Strassel: Did FBI outright spy on the 2016 Trump campaign?

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Strassel: Did FBI outright spy on the 2016 Trump campaign?

On 'Hannity,' Kimberley Strassel expands on her Wall Street Journal piece that asks if the FBI placed a mole within Trump's 2016 campaign.

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," May 11, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail.

We're putting the harshest strongest most stringent sanctions on Iran.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(MUSIC)

TRUMP: The fact that we were able to get them out so soon was some really a tribute to a lot of things including a certain process that's taking place right now.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

On June 12th, in Singapore, I'll be meeting with Kim Jong-un to pursue a future of peace and security for the world, for the whole world.

(CHEERS)

We're going to set the table. We're going to make a great deal for the world, for North Korea, for South Korea, for Japan, for China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS HOST: Welcome to this special edition of "Hannity: Trump's Big Week". I'm Jason Chaffetz, in for Sean.

Without a doubt over the past few days, we witnessed history in the making, from the Middle East, to the Korean peninsula, to right here at home, this week, the Trump administration saw consequential progress all over the world.

Starting on Tuesday when President Trump pulled the United States out of the one-sided, highly flawed Iranian nuclear deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Iranian regime is the leading state sponsor of terror. The deal allowed or ran to continue enriching uranium and overtime reach the brink of a nuclear breakout. This disastrous deal gave this regime -- and it's a regime of great terror -- many billions of dollars some of it in actual cash.

Today, we have definitive proof that this Iranian promise was a lie. Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHAFFETZ: Up next, on Wednesday, more major progress in the Middle East. According to reports, American and Iraqi intelligence forces captured five senior members of ISIS, including the top aide to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Trump administration also saw major progress surrounding his push for peace on the Korean peninsula.

Early Thursday morning, our prayers were answered, three Americans long held captive in North Korea were released and landed at Joint Base Andrews.

Now, President Trump's summit with Kim Jong-un is moving forward. Last night at a rally in Indiana, President Trump previewed his historic upcoming meeting. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And on June 12th, in Singapore, I'll be meeting with Kim Jong-un to pursue a future of peace and security for the world, for the whole world.

But you remember everybody in the fake news where they were saying, he's going to get us into a nuclear war.

(BOOS)

And you know what gets you into nuclear wars and you know what gets you into other wars? Weakness. Weakness.

(CHEERS)

I think it's going to be a very big success but my attitude is and if it isn't, it isn't, OK? If it isn't, it isn't. But and you have to have that because you don't know. We're not going to be walked into an Iran deal where the negotiator John Kerry refused to leave the table.

(BOOS)

Obama, President Obama --

(BOOS)

Paid $1.8 billion for hostages.

(BOOS)

You, not me, you -- last night you saw it and again, it's leading to some very big things. And I think that Kim Jong Un -- Kim Jong Un did a great service to himself to his country by doing this.

But those hostages came out with respect. We didn't pay for them. We're going to set the table.

We're going to make a great deal for the world, for North Korea, for South Korea, for Japan, for China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHAFFETZ: Joining us now with reaction is Fox News national security strategist, Sebastian Gorka, GOPAC chairman David Avella, and former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining us tonight.

Austan, I want to start with you. The president deserves some credit, doesn't he? The hostages coming home from movement on North Korea, capturing ISIS leaders -- these are all good developments for the United States.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, FORMER OBAMA ECONOMIC ADVISER: Yes, those two, I not only have no problem, I think he does deserve credit. And I just don't want him to get the United States into an unnecessary war.

And if you look at Korea, he's got some unconventional diplomacy and thus far, it seems to be working. So, I think he deserves applause for that and the capturing the ISIS leaders I think also he deserves applause for that.

The Iran deal I'm sure we're going to get into, I think all of our allies plus by a two-to-one margin the American people believe that it's a bad mistake to pull out of the Iran deal.

CHAFFETZ: I don't know where you come up with two to one because, you know, the number one thing you need to have --

GOOLSBEE: In the polls.

CHAFFETZ: Well, the number one thing that you have to have is verification, and we don't have that. You can't go anywhere anytime to go verify it.

So, let me go to Sebastian Gorka. How do you see this Iranian deal playing out and how do you think what move next do we see Iran making?

