Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Special Report With Bret Baier 20180911

States of emergency are now in effect along much of the midatlantic and more than 1 Million People are either getting out of the way or being urged to do so right now. President trump says his administration is doing its part. The safety of American People is my absolute highest priority. We are sparing no expense. We are totally prepared. We are ready. Were as ready as anybody has ever been. Bret we have Fox Team Coverage tonight. Steve harrigan is on Top Sail Beach in North Carolina where people are taking the warnings very seriously. We start off with fox news meteorologist Rick Reichmuth at the Fox Weather Center in new york. Good evening, rick. Hi, bret, just an hour ago the National Hurricane Center Center issued latest advisory and updated our advisories here to warnings for the northern half of coastal South Carolina throughout much of North Carolina as well. Within 36 hours we should expect to see our first Tropical Storm excuse me Hurricane Force winds winds over 74 miles per hour. Thats the estimated position of this storm 36 hours from now as its going to be getting close to the coast. I want to quickly draw your attention to somewhere else. Little system across parts of the western caribbean this a very good chance to develop over the next few days and have some sort of a Tropical Storm across parts of texas. I bring that up because we are going to be talking about so much about florence over the next couple of days people in texas need to be watching a storm on their shores as well. Here you go. This is the look, you can see its moving off towards the westnorthwest here. Its going to continue that general trajectory over the next couple of days. As it does get very close towards the coastal areas of south and North Carolina we still cant exactly pinpoint where it will make a landfall. Some indications that it might stall just before making a landfall and meander there for a couple of days as well. A lot of unknown as we move forward. Not that many knowns in the next 24 to 36 hours. What happens with an area of High Pressure that is going to block this from moving anywhere. Dolls that happen once the storm is over land or does it happen a little bit maybe offshore. Big impacts here. A lookout of uncertainties still yet. Everybody across this area needs to watch it wind, storm surge and incredible flooding as well. Nobody, i dont think, across the carolinas, especially and into virginia will be spared from this storm. Bret . Bret okay, rick. We will track it thank you. Lets look at what is happening in the path of the storm now. Correspondent Steve Harrigan is in Top Sail Beach, North Carolina tonight. This storm is a monster. Its big, and its vicious. A dire warning from North Carolinas governor as Hurricane Florence approaches the coast. Waves and the wind, this storage may bring is nothing like youve ever seen. Mandatory evacuations are now in place for portions of three states. We are in a very deadly and important game of chess with Hurricane Florence and what we are doing people of South Carolina is doing is staying one stead ahead. Officials today reversed lanes on four major highways leading to charleston and myrtle beach so that all lanes can carry traffic away from the coast. John boyd arrived at trailer park in North Carolina yesterday with his wife and dog. They are leaving today. Better be prepared and, you know, make sure you are safe. Its not worth saving money if, you know, if you are going to risk your life. Line up by your number. Those riding it out stocked up on supplies. We have water, flashlights, we are all set. A lot of nort North Carolina lynnians are pretty ro robust. Navy ordered Virginia Beach ships out to sea. The coast guard urged carolina residents to secure their boats and get off the water. At some point tomorrow our search and rescue response capabilities will be degraded and thats why i urge you now to make preparations. Fema said today its ready for whatever the storm might bring. We are focused on those Critical Missions that we have to perform immediately following the storm. Opening roads, performing Life Saving Missions in support of our state and local partners. This storm is expected to slow down as it makes landfall. That means it will dump a lot of rain. The people along this coast could be facing a five or six day ordeal. Bret . Bret steve, from one form to recovery to another President Trump declared puerto rico a success. Take a listen. The job that fema and Law Enforcement and everybody did working along with the governor in puerto rico, i think, was tremendous. I think that puerto rico was an incredible, unsungs success. Bret steve, you covered hurricane maria. Breath, can i just tell you what i saw with my own eyes being there for the storm and aftermath. I saw people taking furniture out of their houses, chopping it up, lighting it on fire in order to cook. People were largely on their own. I havent seen that in any other storm. Bret . Bret all right, steve. We have more on this with the panel. Thank you. President trump today paid tribute to americans