Republicans grill FBI director Christopher Wray on agency failures
Wray shows face for first time since FBI botched Carter Page report; Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins reacts.
This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," February 6, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: No, Hannity first of all, congrats on your massive numbers last night. You blew away the competition across the board. It's actually a little embarrassing, okay? Take a look at any type of--
HANNITY: Okay. Well, let me tell you what's not.
INGRAHAM: --that we can send them or something.
HANNITY: It's not embarrassing winning. We fight hard for every viewer and they give us this honor every night.
INGRAHAM: And a wonderful tribute to Rush Limbaugh. And you and I have known Rush and have been friends of them for 25 years.
HANNITY: Many prayers Amen.
INGRAHAM: It's so wonderful to him. Sean Hannity, great show, as always, tonight.
HANNITY: Thank you Laura, have a great show.
INGRAHAM: I'm Laura Ingraham. This is THE INGRAHAM ANGLE another busy Washington tonight. President Trump has always been the great revealer and throughout the hour we are going to show you who has been exposed with this impeachment acquittal.
And Senator Lindsey Graham and Governor Mike Huckabee are here with a message for Romney and the rest of the frauds. Plus Congressman Lee Zeldin, Matt Gaetz saying Nancy Pelosi should face consequences for her childish behavior last night. They are here to tell us what those could be.
And Raymond arroyo brings us the repugnant attacks as I just mentioned, Rush Limbaugh has been receiving them from all quarters on the left. Why Pelosi's anger revealed a greater truth and all that and more in "Seen and unseen", but first, pretty Nancy and priggish Mitt. That is the focus of tonight's ANGLE.
Donald Trump just capped off a phenomenal week for his presidency and the American people. Of course he had the signing of the USMCA, remarkable private sector jobs numbers, a stock market that has shaken off to even the Coronavirus and the cherry on top, as Sean just mentioned, his acquittal on both articles of impeachment earlier today.
Now it's largely because of these continued successes that President Trump has exposed the frauds on the left. They just can't take it anymore and one in particular on the right. Let's start with Nancy Pelosi.
Last night she showed the world who she really is, a woman left with little else but her own sour post-facial expression and a paper ripping stunt. She let her anger get the best of her and her white suit didn't make her look anymore angelic. It was the color of surrender.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now she wasn't the only person acting out. Utah's junior Senator reminded us of why he couldn't connect with most regular working class people. They don't like politicians who claim to be holier-than-thou when they are really just sticking a shave in your back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITT ROMNEY, (R-UT): My premise before God to apply impartial justice required that I put my personal feelings and political biases aside. Were I to ignore the evidence that has been presented, it would, I fear, expose my character to history's rebuke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: It has exposed it all right. He is the ultimate selfish, preening, self-centered politician. And he has good hair and a sort of okay singing voice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: America, America God shed his grace on thee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: It is a shock that it didn't work. Well, he should try out for "the mass singer" may be when he loses reelection. Well, he wanted desperately to be Trump's Secretary of State and then he cast this futile, pointless vote to convict him in order to show that he is a man of principle, unlike all these other Republicans. It's called payback.
But if he were up for reelection this year, the people of Utah would have their own payback against him. Because they were defrauded by Romney, for when he had to choose he chose Chuck Schumer and Kamala over common sense and conservatism.
If you are one of Romney's constituents in Utah, you are out of luck. If you are a businessman in need of a regulation re-examined, don't bother calling his office. He has no power anymore. If he even attends the Republican convention at all, he is going to get booed.
Many of his colleagues will freeze him out few will trust him again. And could you blame him? And let's not forget what the Democrats and media said about him in 2012.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is insulting, a binder full of women.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitt cannot his Irish setter is strapped to the roof of his car during a road trip.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you strapped your dog to your car Joe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what Mitt Romney has in common with the KKK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just on Mitt Romney's to expand one of his homes by adding a car elevator.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: --that's what it is about. Who can feel anything in common with Mitt Romney?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Well, back them there were only a few of us on TV and radio who defended you Mitt and we did this because we thought you would be better for America. And the way you repay millions of people, the millions who did vote for you in 2012 is to throw in with the very people who don't share our goals, who hate us and by the way, who still hate you.
Does he not see what Adam Schiff and Pelosi and Feinstein have done to let's say California? And does he not know that if they got real power, they would do to Salt Lake City what they've done to San Francisco? Will he have the courage to have a real town hall to defend this vote? He couldn't even get simple facts right while debating Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: It was not a spontaneous demonstration. Is that what you were saying?
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Please proceed Governor.
ROMNEY: I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the President 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.
OBAMA: Get the transcript.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did in fact, sir. So let me call it an act of terror.
