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Veteran told he can't work out in Trump shirt at Missouri gym

Missouri gym owner told Army vet he could not wear his Trump 2016 campaign shirt; Raymond Arroyo breaks down his 'Friday Follies' for 'The Ingraham Angle.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," January 25, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham and this is “The Ingraham Angle” live tonight for well, government opened for business in Washington DC tonight as you know by now.

Trump's former adviser Roger Stone was arrested during an unbelievably aggressive pre-dawn raid by the FBI. Oh, I can't wait to talk about that. His attorney is going to join us live in just a moment. The storming of Stone's house included 29 agents with guns drawn, 17 vehicles and of course CNN was there to cover it.

Huh, wonder how they knew. And it looked like it was meant for I don't know an MS-13 kingpin or El Chapo more than for a 66-year old political lifer so what are former FBI agents who've actually carried out raids like this think about this obvious show of intimidation.

They're going to tell us tonight plus the shutdown fight is over and as about 40 minutes ago, the government is officially open, the traffic will be back on Monday and it's clear Trump did not come out on top. I'm not going to spin it for you.

But while the Democrats gloat about a political victory, here's my question tonight. Had they revealed that they care more about politics in 2020, then the people of our great country will examine. But first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER STONE, FORMER TRUMP ADVISER: There is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the President nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Former Trump adviser Roger stone looking like he just came off the golf course, just came out of the courtroom defiant saying he will not testify against the President after Bob Mueller sent a swarm of armed FBI agents to his house before the sun was even up.

Now Stone remained resolute earlier tonight with our own Tucker Carlson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STONE: I will not quit, I will not fold, I will not bend, I will not bear false witness against the President. I intend to fight because this indictment is fabricated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: You may now is Roger sounds lawyer Tyler Nixon. Tyler, thanks for being here, you've had a very long day. I want to read something though from the indictment and get your reaction.

Here's the quote, "After the July 22, 2016 release of stolen DNC emails by Organization WikiLeaks (ph), a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information, Organization 1 had regarding the Clinton campaign."

Tyler, who directed that campaign official?

TYLER NIXON, ATTORNEY FOR ROGER STONE: Well, that's a mystery that I think - I think remains to be seen, remains to be discovered and thanks for having me on Laura, I appreciate it, it's been a long day for sure. This - this witch hunt that's been going on is - has been taken to the extreme and as we know Roger was carted off from his home in early raid - pre-dawn raid in a manner that was reminiscent frankly of a police state rather than a free Republic in which we live.

And I think it was disgraceful. You and I share I believe the alma matter of Mr. Mueller, the university of Virginia law school, I think Mr. Jefferson would be standing was Roger Stone today rather than Robert Mueller in what was done to Roger Stone.

You know, it's hard to say because there's so much fabrication and so much insinuation that is going on with this case, we've been close to the details for a long time. I've known Roger for years and this is just, it really is Kafkaesque, it's Orwellian. It's Russellian frankly, it's a Lynch mob.

INGRAHAM: Okay, so let's get into though the specifics here because I think a lot of people watching Fox tonight, they're worried. I mean they're worried they see a friend of Trump's arrested in a pre-dawn raid course. Of course, it's a - it was ridiculous, okay.

I was a criminal defense attorney. In case like this, you notify you, they would have called you up and said we're going to bring him in. It would've been arranged, would have been no big deal. I mean if he was going to destroy documents, he's had like two years to do it, okay? If that's what he wanted to do so this was patently absurd.

It was all to put pressure on him. I've seen this tactic so many times in the past, it's patently obvious so we've all established that but on the facts of this, lying to congressional investigators, lying it to any federal official, it's a process crime but it's also a crime.

Did your client commit a crime in answering questions about documents that he had in his possession that might have indicated an intent to facilitate Russian interference in the election?

TYLER: Absolutely not Laura. I mean this has been hashed over by Roger himself over and over again. The bottom line is I reviewed his testimony which by the way is being held secret in the intelligence committee, the bouls of the Intelligence Committee since it was given in September of 2017 allowing the Democrat members of the committee to mischaracterize the testimony and characterize Stone, Mr. Stone as having lied, perjured himself as the case may be because he was not able to refer to the testimony.

And it's still yet to be released. Yet it was released to Robert Mueller. Roger gave truthful answers and accurate answers with the information he had at the time. You know in the interim time for example there has been discovered you know, materials, including a cell phone which contain texts for example, with Randy Credico which exonerated Roger.

Roger's all along stated that Randy Credico was the intermediary--

INGRAHAM: But he denies that, didn't he tell the--

TYLER: Yes, Credico has denied, that's correct, he's denied that all along, he's lied all along because there are texts that clearly show that yes, he absolutely was discussing WikiLeaks with Assange

INGRAHAM: Okay so you have all that. I mean, let me ask you a question about what happened this morning--

TYLER: Yes, absolutely.

