Updated


This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 29, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

 

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: And welcome to "Hannity" this Friday night.

 

Tonight, we are tracking multiple developing stories.

 

And, coming up, we are going to have the very latest from this David versus Goliath GameStop revolt.

 

And Jordan Belfort, how many of you have watched "The Wolf of Wall Street"? He's the guy that inspired it. He will weigh in.

 

We will also have an important update from the Durham probe tonight.

 

And a brand-new report from the corrupt Biden family syndicate. Now, apparently, Joe's brother is looking for new ways to cash in on the family name and even the inauguration.

 

And, later, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, he has been caught in what is a massive COVID cover-up, and at the Democratic attorney general in New York apparently is going to hold him accountable. Will they actually do it in full? And will the families that have been victimized in this, will they get their day in court?

 

That's all coming up.

 

But, first tonight, more proof that the Democrats impeachment Schiff show charade is built on a pack of lies. Two pipe bombs the FBI tells us were discovered near the U.S. Capitol on January 6th and likely planted, oh, about 8:00 in the evening the night before.

 

Take a look at your screen.

 

This is surveillance footage obtained by "The Washington Post." Look at that suspect wearing a hoodie, a mask and gloves and carrying a bag just after 8:00 p.m. on January 5th before the rally on January 6th.

 

Now, authorities believe this person likely planted both pipe bombs just blocks away from the capitol. One close to the RNC building, the other near the DNC.

 

Again, this was on January the 5th. In other words, this deranged individual did not plant these bombs because of the president's January 6th rally speech. Remember, according to the bogus article of the snap impeachment -- Democrats, what do they claim? That the president incited -- a new favorite word -- an insurrection. Because on January 6th, 2021, he, quote, willfully made statements that in context encouraged and foreseeably resulted in lawless action at the capitol.

 

Well, now, we know in reality, what did the president do? He encouraged his supporters, some of you, will peacefully and patriotically, well, march to the capitol so your voices can be heard. Now, those who acted with malice, those that broke the law were not incited by the president if they had planned this all ahead of time.

 

According to multiple reports now, even "The Washington Post," fake news CNN, they planned their attack well before January the 6th. And now, it appears that the pipe bombs were planted well before any remarks by the president the day before.

 

Now, this is why you don't rush to judgment. This is why you don't have a snap impeachment and ram an article of impeachment in just a matter of days with no evidence, no hearings, no defense, no argument, nothing. That is why this program will always work are sources, we do our own research is, we are independent, and we refrained from making knee-jerk, emotional reactions and accusations.

 

That's why, unlike pretty much every other network and most people on air, we -- this show -- got it right on the Russia hoax. We were the ones who pointed out a lot of hearsay witnesses, one anonymous hearsay whistle- blower, opinion witnesses -- but only one fact witness in the Ukraine impeachment hoax. And that witness, well, exonerated Donald Trump. He wants nothing. No quid pro quo.

 

That's why we were right on the Kavanaugh nomination. That's why we were right in Covington, Nicholas Sandmann, remember that case? Remember Duke Lacrosse, we were right there, too. UVA, right again.

 

Ferguson, Missouri, remember, hands up don't shoot rush to judgment -- no, that all fell apart. Baltimore, Freddie Gray, Cambridge, and to so many other major stories. And now once again, we at this program were right about this current impeachment charade. The present will be acquitted and they're now wasting our time and money. And, by the way, if they want to talk censure, it's time to talk about Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer.

 

You know what? We're going to apply one standard to everybody. Republicans need to focus on their jobs, which is the economy, border control, energy independence, they've got a job to do.

 

And joining us now with the full report from Los Angeles, our senior correspondent, Rick Leventhal, with us tonight -- Rick.

 

RICK LEVENTHAL, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Sean, there appears to be clear evidence for multiple cameras in multiple locations capturing images of the suspect moments before he's believed to have placed pipe bombs outside both Republican and Democratic headquarters in Washington on January 5th, the night before the capital insurrection. The surveillance footage, some released by the FBI, reviewed by "The Washington Post," shows a man carrying a backpack each found on C Street Southeast, headed toward an alley near the RNC building.

