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Graham: Senate action on impeachment will determine future of America
Published February 10, 2021
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity" February 8, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: All right, Tucker. Thank you as always. Great
show.
Welcome to HANNITY.
Tonight, in less than 24 hours, Democrats will put the work of you, the
American of people, on hold to carry out one last pointless smear of former
President Donald Trump or as Jim Acosta affectionately says, President
Trump in exile.
Now, instead of working on COVID relief, instead of creating jobs, instead
of getting aid to frontline workers or creating a plan to save so many
small businesses in trouble -- well, congressional Democrats, they will be
busy not for the foreseeable future conducting -- well, so many agree -- is
an unconstitutional impeachment charade show with a verdict we all know is
predetermined.
Former President Trump will be acquitted, we know that. Forty-five senators
have already voted to end the impeachment trial because it's not
constitutional. And, by the way, the Senate has no jurisdiction over a
private citizen. That would be Donald Trump. Nor can you actually remove a
person from office that he no longer holds.
But it doesn't matter to the Democrats, the media mob. They are living in
their rage-filled fantasy land. It's like a drug. They can't give it up
their drug addiction.
They claim that Donald Trump incited this insurrection on January 6th when
he said things like oh, fight like hell. Pretty much like every Democrat
like we've been showing you for weeks. Now, apparently, the mere use of
hyperbole that the Democrats even used themselves is grounds for
impeachment.
But if that new standard, if that's it for everybody, well, what are we
going to do about Maxine Waters? She's going to have to be impeached. You
decide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA): You see anybody from that cabinet, in a
restaurant, in an department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and
you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they're
not welcome.
The people are going to turn on them. They're going to protest. They're
going to absolutely harass them until they decide that they're going to
tell the president, no, I can't hang with you.
The lying president said I had threatened all of his constituents. I did
not threaten his constituents, his supporters. I do that all the time. I
didn't do it that time.
And with this kind of inspiration, I will go and take Trump out tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Going to take Trump out tonight, as you can see.
For years, Maxine Waters frequently calling for harassment, for violence
against the president of the United States, his staffers and even his
supporters. She talked about taking him out.
And using the Democratic party's own logic and standards, her
insurrectionist incitement warrants -- well, that would warrant
impeachment, right? Until now, Water, she's never faced any impeachment or
punitive measures of any kind. In fact, Democrats, they even promoted her
to be chairman of the powerful Financial Services Committee. And that's
because, according to Waters herself, she's done and said absolutely
nothing wrong whatsoever.
Trump insurrectionist, hers is peace, love and kindness, the type you'd
hear on a Sunday morning in church. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATERS: They're going to try to say that we have done rallies, and we've
said thing that have incited others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say you have not glorified or encouraged
violence against Republicans?
WATERS: Absolutely I can say it. As a matter of fact, if you look at the
words I used, the strongest think I said is tell them they're not welcome.
Talk to them. Tell them they're not welcome. I didn't say go and fight. I
didn't say anybody was going to have any violence. And so, they can't make
that statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Create a crowd. Take Trump out tied. Get in their faces. Follow
them in the grocery store. They're not wanted anywhere anymore.
Well, we all heard the violent rhetoric, which according to the Democrats'
own standards, that is incitement towards insurrection.
We have tape from Chucky Schumer threatening two U.S. Supreme Court
justices there on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building saying, they
won't know what hit them and they will pay the price. When does his
impeachment trial start?
Now, we heard New Jersey Senator Cory Booker scream, go to the Hill, get
out and please get up in the face of these Congress people. Oh, he's
inciting insurrection.
We heard Joe Biden twice talk about, yep, taking Trump behind a gym and
beating the hell out of him. I wonder if a conservative said that about him
what would the reaction be?
Over the summer, just days after a Minneapolis precinct burned to the
ground, violent riots wreaking havoc multiple cities, what did Kamala
Harris say? She was encouraging more out, telling Stephen Colbert, they're
not going to stop. And everyone, beware, beware, because they're not going
to stop.
Well, what? Burning down police precincts? They're not going to stop before
the election. Election Day in November. They're not going to stop after
Election Day.
Everyone, you take note, you take note of that on both levels. They're not
going to let up. They should not and we should not. Sounds like
insurrectionism.
Anyway, applying that Democratic standard to Waters and Schumer and Joe and
kamala Harris and Pelosi and others, also promoting -- by the way in
Harris' case a bail fund to get violent rioters arrested out of jail. Okay.
