This is a rush transcript from "Your World," March 25, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I love this country. I love this country as much as I can love anything, my family, my country, my God.

But what they did, it was a false narrative. It was -- it was a terrible thing. We can never let this happen to another president again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES PAYNE, GUEST HOST: President Trump slamming what he calls the -- quote -- "false narrative" that led to the Mueller report, and says it would not bother him if that report was released.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Charles Payne, in for Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."

The White House saying it feels vindicated by the Mueller report, as Democrats demand more investigations.

Well, we have got FOX team coverage with John Roberts at the White House and Peter Doocy on Capitol Hill.

And we began with John -- John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Charles, good afternoon to you.

The president saying today that he believes that Robert Mueller acted honorably in conducting the investigation, as he did for nearly two years, even though, at every turn, the president derided it as a witch-hunt that was based on a false premise and that the whole thing was a hoax.

Asked in the Oval Office when he was in there with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, if he still believed that the Mueller investigation was a witch-hunt, here's what the president said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's lasted a long time. We're glad it's over. It's 100 percent the way it should have been. I wish it could have gone a lot sooner, a lot quicker. There are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, very bad things, I would say treasonous things against our country.

And I say it very strongly. Very few people I know could have handled it. We can never, ever let this happen to another president again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: President Trump said that repeatedly, that this really was a cloud that was hanging over the presidency, it was affecting almost everything that he did, particularly in his dealings with Vladimir Putin and Russia, with the cloud of suspicion in terms of collusion hanging over him.

He found it very difficult to do business with Russia, diplomatic business with Russia. We will see if that changes at all. Now, in terms of the release of the entire Mueller report, the president last week on the South Lawn of the White House, as he was heading up to the helicopter, said, let it all go out there. And he repeated that again today.

Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Up to the attorney general, but it wouldn't bother me at all. Up to the attorney general. Wouldn't bother me at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Wouldn't bother him at all if it were released. But, again, that key, it's up to the attorney general.

What will happen now is that William Barr and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, will consult with Robert Mueller about just how much can be released. They will likely also have to have conversations with the White House Counsel's Office here at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, because there's no question that, in the Mueller report, and if not in the report itself, at least in the investigative materials, there probably is a lot of documents that are subject to executive privilege.

And the White House wants to make sure that it gets a chance to know what might get out there before it decides to waive executive privilege. Here's what the press secretary said about that earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The one thing we do want to be careful about and be clear is that we want to do the right thing, not just for this president, but for all administrations. We want to make sure we're protecting the office of the presidency.

We have to look at things like executive privilege. We have to look at protecting sources and methods for the intelligence community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Now, it's not just this White House, but, Charles, any White House. If you had the treasure trove of documents that were subject to executive privilege that Robert Mueller has, because the goal here at the White House was to be completely transparent with the Special Counsel's Office, because it's all within the administration.

And they gave Mueller everything. And it doesn't matter whether it's the Trump White House or the Obama White House, Bush, Clinton, Reagan. No White House would want all that material out there. So it's going to be a lengthy process to determine what can and cannot be released -- Charles.

PAYNE: John Roberts, thank you very much.

Now to Capitol Hill, where Democrats say they won't be satisfied until the entire report is out.

Peter Doocy with more on that -- Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Charles, Democrats on the Hill say they essentially want to do -- they want to redo part of the Mueller report, since Mueller didn't come to a conclusion about obstruction of justice.

Democrats want access to all of his evidence and intelligence, so they can see if they agree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO, D-HAWAII: Just because he claims a total exoneration, which we already know is not true, but par for the course, that this is about him with the president. What's next is that these kind of investigations must continue unfettered. And it's still in the context of the disaster that is this presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: The Judiciary Committee chairman, Lindsey Graham, was told today by the attorney general, Bill Barr, that it might take a while before Congress sees anybody part of the Mueller report, because Barr wants to make sure it is appropriately redacted.

