First Lady Melania Trump announced her "Be Best" campaign, an effort to educate America's youth on key issues impacting our society. Sean carried the entire remarks by the First Lady and reacts to the power of this great program. Plus, why is Attorney General Sessions being threatened with contempt? The Sean Hannity Show is on weekdays from 3 pm to 6 pm ET on iHeartRadio and Hannity.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You are listening to the Sean Hannity Radio Show Podcast.
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I've got so much to say.
Ah, decisions, decisions.
Uh the first lady is making her way to the podium to unveil her platform.
And I know this is a big moment.
I'm we're gonna take this because it's so important.
I have I bred the judges beat down from Friday 50 times.
It's amazing.
Uh and this is a huge crowd and a big moment for the first lady.
Be your best.
Here she is, Melania Trump, stepping up to the podium at the White House.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Welcome to the White House.
As a mother and as First Lady, it concerns me that in today's fast-paced and ever connected world.
Children can be less prepared to express or manage their emotions, and oftentimes turn to forms of destructive or addictive behavior such as bullying, drug addiction, or even suicide.
I feel strongly that as adults we can and should be best at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life.
So today I'm very excited to announce Be Best, an awareness campaign dedicated to the most valuable and fragile among us, our children.
There is one goal to be best.
And that is to educate children about the many issues they are facing today.
If we truly listen to what our kids have to say, whether it be their concerns or ideas, adults can provide them the support and tools they need to grow up to be happy and productive adults who contribute positively to society and their global communities.
At the same time, children deserve every opportunity to enjoy their innocence.
Every child should know it is safe to make mistakes, and that they are supportive adults and friends nearby to catch them if they fail.
We also need to be mindful that they should learn to trust in themselves and their own emotions.
I believe our responsibility lies in the critical time before a child reaches adulthood.
Let us teach children the importance of all aspects of their well-being, which includes a social, emotional, and physical health.
There are too many critical issues facing children today.
So the three main pillars of be best will include well-being, social media use, and opioid abuse.
Together, I believe we should strive to provide kids with the tools they need to cultivate their social and emotional health.
We can and should teach children the importance of social and self-awareness, positive relationship skills, and responsible decision making.
Once a child understands these vital skills, they will be able to communicate openly with one another and instill positive feelings of mutual respect, compassion, and self-esteem.
Let us teach our children the difference between right and wrong and encourage them to be best in their individual paths in life.
Take, for example, Christian Bachs, a young man from York, Pennsylvania, who is here with us today.
When he was in second grade, Christian introduced the Body Bench, his elementary school to address loneliness and help other kids build new friendships.
The Body Bench allows classmates to connect during recess and helps ensure that no student feels lonely.
If a child sits on the bench, it signals other students to come over and ask them to play.
Christian school and community embrace the body bench, and today at least one can be found in all 50 states.
Thank you, Christian, for your commitment to kindness.
You should be very proud of your work, which is, I know, help countless children.
please stand up I'd also like to talk about Orchard Lake Middle School in West Bloomingfield Township, Michigan.
I visited a school in October as part of National Bullying Prevention Month to speak to its students about the importance of being kind.
While I was there, I visited their Viking Huddle class, which focuses on social emotional learning and teaches lessons about respecting others, inclusion, and being kind.
As part of Be Best, I plan to highlight ideas and programs such as Body Bench and Viking Huddle Class, with the hope that other schools or community groups will be inspired to replace their efforts and take steps to improve the well-being of our children.
We have invited some of the Viking Huddle class here today.
Thank you all for being and taking time here with us in the White House.
Thank you.
As we all know, social media can be both positively and negatively affecting our children.
But too often it used in negative ways.
When children learn positive online behaviors early on, social media can be used in productive ways and can affect positive change.
And it is our responsibility as adults to educate and remind them that when they are using their voices, whether verbally or online, they must choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion.
As an example, Kalani Goldberg, an eighth-grade student from Arizona, posted a video to her social media account to share the challenges she faced from bullies.
In the video she said, every day you're hurting me.
Every day you are hurting each other.
So please stop.
Stop hurting me.
Kalani and her family have joined us here today, and I'm happy to report that since posting her video, many have watched it and most importantly, people have reached out to offer support and kindness.
Thank you, Kalani, for being brave enough to share your story and also for using your experience to bring positive change.
Please stand up, Kalani.
I first learned about the real consequences of our nation's opio epidemic during my husband's campaign.
Since then, I have met with and learned from many people who have been affected by this true crisis.
In October, I traveled to West Virginia to tour Lily's Place, the nation's first nonprofit infant recovery center.
Lily's place puts a priority on the whole family so that infants born dependent on drugs are given the best opportunity to thrive.
They have been successful in this endeavor because parents are also given the support and tools needed to recover and succeed.
Lily's Place is a testament to the extraordinary work that everyday people can do when they put their mind to it.
I will use BeBest to bring attention to programs such as this in order to encourage conversation and replication.
In February, I went to Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio, and a panel of doctors briefed me on the devastating effects that opios have are having, but also their important research on neonatal abstinence syndrome.
I'm pleased to say that the representatives from both Lily's Place and Cincinnati Children's Hospital are here today.
Thank you.
Thank you for being here and thank you for your heroic work on behalf of children.
I want to thank the many people I have met with and learned from over the past year while researching this vital topics on behalf of children.
This includes the cabinet secretaries who have joined us here today, as well as representative from Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, SNAP, Amazon, National Safety Council, and so many more.
I would like to thank the President, the Vice President, Karen Pence, and other members of the administration, as well as the members of Congress who are here today.
I'm honored to have you all with me, and I look forward to working together on the behalf of children in the coming years.
In my time as First Lady of the United States, I will make every effort to be best at championing the many successful well-being programs in existence today, and teach the tools and skills for emotional, social, and psychological well-being.
I will also work to shine a spotlight on the people, organizations, and programs across the country that are helping children overcome the many issues they're facing as they grow up.
I will continue speaking with leaders in the technology industry about children's online habits and raising awareness around the importance of positive behaviors.
I will continue to work with those who are fighting drug addiction.
And most importantly, I will continue to travel and speak to children directly about both their victories and difficult realities they face.
My hope is that together we can be best at helping children and families find effective ways to educate themselves and support each other.
I'm asking you all to join me in providing support and guidance to our children so that we can make a real difference.
How we raise and educate our children on variety of topics will provide a blueprint for the next generation.
Together, let's encourage children to dream big, think big, and do all they can to be best in everything that they do.
Thank you all for being here today.
God bless you, your families, our children, and God bless the United States of America.
All right, Melania Trump, uh, Donald Trump in the audience, Mike Pence, his wife in the audience, her Be Best campaign to help kids.
Uh covered by every network, interestingly.
And uh I thought uh look, I I have some experience.
I know Melania Trump.
I've really gotten to know her.
And she's an extraordinary woman.
And if you remember, English is her fifth language, not our first, second, third or fourth.
I mean it reminds me of Barry Farber speaks 35 languages.
I can barely speak English.
I mean, uh, very impressive.
The president is now with her, and the president is coming up to the microphone.
Melania, thank you very much.
That was truly a beautiful and heartfelt speech.
It's the way she feels very strongly.
America is truly blessed to have a first lady who is so devoted to our country and to our children.
Over the past 15 months, Milani has visited hospitals, schools, families who have suffered from the opioid crisis and suffered very deeply.
Everywhere she has gone, Americans have been touched by her sincerity, moved by her grace and lifted by her love.
Melania, your care and compassion for our nation's children, and I have to say this, and I say it to you all the time, inspires us all.
Today we pledge to be best.
Best for our families, best for our communities, and best for our nation.
And now I am proud to sign the Be Best proclamation, and I think you all know who's going to get the pen.
Thank you.
All right, that's the president uh with nice word.
I mean, that was an incredible speech, um, to be honest.
And uh I know that it's she's just a very captivating person if you get to know her.
All right, uh, we're way behind here.
I have so much to get to today, so much.
We'll get it all in somehow.
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You want to be a part of the program.
All right.
So let me just explain what we've got coming up here today, because we got a busy show, and uh, we didn't know, we didn't expect this as happening at three Eastern, 12 on the West Coast.
But so I have spent the weekend going over all 50 pages of this judge Ellis in the Manafort case.
It is the mo it is the biggest judicial beatdown of the Office of Special Counsel.
This is Andrew Weissman, the lead attorney in this case in the courtroom.
He wasn't arguing the case that I've ever witnessed in my life.
And the fact that the judge was so honest and saw right through what the gut what the this special counsel is doing and said it so aggressively and articulately.
I had to go back and read it again, and then again.
And then I went back a third time to pull out all of the information.
