tv Special Report With Bret Baier FOX News December 19, 2019 3:00pm-4:00pm PST
3:00 pm
>> jesse: we love you, melvins. >> greg: melvins and mariah would be amazing. set your dvr, never miss an episode of "the five," "special report" up next. >> bret: the house impeaches president trump but the senate trial is in limbo while house speaker nancy pelosi holds on to the two articles of impeachment. the president declares victory over the federal appeals court, obama care and an exclusive look at nasa's decision to go back to the moon. this is "special report." up in washington, i'm brett baier. the political maneuvering is still happening an it this hour as nancy pelosi has not transferred the articles of impeachment to the senate where a trial will occur but will not continue without the articles. the house adjourned this
3:01 pm
afternoon. no action on impeachment or anything else will happen until january 7, 2020. president trump called it a hoax and a setup. he took a verbal shot at a late michigan congressman, john dingell. and the president praising a united republican party which picked up one new member in the house of representatives today. good evening, john. >> good evening to you. most republicans ignored what the president said about the late congressman john dingell. though some did say the comment was other the line. on the issue of impeachment, the republicans were in lock step with the president sooed, even adding another voice to the chorus. >> thank you very much. a great honor. >> in the oval office today welcoming democratic congressman jeff van drew to the democratic party, president trump insisted the impact of last night's vote to impeach him is minimal.
3:02 pm
>> it doesn't feel like impeachment. it's a phony deal and they cheapen the word impeachment. it's ugly but they cheapened the word. >> article ii is adopted. >> the president also took aim at nancy pelosi for holding back on sending the articles of impeachment to the senate. >> they're playing games. they don't want to put in their articles, their ridiculous, phony, fraudulent articles. and i think they're not allowed to do that. >> congressman van drew was one of two democratic no votes on the first article of impeachment, one of three on the second article. his defection has drawn scorn from democrats and republicans alike who say it's a craven attempt at political survival. then drew invoking ronald reagan as inspiration for his shift. >> he said, i didn't leave my party, my party left me. >> that's true. that's what he said. >> and i'm saying the same thing. >> on capitol hill, democrats tried to move past impeachment,
3:03 pm
voting to approve the usmca by a margin of 385 to 41. house speaker nancy pelosi taking credit for the new trade deal. >> of course we'll take credit for it. because what he proposed did not fill the bill with what he just described. >> last night's campaign rally at battle creek, michigan, president trump said he department care who took the credit as long as it got passed. >> that's okay. whatever it takes. >> white house staffers today said it was laughable that pelosi would claim the deal as her own. >> it's been sitting on pelosi's desk for a year. >> president trump is taking heat for one moment at the battle creek rally when he criticized debbie dingell and mocked her late husband, john, the longest serving member of congress who passed away in february. >> john would be so thrilled. he's looking down. he would be so thrilled. thank you so much, sir. i said, that's okay. don't worry about it. and he's looking up. maybe, i don't know. let's assume he's looking down.
3:04 pm
>> the comment provoked a torrent of criticism. on fox, congresswoman dingell saying it was very hurtful. >> he was my partner and the love of my life. and, so, i was already having a hard time with this holiday. and the comment that he made was just -- it made me sad. but i'm going to keep doing my job. >> even the president's staunch ally, south carolina senator lindsay graham said president trump should apologize for the remark. asked about it several times in the office media availability with congressman van drew this afternoon, president trump simply ignored the president. bret? >> bret: john roberts live on the north lawn. we'll talk with senator graham in a minute. the impeachment standoff is on. the articles of impeachment are now stuck in the house which we mentioned is now gone until the new year. president trump tweeted the move was done because the speaker is scared. chief congressional correspondent mike emmanuel is on capitol hill looking at the political limbo.
