Ted Cruz blasts the Supreme Court's 'damaging decisions'
Republican presidential candidate says rulings are 'political activism at its worst' on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," June 29, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY: Welcome to "Hannity." Tonight, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have issued a warning for Americans and law enforcement to be extra-vigilant on high alert for an ISIS-related attack around the upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend. And we're going to have a full report on that later in the program.
But first, after two huge rulings from the Supreme Court last week, one on ObamaCare, the other on same-sex marriage, where do conservatives go from here?
Now, here's how some of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates have been responding. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, R-FLA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I disagree with their decision. I believe ObamaCare is bad for Americans, bad for the country.
MIKE HUCKABEE, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Judicial tyranny is when we believe that the courts have a right to bypass the process of law. And we've really seen it this week in two cases.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you calling for civil disobedience?
HUCKABEE: I don't think a lot of pastors and Christian schools are going to have a choice.
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL, R-LA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I strongly disagree with the court's ruling. According to Chief Justice Roberts, they weren't even reading -- this has nothing to do with the Constitution. But of course, we're going to comply with a court order.
RICK SANTORUM, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to reclaim marriage as an institution that's not about two adults or more adults, that it's children.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HANNITY: Joining us now with reaction, the author of a brand-new book, "A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America," 2016 Republican presidential candidate Texas senator Ted Cruz. Senator, good to see you. How are you, sir?
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sean, always great to be with you.
HANNITY: These are two huge decisions. In the gay marriage decision, we have a Supreme Court justice by the name of Antonin Scalia -- I read both of his dissents, two days in a row. I thought they were fabulous. But he said, "I write separately to call attention to this court's threat to American democracy." A Supreme Court justice wrote that!
CRUZ: (INAUDIBLE) last week, Thursday and Friday, those two decisions are two of the most damaging decisions in the history of the United States Supreme Court. On Thursday, a majority of the justices violated federal law, rewrote ObamaCare in order to force that failed law on millions of Americans.
And you know, to use John Roberts's famous analogy, they stopped being umpires. They stopped calling balls and strikes, and they put on a jersey, an Obama bright blue jersey, and joined a team forcing that failed law on Americans.
And then on Friday, the marriage decision was directly contrary to the Constitution. It was, as Justice Scalia observed, five unelected judges saying their liberal policy views trump the considered judgment of 320 million Americans. It was judicial activism at its worst!
HANNITY: How many times have you argued before the Supreme Court?
CRUZ: Nine times.
HANNITY: Nine -- all right. So I'm looking at both these cases. In the 2012 case on ObamaCare, the Obama administration was not even arguing that the mandate was a tax. And the Supreme Court made it up whole cloth!
CRUZ: Yes.
HANNITY: In this particular take (ph), they talk about state exchanges.
CRUZ: Yes.
HANNITY: And Justice Scalia says we might as well call it "SCOTUS care"...
CRUZ: Right.
HANNITY: ... because the clear language in the law talked about state exchanges.
So what does that mean for the American people, when you have nine unelected lifetime appointees that can impact America in this -- such a profound way?
CRUZ: It is profoundly dangerous to our Constitution and our democracy. They are making it up, and these are political decisions. This is lawless and it's unconstitutional.
HANNITY: What is the recourse?
CRUZ: Well, I think there are a couple of consequences. On ObamaCare, I think as a result of that decision, that makes 2016 a referendum on repealing ObamaCare.
And if a 2016 presidential candidate isn't prepared to fight every day to repeal every word of ObamaCare, to lead the fight and campaign on it, he or she should get out of the way!
HANNITY: Senator, hang on a second. Every Republican like you promised to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Now, they voted symbolically 50 times.
CRUZ: Right. Right.
HANNITY: But they also -- Congress has constitutionally the power of the purse.
CRUZ: Yes. Yes.
HANNITY: You were the only one willing to use it, and you were excoriated by your own party!
CRUZ: Look, Sean, you're right. That's one of the things I talk about in the book, "A Time for Truth," which comes out tomorrow. I talk about what's going on inside the United States Senate, behind closed doors, the closed room dealings, the corruption, what I call the Washington cartel, which is career politicians, Republicans and Democrats, who get in bed with lobbyists and giant corporations.
And you notice whoever is in power, government gets bigger and bigger. The debt grows more and more and our liberty recedes more and more.
The sad reality, both of the decisions last week on ObamaCare and gay marriage, there were a lot of Republicans who put out statements mildly critical who were privately celebrating and popping champagne because the Washington cartel agrees with those decisions!