SEBASTIAN GORKA, FOX NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGIST: Well, I -- within minutes of the president killing the JCPOA as he had to, I wrote in The Hill that we now follow the North Korea playbook, that we use the Pyongyang method. With Nikki Haley, with the State Department, with the president leading the way, we put the squeeze on North Korea and they caved, and they came to the negotiating table. We do exactly the same thing with Iran and guess what? The Europeans will follow the president's lead.

We impose on them the toughest sanctions package the world has ever seen until they start behaving like a normal country or a quasi-normal country once again.

CHAFFETZ: David, let me go to you the Democrats -- yes, this puts him in a box. Yes, they were so much flailing about what President Trump was doing and you heard everybody saying it was going to lead to all this catastrophe, but this success -- how did the Democrats -- I know you're with GOPAC -- but out of the Democrats react to this?

DAVID AVELLA, GOPAC CHAIRMAN: Well, we saw how they were going to react this week, but first, let's keep in mind that President Trump made it a magnificent week for three American hostages and he made it a miserable week for Chuck Schumer, because just as you pointed out, he has put Chuck Schumer in a box. All we could hear from Chuck Schumer this week was how bad this was that we got the hostages out. And Austan talks about the two- to-one against this deal -- well, one of the ones who didn't want to get in this deal he will remember was Chuck Schumer, who didn't want this Iran deal in the first place.

Now, we don't know where he's going to be. In fact, Chuck Schumer had such a horrible week, you wonder if he's trying to get his own wing in the political hall of shame. It was disgraceful how he acted this week.

CHAFFETZ: Now, Austan, let me give you a chance to react to this. But, you know, the Republicans -- from Ronald Reagan now to Donald Trump have always believed in peace through strength. What is it that the Democrats actually believe in?

GOOLSBEE: Well, wait a minute, here, you're trying to change the subject off of Donald Trump, let's make it about Chuck Schumer, make it about something else.

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: No, no, I didn't. What is the Democrats' belief on this? What is the Democrats' belief?

GOOLSBEE: The Democrats do not want us to get into a shooting war with the Iranians. We already blew $2 trillion --

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: Yes, but how do you do that? How do you that?

GOOLSBEE: And you have John Bolton advocating very aggressive military- style action against them. You have all of our allies who are the people that we need to enforce sanctions against Iran, that we had when we put in place the agreement. When we unilaterally pull out of the agreement, we now cannot convince the other trading partners of Iran to impose those sanctions. So we can't put in place the tough sanctions that will bring them to their knees. It's not possible.

And we are encouraging Saudi Arabia to now get into a nuclear arms race with Iran because as they start building centrifuges and enriching uranium again, the Saudis have to do the same. So, it's a very dangerous game to play.

CHAFFETZ: And, Sebastian Gorka, let me go to you because also playing into this the political hotbed is what's going on in Jerusalem, as we make the move to make the capital or to make the embassy there in Jerusalem, how does this play into the whole dynamic in the Middle East?

GORKA: It is a complete tectonic shifting of the geopolitics of the region. Think about -- thanks to the president thanks to the Riyadh speech thanks to his killing the JCPOA Iran deal, we have countries like Saudi Arabia that are now allies of Israel.

And what Austan said about, well, this is going to presage and result in war. You don't prevent a war by releasing a hundred and forty billion dollars to a regime that is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world and sign a deal with them that actually means they can get nuclear weapons after seven years. That's not how you prevent a war.

And I'm going to tell Austan right now on live television across the country, the European nations will follow our lead and they will join us in crippling sanctions. You can take that to the bank, Austan.

CHAFFETZ: Austan, do you think that's true? Are they going to -- do you think the European allies --

GOOLSBEE: No, of course, it's not true.

CHAFFETZ: Well, what do you think they're going to do? What are they going to do without the United States?

GORKA: Right.

GOOLSBEE: When you say without the United States, they're going to commence trading with Iran. What is the United States going to do?

GORKA: No, they're not.

GOOLSBEE: Shut down and launch a trade war against China and Canada --

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: Let Austan, let's finish that fought, but I still haven't heard them to answer the question of do you believe in peace through strength. Nobody wants a shooting war, but the other thing is, our allies in Europe who are relying upon the United States for pretty much everything in terms of safety and security how can they not follow our lead?

And then, Austan, also I want you to dive into the opening up of our embassy in Jerusalem.

GOOLSBEE: OK, you got two different -- two different ones going there.

But in my opinion that Iran has already announced that they're going to wreak immense industrial-style enriching of uranium is going to lead to a nuclear proliferation and arms race of other Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia and Iran are direct regional competitors. So if Iran immediately starts trying to get a nuclear weapon again the Saudis will have to do the same.

