'The Five' on fallout from the firing of Andrew McCabe

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'The Five' on fallout from the firing of Andrew McCabe

Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired the former FBI deputy director hours before he was set to retire and collect his pension.

This is a rush transcript from "The Five," March 19, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JESSE WATTERS, CO-HOST: Hello, everybody. I'm Jesse Watters along with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Juan Williams, Dana Perino, and Greg Gutfeld. It's 5 o'clock in New York City and this is "The Five."

Andrew McCabe was supposed to be retired right now. He'd served in the FBI for more than two decades and rose to be the bureau's deputy director. But on Friday night, around 10:00 PM Eastern, he was stripped of his federal pension just 48 hours before it was set to kick in, fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions for, quote, lack of candor under oath on multiple occasions. President Trump, a long critic of McCabe, called the termination a great day for democracy.

McCabe maintains he was sacked to undermine the credibility of the special counsel's investigation. He's turned over memos of his conversation with the president to Robert Mueller's team. There's, of course, a firestorm of reaction pouring in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SEN. JEFF FLAKE, R-ARIZ.: And the president said there was a great day for democracy yesterday, I think it's a horrible day for democracy. To have firings like this happening at the top from the president and the attorney general does not speak well for what's going on.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, C-CALIF.: You know his firing may be justified. There's no way for us to know at this point. But even though it may have been justified, it can also be tainted.

SEN. ANGUS, I-MAINE: It was clearly rushed, and I think their questions about that and whether the administration is putting pressure on the Justice Department to take this action. It appears to have been compressed in order to take vengeance on this guy.

REP. TREY GOWDY, R-S.C.: Andrew McCabe has undercut his credibility all by himself. He didn't need any help doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

WATTERS: Former CIA director, John Brennan, didn't hold back his disdain for Mr. Trump on Twitter, quote, when the full extent of your venality and moral turpitude and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America. America will triumph over you. A little over the top there from Mr. Brennan. What I found interesting, Kimberly, is in that montage we've displayed.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: Everything?

WATTERS: Yes. Adam Schiff, a pretty partisan Democrat. He said it could be a possibility that this firing of McCabe was completely justified. What do you think about the firing?

GUILFOYLE: That tells me everything you gonna need to know. He wouldn't be going out on a limb and saying something like that that might displeased his partisan, you know, base to think that President Trump is just, you know, running amok here. By saying that tells me he has knowledge and information to suggest that in fact it was justified. I think they wouldn't go out of their way to do it when they did and how they did it if they didn't have good reason and full costs and haven't investigated it thoroughly. And in fact, the people making the recommendation, the people that work with him at the FBI.

WATTERS: Right.

GUILFOYLE: So, that really, I think, is quite dispositive, you know, of the issue. I mean, you brought a nice humanitarian point to it last week. And you said, well, it's two days before the guy's, you know, retirement was going to be up. So you look at that aspect of it. But nevertheless, if the facts are there, persuasive and compelling, then they have to follow through with this.

WATTERS: Juan, people are saying that if it was just a regular guy in the FBI who, you know, out on the field and he did what McCabe did, he's be treated the exact same way. Do you understand that argument?

JUAN WILLIAMS, CO-HOST: I don't think that's true. But I understand the argument. I think what's true is that, you know, FBI agents are not rich people and they really rely on pensions. And so, typically, there's a lot of leeway given, especially respected idea, oh, he's got two days to go, will let it happen. But I think what happened here is we don't know.

And so, what you're seeing Adam Schiff say is it could be that Adam Schiff is just protecting himself from possible blowback. If you get a report from the inspector general, the office of professional responsibility, that indicates that McCabe either lied or was not forthcoming with them, then you would say, OK, so there was justification for it. What we do know is that McCabe has said that's not true. That he either was in chaos and was misunderstood or whatever. But he says he did not lie or mislead them.

So that's all we have on the table at the moment, Jesse. But I will say this, given the politics surrounding everything going on, from the Comey firing, to the house intelligence committee last week saying, oh, yeah, Russia, they didn't favor Donald Trump, you know, it just looks like -- when you look at this, you can't ignore the politics. And the politics are stinky.

WATTERS: Well, obviously, a lot of politics in Washington, to be expected, Dana. Do you think it was a little harsh? Or do you think, you know, the internal investigators think he did a bad thing, he should suffer the consequence?

DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: Well, I would like to see the full report before making a determination, because without that we're just basically going on gut instinct to what we hear, what might have been leaked or not, so until we have that. But I would say that politics are played except for that -- there -- if the president hadn't tweeted about this on Saturday morning and rubbing McCabe's face in it, then the story line would've been the whole weekend is that the office of professional responsibility recommended this firing. And so that, I think, would have been a nice place to just leave it right there and let everybody talk about the office of professional responsibility, that didn't happen.