who fought against some of the terrorists who struck on 9 11. Characterizing the americans on board flight 93 that crashed into shanksville, pennsylvania as heroes who stood up and defied the enemy. The ceremony, one of several marking this solemn 17th anniversary of that terrible day. Chief White House Correspondent john roberts begins our 9 11 coverage tonight from the north lawn. Good evening, john. Bret, good evening to you. Like two predecessors before him President Trump stood on Hallowed Ground today defiant in the face of the ongoing threat from terrorism declaring that americas future will not be written by our enemies. Americas future will be written by our heroes. Like the 40 who died in that field in shanksville, pennsylvania. As commanderinchief, i will always do everything in my power to prevent terrorists from striking american soil. In the past four decades, six american president s have made that vow to keep the nation safe from terrorism. September 11th stands as the most visceral example of that threat, one that has evolved, changed to adapt to new intelligence and Law Enforcement techniques and tactics. Todays terrorism threat still includes sleeper cells, al qaeda, all the kind of major terrorist organizations that you would think of. But were also very focused now on homegrown violent extremists. Radical islamic extremism. During the election campaign, President Trump planned to battle terror differently than his predecessor calling it what it is as he did again today. Radical islamic terrorism. The president also vowed to wipe identifies, one of isisf the earth. Terrorism expert Michael Ohanlon gives him credit for. I give President Trump credit for taking a strategy that president obama had only gradually developed over time. Trump beefed it up. But ohanlon says like his predecessors President Trump has not been successful in draining the global swamps that give rise to terrorism. Even as isis was being contained, the threat continued. Last year, 8 people were killed in a vehicle attack in downtown manhattan. The perpetrator was following almost to the letter instructions posted on social media by isis. Terrorism today moves at the speed of social media. Part of it is engaging with social Media Companies in a way to try to get them to do certain things they can do voluntarily. And the threat is moving at light speed throughout all of cyberspace, taking on new forms. There are vacuums springing up across the globe and quickly filled by hostile state terrorists and transnational criminals. But how much has the Terror Threat really evolved in 17 years . A mass scale 9 11 style attack still possible . A september 11th style attack is still possible there are still ways to kill hundreds of people at a time if you get your logistics right. Americas intelligence agencies get high marks for thwarting any mass scale attack on the level of 9 11 in the 17 years since that horrific day. Even if an attack was perpetrated or at least tried to be perpetrated by a lone wolf. But preventing this new wave of attacks where these radicals go out with anything they can get their hands on from a gun to a knife to a vehicle, bret, thats far more difficult to detect and thwart. Bret exponentially, john roberts live on the north lawn. Thanks. Thousands came, once again, to ground zero and the pentagon to mark the 9 11 anniversary. Senior correspondent eric shawn has that part of the story tonight from that part of manhattan. Gordon m. Amoth jr. It has been 17 years but it seems that not one day has gone by. At the somber and solemn ceremony in new york, family members, friends and officials gathered yet again to remember the 2753 people who were killed in the name of radical islamic terrorism at the World Trade Center. [bell tolls] fills my heart. A lot of sadness and pain and that is something that is never going to go away. I miss you, i love you very much. And i will see you soon. Vice president mike pence honored those who lost their lives and those who saved others at the pentagon. In the moments after the attack at this very place, the character, the resilience and the courage of the people here shown forth in stories of heroism. In new york, amid the beauty of her buffalo landing on a rose at the memorial, there was also growing anger. The number of First Responders and others who have fallen ill from 9 11 related diseases is growing. The centers for Disease Control says nearly 8,000 have been diagnosed with 9 11 linked cancers. 