>> harold: i love this segment. i'm taking my kids here. >> jesse: best news segment we have had in a long time. >> dana: i'm stealing a segment from greg it's called "how many acorns." it's acorn season. percy loves to chase them and put them in his mouth but he likes to keep it a secret. have to drop them. here is a picture he doesn't think you can tell you can see there is one in his mouth. another picture he won't make eye contact because he doesn't want to drop them. how many acorns do you think he has? how many acorns? >> harold: 4. >> judge jeanine: 3. five acorns. tomorrow on "america's newsroom" scotty mccreery a north carolinian and is he going to talk about the hurricane, harold? >> harold: i'm going to say happy new year to all my jewish brothers. >> dana: that's a good one. jesse? >> jesse: all my jewish brethren what is it, harold? >> harold: new year. >> dana: that's it for us. >> bret: happy new year. five acorns and two leafs.

all right, dana. thank you. good evening. i'm bret baier coming to from you fox news headquarters in new york tonight. the vice presidential nominees return to the campaign trail after last night's debate as president joe biden and vice president kamala harris head to states impacted by hurricane helene. it comes as another crisis could soon take hold fully with dozens of container ships backed up at ports across the country just two days into a workers strike. ♪ >> bret: but, first, breaking tonight, a lengthy court filing from special counsel jack smith. detailing arguments that former president donald trump illegally dried to overturn the 2020 election. that has been made public tonight. just 34 days before voters head to the polls in this election. prosecutors laid out a sweeping account of president trump's conduct after the 2020 results were announced. making the case that he is not immune from federal prosecution

despite a u.s. supreme court ruling on official acts. the former president is react being to that document calling it an unconstitutional witch-hunt. and label ling the justice system as broken. senior national correspondent kevin corke has details on this lengthy filing from washington. good evening, kevin. >> kevin: good evening, bret. the release of the jack smith dossier came as a surprise and obviously going to prompt further claims of election interference most likely by the former president. that's because, keep in mind, this is just the federal prosecutor's version of the events that happened post 2020 election in that period leading up to the capitol riot on january the 6th. it's released with the election as you pointed out about a month away comes by way of federal trial judge tonya chutkan. her decision coming months after the u.s. supreme court ruled that former presidents enjoy a great deal of immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts committed while in office. the court had ordered the judge to go over all the charges

against mr. trump to determine whether he had immunity. now, smith argues that the former president's efforts to block the certification of the 2020 election were private acts. not official. and, therefore, not deserving of presidential immunity. quote: working with a team of private co-conspirator, the defendant, mr. trump, acted as a candidate when he pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt fraud and deceit the government function by which votes are collected and counted. a function in which the defendant, as president, had no official role. now, smith further suggested the former president knowing that his scheme to coerce then vice president pence to do his bidding was over. instead, encouraged a mob to react again, quoting smith: the defendant also knew that he had only one last hope to prevent biden's certification as president. the large and angry crowd standing in front of him. so for more than an hour the defendant delivered a speech designed to inflame his

supporters and motivate them to march to the capitol. now, on truth social the former president contended tonight that not only did he authorize the use of 10,000 -- he said 10,000 national guard troops, bret to secure the capitol and the city on january 6th. he also reminded the crowds he said to protest peacefully and patriotically. and again calling for an end to the quote witch-hunt is no trial date set. >> bret: kevin corke, thanks. bring in jonathan turley. thank you. i'm struck by this release. we knew it may come and that the judge in this case, judge chutkan boo allow. this at it core the defendant's scheme was a private one. he edges tense sily used private actors and his campaign infrastructure to attempt to

overturn the election results and operated in a private capacity as a candidate for office. this massive filing, in summary is, an effort to put out all the details without going to trial before the election, right? >> it is. the timing is concerning. jack smith knows that this election will be the largest jury verdict in history. and this comes across as his closing election argument. you know, this is the argument against trump. it's one sided. it's quite elaborate. but it is an argument that he wants out there before the election. and that will remain troubling for a lot of people. it's not going to change a lot of minds, but, you know, he goes through every detail here. what is striking about the filing is that all turns on what trump honestly believed. you know, he says that the through line of these charges. >> this is a quote -- was

deceived. the president had attorneys saying that he did have a basis to challenge the election and that there could be a certification challenge. democrats in the past had used this law to challenge certification. so, it comes down to a question of was deceit. for many people, this is a sort of repackaging without substantive changes. the supreme court handed down a major ruling on presidential immunity. smith kept the same four basic claims and he just stripped out some references to official conduct. and now, he has this mantra saying it's all private to try to thread that needle to preserve the case. >> bret: yeah, a lot of deals with january 6th. obviously the former presidency now says remember peacefully and patriotically marching to the capitol as he gave that speech to that crowd. there is some stuff in here that's unflattering as you look at pictures from january 6th.

