Rep. Jim Jordan on threat to subpoena Rod Rosenstein
Rep. Goodlatte threatens to subpoena Rod Rosenstein; House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jim Jordan weighs in on 'Sunday Morning Futures.'
This is a rush transcript from "Sunday Morning Futures," October 14, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MARIA BARTIROMO, HOST: Good Sunday morning.
Could Republican House lawmakers subpoena Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if he doesn't provide them with an on-the-record interview about reports he offered to wear a wire during meetings with President Trump?
Well, the campaigner in chief makes the case for the GOP this midterm election, and U.S. diplomatic tensions with Turkey ease, while intensifying with Saudi Arabia.
Good morning, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Maria Bartiromo. Welcome to "Sunday Morning Futures."
It is a big week ahead for House lawmakers looking for answers after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decides not to testify to Congress about report he planned to spy on the president. Rosenstein adamantly denies the claims. But not everybody is convinced.
We talk with House Judiciary Committee members Jim Jordan and John Ratcliffe coming up, and the next steps to probing the DOJ and FBI action to the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Meanwhile, President Trump fires up the base during a rally in Kentucky last night. House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy will talk -- join me, talking about the state of play for keeping that chamber in Republican hands come November, as well as his bill that he just introduced to fully fund the border wall.
Plus, the release of American Pastor Andrew Brunson by Turkey may help repair strains with that NATO allies. But now cracks emerge with Saudi Arabia after a Washington Post columnist disappears and is presumed dead.
All those stories and a lot more this morning right now, as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures."
House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte now threatening to subpoena Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, this as Republican push for answers on whether Rosenstein was serious when he reportedly floated the idea of secretly recording President Trump.
We have two members of the Judiciary Committee on the program this morning, Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe a short time ago. He will be joining us momentarily.
Right now, my first guest, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, is joining me. He also sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and he is a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
Congressman, it's good to have you on the program this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.
REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OHIO: You bet. Good to be with you this morning.
BARTIROMO: I know you have a big week ahead in terms of testimonies.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: You have got Glenn Simpson, who is expected on Tuesday; then, on Thursday, James Baker; Friday, Nellie Ohr.
Let's talk first about Rod Rosenstein.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: He was supposed to meet with Congress. What happened?
JORDAN: He didn't show up.
Look, when you're the guy who in reality is running the Justice Department, and the chairman of the committee that has jurisdiction over your agency asks you to come, you are obligated to come and you're obligated to come and testify under oath. He didn't do that.
So if it takes a subpoena, that's exactly what should happen. We need him to answer questions about all kinds of issues associated with the Trump-Russia investigation, but specifically the statement that it's alleged that he said where he talked about actually recording the commander in chief of our great country and he talked about the 25th Amendment.
That is specifically what I want to ask him about.
BARTIROMO: Now, he said that he was saying it sarcastically, that it was a joke. But since he said that he didn't really mean that in a serious way, we have heard from a number of people.
Kim Strassel from The Wall Street Journal did an op-ed on this.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: As well, you have got John Solomon from the Hill.
And in John Solomon's op-ed which was posted last week, he writes this, that, basically, this was the plan.
He joined me last week on FOX Business Network on the morning program "Mornings with Maria."
Here's what he told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SOLOMON, THE HILL: There are three separate FBI agents, McCabe, Lisa Page, and James Baker, the former FBI counsel, all who say this was a serious plot, this wasn't a joke, there was a real discussion in May, right after Comey was fired, about possibly taking out the president by recording him and then going to the Cabinet invoking the 25th Amendment.
Just think how extraordinary that is. That's a political solution. And you have got the Justice Department and FBI, who are not supposed to be involved in politics, having the discussion. Joke or no joke, it's a serious matter. And it's a sort of an infringement on what the Justice Department and the FBI are supposed to do.
I would expect Chairman Gowdy and lawmakers like Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan possibly to issue a subpoena to force this issue with Rosenstein as early as today or early next week. I think that's a second thing to watch, in addition to the contempt filing that we should see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Congressman, your take?
JORDAN: No, exactly.
He's got to come in and answer questions. Who else may have been in that room? I will tell you this, Maria. When Jim Baker was in his deposition two weeks ago and was asked about this, he was as serious as you could be in describing what he understood took place in that meeting between Andrew McCabe and Rod Rosenstein, where Mr. Rosenstein talked about actually recording the president of the United States.
So he needs to come in and answer questions. And, like I said, if it takes a subpoena, that's exactly what should be issued.
BARTIROMO: So, you were in the deposition with James Baker, the first one.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: And you are going to be with him this upcoming Thursday. What do you want to get from James Baker this week?
