Trump: ISIS emerged on Hillary Clinton's watch
Trump outlines shortcomings of the Obama administration and the former secretary of state on 'Hannity'
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," June 30, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And welcome to "Hannity." And tonight, the left's foreign policy failures have made you, the American people, less safe. Now, according to a brand-new Fox News poll, 84 percent of Americans say they're nervous about the country's ability to prevent terrorist attacks while just 11 percent say they are confident.
Now, these are very clear reasons why America's fearful -- are now fearful of these terror attacks. It has to do with the Obama administration's decisions over the last seven-and-a-half years.
Now, plain and simple, they have refused to confront radical Islam head on. Now, the administration originally labeled the Fort Hood terror attack as workplace violence. Now, they changed the name of the war on terror to overseas contingency operations, and instead of saying terrorism, well, they use the phrase man-caused disasters. And don't forget the president also called ISIS the JV team and one day before the jihadists massacred innocent people in Paris -- well, the president said ISIS was contained.
And that's not all. The Obama administration has made many other key foreign policy mistakes. For example, they're releasing Gitmo detainees who are going back to the battlefield to kill again. And of course, they pulled out of Iraq prematurely, and that created a home base for ISIS.
Now, the president -- remember, he drew a red line with Syria in the sand, and then he did nothing. And the White House gave the number one state sponsor of terrorism $150 billion as part of the Iranian nuclear deal. And don't forget they also gave F-16s, tanks, and over $1 billion to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, led then by President Mohamed Morsi.
Now, the evidence is clear, the world and America are now less safe than they were almost eight years ago.
Here with reaction, 2016 presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. By the way, a new Rasmussen national poll out today shows he is beating Hillary Clinton 43 to 39.
Mr. Trump, good to see you. I bet that poll makes you pretty happy.
DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It does. I think the message is getting across both on terrorism and on trade, two very important subjects for me, and I think the message is really getting across.
I was in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia. We're going up to New Hampshire. I mean, we're all over the place, and I will tell you the crowds are incredible, Sean. They're just incredible. They want something. They want help because these people are incompetent. They don't know what they're doing, and I think they're just grossly incompetent.
HANNITY: Let me -- let me go through the list that I just labeled here. I mean, this reluctance, this resistance not to say radical Islam, but man- caused disasters, workplace violence, overseas contingency, the JV team, they're contained. How could they be so wrong so often on an issue that involves the safety and security of the American people?
TRUMP: Well, you know, all you have to do is really, even on the bigger issues of -- just take a look at the Middle East, what's happened with the migration, with -- you know, maybe it started with Syria. Nobody really knows where it started. The line in the sand was a disaster. That was a disaster because if you do that, you got to produce one way or the other.
But you just take a look at what's going on. Iran now is in a certain way a major power, and they certainly will be with all the money that we let them have back, $150 billion. You look at the abuse of Israel. In my opinion, he's abused Israel, and I don't think there's ever been anyone close as a president who's been more anti-Israel. And I have friends who are Jewish, who raised money for him, and they are just disgusted. They can't believe what's going on.
So you know, and the people of Israel are disgusted. But you just look at failure after failure, and it started -- I guess it started a long time ago. But also not only this country allowing thousands and thousands of people into our country, who many of these people are ISIS -- I have no doubt about it. You know, I used to say, Well, maybe. Now I have no doubt about it.
But also, look at what's happened with Europe. Look at what's going on with Germany and all over Europe. Europe's never going to be the same.
It's so sad that the leadership in this country -- and by the way, other countries not doing so well. That's why you saw Great Britain -- you see what happened with that vote that I felt was going to happen. I had a good -- you know, a good sense of the people. I felt that was...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... and Hillary were both wrong on it, and the lobbying (ph) -- even President Obama, one of his top campaigners was actually down there trying to help Britain remain in the EU. But a lot of the things that I mentioned here -- for example, you know, the Gitmo detainees that were released or the $150 billion to Iran or the damage done in Iraq and Syria - - I don't see that that damage can be undone. If you become president, what do you do to solve those problems that they've now handed off to you?
