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Published January 24, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," September 9, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Welcome to "Hannity." Tonight, prominent conservatives staged a massive rally in our nation's capital to try and stop the president's disastrous nuclear deal with Iran. 2016 presidential candidates Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz spoke at the event earlier today. They will both be here tonight with reaction.
But first, here's how it all went down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This Iranian nuclear deal is catastrophic! It is the single greatest national security threat facing America!
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Never, ever, ever in my life have I seen any transaction so incompetently negotiated as our deal with Iran!
MARK LEVIN, TALK RADIO HOST: This deal sows the seeds of war. The enemy is emboldened, and the enemy will be well-armed and seek regional and world domination. How do we know? They told us so.
PHIL ROBERTSON, "DUCK DYNASTY": Death to you. We're going to kill you. That's the last bunch you want to have nuclear weapons!
CRUZ: Under no circumstances will Iran be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons!
TRUMP: They will not let Israel survive with incompetent leadership like we have right now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop this deal!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Presidential candidates Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz will be here in just a few minutes.
But joining us now is an Iraq war hero veteran who's getting a lot of attention for his response to a tweet from John Kerry's senior adviser, Marie Harf. Remember her? She was the "jobs for jihadists" person?
Well, after Harf tweeted that 41 senators now support this nuclear deal, he tweeted, quote, "Oh, yes? I was blown up by an Iranian IED. I oppose this deal."
Here now with much more, Iraq war veteran hero J.R. Salzman is with us. J.R., thank you for being with us. Explain the extent of your injuries.
J.R. SALZMAN, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: So December 19th, 2006, I was leading a convoy through Baghdad when my Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb. The roadside bomb was an EFT, an explosivively formed penetrator, a very specific type of IED that Iran was using in and around Baghdad and all over it to kill coalition troops.
HANNITY: And the extent of your injuries -- - you lost limbs. And now you're in a position that we're about to give the Iranians $150 billion, they spin their centrifuges, a breakout time of zero in 11 years. They get to build ICBMs, conventional weapons and a missile defense program.
And what did we get? Is there anything that you see that we got in this deal at all?
SALZMAN: I don't understand what we got out of the deal. I do know that at least this administration and a lot of politicians who are voting for this deal are not listening to those of us who had to face these Iranian bombs and Iranian troops that were operating in and around Iraq and Afghanistan.
So again, our politicians are obviously -- would be the worst used car salesmen in history as evidenced by this deal because I don't see what we're getting it out of it.
HANNITY: Nothing! The answer is nothing. J.R., you're in a prayers. You're an American hero. Thank you for being with us, sir.
SALZMAN: Thank you.
HANNITY: And here now with reaction, 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is with us. Mr. Trump, good to see you, sir.
TRUMP: Hello.
HANNITY: You know, you talk a lot about bad deals -- $150 billion, 24 days inspections, they even pick their own inspectors. They get to build their missiles, conventional weapons. Is there one thing in this deal, just one that you can identify that we get out of it?
TRUMP: Sean, there's nothing that I can see. There's no reason for it. I love the idea of a deal. I think it's a great thing to have a great deal. But it's got to be a great deal or at least a good deal.
I don't see anything that we get. Even the ones that were working with us on sanctions, the countries, they're going to sell now missiles. You know, if you look at Russia and you look at some of the other countries throughout the world, they're going to make a lot of money dealing with Iran. They're selling them missiles. They're selling them all sorts of things. Probably, some of them are selling nuclear expertise.
But we're giving them $150 billion plus, plus, plus. And I just don't see it. We don't even get our prisoners back.
HANNITY: It's insane!
TRUMP: It's nothing. And you know, there is one clause that even you don't talk about very much that nobody really understands. If Israel is forced to attack Iran, we have to -- as you probably see by the reading of the agreement, we have to protect Iran from Israel. And nobody's been able to explain this one. But -- and it's something that even you don't talk about, Sean, which is surprising for you. I think you have to add that.
HANNITY: I'll add that.
TRUMP: But you know, if Israel attacks, I think we're supposed -- which, by the way...
HANNITY: We cannot do that. Morally -- morally, that is impossible.
TRUMP: No, of course we're not going to do that, but the way the agreement reads, we're supposed to do that. Can you believe it?
