Faulkner: The media is in the 'HOT SEAT'

? PREORDER IT NOW AT FOX NEWS. BOOKS.COM. ♪ ♪. >> Harris: IF. DR. ANTHONY FAUCI THOUGHT THE. HOT SEAT HE WAS WAS GOING TO GO. DOWN, HE WAS WRONG. BECAUSE THE VERY MEDIA THAT. COVERED WHAT HE WAS DOING. WHEN HE WAS LYING TO THE PUBLIC. IS NOW IN THE HOT SEAT OF ITS. OWN, AND THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT. HIM, AND IN THE WAKE OF THE. RELEASE OF THE 40 DIARIES LAST. WEEK SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN IS. NOW SPEAKING OUT OVER THE MEDIA. COVERAGE OF THE COVID PANDEMIC. A LOT OF WHAT SHE WROTE ABOUT IN.

HIS DIARIES WAS THE SIMULTANEOUS. PANDEMIC THAT WAS GOING ON. QUESTIONS ARE GROWING NOW ABOUT. LOCKDOWNS, CENSORSHIP AND. WHETHER THE MEDIA CHALLENGED THE. EXPERTS OR SIMPLY ECHOED THEM. YOU'RE WATCHING "OUTNUMBERED". I'M HERE WITH MY CO-HOST, EMILY. COMPAGNO JOINING US, KELLY. McGEE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR. LISA BOOTHE, FOX NEWS POLITICAL. ANALYST, AND TODD PIRO, CO-HOST OF "FOX & FRIENDS. FIRST.". FIVE YEARS AFTER THE PANDEMIC, THE FIGHT OVER COVID STILL IN.

THE HEADLINES. SECRETARY KENNEDY WAS SPARRING. WITH CNN'S DANA BASH ACCUSING. THE MEDIA OF ABANDONING ITS ROLE. AS A WATCHDOG AND INSTEAD. BECOMING A MOUTHPIECE FOR THE. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS DURING THE. PANDEMIC. WATCH. >> WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. DURING COVID. WE COMPLETELY DISMANTLE OUR. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. WE BEGAN CENSORING PEOPLE. >> BUT I DO -- NO, I WASN'T PART. OF THE PROBLEM.

>> ABSOLUTE PRESS MALPRACTICE. >> MR. SECRETARY, YOUR JOB --. JUST YOU WEREN'T DOING THAT. >> MY JOB IS ALSO --. >> Harris: IT WAS HEATED AND THE. TWO WERE GOING BACK AND FORTH. WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT WHAT THEIR. JOBS ARE. IN A STATEMENT CNN SAID -- ARE. WE GOING TO HEAR IT? LET'S HEAR IT.

>> I'M NOT DEBATING THIS. BECAUSE I'M NOT THAT. >> REPEAT THINGS THAT PEOPLE. TOLD YOU AND SAY, TRUST THE. EXPERTS. NOW WE KNOW THAT ANTHONY FAUCI, WHO WAS THE EXPERT, WAS LYING. ABOUT EVERYTHING. YOU WERE PUNISHING PEOPLE FOR. NOT TRUSTING THE EXPERTS AND NOW. YOU'RE ROLLING OUT T THE EXPERTS. AGAIN TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING. THAT YOU HAVE NO PERSONAL. KNOWLEDGE OF. >> GUESS WHAT THAT IS MY JOB TO.

TALK TO PEOPLE. AM I ALLOWED TO TALK? MY JOB IS TO GET AS MUCH. INFORMATION AS I CAN. WHAT WE WERE DOING --. >> Harris: HERE'S WHAT CNN TOLD. FOX, ASKING TOUGH, SUBSTANTIVE. QUESTIONS IS THE JOB OF EVERY. JOURNALIST, AND DANA DID HERS. INCREDIBLY WELL. WE STAND BEHIND HER REPORTING. AND CNN'S OVERALL COVERAGE OF. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THIS ALL COMES AFTER SENATOR.

RAND PAUL RELEASED DR. COVID-ERA. DIARIES LAST WEEK, IN WHICH. FAUCI SHARED HIS PRIVATE. THOUGHTS ON POLITICAL FIGURES. AND MEDIA, SAYING HE WAS SO. FAMOUS HE SAID HE WAS VERY PROUD. OF THAT. IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE. PANDEMIC, THOUGHT HE ALSO. TESTIFIED ON CAPITOL HILL LAST. WEEK AND REPEATEDLY INVOKED THE. FIFTH AMENDMENT 111 TIMES. INSTEAD OF ANSWERING QUESTIONS. THAT MEANS MEDIA HAD THIS TO SAY. ABOUT THAT TESTIMONY. >> REPUBLICANS CHERRY PICKING. PARTS OF FAUCI'S DIARIES TO POSE.