JORDAN: Well, first of all, remember who this is. This is -- this is the FBI chief counsel. All kinds of things flow through him. So when he says that he believed Rod Rosenstein was serious about this, this -- this alleged statement about recording the president, you got to take that with the weight that it comes with, because it's the -- it's the FBI chief counsel.
So we're going to ask him more about. We -- our previous deposition was cut off early. We ran out of time. So we need him back in there, where we're going to ask more about that specific meeting that took place, and then his conversations with people who were in that meeting, how those went and who all he talked to you.
So all those things need to be asked.
BARTIROMO: Well, it's interesting, because you have spoken with him ready. And then we know that he also met with the lawyer from the Democratic National Committee on Mr. Sussmann.
So tell us why that's important.
JORDAN: Yes.
Well, that you now have so many different people communicating information to the FBI about the Russia investigation. Remember, you had Nellie Ohr, who we're going to interview later this week.
Nellie Ohr's husband, who's a top official at the DOJ, was getting information that he was passing on to the FBI. You had Glenn Simpson and actually Christopher Steele, the guy who wrote the dossier, passing information directly to the FBI. And now we know that the chief lawyer for Perkins Coie, who represented the Democratic National Committee, is giving information to the FBI chief counsel as well.
So all these sources giving information to the FBI, I think it was this idea that the more people you have talking about the big lie, which was the dossier, the more apt people are to believe it. And that's exactly the technique and the method they were trying to use to get people to buy into this dossier that was actually used to go spy on the other -- other party's campaign.
BARTIROMO: But what must be said here are the people that were giving the information to the FBI were all working for the opposition, Hillary Clinton.
JORDAN: Bruce Ohr's wife was working for the opposition. Glenn Simpson was certainly working for the opposition. And Michael Sussmann, the lawyer at Perkins Coie, was the key lawyer for the Democrat National Committee and the Clinton campaign.
So that's exactly right. And yet the document that was put together, this dossier, was what was used to go to the secret court to get a warrant to go spy on the other campaign.
That is never supposed to happen in this country, but it did.
BARTIROMO: But the other thing is that Rod Rosenstein OKed the final FISA warrant. I mean, that FISA Warren to spy on Carter Page was re-upped three times. And the final one was given the green light by Rod Rosenstein.
So is he a witness?
JORDAN: Exactly -- exactly right.
I mean, there's all kinds of conflicts here. We now know the story that Mr. McCabe and Mr. Rosenstein have been in conflict and arguing about who should be recused. I think actually they're both right. Both of them should be recused from overseeing anything to do with the Mueller investigation.
BARTIROMO: Let me ask you about the conflicts that we're seeing between what you have heard from Andrew McCabe, who now has been referred criminal -- for criminal charges, and Rod Rosenstein, because, apparently, there are conflicts in what the two say.
JORDAN: Yes.
No, there are. No, exactly. And I -- like I said, I think both of them should be -- shouldn't be overseeing the Mueller investigation, because McCabe had the conflict when his wife was running for office. And, of course, Rosenstein wrote the memo to -- that was given to the president that became the justification for firing James Comey.
And one of the things Mueller is looking into is potential obstruction of justice in the firing of James Comey. So, exactly right. I think they both should not be involved. Neither should be involved. And, of course, Andy McCabe isn't right now because he's been fired.
BARTIROMO: The president has said he's not going to fire Rod Rosenstein at this point. Given what you know, should he actually step down?
JORDAN: Well, I mean, look, I have not been a big fan of Mr. Rosenstein.
The fact is, we have asked for the McCabe memos. There's been a subpoena for those. We haven't got those. We have asked to see the document that Mr. Rosenstein wrote on August 2, 2017, which altered the scope of the investigation that Mr. Mueller is doing. We haven't been able to see that.
We have asked for specific portions of the FISA. We haven't been able to see that. We have asked for the 302s that -- Bruce Ohr's 302 when he had conversations with the FBI detailing what he said to Glenn Simpson and Chris Steele. We haven't seen that.
And John Huber, the guy who was put in charge the U.S. attorney to look into all this, we have not had one report from him over the last six months since he's been on the job.
So take all that, and then add into the fact that Rod Rosenstein was a no-show this week, and Glenn Simpson is taking the Fifth on Tuesday. That is the thing that frustrates me and, more importantly, frustrates you in the media and those people across this great country who want to know exactly what happened.
BARTIROMO: Yes, we're going to speak with Congressman John Ratcliffe in a few minutes. He has seen a lot of this classified information. And he's going to talk to us about the implications.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: But you just rattled off a couple of things that need to be public.
Will the president declassify these documents, so that the American people can understand how they put together this narrative that Donald Trump had anything to do with Russia meddling in the U.S. election?
JORDAN: Let's hope so.
I mean, a few weeks ago, the president initially said that he was going to declassify them. He altered that and said that he would now run it through the inspector general, Michael Horowitz. I hope that happens as soon as possible.
