Rep. Darrell Issa talks explosive Peter Strzok hearing
Rep. Darrell Issa joins 'Justice with Judge Jeanine' to discuss questioning Peter Strzok.
This is a rush transcript from "Justice with Judge Jeanine," July 14, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JEANINE PIRRO, HOST: Hello and welcome to "Justice," I'm Jeanine Pirro. Thanks for being with us tonight and thank you for once again making "Justice" number one last weekend.
We have a packed show, Congressman Darrell Issa, Mike Huckabee and the White House Director of Strategic Communications, Mercedes Schlapp standing by live with reaction, plus a fired up panel, Candace Owens also is here with the most outrageous comments of the week.
But first my "Opening Statement." The man leading the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a personal e-mail server and Russian interference in the 2016 election testified before Congress this week. Agent Peter Strzok, a personification of the righteous left thinking they know better than the rest of us was a composite of pompous arrogant, indignant, sarcastic, smug, condescending, defiant and unapologetic.
Strzok seems to share Cardinal Comey's affectation about being a selfless servant of the people even though he seems to simultaneously hold us all in contempt. Strzok is also a personification of the deep state itself where fascism rules, where people in power don't care what you think, but instead decide they know better. They know what's right and then they implement it.
But no worries, Strzok isn't biased. He says so himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER STRZOK, FBI AGENT: After months of investigations, there simply is no evidence of bias in my professional actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: For me, it was one of the most of stunning, don't believe your lying eyes moments, I have ever seen. His own text exchanges betray his denial. He and his mistress, Lisa Page called Donald Trump an effing idiot, loathsome, a bigot, an enormous D blank, blank, blank, awful, abysmal, a disaster. The irony here is if you want to show bias, you would simply use his words. And for any of you who still don't believe your lying ears, take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TREY GOWDY, R-SOUTH CAROLINA: For 10 days before the investigation began, which the Department you work for says nothing was done before July 31st. You said, "Trump is a disaster. I have no idea how destabilizing his presidency would be." Between July 31th and August 8th, how many interviews did you conduct related to the alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign? I'm asking for a number, I haven't gotten to the names. How many people had you investigated - had you interviewed.
STRZOK: The counsel of the FBI, based on the special counsel's equities have directed me not to answer any questions about the ongoing investigation into Russian attempts to interfere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: So he is directed not to answer any questions by counsel for the FBI. So, why is this important? Why would it be important to show the investigation began before the FBI said it did? Why? Because nothing happened to even begin an investigation. They made up a date and they made up a reason. The Democrats in Congress knew the danger zone they were in, and desperately tried to use every excuse to end the questions. And, so pandemonium broke out in the House of Representatives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has said that he has been instructed by the FBI not to answer the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Point of order, Mr. Chairman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chairman, Mr. Chairman, is it not appropriate to also interject the attorney-client privilege which cannot be overridden and is a rule of the House to the extent that they have the right to an attorney- client privilege in this House, and that is what this witness is asserting- attorney-client privilege and he has been advised not to answer the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentlewoman will suspend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: And it went downhill from there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Chairman, please.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, Chairman, this is intolerable harassment of the witness.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is wrong. You need your medication.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: The free-for-all in that hearing room was a sight to behold. But more than that, it was a microcosm of what the left has done when they want to shut down the right. The pent-up rage and the pandemonium was an example of how angry the left is. And while the Republican deducted themselves in a genteel manner, the Democrats claiming parliamentary points of order blew their collective gasket.
So, Strzok arrogantly claims he is following FBI protocol. They told him not to say anything. But six hours later, he has shown yet again to be a liar and is allowed to answer the question that goes to heart of the basis for this absurd investigation into Donald Trump's alleged connection with Russia, and when given the green light. Here is Strzok's answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Agent Strzok, between July 31st 2016 and August 6, 2016, how many witness interviews did you conduct as part of the Russia-Trump campaign alleged collusion investigation?
STRZOK: I don't recall and I'd have to check the case file.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We waited all the time for that answer?
