Michael Avenatti charged with defrauding former client Stormy Daniels

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Michael Avenatti charged with defrauding former client Stormy Daniels

Avenatti hit with new charges; Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reports

This is a rush transcript from "The Story," May 22, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

ED HENRY, HOST: Bret, good to see you, and have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Breaking tonight, President Trump drawing a line in the sand over the seemingly endless investigations by Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: You can go down the investigation track, and you can go down the investment track, or the track of let's get things done for the American people. I love the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: He may have good reason to be fired up. Just minutes before the president's dramatic confrontation at the White House with Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the acting Homeland Security secretary was testifying that Congress's failure to act on key issues you care about is having an impact on the security of all of us.

Kevin McAleenan telling leaders in Congress, he's basically running out of money to deal with the crisis at the border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN MCALEENAN, ACTING SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Without these resources and authorities, the situation will remain untenable. And while DHS will continue to do all it can to manage the crisis in an operationally effective, humane, safe, and secure manner, every day Congress does not act, put some more lives at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Good evening, everybody. I'm Ed Henry, in for Martha MacCallum. So, as you heard, Secretary McAleenan, say there, American lives are at risk. Just minutes ago, we learned the Pentagon is weighing sending several thousand U.S. troops to the Mideast amid ongoing tensions with Iran.

Those are some of the big issues Democrats have vowed last November. They would be confronting if the American people gave them power in the House. Another major issue they've been promising to work on with the president for a couple of years now, rebuilding America's crumbling roads, bridges, and airports.

Get right before planned, infrastructure meeting with the president, Speaker Pelosi, who on one hand is telling fellow Democrats go slow on impeachment, on the other hand, dump gasoline on the fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF.: And we believe that the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Maybe not the best way to kick off a negotiation with the president, who declared he will not work with Democrats on infrastructure, about anything else, until they stop the investigations.

So, he walked out, marched over to the Rose Garden, and made his case directly to the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I walked into the room and I told Senator Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, I want to do infrastructure, I want to do it more than you want to do it. I'd be really good at that, that's what I do. But you know what, you can't do it under these circumstances. So get these phony investigations over with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: The Democratic leaders are continuing their two steps stopping short of impeachment while letting all those investigations go forward as they face pressure from the resist wing of their party to pile on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-N.Y.: To watch what happens in the White House would make your jaw drop.

PELOSI: I pray for the president of the United States, and I pray for the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Lost in all the finger-pointing is this fact, Democrats on the House Intel panel learned today, they're getting even more information from the Justice Department. Remember the Department agreed to turn over some of the underlying Intel from the Mueller probe. That is on top of the over 400 pages of information the attorney general turned over weeks ago.

Yet the subpoenas from House Democrats keep flying, and now even Democrats on the state level are getting in on the act. Lawmakers here in New York today gave their final approval to a bill that would enable officials to turn the president's state tax returns over to Congress.

Wasn't it just a few months ago, Democrats were promising they'd reach across the aisle, and get some work done. In fact, here is one Democrat, newly elected, Congresswoman Katie Hill, talking in January to Martha about the border.

Congresswoman Hill said that she wanted to get some things done. Now, she's saying, president, committed impeachable offenses. She's here alive to explain all of that in a few moments. But first, Congressman Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, who has been investigating the investigators who started the Russia probe. Congressman, good to see you.

REP. DOUG COLLINS, R-GA: Good to see you as well.

HENRY: A few moments ago, one of the leaders on the Democratic side, Jim Clyburn, said, there is not a majority for impeachment in the House. So, what's the point of all this?

COLLINS: The point is they have a base to feed, and that base to feed is rapidly saying, we want to impeach the president. But they got a problem. The problem is the president came -- the Mueller report came back, it did not show what they wanted, there is no collusion, no obstruction. And when they look at it, they look at an economy that is booming, they look at a president who is in control.

And then they have to feed to different bases. One says impeach, one says, go after Trump, do everything they can to destroy the president. While the others in their caucus are saying, we don't want this. Our voters don't want this, and they want to move slowly.

So, they -- look, they lose on the politics, they lose on the facts, and so now, the American people are the ones losing in the end because they're not doing anything with the majority they have in the aisle.

HENRY: Joy Behar was on "The View", saying that they're calling you out. Calling every Republican in Congress, all Republican leaders, and said you're not standing up to this president, and you should go to jail. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, HOST, ABC: Nixon would be so -- he -- was says, I was in the wrong period of history. He was -- he would have gotten away with everything just like this corrupt president is getting away with. This is an unbelievable corruption -- corrupt president, corrupt administration. And the Republican Party is right behind him, and they all should be go thrown into jail as far as I'm concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: How do you react to that when only Justin Amash, as you know is your only colleague who was saying there should be impeachment?