 

Seconds later, "The Post" reports videos show the suspect in the alley known as Rumsey Court, wearing a white colored sweatshirt, yellow, black and gray Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes, a mask, and gloves, and carrying a backpack near his waist.

 

Authorities believe he placed one pipe on there and the other outside the dnc building sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. on the fifth. "The Post" reports the bombs were simply built with components including mechanical timers and switches, with one witness said it looked like a common kitchen timer attached to the device.

 

They were live and then disarmed before they could explode. The FBI says agents are using, quote, every tool in the toolbox to catch this perp, including raising the reward for information leading to his arrest to $100,000 -- Sean.

 

HANNITY: Rick Leventhal.

 

I'd like to urge anybody, if you have any information whatsoever, please help the FBI and your country out. Rick Leventhal, thanks.

 

Now, I've said this before, I will say it again. We immediately, instead of politicizing this, rushing to judgment, no due process, no presumption of innocence -- what we need as quickly as possible is a 9/11 commission style report. What went wrong at the capital, why weren't these signs picked up a question mark why wasn't there a police presence when you know hundreds of thousands of people are in town days before and they are going to march to the capitol.

 

The breach happened in 30 seconds. This can never happen again. We've got to protect our institutions and every elected official. This isn't Republican or Democrat, this is an attack on week, the people.

 

And meanwhile tonight, one thing is clear, President Trump will not be convicted. Not only is this, well, a shift show trial, sham Senate trial, not only is it unconstitutional, Donald Trump, well, did not incite insurrection. Democrats are wasting the entire country's time like they have for five years, they are wasting your money, and once again, it's all an effort to smear Donald Trump into his supporters again and again. So much for the unity that Joe Biden promised.

 

And instead of bringing Americans together, Joe, he does quite the opposite. In fact, he seems perfectly content to go it alone. And as of now, Joe Biden has signed a record of 40 executive orders and counting. Oh, by the way, he says this isn't a dictatorship. You've got to get a vote, this is a democracy.

 

And he's not even trying to get to Congress to get his agenda passed. He's ramming it down her throat with a stroke of a pen, altering people's lives in ways that are so damaging. According to the White House press secretary, propagandist Jen Psaki, Joe just loves bipartisanship. These are words, this is not true. Another lie.

 

Take a look.

 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

 

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: I believe you're being too nice about what Republicans are likely to do. Do you know something that we don't do, or are you -- or is that a fair assessment?

 

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, look, I think you take your guidance from the person you work for. And for me, that's President Biden. He starts every day thinking, I want to be able to work with Democrats and Republicans, and there's a reason they should work with me.

 

Are Republicans now against reopening schools? Are they against getting unemployment insurance checks to the American people? Are they against getting vaccines in the arms of Americans?

 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

 

HANNITY: Fascinating. Go to the number one conspiracy theory show in the entire country, where lies are spewed, well, pretty much every night for five years.

 

No, Jen, I don't know if you've ever spoken to anyone outside of your little D.C. bubble, so let me fill you when. Hardworking men and women are against prisoners at Gitmo -- apparently next week, they are being pushed to the front of the vaccine line. Yeah, that's not America first. They are against shipping doses of the vaccine overseas to other countries before every American in this country has a chance to get the vaccine first.

 

That would be American first. You obviously -- Joe Biden obviously, well, you're against putting Americans first. At this is the new America last policy.

 

They are also making Russia, Iran, Middle Eastern countries that hate us -- they are going to get them rich again by restricting American oil and gas and wiping out high paying career jobs for tens and tens of thousands of great Americans with the stroke of a pen. You know, like the construction jobs at the U.S. border as well.

 

Joe Biden with an executive order halted all of that wall construction. A lot of pink slips were given out in the last week, where the thousands and thousands of jobs are now gone, including jobs that pay well over 100 grand with great retirement benefits, great medical benefits. Yeah, those jobs are gone because Joe wiped them away with the stroke of a pen and killed off the Keystone XL Pipeline project.