STRZOK: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's eerily similar to what you said a couple of hours ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: And if that isn't enough, the text, quote, "I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office that there is no way he gets elected, but I am afraid we can't take that risk. It's like the insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you are 40."
So, Strzok wasn't trying to prevent Trump from winning, what he was doing was even worse. He was talking about having a plan to effectively disenfranchise the voters who elected Trump, should Trump win. Forget democracy, forget the people. Those voters who Strzok doesn't like are idiots. He said so himself in a text to his mistress. If his candidate of choice didn't win, the one he helped avoid criminal liability, he was going to abuse the power we entrusted him to ensure that it didn't matter.
If the unthinkable were to happen, his insurance policy would help deal with it. The insurance policy my friends, is the Russia collusion investigation. And that's why I wrote the book, "Liars, Leakers and Liberals" detailing the power structure, trying to bring the President down. The book hit store shelves on Tuesday, but you can still preorder it right now on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.com.
And don't forget to tell me what you think on my Facebook page and what you think of the open. Now, coming up, my next guest had one of the most of memorable moments at the explosive Peter Strzok hearing. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DARRELL ISSA, R-CALIFORNIA: I am going to just go to a gate and ask you to read your own words. "Hi, how was Trump other than a [bleep].
STRZOK: Trump is a disaster. I have no idea how destablizing his presidency would be.
ISSA: Miss Page said, "Not ever going to become president, right? Right?
STRZOK: No, no, he's not. We'll stop it. What the F happened to our country, Lis.
ISSA: Okay, read it again that way.
STRZOK: Sir, did you not ...
(CROSSTALK)
STRZOK: You just want to hear it.
ISSA: I just want to hear it one more time.
STRZOK: You want me to repeat it.
ISSA: Please.
STRZOK: Okay, sir. Sure, happy to indulge you. I can't pull away. What the F happened to our country, Lis?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: Wow. Congressman Darrell Issa joins me now. Good evening, Congressman. I must tell you, as a trial attorney myself, I was quite impressed when you made the accused read his own words. Most of them in my lifetime at a criminal courtroom denied they were their words. But clearly, they were his, so kudos to you. Congressman, if we didn't have those texts from Peter Strzok, where would we be right now?
ISSA: Well, we'd probably have less evidence that in fact the very under pinning two years ago that has led to literally two years of this talk about collusion with the Russians wouldn't have happened. From the very beginning Strzok has been in a perfect position not only to make sure that Hillary Clinton got the white wash of her own actions, which we know were wrong on their face, but now two years later, we are still talking about collusion when in fact what we know is the Russians are still the evil empire, but in fact we have not one single indictment, accusation or piece of evidence that shows that Donald Trump - President Trump or anyone directly connected to his campaign colluded with the Russians.
And it's been a long time, but it started right there with Peter Strzok who hated the President, loathed him and used words, and I chose only the nice ones by comparison. There are some doozies in there that we couldn't have aired.
PIRRO: Right, right. But you know, Congressman, I mean, it was those text messages that really gives us an insight into the esteemed Federal Bureau of investigation and the fact that they were capable and are capable certainly under that administration of being political. But you know, their insurance policy that Strzok was talking about, that's the Russia collusion investigation, it is paying off, isn't it?
ISSA: Absolutely. It slowed down a great many things the President would do and it has given the Democrats this whole holier than thou Senate attitude that not confirming his candidates - and we're not just talking about the court. We are talking about simple career people that need to go in and help with the bureaucracy, not hundreds, but thousands are backed up there waiting.
Even Ambassadors, usually a fairly quick process, have waited a year for more. Some have gone away. This is the kind of obstruction that they justify because they justify an investigation that has no fundamental underpinnings other than the truth we both understand, which is Putin and the Russians continue to be evil and they continue to not have our best interests, but that's been a reality of life quite frankly since before Eisenhower.