INGRAHAM: Because when I saw - I woke up way too early for having a late show and I saw this thing blowing up, okay? I see the agents in there like banging on the doors, it's like some TV show, banging on the door, FBI, like somebody's going to pull out an Uzi or something on them.

It was ridiculous, I felt bad for the FBI guys because it was pathetic. So when they go in there, Roger's like in his bathrobe, his pyjamas. What did happen then, tell me exactly, they read him his rights obviously, what did they start going through? They were there for hours so were they pulling up floor boards, were they going through the ceiling panels.

Obviously going through hard drives, what happened?

TYLER: I'm going to disadvantage not being in on the ground there in Florida and I haven't gotten those details. Obviously, we've had been dealing with other aspects of the case and of course, the new--

INGRAHAM: You haven't heard or you haven't got the details about what happened in your client's house?

TYLER: They haven't - as far as I know, they haven't even been back his house yet because they're still - they were still going through it last I spoke to--

INGRAHAM: Okay so he wasn't there, I was wondering if they gave you any indication or - so he hasn't even been back to the house and news media is all over the place because I think regular Americans want to know okay, when the government comes after you, rightly or wrongly, what happens inside the house?

But I've seen it, they pick up everything, they go through everything but they were there for hours. Tonight how is your client doing? We saw him on Tucker. How is he doing? Does he feel like he's in legal jeopardy? Alan Dershowitz - Alan Dershowitz, I got to play this for you first Tyler, before you respond.

Alan Dershowitz tonight spoke about the possibility of flipping your client, let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN DERSHOWITZ, LAWYER AND ACADEMIC: Stone doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who's going to easily cooperate but look, when you're facing long prison term, the most loyal of people turn to themselves and say, I have to look out for myself first.

Cohen said he would never testify against Trump, he would take a bullet for him and now, look, what's happened so you never know what's going to happen when a person is arrested for a myriad of crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Tyler, react.

TYLER: Roger Stone is - yes, he has said repeatedly that he would not bear false witness against the President under any circumstance and that's what he would have to do in order to anyway implicate the President because there is no Russian collusion, there is no conspiracy with WikiLeaks.

There is nothing that has been contrived out of thin air in this witch hunt, this hoax really is what it is, he would not do that and he's not Michael Cohen. Roger Stone ironically as you know, Laura is really one of the most honest people that you'll find in politics because he's truthful about himself and who he is and what he does.

He's hard ball politico.

INGRAHAM: He's been around for a long time, he has a very interesting and colorful past but so do all of us but he - guys, if you read his last book, you learn a lot more about his thinking, he's very worried about his financial situation. Obviously you get paid, lawyers cost a lot of money.

Tyler, you could have gone on any show tonight. We really, really appreciate you joining us. Come back, this is going to be a saga that continues and we appreciate it. Get some sleep.

TYLER: Thank you Laura.

INGRAHAM: And watching analysis of the Stone arrest, man, I just saw a shocking lack of honest and objective analysis. Even former DNI, even Jim Clapper was making huge leaps with rank speculation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based on the series of communications that Stone was having was senior Trump campaign officials often in advance of WikiLeaks releases, emails stolen we know by Russia, what does that show to you?

Is that evidence in your view of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia?

JIM CLAPPER, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, it does to me and I say that not as an attorney but just as a layman and I think clearly, it does show connection, coordination, synchronization, whatever you want to call it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Okay, nice try. Nothing of the sort was indicated in the indictment. I mean this is where people should just not go on TV if they don't bother to read the indictment, baseless from former Director of National Intelligence, Jim Clapper, a man we might remind you, committed open perjury in front of the Senate Intel Committee during the Obama years and faced 0 penalties.

Where's the justice in that tonight? Tonight, we're going to expose men like that and educate you, the viewer along the way. Now, we put together an unbelievable panel tonight to help us sort through it all. The political and legal aspects of all this and of course, the law enforcement aspects regarding that Elian Gonzalez style raid on Stone's house earlier today.

Sol Wisenberg, Former deputy independent counsel in Whitewater; Joe DiGenova, former U.S. attorney and Byron York for the political analysis, Chief Political correspondent for The Washington Examiner and Fox news contributor and someone who's done more reporting than most people on the face of the planet on this Russian investigations.

Sol, now you read tonight the indictment and what you just heard from one of Roger Stone's lawyers tells you what?

SOL WISENBERG, FORMER DEPUTY INDEPENDENT COUNSEL: Well, he's acting like any good defense lawyer would act. I look at the indictment and obviously, if he really did, the strongest parts of the indictment are the allegations of lying directly to Congress.

The weakest part has to do with the so called intimidation of one of the others who was testifying. I look at the - I look at the indictment, all of these indictments that are for lying, it's not that lying isn't a serious crime, like you say.

