Gingrich: The president has lied to the American people
Former presidential candidate on handling of Mideast crisis
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," September 21, 2012. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And this is a Fox News alert. Intelligence sources have in fact confirmed exclusively to Fox News that 100 men took part in what they're calling a coordinated assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi last week. In addition, the sources say, the terrorist strike that took the lives of four Americans was carried out with precision in two separate waves. Now, the terrorists were heavily armed and not only rocket propelled grenades but mortars, as well.
And also new today -- and I warn you this footage is very graphic. We can now show you for the first time on this show, Ambassador Chris Stevens body being found by looters and later dragged through the streets in Benghazi following the shootout and the storming of our consulate there. Now, what you're seeing, a still photo capture of that horrific moment. Now, you can also make out that this photo has a body gash, right there you can see it on Stevens' head.
Now, in light of these breaking developments about the coordinated nature of the attack, announcing the reality of what our ambassador went through. And it's becoming more and more clear that this White House was misleading you, the American people, in the wake of this tragedy.
Now, they first denied that it was a terror attack. Now, they say it was an obvious terror attack. We have a president dodging questions yesterday about the lack of security at the consulate and an U.N. ambassador has been caught on camera blatantly lying about what cause the incident.
Now, with each and every passing day, it's becoming more and more clear that the only way the president knows how to defend his pathetic record and his actions is to distort the truth and deceive you the American people and lie.
Four Americans are dead. Now, the president is more interested in covering up the facts in this case to save his political career than coming clean about the circumstances of this horrific terrorist event committed by an Al Qaeda offshoot. And that directly contradicts what he promised all of you in the early days of his administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, JAN 21. 2009: Let me say it as simply as I can. Transparency and the rule of law will be the touch stones of this presidency.
OBAMA, JAN. 22, 2010: I won't stop fighting to open up government. Now, this is hard to do because we don't control every branch, but I can tell you, we have put in place the toughest ethics laws and toughest transparency rules of any administration in history, in history.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HANNITY: Now, correction, Mr. President, what we have right now is the least transparent, the least accountable White House in American history. Now, as you always like to say, let me be clear -- this is far from the first cover-up scandal to hit your administration. From Solyndra to the national security leaks to the Joe Sestak job offer. Remember those? The list of embarrassment goes on and on and at the very top of it is operation Fast and Furious, another failure that cost brave Americans their lives.
But does President Obama takes responsibility for this reckless program? Of course not. He doesn't want that on his record. Instead, what does he do? Again, he lies pointing the finger of blame, who else? When all else fails blame George W. Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, UNIVISION)
OBAMA: Well, first of all, I think it's important for us to understand that the Fast and Furious program was a field initiated program begun under the previous administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That too is a lie. Now, it's time for somebody to start telling the truth in the Oval Office.
Here with reaction to the ongoing cover-up that is going on in Benghazi and much more, former speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. And Mr. Speaker, welcome back.
NEWT GINGRICH, R-FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Good to be with you.
HANNITY: The ambassador's body dragged through the streets. This is the most infuriating thing to me. This is the anniversary of 9/11. Apparently, we didn't beef up security, the president had no answer on Univision last night. We have these attacks on our embassy, oh, this is about a movie trailer that was released in July. Movie trailer. And then they come out finally after two weeks of pressure they admit, oh, yes, it's self-evident that yes, this was a terror attack. And then the president goes on Univision says, no, this was related to the movie. They can't get it straight. Do you think they are lying or, I mean --
GINGRICH: Yes.
HANNITY: I do, too.
GINGRICH: Look, I think the president of the United States has lied to the American people, but I think he may be lying to himself. I think this president is so totally one-sided in his view of Islam, he is so misinformed, he is so willfully ignorant. If you look at his Cairo speech which was filled with factual errors. The fact is, this is a president who simply cannot face reality when it comes to people who wanted to kill us.
When I see barbarians torturing and dragging an American ambassador, I found those scenes horrifying and I think every American should be enraged. And I don't want the commander-in-chief apologizing and talking about some stupid movie.
America has the right to be a free country. America stands for freedom. We should be standing up around the world telling these people, we're not going to give in to you. And we are prepared to meet your violence with whatever effort it takes. And since these people are on film, we should hunt every one of them down.