this quote upon receiving a phone call alerting him that pence, the vice president, had been taken to a secure location, redacted i'm guessing this might be mark meadows rushed to the dining room continue to form the defendant in hopes that the defendant would take action to ensure pence's safety. instead after redacted, delivered the news the defendant looked at him and said only so what? what does this change, jonathan, in the big picture? we know that this is not going to go trial before 34 days. we don't know what happens after that. but, what does this tonight change looking at the 160-plus pages? >> well, that's the real question here of why judge chutkan who has said that she will not consider the election in her decisions. but why is she still saw this as the right time to release this? this is a new indictment. he went back to -- smith went back to the grand jury to secure a new indictment. so, this trial is not going to

occur any time soon. there is no date for it. so, for many, this is sort of her gratuitous act. you don't have to release this before the election. but, at the end of the day, it's. same evidence, and you are absolutely right. it does not put trump in a good light. and all prosecutorial filings tend to do that but there is damaging stuff here. but the question is, is it criminal? and, when you really drill down here, you are sort of left with just an assumption that everything trump did or said he knew was a lie. and at one point he says whether we win or lose, we're going to fight it like hell. now people read that line differently. some say he just acknowledged that he didn't win. others will say it's like saying fight, fight, fight after the assassination attempt. it's how you view his character. and that's a little bit unraveling, when you go into a trial. it should be based on something more concrete. now, it's true that many trials

come down to credibility and motivation. but, this is historic case. and i think that smith was open in saying it's all about deceit and we think that everything he said he knew was untrue. >> bret: the difference between official and unofficial acts is what the u.s. supreme court dealt with jonathan, thank for hopping on tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: also breaking tonight, president joe biden says that iran has gone way off board. that israel's response to yesterday's missile attacks should be, quote, in proportion it. comes amid speculation that israel could target iranian infrastructure like nuclear sites or possibly oil fields. israeli officials say the response will be painful, whatever it is, with the anniversary of october 7th attacks less than one week away. senior correspondent mike tobin is again at haifa, israel tonight with the latest. good evening, mike.

>> mike: good evening, bret. the air campaign into lebanon is still very active with israel claiming another airstrike within the last hour. for the first time in this conflict, hezbollah fighters directly engaged israeli forces. an ambush involving antitank missiles in south lebanon killed eight israeli soldiers. >> i would like to send my deepest condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in lebanon. may god avenge their death. >> this just one day after the unprecedented missile barrage iran fired into israel. israeli air defenses intercepted many. guided missile destroys, "u.s.s. cole" and uss buckley fired 12. some iranian missiles got through. hit civilian structures as well as air bases israel says its air force capability is unaffected. at today's emergency u.n. security council meeting with the israeli ambassador watching, iran's ambassador defended the

attack. >> a necessity to restore balance and must understand that each act of invasion it makes it's not unpunished and will be met with consequences. >> weighing retaliation to the second direct attack from iran, the chiefs of israel's defense establishment met in the cure i can't. israel's region of the pentagon. >> we have the capabilities to reach and strike any point in the middle east. and those of our enemies who have not yet understood this will soon understand. >> still cautious about escalation, u.s. president joe biden said he would not support an israeli strike on iranian nuclear facilities. instead, he promised sanctions and called for a meeting of g-7 leaders. >> all seven of us agree that they have a right to respond. they should respond in proportion. >> and with the fight still on multiple fronts, hamas has now claimed responsibility for the

two palestinian attackers who opened fire on civilians inafter if a, near tel aviv last night. they killed seven before the attackers were also killed. bret? >> bret: mike tobin live in haifa. thanks. coming up in a bit we will hear from fox news strategic analyst retired general jack keane he will join us at the bottom of the hour. meantime, back in this country, president biden viewed damage from hurricane helene in north carolina today as v ns kamala harris met with emergency officials in georgia. they will continue to assess the damage separately in other hard hit states later this week. correspondent steve harrigan is in maggie valley, north carolina again tonight with the latest. good evening, steve. >> steve: good evening, bret. in cut off communities like this one people go door to door to try to determine who is dead and who is alive. >> this was a brick building. and it just pan caked that way. >> steve: residents of western north carolina survey what is left of their homes and businesses after one of the

