Acting AG Whitaker clashes with House Democrats

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Acting AG Whitaker clashes with House Democrats

Jake Maccoby, former speech writer to AG Eric Holder and David Bossie, Trump 2016 deputy campaign manager, weigh in on Matt Whitaker's heated testimony.

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," February 8, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, HOST: Hi there, John. Thank you.

Breaking tonight, folks. Brand new calls brand new information just coming in moments ago with regard to lieutenant governor of Virginia Justin Fairfax and calls from within his party to ask him to resign.

Fairfax is now accused by a second woman, a classmate at Duke University who says that she told friends back in 2000 that he raped her. Fairfax, essentially says she's lying. He has called that charge, "demonstrably false."

This providing an ugly, but no doubt welcome distraction for Governor Northam who now seems to be riding out the storm over the yearbook photo as his succession plan looks a bit unviable at the moment. Here's Fairfax earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN FAIRFAX, D-VA, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: Good morning --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening. Any messages for the citizens of Virginia?

FAIRFAX: We'll have our say, I'm confident in the truth. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Moments from now, Howie Kurtz, but first, Trace Gallagher, live in our West Coast Newsroom tonight with this breaking news tonight. Good evening, Trade.

TRACE GALLAGHER, CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Martha. The second accuser is a woman named Meredith Watson, who says the assault happened in 2000 when they were both undergrads at Duke University.

Watson, says the two were friends but never dated or had any romantic relationship. So far, Watson has not detailed what her lawyer calls an aggressive and premeditated attack, but she claims her attack was similar to the first accuser, Vanessa Tyson, who says that she and Fairfax were at the DNC convention in Boston in 2004 when he asked her to go to his hotel room to get documents and they began kissing consensually. But then, she claims Fairfax put his hand behind her head and forced her to perform oral sex. Watson has called that encounter consensual.

And concerning the allegations by Meredith Watson, Fairfax, says, "I demand a full investigation into this unsubstantiated and false allegation." He goes on to say he is telling the truth.

Meredith Watson's attorney says she shared the details of her rape with a number of people who have now issued statements to corroborate her story. The attorney also said, "Ms. Watson is reluctantly coming forward out of a strong sense of civic duty and her belief that those seeking or serving in public office should be of the highest character. She has no interest in becoming a media personality or reliving the trauma that has greatly affected her life. Similarly, she is not seeking any financial damages."

Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, tweeted, "The allegations against Justin Fairfax are serious and credible. It is clear to me that he can no longer effectively serve the people of Virginia as lieutenant governor, I call for his immediate resignation."

Virginia's five Democratic members of Congress have also called for Fairfax to step down as has New Jersey Democratic Senator and twenty 2020 presidential candidate Cory Booker.

And now, Democratic Virginia state lawmaker, says on Monday, he will begin the process of impeaching Justin Fairfax if he doesn't step down. And we should note, Governor Ralph Northam is again reiterating as he did today that he will not step down. Martha.

MACCALLUM: Quite a story. Trace, thank you very much. Joining me now, Howie Kurtz, Fox News media analyst and host of "MEDIA BUZZ". Howie, good to see you tonight. What's your take on these new developments?

HOWARD KURTZ, MEDIA ANALYST: Well, make no mistake, Martha. Justin Fairfax is in deep trouble because the allegations by this new accuser, Meredith Watson --

MACCALLUM: Watson.

KURTZ: Yes, moves the debate from he said she said over a sexual encounter with the first woman, Vanessa Tyson, which to Fairfax claims is consensual to a much more troubling question whether there's a pattern of sexual misconduct.

Then, I don't think lieutenant governor is doing himself any favors by accusing Meredith Watson of a smear, the same camp, the same word, the same phrase smear campaign that he used against the first woman. Why would either of these women -- well, what do they have to gain by coming forward as Trace noted?

They're not asking for money, they're not going on T.V. they're not seeking publicity. They say they have an obligation to come forward because it looked like Justin Fairfax is on the verge of becoming Virginia's governor.

MACCALLUM: Well, you know, when you -- when you look at covering this story, I mean, you know, he can -- he can certainly say that he's innocent if he believes he's innocent. I mean, that -- that's what he's doing. We talked so much about due process in the Kavanaugh case. And when you look at that, you know, you think back to Christine Blasey Ford, saying that she had shared the story with friends much later on.

You know, and I know Ellison Barber reported earlier that they've asked the lawyer to turn over these documents that substantiate the fact that she did share this story with people. And you know, I guess one of the questions is when? You know, what -- is it -- is it clearly documented at the time that she says this happened and if that's the case, and that's very significant, very credible, or was it later? So, it's a valid question.