But in the grand scheme of things, if you're looking at what is really being supposedly ultimately investigated, criminal conspiracy, we - there's a term of art in criminal defense world for these kinds of charges, it's two words, the first word is chicken and the last word ends in IT.

And that's what most of these charges are like. As for the people who are - who are - look, it's not a Gestapo raid, it is not an Elian Gonzalez raid in my opinion but it was an appropriate search.

INGRAHAM: Are you kidding me?

WISENBERG: Well, I just heard Roger Stone himself say that once they came - once they came in and arrested him, they were very courteous. Don't get me wrong, let's just not compared to the Nazis, it was an inappropriate search and the people who are saying that it was appropriate because they had a search warrant and he was going to destroy evidence, they could have searched him before the indictment.

INGRAHAM: Right, that's the point I was making.

WISENBERG: Like they did with Manafort. Point number two, he was released on $250,000 personal recognizance and I don't think the Mueller people challenged this so in other words, he's no flight - he's no flight risk at all and there's nothing in the indictment that says that he was destroying evidence so it's ridiculous, some of these comments.

INGRAHAM: Yes, well, I mean, semantics aside Joe, I want to get your reaction to this. This is former CIA director, your favorite person, Joe, I can't believe you guys aren't having drinks tonight. John Brennan making predictions for the next two months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER DIRECTOR, CIA: There was an extensive effort to try to influence the outcome of the election that involved the Russians, that involved U.S. persons and that may have gone to the very top of the Trump campaign.

I expect that over the next 60 days, you're going to have a fair number of indictments.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fair?

BRENNAN: A fair number, a significant number of indictments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Joe, he can read minds too.

JOE DIGENOVA, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Well, John Brennan was part of a conspiracy to frame Donald Trump. He went to London, he met with GCHQ, the NSA of the U.K. He arranged for false intelligence to be fed back into the United States to assist in acquiring false FISA warrants.

What John Brennan has to say really doesn't matter but Laura, before we move away from it, I want to say that the raid this morning to arrest Roger Stone was one of the most vindictive, unprofessional actions ever conducted by the U.S. department of Justice.

Bob Mueller, all of his minions, Chris Wray, Rod Rosenstein and the acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker should all be ashamed of themselves, it was absolutely unnecessary. It was done for vindictive reasons. It is the beginning of the final degradation of the FBI and the Department of Justice.

And the fact that Chris Wray and Rod Rosenstein and Whitaker allowed this to occur because they were aware of it, they did not stop it, they knew it was going to happen, it's an embarrassment to the Department of Justice and it really, really makes it important that a very serious person take over the department.

INGRAHAM: Oh my gosh.

DIGENOVA: Bill Barr, so that people like Chris Wray can be held accountable.

INGRAHAM: 29 agents. I mean, I don't care if they baked cookies for Stone.

DIGENOVA: It's an embarrassment.

INGRAHAM: I mean, I don't care if they baked scones and brewed coffee for Stone, once they got in there, it was the show for CNN.

DIGENOVA: Adolescent behavior.

INGRAHAM: It was total show, 29 agents? What is it like, 15 outposts they needed to cover. Byron York.

BYRON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Yes.

INGRAHAM: You wrote a piece today about it's saying that it's not so much what's in the indictment, they could have written that thing in like 3 pages by the way, it's what's not in the indictment. Explain that to the Fox viewers, please.

YORK: Well, what's not in the indictment is an allegation that there was a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to fix the 2016 election, that's just not there. The other thing that's really not there is evidence of any knowledge before-hand of Roger Stone about what WikiLeaks was going to do.

The most looked at paragraph in the whole thing is that paragraph that says that on July 22nd, 2016 which is when the WikiLeaks disclosures happened, then the Trump campaign got in touch with Roger Stone said, what's going on. This was after the fact which--

INGRAHAM: But I have a question - yes.

YORK: One more thing - which suggests there was not a collusion scheme in place and running when it happened.

INGRAHAM: I want to go now to Sol because Sol, when I hear Byron describe this, I think to myself, big deal. Okay, big deal like Roger Stone wanted to find out like when was the next upcoming. I mean, they were actually paying for Russian sourced, false, phony, salacious information on Donald Trump.

That was sourced in Russia, they were paying U.S. firm to help disseminate it including up to John McCain's office and everyone else who had it. And somehow this guy Roger Stone ends up arrested today pre-dawn, really?

I mean, to me it's crazy.

WISENBERG: Laura, Laura, I'm surprised that you Laura, you - I just don't see why you're not more excited about paragraph 12 of that indictment. I mean, I look on MSNBC and I look on CNN and they're just orgasmic over it. They're just - look.

INGRAHAM: That is the first time the word orgasmic has been used on this show, I just want to say it and it is Friday night.

WISENBERG: This is the - this is the paragraph that everybody is so excited about because it talks about Stone being directed or asked by senior member of the Trump campaign to find out when the next release is going to be and look, it's certainly, if true, is embarrassing to the Trump campaign perhaps.