TRUMP: Well, the Gitmo detainees, they say are back -- most of them are back fighting again. So you know, what are we doing? I mean, why are we doing it? As you know, these are the people that they want the most. They want them back so badly.
You almost say, Why are we doing this? And they're back out fighting. Why wouldn't we do it maybe after this all ends, if it ever ends? I mean, the way it's going right now, it's just getting worse. And ISIS is recruiting like crazy because these young kids that -- you know, they're using the internet and they're being recruited right off the internet, and they respect ISIS because it looks like ISIS -- to the outside world, it looks like ISIS is beating us and beating us badly.
They need a big defeat because they are using that internet to recruit people from many countries, not just our country. And it's only going to get worse.
And You know, I watched Hillary Clinton for years and years. It's the same thing. We're going to get along with our allies. We're going to work with our allies, nice and soft, nice and easy. Nothing's going to happen. And don't forget, this whole ISIS thing really started during her term.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: The Iranian deal did, too...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: ... detainees also. She was a part of all those decisions. She never spoke out against any one of them, which makes the world less safe. I want to get your...
HANNITY: Sean, forgetting about -- hey, Sean, forgetting about me, just forgetting about me. If she ever got in, she would be such a bad president. She would be so bad. And remember, unrelated but maybe related in a very -- you know, in a certain way, but unrelated, Supreme Court justices, so important, Supreme Court justices. But if Hillary ever got in, she would be so bad. It would be so sad.
HANNITY: Listen, this is a choice election. I'm not disagreeing with you. She's not going to build a wall. She's going to appoint liberal justices. I don't -- she doesn't want coal to expand. You have told me you want to expand coal and fracking and drilling and nuclear technology and new technology. Those are huge differences.
Also on the economy, foreign policy, building up our nation's military, fixing the VA. I think it's a choice election in many ways. You know, the biggest hack (ph) that they're making against you...
TRUMP: Very big on trade, though. Sean...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: ... big on trade. You know, my message has been really from the beginning, trade. And you talk about coal, you talk about -- I really talk about the miners. The miners have just been decimated in this country. They've been -- these are great people. And they want to be miners. They say, Why don't you move? Why don't you go to a different place? Why don't you move? Like in West Virginia, where I'm -- you know, I think I have a 25-point lead, 29-point lead.
But I speak to the miners, and I see the miners. I was with them the other day. They don't want to move. They love what they do. Like you like what I -- you know, you like what you do. I like what I do. They love what they do. That's what they want to do. They want to...
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Many of these are high-paying jobs, and she talked about putting all of them out of work and all the companies out of work. Here's what I want to ask you...
HANNITY: She wants to put all of them out, and she wants to -- and she wants to put all of them out of work! Now, she said that five weeks before she ends up going to West Virginia. She talks to them, and she got wiped out there.
But she's going to get wiped out in a lot of places. And it's not only the miners. It's steel. She doesn't want steel. Our steel is being destroyed, the industry, by China, mostly by China. We have so many industries that are absolutely on their last legs right now, and it could be turned around so easily and so fast if we're smart.
HANNITY: It seems like there's a coordinated attack, the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and President Obama, and it keeps going back. They don't want to talk a lot about issues or the foreign policy record or the record on the economy, but it's always about Donald Trump and Donald Trump's temperament.
I had a chance earlier this week to interview Gary Byrne. He's the former Secret Service officer that was outside the Oval Office when the Clintons were in the White House. Here's part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY BYRNE, "CRISIS OF CHARACTER" AUTHOR: I hope someday that it does make a difference. I mean, if Mrs. Clinton ends up being the president of the United States, then she's our president and she's the commander-in-chief, and it is what it is.
But if she did become the president without me speaking the truth, I'm not sure I could -- I could deal with that. People need to know. This is serious. And her behavior is appalling. And she's two different people.
I feel so strongly that people need to know the real Hillary Clinton and how dangerous she is in her behavior. She is not a leader. She is not a leader.
HANNITY: She doesn't have the temperament.
BYRNE: She doesn't have the temperament. She didn't have the temperament to handle the social office when she was first lady. She does not have the temperament.
HANNITY: She's dishonest.
BYRNE: She's dishonest. She habitually lies. Anybody that, you know, can separate themselves from their politics and review her behavior over the last...