I guess their impeachment tries will follow.
Keep in mind, according to nearly every media mob outlet, now according to
the FBI and investigators, now according to documents that have been
relayed to the court documents and even according to Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, the breach at the capitol, oh, it was preplanned. It wasn't some
out of control spontaneous incitement to riot because of Donald Trump's
remarks. In fact, we're now learning the two pipe bombs that we have on
video that were planted the night before may have been part of a pre-
organized attack.
So make no mistakes, authorities were warned about an impending war at the
capitol. That was being planned. Perhaps weeks in advance. This is question
you don't have snap impeachments before you have any facts, any
investigation, any conclusions.
Never mind the idea that you might want to allow the other side to, well,
at least make their case. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigation into the deadly insurrection at the
U.S. capitol added new evidence that it was planned.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Also shocking, new reporting that the FBI received a
very specific warning before the riot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI warned of war at the capitol. But for some
reason, security was not stepped up to meet the challenge of that attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That there was an FBI internal report the day before
the siege, warning of a violent war at the capitol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI admitting that it had intelligence before the
insurrection that people were planning to travel to D.C. with the intent to
cause violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now just how did President Trump's January 6th remarks incite an
attack that has now been in the works for weeks?
Now, tonight we need to get to the bottom of what went wrong at the
capitol. This can't happen in our country. And, by the way, those that
travelled to Washington D.C., those involved in the plotting and the
planning and the scheming with violent intentions, oh, yeah, why didn't we
know about it? Why weren't they prepared?
And, sadly, Democrats now are more interested in waging yet another
pointless smear of former president in exile, Donald Trump. And let's hope
the trial goes on and on for weeks and months. As a matter of fact, I
highly recommend it, Chuck. Just extend it out, day after day, week after
week, month after month.
Let America fully absorb how shallow you and your party are. And let's all
learn about the glaring double standard and the rank hypocrisy that is all
of Washington and all of its swamp ugliness.
This is not, never has been a serious proceeding. It's a phony political
show trial. There's no judge. Chief Justice Roberts refused to preside over
the case. Now, you got that guy on the left side of the screen or right,
defending -- I guess the right side on your screen, on the left facing this
way, Democrat Patrick Leahy, he's going to preside. Yeah, the same senator
who is already stated Trump should be convicted. Well, there's a fair and
impartial jurist, right?
Now, are we the only ones that see what a complete farce, what a travesty
of justice this is? What a total colossal waste of taxpayer money and time.
We also know where the so-called jury stands because nearly every senator
has gone on record with what their beliefs are. This is nothing more than
political theater. The lines will be scripted. They will be delivered with
great passion.
It will be like a Broadway play that you don't have to pay for, nor do you
have to watch. And we already know how it ends. Zero suspense. What good is
that?
So, in the coming days, you can expect a lot of manufactured, loud, famed
phony outrage from Democrats and the media, how did this happen? While
ignoring everything that the Democrats have said and done -- well, even the
last four years. None of it will mean a thing.
It's all an act from a bunch of swamp and sewer rat politicians who will
never hold themselves accountable to the very standards that they
sanctimoniously set up for Donald Trump and others.
And, of course, if Mr. Unity, Joe Biden, actually wanted to bring this
country together as he says he does and actually ease tensions, he could
put a stop to this right now.
There's an upside. The more they focus on hating President Trump, well,
frankly hold on to your wallets that means less damage they're doing to the
country by imposing their insane, Green New Deal, socialist agenda, and
raising your taxes, and firing guys that work on the Keystone XL pipelines
and other pipelines, and other oil and energy exploration and building the
wall, those guys that got fired.
Keep going, Democrats. You're doing a great job helping Americans. And
while we're at it, I have a long list of witnesses, frankly. I would like
to see called. Maybe they should impeach him a few more times. Let's maybe
go for an even dozen Trump impeachments.
Joe is never going to stand up to the radicals that control him. He will
never ask for the unity he says he wants because he's incapable of standing
up to his own party and the media mob that control him.
So buckle up, because this country is about to be put through hell over and
over again. And guess what? The Democrats will scream, they will yell, they
will rant, they will rave. They will use their prepared scripts and throw
one last Trump temper tantrum, all with the love of the media mob and big
tech.