INGRAHAM: I don't think, who cares?

WISENBERG: But - but think about what they're saying, they're saying that somebody in the Trump campaign if true learn about this, there were - there was plenty of reporting about this and they asked Stone to find out when the next release is going to be.

I'm sorry but that alone is not any kind of a crime and it's certainly not a conspiracy to hack the electoral system or to hack somebody's computer or to accept it benefits from the Russian government. It just isn't.

But it's the umpteenth indictment in this case where people come on like Brennan and Clapper and say, you're going to see a bunch of indictments. You're going to see a bunch of indictments in the next two weeks and this part of Mueller's master plan to dribble out - it's all part of the master plan to dribble out the indictments, to dribble out the information and it's just so far, it's just not there.

INGRAHAM: I want to play for you--

DIGENOVA: Laura.

INGRAHAM: Yes, go ahead Joe. Joe, you're going next.

DIGENOVA: Laura, it's very, very important putting on top of what Sol just said, every bit of behavior of Roger Stone and the other people named in the indictment and the Trump people with the exception of the allegations of Stone for lying and obstruction; all the other behavior is perfectly legal.

it doesn't matter if the Trump people wanted to know when the next release is going to be.

INGRAHAM: That's what I think, why is that a crime?

DIGENOVA: That is a - that is a legal question, that is a legal - you can do that to, it's called political Intelligence.

INGRAHAM: It's called oppo-research so the Clintons--

DIGENOVA: Nothing in that indictment, nothing in that indictment about any of the people involved in the Trump campaign or Roger Stone or person number one or person number two is it illegal, except the lying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're done with me.

INGRAHAM: All right, I want to play something Byron, this is Rick Tyler tonight or today on MSNBC. I think it's really important for people again, across the country, who are busy, either in the kitchen or they're making dinner for the kids and they hear bits and pieces and they're like, oh my God, this is terrible like but I dealt with this as a criminal defense lawyer, reading these indictments, the people are freaking out about it.

Everything has to be put in context. And then you have the liberal leaps of logic from never Trumpers like Rick Tyler, let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK TYLER, POLITICAL ANALYST, MSNBC NEWS: Roger Stone like Donald Trump is a political con man who's showman schtick is finally caught up with him, he's a professional prevaricator, it shouldn't be surprising anyone that he's now been indicted for perjury.

He is a practitioner in the dark arts - the political dark arts, he's known for dirty tricks and I think a lifetime of this schtick has finally caught up with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: So now Byron York, apparently schtick is a federal crime, I didn't know that. I mean, that's analysis today on television.

YORK: Actually Stone did make problems for himself in this way. He bragged about all sorts of things, suggested that he had been in touch with Julian Assange when he hadn't but he said it publicly so after saying that publicly he goes in front of the House and they asked him about his public statements except this time he's under oath.

And maybe he doesn't tell the truth about the whole thing, he's certainly accused of lying about all this so it was his own bragging that got him into this trouble.

INGRAHAM: Never brag. Very quickly, Sol, will there be another big high profile indictment kind of coming out of Mueller's office or as David French said tonight on National Review, is this a sign this whole thing has to wrap up?

WISENBERG: I have no idea but there's something that no one 's talking about. What a Democratic town and what a Trump hating town DC is and that's where Roger Stone is going to be tried in front of a jury of his alleged peers.

And we should never forget that, it's a bad town for Republican defendants.

INGRAHAM: That's an excellent point. Joe knows it very well.

DIGENOVA: Just ask Scooter Libby, just ask Scooter Libby.

INGRAHAM: Bingo. Who had to ultimately get pardoned because of what happened to him. Guys, analysis, don't go see anywhere else today on television, thank you so much and coming up, as American citizens shouldn't be asking a few more questions about the heavy handed tactics used by the FBI and Mueller, this morning?

And those who approve them and do you believe what CNN said that they just were doing good reporting and that's why they were there with the camera.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STONE: At the crack of dawn, 29 FBI agents arrived at my home with 17 vehicles, with their lights flashing when they could simply have contacted my attorney and I would have been more than willing to surrender voluntarily.

They terrorized my wife, my dogs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: So a 66-year old man, charged with non-violent crimes who they've been investigating for more than a year gets his house swarmed by FBI agents who had their long guns drawn. Is that really what he deserved?

They traded in a self-described political trickster like, I don't know, he was some big Mafia kingpin or something. Now, let's get one thing out of the way right here, the pre-dawn raid was meant as a show of force. It was meant to intimidate a potential witness against the President of the United States. Our next guest Terry Turchie ran the Unabomber raid and said that even in that case the agents didn't draw their guns until he resisted. Also with me is John Iannarelli, former FBI special agent.

Terry, should we as American citizens just kind of brush this off and say, it's all above board, everybody check the boxes and all the right people approved it, is this all normal?