That's why all of our NATO allies, plus in the polling a two-to-one majority of Americans, all the Democrats and a significant number of Republicans think that the president has made a mistake doing this.

Now, I'll applaud him on North Korea. I think the president is doing a good job exploring diplomacy.

With Iran we preemptively shot ourselves in the foot and, unfortunately, I think we're going to see that play out.

CHAFFETZ: No, I think you're -- I think you're totally wrong. I think the untraditional approach from Donald Trump in peace through strength, I think the world understands that when Donald Trump speaks and then he means business about that.

Now, David, I want to give you a chance to weigh in on what's going on in Jerusalem. This is a major move it's a major shift in the proximity with Syria and the Iranians and what's going on there, how do you read that?

AVELLA: Well, another position that Chuck Schumer was for, as has every American president over the last couple decades been for, which is moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. But, you know, listening to Austan talk, it's not surprising to a position for the Democrats that John Kerry goes running over to Iran to try to keep a deal going, it's almost like the schoolboy who kept getting giving money so he didn't get beat up by the bully and now he's running over and give any more money to say, hey, don't tell people I was giving you money not to beat me up.

This is absurd. The Democrats position is we've got to appease Iran so they won't go beat up people in the region. Who's for us getting out of the Iran deal? Other Middle Eastern countries who don't want Iran to be a nuclear threat and use it to be threaten them.

CHAFFETZ: Gentlemen, thank you for this evening. I appreciate your insight.

There's a lot more to discuss on this, you do all show on how outrageous John Kerry's actions have been there in the Middle East, trying to undermine the strength of the United States and what the president is trying to do in that region.

But, gentlemen, thank you again for joining us.

Coming up, Kim Strassel is out with a stunning new piece, asking if the FBI planted a mole inside the Trump campaign.

Plus, Congressmen Trey Gowdy and John Ratcliffe join us. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity: Trump's Big Week".

While President Trump continues to make huge foreign policy gains in the Korean peninsula and beyond, the Mueller witch-hunt continues at home.

Kimberley Strassel at The Wall Street Journal is out with a bombshell new piece titled, "What about that FBI source: Did the bureau engage in outright spying against the Trump 2016 campaign?"

Joining me now to explain more from The Wall Street Journal is the author of that piece, Kim Strassel.

Kim, thank you so much for joining us. Give us the quick synopsis of what you've found and why this is so pivotal and so unusual at this setting?

KIMBERLEY STRASSEL, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, look, up until last week all, we knew was that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes had initiated a new line of inquiry and was demanding new documents from the Department of Justice. But then in their desire to make Chairman Nunes look bad and justify why they were not giving those documents, someone in the government leaked a lot of details about what was happening. It turns out he's asking about a top secret government source who has worked for the FBI and the CIA who is a U.S. citizen would seem to have some sort of entanglement with foreign intelligence agencies or maybe is based overseas.

And based on all those bread crumbs and some reporting, I've got a pretty good sense of who it is and it does look as though, indeed there was an FBI attempt, a successful one, to basically go out and spy with a human asset on the Trump campaign.

CHAFFETZ: Now, what about the timing, right? The timing about that all of this is critical. Do we understand the timing and what are the implications for that?

STRASSEL: Yes, it's so important because remember, the FBI has been doggedly sticking with this story. That what initiated this counterintelligence probe was a tip that they got in July about this supposed drunken conversation of a junior campaign aide named George Papadopoulos.

Well, if for any reason we find out that this person this asset of theirs was in fact surveilling or spying on the Trump campaign prior to that time, then they've got an issue right because that's no longer their origins story and they must have had something else that they were basing this on, whether it be the dossier or some other information that they were using as a reason to go out and surveil the Trump campaign.

CHAFFETZ: Now, how are we going to figure out the solution of this being? I mean, every time Trey Gowdy and Devin Nunes and others go over to the Department of Justice, they get the stiff arm even though there's subpoenas in place. How do they actually figure this out?

STRASSEL: You know, we have a great piece in The Journal today by a former FBI officer just talking and his job was in fact to fulfill congressional requests talking about how obnoxious and outrageous it is that the department of justice is not complying with civil requests much less subpoenas from Congress. And the fact by the way that they didn't give this information over to Chairman Nunes, all the way last year when he said he was investigating the FBI's conduct, is really pretty striking.