ROMENY: Can you say that a little louder?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did call it an act of terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: When Romney couldn't even have a comeback to Candy Crow his coordinated response with Obama. That told you all he needed to know. All of this is a good reminder. That kind of pylon for him for the sake of piling on him, but we have to learn from all of this.
This entire impeachment debacle what a disaster the G.O.P. establishment was for America. Think about it. Mitt Romney is the establishment. They were wrong on China, they were wrong on Iraq, they were wrong on immigration, wrong on the housing bubble, wrong on the bailout, wrong on things like Harriet Myers and David Souter.
For the G.O.P. establishment it was always about what was good for them personally or their conscience or Wall Street, not what was good for the average American. For a few brief, shining moments in 2008 and 2012, some of us thought that Romney had a solid core. Boy, did he fool us.
He was a Massachusetts liberal in 1994 when he ran against Ted Kennedy for the Senate. Then he moved a bit to the right when he ran for Governor. Then he claimed he was a full-blown conservative when he first ran for President in 2008 and now, like all the other bitter never-Trumpers, he would rather see the entire American economy go down the drain then give Trump a victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First, I do want to salute Mitt Romney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The verdict of history is going to be on Mitt Romney's side.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He seems to be reaching for the ghost of John McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has changed his place in history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But that was a real act of courage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitt Romney gives me hope for the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Mitt, you made your stand, now you should resign. You committed a fraud on the people of Utah on the Republican Party, on the constitution, and have thoroughly embarrassed yourself. Banner retired Ryan left Washington Cantor was bounced out of office, they just weren't in sync with the priorities of most American Republican voters and neither are you.
Utah does not need someone who doesn't get his phone calls returned. They need an actual, functioning Senator and Mike Lee can't do everything. Folks are supposed to enter politics to advance policies that improve the lives of everyday Americans. That is what Trump did and his policies are working.
But Romney apparently went into politics because of his dad or because he wanted everyone to think he was a good person. He never actually wins arguments or persuades anyone of anything. And at the end of the day, one man was trying to impress the elites in Washington today and the guy in the Oval Office was not.
All along he was just trying to make America greater and he has. Romney, I hope, enjoys his brief moment in the sun while he is lauded by the very people who spent the last 20 years attacking him because in a few weeks, the phone will stop ringing.
He will be lucky to get booked on Chris Cuomo's show. We won't ever forget. Utah should never forget. And if I have to move there to run against him and four and a half years I will. I do like that Park City skiing and the summer hiking. And that is THE ANGLE.
Lindsey Graham will join us in a few minutes to talk about the President's acquittal, and Romney's petulance. But first, old man's little outburst last night was the Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led to calling her to be censured and Professor Jonathan Turley the constitutional scholar who voted for Hillary Clinton is calling on Nancy Pelosi to apologize and change her conduct or resign.
Joining me now Congressman Lee Zeldin and Matt Gaetz, Congressman Gaetz, you actually want to take a pretty aggressive step here. What is it?
SEN. MATT GAETZ, (R-FL): Tomorrow Laura I will be filing charges against Nancy Pelosi in the House Ethics Committee. She disgraced the House of Representatives, she embarrassed our country and she destroyed official records.
The law does not allow the Speaker of the House to destroy the records of the House and the rules of the House do not permit some little temper tantrum just because you don't like what the President of the United States says.
And you know what a lot of Republicans are sick of the double standard here. When Joe Wilson made a comment an excited utterance, oh, the Democrats really brought the heat down on him when he said that Obama lied about illegal's getting health care under Obamacare.
By the way, Joe Wilson was right. But we ought to apply the same standards to the Democrats that they want to apply to us and there will be an ethics investigation of Nancy Pelosi and we will start the ball rolling to have her censured in the first act begins tomorrow when Congressman Zeldin and I will join Newt Gingrich in a censure resolution and we will force a vote on a that resolution.
INGRAHAM: Well, you don't have a majority in the House. I heard today that while it is not a formal record, because it is a copy of the speech the President signed. I heard murmurs that this is cute but it's not really going to work, Congressman.
SEN. LEE ZELDIN, (R-NY): Well, to Matt's point about what happened to Joe Wilson, the House passed a resolution--
INGRAHAM: Total double standard.
ZELDIN: --naming names. Frank, they're double standard, the moral equivalency. We saw happened this time last year when Lamar came in and they're making the comments that were Anti-Semitic. We saw different standards applied if she was a Republican, she would've name names and they would've thrown her off committees. But no it's different because she is a Democrat.
