we missed you. >> bret: good evening, welcome to washington. i'm bret baier. breaking tonight, the 45th president of the united states has been indicted for a third time unprecedented in u.s. history. events surrounding the capitol riot january 6th, 2021. the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. as you are looking live there, special counsel jack smith will make remarks at a news conference from the justice department shortly. we will bring those to you here live and we have a full show of reaction to all of the developments and the specifics on the charges for that griff jenkins has the details outside the courthouse. >> griff: good evening. donald trump has been ordered to appear in court behind me for first court appearance and possible arraignment. that is the news breaking at this moment. it will be on thursday at 4:00 p.m. now special counsel jack smith has laid these allegations out in the form of speaking indictment where prosecutors lay out a detailed time narrative events surrounding the january 6th, 2021 capitol ri ri. how they dealt with his refu

. ♪ >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier.e are come to you tonight from forum in milwaukee, wisconsin. it is the site of the first republican presidential debate wednesday night right here on fox. we now know who will be participating, where each candidate will be standing as you see on the graphic on the screen there; however, much of the conversation centers around who will not be here. the frontrunner, former president donald trump. he is getting ready to turn himself n fulton county, georgia, thursday facing state criminal charges. also tonight, one of the challengers is trying to dig his way out of what he says is a controversy based on a misquote. correspondent bill melugin is here in milwaukee with a wrap-up. good evening, bill. >> bret, good evening to you. we are now just a little over 24 hours away from what could really be a make or break moment for some of these republican candidates. and one of those candidates in particular is now taking some serious flag over previous comments he made about 9/11. comments are n

>> oh, too many, bret. >> bret: too many?talking earlier about this issue with hunter biden, this really isn't about hunter biden. this is really about president biden himself it. looks to me like he was on phone calls, talking about business while he was in office enriching his own family. there's a lot of questions to be answered there and i hope the moderator, whoever that might be, bret, will get a chance to ask those. >> bret: well, i will talk to that person and see what we can do. mr. secretary, thanks so much. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: up next, republican presidential candidates try some fried food and look for votes at the iowa state fair. ♪ businesses need 5g solutions today. that's why they choose t-mobile for business. mlb partners with t-mobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. aaa relies on t-mobile's network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. and we're helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. now's

bret? >> bret: hillary, thank you.next, a major focus on increasingly troubling healthcare issue in this country it. may effect you and your loved ones. we will tell what you it is and what's being done about it. here's what fox affiliates are covering tonight. fox 453 in pittsburgh death sentence for the gunman who stormed synagogue in the heart of the jewish community killing 11 worshipers there. robert bowers spewed hatred of views, espoused white supremacist on online before plotting and carrying out the massacre at the tree of life massacre. fox 5 in new york as prosecutors turn over a massive amount of evidence against the accused gilgo beach serial killer. rex heuermann made his first court appearance yesterday. his initial not guilty plea since his initial plea he is accused of three murders and the prime suspect in a fourth. and this is a live look at cleveland. one of the big stories there tonight from fox 8, our affiliate. area children form a 3-mile long human chain stretching across downtown can't. kids pa

bret? >> bret: dan springer in seattle.officials are ramping up their criticism of the president's border policies tonight while authorities in new york are blaming the biden administration for not helping enough with migrants sent to their city. a former democratic colleague of the president said she's livid at the lack of funds for her state. fox business correspondent madison alworth has that story tonight. good evening, madison. >> good evening, bret. new york city is turning to parks like the one behind me to house migrants as the nation's largest city becomes overwhelmed with the crisis. the newest being announced just this afternoon randles island will now be the home to the newest humanitarian emergency response and relief center, housing 2,000 single adult migrants on fields and green spaces used by new york city families. we just got a statement from the randall's island park alliance in response to this news saying, in part, quote: randall's island park alliance is dedicated to reducing the impact of the healthca

bret? >> bret: kelly o'grady live in l.a.der cloudy skies. 2% is and will remain our inflation target. >> what you want is it to be low, stable, predictable. that doesn't need to mean 2.0. >> if we have to choose between high inflation or higher unemployment, people are going to be will to tolerate higher inflation in order to keep their job. >> bret: still, a lot of talk about inflation. obviously the gas prices we just heard about. let's get some analysis from charles payne of fox business. good evening, charles. what's your take. >> good evening. >> bret: these higher prices are lingering and gas prices, again, going up. >> charles: you know, kelly talked about the drawdown in crude, bret. this is a really probably going to be the most father some fear. lowest since march of 1985. the strategic petroleum reserve is lowest level since 1983. and at $81 a barrel it's too expensive to try to replenish it. but we start to see that go higher and it's going to be extraordinary. the sad thing is americans are locked in this fight

