This is a rush transcript from “Special Report," July 28, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SHANNON BREAM: All right, good evening and welcome to Washington. I'm Shannon Bream in for Bret Baier.
President Trump has just concluded a news conference from the White House. He says large portions of the country are corona-free. The president adds, cases in hot zones are heading down.
But the briefing was not all about coronavirus. Chief White House correspondent John Roberts was at today's session and starts us off tonight. Good evening, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Shannon, good evening to you. Some of the biggest news out of the White House today is the fact that the Department of Homeland Security is going to undertake a thorough review of the so-called DACA program, the dreamers' Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to determine whether that program should continue and if it shouldn't continue, how to wind it down.
In the meantime, the Department of Homeland Security will not be taking any new initial applications for new DACA recipients. The renewal for the DACA program will be done on a case by case basis. And the period of renewal would be reduced from two years to one year. And unless it's extraordinary circumstances, current DACA recipients will not be able to leave the country.
Now, when the president first heard about the Supreme Court decision regarding DACA, he suggested that he was going to implement a fix that may include a path to citizenship for current DACA recipients. I asked him about that at the briefing a short time ago. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to make DACA happy in the DACA people and representatives happy and we're also going to end up with a fantastic merit-based immigration system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: One of the other big topics of course at the briefing this afternoon, hydroxychloroquine back in the news again after the president late last night retweeted a tweet that was critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci claiming that he had misled the nation about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine. This tweet suggesting that it was more effective than what the National Institutes of Health, other research organizations and Dr. Fauci had been saying about it.
Dr. Fauci responding this morning on "Good Morning America". Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: I just will continue to do my job no matter what comes out because I think it's very important. We're in the middle of a crisis with regard to an epidemic a pandemic. This is what I do, this is what I've been trained for my entire professional life and I'll continue to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That briefing this afternoon, President Trump again saying it is possible that hydroxychloroquine combined with zinc and azithromycin may be an early particularly -- or maybe an effective early stage treatment for coronavirus.
The president also lamenting why a recent A.P. poll showed that Anthony Fauci had much higher personal ratings than the president did. Listen to his response here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's got this high approval rating, so why don't I have a high approval rating with respect and the administration with respect to the virus? We should have a very high --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And the new phase for Coronavirus Relief Bill, the HEALS Act, of course, a big topic of discussion here in Washington today as the Senate Republicans roll out their program.
President Trump said there are things about it he likes, there are some things about it -- about it he does not like but it's certain that Democrats do not like the provision on unemployment insurance which reduces the plus up which is currently at $600 a week down to $200 a week. Listen to what the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said about it earlier this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): People can't feed their kids. People are losing their homes, they get kicked out from their apartments, small business going under. And the Republican response let them eat cake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Negotiations are under way on Capitol Hill. The White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin meeting with Nancy Pelosi during the day today.
It's going to be a tough lift though, Shannon, because they seem to be so far apart in terms of money and how that money is divvied up. I think it would be a miracle if they can get something done before some of this runs out. They may have to do it piecemeal because of course, that unemployment insurance which runs out at the end of this month, that's something's got to be done about that or there's going to be a lot of people who don't have any money to buy anything, Shannon.
BREAM: Yes, both sides seem to be suggesting there's not a ton of progress as you said today. John Roberts at the White House. Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: You bet.
BREAM: Attorney General William Barr says violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction on innocent victims. Barr mounted a vigorous defense of the administration's response and his relationship with the president before an often-hostile House Judiciary Committee today.
Correspondent Gillian Turner shows us what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Barr, if I may --
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes, but this is a hearing, I thought I was the one that's supposed to be heard.
GILLIAN TURNER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: The attorney general struggled at times to defend his record amid the Democrat majority's relentless interrogating. But his main message was loud and clear, when it comes to delivering justice, he insists he's never done President Trump's bidding.
BARR: He has told me from the start that he expects me to exercise my independent judgment to make whatever call I think is right and that is precisely what I've done.
TURNER: House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler delayed by a traffic accident enroute to the hearing set the tone for Democrats attacks in his opening line.