KURTZ: Well, on that very point, Martha, The Washington Post today quotes on the record, a friend of Meredith Watson, saying that she came crying to her when they were both students at Duke University in 2000, saying that she had been raped by the man who is now Virginia's lieutenant governor.

So, that's one person on the record offering that kind of corroboration. And at the same time, the contrast between the way the much less substantiated allegations were treated against Brett Kavanaugh. Where you didn't have any corroborating witnesses is really striking, because at that time you had all these liberal commentators, not to mention a lots of Democrats saying Kavanaugh cannot possibly be confirmed, and all women must be believed.

But, until now, we just hear about a rush of Democrats including former Governor Terry McAuliffe, saying Fairfax should step down. Many Democrats have been very cautious, liberal commentators are being the tepid or silent, not applying the same standard that they themselves brought to the Kavanaugh hearings.

MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean, that's a great point. I mean, that believe all women. All women must be believed, was the refrain that you heard from so many halls and across so much of the media during the Brett Kavanaugh situation. And it has taken quite a while, Howie.

And this second allegation, which as you say, has at least one person who claims that she came to her crying at the time. You know, we really, all right, is incumbent upon everybody who covers these stories to do them fairly for both sides.

KURTZ: You know, the fact is, for the political people, you know, Democrats and Republicans, same thing are much more reluctant to cry for somebody's political scalp when it's somebody who's on your own team. The person here -- the biggest impact now I think on Virginia is that it looked like Ralph Northam was about five seconds away from resigning.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

KURTZ: And now, I think he clearly is going to be able to hang on because even though the 35-year-old incident of blackface, that he has fessed up to is offensive and racist, it kind of pales in comparison to his number two who is now being accused of criminal conduct.

MACCALLUM: And you know, and that raises a lot of questions about the political match nations and the competition to stay in power and all of these things that just tumbled out at once. Then you had the attorney general, also coming forward, perhaps, because he was afraid that a picture was going to surface or something on those lines saying that he too, you know, as something he saw as harmless at the time, dressed up like rappers with friends of his.

I mean, and also it keeps striking me, Howie that the beginning of all of this was Northam talking about third-trimester abortion in a way a lot of people found extremely upsetting.

KURTZ: He gave an extreme -- extraordinarily controversial interview which he seems to come out for abortion being allowed under a law that he seemed to be supporting up until the day of birth. And then, reason these two stories are tied together is that that's how the original allegation about the blackface and the 1984 yearbook surfaced because it's been reported that some of his medical school classmates back when he was doing this blackface thing were so upset about his abortion comments, that they felt the need to go to the press.

So, Northam - you know, looked like he couldn't hang on. Some people were saying, look, it was 35 years ago. Maybe he has changed, not excusing what he did at all. But politics is always compared to what?

MACCALLUM: Yes, I hear you. It's pretty remarkable if you can come out one day and say, "That's me in the picture and I'm pretty embarrassed." And then, go back and talk about it over the weekend which he said he did with his wife and made a lot of phone calls to friends from the time and then, come back and say it's not me. But he seems to be hanging on. Howie, thank you very much. Good to have you here tonight.

KURTZ: Great to see you.

MACCALLUM: Coming up next, the world's richest man goes head to head with a tabloid that he says tried to extort him. Now, federal prosecutors are getting into this story. Attorney Mark Eiglarsh breaks it all down right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Oh boy. So, when you allegedly threatened the world's richest man, you better be ready for the consequences. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is worth $135 billion at last check. And an explosive post -- blog post that came out last evening, he laid out the bare intimate details of his own extramarital affair in an attempt to turn the tables and expose what he says is the National Enquirer's effort to blackmail him.

Bezos published this alleged e-mail from one of the tabloid's editors who claimed to have possession of a cache of lurid photos -- you can see some of the things listed here that Bezos exchanged with his mistress, allegedly.

So why would they Enquirer do this besides the fact that this is what they love to do? Bezos claims that it's for political reasons. He owns the Washington Post and has been a frequent target of President Trump's they have gone back and forth quite a bit.

President Trump, says he's not covered fairly and Jeff Bezos says he is. Reports tonight indicate that federal prosecutors are now also getting involved here. Joining me now Mark Eiglarsh, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. Mark, good to have you here.

MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, MIAMI: Thanks, Martha.

MACCALLUM: How -- does he have a case here for extortion and blackmail against the Enquirer?

EIGLARSH: He might if what he's alleging is true and can be proven. Extortion is not reserved for (INAUDIBLE) from the mob, threatening your family members unless you pay a certain amount of money.

Federal law has a much wider view of extortion. Anyone who tries to obtain property using fear may be guilty of extortion. In this case, getting a statement claiming that AMI's actions were not politically motivated, and certainly, the use of fear was involved could spell out an extortion claim.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Yes, so, Bezos had an attorney. They were investigating what was going on at AMI, which is American media, which is the company that owns the Enquirer. And then, they sent this letter. They wanted them to back off, wanted Bezos to back off so then, they -- he gets this letter saying, "Look, we have all these pictures." Let's settle this.