Now I'm gonna take some time and do something I normally wouldn't do on this program, and that is I'm going to just read from it.
It's that powerful.
And we also have the president announcing that the he'll have a decision on the Iran deal tomorrow.
My bet is he is getting out of that horrible deal.
And then you got John Kerry is doing his own diplomacy.
Is he violating the law?
Not that it would matter.
Then we have Mark Meadows.
He's upset, as is Devin Nunes and everyone in the Freedom Call.
Why Is there the slow walking?
Why won't the DOJ and FBI be transparent?
We know the answer to that question.
And uh we'll have so much more we'll get to today.
Congressman Meadows, David Schoen, the attorney, Sarah Carter, so much.
Stay with us.
We'll continue.
All right, 25 now till the uh top of the hour.
All right.
Iran deal coming tomorrow.
I expect the president pulls out.
That's my guest.
Uh also we've got this issue of John Kerry now is reportedly going around the world trying to do his own little diplomacy and meeting with foreign leaders strategizing how to uh how to go around the president's back.
Really?
Uh I did read some time ago something about a Logan Act and uh some other issues.
It was a where did I see this on Red State?
You know, the Logan Act is one of the most peculiar laws in the books.
I don't know who wrote this piece, but it was on Red State.
In brief, it criminalizes any Republican speaking with any foreign leader when a Democrat's in the White House, but allows Democrats to actively undercut the foreign policy of any Republican president.
And then they rightly point out when Michael Flynn, already on the federal payroll, talks to his soon-to-be counterparts in the case of the Russian ambassador, uh, you know, and maybe discuss sanctions relief.
Oh, well, Flynn was accused of acting, and you know, Attorney General, acting attorney general Sal, who is it, Sally, I forget Sally Yates of a Logan Act violation because he was uh interviewed by FBI agents.
And there's apparently another law unnamed that prevents a Republican president elect from contacting foreign leaders until he's actually inaugurated.
Do you see the double standard?
It's so despicable.
Now, before I get into this beatdown that took place on Friday, on Saturday, there was another huge setback for the Mueller team.
This was 24 hours after this judge beat down Weissman and Mueller's team in a courtroom, unlike anything I've ever seen.
Anyway, but this was a different federal judge overseeing the only case Muller has brought so far that is, quote, related to Russian interference.
The one against these what, 13 Russian companies, or one company in particular called Concord Management and Concord catering.
Well, on Saturday, a federal judge rebuffed the special counsel's request to delay the court hearing in the alleged this is the Russian troll farm case.
And this is the one where the Internet Research Agency, Concord Management, with 13 of their employees were charged for spreading so-called fake news during the 2016 U.S. elections, which by the way, Devin Nunez warned about, you know, in 2014, and Obama said weeks before the election could never happen.
Anyway, that was scheduled for Wednesday.
That will go forward.
None of the indicted firms or citizens were expected to play along with the U.S. legal proceedings.
So it's just Muller's way of saying, here we're going to support this.
We're charging them.
They live in Russia.
Okay, we don't have an extradition treaty on such.
They were never this was this case was never supposed to move.
Well, Concord Management decided to make it move.
And they came forward, and the bid will now force Mueller's team to turn over relevant evidence to the Russian firm.
As they now will have discovery in this case, uh as they now are saying to the Mueller prosecutors in a pretty embarrassing dismissal by the judge, uh, show us what you've got.
I mean, it's pretty amazing.
Uh, we also have the Trump hating lovebird, Lisa Page is resigned while Peter Strzok clings to his job.
Uh Baker is also resigned.
This happened on a Friday dump over the weekend.
There's so much happening in this case, it's hard to get it all in here.
Uh, Devin Nunes, now we'll talk to Mark Meadows later in the program.
He is now pushing to hold Jeff Sessions in contempt because they're slow walking all of this information.
We have checks and balances, co equal branches of government, and they have oversight authority, and they're trying to do their job, and the DOJ keeps refusing to do it.
And then when they send over material, it's so heavily redacted it's useless.
And they say it's for national security reasons, and then it turns out it's really about not embarrassing themselves.
As in Comey admitting in his own notes when they finally got the unredacted part that Comey never thought General Flynn lied.
Well, that's not about national security.
That's about embarrassment.
Because that embarrasses everybody because of what they did.
James Baker has resigned from the FBI.
In other words, everything we've been telling you is now true and coming more true every day.
And there's still no evidence of Trump Russia collusion.
By the way, there's a poll, you know, I love this.
Donald Trump has his highest approval ratings ever.
Reuters does a poll.
This is hilarious that shows that the president's approval ratings have spiked since April the 27th.
And this is their own response to their own polling.
Every series of polls has an occasional outlier, and in our opinion, this is one.
Because it's good for the president.
So while our reportings and findings in the interest of transparency, we will not be announcing the start of a new trend until we have more data to validate this pattern because the spike shows Trump getting 50% of the support from swing voting independence and 80% support from GOP supporters and 20% of Democrats.
Oops, sorry, Reuters.
I didn't mean that.
We didn't mean it.
It must be a mistake.
It can't possibly be true.
Donald Trump's ratings are up.
Let me now go to by the way, Melania is popularity is off the charts.
I don't have a lot of time.
I'm going to go through this.
I'm going to explain what's happening here.
So anyway, they introduce everybody on Friday, and you have Andrew Weissman.
Andrew Weissman is not arguing for the day.
Mr. Weissman, good morning, Your Honor.
Andrew Weisman from the special counsel's office.
Yeah, that's the guy that put four people in jail for a year, and that was overturned in the Fifth Circuit.
He's the guy responsible of tens of thousands of Anderson accounting employees losing their jobs and got overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court 9-0.
Yeah, and he's the guy that withheld exculpatory evidence.
So that means something.
So right out of the box, the judge in this case, and his name is Judge Ellis, the Honorable T. S. Ellis III, I've never seen anybody this good in my life.
Let me ask a few facts so I can be clear.
Let me ask the government, well, the special counsel a few questions.
Mr. Dreban is the guy that is arguing.
He said, uh, yes, Your Honor.
Uh, all right.
The indictment against Mr. Manafort was filed uh in February, but actually was annotated to by a filing uh in the District of Columbia.
These allegations of bank fraud, false income tax returns, failure to register a report, rather, failure to file reports of the Farca loan, that's the foreign bank accounts, and bank fraud, these go back to 2005 to 2007 and so forth.
Then the judge says clearly this investigation of Mr. Manafort's bank loans and so forth, you know, which were brought up later, uh, the appointment of way before and predated any appointment of any special prosecutor, and therefore must have been underway by the Department of Justice for considerable period before the letter of appointment, which is dated the 17th of May 2017.
Am I correct?
That is correct, Your Honor.
All right.
So when the special prosecutor was appointed, and I have the letter of appointment in front of me, what did they do?
Turn over their file on their investigation of Manafort to you all?
Essentially, Your Honor, special counsel was appointed to conduct interruption, Judge.
I'm sorry.
Answer my question.
Did you remember what my question was?
This the talk, it's unbelievable.
Then uh Mueller's team goes, yes, Your Honor, and I was attempting to answer your question.
We did acquire the various investigatory threads that related to Mr. Manafort upon the appointment of special counsel.
Now, the judge says, this judge, again, this this guy needs to go down in history, T. S. Ellis III.
He goes, apparently, if I look at the indictment, none of that information has anything to do with links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump.
Now that seems to me to be obvious because they all long predate any contact or any affiliation of this defendant with the campaign.
So I don't see what relation this indictment has with anything the special counsel is authorized to investigate.
And the judge goes on.
It looks to me instead that what is happening is that this investigation was underway.
It had something.
The special prosecutor took it, got indictments, and then he writes, and then he says, in the time honored practice of which I am fully familiar with, it exists largely in the drug area.
If you get somebody in a conspiracy and you get something against them, you can then tighten the screws and they'll begin to provide information in what you're really interested in.
And that seems to be what's happening here.
I'm not saying it's illegitimate, but I think we ought to be very clear about these facts and what is happening.
Now I think you already conceded appropriately, this investigation that has led to this indictment, you know, long preceded the appointment of the special prosecutor, that it doesn't have anything to do with Russia or the campaign, and that he's indicted, and it's useful, as in many cases by prosecutors, to exert leverage on a defendant so the defendant will turn and provide information on what is really the focus of the special prosecutor.
Where am I wrong in this regard?
Then Weissman's guy goes, Well, the issue I think before you is whether Mr. Manafort can dismiss the indictment before you claim.
Then the judge steps in.
Yes.
Now I asked you, where am I wrong about that?
Wow.
This is so powerful.
The guy says, Your Honor, the our investig uh investigatory scope does not cover activities that led to the indictment in this case.