Then, once it's done, Barr is apparently willing to come and brief lawmakers himself. And Graham seems willing to wait, since he's already brainstorming for a congressional investigation of his own to see what exactly inspired the investigation into the Trump campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C.: Well, we're going to be investigating everything around the campaign. I have no desire to drag Hillary Clinton back into to the Senate, but I do want to find out why Comey did something I have never known to happen, just take over the investigation, as the investigator, become the attorney general.

How could that possibly happen?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: And around that time, Democrat Adam Schiff became one of the first lawmakers to publicly pursue allegations of Trump campaign wrongdoing.

And this afternoon, the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, called on Schiff to resign as chairman of the House Intel Committee -- Charles.

PAYNE: Peter, thank you very much.

Well, Democrats showing no sign of letting up. So how should Republicans respond?

Let's ask Wisconsin Senator John Barrasso, chairman of the Republican Conference Committee.

Senator, thanks for joining us.

A lot of your colleagues across the aisle in both the House and Senate seem determined to continue this. And I think the one thread they're holding on to was from the part where Mueller didn't have an opinion on obstruction.

But Attorney General Barr said there was no collusion and no obstruction.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO, R-WYO.: The headlines are very clear, Charles, no collaboration, no collusion, no conspiracy.

I think that this entire Mueller report is something -- and he was somebody, when he was named, that Democrats said, he's the right person, he's the best person for the job. He's done a very thorough job over the last two years.

I want the full report released, but the headlines are clear, no conspiracy.

PAYNE: And, by the way, Senator, I moved your state.

BARRASSO: I heard that.

(LAUGHTER)

PAYNE: From the great state of Wyoming.

BARRASSO: Thank you.

PAYNE: OK.

But it's pretty obvious the first 24 hours since this report has been out that many in the media and many in Washington, D.C., are not going to let it go.

Conversely, what are Republicans going to do? Because President Trump is OK with the report being released. The House voted 420-0 to have it released. It's obvious that the entire report won't be released.

I mean, that's just pretty much common sense, but where do your Senate colleagues stand on the public getting a look at this?

BARRASSO: It's time to release the report.

The public deserves accountability, transparency. And the public spent $21 million of taxpayer money. The public has waited for two years for the report. I would say make sure the public gets to see the report. They will see what the results are of, what was it, 500 search warrants, 2,800 subpoenas, hundreds and hundreds of interviews.

They have done all of this work, very thorough, very complete. No conspiracy, no collusion.

PAYNE: Senator, President Trump at one point saying this was an illegal takedown that failed. Lindsey Graham suggesting he would like to get to the bottom of it.

Is there an appetite now for another investigation to go into the source of this -- into this probe to, again -- and many are saying this is not just for President Trump, but this is to protect all future presidents from something that's flimsy perhaps as what led to this investigation ever going down this path again.

BARRASSO: Well, Lindsey Graham, as you know, is a pit bull. He is going to dig into this and he's going to fight hard to find out what generated all of this.

For my part, as a senator from Wyoming, my focus continues to be jobs, the economy, national security, legislating. There's so much we need to do. We have a crisis at the border that I'm focused on as well. So, there are committees, the Select Committee on Intelligence that Chairman Burr is working on, along with Lindsey Graham on the Judiciary Committee.

I think they will get to the bottom of it as well.

PAYNE: Speaking of jobs, a lot of controversy over a procedural vote on the Green New Deal. Apparently, the folks who championed it, who said, we have got 12 years left before the planet implodes, are now vocally against any sort of vote on this.

Is this -- would it be a political gimmick? Or is it the best way that you can tell let the folks in America know where people stand on this?

BARRASSO: I think it's important to let the American people know where the Democrats and specifically the Democrats running for president stand on this.

But it does seem they want to duck it, they want to dodge it, they want to distance themselves from this so-called Green New Deal, which, as you know, Charles, is unworkable and unaffordable -- $93 trillion would -- the cost would empty everyone's savings account in America.

They're talking $65,000 a year would be the cost to the average family in America. Energy costs would go up about $3,800 per family every year, and it won't accomplish anything of what they really say they want to do in terms of actually changing emissions.

PAYNE: Right.

BARRASSO: The United States emissions have been dropping over the last 13 years.