As my friend and colleague Mark Simone, radio host, put it: Tomorrow is
impeachment day. The Democrats impeach Trump every February. It's now
become an annual event. Kind of like the Golden Globes. Remember last
February when they missed the pandemic started because they were focused on
impeachment?
Too bad there's not a lot of let's work for the American people day.
Here's with reaction, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, Harvard law
professor, Alan Dershowitz.
By the way, Professor, be warned. His nickname is firebrand. It's a best
selling book. Like you, he's entering a new arena in his life.
It's all happening. Now, you're a Democrat, professor. I don't think you've
been asked this question.
You heard Maxine Waters. You heard me play Chuck Schumer on the steps of
the Supreme Court. I read Kamala Harris' statements. I played it many
times.
If you apply that standard they're using to define an insurrection against
Donald Trump, does it or does it not apply to them?
ALAN DERSHOWITZ, HOST OF THE DERSHOW PODCAST: I don't think it should
apply to any of them. The First Amendment protects all of that speech just
the way it protected Clarence Brandenburg when he got up wearing Klan
outfits with hoods and crosses and guns, saying, I want to take revenge
against the Senate, and I want to send all the Jews back to Israel and all
the blacks back to Africa. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld that
decision.
President Trump didn't incite people to come to the capitol. He invited the
people, not incite, invite. He said, come peacefully and patriotically
protest.
But you wouldn't know that if you read 144 constitutional scholars issued a
letter the other day threatening, threatening Donald Trump's lawyers,
saying if you dare, if you dare to even raise a First Amendment argument.
I'll read it to you, any First Amendment defense raised by President
Trump's attorneys would be legally frivolous. Now, that's a magic world,
"legally frivolous." It means unethical, unprofessional and you can be
disciplined and disbarred.
So, here, you have 144 scholars telling Trump's lawyers that the American
people are not entitled to hear an argument based on the First Amendment.
Well, I'm here to tell these lawyers -- I taught legal ethics for 25 years
in Harvard, I am a constitutional lawyer for 55 years -- make that
argument. If you don't make it, it's unethical, because you have an
obligation to your client and to the American people to prevent -- to
present this First Amendment argument.
Ignore these 144 scholars. They're all result-oriented. They want to see
Trump impeach and they're willing to stretch, tug, destroy and limit the
Constitution. It is a shame --
HANNITY: I give you credit --
(CROSSTALK)
DERSHOWITZ: -- that 144 scholars would attach their name to that.
HANNITY: Professor, I give you credit for pure intellectual honesty and
consistency.
But, Matt Gaetz, and the professor said it's all protected speech. I agree
with the professor. The president did say, many of you will peacefully,
patriotically march to the capitol so your voices can be heard.
I tend to doubt with the little edited montages that Chucky and company are
going to put forward tomorrow and Raskin who himself challenged the
election in 2016 will ever bring up. But the bottom line is this is who
they are. They can't help themselves anymore. We lived now the last five
years.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): This is impeachment by reflex. It is impeachment
in a lieu of an actual agenda for the American people.
Regular Americans watching this charade will wonder, what is in it for
them? Now, I didn't teach legal ethics like Professor Dershowitz but I at
least passed it, and I can tell you that there is an obligation on the part
of the president's attorneys to make these First Amendment arguments and to
vindicate the claims the president was making as someone who cares deeply
about election integrity.
The president's lawyers will do their job if they can show that the
Democrats are trying to establish a standard of conduct that they
themselves cannot live by. They're -- the quotes that you showed in the
monologue.
But also remember, Congresswoman Ayanna Presley who said, as long as
there's unrest in our lives, there'll be unrest in the streets. And yet,
there was no action taken against here. I think that's far more inciting
potential violence than when the president asked for peace and patriotic.
But ultimately here, you see a dangerous expansion of the impeachment tool.
In Ukraine, they used impeachment because they had a policy disagreement
with the president about the extent to which we had to hold back that aide
in exchange for anti-corruption efforts. Now, they're literally using it to
try to discipline speech that they find uncomfortable and they don't like.
That is a very dangerous precedent for the country.
HANNITY: All right. Congressman, thank --
DERSHOWITZ: It's free speech but not for thee, free speech for me but for
thee. And that cannot ever be allowed to prevail, because if you give free
speech for me and not for thee, ultimately nobody gets free speech. So, we
must protect free speech for everyone.
