Supreme Court rejects Pa. GOP appeal to intervene in election dispute

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Supreme Court rejects Pa. GOP appeal to intervene in election dispute

Fox News chief White House correspondent John Roberts joins 'Special Report' with the latest

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report" December 8, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR (on camera): Very nicely done, and that bride
had something blue already, so there was that. All right, Dana, thank you.

Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier.

Breaking tonight, we're following several major stories. President Trump
again today made his case for winning the election, this time at the White
House vaccine summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We were rewarded with a
victory. Now, let's see whether or not somebody has the courage. Whether
it's a legislator or legislatures, or whether it's a justice of the Supreme
Court or a number of justices of the Supreme Court. Let's see if they have
the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER (on camera): Late this afternoon, though, the U.S. Supreme Court
denied a request to prevent state officials in Pennsylvania from certifying
the results of last month's election, a case that many Trump supporters
thought held the best chance of being heard by the Supreme Court.

Justice Samuel Alito referred it to the whole court and none of the nine
justices dissented, including the newest Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The
decision to deny injunctive relief came within 40 minutes of all the
filings being received, more on that in a minute.

This as the vaccine summit at the White House came to an end and in it, a
new implementation of President Trump's America First policy in the
coronavirus era. The president has issued an executive order mandating all
Americans have access to the eventual vaccine before it is shipped
elsewhere as the U.S. passes the 15 million mark in COVID-19 cases with an
average of more than 2,200 per day.

We begin tonight at the White House as we await reaction from the president
to the Supreme Court decision with Chief White House correspondent John
Roberts. Good evening, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera):
Haven't heard anything yet from the president on that front but it was a
big loss for supporters of the president at the Supreme Court as the court
denied a petition to nullify the results of the November 3rd election in
Pennsylvania. The case have been brought by Congressman Mike Kelly and
others who had contended that the expansion of mass mail-in voting was
unconstitutional.

Now, had the court taken up the case as what was expected that Texas
Senator Ted Cruz would be arguing it on behalf of the plaintiffs. The
court's decision was another blow to the president's efforts to try to find
a legal path to another four years in the Oval Office and it came on a day
when his Manhattan Project-style effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine
appeared ready to pay off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS (voice over): At the White House today, President Trump hosting a
summit on the coronavirus vaccine, which may be just hours away from
distribution in the United States.

TRUMP: This is one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern-day
medicine. American companies were the first to produce a verifiably safe
and effective vaccine. Together we will defeat the virus and we will soon
end the pandemic and we will save millions and millions of lives.

ROBERTS: An FDA advisory panel today reported that an initial analysis of
the Pfizer vaccine data founded safe and effective, paving the way for what
may be emergency use authorization later this week.

The president also signing an executive order to ensure Americans get
American-made vaccines before they are shipped to other countries. And
vowing to use the full power of the U.S. government to keep vaccine
flowing.

TRUMP: We have worked very well with the companies but if for any reason we
have any problems, we will be instituting the Defense Production Act and we
will make sure that we don't have any problems very long.

ROBERTS: The White House continues to push back on reports that HHS turned
down an offer from Pfizer in the summer to lock in hundreds of millions
more doses of vaccine. Officials tell Fox News that on July 21st, HHS
contracted for 100 million doses with an option for 500 million more.

In October, after early data on the Pfizer vaccine looked promising, HHS
exercised its option and ordered 100 million additional doses to be
delivered next spring.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's just simply not true
that they offered extra doses according to the people who are involved in
the negotiations. With each and every company, we contracted for 100
million doses.

ROBERTS: Operation Warp Speed co-leader Moncef Slaoui reminds that when the
initial orders were put in last summer, the vaccines were still
experimental.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: If somebody came to
us and said let's buy more of this vaccine or that vaccine, no one
reasonably would buy more from any one of those vaccines because we didn't
know which one would work and which one may be better than the other.

ROBERTS: President Trump today also waded into politics. When asked why he
didn't include anyone from the Biden transition, the next administration in
the Summit, the president turned to his view of the election results.

TRUMP: Well, we're going to have to see who the next administration is
because we won in those swing states and there was terrible things that
went on. Whichever the next administration is will really benefit by what
we've been able to do with this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS (on camera): President Trump we'll be watching closely another
petition to the Supreme Court, this one from Texas Attorney General Ken
Paxton. Paxton is asking the Supreme Court to block electors from voting in
the states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin contending
that those states broke election law by using the pandemic to expand mass
mail-in balloting.