And we're only 13 percent of the global emissions, Charles. China and India, they are 33 percent, and their emissions continue to go up.

PAYNE: Yes, it's remarkable that they don't want to go ahead with this vote, but probably will.

Senator Barrasso from Wyoming, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

BARRASSO: Thanks, Charles.

PAYNE: Hey, both sides digging in after the Mueller report, but what else do they want to find out?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: When it comes to the FISA warrant, the Clinton campaign, the counterintelligence investigation, it's pretty much been swept under the rug, except by a few Republicans in the House. Those days are over.

Going forward, hopefully in a bipartisan fashion, we will begin to unpack the other side of the story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: That was Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham early today on getting to the bottom of how the Russia investigation began.

He also wants to Attorney General William Barr to appear before his committee to discuss the Mueller report.

Let's get reaction from former federal prosecutor Jon Sale.

Jon, a lot of people now saying, we have gone through the Mueller investigation. It was a painful public relations issue because President Trump was really condemned over and over again in the media. Now let's circle back to find out why we were led down this path in the first place. Do you think that's a good idea?

JON SALE, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Charles, I woke up this morning thinking we're going to have a little bit of bipartisanship.

Well, that lasted about 30 seconds, until I turned on the television. I think yesterday was a great day for America. I mean, this charge of colluding with a foreign government, I mean, that's treason. That was very, very serious, and wonderful news.

Mueller, who's been held up to be an icon, found -- and he used the word found -- that there was no collusion with -- by the president, by anyone in the president's campaign. And we should all be celebrating that.

Representative Joe Kennedy about three weeks ago, certainly no friend of the president's, said he hoped that there would be a finding of collusion. So I thought we could all move on.

And so Mueller comes out with this report. And, once again, the people who have held him up as a deity are questioning the validity of it. So, there's no collusion. But now we turn to obstruction.

I don't understand frankly, why Mueller, who made a conclusion as to collusion, why he didn't make a judgment as to obstruction. I mean, that's his job. It's like a judge saying, hey, this -- this is too hard. This issue is just too hard. I'm not going to decide.

But he didn't decide. So the attorney general, together with Rod Rosenstein, the man who was talking about wearing a wire on the president, jointly decided there was no obstruction.

So it is exoneration for the president. So, I say, let's move on. Let's move on to working on the president's agenda best for the American people. But why have the Republicans look into the source of this, the Democrats look into the president, and nothing gets done?

But that's not going to happen.

PAYNE: That's not going to happen.

But are you -- are you -- in retrospect, though, are you satisfied that the FISA warrant, the issues that may have gone on with the Clinton campaign, the counterintelligence issues, particularly with the FBI and some of the higher-ranking agents there, and their obvious disdain and animosity for President Trump, that that shouldn't in some way be looked at in a deeper, more serious fashion, if, for nothing else, to really get -- after this conclusion from the Mueller report?

SALE: Sure. It's being looked at, from my understanding, by the inspector general, without any leaks, just like there were no leaks from Mueller.

And if there is a basis for it, those people should be held accountable. It's inexcusable behavior. But just like the president shouldn't have been prejudged, neither should they.

But I want to emphasize it's not the ordinary rank-and-file FBI agents...

PAYNE: Absolutely.

SALE: ... assistant U.S. attorneys. I mean, that wonderful, hardworking public servants.

PAYNE: Absolutely.

SALE: But, sure, but -- not only should it be looked into. It is being looked into.

PAYNE: So where do you think we go from here? We get -- Attorney General William Barr will appear on Capitol Hill at some time. Both parties will have a chance to talk with him to get maybe more information on this.

But it feels like -- despite what we are hearing and your disappointment, Jon, that it feels like maybe most people realize that this is over, that the Mueller investigation, with all its high hopes, was essentially a dry well with respect to collusion with Russia.

SALE: Well, it's not a dry well, if a special counsel does a thorough investigation and clears the president. That's not a dry well. They have done their job effectively.

Everyone's using the word transparency. I'm curious. I would love to know what's in the Mueller report. Frankly, I think we're going to be very disappointed. I don't think we're going to know. I think there are -- I could list.