have a good show. >> bret: thank you. good evening. i'm bret baier. we are coming to you tonight from ph pf fiserv forum. the 8 candidates are going through final preparations as are the two moderators. i'm told. one of the candidates, north dakota governor doug burgum will not be at 100 percent physically. he had to go to the hospital, actually, after injuring his leg playing basketball. he appeared in the media area this afternoon on crutches. but will be on the debate stage tonight. correspondent bill melugin is here in milwaukee tonight with the final countdown to the big event. good evening, bill. >> bill: bret, good evening to you. here we go. candidate walk throughs are officially done. all of them are getting ready for tonight in their own unique way. some of them are listening to music, trying to get fired up others are trying to stay relaxed and loose. they know what is on the line tonight. they know it's a huge opportunity, and they are looking to shake up this race. >> north dakota governor doug burgum on crutches in the spin room with a t

bret? >> bret: david, thank you.& friends" co-host brian kilmeade is here tonight to talk about the interview with victor shokin. brian, thanks for being here. >> brian: bret, thanks for having me on. i appreciate it. looking forward to saturday night. everyone can see the whole interview. >> bret: yeah. listen, how did this all come to be? >> brian: i just thought in this case we keep on hearing about shokin, the corrupt prosecutor. i thought to myself why don't we ever hear from him, our booker said i will trial to reach out and get him. miranda devine, also, was able to tell me if this is a dry hole? is this guy still alive? she was able to coach me through and says there is a lot to learn about him. definitely try to reach out. sure enough he said no one has asked me for an interview. you are the first. >> bret: no one? >> brian: let's do it. that's what he said. we went ahead and did it he said listen, everybody poisoned twice. we found the medical records. he is right. he thinks there is a threat on his life. i

bret?et: claudia, thank you. >> bret: new developments tonight in the biden family business scandal. the family has released bank records detailing alleged payments from russia, ukraine, kazakhstan to the biden family and its business associates. the white house is calling the memo old news, innuendo and misdirection without any connection to president biden. republicans say they are continuing to follow the money and the communication. senior congressional correspondent chad pergram is on capitol hill. >> the memo appears to reveal millions coming from ukrainian energy firm burisma where hunter biden served on the board. records released by house republicans indicate president biden attended dinners in washington with ex-soviet empire oligarchs. >> this is payback millions of dollars that the biden family received because of their access to the brand, to the big guy, being joe biden. there were no services being delivered, except for access. >> russian oligarch bart reena is one of the ric

. >> bret: good evening, welcome to washington. i'm bret baier. tropical storm idalia is expected to become a major hurricane before it reaches the florida gulf coast. it appears to be targeting western florida for a wednesday landfall. people in the region are making preparations right now. some residents of low lying areas are evacuating. florida governor ron desantis has declared a state of emergency in 46 counties in florida so far. mobilizing 1100 national guard troops. he has suspended his campaign, we're told. we are looking live there at the emergency center in florida. and we expect the governor to speak there, to give an update at any moment on the preparations. right now the storm is thrashing cuba with heavy rains and, again, governor desantis will provide an update soon ian oliver is standing by live to talk about the track and possibly how strong this thing could be. ian, good evening. >> bret, good evening. yeah. we just got that update from the national hurricane center the 5:00 p.m. update. it was unchanged in terms of its intensi

bret: i'm bret baier. the very same stage on which the republican choice for president will accept the part's nomination summer. the eight contenders are positioned by the order they sit in the polls, with the highest polling candidates in the middle standing center stage. florida governor ron desantis. [cheers and applause] martha: next to him, vivek ramaswamy. bret: former vice president mike pence. martha: former south carolina governor nikki haley. bret: former new jersey governor chris christie. martha: south carolina senator tim scott. bret: former arkansas governor asa hutchinson. martha: north dakota governor doug burgum. [cheers and applause] bret: some ground rules for tonight. we'll ask the questions and then candidates get one minute to answer. if someone is singled out you get 30 seconds to respond and when the time runs out we all will hear this. [bell ringing] very pleasant. martha: so tonight these candidates have a big opportunity to break out of the pack and to explain why they are best p