And there is still one other Supreme Court case that could go to the --
there was one other Pennsylvania case rather that could go to the Supreme
Court, that one challenging the legitimacy, the acceptability and the
admittance of all mail-in ballots that came in after 8:00 p.m. on election
night, Bret.

BAIER: All right, John, thank you.

A federal judge meantime has dismissed the criminal case against former
Trump administration National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, but Judge
Emmet Sullivan pointedly noted Flynn's pardon from President Trump does not
mean that he is innocent. The president tweeted congratulations to Flynn
saying he and his family had suffered greatly.

Let's get some additional perspective on these legal fights. Jonathan
Turley is a professor at George Washington University Law School and a Fox
News contributor. Jonathan, good evening.

Let me start with the Pennsylvania decision by Justice Alito, he turns it
over to the full Supreme Court, no noted dissents and they do not move
forward. There's no injunctive relief there. Is that a big blow for the
president's chances?

JONATHAN TURLEY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): It is a big
blow. You know, we've talked in the past about how the president was
running out of runway. And at this point to really make a difference, he'd
have to land a jumbo jet on a postage stamp. I mean, he does not have a lot
of runway left. This was considered his strongest case for the Supreme
Court.

And the court system has proven that it is independent and reviewing these
claims. Many of these are Trump appointees who are voting against the
position of the president not because they have animus, but because they
don't see the legal case, particularly in terms of the relief of blocking
certification.

There is this sticker shock that kicks in for these courts saying, look,
there are problems that you've identified. There have been illegal orders
and other cases, there have been votes that have been negated. But they're
asking for a really massive form of relief, which is blocking
certification.

Now, at the same time, it'd be nice if some Democratic senators actually
apologized to people like Barrett, and others. You know, during her
hearing, they put out these conspiracy theories that she was being put on
the court to kill the ACA or steal the election. None of that seems to be
true, obviously.

BAIER: You say he's running out of runway and just look at the electoral
college timeline here. Today was the deadline to resolve disputes actually.
December 14th, the electors vote in the states December 23rd, the state-
certified, deliver the votes. January 6th, the House and Senate joint
session, count the votes, declare officially the winner.

There is this other case that John mentioned out of the Texas attorney
general filing to the Supreme Court directly. Court watchers are looking at
how this particular Pennsylvania case was dealt with 40 minutes after the
filings came in. Does that suggest that they're just not in the mood to
take care of anything else like this?

TURLEY: I'm afraid that Texas case falls in that category of that dog won't
hunt. I mean, I don't see how that's going to be successful, particularly
after this loss.

And yes, the timing was notable this, the ink was hardly dry on the filing
when the court came back and basically ended this issue. So, I think that
it does not look very promising.

Last few days, we've also noticed the Trump campaign and President Trump
himself are talking more about going to the legislators. You'll notice on
his list of people that could change this. The first justice was number
three, he talked about a legislator or legislatures and that's a straight
muscle play. That's an effort to try to get legislators to say we don't
want the certification of these votes to go for Biden. That is also not
likely to succeed, but it does show a shift away from the court.

BAIER: Finally, Judge Emmet Sullivan wrapping up this criminal case against
Michael Flynn, he was pardoned by President Trump. But notable that Judge
Sullivan had this detail in this final filing about how he's not -- he
doesn't have to be innocent. Just talk for a minute about the how he's
handled -- the judges handle this entire thing.

TURLEY: Well, you know, I've practiced in front of Judge Sullivan for
years. I've had great respect for him, but I've been very critical of his
handling of the Flynn case. You know, he has been criticized for years of
using General Flynn as a vehicle for criticizing the Trump administration
refusing to dismiss the case, the prosecutors came in and said, We no
longer want to charge Michael Flynn, we no longer believe a charge is
appropriate and the Justice Department filed for a dismissal but Judge
Sullivan refused.

Court of appellate -- Court of Appeals judges in the first panel criticized
him and ordered him to dismiss the case. That was later reverse because
they wanted to give the judge a chance to issue a final order.

But even then, he would not dismiss the case and when the pardon came down,
he still held on to the case. And now he has finally dismissed it. But in
doing so, I think that it was really grossly inappropriate for him to
essentially declare a verdict of a person who wasn't even sentenced. That's
what this was.