HANNITY: I can't. You know, here's a question I have about deal- making because we now know they even said today that within 25 years, Israel will be gone, the supreme leader, and talked about sending radical Islamic jihadis right here to the great Satan, America.
But knowing that, during this deal, they said the destruction of Israel is non-negotiable. They were chanting -- I'll play it for you, the supreme leader a march, here chanting "Death to America." You can listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI, SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN: (SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: So here he's chanting during these negotiations, "Death to America." The destruction of Israel is non-negotiable. As recently as September 2nd, they're burning our flag, the Israeli flag. My question. Would you even sit down with these people? Shouldn't -- shouldn't it be a prerequisite that they recognize Israel, stop changing "Death to America" before we talk to them?
TRUMP: So Sean, you know, I just was in Washington. I just literally got back, and I'm sitting in front of you, and I haven't even looked in a mirror, so I hope I'm OK. I hope...
HANNITY: You look fine.
TRUMP: ... I look fine. But we had an amazing crowd, an amazing crowd down in Washington at the Capitol, right in front of the Capitol. And the people can't even believe it. I talked to so many. We had thousands people. You probably saw it. You probably covered it in some form. The people can't even believe it.
Now, he's saying that Israel won't even be here in 25 years, which is a horrible threat. And he probably means shorter periods of time than that. And he also said, We'll never have anything to do with the United States. In that same speech, he said, We'll have nothing more to do with the United States after this deal is done, the nuclear deal, which is the nuclear ripoff.
It's inconceivable to me that a person can speak that way and that we go back (ph). That's like if I'm doing a deal with somebody and I hear that they're saying, Oh, Trump is terrible. He's a horror. You know, you just walk away. You take a walk.
What he's been saying -- and this isn't the first time. You had also their top general say something which was even worse because he wants Israel gone immediately.
So when they make these statements and here we are, Obama and Kerry, going out and looking to get an agreement signed -- and you see what's happening where they're doing something with certain countries, like Saudi Arabia -- this was a -- you can't even discuss this deal with them. All of a sudden, they signed onto the deal.
So you know they were given a fortune of protection and missiles and all sorts of things. So what they're doing is, they're going around and paying off all of these countries to sign onto the deal.
It's just unbelievable. I think it's the worst document I've ever seen as far as a negotiation is concerned.
HANNITY: Well, let me ask you this. Mr. Trump, there are conservatives in the House -- Ted Cruz is going to join us in a few minutes. We'll ask him about this -- that are saying that by not disclosing the secret side deals with the IAEA, the president does not have the authority to implement this Iranian deal and that John Boehner and Mitch McConnell can stop this deal by saying the clock hasn't even started as it relates to the Corker-Cardin bill.
Do you agree with that assessment?
TRUMP: Well, I've heard that. And you know, the lawyers are going to have to tell us whether or not that's true.
I was with Ted Cruz today. He's a terrific day. He's out there making speeches. I'm out there making speeches. The problem with making speeches is, you know, we have 70 percent of the American people on our side, but the politicians in Washington are not -- are just not listening. It's hard to believe, hard to believe what's happening with this deal. It is inconceivable that it's going forward, inconceivable.
You know, I mentioned -- and I always use it as a good point, the 24 days is a ridiculous thing. And by the way, before you get to the 24 days, Sean. it takes a lot of time to get there. So in other words, they will request to go on, and it could take a lot longer than 24 days...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... they pick the inspectors. It's not even like they're American inspectors. They pick the inspectors! The inmates are running the asylum!
TRUMP: One other -- well, that's the new thing that also came up two weeks ago with the inspectors. Now they're allowed to do their own inspections of the most important places.
But you know, one of the thing I mentioned is the four prisoners that we have. You have a writer, you know, a journalist. You have a -- I mean, you have a military -- wonderful military person. You have a minister, a fantastic man who's been there for a long period of time. We haven't even asked them for these people!
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: Think of it! We haven't even asked them. Then we're fighting them in Yemen. We're fighting -- they're backing, as you know, Assad in Syria, and we don't even do -- we're fighting on the other side. And it's, like, what are we doing?
HANNITY: Right.
TRUMP: And they don't want to mention anything outside, and they're getting all of this money. But think of the prisoners. We have four people over there. We don't even mention them. And all you'd have to do, in my opinion, if it's the right messenger, Sean, say, We want our four prisoners back. That should have taken place two years ago, not now.
