Solomon: FBI email chain may show evidence of FISA abuses

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," December 5, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: All right. Tucker, thank you.

All right. Welcome to “Hannity”.

Tonight, we have major breaking news. The Hill's John Solomon tonight has just uncovered smoking gun new evidence of FISA abuse committed at the highest levels of James Comey's FBI including a damning e-mail chain. Coming up, we are going to show you the damning new discoveries.

Also tonight, the Mueller witch-hunt is apparently winding down. The mainstream media is praying, hard, for the bombshell that they're not getting.

And in just moments, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the special counsel's brand new report on Lieutenant General Michael Flynn. They are going back to the 1600, 1700s. I'll explain.

And an American hero's life was ruined over a process crime? While many top Democrats, they got away scot-free with much worse. Tonight, we'll show you some disgusting remarks from a prominent senator we were just talking about that thinks we the people are pretty stupid.

And later, we'll bring you the latest chapter in the war on Christmas -- get this -- featuring a far left pastor putting the Baby Jesus in a cage to protest President Trump. Unbelievable.

And we'll play a powerful tribute to President George Herbert Walker Bush.

Stay tuned. We begin with our breaking news opening monologue.

(MUSIC)

HANNITY: All right. Little thing about me, I grew up in a house 50 by 100 lot, surrounded by law enforcement everywhere. My mom was a prison guard for 25 years. My father, he was a family court probation officer.

Many, many cousins were on the New York police department. And my two relatives that made it to the FBI, they were considered deity. Not kidding.

But tonight, I'm shocked and frankly saddened by what is corruption and abuse of power at the very top of America's most trusted institutions. Now, breaking tonight, "The Hill's" John Solomon has yet -- just dropped yet another bombshell on James Comey's FBI.

And according to "The Hill" and his report, newly unearthed e-mails show that top DOJ, FBI officials that they engaged in a willful and organized effort to defraud a FISA court judge prior to the 2016 election. Now, we have talked about this but we never had these e-mails.

This all surrounds the FISA warrant application and the subsequent renewal applications of Trump campaign associate Carter Page. According to those newly uncovered e-mails, we now know the basis for this warrant was the Clinton bought and paid for dirty dossier. Remember the bulk of evidence.

Now, James Comey, along with other top DOJ officials and FBI officials knew the evidence presented in the dossier was shady at best. This is what Solomon has uncovered tonight. The e-mail exchanges show that the FBI were aware before they secured the now infamous warrant that there were intelligent community concerns about the reliability of the main evidence used to support it. That being the Hillary Clinton, Christopher Steele Russian dossier.

And according to Solomon, the FBI was fully aware that Steele was, quote: had contacts with news media reporters before the FISA warrant was even secured. Now, remember, the FBI attempted to bolster its FISA application. Remember they used what we call circular reporting, Yahoo News.

By the way, they knew the source was Christopher Steele. So, it's really just one source but they like to create the impression for the court that there is multiple sources. No, that's circular reporting.

So, to say recap, the FBI under President Obama, they got a warrant to spy on Trump campaign associate Carter Page at the height of the 2016 election. In order to achieve this feat, well, they had presented the FISA court judge with evidence that we now know that the FBI knew was sketchy and knew was not verified and they themselves had doubt about it ever being true. Now, they knew the evidence was bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton, that was withheld from the FISA court judges. And the evidence was bolstered with the circular media reporting that the FBI knew Christopher Steele was behind.

But, as we now know, that's not how so-called evidence was presented to the FISA court. So, tonight, the smoking gun evidence that the leadership under FBI committed a complete and total fraud on the FISA courts by presenting the court Hillary's bought and paid Russian dossier as real intelligence and they hid the fact that the other evidence was nothing more than circular reporting. They knew it all. The e-mail chain shows it all.

Now, the evidence shows a serious miscarriage of justice, a serious abuse of power. It should shock every American, especially in light of yesterday's news. And this Friday, James Comey will testify before the House Judiciary Committee. Hopefully, he will be held accountable.

Now, we did reach out to the FBI and James Comey for comment, have yet to receive a response. John Solomon will join us with more on devastating new report in a minute.