And you know, judges usually don't even address the guilt of a defendant
until sentencing. They certainly avoid that when you're having a dismissal
of a case. They don't talk about guilt or innocence because the defendant
doesn't have a right to appeal those types of gratuitous comments. And
that's what this was. It was gratuitous and it was wrong for the court to
do it.

BAIER: Jonathan Turley as always, thank you.

Back to the vaccine story. Breaking tonight, Britain's mass vaccination
program is underway this evening, a retired shop clerk received the first
shot today. 90-year old Margaret Keenan was the first in line at the
University Hospital Coventry, one of several facilities around the U.K.
handling the initial phase of the United Kingdom's program.

Even with all the optimism about a vaccine or vaccines, there is still
significant portion of the population, about half in this country that
remains defiant about actually getting the shot when it's available. Our
weeklong series on the vaccine continues tonight with some of the reasons
why. Here's correspondent David Spunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's a new era in
modern medicine. COVID-19 vaccines developed in record speed in the same
year, an unforgiving pandemic pummeled the United States.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, VACCINE DEVELOPER, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: This has
been a slam dunk success.

Dr. Peter Hotez is a vaccine developer with Baylor College of Medicine and
has followed the progress in detail. The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine touts an
efficacy rate of 95 percent, Moderna's vaccine 94.1 percent.

HOTEZ: Just to give you a sense of what that means, our very best vaccine
of any vaccine is the measles vaccine and two doses gives you 97 percent.

SPUNT: These COVID vaccines are unlike a traditional vaccine where a
weakened version of a virus is administered to patients.

HOTEZ: This does something a little bit different. It actually asks the
human body to make the protein or the virus component ourselves by
delivering messenger RNA into part of the cell and that manufactures the
protein to induce the immune response.

SPUNT: Ribonucleic acid or RNA vaccines have been tested for years. But
this would be the first time an RNA vaccine would be approved for mass use
on humans. Still, concerns exist in homes and offices across the country.

More than half of the firefighters in New York City said in an internal
survey, they would not take the vaccine.

NATASHA ANDERSON, VACCINE SKEPTIC: Everybody that's a parent should look
into the information.

SPUNT: Idaho mother of two Natasha Anderson tells Fox News she's worried
about the speed of the trials.

ANDERSON: I am not anti-vaccine. I am like informed consent. Their science
is like revolutionary, but I don't know if I want to be a guinea pig in
this revolutionary different thing.

SPUNT: But 66-year old Linda Lamberth was happy to be a guinea pig.

LINDA LAMBERTH, VACCINE ENTHUSIAST: I was really excited to get the e-mail
that I could be a part of this study.

SPUNT: She took part in the Moderna vaccine trial at Baylor University. A
month after her first shot, she received a second dose, followed by mild
muscle aches and a low-grade fever.

LAMBERTH: I encourage everybody to get the vaccine. It certainly would help
us get back to normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPUNT (on camera): Experts fear that low confidence in the vaccines will
delay the ultimate goal of herd immunity, Bret. As for the long-term side
effects, the short answer scientists just don't know that they believe in
or confident these vaccines are safe trials took place for months including
at the hospital behind me, George Washington University Hospital, Bret.

BAIER: David, thank you. Wednesday, we look at the politics of herd
immunity in our series.

Meantime, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he has presented a new
coronavirus relief proposal to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. His $916 billion
plan is slightly larger than the $908 billion proposal already being
discussed.

Also tonight, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is offering to drop
his demand for a liability shield if Democrats and Republicans would
eliminate their immediate demand for money for state and local governments.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer immediately dismissed that proposal,
noting aid for state and local governments is a bipartisan request.

One of the biggest annual sporting events of the fall has fallen victim to
the pandemic. The University of Michigan has canceled its college football
game with Ohio State. It will be the first time in 102 years that game will
not be played.

Meanwhile, there is increasing resistance tonight to lockdown restrictions
across the country. Many businesses consider them an existential threat
amid the already deadly pandemic.

Senior correspondent Mike Tobin shows us tonight from Milford, Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With an
empty restaurant and a kitchen only preparing a few takeout meals, Lisa
Hanlin learned that Michigan's governor extended the lockdown for another
12 days.