deadliest and costliest hurricanes to hit the u.s. >> devastation. >> a bomb went through here. >> search teams and dogs trudge through the mud looking for hundreds still unaccounted for as the death tolstedtly rises from helene. in the close-knit mountain communities, each loss is felt deeply. including the death of a long-time food line cashier, who died trying to save her mother. >> they, unfortunately, found her a few miles away from her house, swept away. still clutching her mother and they were not recovered alive. >> it's all gone. >> it's okay. >> many are counting their blessings. >> it's okay. >> including one couple who narrowly avoided being swept away by a mudslide. >> whoa. >> while driving through the blue ridge mountains. president biden saw the damage today, flying over some of the hardest hit areas and meeting with first responders. >> i'm here to say the united states, the nation has your

back. >> the pentagon says it will send in 1,000 active duty soldiers to deliver critical aid. with so many still without running water, power, and cell service. >> we need so much help. we don't want to be forgotten. >> vice president harris promised more help is on the way while visiting georgia. >> the coordination that we have dedicated ourselves to will be long-lasting to get families, to get residents, to get neighborhoods back up and running. >> steve: the death toll now stands at 182. people who live here say that number will go up. bret? >> bret: steve harrigan live in north carolina. steve, thanks. up next, the vice presidential nominees return to the campaign trail. we will take you there. then a live report from the port of houston amid the ongoing workers' strike. ♪ our story begins more than 65 years ago, inside an abandoned chicken coop. where our founder discovered a retired teacher living.

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>> bret: both vice presidential nominees have received praise for demonstrating civility during last night's first and likely only debate. they largely focused attacks on the presidential nominees. rather than each other. today both were being applauded for their performances byes their party as they returned to

the campaign trail. correspondent alexandria hoff takes a look. >> had a debate last night. a vice presidential debate. i thought it went pretty well. >> not bad for a football coach. not bad. >> senator j.d. vance making stops in michigan as governor tim walz kicked off a bus tour in central pennsylvania. both with the weight of a debate that was heavy on policy and light on personal attacks behind them. on stage, it took walz 45 minutes to accuse trump and vance of being tied to project 2025. during last month's presidential debate, harris mentioned it in the first 8 minutes. >> their project 2025 is gonna have a registry of pregnancies. >> trump's team has denied involvement with project 2025 and the heritage foundation's plan does not call for a registry of pregnancies, state's state walls provide analysis abortion date to to cdc. >> the statute you signed under law the doctor is under no obligation to survive live saving care to a doctor who

performs botched abortion. >> that's not true the way it was. >> regarding infants born alive during last year. the new wording requires medical personnel, to quote, care for the infant who was born alive. the original warning required medical personnel to quote preserve the life and health of the born alive infant. >> when donald trump said i got concept of a plan, it cracked me up. >> vance did not provide details on his running mate's healthcare plan, claiming he salvaged the affordable care act. >> he could have destroyed the program. >> asked when trump's healthcare provision would protect pre-existing conditions. >> look, we currently have laws and regulations in place right now that protect people with pre-existing conditions. >> current protections largely come from the aca or obamacare, which we know trump did make a strong effort to repeal while in office, bret. >> bret: alex, thank you. ♪ ♪ big economic story, dozens of

container ships already backed up at u.s. ports across the country. just two days into the dock worker's strike. president biden is urging port employers to offer fair contracts. correspondent brook taylor looks at the state of negotiations and what it could mean for you from the port of houston. >> with negotiations stalled, dock workers are not letting up on the picket line. [chanting make a deal] >> the port strike is costing the economy up to $4.5 billion a day according to economists. 36 major u.s. ports stretching from maine to texas are currently shut down. and because of this, many of the cargo ships that usually deliver goods to east coast and gulf coast ports are now stuck offshore. the national association of wholesaler distributers along with 300 other trade groups are

calling on president biden to take action. >> he has got the authority to shut down this strike and we think he needs to do it. >> mr. president -- >> president biden still refuses to do so, he had this to say today. >> it's time -- get this strike done. >> the union has two major demands. a 77% wage increase over six years along with a ban on automation. the u.s. maritime alliance group made an offer, including a 50% wage increase, claiming it exceeds every other recent union settlement, but the ila rejected it. we worked tirelessly through this pandemic, we had to come to work to get paid. everybody else stayed home while they got paid. >> on average ila union members start with $81,000 annual salary. but can pull in over $200,000 annually with overtime. >> we have foreign companies coming into the united states making billions of dollars of profits off our blood, sweat, and tears.

