Father of missing Iowa college student speaks out

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Father of missing Iowa college student speaks out

Desperate search for Iowa college student gone missing for nearly 2 weeks. Mollie Tibbetts's father exclusively joins 'The Story.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," July 30, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SANDRA SMITH, GUEST HOST: Breaking tonight:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Urge anybody that has any information related to this investigation to call the (INAUDIBLE) County Sheriff's Office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: There are new clues in the search for a missing college student who went out for a jog 12 days ago, and has not been seen since. Good evening everyone. I'm Sandra Smith, in for Martha McCallum, and this is our top story tonight.

We've just learned that the Iowa Department of Public Safety will hold a news conference tomorrow afternoon to provide an update on the case of Mollie Tibbetts, the 20-year-old college student was last seen July 18th.

Investigators initially said, she went for a jog and never returned to her boyfriend's house where she was dog sitting. But there is new evidence tonight that suggests University of Iowa student was on her computer late that night and may have actually returned to that house after the jog.

Now, friends and family members are making a desperate plea for anyone with information to come forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB TIBBETTS, FATHER OF MOLLIE TIBBETTS: We can get Mollie back, we just have to have somebody call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: In moments, we talk exclusively to that man, Mollie's father, Robert Tibbets. But first, we begin with Fox's Matt Finn, in Chicago with the latest developments, Matt?

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sandra, good evening. Well, since Mollie Tibbetts went missing on July 18th, there have been intense searches for her in barns, in sheds, in cornfields, investigating the possibility that she went missing while out on that jog.

But now, a family member says, it's possible Mollie Tibbetts made it back to her boyfriend's house the day that she went missing. Over the weekend, a relative of Tibbetts told a local news station that investigators say, Tibbetts' laptop might show she was doing homework at her boyfriend's house into the night possibly after her jog.

And Tibbetts' boyfriend claims she sent him a snap chat picture the day she vanished that appeared to be inside. As of tonight, police have not publicly named any suspects and are being very tight lip about many details saying releasing too much information will compromise their investigation.

Police won't comment on whether there were any signs of forced entry at Mollie's boyfriend's home where she was staying, or if investigators have obtained any information from Mollie's Fitbit which could reveal her exact GPS location and heart rates the day she went missing.

Mollie's boyfriend was 100 miles away working at a construction job in. He claims, he was one of the first to throw up red flags that Mollie was missing. When she did not respond to one of his text messages and did not show up to work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DALTON JACK, BOYFRIEND OF MOLLIE TIBBETTS: Getting called in, and I look to my phone. I noticed that I had texted her good morning that morning and she hadn't opened it. So, I got a hold of all her friends and family.

FINN: Police tell Fox News, they pieced together a timeline of the day that Mollie went missing. They're confident with that timeline but have not released it to the public. Mollie's family and friends have helped police comb the area and are pleading for any tips or information.

KIM CALDERWOOD, AUNT OF MOLLIE TIBBETTS: She is about to start her sophomore year at the University of Iowa. She is probably about 5'2", brown hair, brown eyes, beautiful smile. We want our Mollie back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FINN: There was a man recently spotted taking pictures of female joggers in a neighboring County. But police say they have not connected that incident to this case. And as you mentioned, Sandra, there is a press conference tomorrow where we hopefully will learn much more details about this troubling case, Sandra.

SMITH: Matt, authorities have said today that they anticipate additional sites will come into play with this investigation. Any sign tonight that this -- the search for Mollie is branching out?

FINN: So far, it looks like the scope has been limited to this immediate area, the county where she went missing, Sandra. And police that I spoke to today have not mentioned any more information about this house that when she went missing. But perhaps, we will learn more about -- you know, signs of forced entry, or any type of -- you know, DNA or clues left behind at the boyfriend's house.

SMITH: Still a lot of unknown details here. Matt Finn, following that story for us. Meanwhile, this exclusive, tonight. Mollie's dad, Rob Tibbetts. Rob, our thoughts, and prayers are with your family and with your daughter as the search continues. Any new developments you can share with us tonight?

TIBBETTS: No, nothing new to share. We're just going to have to rely on the authorities and their investigation. There, they have a terrific team, and so, we just have to put our faith in them.

SMITH: Rob, when was the last time you talked to Mollie?

TIBBETTS: I talked to Mollie, Sunday for about three hours. We talked regularly on the phone. I live in California, she was out earlier this year for my wedding. And so, we just talked about she's going to the Dominican Republic for a wedding. Her boyfriend's brother, she's getting back to school, a book she's reading, just the usual stuff.