TERRY TURCHIE, FORMER UNABOMBER TASK FORCE LEADER: No, we shouldn't brush it off. All those right people that approved it, I hope that in a couple of days, they're on their way out looking for other jobs. Let me tell you a story, Laura because it's the contrast between this story and the arrest of the Unabomber and what happened this morning that kind of puts some meet in what I'm trying to tell you here.

Back on April 3rd, 1996, we had two FBI agents and a national park force service agent walk about a mile off of a road in the mountains of Montana, approach a 10 by 12 wooden cabin and knock on the door and no one was around them.

There were no cars, there was no one else. They were there to arrest or take out of the cabin at the time just so we could search it because we didn't have any arrest warrant. They were there to take out of that cabin, the most wanted terrorist at the time in America.

And so that's what they went to do and they were told when they did that because it was part of our plan and part of the request of even the FBI director and certainly Theodore Kaczynski's brother, do everything you can to get him out of that cabin safely.

They used a ruse and they had the National Forest Service office knock on the door, Kaczynski answered it and the FBI agent Max Knoll who put this case together or this arrest plan, stepped back and there was a short conversation.

Then Kaczynski started to go back into the cabin to get his coat, he thought these two men, these two FBI agents because of what the Forest Service Officer represented were miners or representatives of a mining company.

So I went to get his coat, they got a little concerned, they pulled him out the door, there was a struggle because then he realized something's wrong. Only then did Max Knoll take out his service weapon and hold it up at Kaczynski and say okay, the gig is up and everything kind of--

INGRAHAM: John, yes, that's the way - that's the way it's supposed to go. I mean, it's cautious, you don't want to - you don't want to create a situation that's dangerous, they were saying today essentially I was hearing dribs and drabs that this - the way it was carried out insured that everything was done safely.

John, you watched it, we all watched it earlier in the morning. CNN was also miraculously there to roll on it. And they try to claim it was all just good reporting. I mean, I guess, we can never know but it all seemed really heavy-handed, like all I could think of was Elian Gonzalez when they had all the guns pointed at that poor kid.

JOHN IANNARELLI, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, I'll tell you Laura, the FBI has ways of doing search warrants and they train to do it the same way every time, the real issue here is the public needs to know that the FBI doesn't decide, hey, we're going to go out and execute a search warrant and arrest these guys.

It's a white collar arrest. That's a decision of how this subject is going to be arrested was made by the prosecutor, in this case Robert Mueller. Most white-collar cases, they're asked to come in the office, a call is made to their attorney to turn themselves in. It's very rare, and someone instructed the FBI to go out and do this this morning.

INGRAHAM: Well, it's meant as a show of power. We have power over you. We mean business. And Roger shows up in his pajamas. And then you're probably caught off guard, maybe you're a little groggy, maybe they feel like they have some advantage in asking you questions.

I find it all absurd and obscene. And I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat, Alan Dershowitz said it well tonight. He said any civil libertarian should be concerned by what he or she saw in that video. And if the ACLU was worth its salt, they would be upset tonight, Terry, about how it was carried out

IANNARELLI: Absolutely.

INGRAHAM: Or John.

IANNARELLI: Go ahead, terry.

TERRY TURCHIE, FORMER UNABOMBER TASK FORCE LEADER: I couldn't agree with them more. I think that it's just terrible what has happened. And I think when you couple what happened this morning with the idea that after these two years we still don't know how the Democratic Party essentially corrupted the top level of the FBI, and I am convinced that is what has happened here, we still don't know the answers of who and where and what. We know that 10 FBI officials are gone. And so that says all you need to know. We need to know that, and we need to know if we want to go to sleep tonight and know that our civil liberties are being protected.

INGRAHAM: And we know that people who smash BlackBerrys and use BleachBit never were raided, never were arrested, never were charged, or given some type of either explicit or implicit immunity. Unbelievable. Guys, thanks so much.

And the raid this morning revealed another troubling reality. Again, as I just referenced, different outcomes for powerful versus the powerless. Stone's charged with making false statements and obstruction, which is what Obama FBI and CIA leaders did on multiple occasions. So why the one-way street? Where's the prosecution in those cases?

Here to tell us more, senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, I know he has been chomping at the bit, focusing on this all day, Victor Davis Hanson. Victor, to see John Brennan, and Clapper today, out there talking about this, it's like the pot calling the kettle black, all of the old sayings came to mind. I thought about my mother, because she always had the right saying. Come on.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, HOOVER INSTITUTION: Yes, well, I think what gets everybody -- I don't know Roger Stone, what he did or did not do. But whether he's a provocateur, raconteur, it doesn't matter. The question is quality under the law. And cut to the quick, Laura, had he been James Comey and he had gone into a sworn testimony before Congress and on 245 times said he didn't know or he couldn't remember, he wouldn't have been indicted. If he had been the deputy director, Andrew McCabe, and said he was misunderstood when he lied, he wouldn't have been indicted. Had he been James Clapper and said he gave the least untruthful answers, he lied under oath to Congress, he wouldn't have been indicted. Had he been John Brennan, who is very ubiquitous today, on two occasions lied under oath to Congress and then said the CIA doesn't lie, he wouldn't have been indicted.