The judge, it covers bank fraud in 2005 and 2007.
Yes, Your Honor.
Tell me how.
And then he says, Your Honor, the authorization for special counsel to investigate matters described generally in the appointment order of May.
I have it right in front of me, the judge says, and it won't surprise you to learn that I'm fully familiar with it.
My question to you was how does bank fraud and these other things that go back to 2005 through 2007?
How does that have anything to do with links and or coordination between the Russian government and the individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump?
Wow.
Then he goes on the the the special counsel attorney.
He goes, you know, on well, the authorization order to investigate different things described in separate clauses.
Then the judge says, You're running away from my question again.
You know I'm focused on the indictment that is here.
Yes, correct.
The judge goes, it involves facts and circumstances that go back as far as 2005 and come forward, Mr. Manafort's loans from several banks.
You all claim he submitted fraudulent statements.
I'm asking you, and I've already established this investigation long predated the special prosecutor.
So what is really going on, it seems to me, is that this indictment is used as a means of exerting pressure on the defendant to give you information that is that really is in your appointment, but itself has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
Then they argue a little bit back and forth, you know, about the investigative uh investigatory scope and and well, one time he had relations with uh Russian affiliated connections.
Then the judge goes, this is a key question.
Judge goes, are they Russian or Ukrainian?
Because they're Ukrainian.
I mean, I can't believe this is happening in a court of law.
Then the guy says, uh, both, sir, both, both.
Mr. Manafort worked extensively in Ukraine and also business connections uh with individuals associated with Russia.
Okay, we're talking about 2005 and seven here.
And then the court says, well, it didn't lead to that.
And uh meaning the indictment, this was given to you by the Department of Justice.
Am I correct?
Well, I think, Your Honor, the investigation developed considerably with the special counsel.
The court says, the judge says, wasn't it already in existence in the Department of Justice and they gave it to you when you were appointed?
And then it goes on from there, and then the judge says, I think you would agree that the indictment we have before the court is not triggered by one Which says any links and or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Trump, bank fraud in 2005 and other things, had nothing whatsoever to do with that.
That's the judge.
So when you go to number two, it says any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.
The judge goes, Well, this indictment didn't arise from your investigation.
It arose from a pre-existing investigation, even assuming that two is a valid delegation because it's open-ended.
Then he goes, Go ahead, sir.
And then the guy goes on to explain how he thinks that it is within the scope of the special counsel.
And this is the killer.
Your argument, the judge says, even though the investigation was really done by the Justice Department, handed to you, and then you're now using it, is as I indicated before.
It's a means of persuading Mr. Manafort to provide information.
Then he goes, it's a vernacular, by the way.
I've been here, meaning on the bench, a long time.
The vernacular is to sing.
That's what prosecutors use.
But what you've got to be careful of is they may not just sing, they may also compose.
In other words, make it up to get out of trouble.
And then he said, Well, then he goes on to say, I can see a few veteran defense counsel here.
They've spent a good deal of time in this courtroom trying to persuade a jury that there wasn't singing.
There was a lot of composing going on.
I have never seen anything like this.
Then he goes into this last point, and I'm gonna break here.
What we don't want in this country is we don't want anyone with unfettered power.
We don't want any federal judges with unfettered power.
We don't want the elected officials with unfettered power.
We don't want anybody, including the president of the United States, nobody to have unfettered power.
So it's unlikely you're gonna persuade me that special prosecutor has unlimited powers to do anything he or she wants.
Bam!
That was the biggest beatdown I've ever seen in my life in a courtroom.
It's gonna be interesting.
And the sad thing is you can't even glean what which way the judge is gonna go on this thing.
Holy wait do you see what we have planned for TV tonight?
It's so good.
All right.
David Schoen, Sarah Carter respond to this next.
I can tell you.
Yeah, there have been people who have been uh uh making threats privately and publicly uh against me uh for quite some time, and I think they should understand by now the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted.
We're gonna do what's required by the rule of law, and uh any kind of threats that anybody makes uh are not gonna affect the way we do our job.
So last week we sent a subpoena, and then on Thursday, we discovered that uh they're not going to comply with our subpoena.
So what are you gonna do about it?
Very important information that we need.
So what are you gonna do?
The only thing left that we can do is we have to move quickly to hold the attorney general of the United States in contempt.
And that's what I'm gonna press for this week.
None of that information has to do with information related to the Russian government coordination and the campaign of Donald Trump.
It doesn't have anything to do.
It's from years before.
Then, how does this have anything to do with the campaign the judge asks?
Let me tell you, folks, we're all fighting battles.
But I love fighting.
There's no shot clock for getting the truth on this case.
We need to know the truth.
Did he or didn't he?
Let's let the cards fall where they do.
If the Trump presidency is a house of cards, let it fall too.
We can argue about the points of law and obstruction, whatever business misdeeds of which Trump might be guilty.
What I want to know, with the majority of Americans again have a right to know, is whether he cheated to win by having the Russians, even at the margins, stack the deck.
It's not just the legal component.
There's also a political piece of this that comes into play.
If the president does say decide to fight a subpoena, he may face political fallout, especially with the midterms, just around the corner.
Nobody can be sure how this would turn out, but that doesn't seem like there's much reason for the White House to be optimistic that it would win such a fight.
All right, so there you have the heights and sounds of a corrupt news media in America.
Hour two, Sean Hannity Show, 800 941 Sean, if you want to be a part of the program.
As I would as I went through in great detail in the last hour, I think the biggest judicial beatdown ever that I I mean, I I read all 50 pages three times now to make sure that I've gotten it right.
And on top of that, then you've got another major setback for Robert Muller and his band of married democratic voters.
And don't forget Andrew Weissman, the guy I've been telling you about, he was the one leading the team in front of this judge in the Manafort case on Friday.
He wasn't arguing it, but he was the lead member.
He's he's Robert Muller's pit bull, according to the New York Times.
Well now we've got another pretty devastating blow as it relates to the Muller team.
It was just twenty four hours later on Saturday, when Muller's team got another major setback by a different federal judge overseeing the only case Muller has brought so far that's related to Russian interference against the so called Russian trolls or Russian bots.
And on Saturday, federal court rebuffed Robert Mueller's request to further delay a court hearing in the alleged Russia troll farm case.
And this is the one where the Internet Research Agency, Concord Management and Concord Catering, along with 13 other Russian employees, were charged for spreading so-called fake news during the 2016 U.S. elections.
Now a scheduled uh Wednesday arraignment of Concord must go forward according to the district judge in that case.
And none of the indicted firms or citizens are expected to play along, but the lawyers for Concord Management unexpectedly came forward and uh as Politico says, the move appeared to be a bid to force Mueller's team to turn over relevant evidence to the Russian firm and perhaps even a bait prosecutors into an embarrassing dismissal in order to avoid disclosing sensitive information.
This is unbelievable what's happening here.
Anyway, joining us, uh they've been with us the whole time in all of this.
David Schoen is a civil uh liberties attorney, criminal rights attorney, Sarah Carter, investigative reporter, Fox News contributor.
Uh David, let's go to your legal expertise first.
Um I've read this three times now, the entire transcript of everything that went down on Friday.
I don't think in all my years of reading court cases, even somebody as stinging as uh Anton and Scalia that I ever saw or read a judge being this brutal to one side.
Judge Ellis is a no nonsense judge, he's been around a long time, uh in his late 70s is on senior status now, great background, uh brilliant guy.
He's had enough.
Um look, the statute is very clear, the regulations are very clear.
The limited jurisdiction of the special counsel uh i uh uh is set out is to be set out, a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated.
That's regulation six hundred point four.
Um if it's to be expanded, it has to be on specific approval of the deputy uh attorney general.
If the attorney general is in this case, has recused himself.
He wants to know what it is.
There is no longer any reason for the American public, for the judiciary, for Congress to be kept in the dark about what this mandate is for this special counsel.
And it's also why we have said from the start, you need someone other than Rod Rosenstein in the position, someone capable needs to be in that position to rein this thing in and to set out finite parameters to this investigation that were all made privy to.
Well, this is the argument that the judge, I mean, when the judge goes in, oh, you're like putting the screws to manifold.
I mean, literally saying, Come on, man.
I mean, I'm reading a judge saying all of this.
I see this in drug cases all the time, but you can't tell me that you know, uh a tax case from two thousand and five to two thousand and seven as anything to do with the mandate that was put out by Rod Rosenstein to the special counsel, Robert Muller and his team.
And and I'm sitting here saying, Finally, somebody saying it, Sarah Carter, because it doesn't have anything to do with Trump Russia collusion, and it's all about getting information to use from Manafort to prosecute or to impeach Donald Trump.