HANNITY: You're going to be accused of this being political.
BYRNE: Absolutely. I'm sure I will be. I have been already.
HANNITY: And what's your answer?
BYRNE: It's not. It's got nothing to do with politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, he described a woman that was -- that threw a bible at the head of a Secret Service officer, told him to F off, told him to go to hell, a person that threw a vase across the residence, gave Bill Clinton a black eye.
They question your temperament. Here's firsthand experience, and the media seems to ignore it. Your reaction?
TRUMP: Well, I saw that interview, and I guess I'm not that surprised. I mean, I understand what I'm dealing with here, and I'm also dealing with a media that's extremely unfriendly, and they probably won't pick very much of it up, if anything.
But I actually watched that, and I said to myself -- and you know, again, not being too surprised. But I said to myself, Hey, that's the way it would be. I mean, that's the way it would be.
And she brings up temperament because she understands temperament because her temperament is terrible. And you know, I'll tell you what. In one way, we need a different temperament in the White House because we have had these weak leaders that let the world take advantage of us.
They let ISIS continue to go forward, and it's like, you know, they don't want to do what they have to do, like get rid of their source of wealth, which is largely oil. And also by the way, coming in from many of our so- called allies, tremendous wealth goes to -- as you know, goes to ISIS through our allies, where they're paying ISIS money, which is horrible if you think about it. It's horrible. I guess it's almost like protection money. They're paying for protection.
But you know, we need a strong temperament. We need somebody that's going to get in there, knock the hell out of ISIS, get ISIS out. There are ways to do it, and we can do it quickly. But we don't seem to want to do it. And we have a president that won't use the term "radical Islamic terrorism."
And he comes up with all -- at the beginning of your show, I heard you reading different names that nobody has ever even heard about. They won't use radical Islam. They won't talk about it.
HANNITY: Let me ask you...
TRUMP: And I shamed her into do it, but so far -- you know, she hasn't done it yet. She said, I would do it if I needed to do it, but she hasn't done it yet.
HANNITY: Good point.
TRUMP: If you don't say what it is, if you don't talk about radical Islam, which is what it is, then, Sean, it's...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: ... solve the problem.
HANNITY: But isn't a lot of it connected to -- OK, she got up to $25 million from Saudi Arabia, $10 million from Saudi Arabia for the Clinton Foundation. I mean, they treat women horribly. Women can't drive. Women are told how to dress. Women are given permission to go to school or work. Gays are executed under Saudi law in some of the other countries. You know, they wouldn't let you build a Christian church or a Jewish temple. And so they persecute gays and lesbians, women, Christians and Jews.
She takes their money, and nobody in the media seems to focus on that, either, and claims to be the champions of those groups' rights.
TRUMP: She should give that money back, all of it. She should give all of that money back. That money should go back where it came from. You have not only Saudi Arabia, you have many countries where, I mean, they execute gays. They enslave women. And she's taking money, and nobody talks about it.
It's sort of an amazing thing. Can you imagine if I took that money?
HANNITY: Yes, I think it would be a pretty big issue.
TRUMP: Wouldn't be pretty.
HANNITY: I think...
TRUMP: Wouldn't be pretty.
HANNITY: And by the way...
TRUMP: But she should really...
HANNITY: ... if it said on your teleprompter "sigh" and you read "sigh" when you were supposed to go -- I mean, did you see -- did you say that -- let me play the video for you because it's pretty entertaining.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), FMR. SEC. OF STATE, PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: So all he can do is try to distract us. That's even why he's attacking my faith. Sigh.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Can you imagine if you're the one -- she's that programmed that they actually put in how she should act after she gives a line. I don't know what -- if you did it, it would be -- it would be a bigger story.
TRUMP: They thought it was so cute, it was so wonderful. They were saying, Oh, isn't that cute? Isn't that nice? Isn't that wonderful?
Can you imagine if I did it? I never notice that on teleprompter. When I do a teleprompter, they don't put "sigh." You're supposed to be who you are. Can you imagine "sigh"?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And let me tell you, I never attacked her faith. A question was asked about her faith. I said I know nothing about it. I wasn't saying that in a good way or bad. I really know nothing about her faith.