PIRRO: Well, there's no question, but you know, I often wonder, if it weren't for Strzok starting this investigation, refusing to answer when it really started, I mean, other than the FBI saying, "Oh, it started on July 31st," and then when he got approval, which he always had, they never told him he couldn't say that. He says, "I really don't remember." Which is what defense tell their witnesses, if they don't want to incriminate themselves.
If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be a special prosecutor. I want you to hear one of Strzok's texts and it was in the Inspector General's report. He says on the day after Mueller was appointed, he says, "For me ..." in wondering whether he should join Mueller's investigation, " ... I personally have a sense of unfinished business. I unleashed it with midyear exam," their term for the investigation, " ... now I need to fix it and finish it." Who gives a blank, one more AD, that that means Assistant Director which is what he was, an investigation leading to impeachment.
So, the day after Mueller is appointed, he is wondering should he join the team and can it lead to impeachment? He's one of the first people to mention the word impeachment, and the investigation started with him, and he still won't give us honest answers. And because we've got have Rod Rosenstein in the Attorney General's seat, will we ever get justice?
ISSA: You know I'm afraid we won't. The only justice we're going to get is from the American people who hearing Peter Strzok's words, in some cases, spoken by him are discounting this investigation to nil. They are discounting the Democrats' objections and their continued claim that there is collusion when in fact there is no evidence of collusion.
You know, Judge, one thing i think that we always discount a little bit is we think these hearings don't matter, but they inform the public in a way in which the public is better prepared to react to other fake and false things that are said.
Just the fact that Steve Cohen had to apologize when he tried to imply that a purple heart was equal to this man being asked to tell us about his misuse of government property and these foul statements he made about the President.
PIRRO: And certainly, we're going to get into that later in the show. But I really think that Strzok was quite - it was quite interesting watching how he handled the Congressmen and Congresswomen, and the way he views himself as against Congress. He was somewhat pompous.
ISSA: He was, he was, but remember, this is one of the problems at the FBI. If 90% of the agents are dedicated professionals who really try to do the right thing all the time and there is 5% or 10% that aren't, they can change the outcome of investigations time and time again, and Peter Strzok is an example of a bad apple that the FBI doesn't seem to have the ability to get rid of in a timely fashion.
PIRRO: He's still working for the FBI. Congressman Darrell Issa, thanks so much for being with us tonight.
ISSA: Thank you, Judge.
PIRRO: All right, and President Trump's Director of Strategic Communications is standing by for a live conversation, still ahead. But next, the governor is here, Mike Huckabee on the Strzok hearings, the President's history-making trip overseas and more. Don't miss this. Back in a moment.
Welcome back to "Justice," live as always on this very busy night of news, my next guest says President Trump is not getting credit for being much tougher on Putin than Obama or Bush ever were. Here with reaction to the upcoming summit on Monday and much more, former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee who joins me now. All right, governor, very quickly, Strzok, your take on his testimony.
MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS: Well, it was condescending. It was smug and arrogant, but most of all, I thought it was insulting to the very people he works for. It's like he has no idea what a public servant is. He works for the people of America.
He thinks can walk into a Walmart and smell them. When you talk about your bosses that way, you usually get fired. This guy is still in the payroll. It ought to make American mad.
PIRRO: Well, I think that's well said, and you know what? I must tell you, Governor, he is not an example of the great FBI men and women that I worked with. He is.
HUCKABEE: No, he is not.
PIRRO: He is the exact opposite and it's sad that that is what rose to the top under James Comey, but that's for another story.
All right, let's talk about NATO. Okay, the left went ballistic when the President went out there and they were so worried that he wasn't going to get along, and the President was in their face again like he was last year. What is the uptake on that?
HUCKABEE: Well, the uptake is that NATO will be stronger because President Trump is stronger. He didn't go in there and just wimp out and say, "Oh, none of you guys are paying your fair share, so we don't have as strong a NATO as we really need and we have to foot the bill, that's okay with us."
It's not okay with President Trump. Thank goodness that he doesn't just roll over and let these smaller nations push him around.
The fact is, NATO will be better, it will be more important, and I think it was the right move and who cares if they like him. We are writing bigger checks to NATO because of it.
