Published October 17, 2019
This is a rush transcript from "Your World," October 17, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: The Kurds are very happy. Turkey is very happy. The United States is very happy. And you know what? Civilization is very happy. It's a great thing for civilization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL CAVUTO, ANCHOR: Cease-fired up. The president taking a bow for putting out a fire the Democrats say that he started, but for now a fire that he says is stopped or will soon, thanks to the president pushing and his emissaries, the vice president and secretary of state, doing some good old-fashioned in-person strong-arming.
It got the Turkish president to see the light and maybe because, the White House says, he also saw something else, the sanctions.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto.
And it looks like the Turks have backed down, but that doesn't mean they're going put all their weapons down, at least not yet.
To Kevin Corke at the White House with more on a cease-fire that's not an entire cease-fire, but it's along that route -- Kevin.
KEVIN CORKE, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, perfectly laid out, Neil. You're right.
And this is a hopeful cease-fire. Obviously, we will have to watch what happens over the next 100-plus hours. But John Roberts has been on the ground in Turkey, and our coverage has extended all the way across the globe.
Of course, you were able to watch the vice president and the secretary of state speak today on FOX News at the conclusion of what was apparently a five-hour gathering with the leader of Turkey.
I want to share part of a conversation that John had with the vice president, and he asked him exactly what he told President Erdogan to get him to cease fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What was the message that you conveyed to Erdogan from the president?
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT: Well, the message the president had me send was that Turkey is our ally and Turkey is a partner of the United States of America.
But America wanted to see an end to the violence and see an end to the Turkish incursion into Syria.
ROBERTS: The demand was for a cease-fire. What was the or else?
PENCE: Well, the or else was that the United States was simply not going to stand idly by while innocent lives were lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORKE: Wouldn't stand idly by.
But I think you really nailed it, Neil, when you said, when you look at the potential catastrophe economically, I think certainly they got the attention of the president of Turkey.
The president was also -- the vice president, that is, was also asked by John Roberts if he could trust President Erdogan. His answer was very interesting. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Can you trust him?
PENCE: I think we will -- we will take this agreement for what it is.
I think that President Trump and President Erdogan have the kind of relationship where President Erdogan knows President Trump says what he means, means what he says.
And I think, on the foundation of that kind of a candid and honest relationship, we can go forward together for a more peaceful region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORKE: Certainly, that is the hope, not just on the American side, but clearly on the Turkey side as well, to say nothing of the Syrians and the Kurds in particular.
I want to share part of a statement from the foreign minister, a lot of people obviously hopeful, Neil, and I think really that's the word right now of the hour, that this peace will hold beyond the next 100-plus hours.
I want to share this from the foreign minister: "We got what we wanted. There was an agreement that the Turkish armed forces will control this area, the YPG's heavy weapons will be collected. We will put Operation Peace Spring on hold for 120 hours so the YPG can vacate. This is not" -- repeat -- "this is not a cease fire."
So, sometimes, it's all about the language. And you have domestic and international stakeholders listening very carefully to how things are crafted. And, to be blunt, you have to save face sometimes, even when you get sort of strong-armed by the U.S, but, at least for now, a hopeful peace -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, not come whatever.
Thank you my friend very much, Kevin Corke at the White House.
CORKE: You bet.
CAVUTO: So, did the president just dodge a bullet, getting Turkey to at least promise to stop firing bullets?
To Senate Armed Services Committee member Marsha Blackburn.
Senator, I will ask you, I guess, what John Roberts was asking the vice president. Do you trust the Turks to deliver?
SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN, R-TENN.: Trust, but verify, and let's make certain that their actions are going to be stronger than their words.
This is not a cease-fire. It is a pause. It -- what they're trying to do is have the Kurds vacate areas in Syria and move into this safe zone, if you will.
But you're still asking them to give up their homes and to give their communities and to relocate themselves.
And, Neil, I think what we want to do is to see Turkey stop the fighting, and we want to see the Kurds protected. And the Kurds, the SDF has been very active in helping us to corral and to capture and to hold and to remove ISIS from this area.
And they are protecting some of those prisoners. We do not want those ISIS fighters to have a jailbreak and go back to their countries and go back to fighting us. They want to kill us all.
CAVUTO: Well, I guess your colleague Mitt Romney is concerned that could happen.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate just a little while ago, Senator, he said: "What we have done to the Kurds will stand as a bloodstain in the annals of American history."
What did you think of that?
BLACKBURN: Well, we have a lot of the Kurdish population in Nashville.
And there are about 20,000 Kurds who call Nashville home. We have been in close touch with them. They are quite concerned. They have fought valiantly. They have lost -- the Syrian Kurds have lost 11,000 lives in this fight against ISIS.