FOR CAMERAS WHILE SCREAMING. VULGARITIES AT HIM WHO SPENT A. CAREER TRYING TO SAVE AMERICAN. LIVES. >> THE TARGET WAS A MAN WHO HAS. DONE MORE IN SERVICE TO THIS. COUNTRY AND THE WORLD THAN EVERY. SENATOR IN THAT ROOM AND THE. ENTIRE CURRENT UNITED STATES. SENATE COMBINED. >> Harris: 40 WASN'T THE TARGET. HE HAD TO BE THERE.

HE COULD PLEAD THE FIFTH IF HE. WASN'T. HE WAS CALLED BEFORE CONGRESS. KAYLEIGH? >> Kaylee: I THINK THE REASON. WHY CNN ENDED LEGACY MEDIA IS. BACKING FAUCI EVEN DESPITE THE. EMBARRASSING REVELATIONS, IS. BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T, THEY ALSO. HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THEY ARE. COMPLICIT IN THE HARMS DONE TO. THIS COUNTRY DURING THE. PANDEMIC. YOU SAW IN THAT EXCHANGE BETWEEN. DANA BASH AND RFK JR. THAT HE. PUT IT OUT THAT SHE REALLY HAD. NO IDEA WHAT SHE WAS TALKING. ABOUT BECAUSE SHE'S JUST. PARROTING THINGS THAT SHE WANTS.

TO BELIEVE, AND THAT SHE WANTS. HER VIEWERS TO BELIEVE WITHOUT. ANY ACTUAL EVIDENCE TO BACK IT. UP. HE ASKED HER REPEATEDLY DURING. THAT SEGMENT TO PROVIDE SOME OF. THE STUDIES THAT SHE CLAIMED. THAT SHE WAS STUDYING, SHE. COULDN'T PROVIDE A SINGLE ONE. SHE HAD NO EVIDENCE TO OFFER HER. VIEWERS PICKED UP AND THIS IS. THE LARGER PROBLEM, AND IT GETS. TO THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM THAT. WE EXPERIENCED DURING THE COVID. PANDEMIC, WHICH IS THAT YOU HAD. A BUNCH OF EGOMANIACACS IN. WASHINGTON, D.C., WITH ANTHONY. FAUCI WAS THE FOREMOST WHO. DECIDED THAT THEY AND THEY ALONE. WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO KNEW WHAT.

WAS BEST FOR THE COUNTRY. THEY SILENCED EVERYONE ELSE WHO. DISAGREED. THEY SHUT DOWN ALL DISSENT. THEY CENSORED PEOPLE ALONG. BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO BE THE. ONES TO CALL THE SHOTS, AND I. THINK MAYBE THAT'S ACTUALLY WHY. PEOPLE LIKE DANA BASH AND THE. REST OF THE LEFT DON'T WANT TO. ACTUALLY RIGHT WRONGS THAT WERE. DONE DURING COVID IS BECAUSE. WHAT THE PANDEMIC WAS, IS IT WAS. A TEST, IT WAS A MEANS TO SEE. HOW FAR THAT THEY COULD EXERT. CONTROL OVER OUR DAY TO DAY. LIVES, AND THAT THAT WAS IT. JUST THAT MANY FAILED, INCLUDING. MYSELF, AND I REALLY ADMIRE.

PEOPLE LIKE LISA, WHO WERE. REALLY CALLING THE SHOTS RIGHT. AWAY, SAYING, NO, THIS IS NOT. RIGHT. IT DID TAKE US A LONG TIME TO. REDISCOVER THAT WE HAVE. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, THAT. THOSE RIGHTS MATTER, THAT THOSE. RIGHTS DO NOT GET TO GET PUSHED. TO THE SIDE JUST BECAUSE ANTHONY. FAUCI THOUGHT THAT HE WAS ALBERT. EINSTEIN REINCARNATED. THEY DON'T WANT TO ADMIT THAT. BUT I THINK THAT REALLY WHAT THE. LESSON THAT THEY TAUGHT US WAS, IS THAT THEY CAN'T BE ALLOWED. NEAR POWER EVER AGAIN. I'M NEVER GOING TO FEEL THAT. TEST AGAIN, AND IT'S BECAUSE OF. PEOPLE LIKE DANA BASH, AND IT'S. BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE ANTHONY.