EIGLARSH: Right.

MACCALLUM: Let's settle this whole thing right here.

EIGLARSH: Right.

MACCALLUM: And unlike most human beings in the world, he said, no, and published it all. Here's a quote from John Cassidy --

(CROSSTALK)

EIGLARSH: Martha --

MACCALLUM: Go ahead and then I --

EIGLARSH: I love -- I love it because it's a play -- it's right out of Alexander Hamilton's playbook right? He published his own sordid affair in the in the Reynolds Pamphlet. This guy is saying you're not going to extort me. I'll let everybody know about it I'll take away your power. I love it.

MACCALLUM: Good for him. And I think a lot of people feel that way.

EIGLARSH: Right.

MACCALLUM: But this is a quote from John Cassidy in The New Yorker on a piece that was titled why the National Enquirer's attempt to extort Jeff Bezos backfired. And he says memo to the honchos at the National Enquirer: if you are going to threaten one of the richest men in the world by saying that you have sexually explicit selfies of him and his girlfriend, don't have your lawyer and top editor put the threats in writing, Mark.

EIGLARSH: That is like rookie 101. We -- look, I've -- for 26 years I've been trying to settle many cases and there's always that hint of well, you know, there could -- it could be deemed extortion so you watch your language carefully. Apparently, they didn't.

Their best argument is going to be, well the lawyers drew it up and we were just going along with what they said. Prosecutors may still not like that.

MACCALLUM: I mean, what it tells me and you know, is that they probably likely send letters like that all the time and that it usually works out fine. And usually, people said they cave quickly and -- right?

EIGLARSH: Yes. Ronan Farrow is saying look, this happened to me too, the same thing.

MACCALLUM: Yes. It's crazy. You know, here's a quote from you know, sort of the cultural perspective of how we look at these things. And Jeff Bezos, a couple of days before they were ready to break this story about these initial text messages, he then very publicly came out and said that he and his wife were splitting. It may have been prompted by the knowledge that this story was about to go public in a very big and ugly way.

But Jeva Lange who writes for the week says Jeff Bezos and the end of the sensational sext. Jeff Bezos is among the 88 percent of American adults who have sexted. I don't know where she got that number but apparently, that's the case. That a CEO sexts is not news. In fact, the existence of Bezos' nudes are not even particularly salacious in this day and age. What do you think about that?

EIGLARSH: Look, I'm an advocate for the First Amendment. I give them wide latitude to publish a lot of the stuff that makes me cringe and I think is inappropriate. But I draw the line on using those images to extort people. And if those people out there don't care about Jeff Bezos, it's not about Jeff Bezos. It's about all of us. We don't want this happening to us either and so we've got to lay down the hammer when this happens.

MACCALLUM: Where do you think this goes before I let you go.

EIGLARSH: Where does it go? It went -- you know, he got his pound of flesh. AMI looks really bad right now and although the executives say we're looking into it, they already came out and said we think what we did was legal. To me, that's talking out of both sides. I think ultimately you know, this all goes away --

MACCALLUM: Well, they've also got federal prosecutors looking at them because they were supposed to be under some sort of new understanding of rules after the two women and the deal with you know, squelching their story during the Trump campaign so they're going to be looked at by the federal prosecutors as well in all this so we'll see where that goes. Mark, great to have you. Thank you very much.

EIGLARSH: Same here. Thanks, Martha.

MACCALLUM: You bet. So coming up next is Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said that he didn't want his hearing to turn into political theater. Oh, boy, when come back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC SWALWELL, D-CALIF.: Mr. Collins, if you want to sit down there with the lawyers, you can go sit down there, but you're not his lawyer.

REP. JERRY NADLER, D-N.Y.: The gentleman will suspend.

REP. DOUG COLLINS, R-GA: And neither are you, Mr. Swalwell. And if you asked questions that are actually part of this instead of running for president, we could get this done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT WHITAKER, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: Mr. Chairman, I see that your five minutes is up and so we I'm -- we -- I'm here voluntarily. We have agreed to five-minute rounds and --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Oh, that was just the beginning for Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker's contentious testimony on Capitol Hill today. Democrats in their first bat as a majority on this committee wasted no time trying to nail down whether Whitaker was working actively against the Mueller probe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE COHEN, D-TENN.: But you wouldn't oversee a witch hunt would, you you'd stop a witch-hunt, wouldn't you?

SWALWELL: Can you say right now, Mr. President Bob Mueller is honest and not conflicted?

WHITAKER: Congressman, I'm not a puppet to repeat what you're saying.

SWALWELL: Are you able to say it or do you not believe it?

