Gingrich: Every day impeachment trial goes on, Democrats look smaller, more political, destructive

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Gingrich: Every day trial goes on, Democrats look smaller, more political, destructive

GOP confident they have enough votes to wrap up trial; Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich weighs in.

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 29, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Thank you. Welcome to "Hannity."

Buckle up. We start with great news tonight. Game, set, match -- the repulsive, disgusting Schiff show circus is almost over. And, finally, we see the light at the end of the tunnel.

At this hour, very good sources are telling me that the Schumer-Schiff sham show is circling the drain. Can't come soon enough.

Nothing is definite but it appears Senate Majority Leader McConnell now has the votes to block for the witnesses and this whole pointless charade could be wrapped up, hopefully, Friday or Saturday of this week.

Earlier today, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner announced that he will vote against new witnesses, saying he didn't need to hear from an 18th witness to render a verdict.

John Bolton is now officially out of the equation being needed as a witness. I'll explain in a minute.

Now, Republicans likely to need just one more vote to put an end to the madness once and for all. And to be honest, well, it could come from the other side of the aisle.

There is now high anxiety inside the Democratic Party. Tonight, FoxNews.com reporting that any future any witness agreement would be subject to a package deal. In other words, Bolton gets hauled in, we'll tell you why that doesn't -- that's no longer necessary in a minute. So will two key members of, let's say the Biden syndicate -- quid pro quo Joe, zero experience Hunter.

And as we have documented so many times at a bare minimum, it's a serious appearance of impropriety. We went through all the laws that, well, seem to fit in this case with the Bidens, all felonies.

The president, remember, has a sworn constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws of this land and that's why he was rightly concerned, not only about Ukrainian election interference, separate and apart from Russian interference, which Devin Nunes warned about. But he's also rightly concerned about quid and pro and quo Joe and not say, oh, like Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, who happens to be leading in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

Let me sum it up for you one more time. This thing is over. It's finished. Everything else will be a mere formality.

Now, we know how this will end. The president will be acquitted, and thankfully, in 279 days, we will have an election in this country. As a matter of fact, we have now actually heard from what the Democrats thought would be their latest star witness.

Moments ago, the president tweeted out these words, "game over". Along with the words, he sent out a video. 2019, John Bolton praising the president's phone call -- yes, the one in question -- with Ukraine.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, THEN-TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I will be meeting President Zelensky. He and President Trump have already spoken twice. The president called to congratulate President Zelensky on his election and then on his success in the parliamentary election. They were very warm and cordial calls.

We're hoping that they'll be able to meet in Warsaw and have a few minutes together because the success of Ukraine, maintaining its freedom, its system of representative government, free market economy free of a corruption and dealing with the problems of the Donbas and the Crimea are high priorities here, obviously, but high priorities for the United States as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Sounds almost verbatim the president's description of the call and what we all read with the transcript.

Did you hear any quid, or pro or quos like Joe there? Did you hear any dire warnings about misconduct or abuse of power? Did you hear any complaints or consternation at all?

The answer is no.

Now, that brings me to Mitt Romney tonight. As I said last night, I thought hard as many of you did, he would have been the better candidate and I think we were proven right if he won his election in 2012.

I defended him against the left's smears. I did it because it was the right thing to do. He was the better candidate.

They called him a racist. They called him a sexist. They called him a misogynist. They accused him of abusing animals even -- lies, smears -- and even cutting some kid's hair.

Mitt Romney said earlier in the week that he would likely want to hear from John Bolton. Well, we have now heard everything, we need to hear from John Bolton in his own words and even if the president privately said that he wanted Ukraine to do A or B or C for the aid, there are four facts Jim Jordan reminds us every time. They will never change.

No linkage between aid and investigations during the phone call. Aid was never mentioned during the phone call, but the issue of corruption was brought up. The president was clearly concerned. It was top of mind.

We know President Zelensky, repeatedly, and President Trump have both denied ever any pressure in any shape, matter, and form. No one in Ukraine even knew there was a temporary pause on aid at the time of the call or long after the call.

And Ukraine -- here's the important part, did they do anything? Did they take any action to get the aid released? None. Zero. Nothing.

Did they announce they would do something? Nothing. They announced nothing, never, ever, and they still got the money.

So, even if the president thought it, even if he said it, may be thinking about it, it doesn't matter. It's what he did.

Senator Romney, I say to you tonight, it is time for you to put aside what is clearly a personal disdain, dislike for the president, and you need to do this for the sake of the country, and, frankly, for your sworn duties of the Constitution of the United States.

Now, forget about your opinions about the president. They're irrelevant. You need that document right there. You need to think about your constitutional role and duty as a senator.

Remember, the House and the Constitution has the sole power to impeach the president. They did it. Now, they presented their very pathetically weak case.