But, look, they're going to have to -- Congress as a body and the good news is Chairman Nunes looks to have the backing of all the leadership and the other members in the Republican Party, make it clear that if the Department of Justice does not turn this over, that they will move to contempt. And with any luck, also, the White House is putting out the message that they need to cooperate and hand over documents.

CHAFFETZ: But has it -- I thought the White House was actually backing up the Department of Justice at this point, weren't they?

STRASSEL: Well, it's interesting. The Department of Justice made quite a big deal in its letter back to Chairman Nunes about how it had this development in consultation with the White House. But curiously, it did agree to sit down with Chairman Nunes, and I think probably they have the order to accommodate him in some way. They're still trying to do it without getting out of having to hand over actual documents, but as that is what Chairman Nunes and others are actually after, it would seem that's what they're going to need to hand over to fulfill that request.

CHAFFETZ: Yes, you know what, I -- as one who's actually been over to the Department of Justice and sat in those meetings and listen to these blowhards tell me how Congress has no right to see this stuff and I got to tell you, it really is offensive. And at what point do does the constitution actually come into play. I mean, they don't -- they give lip- service to oversight, but here they are leaking -- I mean, it's pretty well-documented that they're leaking. But what is it that they think they can't and shouldn't show to Congress which is the essentially the American people?

STRASSEL: Look, you know this better than anyone -- we have processes in place whereby Congress gets to oversee the executive branch. So, they can't just say, give us everything. They have to have specific cause reason things that they're looking for. And as this piece we ran today made clear, when those cases came up, Department of Justice's always helped and been good about it.

And we also have processes whereby in particular the gang of eight, right, the senior members of our intelligence committees the leadership can see anything in a classified situation. So, any arguments that this should be off-limits are completely bogus and people should read them for what they are which is an attempt by the Department of Justice and the FBI it would seem to protect something that they simply don't want people to know because it might prove embarrassing.

CHAFFETZ: Yes, and that's really at the heart of it, that it proves embarrassing. And I got to tell you, from my vantage point, having been there -- every member of Congress, both sides of the aisle by the way, ought to be standing behind Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy and John Ratcliffe and those investigators that are going in there, Senator Grassley, for instance.

But, Kim Strassel, it's a great piece in The Wall Street Journal. She's one of the best --

STRASSEL: Thank you.

CHAFFETZ: -- best writers out there and best reporters. So, thank you for joining us tonight and thanks for that great piece that you put out.

Also yesterday, House Intelligence chairman -- the Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, they actually went to the Department of Justice to view documents they have been requesting and that were under subpoena for months.

But sources tell FOX News that Nunes and Gowdy were only briefed about the documents that another meeting is scheduled next week for them to actually see it.

But the best way to get the answer is to talk to somebody who was in that meeting, that's Chairman Trey Gowdy, and from the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas. Both are former federal prosecutors, both have been in the system, both have been through this process.

And I thank you gentlemen for joining us on this beautiful Friday night.

Chairman Gowdy, did you get a lot of lip service? Did you actually get to read the documents? And what did they tell you?

REP. TREY GOWDY, R-SOUTH CAROLINA, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: You know, Jason, it was a really productive meeting yesterday. I think every question I asked the bureau and the department now understand they're relevant, they're material, they're specific, they're pointed. And there's a reason that Congress wants to know the answers to these questions.

So, it was a really constructive -- I know that is not good news from the media standpoint that we had a boring constructive meeting yesterday, but that's exactly what it was and it was so constructive that we've agreed to meet next week. So you asked if we saw something. I can learn with my ears and I can learn with my eyes, and yesterday was important because I got to hear the department's perspective, but also got to ask questions.

You're right, Johnny and I were prosecutors. I know the questions to ask in an investigation like this and I need witnesses there that can answer `em. Yesterday was really productive.

CHAFFETZ: But when do you actually get to see them?

GOWDY: Well, you know, let me say this -- I've worked in all three branches of government and there is tension. There's intentional tension put between the branches. There are lots of things that happen in the judicial branch that members of Congress can't see. There are things that happen the executive branch the members of Congress can't see.

And they're things we do, Jason, as you recall in Congress that we don't let anybody else see. So, that tension we've got to work through.

I learned information this week. I still would like to see the documents, I think they've taken that request under advisement, and I think we're getting farther taking this approach, meeting eyeball-to-eyeball as opposed to exchanging letters and seeing who can leak them the quickest. And that is not constructive. What is constructive is to have a conversation and I think we're making progress towards accessing the document.

