Legal AF - 4/19/2026

22:29Michael Popok:if and when that time comes. There have been 65 co-sponsors so far who've signed on to it and could be more. Yasmin Ansari, the Democrat from Arizona, told me it is worth having this public discussion on the 25th Amendment. It is warranted, even if it's not really going to happen anytime soon.

22:55Ben Meiselas:I think we're getting a lot of positive feedback. I have been very impressed actually to see non-elected but Republicans, people like Tucker Carlson and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, people like Nick Cuentes, Alex Jones, people I never thought I would ever agree with on anything recognize that Donald Trump is so mentally unstable and he clearly is in a state of cognitive decline. And I'm grateful that Representative Raskin is being the charge on this 25th Amendment bill and has started an investigation into his cognitive decline because he is unfit and he is a national security threat.

23:35Ben Meiselas:Then in addition to talking about the 25th Amendment, you had Russ Vogt, architect, author of Project 2025 on Capitol Hill. He was asked some pretty basic questions by Democrats. Democratic Senator Merkley was asking, can you tell us how much the war in Iran costs? Let's play this clip.

23:57Michael Popok:Would I be in the ballpark to say we've already spent at least$50 billion? I wouldn't want to make a characterization of that at this point. Okay. I would say as the most knowledgeable person in the executive branch of the budget, I would expect you to have pretty good numbers on that. So I'm a little disappointed in that answer.

24:17Ben Meiselas:can't even explain how much money has been spent on the war in Iran. Well, what about the amount of money you're asking for right now? $1.5 trillion? Let's listen to what Democratic Senator Patty Murray had to say when she cross-examined Russ's vote. Let's play it.

24:36Michael Popok:You and President Trump are asking for$450 billion in new defense spending. To be clear, that is the largest increase since World War II, and that does not include money that you reportedly still plan to request for the war in Iran. What is the total dollar amount requested for defense spending in FY27, including annual appropriations and reconciliation funds? $1.5 trillion, Senator, a combination between the appropriations and the mandatory. We are trying to increase the amount that you would fund through the appropriations, but we don't want the full increase to have to be borne in the appropriations process.

25:17Michael Popok:So$1.5 trillion. What is the total dollar amount requested for non-defense spending? $660 billion. Okay. And what is the overall cut to non-defense programs that you're proposing? $70 billion. $70 billion. We look at that as about$81 billion, frankly. So let me just say this. Director Vogt, you count yourself as a spending hawk. And here you are arguing for a gobsmacking$1.5 trillion defense budget. I read that you disagreed with the president on that$1.5 trillion request, warning him that it would explode the deficit. Did you warn the president or administration officials that spending this much on defense would explode the deficit?

26:00Michael Popok:Senator, I fully support this budget.

26:02Ben Meiselas:You see, everything they say is gaslighting. It's a lie. There is no consistency in their positions. Someone like that will say, I'm a deficit hawk. I'm a fiscal debt hawk. And it's like, no, you're not. You're going to spend 1.5. See how easy that they're able to spend$1.5 trillion on dropping bombs and killing little girls in elementary schools. But when it comes to helping little girls in America get healthcare or helping families access health care or get better educations or afford things. All of a sudden, it's, oh, we can't do that. We could fund the military industrial complex 1.5. I fully support it.

26:48Ben Meiselas:All right. Are we able to give Americans health care? I'm a fiscal hawk. Can't do it. Can't do it. I'll just show you what are the MAGA Republican Congress members saying. This is Troy Nels, MAGA Republican Congress member when he was asked by Pablo Manriquez of the Midas Touch Network in our D.C. Bureau if he's concerned with the impact the war is having on our debt. Let's play this clip.

27:10Michael Popok:Mr. Nels, real quick, are you concerned about the impact that the war in Iran is having on the national debt? No. No? No. No. Were you worried about the impact of the war in Ukraine had on the taxpayers in this state in the United States? Yes. The billions that we put in? You know, and you've got to ask yourself the question. Is the billions that we put into Ukraine, what have we gotten out of that? Where are we at in Ukraine? Other than tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides being killed. Where, you know, that thing was just totally mismanaged by, obviously, the previous administration. I've never voted, never voted to give Ukraine a nickel.