They have been a staunch ally of ours. And I have worked diligently...
CAVUTO: Do you think we have made good with them again?
I mean, the reason why I mention it, Senator, is a number of Democrats were telling me today earlier on FOX Business, which, if you don't get, you should demand -- but that's neither here nor there -- but they were saying that the president was patting himself on the back for dousing a fire that he caused.
What did you think of that?
BLACKBURN: I disagree with the policy of coming out of Syria. I didn't agree with the drawdown back in December.
I didn't agree with the policy earlier where we moved our forces out. What we have to realize is that the Kurds have been there with us. We need to provide that protection. We have depended on them.
They have fought with us and have stood with us.
CAVUTO: So you don't -- you don't accept what the president said about them, that they haven't really been that great fighters, they're kind of overrated, all -- some of this other stuff?
You don't share that opinion, it seems.
BLACKBURN: We have -- we know this. The Kurds have been stalwarts...
CAVUTO: OK.
BLACKBURN: ... in their fight against ISIS and in their desire to bring stability to the region. And, Neil, I have to tell you, that is the -- one of the things that is vitally important.
And Turkey is an ally. And I applaud the secretary of state and the vice president for the work that they have done there today.
CAVUTO: Senator, while I have you here, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney was making some news earlier today, addressing the so-called quid pro quo issue with the leader of Ukraine.
This startled a lot of people. I'd like to see you react to this.
This is from Mick Mulvaney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICK MULVANEY, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR: I was involved with the process by which the money was held up temporarily, OK?
Three issues for that, the corruption in the country, whether or not other countries were participating in the support of the Ukraine, and whether or not they were cooperating in an ongoing investigation with our Department of Justice.
That's completely legitimate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: Do you agree with that?
BLACKBURN: I know that there have been concerns about corruption in the Ukraine.
I had the opportunity to be there back in the spring and to meet with some of our troops that were deployed over there, both in the Ukraine and in Poland.
In Ukraine, the corruption issues, the corruption in the military, the misappropriation of funds, misutilization of funds, I should say, is something that has been of concern to many of us who want to see Ukraine come in alongside us and help provide a block, keep -- keep Russia in check.
CAVUTO: All right, when he was saying whether they were cooperating in an ongoing investigation with our Department of Justice, that he seems to be saying, that, along with some of the other matters you mentioned, was completely legitimate.
Others look at that, Senator, as you know, as a clear quid pro quo. And that's a big no-no. Democrats go so far as to say, that's an impeachable offense.
BLACKBURN: And what we will do is let the investigation that the Senate Intel Committee has been carrying out, let them provide us with the information on what they have found.
I know the House has their oversight hearings or investigation or whatever they want to call it going on.
But I also bear in mind that the Democrats had said they were going to impeach Donald Trump going back to the day he was elected. Vanity Fair wrote about it in December 2016.
CAVUTO: All right.
BLACKBURN: They tried in 2017, '18, '19 to get a vote. It's all failed. The Mueller report failed for them.
So now they're going to try this.
CAVUTO: All right, we will watch it closely.
Senator, thanks for taking the time.
BLACKBURN: Absolutely. Thank you.
CAVUTO: Well, the president says Nancy Pelosi had a meltdown.
We have looked at all the photos from the room. We're focused on something else. Look closely, all the heads that are down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, look closely at this picture.
In fact, guys, you can go ahead and take me right off there. I want you to look very, very closely at it.
Now, we were not in -- in that room. So it's hard to say who's telling the truth here. Nancy Pelosi is standing up talking to the president, responding to him, she said, in response to him calling her a third-rate politician. It escalated. She spoke her piece, left the room.
We don't know the order of events, because, like I said, we weren't there.
To a guy who was, witnessed it all, the House Armed Services chairman, Adam Smith.
Very good having you, Chairman. Thanks for taking the time.
REP. ADAM SMITH, D-WASH.: Thanks, Neil. I appreciate the chance.
CAVUTO: So you were there.
And it almost sounded, Chairman, like there was ill will as everyone was just getting in there.
SMITH: Yes.
CAVUTO: The president wasted little time going after Nancy Pelosi, going after Democrats. Maybe it was the backdrop of this House vote that repudiated his -- his Turkey decision.
But you tell me. What happened?
SMITH: He wasn't in a good mood when he came -- came into the room. That was obvious.
And it started out. Actually, he said -- basically, the president said, well, you guys asked for this meeting. I don't know why we're here. I don't know what this meeting is about, but you asked for it. So what do you want?
Basically, which wasn't exactly how the meeting came apart. And it sort of went downhill from there. And there was obviously some back and forth.
But, look, the biggest part of this is sort of the way the president talks to people. A lot of people have asked me if I was surprised.