1700 have died. First responders are still dying and being ill. We cant forget. Life wont let us forget. This day is a pointed reminder of the pain that remains so fresh, the Health Battles that continue, and the threat against us that still, sadly, exists. Bret . Bret eric, thank you. Canadas foreign minister returned to washington today for more trade talks. The session between christie and u. S. Trade representative Robert Lighthizer comes after lower level talks over the weekend. The two sides are trying to resolve differences over nafta. The u. S. Has already struck a deal with mexico. Stocks were up today. The dow jumped 114. The s p 500 finished ahead 11. The nasdaq gained 48. There are increasing concerns tonight that the Syrian Government may use chemical weapons in what is being billed as the final battle in that countrys brutal civil war. Correspondent Benjamin Hall alshas the latest tonight from our middle east newsroom. Russian and syrian warplanes already bombing across idlib targeting hospitals and civilians. Now u. S. Sources say there is mounting evidence assad is preparing to use chemical weapons against his people again. Twice in the last two years assad has used sarin gas and twice President Trump has responded. This time the u. S. Has warned of a far greater response. And the first time around you will have 17 of his pointy nosed air force airplanes. He has been warned. And so well see if he wised up. In geneva last minute attempts to prevent the onslaught continued as the u. S. Envoy Russian Diplomats without success. Nikki haley also warned of retaliation. If assad, russia and iran continue down the path they are on, the consequences will be dire. But no, sir has stopped the Syrian Regime and allies in the past. As ever, they are playing the victim. What we are hearing is threat against a sovereign state russia which are no way linked to the possible use of chemical weapons. More than 30,000 people, mostly women and children, have so far fled their homes. That could rise to 800,000. The u. N. Now saying this could be the biggest loss of life in the 21st century. Syria has amassed estimated 100,000 troops what will be the last major battle of the syrian civil war. While much of the focus on the use of chemical weapons it is conventional weapons which will do most of the killing. Bret . Bret benjamin, thank you. Take you to one Congressional District key part of the democrats plan to take over the house. First here are what some of our fox afig fill yats are covering tonight. Fox 13 in tampa with a Service Honoring those who died in the benghazi libya terror attacks september 11th, 2012. Organizers unveiled a memorial in memory of four People Killed there, lost their lives in the assault on the american compound. The consulate. Fox 11 in los angeles as the lapd releases body camera and dash camera footage of a motorist who shot one officer before being killed by another after a traffic stop. It happened a month and a half ago. The Department Says the female officer who was shot is recovering. And this is a live look at honolulu from khon, thats our fox affiliate. One of the big stories there tonight, hawaii residents still recovering from hurricane lane. They are now preparing for Tropical Storm olivia. Lane dumped more than 52 inches of rain on the big island. Olivia has been downgraded from a hurricane but still packing winds of 70 miles per hour. Forecasters say it could drop 20 inches more rain in some areas. Thats tonights live look outside the beltway from special report. Well be right back. Ance. Which is why esurance hired me, dennis quaid, as their spokesperson because apparently, im highly likable. See, they know its confusing. I literally have no idea what im getting, dennis quaid. Thats why theyre making it simple, man in cafe. And more affordable. Thank you, dennis quaid. Youre welcome. Thats a prop apple. Id tell you more, but i only have 30 seconds. So heres a dramatic shot of their tagline so youll remember it. Esurance. Its surprisingly painless. So youll remember it. If youre waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. Its time to get out of line with upmc. At upmc, livingdonor transplants put you first. So you dont die waiting. Upmc does more livingdonor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. Find out more and get out of line today. This is moving day with the best inhome wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. And this is moving day with Reliable Service appointments in a twohour window so youre up and running in no time. Show me decorating shows. This is staying connected with xfinity to make moving. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and twohour appointment windows. Click, call or visit a store today. Bret in americas election headquarters tonight, we continue our preview of the midterm elections. This evening correspondent peter doocy reports from centennial, colorado suburban district a congressman major target for democrats trying to flip that seat. In colorados sixth district the blue wave meets the rocky mountains. Nice to meet. You democratic challenger jason crow is applying skills learned it the military to midterm campaign. When i served in iraq and afghanistan it didnt matter whether someone was a republican or a democrat or an independent, we had a job to get done. And we found a way to get it done. Crow is one of 17 veterans challenging for house seat after being recruited by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee where a spokeswoman explains across the country these candidates excite the grassroots base and prevent republicans from successfully putting them into ideological boxes. A big part of crows campaign town seat fiveterm republican congressman mike coffman, a veteran himself is, a push for Campaign Finance reform. There are attack