Quinn who accepted the Army's dismissal then acknowledges the he and Sergeant Martland lost their tempers and threw the police commander to the ground. It was that physical altercation that the soldiers in trouble. Even though U.S. soldiers are not required to report cases of child abuse in Afghanistan, today, the Department of Defense strongly disputed reports that members of the military had been told to look the other way. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER COOK, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: There is no policy in place that directs any U.S. Military of government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses. On the contrary, we monitor such atrocities closely and had continually stood up with those who have suffered exploitation.
Now, Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter is outraged by the soldier's removal and is pressing Defense secretary Ash Carter to reverse the decision. Megyn?
KELLY: Trace, thank you.
Joining me now in the Kelly File Exclusive Captain Daniel Quinn. He's a former captain and teammate of Sergeant Martland and Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter who has been fighting to keep Martland in the Army. Thank you both for being back with me. Let me start with you Captain Quinn.
QUINN: Yes.
KELLY: This is unbelievable. I mean so, it's -- he's dumped (ph). The Army has sided essentially with the Afghan child rapist.
QUINN: That's correct. It's -- I mean, it's a trouble (ph) not just with Charles but to his wife, to his two kids. Charles is born to be soldier. He did it better than anyone I've ever worked with and it's terrible not just for him and his family but for our country as well.
KELLY: What do you mean? Go ahead.
QUINN: All -- all he wants to do is to continue to serve our country with distinction just like he's done for the last 11 years in the Army and so I'm pleased (ph) for letting me do that. It's a disservice to -- to him, his family and to everyone that's worked with him, for him and that knows him.
KELLY: What do you make of this statement we just heard? There's no policy in place to ignore human rights violations. None at all.
QUINN: I mean, it -- the - that's not necessarily true because we had -- as we've discussed, there's been three previous cases of -- of sexual assault. Charles and I reported each one up our chain of commands. And what -- what the policy is that we have to use -- we have to go through the local government of Afghanistan. So, in our case, we went through local government three times, and all three times, it was basically met with indifference.
KELLY: They don't care.
QUINN: Exactly. So, I mean.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: They don't care.
QUINN: So, that's -- yeah.
KELLY: That the -- the Afghan commanders are raping children and this is somehow.
QUINN: Yeah.
KELLY: -- acceptable over there and there, and they expect the American commanders to say, "All right. No problem."
QUINN: Yes and we're just told continually, you have to go through the local government and the last time we did that, a 14-year-old girl was raped in a field, and her rapist was found guilty. Since the one day in jail and then she -- when he was released from jail, she was forced to marry him because she was no longer a virgin. It was now tainted and was unacceptable to be married to anybody else.
KELLY: I don't get it. Congressman Hunter. I don't get it. I don't get -- what -- why are -- the Afghans are going to do what they're going to do. We're not going to change Afghan culture I supposed. However, we are who we are. And these guys sounded like they're asking -- they're asking them to sacrifice all they stand for in order to serve their country over there.
DUNCAN HUNTER, REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: Yeah -- yeah, imagine this, too. You're a 20-year-old kid. You went over and -- and you're serving your nation. And on your U.S. Base, you -- you actually see a child rapists and pedophiles and hear the screams of little boys at night. And you're told it's an Afghan criminal issue. The DOD statement today is pure lawyer speak. You're a lawyer, of course, there's no policy like you said.
KELLY: Of course, there's not.
HUNTER: -- but they were allowing this to happen because I don't know, if they don't -- they don't want to offend the wrong people. There is a shameful lack of leadership and morality in the Army and, you know what -- you know, frankly, I can't get anywhere on this issue.
KELLY: No (ph).
HUNTER: -- even in the Armed Services Committee.
KELLY: Really? I mean, who can reverse it?
HUNTER: Yeah.
KELLY: Who -- who can reverse it? Who can get Martland back in?
HUNTER: The secretary of the Army or the secretary of the Defense. The problem is, the secretary of the Army is a former congressman whose buddies would happen my colleagues on Capitol Hill.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Why wouldn't they want this?
(CROSSTALK)
HUNTER: They -- they don't think (ph) to get after him.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Why -- why are they.
(CROSSTALK)
HUNTER: He retired in a few months anyway.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: -- against him? Why?
HUNTER: So, I mean, what - because they're all chummy. They're all -- they're all buddies we've been bringing this up, Megyn. This has been three or four months now. This Martland case has exposed that there have been hundreds of soldiers and -- and marines now exposed to these child rapists on their bases. This isn't like out with the Martland and Danny Quinn alone and unafraid in the small provinces. This was happening on U.S. bases where you had hundreds, if not thousands of U.S. Military personnel.
So, this has -- this has now been allowed by the U.S. government and, instead of stopping this and the Army saying, "Hang on. We're going to do a commonsense test, let Sergeant First Class Martland stay in. We're going to stop this. They aren't doing that.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: No. They're -- they're there.
HUNTER: They're saying one (ph) of the lawyers speak.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: -- they've chosen a different side and.
(CROSSTALK)
HUNTER: -- and we're going to kick him out anyway. We don't -- we don't care what.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Captain Quinn?
HUNTER: -- going to do is.
KELLY: I got to go.