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): You have aided and abetted the worst failings of the president. This administration has twisted the Department of Justice into a shadow of its former self.
TURNER: But Barr insisted he's only ever sought equal justice for the administration.
BARR: I agree the president's friends don't deserve special breaks but they also don't deserve to be treated more harshly than other people.
TURNER: Republican Jim Jordan slammed Democrats saying for them, it's always been about the Russia hoax and always will be.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Spying, that one word. That's why they're after you Mr. Attorney General. They've been attacking you ever since, every day, every week for simply stating the truth that the Obama-Biden administration spied on the Trump campaign.
TURNER: Talking about protests for racial justice, Barr put a partisan spin on violence in American cities.
BARR: The Democratic Party are not coming out and condemning mob violence and the attack on federal courts. Could we hear something like that?
TURNER: He also singled out Antifa for fomenting violence.
BARR: We are concerned about this problem metastasizing around the country.
TURNER: As for the demonstrations in front of the White House last month when officers forcefully removed protesters from Lafayette Square, Barr defended his actions denying it was done to give Trump a photo op at a nearby church.
BARR: To say that this had to do with a photo op but it's akin to saying that we invaded the Philippines in World War II, so Douglas MacArthur could walk through the surf on the beach.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TURNER: Looking ahead to the November election, Barr says he assumed Russia is trying to interfere. He differs from President Trump who has said he believes 2020 will be rigged by increased mail in voting. Barr said today, he's got no reason to think that's the case, Shannon.
BREAM: All right, we'll break it down with the panel coming up. Gillian Turner on Capitol Hill, thank you.
A declassified report from the Senate Intelligence Committee is revealing internal conversations about the Steele dossier between the FBI and CIA during the writing of an Intelligence Community assessment on Russian election interference, a potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The report reinforces the deep divide regarding how much stock the Intelligence Community put into this deal information well before the three renewals of the Carter Page FISA warrants.
The head of the U.S. Park Police is denying that his officers turned violently on protesters and journalists during that Lafayette Square confrontation mentioned in our last report.
Gregory Monahan told a House Committee today, there was zero correlation between the abrupt clearing of the area and President Trump's surprise appearance shortly after.
Well tonight, we get the inside story on defending a federal building under attack. National correspondent William La Jeunesse shows us how federal officers are trying to protect government property and themselves in Portland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Another night of protests outside the federal courthouse in Portland as officers inside gave a final warning.
Federal agents opened the courthouse doors facing a barrage of bottles and fireworks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By no means is this a peaceful protest. It starts to knock the night off like that. But eventually it's taken over by what we're -- you know, their violent opportunists who are using this peaceful protest to take over.
LA JEUNESSE: After weeks of media coverage focusing on the protesters, Fox was given a behind the scenes look at the federal agents who are defending the building.
Protesters called the agents' actions unnecessary excessive and dangerous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: if I exhale hard enough, you could see, like, a cloud of smoke come out of it.
LA JEUNESSE: In recent days, federal agents have seized Molotov cocktails, bats, hockey sticks, slingshots, cans and garden sprayers filled with bleach and urine.
BARR: We are on the defense. It's -- we're not out looking for trouble. And if the state and the city would provide the law enforcement services and other jurisdictions, still, we would have no need to have additional marshals in the courthouse.
LA JEUNESSE: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler for weeks criticized the feds as a paramilitary force attacking democracy. But Monday, he called for an immediate meeting with acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to consider a ceasefire.
U.S. Marshal Russell Berger who commands officers on the ground prefers cooperation to confrontation.
RUSSELL BERGER, U.S. MARSHAL: I think that anytime leaders get together and try to find solutions, that's a good thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LA JEUNESSE: While there are encouraging signs coming out of the local NAACP, the U.S. attorney's office and city hall, there's no reason to believe that what we saw last night won't happen again tonight, Shannon.
BREAM: We will be watching. William, thank you.
So, let's get reaction to all of this from House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan of Ohio. Congressman, good to see you.
JORDAN: Good to be with you, Shannon.