HANNITY: Yes, and we know -- we know also...
TRUMP: So it's the most incredibly...
HANNITY: Yes. And the Iranian-backed rebels took more hostages in Yemen, the Houthis, this weekend. All right, but we got to take a quick break.
TRUMP: That's true.
HANNITY: We'll come back. More with Donald Trump right after this break. He'll respond to criticism from some of his Republican rivals and his call on CNN. We'll explain.
Then later tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: This Iranian nuclear deal is catastrophic! It is the single greatest national security threat facing America!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: I agree with that and more. It's worse than Munich 1938. Texas senator Ted Cruz -- he also spoke at today's rally to stop the Iranian nuclear deal in D.C. He'll join us later.
Plus, why Hillary Clinton's apology for her private server doesn't really mean much. I'll explain as we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." Donald Trump continues to surge in the race for the White House. A new poll by SurveyUSA has Donald Trump beating Hillary Clinton 45 to 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup. Now, naturally, Trump's position at the top of the polls has led to some attacks from some of his GOP rivals. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump's not going to get elected president by disparaging people, by attacking people all the time. That's not how you win. You lift people's spirits up to be president of the United States. This whole approach of just saying someone's an idiot, someone's low-energy...
DR. BEN CARSON, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It sounds really cool. You know, let's just round them all up and send them back. People who say that have no idea what that would entail in terms of our legal system, the cost. Forget about it. And plus, where are you going to send them? So you know, that's a double whammy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And we continue with 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump.
I want you to respond to that last -- if you want to respond to Bush, you can -- but that last comment by Ben Carson. We now know that our State Department and our president is thinking of bringing in refugees from Syria and Iraq that have been displaced, that are going through Europe.
Now, do we know many of them are Muslims coming from Muslim countries? I'm sure many of them are very good people. But do you think some radicals might be mixed in with them? Is that a fear that we should take seriously?
TRUMP: It could very well be. And frankly, you have ISIS. And if you look at a lot of the people that I've been watching on television, it's men. There aren't that many women, relatively speaking.
It's a horrible thing in terms of humanity and everything. But you know, we're...
HANNITY: 400,000 men!
TRUMP: We've got a lot of problems in our country.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: Sean, we have a lot of problems in our country. We have to straighten out our own problems. As far as that's concerned -- you know, I heard about the border. I heard about the wall. Well, the wall does work, especially if somebody like me does it because I know how to do walls. The wall absolutely works.
And my immigration policy and my immigration plan has really been well received. We have to get people into this country legally. We can't have -- you know, when I first announced for president, people really criticized. Now they've all apologized because they said what I said about illegal immigrants was correct.
So you know, when people say, Oh, the plan, and it doesn't work, these are the same people that have let this whole situation go to hell to start off with.
HANNITY: So 59...
TRUMP: And my plan does work, and the wall works. And people will see that. And it won't take long to do, believe me...
HANNITY: The poll that came out...
TRUMP: ... and people with knowledge know my plan works.
HANNITY: A poll that came out shows 59 percent of Americans agree with your policy on immigration. But I just want to get you on the record. Are you saying absolutely, people from Syria, the Middle East, 400,000 men -- those are men that we don't know what their backgrounds are, where their hearts are -- should we allow any of them into this country, or any aid that we offer should be financial only?
TRUMP: Look, from a humanitarian standpoint, I'd love to help, but we have our own problems. We have so many problems that we have to solve. You have over there the Gulf states, tremendously wealthy. You have five groups of people, six groups. They're not taking anybody. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain -- these are tremendously wealthy and powerful from the standpoint of money. They're not taking anybody.
HANNITY: All right...
TRUMP: Russia's not taking -- nobody's taking. We're supposed to take. We have to straighten out our own problems. You have millions of people potentially. And if Obama would have gone across the line that he drew, the artificial line in the sand that he drew, you wouldn't have this problem in the first place.
HANNITY: Let me ask you about this letter that you spent Jeff Zucker over at CNN that his rates will go up because of the next debate to $200,000, I guess, either 30 or 60-minute (sic) ad. You said to donate it to charity. Have you been heard from him?