REP. TED LIEU, D-CALIF.: After this hearing, you can spin the Constitution all you want as you sit here today.

WHITAKER: I'm not --

LIEU: You just -- you just have to answer a factual yes-or-no question.

WHITAKER: Congressman, you've mentioned a lot in your --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but I'm asking you a very specific question. What was the name of the charity?

WHITAKER: You have challenged my character.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, I'm asking real question. I control this time Mr. Whitaker. If you want to ask the government for time of your own, you can do it. This is my time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Wow. So here now David Bossie, Trump 2016 deputy campaign manager and a Fox News Contributor and Jake MacCoby former Chief Speechwriter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch. Thank you both, gentlemen, for being here. Jake, let me start with you. Did you think they acquitted themselves well in there?

JAKE MACCOBY, FORMER CHIEF SPEECHWRITER, ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER AND LORETTA LYNCH: I think that the Democrats did some legitimate oversight that's been missing from this -- from this administration for the last two years. I don't think that Acting Attorney General Whitaker acquitted himself very well. At one point, somebody asked -- somebody accused the Democrats of selling his character which is a little ridiculous considering that the acting Attorney General was previously the pitchman for a fraudulent company that sold toilets and time machines.

So he didn't put his best foot forward for sure. He didn't come in with the highest of expectations but he's certainly left having crawled under the bar that had been set for him. He didn't answer questions. He was angry. He lashed out at members of the committee, at the chairman. It was -- it was a bad showing for him. But it was a really important example of oversight that this administration is going to have to get used to.

MACCALLUM: David?

DAVID BOSSIE, CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. Well, the politics of personal destruction are in full effect and Jake just continued it just now. Look, that's what they were doing. They were -- it was an assault of questions by the Democrats who hate this president more than they love the country. They had no intention of trying to get answers to legitimate questions. This was a sideshow. It was a circus and that's what this White House is going to be looking at for the next two years. Jake is definitely right about that.

And by the way, the Republicans better strap on their helmets and they better find their footing because this is just the first salvo.

MACCALLUM: You know, I mean, it raises a question. I had Trey Gowdy on the other night. He said if I were advising Matt Whitaker which he wasn't, but you know he said, if I were asked, I would tell him not to go. You know, there's going to be a new Attorney General in a matter of days and it was pretty clear where this was going to head. This is a person who's leaving this position so what exactly -- what was the goal do you think, Jake?

What were they hoping to achieve by trying to get him to admit that he was against the Mueller probe when he really won't have any role. He will not be able to you know, be effective in one way or the other with regard to the probe in a few days.

MACCOBY: Well, the goal isn't getting him to admit anything, the goal is to get some insight into the workings of --

MACCALLUM: Oh, come on. No, they definitely want him to admit that he was biased against the probe, that he thought it was a witch-hunt, and that he had been actively trying to do what he could within his ability to you know, to leak information or to get information out there about anything he knew. He said he hasn't seen the report. So how can you say that based on their questions that we just showed that that wasn't part of their mission today?

MACCOBY: I think that they were asking those questions because they wanted those answers. But I don't think that they're difficult questions if the answers are things like I am you know, I am -- I am --

BOSSIE: But they didn't like his answer.

MACCOBY: I'm seeing this investigation in a fair and reasonable way. I don't those are difficult questions. They're only difficult if you are a personal like Matt Whitaker who doesn't want to answer them.

MACCALLUM: I didn't say they were difficult questions. I just said they were -- they had a clear -- they were questions that appeared to have a pretty clear agenda.

BOSSIE: Yes, and the Democrats didn't want --

MACCOBY: Democrats didn't have a clear answer that he's didn't want to touch.

MACCALLUM: He said --

BOSSIE: The Democrats didn't want their answers -- didn't want Matt Whitaker's answers because those answers were I didn't speak to the President about this. I didn't impede Mueller's probe at all. I was never involved in the decision-making of the Mueller probe. Those answers which we've all believed to be true because we see the Mueller probe is winding down. We're going to get a report which we hope will become public so that we the American people can see exactly what Mueller was up to.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean -- I mean that's really what it comes down to here. You know, you have -- we don't know -- no one knows when this report is going to come out. But that's really going to be you know, when the pedal hits the metal here, Jake, when everybody gets to take a look at exactly what is in this report right? And then these questions won't really be necessary I would imagine.

MACCOBY: Certainly I think it's really important that the public get a look at this report. Now, William Barr who's been nominated to be Attorney General hasn't said whether he would allow it to become public so that's a real problem. But I definitely agree that it should become public, that people should be able to see the results of this probe. But part of what we want to make sure of and part of what Democrats are trying to make sure of is that this probe is being carried on appropriately and is not being impeded by the president or his staff any more than he's already admitted to doing it.