BREAM: All right, you got a lot of attention in this hearing today for a mash up, a video that you ran showing some of the riots around the country, some of the protests that have turned violent.
JORDAN: Yes.
BREAM: Here's how NBC reports on it. It says, the video that you played omitted images of federal law enforcement officers and members of the military taking aggressive action against protesters. Democrats said you didn't clear the video in advance as you should have. How do you defend that tonight?
JORDAN: Well, Democrats want to censor Republican members of the Judiciary Committee just like the hard left wants to censor conservatives around the country.
I mean, the video speaks for itself. You have -- you had two reporters in that video saying these are -- these are peaceful protests while there's a building burning in the background for goodness sake.
So, we just presented the truth. We wanted to make sure the American people saw what is really happening in these cities.
Portland has been under siege. The federal building in Portland as Bill Barr testified today, under siege for almost nine weeks, 61 straight days.
And Bill Barr did a great job today. He's doing a great job as attorney general but he asked a fundamental question, why won't the Democrats condemn the mob? Why won't they condemn the rioters? Why won't they condemn what's happening to the federal building in Portland? And when we ask him would that federal building be standing today but for federal officers defending it, he said, no it would not. Would St. John Church be standing today but for actions by the federal government? No, it would not. That's the fundamental issue that Americans see it. The ones who don't are Democrat leaders in Congress and Democrat mayors around the country.
BREAM: Well, the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler had a lot to say today to you and to the attorney general. And he said the president is leveraging these images to try to help himself get reelected and accused the attorney general of doing the dirty work for him. Here's a bit of their exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADLER: You used pepper spray and truncheons on American citizens. You did it here in Washington. You did it Lafayette Square. You expanded to Portland and now you are projecting fear and violence nationwide in pursuit of obvious political objectives, shame on you Mr. Barr.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: What did you make of the newest accusations that came from Democrats who said just not on this issue but on several? The attorney general has covered for and protected the president in a way that they find unlawful.
JORDAN: The attorney general is enforcing the rule of law. And if Democrats want to try to blame the attorney general for what is happening in Democrat-run cities that have been Democrat-run for years and years, I think the last time there was an elected Republican in Portland was 1956. They want to try to blame the administration for that, they're just flat out wrong.
How about the -- how about the police chief in Seattle who sent a letter to the residents and the business owners in Seattle and said, the City Council just passed something that doesn't allow our officers to protect you from violent crowds. I'm putting you on notice. We will have to do a quote, adjusted deployment, which was a nice way of telling those business owners and residents, we're not going to be there. We would love to be --
Carmen Best, the police chief, she was doing what you're supposed to as a leader. She was -- she was trying to serve the constituents, serve her -- the people in her city. But she had to tell them, look, they're tying our hands. I would like to help you but the Democrat controlled nine -- excuse me, eight Democrats and one socialist on the Seattle City Council are making it tough for us to do our job, we're warning you. That's what Bill Barr is criticizing. That's what's wrong.
And all we -- all we did is point out what is happening in so many of our major -- in the United States of America. This kind of stuff is going on.
That is -- this idea -- and Bill Barr talked about this, this idea of defunding the police, it is dangerous. And he said that, we showed that, that's what the focus of this hearing was about. That's what he said -- that's what needs to be cleaned up.
BREAM: Well, and quickly, we showed the clip a little bit earlier when he said this is a hearing, I thought I was supposed to be here to be heard. But what any neutral observer could see when they watched today is that Democrats would ask questions and when he would began explaining beyond a yes or no answer, they immediately would say I reclaim my time.
Meaning, the member is the only one who could speak, then the attorney general couldn't. Do you think this hearing was beneficial today and why do you think he decided to walk into that situation knowing it would probably go that way?
JORDAN: No, I mean, look, he did a great job in spite of the fact they tried to -- try to not even let him speak. I mean, you think about this hearing, the Democrats cut off or they wouldn't show our whole video. The Democrats wouldn't let the attorney general answer questions and then they tried to stop him from taking a restroom break for goodness sake.