quote
3:05 pm
>> speaker pelosi suggested that house democrats may be too afraid -- too afraid to even transmit their shoddy work product to the senate. >> mitch mcconnell ripping in to speaker nancy pelosi for not saying when she'll transfer the two articles of impeachment to the senate. admonishing house democrats for impeaching president trump so quickly without any republican support. >> this is by far the thinnest basis for any house-passed presidential impeachment in american history. the prosecutors are getting cold feet. in front of the entire country. >> senate democratic leader chuck schumer met with pelosi to discuss impeachment strategy and schumer appeals once again for input on senate format. >> to my republican colleagues, our message is a simple one -- democrats want a fair trial that examines the relevant facts. we want a fair trial. >> article ii is adopted. >> the morning after making
3:06 pm
history, passing articles for abuse of power and obstruction of congress against president trump, speaker nancy pelosi seemed eager to change the subject. >> that's all i'm going to say about that now. i said what i was going to say. i said this is it. any other questions on any -- anything on mexico free trade agreement? anybody care about that? >> pelosi said she's holding out for assurances that there will be a fair trial in the senate. but democrats argued ahead of the house impeachment votes that it was urgent for law mangers to act now. the house gop leader called out pelosi. >> now we have the speaker of the house who is so embarrassed, she admits the failure of this impeachment that she will not even send it to the senate. so embarrassed that i watched in her press conference, she wouldn't even take your questions. >> and the judiciary chairman quickly sounded the alarm. >> that does create a constitutional extortion mechanism that's dangerous for the country. i don't know what's driving this idea, my speculation is that
3:07 pm
there's buyer's remorse, that the foundation of impeachment is shaky. >> a senate judiciary democrat says mechanic connell and schumer have time to work it out over the holidays. >> eventually there should be a trial in the senate. it's i think past due for the majority leader to sit down with the minority leader and begin serious negotiations. >> also today, news that north carolina republican congressman mark meadows will not seek re-election. meadows in the statement said he remains committed in staying in the fight for president trump, but his role going forward is unclear. leader mccarthy called meadows a great member. mitch mcconnell was just on the senate floor. he said he had a cordial conversation with leader schumer, but they remained at an impasse. it sounds like there won't be any movement of a senate trial until the week of january 6, bret? >> bret: we'll follow him on the hill. thanks. there was bipartisan work on capitol hill today, two batches of spending bills approved by
3:08 pm
the house and senate and now go to president trump to sign to avoid a government shutdown friday night. the wide ranging legislation gives president trump a victory on his u.s.-mexico border fence. democrats got long soft domestic spending increases and the repeal of obama era taxes on high-cost health insurance plans or so-called cadillac plans. encouraging earnings reports sent stocks to record highs across the board today. more record highs, the dow gaining 138. the s&p 500 jumped 14. the nasdaq finished ahead, 59. again, all three record high closings. the trump administration announced a proposal to allow states to import some prescription drugs from canada in an effort to lower costs for americans. health and human services secretary alex azar called it an historic step. hhs offered guidance to drug makers that wished to voluntarily import cheaper drugs from countries. the proposed rule needs to pass
3:09 pm
through a 75-day comment period before being finalized. a divided federal appeals court says the obama care individual mandate is unconstitutional setting up a possible supreme court showdown in a presidential election year. we look at the unknown future of the obama care law and the president claiming victory. >> the individual mandate is now gone. the most unpopular part. >> with washington laser focused on impeachment, a major court ruling on obama care largely escaped the capitol's attention last night, but not the president's. >> that's tremendous savings. that was the worst part of obama care. >> the court of appeals upheld a lower court ruling said the individual mandate, the life blood of the plan, was illegally eliminated when congress passed the jobs and tax cut in 2017. that included a provision to end the tax penalty for those who refused to pay the individual mandate. the decision opens the door to another possible supreme court
3:10 pm
battle over obama care. also hanging in the election year ball balance where it moves to government control under democratic party rule. >> we were reminded of our responsibility in the incredibly high stakes yesterday with the alarming ruling on the fifth circuit, on the political partisan loss looking to gut the affordable care act and rip away health care from millions. >> or market control under republican rule. >> we'll hear in the democrat debate tonight as they talk about the one size fits all government-run health care plan, medicare for all, which takes health care away, the insurance away from 180 million people who get it through work. >> until the sproom court or congress decides as one senator observed, obama care will remain the law of the land. >> but, it's an ever changing law of the land. since the individual mandate ended, some insurers have been forced to raise premiums. those increases have been mitigated, though, by another trump action, an executive order that permits what was once forbidden under obama care,
3:11 pm