The judge said it, not me.
The judge did say it, and what what Mr. Dreven wouldn't say, who is who is there arguing um on behalf of uh the special counsel and uh Weissman, which I think is really interesting, he wouldn't answer the question the judge kept asking him over and over again, because I went through these documents, these court documents multiple times too, Sean, and he kept saying, Are you you're trying to get, you know, you're trying to get this bird to sing.
You're you're not bringing me anything new.
These are old cases.
And what are you trying to do here?
You're trying to twist twist his arm into saying something?
Because one of the things the judge was really concerned about is are you trying to get him to sing or are you trying to get him to compose?
Which means are you trying to get him to make up something?
Because your target really here is President Trump.
And we're not going to put up with this.
He also, I think, which was which was an excellent statement said we don't want in this country as well.
We don't want anyone with unfettered power.
Not you, not the president, not anybody.
And I'm here to check you, and I'm checkmating you on that.
And you need to answer my questions.
And over and over again, Dreven refused to answer those questions.
Yeah, over and over again.
The judge said, That's nice.
You're not answering my question.
Do you need to you need me to remind you of my my question was?
I I I've never looked David, you have so much more experience than I do in a courtroom.
And I know there are flamboyant judges out there with extraordinarily strong personalities.
This is the strongest I've ever seen.
And that's not this judge.
This judge is not one of these flashy, flamboyant uh people trying to make a show of himself and make himself the show.
Uh that's not what went on here.
They've had enough.
Listen, all of these things are tied together that you and Sarah Carter have been reporting on for a while.
These phony redactions, when when they're finally revealed, we see there was no reason to redact the Comey memos.
There was no reason to redact the Flynn related material that's now come open.
These are all things that undermined the government's case.
That's why they kept them redacted.
This is a pattern for people like Andrew Weissman trying to convince people that what's false is really true.
Uh this judge had enough of that kind of thing, and I hope we're seeing a start.
If we see Congress pussi pushing and we see the judiciary pushing, and you keep up this fight, uh it's it's gonna come out.
It's gonna come out in the open.
And on top of all of this, of course, as you've reported many times, Sarah Carter has written about the FISA applications.
We've got to get to the bottom of that, find out what exactly was in them.
There is no longer any need for those.
Oh, the judge is demanding that also, and the judge is gonna get that.
Well, that that's exactly what the judge says.
I mean, do you if you if you go through the transcripts and you read them thoroughly, read them all the way through, it's fascinating because Dreben himself brings up the fact that they have this August 2nd memo, you know, that was put together by Rosenstein.
Well, hang on one second.
But but the Rosenstein memo's August 2nd, Sarah, just to give people background.
And the judge was saying, Well, you didn't initiate this investigation.
The DOJ handed it over to you, and you thought you could use it to put the screws on Manafort uh so he would sing his words again, not mine, or maybe compose, make things up as you rightly point out.
But they raided Manafort's home July twenty-sixth.
That means they had to be investigating it way before that.
That means it was retroactive on August 2nd when Rosenstein approved it.
Absolutely.
And remember, they busted down his door at 3 a.m.
He and his sleep, they busted down his door, they came into the home, and now the judge is saying, okay, you have this memorandum, you've turned this over to me, and seventy-five percent of it is redacted.
I can't even see it.
I can't even see the scope of this.
I want this unredacted.
I want this back in my hands, unredacted.
I want to see what you what you guys put in there at the DOJ, what Rosenstein wrote.
I want to see the scope of this investigation before we can move forward with it.
And that is very important here.
All right, let me go to the second loss on Saturday as it relates to relates to this Russian troll farm.
I found that particularly fascinating because that's gonna go forward now on Wednesday.
And I suspect that and there was some good legal analysis on this.
I suspect Mueller's gonna pull out of it.
And that's gonna be another embarrassment to Muller.
Your thoughts, David Schoen.
I don't know.
You know, I just don't feel comfortable predicting these things with Mueller.
You never know what his uh motive is.
You never know what back or deals are being made with the lawyers who suddenly surfaced in that case.
Um that case could open up a real can of worms.
You're talking about a so-called disinformation campaign.
I don't know what we're gonna see there.
It's very interesting, and there's no reason given so far for the judge's decision to move things along unless again she's simply exasperated with this stuff.
I know now this week, and this goes into your wheelhouse, Sarah Carter, that the House Intel Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, the House Freedom Caucus members, they are now fed up.
They are fed up with the game of Rod Rosenstein.
They're fed up with the FBI.
They're fed up with the slow walking.
They're fed up with the Attorney General.
And now there is a lot of talk that they are going to move on the Attorney General and on Rod Rosenstein.
What's the latest on it?
Well, they're not backing down and and realize this is the first time that they will be holding Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt.
Before it was always holding Rod Rosenstein in contempt and others.
This will be the first time they're going to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt, and they are frustrated.
I mean, two weeks ago, they sent a classified letter asking for information.
It appears to be on a particular person, and it was completely ignored.
Then last week they send a subpoena.
And it wasn't until they sent the subpoena that they get a response letter back, which I've obtained from uh the Department of Justice, a response letter back from them saying, no, we're not going to give you anything because this is very dangerous and could threaten national security.
And they're saying, no, this can't threaten national security.
We have we have the right to conduct oversight, and we cannot conduct oversight if you keep steinwalling us and stonewalling us into all of these uh every time we request information on any of these issues.
So they are very serious about this.
I, you know, contacted a number of people um on the Hill asking, well, maybe this information is considered um national security related.
Is it is it highly sensitive, classified?
They said, look, we have the ability to conduct oversight on this.
We have people that are able to see these documents.
They need to turn them over to us.
They need to turn them over now, and if they don't, we're gonna move forward with a contempt on attorney general Jeff Sessions.
And I think they feel that is the only thing they can do at this point.
And the Department of Justice and the Attorney General's office is apoplectic, I hear.
Meanwhile, they're not doing their constitutional duty, which is allow Congress to do their job, their oversight.
That's it.
All right, stay right there.
We'll take a break.
More with Doug Schoen, more uh David Schoen, sorry, and my friend uh Sarah Carter, 800-941 Sean is on number.
All right, as we continue with David Schoen, attorney and Sarah Carter.
Uh David, you wanted to weigh in on the fact that, yeah, now people like Devin Nunes and people like Mark Meadows, who's gonna join us at the bottom of this out, they're fed up with the attorney general, the DOJ, the FBI, and the slow walking of all of these documents that and by the way, it's the false classification.
Well, we can't redact this because it has to do with national security, and then time after time it's revealed that had nothing to do with national security.
Like, for example, you know, James Comey's notes that showed James Comey and the FBI never thought that General Flynn lied.
There's no national security concern there at all.
That's an embarrassment concern.
That's right.
And and the redaction of that specific thing that you mentioned was one of the redactions was the explanation for why they didn't believe Flynn was lying.
So that was exculpatory information that should have been turned over, let alone not redacted.
But yeah, what I wanted to say was this.
Here all this talk about constitutional crisis.
I I'm not one given to hypo hyperbole.
However, if you want to talk about the potential constitutional crisis here, it is having a rogue special prosecutor on an agenda undermining uh our government.
It's the power, Article 1 power of Congress being ignored.
It's the Article 3 power of the judiciary demanding answers and being ignored.
Um that's the constitutional crisis here.
The branches of government are not working together, and the checks and balances are not working right now.
I think we need the president to give a direct order to Mr. Sessions to turn over these things, and I think that ought to assist the contempt process.
After all, it is Mr. Trump's Department of Justice.
It comes within his Article II power.
Last word, Sarah Carter.
I couldn't agree with David Moore now on this.
I think that something needs to be done, something needs to be done quickly, especially if the G DOJ decides to stonewall again.
We need this, uh we need these documentation.
We need Congress to conduct its oversight, and we need to know the truth.
Well said, both of you.
All right, we're really well done.
We'll have so much on this tonight.
Wait, you see what we're put together for Hannity tonight at nine on the Fox News channel?
Uh you're going to see the highlights of I think the biggest beatdown judicial argument ever in the history of judicial prudence.
I mean, it's unbelievable.
That's tonight at nine.
All right, quick break 800 941 Sean, our number when we come back, Congressman Mark Meadows, he's fed up with the DOJ, the attorney general, the slow walking of Rod Rosenstein and others straight ahead.
We're almost at a constitutional crisis in the United States of America.
We're at a constitutional crisis because we've got a president, the lack of which we've never seen before.
You know, some people think it's active, sometimes a funny, sometimes cute, sometimes unusual, and then say, well, you know, he's gonna learn to become presidential.
That's a lie.
He's never going to be presidential.