MACCALLUM: I got 20 seconds left. Final thought David?

BOSSIE: Now, I think that's self-evident that Matt Whitaker said today very clearly, he didn't talk to the White House, he didn't talk to the president, didn't impede this investigation. That definitely came out even though the Democrats on the committee were rude to him and didn't even allow him to answer fundamental questions. It was a ridiculous charade.

MACCALLUM: Well, Congressman -- Chairman Nadler said he's going to bring him back and possibly under subpoena to get answers those questions so we'll see what happens. Gentleman, thank you both very much. Good to have you here Coming up next, are the Democrats vying for the presidency in 2020 feeling obligated to hop on board the Green New Deal. Steve Hilton next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY BOOKER, D-N.J.: And there's a lot of people now that are blowing back on the Green New Deal like oh, it's impractical, oh, it's too expensive, oh, it's all of this. If we used to govern our dreams that way, we would have never gone to the moon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Flags atop the White House lowered to half-staff to honor former Congressman John Dingell who died yesterday at the age of 92. He was the longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history.

His wife is Democratic Congresswoman, of course, Debbie Dingell. His parting words to the nation, quote, "I now leave you in control of the greatest nation of mankind. And pray God gives you the wisdom to understand the responsibility you hold in your hands."

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you prepared to put on the table that, yes, actually, they're right. What this requires is massive government intervention.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, D-N.Y.: It does, it does. Yes. I have no problem saying that.

(END VOICE CLIP)

MACCALLUM: That was freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with an admission that might give some politicians pause, but it seems many 2020 Democratic hopefuls were unfazed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF.: I support a green new deal I will tell you why. Climate change is an existential threat to us and we have got to deal with the reality of it.

SEN. CORY BOOKER, D-N.J.: When the planet has been in peril in the past, who came forward to save earth? From the scourge of Nazi and totalitarian regimes? We came forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So, as Axios points out today the bottom line any hesitation these 2020 candidates might have about embracing the proposal are simply overwhelmed by the near-term political backlash of getting on the wrong side of the progressive orbit ahead of these primaries.

Here now Steve Hilton, host of The Next Revolution. Steve, good to have you with us tonight.

STEVE HILTON, HOST: Hi, Martha.

MACCALLUM: you know, it's interesting, the Stanford study, I just want to point out this one item before I get your response, says that moving to 100 percent renewable energy system by 2050, which is part of this proposal, requires a13.4 trillion-dollar upfront capital investment. What do you say?

HILTON: Well, that's what they don't want to talk about, which is the individual items in this plan. They don't want to talk about the detail. You heard it there. They are all focusing on saving the planet and these grandiose statements. But when you actually look at the detail you can you see how unserious this is. And yet, they are all getting behind it.

And when you challenge them on it, when you point out that this will destroy jobs on a massive scale in oil and gas and fracking and air travel and space exploration and all these other areas that rely on fossil fuel and will do for many, many years to come, regardless of what happens with technology.

When you point all that out to them, they just say, well, you don't care about the environment. Yes, we do care about the environment but we always care about jobs and living standards and our economy. And this proposal is just a complete joke when it comes to those things.

MACCALLUM: Well, the premise is that greenhouse gas emissions that cause the globe to warm anything north of 1.5 degrees Celsius is about to plunge the country into a massive human and economic chaos that's in the coming years. So, that's what they are saying. So, they are saying we have to do all of these things because it's going to cost an enormous amount of money if the globe warms to this level that will cause all of this economic chaos. You don't agree with that?

HILTON: No. None of that is true. There are studies that have shown that actually it's far cheaper to deal with the short-term consequences of climate change in terms of protecting against flooding and so on than it is to invest in these technologies which is so early. They are not ready yet.

You know, one day it may be the case with innovation and scientific advance that solar power, for example, is much more viable than it is today. But we are a long away from that today. And we are nowhere near that, for example, when it comes to air travel which is one of the things that they want to see ended within the 10-year period of this proposal.

So, it's just not realistic. It's not serious. But they don't care. Because they just want to send a message that, as you said, they are on the right side of this argument on the green agenda.

MACCALLUM: Yes. But what Cory Booker is saying, Senator Booker is saying that you have to think big, you know. We never would have gotten to the moon, for example, if we hadn't sort of laid out this very sort of hopeful marker and then you have to make adjustments along the way to figure out the practicalities that this is sort of a big dream. It's a big goal and that is what they are getting behind.

They would say that you, you know, are going to look back on this moment and say that you were wrong.

HILTON: No, I agree about setting out a long-term vision. But this isn't that long-term. That's the problem with it. So, I'm all for saying, you know, let's make the transition to a cleaner energy future. But that transition is going to have to take an awful long time because the disruption in the meantime is going to hurt real people, real families who work in those industries.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

HILTON: The other thing I'd say about what Cory Booker is saying is that and he really gives the game away here. Because one of the other big problems of this plan he talks about fighting the Nazis. That's the analogy they've got here like a war time effort.