so-called skinny plans, cheaper, limited coverage plans, that many customers prefer. bret? >> bret: for more on this and the impeachment story, joining me from the white house tonight, senate judiciary committee chairman republican lindsay graham from south carolina. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> bret: chilly night there. thanks for standing outside. let me ask you about the speaker holding back the articles and what it means from your eyes and what it means next? >> the most obvious explanation is they have buyer's remorse, they don't know what to do. there's the assumption that impeachment would sell with the american people. it's falling apart. they have no case. they don't know what to do next. this is a political stunt that's dangerous. i just met with the president and he's demanding his day in court. every american accused of a crime or wrongdoing gets their day in court. apparently except donald trump. and if you believe that clinton impeachment trial was fair,
3:12 pm
that's exactly the same type of trial that would happen in the senate with president trump. but i just left president trump. he's mad as hell that they would do this to him. and now deny him his day in court. the reason they're denying his day in court is because they know their case sucks. >> bret: what's the next step. you say he wants his day in court. how does that happen if the articles don't move over immediately in the beginning of january. >> everybody in america who believes in the rule of law is used by my democratic colleagues is the rule of law in america in place for donald trump. everybody including donald trump should have their day in court. so i'm going to do everything i can to talk about this constitutional outrage, denying the president the constitutional road map laid out to dispose of impeachment. i think the political pressure on these 31 democrats are going to be enormous. no one has ever done this before. the reason she doesn't want to send the case over because the case is falling apart before the
3:13 pm
american people's eyes and it's unfair to the president to hold this over his head and unfair to tell mitch mcconnell how to conduct the trial. it's not nancy pelosi's job to conduct the trial. it's mitch mcconnell's working with chuck schumer. i don't think chuck schumer is interested in a fair trial for donald trump. but what will happen is a trial very similar to what president clinton experienced. >> bret: so let's assume the speaker sends the articles over on january 7, it does move forward. what then does the trial look like? you're saying that the president is mad as hell and he wants his day in court, does that include calling witnesses? does that include calling hunter biden? what does that look like? >> i think what will happen is the house managers will present the case that was established on the record in the house. they've got a lousy case. i have no desire to try to perfect it for them. so what happened in the clinton case is you took the record of trial from the house. the house managers, of which i was one, argued it was impeachable conduct. the president's lawyers got to
3:14 pm
argue otherwise. then there was a request for witnesses that was denied. it was not bipartisan support for witnesses in the clinton trial. and we moved to a vote on the articles of impeachment. i think what's going to happen here is that they're going to bring over the impeachment articles, i hope. if they don't, it would be a constitutional outrage. we'll listen to the house's case. the president will weigh in on his side of the story. and witnesses will be denied because i this i most senators will be ready to get it over with. >> bret: i'm not going to play the sound bites. >> you can. >> bret: i had a list of them. we beat around this bush. but how do you close that circle with what you said back then and what you're saying now. >> every other impeachment has been conducted by outside counsel. in the clinton case, clinton's lawyer was allowed to be present. ken starr spent years making a case against the president. mueller spent years investigating president trump. if mueller had found something, i would have treated it
3:15 pm
differently. this is the first time in american history that impeachment was started in the intel committee. the president's lawyers were denied access to those hearings. he couldn't call witnesses. this thing is a sham. it's unlike anything known to the rule of law. you can't get a parking ticket based on what they did to president trump. they're denying him rights to confront his accuser, to call witnesses on his behalf, to have counsel. this whole thing is a sham. i want it to end. but we will listen to the house's case. the president will be allowed to weigh in. then we're going to vote. the one thing i'm not going to do is make a -- support a motion to dismiss. i want this president to be acquitted. i think he will get every republican's vote for acquittal. and i think he'll pick up some democratic votes for acquittal. >> bret: this is chuck schumer, the second one, guys in the booth, from today, about the house case. >> if the house case is so weak.
3:16 pm
why is leader mcconnell so afraid of witnesses and documents? we believe the house case is strong, very strong. >> are you worried about moderate republicans that they may be targeting to change the rule ifs they get to 51 to call witnesses like nick mulvaney and john bolton and others? >> if they were called, they would claim executive privilege, i can't imagine any president in the future or in the past allowing the chief of staff, the national security advisor to be called an atmosphere like this. he was denied his ability to invoke executive privilege. they put an artificial time limit on this and called him with obstruction of congress. i don't think there's any appetite in the united states senate to call a bunch of witnesses that would violate executive privilege in my view. chuck schumer is not trying to be fair to the president.