LISA HANLIN, OWNER, CZAPSKI'S KITCHEN: I'm not quite sure that I'm going to
make it. I -- that's why I can't sleep sometimes at night, you know. And,
you know, you've got a lot of bills in this kind of business, and the
insurances. And, you know, then, you worry about all of it.

TOBIN: Governor Gretchen Whitmer says hospitals are at risk of running out
of space.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): There is overwhelming research and scientific
data that says going to locations that offer on-site eating and drinking
options is associated with COVID-19 positivity.

TOBIN: The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, claims that only
4.3 percent of coronavirus spread has come from dining. Yet, retail and
other businesses remain open. It's not just Michigan.

MICHAEL RAPAPORT, AMERICAN ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: Melrose, Fairfax farmer's
market is popping.

TOBIN: Actor Michael Rapaport is now viral with a profane video of a Los
Angeles flea market open for business across from closed restaurants.

RAPAPORT: This don't make any -- sense. This is why -- are pissed off and
protesting.

TOBIN: In Agoura Hills, California, crowds protested by showing up to eat
and drink at Cronies Sports Grill. In Chicago, one of the mayor's city hall
allies, Alderman Tom Tunney, a restaurant owner, was caught serving
indoors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Politicians do what they want regardless, right?

TOBIN: Back in Michigan, restaurant group owner Joe Vicari, debated the
idea of defying the lockdown, but back down.

JOE VICARI, OWNER, JOE VICARI RESTAURANT GROUP: Our businesses are
controlled by licenses between the liquor license and the food license. And
the state has the right to come in and take those from you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN (on camera): Now, in Los Angeles County, a judge there ruled against
a restaurant lockdown, saying the data doesn't show they do any good.

However, the State of California came back and lock down restaurants in
areas where ICU beds are scarce. So, Los Angeles County restaurants get
closed anyway until almost Christmas, at least. Bret, back to you.

BAIER: Mike Tobin, live in Milford, Michigan. Mike, thanks.

Tomorrow on SPECIAL REPORT, we'll take you to a city that straddles two
states and meet the business owners on the wrong side of the border who are
facing COVID restrictions and fighting for their survival.

Another record-setting day on Wall Street today. Two of the major indices
had their best closing numbers ever. The Dow gaining 104, the S&P 500 was
up 10 for its first close above 3,700. And the NASDAQ rose 63 for its 50th
record close of the year.

Up next, our exclusive reporting from Benjamin Hall in Afghanistan,
focusing on what happens after U.S. troops withdrawal. Will peace have a
chance, or will it be Civil War?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN HALL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (on camera):
There is widespread support here on the streets of Kabul for the peace
process that's going on at the moment. There is also widespread support for
American troops going home, but there is not much hope that it will bring
about long-lasting peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Tonight, we continue our exclusive reporting from Afghanistan as
U.S. troops prepare a drawdown in what has been America's longest war.

The Afghan government is negotiating with the Taliban on what peace would
look like. We get that story tonight from correspondent Benjamin Hall in
Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALL (voice over): From the mountains to the cities, Afghanistan is a
country of extremes. Hardline Taliban on one side and moderate government
on the other both now working for peace.

DR. ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, CHAIRMAN, HIGH COUNCIL FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION:
This is the most critical time for the Afghan people.

HALL: Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is head of the Afghan reconciliation. he
believes there can never be a military victory here.

ABDULLAH: The Taliban may take advantage of the U.S. withdrawal in some
parts of the country, but those will be temporary. A solution by force
cannot be imposed upon the people of Afghanistan.

HALL: On the other side is Mullah Qalamuddin, former Taliban minister of
Vice and Virtue, the same ministry that once oversaw the strict rules and
punishments imposed by the terror group. He says the U.S. were wise to
reduce troops.

MULLAH QALAMUDDIN, FORMER TALIBAN VICE AND VIRTUE MINISTER through
translator): They are lucky more didn't I.

HALL: He also hopes to play a role in the future government.

QALAMUDDIN: We have our own religion, our own way of life. And nobody, not
the Americans or anyone will tell us how we should live.

HALL (on camera): There is widespread support here on the streets of Kabul
for the peace process that's going on right now. There is also widespread
support for U.S. troops leaving this country. But there is not a lot of
hope that it is going to bring about long-lasting peace for the people of
Afghanistan.