 

Now, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue, this is a matter of our fellow hard working Americans -- they want to put food on their table. They need to pay their bills, they need to pay their mortgage, their rent, they need to pay their car payment, their truck payment. They need to think about retirement and they need to think about their kids wanting to go to college.

 

In fact, dozens of top Democrats, oh, over the years supported the Keystone pipeline project, let's see, even Senator Mark Warner, Delaware, Senator Tom Carper, Senator Bob Casey, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee once stated, well, the pipeline could add 50,000 jobs to Houston alone.

 

Former Senator McCaskill says the pipeline is the safest and the most environmentally sound, and it also has the added benefit of creating jobs in the process. Never mind energy independence, because when you don't have it, you weaken your homeland security. Not a good idea either in a dangerous world.

 

Even another Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin, quote, we have everything to gain by building this pipeline, especially since it would help create thousands of jobs right here at home. The Keystone XL is expected to create 20,000 direct jobs during construction and 118,000 indirect and spin-off jobs.

 

Now, despite massive bipartisan support for the pipeline, Joe Biden, president unity, killed the project with the stroke of his pen. And now, our fellow Americans are scared, they are suffering, and they are in the worst job market because of the pandemic, oh, and Joe is going to legalize 11 million people that will then be in the workforce, driving wages down below where they are. Now, Joe Biden has probably never had an original thought and his entire life, and he's controlled by his radical socialist base.

 

Make no mistake, radical socialist extreme Democratic Party, they never wanted unity. They don't want it. Instead, they want total, complete power and control -- total control over the economy, total control over health care, total control over your paycheck. And, yes, they want total control over speech, news, and information. And, by the way, they are leading the cancel culture.

 

This socialist utopia, it is a nightmare. It will fail. Socialism, it's got a history of road-kill and failure. Whatever name, whatever manifestation over the years. In the end, promises are never fulfilled. We become poorer, and then we have to figure out how much freedom we lost in the process. It Joe Biden if he gets his way, coming to a neighborhood near you.

 

Here with the reaction, by the way, his first TV interview since departing the White House, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

 

Mr. Secretary, Governor, good to see you again. I hope you're enjoying a little bit of retirement, rest and relaxation, but I have a funny feeling, knowing you, you're probably working hard.

 

RICK PERRY, FORMER ENERGY SECRETARY: Retirement is not on my -- not on my radar.

 

HANNITY: I believe that. I believe that.

 

You know, I interviewed last night right here on this program guys that work on the pipeline, and guys that were talking about -- you know, between the interviews I've been doing on radio and TV, these are career, high- paying, specialized, trained jobs. You are not going to replace them, $100,000, all the way up to $250,000 a year. They just wiped out, and now will be dependent on energy again after reaching energy dependence for the first time in 75 years.

 

This is a disaster.

 

PERRY: Yeah. Absolutely. One of the things that caught my attention when Biden did this executive action was John Kerry piped in that, you know, these people can go over and get jobs making solar panels.

 

Well, you know, I guess that's pretty easy said for a guy that married into his money. But these folks that have to work for their paychecks, people who are out there working really, really hard to take care of their families, for somebody just to say, well, let's just go over and work in some other area -- well, number one, a lot of those solar panels are made in China.

 

And again, if you want to talk about who is the big winner out of these Biden executive orders in the energy sector? It's China. It is Russia, it is Iran.

 

It just flabbergasts me to think that we've got a president of the United States that so wants to be liked by the AOCs of the world or think those individuals of the Green New Deal are somehow going to keep them in office, and to turn his back on labor union workers, people who are out there creating wealth. And I might add, Sean, over the last four years, the emissions, the cost of transitioning over to national gas in getting these over inefficient power plants out of -- out of the mix, America was doing its part to move our emissions down, and the Chinese -- and I would suggest India as well -- are over there creating a huge amount of energy using old, inefficient, and a lot of coal power coming out of India and China.

 

So, you know, I think we have to really look at, what are we -- what are we doing here? I mean, what's the long term gains for America, and also, just in the energy sector in particular, there aren't any.