SMITH: She was wearing a Fitbit when she was running, authorities have at least told us that much. What can you tell us tonight about how that's helping them track down her whereabouts, and where she might have been last?

TIBBETTS: I don't know, the authorities as you said are circumspect with all of the information. And so, they're not sharing that sort of information with us, as well.

SMITH: A lot of questions about what state the house she was staying in her boyfriend's house while he was off on this construction job and she was their dog sitting as much as we've been told. Something that has not been mentioned much was with the -- with the dogs there? Have the dogs' been found? Were they at home when authorities arrived at the house?

TIBBETTS: Yes, the dogs are at the house. I was just there yesterday, and they're in perfect condition.

SMITH: Interesting. And so, now they're waiting for new evidence that they may have new evidence in their possession, but are they sharing that with you, Rob?

TIBBETTS: No, they're not. And for obvious reasons, the last thing the authorities want to do is share information that would give an advantage to anybody who would need to use that right now.

SMITH: The last we heard before the latest developments was that the last she was seen or heard of was on that run. And now, the new developments today is that the last she would have been seen was this photo she took snap chat to her boyfriend and it looked like she was indoors.

Would it be like Mollie to be working on her computer and doing homework late into the evening like they believed she was now?

TIBBETTS: It wouldn't be unusual when she was staying with us in California. She was on the computer quite a bit. She was taking online courses, so that wouldn't be unusual. But, none of the timelines has been confirmed by the authorities. At least, not to our knowledge. And so, a lot of this is now conjecture and speculation that we just can't confirm.

SMITH: I know they are not ruling anything out at this point, Rob. What is the search on the ground look like at this point, how vast does it become?

TIBBETTS: Well, the search as far as we know, and again, and they're very discreet and they're very professional. Although I know they're very aggressive, we don't know that much about. What we learn, we learn really through the media.

And then, we talk every day with the authorities and they give us a briefing but it's a very general briefing that they're making progress, that sort of thing.

SMITH: While you're on, I wanted to make sure everyone knows that the tip line is (641) 623-5679. Because Rob, you have said that's what we need in sometime in case -- sometimes in cases like this, all it takes is one tip or one thing someone saw that was unusual that day that could lead to finding Mollie.

TIBBETTS: Absolutely, that is the one thing that we can do. And so, there's sort of three parts of this effort. And one is our partners in law enforcement. The other part is the local community, and there's a group that is creating all of the information, the yard signs, the posters, the banners, the pins, the people, the magnetic things that people are putting on trucks and cars.

You can't go anywhere in Iowa without seeing a picture of Mollie. But the point is, is that we need to drive that information, someone saw something and they may not even know that it's significant. And so, don't hesitate, have the courage to call that number, it's totally anonymous.

The authorities have plenty of resources to sort through what's real, and what isn't. And so, I talked to them again this morning, the authorities. And they said the only reason we're doing these interviews and partnering with the media.

And we're really grateful to the media to help us get this story out. And I can't tell you how grateful we are. But the point of all of this is that someone knows something and they need to call the authorities.

SMITH: Rob, finally, how are you -- how are you doing tonight? How are you -- how's your family?

TIBBETTS: You know, we have a tough family, and we're fighting, and we're just -- we wake up, and we go back at it. And so, you know we feel about the way you'd expect a family to feel that has someone that we love as much as Mollie.

But, that's really not important, what's important is Mollie. So, we've set that all aside and we just keep going at it.

SMITH: As we've been talking, we've had that tip line for Mollie, up on the screen.

TIBBETTS: Thank you.

SMITH: I know your message to anybody who saw anything to please call in. And our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and for all those involved in this search, Rob.

TIBBETTS: Thanks so much, we really appreciate it.

SMITH: And we hope the absolute best. Thank you.

TIBBETTS: Bye.

SMITH: Well, coming up, with just 100 days now until the midterm elections, if you can believe that. A look at how President Trump's endorsements are playing a huge part. Especially, in the Florida GOP governors primary race. Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I would be certainly willing to consider a shutdown if we don't get proper border security.

SMITH: The president doubling down embedding Congress will deliver on the hot-button issue before November. But, will it backfire?

And just ahead, it looks like Mr. Trump will not sit down with special counsel Robert Mueller, at least, for now.

Andrew McCarthy a former assistant U.S. attorney is coming up on the legal strategy.

RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm no, on a sit-down until, until we get -- we get ironed down exactly what they want to do. Right now, I'm telling him, no way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: We are just 100 days and counting now, until the midterm elections. And despite, dire predictions from critics, candidates running on President Trump's platform are reaping the benefits.

Just look at the GOP primary race for governor in Florida. About six weeks ago, before the Fox debate, Florida's Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam had a 15-point lead to Congressman Ron DeSantis. Since then, President Trump endorsed DeSantis, and Putnam now finds himself with an 11-point deficit.

But the president set to rally with the DeSantis in Tampa tomorrow night. Joining me now is Congressman Ron DeSantis, Republican candidate for Florida governor. Congressman, good evening to you. So, how is it going?

REP. RONALD DESANTIS, R-FLA., CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Now, we're doing really well, Sandra. I think that, you know, that week, where we did get the Trump tweet, then we had our Fox News debate and, of course, I started finally advertising, was really, I think, the inflection point in the race.

We've done really well since that point and, obviously, with the President coming down tomorrow, he's going to fill out an arena that has, I don't know how many thousands of people. That's going to be a big, big deal and I think that will further our momentum and lead us to victory.

SMITH: So, what do you -- what is -- what does all of this say about the way President Trump and the influence he is going to have as we mentioned, less than 100 days out now until midterms, what impact is he having on your Party and these races?

DESANTIS: Well, I think it's a big impact because he has brought new people to the Republican Party, and so you have some of the old guard who have, kind of, been around the block. He then energized new folks. And so I think those are the people we need to come out to support Republican candidates up and down the ballot.

And he's really the catalyst for getting them to turn out. Obviously, in Florida, he's had a very strong following from the beginning. He had a record-setting performance in his primary down here, obviously, won Florida for the Electoral College and he has had good ratings in Florida, you know, for most of his presidency, including now.

So I think he really brings a lot to the table in terms of driving those core Trump supporters out to the polls.

SMITH: Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General, she's going to bat for your opponent, Adam Putnam, she went to bat for Donald Trump. Here's a new ad where she is doing just that. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA: I fought hard to elect President Trump and I'm supporting Adam Putnam for governor. Adam will stand with President Trump to get tough on illegal immigration, ban sanctuary cities and deport criminal illegal aliens. That's why Florida law enforcement is standing with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Why is she not going to bat for you?

DESANTIS: Well, look, I think, she has been a friend of mine. She's done a good job. But, I mean, obviously, Donald Trump has made his choice. And so if I had the choice between those two endorsements, I would choose the President any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I also just disagree with the substance of the admin. The fact of the matter is, Putnam has supported things like the Gang of Eight amnesty that Schumer and Obama pushed. He voted against allowing troops on the southern border, was the only Republican in Florida to do that.

And he's against e-verify, which we need in Florida, so you can stop elimination. So there's actually a big divide between the two of us on that. And I think the President took the measure of both candidates and thought I was the leader that Florida needs.

SMITH: Finally, I want to get your reaction to Nancy Pelosi, addressing Democrats saying our commitment to the economic well-being of working families has helped differentiate us from the damaging choices the Republican Congress has made to reward the wealthiest Americans and large corporations at the expense of weakening Americans' access to affordable health care, your response to her?

DESANTIS: Well, the economy is doing very well, much better than when she was speaker of the house. I think we need to keep that momentum going. If she has her way, though, Americans will be paying higher federal taxes. Obviously, she would increase bureaucracy and red tape, which would slow down the economy.

So I think we should build off the success we've had rather than turn over the reins to Pelosi. She had her chance and the American people rejected her program. It won't going to be better the second time around.

SMITH: Congressman Ron DeSantis, thank you for coming on the program tonight.

DESANTIS: Thank you.

SMITH: One note, we did invite Adam Putnam to appear on "The Story" tonight as well, but he was not available. Here now, Kayleigh McEnany, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee and Austan Goolsbee, President Obama's former chief economist and professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, thanks to both of you for being here.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, SPOKESPERSON, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Thanks, Sandra.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO'S BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: Thank you.

SMITH: All right, so, awesome. What will the President's effect be, on midterm elections?

GOOLSBEE: You know, I don't totally know. I think the congressman is right that in the Republican primary, it seems like nothing is better than getting the endorsement of Donald Trump. If he gives you his endorsement, you're going to get the nomination.

But, you are seeing now, as we head into the general, a lot of these battleground districts the Republican incumbent does not want Donald Trump to come down there. They are not appearing at his rallies when he's coming to the state.

And I think that gives you a sense that maybe for independent voters and undecided voters, the President is a very controversial figure.