>> and just in the last hour, we heard from the u.s. mx representing the ports they say they are committed to bargaining in good faith. they will not agree to any of the union's preconditions. so, bret, at this hour it, just seems like both sides can't meet in the middle. >> bret: brook taylor live in texas, thanks. stocks today edged higher after yesterday's sell off as a new report showed private sector employers accelerated hiring last month. dow up. the nasdaq rose 15 today. new york city mayor eric adams appeared in court today for a hearing in his corruption case, prosecutors say they are looking into several related investigations that could bring additional charges against the mayor. he is accused of accepting $100,000 in free or discounted travel arrangements, adam's legal team is requesting the trial begin before next year's mayoral primary when he plans to run for re-election up next, we

look at at how hurricane helene could impact the election as voters in several key swing state toss-ups recover from the storm. ♪ ...feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks. many people were in remission at 12 weeks, 1 year,... ...and even at 2 years. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections... ...or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease or uc. ask your gastroenterologist... ...about skyrizi. ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ now approved for uc.

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trump is coming for our health care. that's pretty damn scary. kamala harris cares about us. she fought for us to get health care, and she's fighting for us to keep it. i'm kamala harris and i approve this message.

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♪ you don't...you don't have to worry... ♪ ♪ be by your side... i'll be there... ♪ ♪ with my arms wrapped around... ♪ ♪ >> bret: welcome back to "special report." as communities across the southeast grapple from the devastating impact from hurricane helene, officials are working to address a less urgent issue but one that's very important, and that is this: the effect on early voting. 66 counties across north carolina, south carolina, georgia, and florida currently fall under the federal government disaster declarations. now, according to "the washington post," in those four states, counties under disaster declarations backed trump, former president trump by nearly a 16-point margin four years ago. you see the disaster and non-disaster. they contributed to roughly a quarter of trump's vote total in those four states in 2020.

now, the storm, this year, just days ago, has up ended the election planning in some ports of north carolina, you see the red th mail and absentee voting started in south carolina september 24th two days before hurricane helene made landfall. as of this afternoon 10 county boards of elections offices are closed and fema has designated all these places 25 counties in disaster area you see there. now, that covers roughly 1.2 million total registered voters right there in north carolina. 490,000 unaffiliated, 293,000 democrats. 480,000 are registered republicans. more than 38,000 absentee ballots have been sent out to those north carolina counties. so far, only about 1,000 of them have been returned. that's why this is important. now, if you look back at the presidential race, and we look at the state of north carolina

in 2020, you can see that historical data, former president trump won the state by the state's 15 electoral votes by just over 1 point there. if you go back, and you see georgia, down below, in 2020, biden won by just under 12,000 votes. securing the 16 electoral votes there. georgia's secretary of state, brad raffensperger says election officers were spared substantial damage from helene. but, if there are any disruptions to the early voting in some of these hard-hit counties, it could signal some trouble for former president trump. the political fallout from hurricane helene is creeping its way to the forefront of the presidential campaign trail. senior white house correspondent peter doocy has that part of the story tonight. >> these are very difficult times. >> delicate, too, as candidates figure out how to campaign and help disaster victims. >> epitomize important and good work. >> former president trump alleges the biden

administration's storm response is political. >> we have a problem in north carolina. we had a big hurricane and really hurt a lot of my voters. >> this image of george w. bush surveying katrina damage from air force 1 dogged him for years. this image of chris christie warmly greeting barack obama days before an election against mitt romney bewilder erred republicans at the time. now donald trump claims political interference in biden-harris help for helene victims. >> they are going out of their way to hurt these people. >> dhs secretary disputes claims that fema is playing favorites. >> absolutely not. >> mayorkas also made a troubling claim about the remaining two months of hurricane season. >> we do not have the funds -- fema does not have the funds to make it through the season. >> that conflicts with the fema's administrator's accounting sunday. >> we absolutely have enough resources from across the federal family. >> roughly $20 billion remains in disaster relief fund to.