 

Let me add this other thing. You know which state I think gets hurt worse out of this -- out of this administration and these executive orders? Not only the attack on fossil fuels shutting down the XL pipeline, but these executive order to stop drilling on federal lands -- it's New Mexico.

 

New Mexico's Democrat governor -- I mean, I'd love to have her on our show to hear her say what she's going to say about their state's budget. It's going to be decimated.

 

I mean, my bet is it's probably over 50 percent -- and may be over 60 percent of their total budget directly or indirectly, that comes from the oil and gas industry, particularly on those federal lands. What would Governor Grisham say if she was on this program tonight about Joe Biden's executive order on stopping that drilling on federal lands -- what would his nominee for Department of Interior -- a New Mexican citizen -- say about that?

 

HANNITY: You know, it's just sad that all of these things are happening.

 

Now, this is going to have a direct impact on your state, too. I feel terrible for all the people who lost their jobs, because we're not going to replace them -- highly skilled, very specific skill.

 

And we're endangering the country. It's bad for national security. We're all going to pay more, and they are not going to replace it with solar panels and wind things (ph). You can't translate that skill to that other new business no matter how much money they throw at it.

 

Secretary, Mr. Secretary, I like to say, you're welcome to come on in a T- shirt any time. It shows, you know, the rugged Texas spirit, which I love, as you know.

 

PERRY: Hey, listen, collared shirts are not required in rum tub Texas. So, this is casual Friday.

 

HANNITY: Listen, I'm all in. If I could talk my bosses into it, I would rip this stupid tie off now.

 

But anyway, thank you, Governor. I appreciate it.

 

PERRY: Thanks for what you're doing, Sean. I think it so important for people to understand how this administration is just gutting Americans, middle class Americans who are really working hard for their families. They are just seeing their jobs thrown away with the stroke of a pen.

 

New Mexico is really going to be impacted in an incredibly negative way.

 

HANNITY: Every American is going to be impacted. Get ready, your heating bills went up and the price you pay at the pump is going way up. And they're not going to replace those jobs, just like Solyndra collapse.

 

All right. Governor, thank you. Good to see you.

 

And coming up after the break, anti-Trump deep state lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, yeah, gets a mere slap on the wrist for his role in the largest abuse of power, corruption scandal in American history. We don't have equal justice or application of our laws. It's sad, but true.

 

And we'll bring you the latest on this rampant Biden family corruption syndicate. Gregg Jarrett, Peter Schweizer coming up this busy news-breaking Friday night.

 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

 

(NEWSBREAK)

 

HANNITY: Also developing this Friday night, we are learning now that Kevin Clinesmith, the corrupt anti-Trump resistance lawyer caught altering evidence in the Carter Page FISA warrant is only going to get probation after pleading guilty in the Durham probe, nothing but a slap on the wrist from swamp. And despite his role in the biggest abuse of power corruption scandal in American history.

 

Here to break this, frankly, in my view, a travesty of justice, FOX News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett.

 

I mean, when you compare Roger Stone and Manafort and Papadopoulos and General Flynn, right, OK, Roger Stone, 29 guys, tactical gear, pre-dawn raid, CNN cameras, lying to Congress, Horowitz refers, top FBI, DOJ people, makes referrals against them for the same thing, nothing happens.

 

Durham, where the hell is he? Nothing happens. All this time, follow the Horowitz report. Now, this guy the one guilty case we've got, nothing but a slap on the wrist and the judge is a special pleader.

 

GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Well, sadly, Sean, our system of justice is painted with political bias. And the actions of Judge James Boasberg today in the Kevin Clinesmith case proves it. I mean, this is a guy, Clinesmith, who lied to the government, lied to the FISA court, altered critical documents, and wrongfully implicated in the innocent man, Carter Page. And yet, he escapes with no prison time.

 

You know, it's a two-tiered system of justice. And all you have to do is look at the appalling conduct of those surrounding General Michael Flynn, an innocent man who was falsely accused, wrongfully prosecuted, and a judge in that case that wanted to throw the book at him. And yet, Clinesmith gets the kumbaya treatment. It's a two-tier system of justice.