HALL (voice over): All sides say they are committed to peace and hoping to
share in the new government, but they are a long way apart and each side is
riven with its own divisions. And so, as the Afghan people wait to learn
their fate, many fear the worst.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HALL (on camera): But despite all the hurdles, there's no doubt that this
is the best chance for peace in decades, and nobody's ready to give up on
it yet. Bret?

BAIER: Benjamin Hall in Kabul. Benjamin, thank you.

The Trump administration says it has reinstated the DACA program shielding
from deportation illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors. The
restoration was ordered by a federal judge in Brooklyn, Friday.

The suspected Chinese spy reportedly became so close to a number of
politicians that the FBI stepped in to disrupt the situation, even going so
far as to give a defensive briefing to one of them, California Democratic
Congressman Eric Swalwell.

Axios reports a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang targeted
up-and-coming local politicians, including those who had the potential to
become national figures.

Swalwell's office says the congressman has not seen the woman in nearly six
years. It says he has provided information about her to the FBI. He has
declined to provide details, saying the information might be classified.

Up next, President-elect Biden taps a retired four-star general to lead the
Pentagon. Then, takes to Twitter to get naysayers on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that we have the strongest military in the
world, and we will never hesitate to defend our interests or protect the
American people. I believe that we must equip our troops for the challenges
of the next century and not the last.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Breaking tonight, the House just voting on the annual defense bill.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress are passing this, vowing to override
the president's promised veto of the funding bill.

President is insisting on a repeal of legal protections for big tech
companies be included in there. It wasn't -- the president has not had a
veto overturned during his time in office. But as you see here on the
floor, they have just passed this and this is a big veto-proof majority
with just -- we believe it's just 40 or so, Republicans voting against this
bill. We'll get the final numbers here shortly. But, again, this would be a
defense bill moving forward with the House in defiance of President Trump.

There is considerable negative reaction tonight to a pair of cabinet picks
by President-elect Biden, and not just from Republicans. Meanwhile, Biden
is talking about his ideas on how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
Correspondent Peter Doocy has details tonight from Wilmington, Delaware.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  The next president's pandemic plan
boils down to three things. Number one --

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES:  We need your help.
Wear a mask for just 100 days.

DOOCY:  Number two.

BIDEN:  -- 100 million COVID vaccine shots into the arms of the American
people in the first 100 days.

DOOCY:  And number three.

BIDEN:  It should be a national priority to get our kids back into school
and keep them in school.

DOOCY:  The Pentagon will be a big part of Biden's pandemic response. He
writes in "The Atlantic," "The next secretary of defense will need to
immediately quarterback an enormous logistics operation to help distribute
COVID-19 vaccines widely and equitably." And his pick, retired General
Lloyd Austin. He's be the first black defense secretary. But, because he
retired from the military less than seven years ago, some Democrats on the
Hill won't back a waiver Austin would need. Senator Richard Blumenthal says
"It is exciting and historic, but I believe that a waiver of the seven-year
rule would contravene the basic principle that there should be civilian
control over nonpolitical military."

If there are confirmation hearings expect Republicans to revisit this
"Atlantic" article from 2016, quote, according to administration officials,
"General Lloyd Austin told the White House that the Islamic State was a
flash in the pan. This analysis led Obama to describe the constellation of
jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria as terrorism's jayvee team."

There also headwinds for Biden's pick to lead the Health and Human Services
Department, Xavier Becerra.

SEN. TOM COTTON, (R-AR):  He's going to use the discretion the law gives
him to try to take away your health insurance on the job.

DOOCY:  The cabinet Biden wants is coming together, but he's still getting
to some of his suggestions, like Mr. Becerra.

BIDEN:  Xavier Besheara (ph) -- excuse me.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

DOOCY:  One of the lawmakers Biden had been lobbying for -- who had been
lobbying Biden for a job just got one, but not the one she wanted.
Democratic Congresswoman Marcia Fudge had been out there saying that she
was very loyal to Biden throughout the campaign and wanted to be his
agriculture secretary. We've learned tonight he instead intends to nominate
her to be the head of Housing and Urban Development. Bret?

BAIER:  Peter, thank you.