But, first, we do turn to the mainstream media's obsession of the week once again featuring Robert Mueller's partisan witch-hunt and special counsel memo on Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, well, many in the press are yet again predicting an end to the Trump presidency. It's going on for two years. It hasn't happened yet. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to tell you one thing I take away, there's about a size 16 shoe going to drop here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My takeaway was that Bob Mueller and his people have a substantial case going here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone who is in Flynn's orbit either before those -- the election, during the transition and few weeks that Flynn is the national security advisor is worried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here in Trump land tonight, and these documents come down, how do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm wigging out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that he is saying senior government leaders should be held to the highest standards, I would be a little nervous if I were the people involved in the obstruction of justice investigation, starting, of course, with the president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right. Despite the hysteria, predictable hysteria, you just saw the latest Mueller memo does not contain any Watergate-like revelations, not even close.

Here are the facts: the Mueller memo makes references to Lieutenant General Flynn violating -- this is how deep they had to dig here -- violating the Logan Act. The Logan Act is an archaic law that was passed, get this, in 1799 and it was only responsible for two indictments in the 1800s.

Now, he was also allegedly been investigated for violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act or FARA, as it's called, which was used only seven times since it became law in 1966. This is how -- it's all in that memo that we had last night. This is how desperate and how pathetic Robert Mueller is.

Now, remember, Lieutenant General Flynn was first a victim of a crime himself because they knew nothing about General Flynn except that they illegally surveilled him, illegally unmasked him. They put aside the -- what we now call you are supposed to do mitigating. They're supposed to literally, once an American is on the line, you are not supposed to identify them. And then raw intelligence on General Flynn was leaked.

And that illegally leaked information was then used against him by team Mueller. Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, well, he pled guilty to a process crime. That's true. You can't get him on any underlying crimes about collusion with Russia and lying to Mueller's investigators neither Comey didn't think he lied, McCabe didn't think he lied and Peter Strzok who interviewed him, he never thought Lieutenant General Flynn was lying.

He pleaded guilty only after he had legal bills that were wrecking his finances, forcing him to sell his family home, nearly going bankrupt. And in all likelihood, he was told investigators would go after his son who he did business with. So, he fell on the sword in that case.

Is that what justice in America is supposed to look like to you? What about Mr. Mueller? Are you happy about this? Is this what we get after your 567-day investigation? This guy served his country 33 years, five years in combat.

According to the memo, Flynn agreed to cooperate with the Mueller investigation but the details of that cooperation are redacted. However, the memo does detail zero evidence of collusion, none, zero once again.

And while an American military hero's life has been wrecked for a process crime, we'll take a look at those on the left. Do you see those people there? Well, seemingly will never be prosecuted for their lying.

Longtime Clinton aide Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin -- remember, they lied to the FBI about Hillary Clinton's private e-mail system. DOJ official Bruce Ohr or Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson likely lied. How do we know? Because they gave completely contradictory testimony.

Then we have dirty dossier author Christopher Steele, he was fired from the FBI for lying. That didn't stop him from trying to work with Bruce Ohr and feed special counsel Mueller more of his phony lies in the course of this investigation. James Clapper lied under oath about the national surveillance program. So, too, did John Brennan as he also likely lied about -- under oath about leaking.

And we know James Comey lied to Congress about when he wrote the report exonerating Clinton and Comey's second in command Andrew McCabe was fired because of a long pattern of lying. Don't forget Lois Lerner lied to investigators about the IRS scandal. Obama's A.G. Loretta Lynch lied about talking to anyone on the Clinton campaign about the FBI's Clinton probe. And another Obama A.G. Eric Holder lied under oath on multiple occasions.

But rest assured, Robert Mueller can now sleep well at night after taking down a decorated military hero who dedicated his entire adult life to public service, 33 years serving his country, five of those years in the field of battle. Great job, Mr. Mueller. I'm sure America is feeling a lot safer tonight now that lieutenant general Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI when the FBI never thought he lied.

Now, later this week, by Friday, Mueller is expected to file new memos on Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort who have also been accused of violating their plea deal. Now, still the only thing in common with Flynn, Manafort and Cohen is that their cases similarly have absolutely nothing to do with Trump-Russia collusion, period. We are dealing with taxi medallions and loan applications and taxes from back in 2007. And we'll have a lot more later on the show with that.

But, first, with the details from his breaking news report is "The Hill's" John Solomon.

All right. Let's start at the beginning here. Because we have talked a lot about these issues but tonight's news is different, because we have now discovered a long e-mail chain. Is that a proper way to characterize it?

JOHN SOLOMON, THE HILL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yes. That's how it's been described to me. That's correct, Sean.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Just to get it set up, whose names are on this e-mail chain?

SOLOMON: Well, I'm told that James Comey is one of them, that there are people from the national security division of the Justice Department and that there are key players that were the obvious people involved in the FBI. I don't have their names, working at various points on the Russia investigation.

So, it's a large group of people trying to get ready to get this FISA warrant submitted to the court and there are two or three very important revelations. One is that James Comey is involved in discussions. Two, there is mention in these e-mails that the intelligence community, possibly the NSA or another agency, had concerns about the quality of the intelligence in the Steele dossier. And, three, that there were pretty significant worries, concerns that Christopher Steele had already begun talking to the news media.

This is before they filed a FISA warrant, before they fire him. If all those things are true, if the FBI had not corroborated and there were concerns about the Steele dossier, if they knew that Steele had talked to Yahoo News and then Yahoo News has used as a corroborating piece of evidence for the dossier, these are serious issues that would be misleading the court with this information by portraying it as something more solid than it is.

And, you know, we learned all about this from two appearances on Fox News over the holiday week. Devin Nunes showed up on Maria Bartiromo's show and your show and he said, hey, I kind of amended my request for the declassification. No one followed up. So, we started of requesting questions and we followed up there is e-mail trail and it may be some of the more damning and belated produced evidence that may suggest wrongdoing at the FBI.

HANNITY: Let's go through this slowly.

SOLOMON: Sure.

HANNITY: We have evidence that you have uncovered, e-mail chains from these people at the FBI and DOJ that are at the top levels.

SOLOMON: Right.

HANNITY: And what we now know is that they knew that this was not verified, this dossier. They knew that -- they knew where it came from, that Hillary had paid for it, they never took the time to verify it themselves.

SOLOMON: Right.

HANNITY: And rather than do their due diligence, they went along and just decided that they wanted to get the FISA warrant and they committed what is ultimately a conscious fraud on the court. Is that a fair question?

SOLOMON: I think that's the question and allegation that has to be further investigated. Until we see the actual language of this e-mail, I don't want to pass judgment. I can tell you people who have seen it or been involved with that e-mail say directly it's amongst the most damning evidence of wrongdoing by the FBI.

If those people see it, and if Devin Nunes thought it was important to bother the evidence and ask him to declassify this among the other documents, I think we should assume it's a very important piece of evidence.

HANNITY: So, how could anybody justify not telling the court key pieces of information? Before -- you know, we have a quote of Rod Rosenstein, it was back in may when he said when you are talking about a FISA, you know, you have a career of law enforcement official. And they put their signature, that's the full faith and credibility that they are putting behind that warrant.

SOLOMON: Yes.

HANNITY: But they never verified it and now we know that they even suspected themselves that none of it was true in many ways. But it never stopped them because their desire to get that warrant far exceeded a desire to do it in a -- use the proper process and processes and do due diligence and they wanted it more than they wanted to follow the law. And they purposefully kept information that is pertinent from the judges. That's fair, right?

SOLOMON: Yes. I think that's definitely -- I think that is now not in dispute anymore.

Let's think about what we know, Sean, for sure indisputable. The core evidence for the FISA warrant, that's Andy McCabe's description. Without it, we would not have pursued the FISA warrant, came from a product paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party to try to destroy Donald Trump in the final months of the election.

We know that the people who handle that evidence prepared and tried to rush it through the FBI to the court were two agents who on their own said they wanted to stop Donald Trump from becoming president. We know the person who created the dossier doesn't stand by it. He says he knew it was uncorroborated intelligence when he submitted it and he himself despise Donald Trump.

And despite all that, and now the NSA or some other intelligence community agency having concerns about the dossier, and the FBI knowing the journalists they were going to use corroborating --

HANNITY: Last question --

SOLOMON: -- all of that, all of that now is not disputed and we think this is a good product. I think that's the question that we need to have answered. Why did this move forward with all of these flaws?

HANNITY: These just aren't flaws. They knew it was fraudulent and their desire to get Trump I would argue far exceeds it by other evidence.

So, now, the question is the president before the election talked about unredacting and releasing the FISA application.

SOLOMON: Right.

HANNITY: That has not happened yet. Gang of 8 information, that has not happened yet. The 302s with Bruce Ohr and Christopher Steele, that has not happened yet.

SOLOMON: Right.

HANNITY: And the president recently said, well, I might do it at the appropriate time if this is the fight that the Democrats in Congress want to have. But this is the fourth bucket as we call it that Devin Nunes was talking about that everybody knew.

SOLOMON: Right.

HANNITY: Everybody knew this was phony -- this basically they created and fabricated a lie at worst, a story to the court and withheld exculpatory information that would have prevented any judge from ever granting a FISA warrant. Why won't the president release it?

SOLOMON: So I think his lawyers and he have come up with a prudent concept. My reporting indicates that he is still as committed as ever to releasing these documents.

But, listen, the first thing that will vindicate the president is if Robert Mueller finishes his investigation. The president is not charged with any crimes, right? He wants to get this over with. He is fearful and his lawyers are fearful if he releases the documents before then, he will be accused of tampering or trying to sway the investigation at the last minute.

It's on a wind down. Let it wind down is what the president and his lawyers I think are thinking, according to my reporting. And then we can he have this debate about how this thing originated and all the flaws that occurred and try to make sure it doesn't happen again to some other person in the future. I think that's the process he is following.

HANNITY: John Solomon, great reporting. Thank you.

SOLOMON: Thank you, Sean.

HANNITY: This is huge. We'll have more on this later in the show.

All right. Yesterday during a conference in Washington, Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono explaining why Democrats have a hard time connecting with voters. They're just too smart. We'll get to that in a minute.

But, first, joining us is former speaker of the House, author of the bestseller Trump's America: The Truth About Our Nation's Great Comeback, Newt Gingrich.

All right. When you read this thing on General Flynn, we find out, OK, that there are only two known instances in which individuals have been indicted for violating the Logan Act, the last of which came at 1853. And neither indictment resulted in conviction.

And the other one is mentioned is the FARA law and we know that the DOJ issued a report that tallied all the prosecutions under FARA since 1966. That would be seven cases with one conviction.

Is this how deep we go to get a guy that served 33 years in the military, that the FBI didn't believe was lying?

NEWT GINGRICH, R-FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Sure. I mean, look. You have to understand Mueller is not involved in an investigation. Mueller has a Trump destruction project. He brought on a team, all of them dedicated to destroying Trump. They have done everything they could to destroy Trump.

And part of that technique, which, frankly, Sidney Powell described brilliantly in her book, "License to Lie", about the Justice Department. Part of that technique is you throw the kitchen sink. You basically threaten somebody and say I'm going to bankrupt you, I'm going to put your son in jail, I am going to charge with you so many different crimes you will never get out from under it. Now would you like to talk?

And when you have the full power of the federal government against you, it's pretty tough not to try to find a way to get him off your back. It has nothing to do with the truth. It has nothing to do with justice. And, Mueller, I think, in a really sad -- historians some day will comment that this was one of the most extraordinary efforts to undo the will of the American people by an established bureaucracy and its establishment friends that we have seen in all of American history.

I want to make one point just to put this in context. Donald Trump after 92 percent negative coverage for two years, 92 percent negative coverage for two years is somewhere between 44 and 48 percent approval, depending on the poll. Ronald Reagan about this point in 1983 was at 35 percent. The fact is that Macron, the wonder boy of France, is now down to 25 or 26 percent and just had the worst riots in Paris in 50 years.

So, the whole notion that Mueller is now the person who is going to go out and save America by destroying the president, I think is an anti-constitutional effort by the organized left.

HANNITY: So, John Solomon just breaks this sorry. Now, we knew they didn't verify the dossier and it was not corroborated, which is part of their protocol and also part of the law. But now we see an e-mail chain where they knew it had massive credibility problems.

This is what he discovered, an e-mail change with all these people names in it that shows they knew there was problem to the very evidence -- the bulk of evidence that was used to obtain the FISA warrants in the FISA application and they withheld all of that exculpatory information from the judges, as well as who paid for it which was Hillary and how it was a political document.

How can they get away with that abuse of power?

GINGRICH: Well, because they're the establishment. They are the fix. They are the insiders. They are the guys that The New York Times and The Washington Post and all the networks except for Fox all surround and protect them. They operated on a premise, and, of course, they all thought Hillary was going to win.

So, they never thought this was going to come to light. They thought they were helping the winner. And I think it was an enormous shock election night to suddenly start -- for Comey in particular -- to suddenly start realizing that his neck was on the line. He had been breaking the law, but he always thought he would be protected. Everybody near the Clintons have been protected as you pointed out.

HANNITY: All right. Comey's chain is on this e-mail chain. He was on the e-mail chain. He signed off on that.

GINGRICH: Of course. You had the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation actively trying to destroy a presidential candidate. You have the former head of the FBI, Bob Mueller, actively trying to destroy the president of the United States.

I mean, as a point here, and I know it's frustrating, but the fact is, this is a clear cut drama. They hate him. They want to destroy him. It has nothing to do with the truth and nothing to do with the law.

HANNITY: There's no -- if we don't get everyone else that lied that we know lied under oath, if Hillary is never held accountable. You can say we have no equal justice or application or laws. That's the scary part for every American.

Mr. Speaker, thank you.

When we come back, a one-on-one shootout, me versus Geraldo Rivera about immigration.

Also later, we've got an update to tell you about. Remember the teacher ruining Christmas for five and six-year-olds? Oh, you won't believe it and one church literally put what is a statue of the baby Jesus in a cage to make a political statement against Donald Trump, shocking, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. The Daily Caller reporting that illegal immigrant previously deported, get this, eight times has been arrested for murder in the United States and meanwhile, yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down legislation that makes it a crime to encourage illegal immigration, ruling the law violates free speech and a Massachusetts state judge is now suspected of helping an illegal immigrant flee ICE.

And as we previously reported on this show, congresswoman, there she is, Pramila Jayapal, who participates in the writing of the nation's laws -- well, she went and met the caravan, met up with them in Tijuana and escorted several migrants across the country. Isn't that nice of them?

And joining us now, FOX News correspondent at large, Geraldo Rivera.

Geraldo, let me just read this to you a little bit here. We talked about family separation and all the issues involving immigration, well, number one, we have a study that shows $70,000 per year the American taxpayer pays for every illegal immigrant. We have also 63 percent of illegal immigrants get some form of government assistance.

But look at this one case. Here we have, you know, a guy that had been deported eight times now commits a murder with a guy he works with at a creamery.

Geraldo, you get so worked up. I want a wall. I want to vet people. I want to make sure they can take care of themselves and not a burden on the American taxpayer.

We need the wall. And I think it would be good for people on both sides.

GERALDO RIVERA, CORRESPONDENT: I think that you and I together, Sean, bridge the spectrum on this issue. We both want the wall. I think that the wall will bring order to the border. It won't solve the problem particularly of the drug cartels and the professional criminals, but it will stop some of the kind of chaos that we have seen recently with the migrant caravan.

All I am asking is for compassion for the youngsters brought here at a tender age by their parents through no fault of their own. If the president can win the wall, the Congress funding of the $5 billion down payment for the wall, then I think the Democrats in Congress, it is incumbent on them to compromise if they want the Dreamers to get the pathway to citizenship.

There is a compromise there. This issue is fraught with emotion. You mentioned the fellow who deported eight times and kills his colleague at work there.

HANNITY: By the way, a weekend before, a young teacher in Texas, same story.

RIVERA: Horrible. But there are, for instance--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Kate Steinle.

RIVERA: -- within the sound of my voice here in the heart of Manhattan, there are a million undocumented immigrants within just this the radius here, just the radius of New York City. You never hear about them, why? Because they commit fewer crimes than citizens, Sean. They are people. They just wanting to feed their children. They just want the American dream. They live in desperately poor countries. They come because they are hungry and they are afraid.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Geraldo, wait a minute. I can sympathize with that, but look at the study that we have out. A majority of non-citizens, even those with legal green cards are tapping into welfare programs to the tune of six -- this is according to the census bureau, 63 percent, the last reporting year 2014, non-citizens using welfare programs and it grows to 70 percent for those here 10 years or more.

So, it is costing us a fortune number one. It compromises our safety, number two. It puts a burden on our criminal justice system, educational system and healthcare system.

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: I do agree.

HANNITY: Where is the sympathy for the American people? We deserve to be protected first before we start thinking about helping other people in other countries.

RIVERA: See, your viewers know you as the tough guy. And, you know, you have a very strong commitment to patriotism and I love you for it, you are my brother. You know that when immigrants come to this country, they come poor. They come because they are the wretched masses yearning to breathe free.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Geraldo, we have poor Americans--

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: They come because--

HANNITY: -- that we need to take on first.

RIVERA: Or the Jew suffering from the programs.

HANNITY: Why don't we take care ever the poor Americans first--

RIVERA: But--

HANNITY: -- and then maybe we can think about helping with our generosity. There's never been a country that accumulated more country and advanced it for human good than this one.

RIVERA: The fellow you mentioned that killed his friend there, if you mention that, in fairness there are 10 million or 11 million undocumented immigrants. Why not we talk about the 9,999,000 who did nothing but go to work and take care of their children and make their community a safer place. I think it's unfair when we take these--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: OK. How about those--

RIVERA: -- anecdotes and we scare people with them.

HANNITY: Will they pay for their own vetting? Will they also guarantee that they won't be a burden on the American taxpayer? Are those two fair--

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: You know, they'll pay--

HANNITY: Are those two conditions fair?

RIVERA: Enrico Fermi, Albert Einstein, all immigrants, they come here.

HANNITY: You are not answering. Should they pay for their own vetting and should they--

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: You know, they will, you can bill them by the second generation, they will be totally assimilated. By the third generation they won't even speak their native language anymore.

HANNITY: Seventy thousand dollars a year per--

RIVERA: This is a nation of immigrants. We need a combination of pragmatism and compassion.

HANNITY: All right. Geraldo, you get the last word.

RIVERA: Thanks.

HANNITY: When we come back, Rush Limbaugh calling out the phony mainstream media. Jenna Bush Hager explaining how a magazine cover that called her grandfather a wimp impacted her. And I'll address that and much more. A Hannity mini monologue. And then later how one church is politicizing Christmas. You won't believe it.

And we have an update on that teacher that said to five and six-year-olds that Santa doesn't exist. By the way, kids, fake news. It wasn't true. Update on that teacher straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Now unhinged 24/7 destroy-Trump anti-Trump media continues to lose curability by the second, especially as they use the passing of President George H.W. Bush to attack President Trump. Unfortunately, they are just behaving as I told you that they would and that the subject of tonight's mini monologue.

All right. So as the nation mourns the loss of President George H.W. Bush, well many in the media they continue to use his death and incredible legacy to denigrate President Trump, their tactics are getting more disturbing as they move on.

Just look at how the mainstream media went after the president for paying his respects to the late 41st commander-in-chief. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could not help as an American having lived for the last three and a half years or three years or two years specially to apply words to moments over those last two years, and go, wow, wouldn't it have been nice and different if.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It became uncomfortable when every one of the people who eulogized the 41st president talked about civility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talked about generosity. You could feel the un -- I mean, it was a contrast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Prince Charles has felt more comfortable in New Guinea than this president felt here today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is not one to mend fences, too readily. I think he is doing this because he feels he has to do it. I can't help but wonder if there was a thought bubble over Donald Trump's head just now what he was thinking as he stood there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to imagine he was thinking how much longer do I have to stand here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Pretty shameful, sickening, but not at all surprising. Now Rush Limbaugh appearing with our own Shannon Bream. He didn't hold back in calling out this media hypocrisy. Just take a look at what Rush says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, TALK SHOW HOST: It's phony. They never treated him this way when he was president. They were vicious to him like they are vicious and partisan to every Republican. I think it's just a vehicle for them, Shannon, to be able to contrast what they think Trump is versus the way they are telling us Bush was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right. You see what's going on. Like we saw with Senator McCain, most in the mainstream media they do a complete 180, forgetting their once vicious and nasty coverage like when Senator McCain was running for president.

New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin who will join us in a moment wrote a column this week entitled, Democrats do, really do love Republicans - when they're dead. And Goodwin exposes just how low the press will sink to try and score cheap political points against their political enemies.

And by the way, these tactics have serious implications. For example, President Bush's granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager, she is opening up about how nasty the media can be reflecting on Newsweek's infamous wimp cover of her grandfather from decades ago. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA BUSH HAGER, GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S GRANDDAUGHTER: He spoke softly and he didn't speak about himself. He was humble. But why did that have to equate to being a wimp? And it didn't to us. He was our hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: If you are not outspoken and you are soft-spoken you are a wimp. Otherwise you are Donald Trump and you're too abrasive. All part of a pattern, smear a person's name when they are alive. Create a veneer of bipartisanship and unity once they passed just so they can attack their new political enemies. In this case furthering to bludgeoned Donald Trump.

Here with reaction, Fox News contributor New York Times columnist, Michael Goodwin is with us, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, also a Fox News contributor. Here it is, "Dems love Republicans - when they're dead." Michael Goodwin, the fact is it's true.

MICHAEL GOODWIN, CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it is sad, Sean, you are right. And as I point out in the column this all sounds similar. The -- he is a hero. He is a genuine gentleman. He is a patriot. He is a great American. And they said the same thing about John McCain when he was in his coffin. But when they were alive the same media attacked them relentlessly, accused them of racism. Of, you know, stirring up fomenting trouble everywhere. It's going and taking the country backwards.

They attacked their Supreme Court nominees with the same way that Brett Kavanaugh was attacked.

HANNITY: Yes.

GOODWIN: So, there is a pattern, except when they die, then suddenly they were the great Americans. In this case, of course, they are being used, virtues are being used against Donald Trump. So, it's really a double whammy for the Democrats in this day and age.

HANNITY: They did the same thing with Ronald Reagan, John McCain, Ari, with 41 and 43. You're very close to the Bush family. You were there when they were bludgeoning 43. I mean, that was a daily -- I didn't think it could get worse but it's gotten worse.

ARI FLEISCHER, CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.

HANNITY: You know, let me put it this way. When I die all you liberals out there that hate me don't change what you really think of me. Just say it. Just be honest. It's cool. It's going to be all right. 'm going to give you a pass from heaven if I'm ever invited in.

FLEISCHER: Sean, you know, here's the one that to me speaks volumes. And that was the New York Times when George H.W. Bush as president went to visit a trade show and saw an absolute brand-new technology for scanning products at a supermarket. Nobody had seen it before.

And the New York Times story front page, Bush encounters the supermarket, amazed. Here is the lead of the story. The career politician who lived the cloistered life of a top Washington bureaucrat for decades is having trouble presenting himself to the electorate as a man in touch with middle class life.

This now is the man that New York Times and others are holding up as a role model for all Americans because of his goodness, because of his principle, because of his civility. They mocked him relentlessly, and the thing about that story it was 100 percent fabrication. That never happened. The New York Times wasn't even at the event and that was not what Bush was amazed about. And the New York Times was writing up--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Well, Dan Rather lied about 43.

FLEISCHER: They haven't corrected it yet. That's correct. Dan Rather lied about 43. Fabricated information about Bush.

GOODWIN: Correct.

HANNITY: Well, let me ask you. So, if you are soft-spoken like 41 you are a wimp in the media's eyes. If you are iconoclastic and combative like Donald Trump you are a, you know, a bruit and this is unacceptable to the office. So, you can't win, can you? And now all of the sudden now they hated 43, Ari, now they love him. Now, he's -- we'd take him back in a minute. No, they wouldn't. They would be all over him in five seconds.

FLEISCHER: No. And you know, I remember in the 2000 campaign when George W. Bush was running against John McCain, the press was all for John McCain. I remember thinking to myself as soon as John McCain wherever to beat George H.W. Bush they will go against John McCain. They'll switch on a dime.

HANNITY: Yes, and they did.

FLEISCHER: And that's the way they always are.

HANNITY: last word, Michael.

GOODWIN: Well, yes. I mean, look at the way John McCain was treated when he ran against Barack Obama. Then he was just another dirty Republican.

HANNITY: A racist.

GOODWIN: They loved him in 2000. That's right. But by 2008, he was just another dirty Republican. Now he's dead and so he is great.

HANNITY: Yes, amazing. Save the lies if I ever pass away. Just speak the truth. Just say what you really feel. All right. When we come back, we have got an update. Remember the story we brought to you earlier this week that school, that teacher ruining Christmas for five and six-year-olds? Got an important update. And you won't believe why one church put Christ in a cage to make a cheap political point on Christmas. Unbelievable. Straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Sadly, Christmas continues to come under attack. Now we got to warn you, you probably don't want your kids to watch this segment.

There's a church in Massachusetts they put a baby Jesus in a cage as part of a nativity scene to make a point about illegal immigration.

Also, tonight, we have an update on the story that we told you about earlier in the week. Remember that New Jersey substitute teacher telling first graders that Santa, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny aren't real. She has now rightfully been fired.

Now one of my upcoming guests, David Kyle Johnson responded to our segment Monday night with a piece in psychology today entitled Sorry, Sean Hannity, the truth about Santa is not fake news. And joins us now. He's a professor at Kings College and also with us is Fox News contributor, Rachel Campos-Duffy.

You know, I read your column and then I looked into your background a little bit. This is like your big claim to fame. That you think that parents are lying, and perhaps even hurting their children by telling them about Santa Claus who is real. I know Santa is real.

(CROSSTALK)

DAVID KYLE JOHNSON, PROFESSOR, KINGS COLLEGE: Yes. The position I take--

HANNITY: Rachel knows he is real and you sit there.

JOHNSON: -- is that simply parents would be better off if they did not lie to their children about Santa Claus.

HANNITY: Well, the thing that stands out to me the most, it seemed really uptight and you seem like you need to loosen up a little bit and you might want to look through the eyes of a child the anticipation and the fun that goes along with Christmas and the Christmas season instead of being so kind of like, retentive about it.

JOHNSON: Well, I think you may be mischaracterizing my view here.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: No. You say don't lie to kids about Santa.

JOHNSON: I'm not that upset and uptight about it.

HANNITY: You are saying we are lying to them.

JOHNSON: It's more a matter of what the best parenting practices are and that parents need to be more cognizant about the risks that lying to their children pose.

HANNITY: Risk?

JOHNSON: Yes, you can damage your credibility with your child.

HANNITY: With my 5-year-old child.

JOHNSON: You can use it as a disciplinarian crutch. That is, it can be very, very harmful. It's very - psychologists agree that it's pretty bad to use Santa as a disciplinary in crutch. You can promote credulity in your child by encouraging to believe in things simply because they are fun or simply because they can be rewarded as a result.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Well, I can make the argument then that Halloween is teaching kids to be--

JOHNSON: And you can even stifle a child's imagination by doing this.

HANNITY: I can teach Halloween as teaching kids to be socialists because they are banging on doors and saying give me something for free. We could go that far if we want to. But that would take away the fun of Halloween which is the point. Rachel?

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I would just say the story of Saint Nicholas is based on Saint Nicholas, who by the way, his feast day is tomorrow and lots of kids including my own are putting their shoes out today to get a preview of what's to come in on Christmas.

And you are right, Sean, this is a season of anticipation. And there actually is, it's advent. And it's actually the waiting for Santa and that anticipation actually has very deep cultural and religious significance for myself, for you, and for many other Americans.

And what I think is interesting is Dr. Johnson is clearly an atheist. And so many times people who come from that secular point of view are calling for tolerance and open-mindedness and respect for so many things, and yet they can't seem to find that for Christian traditions and beliefs. And that's really what this is about.

HANNITY: Dr. Johnson?

JOHNSON: You are completely strong manning my position. I am not intolerant of Christian traditions at all. I think everyone should be able to free, should be free to celebrate Christmas in whatever way they should to.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Do you think damaging the children.

JOHNSON: When Christians celebrate Christmas by revering Christ that is perfectly acceptable--

HANNITY: In your own words, you think it can damage--

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPOS-DUFFY: It's just so silly.

JOHNSON: I am merely making observation about what I think is better for parents to do with their children. If they choose to do that, they are perfectly free to do that, but I'm also perfectly free to point out the kind of risk that a parent should be aware of when they are lying to their children about Santa Claus.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: And I may have a Ph.D. but I have a lot more common sense, I think, doctor, with all due respect, and I think that parents do this because they have memories of Christmas themselves. And those memories are beautiful.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: Well, you see, this is--

CAMPOS-DUFFY: The Christmas spirit, wait a minute, the Christmas spirit has actually, this western Christian tradition has inspired giving salvation army, toys for tots, wreaths on the graves of our fallen soldiers.

So, this is a beautiful tradition. And the Christian tradition. And I think that what you are doing is you are overthinking this. And you are taking the fun out of it and maybe you are a little bit grinchy.

HANNITY: We'll get it quick 15 second response.

JOHNSON: That's a very grinchy attitude to take. Christmas is about so much more.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Of course, Jesus Christ, I agree with that.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: By the way, professor, we have got to go. You seem very angry. I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Merry Christmas to all of you.

JOHNSON: I'm not angry at all, Sean.

HANNITY: I hope Santa Claus -- I hope Santa Claus puts coal in your stocking. When we come back, today the world remember the life, the incredible legacy of former President George H.W. Bush. We got highlight from today's emotional memorial service in Washington. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. The funeral for President George H.W. Bush was hosted in Washington, D.C. today where a powerful ceremony was held to honor the exceptional life of service that he led. Just take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to miss you. Your decency, sincerity, and counsel will stay with us forever. So, through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man. The best father a son or daughter could have. And in our grief, let us smile knowing that dad is hugging Robin and holding mom's hand again.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: A good man, a life of service. He'll be missed. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have left. We hope you join us on a weekday radio show, 3 to 6. This show will always be fair, balanced. And we're not the destroy-Trump media. But let not your heart be troubled. Laura Ingraham standing by in D.C.

Content and Programming Copyright 2018 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2018 ASC Services II Media, LLC. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.