I do think, at some point, we're going to get this information. We need to, because, again, we have got to get answers to these important questions that -- that go to the heart of this idea that it's supposed to be equal treatment under the law. It's supposed to be the rule of law. And I don't think that was followed in how the FBI started and launched and ran this -- this investigation into the president and to Russian.
BARTIROMO: Well, of course. And they were overseeing two investigations, one investigation into this narrative that Donald Trump had anything to do with Russia meddling. At the same time, they were running the investigation into Hillary Clinton and her e-mail scandal.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: And those two investigations were handled very differently.
You said it. This is about America. This is about the rule of law. This should never have happened...
JORDAN: Well...
BARTIROMO: ... where people in power could put their finger on the scale.
Congressman, will there be any accountability for all of this?
JORDAN: Well, let's hope so.
I actually -- I hope, in the end, we get a Justice Department that will hold people accountable. But the frustrating part is this pattern. Remember, it was just a few years ago where we had Lois Lerner at the IRS target conservatives for their political beliefs. She was brought in front of Congress. She took the Fifth.
We had Bryan Pagliano, who set up the e-mail server for Secretary Clinton. He was called in front of Congress. He took the Fifth. And now we have Glenn Simpson, the guy who was paid for by the Clinton campaign, who put together this fake dossier that was used to go spy on the Trump campaign. He now is supposed to come in front of Congress Tuesday, and he's going to take the Fifth as well.
BARTIROMO: So, it sounds like they're all getting away with it.
JORDAN: This is a dangerous pattern.
BARTIROMO: It sounds like they're all getting away with it.
JORDAN: No, I know. And that -- and that's the part that drives Americans crazy.
BARTIROMO: That's right.
JORDAN: This idea that there's now this double standard, one set of rules for us regular folk, but a different set if you're part of the politically connected class.
And that is what is -- that is what is so wrong. And that's why I am bound and determined we're going to subpoena whoever we have to and get the answers, and hopefully have a Justice Department who will actually prosecute -- prosecute people who deserve it.
BARTIROMO: But there is a big if there, if you hold on to the majority.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: Going into the midterm elections, all guys are wondering if these investigations even continue, because, if the Democrats flip the House, we may never hear another word about these investigations.
Then there's this.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: Some are calling it a new low in political discourse.
Stay with us, Congressman.
JORDAN: OK.
BARTIROMO: I got to get your take on the comments from some top Democrats that are raising red flags ahead of the midterm elections.
Congressman Jim Jordan is with us.
Stay here to react.
Also ahead, Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe, as well as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Big show ahead.
Follow me on Twitter @MariaBartiromo, @SundayFutures. Let us know what you want to hear from all of those people who are coming up.
We are looking ahead right now on "Sunday Morning Futures."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
I'm back with Congressman Jim Jordan of both the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. He's also a House Freedom Caucus member.
And, Congressman, as we went to break just a moment ago, we talked about the midterm elections. Things have gotten heated up, with your detractors and the left throwing people out of restaurants, talking about, if you don't agree with us, there won't be any civility.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: Here's a former A.G. Eric Holder and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton just in the last two weeks.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC HOLDER, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Michelle says, you know, when they go low, we go high.
AUDIENCE: We go high.
HOLDER: No. No. When they go low, we kick them.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, D-FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about.
That's why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and/or the Senate, that's when civility can start again. But, until then, the only thing that the Republican seem to recognize and respect is strength.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: Congressman, this is just extraordinary.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: We know one of your colleagues, Steve Scalise, almost died. He got shot in the baseball practice.
JORDAN: Yes.
BARTIROMO: Almost dead. Thank God he's OK.
So, no civility until the Democrats are back in control. Your take?
JORDAN: No, they -- the left and the Democrats have taken the most extreme positions in American history.
I said this the other day. They applaud Kaepernick when he disrespects the flag. They embrace Governor Cuomo when he says America was never that great. And they cheer on Maxine Waters when she says go out and harass anyone who supports the president.
So I think this campaign, Maria, is real simple, the extreme and radical and crazy positions the left and the Democrats are now taking vs. the amazing record under the leadership of President Trump over the last 20 months.
I mean, think about it, regulations reduced, taxes cut, economy growing at 4.2 percent, unemployment its lowest than 40 years, court -- Gorsuch and Kavanaugh both on the court. We're out of the Iran deal. The embassy is in fact in Jerusalem, and the hostages have come from North Korea.
Frame it up like that and, if we do that, go run that kind of campaign, their craziness and what's been accomplished in the last 20 months, I think we win and we keep the majority, and they don't get to run out the clock and do all the crazy things they want to do if, in fact, they get power.