That's the treatment the Democrats give the attorney general of the United States. It is -- it is wrong. American people saw it for what it was. They appreciate the work I think -- I think the vast majority of the people in this country appreciate the work that President Trump is doing, appreciate the work that the attorney general is doing. And we just tried to underscore that and show that to them today.
BREAM: Congressman Jim Jordan ranking member on House Judiciary. We're going to dig in this -- into this with the panel. I'm sure they will have a lot to say about it. Thank you for your time sir.
JORDAN: You bet, Shannon. Thank you.
BREAM: OK, up next, the lengths some parents are going to make sure their kids get an in-person education.
First, here's what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight.
FOX 28 in Columbus as Republican state representatives in Ohio meet for the first time since their leader was arrested in connection with a $60 million federal bribery probe. They're discussing whether to remove House Speaker Larry Householder and what the investigation's fallout might mean for their fall legislative campaigns.
FOX 5 in New York as ridesharing scooters startup Revel says it's suspending operations in the city after a second fatal crash in less than two weeks. Revel says it is reviewing safety and rider accountability measures.
And this is a live look at San Diego from FOX 5. The big story there tonight, test samples reveal toxic chemicals in the smoke from the fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard, despite the Navy's claim that the smoke was not toxic.
The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District says, toxic chemicals were found but not at levels that would cause any health concerns.
That is tonight's live look outside the Beltway from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: The CDC is reporting nearly 55,000 new cases of coronavirus Monday. That brings the total in the U.S. to more than 4.3 million with almost 150,000 deaths.
Major League Baseball has postponed games for the Miami Marlins until at least next week. The number of infections on the team now stands at, at least, 15. Dr. Anthony Fauci says the outbreak could threaten the season.
And Airline Industry Trade Association says it's going to take until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels. That is a one-year extension of the previous prediction.
The nation's second largest teacher's union says it will support members who go on strike because of unsafe working conditions due to the pandemic.
And more districts are going virtual. Students in Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio learned today they will start the new semester online.
As more and more schools make plans for virtual education to start the coming school year, some parents are trying to make sure their kids get in- person instruction.
Correspondent Laura Ingle shows us how tonight from Malvern, New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH BERGMAN, PARENT: In 2020, we are all looking to pivot. This was an idea that just came to us to continue the path of education and in person instruction for our children.
LAURA INGLE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: The idea set up their own small group or pod of students to continue lessons outside the regular school setting. It's a trend around the country as parents face uncertainty about whether schools will open in the fall. They're hiring teachers to hold many classes outside or at one another's homes. Parents say it's been beneficial.
BERGMAN: They picked right back up especially at the younger ages. They thrive on routine and on this classroom setting.
INGLE: A recent Fox poll shows two-thirds of those surveyed want children to attend public schools in person this fall to some extent, while 25 percent would prefer to be fully remote.
Another tool parents are using to ensure kids don't fall behind is supplemental online classes.
ANDREA TOCH, PARENT: We want them engaged and with no arts and no music and no recess. This is a really good way to kind of still that time doing things they love.
INGLE: The U.S. Department of Education is warning parents and schools to be prepared for whatever fall brings.
FRANK BROGAN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: Don't develop one plan, develop multiple plans because you're going to be surprised to find out nothing is going to work for a one size fits all approach to this thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
INGLE: The money to fund private pot instruction learning space and child care are all major issues that some parents say will not come easy as they try to manage their own jobs to keep their families afloat, Shannon.
BREAM: Laura, thank you.
Well, stocks were down today. The Dow lost 205. The S&P 500 fell 21. NASDAQ gave back 134.
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on the domination of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Many of the industry's top leaders are expected to testify including Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. The hearing was postponed last week after the death of Congressman John Lewis.
Well, up next, Joe Biden tells us when he will be announcing his vice presidential candidate. First, Beyond Our Borders tonight. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says his country's hard-won nuclear weapons are a solid security guarantee.
State media report, Kim told Korean War veterans, the weapons are a reliable and effective deterrence that could prevent a second Korean War.