3:17 pm
he's trying to put four or five senators in a political box. this has bloin up in their face. nancy pelosi is refusing to send it to the senate because the case is falling apart. if you had a strong case, wouldn't you want to present it? here's the thing i want to end on. if you were accused of something you didn't do, wouldn't you want to demand your day in court? so the president of the united states told me tonight he's demanding his day in court. nancy pelosi is doing to deny the day in court. in the house proceedings, they denied him the right to counsel, the ability to confront his accusers, to deny him witnesses on his behalf and denying him the day in court. other than that, this has been a good proceeding for america. >> bret: i get your point. from what you're saying and what i hear from the white house, he believes politically he has the wind at his back when talking about impeachment and other things, as the economy and other points. but when he goes to michigan and
3:18 pm
goes after representative john dingell, and debbie dingell, the current congresswoman, what do you think that says? and did you talk to him about it? >> well, number one, this joke is not funny. as to john dingell, the person president trump made sure he got the respect he deserved from a lifetime of service. president trump said he got all of the privileges that go with being a member of congress. he called up his wife and said i'm sorry with the passing of john dingell. he made the same joke about john mccain. it's not funny. nothing funny about this, mr. president. >> bret: did you tell him that today? >> i like the president. i think his sense of humor doesn't play well here. when it comes to john dingell, he made sure he was honored appropriately. he admired his service. but the joke he made last night, it's just not funny. we're in a country really divided right now.
3:19 pm
mr. president, you're doing a heck of a good job for the american people. you're making it safe, you're making us more prosperous. you've been on the receiving end of one outrage after another. i understand your frustration. but this doesn't help the cause. >> bret: senator lindsay graham from the white house. thanks. >> thank you. >> bret: a look at nasa's push to return to the moon. but up next, preparing for the final debate of 2019. that liberty mutual customizes home insurance, so they'll only pay for what they need. your turn to keep watch, limu. wake me up if you see anything. [ snoring ] [ loud squawking and siren blaring ] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪
3:20 pm
3:23 pm
here, it all starts withello! hi!... how can i help? a data plan for everyone. everyone? everyone. let's send to everyone! wifi up there? uhh. sure, why not? how'd he get out?! a camera might figure it out. that was easy! glad i could help. at xfinity, we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. so come ask, shop, discover at your local xfinity store today. >> bret: democracy 2020 tonight. the top tier of the democratic candidates set to take the stage for the final debate of 2019. one candidate who did not make the stage will make an appearance at least in one of the commercial breaks. peter doocy is in california
3:24 pm
where all of the candidates are chasing joe biden. >> on debate day in l.a., his first stop was mcdonald's where he went to striking workers on the wac of a flat bed truck. >> i know there's a debate in three or four hours. i came out here to prepare for that. when i heard you were here and i had an invitation, i wanted to be here. >> his 27% support is good for the first place in the new poll. bernie sanders second. followed by elizabeth warren, pete buttigeig, amy klobechar, and michael bloomberg who spent the day in memphis. >> i'm making an investment in replacing donald trump. >> corey booker won't be on stage either. >> how long are these things? 30 seconds. you're only going to see this ad once because i'm not a billionaire. >> gabbert claims she was going to skip the debate even if she
3:25 pm
qualified so she was in new hampshire where democrats may have questions on why her vote for impeachment was present. >> i couldn't vote against impeachment because i believe he is guilty of wrongdoing. i could not in good conscious vote for impeachment, because removal of a sitting president must not be the culmination of a partisan process. >> as gabbert voted last night, president trump tried to make pete a bunch line. >> buttigeig. you have to be older to know what that means. >> he minimized elizabeth warren's crowd slices. >> i'd get going to central park. he eat get a bigger crowd. but if she has the crowd, oh, this crowd -- the crowds are so big. >> and claimed early state voters are losing interest in joe biden. >> he has a big rally and they get 93 people show up. >> but biden will have a big national audience tonight, center stage at a debate, hours after rallying for a flat bed
3:26 pm
truck very carefully. >> that's okay. i'm not going to jump. >> candidates who criticized biden the most over the last few debates won't be here to want. they all either failed to qualify or dropped out. so anybody who's left that wants to take a shot at the former vp may do so at their own peril. bret? >> bret: peter doocy in the spin room. thank you. a look inside the nasa program aimed at returning americans to the moon. first, fox 29 in san antonio where four people were injured in a shootout at the south park mall. one victim is in critical condition, the other three are in stable condition. police believe the victims were targeted and the attack was not random. fox 2 in detroit where general motors is recalling 800,000 cars and pickup trucks over concerns with brake controls and battery cables. on the list, 2019 cadillac ct6
3:27 pm
sedans along with 2019 and 2020 chevrolet silverado and gmc sierra 1500 pickup trucks. our affiliate at fox 29 there. the big story there tonight is the suspected gas explosion in the south part of philadelphia. fire officials say one person is believed to be dead. several others remain trapped tonight. search and rescue teams are on site. the local fire department says three row houses collapsed, two others are structurally compromised. that is tonight's live look outside of the beltway from special report. we'll be right back.