Now she should be censured. It was a disgrace, it was an embarrassment. Basically from the inside out, Nancy Pelosi has been a poison. She is now poisoning House of Representatives and Congress and our country because they start off with her getting rolled by the far left, which is basically taken over the Democratic Party.
INGRAHAM: Is she mad at herself? She may be. I didn't think she was a stupid person until last night when she did that little stunt with the ripping.
GAETZ: She's not stupid but Nancy Pelosi has some real impulse control problems. She is the first Speaker of the House of Representatives to have her words taken down by the House of Representatives because she was too personal in her attacks against the President, which were unfounded.
That hadn't happened in over 50 years in the House of Representatives. She was the first. But this latest attempt embarrassed in the House of Representatives in front of the world. The world was watching the President. He gave an inspirational, fantastic speech.
And for her to give a temper tantrum, we don't allow that on the floor of the House of Representatives and Nancy Pelosi is not above the rules of the House just because she's the Speaker of the House.
INGRAHAM: I just want to set the stage for people about what happened last night in the State of the Union speech versus what was said afterwards by the Democrats and I think putting some of the comments side-by-side is instructive. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Your husband is back from deployment, he is here with us tonight and we couldn't keep him waiting any longer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a disgusting performance absolutely disgusting.
TRUMP: Pelosi will be heading to the school of your choice.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't tell me what you've done for the black community because you haven't done anything for the black community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rush Limbaugh is a violent racist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Aside from the fact that AOC can't pronounce the word very lent, this is where they came down. Every moment of emotion and patriotism and sacrificial concern was cast aside as a stunt in reality TV.
ZELDIN: It was like, it was too beautiful. I mean, those moments you are celebrating Americans who did great things and they want to take the President out so badly that they were sitting on their hands. I tried something different last night. I sat over on the Democratic side, which I've never done before for the State of the Union Address, and the groans, the way that they are pointing at each other. Every time Kyrsten Sinema stood up and applauding, they were ostracizing her and they were --.
INGRAHAM: I'm surprised she voted as she did today. She is a smarter politician.
ZELDIN: That was a big mistake today.
INGRAHAM: I feel sad for her.
ZELDIN: Well, efforts got to Congress Barack Obama was the President, I went for the State of the Union Address, never thought about boycotting, never thought about walking out, never thought about impeaching him. I was there, when I agreed, I stood up, I applauded he was my President even though I didn't vote for him.
INGRAHAM: Congressman it looks like your Democratic colleagues have zero plans to stop investigating the President. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said it is likely that your committee or some combination of committees will subpoena John Bolton that's what you're saying?
REP. JERRY NADLER, (D-NY): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has the Speaker signed off finally? When did this happen?
NADLER: I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Oh.
GAETZ: Jerry Nadler just looks like a beaten man in that clip, but the Democrats are a one-trick pony now in Washington. They offer America only impeachment investigations because they haven't been able to come together for an immigration plan, an infrastructure plan, anything that would actually impact the lives of the people of this great country.
INGRAHAM: If she can't sit there and act like a decent human being during a State of the Union speech, how is she going to march her white pantsuit self into the Oval Office and talk infrastructure?
ZELDIN: Right, she can't - she is a relinquish gavel and the American voters has--
INGRAHAM: He's got to retire. You know I want to say, you've got to retire, if you can't even contort yourself to the State of the Union, retire.
(CROSSTALK)
ZELDIN: You called for two people to resign and it's only the able - the rest of them--
(CROSSTALK)
ZELDIN: Who knows! Who is going to get the--
INGRAHAM: Romney is out there. Yes, you guys are safe for right now. Congressman, thank you for being here. We're going to be following the censure push and all of this. So thank you for updating us on all of this tonight.
And the Democratic Party's is in dire straits as Congressman Gaetz and Zeldin just said Trump has been acquitted. He's overseeing this unbelievable economy. We are going to look back on this and tell our kids yes, it's true. There was a time we had 3.4 percent unemployment in the approval rating? Again, sky high couple that with the stark reality that the Democrats' top 20 contenders are a socialist, a Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Okay. It's an old hand sounding the alarm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: We don't win the elections because we talk about stuff that is not relevant. We have great experience in 2018, and the day after we started all this goofy stuff. We are talking about people voting from jail cells, all right? We're talking about not having aborted. I'm 75-years-old, why am I here doing this because I'm scared to death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: I liked when he had the garbage can over his head. Here to weigh in as Dan Bongino, Fox News Contributor Host of the Dan Bongino Show Podcast also with me is Chris Hahn, Former Chuck Schumer aide and Host of the Aggressive Progressive Podcast. All right, Dan this is a tough one but can you think of anything at this point that's really going two thumbs up for the Democrats?