that's unlikely be used by the end of hurricane season novembes questions whether stretched then in 2024 fema provided $645 million in funds to help communities support migrants. but the focus today is on wind and water damage. >> in a moment of crisis, i think that really does bring out the best of who we are. >> peter: but, tomorrow, the campaigning begins again. vice president harris will visit wisconsin and then both she and former president trump are going to be in battleground michigan. president biden plans to go back down to the southeast to survey damage in florida and georgia. it is unclear when, exactly he plans to campaign for harris, again. bret? >> bret: peter doocy live on the north lawn, peter, thanks. ♪ ♪ okay, in tonight's 50 races in 50 days, the scramble for an open house seat in the great lakes region. with the current democratic representative elissa slotkin

opting to run for michigan's open senate seat, two former state senators will now compete for congressional seat in the seventh district. trump endorsed republican tom barrett served in the u.s. army during operation enduring freedom and operation iraqi freedom. came up short as the republican nominee against slotkin for this district in 2022 claiming abortion was a major factor in his loss there. it could be more the same again. campaigning on the economy and inflation, his opponent curtis her telis casting barrett as a threat to abortion rights. he believes abortion will be a potent issue this cycle with both tickets barn storming the state, including a visit from former president trump to sag in a situation in the middle east and what may come next.

first, here is what some of our fox affiliates are covering tonight. fox 11 in los angeles where a san diego doctor charged in connection with actor matthew perry's death has pleaded guilty to conspire to distribute ketamine. prosecutors offered lesser charges to dr. mark chavez and two others who admitted guilt in this case in exchange for their cooperation in going after two targets they deem more responsible for perry's death. fox 46 in charlotte, north carolina. two nascar teams, including one owned by michael jordan, have filed a lawsuit over nascar's new revenue sharing model. 2311 racing and front row mort charts sports limits competition but unfair live binding -- by unfairly binding teams to the series its tracks, and suppliers. and this is a live look at las vegas from fox 5. the sphere right there. one of the big stories there tonight, the las vegas space port begins the licensing process in an effort to build a

launch site for space planes. company officials are working with space force leaders to try to build this new age facility. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ let's get it started ♪ let's get it started in here ♪ let's

♪ >> bret: a massive blast heard in the last few hours inside beirut city. witnesses could see smoke rising from the buildings. security sources there say the strike hit within the city limits, not far from downtown. >> israel will not stand by in the face of aggression. israel will respond. our response will be decisive. and, yes, it will be painful. >> nuclear [inaudible] >> the answer is no. >> bret: for analysis on the situation in the middle east and what may come next, let's bring in fox news senior strategic analyst retired general jack keane. general, thanks for being here. what's your assessment of the situation? what's happened so far and where do you think the israelis go

next? >> yeah, bret. great being here. well, just a couple of things. you know, first of all, dealing with prime minister netanyahu. he has regained the confidence of the israeli people. based on how he has handled himself and really gaining dominance over hamas. it's taken 11 months to do it. the administration pushed back on him in doing it and also didn't want him to do the rafah operation. that turned out to be quite successful there are still remnants there but most of hamas, military organization on the ground has been defeated. he is gaining dominance over hezbollah. dismantling. one of the most remarkable endeavors i have seen in watching military conflicts that everyone has been exposed to here for the last three weeks and given what you just introduced there, obviously that is still going on. that is the main effort. and is he not going to be distracted from that whatsoever. he knows this is the most powerful proxy that iran has in

the region and it's on it border. he has got to dismantle it, stop it from attacking into northern israel. other thing what we are dealing with iran. right from the beginning, the administration has done, what? they tried to stop this war and go to a cease-fire. where is netanyahu? he wants to win this war and end it that way. and that's the way most leaders want to end the war. end it favorable on their terms. and that is -- that is what he is pursuing and he is determined and convicted to achieve that end despite the pressure from the administration. as to what is he going to do with iran, i know the administration is putting pressure on him privately, not as much publicly other than restriction on nuclear -- hitting nuclear targets not to go robust. to go minimal. why is that? it's the same thing they do with zelenskyy and it's the same thing they do with netanyahu. they fear escalation.