If you had time, I could list quickly two or three reasons why we're going to see very little what's in the Mueller report.

PAYNE: Right.

SALE: This grand jury material, which, in Watergate, we went to court and get a court order to release that. That's not going to happen.

There's sources and methods. There's ongoing investigations. When all is said and done, despite what -- hey, the Congress passed this unanimously. I don't think that -- well, asking for disclosure of the whole thing. I don't think that's happened since George Washington.

PAYNE: Sure. Absolutely.

SALE: It's not going to happen. You're not going to see it.

PAYNE: No, it won't happen.

To your point -- and you don't have to be a legal scholar to know -- there's a lot in there that will be redacted no matter what

Jon, always appreciate your level-headed analysis of these things. Thank you very much.

SALE: Thank you, Charles.

PAYNE: Attorney Michael Avenatti arrested for allegedly trying to extort millions of dollars from one of America's most iconic companies.

And if the Mueller report was good news for the president, why -- why weren't stocks higher today?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: One lawyer, two cities and a whole bunch of federal charges.

Attorney Michael Avenatti expected in court at any moment, and he could be facing a lot of trouble.

To FOX's Laura Ingle with the latest -- Laura.

LAURA INGLE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey Charles.

Well, Michael Avenatti under arrest in New York and charged on the East and West Coast today on separate criminal charges, which could bring him nearly 100 years in prison if convicted on all of these counts.

Charged in the East by the U.S. attorney's office with the Southern District of New York with four counts involving extortion. Federal investigators say that Avenatti met with lawyers for the athletic company Nike last week and threatened to hold a press conference and release damaging information about the company, which he claimed would drive down the company's stock price and market value if it didn't agree to give him more than $20 million.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFFREY BERMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: By engaging in the conduct the alleged in the complaint, Avenatti wasn't acting as an attorney. A suit and tie doesn't mask the fact that, at its core, this was an old-fashioned shakedown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGLE: Nike releasing a statement to FOX, saying the company immediately reported the matter to federal prosecutors.

The company's statement reads in part: "Nike firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports, and will continue to assist the prosecutors."

In Los Angeles, the U.S. attorney also announced bank and wire fraud charges against Avenatti for allegedly defrauding a bank through fake tax returns and embezzling money from a client.

Avenatti is best known as the lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels, the porn star who claimed she had an affair with President Trump, a claim the president has denied.

Daniels fired Avenatti last month. When asked what he said about these new charges against Avenatti, the lawyer who represented President Trump in the Stormy Daniels matter said today -- quote -- "It's a great day for the American justice system" -- Charles.

PAYNE: Laura, thank you very much.

Now to Wall Street and a choppy session for stocks, as investors were all over the map, dealing with the fallout from the Mueller report and, of course, lingering fears over a global economic slowdown.

So what can we expect from the market going forward?

Let's ask market watchers Adam Lashinsky and Art Hogan.

Adam, let me start with you. Your thoughts?

ADAM LASHINSKY, FORTUNE: Well, hi, Charles.

This was undeniably a good day for President Trump. And the fact that the market didn't care, I think, is sort of a harsh judgment on both the global economy and what President Trump's impacts on the global economy are going forward.

They're -- the market is essentially saying, thanks for that tax cut way back when. What have you done for me lately?

PAYNE: Art, we should also point out then that this has been a remarkable year for the market. The worst performing index is the Dow, and that's up 9 percent. Nasdaq is up 15 percent.

So, the last two or three sessions notwithstanding, it's been a remarkable year.

ART HOGAN, MARKET STRATEGIST: It certainly has been.

And I think, if you go back to that December low that we put in, we're up closer to 20 percent, across the board the major indices. So, clearly, we have had a significant rebound.

And what the market is concerned about right now is getting some things right. And it feels like we're getting closer to getting China right on trade negotiations. Sounds like they're getting closer to the end of that process, which I think would be great for global growth. I think it would certainly be an inflection point for Chinese growth, which is going to help European growth and certainly help investors get more comfortable with where we are right now the marketplace.