DAN BONGINO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: No, but I will say, listen, this impeachment was a huge success for the G.O.P. I mean, let's think about this Laura, rationally, let's try to do that. You know I saw some liberal and you always have a tough time with that.
But Trump approval ratings at an all-time high are measured by Gallup by the way. Gallup which usually kind of under sells out a little bit we have the absolute estimation of the Biden Campaign, who cannot seem to escape this whole Ukraine scandal focused on his son Hunter.
And then we have the fact that the media, which we all know is in love with the Democrat Party, has now been preoccupied for what 80 days, close to three months now. With everything but the issues, the Democrats are supposed to be running on for President.
So no, nothing is going right for the Democrats. Impeachment was huge successes for the G.O.P. the numbers don't lie?
INGRAHAM: All right Chris, Republicans are up eight points in favorability in Gallup since September. Democrats are down three points. That is when impeachment started, in September. The President is at record approval numbers. 62 percent, I believe American people, are happy with the economy.
People think things are going in a much better direction than were a year ago. As a Democrat who wants her party to win about something here ain't working with the strategy yes, no, maybe?
CHRIS HAHN, FORMER AIDE TO SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER: I think the strategy has to be to take him head on. I mean, the man is willing to say anything, do anything, go as low as he needs to go to get reelected and I think the Democrats need to meet that head on and I have not seen an ability or willingness within the party to do that.
Now maybe that will change between now and November but I think that is what James Carville was getting out yesterday when he made that rant. I actually saw that rant in real time and I agree with a lot of what he said.
I don't think that anybody wins by playing to the far fringes of their base, although Donald Trump may have disproved that in 2016. So we will see what is going to happen between now and then. I mean, a 3 percent drop in approval rating is a rounding error, so I'm not too concerned about that.
And we know there will be multiple media cycles between now and the election and we do know that a lot of the things Trump was impeached about have been proven true and more evidence comes out every day. You can't stop everything Mitch McConnell running the world--
INGRAHAM: You got to stop while you're behind on impeachment. This has been an unmitigated disaster for the Democrats. They followed AOC plus three down this rat hole of recrimination and now they are stuck down there and Dan they can't get out because if they do they will take off all the energy in their base and if they don't, then they will be stuck down there with the ski cap wearing millennials who are playing "mine craft" in the basement. I don't know what these people are doing but they are not living in the real world.
BONGINO: Yes. And I mean Chris, Are you eating like THC brownies before the show? They weren't willing to take on President Trump and President Trump is the one taking the low road?
INGRAHAM: That is what Pelosi did. Pelosi took on Trump.
BONGINO: They just impeached the President. After they impeached him Nancy Pelosi gave a speech, her words Chris, and not mine, where she said after the impeachment, I'm not messing up the timeline here, she said we really need to get to the facts and the truth. You just impeached the President! What are you talking about?
So I'm sorry, your theory that you refuse to take him on, no they took him on and they keep getting there asses kicked, that is what keeps happening here and I'm sorry, Laura is right. They keep catering to the fringe base and their fringe on the far left and they're going to lose.
INGRAHAM: Hold on I want to play something for you Chris.
HAHN: I think her actual--
INGRAHAM: I just want to - let me play something for you because it dovetails into what you were saying earlier Chris about maybe taking a different approach. Joy Behar today on "The View" is very frustrated and she has an idea of how to turn things around? Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, AMERICAN ACTRESS: She is playing hardball like he does. When they go low, we go lower. That is the only thing that works with these criminals and fascists who are running the country right now. Sorry, but that is what works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Well, Michelle Obama, of course married to the most recent two- term Democrat President said when they go low, we go high, but watch the Instagram feed of AOC last night. There's not a lot of going high there, there was a lot of going low with bad mispronunciation of common words.
HAHN: You know, sometimes you've got to get in the mud with your opponent and in this is a President who's going to be in the mud, throwing mud. Nothing seems to affect him nobody wants to take him head on.
I think that Joy is right, I think Eric Holder was right when they go low, we kick them. And I think it's time for more of that in politics from the left because the President is a fighter. He is a street fighter and he doesn't back down from a fight. And it's time for us to start fighting back. That is what's going to happen. I think you're going to see--
(CROSSTALK)
INGRAHAM: We are out of time that is my problem. All right, here are the problems you've got results to debate. You've got no results on the other side. All right Dan and Chris thanks so much. Coming up, Lindsey Graham takes us inside the vote to acquit this President. Mike Huckabee also next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: This just in from - we are hearing this from straight from Des Moines 48 hours after the Iowa Caucus has wrapped. It looks like we have some big news. The 2020 Democrats still do not know who won thee the Iowa Caucuses.