WATTERS: That didn't happen. It usually doesn't when the president tweets. Greg, what are your thoughts?

GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: My first thought, Dana, hair looks great.

(LAUGHTER)

PERINO: Thanks, everyone.

GUTFELD: Yeah, yeah, you done. We --you know -- not to notice.

WATTERS: I was more paying attention to what she was saying.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: The weird thing here is Brennan's manifesto of a tweet, which -- was almost like written as part of a West Wing script left over. And then -- but then, what happens after he says all this magical, you know, manicured stuff. Samantha Power retweets and writes, don't -- like don't - - you don't want to get this guy angry. It's like high school. It's like being in a high school cafeteria. And the cheerleader runs over and says let me hold your jacket because you're going to get into a fight. I mean, maybe that's the submission that Hillary keeps talking about. But his anger, it reflects the deep animosity that validates Trump's assumptions and assertions about people in power who want him gone. That's the hood ornament. That tweet is the hood ornament of all of these people who sincerely believe that there's a bad man in the White House and they got to get him out.

And if you notice, it's the circle of media and the circle of the Trump critics and they match perfectly. So they're self-perpetuating engine of panic. So the media says, oh, my god, he's evil, he's evil. And then, you have this dude, and you have Comey, and you got the other guy, and this guy, who were in the government saying the same thing. These are the same people. The media and these -- I guess you would call them Washington insiders or establishment, whatever. The reactions are 99.9 percent identical. So that's where you get the hysteria and the panic because they're constantly -- there's no yin and yang. It's yin and yin.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Do you ever think that it's a possibility that Donald Trump is in the middle of the yin and yang? And that they're reacting to something very real?

GUTFELD: I would say that if the -- if there was some kind of variability in the reaction. But when it's this uniform and hysterical, it makes me think that it is almost emotionally driven.

WATTERS: Also, uniform was the reaction to this, and everybody said the next step, Mueller is gone. And let's hear some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

FLAKE: I don't know what the designs are on Mueller, but it seems to be building toward that. And I just hope it doesn't go there because it can't. We can't, in congress, accept that.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C.: If he tries to do that that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency because we're a rule of law nation.

SCHIFF: I would hope that it would prompt all Democrats and Republicans in the house to pass an independent counsel law and reinstate Bob Mueller. This would, undoubtedly, results in a constitutional crisis. And I think Democrats and Republicans need to speak out about this right now.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

WATTERS: So, Kimberly, do you believe there is momentum building for firing Mueller, or as Greg said is this just a self-perpetuation with the media and the Democrats where they almost want this to happen and is pushing it.

GUILFOYLE: It's a little bit of the self-perpetuation, merry-go-round. The one that you want to get out off before you throw up.

(LAUGHTER)

GUILFOYLE: Round and round. But, yeah, I don't think that he's going to make a move like that. I think it would be ill-advised at this point to do something like that, given that this has already gone so far down the road. They're sort of on the five-inch line. Let them complete the investigation. I don't see any upside for the president in removing him at this juncture. Only downside would be tremendous amount of fallout and criticism. We saw that when that happened with Comey, OK. And I just don't think this should follow in the footsteps. You've got McCabe gone. Do the investigation, complete it, come to the conclusion, see it through to, you know, all the way through fruition, and then see what we have.

WILLIAMS: But, Jesse, this isn't the first time that the president may have thought about firing Mueller. Remember, last June.

GUILFOYLE: Right. And he didn't do it.

WILLIAMS: . there were reports in January that, oh, he's been thinking about it. Then people say, no, no, no, he would never do it. Then it was confirmed that in fact he was thinking of doing just that. And now, again, what we've seen this weekend, boy, I thought he's just manic in the tweets, the attacks on the intelligence community, FBI -- I mean.

GUTFELD: Juan, it was a deflection. Trump was tweeting so you didn't notice that he was colluding with Putin to win the election in Russia.

WILLIAMS: That was it. He was helping Putin.

GUTFELD: He was helping Putin win. I want to give you that.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: I wanted to give you a new conspiracy. He helped Putin become president for life. You've got your new conspiracy.

WILLIAMS: OK.

GUTFELD: The best part of this, and I know you hate the word virtue signaling, two words.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: All the people offering to pay the pension for McCabe, or to pay for the next thing, is like they care so much about a questionable bureaucrats pension that actual real suffering.

WATTERS: Oh, it's a good point.

GUTFELD: Thank you.