HANNITY: Well, it's an honest answer.
TRUMP: I would never attack her faith.
HANNITY: When we come back, I want to ask you about...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: ... let that be clear.
HANNITY: I want to ask you about Benghazi, also Bill Clinton meeting Loretta Lynch on the tarmac at an airport and was that unethical? And now does Loretta Lynch need to recuse herself from the Clinton server scandal issue?
We'll get to that and more as we continue with Donald Trump tonight on "Hannity."
(NEWSBREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity" as we continue with 2016 presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
So the Benghazi report finally came in this week. To me, there's three separate issues. There's the before, during and after. Now, there were over 600 requests for security before this attack. The Red Cross, Great Britain had pulled out of the area because it was unsafe. Those requests were all denied. Some went directly to Hillary Clinton.
Then during the attack, if you were president, I really can't imagine -- they were debating four hours in, even though they had a live shot of the firefight that was going on on the ground. They're debating whether or not we can send our military in without getting Libya's permission, number one. And they kept having our military men and women change their clothes because they were -- they didn't want to offend the Libyans if our military went in to save American lives in uniform.
How would you have -- and then the lie afterwards, which I'll get to in a second. How would you have handled that if you were watching in real time Americans under fire at the American consulate, an ambassador under fire?
TRUMP: Well, it would have never taken place because I think the key is the first little segment that you mentioned or the first set that you mentioned where, they were sending, I heard, up to 600, like, help messages.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: I don't know how they were sending them, but they were there because they've all been accounted for.
HANNITY: In the lead-up to the attack...
TRUMP: Unlike her e-mails -- unlike her 33,000 e-mails, they've all been accounted for. And I wonder what is on those e-mails having to do with Benghazi, as an example.
But to me, the most important segment is that first -- you know, that first grouping of 600 requests for help that, There's something going on here, we need help. And there was no response.
Now, if you did that, there would have been, you know, a skirmish. The ambassador, everybody, they would have been OK. Probably they would have stopped it. They would have stopped it before it started.
Once it started, the timeline was tough, but you certainly would have sent somebody in anyway, regardless. It was probably too late by that time because it wasn't -- it didn't take that long, and it would have taken people a long time to get there.
HANNITY: It went on for 13 hours.
TRUMP: But I will -- I will tell you this. If you would have responded to the earlier requests for help, which should have been natural -- who wouldn't have done that? -- then there would have been no problem in the first place. So that would have been the thing. That was the biggest mistake of the group. The rest was just horribly handled, horrible leadership. She's a horrible leader.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Would you have debated the idea of asking permission to send in our military people? Would you have debated what clothes they wear?
TRUMP: No.
HANNITY: You would have sent them in, right?
TRUMP: Bernie -- Bernie Sanders said loud and clear that Hillary Clinton has bad judgment, OK? Now, who wouldn't have sent help after you got the first messages? Who wouldn't have sent help? Bernie Sanders said very loud and very clear that she has bad judgment. And you look at all of her calls. I mean, look at the calls she's made over the years. She has horrible judgment, including the fact that she voted for the war in Iraq, which I was opposed to, by the way, even though I was a civilian. Nobody cared. But listen, she has bad judgment!
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: He's asking for help, and we don't send it!
HANNITY: These are Americans under fire. Then afterwards, you know, she writes her daughter. She talks to the Libyan president, the Egyptian prime minister. To her daughter, for example, she sent an e-mail that says, Two of our officers were killed in Benghazi by an al Qaeda-like group, the ambassador, whom I hand-picked, a young communications officer on temporary duty with a wife and two very young children. Very hard day, and I fear more of the same tomorrow.
So she admitted to the Libyan president, the Egyptian prime minister and her own daughter this was a terrorist attack. Simultaneously, she was telling the American people a different story, that it was not a terror attack, that it was a YouTube-related event that inspired this -- you know, it was spontaneous. They just happened to have mortars in their back pocket.
TRUMP: She lied. She lied. That's what she does. She lies.
HANNITY: Why do you think people don't pay as much attention to that?
TRUMP: Well, I think if you did it, if I did it, if somebody else did it, it would be a big deal. But she gets away with a lot of things.
