FOX News " Hannity" - Transcript:Cruz On Abortion, Immigration, and Healthcare

Interview

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HANNITY: Grotesque, gruesome, unbelievable! Now, while that high- ranking Planned Parenthood doctor, quote, dreams" of turning aborted fetuses and profits into a new Lamborghini -- well, officials from both sides of the aisle in states all across the country are now opening up investigations into the nation's leading provider of abortions. So given these new incriminating developments, should Planned Parenthood lose its federal funding, some half a billion dollars a year?

Joining us now to react, author of "A Time for Truth" -- he's a 2016 GOP candidate -- Texas senator Ted Cruz. Senator, it is against the law. There are three separate laws that I see that are in question here. You're a former attorney general. Your thoughts.

SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sean, you're exactly right. This video and the one from last week are both gruesome. They show senior officials at Planned Parenthood callously, heartlessly bargaining and bartering to sell the body parts of unborn children.

They're sipping wine. They're laughing about it. This one official you just showed said she wants to sell so many body parts of unborn children, she buy her own Lamborghini!

Now, I think every American should watch these videos and just ask the question, Are these my values? Now, what should we be doing? Number one, in the course of these videos, it appears both of these officials are admitting to multiple felonies, both federal felonies and state and local felonies. If the Department of Justice wasn't a partisan arm of the DNC, it should open an investigation, prosecute these individuals and Planned Parenthood as an entity.

Thankfully, there are state and local attorneys general and DAs that are opening investigations. We need to prosecute Planned Parenthood, and also we need to cut off every penny of taxpayer funding. I'm leading the fight in the Senate to do exactly that and insure that we are not funding people who are buying and selling body parts of unborn children in violation of federal criminal law!

HANNITY: Couldn't say it any better, Senator. I agree wholeheartedly. The president now is going to -- plans to release thousands of violent felons on an unsuspecting public. Now, there was testimony yesterday about these sanctuary cities. The Steinle case was only the tip of the iceberg, family members talking about how their loved ones, one after the other, killed by illegal immigrants.

You took on the director of ICE about the number of illegal immigrants released without charges. I want to roll that tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You asked me, I thought, about 2014. That is 30,558. And the good news is at least that went down from 2013, when it was 36,700.

CRUZ: But you're omitting the 68,000 criminal illegal aliens that ICE did not begin deportation proceedings against at all. And you got to add both of those together. It's over 100,000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And yes, sir, that's absolutely right, all done pursuant to this statute that the Congress has outlined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Senator, murders are being committed! These are known criminals! Felonies! And if they do leave, they can cross right over the border as in the case of Steinle, Kate Steinle. What can be done, and how quickly could it be done?

CRUZ: You are absolutely right. The hearing we had yesterday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, we heard from the families, from mothers and fathers and brothers and wives of those murdered by criminal illegal aliens that the Obama administration has released into the public.

As that exchange just showed, in 2013 alone, the Obama administration released 104,000 criminal illegal alien! That included 193 murderers, illegal aliens with homicide convictions. It included over 400 illegal aliens with sexual assault convictions. It included over 16,000 with drunk driving convictions.

The Obama administration is refusing to enforce the law! And it is unjustifiable. And as I said at that hearing, if President Obama had the courage of his convictions, he would have come to that hearing, he would have looked in the eyes of Kate Steinle's mother and father and he would have apologized for refusing to enforce the law and releasing murderers who kill their children!

Now, asked what can we do. Number one, I have joined with other senators in introducing legislation to strip all federal funds from any sanctuary city. San Francisco's a sanctuary city. It invites illegal aliens, including criminal illegal aliens, to come to San Francisco. We need leadership in Congress to stop that.

Secondly, I've introduced Kate's Law, which would put in place a mandatory five-year minimum for anyone convicted of illegal reentry.

You know, Sean, it's interesting. This week, the Senate is taking up the highway bill. And in the highway bill, you are seeing Republican leadership that's pressing to reauthorize the Export Import Bank, which is just corporate welfare and cronyism.

How about instead of listening to the big business and the corporate giveaways in Washington, we take up this week stopping sanctuary cities, passing Kate's Law, defunding Planned Parenthood? How about if we pass my legislation to end the congressional exemption from "Obama care"? We ought to be leading on issues that matter to he American people...

HANNITY: You know...

CRUZ: ... not giving in to the Washington cartel!