So I think that's what we're looking at towards right now. The market is keenly focused on getting trade right with China. It feels like we're on the right path there. And there's light at the end of the tunnel.

PAYNE: Adam, for the past year, the two headline headwinds, if you will, were the Federal Reserve and China trade. The Fed is squarely on the side of investors right now.

So how important is it that we get a China trade deal?

LASHINSKY: Well, I think it's important, but I think the market already assumes that we're going to get a China trade deal, and, furthermore, that it's not going to be a particularly significant one.

The market wants certainty. The market really -- the market now really doesn't care if it's a good, significant, substantial deal. I think the market expects it. And so the fact that the market isn't doing much really speaks to the fact that the market is far more concerned about the global economy than it is about a trade deal.

PAYNE: Art, what do we do about this global economy? I mean, listen, our economy is doing relatively well. The numbers have come down, but still, compared to what we see in Germany, what we see in China, China has tried multiple different efforts to spark their economy.

How does the global economy turn around?

HOGAN: Yes, I think you hit it right on the head. I think the Chinese stimulus is starting to stabilize the Chinese economy. So I think the economic data we have seen coming out of China has stabilized.

I think, over the last two months, it's gotten to that point where we think that putting tariffs behind them would certainly help that stabilization, and help inflect light higher. I think a better Chinese economy is going to help the European economy in large part.

Germany needs a healthy Chinese economy for the exports that Germany moves into the Chinese economic system. So I clearly think this goes hand in glove. Get trade right. Get that inflection point right on the Chinese economy, and put tariffs behind us, and not have the U.S. immediately pivot to tariffs on European autos.

I think the global economy would be in a better place.

PAYNE: All right, gentlemen, thank you both very much. Appreciate it.

HOGAN: Thank you.

PAYNE: Pressure mounting for the entire Mueller report to be released.

Republican Senator John Kennedy joins me next on why he thinks the American public deserves to see it, and see it fast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: A win for billionaire Elon Musk. A federal judge dismissing a lawsuit by Tesla shareholders alleging that the company made misleading comments about the production status of its Model 3.

Back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHRIS STEWART, R-UTAH: I have always been in favor transparency. I have been saying for months that this report should be released. Get it all on the table. Let the American people see it. Let them draw their own conclusions. And I think that's better for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: Republican Congressman Chris Stewart joining "Cavuto Live" over the weekend on why he believes the entire Mueller report should be released to the public.

My next guest agrees that Americans deserve to be able to judge it for themselves.

Republican Senator from Louisiana John Kennedy joins me now.

Senator, thanks for joining us.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, R-LA.: You bet, Charles.

PAYNE: The House voted 420-0. President Trump said he would like to see it released. It's up to Attorney General William Barr.

So, perhaps it will be released.

KENNEDY: It'll be released, Charles, either voluntarily.

Or -- this is Washington, D.C. It'll leak. The real issue is whether it will leak in pieces or whether it will leak in toto.

Look, it will -- and once it is released, it'll probably be an active melodrama, in this sense. I read the attorney general's letter very carefully. I mean, here's the bottom line.

Mr. Mueller, after, what, two years, 2,800 subpoenas, Mr. Mueller and his team of 40 FBI agents and 19 lawyers said there was no conclusion. In terms of obstruction of justice, they said they couldn't draw any conclusions, but they weren't bringing or recommending an indictment -- an indictment.

This is over. Like the old Willie Nelson song says, turn out the lights. The party's over. It's time to move on. I'm hoping our Democratic friends will let us do that.

PAYNE: To that point, however, because of the breadth that you just laid out and you just described, Robert Mueller's team went after and looked after a lot of people. They went down every rabbit hole possible.

And there are some concerns out there that some folks whose names might have intersected with this report will be revealed and somehow that they could become either targets of scrutiny or just ridicule by the -- by the - - by politicians or the media.

So, just how -- how deeply should this be redacted? Because you have got national -- of course, we have got national security issues. You have got executive privilege. And we have folks who are innocent whose names might have popped up.

KENNEDY: I don't want to see anybody hurt.

