Transcripts For FBC The Intelligence Report With Trish Regan

Were on it, but first here as we await sean spicer, it will be interesting to see what he has to say on all this. I want to bring in republican representative ron desantis, member of the House Committee and oversight and government reform, a Committee Following the russia investigation very closely. Welcome, congressman. G to have you back on the program. Your take on the Washington Post allegation. The media has been doing a lot of the stories where theres a lot of smoke, really not fire or facts but a lot of smoke, and i was struck by the kushner report because for months now theres been a narrative that there was some type of illicit collusion between the Trump Campaign and the russian government, but then the fact that they may have tried to backchannel during the president ial transition is curious because if they were colluding during the campaign, why would they then need this backchannel during the president ial transition . Inosure what to make of it, i think some of the reports that have come outave ended up being discredited once you put witnesses under oath. Idea of a ba channel is in and of itself problematic. Trish i want to ask you and i hear your point, in other words, if there was shenanigans going on between the trump team and russia, one would have thought they established that backchannel perhaps already, but in this case, they werent looking for one until they were in the transition process. Thats if they were actually looking for it because we dont know entirely what to believe in the narrative. Assuming that this report, if we were to assume this report is correct, let me ask you, congressman, how unusual is it for members of an administration, especially during that transition phase, to set up some kind of backchannel and why would you do it . Well, it was done with barack obama, both with iran and with russia. Its been done with other administrations going back to jack kennedy for sure. Why you would do it . Looks, they had a view they could have better relations with russia. A lot of us on congress see putin as a threat and dont think that would likely be fruitful but that was a position they had, and i think they were trying to establish relationships across the globe, and we dont know what other conversations were had with other countries during this period, im sure they were reaching out to dozens of countries. Theres nothing illicit about doing that. What you have to show is that there was some type of bad purpose to those communications, and, of course, theres zero evidence that there was a bad purpose at this time. Trish okay, one of the complaints has been why would jared kushr try to set up the backchannel via perhaps the Russian Embassy itself . In other words, one of the things that came out it was suggested and not clear whether this is Jared Kushner, nothing is clear, i should preface this by saying nothing is clear, but per reports the russians were suggesting the communications take place at the embassy or Jared Kushner was suggesting the embassy, does it expose naivete on his part to think you could have this going on . Are you saying this is par for the course and what is done . I think that using russian facilities would not be par for the course. I would definitely advise against. That of course, we dont know whether that was something he suggested. Other reporting suggesting it was the russians who brought up that. So that would not be the way to do that. Im not sure thats what actually happened. Theres a lot of different innuendo with the pieces. I think we will get the facts because there are investigations going on, and i just look back at all these stories, when people tend to get under oath, a lot of the smoke ends up clearing and not a lot of there there, this could be another example of that. Trish who do you think would be motivated to leak this, representative . Who do you think would be trying to damage Jared Kushner right now to put the story out into the atmosphere, shall we say . Well, theres been a concerted effort to leak information against the administration writ large. You go back from the fisa releases with general flynn to releases involving president ial communications with foreign heads of state. So its hard to know what the motivation for whoever leaked this was, but this is basically been par for the course. I think its a real problem because the president is trying to conduct Foreign Relations and if they cant be certain that when they have the Certain Communications that its not going to be leaked the next day, you know, thats a problem, so you saw that with having conversations with the leader of the philippines and the russian folks, and so this is kind of one part of that, and i think its been an overall problem for the administration. Trish certainly, you are right on that. Theyve got a big issue with the leaks and hes got to get control over it or hes never going to get anything done. Because there are all these distractions in the media on a daily basis, and now targeting his soninlaw. Thank you so much, representative desantis, good to have you here. Thank you. Trish joining me now american representative resident capri cafaro, Fox News Contributor Mercedes Schlapp and hugo gurdon. Good to have all of you guys here. Thank you. Trish what is the lefts take on this right now, capri . Do you think that where theres smoke theres fire in this particular case or do you think the media is spinning itself out of control . You never know, im sure there is media spinning themselves out of control but i think this individual, i think, thought it was going to be a good time for him to go, and now maybe in that case where, there is smoke theres