27:53Michael Popok:And I'm so glad I made that decision. But what have we gotten out of the war in Iran besides, like, higher gas prices? we have a much safer world. Come on, you can't. The region's on fire right now. Well, because we're going to finish a damn job. What does that look like? But I will tell you this, Iran right now has been degraded to the point it will take them a decade, maybe more. I mean, with the amount of damage we've done to their military assets and the missile sites and all that stuff. I mean, I think I think the Israelis are probably sleeping a lot better today and they'll continue to sleep a lot better as we continue to degrade them.

28:27Michael Popok:embargo, the shutting straight down, I think that's all good stuff. We have to take Iran

28:33Ben Meiselas:down to their knees, and it's going to happen one way or the other. It's going to happen. Thank you, Harrison. Well, folks, when we come back, I want to talk more about some of these lawsuits and the results of them. I want to talk about the ruling on the ballroom that has Donald Trump ranting and raving like a lunatic. I want to talk about Pam Bondi running away from her deposition before the House Oversight Committee. I want to talk about the filings that Donald Trump made in the Southern District of Florida, where he seems to indicate he's getting ready to pay himself a$10 billion settlement of your taxpayer dollars.

29:09Ben Meiselas:We'll talk about that and more. Let's take our first quick break of the show.

29:13Michael Popok:I'm so excited to tell you about Bullshot, the high-performance foam cleaning sprays. I've been using Bullshot regularly, And the one I depend on most is their carpet cleaner. I've had some older set-in stains that I honestly thought were permanent, and this stuff actually lifts them out. You can see the bold strength foam working in real time as it breaks everything down, which is incredibly satisfying. What really stands out is that it doesn't just clean the surface, it goes deep to lift tough stains and completely neutralizes odors instead of just masking them. It dries fast, leaves no sticky residue, and I've used it on everything from carpets and rugs to upholstery and even car mats, so I don't need a bunch of different cleaners.

30:02Michael Popok:And it's proudly made in the USA, which I always appreciate. No matter the mess, Bull Shots Professional Strength Cleaners handle it all. From carpet stains to pet odors to kitchen grease, just shake, point, and spray. quality you can trust backed by a 100 satisfaction guarantee and now for a limited time get up to 20 off bull shot and free shipping when you text legal 20 to 64 000 that's legal 20 to 64 000 for up to 20 off and free shipping text legal 20 to 64 000 message and data rates may apply Magic Spoon is basically the grown-up version of your favorite childhood cereal. Same fun, nostalgic taste, just made for real life now.

30:49Michael Popok:Their cereal is high protein, zero sugar, and each serving packs 12 to 14 grams of protein, zero to two grams of sugar, and four to five grams of net carbs, so it's great for anyone who's carb-conscious. Plus, the original cereal line is certified gluten-free, which makes it a super simple fueling option for breakfast, a late night snack, or post-workout. They've got classic flavors like Fruity, Frosted, Peanut Butter, Cocoa, Cinnamon Crunch, and more. And they also launched a different line with classic Marshmallow and S'mores, both made with real marshmallows and two grams of sugar. Those really lean into the childhood nostalgia.

31:29Michael Popok:Just note, those are not certified gluten-free since the marshmallows are made in a factory exposed to gluten. They also have Magic Spoon Treats, which are crispy, airy snack bars with 12 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, 0 grams of added sugar, and 2 to 3 grams of net carbs. Look for Magic Spoon on Amazon or at your nearest grocery store. And if you want to try something new, check out Magic Spoon's protein pastries. They're packed with protein and taste like the nostalgic toaster pastries you grew up with, but without all the sugar. You can get$5 off your next order, including the protein pastries, at magicspoon.com slash legal AF.

32:10Michael Popok:That's magicspoon.com slash legal AF for$5 off.

32:16Ben Meiselas:Welcome back to Legal AF. Thank you to all of our sponsors. A reminder, make sure you subscribe to the Legal AF YouTube channel wherever you are searching right now. Just search Legal AF and also subscribe to the Legal AF Substack. Search for Legal AF on Substack. And if you or anyone you know has been injured in a car accident or trucking accident or the negligence of somebody else, reach out to 877-POPOC-AF or visit thepopocfirm.com. They've got people across the country who are able to see if you have a case, so make sure you reach out. I want to talk right now about Pam Bondi continues to try to dodge and duck and not attend a deposition where she's been lawfully subpoenaed, as I'm sure you know.