But this -- it's important that this report be released to the American people. Now, for two years, we have heard rumors and innuendo and in some case outright allegations that the president is a crook, that the people around him are in bed with the Russians.

Now Mr. Mueller has drawn his conclusions, finding that there's -- there's no evidence of conclusion -- of the conclusion. And it's important that the American people be able to see that.

Part of the problem, Charles, with Washington, D.C., there are too many permanent Washington types up here that think they're smarter and more virtuous than the American people, and that they ought to be able to make decisions for the American people.

I trust the American people. Let them see the report. They will draw their own conclusions. But I think -- I think the attorney general's already told us what is in it.

PAYNE: So, Senator, are you concerned, though, that some of these political opponents of the president may just use this whole period, whether it's Barr coming to Capitol Hill, the release of the report, to just further the -- sort of the narrative that still something is wrong?

After all of these years, these last two years of saying that Mueller is the man and he's qualified and he's going to do a great job, do you feel like now maybe they will try to work very hard to discredit the whole process?

KENNEDY: Some of them will. I regret that. I hope I'm wrong, but some of them will.

But some Democrats, I would like to think, are going to be willing to move on. I mean, Mr. Mueller has spoken very, very clearly.

Let me say it again. There's no collusion. He's not bringing an indictment on obstruction of justice. It's over. It's time to move on. If you care about the American -- our country, the American country, and you want try to solve the real problems in this country, like, for example, the cost of health insurance...

PAYNE: Right.

KENNEDY: ... it's time to move on.

PAYNE: Yes.

KENNEDY: But will the Dems do it? I hope so, but probably not all of them will.

PAYNE: Well, they better put a finger in the air, because there might be some investigation fatigue out there.

Sir, always appreciate your wisdom. Thank you very much, Senator Kennedy.

KENNEDY: Thanks, Charles.

PAYNE: So, the White House waiting for an apology from Democrats on the Mueller report. Well, don't hold your breath.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: Adam Schiff should resign.

He has no right, as somebody who has been peddling alive day after day after day, unchallenged, unchallenged and not under oath. Somebody should have put him under oath and said, you have evidence, where is it?

RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No collusion. You would think they'd have the decency to say, I was wrong, I made a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: Members of the president's inner circle now calling on Adam Schiff to resign and say Democrats should apologize to the president after the report cleared him of any collusion.

So how likely is that to happen?

Joining me now, GOP strategist Kimberly Klacik, Democratic strategist Shavar Jeffries, and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

Ari, let me start with you.

Is there a chance that someone from the Democratic side of the aisle may say, hey, you know what, maybe we pushed it too far?

ARI FLEISCHER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: There is zero to zero percent chance of that happening.

No, none of them will do it. And the honorable course is to...

PAYNE: Do me -- hold on one second, Ari.

Let's go to Mitch McConnell. And we will come back to you guys.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

PAYNE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, starting off by saying the good news, let's conclusively put aside the notion that Russia was able -- the Trump administration and Trump surrogates colluded with Russia with the investigation -- or the election, rather.

I want to bring back our panel, GOP strategist Kimberly Klacik, Democratic strategist Shavar Jeffries, and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

Ari, let me start with you.

You just heard the comments from Senator -- Senator McConnell. Do you think that maybe Washington can put this behind them?

FLEISCHER: Oh, no, of course not.

Look, the anti-Trump sentiment is so deep and so central to everything that the Democrats are motivated by that they cannot put this beyond them. And they're already looking to the Southern District of New York to bail them out, take it to the next step, the next investigation.

The problem they have is, you can only cry wolf so much. And they have cried it too much for two years. So I think the public wants a pause. If there's any new findings, any new facts, the public will pay attention, but the politicians who are just bloviating on it, I think the public's going to blow right past them.

PAYNE: Shavar, your thoughts?

SHAVAR JEFFRIES, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, the president's clearly not entitled to any sort of apology.

At the time that the Republican deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, launched this investigation, there was significant evidence of contacts between senior Trump officials and Russian agents.