OK, now you're asking 16 hours worth of questions. Your duty, the sole Senate -- the sole role of the Senate is to examine the evidence, render a verdict.

Now, you just heard from John Bolton.

And keep in mind, Senator Romney, I know you represent the great state of Utah. Take a look at this survey put together by -- well, he's one of the few people. I've known Matt Towery since the Gingrich polling years.

And Matt Towery was one of the few people that said, it's on video, I've got a copy, that Donald Trump was going to win. Not many pollsters were saying this, 68 percent. He did a poll of Utah last night.

If your constituents in Utah, they want President Trump acquitted -- 64 percent oppose additional witnesses, 60 percent would be less likely to support you if you voted to keep the charade going and call for witnesses.

By the way, think about all those Democrats that are asking you to trust them. Think about who's begging for witnesses. There he is. The compromised, in this particular case, corrupt, and we all know, congenital liar by the name of Adam Schiff.

How could anyone in good conscience ever trust what is really a pretty despicable sociopath?

Now, Schiff's pants had been on fire for three consecutive years. He's lied about Russia, Russia, Russia, collusion, collusion, FISA. He lied about the FISA application and the Ukraine phone call. He lied about the whistle- blower.

And he even lied more today. In fact, we just got him red-handed today, lying again about the call transcript between the president, President Trump and President Zelensky.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-CALIF.: I want you to do me a favor, though. I want you to do an investigation of Mitt Romney.

Do any of us have any question that Barack Obama would be impeached for that kind of misconduct? That's a parallel here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: And he lied in his report to the American people. Now, we know, because of the inspector general report, he lied and Congressman Devin Nunes told the truth. The bulk of the information was the dirty, unverifiable dossier from Russia that Hillary paid for.

We also he's the only American that we know on tape thinking he's talking to a Russian, colluding to get dirt on Donald Trump to use in an election.

You know, remember, what do you have? Compromising materials. What? Really? What are they? Pictures of Trump. Did Vladimir see them? Can we have them?

That would be Adam Schiff.

Now, the president didn't say, by the way, in the transcript, even though, yes, Schiff had to make that up too. He didn't say, do me a favor. He said, do us a favor. He said, in relation to the United States.

And, of course, we have Politico and the Ukrainian court -- well, they both determined that there was election interference by the Ukrainians to help Hillary Clinton. They said it. By the way, interference that we were all worked up about for three long years, foreign interference.

Look at Politico, reports right here. It takes 22 minutes to read it, when (ph) it says 22 minutes. But, naturally, that was only one of many lies today from the congenital liar.

Now, this is pretty amazing. One truly bizarre example from earlier today, yes, the congenital liar, Schiff, actually doubled down on a lie that has previously earned him four Pinocchio's from the liberal Washington Post. For a Democrat, that's hard to get.

And despite the mountain of evidence that Schiff's staff communicated with the fake whistle-blower from the get-go -- well, the congenital liar still claiming that he had no idea with the person is. Do you believe him? Because he's contradicted himself (ph), back and forth and back again. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIFF: First of all, I don't know who the whistle-blower is. I haven't met them or communicated with them in any way. The conspiracy theory which I think was outlined earlier that the whistle-blower colluded with the Intel Committee staff to hatch an impeachment inquiry is a complete and total fiction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: He first said that. Then, he said, oh, I should have been more clear, yes, there was contact with my office, and the whistle-blower. Now, he saying it didn't happen.

A complete, total fiction when even the liberal "Washington Post" will give a Democrat four Pinocchios because he's lying.

Now, if the congenital liar is not going to hide, then why did he refuse to call the hearsay whistle-blower, non-whistle-blower in for testimony, which he originally promised to do? Why did he admit there was contact with his staff with the whistle-blower?

Now, this was a witch hunt that has been led totally completely by him, a deranged liar, and all his fellow Democrats that hate Trump every second, every minute, every hour of every day.

Now, there's nothing legitimate about this charade. There never has been.

The Senate ought never lend any legitimacy to this corrupt process. You've got Schiff, his top investigation, witness audition, that was a farce. Zero due process.

The accusations are untrue. They have been untrue. The articles are ridiculous and unconstitutional.

And, today, the president's legal team beat the living hell out of the Democrats. And they made a compelling case for what should now happen in short order. That would be acquittal.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY SEKULOW, TRUMP LEGAL TEAM MEMBER: Adam Schiff's words, he talked about it would be wrong if the FBI or the Department of Justice was starting a political investigation of someone's political opponent. And I'm thinking to myself, but isn't that exam who would happen?

PATRICK PHILBIN, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY COUNSEL: Multiple witnesses who were called in the House by the House Democrats testified that the United States policy towards Ukraine got stronger under the Trump administration, in part, largely because of that lethal aid.