COLLINS: Well, it's really interesting to have a talk-show host who's not looked at any of the -- and probably, not read the Mueller report. Not looked at the things that I've had the privilege to look at. And also look at it from the perspective of she had her mind made up a long time ago.

She didn't like this president, she didn't like him as a candidate. And so, now they're trying to tell us that a president who's doing exactly what he said he was going to do, to do and work with an economy, to work with our -- with the House to -- in the last two years, to bring down deregulation, to bring down our businesses so that they can actually do that job.

Again, this is the rhetoric that really frankly Americans are tired of. They're tired of hearing from talk-show host, who just spout off about what they ever wanted to believe in, instead of saying what is actually happening, and that's why the Democrats are torn up right now.

HENRY: Yes, well, Congressman, let me press you on that point though, because you talk about the good things you say the president has done like create jobs. Shouldn't he be focused on creating more jobs, health care, infrastructure, was supposed to be the topic today. He wants to get the USMCA -- the Canada-Mexico free trade agreement done.

How does it help his case, and your case to actually get this work done for the American people if he walks out of a meeting with the Democrats?

COLLINS: Well, it's very interesting, it's so amazing. Why would the pass be given or the blame be thrown at the president when you have the Speaker of the House actually accused him basically of a crime today before she ever gets there?

Henry: Yes.

COLLINS: The president is like anyone else. He wants to do business, he wants to try, but when you have people basically, kicking sand in his face, or accusing him of a crime, he's going to react.

This president is passionate about the American people. He's passionate about putting Americans back to work. He's passionate about doing infrastructure. And what we've seen so far is the Democrats including this speaker is passionate about keeping her job and telling everybody else what they've done wrong, and that's just the wrong idea. They want to see him defeated in 2020, instead of actually having an agenda here in the House.

HENRY: I want to close on something that you've been passionate about which is investigating the investigators. You released another transcript of these closed-door interviews in the last 24 hours. Loretta Lynch, the former Obama attorney general, where she basically says that James Comey is not telling the truth, she did not tell him to call the Clinton e-mail investigation a matter.

Was James Comey have a problem? Did he lie under oath?

COLLINS: I think, he's got a lot to answer for. And I think lately, he's been going around trying to tell everybody that he's OK and that his version is right because when this cuff comes out, you know -- really, for this matter, James Comey is 15 minutes or up. It's time for the people to see exactly what was going on, that he was a part of this cabal that was working against this president from day one.

And he's trying to cover his tracks because what's happening is as we release transcripts, as more becomes when the attorney general is actually looking at how this got started. Jim Comey's version of Captain America is going to become very embarrassing, I think, to the American public as they see further what he actually did.

HENRY: Is this part of the reason we're seeing more subpoenas from House Democrats they're nervous about what Bill Barr and others may find out about what happened?

COLLINS: I think their time is running out. I think what they're finding is that the Mueller report was just the first of this, and now those of us who have been investigating what actually happened here as the inspector general's report comes out later is Mr. Durham continues his work, they're going to find out that there's a lot more at play here, and it was actually a concerted effort it seems to be at the candidate Trump, and then, President Trump in his early years just to derail his presidency.

HENRY: Congressman, we appreciate you coming in from the Republican side. Let's turn to the Democratic side. Here now, vice chair of the House Oversight Committee, democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill. Congresswoman, appreciate you coming back.

REP. KATIE HILL, D-CALIF.: Thanks, Ed. Good to be back.

HENRY: Can I -- can I please start on what your colleague was talking about? I saw that you sent out a tweet today about accountability in terms of the president. Do you think there should be accountability for James Comey, maybe John Brennan and others about how this whole investigation started?

HILL: I mean, look, I'm more concerned about the person who's in power right now, and the person who is impeding us being able to work on the agenda that we actually do agree on. I mean, we agree that we need to work on infrastructure. We agree that we need to work on get reducing the cost of prescription drugs. So, you know, the past is the past, I wasn't here for that, and --

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: OK. Well, OK, I'm going to get to all those issues, but hang on. So, you sent out a tweet today about accountability for those in power. If the FBI chief in James Comey and the CIA chief and John Brennan -- I stress if they lied to the FISA Court about what evidence they had to start this whole investigation. That doesn't matter to you?

HILL: I'm not going to say it doesn't matter. I just don't know that that's the end --

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: You said it was in the past.

HILL: Yes, it's not the issue that I'm focused on right now. And I don't -- I think that this is being used as a distraction over what's going on right now. I mean, the president and his allies have been masterful at findings something to redirect our attention to. And I think, this is exactly what we're seeing right now.