for the american people, just think about, how do you win a war if you are going to fight a war and fear escalation? you can't. that's whereby the administration is they have got to be very frustrated. he will hit back, i think, comprehensively and decisively. he has got obviously conventional targets to go are a. the rocket missile force, the irgc bases, maybe finally take out the irgc navy that is helping the houthis shut down the suez canal. that is certainly there. economic targets. oil, et cetera. nuclear targets. those, i think, are less likely. but he is going to send a message to the iranians, they are already on their heels. and that's a fact. hezbollah and hamas are frustrated with them because they are not getting the support from them. and i think there is opportunity here to create civil unrest in iran as long as israel stays right on the course and stays tough dealing with it. >> bret: general, you are think about the last couple of weeks

here. and we just saw that chart of hezbollah command leadership being taken out. first by all of those pagers that explode and then the radios. and then the precision strikes, taking out specific leaders, including nasrallah. before that, the hamas leader killed in in tehran. another long planned attack. the question is will the big target be you know these nuclear sites or could it be oil fields or do you think it will be more targeted to people? >> i think it will be more targeted towards conventional military. what i suggested. the missile forces, irgc bases. they have been very successful using espionage to deal with the nuclear enterprise. and they hit natanz twice and delayed the program close to a year. i'm not suggesting that israel at some point wouldn't have to deal with a nuclear enterprise much larger than just one facility. they may, indeed have to.

i don't think they are going to hit economic targets too hard because it impacts on the people their intel is good. they know beneath the surface in iran people are fed up with this regime. they certainly don't want war coming to iran as a result of this regime. they are not going to blame israel. they are going to blame the regime. that's the reality that's out there. >> bret: yeah. we saw that in the green revolution during the obama years that really didn't -- wasn't allowed to flourish in those times, but we could see potentially does it again. general, as always, love the analysis. thank you. >> great talking to you, bret. >> bret: up next, jessica tarlov, lawrence jones, and harris faulkner join the all-star panel to discuss the latest from the campaign trail, last night's vice presidential debate. the breaking news today. next. ♪ ♪ dust settles and the engine finally roars

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from big to slim. from our iconic button downs for all shapes and sizes to a whole lot more. try us today. untuckit. we just make guys look better. oh, and we make great styles for her too. find the perfect fit at untuckit.com and more than 80 stores worldwide. >> jack smith said a couple weeks ago judge chutkan we want to go first. judge chutkan said that's quite unusual but she let them go first. the effect of that now is we essentially have jack smith's case at least on paper, at least the parts that haven't been redacted 30-some days before the election. >> there is no question this jack smith's only real opportunity to try this case in the eyes of the public before the election. >> bret: 34 days before the

election. this is 165-page filing by special counsel jack smith the parts here, excerpt. three days before election day p 1, person one described the defendant, which is former president trump's plan to a private gathering of supporters and what trump is going to do is just declare victory, right? is he going to declare victory. that doesn't mean he is the winner. is he just going to say he is the winner. it goes on. but truth social, the former president posted moments ago. democrats are weaponizing the justice department against me because they know i am winning. they are desperate to prop up their failing candidate, kamala harris, the doj pushed out latest hit job today because j.d. vance humiliated tim walz last night in the debate. the doj nothing more than the extension of joe's and now kamala's campaign. this is egregious prosecutorial misconduct and should not have been released right before the election. the democrat party is turning america into a third world country that tries to censor, harass and intimidate political opponents. what they have done to our justice system is one of the great all-time tragedies. we heard from jonathan turley

earlier. wanted to get the truth social out there. let's bring in our panel. harris faulkner anchor of the faulkner focus co-host of "outnumbered." "the five" jessica tarlov co-host of "fox & friends" lawrence jones. i feel like i should be a co-host of something. >> harris: you are just a host. >> jessica: even better. >> bret: harris, what about this? not a lot we didn't know there are some moments in there that paint a picture that's not flattering, obviously, for donald trump. but what do you think of this? >> harris: this is an issue that donald trump now gets to tee off again and do it in a new way. you were reading from twitter and truth social. one of the thing that caught my eye is when he says the release of in falsehood j 6 brief immediately following tim walz disastrous debate performance and 33 days before the most important election in the history of our country. look, no one is lost on the fact that was a loss for kamala harris' team.