ALAN DERSHOWITZ, HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR: The issue is not whether a crime was. The answer is whether abuse of power is a permissible constitutional criteria. And the answer from the history is clearly unequivocally no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: By the way, the question and answer period we're continuing to monitor. We will put it up on the side of your screen. You can take a look and if anything compelling comes up, we'll bring it to live.

While the president's team puts forward a serious case, top Democrats continue to play their political games. And, by the way, this is all they've done for three years. They've done not a single thing for we, the people. They're supposed to be public servants.

Earlier today, Pelosi's, well, friend in the Senate, Chucky Schumer, he actually admitted the guy that is now indicted by Southern District of New York for taking, for all things, a million dollars from Russia and trying to hide it, another campaign finance violations. He actually invited Lev Parnas as a special guest and Lev Parnas briefly became a far left hero because of his wild allegations against Trump.

And, unfortunately, for Schumer, he is out on bail for the violations of campaign finance and trying to hide the million dollar payment from of all countries, Russia. And he couldn't get in, because he's wearing an electronic ankle bracelet. This is their star witness. This is what Adam Schiff said, believe him, but Joe and Hunter did nothing.

You can't make this up, but it's so sad because it's our country. And they are hurting the country and they have been for years. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-N.Y.: His lawyer called us up and asked for tickets like many New York constituents. And we said, you can get tickets. We give them out to the New Yorkers who've asked. I'm not sure Parnas would be allowed in because of the electronics around his ankle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Many -- many, you know, well, indicted New Yorkers with ankle bracelets, they're all asking to go. They all want to go. You know, the Democrats and their BFFs, and the mob and the media, they love playing these cheap political games. Just like Kavanaugh, it's Kavanaugh 2.0. And I guess they think we, the American people, are stupid.

They clearly don't like the way we vote. They seem to hate our way of life. They seem to hate our values. They seem to hate our choice for president. And they remember, we've been called irredeemable, deplorables, smelly Walmart Trump supporting shoppers, I like Walmart.

And, by the way, they think it's a bad thing I guess that we're angry and that we're bitter and we cling to God. OK, I'm guilty. I want to cling to God, our Constitution, our Bibles, and I believe in our -- my faith.

I do. I'm guilty. I believe in God. Yes. OK. Guilty.

Perfect encapsulation. This is a tale now of two Americans. On the one side, yes, nothing but 24/7 hate, come pushing nothing, never ending conspiracy theories, hoaxes, lies, witch hunts.

On the other side, you've got a president, keeping every promise he's made, a successful agenda, unprecedented success economically and foreign policy, real tangible results. We put together a video that perfectly exemplifies this critical moment in time.

Two Americas, this will be up for grabs in 279 days. You will be the ultimate jury and you get to shock the world again. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We have created 7 million new jobs. The average unemployment rate under my administration is lower than any previous administration -- listen to this one -- in United States history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump's a smart one, and y'all -- y'all elitists are dumb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You elitists with your geography and your maps.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: We will replace the NAFTA nightmare, one of the worst trade deals ever in history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you vote for Trump, you're the bad guy.

TRUMP: We also signed a fantastic new trade agreement with China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will follow him to hell or wherever he's going. They don't care about the facts. They don't know about the facts.

TRUMP: We have fully rebuilt the United States military.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY STATE: You could put half of Trump supporter's into what I call the basket of deplorables.

TRUMP: America is winning again and America is thriving again like never before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Let's see, we can add the end of the ISIS caliphate in Syria, Baghdadi and associates dead. Let's see, oh, we can add to that, yes, the number one state-sponsored of terror, their leader, Soleimani, dead.

Record low unemployment since 1969, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, women in the workplace, youth unemployment, African- American youth unemployment. Wow.

We're at a critical point, 279 days. You have an opportunity to shock the establishment world again. Make no mistake. A lot on the line.

Here now with more, Fox News contributor, former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

Mr. Speaker, I think that Bolton tape says everything we need to hear from John Bolton.

Your reaction?

NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think, first of all, they're going down a total damned dead alley because the president is going to impose executive privilege. They would then have to go to court.

So, if they want to drag this out another month or two, they have an opportunity to do it, but it would be pretty stupid. The country is already opposed to dragging it out. The country said it's over.

David Axelrod, who was a key person for Barack Obama, had a recent column and said, he sat through a focus group of Democrats in Chicago and it was 80 minutes, 8-0 minutes before any of them mentioned the impeachment, at which point everyone in the group said, that's over, it's not going to happen, I don't want to talk about it. And Axelrod said, Democrats need to understand, this is not working.

The Democrats ought to be voting to have no more witnesses. The Democrats, frankly, want to vote to close it down tomorrow.

Every day this goes on, the Democrats look smaller, more political, more destructive of America, and I think that there's no reason to have any more witnesses, because there's no case. Just literally, there is no case here.

HANNITY: You know, Jay Sekulow said today, Mr. Speaker, the Clinton impeachment proceeding, the witnesses that actually gave deposition testimony were witnesses that had either been interviewed by deposition in the House proceedings, grand jury proceedings, and it was specifically, you know, those same people. New witnesses were not being called.