HANNITY: Well said, Alan Dershowitz.
And that means free speech to call me on social media any name you want.
Just don't attack Matt Gaetz. It's unfair.
All right. Thank you both, Congressman and Alan Dershowitz.
Joining us with more, how the left is trying to criminalize all Trump
supporters, FOX News contributor, former Speaker of the House, Newt
Gingrich.
OK. I think you got three things. The constitutional argument, they did a
snap impeachment and now the facts are, oh, it was preplanned. Oh, there
were people that plotted, planned, schemed the whole thing and started it.
And lastly, I would like to see a montage of the Democrats and their
insurrection -- insurrectionist language played at the impeachment. What's
good for them should be good -- what's good for Trump should be good for
them.
NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I agree with all of those
as tactics. But there's something more profound. And I just did a podcast
on this, again, with 360, going all the way back to John Wilkes in the
1760s in Great Britain. The idea that a bunch of politicians sitting in
Washington D.C. think that they have the power to say to 75 million
Americans, we will decide whether or not you get to vote for this guy
again, that is such a profound attack on the entire American system. The
level of corruption and ego that suggests for everybody who votes yes is
astonishing.
By what -- just -- instead of talking about President Trump, talk about
citizen Trump, that's what he is right now. He's a citizen. But what right
do a bunch of Washington politicians have to reach out to a citizen and
limit their opportunities based on what? Partisan hatred?
This is one of the most profound attacks on the Americans system that we've
ever seen and unfortunately, that's an attack which oligarchs, the giant
internet companies, the propaganda media, all of them are on the same team.
All of them are in favor of crushing the American people's right to pick
the leaders they want and instead impose the leaders that the elites want.
I think it's an amazing moment.
HANNITY: It's an amazing moment.
There's a part of me that acknowledged, let's get things over, move on with
the business of the country, I have a very different attitude now. I want
them to keep going. I want them to drag it out. I want them to bring
witnesses.
Now, I want the president and his team to bring in their witnesses. And I
want all of America because we're going to hear Trump. We're going to see
the edited videotape. Then I want to play them. I want to play them so
maybe the few people that don't watch Hannity will see something that they
he never saw before.
It'd be interesting to watch the media mob get a little uncomfortable when
they begin to see, oh, wow, look, what Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer and
Maxine Waters and Joe Biden had to say. It might be a shock to some people,
Mr. Speaker, that maybe don't watch us as they should be watching.
GINGRICH: Look, I think you're on to something. I wish the Trump lawyers
would submit a public list of the people that they want to subpoena
starting, of course, with Chuck Schumer for standing in front of the
Supreme Court and just ask him, what did his words mean? Maxine Waters,
what did her words mean?
Nancy Pelosi, you can go down the list. They can find 20 or 30 Democrats
and they should list all of them and say, these are our first defense
witnesses. We want the Senate to subpoena every one of these and demand
that they come and testify.
Now, remember, this is not a trial. This is like a mock court. This is not
a real trial. You don't have a judge. You have -- you know, anybody --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Oh, come on. That's not fair. You're being unfair to pat --
you're being unfair to Pat Leahy already declared Trump is guilty. That's
unfair.
GINGRICH: No, wait a second, Sean. Hear me out. Every movie you've seen
where you have, for example, a criminal trial, if the jurors are not
willing to say that they haven't made their mind up, they're struck from
the jury. How can you have a judge, quote, "judge" who's already announced
that he's for conviction? This is like a western movie where the move wants
to lynch somebody and the judge is sitting there, drunk, and said, oh, go
ahead, boys.
This has no resemblance to a real trial. It's a mock trial and it's
pathetic.
HANNITY: It's pathetic. Let's extend it. Let them keep going days and days
and days of it. Let's see what the result is for them. I'm hoping for that.
All right, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
When we come back, oh, an unbelievable exchange with our own Peter Doocy
today and Jen Psaki. No answer when Peter asked, where are the workers laid
off by Biden's executive orders two weeks ago? Where are they going to get
their next paycheck? Because they're not working right now.
That and Lindsey Graham weighing on this and much more, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Now, as the Biden administration continues to issue pink slips to
thousands and thousands and thousands of American oil and gas workers as
part of this radical climate change fantasy, Jen Psaki today was unable to
explain when, where these new mysterious green energy jobs, the millions
that they're promising would appear. Not a good moment. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS REPORTER: When is it and where it is that can they
go for their green job? And that is something that the administration has
promised.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I certainly welcome you to
present your data of all the thousands and thousands of people who won't be
getting a green job next time you're here. You can present that.