MACCALLUM: That's right.

HILTON: What they are talking about is a massive centralization of the economy like a command economy of war time.

MACCALLUM: Well, that's part of the whole deal.

HILTON: That is a disaster in terms of making progress. Exactly.

MACCALLUM: Yes, that's exactly part of the whole deal. It's the centralization of the government to control --

HILTON: Yes.

MACCALLUM: -- this entire process and in that process, they are saying jobs will be eliminated because there will be so much governmental control but don't worry even those who are unwilling to work, they laid out in the early draft of this will get a government salary. Everybody will work for the government. What does that sound like?

HILTON: Again, this is just completely pie in the sky. But they are not alone in thinking that. You know, there is a whole strand of thinking, a lot of it in Silicon Valley, for example, where I am speaking to you from all the tech people getting behind the idea of a universal basic income.

MACCALLUM: Right.

HILTON: People getting paid a living -- for a living regardless of whether they work or don't --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, that's because they're worried that robots are going to take so many people's jobs. Right?

HILTON: That's right. That's right.

MACCALLUM: So, they are trying to figure out how they are going to replace it?

HILTON: Exactly. But none of this is realistic. And in the end, the bottom line is, that you have to have a strong growing economy to create the wealth to invest in these technologies of the future.

And if you are just handing out money and creating jobs from the government that won't happen. And so, it's counterproductive. But they don't care about any of that because they just want to send the message.

MACCALLUM: It's going to be a very interesting battle over this in the two years ahead as we go towards the presidential election. Steve, thanks. Great to see you as always.

HILTON: Good to see you, Martha.

MACCALLUM: Thank you. So still ahead tonight, the all-star lady's panel tackles a surprising story about marriage and love and God between Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin.

But, first, our friends from John's Crazy Socks are here with a heartwarming new initiative. Do not miss this next segment, folks, right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Today is a very important day for an important campaign P.S. I Love You Day seeks to raise awareness for suicide prevention and awareness by spreading love. And it is getting a big boost from one of our favorite people, from John's Crazy Socks who created empowering purple socks that read "be proud of who you are" on the bottom when you put your feet up.

One dollar from each pair sold is going to be donated to fund the campaign. Here now John Cronin and his dad Mark, co-founders of John's Crazy Socks and very good friends of ours at THE STORY. Hi, John.

JOHN CRONIN, CO-FOUNDER, JOHN'S CRAZY SOCKS: Hi, Martha.

MACCALLUM: How are you, good to see you.

J. CRONIN: What about yourself?

MACCALLUM: I'm doing great. Thank you very much. I'm doing great.

J. CRONIN: Thank you so much.

MACCALLUM: And I love that you are wearing purple. Can you tell me why, what is P.S. I love you about?

J. CRONIN: P.S., I love you means you are not -- you are not alone and you are loved.

MACCALLUM: That's a great message. And I know, Mark, you said that you have friends who you have lost to suicide and that's the message you are not alone.

MARK CRONIN, CO-FOUNDER, JOHN'S CRAZY SOCKS: It's a terrible tragedy. You lose somebody and what's left behind is heartache. So, we have connected with Brooke DiPalma who started P.S. I Love You Day after she lost her father. And the whole idea is to raise awareness that we are all struggling with some mental health. Let's be aware of that, make sure people know, as John said, you are not alone and let people know they are loved.

MACCALLUM: And another way, John, that you are telling people that they're loved, besides these great socks which I know are going to be sold out by the end of this segment tonight, I guarantee it, is that you made a Valentine that is also doing very well.

J. CRONIN: Yes. I want to show you the Valentine card. I drew the heart.

MACCALLUM: Beautiful.

M. CRONIN: So, John make this, right?

J. CRONIN: I drew that.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

M. CRONIN: And so now --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: And this one has my name on it.

M. CRONIN: Right.

MACCALLUM: Thank you -- this is the first Valentine that I have gotten this year and it makes me feel loved and not alone, too. And so that's important. Thank you so much, John. And John drew the picture on here this beautiful heart, and these have been selling really well, right?

M. CRONIN: They have been. People like to get things that John makes.

MACCALLUM: They love things that John makes. john -- and if you don't follow John on Instagram you should start right now because he will make -- he will make you happy every single time your face pops up into my Instagram on my phone. I just get instant smile.

Tell me what you are going to do with the Olympics and a new favorite sport that you have.

J. CRONIN: Right.

MACCALLUM: Tell me about it.

J. CRONIN: My sport is snowshoeing.

MACCALLUM: Snowshoeing.