TRUMP: I have not heard back from him. I don't want to donate it to charity.
HANNITY: Military.
TRUMP: I want to give it to the veterans. I want to give it to lots of different veterans' groups. And you know, their rates are going from $4,000 or $5,000 an ad to $200,000 and $250,000 an ad. I hate to say this, because of me, because the numbers were always very low for the debates. Nobody watched the debates. It was a very poorly rated thing. I hate to tell that to you. But you know that. And FOX had 24 million people watching, and now...
HANNITY: The highest...
TRUMP: ... (INAUDIBLE) at CNN, it could be 30 million people.
HANNITY: The highest -- the highest-rated debate in the 2012 cycle was here at 6.5 million. I don't think there's anyone disputing that.
Let me ask you a final question. You see everything that's unfolding with Hillary Clinton and her server. She gave an apology, although she admitted no wrongdoing, nothing was improper, she says. Do you think -- you had said you think Joe Biden is more likely to win the nomination for the Democrats at this point.
What do you see as problematic for her? And do you think it's more legal than political in terms of her problems?
TRUMP: I think it's more legal. I think she's going to have a hard time getting to the starting gate. She's been hurt very badly in the polls. I've been beating her in virtually every state that I've -- even states that normally Democrats would win, I've been beating her.
And you know, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens. She's dropping like a rock. But I think she's got a bigger problem. I think she's got a major legal problem. If you look at General Petraeus, for doing one fifth of what she's done -- I mean, really, even less than that, they destroyed his life. I mean, they've ruined his life. You saw what happened to him.
And for some reason, she seems to be skirting by. We'll see whether or not she's able -- but I think she's going to have a very hard time getting to the starting gate, frankly. And if it's Biden, it's Biden. I mean, that would be fine.
HANNITY: It was neat to see...
TRUMP: Whatever it is.
HANNITY: It was nice to see you and Ted Cruz together today. This is the worst deal since Munich 1938. Glad you were out there. Thank you so much for being with us, Mr. Trump.
TRUMP: I think it's the worst contract I've ever seen negotiated. It's the most one-sided deal and it's a disgrace, and we shouldn't have to take it. As people from the United States, we should not have to take this!
HANNITY: I agree with you. Only 21 percent of Americans like it, and yet Congress is going forward. Mr. Trump, thanks for being with us.
When we come back, tonight, right here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: If you vote to send billions of dollars to jihadists who have pledged to murder Americans, then you bear direct responsibility for the murders carried out with the dollars you have given them!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Texas senator Ted Cruz was also a part of the rally in D.C. today. He will join us next to explain why the Iran nuclear deal is so dangerous.
And later, Hillary Clinton finally apologizes for her private server scandal. But was it sincere? Well, Clinton hasn't sounded sorry in the past few months. We'll remind you of the things that she has said. We'll check in with Geraldo Rivera and Doug Schoen straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: If this deal goes through, we know to an absolute certainty people will die! Americans will die! Israelis will die! Europeans will die! Let's rise up and tell every elected official in Washington no more talk! No more showboats! Get it done! Stop this deal!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That was Senator Ted Cruz earlier today at the Stop the Iran Deal rally in Washington, D.C.
Earlier, I spoke with the Texas senator and 2016 GOP presidential candidate about why he attended and much more. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Senator, great to see you today. Big crowd, all these people. I ask you this one question. They get $150 billion. They're the number one state sponsor of terror. They get to build their intercontinental ballistic missiles. They get to spin their centrifuges. They get conventional arms. They get missile defense with Russia.
What did we get? Did we get anything that you can mention?
CRUZ: The only thing that we got out of this deal was President Obama got what he considers to be a domestic political victory. You know, his deputy national security adviser at the beginning of his second term described the Iranian nuclear deal as the "Obama care" of the second term. I think he meant that as a compliment.
This deal is catastrophic. As you rightly noted, if the deal goes through, it will make the Obama administration quite literally the world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism.
You know, I spoke on the Senate floor and at the rally outside the Capitol and I pointed out to every Democrat who's thinking of voting in favor of this deal, You need to be prepared to look in the eyes of the mothers and fathers of our soldiers who were murdered by Iranian IEDs in Iraq, hundreds of soldiers blown up by General Suleimani. This deal lifts the sanctions on General Suleimani.