The Iowa Democratic Party just released another batch of results to bring the total up to, drum roll please, 92 percent reported. They do better in like small Pacific Island counting votes than they do in Iowa. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg still holds onto a slim lead over poor old Bernie Sanders never can get a break Bernie.
We're going to keep you updated should a call happen in this hour. This is unbelievable. 48 hours later. Also, it was never really a doubt the Senate acquitted President Trump on both of the pathetic counts handed over by the house obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. But some on the left, well just let's just call it a case of really, really bad denial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The President is acquitted and that is the way it's going to stay but it is unresolved, both politically and factually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a victory. He was impeached and he was wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This vote is no vindication, it is no real acquittal.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D-NY): The verdict of this kangaroo court will be meaningless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stain will always be on this Presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Chuck Schumer calling the Senate a kangaroo court. He wants to be ripping up papers in the House and he got the kangaroo court in the Senate. Nice job. But joining me now Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Thank you.
INGRAHAM: Senator, this is not a true acquittal, they are saying.
GRAHAM: Well come tomorrow, Trump will be President. So all I can say is that Senator Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are no longer in charge of this. Why did she tear up the speech, Nancy Pelosi who was her audience? It was the squad. She's lost control of the House Senator Schumer is going to get primary by AOC. These people used to get work with them they've lost their mind when it comes to Trump.
The President was acquitted this was a ridiculous accusation against the Presidency itself and to my colleagues who voted for a conviction. I think you put the Presidency at risk. I don't question your motives but I sure question your judgment.
INGRAHAM: You don't question Mitt Romney's motives?
GRAHAM: No I don't, because--
INGRAHAM: Still I think he is representing his people? 70 percent of his state didn't favor of his actions here.
GRAHAM: I think he voted conscience but you got to use common sense. Here is what I will say he voted not guilty on the process argument, obstruction of Congress. They impeached the President for daring to go to court, they impeached the President with 78 days, he never got a call a witness, never got a cross examine anybody.
You couldn't get a parking ticket based on the process they used. Here's abuse of power, you are listening, and they're going to remove the President of the United States because he suspended military aid to the Ukraine for a short period of time to leverage an investigation that never occurred. They got the money and there was no investigation, and they were going to deny the American people the right to pick their own President based on that. That to me is ridiculous.
INGRAHAM: "The Federalist" reported last fall that a top Romney Advisor served on the board of Burisma with Hunter Biden. His name is Joseph Cofer Black joined Burisma Board of Directors while Hunter was also serving on the board. It is a cute little coincidence, don't you think?
GRAHAM: You know I'm not going to say that that drove is sinking. I thought we were all going to be--
INGRAHAM: it is a swampy though isn't that swampy?
GRAHAM: Well, all I can say you are that we are going to look at Hunter Biden. We are not going to live in a world where you take a wrecking ball to the Trump family and you can't ask Hunter Biden or by the way--
INGRAHAM: You're going to call him?
GRAHAM: The Foreign Relations Committee will, I hope. They should. Jim Risch, if you're listening, you need to ask John Kerry's chief of staff, what did you do about the email when you were told that there was a conflict of interest? I'm going to call everybody who signed the FISA warrant. I hope Richard Burr will tell us who the whistleblower is, and was the whistleblower working with political operatives on Schiff's staff? I don't know. Let's look. I know this -- if a Republican had done this, they would be looking at us.
INGRAHAM: How about the I.G. for the intelligence --
GRAHAM: Was there a political bias? I want to know who was the whistleblower? What was their motivation? Did they have a political bias? Were they working with people who wanted to take Trump down early on in his presidency?
INGRAHAM: Are you going to call the whistleblower?
GRAHAM: That will be up to Senator Burr. I hope so.
INGRAHAM: You can't call the whistleblower? Just explained that to our viewers. Why can't you call at the Judiciary Committee?
GRAHAM: There are committees. I have jurisdiction of the Department of Justice and the FBI. I'm going to call everybody who signed the FISA warrant. The Foreign Relations Committee has jurisdiction over the State Department. How did the ignore Hunter Biden's conflict of interest?
And just think about it, when Joe Biden was talking to the parliament of the Ukraine, you need to end sweetheart deals, don't you think they were laughing at him?
INGRAHAM: What's happening in New Hampshire on Monday? The Democrats are rolling into New Hampshire to try to save this whole primary process after this debacle in Des Moines, and now what?
GRAHAM: I didn't do very well in New Hampshire so I'm not the guy to ask, but I can tell you a lot about South Carolina. Joe Biden will win the South Carolina primary, 70 percent of the voters will be African-American. He is well-respected, beloved. A socialist will not win the South Carolina Democratic primary. Mayor Pete pulled off a pretty stunning thing in Iowa. You're going to have three different winners in the first three primaries.