I mean they -- I have events -- I'll tell you -- like, the press is very dishonest. I have events that are so good, where such good things comes out of them, and some of the media try and make it look bad. And yet she gets away with things like this.
And I'll be honest. The whole Benghazi thing, Sean -- you talk about it and a lot of the Fox people talk about it. But outside of Fox, Benghazi has never resonated. It's never been a big subject. The mainstream media has not covered it like it should have been covered. But it hasn't resonated...
HANNITY: Four Americans died!
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: ... it's hard to believe.
HANNITY: And it's hard to believe.
TRUMP: I know, but...
HANNITY: Let me -- let me ask you this.
TRUMP: But it has not -- it has not been a big subject, relatively speaking, for the mainstream media. They have not covered it. It has not resonated. It should have, but it hasn't.
HANNITY: Loretta Lynch met with Bill Clinton while she potentially is weighing an indictment against his wife. Now, she claims that, you know, she boarded the plane. She was on the plane with Bill Clinton for 30 minutes. They were talking about their grandchildren and sports.
Is this an issue where you think the credibility -- for example, if a criminal referral comes from the FBI, do you think the attorney general needs to now recuse herself?
TRUMP: Well, when I first heard that yesterday afternoon, I actually thought they were joking. I thought the people that told me were -- you know, I said, No way. There's no way that's going to happen. And it happened. And I am just -- I'm flabbergasted by it. I think it's amazing. I've never seen anything like that before.
HANNITY: We'll have more with Donald Trump right after the break.
And coming up, President Obama once again takes a shot at Donald Trump. We'll get his reaction.
Plus, more on the political firestorm brewing over Loretta Lynch's private meeting with Bill Clinton. Even Democrats are now saying it was wrong.
That and more tonight on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: And welcome back to "Hannity," and this is the final part of our interview from earlier today with 2016 presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
You gave a speech in Maine, and you said elites created globalization and the average citizen has suffered. You said the trade deficit, $746 billion last year. I noticed that some of the analysis says that you are a protectionist. You dispute that by saying, No, I want free trade, but I want fair trade. What is the difference?
TRUMP: Yes. I want to make good deals for the United States. Very simple. You know, somebody said, What's your trade policy? I said, I want to make good deals for the United States. I know all about fair trade, about free trade. I know every -- I could name nine other names that we have for trade.
I want to make good deals for the people of this country. I want to bring back our jobs. I want to bring back our wealth. Our wealth is being sapped. Soon we will owe $21 trillion as a nation. We have massive deficits.
We have tremendous trade deficits with nations. I mean, China is over $500 billion. We have massive trade deficits with these nations. And all I want to do is take these bad trade deals and make them good.
And then I get hit even from my side that -- you know, what is wrong with saying we have a bad deal with China? I want to make it a good deal. I'm not saying I don't want to trade with them. I want to make it a good deal. I will make it a good deal.
People are sort of saying, like, Oh, that's a terrible thing to say. I am a free trader. You know that. But to have free trade, we need smart people. We don't have smart people negotiating our deals. We don't have smart leadership. We have political hacks negotiating the biggest deals in the world.
These trade deals are bigger than company deals, bigger than anything. And all I'm saying is I want to make great trade deals. I don't want to make bad ones like we have right now because our jobs have been taken. They've moved to Mexico. They've moved to different places. It's disgraceful.
HANNITY: Yes.
TRUMP: And so what I want to do is renegotiate trade deals so they're good, so our jobs come back, so they don't take our jobs anymore. We will have a country that will be so strong again. But right now, we're a laughingstock all over the world!
HANNITY: Let me give you an opportunity. The president attacked you again and claimed that you are xenophobic and that you're appealing to nativism. And he even went on to say funny-looking people. Let me play it for you, give you a chance to respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Somebody else who has never shown any regard for workers, has never fought on behalf of social justice issues and making sure that poor kids are getting a decent shot in life or have health care, in fact, have worked against economic opportunity for workers and ordinary people -- they don't suddenly become a populist because they say something controversial in order to win votes. That's not the measure of populism. That's nativism or xenophobia, or worse. Or it's just cynicism.