HUNTER: You and your son or daughters serving in the Army?
KELLY: I got to go. Bye.
HUNTER: I mean, do you want your -- your son or daughter to serve an institution who says pedophilia and child rape.
KELLY: Understood.
HUNTER: -- is OK as long as it's the custom of the land and it's a criminal case for them. Don't worry about it. That's nonsense.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: I understand.
HUNTER: We go over to.
KELLY: I got -- I got to go. I got to go.
HUNTER: -- to fight for our principles.
KELLY: I don't think -- OK, I got to ask you Captain Quinn before we go.
QUINN: Sure.
KELLY: How -- how is -- how is your friend? How is -- well, is he Captain Martland?
QUINN: I mean, you know, he's -- first of all, he's very, very thankful for all the support he's received from the whole country. It's -- it's humbling for him and I. We really appreciate it and, you know, he's done -- he's obviously definitely broken today from the news, but he's going to keep fighting, we're going to keep fighting and Congressman Hunter is going to keep fighting and we just ask America to keep, you know, keep help -- helping Congressman Hunter out. Write to him, write to your congressman and let's -- let's get Charles to stay in the Army.
KELLY: Thank you, guys. Thank you both.
QUINN: Thank you, Megyn. Appreciate it.
KELLY: All the best.
Tomorrow night, we have a cable news exclusive with the Kentucky clerk who got in trouble for her stand against same-sex marriage. But up next, we'll take a look at the new effort to send Kim Davis back to jail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not issuing marriage licenses today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based on what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you not issuing marriage licenses today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Going ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Under whose authority? Are you not issuing.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not the
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Breaking Tonight, the ACLU wants Kentucky court clerk Kim Davis back in front of a judge in the wake of her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Joining me with the very latest on this motion, Fox News legal analyst and New York Trial Attorney Arthur Aidala and Criminal Defense Attorney Mark Eiglarsh. All right, Mark, what does the ACLU want now? What did Kim Davis do or what did they say?
MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, the problem is people are getting a marriage certificate-ish, and on the happiest day of their life, they have to go to an attorney after and show them the certificates that best, good attorneys like my bald beautiful brother, Arthur, telling them, it's questionable at best.
KELLY: What did she do?
EIGLARSH: This is not like everybody else.
KELLY: What did she do? She got back, she's issuing -- she not she -- the big -- the office is issuing of marriage licenses and it was fine. It was working. What happened they got the ACLU so upset today?
ARTHUR AIDALA, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: She had -- she -- the original forms had her name on them like a, you know, like a rubber stamp and they.
KELLY: While she was in jail.
AIDALA: -- while she was in jail and then someone else was actually putting a signature on. So, she created a new form and took her name off of this.
KELLY: She altered the license.
(CROSSTALK)
AIDALA: She altered it.
KELLY: -- while she was in jail.
AIDALA: Here's why don't -- here's an issue, but apparently, Mark, her lawyer is saying the governor's office looked at the new form and said, "These are valid." If you have one of these you're married in our state. So, I know what the hubbub is about.
KELLY: So, what does the ACLU want? Do they want her to go back to jail or what -- what do they want to have happened?
EIGLARSH: Ultimately, they want her to issue a certificate that everyone else gets. If she gave marriage a fifth try, and she got a certificate that was altered in this way, she would take exception to it. Some people feel humiliated. It shouldn't be.
AIDALA: That's.
EIGLARSH: -- different certificates for different people.
AIDALA: Right. That's -- that's what the issue is. It's more of the -- how it feels than the actual effect. In other words, the governor according to her lawyer.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Background for legal challenge, Arthur?
AIDALA: I don't -- I don't think so. The governor has said, this is a valid marriage license. So, you have a valid marriage license. Unfortunately, this is such a new thing that it takes a while for everyone to kind of come around. She was voted into office.
EIGLARSH: They shouldn't have to come.
AIDALA: -- this wasn't the law.
EIGLARSH: -- around.
AIDALA: Well.
EIGLARSH: Nobody shouldn't have to come around. No one should feel like.
(CROSSTALK)
AIDALA: Really? Let me just ask something though.
EIGLARSH: -- because the same he same certificate as anyone else, Arthur.
(CROSSTALK)
AIDALA: We give religious accommodations.
EIGLARSH: -- and she can't comply in that's defense (ph) eye.
(CROSSTALK)
AIDALA: -- we give.
KELLY: Go ahead, Arthur.
AIDALA: -- in society, we give religious accommodations all the time. Sandy Koufax was the number one pitcher in the world. He then -- he refused to pitch the first game of the World Series because it was Yom Kippur, and he -- and he was accommodated because that was his religion. When Jimmy First (ph) goes to jail.
KELLY: Timely reference (ph).
(CROSSTALK)
AIDALA: -- they will make a counter.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: -- timely reference -- stay in the evening that we face now.
(CROSSTALK)
AIDALA: -- analysis (ph).
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: I got to go. Great to see you both. We'll be right back.
EIGLARSH (?): Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLY: Tomorrow night, a television event. Kim Davis sits down with yours truly in a Cable News Exclusive. What will she do if they arrest her again? Will she standby her Christian belief? Set your DVRs, Kim Davis speaks right here tomorrow at 9:00.
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