A significant number of commanders at the Army's Fort Hood in Texas are out
of their jobs tonight. Others are under suspension. National security
correspondent Jennifer Griffin tells us what prompted today's dramatic
purge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN MCCARTHY, ARMY SECRETARY:  I am gravely disappointed that leaders
failed to effectively create a climate that treated all soldiers with
dignity and respect.

JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT:  The scale of
the punishment is unprecedented. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy announced is
he relieving or suspending more than a dozen commanders at the Army's
largest base in Texas for creating a command climate at Fort Hood that
enabled sexual assault, murder, and suicides among its soldiers.

MCCARTHY:  In total, 14 leaders have been relieved or suspended from their
positions.

GRIFFIN:  Among those relieved, a two-star general who serves as base
commander Major General Scott Efflandt and much of his chain of command.
The drastic measures were taken following a months-long independent review
after the mishandling of disappearance and murder of 20-year-old Private
First Class Vanessa Guillen. The young soldier was sexually harassed, then
brutally murdered and dismembered by a fellow soldier who took his life in
July when police closed in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  She was supposed to be safe.

GRIFFIN:  Initially Guillen's the family and advocates for the Latino
community could not get answers from the Army's senior leaders.

GLORIA GUILLEN, MOTHER (through translator):  My daughter died in service
of the country from the hand of people who are in the military.

GRIFFIN:  The case drew national attention and President Trump invited the
family to the White House.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  We didn't want to have
this swept under the rug.

GRIFFIN:  The Army's senior leaders visited Fort Hood following Guillen's
murder and say they found a toxic climate.

CHRIS SWECKER, FORT HOOD INDEPENDENT REVIEW COMMITTEE:  Positive drug tests
were the highest in the Army.

GRIFFIN:  Twenty-five soldiers died by suicide, homicide, or accident this
year, another 32 last year.

LUPE GUILLEN, SISTER:  More than 200 soldiers have gone missing at Fort
Hood Army base since 2016. And yet the U.S. Army does not ask themselves
why is this happening.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

GRIFFIN:  The final punishments for the Army commanders removed today will
be decided by military judges. Bret?

BAIER:  Jennifer Griffin at the Pentagon. Jennifer, thank you.

A quick outside the beltway tonight. FOX 11 in Los Angeles as the newly
sworn in Los Angeles county district attorney unveils an agenda that
includes the end of cash bail for many offenses, not seeking the death
penalty, and the refusal to pursue charges for certain crimes. George
Gascon is also promising to reopen at least four investigations of
controversial shootings by police that were not prosecuted by his
predecessor.

America is mourning the loss of a true hero tonight, retired Air Force
Brigadier General Chuck Yeager. The first man to fly faster than the speed
of sound has died. Yeager was a World War II fighter pilot ace and the
daring test pilot who made that historic flight in 1947.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Captain Charles Yeager climbs down into the cockpit of
the rocket craft. Yeager, who has piloted the plane on all its record-
breaking ace in the sky dropped clear. Because of security reasons, details
of these flights have not been divulged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  His exploits were the subject of the book and subsequent movie "The
Right Stuff." Yeager's wife says he died Monday night. Chuck Yeager was 97.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Early voting in Georgia's crucial Senate runoffs begin next week.
The runoff is January 5th. One of Atlanta's largest suburban counties is
under fire tonight for cutting its number of early voting locations. Cobb
County's elections director says only five locations will be open. That's
down from 11 before the November general election. The Republican National
Committee is filing a lawsuit ahead of the elections demanding access for
GOP poll watches and more restrictions around the use of ballot drop boxes.

There is about to be competition in Congress for the Squad. A Republican
group aims to counterbalance the influence of the progressive faction.
Tonight, chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel introduces us to
the Force.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, (R-FL) REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT:  The so-called
democratic socialists, I will tell them that we have seen that dogma in
action already. And it does not work.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT:  The battlelines
are drawn. Newly elected Republicans heading to Congress as a new freedom
force pushing for low taxes and limited government to counter the loudest
progressive voices in Congress.

NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, (R-NY) REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT:  They want to dismantle
the U.S. economy. They want to do away with the free market. They want to
take away our freedoms and liberties. They want to change the way we elect
peach.

EMANUEL:  They're seeking a war of ideas with four freshman in this
Congress known as the Squad who favor policy issues like Green New Deal,
Medicare for all, and tuition free college. Congresswoman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley are expected
to add new members to their Squad in January. Even before being sworn in,
these newly elected Republicans are taking aim.