HENRY: OK. Let's get to the specific tweet I want to actually read it what you sent out today. You say, "I was sent here to fight for accountability and the commander in chief can't even put our roads over covering his own ass.

We could be progressing on the issues we all agree on, but Trump is holding the cost of your insulin and the quality of your water hostage. Don't forget it." How do you defend that?

HILL: I mean, I don't think there's anything to defend, but I think 100 percent accurate. And right now, what we've seen is that he is so hell- bent on refusing to get information out in the public. That he is even unwilling to deal with us on the issues that we are so close to being able to work together on.

HENRY: OK.

HILL: I mean, I didn't want to come here to focus on impeachment at all. Honestly, none of this is the stuff that I was sent here to work on. I was sent here to work on the cost of health care. That I was sent here to work on infrastructure. I was sent here to work on housing costs, and on bringing transparency and accountability to Washington. And that is --

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: So, why you now saying that you believe the president committed impeachable offenses?

HILL: Because I've read the 448 pages of the Mueller report, and I think that it is perfectly laid out there, and that's on top of the issues that I've independently witnessed. Not only through -- you know, the time that I've spent here in Washington, but through the behaviors that I think that we've all been able to see.

HENRY: So, you've said in your tweets, and now, here that he's been essentially leading a cover-up -- that he's covered up information. What did he cover up with Don McGahn when the president himself allowed Don McGahn, he's not allowing to testify to Congress but he talked to Robert Mueller for what is it, 30 or 40 hours? How is that a cover-up?

HILL: I Will, I think that he realizes that he made a mistake by letting Don McGahn speak to Mueller. Because if you actually read the 448-page report, you see over, and over, and over again that Don McGahn's testimony was completely damning. And that's why he doesn't want him to testify in front of Congress. He is making the bet, they very calculated bet that people don't read that report, and they have it. That's why they were able to put this very effective spin on the narrative that, oh, yes, it was exoneration, it was no collusion, no, no, everything like that.

But the fact is in that report, and what McGahn says is that it is completely obstruction of justice, and without any doubt. So, I think that's exactly why you're seeing him not want to have him again -- show him.

HENRY: So, let me give you the last 30 seconds because I promise to get to some of those issues. How do you get to infrastructure? And do you want immigration, which you promised Martha back in January, you wanted to get an immigration deal if you might spend the next six months, next year on impeachment.

HILL: Well, first of all, I don't think that the two should be -- let me put one thing aside, I don't want to spend the next year on impeachment. None of us do. We want to spend the next year, two years, however, many years we're here focusing on those more important issues.

The issue is that we can't leave -- we can't set aside our constitutional obligation of holding the president accountable. I mean, unfortunately, that's the oath that we took whether we like it or not. Whether it's convenient or not. And in this case, it is very much inconvenient, and the president knows it. That's why he wants us to force this into impeachment kind of process.

But nonetheless, I ultimately have to live with myself at the end of the day as to whether I'm doing my job. And the American people elected me to do that job. So, we're going to work on these issues, I think that it's incredibly unfortunate that the president is frankly holding those issues hostage because he does not want the information about himself to be exposed.

But we're going to continue to push for it, and hopefully, the American people will also put that pressure on him.

HENRY: So, last thing, did it make sense for your leader, the Speaker, right before this important meeting on infrastructure to accuse the president of a cover-up?

HILL: I mean, listen, a cover-up is a cover-up. So, I think that it's a statement of fact. You know, if you -- if you want to talk about tax, I think we're well beyond that point with any of -- any of the parties that are involved. We've got issues on both sides there. But --

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: Congressman, appreciate you coming in.

HILL: Yes. Thanks so much.

HENRY: All right. Also here tonight, Judge Andrew Napolitano, of course, Fox News senior judicial analyst. So, she says flatly there's a cover-up.

JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO, SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST: Well, look, both sides have dug their heels and the president says he's not going to do business with them until they stop the investigations. And this Congresswoman Hill, who's a moderate Democrat, she's not a fire breather --

HENRY: From a Trump district.

NAPOLITANO: Correct, she's not a fire-breather like AOC and the other crowd that's pressuring. Speaker Pelosi is saying -- you know, we're a co- equal branch of the government and he can't hold the government hostage, and we're going to conduct these investigations because we think these are there, there.

Well, what do I wish? I wish Mrs. Pelosi hadn't had thrown gasoline on the fire, and I wish the president, et cetera. Let's just put the investigations aside for a few hours, and let's work on the project that we're here.

Look, some things were about to happen that they will need to address. Pretty soon, the government's going to run out of its ability to borrow money. And they're going to have to either shut the government down again or raise the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling cannot be raised without a majority vote by both houses of Congress and the President's signature.