SMITH: Kayleigh?

MCENANY: I don't think anything could be further from the case. You know, our chairwoman who is in-charge of overseeing all these races, Ronna McDaniel, says we want President Trump at every district. And to put it on top of that, our sister committee, the NRCC, has said we want President Trump in every district.

In fact, they said, even the really competitive ones, and they cited to me the example of Georgia's sixth, where Karen Handel beat John Ossoff, despite the millions that poured in from Hollywood and elsewhere. She didn't just beat him using President Trump's name, she over performed 2016 by four points. So, we are using President Trump at any race across the country.

SMITH: What about this newest threat?

GOOLSBEE: I think the Democrats would like him in every race also. So, we'll figure out who's right.

MCENANY: Look how 2016 worked out.

SMITH: All right. And I want to get --

GOOLSBEE: And look at how the special elections have worked out.

SMITH: Let's throw this in here because the latest sound from President Trump doubling down on this call to shut down the government over funding the border wall. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If we don't get border security after many, many years of talk within the United States, I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It's time we had proper border security. We're the laughingstock of the world. We have the worst immigration laws anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Austan? President making his message very clear there.

GOOLSBEE: Yes. You know, he's a little over the top in his rhetoric. The thing is, Mexico was supposed to pay for the wall. Now, the President wants the American taxpayers to pay for the wall. Republicans control the House, the Senate, the White House and the Supreme Court, so if they can't agree on a budget and they have to shut down the government, I think it's pretty clear --

SMITH: Kayleigh, could this call from the President, could this backfire on him?

MCENANY: I don't think so. I think the people who will backfire on him are the Democrats. We all recall the Schumer shutdown. They thought it was such a fantastic idea to shut down the federal government for DACA recipients. It failed. It was the first shutdown that Democrats got blamed for, at least, in the last few decades.

So, Democrats are quivering when they hear the word, shutdown. They lost the last one. And the American people want a border wall. Harvard-Harris Poll says 60 percent want a barrier on the southern border. The President is on the right side of the American people on this issue. No doubt.

SMITH: Historical precedent would say otherwise, Austan.

GOOLSBEE: Historical precedent would say otherwise to what?

SMITH: That the President would likely get blamed for a shutdown, if he's calling for one, in fact, doubling down on the call, to do so.

GOOLSBEE: Yes. I think that the history -- it's true that the Democrats didn't come out that well from the last fight over that, but all the previous ones, and I kind of think the precedent is, if you call for a shutdown, and you threaten a shutdown, and then there's a shutdown, people say, that's the person who wanted the shutdown.

So, I just -- we have never had a shutdown when the President was of the same Party, controlled both Houses of Congress. It doesn't make sense.

MCENANY: But this President has the keenest --

GOOLSBEE: Just pass the budget. Why don't they pass the budget?

MCENANY: This President has the keenest political instincts of any president in modern time. He knows what he's doing. He's pulling Democrats to the table. He will win at the end of this.

SMITH: I will finish it, with this from the President on this. He tweeted out, we must have border security, get rid of Chain Lottery, Catch and Release Sanctuary cities -- go to Merit based immigration. Protect ICE and law-enforcement and, of course, keep building, but much faster, the wall!

Austan, Kayleigh, great to have both of you on the program tonight. Thank you for being here.

MCENANY: Thanks, Sandra.

GOOLSBEE: Thank you.

SMITH: Still ahead, the explosive details of alleged sexual misconduct by CBS CEO Les Moonves. Will the network stand by him and let him keep his job? Howie Kurtz will join us on that.

Plus, President Trump's legal team, coming out swinging against the Special Counsel, Former Federal Prosecutor, Andy McCarthy, on the impact it could have on a potential Trump-Mueller sit-down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: I've been sitting here looking in the federal code trying to find collusion as a crime.

PETE HEGSETH, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: It's not.

GIULIANI: Collusion is not a crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: President Trump's legal team pushing back hard on the Russia Special Counsel tonight, as speculation grows around a potential sit-down between President Trump and Robert Mueller. Peter Doocy is live at the White House tonight with the story, Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Sandra, apparently, the Special Counsel's office is leaving the President's lawyers, hanging, because Rudy Giuliani said today that the Trump team reached out to Mueller's guys, 10 days ago, about possibly participating in an interview where there could be questions about alleged collusion, but not about alleged obstruction of justice.