BARTIROMO: So, has sentiment changed post-Kavanaugh, from your standpoint? What do the midterms look like right now, from your standpoint?
JORDAN: I -- I...
BARTIROMO: Will the Dems take over the House?
JORDAN: yes, I definitely think it's helped Republicans to see this -- for the American people to see us actually standing firm and getting done what we said we would get done.
And the president has certainly done that. He's doing exactly what he promised he was going to do, what he campaigned on, and what he was elected to do. The House needs to do a better job, frankly.
But if the Democrats take over, we will never get to build that border security wall that we promised the American people. We will never replace ObamaCare. We will never defund Planned Parenthood. We will never reform welfare like we need to.
So that's what's at stake. And I think that's exactly how we have to frame it up over the next 23 days...
BARTIROMO: All right.
JORDAN: ... and have that kind of energy and intensity. And if we do, I think we win and keep the majority.
BARTIROMO: All right, we want to keep following that.
Congressman, it's good to see you this morning. Thanks very much. We will be watching.
JORDAN: You bet. Thank you.
BARTIROMO: Jim Jordan joining us.
House Republicans may get a crack at two key players in their investigation into the anti-Trump dossier this upcoming week -- the answers they could provide and why one of the biggest players in the investigation is refusing to testify.
Texas Republican Congressman, member of the House Judiciary John Ratcliffe joins me next, as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures."
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
We just heard from Congressman Jim Jordan.
My next guest is one of his colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee. He also plans to question some key players in their investigation into the FBI's handling of the Russia probe, as well as the Steele dossier, this week.
Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS that helped assemble the dossier, was expected to face the panel on Tuesday. He is rejecting a subpoena to testify. He says he's going to take the Fifth, while former FBI general counsel James Baker plans to testify on Thursday of this week.
Nellie Ohr worked as a contractor for the firm. She is the wife of the number four executive at the Department of Justice, Bruce Ohr. She is set to testify on Friday.
Let me bring in Texas Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe. He sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, as well as the Judiciary. He is a former federal prosecutor.
Congressman, it's good to see you this morning. Thanks very much for joining us more.
REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE, R-TEXAS: Good morning, Maria.
BARTIROMO: What's most important about this upcoming week?
RATCLIFFE: Well, as you know, we did subpoena Glenn Simpson, the Fusion GPS co-founder, the person who commissioned the infamous Steele dossier paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC.
He has indicated through his lawyers that he plans to take the Fifth or assert his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The reason for that, Maria, is that Glenn Simpson had previously testified under oath to the House Intelligence Committee that he never met with Bruce Ohr or discussed with Bruce Ohr the Steele dossier prior to the October FISA application in 2016 or the 2016 presidential election.
That is in direct contradiction to what Bruce Ohr told me under oath last month. So I'm not surprised if Glenn Simpson is taking the Fifth. He probably should. He's in real legal jeopardy. Very clearly, someone is not telling the truth.
Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr's wife, certainly can shed some light with respect to that circumstance. But we also need to find out from Nellie Ohr, who was paid $40,000 by Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS for her work, including the work on the Steele dossier, why that fact, the fact that the wife of the number four person at the Department of Justice, who, along with her husband, had operational roles with respect to the Steele dossier, that that fact wasn't disclosed by the Department of Justice when they presented that evidence to the FISA court.
BARTIROMO: So -- so, where is the crime then? Is it her husband? Or is it her? She did all of this research, which was never verified, on Donald Trump, and then put it in this dossier, and then put it on a little thumb drive and gave it to her husband at the DOJ, who wasn't even working on anything about Trump at the time.
RATCLIFFE: Well, ultimately, the questions with respect to the FISA court and the representations that were made, remember, what we're talking about is the extraordinary measure of getting a warrant to spy on an American citizen.
And if that was done under false pretenses, with false information or false verifications, then that's violating someone's civil liberties under color of law, 42-USC-1983 violation.
So that's why we need to talk to Nellie Ohr and others to try and determine what the FBI knew, when they knew it, what the Department of Justice knew, when they knew it, and why those representations weren't fully disclosed to the FISA court.
BARTIROMO: It sounds like there was a group at the top of the FBI and the DOJ who frankly didn't like Donald Trump, didn't want him to be president, so they just actively tried to stop him.
RATCLIFFE: Well, I think that's a fair summary.
The same folks that prejudged Hillary Clinton's innocence prejudged Donald Trump's guilt. And the same names are the same folks whose conduct is at issue with respect to how evidence was presented or not presented to the FISA court.
BARTIROMO: You have got to explain to me how it is that somebody who OKed, gave the green light on the FISA warrant based on all of this unverified information -- I'm talking about Rod Rosenstein -- the same guy who wrote a letter to have Jim Comey fired, and then was upset that the president mentioned that he wrote the letter to get Comey fired, the same guy who is running the DOJ today who has been sitting on documents that you and your colleagues have been asking for, for more information about how this all came up, this is the same individual who's overseeing the Robert Mueller investigation?