So Robert Mueller, whether he knows it or not, his legacy is now there's two codes of justice. There's for people who are connected and there's people who are not connected but useful for a prosecutor's agenda. I don't think any of us want to live in America like that. It's Orwellian, it's third world, and it's disgusting.

INGRAHAM: Victor, when you saw the analysis on television today, which I tortured myself in watching, what do you think about the state of the news media today? Even practicing attorneys, who, they know better. They know that an indictment, it's like a garbage pail. They throw everything into it to make it look worse. That's why it's 24 pages. This thing could have been done in four-and-a-half pages even with the accusations against him. They had to pile all this verbiage in. It's all meant to, again, impress everybody.

HANSON: It's funny, the government is copying the media's Bolshevik idea that they have the person and then they have to find the crime. So what the government is doing, Robert Mueller, he starts out with just like the media does, Trump is guilty, but he has to find the crime. So he goes out and leverages all of these subordinates and see if any particular crime would stick to Trump. But that's not what America is about. You investigate the crime, the media investigates the crime, then they find out who did it. They don't inverse it. But we're under the whole ideology of the Bolsheviks. This is where we are now, and it's disgusting. And the media and the deep state, Mueller, CIA, they have merged. It's a fusion. It's really scary, because that's the stuff of authoritarian dystopian novels, and that's where we are.

INGRAHAM: Star chambers, it's wild. Victor, really appreciate you coming on with us tonight. I've been dying to catch up with you on that, and the shutdown, but we'll leave that for another day.

As Democrats whoop and holler about this political victor over Trump today, did they improve the lives of any Americans in the long run? We're going to examine that question, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Disagreement in policy should never be a reason to shut down government. I'm sad it has taken this long.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-N.Y., SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Working people throughout America empathized with the federal workers and were aghast at what the president was doing to them. Hopefully now the president has learned his lesson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: How patronizing. He could have opened up the government 15 times. He decided not to.

What lessons, though, should Americans take from this, Chuck? Well, look, we should admit it, Trump did lose the shutdown fight over the wall. But at least he made an effort to find a middle ground and also stand up for American security first. And can the same be said for Chuck and Nancy? And contrary to what the left claims, this was not a Trump vanity project. It was an effort to push for something that his own Border Patrol agents on the ground tell him we must have. Come on, let's face it, the Democrats all along was just to politically embarrass the president. I said this weeks ago. They wanted the shutdown to continue as long as possible to exert the maximum pain on the American people to hurt Trump. That was the plan.

It wasn't to make a single American's life safer or better, that wasn't the Democrats' goal here. So shouldn't that be one of the main takeaways instead just the simple political winner, political loser?

Here now FOX News contributor Sara Carter who just recently spent a week at the border, Wisconsin congressman, also, Sean Duffy, joins us as well. Sean, the congressman, sorry, Dems came out and they said they won't even negotiate with Trump while the government is open for the next three weeks. So, are we headed for the declaration of a national emergency?

REP. SEAN DUFFY, R-WIS.: So, I hope not, Laura. But what we all saw was Chuck and Nancy there doing their endzone dance, spiking the football. This was a big win for the crazy, nutjob, leftist socialists in the Democrat Party that have now taken over the House.

And so what I see happening is Donald Trump looks like the adult in the room. He said I'm willing to compromise, I'm willing to negotiate, I put additional offers on the table. Now I'll give us a reset for three weeks to see if we can come to the table and negotiate again. If Nancy still says no, I think we're going to be set up for another shutdown, Laura. But I think what has to happen is Donald Trump can't be the only one fighting this fight.

Nancy Pelosi sets the calendar. And you reported she's been off to Hawaii, Democrats from Puerto Rico, she was going to take trip to Europe, as border security guys aren't getting paid, TSA agents aren't getting paid, she's traveling the world. The only way you get something done is when there's pain inflicted on members of Congress. And so instead of going home to your home district or to have fun in Puerto Rico, make them all stay in D.C. over the weekend, miss their families, don't see their spouses.

INGRAHAM: You can't make them. She's the head of the House.

DUFFY: I guarantee you they will get an agreement. And the problem is the Republican leadership -- I'm a rank and file guy -- the Republican leadership didn't fight this fight at all. They left it to Donald Trump. We have to fight as a team together.