CHAFFETZ: Well, it's a shame that Nunes had to, you know, issue a subpoena and threaten contempt and the southern gentleman and Trey Gowdy is coming out. But I'm glad you're making incremental progress step by step.

I want to -- I want to go to John Ratcliffe who's -- I want to get your perspective on James Comey, because he's fresh off a book tour. He said an awful lot of things and we've learned a lot more about Director Comey made this -- is he made the situation better or worse for himself after this book tour and the things that we've learned about his actions while he was the FBI director?

REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE, R-TEXAS, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Well, Jason, good to be with you. I think one of the things that has come out of Jim Comey's interviews on his book tour and the release of his secret memos is it's ironic to me that he's the one that created the allegation of obstruction of justice against Donald Trump, and now, he's the same person who has effectively torpedoed the ability of the special counsel to ever prove obstruction.

And I say that because the 15 pages of secret memos never mention obstruction of justice a single time, and in fact, one of the memos does exactly the opposite. It says that -- it's an admission by the former director that President Trump asked him to fully investigate whether or not anyone with the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians, is why Trey and I have both referred to that memo as defense exhibit A and any charges that would be brought against Donald Trump.

But I think he's also hurt the Mueller case and the ability to prove that. You can't build a case around a star witness who has damaged his own credibility and hurt his own reputation as I think Jim Comey has done over the last few weeks on this book tour.

CHAFFETZ: Well, do you think he -- does he have any legal jeopardy himself, Director Comey? Well, I think the best answer to that, Jason, will come with the release of the inspector general report. You know, we all anticipate that that will happen shortly.

We also know that the inspector general, Michael Horowitz, is someone who's proven himself to be a fair umpire, someone who calls balls and strikes fairly and was -- where appropriate -- willing to make a criminal referral of the deputy FBI director.

I will tell you, not having seen the report, I'll be surprised if the inspector general doesn't find misconduct by former Director Comey. I think he'll find that he violated his employment agreement made unauthorized disclosures of FBI documents and whether they're classified or not, those are improper leaks. And I think he'll find that he made demonstrably false statements, as I think has been highlighted by some of the congressional transcripts that have been related recently as they conflict with some of the public interviews that he's been given.

So, I'm confident that if it's appropriate, Michael Horowitz will make that recommendation.

CHAFFETZ: Chairman Gowdy, when do we expect to see this report? We keep getting delayed a little bit. You're going to hold I believe the first hearing, and what do you expect out of this? Do you think there will be any criminal referrals coming from this?

GOWDY: I don't know about the criminal referrals. You know, I -- members of Congress -- I've steadfastly tried to avoid accusing people of committing crimes. That was my old job. I don't know enough to do it.

I know this -- all three of us have tremendous confidence in Michael Horowitz, the inspector general. He's a former federal prosecutor. He's a straight arrow. Just the very fact-centric.

I think the reason it is taking longer, Jason, than he anticipated is he is finding more information. So what I would tell my colleagues in the House is give him the time, independence and the resources to do everything he needs to do.

I know that we wanted it in February and March and that's a human nature to want it quicker but I want it to be complete. I want it to be fulsome. I want the American people to have confidence in what Horowitz has done.

And if he could represent that he is accessed every document and every witness, I mean, something that he found the Page-Strozk text then he found the fact some were deleted and then through his help they were reconstructed.

So, I'm as impatient as everyone else. I just, I know this. I want Horowitz to present a fulsome picture when he comes. And if that means waiting another couple of weeks then so be it.

CHAFFETZ: Do you have a date? Do we have a date when you are having the hearing?

GOWDY: We've set one and now we moved it. And you remember how that used to be. We are shooting for the first week of June. But I will say with this caveat. And you know Horowitz, Jason. He is not giving me any updates on his investigation, nor should he, nor would I ask.

CHAFFETZ: Yes.

GOWDY: I am simply saying we'd like to schedule the hearing and I'll pick a date and he will tell me whether or not he thinks he will make the target date or not. But I have no inside information and I'm not supposed to.

CHAFFETZ: Real quickly, Congressman Ratcliffe in like, 10 seconds, Director Mueller how long do you think it continues to go on? And how will it impact the 2018 election or will he wrap this thing up?

