Matt Gaetz says he has no plans to step down, denies allegations
FOX News' Kevin Corke reports on evolving details in federal investigation into Florida congressman on 'Special Report'
This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," April 2, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening. Welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier.
"BREAKING TONIGHT", one Capitol Police officer is dead. The attacker is dead, and security, once again, is increased at the U.S. Capitol. Another deadly security incident at the Capitol building less than three months after the January 6th riot.
This time, a man drove a car into a barricade hitting two officers, killing one of them. Authorities say the driver emerged from the car with a large knife and was shot and killed by Capitol Police. It's believed he acted alone, but the investigation continues at this hour.
Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has been following this all day up on Capitol Hill and has the latest tonight. Good evening, Chad.
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bret, another tragic death of another Capitol Police officer. William Billy Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force.
Just after 1:00 Eastern today police say a suspect who Fox has identified as 25-year-old Noah Green, originally from Indiana, rammed his blue Nissan into two Capitol Police officers guarding the main Senate entrance to the Capitol.
The car then crashed into a barricade. Police say Green jumped out and lunged at the officers with what was described as a cross between a machete and a kitchen knife. Police fired on Green, killing him.
But acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman had devastating news for a department still reeling after the January 6th riot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOGANANDA PITTMAN, ACTING CHIEF, UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE: And it is with a very, very heavy heart that I announced one of our officers has succumbed to his injuries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Evans a martyr for democracy. In a statement, President Biden said he sends heartfelt condolences to the Evans family. The president says he knows what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol and those who protect it.
Prior to this year, only two Capitol police officers had ever died defending the Capitol. Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson during a 1998 shootout. And now two more officers in less than three months.
First, Officer Brian Sicknick who died after the riot. Sicknick's remains just laid in honor in the Capitol rotunda over the winter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PITTMAN: I just asked that the public continue to keep U.S. Capitol Police and their families in your prayers. This has been an extremely difficult time for U.S. Capitol Police after the events of January 6th, and now the events that have occurred here today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Police say Green wasn't known to them. The Capitol already on high alert after January.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT CONTEE, ACTING POLICE CHIEF, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: At this time, it does not appear to be an ongoing threat. It does not appear to be terrorism related.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Just two weeks ago, officials removed the extra security fence erected after the riot. Had that fencing still been up, that roadway would not have been open, and the suspect could not have gotten his car that close to the U.S. Capitol. Bret.
BAIER: Chad, well, to your point there, what does this do overall about the debate about Capitol security?
PERGRAM: Well, security officials always say keep the fight outside and that respects security work today, and that's why there is a double barricade at that entrance to prevent cars from driving close to the Capitol, and that's what failed on January 6th. But this does raise questions. Should Constitution Avenue even be open to traffic? It was closed for more than two months after the riot.
And this is why Capitol security officials always pushed for a broader security perimeter around the Capitol to keep attacks away. But lawmakers don't want to turn the Capitol into a citadel, which Americans cannot visit. Today's incident reveals that the Capitol remains a target. Bret.
BAIER: Chad Pergram, live on Capitol Hill. Chad, thank you.
You are looking live at -- momentarily, a picture of Atlanta's baseball stadium where the summers -- this summer's All-Star Game was supposed to be played.
Major League Baseball is now moving that game elsewhere in response to the new Georgia election law. That decision comes shortly after President Biden said he would support such a move to protest the legislation despite multiple fact checks including from the Washington Post, saying, what the president, the White House, and top Democrats have been saying about that new law is not true.
Let's get details tonight from correspondent Steve Harrigan in Atlanta. Good evening, Steve.
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. The summer classic supposed to be right here in Atlanta in July. It's not going to happen now. It's going to be moved to another city. We don't know which one yet.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred saying he's going to move it because "there were restrictions placed on voting in Georgia." That's something MLB does not stand for. Now, that assertion drew a blistering response from Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
In his statement said, "Today, Major League Baseball cave to fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies. Georgians and all Americans should fully understand what the MLB's knee-jerk decision means: cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every part of your life, sports included."