J. CRONIN: Snowshoeing. It's really fun. Because the, I mean, like, running (Inaudible) And actually, I got to practice tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning. I want to compete hard. I want to compete hard and I love snowshoeing. I work really hard. (Inaudible) I feel good. I can push myself and push myself and feels good myself. Because the main thing and I go up to play games. Win a medal.

MACCALLUM: So, you are going to state games for the -- and this is a division of the special Olympics. It's the state games and you are going to compete in the snowshoe races. And it's such a great message for everyone. Because if you compete hard and you work hard you feel really good.

J. CRONIN: Right.

MACCALLUM: Right?

J. CRONIN: Right. And also, I can give a shout out, I want to give a shout out tonight.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

J. CRONIN: Because the special Olympics, I am (Inaudible) Congress.

(CROSSTALK)

M. CRONIN: He has been to special Olympics Congress in New York.

MACCALLUM: That's wonderful.

J. CRONIN: I'm a member of Congress.

MACCALLUM: Congratulations. You've done so many amazing things with your life and you're employing all these people at your business at John's Crazy Socks and everyone can get the P.S. I Love You Socks. Great message. And thank you, John, for my Valentine, my first Valentine of the year. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to see you. Thank you, john. Good luck. OK?

Coming up next right here, don't go away, stick around. Our ladies night panel is coming up on Justin Bieber's surprising confession about his marriage to Hailey Baldwin, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACCALLUM: Pop mega star Justin Bieber crediting God for helping him overcome struggles with sex edition and drug abuse and admitting that he saved sex this time around while he was dating his now wife Hailey Baldwin until marriage.

He said this, quote, watch this." He, God, doesn't ask us not to have sex for him because he wants rules and stuff. He is like, I'm trying to protect you from hurt and pain. I think sex can cause a lot of pain," he writes. "Sometimes people have sex because they don't feel good enough because they lack self-worth. Women do that and guys do that."

That from Justin Bieber. Here now lady's night Carley Shimkus, Lisa Boothe, and Jessica Tarlov. Great having all of you here. Carley, great to have you first time --

(CROSSTALK)

CARLEY SHIMKUS, REPORTER: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: -- on a Friday night panel.

SHIMKUS: I'm so happy to be here.

MACCALLUM: What do you think about this two?

SHIMKUS: Well, you know, the thing that I found interesting. I'm glad that you mentioned this time around because they did only date for three months until they got married. So, they waited a whole 12 weeks.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: They waited that whole 12 weeks.

SHIMKUS: No. But listen, the thing I found interesting is that they met initially through their parents, his mom is a born-again Christian. So is her dad Steven Baldwin. And then they started dating again after they re- ran into each other at church.

So, it does seem like they do have an honest, very nice bond through religion and they could parlay this into becoming great role models for kids trying to get those kids to go to church.

MACCALLUM: Yes. Lisa?

LISA BOOTHE, CONTRIBUTOR: I think it's beautiful. I think people like him and Chris Pratt who, you know, proudly and boldly walk through their faith it's not, it's something that's unique to Hollywood.

MACCALLUM: It really is.

BOOTHE: And so, I actually have a tremendous amount of respect for the fact that they so proudly and boldly put it out there. And I also think that that could help other people in Hollywood and elsewhere around the country, perhaps, become Christians because they see two people that they idolize who walk so proudly in their faith.

So, I think it is beautiful. And, you know, he recognized that was an issue for him, sex. And so, he restrained from that even prior to meeting her for a year and it became something that he stopped and waited until he got married. So, I actually think it's beautiful.

MACCALLUM: It's pretty -- it's pretty cool.

JESSICA TARLOV, CONTRIBUTOR: I am the Jew on the panel but I am in agreement that it is a nice thing to hear young people especially people that have had a pop star lifestyle talk about their faith and commitment.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Any faith that people are talking about.

TARLOV: Exactly. I think --

MACCALLUM: It is just that commitment.

TARLOV: I think it's a good thing and to also, you know, he was celibate for a year before that. He had dated Hailey Baldwin before that to the best of my knowledge.

BOOTHE: Yes.

TARLOV: So, they had been together once before.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: You know --

TARLOV: Yes.

MACCALLUM: We used to think, you know, and we might have rushed getting married because they did want to have that physical relationship. I thought to myself, you know, that's what people -- that's why people used to get married young.

SHIMKUS: Get married so young.

MACCALLUM: That's so old-fashioned, like, if someone was going off to war they would get married right away.

SHIMKUS: And it is so interesting that, you know, we are talking about Justin Bieber who was 13-year-old teen heart throb and then he had this crash and burn.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: He's lived a lot of lives already --

SHIMKUS: Yes.

MACCALLUM: -- at 24 or whatever he is.