WATTERS: We'll be right back. All right, President Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

PERINO: Well, here's what I would say. It's just a little bit of advice. I was spokesperson for Karl Rove during the special counsel, and it's very difficult to figure out the legal strategy and the communication strategy, but they really must work in tandem. It's a terrible idea for the lawyers to be out front and not in communication or coordination with the P.R. people, because the other thing that happened this weekend, or this past week is you had reports that questions from the Mueller team had gone to Trump's lawyers about these are the type of things we might want to ask him if we were to have an interview with him. So they're negotiating that. So now, the president knows what that is. There's a subpoena to the Trump organization. There's McCabe's firing. There's the Dowd comment that his lawyers comments about Mueller that they should all end. And he says, yes, I'm speaking on behalf of the president. And now we're like, oh, actually, no, I'm speaking in my own capacity. I don't believe any of that. I actually think -- one of their major problems is they have to get their P.R. people wind up and in sync with their legal people or they're going to continue to have news cycles like that.

WATTERS: It's just amazing after all this, Dana, that Hillary was the one that colluded with the Russians.

(LAUGHTER)

WATTERS: President Trump rolling out his plan to fight America's opioid epidemic in the state ravage by the crisis. Will it work? Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PERINO: A Fox News alert, we want to get an update now on those deadly serial bombings out in Texas, four mysterious attacks this month in Austin have killed two, injured four, and put the state capitol on high alert. The latest now from Fox News' Casey Stegall. Casey?

CASEY STEGALL, FOX NEWS: Hey, Dana. At this hour, police are still processing back here what is described as a very large and elaborate crime scene. Investigators say that they have quite a bit of evidence that they have to go through and collect back there. Not to mention they have been making multiple sweeps of this residential neighborhood, just eight miles, or so, southwest of downtown Austin, to ensure that no additional explosive devices were planted or hidden. Residents have been told to shelter in place until an all clear has been given. This is an all hands on deck situation with local, state and federal law enforcement pouring in to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN MANLY, AUSTIN POLICE CHIEF: What we're doing right now, again, as we talked about before, this has to be a community response. This is something we're going to solve as a community. The officers that are working the neighborhood are paying attention not only for the suspicious packages but also items that may look out of place. The Department of Public Safety is going to send additional troopers into the Austin area to help us patrol and be visible in the neighborhood, and to help us look for those suspicious items.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEGALL: Now, authorities will not elaborate on the similarities between the device used last night and those used in the previous three crimes. Other than that this one was much more elaborate and that it had a tripwire, actually, connected to it, in other words, a filament or a wire that would cause the package to detonate if it were disturbed. And they believe that's what happened when two guys rolled through here on bicycles last night, may have hit that tripwire causing the blast. So, again, authorities say that they believe this is the work of the same person, or persons, and they have made a desperate plea to the public to be vigilant, keep their eyes peeled, reporting any suspicious packages and activities, as the city is on alert, as you can imagine.

PERINO: All right, Casey, thank you. So, it's a top priority of the Trump administration -- I'm sorry, is he talking? I didn't want to interrupt the president. I thought I've heard him. He was talking today about combating the opioid epidemic. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. President Trump went to a state ravaged by the crisis today, New Hampshire, where he unveiled his plans to tackle the health emergency. Now let's listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Scourge of drug addiction in America will stop. It will stop.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Our custom and border protection, and these people, the job they do is incredible. Seized nearly 1,500 pounds of fentanyl last year, nearly three times the amount seized in 2016. If we don't get tough on the drug dealers, we're wasting our time. We will be focusing on the penalty that I talked about previously for the big pushers, the ones that are really killing so many people. And that penalty is going to be the death penalty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: Greg, today, the president said that he would have three focuses. One was the law enforcement. The second was prevention and education through a sizable advertising campaign, which is a little bit of a throwback, but we can also talk about that. And then, the third one was improving the ability to fund treatment through the federal government and those impacted by the epidemic to help them find jobs while fighting the addiction. What do you about the idea of making the penalties stiffer for drug pushers? Will that actually help cut down demand?

GUTFELD: I don't know if it will. I mean, look, number one, the politics of it -- Trump won because he was a law and order guy. If you look at everything from immigration to terror, it's all about strength. This issue provided him a perfect opportunity to exercise that. And when you say you're going to kill the dealers, you're not going to find much opposition. However, conservatives must be consistent with this argument, you know, with gun control, you talk about, you know, protecting the law-abiding citizens, going after the bad guy, which I think is what Trump is saying. You do not want to cast a wide net over people who need actual prescription medications to deal with their cancer pain or their other pain disorders, the disorders that often lead to suicidal depression, and these drugs are very necessary for them. So if you start making them feel like criminals, that is wrong. Be consistent and go after the criminal.