FAUCI. >> Harris: ALL RIGHT, YOU WERE. CALLED AND ALL OF THAT. YOU DIDN'T JUST CALL THE SHOTS. YOU WERE CALLING STUFF ABOUT THE. SHOTS. YOU WERE ASKING QUESTIONS AND. GETTING CENSORED. >> Lisa: REALLY FROM THE. BEGINNING BECAUSE AS RFK JR. POINTED OUT, THEY WERE BEATING. UP ON PEOPLE WHO WERE. DISSENTINGNG. I WAS LISTENING TO THOSE PEOPLE. WHO WERE DISSENTING. I TOOK THE TIME TO ASK THESE. INDIVIDUALS QUESTIONS, TO. INTERVIEW THEM, TO TRY TO GET. MORE INFORMATION, AND THEN I. BOUNCED THAT ACROSS THE BROADER. SPECTRUM OF WHAT EVERYONE WAS. SAYING. I WAS ASKING PEOPLE THAT I.

REACHED OUT, PEOPLE WHO MAYBE I. DISAGREED WITH AS WELL, JUST TO. GET DATA POINTS AND MORE SENSE. OF OPINION. AND BY THE WAY, THE PEOPLE WHO. WERE SILENCED, THEY WEREN'T. POSTING ON REDDIT FROM THEIR. MOM'S BASEMENT. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WORLD. RENOWNED EPIDEMIOLOGISTS, FROM. STANFORD AND MODERN WORLD OF. HARVARD AT THE TIME. HARVEY RISCH OF YALE. SCOTT ATLAS, DR. MARTY MAKARY. THESE ARE INCREDIBLY BRIGHT. PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT THERE SAYING,

MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST TAKE A BEAT. BRIEFLY ON THE INFORMATION WE. HAD MAYBE WE SHOULD UPDATE OUR. POSITIONS AND OUR PUBLIC POLICY. RESPONSE AS A RESULT, AND GOING. THROUGH REALLY QUICKLY OF JUST. SOME OF THE KEY DATES WHEN WE DO. THE INFORMATION WE'RE RECEIVING. WAS INCORRECT OR SHOULD BE. QUESTIONED JOHN, AND MARCH 17TH, 2020, PUTTING OUT THAT MAKING. DECISIONS BASED OFF OF THAT DATA. SO THAT THE MORTALITY RATE WAS. SKEWED. WHERE MISSING CASES BY. EXPONENTIALLY WE DIDN'T KNOW. APRIL OF 2020.

WE STARTED HAVING THESE ANTIBODY. STUDIES KNOWING DEFINITIVELY. THAT WE WERE MISSING CASES, WHICH MEANT THE FATALITY RATE. WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER. YOU COULD GO TO MAY 6, 2020, GOVERNOR CUOMO ADMITTED THAT 70%. OF THE NEW HOSPITALIZATIONS WERE. PEOPLE WHO WERE STAYING HOME. THAT YOU HAD THE GREAT. BARRINGTON DECLARATION. JULY 2021, WE KNEW THAT THE. VACCINE WAS STOPPING THE SPREAD. THEY.AFTER DATA,.AFTER DATA. POINT, WE KNEW THAT THE. INFORMATION WE WERE GETTING WAS. WRONG, AND YET WE DID NOT. RESPOND, AND THE MEDIA DID NOT.

GET TO THE TRUTH. >> Harris: EMILY, I'LL COME TO. YOU AFTER THIS. COVID ACCOUNTABILITY SHOULD. EXTEND BEYOND GOVERNMENT. OFFICIALS TO INCLUDE THAT MEDIA. >> I THINK AT THIS MOMENT WAS. CHANNELING A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO. FEEL LIKE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE. LIST OF PEOPLE WHO WE BELIEVE. OUGHT TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, THAT LIST DOESN'T END WITH. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND. BUREAUCRATS LIKE ANTHONY FAUCI. IT'S A MUCH LONGER LIST, AND IT. INCLUDES THE PEOPLE WHO STYLED. THEMSELVES AS BEING THE MOST.