And impeachment is behind us, the president is stronger today than he was before impeachment. The American people see this is what it was, a vendetta by people who can't accept the fact that he won. This is not over. They're going to come after him again. They're going to call Bolton. They'll try to do something between now and the election because they know they can't beat him.
The reason that she tore the speech up is they hate the speech. But here's the good news, you can tear the speech up, but the results of the speech speak for themselves.
INGRAHAM: It is so great to see you. I know we don't like to keep you up late, but thank you, Senator Graham, for coming in. We really appreciate it.
GRAHAM: I'm too old.
INGRAHAM: You are not.
As I mentioned in my ANGLE, Romney's vote to convict the president only underscores, in my mind, that disconnect from Mitt Romney, whatever his motivations, and the constituents that he is there to represent in Utah, very good people. He said he wrestled with his conscience for weeks over what to do, but then he announced his decision with a media blitz and outlets that regularly demean the people who actually voted for him.
Of course, this is the same man who in 2016 argued on national TV that Trump was unfit for offense. He was a fraud, a phony. Remember that speech? He begged Trump, though, a few months later to be his secretary of state.
Joining me now is Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor, FOX News contributor. Gov, didn't you run against Romney? Was it 2008, 2012? I forgot all these contests at this point.
MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: It was 2008, and I'm happy to say that I beat Romney. I came in second to McCain. But I could've told you some things about Romney and the manner in which he operates. This is very disgusting to me what he did. And I think the most disgusting part, he didn't just say that he thought the president was guilty. What he said was that Alan Dershowitz, Jay Sekulow, Jonathan Turley, every single Republican colleague, they were all wrong, and he and Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi and Jerry Nadler were all right.
That is a pretty big jump to stand over on that side of the room with those folks that we've been watching just destroy the Constitution and shred due process, and say, I think these guys are right. And guys like Mitch McConnell, and people like even Mike Lee and Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham you just had on, they are all wrong. I'm smarter than they are.
And yes, he groveled towards President Trump, wanting to be secretary of state and got passed over, and that was right after he went out and trashed President Trump. So this is just disgusting. I'm very, very sad for the people of Utah. They deserve better. They had Orrin Hatch, who was a great statesman, and it's sad that now they've replaced someone like Hatch with what we saw in Mitt Romney today.
INGRAHAM: I think Senator Graham is right. I don't want to turn this entire thing into a -- it's really not about Romney. It's instructive, though, to remember these moments, where people were, where they voted, why they say they voted the way they voted. I think we have to remember this and learn lessons from it.
And speaking of that, here is how one MSNBC contributor described Ronnie's vote convict President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swearing an oath before God for Mitt Romney is like unlocking his superpower. There's no one in that chain member who is going to take that oath more seriously and mor personally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Even the "L.A. Times" had some column speculating that it was a Mormon prophecy. I was reading that tonight. I was like, I don't know what they were talking about. So all sorts of speculation, Governor.
HUCKABEE: I would guess there are a lot of people in the Senate who were praying about their vote. Mitt wasn't the only one. I think some of them came to a different conclusion. I wouldn't blame God for that. I would blame people not playing attention very well to what happened in the House and how we even got to the impeachment.
I want to say, and this isn't just a kiss-up moment, but your opening monologue tonight was one of the best I've ever heard. And I thought you drilled down brilliantly on setting up this whole nonsense and what it's really down to tear the country up, and I appreciate it.
INGRAHAM: Thank you.
HUCKABEE: And I hope people saw it, and I hope they will catch it if they didn't online, because it was great.
INGRAHAM: Governor, you were, and people have to remember, it was you first. A few people, Pat Buchanan, you, myself on the radio, not sure I can pat myself on the back, and Trump, and Rick Santorum, on all these blue- collar issues from immigration to trade to China. And you were there at the beginning, and Romney kind of stumbled into it and tried to pretend he was a blue-collar guy who was kind of a Thurston Howell III guy. And it didn't connect. Where is Lovey, though? I liked Lovey. And I liked Thurston. I probably shouldn't compare him to Thurston right now.
But Governor, you were a leader in this, and without you, I don't know if we would have Trump today, frankly, so thank you for everything you have done for this country, and we just really appreciate it.