PIRRO: You know what's interesting is, on the one hand, Germany wants to buy all their energy from Russia, but they're saying to the United States, "Protect us from Russia in case they hurt us, but we want to give all of our money over there to Putin just to give all our energy, so we're beholden to Putin, but you know what, United States, we want you to pay up in case we have to fight with them."
And the whole thing is just nonsensical to me. But let's move on to the Putin issue. The President in Helsinki on Monday, and of course Mueller releases charges against 12 Russians within hours of that meeting. Would you say the Mueller team is somewhat politicized?
HUCKABEE: Somewhat? Are you kidding? Look, this is the most overwhelming, I think biased group of biased people. Most of them are donors to the Hillary campaign. They should never have been on that panel because they had a bias based on their own political involvement. But I do think this, you and I both have done something that most of these critics of Donald Trump have never done, we've actually had multiple meetings with him. We know him fairly well.
And the one thing those of us who know him can attest to, he never walks into a meeting and rolls over. This is a guy who is blunt. He is tough talking. If they think he is going to walk in, sip tea with his pinky extended when he talks to Putin, they've never had a meeting with Trump. They have no idea what they are talking about, and Putin will not be dealing with someone like Obama who told then President of Russia, "Don't worry, I can be more flexible once I get reelected."
PIRRO: Yes, tell Vlad on that off-mic moment. Tell, Vlad I'll be more flexible after the election, and with respect to Putin meeting on Monday, I mean, the President tweeted something out. I'm going to - I think we have it here. The tweet is, "These Russian individuals did their work during the Obama years. Why didn't Obama do something? Because he thought crooked Hillary Clinton would win, that's why. It had nothing to do with the Trump administration. The fake news doesn't want to report the truth as usual."
I mean, the President is right there. It was during the Obama administration. They knew about it, and I remember Obama saying the he told Putin to knock it off. Do you think that KGB agent, Putin was scared when Obama said, "Knock it off?" If you believe he said it.
HUCKABEE: I'll tell you, Putin had to take half a baby aspirin that night to get to sleep, he was so frightened by what had been said to him by Obama. I think the difference is that the press is half right. They say Russia tried to meddle in the election. They are right on that. What they are wrong about is saying it has a thing to do with Donald Trump. It clearly does not - and even these indictments do not in any way tie anything to President Trump. Nothing.
PIRRO: Yes, and honestly, governor, it really is shocking because we all know no one will ever be extradited, arraigned, tried, convicted or sentenced. Why do we spend millions of dollars on investigations like this when we know no Russian is going to be sent over by Putin to be prosecuted by the Mueller team?
HUCKABEE: I think it's window dressing. It's show. It's trying to prove that there was some basis for all of the Mueller investigation, but the more we know, the less the evidence points to any collusion, and the more it points to the fact that there was a very weak administration that did nothing, absolutely nothing to stop the Russia interference.
PIRRO: All right, Governor Mike Huckabee, as always, thanks for being with "Justice" tonight.
HUCKABEE: Thank you.
PIRRO: All right, Candace Owens still on deck tonight. Plus one of the top communications people in the White House. And next, you thought the Peter Strzok hearing had some fireworks? Tonight's panel is standing by and ready to debate. Dan Bongino and Philippe Reines will square off on this week's contentious hearing and more. "Justice" rolls on in a moment, and you don't want to miss this one.
ROBERT GRAY, CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS: Live from "America's News Headquarters," I'm Robert Gray. The Presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia coming under attack Saturday. Two large explosions were followed by gunfire. Security forces were able to fend off the attack killing three suspected insurgents. Three other people were killed in the attack. This comes a week after a similar attack on the interior ministry. The Al-Qaeda affiliate group, Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.