Why would any Republican in the Senate want to break that precedent?

GINGRICH: Look, I don't think there's any real reason to have any new people come in. That violates the whole point.

This is not an inquiry into what happened in Ukraine. This is an impeachment trial.

In an impeachment trial, there's a very simple question. Are the allegations rising to the level that you would deprive the American people of the person they elected as president?

Now, I don't think a single one of the Republicans believes that Donald Trump is going to be convicted. So I think it is an absolute game (ph) for any of them to vote yes to have more witnesses, because the witnesses aren't going to change anything. This is not an impeachable offense.

We have a very good way of solving it. It's called an election, as you pointed out. In 279 days, the real jury, the American people, will get to decide. My hunch is that we're going to reelect Trump by an amazing margin.

But what Schiff said the other day was very chilling. He said, we can't let this up to the voters.

Because he is such an arrogant elitist, he thinks he is more important than the American people. And that's what's at stake here. And I would hope that after they think about it, that not at single Republican will vote to have any more witnesses.

HANNITY: Let me -- Schiff actually said today, not all quid quo pros are the same. Nobody is as bad as Joe, I'd add. But he said, some are legitimates, corrupt. They don't need to be a mind reader.

For one, you can ask John Bolton. I want to replay what Bolton said about the president's conversation with President Zelensky. He sounds just like the way Donald Trump described him -- warm, cordial, and they were congratulatory. And he and the president spoken twice.

And -- well, let me -- let me play this tape, because I think this is all we need to hear from John Bolton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOLTON: I will be meeting President Zelensky. He and President Trump have already spoken twice. The president called to congratulate President Zelensky on his election and then on his success in the parliamentary election. They were very warm and cordial calls.

We're hoping that they'll be able to meet in Warsaw and have a few minutes together because the success of Ukraine, maintaining its freedom, its system of representative government, free market economy free of a corruption and dealing with the problems of the Donbas and the Crimea are high priorities here, obviously, but high priorities for the United States as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: And he said, Mr. Speaker, free of corruption, and he saw nothing wrong with the call there. It was very clear. And the four facts never change.

Maybe whatever Donald Trump said, they did nothing. They announced nothing. He didn't ask them to do anything because they told us he didn't ask for anything.

Why are we even here?

GINGRICH: Well, we shouldn't be here. That's the whole point. I think that there was pretty good grounds for having the Senate literally reject the entire proposal the day it came across.

And I thought the arrogance and the dishonesty of both Schiff and Nadler in lecturing the senators on what their duty was, which by the way, is about as dumb a thing as you can do is insult the jury, which is what they did. I think that the result has been that they further alienated the Republican senators, and I think they have now weakened their position with a number of other Democrats.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a bipartisan majority, not just Republicans, but a number of Democrats vote that the president is not guilty. It's not impeachable.

HANNITY: I don't think it's in their best interest to do so.

Mr. Speaker, as always, thank you for being with us.

My producer in my ear is saying apparently Nadler is going nuts right now. Well, let us dip -- I won't -- I promise I won't stay that long. I'll stay as little as possible, but here's Nadler, and then we'll talk to Devin Nunes.

REP. JERRY NADLER, D-N.Y.: That Ukraine must issue a public statement announcing investigations. Ambassador Sondland and Volker then worked closely with Giuliani and the Ukrainians to ensure that the planned statement would meet Mr. Giuliani's demands. Specifically, Mr. Giuliani insisted that the statement includes specific references to Burisma and the 2016 election and Biden. Throughout this process, Sondland stated that he knew that they needed the approval of Giuliani for the press statement, and that they knew Giuliani represented the interest of the president.

Rudy Giuliani --

HANNITY: How -- how is it possible that, Joe, you're not getting the billion, until you fire the prosecutor investigating my zero experience son, 83 grand a month, millions and millions? It's breathtaking.

All right. We'll get back to it in a second.

Here now, Freedom Caucus chairman, Andy Biggs, House Intel Committee ranking member, the guy that in his report, we now know from the inspector general report, told the American people the truth about the dirty dossier, the bulk of information in the FISA applications, be it Hillary Clinton bought and paid for dossier and compared to Adam Schiff -- Adam Schiff lied to the American people.

Anyway, Congressman Nunes, thank you for telling the American people the truth. And I'm glad you've been vindicated.

REP. DEVIN NUNES, R-CALIF.: You're welcome, Sean, and there's more lies today that you just saw on the Senate floor.

Let's just start with, today, he was complaining, saying -- you know, he claims he doesn't know the whistle-blower. Then, he was talking about how his staff didn't really coordinate with the whistle-blower. Now, those stories are changing.

Then, he was whining about how his staff are being attacked by people on the public.