It was just four years ago that the NBA moved its All-Star Game out of North Carolina after that state passed a law regulating the use of public bathrooms by a transgender individual.
Analysts say this is another example of professional athletes spreading their political wings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM GRAY, SPORTSCASTER, FOX SPORTS: They feel that this law is discriminatory. And so, they're going to stand up, rise up, and they are going to let their voices be heard and make a move.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIGAN: Now, the commissioner said he talked to players both active and retired. He talked to clubs. One group he may not have spoken to were Democratic politicians here in Georgia, who say they do oppose the new election law, but they also oppose any events moving out of the state of Georgia or any boycott.
Stacey Abrams who ran and lost against Kemp, tweeted, "Disappointed, MLB will move the All-Star Game, but proud of their stance on voting rights. I urge events and productions to come and speak out or stay and fight."
That sentiment echoed by the new Democratic senator here, Jon Ossoff, who said he categorically opposes any events moving out of the state or any boycotts. He said that business -- the growth of business here in Georgia is what is driving this political progress.
So, it's a move really as it stands now, here in Georgia, doesn't seem to please either Democrat or Republican. And Governor Kemp in a programming note will be on tonight with Tucker at 8:00 p.m. Bret, back to you.
BAIER: Steve Harrigan, live in Atlanta. Steve, thank you. You wonder if the MLB read that new law.
President Biden says higher taxes to pay for his massive infrastructure plan would not slow down the economy. The president today celebrating a very positive job report for March.
Speaking of numbers, we are getting extraordinary new projections tonight on the number of children crossing into the U.S. from the southern border. White House correspondent Peter Doocy takes a look.
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the president prepared for Easter at Camp David --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd hope you all have a good weekend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You, too.
BIDEN: I'm looking forward to it.
DOOCY: Border officials are bracing for as many as 184,000 unaccompanied minors crossing the border by the end of the year.
GLORIA CHAVEZ, BORDER PATROL CHIEF, EL PASO SECTION: We're going to surpass the numbers from back in 2019.
DOOCY: Gloria Chavez, El Paso sector Border Patrol chief released a video of two toddlers being dropped over the border wall this week. And now, shares a photo of the 3-year-old and 5-year-old girls being given snacks. This is why she went public.
CHAVEZ: So that the parents that are actually conducting this type of arrangement with criminal organization -- these people don't care about their will -- well-being.
DOOCY: At the White House, officials are still hoping to break through with a message, don't come now.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That is a sliver of what our efforts are. And we don't feel that simply telling people, with more PSAs, not to come, that, that is going to be the only way to reduce the number of people who are taking the journey.
DOOCY: But there are also diplomatic conversations with leaders in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador led by Vice President Harris.
PSAKI: The vice president's role is really focused on the Northern Triangle.
DOOCY: Now Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is pitching a possible pause.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I mentioned word, moratorium, we've got a human crisis that I'm seeing here. I've come here and seen it. So, that remains shutting everything down for 90 days. It's something has to be done and has to be expedited.
DOOCY: The president didn't talk about immigration today. Instead, focusing on the 916,000 jobs created last month.
BIDEN: The first two months of our administration has seen more new jobs created in the first two months in any administration in history.
DOOCY: But despite the progress, he wants more stimulus with his infrastructure plan.
BIDEN: Congress should debate my plan. Change it and offer alternatives if they think that's what they have to do. But Congress should act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOOCY: The president says his predecessors who have been successful knew how to time what they are doing. And now, even as some Democratic lawmakers come out and say it is time to talk about immigration in Congress, the president thinks it's time to talk about 2-1/4 trillion more dollars-worth of stimulus in his infrastructure package. Bret.
BAIER: Now, he also mentioned the coronavirus and fighting that -- and vaccine efforts. What about the CDC's kind of inconsistent messaging just this week?
DOOCY: Inconsistent scattered dizzying -- in a week, that started with on a real low note with the CDC director saying that she felt a sense of existential doom and that she was scared. Then, the next day she came out and said, good news, people that get the vaccines cannot carry it. Something the CDC scientists then walked back a little bit.