McDonald's pulling salads from about 3,000 of its restaurants after customers got sick from a parasite causing an intestinal illness. The fast-food giant saying it made the move out of an abundance of caution as it switches to another supplier. Health officials in Illinois and Iowa have identified roughly 100 cases of illness linked to those salads. I'm Robert Gray. Now back to "Justice With Judge Jeanine."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Stzrok, I don't know where to start. If i could give you a purple heart, I would. You deserve one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: That's just another one of the many ridiculous and insulting moments by the Dems at the Strzok hearing. My panel is here ready for a battle of their own, so let's get right to it with NRA TV contributor and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino. Former Hillary Clinton adviser, Philippe Reines for his first time on "Justice." All right, Philippe, I'm going to start with you. Isn't a purple heart something that's given to people who put their lives at risk for the rest of us?
PHILIPPE REINES, FORMER HILLARY CLINTON ADVISER: Well, I think, first of all thank you for having me. I believe the Congressman took that back, so I don't think that's (inaudible) ...
(CROSSTALK)
PIRRO: He took it back. He said it, I'll never take it back.
REINES: Well, he apologized today from what I say.
PIRRO: Today? Well, that was big of him.
REINES: It's better than, you know, someone saying, "I'm a dentist, therefore, I know what you are thinking." But I think the larger question about the hearing was what was the point? And in hindsight, it's pretty clear that the House Republicans knew what was coming down the pike.
President Trump was told about the Rod Rosenstein indictments earlier in the week, and I think it's pretty clear that he told the House Republicans, because they looked scared to me. And they went over the top. I mean, your own Laura Ingraham criticized a couple of the members.
PIRRO: Okay, so at some point, you want to talk about Laura Ingraham, but when you say that they went over the top, Dan, do you think they went over the top?
DAN BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: No, Philippe is just covering for his former boss, Mrs. Clinton. And believe me, he'll say - Judge, listen, of all the spinmeisters on television.
REINES: It took him 30 seconds to talk about Hillary.
BONGINO: If there was a spinmeister decathlon, this guy is the gold medal winner. Here is the thing, the Republicans are not running scared like Philippe said. That's nonsense. The Republicans highlight and want to highlight clearly that Hillary Clinton got a pass under a different set of rules in her investigation, his gold-plated investigation for her, while the Donald Trump investigation despite zero evidence to this day of any collusion, still continues while people are processed or attacked for process crimes. It's absolutely absurd, and Strzok by the way, is at the center of all of this.
PIRRO: Well, clearly, but Philippe, let me ask you this, when Strzok says there is no bias, there is no evidence of bias, he calls the President every name in the book. He is the guy who started the counterintelligence investigation, he says he can't tell us when it really started if it started before July 31st, which is what the FBI said, he said the FBI told him he couldn't say it. Then when the FBI said, "We never said you couldn't say it," then he says, "Well I don't remember." I mean, this guy is the kind of guy that you know, you have got to say to yourself, I don't know of anybody who is more important to the Russia collusion investigation and his bias is more up front than Russia collusion with Trump.
REINES: Well, first of all, he's a guy that served four years in the 101st Airborne and then 22 years in the FBI. But look.
PIRRO: I was in law enforcement for 30 years, so what?
REINES: But you know who didn't tolerate Peter Strzok? Bob Mueller. Bob Mueller took him off the team the minute he found out about these texts. The only reason we know about Peter Strzok's texts is because Bob Mueller essentially fired him.
PIRRO: Okay, Dan is that right?
REINES: Bob Mueller agrees that it was not a good idea. He fixed it.
PIRRO: Why? Just speak to Bob Mueller better Bob Mueller, if you ask him anything about the investigation? He was asked that in Congress. Go ahead, Dan.
BONGINO: Again, Philippe has a tough time with the facts. He's spinning the facts to make it seem like Bob Mueller is some kind of white knight. Phillip, let me educate you here for a minute, the Inspector General brought those texts to the attention of Bob Mueller. This was not Bob Mueller trying to do the right thing. And secondly, Philippe, what you seem to be avoiding here is the fact that Strzok already made incredibly critical decisions in relation to your former boss, Mike Flynn's prosecution for lying although the FBI said he wasn't being deceptive, and the initiation of the investigation into Donald Trump. That's like Robin and McDonald's and five days later, someone is saying, "Hey, we caught you for robbing the McDonald's." But McDonald's was already robbed. Strzok already robbed the McDonald's, okay? He had already been involved in these decisions.