HANNITY: What would you do then -- what -- you're not going to impeach a Supreme Court justice, are you?
CRUZ: So I've called for -- well, the framers thought that would be the check, impeachment. So in the Federalist Papers, they talk about the response to judicial tyranny is impeachment. Unfortunately, we've seen -- Thomas Jefferson said that even within the first couple of decades, impeachment had become not even a scarecrow for the Supreme Court.
And listen, any Senate that can't muster 50 votes to defeat Loretta Lynch, who told us she will be a lawless attorney general -- there's no way on earth they're going to muster 67 votes to remove Anthony Kennedy from office.
And so what I've called for is several things. Number one, on marriage. I've introduced a constitutional amendment to preserve the authority of the states to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Number two, I've introduced legislation stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction over attacks (ph) on marriage. The Constitution gives that to Congress as a check and balance.
But number three, actually, on your radio show last week, I called for a constitutional amendment putting in place periodic judicial retention elections such that the people...
HANNITY: Twenty states have to do this, right?
CRUZ: That's exactly right. Twenty states have it in effect. So for example, in California, 1986, the people of California recalled several Supreme Court justices that had refused to implement capital punishment. In Iowa in 2010, they recalled three Supreme Court justices who had violated the Iowa constitution by mandating gay marriage.
HANNITY: You were once the attorney general of Texas. The current attorney general says clerks can refuse same-sex marriage. Do you agree with that? And also, do you agree with Justice Thomas in his dissent that says there's a coming battle between religious liberty and freedom? In other words, churches -- will they be forced to perform gay marriage or risk -- what, being closed down?
CRUZ: Absolutely, yes.
HANNITY: That's chilling.
CRUZ: And I will say this. One of the things I detail in the book, "A Time for Truth," is that religious liberty for me has been a battle that I've been leading the fight in for two decades. When I was the solicitor general of Texas, we defended the 10 Commandments monument on state Capitol grounds.
HANNITY: Did I say attorney general? I apologize.
CRUZ: Oh, you promoted me, but that -- that's all right.
(LAUGHTER)
HANNITY: Let me ask you this about the book. You tell a story, and there's an ongoing back-and-forth with you and Karl Rove in the book. You had gotten the support and endorsement of Bush 41, George Herbert Walker Bush.
CRUZ: Yes. Yes.
HANNITY: And why don't you tell the story and what -- how -- your response to the fallout of this.
CRUZ: Well, George Herbert Walker Bush had very generously and unexpectedly given a thousand dollar check in support of my campaign for attorney general in 2009. And I was elated. I told my wife, Heidi, how thrilled I was.
A few days later, Karl Rove called me on my cell phone and was berating and yelling and cursing at me. It turns out that he was trying to raise money for the Bush 43 library in Dallas. And a number of the big donors in Dallas were supporting another person, a state rep, who was planning on running for that same office.
And so Karl was yelling at me. And I responded, I said, Karl, look, I was just doing what you suggested when I asked your advice, going and seeking support. He said, Well, you weren't supposed to get 41's. And sadly, he made a comment -- he said -- he said -- he said, Besides, he's too old to have good judgment anymore.
And it was a hurtful comment. It was wrong. Having spent four-and-a- half hours with him, it was categorically false.
HANNITY: He denies that this happened.
CRUZ: Well, he does, and he put out a statement last night claiming that he never said that. He never said anything about raising money for the Bush library. He was never focused on supporting a state rep in Dallas.
And sadly, Karl's statement is just flat-out false. Last night, I released a series of e-mails where Karl in writing, in e-mail he signed, lays out that it was all about big money for the Bush library.
And I'll tell you, Heidi, my wife, who you know -- when I hung up the phone, it was the maddest she's ever been. She looked at me and said, You know, this is what's wrong with the Republican Party. The attorney general of Texas should not depend on who the donors are to the Bush library. And it's that kind of story that I have in that book, "A Time for Truth." It's what's going on behind the scenes.
HANNITY: And you're just naming names and you're picking battles with him (ph) telling the truth. Let me ask you this. You say -- this is your book right here, "A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America." Debt, Putin, China, Iran, Middle East, you really think you're able to put this thing back together if you become president?
CRUZ: Absolutely, yes. And I think the key -- we've got to break the Washington cartel. And how do you do that? Number one, you look at the 2016 candidates. I think one of the most important questions is, When have you ever stood up to the Washington cartel? It's easy to say you're standing up to Democrats or Obama, but when have you stood up to Republicans in your own party?