No. I mean, this is the way the president communicates. And I don't think it's helpful. We did have substantive issues to talk about. We did talk about those issues. There were a lot of people in that room who are committed to getting the best policy.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: All right, but I just want to understand the ticktock on this, sir.
SMITH: Sure.
CAVUTO: I apologize for being rude here.
SMITH: No, that's fine.
CAVUTO: The president has argued, no, they had no interest -- that is, Democrats -- working with him; they were immediately setting this up to talk about not being cooperative; she stands up, referring to the speaker; everyone had kind of puss on their face; no one was really going to work with him anyway, and it was all needless drama.
SMITH: Yes.
CAVUTO: What do you think?
SMITH: That's not true.
I mean, we had this meeting because this is a very serious issue, in terms of what's going on in Syria, and with the Kurds and Turkey and Russia and everybody.
We knew -- that was a purpose of the meeting. I don't think there was any sort of pre-planned effort that this wasn't going to go anywhere.
Now. I mean, the president has his way of talking. And I completely support the speaker in saying, that's not -- just not an appropriate way to communicate.
On the other hand, I and a lot of...
CAVUTO: So she didn't say anything to him that would tick him off?
SMITH: Oh.
CAVUTO: I mean, the rap you heard from Democrats is that he immediately went after her.
SMITH: Yes.
CAVUTO: Talked about communists and how Democrats like communists and all this stuff.
SMITH: Yes. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Then he started denigrating General Mattis, his former defense secretary.
Did she ever say anything, or Steny Hoyer or some of the others, Chuck Schumer, yourself maybe...
SMITH: Right.
CAVUTO: ... to set the president off?
SMITH: Well -- well, Chuck Schumer got into the issue of Syria and was somewhat accusatory of the president for abandoning the Kurds.
And I believe I remember that the speaker sort of seconded that opinion. And that did upset the president, because he felt he was being unfairly criticized. That was a policy dispute.
But as far as the insults, it was definitely coming from the president.
Eventually, the speaker, right before she left, did accuse the president of basically doing what Putin wanted. That was sort of the shot.
CAVUTO: So, that was after those remarks?
SMITH: Yes.
CAVUTO: Before she left, she made the, all of this leads to Putin, and then she walked out of the room? Was that it?
SMITH: Yes. That was -- was sort of her parting shot. I think she said something -- yes.
CAVUTO: OK.
And then, soon afterwards, I understand, the others left. Steny Hoyer left. Soon thereafter, I'm told Senator Schumer made...
SMITH: Well, they all left.
CAVUTO: They all left.
SMITH: No, they all left at the same -- Hoyer, Pelosi and Schumer all left at the same time.
CAVUTO: All right, I thought there was a delay with Schumer.
SMITH: Yes.
CAVUTO: All right, so let me ask you this.
Kevin McCarthy came back later, after Democrats had talked to reporters afterwards, to say that it was very unprofessional, that they were there with the president, they walked out on the president.
(LAUGHTER)
SMITH: Sorry.
CAVUTO: They missed an opportunity.
You say what?
SMITH: Well, I -- look, I don't 100 percent disagree.
Look, remember, I stayed in the room. I'm a politician and a legislator. I have dealt with people in all manner of different emotional states. I never take it personally.
People say what they're going to say. We got work to do. We're going to find our way through it.
So, if it was me, obviously, I wouldn't have walked out. And I didn't. But I hope...
CAVUTO: So, what did you think of the others who did, sir? I'm just trying to get the sequence of events.
You opted not to follow them. Why didn't you?
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: I understand why they did.
And I think, in part, it was important that some left and some stayed. It was important to say that this is not the way a president is supposed to address somebody.
And for Kevin McCarthy to say, oh, they...
(LAUGHTER)
SMITH: I'm sorry. What I laughed at was the notion that, well, it was disrespectful.
I mean, this president is disrespectful. It is how he operates 24/7, OK? So...
CAVUTO: Well, you know, sir, I don't know. You were there. You know more about this than I do.
SMITH: Yes.
CAVUTO: All I do know -- and I just read faces -- if we could show this picture again. I thought we had closeups of it. I apologize. We don't.
SMITH: Yes.
CAVUTO: But it seemed to me that that was a room full of people looking down, not wanting to be there.
And I'm thinking to myself...
SMITH: No, no, no.
CAVUTO: Well, I guess what I'm asking you, sir, is that that is not a conducive environment right there, looking at those faces, to getting anything done.
SMITH: No.
CAVUTO: So it gives me little hope that either of you guys will.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: Neil, no, first of all, the reason most of us were looking down is because we didn't -- that wasn't the exchange that we came for. The exchange between the president and the speaker, it wasn't helpful.