DOOCY: So, how about this? The Laborers International Union of North
America said the Keystone decision will cost 1,000 union jobs and 10,000
projected construction jobs?
PSAKI: Well, what Trumka also indicated in the same interview was that
President Biden has proposed a climate plan with transformative investment
in infrastructure and laid out a plan that will not only create millions of
good union jobs but also help tackle the climate crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Jen has a job, as does everyone else. Where are these people are
going to get the job that work fulltime, they need to put food on their
table, pay the rent, pay the mortgage, pay the car payment, pay insurance,
or the truck payment, and where are they going to put away money for
college and put away money for all things like retirement?
Meanwhile, over on Capitol Hill, Senator Lindsey graham calling out the
Democrats impeachment madness because despite no case, despite no evidence,
no chance of the conviction and a massive double standard, Democrats still
want to hold this unconstitutional sham trial with a predetermined outcome
anyway and create yet another pointless spectacle inside the sewer, the
swamp chamber.
Here to explain more, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
Senator, I know you've been talking about the issue of bringing in, you
know, witnesses. I'm in favor it. I want this trial to go on.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Right.
HANNITY: I want to interview Chuck. I want to interview Joe Biden. I want
to interview Kamala.
I want to interview Pelosi. I want to interview Maxine Waters. I want to
interview Cory Booker, Eric Holder. I got a whole list.
Would you consider looking at my list?
GRAHAM: Yeah, I'll be glad to look at it. But unlike you, I have to sit
there and listen to all this. I'm hoping that the trial --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: That's good point. I'm not going to watch every minute.
GRAHAM: Yeah, I got to listen to this crap. So, I hope by Sunday or
Monday, the trial will be over.
Here's what I can tell you -- if the House managers want to call one
witness, the defense is going to call all the people you named and then
some.
To my colleagues tomorrow, there are a hundred of us, what we do today is
going to make history of the time America exists. What Democrats have done
is basically declared war on the presidency itself. The impeachment in
House took place without a hearing, without one witness being called, and
without a lawyer for the president of the United States.
You can't get a traffic ticket based on the producers they used to impeach
President Trump. And we're also impeaching a man who's out of office. When
you combine a snap impeachment with an impeachment of a president who's out
of office, you're going to destroy the presidency itself.
I know you hate Trump but please, pull back before we set in motion this
destruction of the presidency by never-ending impeachments based on lack of
due process and political retribution as the motive.
HANNITY: Well, the presiding judge as you pointed out is a guy that
already declared that he's guilty. I mean, OK, I can think of a lot of
countries this reminds me of, not one of them resembles the United States
of America. That's number one.
Now we've learned, oh, if you didn't have a snap impeachment, now we know a
lot of this was preplanned, plotted, schemed --
GRAHAM: Right.
HANNITY: -- people involved -- OK, that they didn't know in the week that
they did their quick snap impeachment. And I do think if this is the
standard, we must apply it to everybody else. Is that going to be part of
the defense? I hope so.
GRAHAM: Absolutely.
Yeah, I think you'll see statements by politicians that are more inciteful
than what President Trump said. But when the Founders created impeachment
for the president, it was different than for judges and anybody else. It
requires that the chief justice of the United States to preside over
presidential impeachments. Why? Because you don't want a juror preceding
over the impeachment of a presidential officeholder.
So the idea that the president is treated differently under the
Constitution makes perfect sense. They never envisioned going after the
president once he's out of office because the purpose for impeachment is to
remove the person, not bar them from running in the future.
So, the whole point of impeachment is lost when the person is no longer in
office. They didn't go after Nixon when he resigned for a reason. So do my
colleagues here, you're about to set in motion a historical precedent that
will put at risk every future president.
You could be impeached in the future based on hatred, 50 hours no witness,
no hearing, no lawyer. You can be impeached after you leave office. George
Washington under this theory can be impeached for owning slaves.
We're doing a lot of damage of the country because people hate Trump. Knock
it off.
HANNITY: Can we -- can we impeach senators? Can we impeach the sitting
vice president, the sitting president over insurrection charges based on
their own words?
GRAHAM: There's no limit to what they're doing. They're setting in motion
something that is basically political retribution. It's not based on facts.