INGRAHAM: Yes, I have said this from the beginning, Sara Carter, that Trump is like carrying this whole party on his back half the time. Duffy is awesome, we've got a few, Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Tom Cotton is great on the border. But it's really hard to do this when you're undercut by Paul Ryan from the very beginning. They didn't do this in the first 100 days, which they should have. And we're not going to go backwards, we're not going to get anywhere.

I have got to play something for you. This is MSNBC, I was driving in my car, I flipped on Sirius XM and I checked this out because I wanted to hear what they were doing in the gloat machine world. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We generally sometimes talk about the president, and saying that best way to get him not to do something, or to do something, is to tell him not to do something. That's what happens with your four-year- old.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my four-year-old, that is exactly how it works. But that is in some ways how this president works. He doesn't like to be told no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: And he's an A.P. reporter, I believe. So he's not a commentator. I believe he's A.P.

SARA CARTER, CONTRIBUTOR: But this is what's happening in the media, and they're not reporting the truth to the American people. And I don't think this was a total loss for President Trump. I think President Trump is clearly making a statement. The American people know exactly what President Trump wants now. He has made that clear. I want border security. I want to secure our country, that's my first mission as commander in chief.

The Democrats, what are they doing? What is their goal with this? They don't have one, except to corner Trump, to try to make him look bad. They are the four-year-olds in this. And the American people are going to see through this. And I believe that on February 15th, if they don't come to a resolution on this, that the president will declare a national emergency. I believe that that is a move that he can make.

INGRAHAM: And I think the lawyers there are checking the box on that.

Let's examine the number being requested, $5.7 billion. Did you all know there are 12 high priority government programs that each have improper payments of over $2 billion a year? By the way, the total tab of improper payments our government engages in, roughly $100 billion. We don't have the number next to each, but I came across it. It's a government website. This is definitive, this is factual. They have the money, Sean, they don't want to spend the money, correct?

DUFFY: Definitely, you're crossing the "t" there. Democrats, this is not about money for them. They'll spend money all day long on any kind of project. This is about defeating Donald Trump, which you have talked about the whole time. So this is about, we believe in securing the border, dealing with drugs coming into the country, dealing with human traffickers, dealing with criminals and terrorists who want to gain access to our country. We're fighting for America, and they're just fighting against Donald Trump. It's not about money for them at all. It's about winning this fight in 2020 in the presidential election.

INGRAHAM: What about, Sara, why doesn't he just declare the national emergency today? We've got 10,000 people approaching the border. They're being trucked up now. We have got TB, we've got weird diseases showing up in the United States, polio, no one is reporting enough on that. What is going on?

CARTER: I think he really wanted to give it time. And he, obviously, President Trump was well aware that he would be in a big fight declaring a national emergency. He would be up against a lot. Reassessing how that is going to happen I think is what they're doing right now. And I think that's why he's pushing for that February 15th to give an opportunity.

But you're 100 percent right, Laura. I was just at the border. I spent most of my career covering the U.S.-Mexico border as well. And this has been a problem for decades. This has been a crisis for decades. And for the first time, we have a president that is willing to do something. For the first time we have president that isn't just making statements that, isn't creating theater, he's out there on the border, he's been there seven times, seven times since his presidency, out on the border, listening to federal agents. And he knows what they need and he wants to help with that.

INGRAHAM: But he cannot do it alone, I think we have concluded that. Duffy, we'll have you back next week. Sara, thank you so much.

It's Friday, so we have to have some fun, right. It's been a long week. So coming up, a gym that will not let you work of the if you are wearing a certain type of clothing. What could be on it? You can take a guess. And then, RBG action figure, I kid you not. Raymond Arroyo, of course, joining us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: It's Friday and that means it's time for Friday Follies.

A man can't wear a political t-shirt now to the gym? Joe Biden is too bipartisan? And the most unexpected Lego character of all is unveiled. Joining us now with all the details is Raymond Arroyo, FOX News contributor, "New York Times" bestselling author of the upcoming "Will Wilder, The Amulet of Power."

All right, Raymond, so a veteran in Troy, Missouri, was forbidden to wear what?

RAYMOND ARROYO, CONTRIBUTOR: He was forbidden to wear a t-shirt, Laura. Now, we're starting to see this trend. You've been reporting on this all week. First it was the Covington Kids who were called out for wearing the MAGA hats. Now Staff Sergeant Jake Talbot says he was working out at the gym wearing his t-shirt that says 2016 Trump for President --

INGRAHAM: He's behind.

ARROYO: -- when the owner approached him. And he'll tell you the rest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just left CDY Fitness here in Troy, working out, and when I was starting, the owner, Liz, came up to me and said that my Trump shirt I had on was offensive and that I needed to remove it in order to work out there, and it's linked to racism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARROYO: The Army vet says he's worn the shirt several times before and it's never been a problem. The owner of the gym responded in a now deleted Facebook post where she said "I'm deeply saddened by the amount of hate this event has garnered."

INGRAHAM: Event?