But finally, this is where my libertarianism kicks in. I don't trust the government on health issues. I mean, if you look at the war on drugs, it hasn't worked out. If you look at prohibition, not a good idea. The hideous nutrition pyramid, you know, we talked about a really bad mistake. You know, we had heart disease and diabetes on the rise and the nutrition pyramid said, you know, eat low-fat, high carb food. That was a mistake. So, I'm always suspicious of the government trying to get involved in our health. However, you know, dealing with, like, hard-core dealers who do kill more people than mass shooters, it's not such a bad idea. Just remember, when you make something illegal though, it's the street drugs that are killing people, right? It's because the drug delivery mechanisms that are so unreliable on the street. So we've learned that with medical marijuana and legalization of marijuana that -- you know, that may be the future for all drugs.

PERINO: Kimberly, what happens for prosecutors if you increase the penalty? Let's say the increase more cases to include the death penalty, is that a deterrent for drug dealers?

GUILFOYLE: Well, there's a lot of different studies on it. There's those that shows and point to that they are, that it operates effectively as a deterrent to prevent future criminal conduct. I understand why the president is taking this position. He's trying to show that he's very serious about it. That it's going to stop. But I have to tell you, even among some Republicans, it's be very difficult also to get through anything like this in terms of a death penalty for this type of situation. I was a death penalty prosecutor and I was on the death penalty panel reviewing cases that were eligible and/or appropriate, even if they were eligible for death penalty. And I'll tell you, it's a tough sell. You better have a very compelling case with, you know, lots of different elements to qualify. I think, you know, he's well intentioned that shows how serious he is about this, but I think would be really -- the chances are going to be, you know, negligible that he's going to be able to get something like this through.

PERINO: Juan, one of the hopes, I guess, for some people would be -- the president is saying stiffer penalties for those big dealers. But then, you have people that are languishing in jails who might have been a small time drug deal -- like, a problem, that they have something on their record. Is there a way to maybe do both? Like, increase the penalties for those top dealers, and also have some sort of prison reform or criminal justice reform to help those people who have been unfairly in prison.

WILLIAMS: That's a great idea. I mean, I haven't thought of it. I haven't heard that discussed because I think the people who have been involved in trying to reform the sentencing that includes Republicans, as well as Democrats, have concluded, much as Greg said, that war on drug thing that quite -- didn't quite work out. I have not seen any data that would suggest that the war on drugs was effective. And to the contrary, and this situation, what you see is that people say that when you take the sledgehammer approach and say we've got to get tough with the drug dealers, what you do is you hike up or spike the prison population, but you don't necessarily reduce drug use. That -- we have that on the record. We know that for a fact.

And so, when you say these kinds of things, it reminds people that, well, we need ideas. Alex Azar, who's the new secretary of health and human services, has said just that. That's the kind of policies his producing. But that's not what the president is saying today. So, I don't know if this is just rhetoric, but it seems to me like a step back into another world where you think, oh, yeah, if we just throw them in jail. Who are you going to throw in jail? The people who run the big pharmaceutical companies who are meeting, as Greg argues, a real need in terms of pain prevention for an older population? I don't know. I mean, lot of what we're talking about is that people who become addicted on the basis of prescription drugs, but then can't.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: . then they go to the guy on the corner.

PERINO: The president today brought up a family, impromptu, they didn't know they were going to be asked to speak. And the mother who had lost her son, two and a half years ago, to somebody who had started taking drugs out of the kitchen cabinet, and then had to go to the street for it. That was very moving. And so, there is a personal side of this. And I feel like the president does a really good job of reaching out to them in particular. Like, I'm going to help you.

WATTERS: He did that with the opioid deal, and he did it with the gun deal, and it's probably one of his most effective methods of communication, humanizing the issue, so I'm doing it at the State of the Union. I mean, Greg just, kind of, made me think the food pyramid. I mean, we need to really go after the.

GUTFELD: We do.

WATTERS: This thing is dangerous. We've got to start reorganizing it.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: What do they do? It killed us.

GUTFELD: You think I'm crazy. But if you inverted the pyramid, that's exactly what you should eat.

PERINO: Remember SnackWells?

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: Yes, SnackWells, totally sold on an unsuspected public. Low-fat foods means high sugar, which means obesity and diabetes.

WATTERS: Yeah, we need to do the food pyramid story tomorrow.