So at some point events and the law will force the President to work with those two people out of a way from whom he walked today no matter what they're trying to do to him.

HENRY: I don't want to forget, I mentioned at the top, New York State, what's happening here with these lawmakers.

NAPOLITANO: I have a real problem with New York.

HENRY: They want to get the President's tax returns. I thought that was confidential information.

NAPOLITANO: If a statute is based on hatred or if a statute targets a specific individual as this one in New York apparently does. It's not a statute yet because it hasn't been signed but the governor says he's going to sign.

HENRY: Correct.

NAPOLITANO: The standard that the government -- that the government must meet when the statute is challenged is very, very high. They have to show they have a compelling interest in revealing taxpayer -- Trump's tax returns to the Congress. It's almost inconceivable what that compelling interest would be. They know the law, they have good lawyers --

HENRY: So the President's lawyers will challenge this clearly.

NAPOLITANO: And I think the president will prove that will prevail in that --

HENRY: So we have one minute. Let's just put this on the table. You've been critical of the president. People know that. The congresswoman -- the Democrat we just had on Katie Hill, critical of the president, Justin Amash, a Republican saying they believe there's been impeachable offenses.

If all that is true, why didn't Robert Mueller say it? He had two years to lay all of it, to put -- investigate and laid out, why didn't he flatly --

NAPOLITANO: At least I've been scratching my head on that one. I think the basic reason is because he works for Bill Barr, the Attorney General who would not let him present this to a grand jury for two reasons. One, the Attorney General has a very unique what we call minority view of the obstruction of justice statute, and that is if you are factually innocent of the basis for the investigation, you can't possibly obstruct that investigation.

The rest of the DOJ doesn't accept that but Bill Barr does. The other reason is Bill Barr's view that a sitting Attorney President of the United States cannot be indicted. If it were entirely up to Mueller and his crew, the indictments would have been voted on and sealed until the president leaves office.

HENRY: Judge Napolitano, we're going to leave it there.

NAPOLITANO: Always a pleasure. Now, you and I are going to be together on that boat tomorrow.

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: I can't wait. I'm going to teas that later for Fleet Week.

NAPOLITANO: It's not a boat, it's a ship, as big as this boat.

HENRY: USS New York will be there for Fox and Friends. We'll mention that later. Thank you, Judge.

Just when you thought Michael Avenatti's legal troubles couldn't get any worse, federal prosecutors charged him with stealing the identity of a former client for yes financial gain, and the client is believed -- is believed to be none other than porn star Stormy Daniels. You can't make this up. Howie Kurtz with the simply unbelievable details on this story next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL AVENATTI, FORMER LAWYER OF STORMY DANIELS: Well, of course, I'm nervous. I'm nervous, I'm scared, I'm all those things. And if I wasn't, it won't make a lot of sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't want to say one way or the other if you have text messages or other items.

STORMY DANIELS, ADULT ACTRESS: My attorney has recommended that I don't discuss those things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You seem to be saying that she has some sort of text message or video or photographs or you could just be bluffing.

AVENATTI: You should ask some of the other people in my career when they've been on me bluffing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Well, celebrity lawyer an outspoken Trump critic Michael Avenatti made a name for himself by representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against the president. Now he himself is facing charges from federal prosecutors for allegedly stealing almost $300,000 from her. Our Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has details on this story tonight. Jacqui?

JACQUI HEINRICH, CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ed, federal prosecutors say Michael Avenatti took money that was supposed to go to Stormy Daniels for her book deal faking documents behind her back and then lied to her about where the money was. Stormy Daniels was due to receive $800,000 over four payments for her memoir full disclosure, a tell-all about her alleged affair with President Trump.

According to the indictment, the money was supposed to go from the publisher, to Daniels agent who would take a fee and then sent her the rest. But Avenatti allegedly told the agent to send the book money into his account those instructions complete with what appeared to be Daniel's signature.

Over several months, Avenatti allegedly stole $300,000 of Daniels money and spent it on lease payments for his Ferrari, hotels and restaurants, even payroll checks to employees at his coffee company and law firm.

Daniels asked Avenatti where her late money was telling him I'm sending publisher a certified letter demanding payment and firing agent one. Then I may post it online for fun. Prosecutors say Avenatti didn't tell Daniels he already had the money but told her not to fire the agent because she would need their help to sue for the payment.

On other occasions, he allegedly suggested the funds hadn't come in because of poor book sales. Avenatti told Fox News today, I look forward to a jury hearing all of the evidence and passing judgment on my conduct. At no time was any money misappropriated or mishandled. I will be fully exonerated once the relevant emails, contracts, text messages, and documents are presented.