What is absolutely true is that the ability to tap into a fear that people may have about losing control and to offer some sort of vague, nostalgic feelings about how, you know, we'll make Britain great again or we'll make America great again, and the subtext for that is somehow that a bunch of foreigners and funny-looking people are coming in here and changing the basic character of the nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: So my question to you is he's claiming he's the populist, not you. But his record is clear. Right now in America, we have since he's been president, 12 million more people on food stamps, in poverty. We have the lowest labor participate rate since the early '70s. He's doubled the national debt. He said $9 trillion was irresponsible and unpatriotic. One in five American families don't have a single member of their family in the workforce. When you look at that abysmal record, Americans are suffering under his economic policies. Then he tries to attack you with those words. What's your answer to him?
TRUMP: So, Sean, I've created tens of thousands of jobs throughout my career, tens of thousands. And so many people so happy. They love Donald trump. I mean, you know, their education for their family and health care for their families, and they were able to afford all of this. So I've created tens of thousands of jobs.
If I ever used the word "funny-looking people" or whatever the phrase he used, it would be a headline all over the world. With him, nobody even mentions it, you know, working with funny-looking people or they come into the country. If I ever said that, I will tell you, it would be headlines all over the world. With him -- I saw him say that. I said, oh, that's a bad -- that's a bad term in a world of political correctness, which is ridiculous in itself. And nobody even mentioned that.
Look, we are going to make America strong again. We're going to bring back our jobs. We're going to bring back our wealth. We're going to pay down debt. We're going to get rid of our deficit or largely get rid of it but ultimately get rid of it. And we are going to have a strong country again.
Our military is totally depleted. We're using parts for airplanes. We're using parts for our jet fighters that come out of airplane graveyards and museums because the planes are so old. And we're not going to have that anymore. We're going to have great equipment. We're going to have a strong military again. Our military is so depleted. That's all everybody is talking about that's in the military services. We're going to make our country strong again, rich again. We're going to make our country great again.
HANNITY: All right, Mr. Trump. As always, thank you for being with us. Appreciate your time.
TRUMP: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: And coming up, so why did the attorney general Loretta Lynch meet privately with Bill Clinton at the Phoenix airport while the FBI is still investigating e-mail server scandal? We'll check in with Jay Sekulow, Doug Schoen, and Peter Johnson Jr.
Also, according to a new report, the FBI is telling local law enforcement agencies not to release records related to the Orlando terror attack. Now, is this an attempt to hide the truth? We'll check in with Dr. Sebastian Gorka and Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters. That's next tonight straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." So earlier this week, Attorney General Loretta Lynch met privately with Bill Clinton aboard her plane at the Phoenix airport. Now, the meeting reportedly lasted 30 minutes. Now, this news comes as Lynch's Justice Department is in the middle of conducting a probe into Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server. But let not your heart be troubled. Lynch says there's nothing to worry about, nothing at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORETTA LYNCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Our conversation was a great deal about his grandchildren. It was primarily social and about our travels. He mentioned the golf he played in Phoenix, and he mentioned travels he had had to West Virginia. We talked about former attorney general Janet Reno, for example, whom we both know.
But there was no discussion of any matter pending before the department or any matter pending before any other body. There was no discussion of Benghazi, no discussion of the State Department e-mails, by way of example.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, while Lynch is trying to make it seem like this was just a casual social meeting, well, some members of her own party think it looks pretty bad. David Axelrod took issue with the meeting, tweeting, quote, "I take Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton at their word that their conversation in Phoenix did not touch on the probe, but foolish to create such optics."
Here with reaction is the chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice Jay Sekulow, former Clinton pollster, FOX News contributor Doug Schoen, and FOX News analyst Peter Johnson Jr. Jay, is there any legal/ethical issues here that would force her to have to recuse herself?
JAY SEKULOW, CHIEF COUNSEL, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE: Well, yes. In fact, the Department of Justice's own guidelines in the court of federal regulations, it specifically states, let me read it, it says it prohibits a DOJ employee, that would include the attorney general, from participating in a criminal investigation or prosecution if they have a personal or a political relationship with the person or entity that's the subject of the investigation.