Saying you got kicked off the investigation after these critical decisions is just ridiculous.
PIRRO: Go ahead, Philippe.
REINES: I don't think we need to get nasty and bring McDonald's into this, but look, Peter Strzok.
BONGINO: They're having a rough day, it's true.
REINES: Peter Strzok obviously did not exemplify the behavior that he should have in terms of his text messages, but Dan, I am not going to ask you this question, because I know the answer and I'm afraid of what you'll answer, you were in the Secret Service. You worked with dozens, with hundreds of other agents. You know there is no bias to the left among law enforcement. It is crazy to think there is this cabal within the FBI to elect Hillary Clinton.
PIRRO: Oh, my gosh, Philippe, you are not saying that are you?
(CROSSTALK)
REINES: I am actually saying that. You are from New York, you are from Westchester, a dozen years ago when you thought about running for Senate, would you really have believed that law enforcement was in the pocket of Hillary Clinton? It's just strange to do it.
PIRRO: Let me tell you something, there they are not an example of law enforcement. And this isn't about me, it's about Peter Strzok being at the center of two investigations showing incredible bias that I would require any prosecutor who worked for me not just to get off the case, but I'd fire him. Go ahead, Dan.
BONGINO: Notice, Judge, he did it again. Philippe is so good. Now, I know why Mrs. Clinton loves you so much. There is no better.
(CROSSTALK)
BONGINO: No, it is. You are incredible at your job, which is deception. You're very good. Rank and file Secret Service agents and FBI, Philippe is right, a lot of them do happen to be conservatives, here is what Philippe leaves out. The actual manager in the FBI, the number two in counterintel under Bill Price that was who? Peter Strzok. He was not a rank and file agent and no, he was not a Trump supporter. As a matter of fact, he said, "Blank Trump," you fill in the blanks, "Impeach Trump. Trump supporters smell." So saying that a bunch of police officers and agents happen to be conservatives, while the guy actually prosecuting Trump and giving a path to Hillary Clinton is a big Hillary supporter obviously.
You gloss over that fact as if it's meaningless. This is what you do all the time. You are really good at it. I'm actually quite impressed.
REINES: Thank you, Dan. The fact that it's being glossed over is that Hillary Clinton is not President because of the actions of the FBI.
PIRRO: Oh baloney. That is a lie. Philippe, you're not going to get away with this now.
REINES: Now, the two of you are going to gang up on me.
PIRRO: Philippe, stop. The only reason Jim Comey went out and mouthed off is because the southern district NYPD was going to turn him in for not doing anything on the laptop of the dirt bag pervert, Anthony Weiner. Now, let me ask you this, Philippe, why is the Mueller investigation now only with 48 approval when last month it was 55? The American people aren't buying this nonsense anymore.
REINES: Because as much as Dan wants to compliment me for the job I do, you guys are fantastic. You pelt Mueller every single day and I respect the effectiveness of protecting the king. But that has nothing to do with Mueller. Look, at Mueller's timeline. The notion that he's taking too long is comical. The Benghazi hearings took twice as long. The whitewater investigation in the '90s went on for six years. I don't think this is about whether Mueller is popular or not, and you know what? When this is all said and done, he might have 100% approval.
PIRRO: No, it's about the American people's instincts, that's why they elected an outsider.
(CROSSTALK)
REINES: Well, it's about the American people's democracy.
PIRRO: Dan respond. Oh, it is the American people's democracy. Go ahead, Dan.
BONGINO: Philippe, listen, what?
REINES: We haven't talked about Russia.
BONGINO: There were four body bags in Benghazi, Philippe. People died. There are no body bags for collusion. As a matter of fact, not only are there no body bags which is really an awful analogy, Philippe, but secondly, there is not even a scintilla of evidence that collusion even happened. Don't you think that that may be why the American people, reasonable moderates on both sides of the aisle have had enough of this?