She then came out and said that -- or the CDC came out and said that people with the vaccines can travel safely within the United States, but they should not -- and this did come up at the briefing, somebody was asking what kind of an example the president is setting by going to Camp David for Easter weekend with members of his family.
And Jen Psaki did not give us specific numbers of people that he will be meeting with just to say that it is not going to be the big Irish-Biden clan that we have seen at previous holidays. Bret.
BAIER: Peter Doocy live on the North Lawn. Peter, thank you. Happy Easter.
Let's bring in our panel early. Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist, A.B. Stoddard, associate editor at RealClearPolitics. And Byron York, chief political correspondent at the Washington Examiner.
I want to cover a number of things, but first comment on the security situation. We're still trying to figure out what was behind this guy who did this today. But, obviously, Capitol Police losing another police officer in this attack.
A.B., you work up there a lot, just your thoughts of the day.
A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Yes, Bret, it's really hard to think back to 1998 when we -- when we lost those two officers that Chad Pergram referred to. Officer Gibson and Officer Chestnut, and our -- and their names really stay with us because at the time it was so shocking, we really thought the Capitol complex was inviolable.
And thinking about my first reaction today when I heard the news of this Capitol Hill police officer losing his life, in this very different altercation, just as the perimeter has changed and eased very recently, my first reaction was what kind of threats will they face next week and the week after that? They are a target.
And so, this man seems to have had terrible mental problems. It is not seem to be an episode of political violence, but it still means that this is a place that people who seek to cause harm or get themselves in a shootout with police in a suicidal mission, or anything dangerous are gravitating towards.
And it really brings an urgency to this issue after January 6th, when over 100 -- more than 100 Capitol Police officers were injured and are still recovering. Many of them deeply traumatized how they're going to be able to be protected in order to protect this community going forward.
BAIER: Yes, and just to praise their efforts today and every day.
Mollie, I want to turn to the other stories of the day. The Major League Baseball announcement pulling out of Atlanta and in protest of this election law is pretty stunning, if you think about it, of all the checks of what has been talked about, about this law, and what the reality of it is.
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, what the reality of this law is, is that it has some minor improvements to how voting is done in Georgia to provide a little bit of confidence about the security of elections. It streamlines a lot of things after years of trouble in voting.
And what Democrats and the media and other people have done is basically lie about what this bill is. And they have said that it is racist to support voting integrity. That is ridiculous and it is preposterous that they would say that. It's also ridiculous that Major League Baseball would believe that or regurgitate that.
And baseball is in no position to be doing this. They have trouble keeping fans like me, they losing fans like me. They have no attraction to younger crowds, they already supported the violent riots last summer, which turned off a lot of fans, and now they're telling the entire Republican Party that they would like them to stop being fans.
But not just Republicans, in fact, these basic things are widely popular throughout the country, including majorities of Democrats support things like having basic voter I.D. And Major League Baseball, which has no problem getting into bed with the communist Chinese Party which has no Democratic policies to speak of. But they don't want to work with Republicans or people who care about --
(CROSSTALK)
BAIER: Though there's no early voting in Beijing.
HEMINGWAY: Yes, they don't care. But voting integrity is actually important for the whole country, and this is something that everybody should support, including corporations. You don't have a country if you can't trust elections and everybody should be moving for this, not fighting the people who are trying to do a little bit of good here.
BAIER: All right. Here is President Biden earlier, a couple of times. Take a listen and I want to read what the Washington Post wrote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: What I'm worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It's sick. It's sick deciding that you're going to end voting at 5:00 when working people are just getting off work.
You're going to close a polling place at 5:00 when working people just get off? This is all about keeping working folks and ordinary folks that I grew up with from being able to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: He went on to say that he was in favor of moving the All-Star Game if that was a protest. The Washington Post says, "In reality, Election Day hours were not changed and the opportunities to cast a ballot in early voting were expanded. The law made a modest change, replacing a vague phrase, normal business hours, presumed to be 9:00-5:00 to a more specific 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. time period. Some rural county election offices worked only part-time during the week, not a full eight-hour day, so the shift to be more specific makes it clear they must be open every weekday at least eight hours. But that's the minimum."