He's never going to be presidential because he does not respect the Constitution of the United States of America, and he is no friend to organize labor.
And let me just say this.
I know that some of our membership in various areas of the country said, Well, you know, we don't think that we've got the fair shape.
We don't think government is paid enough attention to some of our rule community and our town.
But I want you to know this.
Whether it is health care, or whether it is food stats, or whether it is any of the issues dealing with the least of these, and whether it's issues about whether or not government and elected officials are going to support the right to organize and support the right to bargain.
It has not been rebuked.
It is always Democrats.
We've been there for you.
We're going to stay there for you and to damn this president.
Wow.
Damn this president.
I wonder what would happen if a Republican said it as it relates to Barack Obama or any democratic.
All right, 800 nine-four one Sean.
The DOJ Inspector General report has been delayed yet again.
Michael Horowitz and uh according to Catherine Heridge of Fox, who's done some great reporting, the testimony has now been, quote, postponed due to the emergence of so-called new leads in the Hillary Clinton email scandal.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz widely anticipated testimony the week before the uh House uh oversight committee was postponed.
It was supposed to happen this week, as the uh Department of Inspector General has now pursued new leads in his review of Hillary Clinton and the email investigation, according to a congressional letter and sources familiar with the matter.
Well, Gowdy said the decision to postpone is based on the representations in an April 23rd letter from Horowitz, and the developments suggest Horowitz, again, he's been investigating this for over a year now, is still working to complete his review of the FBI and the DOJ's handling of the Clinton case, and several sources familiar with the review have told Fox News that Horowitz has continued to pursue new leads and witnesses in recent weeks.
Remember during the speech on Friday, the deputy AG, Mr. Conflict conflicted himself, Rod Rosenstein, said he expects Horowitz's review will be finalized soon.
So we'll be waiting on that.
All right, let's get to some phone calls here.
I know a lot of you being very, very patient here.
Um let's say hi to Glenn is in Boston in Massachusetts.
What's up, Glenn?
How are you?
Hi, thank you for taking my call.
What's going on, sir?
I was wondering what's to stop uh President Trump from issuing an ultimatum to Jeff Sessions saying basically either a flash drive with all unredacted Pfizer documents are sitting on Devin Nunes' desk by Monday morning, 830 or at 831.
I'm declaring them on classic or I'm declassifying all of them.
Uh I think the well, remember, it has to get to the president, and the president would declassify it.
The president's being transparent that he deployed declassify all of this.
The president was complaining on Twitter.
Why all the redactions?
Why all the delays?
Why all of uh, you know, why is it taking so long?
Why are they slow walking this?
And in the look, look at last week, for example.
Why did they slow walk and redact the issue, the part that dealt with James Comey?
In other words, the James Comey said that Michael Flynn never lied.
Why?
That's not what that has nothing to do with National security.
That has to do with them being embarrassed because they charged a 35-year American, a service American, guy who served his country, for doing something that nobody in the FBI thought he was guilty of.
Okay, it's funny, but it's not if you're General Flynn, it's not funny.
Oh, no, I'm not indicating that it's funny.
It's really it's very sad to be honest.
I don't understand why.
You know, why the delay why the delays, especially if the president has said this is declassified information, get it out there into the public realm.
I will tell you it is outrageous the conduct that we now see from the highest echelons involved in this.
And that is the biggest problem here.
This is not the FBI, it's not the CIA, it's not the Intel community.
It is very specific people that did not want this president to get elected and wanted actively championed, covered up crimes for Hillary Clinton, rigged an investigation with Hillary Clinton.
Hillary obstructed justice, she violated the Espionage Act, like everybody else, like we have pointed out again and again, it's crystal clear, it's cut and dry, it's overwhelming, it's incontrovertible, it's all the above.
And then they fixed and rigged it, and they're caught red-handed.
People that hated Donald Trump that wanted Hillary to stay in the race because they thought she had the best shot of beating Donald Trump and that she was going to win.
And there was an assumption that she would win.
And then to use the phony dossier, don't verify it, but but in an application presented before a FISA judge, you give the judge the unverified, uncorroborated Hillary bought and paid for dossier put together by a foreign national with Russian lies.
You can't make it up.
It's all true.
It all happened.
It's all accurate.
There's no inaccuracies here.
And then now they're not now we we have to threaten the attorney general of the United States, meaning Congress, is saying to the attorney general, you're going to be held in contempt because you're not letting us do our job at oversight.
You know, our constitution is the foundation of our rule of law in this country.
Without it, we are a banana republic.
Without it, we're Venezuela.
You know, that's why this judge saying to Weissman and Muller's team on Friday, well, I know what you're doing.
You're trying to put the screws to Paul Manafort.
There's no other reason that you're going back to a tax issue from 2005 to 2007 that had nothing to do with the mandate of the special counsel.
And the fact that you raided his home with guns blaring, apparently, at three in the morning or six in the morning, whatever it was, and and when you you could have asked for a simple surrender.
We're outside your door, can you please open the door, which would have happened?
And and then, of course, they backdated Rosenstein includes the added mandate, August 2nd.
Well, that's after the investigation and after the raid.
That's to me is it should be beforehand, not after the fact.
It's unbelievable.
This is this is a very dangerous time for this country in ways that that people need to grasp, and you need to understand this is now becoming one of the most, if not the most important midterm election in our lifetime.
Because this is now a referendum on impeaching the president based on a witch hunt when there's no evidence.
And it was obvious the judge on Friday in the Manafort case got it.
And by the way, I reached out to Manafort.
I said, hey, can you come on?
Can you come on my show?
Well, there's a gag order.
He can't speak.
He doesn't have any constitutional rights to freedom of speech.
Why is why would he have a gag order?
Why can't he give his point of view?
You have Leek's galore coming out of the special counsel's office.
Why can't Manafort, if he wants to, come on this show or my TV show and give his side of the story?
Tell us what happened from his perspective.
Why is an investigation of a special counsel from 2016?
Do you go back to 2005?
Unless you want to, as the judge said, put the screws to Manafort and flip him and get him to sing, the judge's words.
You got to be careful if somebody starts singing, because then they may start composing.
What is the judge saying there?
Uh compose something new to get out of trouble.
It's a tactic I've seen all the time, the judge says, with drug dealers.
Just like, you know, breaking down people's.
That happens to drug dealers.
That happens to mobsters.
You know, it goes that, but then we go back to Comey's book.
Why did Comey refer to the president as a mobster?
Because he had nothing for his book but to rehash the three times he met Donald Trump.
And you might as well blow it up into as sensational a story as you can.
Unfortunately, that backfired, too, as we warned Comey, he had the right to remain silent, but now we know that he leaked not to one person, three people, and now all three of those people he has attorney client privilege with.
Interesting.
No coincidences here.
Unbelievable.
All right, let's get to our phones.
Uh Jane is in Lincoln, Nebraska.
How are you, Jane?
Fine, Sean.
Thanks for taking my call.
Thank you.
What's going on?
Greetings from FedUp Husker Heartland.
We've had it here.
This is it.
I think it's time for us to stop buying into the liberal insurance plan and to be more pragmatic.
Why can't we have a second special counsel?
And if and go after Hillary, go after the corruption, go after the foundation, go after the entire Russian thing, the uranium.
If we do that, and we can't get sessions to buy in, I'm saying Trey Gowdy for attorney general, and let's go.
It's on.
I'm a little concerned about Trey Gowdy.
He's the one saying Donald Trump needs to act presidential and fighting back us in uh or innocent.
I'm like, actually, I think innocent people fight back.
You know, innocent people say it's not true because that's how you feel and you know.
That's I think that's the more natural reaction to be perfectly blunt with you.
And let's be very honest about one thing.
Yes, ma'am.
If I may, Jane, and I'm jumping in here, is that the problem with a lot of people in the news right now is it's not about being right.
It's about being first.
And so there's no opportunity to really review what's happening.
It's who can get on it first before we fact-checked and asked all the responsible people involved.
We don't get all proper comment.
We don't wait for people to get back to us.
We just say we reached out for comment, and five minutes later we post something.
It is absolutely disgusting.
Yeah, it's not fair.
The president's suffering for it because he's trying to be the regular old good old guy that he knows how to do at the work the work site, and to be, you know, reaching out to people.
The man answers letters from people that they write to him.
This is amazing, okay?
And for us to continue to not to support him, to not put our feet down and say this is enough.
I've just seen Trey Gowdy really pull out some good work, and he doesn't get his tail twisted by the liberals.
So, yeah, everybody has a way of putting their foot in it now and there.
And maybe the president, maybe he shouldn't, you know, do certain things.
We all prefer at times he wouldn't.
But I like the way Trey Gowdy won't back down.