And Mayor Giuliani says, nobody from Mueller's team of investigators ever got back to him. So, he has now cooled on the idea of subjecting the commander-in-chief to a legally perilous sit-down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: I'm no on a sit-down until we get ironed out exactly what they want to do. And then the process is, we have five co-counsel, senior people, we'll advise the President. He decides. And he's always leaned in favor of doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: That's because the President argued this weekend on Twitter, "There is no collusion! The Robert Mueller rigged witch-hunt, headed now by 17, increased from 13, including an Obama White House lawyer, angry Democrats, was started by a fraudulent dossier, paid for by crooked Hillary and the DNC. Therefore, the witch-hunt is an illegal scam!

So, even though the President said earlier this month, he would love to do an interview with the Special Counsel's office, in his investigation, and he could still change his mind at some point in the future. Our colleague, John Roberts, reports that soon there might be an official announcement that the President will not do an interview with Mueller's team to talk about alleged collusion.

Even though Giuliani reiterated today, in one of a series of interviews, that he does not believe collusion is a crime, back to you.

SMITH: OK. Peter Doocy, thank you. Here now, Andy McCarthy, Former Assistant U.S. Attorney and National Revue Institute, Senior Fellow, he is also a Fox News Contributor, Andy, thank you for being here tonight.

ANDREW MCCARTHY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: My pleasure.

SMITH: You just listened to that report with us.

MCCARTHY: Right.

SMITH: What were you thinking as you heard all that?

MCCARTHY: Well, I was thinking I could actually understand both positions. I think Rudy is mounting an unconventional defense, shall we call it. But, you know, the President is not going to be indicted. Justice Department procedures and guidance that's been in existence since the Watergate era, does not allow for a sitting President to be indicted.

So, the peril for President Trump here, to the extent there is any, has always been impeachment, which is a political process, not a legal one. And what they are trying to do is take their case to the Court of Public Opinion.

He's not as worried as the normal defense lawyer would be worried about saying things that could be used against his client in court. And I think they're pretty confident that there is no criminal case.

SMITH: But what exactly was Giuliani defending there? Multiple times today, we put together this montage of him, defending collusion, as not being a crime after the President has adamantly said there was no collusion. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

GIULIANI: I've been sitting here looking in the federal code trying to find collusion as a crime.

HEGSETH: It's not.

GIULIANI: Collusion is not a crime.

I don't even know if that's a crime, colluding about Russians.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: OK.

GIULIANI: You start analyzing the crimes. The hacking is the crime.

Collusion is not a crime. The only crime here is hacking and it's ridiculous to think that the president hacked.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

ANDREW MCCARTHY, FORMER U.S. ASSISTANT ATTORNEY: From Rudy's standpoint that's actually correct. Now there's been a number of times in the investigation were Rudy sees on the legal aspect of the defense of the president gives these sweeping denials, but what Rudy is saying is correct, there is collusion, it's just concerted activity.

You and I are colluding by having this conversation. The only thing prosecutors care about is conspiracy, which is an agreement by two or more people to commit a federal crime and the conspiracy that was the rationale for this investigation, he's precisely right about that, if the hacking conspiracy and there hasn't been any evidence at least that we know of that ties either the president or anyone in the trauma campaign to that.

So the reason this is relevant is a prosecutor should not get to interview the president. This would be an easy one for people to see if they were trying to interview a journalist, right. He would say there needs to be a serious crime and there needs to be some showing that the journalist is the only repositories, the only source of the information that the prosecutor has available. Can't get it from anywhere else.

You don't just get to interview the president because you think it would be interesting. You have to show--

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: OK. But they are leaving -- they're leaving the president and his legal team hanging here, as Peter Doocy just reported. Does this happen or not? Does the sit down happen or not?

MCCARTHY: I don't think -- I don't -- I've never thought it should happen but as I said at the beginning, I can understand both sides because if I were Mueller, if you are doing what he's doing, I wouldn't give him the time of day.

You know, as a prosecutor you want to feel like you can have conversations with the defense lawyers and have a sort of exchange of information that isn't going to be played out in the media day by day. And that if I tell you something in a private conversation, I'm not going to watch on television.

SMITH: Based on everything you and I just discussed, is it OK that the DOJ even lets this string along as it has?

MCCARTHY: To me, it's not. Now they've said from the beginning that there's a lot of stuff that we don't know, which is true enough. But it really is up to the Justice Department. Mueller answers to Rod Rosenstein, who is the deputy attorney general.

The Justice Department should be exercising control here to make sure that if Mueller wants to have this interview, and it's perfectly understandable why he should want it. His job is to find out what happened and to get all the relevant information.