33:05Ben Meiselas:By now, this past week, April 14th, she was supposed to have her deposition taken before the House Oversight Committee. She refused to show up before the House Oversight Committee deposition. She's taking the position in the Department of Justice, is taking the position with her. She's no longer the attorney general, so she doesn't have to testify, or at least doesn't have to testify anytime soon. They're going to try to reschedule her deposition sometime in the future, but they're not going to give any dates. And so they're hoping to try to push this deposition back, you know, maybe next year or, you know, many, many months from now, and then they'll try to seek delays then.

33:41Ben Meiselas:And for me, it's very, very simple. I mean, if you believe that you did a good job in the Epstein investigation, if you're proud of the work that you did regarding the Epstein investigation, why wouldn't you want to testify? Why would you be so afraid to testify before the House Oversight Committee? I mean, why would you engage in the behavior that Pam Bondi did when she previously testified before the House Judiciary Committee, where she was asked very basic questions and she started saying the Dow was 50 ,000 and she started. She had like a burn book and she was attacking each of the members of Congress and it was just really pathetic and embarrassing.

34:18Ben Meiselas:It was overall just very humiliating for the Department of Justice, clearly for Bondi, but she has no shame. And just for everybody involved, you know, it's just really, really embarrassing. Like, why wouldn't you just go and and and just be happy, tell the truth, be confident if unless you have something to hide. And it's obvious with Bondi, she has something to hide. She's involved in the cover up of the Epstein files. And so she's desperately trying to avoid this deposition. Democrats aren't letting her. You have Congress member Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee for the Democrats, sent a letter to James Comer, who is the chair of the House Oversight Committee.

34:59Ben Meiselas:So if the Democrats are to take power, were to take power in the midterms, Garcia would become the chair of the House Oversight Committee, which is the position that James Comer now holds. So you have a letter from the ranking member, the top Democrat on that committee to the chair, James Comer. And this is the letter from Congress member Garcia that was sent on Friday. Dear Chairman Comer, it's been more than two weeks since Pam Bondi was fired from her role as attorney general in three days since her scheduled deposition on April 14, 2026, at which she failed to appear. Since her termination, committee Democrats have received no information about the status of Ms.

35:39Ben Meiselas:Bondi's deposition beyond broad, nonspecific statements from committee Republicans that her deposition is being, quote, rescheduled to some unspecified date and time in the future. Troublingly, public reporting suggests that the oversight Republicans, meaning the Republicans on the Oversight Committee, may have been working with the former attorney general to avoid the deposition. DOJ has even explicitly requested that the committee confirm the subpoena has been withdrawn given Ms. Bondi's firing. In this context, we are deeply concerned that oversight Republicans are willing to take the actions needed to secure.

36:16Ben Meiselas:We are deeply concerned that are unwilling to take the actions needed to secure Ms. Bondi's testimony. In the interest of transparency in advancing this committee's investigation, I ask that you immediately provide insight into the precise steps. you have taken to schedule Ms. Bondi's deposition, the substance and scope of any negotiations to date, any statements you have received from Ms. Bondi as to her plans to appear for her deposition and advise whether a date for her deposition has yet been agreed upon. The letter goes on to say that this subpoena was issued on a bipartisan basis with a lot of Republican members like Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, and Scott Perry joining with all the Democrats to subpoena Pam Bondi.

37:00Ben Meiselas:And so, you know, one of the reasons why I started this episode by showing you Donald Trump's constant lies as it relates to matters of war and peace, life and death in the Middle East with the unlawful war in Iran, Donald Trump, using the playbook that he uses here domestically, that he's used his entire life to defraud people in business, using that abroad in Iran is that these constant lies over and over and over again, it doesn't lead to success. I mean, it leads to bankruptcy. People realize what you're doing the way Iran realizes that Donald Trump's manipulating the market, that Donald Trump is trying to use the media in order to create these narratives that, you know, that Iran's agreeing to all of these things.