 

And Boasberg's reasoning really defied all logic and common sense. He said, well, Mr. Clinesmith has suffered enough because he lost his job. And he found himself standing in the eye of the media hurricane.

 

Wait a minute, so suddenly, Clinesmith is a victim because he lost his job in the media accurately reported that he falsified evidence and lied? I mean, if that's the standard, then anybody the media reports on should absolutely escape.

 

But the other part of the equation that really makes no sense is that Boasberg doesn't seem to understand the gravity of what Clinesmith did. By altering that document and flying to the government in the FISA court, he helped the FBI enable James Comey to propagate and pursue the Russia hoax, and to the media to push a false narrative. It cost American taxpayers $30 million and a special counsel investigation, not to mention doing enormous damage to a presidency.

 

And so, you know, I tend to think that Clarence Darrow (ph) was right when he said the laws are dirty business. There's no justice in or out of court. And Boasberg of all judges should have been outraged because he presides over the FISA court, and yet, he has held to no one, not James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Rod Rosenstein or Kevin Clinesmith in criminal contempt of court for perjury, and fraud and conspiracy to defraud the court, when they lied to the FISA judges.

 

You know, it's no wonder that Americans have little faith or confidence in our system of justice today proved it.

 

HANNITY: You know, Gregg, I can say, sadly, equal justice, equal application of our laws, it doesn't exist any longer in the country. If that goes away, well, Mark Levin's proclamation, this is a post- constitutional America, holds true, and it's getting worse. Sad day.

 

Thank you, Gregg Jarrett.

 

JARRETT: Yeah.

 

HANNITY: All right. We are also learning tonight that even Joe Biden himself is worried about his family while foreign syndicate trying to cash in on his name and status, reportedly telling his brother during the campaign, quote, for Christ's sake, his words, watch yourself, referencing the family's business dealings.

 

But it doesn't look like Frank got the message. He recently appeared in inauguration day ad for Florida law firm he joined as a non-attorney senior advisor. I'm sure his expertise is really needed. Meanwhile, we're also learning tonight, zero experience Hunter Biden continues to hold a stake in the Chinese private equity firm despite reports that he's planning to divest. We reached out to Hunter Biden lawyer for comment. Whatever reason, they don't like to call us back.

 

Here with every action, he broke this in January of 2018, author of "Profiles in Corruption", and, of course, "Secret Empires", we welcome back Peter Schweizer.

 

Peter, good to see you.

 

You know, you go through this whole thing, and now, you look at the Johnson-Grassley report, do you dig deeper into your book, because you have this all in the beginning. You've got wire transfers from Russian oligarchs, Kazakh oligarchs, Chinese national shopping sprees, you got the whole Burisma, quid pro quos, no experience. You got 1.5 billion Bank of China, and he said on "Good Morning America," I never got a penny from China.

 

Explain why that was really a lie.

 

PETER SCHWEIZER, "SECRET EMPIRES" AUTHOR: Yeah, it's a complete and total lie on a number of levels. First of all, you have -- you mention the equity stake in BHR, estimates from some people at the University of Chicago is that that stake is worth tens of millions of dollars. You had almost $5 million in Chinese money transferred from CEFC, a military connected energy company sent to Hunter Biden. You have the $100,000 shopping spree, the list goes on and on.

 

And, look, here's what America has to recognize, Sean. This corruption has been a way of life for the Bidens for decades. It's not just Hunter, it's not just Frank, it's the Biden Five. We've talked about it before.

 

It includes five new members of the family, they all have their methods and their approaches, and they circle around Joe Biden like moons around a planet and they cash in off of what he does. And I think the recent report about Joe admonishing his brother, two things stand out, Sean, first of all, it seems kind of pre-canned. You know, it seems like they are trying to leak the fact that Joe is concerned about this, even though the family has been doing this for decades.

 

Second of all, notice what Joe Biden actually tells his brother. What he says is, watch what you are doing, you don't want to get hurt. There's no mention of how this is corrupt, how this is going to look bad, how this is going to affect the country, how it might create bad perceptions about cronyism and corruption. There's none of that.