ads against me right now and literally nobody knows who funding these things, nobody. Right . Presumably some billionaire that mike coffman gave a huge tax break too. [cheers] that tax reform plan is a centerpiece of coffmans campaign to defend his seat. This district has benefited from tax cuts. But coffman has his work cut out for him because the itemmographics of this district have changed as the lines of the district have been redrawn. I was at an event last night where they are registered democrats but they are organizing for my campaign. Something unique about this race both sides say they will buck their parties lead in d. C. One with republican one about this trump 2016. I dont care for him much. Since then declined overture about healthcare. Only time the president reached out for my vote i said no. Crow, the democrat says he wants nancy pelosi replaced as leader. We need a new generation of leadership thats willing to step up. Even though both these candidates are boasting that neither of their partys leaders can count on their votes, people are still sending them really big checks. This has been the most expensive district in the country for republicans to defend or the last 8 years. A republican source says it might be again this sometime. Bret . Bret suburban districts will be bell weather service, peter doocy, thank you. A kidnapped teenager Elizabeth Smart will be released from prison next week. The surprise move comes after authorities determined they had miscalculated the time 72yearold wanda barzee previously served in federal custody. She pleaded guilty to kidnapping smart and keeping her captive for nine months before smart was found and rescue you had. Vatican Officials Say pope francis will meet with u. S. Church officials later this week to discuss the sex abuse scandal that has reached all the way to the papacy. Religion correspondent lauren green has the latest tonight from new york. Highest meeting between the most Senior Church officials and pope francis on the issue of clergy sex abuse, the scandal that some are calling a gamechanging catastrophe. Blamed devil great accuser attacking bishops. Pope francis met with top advisors known as the council of nine cardinals. He has been criticized for not responding to achation is former ambassador that he knew about disgraced cardinal with sexual abuses long before it became public. Yesterday the council issued a statement saying it was in solidarity with the pope and that the holy sea is about to formulate eventual and necessary clarifications. But the head of the u. S. Conference of catholic bishops Catholic Cardinal wants wants fullfledged vatican investigation into the mcclear rick scandal. Top officials and pope demand answers. Cardinal meet with the pope at the pataskala palac positivef minors and vatican insiders say francis closest u. S. Advisor. Bret . Bret we will follow it lauren, thank you. We are learning new details tonight about suspicions that russia may be behind those mysterious sonic attacks on u. S. Diplomats in cuba and china. Correspondent rich edson is at the state department tonight. The latest on this mystery. Good evening, rich. Good evening, bret. And several officials briefed on this investigation say there is suspicion surrounding the russian government because of the technical ability involved in this attack and because of the history of the russian government harassing u. S. And other diplomats. Though Senior State Department Officials Say they are still trying to determine who is responsible for these attacks. The motive and how they were accomplished. A report by nbc news this morning citing three unnamed u. S. Officials claims russia is now the main suspect in the attacks that have injured dozens of americans. I would caution you all to be very skeptical of those officials statements right now. The investigation is ongoing. We have not assigned any blame. And we continue to look into this. So i want to be very clear about this. Senator Jeanne Shaheen says congress should reopen its own investigation. The fbi has been looking into the case. Investigators and independent analysts have been trying to figure out what is causing these symptoms, whether its a spying device that malfunctioned or equipment designed to attack. The state Department Says since late 2016 more than two dozen People Associated with the u. S. Embassy in cuba have experienced symptoms like hearing loss, fatigue, headaches and more. In may, the state department revealed another worker in china reported similar symptoms. Now the United States has drastically reduced its staffing in ha vanna, not blaming the cuban government for perpetrating these attacks but saying the cuban government has failed to protect american diplomats while in cuba. Bret . Bret rich edson live at the state department. Rich, thank you. Up next, a story you will only see here. We take you inside the fbis elite Counter Terrorism bomb analysis unit. This is your wakeup call. 