fire. Trish forgive me, perhaps i wasnt clear, i mean in terms of Jared Kushner. Oh okay. Trish mike dubke, of course, the communications chief there who is resigning, but in terms of Jared Kushner, in other words, were being told that this is actually quite common, in administration after administration has established the backchannels, but when you see the headline. People are freaking out. And i think that they are doing this and i think that democrats, particularly those that rllare trying to latch onto any opportunity to take down President Trump are seeing this as this is you cant get any closer than Jared Kushner. He is a husband to ivanka trump, a Senior Adviser, and so somehow they can pin the russia issue to Jared Kushner, they think that theyre just one step closer to creating some kind of, you know, solid argument that donald trump somehow was involved in rigging the election or trying to continue to. Trish but in the last segment, nothing is clear. And by the way, mercedes, when you look at this information, there are many different places it could come from, it could come from the russians themselves, by the way, who might want to stir the pot a little bit and unsettle things. When you heard all of this, what was your first instinct on it. Do you think that this was people trying to feed the fire when it comes to the media frenzy about this administration . Every day the Mainstream Media focuses on the russia story and tries to make the links between President Trump, his team and russia, is one less day that President Trump is able to talk about his legislative agenda and the work he wants to do for the American People, and so it becomes a very big distraction for this white house, but i do believe as congressman desantis said that there is really nothing there, they have not proven any evidence of collusion between the russians and the Trump Campaign, and yes, do i believe that the russians want to create chaos in our democratic system . Absolutely. We saw it during the election and steeg play out as well, where youre seeing the contradiory sties of whether kushner wanted a Backchannel Communications or not. Something that we know has happened in the past with president s jo they want to create the chaos, hugo, the democrats and the media are helping them out. In other words, i think theres another group of people there. The Hillary Clinton holdouts that want to see the chaos. They do not want to see the administration succeed . Absolutely. Clearly the longer as mercedes was saying, the longer people are focusing on scandal and intrigue and nefarious goings on or alleged nefarious goings on, the longer we dont get on with the agenda. Everyone should step back and say the smoke actually may be the fire. The russians wanted to undermine american democracy and sew mistrust in it. The russians helped trump somehow steal the election and those on the other side saying, wait a minute, you are undermining the democratic decision of the country and trying prevent donald trump from getting on with his agenda. So the russians have succeeded. All this smoke is what they wanted. Trish its a very good point. Let me ask you, mercedes, about Jeff Sessions and weve gotten reports that he did meet with the Russian Ambassador but never disclosed that information. Why not . Is that just, once again, i go back to how business is done, or deliberately try and hide something. No, i spoke with the department of justice and its very clear they asked specifically, sessions asked specifically to the fbi if he neededo list all the meetings. You have to understand the senators are constantly meeting with foreign officials, ambassadors from different countries. They said does he need to go back and list all of the meetings. He did not. They said no. He did not list all the meetings. What about the guy that ran the russian bank that Jared Kushner met with. Perhaps sean spicer will be asked that question right now. Good afternoon, i hope you all had the opportunity to pay your respects to the brave men and women who have given their lives for our freedom yesterday on memorial day. I want to begin by recapping the historic incredible trip the president and first lady concluded. It was an extraordinary week for america and our people. In just nine days, the president traveled across europe and the middle east and interacted with nearly 100 foreign leaders. It was an unprecedented first trip abroad. Four months into this administration, and it shows how quickly and decisively the president is acting to strengthen alliances to form new partnerships and rebuild americas standing in the world. Weve never seen before at this point in a presidency such sweeping reassurance of american interests in the inauguration of a Foreign Policy strategy designed to bring back the world from growing dangers and perpetual disasters brought on by years of failed leadership. President trump started in saudi arabia, beginning first foreign trip as president , in the nation, custodian to the hutu holiest sites in the islamic faith. The president was greeted on the tarmac and received by the kingdom and leaders throughout his stay. President s address to the leaders of more an 50 arab and muslim nationsas a historic turning point that people will be talking about for many years to come. He did exactly as he promises in his inaugural address, united the civilized world in the fight against terrorism and extremism. The president was very direct in calling on the leaders of the region to drive out the terrorists and the extremists and isolate the Iranian Regime that supports so much of this violence. He let American Allies know exactly what to expect going forward, what he called, quote, a principled realism rooted in common values and shared interests. Laid out the case in persuasive detail why the muslim world must take the lead in combating radical realization, and concluded if the nations go forward, quote, unified and determined to do what if takes to threaten and ruin our world, the president s historic speech was met with universal praise. Former cia director jim woolsey called it a courageous speech. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said we have to look back decades to, quote, find a comparatively dramatic moment in the history of u. S. Foreign policy and former democratic representative jane harmon said she, quote, loved the idea hes going to the found of all three major religions. Countless arab allies praised the president s leadership on the visit. Pralsisi, said this is the beginning of a turning point in the relationship between the United States and the arab and islamic world. King salman and other key allies gave extraordinary speeches at the summit, underscoring how much President Trump has done to rally the world against terrorism. We cannot overlook the significance of so many leaders of muslim countries coming together to fight extremists. This was a historic event in that regard alone. King salman shares the president s determination to, quote, renounce extremism and work on countering terrorism in all forms and manifestations. King abdullah agreed it demands coordination and Global Action at every level. He stated we are all accountable for our commitment to fight radicalization in all forms. The visit also included Historic Economic Development deals to the United States totaling well over half a trillion dollars in the creation of tens of thousands of american jobs. These deals include an immediate 110 billion investment which will grow to 350 billion over the next ten years in defense cooperation from saudi arabia that will further enable muslim troops to take on a greater role in fighting terrorism. President participated in the launch of a new task force to block terror funding in the gulf. The opening of a center for combating extremist ideology and 30 commercial deals that include Companies Like lockheed martin, raytheon, boeing, ge, dow, honeywell, emerson, alcoa and cisco among others that will result in additional 270 billion of saudi investment in american businesses and american job the president then went to israel where he was received with incredible warmth. He strengthened americas unbreakable bonds with israel, made the firstever visit by sitting american president to the western wall, and gave a highly praised address at Israel Museum as part of the continuing effort to rally nations together in the fight against terrorism and common enemies. The moving address spoke of a future which, quote, children around the world will be able to live without fear, dream without limits and prosper without violence. He said i asked this land to promise to join me to fight our common enemies to pursue shared values and protect the dignity of every child of god. The president also visited yadveshem. He met with Prime Minister netanyahu and Prime Minister abbas which they agreed they are prepared to work towards. He discussed leaders of cooperation against terrorism. Prime minister netanyahu said, quote, for the first time in my life i see real hope for change, and leading israel publications wrote trump carried out a semi revolution. From israel the president traveled to rome where he met with pope francis at the vatican. They had a very productive conversation about combating isis and other terrorist groups, protecting religious liberty and numerous issues. The president and the first lady were incredibly honored by the visit. The president attended the nato summit in brussels where he boldly stood up for american taxpayers by calling on other nato countries to pay fair share on a speech delivered with the leaders of all of natos countries, all present. Hard working americans saw a leader represent them and their security on the international stage. President also urged nato to adapt the alliance to effectively combat terrorism. The members stage unanimously agreed on the priorities, the secretarygeneral was extremely complimentary of the president s work to dramatically strengthen the alliance by getting Member States to increase contributions. Finally the president traveled to the g7 summit in sicily where they discussed how to better promote prosperity and security for each of the countries. Meetings were marked by outstanding success that we see reflected in the communique that was issued. They include a commitment to fostering a true level playing field. G7 leaders endorse the right to control borders and endorsed in the communique, the policy outlined by President Trump to seek resettlement of refugees as close as possible to home countries so they can be part of an eventual rebuilding. This language on migration and refugees was a major shift towards the shift of the president. The g7 formally also condemned the use of chemical weapons and needless to say the president s leadership was critical in setting the priorities for the nation. In addition, the president met with Prime Minister abe of japan, they agreed on enhanced sanctions with respect to north korea. The president concluded trip with address to the servicemembers and families at naval station to thank them for service on memorial day weekend and deliver another strong message about the unity in the fight against terrorism. Then yesterday President Trump spoke at Arlington National cemetery. This is an extraordinarily successful and historic nineday trip the president took. He accomplished the return of a Strong America to international affairs, took real steps towards