37:48Ben Meiselas:And Iran eventually recognizes is that that's a sign of weakness. And I mean, similarly here in the United States, it's like Donald Trump treats the American people like we don't realize that they're covering up the Epstein files. Like we know the reason that Bondi is trying to dodge this deposition is she doesn't want to testify about what we all know happened. And we want to get to the truth about how bad it is. How bad is the cover up? How terrible is what went down? What else is being covered up. One of the things I think that Bondi really wants to hide, and I think this is an area where the Democrats would start to question her on as well, is just the way communications would take place with Donald Trump.

38:35Ben Meiselas:How did she communicate? Was it through direct messages on Truth Social? Was it through text messages to Donald Trump? Were there meetings in the Oval office? How involved was Donald Trump in the cover-up itself? Was he speaking with you on a daily basis? How frequently would you keep Trump informed about it? Where's the paper trail? Did you use Signal and these encrypted apps? What were you doing? How did you go about this cover-up? In the prior deposition that was taken or the prior testimony that was given by Bondi, You see, each of the members only had five minutes each to ask Bondi questions because it was pursuant to the Republican House rules for her attendance at a judiciary committee as just general judiciary oversight.

39:25Ben Meiselas:So the main topic wasn't Epstein and it wasn't a seven hour deposition just on Epstein. And the rules were each Democratic member only had five minutes to ask questions. So the game that Bondi would play is during each five minutes, you would try to filibuster, you would try to delay, and then a new Democrat would get up there and ask their own questions. and the Republicans would try to rehabilitate her or just not ask her any questions about the Epstein. So that format was more conducive to her ability, even though she looked horrible doing it, not to answer the questions. But if she had to sit for a seven-hour deposition and Democrats could structure the deposition, so maybe you had one or two people asking the majority of the questions and really delving into the details.

40:17Ben Meiselas:It would be under oath if she were to obstruct the deposition would last longer than seven hours. And the Democrats would say, all right, we want another deposition. And so that format, I think she's terrified of, especially where the only topic would be the Epstein file cover up by the Department of Justice. And so at any event, That's why she's dodging it. The Democrats are sending a letter saying we want dates immediately when her deposition is going to be taken. And we're not going to give up on this. We're not going to forget about this. And just another point to make as well. You know, the House oversight Democrats feels like they've been re-injected with life as you had this young Democratic Congress member, Robert Garcia, take over the committee as the ranking member for the Democrats, that is, and really just aggressively pursue an agenda of transparency.

41:13Ben Meiselas:And so when a lot of people like we at the Midas Touch Network talk about, you know, it's really time for a younger group of political leaders to step up. I think you're seeing it play out in the House Oversight Committee there as well. I think someone else whose deposition we're going to want to see taken pretty soon when he resigns as well. It's going to be the acting head of ICE, Todd Lyons. CBS and others reported this past week that Todd Lyons is going to be resigning as the acting head of ICE. Could come in a few weeks, probably the latest this summer. And you will recall that Todd Lyons, he's been traveling around with a defibrillator because he gets so stressed out, he's told people, and he has all of these panic attacks from getting yelled at by Stephen Miller and others in the White House and getting yelled at by Donald Trump, that he's had these panic attacks where, you know, his staff has to like literally take care of him.

42:16Ben Meiselas:And, you know, look, while you have ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo terrorizing and torturing and killing people in our streets here in the United States, throwing people into these concentration camps, these horrible detention centers, separating families engaged in the height of cruelty. I mean, you have Todd Lyons right there having panic attacks and saying, woe is me, feel bad for me. I'm going through all of these health issues while you took this job and you're using this job to torture and terrorize people. So that's going to be a big deposition that I know the Democrats are going to want to take.

42:55Ben Meiselas:Democrats don't want any precedent being set that just because you leave your position means you get to escape depositions. Heck, if the Republicans subpoenaed Hillary Clinton for a deposition, Todd Lyons should be subpoenaed for a deposition and Pam Bondi should have to testify immediately. And again, I think regardless of what political party you're from, when you see people like this not testifying, not showing up, when Pam Bondi or Todd Lyons are so willing to go on Fox and state regime media and spew their lies and to say all of the talking points. But then when it's like, OK, you say those things on Fox and you're on social media posting all of these lies and they post the photos of the people who they claim are like the worst of the worst migrants.