RATCLIFFE: Well, the reason for that, Maria, is that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has not appointed a special counsel.
Think about the extraordinary circumstance that you just described. The head of the FBI, acting Director Andy McCabe, and the head of the Department of Justice with respect to the Russia investigation, Rod Rosenstein, in direct conflict with one another, each accusing the other of not telling the truth with regard to whether or not someone wanted to record the president of the United States.
That's why we have special counsel provisions. The FBI and the Department of Justice cannot be expected to fairly investigate that matter, when the heads of both of those components at the Department of Justice are in direct conflict. There should be a special counsel, so that we can get answers to these questions.
BARTIROMO: But there was a lot of strategy going on here. There was a media leak strategy. Let's leak a lot of this unverified stuff to the media, so that the media can start talking about it. And they did.
There were informants involved. There was a really significant strategy here in trying to take Donald Trump down, it appears to me. Why won't the president declassify all these documents, so that the American people can clearly understand what happened here, rather than having this hint of Donald Trump had anything to do with it in the zeitgeist?
RATCLIFFE: Well, that's a good question for the president of the United States.
Here's what I can tell you, Maria. All of the documents that Chairman Nunes and others are seeking to declassify, to have the president declassify, I have seen them.
And I can tell you, as a former federal prosecutor, my opinion is that declassifying them wouldn't expose any national security information, wouldn't expose any sources and methods. It would expose certain folks at the Obama Justice Department and FBI and their actions and their actions taken to conceal material facts from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Let me give you an example that may put this in context with -- without revealing anything that's classified. The underlying pretext to the entire Trump-Russia investigation, Maria, is this idea that George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign associate, had a conversation with an Australian diplomat about getting Hillary Clinton's e-mails from the Russians.
Hypothetically, if the Department of Justice and the FBI has another piece of evidence that directly refutes, that directly contradicts that, what you would expect is for the Department of Justice to present both sides of the coin to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to evaluate the weight and sufficiency of that evidence.
Instead, what happened here was, Department of Justice and FBI officials in the Obama administration in October of 2016 only presented to the court the evidence that made the government's case to get a warrant to spy on a Trump campaign associate.
BARTIROMO: Right.
RATCLIFFE: Declassification would corroborate what I just related to you.
BARTIROMO: Can Robert Mueller do the special investigation without looking at all of this? I mean, how is that investigation having any credibility if he's not actually looking at who did collude or who did work with the Russians?
RATCLIFFE: That issue, I would advocate for the appointment of a special counsel other than Robert Mueller to look at these specific issues.
With respect...
BARTIROMO: Yes, but I want to know where the Mueller is going.
RATCLIFFE: So, where it's going, in my informed opinion as a prosecutor, is that it's winding down.
I have watched closely what's been happening. And if you look at what the special counsel's office is doing, it's staffing down. Folks that are working with the special counsel team are leaving and going back to the offices from which they were detailed.
At the same time, the special counsel is outsourcing and delegating investigative matters back to component agencies or component compartments within the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney's office. All that signals a winding down.
And it's consistent with the special counsel indicating that it will accept now written answers from Donald Trump's lawyers about all matters collusion-related to obstruction-of-justice-related.
BARTIROMO: Right.
RATCLIFFE: I think, at the end of the day, Maria, where we are headed here is no charges for collusion or obstruction with anyone associated with the Trump campaign, but a report from Bob Mueller outlining perhaps some questionable conduct, and we will be left arguing with our Democratic colleagues whether that rises to an impeachable offense, even if it's not criminal in nature.
BARTIROMO: All right, let's take a short break.
We have a lot more to cover with you, Congressman, Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe.
Up next, on Saudi Arabia, it says it will not be threatened, after President Trump warns of severe punishment if the country is responsible for the disappearance of the Washington Post columnist.
Back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
I'm back with Congressman John Ratcliffe.
Congressman, thanks so much for being here.
We talked a lot about your week ahead. And we will be watching what takes place in these testimonies next week, of course.
You're also on the Homeland Security Committee. And I want to ask you about one of the international stories of the day. Saudi Arabia is issuing a warning this morning following President Trump's threats over the missing Washington Post columnist.
The Saudis say: "The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether through economic sanctions, political pressure or repeating false accusations."
There is an arms deal at stake here. Your thoughts on the relationship between the Saudis and the U.S. today?
RATCLIFFE: Well, Maria, very clearly, this is a gruesome allegation, that the Saudi government was involved in the slaying or alleged slaying of Mr. Khashoggi.