 

The focus is on the family and family members getting hurt. So, it's going to be business as usual. This is going to continue, they might be more subtle about it, but they are going to continue to engage in this kind of behavior until they are held into account.

 

HANNITY: Well, I don't really see it happening. Look, we saw what big tech did with the laptop of Hunter Biden. I know you are in a way or that I interviewed the computer repair shop owner.

 

SCHWEIZER: Yeah.

 

HANNITY: And he confirmed a lot of what had already been reported by you, by Mr. Bobulinski. In fact, Joe says, oh, I have no knowledge of my son's business dealings, but not only have we confirmed through the laptop, but we've been able to corroborate that elsewhere. Correct? That Joe did know. Joe knew about it.

 

SCHWEIZER: Absolutely. I mean, he's traveling. Hunter Biden is traveling with his father on Air Force Two to Beijing, China, for example, as he's closing a deal with DHR, the private equity firm. I mean, are they really suggesting on that 16-hour flight across the Pacific on Air Force Two, Joe never asked his son, what are you going to be doing in China? Or he didn't know in advance.

 

I mean, this is a family that has empathized for decades, and I think it's true that they are very close, that they are very tight, and they talk all the time. You can't say that for decades and suddenly when it comes to these business deals, say that there's no context.

 

HANNITY: Peter, great work as always. Thank you.

 

OK. So, well after botching his COVID response, lying about the number of deaths, his fatal nursing home go-to order caused, Governor Cuomo still refusing to take responsibility. But let's just deny the whole truth, and then when in doubt, nobody else to blame, let's blame Trump.

 

The media, of course, giving him a pass. More abusive bias from our corrupt media establishment, institutional corruption.

 

And later, we'll discuss the ongoing David versus Goliath Wall Street brawl, the Wolf of Wall Street. You've seen the movie. You'll meet the real wolf -- straight ahead.

 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

 

HANNITY: All right. Tonight, we continue to follow the David versus Goliath brawl on Wall Street, David was winning. By the way, GameStop surged again today after trading was resumed following freezes by apps like Robinhood and many others.

 

And just breaking tonight, the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, he's launched an investigation into those companies that did suspend trading.

 

Now, as we have explained, a group of retail investors, they banded together and they bought GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry, and others, then forcing major Wall Street hedge funds who like to sell short, heavily shorting these stocks, which by the way historically can hurt companies, to buy up shares and to try to cover their losses. It's something called a short squeeze, ultimately costing them billions.

 

Now, it's being framed by many as a full-fledged populist uprising against financial power centers. It is raising concerns about dangerous pump and dump schemes like that which was chronicled in the 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street".

 

Joining us now, the man who inspired that movie, former stockbroker and author and motivational speaker, Jordan Belfort, is with us.

 

Jordan, sell me this pen. Sell me that pen.

 

My first question --

 

(LAUGHTER)

 

(CROSSTALK)

 

JORDAN BELFORT, STOCK TRADER: Not by you, Sean, it's first.

 

HANNITY: First question, how accurate was -- I'm not a fan of DiCaprio, but how accurate was -- he is a good actor, but how accurate was that portrayal of you? Is that you? Was that you?

 

BELFORT: It's very accurate. To some of things that, you know, were changed were, you know, the timeline of things. But for the most part, it was very accurate, Sean. It's scary to say.

 

HANNITY: Let me ask you this. We do know these hedge funds. Most people think the stock market is, you buy a stock, you hope the price is going to go up, and you watch your portfolio grow -- OK, shorting is a part of the system, it's actually a little part of the check and balances. But it can have a negative effect of hurting companies in a pretty -- in pretty profound ways.

 

These hedge funds, they're making billions. I kind of -- I really like what this independent group, Ameritrade, Robinhood people, they got together, and they said, you know what? We're going to stick it to them because we know what the game is, and we know how invested they are in shorting these stocks, and I kind of like it.