43:43Ben Meiselas:And oftentimes it turns out they're lying and they're not telling the truth. I mean, sometimes there are lots of times they're not telling the truth, you know, and they're just like defaming people like when you're willing to torture a Brego Garcia. OK, so then testify, show up at a deposition, testify under oath, meaningfully answer the questions. What do you have? What do you have to hide? You know, people forget this. But in the Biden administration, you know, all of those cabinet members frequently went before the House and the Senate regularly. It wasn't even a thought that they wouldn't show up.

44:17Ben Meiselas:And when they did show up, they answered the questions. And, you know, it would allow the Republican Congress members and senators to grandstand so they could get their clips for Fox. I mean, I recall all the times the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas would testify and the Republicans, despite the fact that former President Biden put forward a comprehensive immigration reform plan that was actually supported by ICE agents on the border and their union and was supported by Republican Senator Lankford, a very conservative Republican. And it was a bipartisan bill that would have really, really fixed our immigration system, strong borders, but with compassion, pathways to citizenship for people who are paying taxes and working, getting rid of the criminals, more immigration.

45:06Ben Meiselas:It was like a great fix to the immigration system. Remember, Trump said, don't support that. It's immigration, run immigration and blaming immigrants for things is a winning issue for me. So Trump made the MAGA Republicans kill any comprehensive immigration reform. But why I'm bringing this up is Mayorkas would testify and the Republicans would, you know, lay into him and say, well, why did you do this? And every crime that was committed, you know, would be all of a sudden blamed on Mayorkas, even though the stats show that immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than Americans do domestically.

45:42Ben Meiselas:In fact, actually domestic crimes and people who are citizens commit crimes at a higher rate. But in any event, he would testify and show up. And these Republicans either don't show up or they don't answer the questions. And to me, that should be very revealing to you, regardless of what political party you're from. Why aren't they answering these questions? Why are they running from the truth? And I think at the end of the day, you know the answer right there. So I want to go to the next topic, though, which is Donald Trump continuing to rant and rave about this ballroom. A federal judge, Judge Leon, who's a Washington, D.C.

46:18Ben Meiselas:federal judge who was appointed by George W. Bush in 2002, issued yet another order this past week blocking Donald Trump's construction of the ballroom. Judge Leon made clear, I'm not blocking the construction of the underground bunker that you say you're building. As I've made clear in my prior order, I'm not saying that any national security construction should be halted. I'm saying that the golden ballroom, which you say is needed to host parties and galas, that if that is going to be built, it's very simple what you do. Go to Congress and get Congress to approve it. If you want it to be funded by private donors, you can't do an end run around the power of the purse of Congress, Article 1 spending power.

47:09Ben Meiselas:But if you want Congress to say, okay, this will be funded by private funds, Congress can pass a law and you can sign it into law that says that this specific instruction will be made with the use of private funds. It'll be done transparently. We'll know who the donors are and what their vested interests are. There'll be a process of transparency. It may move a little slower. That's our system. but in the name of transparency, that's something that we probably all want to make sure there aren't quid pro quos, emolument clause violations, and things like that. So have Congress debate it. Let the public, let the elected officials talk about it on the floor of the House and the Senate, and then they could have a discussion on it.

47:57Ben Meiselas:And then there could be a vote on it. And if Congress votes for the ballroom, then there'll be the ballroom. If Congress votes on a triumphal arc, let them vote on the triumphal arc. Let them make the message to the American people that while Americans can't afford things and they can't afford a home and they can't afford groceries or gas, and as people are psychologically tortured living paycheck to paycheck, if they're lucky enough to get a paycheck, as healthcare is being ripped away from them, as opportunities communities are becoming less and less for future generations, that you want to fund ballrooms and arcs.