bret in? >> bret: eric shawn in mid-atlantic.t's whatever happened too segment we look at the much discussed wall along the southern border it. apparently presents a large and expensive problem for many people. senior correspondent casey stegall explains from el paso, texas. >> on a blazing hot summer day piles of steel beams sit unused on a new mexico ranch on the southern border. >> there is a huge amount of taxpayer waste here. >> russell johnson says this material has been on his cattle ranch for more than two and a half years after president biden took office and halted construction of the border wall and there is nothing he can legally do about it. >> if i ran my business like a the federal government has run this project i would be broke. >> under president trump the feds approved $15 billion to build approximately 740 miles of border barrier. contracts were secured, supplies were purchased; however, only 400 and 50 miles were completed before the plug was pulled. >> we are talking somewhere around $2 billion worth of mate

. ♪ ♪ >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier.are coming to you tonight from forum in milwaukee, wisconsin. it is the site of the first republican presidential debate wednesday night right here on fox. the field, well, it's almost set for the republican candidates who will be here for that event that night. 8 people have qualified. one who will not appear is the frontrunner, former president donald trump who is skipping the debate. correspondent bill melugin is here in milwaukee to set the table for us tonight. good evening, bill. >> bret, good evening to you. as you know, all eyes are going to be on the city of milwaukee wednesday night. that is because for voters out there, it is going to be the very first time they get a chance to see all these candidates on stage together all at the same time face to face. and for these candidates, a chance to maybe have a moment and potentially break out of what is a very crowded g.o.p. field. >> everybody should debate. everybody has a responsibility to earn people's votes. nobody is entitle

bret? >> bret: william thank you. can help the victims of the wildfires, go to redcross.org/foxforward or text hawaii to 9 0 999 to make a $10 donation. >> on tuesday of this week, mr. weiss advised mimi that in his judgment his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel and he asked to be so appointed. upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, i have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel. >> bret: attorney general merrick garland. turning now to our top story the hunter biden special counsel. we get analysis now from george washington university law school professor jonathan turley and fox news chief legal correspondent anchor of fox news sunday shannon bream. good to see you both. you know, i'm trying to digest all of this. this is the u.s. attorney, jonathan, who was agreeing to this plea deal that a judge essentially blew up because she found inside this broad immunity th

bret? >> bret: gerri, thank you.el on the new information on the biden business scandal. the impeachment threat to president biden and awaiting another possible excitement of the former president. ♪ >> there is absolutely evidence that joe was involved. we have witness testimony. you now have financial records. you have irs whistleblowers. >> this leads to an impeachment or an impeachment inquiry, then that will happen. but we don't want to rush the process. ♪ gives you access to every game. but terry doesn't have directv. come on. work for dad- here... now, you can find the game easy. my barbecue is saved! get in the redzone with sports pack. call 1-800-directv my barbecue is ruined. oh, oh, oh...i'll be the judge of that. oh, that's nice... oh!! searchable, verified reviews. that's better than the ham, and i've never said that. booking.com booking.yeah (bridget) with thyroid eye disease i hid from the camera. and i wanted to hide from the world. for years, i thought my t.e.d. was beyond help... but then i asked my

i'm bret baier. the former president making his initial appearance in washington federal court today on the most recent criminal indictment against him. he pleaded not guilty to a variety of charges, involving alleged attempts to interfere and ideally overturn the 2020 election. and his alleged role in the subsequent january 6th 2021 capitol riot. correspondent david spunt is at the courthouse now a long day and a lot of media around you. good evening, david. >> bret, good evening to you. historic day. a stoick donald trump appeared in federal court behind me. he said little in front of the judge. >> the former president in a clear voice pleading not guilty to four criminal charges, stemming from his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. after being sworn in at his arraignment, trump was flanked by his lawyers who did most of the talking. appearing tense and impatient, looking about the room, his hands animated. escorted in the custody of the u.s. marshals, trump was fin