TRUSTED NEWS MAKAKERS. WE NEED A LOOK AT THIS MEDIA. REPORTING APPROACH THAT WAS USED. DURING COVID, AND WE CAN'T JUST. WALK PAST IT BECAUSE WHEN. SOMETHING LIKE THIS COMES ALONG. AGAIN, THEY'RE GOING TO DO THE. SAME MISTAKES. >> Emily: YEAH, AND I THINK WE. DEMONSTRATED WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT. WE'RE NOT GOING TO FALL FOR THIS. AGAIN. QUITE RECENTLY, WHEN REMEMBER, THEY TRIED TO DO THE SAME THING. WITH THE HANTAVIRUS AND IT WAS. LIKE, NO ONE WAS HAVING IT. WE WERE LIKE, NOPE, NOT THIS. TIME. SO I THINK IN A WAY, THE GOOD.

NEWS IS THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A. LITTLE BIT MORE OF A RESISTANCE. BECAUSE THAT INITIAL PANDEMIC. OBVIOUSLY WAS SUCH A SHOCK, AND. TRULY NOVEL FOR ALL OF US. I AGREE WITH BEN THAT CLEARLY. THERE IS CULPABILITY AMONG THE. PRESS. THEY ARE NOT A FOURTH STATE. THEY ARE A WING OF THE. DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE SORT OF. IDENTITY WHICH WE KNOW, REMEMBER. CENTERS AROUND CONTROL, AND THAT. IS FED BY FEAR. SO ALL OF THIS, TO YOUR POINT, THE REASON THAT THEY CAN NEVER. EVEN LOOK AT FAUCI'S DIARIES, CAN NEVER ADMIT THE FALSITIES. THAT ARE IN THERE IS BECAUSE IT. WOULD THEN MEAN THAT THEIR.

ENTIRE HOUSE WAS BUILT. IN FACT, ON SAND, THAT THERE WAS. A TINY EGOMANIAC BEHIND THE. CURTAIN OF OZ, NOT ACTUAL POWER. IT WAS SIMPLY A CONSTRUCTION OF. FEAR. AND IF YOU PUSH BACK AT ALL, YOU. RECOGNIZE HOW EVERYTHING FALLS. APART AND I THINK, BY THE WAY, THAT WE'VE SEEN THIS FOR QUITE. SOME TIME, WE'VE SEEN THEM. THAT WE'VE SEEN THIS WITH THEIR. INABILITY TO ARTICULATE OR. ANALYZE ANYTHING OUT OF THE. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR WHAT IT. IS, IF YOU PUSH BACK ONCE ON. THEIR R TALKING POINT, THEY. COMPLETELY FAIL TO BE ABLE TO. ARTICULATE WHY, TO DEFEND THEIR.

POSITION WHY. THEY ARE ALWAYS, WITHOUT FACT. THEY ARE ALWAYS WITHOUT. EXPERIENCE. AND THIS IS A PARTY THAT. CAMPAIGNS ON AND SPENDS MILLIONS. OF DOLLARS ON TOURS, FOR. EXAMPLE, OF NO KINGS AND YET. THEY ACCEPTED THE INDIVIDUAL. VOICE THAT BECAME THE AUTHORITY. FOR A ROLE AT THE WEAPONIZATION. OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE. STATE, AND I THINK WE ALL KNOW. THAT STATISTICS THAT I THINK. EVERYONE CARRIES SO MANY. ANECDOTES AND AS THIS HAS. SURFACED, I KEEP THINKING OF. THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS. IT'LL HIT ME. MY FRIEND WHO WAS DIAGNOSED WITH.

CANCER AND DURING THIS TIME, HIS. SURGERY. HOWEVER, TO REMOVE THE CANCER, IT WAS DEEMED ELECTIVE. AND SO THAT HAD TO BE PUSHED. BACK. OR THE NURSE THAT I MENTIONED, HOLDING THEIR HEART SIGN THROUGH. THE WINDOW SAYING HE WAS AT. PEACE ABOUT THAT PERSON'S LOVED. ONE ON THE SIDEWALK, LOOKING. THROUGH THE WINDOW. THE AMOUNT OF LIVELIHOODS LOST, LIVES DESTROYED, LIVES LOST, THE. PAIN CAUSED, IT IS SO REAL AND. VISCERAL WITH EVERY AMERICAN. THAT WATCHES THIS.