Two bases in the Middle East housing U.S. troops and aircraft went on high alert when Iranian missiles appeared to be headed for them. The U.S. Central Command says American service members at bases in the United Arab Emirates and in Qatar were told to quickly find shelter when several missiles were fired from Iran. Ultimately, the missiles landed well shorts and out to sea. The launches were part of an Iranian military exercise in the Persian Gulf.
Preparations conclude for a very different observance of a major Muslim holiday at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. It would normally be packed with more than two million pilgrims, but only a thousand to 10,000 are being allowed to come this year because of the coronavirus.
To some of the other stories Beyond Our Borders tonight. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: In tonight's Democracy 2020 segment, Joe Biden sets the timetable for announcing his pick for a running mate. He also unveiled the latest package of promises should he be elected in November.
Correspondent Doug McKelway shows us what the Democrat is proposing and who's helping him get into a position to deliver.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to have a choice in the first week in August, and I promise I'll let you know when I do.
DOUG MCKELWAY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Back on the trail, but sticking close to home at an inner-city Community Center in Wilmington, Joe Biden said he will reveal his running mate next week. The announcement came as the former V.P. unveiled the fourth and final plan of his Build Back Better economic recovery plan today.
BIDEN: It's about rising in this moment of crisis. Understanding people's struggles and building a future worthy of their courage and their ambition to overcome.
MCKELWAY: It's a 26-page of wish lists covering anything from helping black and brown farmers purchase land, to providing $150 billion in new capital for small businesses who've been, quote, structurally excluded for generations.
How to pay for it? It's doubtful any Republican Congress would agree, Biden's counting on Democrats taking control.
BIDEN: If I'm elected and this passes, I'm going to be good to go down as one of the most progressive presidents in American history.
MCKELWAY: He accused President Trump's remedies of favoring the rich.
Right now we're in the midst of one of the greatest threats to small businesses our country has ever seen. What's Donald Trump doing about it? He's giving big banks the green light to loan millions of dollars.
MCKELWAY: That comment omitted the lowest black unemployment rate in history before the virus hit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I support him 100 percent.
MCKELWAY: The Biden campaign also held separate events with Native Americans, another with African-American Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott, and a virtual meeting with President Obama and George Clooney.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKELWAY: The virus is defining two very different agendas when it comes to rebuilding the economy. Biden is based upon an expansion of government aid and regulations. Trump's is based upon freeing up businesses from such regulations. Shannon?
BREAM: Doug McKelway in Delaware. Thank you, Doug.
Now for an examination of what then candidate Donald Trump promised in 2016 and how that's turned out. Correspondent Kristin Fisher takes a look from the White House today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Before the pandemic put a stop to the president's rallies, he often delivered remarks in between banners that read "Promises Made" and "Promises Kept." Without question, the most successful and perhaps consequential promise that he kept from the 2016 campaign has been to fill the judiciary with conservatives.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The justices that I'm going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent.
FISHER: In addition to Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, the Senate has confirmed 198 other judicial appointments, a record for a first term president. Another promise kept, renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement and replacing it with the USMCA.
TRUMP: Today we're finally ending the NAFTA nightmare.
FISHER: But the president struggled to secure a trade deal with China. He also didn't secure quite as many tax cuts as he promised, but he came close with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. And then there is his signature campaign issue from 2016.
TRUMP: We will build that great wall, and Mexico will pay for that great wall.
FISHER: Last month the president celebrated the completion of 200 miles of border wall, but Mexico did not pay for it.
TRUMP: We're going to rebuild our infrastructure.
FISHER: But three-and-a-half years in, the president has yet to put forward an infrastructure plan, though the White House says he may announce one soon.
Another promise broken, repealing the Affordable Care Act.
TRUMP: We will do it, and we will do it very, very quickly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FISHER: But President Trump is still trying to keep that promise. Just last month his administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn Obamacare, but the justices have decided that they will not hear those arguments until after the election. Shannon?
BREAM: Kristin Fisher from the White House, thank you.
The attorney for the Kentucky high school student who was involved in a confrontation with a Native American in Washington last year says CNN's chief media correspondent breached his company's settlement agreement with the teenager. Attorney Lin Wood says a retweet from Brian Stelter about how much money Nicholas Sandmann may have been awarded from "The Washington Post" in a settlement of that lawsuit may cost him his job. CNN is not commenting.