But even more fundamentally, those Democratic senators need to be prepared to look in the eyes of mothers and fathers and sons and daughters of the hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans and Israelis that will be murdered by Hamas, by Hezbollah, by the Houthis, by radical Islamic terrorists who will receive billions from this deal.
You know, Osama bin Laden never had $100 billion. The Ayatollah Khamenei hates us every bit as much, has stated his intention to murder us just as viciously, and the difference is this deal will give him over $100 billion to carry that out. And if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, one EMP, one electromagnetic pulse over the Atlantic keyboard from one nuclear weapon could kill tens of millions of Americans! It's the biggest national security threat facing America!
HANNITY: What can you do? I mean, we went through this entire deal, where I thought it was a bad idea from the start, and that was Bob Corker's bill, where they basically took away -- you have a constitutional authority, two thirds majority for a treaty. Now, the president wasn't going to declare this a treaty.
What can you do in the Senate to stop this, if anything, at this point?
CRUZ: Well, really, there are two important things we can do. you're right, this should have been treated as a treaty. I fought hard against Corker-Cardin when it was coming up. I introduced an legislation, an amendment to have it require the affirmative approval of Congress, and it was Republican leadership who killed that and who pushed through this toothless deal.
But there are two things we can do, Sean. Number one, the most important right now is there are two people in Washington, D.C., who can stop this deal, and their names are Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker John Boehner. Under the terms of Corker-Cardin, it is very weak and toothless, the Iranian review legislation.
But the one tooth it has is it says it requires Obama to hand over the entire deal, and it defines that as including any side deals. Now, the Obama administration hasn't done that. They haven't handed over the side deals with the IAEA, the inspection deals that set up the farcically weak inspection regime where Iran essentially inspects itself.
Under the terms of that legislation, then, what McConnell and Boehner should do is say Obama has not followed federal law. He has not submitted the deal. Therefore, the clock has not run, which means it is against federal law for Obama to lift sanctions.
Obama -- McConnell and Boehner can do that together. All they have to do is enforce federal law and don't allow Obama to ignore the law. That's what I'm urging leadership to do. They don't want to do it, but that's what we should do.
I'll say, secondly, Sean, if they don't do it, if we go through with a show vote this week, if Republicans vote against it, Democrats vote for this deal, it will go into effect. That will make the single most important issue in 2016 stopping a nuclear Iran.
And I'll tell you this, Sean. I cannot wait to stand on that debate stage next to Hillary Clinton and to make abundantly clear if you vote for Hillary, you are voting for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. And if you vote for me, under no circumstances will Iran, led by a theocratic ayatollah who chants "Death to America" -- under no circumstances will Iran be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons!
HANNITY: Well, "Death to America" was chanted immediately -- while the negotiations were going on. The Americans flag, the Israeli flag was burned. And they said the destruction of Israel is non-negotiable, Senator.
So you -- I want to go back because this is really important because the House and Senate still has not repealed and replaced "Obama care." You stood alone in a filibuster to fulfill that promise, and then you became a pariah.
They ran in 2014 on the idea that they would stop the illegal, unconstitutional executive amnesty. Is there any real hope? Do you really believe that McConnell and Boehner are going to take a stand once and for all on this?
CRUZ: Look, it is difficult to have a great deal of hope. As you know, a couple of months ago, I came out with a new book, "A Time for Truth." And it highlights what I call the Washington cartel, career politicians in both parties who get in bed with lobbyists and special interests and grow Washington.
And the problem is our leadership -- they want to engage in show votes but not actually win anything. So they want a show vote on "Obama care." They want a show vote on amnesty. They want a show vote on Iran.
They want a show vote on Planned Parenthood. We're going to have a big fight on Planned Parenthood. They want to show vote and then they want to acquiesce to Obama and send over $500 million in taxpayer funding to fund Planned Parenthood, an ongoing national criminal enterprise!
I think the American people are fed up with the games of Washington. No more show votes. Just stand up and lead!
HANNITY: I use that term, senator, all the time, especially the show votes on repealing and replacing ObamaCare.
Now, you have stated -- because it's likely that in the next three weeks, you have to pass a continuing resolution. The president, one, wants to increase spending, but more importantly, you have said you would not support any CR if it includes funding for Planned Parenthood. Do you have the support of other Republicans, considering the release of these videos in recent weeks?