Now, it's interesting. There are some in the field that could say, Well, I supported amnesty. Well, you know, when you attack Republicans from the left, the mainstream media lionizes you as a bipartisan statesman. But when have you stood with the people, with Constitution, with freedom? And when have you been excoriated by Democrats, Republicans and the mainstream media?
HANNITY: I got to be honest, I have real disappointment in Republicans on two issues. Number one, they said they would de-fund Obama's executive order. They didn't do it.
CRUZ: Yes.
HANNITY: They went along with "cromnibus," made promises. And the other thing is, you know, on repealing or replacing ObamaCare, they didn't use their constitutional power. That's disappointing.
Senator, we got to run. Good to see you. It's called "A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America."
(CROSSTALK)
CRUZ: God bless. And I'll tell you, we've had 100,000 people coming to TedCruz.org, supporting us. Tomorrow night at midnight...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... $40 million, is that true?
CRUZ: It has been incredible. Over 100,000 courageous...
HANNITY: More than Hillary.
CRUZ: It is stunning! And it's because people are tired of politicians not telling the truth. They want someone who will do what he said he would do. I would ask your viewers, come to TedCruz.org. Support us before midnight Tuesday, June 30th.
HANNITY: Good to see you, Senator. We'll see you on the campaign trail. Thank you.
Coming up: In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage, will Christians at some point be forced to violate their own deeply held religious beliefs? We'll check in with Pastor Jeffress and Father Jonathan Morris coming up next.
Then later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually fear that the Iranians have the upper hand right now. I actually fear we have painted ourselves into a corner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: A disturbing statement from the former director of the CIA saying that Iran has the upper hand as these nuclear negotiations and the deadline approaches.
And then later tonight, NBC cuts all ties with Donald Trump after comments he made about Mexican immigrants. Eric Bolling, Charles Gasparino will be here tonight with reaction, and more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN, D-WIS.: Certainly, the 1st Amendment says that in institutions of faith, that there is absolute power to -- you know, to observe religious -- deeply held religious beliefs.
But I don't think it extends far beyond that. They're talking about expanding this far beyond our churches and synagogues to businesses and individuals across this country. I think there are clear limits that have been set in other contexts and that we ought to abide by those in this new context across America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, that was Wisconsin Democrat senator Tammy Baldwin saying that businesses and the business of people of faith could, in fact, be forced to violate their deeply held religious beliefs when it comes to providing services to same-sex weddings.
Here now with reaction, FOX News contributor Pastor Robert Jeffress, the executive director of Marriage Equality USA Brian Silva, and FOX News contributor Father Jonathan Morris. By the way, Father Morris says he was spat at at yesterday in New York at their, quote, "gay pride" parade.
Thank you all for being with -- what happened?
FATHER JONATHAN MORRIS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I don't want to make this about me. There's a lot of people who are gay who have been fighting for gay marriage for a long time who have been probably spat on and a lot worse by people on my side...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... you wearing your collar? Is that why?
MORRIS: I was in my collar, like this, my clerical collar, and...
HANNITY: Did it say anything?
JEFFRESS: ... I was going to a dinner. I was just off the parade route, and people, I think, were probably very excited about having won this legal victory, probably drunk, perhaps wonderful, good people.
HANNITY: You're not saying that's representative of the gay community.
MORRIS: Not at all.
(CROSSTALK)
JEFFRESS: But it shows that there is a tremendous amount of emotion and tension on both sides. And we, as a country, have to get above that and to say, Let's use rational arguments and respect and...
HANNITY: All right, let me -- Brian, this is what you've been fighting for. You've got a Supreme Court decision. Even though in a dissent, Justice Scalia said, I write separately to call attention to this court's threat to American democracy, and -- and also Justice Thomas warning that religious institutions, in fact, could be forced to do things that go against their religious values.
So I ask you, should churches, synagogues, mosques, if they have a different view, a religious view on gay marriage, should they be forced to marry gay couples?
BRIAN SILVA, MARRIAGE EQUALITY USA: Absolutely not. And since marriage became legal in Massachusetts in 2004, no church, synagogue, mosque or any other religious institution has been forced to do that and...
HANNITY: Why do I think that this is going to change, though? Why do I believe that they're going to...
