Fox News "Hannity" - Transcript: Gabbard: War should always be a last resort
Interview
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HANNITY: Now, Gabbard responded in a recent video calling out Clinton's repeated lies on foreign policy failures. Let's take a look.
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REP. TULSI GABBARD, D-HI, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton, your foreign policy has been a disaster for our country and the world. It's resulted in the deaths and injuries of so many of my brothers and sisters in uniform. It's devastated entire countries, millions of lives lost.
Yet despite this damage that you have done to our country and the world, you want to continue your failed policies directly or indirectly through the Democratic nominee. It's time for you to acknowledge the damage you caused, and it's long past time for you to step down from your throne so the Democratic Party can lead with a new foreign policy, which will actually be in the interest of and benefit to the American people and the world.
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HANNITY: Joining us now with the reaction, congresswoman, 2020 Democratic candidate, war veteran herself, Tulsi Gabbard.
Congresswoman, first, thank you for serving your country.
GABBARD: Thank you, Sean.
HANNITY: And we appreciate you being -- and a lot of your fellow Democrats, I don't know, they may be a little afraid of me. I don't know why. I'm a nice guy.
But thank you for coming in.
She's basically accusing you of being a traitor. You say you you're being groomed to be this agent of the Soviet Union with no evidence. I always complain Republicans every two, four years are unfairly called racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic Islamophobic, and they want dirty air and water. Slander is a big deal to me. Your reaction.
GABBARD: Well, first of all, I'm proud to wear the uniform of this country. I've served as a soldier now for over 16 years, still serve as a Major in the Army National Guard today and have deployed twice to the Middle East.
Serving in combat, and like every other combat veteran, have seen firsthand the terribly high human cost of war. My job in Iraq in 2005, I worked in a field medical unit where the very first thing I did every single day was a heart-wrenching task of going through name by name every list of American casualty and injury that occurred in the previous 24 hours.
So those of us who have seen this terribly high human cost of war - we fight for peace. We're not pacifists. We know that unfortunately sometimes war is necessary to protect our country. But we see that war should always be a last resort.
So what is so concerning about what Hillary Clinton is doing here is, she is not only calling me a traitor, she is not only trying to smear my character, she's sending a warning out to every veteran every, single American anyone who stands up against the war mongering foreign policies that really are her legacy.
That have been so destructive and costly to my brothers and sisters in uniform. Cost the American people trillions of dollars and caused such damage in the world. This is what's so dangerous.
HANNITY: It really - I'm tired of politicizing war. We send these kids, go fight, bleed, die and then it gets politicized. Never mind. I want the next generation of weaponry - defensive, offensive. Well, we don't have to send our national treasure, our sons and daughters to fight anymore, especially because there's no political will to win it. Rules of engagement under Obama are insane, in my view.
Let me let me ask you this, we did have something called the Russian dossier. OK? It was used, the bulk of information, according to the Grassley-Graham Memo, as the bulk of information to obtain FISA warrants on Carter Page.
Carter Page, I've interviewed of many times, he's cooperated with our intelligence services every time he went abroad. That dossier was full of lies, even it's an unverified bill dossier, because its own author says I have no idea of any of its true - that would be Christopher Steele.
So if there's any Russian interference, we have four investigations into Trump, the FBI, House Intelligence Committee, bipartisan Senate Committee, Mueller report, no evidence of Trump Russia collusion. What are your thoughts on Hillary Clinton and the DNC paying for that Russian dossier full of lies?
GABBARD: Well, let me just say this. Interference in our elections should be a concern of every American, because of the importance of ensuring that our democracy remains stable. And that voters have faith in the votes that we cast in our democracy.
And I have said this over and over and over again, for those Democrats and Republicans who may be concerned about interference, let's actually protect our democracy by ensuring that we have paper ballots or voter verified paper backups to make sure that if anyone comes in and tries to actually manipulate the votes that we cast in these elections, that that can be audited. That we have a paper record of the votes that are casted--
HANNITY: I like that that idea.
GABBARD: --otherwise. And I've introduced legislation to do it, Securing America's Elections Act. And for those who are saying interference, interference, do something about it. Pass my legislation, make sure that our votes - the votes of every single American are protected and they will actually be counted. Our democracy will be protected.