It's the supervision at the Justice Department who has to come in to say, look, you don't just get to interview the president, you have to show there is a serious crime and you have to show that he's the only one who can give you the information that you need to make the case.

And I just don't -- that's why Rudy keeps saying there is no crime, because if there's no crime, what's the point of having the conversation?

SMITH: It has been fascinating to watch. Andy McCarthy, great to have you on the show tonight.

MCCARTHY: Thanks for being here.

SMITH: Thank you for being here.

MCCARTHY: Thanks.

SMITH: Well, still to come, President Trump and the publisher of the New York Times face-off over the details of a secret meeting.

Plus, meet the new socialists sweeping the nation. This Washington State candidate for Congress wants to be the next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Is this the way forward for the Democratic Party? Katie Pavlich and Tezlyn Figaro take that debate next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SMITH, D-CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, WASHINGTON STATE: I'm for single-payer Medicare for all. I'm for free education. I am for abolishing ICE. I am for investing in our infrastructure and I am for getting us out of the 9 to 11 military different occupations that we're in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, D-CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, NEW YORK: I'm here, this is what it's about. It Medicare for all, tuition free public college. A green new deal. That is what I campaigned as.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become the new poster child for socialism after defeating a powerful Democratic incumbent in a the New York primary last month and now like-minded candidates are hoping to pull off a repeat.

Sarah Smith is running in Washington's ninth district. The 30-year-old is backed by the same group that supported Ocasio-Cortez. She's hoping to upset an 11 term incumbent Democrat in the primaries and shares the progressive platform that sounds a lot like Ocasio-Cortez's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S. SMITH: We need bold, young, progressive leadership in Congress. If working families are to get ahead we need a federal jobs guarantee and healthcare as a right for everybody.

We can create millions of good paying union jobs by investing in our infrastructure and green energy and to make sure people have the skills they need, we must make publish colleges and trade schools tuition free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Here now Katie Pavlich, news editor at Townhall.com and a Fox News contributed. Tezlyn Figaro is a former Bernie Sanders national staffer and CEO of Tezlyn Figaro -- sorry, I got it right that time -- Communications Group. Good to have both of you here tonight.

KATIE PAVLICH, EDITOR, TOWNHALL.COM NEWS: Hi, Sandra.

SMITH: Katie, you don't have any thoughts on this, do you?

(CROSSTALK)

PAVLICH: Not at all.

SMITH: I saw you -- I saw you tweeting away. But socialism, it appears to be sweeping the nation. Who is this latest rising star for the Democrats, Sarah Smith?

PAVLICH: Well, I'm not sure it sweeping the nation but it would say it's sweeping the left flank of the Democratic Party and it's interesting that Bernie Sanders has had more of an impact in getting women to run for office on that far left side of the aisle than Hillary Clinton did.

But when it comes to this young woman and what she wants to offer her district and the country, we have to look at the map here and she's talking about free Medicare for all, free health care, free tuition for anybody who wants to go to a trade school or public university.

That all sounds really great but if you go to an economics class in college you will learn that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Sandra, I know that you know that with your economic background.

And the fact is that even if we pass a Medicare for all plan it would cost $3.2 trillion per year if everything went running smoothly and the federal government right now takes in about 3.4 or $3.7 trillion per year and it would completely eat up every single taxpayer dollar we have in this country, including if you are going to confiscate even more of the wealth that is earned through success in this country.

SMITH: Katie, which is why I was so interested to hear how Ocasio-Cortez would answer the question how do you pay for free health care for all. Here is how she responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: If people pay their fair share. For example, as Warren Buffett likes to say, if he paid as much as his secretary paid, 15 percent. If you paid a 15 percent tax rate, if corporations paid -- if we reverse the tax bill, but when raised our corporate tax rate to 28 percent, which is not even as high as it was before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: If we do those two things and also close some of the loopholes, that's $2 trillion right there. That's $2 trillion in 10 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Tezlyn, is that easy?

TEZLYN FIGARO, CEO, TEZLYN FIGARO COMMUNICATIONS GROUP: Yes. Well, it's actually not that easy, You know, let me first start off by saying I'm not a socialist. You know, I worked with Senator Sanders because I believe someone needed to push the establishment and push the envelope.

What my problem is, you know, anybody can say, you know, I'm just like such and such candidate. It's just like Cortez or I'm just like Sanders. That's just like me saying I'm just like LeBron James and I can play the game as well as him.