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Bret we told you at the top of the program tonight is the 17th anniversary of the 9 11 attacks. This evening we bring you a fox news exclusive. A behind the scenes look at a team trying to stay one step ahead of the terrorists by analyzing some of their most dangerous weapons. Here is chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge. [explosion] the devil jigsaw puzzle. Kirk jeager is the chief explosive scientists. The terrorist explosive Device Analytical Center in huntsville, alabama. As a bomb examiner, your job is to take all those pieces and put together a coherent puzzle. This looks like the shoe bomb. Yes. With unprecedented access to the fbi lab fox news obtained exclusive evidence photos including the 2001 device worn by richard reid. The shoe bomb was a. When you cut it up and splay it you have the stuff smiled the waffle that you see right there. I performed d. N. A. Analysis on the hair that was found inside the sole. Alice eisenberg who now oversees the fbi labs analyzed the shoe bomb 17 years ago. That told us that that device was built by someone other than richard reid. While reid failed to light the detonator, the fbi team showed a jury the explosive potential. We took a sheet of aluminum, put the shoe, our recreation of the shoe with the exact amount of explosions on that detonated it to educate the court. Jeager explained the forensics on the al qaeda influenced 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Pressure cookers killed three and injured several hundred. That is fragments of the pressure cooker. Copper kettle steel shot and b bs and small nailed a fragmentation for them to be lethal. Graphite where one of the backpack was situated. When beam are fleeing for their life they are leaving behind purses, backpacks and other items. Every one of those things becomes another potential device that has to be cleared. Inside this mask fbi warehouse is box after box. The warehouse is home to more than a million pieces of bomb evidence. Its like historical archives. Allowing investigators to identify trends and to pursue criminal prosecutions. If a scientist finds a latent print inside an ied, that information would be searched against databases and an individual could be identified. The primary advantage that a tears has is their anonymity. We are taking away from them that advantage. The 2010 sometimes square plot was a near miss. Everything but the kitchen sink. Butane tanks, he had a pressure cooker. He had some sort of thermos bottle. He had a clock timer. These photos show the damage fiesels device could have done. The work takes a team. We have a partnership with several components in the department of defense, other components in doj to include atf, the department of Homeland Security as well as the tsa. For investigators, some cases never seem finished like the bizarre 2003 plot that killed alleged coconspirator brian wells, a bomb locked around his neck. Collar bomb will stick in my life forever took seven years of my life. Basically a bank robber plot by sociopath. One piece out of hundreds that looked to me that was probably part of the bomb, not 100 percent sure. That will haunt me until i retire. The fbi team said the threat from homemade bombs is more complex and forever threat, bret. Bret fascinating oak look. Also today we had the politics of the fbi, a president ial tweet about this investigation over Text Messages between fbi agent peter strzok and lawyer lisa page. Well, thats right. A new letter from House Republican mark meadows to Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein three 2017 texts sent by fbi agent peter strzok may be evidence of a Leak Campaign against the president. On april 10th, 2017, strzok tells fbi lawyer lisa page i literally had just gone to find this phone to tell you i want to talk to you about the media leak strategy with the Justice Department before you go. Two days later, strzok writes the twos are coming out about pages namesake the reference to carter page and on april 22nd strzok writes the article is out adding well done. After the president tweeted about the congressmans allegations, strzoks lawyer sent fox this statement. The term media leaked strategy and mr. Strzoks text refers to a Department Wide initiative to detect and stop leaks to the media. The presen president and enables are pedaling unfounded conspiracy theories to mislead the American People. The Justice Department and fbi have not commented. Called the lawyers statement a work of fiction based on the documents and evidence available to congress, bret. Bret two quick things one is do we know that the Inspector General is still moving forward with an investigation into the early parts of the trump probe . The Inspector General is looking specifically at fisa. Is he also specifically looking at evidence of leaks by the fbi and Justice Department. Bret and we believe that declassifying documents in regard to that investigation could come pretty soon. In a matter of days. Republicans on the house side have been pretty optimistic that it will move forward maybe as early as next week. As you know from your own reporting, it has kind of been a moving target. The key things i think it will put to rest is questions about whether one or more Confidential Sources were run up against a