HANNITY: Let me ask you this. You're watching Adam Schiff, for three years he's told the American people they have evidence of Trump-Russia collusion. Even the Mueller report said that's not true. Now he's behind closed doors and there's secret impeachment hearing.
Now I'm going to read to you, and I'll put it up on the screen what Newt Gingrich reported Bill Clinton back in 1998, and that is the full House vote authorizing the inquiry. He also involved the full House in every critical step of the inquiry, defining scope, establishing rules and procedures.
We know that they granted co-equal subpoena power to the Chair and Ranking Member at the Committee. We know they also allowed subpoenas to be the subject of a full vote at the Committee level at the request or of the Chair or the Ranking Member.
They provided the President's counsel the right to attend all hearings and depositions. The President's counsel had the right to present evidence. President's counsel had the right to object to evidence put in - admitted into the case the. President's counsel had the right to cross-examine and recommend a witness list.
Now, you got to tell me you support this secret hearing of where Republicans can't have access to not even a transcript or do you think it should be done the way Newt Gingrich did it for Bill Clinton?
GABBARD: I think it needs to be a transparent process. I have long expressed my concern about going through impeachment proceedings in a very, very partisan way, because it will only further tear apart an already divided country. My interest and concern is for the well-being of our country and our democracy as we move forward.
I think there are areas of concern that were raised around the conversations that happened between Trump and the Ukrainian President, which is why I supported the inquiry. I think that inquiry needs to be done in a very narrowly focused way and it must be done transparently.
I don't know what's going on in those closed doors. We as members of Congress don't have access to the information that is being shared. And I think that the American people deserve to know exactly what the facts are? What the evidence is that's being presented as this inquiry goes on?
HANNITY: Last question why do you think Ukraine and China would ever give Hunter Biden who had no experience with either country, a 1.5 billion in China 10 days after he flew there with his father. Had no experience in private equity, no experience in China, no experience in Ukraine, oil, gas or energy. You have millions of dollars there.
Why do you think that Hunter Biden made all of that money? What was the motivation to Ukraine and China Congresswoman?
GABBARD: Those are questions that only Hunter Biden can answer.
HANNITY: What do you suspect it is though? It sounds to me like they'd like to buy a favor. Doesn't it sound like that to you Congresswoman? Be honest. You can be honest in this show.
GABBARD: No, really, really those--
HANNITY: No, come on.
GABBARD: Hunter Biden is a grown man. He can be held accountable for his own actions.
HANNITY: Does that concern you.
GABBARD: His own decisions--
HANNITY: Does that concern you that somebody with no experience is the son of the second most powerful person in the country got millions and had no experience, does that concern you?
GABBARD: I think there are a lot of different examples where--
HANNITY: I'm not asking about different - ah, Congresswoman, I'm not asking about different here--
GABBARD: No, no, no.
HANNITY: Does that concern you he got all of that money with no experience?
GABBARD: That is for Hunter Biden to answer for him to be held accountable for.
HANNITY: What do you think? Do you think he should have--
GABBARD: That is for Hunter Biden--
HANNITY: --some experience - (CROSSTALK ) can get millions.
GABBARD: I don't know Hunter Biden very well. And I don't know his experience.
HANNITY: But I don't care you know him.
GABBARD: Again, I think that--
HANNITY: Does that sound--
GABBARD: --this is for him to answer.
HANNITY: --does that mean your smell test--
GABBARD: That is for him to answer for and to be held accountable for.
HANNITY: All right. It gets a little tough occasionally on this show. But we do appreciate you coming--
GABBARD: I want to close it - my one last thought.
HANNITY: --and you're welcome back. That you loved my show and you watch it all think time. OK. Go ahead.
GABBARD: I want to say that, you and I, I'm sure, disagree on a lot of things. But I think that you and I agree on one very important point and that is that the American people have had enough of Hillary Clinton and her war mongering policies.
HANNITY: Amen.
GABBARD: And so I want to send a message straight to your viewers here today, join me, support me, help me, vote for me, contribute to my campaign to finally bring about an end to Hillary Clinton's war mongering foreign policy and the influence that she's had for so long over the Democratic Party.
HANNITY: I got to run.
GABBARD: --and Democratic candidates vying for President.
HANNITY: I will invite you back. Tulsi Gabbard, thank you for being with us.
GABBARD: I look forward to it.
HANNITY: All right.
GABBARD: Thank you.
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