Now, after they cleared out, there were people on both sides of that table. We had a very good discussion about, what do we do about Turkey? What do we do about Syria? How do we protect our interests?
The people who were looking down were looking down because we didn't come here for a food fight. We came here for a substantive policy discussion.
CAVUTO: No, everyone looks very uncomfortable. You know what I mean?
SMITH: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Like, when I'm, like, at a vegetarian convention, I have the same reaction.
And I just thought like...
SMITH: Yes, I get it.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: I almost felt the discomfort in the room, you know?
SMITH: But if I can make just one point.
CAVUTO: Please. Please.
SMITH: And that is that the president would benefit from communicating in a less belittling and insulting way.
And we have all seen it. And, look, I had a very good conversation with president about this. You work with who you got to work with. He is the legitimate president of the United States. We need to work with him.
But it would help if he was a little bit less belittling and insulting in the way that he interacts with people.
CAVUTO: Did you tell him that, sir? Did you tell him?
SMITH: I have not.
CAVUTO: No?
SMITH: I didn't have a chance to do that.
I assume maybe he watches your show. But it would just be helpful...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Actually, he doesn't, but it's good to know that he might.
Chairman, no, seriously, I did want to get a better idea of the timeline here. And you were very nice to share that with us. And connecting what you said with what Republicans said, I mean, it does seem to match what we have heard.
Thank you, sir, very, very much.
SMITH: Thanks, Neil. I appreciate the chance.
CAVUTO: And, to his point, let's see if stuff can get done here, those down heads notwithstanding.
Oh, yes, the impeachment thing? You didn't do a little thing like a cease- fire in Turkey would -- would lead to a cease-fire in hostilities here, did you? Well, good, because it's not.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, and so it goes, on and on.
Two associates of Rudy Giuliani in a New York court today. They're charged with campaign finance violations.
David Lee Miller is there with more
Hey, David.
DAVID LEE MILLER, CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.
The two men left the courthouse just a few moments ago. They pled not guilty to a single charge of conspiracy. That's in connection with illegal campaign finance contributions.
U.S.-born David Correia and Ukrainian-born naturalized citizen Andrey Kukushkin are really peripheral figures to the broader investigation that now involves President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
They are charged, along with two other co-defendants, with making political donations of a foreign source, which is illegal, to win influence for a recreational marijuana business.
According to the indictment, an unnamed foreign national on two separate occasions wired $500,000 from a foreign bank account as part of the conspiracy. The money was to be spent on state and national elections in Nevada and New York and elsewhere.
Now, the two other defendants, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, both U.S. citizens born in the former Soviet Union, face additional and more serious charges. They were not in court today.
The pair assisted Rudy Giuliani and his efforts to dig up damaging information about Joe Biden and his son Hunter in the Ukraine. They also paid Giuliani hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal work.
According to a 21-page indictment, Parnas and Fruman made illegal campaign contributions to an unnamed congressman to seek help in removing or recalling the U.S. ambassador to the Ukraine, who some Trump supporters considered to be critical of the administration.
That unnamed congressman is Pete Sessions. A grand jury has now issued Sessions a subpoena for records in the case, including documents dealing with Giuliani.
Sessions is not believed to be a target of the grand jury. And his office says he is cooperating with investigators. According to a published report, Sessions met at least on one occasion with all three men. That's Giuliani, Fruman and Parnas.
And in a separate matter, that same indictment, Neil, says Parnas and Fruman made an illegal $325,000 contribution to a pro-Trump super PAC using a bogus company in order to conceal their involvement and the true source of the funding.
The indictment says the pair sought to advance their own interests and the political interests of at least one Ukrainian government official, that official not named in the indictment.
Now, as I said, the pair is slated to be arraigned next week here in Lower Manhattan in federal court.
And as for Rudy Giuliani, Neil, he says he has done nothing wrong and was only trying to expose corruption in the Ukraine -- Neil.
CAVUTO: David Lee, thank you very much.
We are going to get into this with the judge in just a second.
This is a deserving headline for the judge as well, though, because the plan now to hold the next G7 at a Trump golf resort in Florida. So, what could possibly go wrong?
A Donald Trump resort that just signed a contract with, well, Donald Trump.
Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney says, not to worry, the resort is hosting the big global shindig at cost.
To our Judge Andrew Napolitano, who says that doesn't mean that shindig hasn't already hit the fan.
I practiced that several times in getting ready for this.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDREW NAPOLITANO, SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST: I'm glad you said it right.
CAVUTO: What do you make of this?
NAPOLITANO: Well, the focus on profits is not what the Constitution addresses.
The Constitution -- the Constitution addresses money, presents or anything, whatever -- today, we would say whatsoever -- of value going to...
CAVUTO: The Emoluments Clause, right?
NAPOLITANO: Correct.
