This is a partial transcript from “HANNITY & COLMES”, June 14, 2004, that has been edited for clarity.
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: In Little Rock, Arkansas, the premiere of a 90-minute documentary about the career of Bill Clinton and what some people still claim was a vast right-wing conspiracy against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Hired private investigators to investigate Clinton’s sex life.
Many of us have done stupid things in our lives. None of us have had $80 million spent to try to see what all of these stupid things were.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The great goal was to get Bill Clinton under oath.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Clinton, did you ask Paula Jones to come up to that hotel room?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once he’s under oath you have the possibility of him making a false statement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Clinton, did you grab and grope Paula Jones?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that turns the case into a vehicle for ending his presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And joining us now long time friend of President Clinton, also the director of “The Hunting of the President,” Harry Thomason is here.
Harry, how are you?
HARRY THOMASON, DIRECTOR, “THE HUNTING OF THE PRESIDENT”: Sean, how are you?
HANNITY: You and I may disagree politically. I think this is great that you’re doing this movie. This is on the Conason book, right? And the Lyons book?
THOMASON: It’s on the Joe Conason and Gene Lyons book. And you know, it was sort of a fascinating project to do.
Republicans will be learned — will be excited to learn that they’re not the biggest villains in the piece.
HANNITY: Is that right? You know, because we always hear that it’s Hannity and Limbaugh on the radio and right wing whatever.
I don’t really care what people believe, but here’s the truth. And I hope you address I did in the movie and I’m looking forward to seeing it.
Bill Clinton is not in trouble at all, had he not lied under oath, and he did. Regardless of what you think — shouldn’t have had sex with the intent and he shouldn’t have lied about it, right?
THOMASON: You know, Sean, here’s the truth of the matter. At the time when they got President Clinton under oath and he didn’t — you know, he told, at least technically, an untruth. Then that’s right.
HANNITY: He lied. Harry, he lied.
THOMASON: He had walked into the trap. But there were years and years of stuff before that and years that go back even before he ever ran for president.
HANNITY: This is a very politically divided country right now. When I read — when I hear, you know, Howard Dean saying the president knew about 9/11 ahead of time, advancing that theory, being called a liar by Ted Kennedy every day, Al Gore screeching at the top of his lungs, “he betrayed America.” We’ve got politically divided times.
I didn’t like Bill Clinton, and I don’t think he was an honest man. But the fact is, he did lie. First he had sex with the intern and then he did lie. And he put himself into the position.
People — it was judged and affirmed that that lawsuit can go forward, like it or lump it. And he has an obligation, Harry, as the chief law enforcement officer, puts his hand on that Bible, says he’s going to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, he’s got tell the truth right?
THOMASON: That’s right, Sean.
HANNITY: And he didn’t.
THOMASON: I mean, he — Look, he put himself into the trap at the end. There’s no doubt about it. He decided to try to spare his family, I’m sure. I never had conversation with him about it.
But the fact is there were groups starting long before he ever became president that were out to get President Clinton, and that’s what our film is about. You miss the point.
HANNITY: No, I understand. I’m aware of the Conason book…
THOMASON: We don’t give Clinton a pass in this film, Sean. I want you to know that.
HANNITY: I’m going to hold you to that Harry. We’re going to watch the film, and we’re going to make sure.
Look, I’ve got to tell you something. As far as I’m concerned, this may surprise you, I — Clinton is old news in my view. The problem is, Harry, he cannot go away. I mean, he’s releasing this book.
If I was John Kerry I’d be pretty ticked off. I think Susan Estrich nailed it when he’s sucking out all the oxygen in the room for the Democrats.
It seems like now he’s chasing a legacy, because his real legacy is the women in his life.
THOMASON: You know, that would be the legacy that some extreme right wingers — and…
HANNITY: Are you calling me an extreme right-winger?
THOMASON: … I’m not calling you an extremist. That’s why I don’t want to hear you saying that.
That’s the legacy they would put on him. But I could name a million things that were part — that will be part of his legacy. You can…
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: I want you to talk about — look at his record. I mean, you know, you don’t want to look at what he actually accomplished.
Do you have any evidence, Harry, of a systemic attempt to destroy him?
THOMASON: Well, yes. And it start — and look, Hillary Clinton was wrong when she said it was a vast wing — right-wing conspiracy.
COLMES: Yes.
THOMASON: It was actually a very small, extreme right-wing conspiracy joined by other groups, people that had high profit motives.
COLMES: What evidence you have of a systematic, calculated to do it? What do you show?
THOMASON: You will see — you will see how a lot of petty jealousies and the profit motive long before he was elected president, that people said, “Look, we can get on this horse and ride it.”
And that’s what our movie is about. And our movie’s about the shoddy job the press did on reporting all of this. Maybe the press is the big villain. There’s no doubt about that.
COLMES: I keep hearing about the liberal media. All the media talked about for how many years was how horrible Bill Clinton was, all these terrible things he did and they kept going after him. When I hear the liberal media, I have to laugh. it’s funny.
THOMASON: Well, it is sort of funny but if they are a liberal media, my gosh, they’re easily fooled.
COLMES: What — 137 people and the only Republican, or the only one of these so-called conspirators that would talk to you is Jerry Falwell, correct?
THOMASON: Of those 137, but I do want to point out that two of the Republican operatives from Governor Huckabee’s office here in the state of Arkansas were quite candid about their experiences.
They ultimately had to be cut out because they tacked about what happened long before he got the nomination and just to narrow it down from eight hours to a watchable 90 minutes we had to take them out. But they were superb in their comments and what they said and they had a good understanding of what had gone on.
COLMES: What about the troopers? Now, did any troopers acknowledge they were in this for the money? We had what they call troopergate and you talked to some of those people, did you not?
THOMASON: No, the troopers would not talk to us, though, on the record, as you know, one of the troopers later did say the only profit — the profit motive was the only good motive they had.
And we say a couple of other things in the film that people will find interesting.
HANNITY: Look, we like Lyons and Conason. These are hard core left wingers, Harry, I mean, but look, I’m going to give you a chance. I’m going to watch this and you weren’t talking about me, though, in the whole film. That’s all I want to know.
THOMASON: Sean, you asked a question that a lot of journalists have asked, and you’re not in it and some have been disappointed they’re not in it.
HANNITY: I’m not — I don’t care one way or the other. Harry, good to see you, my friend.
THOMASON: OK. We open Friday night, and we want you to go out and see it.
HANNITY: Send me a DVD, because I don’t get to the movies anymore and I’ve got young kids. I want to see it.
THOMASON: I will send you a DVD.
HANNITY: Appreciate it.
THOMASON: It’s good to talk to you guys.
HANNITY: My friend, thank you.
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