Political fallout from attack on Saudi oil facilities

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Political fallout from attack on Saudi oil facilities

President Trump warns that the U.S. is ready to respond; reaction and analysis from the 'Special Report' All-Stars.

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," September 17, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT: Our intelligence committee at this very hour is working diligently to review the evidence. The secretary of state is traveling to Saudi Arabia today to discuss our response.

HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT: What Yemenis are doing is legitimately defending themselves, and this is a counterattack.

HOGAN GIDLEY, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: We want to make sure that the evidence and the information clearly points to a culprit here. In all likelihood, as the president said, it was Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, HOST: Secretary of State traveling over to Saudi Arabia as the investigation continues. Meantime, U.S. intelligence officials tell our Lucas Tomlinson at the Pentagon "Iranian cruise missiles and drones were used in the attack on the two Saudi Arabian oil facilities last weekend. The weapons were fired from inside Iran, the officials say. But not all the Iran weapons hit their target in Saudi Arabia. Some fell short. U.S. teams are on the ground in Saudi Arabia collecting the debris from the weapons used in the attack, which knocked out half the Kingdom's oil capacity. Some officials say Houthi rebels in Yemen could have also launched a small attack into southern Saudi Arabia, but the main attack came from inside Iran."

Let's bring in our panel, start there. Matthew Continetti, founding editor of the "Washington Free Beacon," Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for National Public Radio, and Josh Holmes, former top adviser to Mitch McConnell, ow the president of the Cavalry Consultants.

Mara, there is a sense that there is a cautious move by this administration.

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Really cautious.

BAIER: Very cautious.

LIASSON: This is a president who started out saying he was locked and loaded. Now he wants a proportionate response. He's said over and over again he doesn't want to go to war. And I would say that that's one of the most credible things he's said, because the last time there was a conflict like this, he called back the strike when it was practically in the midair. So the big question is, what's he going to do? If it's Iran, what kind of measures does he want to take in retaliation?

BAIER: Matthew?

LIASSON: For 75 years America has guaranteed the free flow of oil from the Middle East to the world economy, and it seems that time is ending, Bret. And the first reason it's ending is hydraulic fracking, which has made America energy independent. And the second reason it's ending is that the Trump administration has yet to impose a cost on Iran for its malign behavior that sends a signal to Iran that they can no longer continue attacks like these.

BAIER: Do we think, though, that the Saudis are going to make an appeal to the international community through the United Nations? They didn't particularly like that play when it came to Khashoggi, but would they be doing that? Is that the path that we're going to see with the Secretary of State and others meeting with the Saudis, do you think, Josh?

JOSH HOLMES, CAVALRY CONSULTANTS: I think they welcome all the help they can get. I think the question is whether that falls on deaf ears or not.

And to go back to Matt's point, I don't think there's any question at this point about what Iran is doing. Since may there have been 40 attacks that we know about, 40 attacks initiated by Iran on interests in the area, including three drones, American drones, that have been shot down. We know what they're trying to do. The question is whether or not we're going to acknowledge at some point that one country is at war. It's not us. And whether or not we are going to do anything to protect our allies and our interest in the region. And I think at some point, the president is going to have to answer that question.

LIASSON: But so far he's talked about meeting with no preconditions, although he kind of walked that back, we think. He's talked about lifting the sanctions. I have no idea what the White House's Iran strategy is. Do you?

HOLMES: No. It's unclear to me. What I do know --

BAIER: Let me play the soundbite. This is about the meeting or potential meeting at the U.N. General Assembly, or wherever, with the Iranians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: I have no meetings scheduled. I know they want to meet. I know they are not doing well as a country.

AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER (through translator): Sometimes they speak of unconditional talks. Sometimes they speak of talks without precondition, and some other times, they speak of talks with 12 conditions. It is because either their politics is a chaotic one and they do not know what they want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: And let's be clear, when it comes to Iran, that's the guy that matters, period, the end. The Supreme Leader.

HOLMES: No question about it. And I think you can praise this administration for having a more restrained approach across the globe, really, and looking at each of these international incidents in their own set of contexts. But I think what we are working with here with Iran is something that's been going on an awful long time. There's absolutely I don't think any question about what their intention is trying to do, is escalate this to the point where they get some kind of an interaction with the United States. The question is whether it's on our terms or whether it's on their terms. And I think right now they're dictating the state of play.