CAVUTO: All right.
NAPOLITANO: The Emoluments Clause -- going to the president coming from a foreign head of state or a foreign government.
This is precisely what that clause was written to prevent from happening. Why the president would pick this fight -- and he knows it's going to be a fight -- would give his enemies another target on his back in an environment like this is beyond me.
CAVUTO: So, it doesn't matter whether he profits from it or not, because immediately people pounced on the fact that the Doral club, the Trump Doral club, it's beautiful, beautiful facility.
And it could accommodate all these guys and their entourages who come. But its profits are down about 65, 69 percent over the last couple of years. Revenues are slowing. That's not unique to that business.
NAPOLITANO: Right. Right.
CAVUTO: But it would fuel debate, oh, this is all to drum up business and give it some stature going forward.
NAPOLITANO: But you said it best. He signed a contract with himself. That just doesn't look good.
It wouldn't look good even if the contract with himself didn't involve foreign money. It is the foreign money which is the constitutional violation.
CAVUTO: But I worry about the others who will say -- or Mulvaney, I think, has said -- saying that this was the only option, and the only realistic.
NAPOLITANO: In the United States of America, no one's going to believe that. This doesn't pass the smell test.
CAVUTO: Yes.
So the last one, in 2012 -- they take turns, obviously, hosting among the members of the G7, 8 when Russia's included. I think the last one was at Camp David. The one before that was at Sea Island, Georgia, with President Bush.
NAPOLITANO: Right.
CAVUTO: But this could raise a lot of issues, right?
NAPOLITANO: I think it will.
And the president doesn't need -- the president doesn't need that. But like a lot of his woes, he's brought this on himself.
CAVUTO: Yes.
The convictions today or the hearing today with the two associates of Rudy Giuliani, what did you think?
NAPOLITANO: I don't think this looks good for Mayor Giuliani.
I think that these two associates, as well as the other two who are in Virginia, all part of David Lee Miller's very fine report...
CAVUTO: Yes.
NAPOLITANO: ... were the subject of wiretaps.
Why do I think that? Because there are conversations between them quoted in the indictment. And there are two references to a conspiracy -- conspirators, known and unknown, to the grand jury.
I'm wondering if that is a hint to the former mayor, you're in there. You're in their target.
CAVUTO: Really?
On the same subject with Mick Mulvaney, he seemed to use the quid pro quo rationale.
NAPOLITANO: The Justice Department is pulling its hair out as we speak, as our own Jake Gibson, the Justice Department producer, has reported.
We know nothing about this. There was a quid pro quo to get the Ukrainians to cooperate with a federal prosecutor in Connecticut? This is news to us. We don't need the assistance of a foreign government in a domestic criminal investigation emanating out of Connecticut, is basically what the DOJ said this afternoon. CAVUTO: All right, but he made the point saying that whether or not other countries were participating in support of the Ukraine and whether or not they were cooperating in an ongoing investigation with our Department of Justice, that's completely legitimate, in other words, that that is part of what legally can go on, and there's nothing there there.
NAPOLITANO: Not without the DOJ knowing about it. And they're basically telling FOX this afternoon they know nothing about this.
CAVUTO: But that's your quid pro quo.
NAPOLITANO: Correct.
So, when Congressman Schiff stands before microphones and says, this has just gone from bad to worse, from his perspective, that's correct. This is the person closest to the president and the White House, the acting chief of staff, who finally says, yes, there was a quid pro quo.
CAVUTO: All right.
Do you golf? Do you go to these swanky facilities?
NAPOLITANO: No, I don't.
I did give a speech there once. And it is beautiful.
CAVUTO: Did you really? Very beautiful, yes.
NAPOLITANO: It is gorgeous.
CAVUTO: They couldn't hold it like at an Olive Garden, I guess.
NAPOLITANO: I don't think so.
CAVUTO: No.
NAPOLITANO: Have you ever been to Olive Garden?
CAVUTO: I love Olive Garden.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: That's our people.
All right, we have a lot more.
There are serious issues going on, like the British prime minister and the head of the European Union. They signed onto a big old Brexit deal.
Now, winning over Europeans was the easy part for Boris Johnson. Winning over his own people, oh, that's going to be a lot tougher.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, Boris Johnson is one happy camper. He got all the European leaders and those involved in this Brexit thing to go along with his plan to formally leave the European Union.
The sell at home in Britain, not so easy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Well, signed, almost sealed, but will it be delivered?
European leaders unanimously endorsing that Brexit deal today, quickly sending it to the U.K. Parliament, which will have a rare Saturday vote. They didn't have this back until 1982, in the middle of the Falklands War.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling it a great new deal. But, of course, time is a wasting.
Let's get the read from Benjamin Hall with the latest from London -- Benjamin.