good to see you with me, bret. >> bret: i'm bret baier in washington.cane idalia battering the state after cracking ashore in the big bend region where the storm is predicting up to 16 feet of storm surge. we haven't seen that yet. damaging winds spreading inland over northern florida. national weather service calling idalia an unprecedented event. it hasn't hit this particular area ever. a storm this big. the storm tracking north/northeast at 18 miles-per-hour. maximum sustained wind

this bret? >> bret: griff, thank you.ited work authorization for asylum seekers. she also wants financial assistance for the city and state, the use of federal lands and facilities and reimbursement for nearly 2,000 new york national guard members. new york city mayor eric adams responded by saying that he is disappointed. the state appears to be memo mizeing its role in the crisis. he says the state must fulfill its duty to more than 8 million residents who call new york city home. ukraine is marking its second independence day since russia's full scale invasion. officials are vowing to keep up their fight to try to drive out the kremlin's forces. norway's prime minister says his country will donate f-16 fighter jets to ukraine. norway would be the third european country to make such a commitment following the netherlands and denmark. funding for ukraine is one of the most divisive issues facing republicans in congress. only one candidate came out against it during last night's presidential candidate debate. congressiona

bret? >> bret: we wish him well.rgram live on the hill, chad, thanks. ♪ several republican presidential candidates making their way to iowa this week. florida governor desantis is dealing with the hurricane. this comes against the back crop of the list of criminal cases facing the frontrunner. here is senior national correspondent rich edson. >> republicans are heading for a primary season of campaign events and courtroom proceedings. >> we did nothing wrong. i did nothing wrong. >> ahead of the start of trump's march 4th election interference trial, primary voters will decide 10% of the republican delegates. assuming a four to six week trial, more than two thirds of the delegates are up for grabs during the trial. 19 to 26% could be determined after. what interferes with the primary process is donald trump's conduct. and his insistence on continuing to run for president of the united states. what it's going to do is put the republican party in an awful position. >> on foreign policy, vivek ramaswamy defended his con

bret? >> bret: mike, thanks.ana perino, stuart varney and univision's illa calderon as they moderate the second presidential debate on fox business september 27th from the ronald reagan presidential foundation and institute in simi valley, california. breaking tonight u.s. supreme court justice clarence thomas has released his financial disclosure report for 2022 under fire for many personal expenses and the court faces criticism broadly for some lawmakers calling for ethics reform. let's get details from fox news correspondent anchor of "fox news sunday" shannon bremen. good evening, shannon. >> shannon: hello, bret. the release of this form today gives us a fuller picture of justin thomas' travel and financial holdings. elliott berk, a private attorney that thomas hired to review years' worth of his records and transactions along with a cpa firm burks said they found no willful violations alleging thomas has never accepted a gift from anyone with business before the court. the delayed disclosure comes following

bret? >> bret: alicia, thank you.l, the trump indictments, ufos and candidate casino. before we head to break though, you and a guest of your it choice could win tickets to attend the highly anticipated republican presidential debate in milwaukee august 23rd hosted by martha mccallum and me. nine lucky winners plus one guest each will be have the chance attend the historic event all expenses paid enter now at fox debate sweeps.com. you have until august 6th to enter. winner also be selectedt ♪ august 7th. who knows, we could see you there. western gift card. book now at bestwestern.com. let innovation refunds help with your erc tax refund so you can improve your business however you see fit. rosie used part of her refund to build an outdoor patio. clink! dr. marshall used part of his refund to give his practice a facelift. emily used part of her refund to buy... i run a wax museum. let innovation refunds help you get started on your erc tax refund. stop waiting. go to innovationrefunds.com you really got the brows. (l

. >> bret: i'm bret baier.his is "america's newsroom." 55 people killed and expected to rise as rescue crews comb through the rubble of neighborhoods. the sheer scale of the devastation there. they turned a tropical paradise into what is called an apocalypse. officials are scrambling to find shelter for thousands left homeless. >> dana: putting more stress on fire crews who have been working around the clock, bret. this happened quickly. the devastation on day two here i'm afraid what people will end up finding. they have so many people still missing. >> bret: the most amazing thing. some of the video that started coming out a couple days ago are the people jumping into the ocean to avoid the flames. the devastation is unbelievable. now federal authorities are trying to get as much as they can to these people who have lost everything. >> dana: one more point on this. will cain spent a lot of time there as a child and throughout his adult life and he has been giving us some information how close knit this commun