It goes on to give counties, Byron, of the option to stay open longer earlier and later than 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the early voting but it's 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
BYRON YORK, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Plus, drop boxes which only came about as a result of changes for the pandemic last year are now in the law. The worst thing about this is that President Biden continues to misrepresent what is in this law, giving Major League Baseball cover to do what he does, and by the way, frustrating a lot of people in Georgia.
And not just Republicans, Stacey Abrams who was basically the heroine of the voting rights movement among Democrats in Georgia, said, please, please, do not boycott our state.
Senator Ossoff, newly elected in that January 5th runoff, Democrat, said he disagrees with what Biden is doing on here. Senator Warnock, the other senator elected on January 5th is a little bit -- less decisive about that, but there are top figures in Georgia saying this does not warrant some sort of boycott. And you've got the president of the United States giving his own imprimatur to that.
BAIER: I only have a couple of seconds here, A.B. But politically, going forward in 2022, is this going to be a big deal potentially?
STODDARD: Oh, yes, it's going to be a big deal for both sides. I think the Democrats are doing themselves a disservice not to be on the same page on boycotts which are dramatic. And have major ripple down consequences, they don't know where this will go next, and they're not in agreement about it. I think they should have focused more on what the -- what the bill did to increase partisan influence rather than talk about water bottles.
So, you know, I think that they sort of shot themselves in the foot on their messaging on this.
BAIER: All right, panel, we'll see you a little bit later in the show. Some good news to report, the Capitol Police officer who was struck by the car is in stable non-threatening condition. Just getting that word.
Up next, the revealing answer from the president's son when asked about his laptop. Plus, serious new allegations in the sex scandal involving an already controversial Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: "BREAKING TONIGHT", President Biden's son says he does not remember whether a laptop that reportedly contained details about his business dealings with Ukraine and connections to his dad was actually his.
Hunter Biden is promoting a new book detailing his long battle with substance abuse and his relationship with his famous father, now president. Congressional correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has a look at what Hunter Biden is writing and what he's saying about it tonight.
JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hunter Biden still under federal investigation for potential tax-related crimes, opened up for the first time about the existence of a laptop he purportedly left at a Delaware repair shop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRACY SMITH, NEWS CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS: Was that your laptop?
HUNTER BIDEN, SECOND SON OF PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: For real, I don't know.
SMITH: I know, but you know that's -- this isn't --
(CROSSTALK)
H. BIDEN: But my point is, I really don't know. Maybe the answer is. That's --
SMITH: OK, you don't know, yes or no, if the laptop was yours.
H. BIDEN: I don't have any idea. I have no idea --
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: So, could have been yours?
H. BIDEN: Of course, certainly. There could be a laptop out there that was stolen from me. That could be that I was hacked, it could be that it was -- that it was Russian intelligence, it could be that it was stolen from me.
HEINRICH: The revelations came in an interview ahead of his memoir's release, which also details his battle with addiction. He's never before spoken about the laptop, which contained e-mails appearing to detail his overseas business deals in China and Ukraine. They've long been a subject of scrutiny from Republicans, including former President Trump who is impeached over his efforts to dig up information connecting then-candidate Joe Biden to "corruption".
After Impeachment and right before the election, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani received the laptop from a Delaware computer repair shop owner John Paul Mac Isaac. He believed what was on it proved Trump's claims.
But Joe Biden who has always denied any knowledge or involvement with his son's business deals asserted the laptop's contents were the product of Russian disinformation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still think that the stories from the fall about your son Hunter were Russian disinformation and a smear campaign? Like you said?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, sir, so much.
J. BIDEN: Yes, yes, yes. God love you, man. You're a one-horse pony.
HEINRICH: Mac Isaac says he was forced to close his shop after critics cast doubt on the origin of the laptop and whether its contents were hacked. Twitter blocked the New York Post which first reported the story, a decision its CEO later said was a mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEINRICH: Two years ago, Russian military hackers targeted Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company where Hunter Biden worked. Sources tell Fox News that same year the FBI seized that laptop in connection with a money- laundering probe. That investigation later fizzled out.
Hunter is still under investigation for his tax affairs, although it's unclear if it has any connection to the laptop. Bret.