Attorney General William Barr gets into it with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee about a number of issues. Reaction from the panel when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D-NY) HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE: The job of the White House Counsel is to be the president's lawyer. The job of the attorney general is to be the people's lawyer. And it's not clear that William Barr understands that distinction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In your office, you are then free to act independently of the president. Isn't that true?
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: That is true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's exactly what he has asked you to do, isn't that right?
BARR: Yes.
REP. JIM JORDAN, (R-OH) HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: The attorney general is enforcing the rule of law. And if the Democrats want to blame the attorney general for what is happening in Democrat-run cities that have been Democrat-run for years and years, I think the last time there was an elected Republican in Portland was 1956 -- if they want to blame the administration for that, they're just flat out wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: Let's bring in our panel, Byron York, chief political correspondent for the "Washington Examiner," Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for National Public Radio, and "Washington Post" columnist Marc Thiessen. Great to see all of you. I trust that you had a chance to watch a good chunk of these hearings today, so I want to get an initial reaction from you. Let's start with you, Marc.
MARC THIESSEN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: It was a disgrace. First of all, the American people learned a new phrase, which is "I'm reclaiming my time," which is government for please shut up. I'm going to try that with my kids one day because it's a nicer way to say it, I guess.
It was a disgrace. What the American people saw was Democrats relentlessly attacking the character and the credibility of the attorney general while he sat there and tried to answer, and they would cut him off and stop him from answering. You quoted one of the congressmen saying he doesn't -- questioning his credibility. How would he know? He didn't let him answer a question. They didn't even give him a lunch break. It was just awful.
But the truth is that we did learn some things, and it was useful for him to sit through that because the chairman of that committee said just the other day that what's happening in Portland is at mid spread in Washington, and at a bare minimum the American people saw a video of what was happening in Portland actually happening, and they saw the attorney general describing how they're using sling shots with ball bearings that have injured officers to the bone, using kerosene filled balloons to set fires to draw them outside so that they can attack them. This is an outrage, and the American people need to see and hear from their government what's happening.
BREAM: And Mara, the chairman of the committee, we talked about earlier, Jerry Nadler, he said that this is all happening, this federal action and activity in places like Portland federal courthouse -- he says that it is all sort of a smoke screen so the images will be out there. Here is a bit of his exchange back and forth with the attorney general on the topic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JERROLD NADLER, (D-NY) HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The president wants footage for his campaign ads, and you appear to be serving it up to him as ordered.
The protesters aren't mobs. They are mothers and veterans and mayors.
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Federal courts are under attack. Since when is it OK to try to burn down a federal court? Is that OK now? No. The U.S. Marshals have a duty to stop that and defend the courthouse, and that's what we are doing in Portland. We're not out looking for trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: Mara, there certainly are some mothers and some veterans and some mayors out there, but, Mara, there are people who, you could say, hijacking the underlying peaceful protests and turning them into something much different at the end of each night, especially now 60 plus nights in Portland.
MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Right. And the Democrats' argument is that but for the extra federal presence, police presence in Portland, the peaceful demonstrations would not have escalated, and that the feds are kind of inciting some of this violence by being there.
From the point of view of Barr, and I thought he laid out his case extremely forcefully, is that a federal building is under attack. So you've got this extremely polarized view. It's the same thing with the view of the Justice Department itself. From the Democrats' point of view Barr is doing favors for Trump and Trump's friends. From Barr's point of view the Justice Department became weaponized against Donald Trump. So I would say this was kind of Washington at its most polarized.
BREAM: Yes, I think people on both sides ended up very frustrated. Towards the end the attorney general just chuckling and throwing up his hands, Byron. He at one point realized this whole "I reclaim my time" means you're not going to answer the question. But we heard something today, too, that we've heard a lot about in recent weeks, that if President Trump is not reelected he may not leave the White House, that all these federal agents on the street are a test run, a trial run for martial law so that he can swoop in and hang on to control of the White House. Here is a little bit more of the conversation today about the 2020 election and what role the attorney general would play if it got ugly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND, (D-LA) HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: As attorney general attorney general of the United States do you believe that this 2020 presidential election will be rigged?