3:31 pm
3:32 pm
in centrifuges in spite of the u.n. sanctions, he said iran's economy is on the mend. and moving away from the reliance on oil. back here in the u.s., nasa is working towards the goal of returning to the moon in 2024. eventually establishing a permanent base in the orbit of the moon. the head of the space program gave an exclusive behind-the-scenes look to correspondent phil keating in cape canaveral. >> on the eve of boeing's historic star liner crew capsule test flight to the international space station. >> these are solid rocket boosters that attach to the side. >> there is another test flight that nasa member jim bridenstein is more excited about. artem ufshgs s aiming to go back to the moon four years from now. >> this time when we go back to the moon, we have a diverse
3:33 pm
highly qualified astronaut core which includes women. the person most excited is my 11-year-old daughter. >> the space launch system or sls is the mega rocket that will propel the orion capsule and up to four astronauts into space and out of orbit, docking with the gateway space station which is being built and orbit the moon permanently and marrying one the lunar lander before descending down to the lunar surface. >> three, two, one, liftoff. >> the development began shortly after the last space shuttle, at lap 'tis flew in 2011. at the time, nasa began a different vision and space travel strategy. the sls and o'rye i don't know would take astronauts to a trip to the moon and a six-month trip to mars. meanwhile, private commercial space partners would have them flying back and forth. they successfully did the first test flight of the crew in march. the next time it flies it will
3:34 pm
haul astronauts back to the space station anticipated for next year. doing the same with the star liner, taking astronauts in early 2020 as well. both companies have seen the planned test flights delayed, as has nasa's sos and orion which are years behind schedule and several billion dollars over budget. but 2024 to the moon is realistic. >> the sls rocket and the orion crew capsule have made significant improvements in cost and schedule. we're in the 5-yard line about to pumping them to the end zone. i'm confident they'll be ready to go. >> nasa's first test flight, the artemis one mission is targeted for year 2021 and it will fly an empty capsule on the way to the moon, around the dark side and back to earth. as for tomorrow morning's big boeing starliner mission maiden voyage, launch time set for 6:36 a.m. everything is looking a go for launch at this point, 12 hours
3:35 pm
away. it will fly no astronauts to the space station. just a spaceman quinn named rosie. bret. >> bret: live in a chilly cape canaveral. thanks. up next, what an impeachment trial would look like if nancy pelosi sends over the articles of impeachment to the u.s. senate. first, beyond our borders tonight, australia's most popular state of new south wales declared a seven-day state of emergency due to about 100 wild fires and extreme wind conditions. half of those blaises remain uncontrolled tonight. u.s. and canadian backup teams are on the ground offering support of statewide total fire ban is in place until midnight saturday. indian police detained several hundred protesters in some of india's biggest cities as a crackdown on demonstrations against a new citizenship law continues. authorities directed roadblocks and disrupted internet and phone services there. rather than contain uprising, the protest bans appear to help
3:36 pm
them spread to campuses and cities across the country. queen elizabeth ii opened a new session of parliament in a blend of politics and pageantry. the queen's speech is written by the government but read out by the monarch listed dozen of bills the president plans to pass. most notably, the plan to take the uk out of the european union by january 31. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. when you have pain... you want relief. fast. only thermacare ultra pain relieving cream has 4 active ingredients to fight pain 4 different ways. get powerful relief today, with thermacare.
3:37 pm
i'm a verizon engineer, and i'm part of the team building the most powerful 5g experience for america. it's 5g ultra wideband-- --for massive capacity-- --and ultra-fast speeds. almost 2 gigs here in minneapolis. that's 25 times faster than today's network in new york city. so people from midtown manhattan-- --to downtown denver-- --can experience what our 5g can deliver. (woman) and if verizon 5g can deliver performance like this in these places... it's pretty crazy. ...just imagine what it can do for you. ♪
3:40 pm
>> the senate is preparing for the historic spectacle of holding an impeachment trial. when and if that happens is still up in the air. while house speaker nancy pelosi holds on to the two impeachment articles passed think the house last night. the senate's role is defined by the u.s. constitution. but the procedures are not set in stone. we look at what you can expect.