bret?et: alexis, you need to get out of that fried food. you need to move on. >> i'll try. >> bret: all right. we'll see you. please join martha mccallum and me as we host the first republican debate at the primary season. oh, yeah. that's next week. it happens right here on fox news channel august 23rd. #:00 p.m. eastern from milwaukee, wisconsin. the second debate can be seen on fox business channel september 27th from the ronald reagan presidential foundation institute simi valley, california. ♪ >> bret: the emergency management administrator for maui has resigned. he is citing health reasons though h his decision comes just day after he defended his actions in the wildfires. another official m. kaleo manuelwell is in hot water over refusing to release water over blazes. we brought that you yesterday. william la jeunesse is in maui with the latest right now. >> we lose everything. we don't have nothing finding countless dry hydrants thrmpleghts has been a great deal of water conflict on

bret?dison, thank you. ♪ ♪ >> bret: well, there is a new push tonight among some democrats to find an alternative to president biden for next year's election. as of right now, the president has only two declared primary opponents and neither has much traction inside the democratic party. on the republican side, there is another shakeup in the campaign. a former president trump most significant challenger for the nomination. and we have breaking news tonight about the former president's legal issues. chief washington correspondent mike emanuel takes a look tonight. good evening,. >> mike: mike bret, good evening. the federal judge overseeing president trump's case here in washington has ordered a hearing this friday morning. it's about the back and forth over so-called protective order regarding what mr. trump is able to speak about sensitive information in this case. a major campaign issue for the former president. in battleground new hampshire, g.o.p. frontrunner, former president donald t

. >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. breaking tonight, we are releasing right now the latest fox news polls showing how much of an uphill climb president biden could have when it comes to the u.s. economy as next year's election draws closer. his overall approval has fallen to 42%, down 2 points from june. disapproval, as you see here, is at 58. that's up 3 points. just 20% say the u.s. economy is excellent or good. 8 in 10 say the economy is in bad shape. those are both more pessimistic than two months ago. the president is not talking about that. in fact, as white house correspondent peter doocy tells us from the north lawn president biden really isn't talking about much right now. good evening,. >> peter: peter president biden is at camp david right now. is he preparing for international summit and officials around here are trying to put the focus on problems overseas. that is because, as you will see right here, things at home are not looking so good for the white house right now. it. >> hey, president biden? >> pete

bret. >> bret: all right, david. thank you.p next presidential candidates look for votes in the first caucus state. we will have a live report from iowa. and later as school starts in the u.s., we examine a controversial rule about gender identity and where parents fit in. ♪ >> once a student is outed to their parents, the harm is -- the harm is done. >> i really don't know for sure if they actually read our policy because they actually keep saying this is an outing policy, which is the furthest from that. ♪ gift card. book now at bestwestern.com. when migraine strikes. are the tradeoffs of treating worth it? ubrelvy is another option. it quickly stops migraine in its tracks. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. allergic reactions to ubrelvy can happen. most common side effects were nausea and sleepiness. ask about ubrelvy. (vo) ninety-two percent of students in high-needs schools can't afford essential school supplies. subaru and our retailers are there to help by giving millions of dollars in funding along with school s

hello to you in d.c. >> bret: good morning . i'm bret baier in washington. this is becoming a point of resistance where 100,000 migrants have arrived in new york city from the southern border. not just residents there fed -- >> dana: new york's top business executives are demanding president biden take full ownership of the mess he created. the front page of the "new york post" summing up the plea deal calling on the biden administration to help us. we have full coverage on fox. new york congresswoman stefanik will join us. >> good morning to you both. as city and state officials as well as business leaders ask for more from the biden administration, the department of homeland security is now blaming new york city for its handling of the migrant crisis. a dhs appointed team evaluated the city's migrant response. look at this. dhs statement says the team has provided recommendations for improvements including data collection, case management, and increased communication with migrants on work authorizations. meanwhile take a look at this. 400 people protested

good to see you with me, bret. >> bret: i'm bret baier in washington. hurricane idalia battering the state after cracking ashore in the big bend region where the storm is predicting up to 16 feet of storm surge. we haven't seen that yet. damaging winds spreading inland over northern florida. national weather service calling idalia an unprecedented event. it hasn't hit this particular area ever. a storm this big. the storm tracking north/northeast at 18 miles-per-hour. maximum sustained winds 110 miles-per-hour as it heads for georgia and the carolinas. steve harrigan is in tarpon springs near tampa. what are you seeing now? >> we have about a foot and a half water on this street and we're with jim who has an auto repair shop. has had it here for 30 years. behind every house, every business along this road and along much of this town there is at least a foot of water. if you want to see what it looks like we'll look inside this auto repair shop. what did you try to save when the storm is coming? what did you try and do? >> put cars up in the air. put our