CARLOS GIMENEZ, (R-FL) REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT:  The ideas that are being put
forward by members of the Squad are not going benefit anybody. It's almost
an assault on the lower and middle classes of the United States.

EMANUEL:  Some of at least eight newly elected Republicans have family
members who fled oppressive regimes in places like Cuba, and they intend to
tell the American people socialism is not the answer. One of the new
members grew up in Ukraine under Soviet control, which molded her views.

VICTORIA SPARTZ, (R-IN) REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT:  For me it's very sad to see
how quickly people can turn to Utopic ideas and how our country went to the
left to these radical progressive ideas that destroy a lot of people, a lot
of countries.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

EMANUEL:  These Republicans suggest part of why they were elected is
because many Americans are fed up with where Democratic Party leadership in
the House is taking the country. So their mission is advocating for pro-
freedom policy in Congress and making the case for Republicans winning back
the House in 2022. Bret?

BAIER:  The Force, the Squad, what's next? All right, Mike, thank you.

EMANUEL:  Thank you.

BAIER:  When we come back, the panel is next on the president's America
first vaccine policy and the latest from the Supreme Court. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  In just a few minutes
I'll sign an executive order to ensure that the United States government
prioritizes the getting out of the vaccine to American citizens before
sending it to other nations. Now, if necessary, I told you we'll invoke the
Defense Production Act.

GEN. GUSTAVE PERNA, OPERATION WARP SPEED:  It is this trifecta, the CDC,
commercial industry, and the governors and their states that is going to
make us successful at the end of the day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Impressive vaccine summit today at the White House with a lot of
the different players explaining all elements of the logistics of getting
this vaccine in just -- both vaccines out in just a number of days coming
up.

In the meantime, after that late this afternoon the U.S. Supreme Court came
in with this, and that said "The application for injunctive relief
presented to Justice Alito and by him refer to the court is denied." This
has to do with the Pennsylvania filing about one specific element. There is
another Pennsylvania case that is still active, and other legal challenges.
But this was seen by Trump supporters as a big one for the Supreme Court to
possibly take up. In fact, Ted Cruz wanted to argue this case.

Let's bring in our panel Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary, host of
"The Bill Bennett Show" podcast, Susan Page, Washington bureau chief at
"USA Today," and Guy Benson, political editor at, the host of
"The Guy Benson Show" on FOX News Radio. Guy, earlier in the show you heard
Jonathan Turley, his assessment of what this means for the legal
challenges, essentially saying it signals to him that the Supreme Court
really doesn't want to get into this.

GUY BENSON, POLITICAL EDITOR:  Yes, the fact that there were
no dissents noted in this decision suggests that all nine justice, at least
on this case, said no thank you. As you mentioned, Bret, there are still a
few irons in the fire legally speaking, but those options seem to be
dwindling.

The other active Pennsylvania case that you mentioned, my understanding is
it's about a challenge of about 9,000 ballots, which is far less than the
margin would need to be to overturn the result in that state of
Pennsylvania. Then there is the Texas lawsuit that is getting pretty widely
panned by legal analysts across the board. So it's not over until all of
these cases are resolved, but, as you suggested, rather, this was a big one
today. Not unexpected, but still significant.

BAIER:  Bill?

BILL BENNETT, FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY:  Yes, well, the pay narrows. I
think Guy is right. But those two cases are still out there. Sometimes when
the court doesn't take a case you don't have the opportunity for dissenting
votes. There may be someone disagreed. Maybe they're waiting for this
broader brush, broader stroke, Texas case and the other case. But yes, it's
not good news for the challenges.

By the way, the numbers that matter here are not the numbers, the
difference between Democrat and Republican votes in any single state. What
matters here is whether there was a systematic fiddling with the machines
or with the whole approach, which would affect many states, which is what
the Texas challenge is about. We'll see.

BAIER:  Susan, today was really dominated at the White House with this
vaccine summit which, no matter what side you're on, is really impressive
as far as the logistics, to be able to hit this mark before the end of the
year. And the question is whether President Trump is going to get credit
for it.