BAIER: Continue to follow. Jacqui Heinrich live on Capitol Hill. Jacqui, thank you.
The emerging sex scandal involving Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz is growing more sordid tonight. There are reports of money for sex, drug-fueled trysts, even competition among lawmakers concerning their sexual contact -- conquests.
Gaetz denied the original allegations upfront, but this story keeps evolving. Correspondent Kevin Corke has the latest on this. Good evening, Kevin.
KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. The federal investigation targeting Congressman Gaetz is specifically looking into whether he and an associate provided cash or other things of value to women that they had sex with after connecting with them online.
That associate of Mr. Gaetz was indicted last year for allegedly trafficking a teenage girl for sex back in 2017. And now, the DOJ is reportedly trying to determine whether Gaetz himself had sex with the 17- year-old.
Gaetz, who is not married -- was not married at the time, but is currently engaged, has strongly denied the allegations. And, in fact, he has even suggested that he reached out to the FBI because this could all be part of a possible extortion plot.
Unnamed sources have told the Miami Herald newspaper that Gaetz was a part of a group of young male lawmakers who at the time created a game to score their female sexual conquests, which allegedly granted points for various targets such as interns, staffers, and other female colleagues at the statehouse in Tallahassee.
Meanwhile, leaders on Capitol Hill here in Washington are taking a wait- and-see approach about the allegations, but they do acknowledge there could be consequences if the allegations are proven to be true, including possible removal from the House Judiciary Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Those are serious implications. If it comes out to be true, yes, we would remove him if that was the case.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA): Of course, being removed from the Judiciary Committee is the least that could be done. From what we have heard so far, this would be a matter for the ethics committee.
CORKE: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi there. Meanwhile, that investigation started last year when Bill Barr was attorney general under then-President Trump. POLITICO reports that Barr allegedly avoided being seen near Gaetz in public, and even pulled out of an event in an effort to avoid being around him. Again, that is according to POLITICO.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORKE: In text messages today, Gaetz told The Hill newspaper that it is, quote, very safe to say he has no plans to step down and continues to insist the rumors are absolutely false.
Of course, we'll keep an eye on this story for you, Bret. Back to you.
BAIER: Kevin, thank you.
Up next, the latest testimony from the trial of the former police officer accused of causing the death of George Floyd.
First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. KVRR in Fargo, North Dakota as firefighters stop a wildfire from spreading in the western North Dakota tourist town of Medura, where its 100 residents were forced to evacuate. No injuries or damages reported. Officials believe an electrical line started that fire.
This is a live look at Atlanta from Fox 5. A lot of Atlanta stories today. One of the big stories there tonight. Atlanta's mayor says she hopes a new police academy will raise morale on the force and attract new officers. Keisha Lance Bottoms says she wants to build the Safety Training Academy on 150 acres at the old Atlanta Prison Farm. The facility would also support fire department personnel.
That is tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BAIER: The trial of the former Minneapolis police officer accused of causing George Floyd's death focused today on whether the use of force was appropriate. Correspondent Matt Finn shows from us Minneapolis.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MATT FINN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The most senior officer of the Minneapolis police force, Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman, on the stand speaking very critically of former officer Derek Chauvin using his knee on George Floyd's neck as Floyd was handcuffed on the ground.
LT. RICHARD ZIMMERMAN, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: Totally unnecessary. Pulling him down to the ground face down and putting your knee on a neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for.
FINN: Zimmerman telling the court that Chauvin escalated his use of force on a handcuffed Floyd to the top tier, deadly force.
ZIMMERMAN: If your knee is on a person's neck, that can kill him.
FINN: The lieutenant testifying that a handcuffed person like Floyd should not have been left on his stomach for too long.
ZIMMERMAN: Once you secure or handcuff a person, you need to get them out of the prone position as soon as possible because it restricts their breathing.
FINN: The defense pointing out that Zimmerman, an investigative officer, has not patrolled the streets for decades.
ERIC NELSON, CHAUVIN ATTORNEY: The frequency with which you have to use higher levels of force as an investigator doesn't happen all that often, right?