Now, remember what I always say, whatever they accuse you of doing, they are actually doing. It was only a few weeks ago that Adam Schiff and his staff doxxed my former staff and my current staff by publishing their phone records and texts and emails for Chuck Schumer's new best friend Parnas that he invited to the Senate today.

HANNITY: I want to tell you something. They also gave out messages from my staff. Am I allowed to sue for that? Because I think that is an invasion of privacy and they didn't delete it.

Is that --

(CROSSTALK)

NUNES: Well, I think the question is, is AT&T that owns CNN, that once again, I'll just say, they refused to respond to their fake news stories. They refused to retract their fake news stories about me and others, but AT&T has to answer that question I think at some point in court. And I know they are being sued by Judicial Watch for just that.

You know, they should have at least notified those of us whose phone numbers were going to be in the production of Adam Schiff's subpoena.

HANNITY: Let me go back. Apparently, Alan Dershowitz has just gotten up and he has a question on the Framers and the Constitution. Let's listen to him.

DERSHOWITZ: -- that were good enough for us during the Clinton impeachment that seemed to have changed dramatically in the current situation. The criteria that have been set out are so loose (ph), they basically paraphrase Congresswoman Maxine Waters who said, there is no law. Anything the House wants to do to impeach is impeachable.

That's what's happened today.

That places the House of Representatives above the law. We've heard much about no one is above the law. The House of Representatives is not above the law. They may not use the Maxine Waters.

Gerald Ford made the same point, but it was about impeaching of a judge. Judges are different. There are many of them. There's only one president.

But to use that criteria that it's whatever the House says it is, whatever the Senate says it is, turns those bodies into lawless bodies, in violation of the intent of the Framers.

Manager Schiff confused my argument when he talked about intent and motive. You've said I'm not a constitutional law -- you (ph) admitted I'm a criminal lawyer. And I taught criminal law for 50 years at Harvard.

And there's an enormous distinction between intent and motive. Somebody shoot somebody, the intent is that when you pull the trigger, you know bullet will leave and will hit somebody and they kill them. That is the intent to kill.

Motive can be revenge. It could be money. It almost never is taken under consideration, except in extreme cases. There are cases where motive counts.

But let's consider a hypothetical growing out of the situation that we've discussed. Let's assume that President Obama had been told by his advisors that it really is important to send lethal weapons to the Ukraine. But then, he gets a call from his pollster and his political advisor who says, we know it's in the national interest to send lethal weapons to Ukraine, but we're telling you that the left wing of your party is really going to give you a hard time if you start selling lethal weapons and getting into a lethal war, potentially, with Russia.

Would anybody here suggest that was impeachable?

Or let's assume President Obama said, I promise to bomb Syria if they had chemical weapons, but I'm now told by my pollsters that bombing Syria would hurt my electoral chances. Certainly not impeachable at all.

So, let me apply that to the current situation. As you know, I said previously, there are three levels of possible motive. One is the motive is pure. Only interest is in the way -- what's good for the country. In the real world, that rarely happens.

The other one is the motive is completely corrupt. I want money, kickback.

But then, there's the third one that's so complicated and that's often misunderstood. When you have a mixed motive, a motive in which you think you're doing good for the country but you're also doing good for yourself. You're doing good for me. You're doing good for thee, you're doing good, and you altogether put it into a bundle in which you're satisfied that you're doing absolutely the right thing.

Let me give you a perfect example of that from the case. The argument has been made that the president of the United States only became interested in corruption when he learned that Joe Biden was running for president. Let's assume hypothetically that the president was in his second term and he said to himself, you know, Joe Biden is running for president. I really should now be concerned about whether his son is corrupt, because he's not only a candidate, but he's not running against me, I'm finished with my term, but he could be the president of the United States.

And if he's the president of the United States and he has a corrupt son, the fact that he's announced his candidacy is a very good reason for upping the interest in his son. If he wasn't running for president, he's a has- been. He's the former vice president of the United States. OK, big deal. But if he's running for president, that's an enormous big deal.

So, the difference the House managers would make is whether the president is in his first term or second term. Whether he's running for reelection or not running for reelection. I think they will have to concede that he was not running for reelection.

This would not be a corrupt motive, or it would be a mixed motive but leaning on the side of national interest. If he is running for reelection, suddenly, that turns it into an impeachable offense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you, counsel.

HANNITY: Wow. Alan Dershowitz.

You know, they had a commentator on MSDNC, the conspiracy theory channel, Area 51 Roswell Rachel Maddow's channel -- oh, Harvard must be embarrassed. I bet Harvard is pretty proud tonight. Compelling arguments.

Andy Biggs, your reaction to all of that, and I want to replay this Bolton tape in a second.