They actually impeach the president before they gathered the facts. We're
finding things now would be crucial to his defense. He never had a chance
to make a defense in the House.
HANNITY: All right. Lindsey Graham, we'll be -- we'll be watching. And
unfortunately, they don't pay you enough to sit through that Schiff show.
All right. When we come back, violence continues to spiral out of control
in America's liberal cities. Trace Gallagher, he has the latest. Also,
Iowa's Governor Kim Reynolds prompted outrage from the left over her
decision to continue reopening the state, you know, so people can make a
living and people can work again. She'll join us to explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Now more violent crime caught on tape tonight, including a
vicious attack in broad daylight, this time in the city of Los Angeles and
even a riot at a St. Louis jail.
Here to explain more, FOX News chief breaking news correspondent, our own
Trace Gallagher in our West Coast newsroom -- Trace.
TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CHIEF BREAKING NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Sean, crime
is skyrocketing and getting more brazen. This happened, as you said,
downtown Los Angeles, broad daylight in front of surveillance cameras, a
mom, dad, and 2-year-old child were shopping when two people jumped out of
a car and pointed a gun at them. The robbers stole the family's property,
pistol-whipped the dad and then shot him in the arm. He was okay.
The mom and child were also not injured but police are using this video to
ID the suspect. They're looking for three men in their 20s, and a female
getaway driver.
Meantime, Missouri Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush is defending a jail
riot in St. Louis. The inmates who had COVID concerns set fires, smashed
windows and started throwing garbage on the streets below. It took guards
eight hours to quell the riot.
But Representative Bush quoted Martin Luther King saying, quote, a riot is
the language of the unheard and defended the rioters, quoting again, their
lives and their rights must be protected. My team and I are working to
ensure that the urgent needs of people who are incarcerated are not
ignored. We should note for the record, she condemned the capitol riot and
supported this one -- Sean.
HANNITY: All right, Trace. Thank you.
Now, also tonight, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is taking bold, decisive
leadership, allowing Iowans to get back to work, easing virus restrictions
while implementing practical precautions to keep residents in her state
safe and secure. Of course, the governor's decision to stand up for working
people who are dying to get back to work have been disproportionately
impacted by crippling lockdown policies, draconian in some cases, is
prompting strong outrage from the left, including this angry editorial from
"The Des Moines Register", claiming the move was, quote, inexplicable and
irresponsible.
And meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to focus on mask mandates
and keeping Americans as locked down as possible instead of Operation Warp
Speed and maybe pushing some of their Democratic governor allies into a
vaccine deployment program to reopen their cities and states. For example,
the Chief of Staff Ron Klain, he'd like to send every American a mask even
though pretty much every American already has at least one.
Transportation Secretary Buttigieg saying he's discussing with the CDC
about requiring a negative COVID test to even go on an airplane.
But here's a thing. We're a year into this. Americans now understand the
risk, they understand how to be responsible and now is not the time to
inflict more pain and economic hardship on the American public by imposing
more draconian restrictions because the long-term impacts could cause
irreparable harm to those working families who have already suffered
enough.
Here to react to all of this, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
Governor, you're not dismissing the need for masks or social distancing.
You're not telling people to be irresponsible, just the opposite. But
you're putting faith in the people of Iowa that are very well-informed as
is the rest of the country to do it the right safe way.
GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R), IOWA: Well, absolutely. And, Sean, thank you for
giving me the opportunity to be on with you tonight.
If one thing, I have been very consistent in the way that we managed COVID-
19. And I think that's been really important for Iowans. My number 1
priority from the beginning has to protect -- has been to protect the lives
and livelihoods of Iowans, especially those most vulnerable, and to make
sure that we were managing and preserving our healthcare resources.
I didn't pursue aggressive lockdown strategies. Instead, I put my faith in
Iowans and Iowa businesses. We kept over 80 percent of our economy open.
We've had our kids back in skill since August. We were able to play sports
this summer.
And in November, when we hit a brief statewide spike, I spoke directly to
Iowans and I said, I need you to work with me. We're going to implement
some mitigation strategies to bring down the hospitalization numbers. And
if you do this, we'll dial up the mitigation efforts now, but when we bring
those numbers back down, we're going to roll them back.
And that's exactly what I did. Our hospital -- COVID hospitalization
numbers are down 80 percent from where they were at their peak. Our
positivity rate is down. And Iowans know how to be safe and responsible.