So the fact that they had a personal conversation -- which only Bill Clinton could pull this off, by the way -- I mean just think about that, really proves the point. That means her objectivity is certainly put in question, and I think under the existing Department of Justice own regulations and guidelines, she has to recuse herself from any potential review of the case, not just the prosecution or not prosecution. She needs to be out of it now.
But just think for a moment, Sean. The idea that Bill Clinton got off an airplane, walked up the steps to a plane controlled by the United States Department of Justice while his wife is under investigation by the Department of Justice through the FBI, and he may well be a witness. And let's not forget the server of the e-mails that are in question was in his house. So he's a potential witness. He could be a potential defendant. So this whole thing is just horrendous from the beginning.
HANNITY: Peter, from a legal standpoint, do you agree with that analysis and State Department rules, Justice Department rules? And, you know, Comey said this is a criminal investigation.
PETER JOHNSON JR., FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Well, by those federal regulations, she couldn't be investigating them from the get-go. And a lot of people she couldn't investigate by virtue of a personal, political relationship.
I see it a little bit differently. I think she stayed too long. She should have said, Mr. President, step off the plane. Now, I also know that she happens to be one of the most successful prosecutors in the United States and has put away a lot of bad, bad guys.
HANNITY: I got a question. Are you suggesting that maybe Bill Clinton knew what he was doing, knew that this might raise ethical questions, and he wants her to recuse herself?
JOHNSON: I don't know. But he's the former president of the United States. I don't think he wants her to recuse herself, and I don't think he would say to her, listen, maybe you could be on the Supreme Court if Hillary wins. I don't think he would ever say that when he went on the plane. I don't think there would be any kind of social conversation about anyone's future. But I believe her when she says there wasn't a discussion of the State Department e-mails. I happen to believe her. And I don't think --
HANNITY: Could there be a wink and a nod that went on in that plane?
JOHNSON: I guess there could be, but I don't think she can or should be infected with the poison that we are seeing out of this family for a long, long time.
HANNITY: Doug, would you put it past Bill Clinton to purposely go on there -- it seems he knows the law. He's a former president.
DOUG SCHOEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think -- I agree with Peter. I don't think that he was doing any winks or nods. I don't think he was doing anything --
HANNITY: He didn't have to. He showed up.
SCHOEN: He did show up. And I think Loretta Lynch should do is go to whether it be the inspector general or the ethics adviser in the Department of Justice and seek counsel, because with all due respect I don't think it's as clear as Jay says it is.
HANNITY: Jay, go back to what you were citing earlier from the state department's own guidelines on this.
SEKULOW: So it's code of federal regulations 45.2 and it specifically prohibits when you have a situation that the person is under investigation is a close friend of yours. And just think about that. In our ethics rules, Peter, we know that we cannot -- we have to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. So let's take it from whether they had a conversation about his golf game or anything else --
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: I agree with you.
SCHOEN: Just bad judgment by the Clintons, I'll say that.
HANNITY: This is going to be interesting. And on top of that, by the way, the State Department announced they don't want to release Clinton Foundation e-mails for 27 months.
JOHNSON: That's ridiculous.
SCHOEN: That's good politics.
HANNITY: That's bad politics. Bad policy.
SCHOEN: Good politics.
HANNITY: I agree with Peter. Thank you all for being with us.
Coming up, according to a brand new report, the FBI is telling local law enforcement agencies to literally block the release of records in the Orlando terror attack. What are they trying to hide? That's next, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Welcome back to "Hannity." A shocking new report from "The Orlando Sentinel" alleges that, quote, "The FBI has asked law enforcement agencies to respond to Pulse nightclub to withhold records from the public according to officials." So what is the federal government trying to hide? We reached out to the FBI. We have not yet received a response. Joining us now with reaction, the author of "Defeating Jihad, The Winnable War," the distinguished chair of military theory at Marine Corps University, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, as well as the author of "The Damned of Petersburg," Fox News strategic analyst Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters. Why?
LT. COL. RALPH PETERS, FOX NEWS STRATEGIC ANALYST: Because it hurts the narrative. And the one thing the Obama administration will do at all costs is protect the narrative that Islam is a religion of peace. Now, it's gone into the realm of the absurd. Nobody believes it, but this is the hard left approach where you just stick to the party line. Stick to the party.