. >> bret: i'm bret baier in washington. "america's newsroom." the governor is beginning down there in florida and we can listen in to governor desantis. >> forecast to make landfall along florida's big bend tomorrow morning as a major hurricane. the national hurricane center issued a hurricane warning for the gulf coast from sarasota county through franklin county in the panhandle and storm surge watches are also in effect in those areas. national hurricane center advisory includes if this storm hits at high tide storm surge could reach 8 to 12 feet in some areas. that would be life threatening storm surge. i know all those areas are under evacuation notices in the low lying and coastal areas. you run from the water and you hide from the wind. if you are there in that storm surge you are putting your life in jeopardy when it gets to be that high. so if you're giving those orders please heed those orders. you don't have to leave the state. you don't have to drive hundreds of miles. get to higher ground and safe structure. ride out the storm and g

bret. >> bret: grady, thank you. dana, you think about all of the criticism those governors got about moving migrants. politically it has changed the dynamic in those cities. >> dana: they had to. i have to think if it had been the other way those democratic mayors and governors would have done the same thing. it is a national problem and we're seeing the fruits of that now. great piece by grady there. want to get to this right now. former president donald trump's legal team is due in federal court for a pre-trial hearing on the 2020 election interference case. a judge will consider arguments on how the evidence will be handled by trump and his defense team. special counsel jack smith wants a protective order keeping trump from sharing certain details with the public. smith also wants the trial to begin january 2, 2 weeks before the iowa caucus. that's the kickoff of the republican primary process as we've been talking about today. trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. details from the court as we get them. that's

>> bret: pretty extensive. i like steve's nielsen ratings.here cleveland was in 2016, really something. we prepare and martha and i have been working with a great staff and research, everybody on the stage will have questions, we'll try to be equal time, try to get them to interact and contrast each other on policy. i think voters want to see how they are different and make it civil and fun and hopefully have some fireworks. the thing we've seen, unpredictable things happen in debates. >> steve: those moments get replayed, that is why i say 60 to 80 million. people will see snipits of it. i was online posting a picture of me and ainsley with our mullets. >> martha: that was the highlight of my morning, i need a clip for this afternoon. can't get enough. >> steve: i posted picture of us and next down your instagram, clip from vanity fair, fox news debate could put gop in a mine field martha maccallum says. >> martha: these men and women are in a tight race for the second and third spot. who will be big in iowa. chris christie moved ahead of ro

bret baier has been preparing, along with martha maccallum. bret, working out 4 a.m.. energy is going. i hit the gym. >> brian: what are your thoughts about looking at past debates? >> it was a different weight class for me. this is the ninth debate i've moderated and each is different and this is unique. the former president will not be here, it is a moment for other candidates to have a moment and we're excited to talk about policy and get them talking to each other. it is great to work with martha, she is a true pro. >> brian: you are collaborating on this. >> in every question polishing them to happening prevent them from getting to the off ramp of talking points. we are excited you will get bottom of your screen back. >> brian: i love that, fantastic. >> we were taking a picture at the stadium and guy says, you are milwaukee bucks fans? yeah, we are. >> brian: everybody is here now. eight people on the stage tonight and vivek ramaswamy will be center stage along with ron desantis. my decision looking at it, it is tighter than usual, i don't think it is bad to be

bret: we're not in the chairs yet, we're backstage. this is where all the candidates are going to be lined up, right here, and we're getting ready to go. martha and i -- [laughter] feels like the first day of school, we've got our binders. martha: wouldn't everyone like to know what's in the binder? if on our way here, we ran into some of those that are getting ready to come out. they seem pretty pumped up and excited, as are we. so we wanted to show you what it's like back here. bret: the crowd is big, probably 4,000, maybe plus, and they're fired up. they've been in the seats for a while. they're ang shus to get started, and we'll be walking out, giving them a little preamble before everything starts, and then we will get to the debate moderator desk and start the asking questions. martha: yeah. we're looking forward to it. bret: bill, dana, back to you. like the oscars or, behoo hind the scenes. la. [laughter] dana: i love that. bill: it looks fantastic. we'll see you guys in about 28 minutes. thank you. martha: see you later. dana:

>> bret: a couple of things, trace. one is that she wants everyone in this indictment, again, that is 19 people, the former president and 18 others to turn themselves in by friday, august 25th and that is, and that is, in or, two days after the debate in milwaukee. so we will see how that goes. the other thing is she wants a speedy trial and she wants this trial within six months. now, let's just do the math h here. september, october, november, december, january, february. that is right in the middle of the primary carcass season. and it is a judge that makes the decision. i think the most interesting thing is the thing he just pointed out and that is the question about this document that ends up being posted midday. reuters gets a grab of it. they do a story. the former president appears to have been charged because it is on the fulton county? website. then the clerk comes out and says that is a fictitious document. don't go with that. does not explain how it ends up on their website. she won't answer a question about

who you remember was the former attorney for bret testimony, and bret tolman. a former attorney himself. the defendant had a right like every american to speak publicly about the election, even to claim falsely there had been an outcome determining fraud during the election and that he had won. so, they concede he had the right to a different opinion, but what? what -- so they throw that in there to try to protect themselves violate what they are still protecting. >> yeah, laura, that's what they are doing. in fact it was quite a shocking statement when i first read that at the beginning of this indictment. they are giving some credibility to the notion that a candidates can say what they want to say, freedom of speech, they can be wrong and they can even say things that are false. that's longstanding law that has been established in this country. so, they give that and then at the same time they try to unwind that and go through their legal and factual wrangling to try to pull back those protections and development of case law over the years. that's when you k

>> bret: i'll start. i think obviously the moment is a big political moment. a little surreal in the political moment we're in but so many issues that face americans that they want to hear about. the former president is not here on the stage but the people who are here on the stage are really going to be trying to stand out above the others to be the alternative. >> martha: the numbers we've seen over this week's polling show 50 to 60% of republican voters watching closely tonight, of course, are undecided. they are persuadeable and listening to all these people. we hear it time and again with all the voter panels. people saying their minds are very open at this point. that's a big opportunity for these folks tonight. i think that they are also a bit anxious and excited getting on stage. for some we'll wake up tomorrow morning feeling they hit it out of the park. others not so much. the stakes are pretty high. >> bill: i was looking at the setup yesterday. it is beautiful, number one. i think there is like two feet in between each podium. not a lot of physical

bret baier would know. i'd be surprise "fox and friends" he didn't not. bret, what about that? the last time the president went to that cuban restaurant and, you know, goodies for everybody. i think he left without paying the bill. >> right around the block from charlie palmer's steakhouse. >> it's pricey. >> you can see a lot of lawmakers in there lunch time. it's past that now. a lot of places to stop. i doubt he will say anything until he gets back to new jersey if i had to bet. i listened to the conversation here. it's interesting. one of the things i'm compelled to say is that no matter what happens in this courtroom, when the trial gets underway, under this judge, you just heard talk directly to the former president about his rights and the charges. there is an appellate process that john turley talked about. whether that is fast tracked and whether it goes through that or the supreme court, you know, this president is directly responsible for choosing this court and the supreme court has been put together now. it's more favorable on these issues one would think on appeal

the big thing that really i i tell people about bret hart now like bret hart, if he had not the father he had who was a wrestling of his own and a wrestler, bret hart wanted to go to film school. and when you talk to bret at length, you figure out why he that's he thinks like a movie director, like that was why he was really good his matches he's really good at figuring out the beats and escalate versions of a story and also is good at vibes like he kind of gets what vibes feel cool and those are two things that are really essential being a filmmaker and i found that really interesting i feel like there was i just wonder is there anybody else who like the perceptions here? you know what i didn't get the interview him, but when i was a kid, i sort of thought paul heyman of stw and now wwe was. interesting. but now then i came back to as an adult, i like seven years ago i had this big sort of jewish revelation where like i became, i become bar mitzvah. but like now really jewish. i think a lot about jewish stuff. and paul heyman me now is totally fascinating. i really hope i get to inter