The former celebrity lawyer faces up to 69 years behind bars for wire fraud, identity theft, conspiracy, and extortion, but that's just for this case. He's facing a total of 42 counts in New York and California for allegedly extorting $20 million from Nike, stealing millions of dollars from his clients, as well as tax fraud.

If he's convicted on all 42 counts, Avenatti faces a maximum possible sentence of 404 years in prison. Ed?

HENRY: Thank you, Jacqui. Here now Howie Kurtz, Host of "MEDIA BUZZ" of course. Good evening, Howie.

HOWARD KURTZ, ANCHOR: Hey, Ed. Good to see you.

HENRY: 404 years potentially in prison. Everyone including Michael Avenatti is innocent until proven guilty, but it seems like some measure of justice perhaps that someone who rode the Stormy Daniels case to fame may see it bring him down.

KURTZ: It's just so fitting that Michael Avenatti who you know, was turned by the media into this cable news superstar and entertained serious delusions of being in the White House himself should now find himself accused of stealing all this book deal money that was meant for the porn star.

He is as you say entitled to the presumption of innocence, but there are now almost as many charges against this camera hungry clown as there are Democratic presidential candidates. The Nike case, the case involving his former partners, it's kind of head spinning in his scorecard.

HENRY: And yet, it's fitting that you mentioned 2020 because CNN's Brian Stelter and a whole bunch of other people in the media had mentioned Michael Avenatti just a few months ago as they called him a "contender." They took it seriously the possibility he might run.

Donald Trump Jr. tweeting about that today, "Wait, with these new charges, are you saying he's no longer leading the field with 2020 Dem hopefuls. I remember when CNN and MSNBC had pretty much anointed him the front-runner. #good times." Frontrunner may be a stretch but he was puffed up there as a potential contender.

KURTZ: Well, the first thing that CNN and MSNBC did was to put him on you know, day after day, sometimes multiple times a day when he was out there pushing the Stormy Daniels case, her allegation of a long ago sexual contact with President Trump which he denies by the way. And then when he said oh, I'm going to Iowa. I'm exploring a run for the presidency, there were hosts and anchors who took him very seriously.

By the way, every time he was on, they would just run video of Stormy over him for obvious reasons. And so I think the media have a lot to answer for here. And also, you know, it wasn't just those cable hours. He was on Colbert, he was on The View, he was everywhere. Now we know why not that long ago Stormy Daniels cut her ties with her former lawyer.

HENRY: Yes. In fact, there was a pundit on CNN who was saying at one point you know, I think you're a serious contender because of your media presence, your presence on cable T.V. so it's almost seems like a loop.

So folks at CNN and MSNBC put him on in an endless loop, create him as a -- as a pundit if you will, and then say because you're such a big pundit, because you have such a presence, you're on cable T.V. so much you might actually run for president.

KURTZ: The media were Avenatti's enabler. There is no question about it. And of course they loved his message. Attacking Trump is unethical, predicting the Trump was going to go down, and all that stuff. And then in addition to all this is a new Vanity Fair piece said quoting an ex- girlfriend on the record as saying that he both physically and emotionally abused her. He denies that but also telling her according to this ex- girlfriend that she shouldn't take a waitress job. He freaked out about that because she could be a future first lady if she stayed with him.

But you know what the worst thing that the media did here in terms of (INAUDIBLE) it was during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings when Michael Avenatti represented the third accuser against the Supreme Court nominee, completely unsubstantiated allegations which totally blew up later and yet some news outlets took that seriously and gave him a platform for his empty promises.

HENRY: That's an important point to make. Last point, you mentioned Vanity Fair. In that article Avenatti himself says, "Some would argue at this point I flew too close to the sun. As I sit here today, yes, absolutely, I know I did, no question. Icarus." Talking about Greek mythology. Last point.

KURTZ: Last point is that he, I think in a couple of public statements has said you know, somehow he's being targeted because of the cable fame and the political potshots that he took. But these are different grand juries in different places charging him with very different crimes and I think -- but you know, flew too close to the sun, that's a pretty good epitaph at least for his reputation. We'll see what happens with the criminal case.

HENRY: We'll see as well whether there's any media accountability. Howie Kurtz, I appreciate you coming in.

KURTZ: Thanks.

HENRY: Up next, Nevada becomes the latest state to move in the opposite direction of Alabama's strict abortion ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to continue to fight to protect our right to choose. We're going to continue to make sure that Nevada is one of the places where women can go to access care and that we decide that these decisions are personal and they ought to be made by women, not by politicians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO, D-HI: I asked the girls in that group of eight graders, "how many of you girls think government should be telling us when and if we want to have babies?" Not a single one of them raised their hands.