And at some level I actually have sympathy with them a little bit because if they finally admit it that Islamic terrorism has something to do with Islam, the whole rationale for their foreign policy collapses. Their security policy is built on quicksand, which we know it is. And Obama's pride of course comes into it. He doesn't admit he's wrong. So it's become more important to preserve the myth than it has been to protect the American people.
HANNITY: Dr. Gorka, what is your reaction to this? It seems that between Iraq and Syria and Egypt and the Russian reset and total chaos now in the Middle East and not admitting radical Islam is radical Islam, there seems to be a pathological obsession not to tell anything.
DR. SEBASTIAN GORKA, "DEFEATING JIHAD" AUTHOR: Sean, if you want to see how pathological it is, watch the video that was just posted from the Senate judiciary this week. Senator Cruz asked the director of the DHS, why are there in more mentions of the word "jihad" in DHS documents? Why have official training manuals been scrubbed? It's exactly as Colonel Peters says. There is a narrative that has to be maintained at all costs, Sean.
HANNITY: Let me play what year referring to so our viewers can see it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: Was Mr. Haney's testimony that the Department of Homeland Security ordered over 800 documents in CBB altered or deleted, was that testimony accurate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.
CRUZ: And when the United States Senate judiciary oversight committee conducted a hearing on that, did you or anyone on your staff inquire into those issues?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but you have me to right here right now to ask questions of.
CRUZ: But apparently your answer is you don't know. Your testimony to this full committee now is that you have no idea and apparently no intention of finding out whether the DHS materials have been scrubbed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Dr. Gorka, they're talking about a number of things there, scrubbing the word "radical Islam" and "sharia" from testimony. And Phil Haney testified that he was one of the founding members of the Department of Homeland security. As soon as Obama became president, they were told to scrub and delete the names that they'd accumulated of Muslims with radical connections which puts us all of us at risk.
GORKA: Absolutely. So it's important to understand two things are coming together, Sean. It's what Ralph just mentioned. The house of cards policies of the United States that have helped engender the creation of ISIS. It is a narrative that must be maintained at all costs.
And then you just saw the director of homeland security ooze arrogance that he's not going to answer this. I wouldn't know Phil Haney if he walked into the room is what he said. If you add the arrogance to the fantasyland narrative, we are in danger, Sean, and this administration will not admit it, and that is why those transcripts will not be released.
HANNITY: And Colonel Peters, just like they won't release the video of the night of Benghazi, they scrubbed Sharia, the scrubbed radical Islam, but more importantly, they put Americans at risk by scrubbing names of Muslims with radical ties, just like they're putting us at risk by taking in refugees when we know ISIS will infiltrate that population. Why are they willing to gamble with the lives of Americans?
PETERS: Because the idea is more important than the flesh and blood reality, the theology of the left, if you will, is. And I'm so sick of this, Sean. As Dr. Gorka knows well and has explained many times to many people, and explained well, you can say many things about Islam. It's complex. It's various. But you can't say it's a religion of peace. For those of us in the Christian tradition, the foundation stone is the Sermon on the Mount. For Islam, the foundation is the tribal conquest of mecca that puts Mohammed in charge. Jihad isn't peaceful. Jihad is militant, usually violent, and it has never stopped for almost 1,400 years.
HANNITY: And Sharia is oppressive.
PETER: Sharia is law for illiterate Bedouins.
HANNITY: Wow. All right, thank you both for being with us.
When we come back, we need your help. A very important "Question of the Day" straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right, time for our "Question of the Day." Now, should the attorney general, Loretta Lynch, recuse herself from the Clinton e-mail server investigation? I think so. You can't be meeting with the woman's husband on the tarmac and tell us, oh, we're just talking about grandkids for a half-hour. Anyway, go to Facebook and Twitter, let us know what you think.
Quick programming note. Be sure to tune in tomorrow night, "Fox & Friends" tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m., country music super star Trace Adkins, he will be performing in the summer concert series. That is all happening tomorrow morning. Hope you'll join us.
That is all the time we have left tonight. Thanks for being with us. We'll see you, back here, tomorrow night.
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