BAIER: Meantime, another big story in the Middle East is the Israeli elections. The counting for that vote happening at this hour. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): You want to prevent a left-wing government and a coalition with the Arab parties? You do not want it, so go vote. Go vote Likud.

BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER CANDIDATE (through translator): Who here hasn't voted, raise your hand. Who has voted? You voted. Great. All the rest, go and vote. Go vote blue and white. There is a blue and white flag. You want to wake up a country with hope, to unify a country? Go vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Benny Gantz versus Bibi Netanyahu. At this hour, the early exit polls, Matthew, suggest that it doesn't look good for Benjamin Netanyahu, but we've been here before where it didn't look good, and then suddenly he pulls it out in the end. It's all about setting up a coalition government eventually.

CONTINETTI: Right. There are two contests. One is the actual vote. And then there is after the vote is the contest to set up a governing coalition where Bibi may still have a few cards to play even if he is denied a majority in the actual vote totals.

I think, Bret, when we look back on this election, we might see Bibi fatigue as a little bit of a factor. He is Israel's longest serving prime minister. That is no small feat. And in the run-up to this election in recent weeks, he has continued to make promise after promise that I think may have actually alienated some of his core supporters.

BAIER: How does the President Trump play there, do you think?

LIASSON: That is a really interesting question because Netanyahu has used Trump as more than a crutch. You've got the seven-foot tall posters of Trump and Netanyahu, and Trump has been an incredible friend to Netanyahu and has done almost everything he wanted. But he's been a little bit, it sounds like he's been hedging his bets a little bit recently because he's not so sure Bibi is going to pull it out. But if he loses, what happens to Trump's relationships with the Israeli government, that's going to be really interesting.

BAIER: And again, we're still waiting on the raw vote total to come in, and those are early projections which sometimes, we've seen in this country, can be wrong, Josh.

HOLMES: Yes, and over there where it's been wrong, too. They've had exit polls that have been famously official. But I will say, I think it has less to do with Bibi Netanyahu's foreign policy, domestic policy, or even his embrace of President Trump. I think President Trump is still extremely popular in Israel.

I think the issue fundamentally is what Matthew was referring to earlier, that there is some Bibi fatigue. There has been an awful lot of drama surrounding the last three years, investigation after investigation. And I think even for his core supporters, at some point you kind of have to turn the page on some of that.

I'm not saying that this is going to be a definitive election. Clearly we're going down the wire. He may pull it out, may actually form a government. But I think that is some of the underlying angst there.

BAIER: Quickly.

CONTINETTI: The irony for many Democrats and liberals in the United States who wish Bibi to leave the stage is that Gantz may end up being a more hawkish prime minister than Bibi Netanyahu.

BAIER: Which is tough to think about, but yes, you're right.

Speaking of investigations after investigation, did you see the Corey Lewandowski hearing today? Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERROLD NADLER, D-N.Y., HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The White House is a new and dangerous theory, the crony privilege. It makes absolute immunity look good by comparison. Where are the limits. This is a cover- up, plain and simple.

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I recognize that the privilege is not mine. Congressman, I would be happy to answer your question, or you can just have a conversation by yourself. But if you would like to ask me a question, I'll be happy to answer.

SHEILA JACKSON LEE, D-TX, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: He called you in to do his dirty work in secret because he knew it was wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time.

LEE: We will expose the truth. The president cannot hide behind you any longer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: That's basically how that five-and-a-half hours went in the committee hearing today. Corey Lewandowski, the former Trump campaign manager testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee. We're back with the panel. Matthew, I'm not sure what the purpose was going in. Did the Democrats not know that Corey Lewandowski was going to do that?

CONTINETTI: The news is that the Democrats have missed an incredible marketing opportunity, Bret, because really they are putting these hearings up on C-SPAN for free when they should be selling the rights to a streaming service and charging admission, and adding extra for popcorn, because this is entertainment. It's theater. It's not actual legal politics. We are not sure whether it's an impeachment investigation, or is it or is it not. It is simply there to prove to the far left Democratic base that the Democrats, yes, maybe one of these days will get around to impeaching Donald Trump.

BAIER: At times it was fiery. Here is Lewandowski with the back and forth about impeaching him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: The White House has directed that I not disclose the substance of any discussion with the president or his advisers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ask that you would judge him in contempt in these proceedings.

JERROLD NADLER, D-N.Y., HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Mr. Lewandowski, when you refuse to answer these questions, you are obstructing the work of our committee.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman, did you just threaten to impeach Mr. Lewandowski, a private citizen?