(CROSSTALK)

PERINO: All right, cleanup on aisle three. Hillary Clinton tries to mop up her mess of insults to Trump voters, but she might have just made it worse, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUTFELD: So, remember last week when Hillary Clinton smeared millions of women?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We do not do well with white men and we don't do well with married white women. And part of that is a -- an identification with the Republican Party, and a, sort of, ongoing pressure to vote the way that your husband, your boss, your son -- whoever -- believes you should.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTFELD: Those evil white men. Well, instead of letting things lie, she took a front-end loader and dug a hole so deep you could fit all her husband's skeletons in it. After claiming women only do what their hubbies tell them to, she said she meant no disrespect. Meaning she's so clueless as she thought comments made in India somehow wouldn't travel.

But she also added this -- quote: "I did not realize how hard it would hit many who heard it." So you see what she did there? It's the jab and hide of a typical bitter troll, you know, who tweets, "Hey, you're fat," followed by "Wow, I guess I struck a nerve." So when she calls women submissive morons, their defiant response means, oh, she has to be right.

Now you could say, Greg, you've enjoyed Hillary's decline too much.

GUILFOYLE: Yes.

GUTFELD: And you'd be right. For I'm thinking we dodged a bullet. Every time she speaks, she reminds you of why she lost and what she thinks of you.

But Hillary's rage is really just a projection. Decades of doing her husband's submissive bidding, it didn't pay off. The world is an unjust place in her vengeful state. "I deserve to be president," she thinks, "after enduring the humiliations of Bill's betrayals." One man made her feel very small and she repays that sentiment a million-fold on the female Trump voter, many of whom voted for Obama. It's payback delivered to the wrong people.

So Dems, what do you what do you do with a guest who will not leave? Thank God you're not stuck with her. I hear there's a bright young face on the horizon:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: In 2016, it wasn't their year, but in 2020, the Democrats will unleash a brand-new candidate to lead the resistance to victory. Someone with a new vision for America. A freedom fighter, a fresh face, a grassroots hero. Her name: Hillary Clinton.

This up-and-comer is bitter, mean, cranky and vindictive, all the things you want in a rising star. In just four short decades, she's already given so much to real Americans. Things like hugs, faces, fashion and totally normal laughter.

Plus, this long list of accomplishments. Wow.

So vote Hillary Clinton in 2020. She's new, but she'll grow on you.

CLINTON: (BARKING LIKE A DOG) You know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTFELD: So Juan, you were right. I don't want her to go away. I can't live without Hillary. That's why 20 -- Hillary 2020, Juan, get on the bus.

WILLIAMS: Is that it?

GUTFELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Well, let me tell you something --

GUILFOYLE: It's going to crash.

WILLIAMS: -- here's the bad news for you. She wasn't elected. She's not president. That's why most of America is focused on "Oh, my God" -- you say we were saved by her not being elected? I don't -- I think a lot of people think, "Oh, my God. So the chaos is OK?"

But here's the thing. Hillary Clinton wasn't wrong. Hillary Clinton actually -- there are studies that show exactly what she said to be true.

But like Dick Durbin said, guess what? This wasn't helpful. Because in fact, it feeds all of the right-wing grievance: "Oh, Hillary Clinton."

And then you have Kellyanne Conway come out and "Oh, she's not a feminist. She doesn't believe in women." It's -- what is the case and what is proven is that numbers shift and that women can feel influenced by husbands, but it's also the case that women might agree with their husbands.

GUTFELD: Yes, and you know what's funny? It's a one-way street, Kimberly. Like, if a woman could influence her husband, that's a good thing, but if a husband influences the wife, bad thing.

GUILFOYLE: Yes, why isn't there some share of that? Cooperation, norms of reciprocity, some like equality, communicating-wise and influence-wise.

You know, Hillary just can't help herself. She loves being Hillary. She's very consistent in terms of her messaging, what she says. And I think she was being honest there. So I'm glad she was being transparent. She tells us exactly what she thinks. So that's fine. It's no problem.

She wants to tell the American people, especially, you know, married women and white men, that she is disappointed in their choices. All right. You know, well, they can make choices based on your information that you're giving and putting out there. And it's not helping the party. That's why they're glad to retire her.

GUTFELD: You know Dana, that one thing she did you see all the time, where somebody will insult you. And then when you go, "Wait a second. What are you talking about?" "Oh, looks like it" --

PERINO: "I'm sorry you felt that way."

GUTFELD: "Must have hit a nerve."

PERINO: Yes. That's the worst way to argue with a spouse, too, by the way.

The other thing is that she refuses to talk about policies. Like, the policy choices are actually preferable for Republican women for to vote for Republicans, regardless of who it is.

The other thing is, is that Josh Hawley, who is the candidate running against Claire McCaskill, he has just cut an ad using all of the stuff from Hillary Clinton --

WATTERS: Yes.