3:41 pm
good evening, chad. >> hey, bret. senate impeachment trial rules are vague. they only say that the senate meets six days a week, including saturday, starting at 1:00 and the senate reads aloud the house impeachment articles. >> the house of representatives is exhibiting to the senate of the united states articles of impeachment against william jefferson clinton, president of the united states. >> and the senate must hear from the house's impeachment matters. >> we the managers of the house are here to set forth the evidence. >> after that, almost anything can happen. >> impeachment trials of the president of the united states are extremely rare. you don't have a lot of precedent on which to rely. >> the potential is as yet the -- the lines are not on the field yet. i don't know if it's going to be 100-yard field or a 200-yard field and if you can get a series of first downs and keep
3:42 pm
going. >> we don't create impeachments over here, we judge them. >> few will have more influence than house majority leader mitch mcconnell who said he's coordinating with the white house on the trial. chuck schumer is demanding acting white house chief of staff nick mulvaney and john bolton testify among others and asks mcconnell is already rejecting. the senate trial with witnesses could produce one of the most surreal spectacles in american history. that's why some key republicans are leery of the unorthodox scene and what it means to the integrity of the senate. >> i'm worried about this for the country. >> like graham, he also fretted about president clinton's impeachment trial. and trent lott said there were concerns about publicly airing salacious details about the affair with monica lewinsky. >> some wanted to have witnesses on the floor of the senate in the well, bill clinton, monica lewinsky. i said, no, we're not going to
3:43 pm
demeanor this institution to that degree. >> that's why lott and then minority leader daschle forged a pact and conducted three witness interviews all in private instead of calling them to testify publicly. it's unclear if they can afford such in president trump's trial in a toxic environment. >> if they have witnesses on the floor, it takes on a context that could be -- could be harmful. it's bad enough and if this turns into an absolute, you know, mud slinging process, it will make things worse. >> lott and daschle didn't reach their agreement until just days before president clinton's trial. and if there's no deal, president trump could find himself in a familiar spot, the star of a senate trial, perhaps the biggest tv political reality show of all tiechlt time? bret? >> bret: ignoring a request to
3:44 pm
toss out a lawsuit challenging the legality of immigration and customs arrests. i.c.e. arrests in courthouses have skyrocketed by 117% since president trump took office and are against a well established common law privilege. the court date for that lawsuit set for april of 2020. the house has impeached president trump, but speaker nancy pelosi holding on to the two articles for now. so what comes next in the panel breaks it down after the break. ♪
3:46 pm
3:48 pm
cheapened the word impeachment. that should never again happen to another president. >> we want a fair trial. the message from leader mcconnell at the moment is that he has no intention of conducting a fair trial. >> speaker pelosi's house just gave in to a temptation that every other house in history has managed to resist. she's failed the country. >> it reminded me that our founders when they wrote the institution they suspected there could be a rogue president. i don't think they suspected a rogue president and a rogue leader in the senate at the same time.
3:49 pm
>> bret: not too many questions about what's coming next. she wouldn't answer them today in the press conference. but she's holding on to the two articles of impeachment. we don't know when they'll go to the senate and the trial. on the vote of the two articles, there were defections by democrats, representative jeff drew, who is now a republican, voted as a democrat voted no on both articles. colin peterson from arizona. yes on one, no on the other. chelsea gabbert voting present on both, that was the bipartisan side on the noes on the articles of impeachment that the president stands impeached by the house tonight. let's bring in the panel. amy stoddard, associate editor of real clear politics and the publisher at the federalists. okay, we don't have a road map for what happens now. do we have a sense how long nancy pelosi may hold on to these articles and what that means? >> right, there's debate before they concluded this process.