48:34Ben Meiselas:And if that's what the electeds vote on, then the people can hold them accountable in elections. That's our system. If you don't like our system and you prefer a system like the one they have in Russia or in Belarus, or if you prefer the way Viktor Orban would rule over Hungary, clearly the people of Hungary didn't like that because they ousted Orban and brought in a pro-democracy, pro-EU party led by Peter Magyar. There are other systems available for you, but in our democracy, in our system of checks and balances, in our system of bicameral legislatures, this is what we do. This is the American system.

49:14Ben Meiselas:We don't have kings. We don't have dictators. We don't have authoritarians. We don't have people decreeing Golden Ballroom, triumphal arcs, monuments to myself, put my face on the$100 bill. That's not the way our system's supposed to work. And if you want it that way, then have them pass a law and let there be debate in Congress on these issues. That's the thing. Whether we're talking about, you know, Bondi testifying, that's our system. We have oversight. You're not above oversight. Testify. Whether it is the ballrooms get a law passed and then you get it. And then we could decide as people how we feel that our members of Congress are focused on ballrooms and triumphal arcs.

49:56Ben Meiselas:And that's our system, accountability, checks and balances. And so you have this federal judge, Judge Leon. He had to now address the fact that after ruling against Donald Trump two weeks ago and blocking the ballroom. Donald Trump then made an argument that this is actually a national security issue, not just the bunker. Trump said not the bunker. The bunker and the ballroom are the same thing. And the ballroom is a shield, Donald Trump says, that protects him against ballistic missiles and drones. So therefore, the ballroom needs to be built because how else can he protect himself from the missiles.

50:39Ben Meiselas:And you can't, this is what Trump says, you can't build the bunker unless you build the ballroom because they're now connected. And so because he ripped down the East Wing and started building a bunker and the ballroom, he says, now I have to complete the ballroom because now that I destroyed it, I've now placed my life in jeopardy because now there's an active construction site. So something has to be built. Otherwise we're left vulnerable because we destroyed the East wing. And judge Leon, I'll read you what judge Leon says in his opinion in just a moment. Judge Leon says, and again, this is a George W.

51:19Ben Meiselas:Bush judge. This isn't like a liberal judge or a left-wing judge. This is a George W. Bush senior federal court judge, top federal court judge who's been doing this for a long time says it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. It's so disingenuous. Let me be very clear. You want to build your bunker. You say it's for national security. Go build your bunker. But a ballroom requires congressional approval. That's what it requires. And so I want to talk about that in a moment. I want to take our last quick break of the show. This is a scathing order by Judge Leon. And I want to share with you what Judge Leon said.

51:55Ben Meiselas:A reminder, if you or somebody you know has been injured in a car accident, a trucking accident, or injured by the negligence of a third party or a company, or if you know somebody who may have been killed in an accident and their family is looking for a lawyer, these tragic situations happen sadly. And Popak Law Firm is there to help the Legal AF listeners and viewers. If you or someone you know has a case or if you think you have a case, the consultation is free. So call or text 877-POPAK-AF or visit the Popak Firm. They're available 24-7. They've got lawyers in every state across the country right now.

52:29Ben Meiselas:So please, if you can, go call or tell a friend if they have a case. Also, check out Legal AF on YouTube and Legal AF on Substack. Both are doing incredible there. Help grow the Legal AF brand across all the various platforms. They've got so many great contributors on the Legal AF YouTube channel and on that Substack. All right, let's take our last quick break of the show. We will be right back.

52:54Michael Popok:Can we talk about the most underrated organ in your body? Your liver. It's doing more than 500 functions every day, filtering unwanted elements, supporting digestion, and helping with energy. So giving it daily support, it just makes sense. Dose for your liver is a clinically backed liver health supplement. This isn't just another capsule or powder. Dose is a liquid supplement taken in a daily two-ounce shot, and it tastes like fresh-squeezed orange juice. Dose cleanses the liver of unwanted stressors. that's slowing your liver down and promotes daily liver function so your liver can do its job.

53:29Michael Popok:Zero sugar, zero junk, zero calories. Your liver is your body's filter, handling energy production, digestion, fat metabolism, and vitamin storage. When you drink dose daily, you're going to reduce sluggishness, get rid of those midday crashes, support your metabolism, and even aid your daily digestion. Plus, it's got real results with two double-blind placebo-controlled studies showing its positive impact on liver enzyme levels. Ready to give your liver the support it deserves? Head to dosdaily.co slash legal AF or enter legal AF to get 35 % off your first subscription. Your body does so much for you.