PERINO: -- and it's pretty effective. So now they can go after Pelosi and Hillary.

GUTFELD: You know, Jesse, the irony is, she did just about everything Bill told her to do.

WATTERS: Well, not everything. I think what happened here is it was the typical politician apology: "I'm sorry that you misunderstood me. You idiot." That's the kind of apology that she made.

And she only apologized because people like Durbin criticized her for it. She wouldn't have said anything if no one had, you know, raised that issue on the right. But just because the people on the left did it, she had to say it.

I don't think she should have apologized at all. I agree with Kimberly. It shows weakness. If she's shooting from the hip and she's being real authentic Hillary, let it rip, Hillary. The book, you said everything you had to say in the book. Go to India, you know. Make it rain. Just sing it. I don't care.

GUILFOYLE: It's what she really thinks.

WATTERS: I know. It's what she really thinks. We like authentic Hillary, even if it's authentically pathetic.

The Facebook apology was terrible.

GUTFELD: Yes.

WATTERS: It was about 16 paragraphs. That's not how you apologize. You especially don't do it on Facebook.

GUTFELD: All right. Speaking of --

GUILFOYLE: Where should she do it?

GUTFELD: What a transition, Jesse.

WATTERS: Right.

GUTFELD: Facebook is now under scrutiny. Was the data of millions used for political purposes? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUILFOYLE: Facebook now under intense scrutiny for allegations it allowed a firm that worked for President Trump's campaign to harvest the data of 50 million users without their knowledge. The social media giant has suspended the account of Cambridge Analytica and is investigating the possible manipulation of voters.

Here's Niall Ferguson's take on the privacy breach in an interview with Dana earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIALL FERGUSON, HISTORIAN: Speak of these networks extremely easy for foreign actors, not necessarily well-intentioned, to intervene in our public life. And that, of course, as we all know, and have known now for some months, is what the Russians did. Almost as many Americans as voted saw Russian-generated content on Facebook. I don't think that was decisive in the election, but I think Facebook was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUILFOYLE: Well, Facebook stock plunged, sending other technology stocks in the market down today.

All right. Enough with this Facebook thing, Greg. It's just out of control. Tough to manage. And now I knew they were stealing. Go ahead.

GUTFELD: I don't think -- you know, here's the thing.

GUILFOYLE: They were.

GUTFELD: Silicon Valley, I am no fan off. To me, they are replacing Wall Street as the universal villain --

PERINO: Yes.

GUTFELD: -- of a bunch of wealthy, heartless elitists who think that they live above everybody else. And I think -- that's why -- I hate to use the phrase "virtue signal" --

PERINO: Go ahead.

GUTFELD: -- but they like to cover themselves by being very, very left- wing and acting hypocritical, for example, banning people on Twitter or Facebook, like Steven Crowder, but not banning people who attack conservatives. They don't do that.

PERINO: Like (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

GUTFELD: Exactly. But I'm not so sure about this story. I'm not sure it's really Cambridge Analytica that's at fault here. I read The Guardian story. The guy who's at the center of this kind of seemed like a B.S.er. And he was like -- he was kind of like making himself into the hero. And I'm always skeptical of that, you know? I like people who play it down.

GUILFOYLE: All right. Well, get back to us on that one when you finish the investigation.

GUTFELD: I will. I'll do some inside research.

GUILFOYLE: Yes. OK, Dana, what do you make of this?

PERINO: I think we'll probably know a lot more soon. Facebook is obviously a global company. They are already facing some questions from the U.K.'s 10 Downing Street, as is Cambridge Analytica. So they'll get questions there.

But as Greg said, they're the new villain. So what happens when you have a big villain? They get called up to Capitol Hill to testify, and then people start thinking about regulations.

The other thing that's happening at the same time is that conservatives are now agitating again about Facebook and, in particular, about how the algorithms have changed and how the searches are being done. And so I think they're in big trouble.

GUILFOYLE: OK. Jess.

WATTERS: Both parties now hate Facebook. That's tough to do, so congratulations, Facebook.

GUILFOYLE: Consensus, finally.

WATTERS: I spoke to the Trump campaign today, and they said that they never used any of the data that Cambridge Analytica used from Facebook. What they did was they hired five staff members from Cambridge, and they had to sign a deal to get the staffers to come to work with them in Texas. But they never used any of the so-called psychographic modeling. They used data and research from the RNC and from their own internal data network.

So a lot of it's trying to paint the Trump campaign as if they -- you know, they reached into Facebook and ripped out all of this in an unethical way. It's just not true.