RATCLIFFE: Well, I think he has to be very careful. I don't know, I don't want to put a specific date on it, but I think that Bob Mueller needs to be careful not to make the same mistake that both Republicans and Democrats criticized Jim Comey for which was allowing an investigation to impact an election.

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: Thank you.

RATCLIFFE: Which I think the Republicans and the Democrats agreed it happened in 2016.

CHAFFETZ: Gentlemen, it's good to be on the air with you. It's an honor and privilege to serve with you in the Congress. And I thank you for joining us tonight.

Coming up, even after President Trump's big week Democrats and the media still won't give him credit. Stay with us as the special edition of Hannity continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-NEW YORK: We can't be seen to give the North Korean regime credit for returning Americans that never should have been detained in the first place. It is so troubling to hear President Trump say that Kim Jong-un treated the Americans excellently.

Kim Jong-un is a dictator. He capriciously detained American citizens.
Robbed them of their freedom, didn't let them go home to their families. Their release should not be exalted. It should be expected. It is no great accomplishment of Kim Jong-un to do this. And when the president does it, he weakens American foreign policy and puts Americans at risk around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHAFFETZ: He can never accept success for Donald Trump.

Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity."

That was Senator Schumer berating President Trump because he thanked Kim Jong-un for returning the hostages. Some Democrats and members of the mainstream media did gave President Trump credit for his big success this week but not all.

According to Foxnews.com, MSNBC primetime program spent 30 seconds on American prisoners' return home from North Korea. Thirty seconds.

Joining us now with reaction is Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, and former Clinton pollster and Fox News contributor, Doug Schoen who is joining me here in studio in New York.

Congressman, thank you for joining us here. Is America fooled, is Senator Schumer -- was President Trump fooled? Is that the right word for Senator Schumer to use?

REP. MATT GAETZ, R-FLORIDA: Well, it must be very embarrassing for the political left and the mainstream media that Dennis Rodman conducted more diplomacy in North Korea than the Obama administration ever did and here we've got President Trump actually delivering results.

So let's check the scoreboard. Under Obama administration we put five terrorists back on the battlefield to get the deserter Bowe Bergdahl back here. And the last week President Trumpet goes and gets the five principal leaders of ISIS and takes them off the battlefield at the same time we're bringing home three Americans.

So if you look at the results if you look at the scoreboard, President Trump has America winning. And that's not something we were used to over the last eight years.

CHAFFETZ: Yes, and Doug, again, you are joining me in studio. Listen, I remember candidate Barack Obama. He talked about the idea that hey, listen, I would go meet with all these world leaders.

DOUG SCHOEN, CONTRIBUTOR, FOX NEWS: Sure.

CHAFFETZ: And now you have President Trump not having to pay to bring home hostages through good hard, tough negotiation and being able to say hey, look. Peace through strength has been his position. I mean, he does deserve some credit or was he fooled like what Senator Schumer said?

SCHOEN: No, look, he does. I say this as a Democrat. But, Jason, first of all as an American. And we got to stop the politics. We all, Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives, want and need a deal with North Korea. We need with Iran to work with our allies to make sure they do what President Rouhani said. Stick to the terms of the deal.

If they start enriching, tighten the sanctions. But this is an American set of issues. This is not Democrat versus Republican. I praise Donald Trump as an American who is proud that the American president brought home the hostages.

CHAFFETZ: Yes. And to Congressman Gaetz, listen, are our expectations too high with this meeting coming up with Kim Jong-un? I mean, you're not going to solve everything with one quick sit-down but the expectations seems to be so high now with that I -- you know, what's your perspective on that?

GAETZ: Well, expectations are high because we are making progress. But just because we're making progress it doesn't dictate or guarantee any type of results. In almost all of the comments that President Trump has made on the issue he said if there are not terms that are favorable to the United States, if there's not a verifiable way to ensure that North Korea cannot continue to do harm then we'll get up and walk away. We're not going to make a bad deal.

And that's one of the major differences in this administration and the last administration. The last administration made a bad deal with Iran. I think it's very timely that the president now is saying we're not going to do those bad deals anymore.

We're going to enforce the terms and we're going to have enforceable terms not secret side negotiations or documents that the Congress and the American people don't see. So I'm very encouraged. I'm hopeful but certainly there is no result that's guaranteed.

CHAFFETZ: Doug, what's the reasonable expectation of success for the president going in here?

SCHOEN: Sure.

CHAFFETZ: I mean, what is reasonable?