At this point, it's pretty much undisputed that the Russians did actively seek to undermine the 2016 presidential election. And the president himself, when he fired FBI Director Comey, said he fired him in part because he wanted to ensure that there wasn't a potential investigation into potential Russian collusion.

So, the full Mueller report should come out, so that the public can evaluate all of his findings. And if, in fact, what has been reported is true, then there can be some arguments about moving forward.

But until that full report comes out, there's much information that has to -- remains to be seen.

PAYNE: Well, Kimberly -- Kimberly, I mean, I don't think a lot of people would agree with Shavar with respect to how abundant and obvious the information was that launched this investigation.

In fact, there's calls to investigate the FISA warrant itself and the credibility of it.

KIMBERLY KLACIK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Oh, absolutely.

And I would like to point out, first of all, the president does need an apology, not just from the Democrats, but from the media and all those that ran with this story. It was clearly a hoax from the beginning.

But I wanted to point out, we can recall when the president said that he believed that Trump Towers and his campaign was being tapped, wiretapped, bugged. And he was correct about that. And he blamed the Obama administration for that.

So I would love for this full report to come out, because I want to see all the facts also. Mitch made a great point. I think, once we do see what comes out, I think we should take a look and see whether or not Mueller knew these answers before today.

If he knew these answers before midterms, I would like to know, because I believe the Democrats won the House because of this pending investigation. So, that, in itself, really is meddling with an election, if you want my opinion it.

PAYNE: That's a great thought there.

Ari, Mitch McConnell saying, we did get a deep examination of Russian interference, and it probably should be noted that it occurred under President Obama's watch.

FLEISCHER: Well, that's right. President Obama certainly didn't deter or didn't frighten Vladimir Putin. He didn't make it as, if you mess with us, you're going to be in big trouble, so don't do it.

I think Vladimir Putin saw Barack Obama as a swinging open door and he just pushed it open and came on in. That was the genesis of where this started.

But what Russia did, Russia is a malignant actor around the world. And we, as Americans, do have to unify against Russia. An attack on one political party is attack on all political parties. And that is something I want to see in the Mueller report.

But the other thing, Charles, that it has got to get to the bottom of is, what did Barack Obama know and what and when did he authorize it? To spy on an opponent's political campaign is extraordinary. It's unprecedented to unleash the full powers of the FBI against a political campaign.

PAYNE: Right.

FLEISCHER: It was done here.

And the FBI and Justice wouldn't do it without authorization from the White House. I can assure you of that.

PAYNE: Folks, we have to wrap this up, of course, the breaking news with Senator McConnell.

We will reconvene in another time. We appreciate everyone's opinion. Thank you. Thank you very much.

KLACIK: Thank you.

PAYNE: Hey, forget 2016.

Is the Mueller report already impacting 2020? Some presidential hopefuls having a lot to say on the matter. And we will discuss it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want the whole damn report, because nobody, especially this president, is above the law.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, D-N.Y., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Mueller report must be made public, all of it.

BETO O'ROURKE, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our democracy was attacked, attacked by a foreign power. And I think we have got to see if it was also attacked from within by somebody who sought to assume power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: Well, so 2020 presidential candidates having a lot to say about the Mueller report over the weekend.

Now that collusion is ruled out, how will the report impact the 2020 race?

Joining me now, The Washington Examiner's Melissa Quinn.

They want the entire report, Melissa, knowing that, of course, it's ridiculous, because, no matter what, we won't get a chance to see all of it.

MELISSA QUINN, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Yes, I think this is a debate that is really just starting.

Like you said earlier, there are a number -- I think, in fact, all of the declared 2020 presidential candidates who are running as Democrats have come out and said, we want to see the full report.

That really does ensure that the debate surrounding the Mueller probe, as well as the findings of it, which I think many people will agree bode very well for the president, are kept in the national conversation, particularly as election season really ramps up, we head to the primaries and eventually the general election.

PAYNE: Well, we have had two Republican senators on this show today. They're fine with it. They want it released -- 420 to zip a vote in the House to release it.

President Trump saying he's fine with it being released. So I don't see where there could be a conspiracy to hold this information back from the American public. Do you think, at some point, William Barr will release as much as he can?