But, again, it's still just an allegation at that point. I still subscribe to the theory of innocent until proven guilty. And unless and until we see this incontrovertible evidence that the Turkish government says that they have, I think we should certainly proceed cautiously in this area.
Listen, I understand, if it is true, we need to take some punitive action against Saudi Arabia. But cutting off ties or ending arms deals with an ally in the Middle East only creates a vacuum for our adversaries there.
Saudi Arabia may be a tenuous ally, but they are still an ally in the most volatile region in the world. And they have been an important counterweight to the actions of our true adversaries, like Iran and Syria and even Russia in that region. So we need to move carefully here.
I trust that President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo and Ambassador Bolton and others will get the information they need to fairly evaluate this and determine what sort of diplomatic actions need to be taken against Saudi Arabia. But we need to -- we need to be very careful here.
BARTIROMO: Yes, particularly since this is our ally up against Iran, which continues with its hate and terrorist behavior.
Congressman, it's good to see you this morning. Thank you very much for joining us.
RATCLIFFE: Thanks, Maria.
BARTIROMO: Congressman John Ratcliffe there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On this Election Day, November 6, every American faces a simple choice. You can either vote for a Democrat mob rule, or you can vote for a Republican Party that stands proudly for law and order, fairness, freedom and justice.
Simple as that.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: That was President Trump last night in Kentucky making the case for Republican candidates with T-minus 23 days until Americans head to the poll.
We are now in countdown mode going into the midterm elections.
Joining me right now is the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy.
Great to see you, Congressman. Thanks very much for stopping by this morning.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, R-CALI., HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Well, thank you very much for having me back.
BARTIROMO: So here we are, 23 days away from the midterms. Let's start there.
I know you have been traveling the country, trying to support your colleagues across the country in different races, as well as raising an enormous amount of money for your colleagues in the Republican Party.
Give us the sentiments in terms of where you see the midterms headed.
MCCARTHY: Well, I think the midterms have actually changed in the last month.
The intensity level, there was an advantage on the Democratic side, but that has narrowed after viewing what the Democrats have done to Kavanaugh. And so I see the intensity level shifting.
There is a real concern that I have, though, because Michael Bloomberg, if you watched, who recently re-registered a Democrat, he is trying to buy the Democratic nomination to run against President Trump. So he has put in $80 million to try to win the House.
The president was just there in Kentucky because that's one of the first races you're going to want to watch, Andy Barr against Amy McGrath. And Amy McGrath, in her own words, this is how she describes herself, the most liberal Democrat in Kentucky.
So I see this is going to be a battle because of the financial resources the Democrats have against us. But a number of our candidates are doing very well and have gotten a bump in the last couple weeks.
BARTIROMO: You know, it's interesting when you look at that, because, for the longest time, the Democrats tried to say they were the party of the American worker.
And yet, when you look at the donations from individuals into the Republican Party, you are beating -- you are beating the Democrats in that regard. But they have got a handful of big, deep-pocketed donors, like a Michael Bloomberg, like a Tom Steyer.
MCCARTHY: Just think the three -- the three individuals who are funding the Democratic Party, George Soros. You have got Michael Bloomberg. It's not just $80 million into the House. He put another $20 million to try to win the Senate.
Then Tom Steyer, more than $120 million he has spent trying to win. But his main goal is trying to impeach President Trump. He brags that his impeachment list is bigger than the NRA list. Those three individuals are trying to buy our government in this process. It's very disturbing.
BARTIROMO: I want to get to your bill in a moment, because I love the -- I love the name, Build the Wall, Enforce the Law. Yes.
Let me -- let me first, though, ask you about the important races that you're watching. You mentioned Kentucky.
What other races should we be watching in terms of a close call here between Dems and Republicans?
MCCARTHY: Well, the first thing you want to watch, where could the Republicans actually defeat a Democrat?
I would look in Minnesota, right there, Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber. Those are two seats that Democrats currently hold that we're in a very good fight to win.
Now, you also want to watch, for your viewers, where could they help in the process, this Bloomberg money coming in? It's coming a great deal into California, where they're spending $10 million on individual races.
But look at the open seat in Orange County. Here's Young Kim, an immigrant from South Korea, Republican, running against Gil Cisneros, who was accused earlier this year from a Democrat running for the statehouse of sexual harassment. Young Kim is leading right now.
But we have seven seats in California, where I have never seen so much money being spent of them attacking. Then you could go out to Barbara Comstock, who is still in the lead, who is -- the Democrats have fought every time, but who has been such a big fighter.
Then think of this. Bloomberg just sent a million dollars against Karen Handel right outside of Atlanta -- Atlanta.
BARTIROMO: Huh.