CRUZ: Sadly, right now we don't. Republican leadership is standing with Barack Obama in supporting the funding of Planned Parenthood. Let me tell you how they're doing it. What Barack Obama has said is he will veto any funding for the federal government unless it includes $500 million of taxpayer money going to Planned Parenthood. So Obama is holding the entire federal government hostage, every agency in the federal government.
And what Republican leadership does is it unilaterally surrenders. It says, well, the major tool Congress has is the power of the purse under the constitution. And every time Congress threatens to use it, Obama says he'll veto it.
And so the position of McConnell and Boehner is they will not fight for anything unless Obama agrees to it and won't veto it. you know what, if that is the case, what the heck is the difference between them and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi if Obama sets all of the priorities.
And one of the illustrations, today there's a big "Wall Street Journal" editorial slamming me because I'm urging Republicans to actually follow through on our commitments and defund Planned Parenthood. And I talk about that a lot in the book "A Time for Truth," how the Wall Street Journal is the most powerful tool Republican leadership uses to hit conservatives.
HANNITY: But Senator, I don't understand how you become a pariah on following through on the very same promises your fellow senators have made.
I'm running out of time, and I want to make sure I ask you. Now, I applaud you. You went to see this county clerk in Kentucky, Kim Davis, yesterday. And there was a moment I guess you were supposed to go out on stage and Mike Huckabee's people said you can't go out on stage. We have the video. What happened here?
CRUZ: Look, I salute Mike Huckabee. I'm glad he has spoken out in defense of religious liberty. I was in Kentucky. I met with Kim Davis before she was released to support here. As you know, religious liberty has been a deep and personal fight of mine. For decades I've been leading the fight. And I am celebrating Kim Davis' release.
I'll tell you, when I met her, I had the opportunity to visit with her one-on-one, I told her I said, Kim, you are inspiring millions of believers across America and across the world. And, indeed, you have been lifted up in prayer. Heidi and I are praying for you, believers all over the world. I said you may have thought you were alone in that jail cell, but you didn't realize just how crowded it was because we're standing with you.
HANNITY: Senator, are we criminalizing Christianity? There had to be a better way to handle this than to put this woman in jail for six days because she was following her deeply held religious convictions and her job description had changed. There had to be a better way. Is this now the future? Are we getting a glimpse of the future in terms of the battle against religious liberty?
CRUZ: Yes, Sean. Kim Davis is you and men. It is threats coming after all of our liberty. Six months ago if I would have suggested that a Christian woman would have been thrown in jail for living according to her faith, that would have been ridiculed as totally impossible. Yet it happened in Kentucky. A couple weeks ago I hosted a religious liberty rally in Iowa with 2,500 people, had nine heroes from across the country tell their stories of standing for faith, being persecuted, facing death threats, being fired. If you want to watch those stories go to our website TedCruz.org. Watch that religious liberty rally. You'll be lifted up. But it makes clear that there has never been a greater threat to religious liberty than we're facing right now.
HANNITY: Last question, senator. I'm not trying to cut you short, last question. We had Rudy Giuliani on this program. We see the problem with Hillary Clinton, the secret server that was in the bathroom of a mom and pop shop. We now know that it has been confirmed she had top secret, the highest level of security clearance. She had those e-mails on her server in spite of her claims otherwise. She finally apologized yesterday. Rudy identified 13 separate criminal statutes that he would be looking at. This is your background, your experience. What are your thoughts? Does she have an issue legally, criminally?
CRUZ: Look, from all the public information it appears that Secretary Clinton has some very serious legal jeopardy, that she may well have violated multiple federal statutes, multiple criminal laws. And, you know, it is certainly our hope and prayer that the Department of Justice would investigate those fairly. Justice should be blind to party.
It's interesting comparing this to Planned Parenthood, those Planned Parenthood videos, which are horrific. On them senior Planned Parenthood officials essentially admit to multiple felonies. It is a federal crime to sell the body parts of unborn children for a profit. And yet nobody on earth thinks there's any chance the Obama Justice Department would even begin to investigate Planned Parenthood. They're too close a political ally of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. That's not how the Department of Justice should operate. I'm an alumnus of the Department of Justice. It should be blind to party and ideology. And one of the things that I have pledged, if I'm elected president we're going to restore integrity to the Department of Justice. On day one I will direct the Department of Justice to open an investigation into Planned Parenthood.