3:50 pm
quick and narrow or wait -- wait for the courts to weigh in. weight for john bolton and other witnesses. wait for this rudy giuliani caper to unfold. he's under investigation by the southern district of new york which he ran 20 years ago. he's under investigation by the fbi. his ukrainian cronies who have been indicted have a russian funding stream that is indirectly funding the president's election meddling in ukraine. not a pressure. all not a part of this impeachment. all a part of waiting this out. nancy pelosi didn't want to do impeachment. she wanted to do it quick and narrow. she's gotten herself in this corner where she said she's not going to send them over until there's a fair process. when she sends them over, is it a fair process? she's under pressure people are saying that it means that you have nothing. so there's still a debate. a lot of people -- it's controversial among a lot of democrats. and i think she's made it clear
3:51 pm
she's going to do this. but we don't know actually what the requirements are for her to do it. >> bret: it's been, i guess, the argument throughout is the house democrats said they had an open and shut case. but the reason they're pressing so hard, so fast, is because the president was a threat to national security. it was imminent that -- urgent they protect the 2020 election until they hold the articles of impeachment until they're ready. >> forget the constitutional questions that lindsay graham raised earlier. this is political malpractice. this is a horrible judgment call on the part of the speaker. you uh stomp on all of the headlines that are coming out today about impeachment. you put your members voting for impeachment from trump districts in a difficult spot. it's going to extend it. if you're one of the members that took out the hard vote, you want to go back to districts and say, we did this, we thought it was important, now we're moving on to all of the things you care about, health care, all of the other issues, including starting
3:52 pm
with the u.s. mca. now they have to talk about it as things don't actually move forward and it undermines all of the things that they built up that we care about the constitution, we're all about putting that first. instead, this looks like will joke it is. >> bret: this is the majority leader in the senate. >> speaker pelosi suggesting that the house democrats may be too afraid to transmit their shoddy work product to the senate. it looks like the prosecutors are getting cold feet, in front of the entire country. and second guessing whether they want to go to trial. >> house democrats cannot be held responsible for the cravenness of the house republican caucus and the blind feelty to the president. leader mcconnell claims the impeachment claims it was partisan rage, this from the man who proudly declared his number one goal was to make president obama a one-term president.
3:53 pm
>> bret: that line has been use add few times on the senate floor. >> the constitution says the house has the sole power of impeachment. nancy pelosi and her majority use that power and all sorts of interesting and unusual and unprecedented ways. but they did it, because they could. but the constitution says the senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. and nancy pelosi has no role. in the senate impeachment. we've had a bizarre 24 hours. the speaker of the house on wednesday night, you impeach the president on thursday morning, you say you don't want to talk about it. and these two articles that you passed, you take them hostage, until thes the senate holds a trial, which they don't want to do anyway, according to your standards. >> bret: senator graham said the president is mad as hell. he wants a fair trial. does he want witnesses too?
3:54 pm
>> the president wanted witnesses and republican leadership made it clear that he's not going to get his witnesses because it can have a boom rang effect. but he wants that trial and acquittal. and what they're concerned about is him -- as he said, hanging up, have it over his head of him lashing out, the letter to nancy pelosi. the cruelty of john dingell. the comments about nancy pelosi's teeth. they're afraid of what's going on between now and the end. >> bret: i talked to a number of republicans who were cringing about the dingell stuff. he has the wind at his back politically and why? >> he should save his insult comedy team for the living and we won't have to deal with these questions. what i think nancy pelosi is afraid of and leadership among the democrats is that the president is going to be acquit in a bipartisan fashion but he'll point to that as vindication and he will get even more wind at his back. >> bret: thanks. when we come back, bringing
3:55 pm
3:56 pm
3:59 pm
♪ ♪ >> bret: closing in on christmas. getting in the christmas spirit. a woman who works for the san diego police department raise the bar with her holiday decorations. she transformed her cubicle into a life-size gingerbread house. unfortunately, her creation was not edible. >> oh, let me see! >> santa. >> bret: 4-year-old brantley battling congenital heart disease, had one wish. he wanted to build his first oh, man, with santa and his elves. they granted his wish. and brantley was grinning with two missing front teeth, he built that snowman with santa. that is pretty cool. thank you for letting us in your
4:00 pm
home tonight. this is it for "special report," fair, balanced, unafraid. "the story" hosted by martha maccallum who likes to build snowmen with santa. >> martha: he is extremely busy at this time of year, that was the real deal. thank you very much. all right, good to see you tonight. good evening, everybody. >> members are advised that there will be no more votes in the house until january 7th. >> martha: woohoo all around. going with this with the quite old the president had on senator graham, wanted. a senator graham on "special report" with bret said that the president is mad as hell and once his day in court. nancy pelosi in her side doubling down prey to trying to force john bolton and mick mulvaney, and others
62 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
Fox News WestUploaded by TV Archive on