But like you said, it's more about Facebook and protecting their customers' information. Obviously, they didn't do a great job about it, because they didn't let people know that their data was being mined. And I think Facebook has to answer to that.

GUILFOYLE: OK. Juan.

WILLIAMS: I just think this is another reminder that propaganda and sort of psychoanalytical profiles of people are at play now in elections. And so you can use this data, and you can use it without people's permission. That's illegal, and that's what's at stake here. In a way that influences outcomes of elections without saying, "Oh, gee it's the machines. We didn't see any" -- but something is going on when you have this much in the water, when people are harvesting information about who you are, your preferences, your likes, your dislikes, and understand how they can get to you in a way that will shift your thinking. And I think that's what's behind this.

Now, to me, those folks that others on the panel called elite and arrogant and all that, I think are dumb. Because guess what? I don't think that people who ran -- who run Facebook understood the power. They think it's just a social network. Guess what? It's a political instrument.

GUILFOYLE: OK, let's leave it there.

Jim Carrey sparking outrage again with his new violent attack on the White House. That's next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIAMS: Actor comedian Jim Carrey has taken up a new pastime in the Trump era. He's now creating portraits to vent his rage against the administration.

His latest artwork is not being received well by the masses. He tweeted out a portrait that some say bears resemblance to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The unflattering image is accompanied by a caption that says, quote, "This is a portrait of a so-called Christian whose only purpose in life is to lie for the wicked. Monstrous."

Kimberly.

GUILFOYLE: All right, well, I wouldn't purchase it. You know? I also wouldn't accept it as a free present or gift.

Obviously, he -- this is his rage painting that he's doing, portrait painting to express his, like, inner demons in turmoil. An individual who has had kind of a history kind of fraught with frustration and perhaps some mental health issues. So this doesn't come as a surprise to me.

It kind of looks like the paintings and portraits that the people that I've experienced that are serial killers and criminals. No, but really. I have experience with this. As a D.A., and they send me these pictures and these portraits and you see some of their writings that when you do search warrants on their jail cells if you're doing an active prison case, like I was doing with the Aryan Brotherhood. And you see some of the drawings and the musings of those that are a little bit disturbed. It reminds me of this.

And I think Sarah Sanders is quite lovely and is working very hard on behalf of the country. And so I have no bid for this painting.

WATTERS: So Jesse, set off quite a Twitter war. Because now the left was defending him to some extent, and the right was saying this is unfair, even an attack on a Christian. What do you make of it?

WATTERS: I mean, he was always known as an over actor. And now he's just over. It's sad. He was once a really funny guy. I mean, "Dumb and Dumber" was one of my favorite movies.

GUILFOYLE: You can relate.

WATTERS: A real cinematic masterpiece. Greg agrees. But it's the sad clown syndrome, and now he's just a tortured soul, it looks like. It's funny how the "#MeToo" movement came out of Hollywood, and now you have someone like Jim Carrey totally discrediting it. It's kind of sick, and if it was on the other foot and this was a conservative actor doing a portrait of a Democrat -- it's just wicked, and it doesn't look nice.

WILLIAMS: All right. And Dana, her dad, well known to our audience, Mike Huckabee, came out and he said, "Pathetic, bully, sexist, hater, bigot."

PERINO: Well, I think he -- he's usually a man of more words than that, but he nailed it.

GUILFOYLE: It's true.

PERINO: I mean, she didn't choose to -- well, she is in the public eye because she was chosen to represent the president of the United States and the American people in the White House briefing room. It's a really tough job, and there's plenty of other people that he could pick on.

WILLIAMS: The question, Greg, is is this just a Twitter war between the left and right or is this to the point where you think Jim Carrey will be sanctioned by some of the folks in Hollywood?

GUTFELD: No. This isn't art, by the way. It's a refrigerator drawing by a child man, not an actual man, a child man. And to prove it, he had to go and present it to mommy and daddy, which was Twitter. "Please show me -- show me the love that I need so desperately." So he puts the little painting out there.

He's always been a loathsome creature who punches down.

PERINO: Yes.

GUTFELD: He always punches down. He goes after the dead, like Charlton Heston. He treats young women of lower status poorly. He uses a manufactured sanctimony to actually harm people. That's what's behind this, is that thinks he is morally superior, "so I can draw this, you know, refrigerator scrap and then hopefully, people will love me more." Maybe they will, but I doubt it.

PERINO: I would like you to draw him for tomorrow.

GUTFELD: I will try.

WILLIAMS: I don't know. I don't know. Kimberly says she's not buying this kind of art. Not at all.

GUILFOYLE: Remember you gave me that horrible Christmas present?

GUTFELD: Yes, I do.