HANNITY: I love that term, "Washington cartel." You know, senator, I think I speak for a lot of conservatives in that we are frustrated. You look at the rise of Donald Trump. I would attribute a good part of it to the fact that he's straight-talking. He's iconoclastic. He's bringing in energy to the campaign, no holds barred.

You -- of all the Republicans that promised to repeal and replace "Obama care," you were the only one that stood up, and you were excoriated by the Republican Party! The same thing with executive amnesty. Every Republican said, Oh, no, elect us. Don't worry about it. We're going to - - we'll pass the cromnibus, but we're going to defund the Department of Homeland Security. The funded executive amnesty!

My question to you is, what has happened to this party? Why are they timid and weak and afraid? And why go after you when you're doing the very thing that they also promised to do?

CRUZ: Well, Sean, the fundamental problem is far too many of them are listening to the lobbyists and special interests in Washington. As you mentioned, I have a new book, "A Time for Truth," that has become a New York Times best-seller. And it talks about...

HANNITY: By the way, that was nice for them to finally acknowledge it.

(LAUGHTER)

CRUZ: Well, they tried to keep it off the list the first week. It was the third best-selling book in America. It outsold 18 of the 20 books on the list, and yet The New York Times, for pretty obvious partisan reasons, didn't want it there. There was such a hue and outcry that they were forced to list it the next week.

HANNITY: Yes. What...

CRUZ: But the book, "A Time for Truth," it reveals the corruption in Washington behind closed doors, where you've got career politicians in both parties, Republicans and Democrats, that get in bed with lobbyists.

You know, what so many Americans are frustrated with is we have campaign conservatives, people who talk good on the campaign trail, but they don't follow through on what they're doing.

And I think in the 2016 Republican primary, it's all going to come down to one issue, trust. Who has been a consistent conservative, walking the walk and over and over again standing and fighting against "Obama care," against executive amnesty, against lawlessness, against the debt, defending religious liberty, defending the Constitution?

Who is leading the fight against this catastrophic Iran nuclear deal? I think that's what people are looking for is someone who will tell them the truth and do what he said he would do.

HANNITY: I want to ask you what you -- what do you make of the phenomenon or the rise of Trump in the polls? I know you recently met with him. I actually thought it was one of the funniest things I've ever saw in a presidential campaign when he did this to Lindsey Graham, who called him a jackass and started a fight, when he did this yesterday.

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DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Didn't this guy call me, like, four years ago? Yes. He called me four years ago, three, four years ago, Lindsey Graham. I didn't even know who he was. He's, like, begging me to help him with "FOX and Friends." So I say, OK, and I'll mention your name. He said, Could you mention my name? I said, Yes, I'll -- and he gave me his number.

And I found the card! I wrote the number down. I don't know if it's the right number. Let's try it -- 202...

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HANNITY: Tell us about the meeting. Your thoughts on his rise in the polls, as now being number one in many polls now across the country. And I'll be honest, I look at Lindsey Graham as part of the problem. He's one of the guys that won't stand up on immigration. He's one of the guys that I would say is a RINO Republican!

CRUZ: Well, look, I like Donald Trump. He's a friend of mine. He and I have sat down and visited many, many times. I think the reason why he's getting the attention he is and the support he is, is that he's bold and brash and he's willing to speak the truth. And he's taking on the Washington cartel.

And in particular, he's focusing on illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. And a great many of the candidates in 2016 for the Republican nomination have been vocal, aggressive advocates of amnesty. When we come to the first debate in a couple of weeks, I'm going to be one of the very few major candidates on that stage who has never embraced amnesty.

And I appreciate Donald's focusing on illegal immigration. It's an issue I've been fighting a long time. When Chuck Schumer had the Democrats' "gang of eight" bill, I helped lead the fight, along with Jeff Sessions, to stop amnesty.

And you know, I think it was really sad to see so many Republican 2016 candidates taking out sticks and trying to smack Donald Trump because they don't want him talking about illegal immigration and sanctuary cities.

I've refused to do so. I've been proud to defend him for focusing on illegal immigration. And I intend to follow Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment. Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. Don't engage in character attacks. But keep the focus on policy and substance and the issues that matter to the American people.

HANNITY: I think that's a good strategy (INAUDIBLE) Oh, what do you think about what So-and-So said? I said, Go ask them. I saw your answer. I thought that was a good answer.

Senator, good to see you. We'll see you on the campaign. Looking forward to that debate. Appreciate you being with us.

CRUZ: Thank you, Sean. God bless you.

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