HANNITY: Good for you.
CRUZ: Prosecute any and all criminal violations. And the criminal prosecutions of Hillary or anyone else shouldn't be driven by whether the Valerie Jarrett in the White House likes Hillary or dislikes her on a given day. It should be driven by the law and by the constitution.
HANNITY: All right, senator, we're running out of time. It's really interesting to watch you and a competitor, Donald Trump today. I think it says a lot about the times we're living in and how significant the issues are that we're facing. We're going to watch. The next three weeks are going to be crucial for the leadership in Congress. Senator, good to see you. Thank you for being with us.
CRUZ: Thank you, Sean. God bless.
HANNITY: And coming up, Hillary Clinton finally apologizes over her server scandal. But is she sincere? Let's not forget she brushed off the scandal and even joked about it for months. We'll check in with Geraldo Rivera and Doug Schoen. That's coming up next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So Hillary Clinton has finally taken, well, maybe a little responsibility for the scandal surrounding her personal server. Last night she posted a lengthy, quote, "apology" to her Facebook page and even expressed regret in an interview with ABC News. I don't quite believe this, but you decide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: In retrospect, certainly, as I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts, one for, personal one for work related e-mails. That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, can anyone take that seriously? After all Hillary has now spent months trying to brush this aside and evenly opening joked about it. You may remember this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: When I got to work as secretary of state, I opted for convenience to use my personal e-mail account, which was allowed by the state department, because I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work, and for my personal e-mails instead of two. I think it might have been smarter to have those two devices from the very beginning. I did not receive or send anything that was classified.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you wipe the server?
CLINTON: What, with like a cloth or something? No.
By the way, you may have seen that I recently launched a Snap Chat account. I love it. Those messages disappear all by themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: All right, here with reaction, former Clinton pollster and FOX News contributor Doug Schoen as well as FOX News senior correspondent Geraldo Rivera. A lot of lies told here. With a cloth, you mean --
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: She should not do standup comedy, definitely not.
HANNITY: Apparently she wants to show her humorous side. She lied when she said he was e-mailing her husband. She lied about using only one device. From the get go there's been lie after lie. As she's, quote, "apologizing" she kept saying what she did was allowed and above board. Why apologize if it's allowed and above board?
RIVERA: That's an excellent question you pose, as usual. You have a situation here where Admiral John Kirby, the spokesman for the State Department, agrees with you. This was not illegal, although it is discouraged. So the question becomes, why apologize if it's not illegal? The answer is, obviously, politics and the polls.
HANNITY: Wait a minute, is it that? She can't admit that she broke the law because as soon as she does her campaign blows up.
DOUG SCHOEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: That's what I was going to say, Sean. She is facing a serious investigation by the FBI, whether they call it criminal or not. Rest assured --
HANNITY: When did the FBI do an investigation that's not criminal?
SCHOEN: Well, from her point of view, she cannot acknowledge wrongdoing, because, a, it was allowed, and, b, whether you think she lied or not, she sure can't say anything other than --
HANNITY: Doug, she sent out a memo as secretary of state telling people with her signature on it not to use their personal devices.
RIVERA: But that's not illegal.
HANNITY: OK.
RIVERA: It is tawdry. It is shady. It is diminishing her stature with the American voters.
HANNITY: Did she lie when she said --
RIVERA: And you believe her tears are sincere?
HANNITY: No, I don't.
RIVERA: Sean, I'm shocked.
HANNITY: Did she lie when she said she was e-mailing her husband? Yes.
RIVERA: I'm sure she e-mailed her husband.
HANNITY: No. Her husband doesn't e-mail. No, he doesn't e-mail.
RIVERA: The intern or somebody.
HANNITY: He doesn't use an e-mail.
Did she lie when she said --
RIVERA: Unless it is in the context of a sworn deposition or with a federal officer, it's not a crime.