And the boys who were there, among the 16, I said, it's kind of hard for women to get pregnant without you guys. How many of you boys think that government should be telling girls and women when and if we're going to have babies? And not a single one of them raised their hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Well, the abortion divide deepening across the country as dozens of states race to pass polarizing legislation on both sides of the debate.

The latest in Nevada where lawmakers are moving in the opposite direction of Alabama's strict ban by advancing a bill that would loosen restrictions for the procedure.

The bill would remove a law that requires written consent from the woman, remove the requirement that doctors explain the physical and emotional implications of the procedure and make self-induced abortions legal.

Here now, Rachel Campos-Duffy, of course a Fox News contributor, and Juan Williams, Fox News political analyst and co-host of The Five. Good to see you both.

JUAN WILLIAMS, ANCHOR: Nice to be with you, Ed.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

HENRY: Rachel, how do you respond to Senator Hirono, who, I remember, the last I remember she was saying that men should sit down and shut up, I guess. And now she said that eighth grade boys didn't raise their hands when she asked them about abortion.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Right. Well, you can just see how extreme all of these Democrats are getting on this position. It wasn't very long ago that they used to say, you know, abortion is between a woman and her doctor. Now they want to remove the doctor.

And what this will do, the self-induced abortions, means women are going to be -- and young girls -- it's not hard to imagine what it's going to be happening. They are going to be having abortions alone and without medical care.

This provision also potentially victimizes girls. It says that you know longer have to record the age of -- the age of the woman or the girl seeking abortion, which as we know, sex traffickers, child sexual assault, that's how we catch them. They often bring these young girls that have been impregnated into abortion clinics and one way we catch them is by getting the age of consent.

Again, this bill is called -- I just want to say this really quick, Ed.

HENRY: Yes.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: The bill is called Trust Nevada Women Act. If you trust women, then you have to trust them with information from a doctor of what the consequences are, emotional and physical.

HENRY: Yes.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: If you ask me, information is power and this bill actually infantilizes women.

HENRY: Juan, Democrats made a lot of hay about saying Alabama, Missouri, some of the state laws that were pushed more on the pro-life side went too far to the right. Is Nevada now going too far to the left?

WILLIAMS: Not that I can see. I think it does come down to trusting women, trusting their doctors. And that you have a situation where, with the two new additions to the Supreme Court, I think people at the extremes of the pro-life side, like those in the Alabama legislature -- all men, by the way who voted on that bill -- are making an effort right now --

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: A female governor that signed it into law, right?

WILLIAMS: Right. But I'm talking about the legislators who signed it.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: And lots of women voted for those men.

WILLIAMS: So, what you have is they are pushing right now to try to get this to the Supreme Court on the hope that they can repeal Roe v. Wade. But again, most Americans, it's pretty clear, want abortion rights for women in this country. But people on the pro-life side I think are having arguments among themselves.

President Trump, Pat Robertson, the Evangelical leader, even the leaders in the Congress, Kevin McCarthy, and others saying Alabama went too far. And that's where the real motion is. Nevada is an outlier.

HENRY: OK. Let's listen --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPOS-DUFFY: What --

HENRY: I want you to react, Rachel, but first I want you to hear this.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Sure.

HENRY: One of the Democratic 2020 contenders, Kirsten Gillibrand, had this to say about taxpayer funding. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you say to taxpayers out there who say, look, I support everyone having their own freedoms, but when it comes to my tax dollars, abortion isn't something that I want to support?

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, D-N.Y., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, we have a tenant in our Constitution it's called a separation of church and state. I do not believe that that is a valid argument.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: She doesn't think it's a valid argument.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Again, you are seeing how the left is moving further and further into a radical position because they feel up against the walls because technology and science is on the side of pro-lifers.

A lot of what they are trying to do, Ed, is say that Donald Trump and Republicans right now in office are dividing our country on abortion. Our country has been divided since 1972 when Roe versus Wade was passed.

And I believe that in my lifetime the only way this is going to be resolved is Roe versus Wade is going to be overturned. It's going to go back to the states because this issue is as fundamental as an issue was back in the middle of the 1800s called slavery.

This is an issue about who gets to decide who is human enough so they can do whatever they want with that person, or the person they are saying is not a person. And this is such a fundamental human rights issue, the pro- choicer know they are losing --

HENRY: yes.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: -- the momentum is on the side of the pro-lifers, the scientists, too. And the only reason this is going to resolved is by overturning Roe v. Wade.

HENRY: Juan, you've written several books on the Civil Rights movement. Rachel is saying that this is a Civil Rights issue of our time.

WILLIAMS: Well, I think, you know, to go back to the slavery analogy that Rachel just used at, I would think it's about having people being able to speak for themselves. And so, if someone had asked, hey, do you want to be enslaved? They would've said no.