AND THE HUBRIS NOT ONLY OF. SOCHI, WHICH IS SUCH AN. INFECTION, THE FACT THAT THE. HUBRIS HAS BECOME A MALIGNANT. FORCE AMONG THE PRESS WHO. REFUSED TO ALLOW US TO LOOK THEM. IN THE EYES, TO EVEN SAY LET ME. GIVE THIS A THOUGHT, LET ME LOOK. AT THIS LET ME READ INTO THIS. THEY WON'T EVEN DO THIS. >> Harris: LOUISIANA IS ONE OF. THREE STATES NOW THAT IS JUMPING. ON WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT HERE ON. THE COUCH LAST WEEK, AND THAT IS. THE FACT THAT FAUCI, WITH HIS.

PRESIDENTIAL PARDON, IS NOT. PROTECTED FROM PROSECUTION FROM. STATES, SO YOU SAW DeSANTIS. YOU'RE SEEING OTHERS. FLOATED AS ONE OF THOSE STATES. WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHT? >> Todd: ADMITTEDLY, IT WILL BE. A TOUGH LEGAL VOTE AT THE STATE. LEVEL. >> Harris: BUT. IT'S WORTH TAKING. >> Todd: EXACTLY, IT'S. CERTAINLY WORTH EXPLORING. I GO BACK TO THE PANDEMIC. IT IS SO IMPORTANT IN THE KIND. OF A SITUATION WHEN WE REALLY. KNOW. SO VERY LITTLE TO COME OUT THERE. AND DEMONSTRATE TRUE.

KNOWLEDGE WHEN YOU SAY, HEY, FOLKS, I DON'T HAVE ALL THE. ANSWERS. WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO ARRIVE AT. THE TRUTH TOGETHER. THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY DID. AND I ALWAYS GO BACKCK TO THE LW. IN A COURT OF LAW, EACH SIDE HAS. EXPERTS. IT'S CALLED THE BATTLE OF THE. EXPERTS, AND IT'S GOOD TO. PRESENT TO A OF THEIR PEERS. THEIR THEORY OF THE CASE, AND. THEN THE JURY GETS TO DECIDE. WHICH VERSION OF EVENTS THEY. BELIEVE. IN THIS INSTANCE, THAT MEDIA, THE GATEKEEPERS OF THAT.

INFORMATION DID NOT ALLOW. ANOTHER SIDE OF EXPERTS TO. PRESENT THEIR CASE TO THE. AMERICAN PEOPLE. WHAT THEY PRESENTED. ONE SIDE AS THE TRUTH AND THE. ONLY WAY AND THEY DESTROYED THE. LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO THOUGHTT. SOMETHING ELSE. THAT IS WHY TO BEND DOMINICI'S. POINT, THE MEDIA IS COMPLICIT. HERE. BUT THE MEDIA PROPAGATED ONLY. ONE WAY OF THINKING AND PEOPLE. LOST LIVELIHOODS AND PEOPLE DIED. BECAUSE OF IT. AND I WONDER BECAUSE OF THE WAY. THAT THEY COVERED IT, THEY.

DIDN'T'T LISTEN TO ALL SIDES ASE. SHOULD AS JOURNALISTS. DID WE MISS SOMETHING ABOUT THE. CONNECTIVE TISSUE BETWEEN FAUCI. AND GAIN OF FUNCTION RESEARCH. WITHIN? WHAT PARTS OF THE PUZZLE ARE WE. MISSING BECAUSE THEY WERE ONLY. FOCUSED ON ONE THING? >> Todd: THERE WAS NO WAY THAT. WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN TO THAT. QUICKER THAN WE DID, SIMPLY. BECAUSE THAT LINE OF THINKING. WAS PERMITTED FOR SO LONG, BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH ELSE. TO COVER. THAT HAS, WE WERE A LITTLE BIT. BEHIND THE BALL. U.S. INCLUDED. ALDRIN WE'RE BEHIND THE BALL.

BUT IN OUR DEFENSE, WE TRIED TO. ASK QUESTIONS, PARTICULARLY WEWE. JUST SHUT DOWN, BECAUSE THESE. MAINSTREAM MEDIA DIDN'T EVEN. TRY. SOCIAL MEDIA GAVE THE BIG NEW. PLAYER, ELON MUSK. HE WENT IN THERE AND STARTED. GETTING RID OF THE FAKE CHAT. BOTS.