And right now we need a pit bull, and he's definitely got the fang.
Look, he got the potential.
I just think that, you know, I just think Trey's checked out, doesn't want uh isn't as involved, he wants to leave Congress.
He's probably sick of all this crap too.
What good person is ever gonna want to run for office anymore?
Nobody.
Nobody in their right mind anyway.
Uh Jim in Athens, Alabama, my old uh hometown.
Uh how are you, my friend?
Welcome to the program.
Where do you live in Athens?
I live in Indian Trace, right there, Office 72.
Well, I lived in uh the Tanglewood apartments right behind Dan Wachtel Ford.
Is it still there?
It it actually is.
Is the cracker barrel still there?
It is.
Is the Hardy still there?
That was one of my favorite and the and the Waffle House, I ate there constantly.
Well, hey, you need to consider moving back to Alabama.
Our tax rates are way low.
The cost of living is way down, and hey, we got a big radio station right there that will support you.
So Come on back home, buddy.
Uh, listen, I enjoyed my time there.
What's on your mind today, Jim, and all my best to my friends down there.
Yeah.
Hey, uh, you know, as bad as all of this is with the conspiracy the collusion, what it has done is it has exposed two voters who voted for Trump.
He he basically drew the swamp out to him, okay.
And uh mentioned to the screener, uh basically it's showing what the constitutional crisis was, which was Lois Larner, which was Fast and Furious, which was some of the other things.
Those were the constitutional crisis situations that actually got Donald Trump elected.
And as bad as everything is and and as bad as everything seems, it has exposed these people.
Now that being said, at this point, there is no way the supporters are gonna turn away from him.
Not only are that we're not gonna turn away from him, if they try to remove our president, they need to I'm from Alabama, so they need to not worry so much about a constitutional crisis, they need to be worried about a revolutionary crisis at that point.
We see what they've done, we see what they're trying to do to protect themselves, and they're just being exposed I honestly am having a hard time in my inner solar plexus here, wrapping my arms around all that we've discovered.
It is sad to me the the level of corruption and the abuse of power.
This is our country.
You know, the idea that a few think that they uh know better than we the people, that's what this is about.
I've never been under more fire personally in my entire career.
Why?
Because we're in the middle of exposing all of it.
Oh, and we like Donald Trump.
And we support the successful agenda that that is going forth every day.
Stay right here for our final news roundup and information overload.
You have a group of investigators, and they say that I am not a target, and I'm not a target.
But you have a group of investigators that are all Democrats.
In some cases, they went to the Hillary Clinton celebration that turned out to be a funeral.
So you have all these investigators, they're Democrats.
In all fairness, Bob Mueller worked for Obama for eight years.
You look at the statements that were made.
If you take a look as an example at the Rod Rosenstein letter to me prior to the firing of James Comey, just read it.
Put it in the air.
Your viewers don't know about it.
Put that letter on the air.
It very much speaks very loudly, and that's just one thing.
I can tell you, you know, there have been people who have been uh uh making threats privately and publicly uh against me uh for quite some time, and I think they should understand by now, the Department of Justice is not gonna be extorted.
We're gonna do what's required by the rule of law, and uh any kind of threats that anybody makes uh are not gonna affect the way we do our job.
The Department of Justice has written him a letter and responded uh as r uh appropriate to him.
Uh the request he's made is one that the intelligence communities and um uh department of justice feels is is not uh grantable.
We've explained that we'd like we'd be willing to talk to him about it before, uh, the details of which I couldn't uh discuss.
We continue to pill the onion back.
And I'll tell you what happened two weeks ago.
Uh we sent a letter to Attorney General Jess Sessions, a classified letter.
Uh it w uh per usual, it was ignored, uh not acknowledged, just completely ignored.
So last week we sent a subpoena, and then on Thursday we discovered that uh they're not going to comply with our subpoena.
So what are you gonna do about very important information that we need?
So what are you gonna do?
The only thing left that we can do is we have to move quickly to hold the attorney general of the United States in contempt, and that's what I'm gonna press for this week.
All right, I think the president laid out the best case for himself and Chairman Nunes saying what he's saying, and Rod Rosenstein line, we're not gonna be extorted.
Well the problem is we have separation of powers in this country.
We have a constitution in this country.
We have coequal branches of government in this country.
Congress has a duty to as it relates to oversight on all of these issues, as the judge in the Manafort case said on Friday, you know, no one group of government has unfettered power.
So it it comes into play here.
They have been slow walking.
They have been giving out phony redactions in the name of national security when it's proven otherwise, like in the case of oh James Comey didn't believe that General Flynn was lying.
Well that has to do with national security.
No, it does not and and the fact that now they have created a constitutional crisis in the sense that Congress now is tired of all of this, all of the excuse making and how consequences well beyond contempt of of Congress if the Department of Justice and FBI officials continue to withhold documents in defiance with congressional subpoenas.
Joining us now he is at the forefront of all of this is Congressman Mark Meadows is the chairman of the Freedom Caucus.
How are you, sir?
I'm doing well, Sean, and you're right, it is uh interesting the amount of pushback that we're getting from the Department of Justice.
And if doing your job is extortion, uh then shame on them.
Well I let let's go through number one what your authority whether be it the House Intel committee, be a Trey Gowdy's committee, be Bob Goodlat's committee, etc, etc.
You know, uh the this is the role of Congress.
That is your constitutional duty.
We have checks and balances, separation of powers.
Where does the DOJ and FBI get feel that they can defy congressional subpoenas like this?
Well it's kind of uh like the mystery man behind the curtain.
They act like there's this uh whole uh air of uh uh superiority that that quite frankly uh most Americans and your listeners don't uh don't adhere to I can tell you this that when I've asked the deputy attorney general to share the statute and I mean the law the actual law that would allow him to keep these documents from from Congress he can't quote that.
So it's interesting he says well we're going to follow the rule of law well the rule of law says that Congress has the ability to conduct or oversight and indeed we are uh not only entitled to these documents uh we we are demanding them and if they're not willing to do it we will hold them in contempt of Congress and take the appropriate action.
Okay, let's talk about what the appropriate action is.
I mean, after you issue a subpoena and after deadlines are passed and after redactions are handed in and then it's found out later that the redactions are to prevent embarrassment, not for national security, as they claim, what is the next step?
Well, the next step, and you've heard it talked about some, Sean, would certainly look at removal from office.
and that's obviously our founding father.
fathers gave us the ability to provide impeachment documents it is a privilege re resolution on the floor which means that any member of Congress can bring it and it would require a vote within two legislative days and yet here we are talking about that that's not where I want to go that's not where the vast majority of people want to go all I want are the documents that we have requested to provide a proper oversight.
But I can tell you that the fuse is very short.
Chairman Nunes has obviously uh suggested that we ought to hold uh the DOJ and contempt of Congress uh those discussions are happening today and tomorrow uh but this is something that will play out in days not weeks because I think the American people and quite frankly I'm tired of the talk and rhetoric it's time that we actually get something done.
Okay so let's go through the different options or the ways that Congress can stop the you know stop this deadlock that is with uh the DOJ and the FBI what is the best you know and by the way and the and the the Department of Justice is not helping.
This at the end of the day where is our attorney general?
Well that's the problem and I think that that's the frustration is generally an attorney general for an administration would be the one that would actually make uh these documents flow at a much greater rate and and much easier to Congress.
Uh and yet what we're seeing is is that Jeff Sessions has recused himself as it relates to any matter with regards to the Russian investigation.
And even beyond that, uh Sean, here's here's the problem is that Rod Rosenstein appears to be running the Department of Justice uh to the exclusion of Jeff Sessions.
And so it it is uh one area that we can do is we can certainly appeal from our committees.
You mentioned Trey Gowdy, uh Chairman Gowdy and I can request uh documents from the executive branch, and and indeed the President has the ability to override it uh with his national security team if it does not uh well he can override it for any reason, but they could override it very easily if it did not include uh national security uh measures that would put be put at risk.
You know, I I know the Chairman Nuness revealed on uh Sunday that he would hold the Department of Justice Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt.
The Attorney General recused himself, I understand from things involving Hillary, but he's a former senator, and I believe maybe even a former Congressman, if I'm not mistaken.
But he certainly we know he served in the Senate for a long time.
I don't understand why he would be a part of any effort, why he's not demanding that sessions handed over.
So what so if he if if he continues to do it, is this something that you feel that Congress is gonna have to do, hold sessions in contempt?
Well, I I do believe that.
I I I can tell you, Sean, and and no one really knows this, but I I reached out to uh the Speaker of the House last night to suggest uh that we take that action expeditiously, certainly encouraging him to do that, but also to give him some of the evidence and facts.