QUINN: Yes.

And the attorney general has said as much, that he does want to make as much of the report public as he is legally allowed to do. I think the fact that you do have the president of the United States, who is obviously a central figure in this two-year-long investigation, him saying that he's fine with the report's full release, he said earlier today that it doesn't bother him at all.

That certainly bolsters the argument for why as much of the report as possible should be made available to the American public.

PAYNE: Let me ask you, Melissa.

A week ago, USA Today had a poll where 50 percent felt that the Mueller investigation, that President Trump was a victim of the Mueller investigation. They called it a witch-hunt. This is USA Today.

Could these Democrats be overplaying their hand now that the conclusion has been made by a man, Mueller that they said was the best man for the job, and now this looks like sour grapes?

QUINN: Well, the findings of the report, no collusion between members of the Trump campaign or any American with Russia, certainly puts these Democratic presidential candidates in sort of a tricky position.

On one hand, you have the Democratic base, the activists who really want to see all of the president's actions, including those surrounding the 2016 presidential campaign, investigated in earnest. And they want to see Congress and particularly the Democrat-led House undertaken those efforts.

PAYNE: If two years isn't in earnest, I'm not sure what is.

(LAUGHTER)

PAYNE: Thank you very much, Melissa. Appreciate it.

QUINN: Thank you.

PAYNE: The Mueller report found no evidence of Russian collusion. But Democrats aren't slowing down investigations any time soon. We're going to talk to one next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Since the Mueller report found no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, can Congress switch their focus from investigation to legislation?

Let's ask Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Stephen Lynch. He joins us now.

Congressman, thanks for joining us.

What will your focus be from -- going forward? Do you still want to dwell on what's going on with the Mueller report, or is it time to move forward with this country?

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH, D-MASS.: Well, I would like to read it, if I could, and then see some of the underlying evidence that was important to the decisions that were made.

PAYNE: It's going to be tough, though, to relitigate it. It feels like maybe some of your colleagues are preparing to assault the credibility of the report, or to try to open up different avenues of investigation.

And is that sort of a waste of time, after all of these years, the millions of dollars, and a huge distraction that this has been for the American public?

LYNCH: Well, ironically, it was the president who was attacking the investigation from the outset.

And we still believe, we give great credibility to Bob Mueller's investigation. He spent almost two years on it. We would like the opportunity to read the entire report and then see the underlying evidence that he relied upon on making those decisions.

PAYNE: Do you think, though perhaps someone, for instance, like a Representative Nadler, who seems already -- he's got a list of 81 folks he's asked her for information from.

Some of those names, some of those requests may become subpoenas at any moment now, that he's already made up his mind that he's going to launch additional investigations, no matter what reads -- what we read in the Mueller report?

LYNCH: I'm not sure about Judiciary.

I know, from our standpoint, I'm the chair of the National Security Subcommittee on Oversight. So we have specific issues that we want to look at. And we have been holding them in abeyance, waiting for special counsel Mueller's report to be concluded.

PAYNE: Sir, I want to also ask you about the Green New Deal, a vote coming on that. It's a cornerstone -- it's a central cornerstone of the Republicans (sic) who are running for president.

And yet a lot of -- a lot of Democrats are pretty upset and frustrated that there's going to be a vote on this. I thought they would want to be on the record for supporting this.

LYNCH: Yes, well, right now, it's -- in our -- in the House, it's a nonbinding resolution.

So it's more aspirational than anything. It's not -- it's not actually a bill that's going to do anything. It's sort of a sense of Congress type resolution.

So I do realize that maybe some in the Senate are not ready to embrace that, but I think that, to be honest with you, it is merely aspirational and sets some goals out there, rather than actually does anything.

PAYNE: Right.

Sir, thank you very much. We appreciate you coming on, and your -- and your -- and what you had to tell us today. It was really impressive.

LYNCH: Thank you, Charles.

PAYNE: Folks, I will be back on tomorrow FOX Business at 2:00 p.m. Make sure you catch "Making Money."

The market has been in some turmoil. I will try to turn it around.

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