54:09Michael Popok:Let's do something for it. That's D-O-S-E-D-A-I-L-Y dot co slash legal af for 35 off your first month subscription i used to think about food constantly cravings guilt repeat it was exhausting and i just wanted something that actually works without making me feel like i'm doing a science experiment on myself this podcast is sponsored by veracity welcome to an all-natural way to slim down get energized and sharpen your focus veracity is revolutionizing health by tackling the root cause of so many issues. Metabolism. If your goal is weight loss, you need to try Metabolism Ignite, the number one doctor recommended GLP-1 booster and GLP-1 alternative.

54:54Michael Popok:It's sold out 10 times for a reason. No side effects, no allergens. Metabolism Ignite is a natural, safe plant-based aid that results in an 85 % reduction in hunger, and it's clinically proven to lose on average nine pounds in 90 days. I started Metabolism Ignite recently, just two capsules with breakfast, and I feel more in control of my hunger throughout the day. Veracity founder and CEO Ali Egan is a certified hormonal health coach, and her personal experience with metabolic issues inspired her to develop holistic solutions for achieving optimal health. It's made with lemon verbena and hibiscus extracts, green coffee bean extract, and magnesium.

55:34Michael Popok:And even if you're on GLP-1 medications, Veracity is safe to take along with them to boost metabolism and appetite control. Since it's made from 100 % natural ingredients and is caffeine-free, clinical trials show no negative side effects. I love that it's scientifically legit and so easy. Just two capsules every morning. So before metabolism ignites cells out again, make the switch to GLP-1s the natural way. Head to veracityhealth.co and use code LEGALAF for up to 65 % off your order. Once again, that's V-E-R-A-C-I-T-Y, health.co for 65 % off and make sure you use my promo code LEGALAF so they know I sent you.

56:15Ben Meiselas:Welcome back to LEGALAF. Thank you to all of our sponsors. Just wanna let everybody know, just covering for Popak, obviously, on this episode, he'll be back next weekend and next week. Don't you worry. He had a family engagement to go to And I said, don't worry, family first, make sure you will, you'll cover for me soon one day. And we appreciate Popak and all the great work that he's doing, how he's building the Legal AF channel. And I think arrest every now and then is a is a good thing for our all of our hosts on the Midas Touch network. So before we finished with the last right before the last break, I was talking about Judge Leon's ruling.

56:58Ben Meiselas:And I'd like to just read for you a little bit from the ruling itself. One of the things I like to do at Legal AF and on the Midas Touch Network generally is to just show you the judge's words. Just so you know, it's not like my opinion. I'm not, you know, characterizing the judge saying something. I want you to hear what the judge says so you can view it yourself. and you could form your own opinions. Do I agree with the judge? Did the judge go too far? Did the judge get it right? This is what I encourage my law students to do and the undergrad students who I teach at law school to do. Read the opinion, right?

57:35Ben Meiselas:And I just think so much of corporate news, they'll have like the split screen. They'll have this side yelling at this side and this side yelling at this side. And it's just like, can you just show the audience, please what the court ruled and let the audience make it. Let the audience make a decision for themselves. All right. So let's take a look at Judge Leon's order from the end of last week, blocking Donald Trump's ballroom and clarifying the prior order that you can build your bunker, Donald, but stop acting like your bunker and the ballroom are the same thing and that you need a ballroom as a shield to protect your life.

58:11Ben Meiselas:That's crazy. That's a demented thing to say. So no, We're not going there. Here's what the judge said. On March 31st, 2026, I granted the motion of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, the plaintiff, for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of a ballroom on the White House grounds as ultra vires, meaning as outside the bounds of the Constitution. In recognition of the national security and presidential security concerns raised by the ongoing construction project, I excluded from the scope of the injunctions actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds.