REP. ANDY BIGGS, R-ARIZ.: Yes, I thought Dershowitz did an excellent job there because what he's talking about is you -- the Democrats' position ultimately comes down to this: you can't investigate a political opponent for criminal conduct, because if you do, somehow, that's violative of due process. It's violative -- and it becomes bribery, or extortion or some kind of high crime and misdemeanor.

The reality is, and the point that Mr. Dershowitz just made which is so good, is that you can't contextualize it that way. If someone has committed a corrupt act, they're not above the law. And so, you have -- you're entitled to investigate.

That's what the president was talking about, and just because he's running for election himself does not make it impermissible to seek and to investigate criminal conduct on the part of corrupt people just because they're running for office. That's --

HANNITY: All right.

BIGGS: -- that's a great argument.

HANNITY: Last word, Devin, we have to roll on here.

NUNES: Well, real quick, Sean, I would say that the Democrats are going to need a long, long period of rehabilitation and reeducation. And what you saw there tonight on the floor with Alan Dershowitz is the beginning of that reeducation.

HANNITY: Great -- phenomenal job. This was a beat-down today.

And -- all right. So, thank you both, Andy Biggs and Devin Nunes.

New footage has resurfaced of Adam Schiff questioning John Bolton's credibility a few years ago. We'll play that.

We're going to replay what John Bolton said about the president and the phone call. That tape that we have tonight.

Oh, we're not buying Don Lemon's apology. And we have a lot of great guests.

Buckle up. A lot of news, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. The Fox News alert at this hour, we continue to monitor the impeachment trial. We'll dip in when it is relevant.

But first, there is new information tonight concerning the deep state's boomerang of justice. Michael Flynn accusing the FBI of egregious misconduct in his case, blasting the bureau in a court filing that he filed as part of his request to withdraw his guilty plea. It's on the heels of the Department of Justice. Well, just recognizing last week that in fact, two of those FISA warrants, maybe all four, but two specifically were in fact likely obtained illegally under false pretenses.

Here to explain, Fox News contributor, investigative reporter, Sara Carter.

SARA CARTER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It's big news, Sean. It was probably the biggest news today because for the first time, we actually heard directly from Michael Flynn in a supplemental motion submitted today to the courts by Sidney Powell, his attorney.

He declared: I am innocent of these crimes. He withdraws his motion of guilty, stating that he was coerced into pleading guilty because the special counsel then, Robert Mueller, was going after his son. So, this is certainly big news.

Now, Sidney Powell is stating that there was a conflict of interest with his previous attorneys. She is going to be taking them on as well in this motion.

And just breaking hours ago, actually the Department of Justice backtracked once again their request to the court. Just several weeks ago, the Department of Justice actually stated that they wanted to give prison time for Flynn. They requested up to six months. Now, they're backing away from that again, saying that he had served his country honorably and that he should just be getting probation.

According to sources that I've spoken with, it seems like the Department of Justice prosecutors in this case are a little worried that Flynn's motion to withdraw his guilty plea will actually go through and that there would be a call for a new trial.

HANNITY: All right, getting interesting. We'll follow that. We want justice, 33 years. We know between, oh, "you don't need a lawyer" Andrew McCabe, and oh, "I did something I wouldn't do or get away with" Comey in the Trump or -- I'm sorry in the Bush or Obama administrations, but I'll will do it to Trump.

And we also have deep state bureaucrats, they are not the only ones caught up in their egregious dishonesty.

Well, look what we found? Adam Schiff being revealed yet again for the liar that he is. Look at what we found -- a clip from Adam Schiff himself, uncovered by FOX News. Him shredding his new BFF, John Bolton, and John Bolton's credibility.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIFF: Particularly, given the history, where we've had the politicization of intelligence over WMD, why we would pick someone who the very same issue has been raised repeatedly, and that is John Bolton's politicization of the intelligence he got on Cuba and on other issues, why would we want someone with that lack of credibility, I can't understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Now, I also want to show you other breaking news tonight. Now, we have found tape that reveals what John Bolton describes the call with President Trump, the two calls exactly, and President Zelensky. It actually sounds almost verbatim directly like President Trump's characterization of those calls and, wow, warm and cordial, and yes, we've got to deal with the issue of corruption in Ukraine.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOLTON: I will be meeting President Zelensky. He and President Trump have already spoken twice. The president called to congratulate President Zelensky on his election and then on his success in the parliamentary election. They were very warm and cordial calls.

We're hoping that they'll be able to meet in Warsaw and have a few minutes together because the success of Ukraine, maintaining its freedom, its system of representative government, free market economy free of a corruption and dealing with the problems of the Donbas and the Crimea are high priorities here, obviously, but high priorities for the United States as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Again, they'll talk about, it was a great, perfectly normal calls. The president says the call is perfect, a perfect call. Oh, the way it sounds like he's describing it.

Here with reaction, Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, Elise Stefanik, New York.

Matt Gaetz, let's look at this and I would say, the issue of John Bolton is over, and I'm looking at the congenital liar, and I'm saying, oops, here he goes again, and thrashing Bolton, his new BFF.