campaign at that time and whether the dossier was the sort of Rock Solid Foundation for the fisa warrant or whether they really had additional intelligence. Bret all right, catherine, thank you. You are welcome. Bret on this september 11th anniversary we will talk about the president s war on terror. What comes next. And also that hurricane bearing down. The panel joins me after a break Great Service was a given. Im at a time in my life where i wanna do business with companies who do right by me. [announcer] the hartford is the only Auto Insurance company voted one of the worlds most Ethical Companies 10 times, and 96 of customers recommend the hartford based on their claim experience. Join the millions of customers who trust the hartford. Call to get a quote from the aarp Auto Insurance program from the hartford. Jushis local miracle ear t at helped andrew hear moree of the joy in her voice. Just one hearing test is all it took for him to hear more of her laugh. And less of the background noise around him. For helen, just one visit to her local miracleear is all it took to learn how she can share more moments with her daughter. Just one free hearing test could help you hear more. Laughter. Music. Life. Call now for your free hearing test from an Industry Leader miracleear. As commanderinchief, i will always do everything in my power to prevent terrorists from striking american soil. Todays terrorism threat still includes sleeper cells, al qaeda, all the kind of major terrorist organizations that you would think of but we are also very focused now on homegrown violent extremists. We had about 120 terrorismrelated arrests last year alone. Thats just in the arrest context. So there is a lot happening every day, 365 days a year right now in the terrorism front. Bret the fbi director on cbs saying that they get some 15,000 tips about terroristrelated activity every year. Thats about two every day. And if you take a look at the al qaeda, taliban isis makeup, according to the u. N. , there is an estimate out there that 30,000 members of isis Islamic State still exist in syria and iraq. Afghan officials estimate the taliban 77,000 fighters. New estimates show al qaeda now has more than 20,000 fighters in syria and yemen and other cells in north africa and an loening the afghan pakistan border. What about the war on terror and where it stands tonight on this 17th anniversary of 9 11 . Bring in our panel charles herd opinion editor for the washington times. Guy benson who is not named charles, Political Editor at town hall. Com. Talk to the first noncharles person. Guy, thoughts 17 years later and what were seeing around the world on this fight. Its incredible its been 17 years. It was a vivid day for me. It was a formable day in my life i was in high school on 9 11. Still feels very immediate. I remember specific details. One of those thoughts that i had as a 16yearold how is it possible that some terrorist organization, we who it was, could pull off such spectacularly horrific attack without our government knowing about it and stopping it to the credit of the Bush Administration and subsequent administrations, that type of attack, the likelihood of it has been significantly diminished. But now as we have heard there from director wray its a new type of a symmetric attack virtually impossible to stop whether you have lone wolves and radicals people want to buy a gun and plow a car into people thats different than what we saw 17 years ago. Bret has the philosophy changed you fight it over there. You dont fight it here . Has the Foreign Policy look on how we deal with that changed under this administration to the last . Definitely the Current Administration made some modifications in the war on isis in iraq and syria. That some people credit with, you know, sort of relaxing or releasing, if you like, the rules of engagement so there could be more of an aggressive move against isis over there. So there has been that difference. But, in afghanistan, i think you see basically continuity in slightly modified form they are following president obamas strategy. The big difference i see, looking back 17 years, is in the overall attitude of the u. S. Public in terms of the National Unity that we exhibited really pulled together in a bipartisan basis in the year after that attack. That is completely gone. And i might add that in europe which hazard simg a nebraska of teo tacks big picture of the western world under attack from terrorism . I think you have to be worried about the divisions both within and in each society and in terms of trans atlantic relationship considerably worse and this administration very critical of nato and that could be a problem with respect to the war on terror as well. Bret this administration is not, however, afraid to say radical islamic terrorism. No, they are not. Under president george w. Bush, the philosophy was very much kill them over there so we dont have to kill them over there. And then, of course, under president obama there was some continuation of that. The war has raged on for 16 years. And i think one of the things that sort of gets missed about the 2016 election, something thats