ARROYO: "I will personally and publicly continue to defend my stance for tolerance and against hate no matter the financial consequence. I don't believe our gym should be a political forum for anyone. I want everyone to feel safe and comfortable there." Except the staff sergeant.

INGRAHAM: OK, wait second, OK. So does this mean all political messages at this particular gym have to be checked at the door? Because that's going to be interesting. So now your free speech rights and your ability to believe whatever you believe has got to be checked at the gym because you're a conservative. This is ridiculous.

ARROYO: How can you say you are striking a blow for tolerance by telling a guy you can't wear that, are you offending people.

INGRAHAM: I want to talk about Joe Biden, because has been teasing that he might make a run for the White House.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: Or maybe a slow jog to the White House in 2020. But now his bipartisanship, his previous bipartisanship, is come back to be bite him in the new radical era that we live in.

ARROYO: Laura, Uncle Joe is clearly making a run for the presidency. He hasn't announced it yet, but critics are pouncing on him. In a "New York Times" piece entitled "Joe Biden's paid speech buoyed the GOP in Midwest battleground" wherein it's revealed, get this, Biden praised a Republican congressman, Fred Upton, as one of the finest guys I've ever worked with so help me God. Some on the left are saying this is a disqualifier for the Democratic nomination. The former veep is taking it very seriously, Laura.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I get in trouble. I read in the "New York Times" today that one of my problems is if I were to run for president, I like Republicans. OK, well, bless me, father, for I have sinned.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: If he were a little bit younger, I would say he would already, everyone else might as well just forget about it and not run. He's a little long in the tooth. But that's why he's a threat, because he could get some independent voters with that message. And the left, they're so stupid, though, not smart.

ARROYO: AOC and Kamala Harris and Bernie, Joe Biden looks practically Republican. They have pushed him out of the party.

INGRAHAM: What if I reveal what he said to me that time? You want to do it

ARROYO: You do it, go ahead.

INGRAHAM: God's honest truth, Ingraham --

ARROYO: Of all the right-wingers, you're my favorite.

(LAUGHTER)

ARROYO: I saw every moment of it.

INGRAHAM: Jay Carney was his press secretary at the time, I thought he was going to die. He was like off there, going, oh, my God.

ARROYO: Sweating in the corner. Sweating in the corner.

INGRAHAM: It was hilarious.

Now, finally, there is a new Lego in town, my son is going to be very excited because he's a Lego maniac. Familiar face. What is this?

ARROYO: Now, Laura, this is more of the blind partisanship continued. Here's the trailer of the Lego Movie 2. The latest Lego character appears at the end. Watch for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone suit down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Batman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Superman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Tinman, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Lego Movie 2, rated PG.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: You have got to be kidding me.

ARROYO: Laura, the Lego Movie takes place in the imagination of a boy. In this sequence in the new movie, it takes place in the imagination of the boy's sister, where her heroes spring to life.

Here's the side by side of the real Ruth Bader and the Lego version. By the way, these are going to be on sale. You will be able to buy this.

INGRAHAM: Oh, my God.

ARROYO: This the action figure.

INGRAHAM: That's a terrible Ruth Bader. I've spent time with her. That looks more like John Paul Stevens. That's a horrible rendition.

ARROYO: This one sells, gloves and all, for $20, and apparently has a lifetime warranty, and I think they'd like the real Ruth Bader to have that same warranty.

They are a new series of character. They're doing one character in multiple incarnation in the Lego 3 movie. They've release some images. We'll show you those Laura. This may look very familiar, the Laura Ingraham Lego. Is this amazing, Laura in space. This one really, the likeness is amazing.

INGRAHAM: That's stupid.

ARROYO: This is like a Lego chair.

INGRAHAM: That's horrible.

ARROYO: And this is my favorite, I think.

(LAUGHTER)

INGRAHAM: Wait a second, what do I have in my hands?

ARROYO: Those are your eyes and lips on the news Lego.

INGRAHAM: That's terrifying. I should go on a diet.

ARROYO: Don't go wait in line to get that Lego.

INGRAHAM: You know that gavel that Ruth Bader had, the game of whack-a- mole with the Lego.

ARROYO: We call the Lego figure the Arbiter.

INGRAHAM: The Arbiter.

OK, stay there, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: All right, a lot of you have listened to my radio show for years, 17 years to be exact. But the new podcast is awesome, OK. If you haven't heard it, it's very easy. Just go to PodcastOne.com, or you can go to your iTunes podcast app, the purple little thing on your phone, and you can find it there. Or download the Podcast One app. It's America, where we are, where we're going, you're going to laugh, you're going to learn, all at the same time. And you can subscribe, you'll love it.

Have a wonderful weekend after a very busy week. I hope you have time with your friends and family. Take time to be grateful that you're living in the greatest country on the face of the planet. We're all very blessed to be here. Shannon Bream and the "Fox News @ Night" team take it from here.

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