 

Now, Robinhood comes in yesterday, they stopped -- you couldn't buy, you could sell off what you had.

 

You think that there are crimes here. On whose part? And what do you think of the hedge fund guys then crying to mommy and daddy -- in other words, the government -- to step in and protect their monopoly, if you will?

 

BELFORT: Well, I think it's laughable to hedge funds to cry foul after they do this every single day on a daily basis, manipulate stocks, box out the small investor.

 

But let me be clear on one thing here. You know, shorting is a healthy part of the normal stock market. But that's not what went on with GameStop. There are different types of short sellers that attack companies and get overly short, ridiculously short, and that's what you are seeing happening.

 

So, shorting is necessary because it checks the market. But what you saw here is a shorters who are manipulating the stock downward to drive it out of business. It happens all the time.

 

They are very devious how they do that. They plant articles, they start investigations. That's what happened here. That's the shorting that needs to stop.

 

And in this case, the little guy, which is incredible to see, was able to get enough buying power to overcome the shorts and reversed it and create this incredible short squeeze.

 

So, people now do need to go to jail. I tell you this, who shut on this trading. If it turns down that they shutdown trading at the behest of funds saying, you need to slow down the buying, the level of criminality there is unprecedented.

 

HANNITY: OK. But is there a chance -- I have a question about this. Is there a chance, they stop -- again, you could sell off what you had but you couldn't buy. Is there a chance they did it because you and I both know this thing in all likelihood -- and I'm not the experts -- is probably going to go crashing down. I think you probably agree with that. Are they going to come back to earth probably sooner than later, do you agree with that?

 

BELFORT: It's a guarantee.

 

HANNITY: Guarantee, OK.

 

BELFORT: A certainty, yes, it's a guarantee, yes.

 

HANNITY: A certainty.

 

All right. So, they're going to come down -- did they maybe make the decision -- possibly -- it could be for the reason you state -- they colluded with the hedge funds. Or did they know that maybe people that would buy in at this high number, 400 or 300, were going to lose money and they -- maybe they could have just put a warning -- warning, this stock is likely going to dive down fast. They could have done that instead.

 

But did you think they might've done it to protect people from buying in at this high price?

 

BELFORT: I don't think that was it. I tell you what I think it was a combination of.

 

Number one, I think they were getting pressure from the big funds to shut this down so people could eliminate or at least reduce losses. But another factor here is that Robinhood did have and does still have massive exposure because when this thing does unravel, very often, it's the brokerage firms and these clearing brokers that get caught holding the bag for all of the unclaimed losses, people lose more than they have been their account, and it could drive someone out of business.

 

So, my first instinct when I heard was, okay, I get it. They slowed down trading, but they shouldn't have suspended trading. They should have increased the margin. It would've been a much smarter way to do that. You could have slowed things down like that.

 

To stop trading altogether, that was a sign that there is something a bit more nefarious going on here. So I believe now that I looked at the whole thing, they were under pressure to stop trading on the upside and I think by the way, these shorts are still short, so it's not over yet.

 

And that's why they shut it down, because they could've just slowed down -- by increasing margins, meaning less borrowing ability, that would've done the same thing. They did not have to suspend everyone's accounts.

 

HANNITY: I love what they did. I love what the guys did. I really do. I like the little guy fighting back.

 

All right, Jordan, thank you. Appreciate it.

 

BELFORT: Thank you very much.

 

HANNITY: All right. Coming up, Andrew Cuomo still refusing to take responsibility for the growing nursing home scandal. Is there any legal liability? We'll show you the tape, next.

 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

 

HANNITY: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo still refusing to take any responsibility amid what now looks like a full blown cover-up and scandal surrounding COVID nursing home deaths in New York state. Here's part of his response when asked about the findings from the Democratic state attorney general in New York that they underreported deaths by as much as 50 percent. Take a look.

 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

 

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: What I would say is everyone did the best they could. If you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government. It's not about pointing fingers or blame, it is that this became a political football, right? Look, whether a person died in a hospital or died in a nursing home, it's -- people died.