ZIMMERMAN: Correct.
FINN: Zimmerman telling the defense that a knee to the shoulder was a part of their training, and sometimes police do keep people in a restrictive position until an ambulance gets there, as in Floyd's case.
NELSON: And sometimes people are held for EMS in a restrained position, agreed?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sometimes.
FINN: Zimmerman testified that once Floyd was handcuffed, he did not pose a major threat other than kicking, but then seemingly gave a different answer when cross-examined by the defense.
NELSON: That person could continue to thrash his body around, agreed?
ZIMMERMAN: Sure.
NELSON: And part of the reason police officers restrain people is for that person's own safety, agreed?
ZIMMERMAN: Absolutely. Yes.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FINN: There were reports the police chief here was going to testify today. That top cop is on the witness list, but the prosecution would not confirm to FOX News. Bret?
BAIER: Matt Finn in Minneapolis. Matt, thank you.
Tonight, we hear some of the harrowing stories of migrants traveling to the southern border to seek entry into the U.S. Here's correspondent Alex Hogan from McAllen, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALEX HOGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Faces of frustration and exhaustion, groups of migrants, a scene repeated over and over within just miles of each other, surrendering to the U.S. border agents, sharing their information, and loading on to buses headed for separate U.S. facilities. Families with newborn babies and even expectant mothers making the long journey, sometimes week and months by foot through dangerous terrain. So far within this week, agents found a man bitten by a snake, a woman incoherent from dehydration. And 19,000 unaccompanied kids are currently in U.S. custody. Press Secretary Jen Psaki says the White House is working to address the growing problem.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are not naive about the challenge, but what our focus is on is solutions and actions to help address the unaccompanied minors who are coming across the border and making it less of an incentive to come.
HOGAN: Yesterday within 24 hours in the Rio Grande valley, Border Patrol took 2,751 people into custody, an increase of 313 percent since this time last year. El Paso reporting a 169 percent increase yesterday, crossings up 144 percent in Tucson, Arizona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This entire area will be closed to flights.
HOGAN: New centers in Texas quickly going up to meet capacity demands. Meanwhile, border agents say they need more help in the forms of technology and manpower to handle other elements of the job.
RAUL ORTIZ, U.S. BORDER PATROL DEPUTY CHIEF: So far this year, 4,700 criminal aliens have been prosecuted by the Border Patrol agents. So, on top of dealing with this humanitarian population, you also have to deal with the border security threat that exists out there.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOGAN: Border agents in this part of the country say they typically see five to 10 deaths per summer of people attempting to cross the border. And it's a number that they fear will be far greater because of this humanitarian problem and in this part of the world right now. Bret?
BAIER: Alex Hogan live on the border in McAllen, Texas. Alex, thanks.
Up next, America's move toward electric vehicles might actually make the country more dependent on one of its adversaries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADIA SCHADLOW, HUDSON INSTITUTE: The full four parts of this battery cycle controlled by China, which means that it will have leverage over the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: There are growing concerns that America's push to manufacture and use electric vehicles could have a disturbing unintended consequence. A major percentage of the batteries used in those vehicles comes from China. State Department correspondent Rich Edson has our report tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Spending on record is going to boost American innovative edge in markets where global leadership is up for grabs, markets like battery technology, biotechnology, computer chips, clean energy, the competition with China in particular.
RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: In that competition, China is well ahead. A report from research firm BloombergNEF on lithium- ion battery supply chains says China controls 80 percent of the world's raw material refining, more than three quarts of global cell capacity, and 60 percent of the planet's component manufacturing. That means realizing President Biden's transportation future of electric cars would depend on China unless the U.S. develops its own capacity. Part of his $2 trillion infrastructure plan features $174 billion for the electric car network, including battery supply chains and charging stations.
NADIA SCHADLOW, HUDSON INSTITUTE: It will be important to watch where that money is spent and how it is spent. Will it be driven by political considerations, or will it be driven by where the best research into batteries is going?