(CROSSTALK)
MORRIS: I'll tell you why, and I would love to hear Brian's perspective on this. As a priest or as a pastor, in New York City, in New York state, in the United States, I sign as an officiant of the state, of the city. I sign my name. And the city of New York recognizes that as an official of the state...
HANNITY: Legal.
MORRIS: ... signing legal...
HANNITY: Document.
MORRIS: I believe, as a church, we need to get away from that because I think it's very complicated because I think anytime you're working in collaboration with the state on something as delicate as this...
HANNITY: Do you agree with me and Justice Thomas and his admonition that this debate coming?
MORRIS: Well, I agree with two things...
PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Sean...
MORRIS: ... with him. Number one is Justice Scalia recognizes that there was nothing in the Constitution that talks about marriage. But I also believe that this type of argument is definitely coming.
HANNITY: All right, we got to get Pastor Jeffress in here. Pastor?
JEFFRESS: Sean, look, I had a debate Friday night on television with a pastor of the largest gay church in America. And he started talking about tolerance. So I said, Well, how tolerant are you? Do you think those bakers in Oregon should have lost their business because they wouldn't bake a gay wedding cake? He wouldn't answer my question, Sean, three times because he thought they should lose their business!
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Hang on. Brian, answer that question.
SILVA: Well, I think that our country has a long history of...
HANNITY: I don't want the history. Answer the question!
SILVA: I'm trying to tell you because he's talking about why it is that they should or shouldn't lose their business. And the fact is, we don't deny business to people based on their race. We don't deny it based on gender. A public business is open to the public.
HANNITY: So the answer is if they don't bake a gay wedding cake --
(CROSSTALK)
JEFFRESS: Race is not sexual choice!
HANNITY: ... because of their religious views. Pastor, what's your reaction?
JEFFRESS: Yes, look -- look, the 1st Amendment is not just for churches or synagogues. It's for all Americans to freely exercise their religious beliefs everywhere, not just in the church, synagogue or home. And that's why Justice Alito and Justice Roberts said this decision is going to be used to vilify those who believe in traditional marriage!
And that's why I said, Sean, to my congregation yesterday -- Louie Gohmert was there. I said, We will not be silenced. We will not be...
HANNITY: All right...
JEFFRESS: ... intimidated by the liberal left...
HANNITY: Let me ask -- let me ask...
JEFFRESS: ... by Barack Obama or the Supreme Court!
HANNITY: Let me ask Brian a follow-up question then because I think this is an important point. If people are practicing their deeply held religious faith, and their faith tells them that this is the wrong lifestyle, obviously, they disagree with you. Why not respect their right to live their faith? In other words, they go to church maybe on Sunday, or maybe they have a Bible study on Tuesday night. But the idea is to live your faith 24 hours.
If that is their deeply held religious faith, why not respect it and say, OK, be tolerant that they disagree with you?
SILVA: I think we do respect people's faith...
HANNITY: No, no, no! But you just said...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... you're going force -- use the force of government to make them bake that cake or shut them down!
SILVA: Sean, we have -- I think that we have a respect for people's faith in this country. I think we also have a respect for treating people equally under the law and the Constitution.
HANNITY: So people then would have to...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Wait a minute! So then people would have to bake the cake under -- forced by the state to do so!
SILVA: They would have to bake a cake for somebody even if they disagreed with their race, with their religion...
HANNITY: So they can't fully practice their religious belief, I think is what Dr. Jeffress was saying.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Go ahead. Real quick.
MORRIS: I think one way to look at this -- and I understand what's -- what we're -- we're moving in society right now is to protect people of same-sex attraction as a separate class of people, right?
How about this? How about if somebody comes to a photography shop and says, You know what? I want you to take a picture of my first kiss between three people, three of us who are getting married? We think it's a wonderful thing. The three of us are in love, and we -- you, as a photographer -- we want you to be the photographer. We want you to do beautiful art of the three of us doing our first kiss.
HANNITY: All right, we're running out of time, Father. This is a long description.
MORRIS: That's where we're going...
JEFFRESS: Sean...
MORRIS: ... and that's why...
(CROSSTALK)
JEFFRESS: Sean, you would not make...
SILVA: These are lots of different options and different things...
JEFFRESS: Sean, you would not make -- we could talk...
(CROSSTALK)
JEFFRESS: You would not make a Muslim T-shirt owner -- you would not make a Muslim T-shirt owner of a T-shirt company -- you would not make him draw a picture or a cartoon that defamed...
HANNITY: All right...
JEFFRESS: ... the Prophet Mohammed!