i don't know how much a vice presidential debate can hurt her. all eyes on that campaign. then she goes and looks down at least 11, 12 times at her cards, in georgia today while joe biden is in north carolina. the storm, the hurricane happened thursday of last week. they are just getting there they are not winning on issues that matter to the american people right now. that port strike, they're not winning on that. they could have used the taft-hartley act and stopped it for 80-day cooling. they didn't do that as a team, biden-harris. so this changes the game. now, look, jack smith, his timing was handed to him. he got to go first. she said that. so he is going to lay this out. i don't know, bret. i tend to think that people look at this as an opportunity for donald trump to say, they're not winning, they want your focus on something that isn't going to pay your bills. >> bret: for all, jessica, of the uproar about james comey coming out before the elections with hillary clinton and putting out there his assessment, even though they were not going to trial, before the election, and

all the handwringing about that, for 'this 34 days when they know there is not going to be a trial before the election in this case to come out in this format is kind of interesting. >> well, they are vastly different cases. >> bret: sure. >> jessica: comey letter even closer 40 days before the election. >> bret: 23 days difference, yeah. >> jessica: it is different every day and all of this counts. this is an october surprise. it is very early in october that this happened comey letter was for his own edification. bret. >> bret: isn't this jack smith's edification? >> jessica: no. it proves donald trump was wrong to take up the immunity aspect of this that's what pushed this timeline back. jack smith was very clear he was going to proceed. he was exactly the same charges in this. he slimmed it down but he was able to convince a grand jury that he should move ahead with all of these counts.

and they -- they have some smart lawyers that are working for them who might have been able to mention to donald trump. that this just means that this case is going to come up closer to the election. and. >> harris: not the trial. >> jessica: but that doesn't matter. >> bret: it does. it really does. >> jessica: no, it really doesn't. people aren't buying en masse they are not buying this lawfare argument that he is a big victim and didn't do anything wrong. there is evidence in this of clear cut crimes. >> bret: what is not in this, jessica, is not a defense. there is not a defense. there is not anything that says this was an official act or wasn't. i understand what you are saying about painting the picture. but the timing, lawrence, is a question. >> lawrence: there is no coincidences when it comes to the timing. they wanted this to happen during this period of time. and it just goes back to -- i mean, actually wrong to say it doesn't benefit the president. every time they weaponize the department of justice or the legal system against them, he shoots up in the polls. layers hairs that's right.

>> lawrence: there is a rejection from the american people at large. anybody that knows jack smith and his record, he doesn't really win legal cases. he tries to win them in the public eye. and then he gets overturned. and so, i think there used to be a standard between the department of justice to shun the appearance to at least appear to be fair. that seems to have changed lately. >> bret: harris, let's go back to the debate last night, quickly. the headlines, vance confidence. walz uneven in the debate. we saw a lot of these articles. how did you take it. >> harris: every wasn't sure hot bios days before. who had the 18 years of debate and leadership experience? i mean, i know they said it was tim walz. but it looked like it might have been j.d. vance and his coolness. there were things that j.d. vance had that were advantages. for one, is he cool as a cucumber. cooler than the other side of the pillow as stuart scott used to say. but, with walz, there was just

this sort of rehearsed talking point. he wasn't anymore being. anymonimble.he thought some of k would be. he was wrong about that. fact-checking his opponent more than they were him. this was important. i think it matters more than usually vp debates do. >> bret: do you agree, jessica? >> i don't agree with the assessment. >> bret: that it matters? >> jessica: potentially. the harris-walz ticket is the one that has room to grow in terms of people actually wanting to know more about them. undecided voters have been consistent. they know donald trump and they are sick of it. that's that. >> tim walz had a good night if you look at the focus groups in michigan and pennsylvania. his favorability went up from 14 to 37. j.d. vance has gotten himself to a negative 3. by 16. >> lawrence: reporting was he was nervous. i thought they were trying to set exceptions low. he was clearly nervous

yesterday. a j.d. vance that really prosecuted the case of what a maga movement is. maybe donald trump always goes into the pictures and all that well, you had j.d. vance colored within the lines. i think you see a worthy successor for the movement last night. he was likeable, relatable, complimentary of the governor as well. and this whole notion that j.d. vance is more experienced. he has been in politics for two years. you got a sitting governor two terms that was in congress. >> jessica: which is why he could talk about record. >> harris: there were two items that i thought the left own the right on, abortion, and i thought for sure that that would be an area where he would slide. i thought that j.d. did a good job of being transparent that there needs to be growth within the g.o.p. party among women and family and so on and so forth. >> bret: great to have you guys. fair balanced and unafraid. laura is up next. >> laura: i'm laura ingraham. this is the is "the ingraham a" from washington tonight. it's great to have you wit