SCHOEN: What is reasonable is that we would be on a path towards a verifiable deal that denuclearizes the Korean peninsula. I think Representative Gaetz is right. We're not going to have a quick fix deal in
30 seconds.

Obviously, we know that there is a lot of work that's done pre-summit to condition the playing field. The president has said rightly he'll leave if he doesn't find the negotiations productive. But this is going to take a while. And we have to be patient.

CHAFFETZ: Real quickly, I want to give some a shout out a little bit to the first lady Melania Trump. First of all, she's made me immensely proud. I think she's been a great and a wonderful first lady. She has taken care of Barron Trump which is in the toughest circumstance and I think she is a great representation of the United States. But she laid out this 'Be Best' campaign, congressman. What's your perspective of that?

GAETZ: Well, I think it's wonderful that the first lady is reaching out to young people and encouraging them to be part of this great uplifting American experience. With an improving economy, low unemployment rate. And also ensuring that we don't foster bullying in our schools that we have an environment where young people feel safe and secure and able to prosper.

And I think she is a wonderful representation of what the American dream can truly be for everyone who is here in our country if we all strive to be the very best version of ourselves.

CHAFFETZ: Doug, what is the Democrats' perspective on the first lady?

SCHOEN: I think she is a symbol of great success. And, to me, the benefit of immigration, legal immigration. And I hope we get a deal on DACA and the wall so we can move forward in a bipartisan way.

CHAFFETZ: If you and I could work on it I bet we could have it done by the end of the segment. I mean, you and I cn get this done by end of the show.

SCHOEN: Absolutely.

CHAFFETZ: And it would be conservative by the way.

SCHOEN: Yes. And it would be fair and reasonable. And would give the DREAMers a pathway to staying here and I dare say citizenship.

CHAFFETZ: That you've gone too far. All right. So, congressman, thank you again for joining us. Doug, thanks again for being with us.

SCHOEN: Thanks.

CHAFFETZ: Still to come, more on President Trump's major week concerning North Korea and Iran as this special edition of Hannity continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At 2 o'clock in the morning I had the incredible honor of greeting three brave Americans who had been held in North Korea. And we welcomed them back home the proper way.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And on June 12 in Singapore, I'll be meeting with Kim Jong-un to pursue a future of peace and security for the world. For the whole world.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: So you remember everybody in the fake news when they were saying, he's going to get us into a nuclear war! He's going to get into a nuclear war!

(CROWD BOOING)

TRUMP: And you know what gets you into nuclear wars? And you know what gets you into other wars? Weakness. Weakness.

Among the many grave national security blunders of the previous administration, one of the world's worst was the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. A deal that would allow Iran to go right to the brink of nuclear weapons and ultimately very quickly have a nuclear weapon.

I hope to be able to make a deal with them, a good deal, a fair deal. A good deal for them. Better for them. Better for them. But we cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons. We must be able to go to a site and check that site. We have to be able to go into their military bases to see whether or not they're cheating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to the special edition of "Hannity." Trump's big week.

That was President Trump talking about his administration recent actions concerning Iran and North Korea. Iran is already showing its true colors after the president pulled us out of the nuclear deal. The rogue regime is reportedly is saying it is ready to restart its nuclear program on a, quote, "industrial scale."

And earlier this week, lawmakers in Iran chanted death to America and burned the United States flag.

Joining us now with reaction to all this week's big foreign policy developments, former counterterrorism adviser to vice president Cheney and Florida Congressional candidate, Michael Waltz, author of "Reaper," former brigadier general Tony Tata, and author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World," Gordon Chang.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining us tonight. General, I want start with you. Because when you see Iranians chanting that, that's not the people of Iran, that's the parliament or the government there burning the United States flag. But what's the implication of what Donald Trump did?

TONY TATA, RETIRED BRIGADIER GENERAL: Well, Jason, there is an old saying, when you want it bad, you get it bad. And the Obama administration truly wanted the deal so badly. I assume because they didn't do anything else for eight years.

But this deal is the worst deal. President Trump was right to get out of it. It's an economic boondoggle for Europe, which is why they are fight something hard to stay in it. So what we see is that Obama at the very end of the deal before it was signed had Clapper, one of the most dishonest people in government at the time and still today, remove Iran from the state sponsor of terror list.

And what that meant that businesses could do trade with them, foreign aid could go to them and arms could go to them.