HANNITY: I'm running out of time.
JEFFRESS: We would not make somebody do that!
HANNITY: Thank you all for being with us. Appreciate it.
Coming up, a potential major threat from ISIS. The FBI issues a warning about a possible 4th of July terror attack right here on U.S. soil. Catherine Herridge has a full report tonight.
Also, NBC fires Donald Trump about comments that he made about Mexican immigrants.
And later, while the New York manhunt is finally over, "Dog the bounty hunter" is going to be here to explain how it all ended. That and more as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning of a possible ISIS attack over the 4th of July holiday. And they are asking you, the American people, to remain vigilant. Now, sources are telling FOX News that ISIS views the 4th of July as a, quote, "key target."
Here with details is FOX news chief intelligence correspondent, our own Catherine Herridge. Catherine, very chilling. What's going on?
CATHERINE HERRIDGE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sean, Fox News is told that ISIS is more determined to strike on symbolic holidays than al Qaeda ever was, and the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, who gets regular briefings, says July 4th is a target-rich environment with events at military bases and parades.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL R-TEXAS: I'm extremely concerned about the way these Syrian ISIS recruiters can use the Internet at lightning speed to recruit followers in the United States, with thousands of followers in the United States, and then activate them to do whatever they want to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HERRIDGE: Fox News has learned the six-page bulletin from the FBI and Homeland Security was sent to the Joint Terrorism Task Forces across the country warning of a heightened risk of a terror assault over the holiday weekend.
Although the bulletin does not speak to any one specific threat, it addresses recent plots linked to ISIS, including this failed attack at the Mohammed cartoon drawing context in Garland, Texas, as well as the June 2nd confrontation with this man, Usaama Rahim, a knife-wielding ISIS supporter who was killed outside a Boston CVS after he lunged at federal investigators who wanted to question him.
And today, the White House seemed to dismiss the bulletin as routine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It is not uncommon for these kinds of joint information bulletins to be issued in advance of the 4th of July. I can also say that there is no specific credible intelligence to indicate any threats against celebrations over the 4th of July weekend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HERRIDGE: And just this afternoon, a New Jersey man was arraigned on charges that he provided material support to ISIS. That's about 50 prosecutions in the U.S. in the last year. And Sean, that is a record number.
HANNITY: All right, Catherine Herridge. Chilling. Thank you so much.
HERRIDGE: You're welcome.
HANNITY: Here with more reaction, the author of "Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide," former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. -- Dr. Michael Oren is with us, and also author -- brand-new book, by the way, one of my favorite authors -- it's called "The English Spy" -- Daniel Silva is with us. Good to see you both.
Michael, I haven't read your book yet.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: I'm only reading all the excerpts. And I think it's important to note, in your book -- we'll get to it in a second -- that you're not as conservative as I am or Bibi Netanyahu, which I think is very interesting..
But on this specific threat, here you see the rise of ISIS all across the Mideast, especially in Syria and Iraq, spreading into North Africa and beyond. And even in Western Europe and even in United States, you're seeing alliances being built.
Why would they make a statement that, Well, we don't have a specific threat when in reality, this is a real threat? What do you think?
MICHAEL OREN, FMR. ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think, generally, it's a threat, Sean. As my book, "Ally" points out, you know, America can bring its troops home from Iraq and bring its troops home from Afghanistan, but there's no detaching from the Middle East because the Middle East is going to follow you home. The Middle East is coming to a neighborhood near you. And it's going to continue to hunt down and try to harm Americans, which is why I wrote this book to make the point that America needs its allies in the Middle East, particularly its democratic and totally, thoroughly pro-American ally, the state of Israel.
HANNITY: All right. And how sad now the Israelis are closer, seemingly, to the Saudis, the Egyptians and Jordanians, right?
OREN: Well, I don't know if we're -- we're definitely closer to the United States. But there has been a growing closeness between Israel and Egypt, Jordan and the Saudi Arabia because we face common threats. ISIS is just one of them, but the biggest threat we face is Iran.
HANNITY: I believe that from my sources in Israel, and they're pretty high up, that they feel more confident in dealing with those three countries than they do with the U.S. at this point in time.
Daniel, what I love about your writing as a novelist is, like great novelists, you do a lot of -- this is based on a lot of real-life scenario.
DANIEL SILVA, NOVELIST: Without question.
HANNITY: OK. So you're looking at this threat. What are your thoughts?
SILVA: My first thought is I guess they're not the JV team, after all, are they.