MCCARTHY: Karen won that big special election earlier this year with all that money being spent against her. She's one of the -- one of the hardest-working freshman and most successful legislatively we have had.
BARTIROMO: Wow.
MCCARTHY: And then think of this, this open seat down in Miami.
That is a highly Spanish-speaking district that the Democrats thought they'd pick up easily. They nominated Donna Shalala. Remember her, decades ago, in the Bill Clinton administration?
BARTIROMO: Yes.
MCCARTHY: We have Maria Elvira Salazar, who not only speaks Spanish, where Donna Shalala doesn't. She was a reporter on Univision and Telemundo for a number of years. She knows the community.
So for those out there trying to claim something different, we need the intensity level. We have a disadvantage with money. History is against us. But we're going to beat history. Why? Look at what we have done with the economy.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
MCCARTHY: Look at what we have done to the VA, reforming it, rebuilding our military.
Look what we have done to combat opioids, the largest comprehensive bill you have ever seen, more than $4 billion.
BARTIROMO: Right.
MCCARTHY: Stopped human trafficking, modern-day slavery online.
BARTIROMO: Yes, and that's...
MCCARTHY: This is about results vs. Democrats' resistance.
BARTIROMO: Yes, results vs. resistance, you have said that now a number of times in, and it speaks accurate.
Let me ask you this, because one of the big issues is immigration.
Let's take a short break. And then I want to get into the weeds in your new bill, Build the Wall, Enforce the Law.
We are talking this morning with the majority leader, Kevin McCarthy.
We will take a short break and come right back and hear about the bill he's bringing to the floor.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARTIROMO: Welcome back.
I'm back with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
And, Congressman, you have introduced a bill to fund the border wall. Tell us about it. What does -- where does the money come from? And where does the money go?
MCCARTHY: Well, this is a bill called Build the Wall, Enforce the Law.
Now, remember, Maria, we have fully funded the first request of the president to start building that wall. And we are at $1.6 billion. This will finish the job at 25.
But it's more than just building the wall. What this is about is safe communities, our children, protecting them from fentanyl, protecting them from gang members and from human trafficking.
So what the bill does is even further. It gives an advanced appropriation that fully funds the wall. But, more importantly, it goes in to protect them.
Remember what he will do. Oppose sanctuary cities. So, for those states that are protecting these illegals, they don't get grants from the federal government. Or what do you think about Kate's Law, that it makes the penalties harder if somebody comes here illegally, gets deported and enters back in here?
But, more importantly, it will remove the illegals who belong to gangs like MS-13 that are going into our communities and causing havoc and drugs throughout.
BARTIROMO: Yes. We have got the pictures...
(CROSSTALK)
MCCARTHY: Plus, there's a new...
BARTIROMO: ... at the border, which we're showing -- $16.6 billion is going to be dedicated to the physical barriers, while the rest is going to cover the technology, operations and other infrastructure costs, as you mentioned, which are all associated with border security.
What are the chances of passage? Because we have been talking about this border wall. The president wanted the money available a year ago.
MCCARTHY: And, you know, we have worked through the appropriation process.
And in the House, we had the $5 billion in it. But that has really frustrated me in the past. So why don't we advance it all? That's why I introduced the bill. When we go back in session, we will vote on this in the House. This is what we will be taking up with the DHS appropriation bill.
In the Senate, they have been lower. But look at what the Senate has been able to achieve when they worked together, fought hard and stayed with Justice Kavanaugh. I believe we can get this done. That's why I introduced it. That's why we will fight for it.
And, more importantly, there's another element of this bill. You know what's happening out there in these Democrat-controlled liberal cities? They are now allowing illegals to vote, devaluing all of our votes, especially those naturalized citizens...
BARTIROMO: Wow.
MCCARTHY: ... to become an American citizen, taking away their power.
They legally allow illegals to vote in school boards and others. And now, even in California, that register -- registers you to vote at the DMV, their own government acknowledged they made a mistake and have registered illegals to vote throughout. This is a real concern I have.
BARTIROMO: Wow. Yes, that's happening in San Francisco, right? That's happening in San Francisco.
MCCARTHY: And when we put this on the floor, the Democrats voted against it.
BARTIROMO: Incredible.
Congressman, we will be watching the developments. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
MCCARTHY: Thank you, Maria.
BARTIROMO: Congressman Kevin McCarthy there.
President Trump welcoming home Pastor Andrew Brunson after he was detained for two years in Turkey.
The panel is up next. We will weigh in.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Pastor Andrew Brunson should be freed and should be allowed to return to his family, to his home, to his church and his nation in the United States of America.
The truth is, as I said earlier this week and the president's made clear, transferring Pastor Andrew Brunson to home arrest is just not good enough. And the United States of America is prepared to bring sanctions against Turkey until Pastor Andrew Brunson is free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: And the pastor is home now.