And still ahead, AOC can't handle Rush Limbaugh getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Pelosi, well, she turns off voters. It is "Seen and Unseen." You do not want to miss Raymond Arroyo tonight, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: It's time for "Seen and Unseen" segment where we expose the big cultural stories of the day. One of the biggest was the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed on Rush Limbaugh in a surprise moment during the State of the Union. But on the left there were yells of protest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALEXANDRA OCASIO-CORTEZ, (D-NY): We're talking about putting someone on the same level as Rosa Parks. Rush Limbaugh is a virulent racist.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": I'm sorry, I thought that the Medal of Honor --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom.
GOLDBERG: -- freedom, was supposed to go to people who actually did stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have the president bestowing this award that Rosa Parks has won. Democrats and a lot of people, independents and African- Americans, he's just seen as someone who is the face of racism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Raymond, this is quite something.
RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Are you going to introduce me, or that's it?
INGRAHAM: Everyone knows you are here. Sorry, Raymond Arroyo, FOX News contributor.
ARROYO: Let me make two quick points here. OK, first, the idea that the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- not honor, Whoopi -- is reserved to those who cure cancer or civil rights leaders is absurd. Obama gave the metal to Ellen, Robert De Niro, Lorne Michaels, the "SNL" overlord, Paul Harvey, the radio legend received this medal, appropriately. So it is entirely appropriate to give it to Rush Limbaugh.
But it's curious that some are trying to suggest that giving the medal to Rush is racist. Jennifer Rubin over at the "Washington Post" wrote a piece entitled "What's next, giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to David Duke?"
INGRAHAM: She's disgusting. She's disgusting.
ARROYO: This is all --
INGRAHAM: No one even knows who she is, so I don't want to -- but this is the level of hatred. It's really, this is hatred towards Trump.
ARROYO: Right. And there's a reason.
INGRAHAM: And it goes from Trump to Rush.
ARROYO: Let's talk about why. And the reason this is the critique de soir, this racism, is because last night at the State of the Union, the president awarded an Opportunity Scholarship to little Janiyah Davis, a little African-American girl from Pennsylvania. He honored a Tuskegee airman. And then that Super Bowl ad featured Alice Marie Johnson who benefited from Trump's criminal justice reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am free to start over. This is the greatest day of my life. My heart is just bursting with gratitude. I want to thank President Donald John Trump.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: This is upsetting because Donald Trump has grafted black America into America first. We see from the polls, African-Americans are reacting, and they are saying, wait a minute, Kanye popped up. Then they're watching this criminal justice reform. As Democrats see those numbers move, that is why everything he does is racist.
INGRAHAM: Everything is racist, everyone attached to him is racist. That is all they have because they have no argument.
ARROYO: Bo Snerdley, James Golden has known Rush Limbaugh for 30 years, Laura, an African-American producer.
INGRAHAM: Clarence Thomas married him, Rush Limbaugh, but he doesn't count either, remember.
ARROYO: We have some news on the Nancy Pelosi front. Last night the speaker acted out spectacularly during the State of the Union. Throughout the speech she seemed to be coming out of her skin. She was contorting, adjusting her mouth. Get that woman some Fixodent. If you look very closely, Laura, at this video -- we are going to put it up -- while the president is speaking, the prayerful, solemn Pelosi is preparing the pages of those State of the Union, that State of the Union copy, she starts to rip it in little pieces. Look at her. She's ripping the edges, I guess to prepare for her big finish. But it proves this was totally premeditated. I guess people who try to tear a phone book, they couldn't do it all in one fell swoop, so she kind of teased it a little bit.
INGRAHAM: I heard people in the air saying, this could've been a spur of the moment thing.
ARROYO: It wasn't spur of the moment.
INGRAHAM: I don't know how anyone knowing Pelosi point and clap back. Trump should've done this to her.
ARROYO: Totally premeditated. And Laura, this tantrum is not totally unexpected. I'm half-Italian, Laura. When you cross an Italian woman of a certain age, stuff happens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the -- out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: Laura, as an Italian, I identify with this reaction. And let me tell you, Pelosi, I know she is miffed. The president beat her own impeachment, he beat her on Mueller, he be her on USMCA, he beat her at the State of the Union. Now that she has gotten this off her chest, I hope like other good Italian ladies, she will now get a bowl of pasta, have a peace meeting with him, and the president, I hope, get a taster if you're going to go to that peace --
INGRAHAM: It's a good thing he doesn't the chianti. You don't know what's going in that chianti.
ARROYO: Don't drink the chianti, but the pasta --
INGRAHAM: Maybe now there will be a good nebbiolo or something. The Italian, the Italian is the thing I love the most about Pelosi, OK. Raymond, thanks so much.