And meanwhile, flushed Iran with billions of dollars of cash that immediately went to our enemies in the region. Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and the Palestinians that threatened our number one ally Israel.

So this was a terrible deal. It had very, very loose teeth in it. There was just no way to enforce it. And the reason that Europe is fighting for it is because the economic boondoggle.

CHAFFETZ: And general, again, thank you for your service and thank you to Michael Waltz also joining. His time in the military. I want your perspective. What is it from the military standpoint behind the scenes. They had to know that the president was going to make this move.

MICHAEL WALTZ, RETIRED U.S. ARMY: Yes.

CHAFFETZ: But what is secretary doing, what is the Defense Department doing to make sure that this doesn't spin out of control?

WALTZ: Well, there is a couple of things. One, that we have to militarily support our greatest ally in the region and President Trump knows this. And our greatest ally is of course Israel, you know.

Secondarily, we have to have our military forces fitted and ready and equipped to be a credible use of military force. And what President Trump instinctively knows that President Obama never truly understood is that the credible use of military force is actually what helps diplomacy move forward.

And then, you know, finally, you know, the Iran deal is incredibly important. It's a critical piece. But President Trump knows that is just a piece of a broader strategy against these dictatorships. And particularly, against Iran.

There is a terrorism piece, there is the missile piece, and that, you know, that it's their economy. Both the Iranian and the North Korean economy that are their Achilles' heels. And once we put our foot on the neck of their economies, these dictatorships will fold and they will come to the table.

Finally, Jason, we can't forget that both North Korea and Iran are linked in so many ways. There have been North Korean chemical engineers in Syria. Don't forget that the Israelis bombed a North Korean built nuclear reactor in Syria years ago. That was also backed by Iran.

These are linkages here, strategic linkages that Ambassador Bolton, President Trump, Secretary Mattis understand and know how to go after. And that's why you are seeing real results from the Trump administration.

CHAFFETZ: Yes. That's what I want to ask Gordon about. Gordon, you saw what we've been doing in North Korea. You are such an expert on that. What is the message of North Korea and how should the Iranians read what President Trump has done in North Korea? How is that going to play in Iran?

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN": Well, I'm sure that the Iranians understand that President Trump is willing to use force. And that has unnerved the Chinese, the South Koreans and the North Koreans. Anything that unnerves the North Koreans is going to unnerve the Iranians because as, you know, we know the two programs, Iran and North Korea, they're linked.

We have Iranian technicians in North Korea. The Iranians technicians have seen the North Korean nuclear detonations. They've been there. So these two regimes are joined at the hip. Iran's supposed to pay North Korea something like $2.5 to $3 billion a year for their various forms of cooperation. And that's a real indication that the two nations the two regimes are so close together.

CHAFFETZ: General Tata, I want to ask you quickly, I have to go around the horn because we got to wrap up here. But what is the effect in Syria? Because you see a lot of actions by the Israelis but what is the effect directly on what's going on, on the ground in Syria?

TATA: Well, if we impose new sanctions as I predict we will do -- and that was one of the impacts that the previous sanctions we're having on Iran, is that the money was not flowing as strongly into Syria and to the other groups that I mentioned before. Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinians.

So you are going to see Syria be separated a little bit from Iran. And hopefully strategically the Trump administration who is doing this artfully as Michael said--

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: Michael, let me ask -- let me bring in Michael here quickly as we got to wrap up.

TATA: Sure.

CHAFFETZ: Michael, effect in Syria, 10 seconds.

WALTZ: Well, this is why we have to stay engaged. We have to support Israel. We have a relatively small footprint on the ground but it's that long-term -- it's not long-term peace in long-term strategy of how we roll back the gains the Iranians have made in the last eight years of, essentially the Obama administration--

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: Thank you.

WALTZ: -- turning its back on the Middle East.

CHAFFETZ: Gentlemen, I wish I could spend the whole hour talking to you. I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us tonight.

Coming up, more of this special edition of Hannity right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHAFFETZ: Welcome back to this special edition of "Hannity." Unfortunately, that's all the time we have left this evening. Thank you for joining us. Sean is back Monday. I can't thank Sean enough for allowing me and trust me to sit in his seat with his name on this.

It's Mother's Day this weekend, to my wife and to my daughter who is now a mother too, and my own mom, who I lost years ago, happy Mother's day. Thanks to all the moms out there. You make the world go there. "Ingraham Angle" is up next.

END

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