WATTERS: It actually looks similar. The style. Similar style.

WILLIAMS: All right, all right.

GUILFOYLE: Yes, with the weird red eye.

WILLIAMS: "One More Thing" up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIAMS: It's time now for "One More Thing" -- Dana Perino.

PERINO: OK, so Wednesday, two days from now, is World Down Syndrome Day. That will be March 21. It's already getting some attention due to a video that we're going to play a little bit for you here.

This is of moms and their children, children that have Down Syndrome, and they are singing and signing to the song "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. This a group of mums called -- I call them "mum" because it's from the U.K. -- Designer Genes, and they all have children born with Down Syndrome in 2013 and 2014.

GUILFOYLE: So cute.

PERINO: And one mother said, "The idea is, we are just normal mums. We love our kids. They love us, and they are just like other 4-year-olds. We couldn't change them."

James Corden, who is the carpool karaoke king, shared the video and said, "It's the most beautiful, powerful karaoke. It made me cry. Wouldn't change a thing."

This is kind of interesting to me just based on some public debate that's been going on in The Washington Post the last couple of weeks. So I thought I'd share it.

GUILFOYLE: That's very nice.

WATTERS: Designer Genes, I like that.

GUILFOYLE: God bless.

WATTERS: All right.

GUILFOYLE: Sweet.

WATTERS: Kimberly.

GUILFOYLE: All right. Well, I have a gorilla one. OK, so Louis, a male gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo --

PERINO: I like this.

GUILFOYLE: -- likes to keep it very clean, really into this. He's 500- pounds. He's 6-foot tall. He's a primate and he's a bachelor, baby. He's known for walking upright like a human, as you can see in the video. And he's also a fast walker, which I like. And he loves cleanliness.

I just would really like to meet a man like this, where he won't walk on his hands.

PERINO: Doesn't want to put his hands in the mud.

GUILFOYLE: Exactly. Could you imagine this, instead of the stance of, like, leaning forward? He has excellent posture, clean knuckles, and a big heart. So we're really into him. He's one of two bachelor guerrillas at the zoo. And let's see if he can find a nice lady.

PERINO: I think he's going to get the row.

WATTERS: He's better than Ari, right?

GUTFELD: Yes. I like that the tape is only, like, four seconds. Because that's the only time he was up. He just keeps doing it.

WATTERS: Calling B.S. on her "One More Thing"?

GUILFOYLE: Don't dis him.

PERINO: Field trip. Let's go see him.

WATTERS: Greg.

GUTFELD: All right. Time for --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAPHIC: Greg's Fox News

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTFELD: "Greg's Fox News." Yes, this is the only news you'll find on FOX News. Let's go to Russia!

Right here, because that's where all the Fox News is. This is a fox, a baby arctic fox trying to steal fish.

GUILFOYLE: So cute.

GUTFELD: Look at him trying to steal fish from a Russian fisherman. That's Russian for you people at home.

PERINO: What is he saying?

GUTFELD: He stole the fish. Yes, very persistent little critter.

GUILFOYLE: Well, maybe he's hungry.

GUTFELD: Runs away. For more on Fox News on FOX News, catch me on FOX News.

GUILFOYLE: Fox on FOX News.

WATTERS: All right. Foxy. Juan.

WILLIAMS: So baseball season just a few days away and if you love baseball as I certainly do, you remember the movie "The Sandlot." Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is baseball, not tennis.

Give me something to hit!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. This is my heater. I dare you to hit it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll be sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: Well, now here's the Milwaukee Brewers celebrating the 25th anniversary of that film by re-creating that iconic scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is baseball! Not tennis. Give me something I can hit!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Beau. This is my heater. I dare you to hit it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll be sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: In fact, he hits it out. And you know, they had a mastiff in there that's a beast that took the ball. In this one, they used a bichon frise, which is the Brewers' mascot.

WATTERS: All right.

PERINO: Really?

WATTERS: Well, on a sadder note, a cat died. It's a very famous cat. The name was Bento the Keyboard Cat. Let's take a look here. People always say the Internet is just filled with cats doing things on the Internet. And this was one of those cats. Probably the most famous cat. Age 8, passed away.

GUTFELD: Lives forever.

PERINO: That's young.

GUILFOYLE: Eight, that's kind of young. Isn't it?

WATTERS: I know. Bento died too young. He lived a fast life.

GUTFELD: He did. A rock star.

WATTERS: All right.

GUILFOYLE: Mail it in, Jesse.

WATTERS: Set your DVRs, never miss an episode of "The Five." "Special Report" up next. Bret Baier.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Some days it's a harder return than others. Thanks, Jesse.

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