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I have no reason to think it will be.
RICHMOND Do you believe as the attorney general of the United States that mail-in voting will lead to massive voter fraud?
BARR: I think there is a high risk that it will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: Byron, what do you make about this ongoing theme, this thread that we're hearing played out over the last couple of weeks and today as well about the 2020 election and the president being unable to let go or refuse to leave if he doesn't win?
BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": This has been a Democratic talking point in recent days. It was a Democratic talking point in 2016, by the way, when Donald Trump was a private citizen running for president, there was talk about him somehow not accepting the results had he lost. But he won.
But we're hearing a lot about this. And the issue is that the parties seem to have just divided over this issue of voting by mail, and Attorney General Barr was really pretty skeptical about that and believed that it does have the potential for fraud. And also a bigger thing -- even if there were absolutely zero fraud, we've got a few congressional elections in New York that are still undecided because they have been having massive problems with counting and seeing which mail-in ballots are legitimate. This is an enormous problem, and these are in congressional districts in New York state.
Put that in a national context, in a presidential election where there's far, far more voting by mail than there ever has been before, and there could be enormous problems. We might not find out who actually won for weeks afterwards. Meanwhile, there is just terrible partisan wrangling going on ala Bush v Gore. So there are some really bad scenarios for voting by mail, and the attorney general simply recognized some of those.
BREAM: When you say weeks, Byron, I think we all might have to stock up on the antacids if it comes to that. But we'll all be in it together as we cover it and it falls out. Panel, thank you. Stick around. President Trump next up takes on Dr. Fauci and gets defensive over the coronavirus.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I don't tweet. I don't even read them, so I don't really want to go there. I just will continue to do my job no matter what comes out because I think it's very important.
I have not been misleading the American public under any circumstances.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's working with our administration, and for the most part we've done pretty much what he and others, Dr. Birx and others, who are terrific, recommended. He's got this high approval ratings. They're highly thought of, but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality. That's all.
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BREAM: Well, a little bit of levity from the president there today. We're back with our panel, and Mara, I want to start with you. There has been so much about trying to pit Dr. Fauci against President Trump, and yet when confronted face-to-face they each will say we get along fine. We discuss things. We meet. Everything is great. I think so much of him and it's wonderful. And yet there is this constant attempt at driving a wedge between the two. What do you make of it?
LIASSON: Yes, I think that it's in neither of their interests to have a wedge driven between the two of them. Dr. Fauci is the good housekeeping seal of approval on this pandemic, and he has been all along. There have been times when the president was more interested in opening the economy, that he wasn't meeting with Fauci enough, as much as he had been, or he wasn't having him to the briefings.
But what I don't understand, and it's mystifying to me, is why does President Trump continue to retweet disparaging comments about Dr. Fauci? That I just don't understand. I don't think it's in his interests to undermine the credibility of Dr. Fauci.
BREAM: They seem to have a very complex relationship, those two.
Meanwhile, they're talking about, on Capitol Hill, putting together more relief funding. There's a fight over these plus-up for unemployment benefits. Today the two sides don't seem much closer together. Byron, here is what former senator Phil Gramm, who is known for crunching the numbers, here is what he had to say.
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SEN. PHIL GRAMM, (R-TX) FORMER SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: We've spent a massive amount of money, and the bill has yet to really come due. I believe that we would be blessed if we didn't see another bill pass here and we simply went back and reprogrammed some of the $1.2 trillion.
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BREAM: OK, Byron, so no bill better than another big deal, what do you think?
YORK: Well, that's Phil Gramm's view, and certainly people who need more unemployment aid would certainly disagree with that. On the other hand, when the two sides are trillions of dollars apart, that's a real problem. And Republicans are not united on this.