Your thoughts?

REP. MATT GAETZ, R-FLA.: I think it was very smart for the president's legal team to start this entire trial with their best evidence and that was an indictment of Adam Schiff's credibility. Time and time again, Adam Schiff has been proving a liar, whether it was the misrepresentation of the transcript, whether it was his misrepresentation of his relationship with the whistle-blower, whether it was trying to conceal for many members of Congress a lot of this investigation that was occurring.

You mentioned John Bolton. I think it is just a little suspicious, Sean, that you got John Bolton who sat totally quiet during the entire House investigation, not like wanting to make some sort of grand entrance into the Senate trial.

You don't restart an investigation in the middle of a trial, and I hope our senators see that and move us past this national nightmare of impeachment.

HANNITY: Congresswoman, your take on both those issues?

REP. ELISE STEFANIK, R-N.Y.: My take on this is, at the beginning of the clip you played, Sean, of Adam Schiff, he talks about the politicization of intelligence. No one has been more political in manipulating -- in manipulating intelligence and the media than Adam Schiff. He has consistently abused his power.

Even today, Sean, from the well of the United States Senate, Adam Schiff lied to millions of Americans who were tuning in, saying that there was no coordination with the whistle-blower. We know that there's coordination between Adam Schiff, his staff, and the whistle-blower before the whistle- blower complaint was even issued. They helped put together the complaint and he withheld that information from his colleagues on the committee.

The good news is, the president's legal team has done a tremendous job poking holes in Adam Schiff's faulty case, proving that there's no direct evidence of any impeachable offenses.

HANNITY: OK. So, now, we're at the point where, OK, Republican senators, I never understood the inclination that they wanted to hear from Bolton.

Matt Gaetz, I think we've heard everything we need to hear from Bolton right there in that tape, it's over. Game set, match finished. The Schumer- Schiff sham show should end with the acquittal that we know is inevitable anyway.

GAETZ: Logic and justice would demand that outcome.

My concern is that right now, there's no denying that the most powerful members of the United States Senate tonight are the Republicans who don't like President Trump. And if they are the ones negotiating some sort of witness exchange program, then I think that you're going to see a very unfair outcome for the president.

So, that's why we need to have not further witnesses, we need to adhere to the record with some sense of order and justice.

And it would be a total free-for-all if additional witnesses now are called at this stage in the game because you don't have, I think, a lot of confidence that these Republican senators will actually put Joe Biden, the whistle-blower, and Hunter Biden in that witness chair. And that means the president will have the ability to offer his full defense.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Well, that has to be part of the deal.

GAETZ: It would have to be.

HANNITY: They have to.

(CROSSTALK)

GAETZ: But these Republican senators need to be warned. No deal without the whistle-blower, Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, period. Any other deal is a betrayal of the president.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Well, you're forgetting Adam Schiff. He needs to be there.

GAETZ: Fair. Schiff, too.

HANNITY: And his staff needs to be there.

But the thing is, Congresswoman, if they bring -- if they bring in Joe and Hunter, and the president did mention him on the call, didn't (ph) call for an investigation, and the four facts remain the same, they did nothing. They announced nothing. They said they did nothing, they said they felt no pressure.

All right. But now, we have the issue, and I think when you get to the bottom of it, people that are in legal jeopardy right now are Joe and Hunter Biden. They should be in trouble.

Congresswoman, last words.

STEFANIK: Sure. So, Sean, I absolutely think we have heard everything we need to hear. It was Adam Schiff's choice not to call additional witnesses, not to call John Bolton, and because their case is so weak, it's because they are desperate.

But when it comes to witnesses, if they open this door, for sure, we are going to call Adam Schiff, we are going to call Hunter Biden and we are going to call the whistle-blower. This is not a game that Adam Schiff can determine who's the material witness and who is not.

I have confidence that the Senate is going to make sure that we don't set this very bad precedent --

HANNITY: All right. I got to run.

STEFANIK: -- for the future.

Thanks, Sean.

HANNITY: Thank you, both.

All right. What the media mob really thinks of we, the people. We'll get into that next.

Senate, now, they're taking a break.

Coming up, the pressure is getting to Joe Biden and we've got the video evidence. He got -- yes, angry again, actually kind of pushed the guy, a voter in Iowa.

And, by the way, he's down in both Iowa and New Hampshire to Bernie. He's actually telling people he needs a strong running mate because he's old and may die.

And the phony apology by fake news CNN -- not buying it. I'll explain, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. More and more blunders for quid pro quo Joe this week, telling a group of Iowa voters, just like the last time, that he needs a strong VP, because he is, quote, an old guy. I guess he's thinking he's going to die in office. Thanks, Joe.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For me, it has to be demonstrated that whoever I pick is two things. One, is capable of immediately being president, because I'm an old, OK?