very popular about what donald trump was campaigning on was he criticized the wars. And that was that was a departure for either party. But, also, his talking about the wall was not just about immigration. It was about, look, there is some mad, mad people in the world who want to kill us. And these wars are very expensive. And, you know, we will bomb them when we can, but, you know, lets focus on keeping them away from us. Keep them over there so we dont have to deal with them. And, of course, the travel ban and the laptop ban we saw those things which were this has not gotten as much press as i think it should. That was the u. S. Setting a global standard about how airports screen people and screen baggage. And, they have had real success and have allowed, you know, countries to get off of those lists. Bret just a couple of numbers, only six u. S. Troops killed in combat in afghanistan. Any death, obviously is tragic for the military and those families. 15,000 troops in afghanistan, way down from the 100,000 under the obama administration. I want to turn to this next topic which is the that is coming. This is Hurricane Florence. It t. Is barreling towards North Carolina at this point. And expected to cause a lot of damage right now as a hurricane category 4. Heres the president today on puerto rico and hurricane maria. I think that puerto rico was an incredible, unsung success. I think puerto rico was incredibly successful. Puerto rico was actually our toughest one of all because its an island. I actually think it was one of the best jobs thats ever been done with respect to what this is all about. The problem with puerto rico is their electric grid and their electric generating plant was dead before the storms ever hit. Bret now, President Trump, those remarks getting a lot of attention. Is he right about the electric grid in puerto rico. There are more than 2900 dead according to a new study and that number could be higher than that. Thoughts in the comments. There were unique challenges in puerto rico. The administration did work with partners there and also in florida and texas and had some successes in very difficult circumstances. When you are looking at thousands of people dying because of a natural event, no matter how well you think that you handled it, you probably shouldnt talk about how great it was. Bret you know, hurricane response is only really as good federally as the governor who is running the show. I mean, if you look at harvey with Texas Governor abbott. Florida, rick scott. Thats a different animal than president bush dealt with Kathleen Blanco in louisiana and it really does come down to the state and federal hookup. Yeah. I think if the president is perceived to mishandle this hurricane, it could be real political trouble. It wont the buck wont stop with the governors. It will stop with him. Bret as it did with bush. Puerto rico was a tragedy and i tend to agree with guy its a mistake to even appear to boast about it but the president is lucky they dont have any congressional seats or electoral votes in puerto rico. North carolina, South Carolina, and virginia do. Bret thats true. We should be concerned about the people there but you are right, the political fallout potentially, North Carolina just redrawn by the way those Congressional Districts. The defendant is always going to defend his record on something. And i think thats what you see there. Obviously katrina was a very unique beast in terms of how george w. Bush got blamed for that but it is all these things are a tragic reminder that the federal government isnt the answer to every problem that comes along. And you have got to be prepared and have you got to get out of way of these things when its clear that something monstrous is coming ashore. Bret if you live in North Carolina beaches, listen to charlie hurt. Next up, the peter strzok text about media leak strategy and where we are going with that noooooo. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. A peaceful night sleep without only imagine. Frequent heartburn waking him up. Now that dream is a reality. Nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for allday, allnight protection. Can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn . Endless shrimp is back at red keep those slobster. Min with all the shrimp you want, any way you want them. Try delicious creations like new crunchy fiesta shrimp tortilla chip crusted then topped with a creamy blend of three cheeses and finished with pico de gallo. And theres new sesameginger shrimp. Grilled and drizzled with savory soyginger sauce and sprinkled with asian seasoning. And dont forget the favorites you love, like garlic shrimp scampi but endless shrimp wont last endlessly, so hurry in. You have the beautiful lisa page. [laughter] and her wonderful fbi agent. How about him . Did anybody ever hear strzok . Did anybody ever hear him testify . Did you hear this guy . Can you believe it . No, i have no bias against the president. I have no bias. Did i read what he said . [laughter] what a goof. Its the most incredible thing people have ever seen whats going on, but we are going to straighten it out. The