BENJAMIN HALL, CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Neil.
And, in fact, many people didn't think Boris Johnson would get this far. He successfully persuaded the 27 E.U. countries to reopen Theresa May's deal. He got concessions from them and then they ratified it at the summit in Brussels today.
But that wasn't even the hard part. Now, as you say, he has to pass it through the British Parliament. And it doesn't appear at this point as he has the parliamentary numbers to do so.
That is because the DUP, his Northern Irish allies, do not agree with his deal. The main problem has always been how to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. And the solution they have reached now is that, for the next few years, Northern Ireland will remain more closely aligned with the E.U. than the rest of the U.K.
But this deal does hit many key points that Boris Johnson was seeking. Crucially, it allows the U.K. to negotiate its own free trade deals, and it also ends freedom of movement and unchecked immigration from Europe.
So Boris Johnson now has two days to sell this to his own party, to his allies, to his rebels in the Labor Party as well. It's an uphill battle. He will have to cajole and bribe. But stranger things have happened -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, we will see, my friend. Thank you very much.
We do know this much. A number of parties don't like it, including Mr. Brexit himself, Nigel Farage, who says he's a no and his movement is a no when it comes to this, the Brexit Party saying, not a fan of this.
Nigel, very good to have you.
You don't like it?
NIGEL FARAGE, BREXIT PARTY LEADER: Thank you.
No, I don't. I mean, Boris calls it a great new deal. It's not great. It's better than what Theresa May negotiated. So I would now rate it as only being the second worst deal in history.
It's not new, because 95 percent of it is the same as the previous agreement that Parliament rejected three times. And it's not even a deal. It's a new E.U. treaty binding in international law.
Now, look, he's made some progress on a couple of issues. But here's the kicker. The next stage of this would be a negotiation for a trade deal.
Already, the European Union have said, we have to have regulatory alignment. That means that our employment legislation, our environmental law, even our tax policy has to fit in with the European Union.
And that means we will not really be able to get back control of our borders, our laws and our money. And, for America -- and here's the key thing -- it'll be many, many years now before we're allowed to negotiate a free trade deal with America, if we can do it at all.
I would much rather, Neil, we scrapped this and had a clean break, a straightforward divorce. Let's just leave and get on with our lives.
CAVUTO: All right, now, have you raised this with the prime minister, Nigel?
FARAGE: Yes, he knows how I feel.
And what I have said to the prime minister is, look, please, you're basically trying to dress up a bad old deal, present it as a new deal. It's better, but it's not good enough.
And far, far better at the next general election, whenever that comes, that we work together in a leave alliance -- and I'd be very happy to do that.
CAVUTO: All right.
FARAGE: And we go for that clean break, which would make the United Kingdom genuinely independent, and not -- and not still having to live off E.U. rules.
CAVUTO: So let me go through this.
If you're a no, and your Brexit Party is a no, and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party is a no, and the Scottish National Party is a no, and the Labor Party, of course, is a no...
FARAGE: Yes.
CAVUTO: ... are -- do you think the votes are there?
FARAGE: No, I don't.
And I think this will fail on Saturday. I hope this will fail on Saturday, because this would be Brexit in name only. We'd be half in, half out, stuck in a never-neverland, have years more of acrimony with these negotiations here in Brussels.
I hope it fails. And I hope, in this next space that comes along, we get a national general election. And if Boris gets to that point and says, right, OK, do you know what, I'm going to get rid of this idea. We have tried it time and time again. It's failed.
Let's go for the clean break. And the clean break means we can start talking to you guys seriously about doing a real trade deal. That's a win- win for both of us.
CAVUTO: We shall see.
Nigel Farage, thank you very much.
FARAGE: Thank you.
CAVUTO: All right, Nigel Farage.
All right, Alan Knuckman, market watcher extraordinaire, you heard that.
With him being a no-vote, and some of these other parties likely being no- votes, the 320 votes that Boris Johnson would need do not appear readily there.
So we could be missing something and things could change. Let's say it fails. What does that mean for us and our markets, and theirs?
ALAN KNUCKMAN, MARKET STRATEGIST: Well, the markets usually have it right.
And we had a pretty strong reaction on the British pound this morning. It had bottomed about out at 120 back in September. It got up to 130, a level it hadn't seen in a long, long time.
Now, I'm more about price than politics. And what I see today is another example of a relief rally. We had one on Friday, when Trump declared victory. We had one today, when Brexit looks like it's going to be done.
We're starting to see stocks stabilize. And we're starting to see -- I hate to use this word -- certainty. But the markets right now are 1 percent from the all-time forever top, after all of what we have seen.