HANNITY: Good point.
SILVA: I'm not in the business of giving strategic advice to ISIS, but I'm going to give them a little advice tonight. If you would like to keep your little caliphate that you've got for a few months, don't attack the United States on the 4th of July.
I think that even this administration would be duty bound to respond in a forceful way. That said, if these three attacks that we saw in the last couple of days in France, in Tunisia and Kuwait gets traced back to ISIS and fully linked to them, that means that this group already then does have global reach. And that is a problem.
HANNITY: There's really no doubt about that, right?
SILVA: Well, look, I still think that we are in the sort of phase of leaderless jihad, that they're being inspired to do this. But I don't know that there's anyone at central command giving out orders to specific individuals to carry out attacks.
That said, I had a meeting with a former operational director of the Mossad recently, and he quoted the famous line, we don't know what we don't know. And just because we -- there are -- doesn't seem to be any formal terror command structure in ISIS doesn't mean it does not exist and that they're not planning or plotting a 9/11 style mass casualty attack.
HANNITY: Let me go to the other big national security issue, and that of course is this so-called negotiation with Iran and five plus one and the United States should be coming to an end tomorrow. Reports today that in fact the Iranians are going back to the bargaining table, and that they are demanding that in fact inspections be off the table.
Anyway, over the weekend you had retired General Michael Hayden and former NSA, CIA director on FOX News, and this is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY: I actually fear that the Iranians have the upper hand right now. I actually fear we have painted ourselves into a corner where we believe that any deal is better than no deal at the present time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, Michael, let me run through the list. They're the number one state sponsor of terror. They fight proxy wars against Israel and now even against Saudi Arabia. You've got a country that has said the destruction of Israel is non-negotiable. They're yelling at John Kerry, where we have reports, during negotiations. Now they vote last week to say, guess what, no inspections. And we're still at the negotiating table, and we're offering to give them billions of dollars so that they can build more weapons. What part of this being a bad deal does Barack Obama not understand?
MICHAEL OREN, FORMER AMBASSADOR OF ISRAEL TO THE U.S.: Well, from the Israeli perspective, Sean, it's that the deal is not attached in any way to Iranian behavior. As you said, Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terror. They have conducted or sponsored terror attacks on five continents, 35 cities. And there's no conditions. We're not saying, hey, we're willing to negotiate with you, but you've got to give up on terror. Iran is openly saying that it wants to destroy the state of Israel, eight million citizens, a vital U.S. ally. The agreement is not conditioned on Iran stopping those threats and working, and actually trying to kill Israelis and Jews around the world.
So that's just the beginning of our problems with this deal. You know, you said earlier that I don't agree with Benjamin Netanyahu and with you, but in Israel where we have like national consensus on nothing, we all argue, there is a complete national agreement that this is a bad deal across the board of the Israeli political spectrum.
HANNITY: Let me go to Daniel. We're running out of time. That raises the question, why would the president negotiate such a deal, especially in light of last week's vote, if he thought it was worth -- worthwhile up to that point to have negotiations?
SILVA: Because he wants the deal. He wants the deal very badly. It will at least partially defuse the Iranian nuclear issue for a period of time. But when these agreements start to sunset, then Iran is going to be a threshold nuclear power. As it --
HANNITY: A breakout time of zero in 11 years.
SILVA: A month and a half. And we know how wars start. They don't star instantly. If there's trouble brewing, Iran can crank it up.
I think that inspections are critical. And if we can't get in there to see whatever we want to see whenever we want to see it, this is worth nothing, you have to walk away.
HANNITY: All right, congrats on the new book.
OREN: In 10 years Iran won't have one nuclear weapon, it will have 200 nuclear weapons.
HANNITY: Great point. It's a threat to the world, Mullahs in Iran with Obama's seal of approval. Very scary. Thank you both.
Coming up, NBC cuts all ties with Donald Trump over his comments about immigrants. We'll get to that, and we'll get reaction from Eric Bolling, Charles Gasparino.
Also tonight, Dog the bounty hunter is here to react to the New York manhunt that finally came to an end.
And later, yet another shark attack this past weekend off the coast of North Carolina. What is the reason behind this recent spike? It's all coming up tonight on "Hannity."
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HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity."
NBC is breaking all business ties with 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. Earlier today the network releases a statement which reads in part, quote, "Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBC Universal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump. Joining us now with reaction from the FOX Business Network in Charles Gasparino, co-host of "THE FIVE" our buddy Eric Bolling is here, the only person -- you have to wear a tie? I have to wear a tie. Bolling comes in 10 years later, he doesn't have to wear a tie. What's up with that?