HANNITY: Well, I want to know, Mr. Speaker, I would really like to know -- what is the president going to do about it? Because now we are spending $70,000 on an ad -- I'll show this in a minute -- $70,000 on an ad in Pakistan that shows our Secretary of State, our president apologizing for the film.
GINGRICH: We are.
HANNITY: Now, there's going to be -- we are spending $70,000. I'll show you this in a second.
GINGRICH: Well --
HANNITY: Now, they are saying all of these things about this movie and it's disgusting and it's despicable and we disagree with it. Well, next week in New York, the Andres Serrano picture of a crucifix immersed in his urine is coming back. By the way, some taxpayer money went to an award for this guy. And I'm wondering, are they going to speak out so passionately against the crucifix in urine? I doubt it.
GINGRICH: Look, you have a left-wing establishment which thinks that being anti-Christian and pro-Muslim is totally appropriate. I'm tired of being lectured that I should accept Christ being immersed in urine or a statue of Mary being smeared with elephant dung, that we should put them in public museum at taxpayer expense, that we should recognize this as art. And then when some -- makes a stupid movie, with no public funding, no public support, suddenly we are apologizing around the world and suggesting censorship of Americans on behalf of Islam.
This is totally one sided view by our release, not just the president, not just the secretary of state but also sorts of people in the news media, some of whom wrote strong columns attacking those of us who were offended by immersing Christ in urine, and are now writing strong columns suggesting that we should be censoring people who are in anyway offensive to Islam. I think it's totally one-sided betrayal of Western values.
HANNITY: And as people watch this ad that our State Department, taxpayer dollars are being spent in Pakistan -- and by the way as the world continues to burn tonight, all over the Muslim world, anti-American protests, embassies being attacked, flags being burned, chanting "death to America" happening all over the world. So, all this Muslim, quote, "outreach" has brought no goodwill towards the United States. But here is the United States president, the United States secretary of state, this is the ad they are using our money to run in Pakistan to try to appeal to Islamist radicals that are protesting against us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Since our founding the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification for this type of senseless violence. None.
SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: Let me state very clearly -- and I hope it is obvious -- that the United States government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and message. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Are they going to say this next week about Catholics when the crucifixion and Christians, when the crucifix immersed in urine is going to show up?
GINGRICH: Look, I wish they would have shown, this is an administration waging war on the Catholic Church. I suspect Cardinal Dolan of New York would be thrilled if President Obama would apply the same ground rule to Catholics that he is applying to Muslims. We'd love to have the Obama administration respect Catholicism, respect Judaism, respect Protestantism. But what do we get? We get attacks against the values of people in America who are Christian by a president who then uses our tax money to apologize to people who are burning our flags, storming our embassies and as we just saw, killing the American ambassador, torturing him, apparently, according to one report.
I want a president who stands up for America and who lectures the world about American values, one of which is free speech. I don't want a president who apologizes to those who are killings Americans.
HANNITY: Let me show you this other ad that came out by a group, Let Freedom Ring. And it shows the new president, former Muslim Brotherhood head, Morsi, and what we have captured him saying. Now, this comes on the heels of this very week, Hillary lobbying for more than the $2 billion that we're sending the Egyptians in aid. This is startling ad that they put out. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Here is the Muslim Brotherhood rally for their new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
(SPEAKING ARABIC)
GRAPHIC: Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing.
ANNOUNCER: They want to conquer Israel and renew long severed ties with Iran, a country building nuclear weapons to slaughter the Israeli people, death to Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood's top leaders even write about taking over America.
GRAPHIC: ... destroying the Western civilization from within...
ANNOUNCER: President Obama, you invited the Muslim Brotherhood to the White House? Legitimizing a group that wants to undermine America and destroy Israel? You sent them $1.5 billion of our taxpayer dollars?
Why, Mr. President, why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: I mean, there is the president of Egypt saying our capital is not going to be Cairo, Mecca, Medina, it shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing. Our cry shall be millions of martyrs march towards Jerusalem, you know, destroying the Western civilization from within? And Hillary Clinton, the administration lobbying for money? This is their president.
GINGRICH: The answer is simple. Look, the answer is simple. House Republicans should clearly indicate we're going suspend all aid to Egypt, not a penny until we have a very different attitude from the Egyptian government. We've already had the Egyptian prime minister saying, that we should be censoring people in America or expect more riots. Why would we send them money to subsidize their hostility to us?
HANNITY: Yes. Especially in light of what their motto is.
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