 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

 

HANNITY: But the governor again, he keeps blaming others. Governor Cuomo needs to take responsibility for his failures, his inactions.

 

The sad part is the field hospitals, the navy ship, thousands and thousands of beds -- they were built, they were sent, they were converted to COVID- 19. He stocked with personnel, manned by President Trump. Stocked with PPE.

 

Every ventilator they could ever need, along the Javits Center, everywhere else, they weren't -- 75 percent of those beds remained empty. There was a place to send them and people to take care of them that were provided to New York.

 

All the help was provided. So, it's beyond comprehension why it was utilize. He says, well, everyone, you know, makes mistakes. Ask the federal government.

 

No, this was your call. That wasn't Donald Trump's call, he did everything in his power to bail New York out and did a great job of it. And all you do is criticize him and the mob, the media, of course, they are just playing outright, you know, defense of all things -- looks like a Democratic cover- up and a full-blown scandal surrounding what happened in New York state and these nursing home deaths.

 

Anyway, for example, two major networks, they didn't even touch of the story. Fake news CNN called it less than stellar. Can you imagine a headline like that if this was Donald Trump the governor? Any other Republican governor?

 

And, of course, the Biden White House, they refused to offer any strong words of condemnation despite what is now undeniable, a reality that this order in March, in New York state last year, yes, it cost innocent people their lives, lives that would have been saved.

 

Take a look for example, the White House, Jen Psaki's response when pressed by Kristin Fisher.

 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

 

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Jen.

 

The New York attorney general released a report saying the state undercounted the number of COVID deaths by as much as 50 percent in nursing homes. Would President Biden supports a federal investigation into what happened in Governor Andrew Cuomo's role?

 

PSAKI: I've seen those reports. I would say any investigation I would point to the Department of Justice.

 

FISHER: Does the White House think it should be looked into further?

 

PSAKI: Again, any investigation would be led by the Department of Justice. We're in the new age. They are independent, and they will determine what path they take moving forward.

 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

 

HANNITY: Here with reaction, FOX News contributor, media reporter for "The Hill", Joe Concha.

 

I always like the standard, what would -- what would the media do if it was Donald Trump? Hmm, I suspect a very different reaction.

 

JOE CONCHA, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Sean, I would even go apples to apples even more. What if it was Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, a Republican, or the governor of Florida, Republican. Ron DeSantis, whatever quadruple of quadruple is, that would be the media coverage that you would be seeing tonight as far as this explosive investigation, as you mentioned, by a Democratic attorney general who is no fan of Donald Trump investigating Governor Cuomo, who has won an Emmy, by the way. But he deserves a Grammy for the notes that he was singing at that press conference today.

 

As you mention, this quote blew me away. He blamed federal guidance on his health department undercounting of nursing home deaths. Quote, again, it bears repeating -- if you think there is a mistake, then go to the federal government. Then he says in the same breath, it's not about pointing fingers or blame.

 

Everybody watching this TV is dumber for having heard that because this is somebody clearly -- the hubris is not taking responsibility for this. And, by the way, all the people now that are surprised by what they are hearing as far as what went on in terms of this order to the COVID positive patients back into nursing homes, which is like taking a blowtorch to dried grass in terms of the spread, and eventual death, like this is the first time they are hearing it, of course it is, because for ten months, you have reporters, anchors, hosts, not even broaching this topic during interviews.

 

Forget tee ball or softball questions, it's almost as if there is an arrangement beforehand. Don't forget the nursing home stuff, or we won't give you the governor. And sure enough, the bias of omission reared its ugly head again and the governor was never held accountable. Hopefully, he is now for this, Sean.

 

HANNITY: All right. Joe Concha, thank you.

 

More "Hannity" right after this.

 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

 

HANNITY: All right. Unfortunately, that is all of the time we have left this evening.

 

As always, we thank you for being with us. You make it possible. We hope you'll set your DVR so you never miss an episode, Monday through Friday. We will be independent. We're not the media mob. We will give the news they will never give you. We'll tell you the truth.

 

Anyway, thanks for being with us. Have a great weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday.

 

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