I mean, uh the Department of Justice would like to put out this narrative that they're uh being uh so cooperative and that it's the conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus that are not being reasonable.
Uh there's uh uh a body of evidence that we have, both written and uh in email form and in letter form, but also in phone calls that would suggest that not only have we made appropriate requests, but they have inappropriately not responded.
And so uh listen, I I'm I'll say it right here with you.
If Rod Rosenstein or Jeff Sessions wants to come on your show at any time, uh I'll make myself available.
Jim Jordan can make his self a ba available, they can bring their talking points, we will bring the facts, and we will have a debate on national TV and let the American.
Rod Rosenstein, we never would have gotten the Nunes memo because up to the last minute, my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, is Rod Rosenstein personally went to Paul Ryan's office begging and pleading Ryan not to release the information that led to the public finally becoming aware about the FISA abuse issue on how Hillary Clinton and the DNC funneled money through a law firm,
hired a foreign national, put put Russian lies in a dossier, and then never told the court a that it was unverified, uncorroborated, and that she paid for it.
We wouldn't have known any of that, and that it was the bulk to quote the Grassley Graham memo of information in the application to spy on on the Trump campaign associate Carter Page.
Well, you're spot on, and you're right.
Uh they were objecting until the the minute it was released, and it was going to harm national security and you know it and and I can tell you there was nothing in there that harmed national security.
Quite frankly, it was embarrassing, uh, perhaps to even some of those that were objecting to it.
And uh listen, the American people deserve the truth.
Your listeners deserve the truth, and at this point, uh we're going to continue to put pressure from a congressional standpoint until those documents and the truth is revealed.
And uh, and I can tell you the president's been consistent on this.
He he he says let the facts lead where they may and let's be transparent.
But by the way, that was one of the things that he told James Comey, some obstruction of justice.
Right.
Well, you're exactly right.
I mean, he said he had told James Comey, if there's something bad out there, we want you to investigate it.
It doesn't sound like obstruction of j justice to me.
All right, let's talk about what is the overall overarching issue, which is uh an obvious witch hunt against the the president of the United States.
Do is there any evidence to date from any of the committees investigating from anybody anything we can see with the special counsel that involves Trump Russia collusion?
Because the judge on Friday in the Manafort case was as brutal as any judge I've ever witnessed in my life, beating down this notion that Paul Manafort's tax issues as it relates to the Ukraine, not Russia, in two thousand and five and seven through seven,
have anything to do with this, but it's all to put the squeeze and the screws to Paul Manafort to see if he sings or if he composes, which would mean, you know, uh give him any make up anything to uh to make this go away for him.
Well, it's interesting you say that because you're right.
The j the judge was very direct and uh and indicated what a lot of us have believed is that they're using some of these uh tangential pieces of evidence or or suspensions to really squeeze witnesses to try to go after the president.
And uh uh the the judge was very articulate in that.
You know, we'll we'll have to see whether that position remains.
But I can tell you this that when you start to look at at the body of evidence and where they're going after this, there is no evidence of collusion to date.
Not even my Democrat colleagues who would love to see this president impeached and out of office, they can't even put forth evidence.
They just say, well, we need to study it longer.
We need to investigate it longer.
But to date, after a year and a half, they do not have any evidence that would suggest collusion on the part of the president.
All right, gotta take a break.
We'll come back.
We'll have more with Congressman Mark Meadows from North Carolina, chairman of the Freedom Caucus.
We have an incredible Hannity tonight, nine Eastern on the Fox News Channel.
You do not want to miss.
Uh, we'll go through this judge's ruling again at the top of the next hour.
The other news of the day as well as it relates to North Korea and a big decision on Iran coming this week.
All right, as we continue with Congressman Mark Meadows, North Carolina, and uh the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, and uh you went after Rod Rosenstein who says uh the Justice Department won't be extorted.
Uh, where did those remarks come from?
Why would he use a a legal term like that when all Congress is asking for are the documents so that they can do their const they can fulfill their constitutional role of oversight.
Well, Rod thinks that he can bully me, and he had you know a pre-arranged interview, a great talking points, well rehearsed, and he thinks that he can bully me into being quiet and just going away.
But I can tell you he may be able to ignore me, but he can't ignore the 750,000 uh people that I represent.
And for me, it's a congressional authority that I have, but I've made no threats to him.
I've basically said, All right, here's what we want.
The consequences of not doing that might lead to impeachment down the road, but even in that, you know, I've made it very clear that he has uh within his ability, the ability to give us the documents that we've requested.
Now he puts more excuses uh than a child trying to blame somebody else for uh their uh misdeeds than anybody I've met.
But Rod's a very learned and capable individual.
You don't go to Penn and Harvard and come uh come away without having some back uh background in what he's doing.
But he's also worked for the Department of Justice since the nineteen nineties.
And so when you look at this, they're used to obstructing Congress, but I can tell you uh it it's just not gonna happen in this particular case.
All right, Congressman, uh, we're gonna leave it there.
We appreciate it.
Thanks so much for being with us and uh keep the good fight up, sir.
Thank you.
800-941 Sean, a toll-free telephone number if you want to be a part of the program.
We'll take a quick break.
We'll come back.
News roundup information uh Overload calls straight ahead as we continue.
There's a choice for Congress this year.
Anthony Gonzalez is backed by the Republican Party establishment.
And he just moved here from San Francisco.
Gonzalez is the swamp's choice.
Conservative Christina Hagen, Ohio born, Ohio raised.
Endorsed by House Conservatives Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows, a strong supporter of President Trump, endorsed by the NRA and Freedom Works.
Conservative Christina Hagen, women for Trump's choice for Congress.
Women vote smart is responsible for the content of this message.
We have a middle class that has been forgotten.
We have an establishment elite that has ran this country into the grounds.
They have spent 20 trillion dollars.
They have sent us $60 trillion into debt, $60 trillion into owed services, and they think we haven't noticed.
They think we're too dumb to work at Calculator.
It is insulting to the American people.
We do not treat our homes this way, nor should our Capitol, where we send people to represent us and to be strong and to be people of conviction and strength and endurance to cast votes.
They should not be neat.
And certainly they should not lie to our faces.
So listen, you all, I'm here tonight because I want Christina Hagen.
I think she need to go to Congress.
I think she need to go.
I think she needs to go.
I think she'll be a great asset.
I think that she will help our president get some things done.
She loved us.
Yes, she does.
That keeps I like that.
Second amendment.
Because that's our second.
And I believe that she will uphold the Constitution.
That's right.
I really believe that.
Yeah.
No, y'all no more for Christina.
Uh-uh.
Are you all on board for Christina going up to Congress?
Now I'm going to just say this here.
Are we all on the Trump train in here?
I say, are we all on the Trump train?
Now when I say "All aboard," you say "So to all aboard!" All aboard!
All aboard!
All right, so let's see Christina Hollington.
All aboard!
I don't know.
I think Diamond and Silk are gonna have to run for uh office themselves at some point.
You know, I want too bad we can't have like two Congress people in one.
And you got Diamond and Silk, Congresswomen, Diamond and Silk representing maybe well, all the better the yet, they can each win in a separate district.
Anyway, they were out campaigning for Christina Hagen, who's running uh for office in the great state of Ohio.
Uh new mom, millennial, and uh apparently one of Linda McLaughlin's favorites because she uh actually got me interested in following this.
How are you, uh Christina?
I am so honored to be with you, Sean.
Just listening to that and hearing the momentum and knowing, you know, the people that we're talking to on the campaign trail.
It's just so awesome to know that we're taking America back.
In 2011, I read you were still waiting tables at two restaurants, coaching a uh uh young women at I guess your alma mater, uh, and and finishing your degree.
And uh then I guess you were chosen to serve the 50th House district in Ohio.
Um, why are you taking this step?
Yeah, that's right.
So we are without a question the blue collar candidate who understands the America First agenda, who wants to fight for the working class for American people to put special interests back where they belong and to lift up the middle class Americans like myself.
I mean, it is unbelievable that they think they can shop somebody in from California who hasn't lived in our region over the last 15 years to compete with somebody who has a consistent conservative voting record, and we without a question have supported the president, have stood beside the president, and fought for the president alongside the American people on the campaign trail.
So we know that this is the right time to keep the momentum rolling for the American First Agenda, and we know that we would be the greatest ally to the president if given the opportunity to serve in Congress.
You know, there's a big debate.
I guess I read about it all the time.
I laugh about it because I think the Republican Party, I'm not a Republican, by the way, I'm a registered conservative in New York, but you know.
Yeah, I I mean, I just think the Republican Party's become somewhat weak and feckless and disappointing.