latest texts reveal that strzok smirk lisa page were coordinating leaks to the the washington post. Leaks of investigating data that wasnt true. Everybody is believe close to the bombshell being delivered. What turns out all of those leaks were the socalled Intelligence Community were coming from the fbi they were coming from strzok stroke smirk lisa page. Go to the fisa court look, judge, its even in the media. Bret Rush Limbaugh talking about strzok and lisa page. The texts newly recovered the house g. O. P. Saying they want answers. Strzoks attorney responding the term media leak strategy in these texts is mr. Strzok texts refers to Department Wide initiative to detect and stop leaks to the media. The president and his enablers are once again peddling conspiracy theories to mislead the American People. Mark meadows, charlie says, is just fiction. Where are we on this . Is this going to get to some place . I think its important to step back and say from the texts that we have seen, its hard to say exactly what that phrase meant. And, if were going to give the benefit of the doubt to strzok and when you look at strzok, the statement from his attorney, its a pretty bold statement to accuse the president of lying. Bret although turn the channel on. This is true. So, but, lets say we want to give him the benefit of the doubt which certainly he has not earned it. When you look at all of the things that have come out so far, i have a hard time sort of giving him the benefit of the doubt. What we do know is whatever media leak strategy meant whether it meant stopping leaks or creating leaks, what we do know is there is an avalanche of leaks occurring during the time that theyre talking about and they were very damaging to people involved in the investigation. Bret here is the allegation is that in this, whatever is going to be declassified in these fisa requests, and if it actually is declassified, that its going to paint a picture where it was kind of a boomer rang and that they were using not only the dossier but also media reports to tell the fisa judge we need carter page surveilled. Right. There is some evidence so, going to the point about strzoks attorney, i dont think that peter strzok deserves the benefit of the doubt. We cant reach any conclusive determination on the point that charlie and you were just making. There is something looking into. This the president tweeting about nothing is being done in the doj or fbi. The Inspector General Michael Horowitz is investigating precisely this point. Is he a credible person. I think we should allow him to get to the bottom of it. Bret quickly . Guy took the words right out of my mouth. There is a part 2 ig report coming. The first one was quite critical bret do you think that comes before the mid terms . I think they are under general policy over there not to do things in the 60 days before the mid terms, right . So i guess the answer has to be no. Bret we shall see. We will follow it all sides of this investigation. When we come back, the 9 11 anniversary all over the place. Its time to get out of line with upmc. At upmc, livingdonor transplants put you first. So you dont die waiting. Upmc does more livingdonor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. Find out more and get out of line today. One look at you and i cant disguise ive got hungry eyes i feel the magic between you and i ive got hungry eyes now ive got you in my sights applebees new 3course meal starting at 11. 99. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. A hotel can make or break a trip. And at expedia, we dont think you should be rushed into booking one. Thats why we created expedias addon advantage. 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Priority you bret and finally tonight, another look at 9 11 memorials on this, the 17th anniversary. President trump americas future is not written by our enemies, americas future is written by our heroes. [bell dinging] bret of nassau performed a 9 11 tribute today in space. The piece of metal with the American Flag on it in this image of the rover on mars is made of aluminum, from the side of the World Trade Center towers in the weeks after their destruction. Remembering in space. Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight, thats it for this special report. Fair, balanced, and at 17 years later, still unafraid. The story hosted by my friend Martha Maccallum begins right now. Where were you 17 17 years ago . Martha i was covering the story here in new york and its a day that i will never, ever forget. That was a beautiful montage. Thank you so much. Breaking here and just moments, the latest track update for florence which is about to be announced. So standby for that. President trump we are sparing no expense, we are totally prepared and we are ready. Martha hurricane warnings have been issued for carolinas as florence and new years a category five. First we begin with the National Hurricane center at oclock update. Good evening, this is the 7 00 p. M. Eastern time update on Hurricane Florence. Florence remains at dangerous hurricane and will be so up until landfall. This time, the center is located