ERIC BOLLING, CO-HOST, "THE FIVE": I had 15 years in Wall Street. No gold chains.
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HANNITY: All right, so Donald Trump has responded in a pretty forceful way. I agree with Mr. Trump. As somebody who has been down to the border 11 times, I have seen the drug warehouses. I was there when criminals were arrested. I know the human trafficking side and the impact on our educational system, criminal justice system, et cetera, and our healthcare system. Is he right or is he wrong?
BOLLING: About what he said?
HANNITY: Yes.
BOLLING: I think he would -- given a do-over he may rephrase what he said. He said you absolutely have to close the border. I'm not sure he liked the part about there are drug dealers and rapists coming across the border. I think he could reword that so it wouldn't be so harsh.
HANNITY: The only problem I have is we know Donald Trump. You know him.
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HANNITY: But this is a problem, because he did say that there are a lot of people that are not like that. There are good people, but there's a lot of criminal elements crossing the border.
CHARLES GASPARINO, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: If he said that --
HANNITY: That's what he meant. If we're going to get so anally retentive --
GASPARINO: I agree with you. They allow Brian Williams, and I like Brian Williams, but Brian Williams is an admitted liar being allowed on a news network. They condone lying, but they won't give Donald Trump a second chance.
HANNITY: But if you know that it's not true and you know that it's not true and I know that it's not true and the statement was clarified, maybe a little clumsy, come on. It seems to me we can't handle the truth that illegal immigration is a huge problem.
BOLLING: You're right. He's right. I wish -- exactly. I wish he would have phrased it differently.
However, NBC cutting ties, Sean, this is a bad idea. This is a bad business decision for NBC. It's a bad viewership decision for NBC. Donald Trump had the fourth highest rated show on NBC. Sunday night football, it was "The Voice," it was "Blacklist," and it was celebrity apprentice. They're pushing that away. Add on top of that "Celebrity Apprentice" raised millions of dollars for charity.
HANNITY: Good point.
GASPARINO: The passage of time people are going to realize that Donald really didn't mean exactly what he said at that point, that he was trying to make a broader point. And this is going to help his brand in the end I think.
BOLLING: We love Chris Christie for speaking his mind and saying it the way it is. Donald Trump has always done that. He has done it this time.
HANNITY: All right, we've got to break.
Coming up, Duane "Dog" Chapman, Dog the bounty hunter, is here to explain how the New York manhunt finally ended.
Plus, the Memorial day weekend since then, guess what, there's been six shark attacks off the coast of North Carolina alone. Why is this happening? Straight ahead.
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HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." The brazen prison break in upstate New York finally came to an end this weekend. The desperate manhunt for two convicted murders concluded with Richard Matt be shot and killed on Friday by a border patrol agent. And yesterday David Sweat was captured just miles from the Canadian border after a New York state trooper opened fire on him. Here now with reaction, the star of "Dog and Beth on the Hunt," bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman. Duane, welcome back, Dog, how are you?
DUANE, "DOG" CHAPMAN, "DOG AND BETH ON THE HUNT": Thank you, sir. We're great. A little sleep derived, but other than that we're great.
HANNITY: I've watched your show enough to know this is not an easy thing to find people, as this -- I never thought this was going to end well. It ended the best possible way inasmuch as the only people to get hurt, one guy killed, were the two guys that escaped. But when you have two murderers on the loose, they're not going to go willingly, are they?
CHAPMAN: Well, no. These are actual -- both these guys beat the death penalty. One was also convicted in Mexico of murder. So these were your top grade killers. They're very lucky the police presence was unbelievable. They're so lucky that no one got hurt at all, not that they didn't try, Sean. You know the one guy that got gunned down, he wouldn't drop his weapon, and he shot to try to hijack a car. But I'm thinking being in prison so long he shot at the back of the vehicle and that alerted the authorities.
Then the other guy was walking along the row. You know how that show, criminals are stupid or crooks are dumb. This guy is jogging on the side of the road, and a sergeant by himself drives by and sees the guy. I mean, how dumb is that? But they're very lucky no one got killed.
The officer told him to freeze just as he was going into the wooded area. He opened up on him. And, you know, cops are not trained to wound, trained to shoot to wound. They're trained, pardon the expression, shoot to kill. So he shot him twice. The guy is alive. He's very lucky.