PIRRO: Philippe Reines, Dan Bongino - they are telling me I have to go. I would rather stay with you guys. Anyway, Candace Owens and the most of outrageous statements of the week are still ahead, but next, the inside story on President Trump's trip overseas trip and a preview of his historic summit with Vladimir Putin. White House director of Strategic Communications, Mercedes Schlapp is here to tell us all about it. She's next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hopefully, we'll have a good relationship with Russia. I think having - and the Prime Minister would agree, if we have a good relationship with Russia and with China, and with other countries, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: That's President Trump, Friday, ahead of his high stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. Joining me now with more on the summit and the President's trip overseas, White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp. All right, good evening, Mercedes. Thanks for being with us. I know it's your anniversary. Happy anniversary.
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: Thank you.
PIRRO: You're welcome. Now, the President has just finished up a trip with NATO. And the NATO leaders, and as is his usual way of dealing with things, he was in their face. How do you think it went?
SCHLAPP: I don't think was in their face as much as he was being a true leader, which is one who is able to bring our allies to the table and say, "Look, you've got to pay more money. We've got to share the burden of ensuring that NATO can be successful." I mean, when you look at the facts, Judge, you are talking about eight of these 28 countries that are actually paying that 2% of their GDP in terms of defense spending.
And guess what? The United States, we are overpaying all the time. We are paying over 4%. And so, definitely to President Trump's credit, is that he's able to bring our allies together to say, "We need to you to contribute more." We need you to be part of this alliance in a greater way, and he actually received praise from the NATO Secretary-General saying, "You know, if it wasn't for President Trump, he is bringing these countries into this conversation of basically promising to give and contribute more money to NATO," which is, as we know, very important in terms of tour security and in terms of dealing with terrorist organizations across the world.
PIRRO: But you know, it's not just in terms of security and everything else, it's about the American people not being taken advantage of. And as you say, a leader, and I agree with you, but someone who is not going to take it lying down. But now, I want to talk about what expectations are there for the president meeting with Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki and the unusual timing of Mueller charging 12 Russians literally hours before the President meets with Putin.
SCHLAPP: Well, clearly, I think for President Trump, it's an opportunity to have a constructive engagement with President Putin, obviously as you know, having these good relationships with Russia is important. It's not only important for these two countries, but it's important for the peace and security of the world.
And so, the President has mentioned that he's going to bring up the election interference. He's going to take it straight on with President Putin. It's an important message he's going to be sending, and at the end of the day, they are going to be addressing on a variety of issues. I don't want to go ahead of the meeting, but as you know, it's always the issue on Syria, on North Korea, and a variety of issues that are going to be important.
But for the president, it always is about America's interests first, and then obviously, national security for Americans, and part of this is ensuring while the president has been tough on Russia, with Russian sanctions and the like, at the same time it's about ensuring that you have an important and good dialogue with the Russian president.
PIRRO: Right, right. And as he said, a good dialogue with China and other countries, meant it's a good thing.
SCHLAPP: That's right.
PIRRO: Surprised about Mueller releasing these charges against Russians having no connection to Americans and certainly, no connection to the Trump campaign within hours of the meeting and now Democrats calling on the President to not meet with Putin.
SCHLAPP: Well, I have to tell you, I mean, the Department of Justice basically determines the timing of these indictments. As we know, when you look at the facts of this, this is a problem that happened during President Obama's time in office, whereas President Obama who basically, yes maybe, he pushed a little bit on President Putin saying, "Don't interfere in our elections," but did nothing to stop it.
But one thing about President Trump and what this administration is doing right now is they are insuring we have election security in our upcoming midterm elections.
PIRRO: Mercedes Schlapp, thanks so much for being with us. And Hillary is back. She just won't go away. Find out how she made it into this week's list of the most of outrageous statements. Candace Owens joins me live to break it down, next.