EDSON: But there is opposition, especially from union workers. Many whose current jobs would disappear in a battery dominated transportation system. Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is in the middle of that fight. She tells FOX News, quote, "I have spent too long with labor being pitted against environmentalists. My last session of Congress was sheer hell. I'm talking to the labor unions every day, and I'm talking to the environmentalists. There are very honest conversations going on between the two sides."
Another challenge -- timing, as building infrastructure in the U.S. can often be more expensive and take longer than in other developed countries.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
EDSON: Now, there is bipartisan support for bolstering American manufacturing, especially after the global pandemic highlighted how much of the medical supply chain is based overseas. The question for Congress is how to bring that back. Bret?
BAIER: Rich, also from the State Department tonight, the administration taking another step toward getting the U.S. back into the Iran nuclear agreement?
EDSON: That's right. The State Department announced today, Bret, that the U.S. would begin indirect discussions with Iran next week in Vienna. The countries still in the Iran nuclear deal would act as intermediaries as part of all of this and try to resurrect that 2015 agreement, also known as the JCPOA. In a statement, the State Department says they will discuss, quote, "The nuclear steps that Iran would need to take in order to return to compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, and that the sanctions relief steps that the United States would need to take in order to return to compliance as well." Diplomats close to the discussion say the two sides have already exchanged discussions and ideas. Back to you.
BAIER: A little skepticism about how that will all come out, but we will follow it. Rich, thank you.
Some other stories Beyond our Borders tonight. At least 51 people are dead in Taiwan after a train barreled into an unmanned truck that had rolled onto the track. Dozens more are injured in the island's deadliest rail disaster. The government says the truck's emergency break was not properly engaged and the vehicle slid about 65 feet down a hillside on to that track.
President Biden says he cares about and wants to visit Ukraine. The president talking with his Ukrainian counterpart today on the phone for the first time since taking office. President Biden affirmed U.S. support of Ukraine as Russia continues military movements near their shared border. The Ukrainian leader said he appreciates U.S. support.
American rap artist and singer Akon visits Uganda in search of investment opportunities that would extend his business footprint in Africa. One of his efforts, a futuristic planned city. Akon's wife has revealed plans to invest $12 million in the country's entertainment industry.
Just some of the other stories Beyond our Borders tonight. Up next, the panel joins us for the lightning round. We'll talk about the White House, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The laptop from hell, right? Where's Hunter? Where's Hunter? He's out there. Where's Hunter?
ADAM SCHIFF, (D-CA) HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: This whole smear on Joe Biden comes from the Kremlin. That's been clear for well over a year now that they have been pushing this false narrative about the vice president and his son.
JOHN RATCLIFFE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Hunter Biden's laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign, and I think it's clear that the American people know that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was that your laptop?
HUNTER BIDEN, PRESIDENT BIDEN'S SON: For real, I don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could it have been yours?
H. BIDEN: Of course, certainly. There could be a laptop out there that was stolen from me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: OK, we haven't seen the full CBS clip of that interview with Hunter Biden. We don't know if they redirect and say, did you drop it off at that store? Don't know. But, that's what we have so far as his book gets ready to come out. We've got the Friday Lightning Round, back to our panel, Mollie, A.B., and Byron.
Byron, it's pretty amazing the evolution of that story, and now he's coming out and doing interviews.
BYRON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER": Now he tells us. He was very, very quiet for months, all through the election, the transition, the beginning of his father's presidency. Now he tells us. Having a book to sell will do it every time.
But I think the people who are looking really, really bad here are the people who run Twitter and Facebook who suppressed this story when it came out in the "New York Post" in October of last year. Many major media organizations that tried to ignore it or, or write it all off to Russian disinformation, which you just heard John Ratcliffe, the former intelligence chief, say it was not.
And one thing that Hunter Biden really didn't seem to suggest was that it wasn't his. Perhaps it was a laptop that was stolen, perhaps it was hacked. But it certainly could have been his. Now he tells us.
BAIER: A.B., we don't know the status of this investigation. And there's a lot of people saying what's happening with that as the Biden administration continues on?
A.B. STODDARD, REAL CLEAR POLITICS: Well, I think we're going to have to wait until the end of the investigation to find out what's going on, because if you read the clips from the interview, he says three times it might have been stolen from me, but it might have been hacked, and it might be Russian disinformation, but, sure, it might have been stolen from me. He doesn't know if he had a computer that was stolen from him, that's missing?