You know, saying it and actually being that someone is something totally different. And I tell candidates all the time, where they are going to lose is trying to copy and paste political platforms. Find your own voice.

You know, Cortez ran in the Bronx. She ran completely, you know, with what she believes with her constituents even though clearly she can't articulate it as well as I guess she should, but when you look at candidates who are running in Washington State, there's two different candidates, two different agendas, you can't just say and go, you know what, I'm just like Bernie Sanders, I'm just like Cortez.

It's actually poor campaigning and it's embarrassing to be quite honest. You need to be able to articulate your own ideas and explain those policies that you say that you want to move forward. If not, they will find some people embarrassed and losing. Winning primaries but losing into 2020.

SMITH: I got to wonder what Democrats think about this message that seems to be spreading amongst their parties. This is the headline from the Huffington Post, a piece by Zach Carter. Here it is, Katie. "Relax, boomers, socialism is good now!" Sub title, "it's going to be OK."

PAVLICH: Socialism is not good now and I heard a lot from Bernie Sanders about how the United States is one of the richest countries -- the richest country in the world and therefore we can pay for all these things.

But Venezuela also used to be one of the richest countries in the world and Democrats who are in the middle-of-the-road trying to hold onto those Trump voters to switch from Obama to Trump are terrified to answer the question about whether they support socialism in these far left policies.

But the key question here is this. Yes, cost of course is the number one issue we have to deal with and not a lot of people are doing that when they are talking about Medicare for all and free college tuition, but the real question about Medicare for all especially is whether it will make the lives of people better.

And when it comes to socialized medicine we've seen in states across the country, where single payer has been implemented, it has failed. In Great Britain people wait 100 days for essential surgeries and 750 people per month die waiting for services and as a result of that care.

So, the big question is will a huge expansion of government really actually make the lives of people better? And the answer is absolutely not, especially through these socialist programs.

SMITH: Tezlyn, I will give final word to you on all of this.

FIGARO: You know, what I will say is as an employer I had to go out of business because of the first health care reform that didn't actually reform. Me too just insure myself and my daughter cost $450 a month.

There certainly needs to be some option other than what we have now. I don't believe we should completely rid of the private sector but there does need to be a better public option for people to buy into.

I think to allow those two things to compete, government to compete with private sector is a good thing. Being able to say that they should be totally government defendant may not be the way to go. But if that is something that Senator Sanders wants to do our people who are left that's something they need to do the math and be able to explain.

Because we all know that the majority of Americans, even Republicans and Democrats they do sit in the center and we can't assume that just because someone that Bernie supported that they are a socialist because I worked for the man and I am not. But I do believe that there should be some type of option they could provide better health care for both me and my child and many others like us.

SMITH: It would be interesting to see what Democrats decide is the path forward for them and all of this. Katie -- Katie and Tezlyn, good to see you on a Monday night. Thank you.

PAVLICH: Thank you, Sandra.

FIGARO: Thank you,

SMITH: Well, quick programming note, Sarah Smith, the Washington State congressional candidate running on the socialist platform will be right here on The Story on Wednesday night, so join us for that.

And up next, the bombshell new report accusing a media titan of sexual misconduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA FISCHER, MEDIA REPORTER, AXIOS: It underscores a huge problem at CBS. Look, if this is the behavior coming from the chairman of the company, it could be seen as a reflection of the general and overall culture at CBS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Howard Kurtz on the allegations and the fallout for CBS's Les Moonves next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: Developing tonight, CBS CEO Moonves will remain on the job for now. Just a short time ago, the CBS news board of directors issued a statement saying it will seek outside counsel to investigate the bombshell allegations of sexual misconduct from six women.

Chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt is live in Los Angeles with more on this. Jonathan?

JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Sandra. Les Moonves is one of the most powerful man in media and he remains that tonight, albeit with an investigation of his conduct towards women now hanging over his head.

In a brief statement after a board of directors meeting today CBS merely said it, quote, "is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation."

No other action was taken on this matter at today's board meeting. CBS did not put a timeline on when that outside counsel might be in place or how long it expects the investigation to take, but the company did announce its postponing its annual stockholders meeting, which had been scheduled for August 10th.

The announcements follow sexual misconduct claims made by six women and published in the New Yorker last week. Some of the women also alleged Moonves had deliberately damaged their careers after they refused his advances.

Moonves said in response to the allegations that he has made mistakes and recognized that, quote, "There were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances." And he added, "But I always understood and respected and abided by the principle that no means no, and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone's career."