If you are asking a woman, a woman, a mother, in most cases you have women who have abortions have children.

HENRY: Yes.

WILLIAMS: They are making a decision. And it's one out of --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Your analogy doesn't work --

WILLIAMS: Hang on, hold on.

HENRY: OK, finish your thought and then Rachel.

WILLIAMS: One out of every four American women, and oftentimes it's a function of family planning, family circumstance, rare in terms of the last trimester. What we are talking about here is protecting rights. And if slave had rights, believe me, they wouldn't have been slaves.

HENRY: Rachel, last point.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Well, just as in those times people like to talk about property rights and estates rights. This is a human rights issue. And the victim just, as the victim was the slave, the victim is the unborn child in this case, as well.

HENRY: OK.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: And so, this is -- and by the way, Juan, there are also people in those times who were against slavery who said I am personally against slavery but I'm not going to tell other people what to do. We've heard that argument in this case, in the case of abortion as well.

I think that the humanity of the fetus is being proven everyday by science and technology, and people on your side of the issue look a lot like science deniers.

HENRY: All right. Some passionate arguments from both of you. We appreciate both coming in.

WILLIAMS: You're welcome.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Thank you.

HENRY: All right. Next, disturbing new details in the case of the Colorado school shooting earlier this month, what we now know about one of the suspects and his relationship to an illegal immigrant with a long criminal rap sheet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: Disturbing new details tonight in connection with the Colorado STEM School shooting earlier this month. The father of one of the two suspects, 16-year-old Alec McKinney is an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal past.

Our correspondent Trace Gallagher is live from our West Coast newsroom with “The Story.” Good evening, Trace.

TRACE GALLAGHER, CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Ed.

Alec McKinney is being charged as an adult. McKinney is transgender and identifies as a male though court records have McKinney's first name listed still as Maya. McKinney's father is 33-year-old Jose Quintana, a convicted felon who was or is in this country illegally. I say was or is because we don't know his whereabouts.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE says that between 2010 and 2018, Quintana was deported three times. He would've been deported sooner, but starting in 2009, he spent 15 months in prison for assaulting Alec McKinney's mother and threatening her with a deadly weapon.

In divorce papers filed by the mother in 2014, she testified that Quintana had been traveling illegally between Colorado and Mexico. His criminal history also includes kidnapping.

ICE notes that, quote, "an alien who reenters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted." We know Quintana was repeatedly cut for reentering the U.S. but for some reason, he was never charged.

It's also unusual that in the case of the STEM cell -- STEM school shooting, Judge Theresa Slade decided to seal the documents, even though prosecutors wanted them public and the judge failed to show any cause or compelling need for secrecy.

Bullying is being looked at as a motive for the school shooting, but not the only motive. At least one of the suspects had been in therapy and had a history of legal and illegal drug use. Eighteen-year-old Kendrick Castillo was killed in the shooting trying to tackle one of the suspects. Ed?

HENRY: Thank you, Trace. More than 20 Democrats are vying for the 2020 presidential nomination but only one holds the title of least liked. We reveal that name next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: New York City mayor and 2020 Democratic hopeful Bill de Blasio launching his campaign less than a week ago. He has already taken the lead in one poll. Except Quinnipiac shows he is by far the least liked candidate, with 35 percent of Democratic primary voters viewing him unfavorably. He is followed by Bernie Sanders with an unfavorable rating of 20 percent.

Here is how Bill de Blasio responded a little earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, D-N.Y., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not where you start, it's where you end. This is the very beginning of an election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Joining me now, Charlie Hurt, opinion editor for the Washington Times, a Fox News contributor, and Richard Goodstein, former advisor to the Bill and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns. It's good to see you both.

CHARLIE HURT, CONTRIBUTOR: Good evening, Ed.

RICHARD GOODSTEIN, FORMER ADVISOR, CLINTON CAMPAIGN: Hi, Ed.

HENRY: Charlie, trying to decide whether that poll could've been a national poll, in this case, it was, or could have been taken right here in New York City.

HURT: Yes. It's incredible. He is not particularly popular at home and certainly isn't popular across the country. But this is the situation the Democrats find themselves in.

You know, obviously, I do not dispute there is a lot of anger towards Donald Trump out there among Democratic voters, and there's a lot of hatred for Donald Trump.

But the problem for Democrats is they still -- they can't beat them with nothing, they still have to come up with a candidate and when you have a field of 20 something candidates, a guy like Bill de Blasio in a deep red - - deep blue place like New York City looks around and says, well, hey, there are 20 some people are running, why don't I run? Even though, under in any sort of normal situation, a guy like Bill de Blasio would never even try to run.