Democratic lawmaker Steve Cohen having a real banner week with his outrageous purple heart comment, and we showed you earlier in this show, now take a listen to what he said this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE COHEN, DEMOCRATIC LAW MAKER: Robert Mueller is a star and he and his team - they are one of the best teams going, it's like the Elliott Ness going after Al Capone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: Unbelievable. Turning Point USA Communications Director, Candace Owens joins me now to break it all down. All right, so Robert Mueller is Elliott Ness and Donald Trump is Al Capone.
CANDACE OWENS, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TURNING POINT USA: Judge, did you watch this interview in the entirety? I mean, I had the misfortune of watching the entire thing, and I have to tell you, it was incomprehensible. It wasn't even an interview. I should call it a monologue. It was a monologue of him just speaking, saying Russia every other sentence and making no sense and doing what he does best. He just fear mongers and makes no sense whatsoever.
PIRRO: And you know, the amazing part of this, it's Russia, Russia, Russia, the Russians are coming. And the truth is that, I mean, there is bias in Strzok's messages where everybody says, there's no bias, and then we have a 13-month investigation, millions of dollars, countless hours, and we indict the Russians who will never show up to court. I mean, it's just- it's backwards.
OWENS: Exactly right, and this is just a side show. They don't want us focusing on Peter Strzok's text messages. They don't want us looking over there. They want to continue this narrative, I think right into midterms, it's the cloud over the Trump campaign and then they're going to say, "Oh, you know what? Never mind. There was no meddling in the Russian campaign by Donald Trump's campaign." That's what's going to end up happening. It's really unfair, but this is the game that they play. They play dirty tricks. You know what? We're used to it by now, so we know how to fight back.
PIRRO: Okay, now, also we've got Hillary Clinton implying that Kavanaugh will lead America back to the time of slavery. I think we have the sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER FIRST LADY: This nomination holds out the threat of devastating consequences for workers' rights, civil rights, LGBT rights, women's rights, including those to make our own health decisions. It is a blatant attempt by this administration to shift the balance of the court for decades and to reverse decades of progress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PIRRO: Whoa. Go ahead, Candace.
OWENS: What I like about this bit, she actually sounds like she is acting. This is more or less exactly how she ran the 2016 campaign, always telling us that the world was going to end if you didn't vote for her and she loves false narratives. She believes her voters are dumb. That's the truth. She believes that the people that follow her now are dumb. That they believe that she is somehow friends with Jay-Z and Beyonce back in 2016, and that's a completely false narrative, and now she wants us to believe as black Americans that if we don't listen to her, we don't stand on the side of the Democrats and all of her allies that were somehow going to be back in the south picking cotton.
You know, it's ludicrous and at this point, I've had enough of it. We're all ready for Hillary Clinton to go away. I don't know why she is not getting the memo.
PIRRO: All right, or at least go back in the woods, anyway. I am always looking for her in the woods. All right, let's talk Cynthia Nixon. Here is a woman who is running for Governor of New York and she teams up for - with the broad city stars to give away a bong. You can see it right there, and apparently 80% of New Yorkers are arrested for cannabis are black or Latino while people who look like so and so get a pass. We have to stop putting people of color in jail, and she is giving away a bong.
OWENS: Yes, I think she is the new Maxine Waters. I'm going to cut her a break because I think she is actually a low IQ individual. She will best be remembered as the friend that nobody liked on "Sex and the City." And this campaign has been an absolute disaster from start to finish, and now, she's giving out bongs. I mean, is she running for President of a high school class? This makes entirely no sense.
PIRRO: Candace Owens, thanks so much. We'll be right back.
Finally tonight, I've been talking about the Russian investigation and the deep state conspiracy against our president on this show for a long time and now you can read all about it. My new book, "Liars, Leakers and Liberals: The case against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy," comes out on Tuesday. But you can preorder it now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and if you want a signed copy, just go to judgejeaninebook.com, got it? Judgejeaninebook.com. You can also link there through my Facebook page and I will sign it and I'll send you a picture, too. Thanks for watching. I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro advocating for truth, justice and the American way. Greg Gutfeld his next. I'll see you next Saturday night.
END
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