And but with that said, in many ways, I think this election, this 2018 midterm, is now becoming a referendum election as it relates to Donald Trump because I believe the Democrats, if they got power, would do everything in their power to impeach him.
And the president is now saying it openly.
He said it when he spoke at the rally at uh the NRA this weekend.
Yeah, there is no question, Sean, that both our second amendment rights and the president himself are under attack and under assault on a daily basis by the media, by the liberals.
They hate him, they loathe what he stands for.
And quite honestly, it's so disappointing because the same special interests that have taken over the Republican Party also took over the Democrat Party, and the American people like us have been left far, far behind.
And so I think it's time that we fought for the president's agenda, we executed it, and we deliver for working class people.
It's pretty simple, but they can't seem to just get through.
I've always said this bills.
This needs to be about the forgotten men and the forgotten women in this country that uh have been in poverty, out of work, looking for jobs on food stamps.
They they would need their shot at the American dream, period.
And that's what's imparative to me.
No question about it.
Yeah, I come from a working class family again, raised in a small business.
Um, my husband's a plumber, my brothers are plumbers, technicians, firefighters, EMPs, paramedics.
I waited tables at two to three restaurants to put myself through school.
I mean, these are American families.
And it blows my mind that these special interests like the Chamber of Commerce are dumping, you know, one point five million dollars into my opponent's race to trash me with a consistent conservative voting record because they know I'm going to stand for people over special interests, over crony capitalist interests, and put the American worker first, and that's terrifying to the establishment that's been running Washington DC.
So we're ready, we're excited.
We know that the momentum's with us, and we just want to go fight.
We want to fight to take our country back, and so I can have something to hand on to my daughter and to our twins on the way.
Well, good for you.
Congratulations on the twins.
Uh, that's amazing.
All right, thank you so much.
We appreciate it.
Listen, uh, good luck, Christina, and we're gonna follow this race closely.
And uh, I guess if people want to follow you, you probably have a website or something, right?
Yeah, absolutely, and we'll be on Tucker Carlson tonight talking about immigration reform and what's needed to keep Americans from having stagnated wages.
Happy to have you at our website, follow us on Twitter on Facebook.
We need every American voter and patriot in our district coming out to vote because we're supported by Congressman Jim Jordan, and we will be a part of the Freedom Caucus.
We're endorsed by the NRA, but we need support, we need backup, and we need people to send us to help the president.
All right, I gotta leave it there.
Thanks for being with us.
800 941 Sean, our toll-free telephone number.
Let's get to our busy uh telephones here.
As we say hi to Libby is in New Haven in Connecticut.
Libby, ha hi, how are you?
Glad you called.
Oh, Sean, it's such an honor to be able to speak to you today.
Oh, it's an honor to talk to you.
Thank you for checking in with us.
I want to speak about the rallies, President Trump and and his rallies.
Yes, ma'am.
I really like to see that he keeps doing them and does a lot.
I've I've been to so many of them.
I don't mean to be braggadocious, but his core, his core, we're still out there.
We love him.
We guard all the rallies, we keep in touch.
People are driving for miles to be around him, and we need to know what's going on.
Not all of us have Fox TV, and when we go to the rallies, he speaks to the heck, and we know it's the truth.
He is his best defender.
I know people say, you know, oh, he should.
You know, I I never understood Trey Gowdy saying, if you're innocent, act like you're innocent.
I'm like, innocent people fight back.
Innocent people stand up for themselves.
Innocent people, you know, you know, say this is wrong.
And what's been going on here is wrong.
And, you know, it's just like, for example, you know, it it's wrong what has been happening as it relates to the special counsel.
Just wrong.
Anyway, I appreciate we finally got one good judge in Virginia.
I was so elated when I heard that that was just so unbelievable.
When I go to these rallies, I meet all these young people.
It's their first time out, and they're young Republicans are fighting, fighting for for him, and we need we need to know what's going on because President Trump gets up there and he tells us all the policies, He tells us the issues.
He tells us how he spoke to China.
He tells us how he spoke to Japan.
And it's like, then he slows down and something funny happens in the crowd, like CNN fucks.
And then he looks at it.
He says, okay, are you ready?
And he goes back to the policy.
Boom, boom, boom.
And we're getting it.
Like, we're enthralled.
Like, we understand.
And it's just, his rallies do that.
It gives the people that that hope and that excitement.
All right.
Thank you, uh, Libby.
I agree with you.
I think you're right.
I think he should stay out on the road.
And by the way, I would not be surprised if the president's out campaigning between now and 2018 a lot.
And Republicans, they better understand that it's his agenda that people are supporting, not theirs.
You know, they want aggressive, you know, uh people that are gonna drain the swamp every day.
Back to our phones as we go to let's see, Patty is in Vegas.
Patty, hi, how are you?
Glad you called.
Good.
How are you today?
I'm good.
What's happening?
Well, I have two things.
My first thing is is I just want to say kudos to the judge in Virginia.
He he's finally lifting the veil on all of this, uh on the switch hunt, and uh I was thoroughly impressed.
I was blown away in a really positive way.
It gave me hope because everything that judge said is a thousand percent true.
And that's sadly how how these people in positions of power act, you know.
Oh, well, we'll put your son in jail unless you agree to this crime.
Uh oh, well, we'll just have to put your wife in jail then.
It is so over the top.
It is such an abuse of power, and they have so overshot their mandate here.
You can't backdate uh uh an increase in the mandate, which is what they did in the Manafort case.
You can't do that.
Exactly exactly.
Well, and let's hope that more judges follow his lead and and are come forward and call a spade a spade when it happens.
Let's get this out and out in the public what's really going on behind the scenes.
Yeah, well said.
Well said, Patty, thank you.
Uh 800-941 Sean uh is our number.
Bill is in Hacienda Heights out in California, state income tax 13 and a half percent, and where the Delta smelt is more important than farmers.
How are you, Bill?
Glad you're on the program.
Hi, Sean, how are you?
I'm good.
What's going on?
Sean, I just wanted to know, you know, I've been uh I was a cop for 30 nearly 35 years.
I've been retired for a year and a half already.
And I can't tell you, Sean, how disappointed I am in our FBI.
And and the reason I'm so disappointed is because when I was the between the ages of twelve and sixteen years of age, my mom used to send me to Mexico for the summer.
And and at that age, I did not know anything about politics.
I didn't know anything about law enforcement.
All I knew is that when I was in Mexico, people used to approach me and get impressed that I was from the United States.
Only because the politicians were beyond reproach.
The uh the law enforcement was beyond reproach.
So I knew there was some pride in me because I was from the United States.
And that's what prompted me to be a police officer.
I actually wanted to be an FBI agent, but I ended up being a cop.
And with some pride in you for those 35 years, up until this happened with uh President Trump.
I'm just so disappointed in our law enforcement right now.
And not not all.
Well, remember, you gotta remember it's not the rank and file.
You gotta remember we're talking about less than one-tenth of one percent.
You know, uh, I never like it when people use broad strokes to attack pull you know, police officers or law enforcement in general, when in fact, Pete they're they're people just like you that are dedicated to serving their communities every single day and putting their lives on the line to do it.
And you and and as I'm saying, you're one of them.
And you know, and I agree with you, Sean.
But what happens at the higher level, it filters down as far as the uh reputation.
It filters down and then morale just crashes.
And that's what I'm really disappointed in.
I I I don't feel the sense of pride anymore.
That I that's but you can't do that.
You I just I urge you, I really I plead with you.
Just understand this is the actions of a few rogue individuals that thought they knew better than the than the American people.
You know, I urge you to know that this is um listen the the one of the more interesting facts here is that it's the FBI and the intelligence community that is involved in all of this.
That's true.
And Sean, I just wanted you know that uh I've been a Republican since I was 18 years of age, even though I grew up in poverty.
And what in last year when President Trump ran for the presidency, it was the first time ever my wife and I donated to the cause.
And that that really instilled a lot of pride in me donating to the Republican Party.
And I was really proud I was really proud to do that.
Listen I thank you and all you guys who do put your lives on the line.
Remember the intelligence community does it CIA officers do it FBI people do it.
Rank and file police do it.
You know I come from a background my mom worked in a prison.
You know my dad was a family court probation guy.
All right 800 941 Sean is our toll free telephone number you want to be a part of the program.
Devin Nunes is now maybe threatening to hold the attorney general in contempt he joins us for an exclusive interview.
Also the Friday beatdown by the attorney in the Paul Manafort case we have Sarah Carter, Greg Jarrett, Jason Chaffetz, David Schoen, Ed Henry, uh, and then it looks like the president is pulling out of the Iranian deal, Sebastian Gorkert, Daniel Hoffman, news you won't get anywhere else, I promise tonight at 9 on the Fox News Channel.