HANNITY: She said she never received nor sent -- we now know that, in fact, she did have top secret documents --
SCHOEN: That to me is the big issue. Putting aside apologies, what she said, what she did, the big issue is, were there top secret e-mails about North Korea and other very sensitive subjects? If that's verified, then there's a problem. She has argued that they were, quote, "under a deliberative status from the State Department."
HANNITY: We now have multiple inspectors general all confirming that North Korean nuclear --
SCHOEN: They took a different position. She's trying to avoid indictment of her top people, potentially legal exposure herself.
HANNITY: Now she's got a guy who apparently is going to do immunity. That's going to be a problem. Let me put on some of the questions.
RIVERA: She's going to testify. I think that that -- you know, the fact that --
HANNITY: Trey Gowdy is no one to mess with.
RIVERA: I agree. Remember, he's a district attorney of South Carolina.
HANNITY: All right, 19 questions, Ron Fournier. He's hardly a member of the right wing conspiracy. Why not admit you violated the policy? It was her policy. Who authorized the deletion of I think it's 33,000 e- mails? Who carried it out, whose approval? Can you guarantee none of those e-mails, you know, involved the Clinton Foundation or donors? Why do you keep whether or not --
RIVERA: Does this remind you of Whitewater and Travel Agency gate and stealing the silverware when she left, and all these --
HANNITY: No. You want to know why? Because American national security --
RIVERA: It's all the same noise.
HANNITY: Let me tell you the difference. The difference is national security was compromised. If John Kerry thinks his e-mails are being read by the Russian and Chinese -- they have every one of her e-mails, guaranteed.
SCHOEN: They have got probably better access to her e-mails than we do. But here's the issue, Sean.
RIVERA: Thanks to Ed Snowden they have a lot more than Hillary Clinton's emails.
HANNITY: I want to see Geraldo's e-mail.
RIVERA: I think you have to divide the substantive scandal and the illegality with the image of her --
HANNITY: Geraldo --
(CROSSTALK)
SCHOEN: The issue is the legal standing of the e-mails she received and sent. That will make or break her candidacy, not whether she apologizes.
HANNITY: But it's more than that, Doug. Rudy Giuliani and other attorneys we've had on this program, they have all confirmed there are at least 13 statutes, criminal statutes that are in play for her, including the Espionage Act, including 18 U.S. code and I can go through -- mishandling of intelligence, Geraldo, is a crime.
RIVERA: But Sean, she's strained. She's pessimistic. She has the charm of a matronly undertaker. That's where the political aspect of this is paramount. The legal stuff is going to play out, and I bet you dollars to donuts, everything, I got a wad full of cash. I bet it all --
HANNITY: I think she's in legal jeopardy.
SCHOEN: I don't think so. She's trying to get through so she can just tack left and usurp Bernie.
RIVERA: That's the big deal.
SCHOEN: That's the big deal.
HANNITY: When we come back, Hillary Clinton sat down with Ellen Degeneres for an interview and started dancing. We have video of her dance moves. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, she took a break from her very busy campaign schedule to sit down for a hard-hitting interview with Ellen Degeneres yesterday. Now the show won't air on NBC until tomorrow, but our cameras were allowed to record the taping which took place right here in New York City.
Now, Hillary Clinton's aides recently told the "New York Times" that they want to bring spontaneity to the campaign and have Hillary show voters her warmer side, her more humorous side. Every time I think of Hillary I think of Chris Rock and Larry the Cable Guy. Anyway, perhaps that was on Hillary Clinton's mind yesterday, because during one of the commercial breaks the Democratic frontrunner was caught on tape learning some new dance moves with Ellen's DJ. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Phony, choreographed humor and warmth and spontaneity. I guess if winning the presidency doesn't work out for Hillary she can always appear on "Dancing with the Stars" or fill in for Chris Rock or Larry the Cable Guy or Jeff Foxworthy. After all the scandals swirling around her private e-mail server that's not going away any time soon, which brings us to tonight's "Question of the Day." Do you believe that Hillary Clinton is really sorry about her server scandal? No. I don't think so. Go to Facebook.com/SeanHannity, @SeanHannity let us know what you think.
Coming up, more "Hannity" right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." That's all the time we have left this evening. As always, thank you for being with us. We hope you'll set your DVR, record "Hannity" each night, 10:00 eastern, so you never miss an episode. We take attendance and it hurts us when you're not here. Thanks for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow night.
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