And, essentially, the S&P has traded between 2800 and 3000 since April. So that target is 3200 on this overall 10-year upward climb. We're in the middle of earnings season. I think that's going to show us the way.
You can see how banks made $20 billion the first day on earnings in four banks alone, pure profit. So I think we're still on the right path. The bull market is not dead.
CAVUTO: All right, now, a lot of American investors, a lot of Americans, periods, so their eyes glaze over hearing about the Brexit debate. It can't possibly affect us, no big deal.
KNUCKMAN: Right.
CAVUTO: I always think of black swan developments that suddenly make things like this a big deal. Do you ever see this getting to that stage?
KNUCKMAN: Well, it's not a black swan.
We have beaten this -- the situation to death for the last couple a years.
CAVUTO: Yes.
KNUCKMAN: So these -- we have had continuous crisis du jour here in America over the last decade, and we have overcome each and every one.
So this is not a black swan event. This is something that's right in front of us all day, every day. And it looks like we're able to overcome it once again. And it's been quite an October.
CAVUTO: All right.
KNUCKMAN: But, like I said, we're probably -- not today, but let's look and see here in the next couple days if we can make new all-time highs once again.
CAVUTO: All right, Alan Knuckman, thank you very, very much at the CME.
And, in the meanwhile, cease-fire on, so the Turkey crisis is off, right? Well, the president might be hoping that's the case. But now Republicans and Democrats are signaling that is most certainly not the case.
So now they're getting on his case -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C.: We're sanctioning top Turkish officials beyond what the administration did.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, D-MD: We have got to send a message. We have to send a message that America will stand with our allies in the fight against terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, that was a bipartisan push to punish Turkey for its actions in Northern Syria.
I don't know if that applies now that the Turks have decided to at least dial things back, some go as far as to say an outright cease-fire. There's a raging debate about that.
But Chris Van Hollen is here. You just saw him there, Democrat of Maryland, who joins us right now.
Senator, thank you for coming.
VAN HOLLEN: Neil, it's good to be with you.
CAVUTO: On this, is it a moot point now, Senator, because the Turks have agreed to whatever they have agreed to with the vice president and the secretary of state, at least dialing things back, some go so far as to say an outright cease-fire?
What do you think?
VAN HOLLEN: So, Neil, first, if I could just say a word about the loss of a great Marylander from my state, the loss of a great American, Elijah Cummings, today.
And the bipartisan tributes you see in his honor are a testament to the fact this was a person of principle and dignity and integrity, whether you agreed with him on every issue or not.
CAVUTO: You're absolutely right.
VAN HOLLEN: So I just wanted to thank our colleagues for their expressions of support and condolences.
The short answer to your question is, Senator Lindsey Graham and I have spoken. And we intend to proceed full-bore with our legislation and the sanctions.
While a 120-hour cease-fire is welcome, the other terms of this agreement are 100 percent what President Erdogan and Turkey wanted in the first place. This is the entire reason they attacked our Syrian Kurdish allies, because they wanted to establish this about 20-mile zone within Northeastern Syria, where they would essentially clear out the people who live there, the Syrian Kurds.
And so this agreement essentially gives them, by agreement through pen and paper, what they were trying to accomplish through slaughter and military means.
So this is unacceptable, in the sense that we -- and it's like -- it's a second betrayal of our Syrian Kurdish allies. So, a 120-hour pause, good, but giving Erdogan everything that he wanted, including the ability to ethnically cleanse a big swathe of Northeastern Syria, not acceptable.
And it will allow ISIS to come back and rebound, because it means our Syrian Kurdish allies are going to be spending their time addressing the Turkish threat, rather than the ISIS threat.
CAVUTO: Now, the president was surprised, we're told, yesterday, Senator, before this meeting he had with top congress men and women, that this repudiation of what he did in Turkey was -- just soured everything.
Now, I talked to Republicans yesterday about what their definition happened in that room, today, Democrats what happened in that room. I don't know if you were there.
But what it does seem to me is that this issue, leaving impeachment aside, this issue has stopped everything. What do you think?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, I wasn't in the room, Neil. I saw the same reports and images that you did.
But I can say that President Trump's decision to withdraw those 100 U.S. Special Forces who'd been fighting with our Syrian Kurdish partners against ISIS, and, therefore, allow Turkey to attack the Syrian Kurds, and allow the resurgence of ISIS, has had a very strong bipartisan negative response here on Capitol Hill, which is why I have joined with Senator Lindsey Graham and a bipartisan group of senators to impose sanctions on Turkey until the conditions are met.
We hope these sanctions don't take place. But it will require Turkey to stop slaughtering the Syrian Kurds, not just for 120 hours, but permanently, stop them from aiding and abetting ISIS, and requiring them and their proxies to return to where they were before they began this attack.