Moonves' wife Julie Chen, who hosts a show on her husband's network, briefly addressed the story today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE CHEN, LES MOONVES' WIFE: Some of you may be aware of what's been going on in my life for the last few days. I issued the one and only statement I will ever make on this topic on Twitter and I will stand by that statement today, tomorrow, forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: In that Twitter statement she's referring to, Chen described Moonves as a loving father and devoted husband, a kind, decent and moral human being and said, quote, "I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statements."

CBS by the way, Sandra, says it will take, quote, "appropriate action once the allegations have been investigated and it has reviewed the findings." The company, by the way, paid Les Moonves just shy of $70 million last year. Sandra?

SMITH: Jonathan Hunt, thank you. Joining me now is Howard Kurtz, host of Media Buzz and author of "Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press and the War Over the Truth." Howie, good evening to you.

HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS HOST: Hi.

SMITH: Will the network, CBS will it standby Moonves?

KURTZ: Well, for the moment obviously given that the board took no action today. But I've got to tell you if these graphic allegations as documented by Ronan Farrell of the New Yorker were made against anybody below Moonves' level, that person would at least have been suspended if not outright fired.

When the Washington Post in November published those sexual harassment allegations against Charlie Rose, he was gone before you could blink but of course Moonves runs the company.

SMITH: We'll see what happens there. New details continue to come in. The network is standing by him at least for now. We'll see if he keeps his job.

Meanwhile, I want to ask about the president and the publisher of the New York Times in this face-off over details on the secret meeting. Trump firing off this tweet on Sulzberger. "I had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with the A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of fake news being put out by the media and how that fake news has morphed into phrase enemy of the people, sad."

Out of that meeting then the publisher of the New York Times responded, Howie, and he said this. "I told the president directly that I thought his language was not just divisive, but increasingly dangerous. I told him that, although the phrase fake news is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists the enemy of the people. Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country." What did you make of that exchange?

KURTZ: You mean, there's no longer so secret meeting. But look, when the president sort of tossed aside the author of the recognition of the meeting by tweeting what he did he kind of opened the door for A.G. Sulzberger, who is 37-year-old rookie publisher at the Times to challenge him.

And now you have each side accusing the other essentially of risking people's lives because you have Sulzberger saying enemy of the American people, fake news is increasing risks to journalists around the world. And you have the president coming back with a tweet storm in which he calls some journalists unpatriotic, which is akin to enemy of the people, for revealing the inner workings of government.

Kind of suggesting that national security secrets are being published unfairly. So what was intended I think as a session to sit down and kind of clear the air, let both sides meant, has if anything poison the atmosphere even more.

SMITH: There was a moment I wanted to ask you about in the Oval Office today. A moment after the president was finishing up with the Italian prime minister and reporters were firing off their questions as they do, and we know that there was a recent incident where someone was asked to not rejoin the group, the pool.

Jim Acosta fired off questions and a staffer at the White House, this is the exchange, I will show it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Why does Rudy Giuliani keeps saying that--

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press, let's go. Make your way out!

ACOSTA: -- there's no crime and no collusion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's go.

ACOSTA: Mr. President -- Mr. President, do you think other--

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Move, Jim! Let's go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: And they were saying it's time to go, Jim Acosta. As we get -- what is the bigger picture here that we are seeing play out?

KURTZ: Well, it's no coincidence. I mean, Jim Acosta has done this many times, he even shouted question at an Easter egg roll. And I know people out there think it is absolutely rude for journalists to be shouting at the president that way.

It was another CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins who got punished by being disinvited from an event last week. The White House trying to send a message here about being respectful, even especially in the Oval Office when there's another world leader there.

But the reason, Sandra, that people journalists keep shouting those questions is that oftentimes President Trump more than some of his predecessors will answer them.

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: Keep answering the questions, right.

KURTZ: Get out, get out, time to go, thank you very much, press. He will answer. When he stopped answering those questions the incident of the shouted questions will probably recede a bit.

SMITH: The job of those journalists to ask those questions as well. Howie Kurtz, thank you.

KURTZ: Good to see you.

SMITH: Good night. More of "The Story" coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: That's our Story this Monday evening. Tune in tomorrow night at 7 o'clock as President Trump holds a campaign rally in Tampa. We'll bring that to you live and in full right here on The Story.

And I will see you again tomorrow morning bright and early "America's Newsroom" at 9 a.m. till noon with Bill Hemmer. Thank you for joining us, @SandraSmithFox. Tweet me your thoughts on the show. Tucker is up next.

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