NADLER: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: It was back and forth. It was unreal, Mara.

LIASSON: I don't know what the Democrats thought that he would do. First of all, he had an audience of one, and I thought he played to that audience of one really well. He is also thinking about running for Senate in a Republican primary in New Hampshire. So I don't know what they thought that he would do, but if they felt that he was obstructing the committee, they can hold him in contempt. What are they going to do next?

BAIER: Speaking of the audience of one, President Donald Trump tweeting out after this hearing started, and obviously watching him, "Such a beautiful opening statement by Corey Lewandowski! Thank you, Corey!" Just making sure everybody knew that he was tuned in.

HOLMES: I'm sure he was delighted. But I've long maintained that the best way to have somebody look credible and intellectual is put them before a House panel, because it is just an absolute mess every single time out, and this time absolutely no exception.

To Mara's point, Corey understands this, and what he is doing is embarking upon a potential Senate run. He launched a website halfway through the hearing. And so from an operative standpoint, this was a pretty smart deal, and he got exactly what he wanted out of the Democrats in that panel.

BAIER: Let's turn to 2020, this new Trump campaign video that has surfaced about Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Biden looked unstudy at many points.

JOE BIDEN, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Play the radio. Make sure the television -- excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, the phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is not the polished speaker anymore.

BIDEN: The president thinks -- my friend from Vermont thinks that --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watching his long winding answers that don't really make sense in recent debates has also raised the question as to whether that has gotten worse and whether he is up for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: It's a brutal, kind of long campaign video. But is it like a shark attacks, we are focused on them so there's more of them, or are there more gaffes that are big, big problems for Joe Biden?

CONTINETTI: Well, they gaffes have followed Joe Biden like a cloud since he entered the Senate in 1973. So I don't think it's a shark attack thing. I do think this is telegraphing what a general election attack will look like on Joe Biden should he be the Democratic nominee. And the question is, we know that he's electable, according to the polls. But the Democrats understand that the second that this electable candidate wins the nomination, he will be deluged with ads questioning his age and his fitness for the presidency that may well be effective.

BAIER: Here's todays. Did you see todays? Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: You're out there working, even if you have a good union job, try getting childcare in Philadelphia. You're talking $20,000 a year for somebody to do that. You get a tax break for a racehorse, why in God's name couldn't we provide an $8,000 tax credit for everybody who has childcare costs? It would put 720 million women back in the workforce.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: There are 330 million people in the United States of America.

LIASSON: But you know what, maybe the old rules don't work anymore. Look at all the things that Donald Trump did and said that we thought would scuttle any other normal candidate, and it didn't. I don't know the answer to this question, but I wonder if maybe Biden is impervious.

BAIER: Josh?

HOLMES: The problem is the narrative is starting to take hold here, right. And Democratic primary voters are actually struggling. We saw Castro bring this up in the context of the last debate.

BAIER: Cory Booker did too in interviews afterwards.

HOLMES: Right. The case that they are making is you're either going to vote for Joe Biden or you're going to call in a silver, because at some point he's so unsteady that you can't trust him with carrying the Democratic nomination. And I think at this point he's giving him a lot of fodder.

BAIER: Last word. "New York Times," how damaging in the big picture of the narrative for Democrats?

CONTINETTI: I think it's extremely damaging for "The New York Times." For the Democrats, it's a big issue, because it elevates the one thing that unifies the Republican Party and conservative movement, Brett Kavanaugh and conservative judges on the bench. As long as that is an issue, it helps the Republican Party.

BAIER: OK panel, thank you. When we come back, some fireworks you may have missed from today's Corey Lewandowski hearing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, we showed you some of the Corey Lewandowski hearing earlier, but some of the greatest hits or lowest blows didn't really make the early report. Here's a compilation of some other fiery exchanges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you the hitman, the bagman?

LEWANDOWSKI: I think I'm the good- looking man, actually.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Lewandowski, you are about like a fish being cleaned with a spoon. It's very hard to get an answer out of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could have talked today about your favorite football team. I'm not --

LEWANDOWSKI: Patriots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patriots. You're pretty happy right now, right?

LEWANDOWSKI: Tom is a winner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a House Judiciary, not a House party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Wow, it was quite something, for hours on end.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That is it for the “Special Report,” fair, balanced, and unafraid. "The Story" hosted by Martha MacCallum up in New York starts right now.

And Martha, I'm sure you have some more of that.

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