He's not credible. He's a very troubled guy. His father believes whatever he tells him. There was Russian disinformation in this campaign intended to hurt candidate Biden, but we're going to have to wait until the DOJ and the FBI tell us what happened to this laptop, because he doesn't seem to know if he has lost a computer.
BAIER: Yes. And he is very detailed about his past as far as drug -- substance abuse, which is very serious, Mollie, but not as detailed about what happened to the computer or his finances.
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": Well, I think we all know it's Hunter Biden's laptop. We have always known it's Hunter Biden's laptop, and that's why big tech and big media suppressed that story. The greatest amount of disinformation in the 2020 campaign came from our own media which suppressed this very important story, which wasn't about -- yes, it's very salacious that Hunter Biden has had a history of problems with drugs and whatnot. But the bigger issue was that it dealt with corruption of the Biden family business, and that story was willfully suppressed by his fans, by Biden's fans in the media and in tech, and that's why it's such an important story.
We don't really need to know how it ends because we also know that our Justice Department basically has two standards, one for people who they are friends with, and one who they are not, so I wouldn't expect anything to come of it.
BAIER: All right, on that happy note, let's do Winners and Losers. Byron, first to you.
YORK: My winners are travelers. I know they had some mixed messages, but the CDC now says it's OK for fully vaccinated people to travel. So if you want to go somewhere, do it if you have been vaccinated.
Now, my loser are the Biden dogs. Now, Major has already, we know, had to leave the White House for biting somebody. Now, apparently, it's happened again. Then we saw some, shall we say, doggy pooh in the White House. Don't know who is the suspect there, but they've had a bad week.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIER: All right, A.B., winner and loser?
STODDARD: My winner is Nancy Reagan, whose full story is finally being told in the new, what they're calling the definitive biography "The Triumph of Nancy Reagan" by Karen Tumulty. And there's excerpts in "The Washington Post" that are absolutely fascinating printed yesterday about her influence on her husband, encouraging him to start a relationship, a deep relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev, and her influence on helping to end the Cold War, which I know, Bret, you have written about, will be very interested in.
My loser is Matt Gaetz. He is facing losing a lot more than his committee assignments.
BAIER: Yes, and we'll follow it. Mollie, winner and loser, quickly?
HEMINGWAY: Winner, all the beneficiaries of Operation Warp Speed, which all these adults who by the end of April will have access to the vaccine, something we didn't think was possible a year ago. My loser, the Major League Baseball, which apparently doesn't have a single adult in ownership or in the players group to say what they're doing by going to war against voter integrity is insane and un-American.
BAIER: Panel, thanks so much. Have a great Easter.
When we come back, "Notable Quotables."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: It's Friday. It's good Friday. Finally tonight, "Notable Quotables."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not what I should have done. It's what he should have done.
REP. MATT GAETZ, (R-FL): I do believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to smear me.
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT: That was one of the weirdest interviews I've ever conducted.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Our data from the CDC today suggest that vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don't get sick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not catch and release. This is catch and reunite.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, (D-NY): These are children, and they are not insurgents, and we are not being invaded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a great team of salvers that made it work, made the impossible work.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We know China and other countries are eating our lunch. So there's no reason why it can't be bipartisan again.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Every road we fix, every bridge we build, we can either do it in a way that's better for the climate or worse for the climate.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, (R-LA): When Pete breaks a shoelace, he blames it on climate change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the juju thing, again, Mika, with the previous White House had some bad energy, so Major is working through some of that stuff?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Of course. Dogs tell the truth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First game in over a year. Wouldn't miss it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, say it with me, si se puede.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do we have hope that there is a possibility to see Donald Trump run again in 2024?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You do have hope. That I can tell you.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: That's it for us. Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and unafraid. FOX NEWS PRIMETIME hosted by Rachel Campos-Duffy -- and I took eight seconds, I'm sorry -- starts right now.
END
Content and Programming Copyright 2021 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2021 VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox