'Special Report' All-Star Panel on backlash over Justice Department plan to target parents

This is a rush transcript of "Special Report" on October 6, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN CLARKE, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: We do not want intimidation in our society.

SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN, (R-TN) SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: So it would concern you if there was an exercise against an individual's free speech, correct?

CLARKE: The first amendment is important, and we also do not want a society with intimidation.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX): Do they have civil rights that the voting rights gives a damn about?

CLARKE: Yes. They have the right to express their view, to challenge the school boards, to ask --

CRUZ: Ask it beneficial for the attorney general to label them as domestic terrorists and direct the FBI to target them?

CLARKE: The attorney general's memo deals with threats against public servants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUEL: So the Biden administration taking heat for a Department of Justice memo out in the past week, basically going after parents who are protesting in front of their school boards.

Let's bring in our panel, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, Bill McGurn, columnist for "The Wall Street Journal," and Juan Williams, a FOX News analyst. Ari, start us off on this topic. Your thoughts?

ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: If you want to talk about public intimidation and threats to public officials, why is the cultural left and much of the media OK with chasing a United States senator into a bathroom and filming her? Why are they OK with denying Sarah Sanders, the previous White House press secretary, a seat at the restaurant? Why are they OK with a mob chasing Ted Cruz and his wife out of a restaurant? But you cannot go to a school board and vociferously make your case? That's where they are calling in the FBI?

We are sending every wrong signal when the FBI comes out and the Justice Department comes out and says it's going to assign the FBI to school board meetings. This is all wrong. If you want to deal with public intimidation, protect Kyrsten Sinema.

EMANUEL: Here is what the National School Board Association is saying about the matter, quote, "The individuals who are intent on causing chaos and disrupting our schools, many of whom are not even connected to local schools, are drowning out the voices of parents who must be heard when it comes to decisions about their children's education, health, and safety. These acts of intimidation are also affecting educational services and school board governance. Some have even led to school lockdowns." Bill, your thoughts?

BILL MCGURN, COLUMNIST, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes, my thoughts, that may all well be true, but it's not a federal offense. And though the attorney general didn't mention terrorism, his memo came in response to a National School Board Association letter suggesting that people that are demonstrating like this are domestic terrorists and might be prosecuted under the Patriot Act. This is just insane.

And a lot of this stuff -- look, school boards are at the forefront of some of the most contentious issues in America today -- critical Race Theory, COVID policy with masking and so forth, Affirmative Action to some of our elite public schools. There is a lot of issues. And the left seems intent on labeling anyone who disagrees with them an insurrectionist or a terrorist or a white supremacist. And I think people are tired of it.

EMANUEL: Meanwhile, the White House is taking some heat. Let's play the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY, (R-MO): The parents elect the school board, and now they can't even speak without being investigated? It's insane.

I can't think of an instance in American history with when anything like this has happened before. It's another first for Joe Biden, and it's a bad one.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He doesn't stand for the fundamental right, I assume you don't either, for people to take violent action against members, public servants. And that's what the threats are about.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Parents are now becoming more aware of what's being said in their classroom, and they are becoming upset by it. And what's the answer from the Biden administration? To silence you. To nationalize elementary school. The this is wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUEL: Juan, your thoughts?

JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think -- look, I don't care where you are on the political spectrum. I think everyone agrees it's a core American value to say that public servants should not be subject to intimidation and violence. The National School Board Association detailed an instance of assault of an Illinois school board member. They had letters detailing specific threats against school board members, and even in some cases, threats against teachers.

I think a lot of this is unfortunate, but you can't bury from the idea that public servants and people performing a public service should be protected. No one is saying that you can't speak out at a school board meeting. This is about threats and violence and intimidation, and that's the response.

Now, what you are seeing here, of course, and I think Bill pointed this out, is a lot of this is a response to arguments, political arguments over Critical Race Theory, over the use of masks in cool to protect children against COVID. These are issues that are being used as trigger points, I think, on the right to stir up voters. But the idea that anybody, left or right, would not be behind law and order is a surprise to me. I think Republicans are always for law and order.

EMANUEL: All right, so President Biden's sinking poll numbers having an impact potentially on a bellwether race in Virginia. Let's play the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY MCAULIFFE, (D) VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington. As you know, the president is unpopular today, unfortunately, here in Virginia.

GLENN YOUNGKIN, (R) VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: Because his campaign is failing, Terry calls in his friend Joe Biden to actually put the DOJ on Virginia parents? Terry McAuliffe can't even begin to admit the fact that he is unpopular, too. If Bill and Hillary Clinton had a son, it would be Terry McAuliffe, and Joe Biden would be his uncle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUEL: So Ari, can establishment guy Terry McAuliffe run away from President Biden when his poll numbers may be down?

FLEISCHER: No. That's what off-year elections test. If you remember in 2009, the first year President Obama, Democrats lost governor races in both Virginia and New Jersey. They will always have a New Jersey now, but they really might lose Virginia. So it's a bad year for Terry McAuliffe to run in.

But I do want to point out one other thing. This has been a bad week for Joe Biden taking friendly fire. You had John Kerry say that he had no idea, literally no idea about how he offended the French. And now you have Terry McAuliffe in Virginia saying he is unpopular. The fire is coming from his own people to Joe Biden this week.

EMANUEL: And Bill, people outside of Virginia are also watching this race to see if it's a preview of next year's midterms.

MCGURN: Yes. Look, it looked very different six months ago when Joe Biden was riding high. The latest Quinnipiac poll shows him very much underwater on almost every issue and most people thinking he is not up to the job of president. If you are in Congress and you're being asked to take a tough vote, it's a lot harder to do it on behalf of a weak Joe Biden than a strong Joe Biden.

EMANUEL: Juan, your thoughts?

WILLIAMS: Well, very quickly, I think just think back, it was a few weeks before the California recall that people were saying this is a tight race, you could see Newsom defeated. I think right now you still have to say that Virginia leans more towards being a blue state, and I would expect that Terry McAuliffe will survive.

EMANUEL: All right, gentlemen, well done. When we come back, tomorrow's headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

EMANUEL: Finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines with our panelists. Bill, lead us off.

MCGURN: My headline is Democrats say they can't raise the debt ceiling without Republicans, but they can pass one of the largest tax and spending bills in American history without Republicans.

EMANUEL: Interesting. OK, Juan, you are up next.

WILLIAMS: The U.S. to buy $1 billion, Mike, in at home COVID tests and distribute them. I think this is the next step in our fight against COVID.

EMANUEL: Interesting. OK. Ari, bring us home.

FLEISCHER: Progressives announce spending compromise -- $3.5 trillion 10- year plan reduced to $1.75 trillion five-year plan. In other words, it's all fakery.

EMANUEL: So 1.75 over five, interesting. So I see what you did there. Everything gets renewed in five years.

FLEISCHER: They cut everything in half. There is no change.

EMANUEL: Interesting. All right, gentlemen. It's a pleasure. Thanks for being with us this evening.

Tomorrow on SPECIAL REPORT --

WILLIAMS: Thanks, mike.

EMANUEL: -- the Pentagon starts what is being called continuous vetting of military members for extremism.

Thank you for watching SPECIAL REPORT. I'm Mike Emanuel in Washington. I'm back tomorrow, 1:00 p.m. Eastern with Sandra Smith for "AMERICA REPORTS." "FOX NEWS PRIMETIME" hosted by Ben Domenech starts right now. Ben?

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