bret baier joining me now. string of trial dates next year, four trials right in the middle of presidential campaign. do you think voters will see this as fair? >> stuart, good morning. i don't. gop voters i think that there are independents and dependents and suburbanwomen poe what's happening here. the first trial out of the box could be january 2 if a judge decides august 28th about that date. january 2 is 13 days ahead of the iowa caucuses. then you have four cases, four trials within five months all leagued up to the rnc convention in milwaukee in july. one of the trials starting possibly in july if the polls are right right now and it continues this way, the former president would accept the nomination in the middle of a trial. it's bizarre, it's surreal, and now the former president facing 91 charges and if you add up all l years together and he was -- the years together and he was convicted of everything, it's hundreds of years. stuart: in the georgia case, it's a state trial and so if he's convicted, h

. >> bret: by choice, though, trace.has chosen on a number of fronts online and other ways to be in these culture wars. he doesn't like calling it that, he's made that a point of it, says this is important to parents, important to defend his state on these attacks from what he called vice president harris coming down and making this attack on the slavery curriculum and -- but he pushed back and i specifically mentioned senator tim scott, representative byron donalds from florida who have real problems as successful black republican politicians with the way that he's talking about it. so he stuck to his guns and we'll see what voters decide about it. >> sandra: all right, bret. that makes for a very interesting show. you'll have tonight special report 6:00 p.m. duty calls. >> trace: bells, it's time, time is up. next interview. >> sandra: quick alert to the courtroom out on long island where the gilgo suspect just appeared in that courtroom before a judge. as you can see, the reporters have been leaving that courtroom ove

it's stunning, bret. you look at this matchup in what has been called a rotating carnival of courthouses and rallies. this is -- we talk about unprecedented a lot. this combination, very unprecedented in the presidential election cycle. >> martha: neil put his finger on it, this is surreal. it is. to dana's point, it's also ordinary now in our third indictment, our third roundabout on this. this election is nothing like we have ever seen before. the 45th president is running for the white house again. his vice president served with him is now a part of this indictment. part of this in a paragraph where it talks of phone call that only vice president pence and president trump were on. very detailed in which president trump allegedly says, according to the indictment and according to vice president pence, that he is too honest. take that moment in this indictment and put it in politics. the vice president currently is campaigning, running against his former boss. they have just come out with merchandise. ha

we missed you. >> bret: good evening, welcome to washington. i'm bret baier.aking tonight, the 45th president of the united states has been indicted for a third time unprecedented in u.s. history. events surrounding the capitol riot january 6th, 2021. the efforts to overturn the 2020

martha and bret did a wonderful job.ike's martha's first question coming out asking about the oliver anthony song. we can all relate to that song. it's been number one for a reason. >> steve: i liked the ufo question i can relate to that. >> ainsley: christie said i get the ufo question he was smart and spun it quickly. nikki haley knocked it out of the park blaming democrats and republicans. time for accountant in the white house. even though she was good at saying positive things about trump because we know he is doing really well in the polls and the majority of republicans really like him. she did a great job on abortion. i thought vivek embraced it. had a lot of energy. he was funny. don't agree with his foreign policy and nikki haley really hammered him on that. >> steve: word to the control room. lexy, ainsley just ordered coffee. brian has got his coffee because he is live at the original pancake house in brookfield in wisconsin about 20 miles away from the arena last night. >> ainsley: i saw you behind sean hann

he's standing by what he has always said, bret. he's at 3%.points ahead of his nearest competitor. >> we have seen this every indictment. the poll numbers go up. we've seen his fund-raising go up. in the hours after he found out and tweeted out or truth socialed out that he was getting indicted, there was a fund-raising appeal and he raised money. he's been indicted three times. two times federally and one time in manhattan. there's 78 counts against the 45th president of the united states and his political standing in the gop primary is only going up. i should point out in the past few minutes, he's going after ron desantis and said like mike pence, who i took from a flawed and failing gubernatorial re-elect campaign in the great state of indiana to make my v.p., ron is a very disloyal guy who has taken bad advice, referring to ed rollin's comments about ron desantis. >> martha: you heard the vice president say he's going to make the debate stage. has to be difficult to be the former vice president and to be in a position where you don't have