SHIMKUS: And now, you know, his life could have gone, he kept on going downhill and he clearly had some people that have strong faith that are holding him up and he is choosing the right path.

BOOTHE: And he also said the reason why he wanted to get married so quickly is they had reconnected. And he said upon reconnecting he realized like this is, you have been what I have been waiting for.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean, I hope -- I hope --

(CROSSTALK)

BOOTHE: And so, that's part -- yes.

SHIMKUS: I hope it last too, I know. She's only 22, so they got a lot of time.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Then there is this guy who is an antinatalist speaking -- yes, he doesn't want anyone to be born. He said that he wishes that his parents had consulted him before he was born. And do you have a picture? There you go. He said, I must admire -- this is the mom. "I must admire my son's temerity to want to take his parents to court knowing that both of us are lawyers. And if Raphael - he son - could come up with a rational explanation as to how he could have sought his consent to be born. I will accept my fault."

This is a whole movement apparently of things that the world will be better off without people.

SHIMKUS: Yes. There he is with the -- I hope that --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: It's a fake beard I read.

SHIMKUS: So, he wants his parents to pay him for the rest of his life because they never asked him consent to be born.

MACCALLUM: Nice move.

SHIMKUS: That's his rationale. I think it's crazy but also brilliant. Mom and dad, pay for my cell phone bill. I didn't ask to be here. How -- also, how millennial is that?

MACCALLUM: There you go.

SHIMKUS: This is why young people have a bad reputation.

MACCALLUM: Yes, you said and they force us to work once we're born.

BOOTHE: Well, this is the tide pod eating generation, right? I mean, but I think --

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: This is our generation, guys.

OOTHE: I know, I know. But I think his mom's statement - so at least they are having some levity about it and tried to. But I love the fact that she is like I would love for him to tell me how I could have sought his consent.

SHIMKUS: Yes.

BOOTHE: Right?

MACCALLUM: Yes. And she said I will crush him in court if it ever gets to court.

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: Both of them are lawyers. It reminds me of, remember, the millennial who was living in his parent's house and his parents were suing to get him out.

MACCALLUM: He was on the -- we had him on. So pathetic.

TARLOV: Yes.

MACCALLUM: What a sad story. All right. Cocktail napkins -- let's put up the picture of these cocktail napkins that were distributed on flights by a Coca-Cola. One side says "because you are on a plane full of interesting people and, hey, you never know." And then the other side has a place where you can write your name and your phone number. We'll go backwards. Jess?

TARLOV: So, I get why they had to yank these but I have a friend we were traveling from London to Vegas.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Because people complained that and they thought they were too creepy and --

TARLOV: Too creepy. But my girlfriend saw a guy in another row wrote her name and number on cocktail napkin. They met up in Vegas and they dated for a few weeks --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Really? So, it worked.

TARLOV: -- once they got back to London. So, it did work. I mean, she married someone else and the napkin was involved.

BOOTHE: And the napkin was involved. I also see it works. I don't think that this is creepy. I had someone once try to buy me a drink on a plane. I was going to a speaking conference so I didn't accept it because you know, I didn't want to tipsy on the stage.

MACCALLUM: But there's that.

BOOTHE: But, no, I think it's cute. Like it worked out for your friend, why not? What's wrong with it?

SHIMKUS: You know what it worked out for my parents. They met on a plane.

MACCALLUM: Really?

SHIMKUS: My mom was a flight attendant and my dad was a passenger. And who knows it was in the 80's. No cell phones. Maybe she wrote her name down on a napkin, too. I had to talk to my mom.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: I think it's so cute. And anyone who thinks that they are going to be coerced into promiscuity by a paper napkin has some other things they have to worry about. I mean, but the idea that, you know, that they're just -- it's like on the old match book. right? Dana Perino and her husband also met on a plane.

BOOTHE: It's true. See? Also --

SHIMKUS: It does work.

BOOTHE: Saying I don't know if there is -- I am trying to remember back to it, but it was basically encouraging the fact of talking to people?

TARLOV: It does make sense. I mean, you are stuck there for hours. And you are definitely around people.

SHIMKUS: That's also the --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: You might as well speed date while you are there.

SHIMKUS: Yes. Right.

TARLOV: Well, it was just one napkin.

BOOTHE: But I've never been sat -- but has anyone ever been sat next to anyone? I've never been sat next to anyone who's like very handsome -- you know, no offense to anyone if I --

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Yes.

TARLOV: I feel like the hottest guys usually fall asleep.

MACCALLUM: All right. We're going to continue this conversation while we leave. But thank you, guys. Good to have you all here tonight. That's THE STORY on this Friday night. Have a great weekend everybody. We'll see you back here on Monday at 7:00.

Who knows who you might meet on a plane this weekend.

"Tucker Carlson" is coming up next.

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