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY":  President Trump tried to
take credit for it today, and it is a huge achievement. It's an achievement
for the administration, for the scientists involved for the companies. It's
something that we're all grateful for. But it was really striking when you
contrasted a split screen today where you had President Trump talking about
the success of the vaccine, great days ahead in the spring. You had Joe
Biden almost simultaneously unveiling his health team and talking about the
difficult weeks ahead in December and January and February before most
Americans will have gotten vaccines -- gotten the vaccine, and while the
number of coronavirus cases continues to rise and rise, the death toll just
gets bigger. His focus on bracing people for tough times. President Trump's
focus was on taking credit, deservedly so, for the vaccines.

BAIER:  Guy, speaking of that, the split screen look, Joe Biden wants to
have masks in federal buildings, interstate travel. He wants to have
governors and mayors do the same. Also wants to have at least 100 million
COVID-19 vaccines in the first 100 days. If you do the math by listening to
the CVS and Walgreens guys and all of the people at the summit today,
that's going to happen as it stands right now.

BENSON:  Yes. So it's nights to set a goal on vaccines that has basically
already been fulfilled for you by all the hard work of your predecessor and
then, of course, all the other components and people who contributed to
Operation Warp Speed.

I have to say, Bret, that I had to catch myself today because I was looking
over at the U.K. and seeing the images of some of these senior citizens
over there being immunized, and one of those vaccines, I believe Pfizer has
already been approved there, and our meeting of the FDA to make that final
here is still in a few days.

And I'm sitting around saying this is kind of frustrating to watch, that
another advanced country, our close ally, is already there. There are
already injections happening. Every day counts. And you have to -- even if
that's true, maybe there is a little too much bureaucracy. I just force
myself to take a step back and just marvel at the fact that this is a
vaccine that is safe and massively effective on a scale and a timeframe
that was literally unheard of ever before. And maybe that tempers my
impatience just a little bit, because once there is a new reality, then
you're impatient all over again. But I think it's important to take a
moment and acknowledge what a seismic achievement this is.

BAIER:  Yes. And the Trump campaign put out a video saying all these people
saying it couldn't happen before the end of the year.

I wanted to play one thing, Bill, and that is there is already pushback to
some of these choices by President-elect Biden. One of them is his Health
and Human Services secretary nominee. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT-ELECT:  For secretary of health and education I
nominate Xavier Bakaria (ph) -- you know, Xavier Besheara (ph), excuse me.

SEN. MIKE BRAUN, (R-IN):  I'm going to meet with him and talk to him why he
thinks he'd be good at that role. I know that he has got a heavy influence
from the healthcare industry already in terms of contributions and so forth
without a lot of experience.

SEN. TOM COTTON, (R-AR):  I woke up this morning with a message for a
friend in California who said that Xavier Becerra is so far to the left he
makes Bernie Sanders look like a Tea Partier. Xavier Becerra will be Joe
Biden's nationwide lockdown enforcer. The Senate ought not to confirm him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Those, Bill, are two Republicans, but there are Democrats pushing
back to some of those choices.

BENNETT:  Yes, absolutely. No background in health policy. He is checking a
box. Hispanic, check, left-winger, check. But this is not a good
appointment. The guy is not qualified for this job.

On the other hand, I'm a bit of a dissident with both Republicans and
Democrats. General Austin, who may be heading to the Defense Department, I
think there is a problem with his calling the ISIS group junior, or flash
in the pan. But, I've have never bought this civilian control of the
military means you can't have a general at the Pentagon. Why not have
somebody there who knows what the heck he's doing, and maybe General Austin
does.

We've had four presidents who were generals, at least four presidents.
Washington, Grant, Jackson, Eisenhower, and there are others. And they did
pretty well. And civilian control means civilian control. It doesn't mean
the guy can't have not served. And I think having that experience, if the
guy checks out in terms of his background and his decisions, would be a
good idea, not a bad idea.

BAIER:  All right, panel, thank you very much.

When we come back, the brighter side of things.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Finally tonight, sending joy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  Thank you. I appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  It made me feel beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Thank you all for making the videos that we watched.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  When the pandemic struck, high school student Hita Gupta wanted to
help some of those most affected, so the 16-year-old from Pennsylvania has
used her nonprofit Brighten a Day to make senior care residents in need of
cheer. And with help of volunteers Hita is delivering uplifting cards and
cheerful videos to seniors around the world. That's awesome. Thanks for
inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL REPORT. Fair,
balanced and still unafraid. One day closer. And here is Martha.

END

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