HENRY: Sure. Richard, I get both sides every four years a lot of people get in, they don't have a big chance but they give it a try. But if Joe Biden is such a strong front runner, why do people still keep getting in from the Montana governor, to Bill de Blasio, whether they have a big chance or not?

GOODSTEIN: Well, I think for somebody like De Blasio what it shows is you don't get a free pass just because you decide to get in. Because his dignity is going to be kind of hurt by virtue of being such a measly number in these polls.

Again, I hope it's a signal to people in future elections, you can't just waltz in and say I will run, too. Look, the fact is, I think Biden is running better than even Joe Biden thought he would be by this point in the race.

What that Quinnipiac poll did show, though, is that Trump at historically poor numbers. He is at 54 percent in May, the year before the election, saying they will absolutely not vote for him. That is 16 points more than anybody, going back to Jimmy Carter, at this point in the race May the year before the election saying they wouldn't vote for somebody.

HENRY: Yes.

GOODSTEIN: And one final thing, Ed.

HENRY: Yes.

GOODSTEIN: The people that were polled, even the people today were doing better economically for themselves, or that the economy was doing better, a third of those people say they won't vote for Trump.

HENRY: OK.

GOODSTEIN: I'm not saying he can't win. I'm just saying he's got work to do.

HENRY: Well, we heard a lot of those same arguments made about Donald Trump in 2016, Charlie.

GOODSTEIN: Yes, of course.

HENRY: And he won anyway.

HURT: Yes. Absolutely. And I'm suspicious of polls this early anyway.

GOODSTEIN: Same here.

HURT: But they're particularly suspicious with a guy like Donald Trump, where it's kind of impossible to get a real good feel, as we saw in 2016, but even if Democrats do wind up with the safe bet of Joe Biden, who is of course changing all these positions in order to fit this more leftist primary Democratic voting base now, you've still got the problem of Donald Trump, who is still, at least a newcomer to Washington.

Joe Biden has been around Washington for almost a half-century. He has been part of the problem for nearly 50 years and he hasn't fixed anything --

HENRY: Well, let me --

HURT: -- and he's run for president many times. So, I'm very suspicious that Joe Biden, in the long run, winds up being a wise choice for Democrats anyway.

HENRY: I'll let Richard respond to that but listen to this first. Lindsey Graham was saying this about Joe Biden. In fact, "I love Joe Biden, I think he has been wrong on most everything." He told Politico.

And look, he is a Republican who supports President Trump, we should be fair and point that out. On the other hand, Richard, it reminds me what Bob Gates, who served a whole bunch of administrations, including Barack Obama's administration, who I believe in his memoirs who said that he thought Joe Biden was wrong about every single major foreign policy issue of the last generation or so.

GOODSTEIN: Right. First of all, Ronald Reagan won on his third try so it wouldn't be unprecedented for Biden to win if this is his third try. People like Lindsey Graham and a lot of these people who serve in the Senate with Biden adore him and they don't agree with him on a lot of things.

Certainly, the Republican senators, but I mean, it speaks to his humanity. There aren't a lot of people, frankly, who are Republican senators who say, I love Donald Trump. They are with him, but they don't respect him or love him. They may be fear him and they fear his base.

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: Well, there are some people who love -- I mean, we can quote -- and people quote all the time, critics.

GOODSTEIN: I'm talking about senators. People who gotten up close and personal with him. And look, this is not to disparage Lindsey Graham or Donald Trump. It's just to say that Biden has engendered a certain affection because he has served with people and served honorably, even if they don't agree with the thing he says.

HENRY: Charlie, last point.

HURT: Because -- they were in the swamp with him and for a long time, and they've exchanged, you know, Christmas cards going back a long way and they've been back slapping pals for a long time. And of course, the reason a few people in Washington like Donald Trump and a lot of people outside of Washington like Donald Trump is he is not from that, and he is coming in here to kick things over and make real changes that people like Joe Biden have been sitting around for, again, nearly 50 years not doing anything about.

HENRY: That's the case Donald Trump is going to make. Last word from you, Richard.

GOODSTEIN: The challenge for Trump is how with the economy doing as well as it is, he's at, in the Quinnipiac poll 38 percent of job approval.

HENRY: OK. Richard, Charlie --

(CROSSTALK)

GOODSTEIN: I understand the polls maybe off --

HENRY: I got to go.

GOODSTEIN: Yes.

HENRY: Yes. I appreciate you both. More of "The Story" next.

GOODSTEIN: Thanks, Ed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: That's “The Story” on this Wednesday night. I'll see you tomorrow morning for a special hit on the deck of the USS New York, as we mentioned earlier as we gear up for the Memorial Day weekend right on "Fox & Friends." Martha back tomorrow night at 7:00. Until then, Tucker, up next.

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