(LAUGHTER)

No, but I'm serious. Look -- I mean, thank God, I'm in great health. I work -- no, I'm serious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: If that wasn't bad enough, last night, Biden -- well, straight up told the primary voter in Iowa, you find a different candidate. A little bit of a shove. Watch closely his hands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like you and I'm going to support you if you win the nomination. We have to beat Trump, but what are you going to do about climate change?

You say you're against pipelines, but then you want to replace these gas lines. That's not going to work. We've got to stop building and replacing pipelines.

BIDEN: Go vote for someone else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, thanks so much, sir.

(CROSSTALK)

BIDEN: You're not going to vote for me in the primary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to vote for you in the general if you treat me right.

BIDEN: Well, I know. Well, I'm not --

(CROSSTALK)

BIDEN: Look, you ask for a picture with me, you're coming up to tell me you don't support me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no.

BIDEN: My plan -- yes, you did --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said I support you in the general.

BIDEN: In the general. I'm looking for a primary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Don't vote for me. Go find somebody else.

Of course, the mob and the media playing defense for the all -- pretty much all the extreme radical Democratic socialists, all while continuing to attack Trump 24/7 and Trump supporters -- twisted and unhinged as always.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump couldn't find Ukraine on a map if you had the letter U and a picture of an actual physical crane next to it. He knows that this is, you know, an administration defined by ignorance of the world.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so, that's partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience, you know, credulous boomer rube demo that back Donald Trump, that wants to think that Donald Trump's a smart one, and y'all -- y'all elitists are dumb.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You elitists with your geography and your maps and your spelling even though --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your math, your reading.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, your reading.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: OK. So, Lemon last night -- and, by the way, we don't call for boycotts, firing, as they do us, is -- listen, Don, with all due respect, this is a half-hearted non-apology, and sinking your credibility even further. You've got to own it.

You laughed at all of it. You enjoyed all of it. Just a fact.

Here with reaction, Tammy Bruce, Jason Chaffetz.

Tammy, your reaction, because that didn't seem like an apology to me. And that seemed like laughter -- making fun of we, the people, old people, them lines (ph), and you know - really?

TAMMY BRUCE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, this is why as many have said, Donald Trump is president. The American people saw this kind of ridicule and contempt throughout the political elites, throughout the media class, and we've had enough.

This is not a one-off dynamic. This is really a bit of a snapshot on what the establishment does think of the average American, not even just Donald Trump voters, but they've convinced themselves that they are so much more superior, and they do it by ridiculing Americans like this.

And when we see that -- and already, the GOP has made a commercial of this. It's online. It's pretty powerful. And at the end, it says, they think you're a joke. You know, prove them wrong, right, in November?

And so, this is really a "made for Trump commercial" it's for anyone who had to be reminded about Hillary's deplorables comment. She wasn't a one- off. This is not a one-off. This is what they think about the American people, and it's why this reformation was necessary.

It's why they hate Donald Trump, because he actually likes -- he likes us.

HANNITY: Well, yes, last -- pretty good point, too.

Jason, I look at this tape now of John Bolton. He sounded just like Donald Trump, describing the phone call with President Zelensky.

JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It didn't sound like there was anything wrong there. And if he did think there was something wrong, I think there is a duty and obligation to say so.

But we can all read the transcript ourselves. How many times on this program have we highlighted the idea that Donald Trump did the unexpected and he just released the transcript? Everybody can go out and read there.

You know what other big question is out there I want the Democrats to answer? Who is the victim in all this? Who -- where is the so-called victim? There is none.

They have been working on this impeachment for three years. They've got nothing and they are on the verge of embarrassing themselves, and I think it will be a bipartisan vote to acquit Donald Trump.

HANNITY: I hope so.

Tammy, your reaction to that tape?

BRUCE: Yes, I think that this is what people forget, of course, is that these audiotapes are forever. The Internet makes everything forever.

In the old days, the establishment was able to maintain control by making sure we didn't hear things like that, that there wasn't a history.

I think that Jason is right, of course, and the good news is that, no longer -- let's just say, it's harder to gaslight the American people. We know what they're doing. The polls show that we don't like what's occurring here and we've got to make our feelings known, of course, in November.

But I think it's going to be fun and I think the president's then, obviously, he is being saved by the fact that he's done a great job.

HANNITY: Thank you both.

When we come back, Senate reconvening in moments to continue -- yes, even more of the Schumer-Schiff sham show, which should end, hopefully, Friday or Saturday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Fox News alert, the Senate trial questioning phase will begin again in just a few moments. Democrats impeachment sham has been ripped to shreds today, and that Bolton tape -- we've heard everything we need from Bolton.

We always tell you the truth. We're not the media mob.

Please set your DVR every night. We hope you'll join us.

Let not your heart be troubled. Laura Ingraham, take it away.

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