That was part of my exclusive interview with Vice President Mike Pence back in late July.
Now Pastor Andrew Brunson is back home on U.S. soil, receiving a heartfelt welcome from the president at the White House on Saturday. The move perhaps easing months of diplomatic strain between the U.S. and Turkey.
Let me bring in our panel right here on this.
Lee Carter is president and partner at the communications firm Maslansky and Partners. Ed Rollins is a former campaign manager for the Reagan-Bush '84 for ticket and a FOX News contributor.
Good to see you both. Thank you so much for joining us.
ED ROLLINS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you. Thank you.
LEE CARTER, GOP POLLSTER: Nice to be here.
BARTIROMO: Your thoughts on the pastor?
ROLLINS: This wouldn't have happened if the president and Pence and others hadn't put pressure on them. They have putting pressure for two years, and the reality is, this is very, very important. They already convicted him, unjustifiably.
He would have sat for another two or three years in jail if Trump had not beat on Erdogan to make this happen. And where this is important is the evangelical community, which is a very important part of our political base, wanted this man, who was unfairly imprisoned, to come home. And I think it's a great thing.
BARTIROMO: It has been a priority for President Trump to bring home these people who have been imprisoned...
ROLLINS: Absolutely, from the get-go.
BARTIROMO: ... whether it's Turkey or elsewhere, Iran as well.
Is this resonating with the American people, Lee, going into the midterms?
CARTER: I think it's really important going into the midterms.
President Trump has done really well on these issues where he's had to be strong, negotiate, get people home, or do things that people said he couldn't otherwise do. This is one of those moments.
And that visual of the pastor praying over the president yesterday is one that is energizing the Republican base. You can see it in social media tracking. And that kind of thing is really, really important going into the midterm.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
ROLLINS: Without paying hostage money, which is what Obama did repeatedly.
So, I mean, the bottom line is, this -- just using the powers of the American public, our economic powers, and our military power to really put pressure on.
BARTIROMO: Yes, and he said it many times. We will not pay ransom money. You will release these people.
ROLLINS: That's right.
BARTIROMO: Let me ask you.
We just had this conversation with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy about the money raised. This is where the Republicans are at the disadvantage, right, Ed? You got Michael Bloomberg giving $80 million, Tom Steyer tens of millions, George Soros paying the activists.
ROLLINS: Majority Leader McCarthy has done a fabulous job of being out there, raising money, trying to -- trying to supplement this.
But it's overwhelming. And we have a lot of close races. At this point in time, I think we have probably lost already 14 or 15 of our House races because of the open seats. And we're down really where we got to win everything else that is on the board.
And it's -- when you are talking about a million dollars a week in L.A., and we have got four or five congressional seats in L.A. area, if it wasn't for McCarthy's effort, we wouldn't -- we wouldn't even be in the game.
BARTIROMO: He's raised something like $70 million or something from various...
ROLLINS: Well, unfortunately, the speaker didn't step aside. And so McCarthy has really stepped in and filled in the blanks, and I think has done a superb job.
BARTIROMO: People were surprised that Paul Ryan didn't step aside sooner.
Lee, what do the elections look like from your standpoint?
CARTER: Look, I think that we have got to be looking at more than money.
We have also got to be looking at the message. And I don't think the Democrats have a consistent message. And I don't think that they necessarily understand what the American people are looking for.
When you look at where we are right now, a lot of people say that it's likely going to go to the Democrats. I don't see the same thing, because some late-breaking trends right now are indicating to me that Republicans could have a much better time than we think.
One of them is being voter enthusiasm. Voter enthusiasm is matched to Democrats now. For the first time, Republicans, in a number of months, it's 79 Republican, 81 percent Democrats as far as voter enthusiasm. That's within the margin of error.
When you look at the issues that are most important to them, people are talking about how health care is the number one issue. But then you follow that by immigration, taxes, the economy. Those are issues that Republicans do really well on.
BARTIROMO: Right.
CARTER: So I think that it's a lot closer than people are thinking.
And I don't think it's a landslide or a shoo-in by any stretch.
BARTIROMO: They could hold on to the majority.
Real quick, Ed.
ROLLINS: We are certainly going to pick up two or three Senate seats. I think we're very strong on that.
In the House -- the biggest problem with our House is, we have those 40 open seats.
BARTIROMO: All right, we will leave it there.
Because you got 40 retiring or resignations.
ROLLINS: Retires. Otherwise -- otherwise, we wouldn't even be sweating this.
BARTIROMO: Ed Rollins, Lee Carter, great to see you both. Thank you so much.
Have a great day, everybody. That will do it for us. I'm Maria Bartiromo.
And I will see you tomorrow on Fox Business, "Mornings with Maria."
END
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