Our businesses know how to responsibly take care of their customers. And
because we remained open and had our economy working, we're really coming
out of COVID in a strong position.
Our unemployment rate has dropped from 11 percent to 3.1 percent. We
actually finished our last fiscal year with our budget balanced, cash
reserves full, and we actually had a surplus.
So instead of talking about raising taxes or asking for a bailout from
Washington, D.C., we're investing in education and broadband and we're
talking about cutting taxes. And so, that's what you do when you have a
balanced targeted approach and trust the people that you serve.
It's been a year. They know what they're doing and we're going to continue
to open up in a safe and responsible manner.
HANNITY: And, Governor, I'm looking at the chart. And you guys were
struggling like a lot of states in December. That would be the peak over
here, OK?
REYNOLDS: Right, correct.
HANNITY: Now if you look at -- hang on. I get it on TV -- if you at the
downward trajectory, you have dropped precipitously --
REYNOLDS: Yep.
HANNITY: -- in terms of cases.
That would mean that, okay, it is now time -- you stopped the major spread
and you slowed the curve. And now, people can get back to work and you're
telling them to do it safely, correct?
REYNOLDS: Exactly. Exactly. They did what they needed to do and I told
them we would dial up and dial down accordingly.
We're dialing down, we're opening up and we're going to continue to do
everything we can to come back stronger and better than ever.
HANNITY: All right, Governor. Good for you. We are -- we love our friends
in Iowa. We hope this is over for everybody soon.
Democratic governors, do yourself a flavor. Come up with a plan, get the
vaccine to the people that need it. Move a little faster. Get a little more
organized. It would be helpful.
When we come back, all right, the border battle Joe Biden's one executive
order after another. Open borders, amnesty now coming right here to the
U.S.
Lawrence ones, he -- well, he's live near the U.S.-Mexico border. He's
speaking with a rancher who has been personally been impacted by Biden
halting border wall construction. You're not going to miss that or want to
miss that report.
And Lara Logan will joins us to weigh-in on what will now be the battle of
how many people will enter the country illegally, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Now, Joe Biden's reckless, irresponsible, far left immigration
agenda is already having a devastating impact at the U.S. southern border.
Our own Lawrence Jones is live. He's in New Mexico, speaking with a rancher
who has been personally impacted by the Biden administration, halting
border wall construction. We also have a lot of guys that were building
that border that have all gotten pink slips.
L.J., a lot going on down there and a lot of people pretty ticked off.
LAWRENCE JONES, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: A lot of folks ticked off, Sean.
Good evening.
Promises made, promises kept, that was the mantra for former President
Trump. Well, when Joe Biden got into office, he wanted to undue some of
those promises. He used executive orders. First up, border security.
I have the opportunity to talk with someone that has been impacted, a
fourth generation rancher. I wanted to talk to him how it impacted his
family and his community. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And you were promised a barrier to stop illegals from coming on
your property.
UNIDENTIFIED NEW MEXICO RANCHER: Well, that was Trump's motto through his
campaign and through his administration. They were going to build a wall.
It started in April of last year. And we were -- you know, we were really
excited that this was happening. And then as soon as President Biden took
office, he pulled the plug on this project and it came to an immediate
halt.
JONES: What was it that you feel that told them -- that got them to this
position where they said we didn't need the wall anymore? Did you guys
complain about it or other locals complaining about it?
UNIDENTIFIED NEW MEXICO RANCHER: Absolutely not. Everybody in our area is
in favor of this wall because they see where it works, and it does work.
JONES: The wall works?
UNIDENTIFIED NEW MEXICO RANCHER: The wall works. This is all a politically
driven agenda. This is -- and this is what's frustrating to me is the Biden
administration, they're stopping the wall in my opinion to try to hurt
Trump's legacy of securing the border, when in reality all it's doing is
hurting the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Now, Sean, I had an opportunity to talk with the border patrol
today. They released a statement saying that the suspicious is real.
They're no longer building the wall but they said they do plan on adding
more technology and foot patrol on the ground.
But as you see these things in my hands right now, these are called
footsies, Sean. These are what illegals put on their feet to hide their
trail as they go over the barriers in different communities. The rancher
found these on his property. These are the most high tech footsies I've
seen.
Normally it's bags. These are real stitchy and it shows you the traffic
that's out here on the border, Sean.