So it's up to Turkey whether these very tough sanctions take place, but Congress is going to proceed as swiftly as possible, I hope.
CAVUTO: All right, Senator, thank you very much.
And I know you were very close friends with Elijah Cummings.
VAN HOLLEN: Yes.
CAVUTO: Our thoughts and prayers with you and all your colleagues as well.
Be well.
VAN HOLLEN: Thank you.
And good to be with you. Thanks, Neil.
CAVUTO: Same here.
In the meantime, we're just getting news right now that Rick Perry plans to resign as the energy secretary of the United States.
We don't know much more than that. Of course, he's been sort of brought up in this whole Ukraine investigation, who spearheaded what into talking to him. But he is stepping down as energy secretary.
We will have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, just updating you on a news item that just came in.
The energy secretary of the United States, Rick Perry, has already told the president he intends to step down. No time frame given on that, from what I can tell.
Axios reporter Caitlin Owens.
Caitlin, have you heard anything on this or know what transpired? I know he had been talking about or kicking around, the reports were, that he would be stepping down, but not this soon. What do you know?
CAITLIN OWENS, AXIOS: Right.
As you're saying, this news was just reported. I'm catching up in real time, as we all are. But it looks like, first of all, Rick Perry, the energy secretary, he has been -- he's really been dragged into this Ukraine scandal that's at the heart of the House's impeachment investigation right now.
As news has dribbled out, his involvement has become more prominent. And now we have the news that he is resigning.
CAVUTO: Now, as an interesting point, he's been one of the longer serving Cabinet members, if you think about it, with Ben Carson over at HUD.
So, this is a journeyman who's leaving now. And the president likes that guy a lot, right?
OWENS: Right, right.
And it's funny. There's been obviously plenty of Cabinet members that have been caught up in high-profile scandals over the past couple of years. And Rick Perry isn't one of them.
CAVUTO: Right.
OWENS: He's one of the original Cabinet members. But he's -- again, as I said, he's become -- emerged as a very prominent player in the Ukraine scandal, involved in the pressure campaign on Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
So, as the details of that have come out, now he is involved in scandal and is subsequently resigning.
CAVUTO: Yes, the timing will be the issue, like you say, Caitlin.
We're following it closely, Caitlin Owens, Axios reporter following this.
Also getting the read from the White House. Back to Kevin Corke there -- right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: I just have this breaking news because I want to talk to my buddy Kevin Corke again.
Kevin, sorry to bug you on this latest development, Rick Perry stepping down.
CORKE: You're never a bother.
CAVUTO: Right.
It's been out there a while. I guess the timing is more the issue now. What do you make of it? What are you hearing?
CORKE: Yes, we actually heard a report on Politico a weeks ago that the secretary would be tendering his resignation, Neil, perhaps as soon as November.
But I think it's important to point this out. He is an original.
CAVUTO: Right.
CORKE: He's been around since March of 2017. The president has great affection and great respect for Rick Perry.
In fact, he's one of his closer confidants among the Cabinet. And so this decision, while not entirely surprising, when you consider the length of time of service -- as you know, secretaries come and go -- but I do think it's worth pointing out, given the Ukraine story, the timing is all the more curious.
CAVUTO: Right.
CORKE: So we will be looking forward to hearing what the president has to say about it and Rick Perry himself -- Neil.
CAVUTO: You know, while I have you, the Mick Mulvaney comment on money and a connection to what was going on in Ukraine and all this.
CORKE: Yes.
CAVUTO: I want you to listen to this. You know it so well, but just get your reaction to it.
CORKE: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MULVANEY: I was involved with the process by which the money was held up temporarily, OK?
Three issues for that, the corruption in the country, whether or not other countries were participating in the support of the Ukraine, and whether or not they were cooperating in an ongoing investigation with our Department of Justice.
That's completely legitimate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: It's the "That's completely legitimate" that has just raised these fire alarms everywhere.
What did you think?
CORKE: Well, Democrats have also in the past pressured leadership and Ukraine to, for lack of a better description, play ball with ongoing investigations. In fact, we saw proof of that today.
But I think the real issue for Mick Mulvaney, the chief of staff is, was he clear in making the argument that it is business as usual to sort of have the sticks and the carrots? That's part of diplomacy, is what he was effectively saying.
But in this environment, Neil, it may have come off a bit wrong-handed.
CAVUTO: Yes, maybe just the way he chose those words.
CORKE: Maybe.
CAVUTO: All right, Kevin, thank you very, very much, Kevin, Kevin Corke, in Washington on all of this.
CORKE: You bet.
CAVUTO: Again, the few details we have is simply that the energy secretary of the United States is stepping down, Rick Perry.
No word yet on who might replace him, but a battle royal is on for that job.
Here comes "The Five."
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