I want to say one thing, though, about this news conference. The president did announce, began by announcing a $765 million loan to Kodak, the photography company, to start making pharmaceuticals, actually the building blocks of generic drugs, in part to address our scandalous reliance on China. I think in the last year or two, because of the trade negotiations people learned how dependent the United States is on China for pharmaceuticals -- 97 percent of our antibiotics come from China. And so any move to try to improve that, and the president started his news conference off by announcing that, would be a good thing.
BREAM: The president was pressed today, too, on what his plans are for the RNC, what he'll do, where he is going to deliver his acceptance speech. He used one of these conferences last week to say that it wasn't going to play out the way we've seen conventions play out in the past with the big events in Florida.
And now tonight we are just getting word that there are more than 100 police agencies who say they are not going to enter into or live up to these agreements with the DNC because they have now been told the local directives there are that they cannot use pepper spray or teargas or other crowd control things that they've used in the past. So now more than 100 of these police agencies saying they're not going to send agents in or officers in to assist with this. They don't think they can do so safely. Marc?
THIESSEN: They might as well move it to Chicago and repeat 1968. Exactly, this is what happens when you defund the police. The police don't come. And so I'm not surprised that police agencies are upset and are saying they're not going to support the conventions.
We don't know how these conventions are going to play out, still. We don't know what Trump is going to do because we don't how the pandemic is doing. And when he announced that he was going to move it to Jacksonville, Florida looked like it was doing great. Then all of a sudden Florida wasn't doing so great. So he was smart today to keep his powder dry and say we'll let you know soon what the plan is for my convention speech.
BREAM: Mara, do you think the DNC can proceed if they've lost 100 plus law enforcement agencies who were planning to help them manage it? We have all been to conventions, you know, even though these are probably going to be scaled down, it is a logistical and security -- very tight puzzle that's got to work exactly right because of all the people that are there, and high profile, to protect.
LIASSON: What I'm really unclear on is how many high-profile people will be there. The DNC has been scaling back, scaling back, a couple hundred people, we know that Joe Biden was planning to accept the nomination in Milwaukee. But I'm wondering what are the protesters going to be protesting if this thing is almost completely virtual? So that is unclear to me.
But the fact that these conventions are supposed to start on August 17th for the Democrats and August 24th for the Republicans, that's not very far away. And they still don't know exactly what they're going to be like.
THIESSEN: There's only a few hundred people at the courthouse in Portland.
BREAM: All right, last 15 second to you, Byron. Yes, that's true. Byron?
YORK: My favorite moment of the news -- yes. President Trump today is asked you're going to accept the nomination on Thursday night of the convention week. Where are you physically going to be? And he says we'll be announcing that soon. Anybody have any ideas? That's the way it's going.
BREAM: That is what he said.
We're standing by for all of that and more. Panel, stick around. When we come back, technical difficulties on Capitol Hill. You'll feel the pain.
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BREAM: A gloomy night here in Washington, D.C., we want to take you live now to just outside the U.S. Capitol Hill where Congressman and Civil Rights icon John Lewis continues to lie in state where folks can come by and the lines have continued all day to pay their respects, and to remember him, the one who called for a good trouble to shake things up and to change our country, to force us to have tough conversations and make things better. That continues tonight here in Washington. His funeral will be on Thursday.
Finally tonight, confusion on Capitol Hill. During a virtual Senate committee hearing on coronavirus relief, Republicans and Democrats finally found some common ground, but might not be what you'd expect.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With that, Senator Romney. Is Senator Romney there?
Why don't we go to Senator Hassan if she's available?
Senator Carper?
I'll just go down the list here.
I don't see Senator Hassan. We'll go to Senator Carper?
Here's Senator Romney. Senator Romney, are you ready to go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to thank Senator Romney and Senator Hassan for yielding their time to me. I now have 21 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come through here. Can you hear me all right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who have we got on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Romney, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, the hell with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, Senator Romney. Romney?
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BREAM: OK. Everyone who has been doing virtual meetings, as you are trapped at home, we've all had that experience so - even Senators have it, too. Thanks for watching SPECIAL REPORT. I'm Shannon Bream in Washington. Please join me for "FOX NEWS @ NIGHT" at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. "THE STORY" hosted by Martha MacCallum starts right now.
Hey, Martha.
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