HANNITY: All right. L.J., unbelievable. And, you know, all the people
losing their jobs, too.
Oh, but they're going to get jobs in the New Green Deal bill, I don't know
doing what. We'll find out.
L.J., thank you. Appreciate it.
Now, we're also learning tonight that the Biden administration is planning
more rules to paralyze ICE, to prevent agents from seeking deportations of
immigrants, even convicted, now get this, drunk driving and assault. In
other words, you can't send them home.
So, let's be clear, one step closer to the complete dismantling of ICE, a
complete dismantling of all border security, and, of course, at the other
end of it, yeah, amnesty for all.
Here to break it down, the host of "Lara Logan Has No Agenda: Return to the
Border", available, by the way, on https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__FoxNation.com&d=DwICAg&c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&r=VkbVq-YonEbBIwUJaIvKV3SgloMTL-0dr1cdxo8ZLD8&m=96U-rP-X3RZZpGaWVmQbrPGdvxDcuy2CXiPqcBA7vRE&s=kKtkUlI46qTjVejKwGuRWoEN71L8L3qTHlh7ifbGuzM&e= right now, journalist Lara
Logan.
Like you, I have covered this story for years, from the Rio Grande through
San Diego. I've been all across that southern border. For the first time,
we made progress. Now, it's amnesty and open borders again.
What have you found?
LARA LOGAN, FOX NATION HOST: Well, you know, it's funny that you mentioned
your board along the border, Sean. I was thinking about that as I was
writing down some numbers from Border Patrol's own statistics that may
resonate with you, with your knowledge of the border down there.
For example, Del Rio, they're up from 2,476 in the week before Biden's
inauguration, the last week, 5,699 apprehensions. From known recorded got-
aways up from 924 to 2,106.
So you know, that is all along the border. More than 50 to 60 to 70 percent
increases not just in the number of apprehensions but also in the number of
known and recorded got-aways. Agents describing people literally just
running past them.
And while a lot of people call this a return to the catch-and-release
policy, Sean, what they don't realize is that the release part of that has
been expanded. So, now, if you're coming over the border and you have a
child with you who is 7 years old and under, border patrol doesn't
interview you. They don't take DNA testing or anything like that. They have
no idea if it's really your child.
Anybody in the group with you is eligible. You get your biometrics taken,
your fingerprints, and you get released on your own recognizance, right?
So, you know, if you never show up anywhere, well, ICE isn't going to
deport you now, right? So, it doesn't matter. You don't need to show up in
court.
So, what you've effectively done is bypassed legal immigration system and
provided basically an open door. And the numbers show that, the cartels,
because they're in control of the border. They know that they can move
anything they want.
I'll tell you something that happened, Sean. I spoke to a former drug
trafficker and human smuggler for the cartels. I told him what was
happening. And he asked me, his response was, are you serious? And then he
said, wait a minute, repeat that for me.
And I repeated it, and he started laughing. He said I'm moving back to the
valley, as in the Rio Grande Valley. Because, and I said way? He said
because I'm going to be a millionaire in six months. And that pretty much
says it all.
HANNITY: So the message is out. That America is going to have amnesty. Now
is the time to come. And we won't deport people who are convicted or
charged with violent crimes, correct?
LOGAN: Yes. There's a whole list of crimes from money laundering to fraud
to, you know, various forms of assault, to immigration violations obviously
that ICE is not supposed to prioritize. They're supposed to be focused on
serious crimes. But, you know, everyone I have spoken to from ICE (ph) says
they've also been focused on serious crimes.
And the real catch here is that just like the gun control legislation,
they're getting rid of the Second Amendment without telling you. It's the
same of decriminalizing the border. With this, they're decriminalizing
crossing the United States border illegally.
HANNITY: And all bypassing an entire branch of government, the legislative
branch doesn't weigh in, it's all done by executive fiat, a stroke of a
pen.
All right. L.J. and Lara Logan, thank you both.
When we come back, more HANNITY right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have left this
evening. We hope you'll set your DVR. We'd love you to join us every night,
9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, never miss an episode of HANNITY. And we always
promise to remain independent. We're never going to be the media mob. We
get to the bottom of things they don't ever seem to show interest in.
Yes, we will be following the absolute join Schiff show starting tomorrow
and have fun with it.
But let not your heart be troubled, the news continues -- Laura, take it
away.
END
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