FBI Director Chris Wray was on Capitol Hill today for the first time since that I.G. eviscerated his agency's actions in the Russia probe. So why isn't anyone covering this insane abuse of power? Congressman Doug Collins was in the room. He fills us in next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: I knew this would happen, that the impeachment frenzy would bury some extremely important news, and it did today almost, until we got our hands on it. FBI Director Chris Wray was on Capitol Hill. Why? To answer for the Bureau's abuse of the FISA process to spy on the Trump campaign.
Joining me now, one of the lawmakers who grilled the FBI head, Congressman Doug Collins. Congressman, are you at all convinced that the FBI is doing enough to make sure what happened before doesn't happen again?
DOUG COLLINS, (R-GA) HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I think they started to scratch the surface, but even today we saw Christopher Wray, and look, I believe he is put into a very bad situation. But the problem is he only took the recommendations and hasn't really went further. In his credit, they have removed the senior leadership. There's all those that were in Crossfire Hurricane are gone, but those that were below him as he talked about many times, we've referred them to the disciplinary board and really wouldn't go any further about that.
So I think there's a lot more to be done, and especially when he was asked about Carter Page FISA, I asked him repeatedly about he reviews, he just wouldn't answer the questions there. He would say -- but I did get him to admit he had looked at it, but then when he admitted looking at it, he hadn't done anything with it.
INGRAHAM: I've got to say, when an American citizen is spied on, his life is turned upside down, he is called a Russian spy, probably can't get a job, his life was ruined, and he spent hundreds of thousands if not millions in legal fees, Carter Page. I'm not even talking about the president. I'm talking about Carter Page. And there's no accountability. Some people lose their jobs, big deal. They will go on to some consulting gig somewhere for some security company.
COLLINS: And that's why the people are so concerned about this and why it was sort of buried today. And when you look at it, this is why people really don't trust the government anymore. When they look at the issues -- and remember, let's got back in history here. FISA came about because of unregulated spying in the 60s and 70s coming up from the administrations of Kennedy and Nixon and Johnson. We had to bring it in. And now they are abusing that system as well.
INGRAHAM: This doesn't surprise us, Congressman, but Jerry Nadler tried to turn today's Judiciary Committee hearing into another impeachment fishing expedition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERROLD NADLER, (D-NY) HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Recent reporting suggests that the president plans to seek payback. Has the president, the attorney general, or any other administration official asked the FBI to open an investigation into Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, John Bolton, or any member of Congress?
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: No one has asked me to open an investigation based on anything other than the facts, the law, and proper predication.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Did Jerry Nadler seemed disappointed when he heard that answer?
COLLINS: He just seemed -- the derangement syndrome kicked in completely, and it was just evident today he was digging desperately into things. Is the president now looking into other people? I'll tell you what, we had a rerun today. We had a repeat and history. He wanted to go back and actually talk about the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.
INGRAHAM: Nadler? Wait, wait, Nadler did with Wray there?
COLLINS: Yes. He went back to Christopher Wray and said, was the White House or was the FBI, and his indication was that when they went and redid that weeklong investigation, were there any impediments put in, were there anything that was not done --
INGRAHAM: Oh, my God.
COLLINS: Did the White House to something wrong? Here's is the impeachment, the White House impeded the Kavanaugh investigation. This is how desperate these folks are. He went back and used an oversight hearing when we've got FISA abuse, when we have all the issues that we need to do to restore trust in our FBI, and he went back and took this time to go back to Kavanaugh. That is how bad we are at right now.
INGRAHAM: His wife is suffering from cancer, and we wish her well, we pray for her, unlike what the Democrats are doing with Rush Limbaugh. And you witnessed this last night, and the conversations on television afterwards and online, just one line description of the nastiness toward Rush and the president.
COLLINS: It was the nastiness that has reverberated, the vitriol, the hatred of this president summed up in those actions last night. That is all you need to see to know why this Democratic majority is destined to become a minority, but also reelect this president.
INGRAHAM: We've got to beat them, got to beat them. We've got to beat them and take the House back. Congressman, thank you so much.
We asked and you answered, the latest edition of "Ingraham's Inbox" is next. And, boy, is America angry at San Fran Grand Nan. Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: It's time again for "Ingraham's Inbox." Our top email tonight comes from Lee in Ohio. "In my 78 years," Lee writes, "I have never witnessed such a disgraceful, disrespectful, and rude group of Democrats. Pelosi's facial distortions and glaring hatred of President Trump and legal American citizens. These Democrats are pathetic, and hopefully voters will make them pay." I want you to send me your thoughts, comments, even video questions, IngrahamAngle@FOXnews.com.
That's all the time we have tonight. What a week. What a few weeks has been. Shannon Bream and "FOX NEWS @ NIGHT" team have all the new details and they take it from here. Shannon?
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