HANNITY: But I've watched your show enough. I mean, every time you go out in the streets, your life is at risk. But you have weapons, but you don't have a gun, right?
CHAPMAN: Well, no, but we have comparable weapons. We have nonlethal stuff that will drop a mule. You know, we have stuff if we get close enough to him, it's just exactly like having a gun.
HANNITY: So with that said, what do you think about should cops have more of these options?
CHAPMAN: Well, they do. Brother, they do. You know, we've been trained by some of the best cops in the country. The number one weapon is not your pistol. You have stages you go through. One is a Taser, one is mace. And then the lethal force, when you got a killer that has killed. This guy shot, was convicted so we can say it, killing a police officers, shot him 20 times. And 20 times, brother. And then he ran him over after he did that. When you've got a guy running like that who could have a weapon, that is one of the most justifiable shootings I personally in 35 years have ever seen.
HANNITY: Well, look, I got to give a lot of credit to the police officers. Apparently these guys were smart enough to try to get them off the scent by spreading pepper around. Would that throw dogs, off, no pun intended for you, the Dog?
CHAPMAN: No, no, absolutely. There was an old show with Steve McQueen where he broke out of a prison and he tied little like gunny bags on both of his heels and filled them full of pepper. And as he ran it left of course the scent. They've both had pepper on them. That absolutely does work. So they were spreading the pepper as they ran.
Over a 1,000 cops, I mean, I have never -- listen, brother, I was like -- sirens that literally the ground was shaking. Helicopters, they were hunting these guys. I have never seen a state -- most, you know, most guys break out of prison in other states and they wait to pull them over. These guys hunted 21 or 22 days every single day, every day, every night. You know, they're moving at night, the convicts -- I'm sorry.
HANNITY: Yes. And this ended the best way possible. But Dog, I've got to run, man. Thanks, and stay safe on the streets, appreciate your time.
CHAPMAN: Yes, sir, thank you, Sean, thank you.
HANNITY: All right, and also tonight, the recent spike in shark attacks on the east coast now have experts scratching their heads. Another teenager was attacked by a shark this past weekend off the coast of North Carolina. Now, this is the sixth shark attack in that state in the past two weeks.
Here now is our Discover Channel's "Shark Week" expert and cinematographer Joe Romeiro is with us. You know, everybody loves shark week. It's one of the highest rated weeks in cable. I'm fascinated by sharks. Why this rush of incidents? What do you think is happening here?
JOE ROMEIRO, "SHARK WEEK" CINEMATOGRAPHER: Well, really what happened this year is there has been a huge influx in temperature. The Gulf Stream traveled up really fast, and bringing also with it alto of migration of small little bait fish, bigger bait fish, and sea turtles to the area. So the sharks are starting to move in. And once the prey moves in, the sharks start to move in.
HANNITY: So as a cinematographer, you get down there in the water with great white sharks and the rest of them?
ROMEIRO: Yes. We usually do with a lot of big sharks, but we did film a lot of smaller species this year that were really cool and stuff.
HANNITY: What is the worst that happened to you?
ROMEIRO: I try to keep a very good distance to the animal, a very good, respectable length and everything. So I've never really had -- I mean, we have had sharks all around us and we've had really exciting moments and stuff, but I never really would think that it would called a close call or anything. I've been pretty safe.
HANNITY: But I mean, if you get in the water with a great white shark or any of these big animals, they can tear you limb from limb and squish you. And I'll be honest, I don't want your job.
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HANNITY: I'm glad you do it because I like to watch it. But at any point, do you think twice about doing this?
ROMEIRO: Well, there is always moments where you sit there and you think you're dealing with wildlife, you want to be able to keep your distance at certain times. And I mean, we work with cages at time. We work on boats. We do all sorts of things to keep the safety factors for us and the animals.
HANNITY: Yes, all right, "Shark Week," everybody watches it. Appreciate your time. And we hope that this rash of incidents stops. Thank you for being with us.
All right, coming up, we do need your help, an important question of the day. ISIS has made a threat against America. We'll tell you about that straight ahead.
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HANNITY: Welcome back to Hannity. It's time for tonight's "Question of the Day." So with all the reports, are you worried there will be an ISIS terror attack over the July Fourth weekend? Of course, we pray nothing happens, but are we really prepared? Just go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity on Twitter, let us know what you think.
That's all the time we have left this evening. We hope you'll set your DVR so you never miss an episode of "Hannity." Thanks for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow night.
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