58:52Ben Meiselas:Based on the record before me, I cannot plausibly agree with what Donald Trump is saying, where defendants now seek to turn this exception on its head and unreasonably insist that the entire ballroom project may proceed. The court goes on to say how on April 1st, the National Trust, that's the plaintiff in this action, citing public statements by the president interpreting my order, filed a motion for clarification of the preliminary injunction. Defendants, meanwhile, Trump, not surprisingly, filed an appeal and an emergency motion to stay. On April 11th, our circuit court remanded the case with instructions to promptly address the pending motion to clarify how the injunction and its exceptions ensure safety and security pending litigation and extended my temporary stay of the preliminary injunction to April 17th.

59:49Ben Meiselas:On April 13th, defendants filed their opposition to the National Trust's motion to clarify and attached a Secret Service declaration. On April 14th, the National Trust filed a reply in support of its motion the same day defendants filed a motion seeking a further 14-day stay of the preliminary injunction the motions are now ripe for decision then it goes on to say the following defendants argue trump argues that the entire ballroom construction project from tip to tail falls within the safety and security exception and therefore may proceed unabated. That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my order!

1:00:32Ben Meiselas:My order preliminarily enjoined defendants, excluding the president, from taking any action in furtherance of the physical development of the proposed ballroom. The accompanying opinion stated that the ballroom construction project must stop until Congress authorizes its completion. It is, to say, the least incredible, if not disingenuous, that defendants now argue that my order does not stop the ballroom construction because of the safety and security exception, exclamation point. Just pause right there. I don't think Judge Leon has ever before put exclamation points twice in basically the opening paragraph of a discussion section, but he's pissed.

1:01:15Ben Meiselas:He's saying, can you stop just lying and gaslighting the American people? My order was clear. I said, you need to stop construction of the ballroom. I'm not going to prevent national security issues, of course. So you're now claiming that the ballroom is national security? That's ridiculous. Stop it. Just behave normally. This is embarrassing for the entire United States of America and the judiciary that we even have to hear a case like this. Judge Leon goes on to say, for the reasons that follow, I will further clarify and amend my order to stop only the above ground construction of the planned ballroom.

1:01:55Ben Meiselas:My amended order does not, however, stop below ground construction of national security facilities, work necessary to provide for presidential security, and construction necessary to protect and secure the White House and the construction site itself. And then he goes on to talk about how the injunction excludes only below ground construction because throughout the case, defendants, Trump, raised discrete national security concerns about construction of underground elements. Early on, defendants argued that security concerns warranted permitting the current below ground construction to continue.

1:02:35Ben Meiselas:Specifically, defendants indicated that the national security related facilities are being constructed below ground, referencing a security bunker. The exception for underground national security facilities does not include the proposed ballroom because defendants themselves distinguished between the below ground and above ground construction, stating that the below surface work was driven by national security concerns, independent of the above grade construction. Defendants also repeatedly represented that the project's below ground elements do not lock in the design of the above ground elements.

1:03:14Ben Meiselas:Defendants now brazenly assert that the below ground construction has been done with the expectation of what would go above. Defendants argue that security related elements of the ballroom, such as missile resistant steel columns and beams, drone proof roofing and bulletin blast proof glass windows will advance safety and security interests as part of an inseparable whole. Defendants further argue that leaving the site as it stands poses serious safety and security threats that can only be addressed by proceeding with the construction. In my view, these arguments fail to justify defendants' extraordinary, if not disingenuous reading of my preliminary injunction.

1:03:57Ben Meiselas:Indeed, defendants' latest representations that the entire project advances critical national security objectives as an integrated whole are in direct conflict with defendants' prior representations that the above ground and below ground portions are independent of one another. I can go on and keep on reading, but you get the point. The reason why I wanted to spend that time, long as it may have been, reading the court's order, because it's important that we're logical and consistent. And this is why I went into law to begin with. It's why I went to law school. It's why I was a litigator. It's why I'm a law professor.

1:04:34Ben Meiselas:It's why we started the Legal AF channel. It's why we started the Midas Touch Network. I want a fact-based, evidentiary-based approach. And when people say one thing one day and another thing another day, and they lie consistently going back to the theme I started with at the beginning, that's wrong. And it has dangerous consequences. And I'm not okay with it. And it's why we call it out specifically here. And when you have a show sometimes where it's the gamesmanship of a debate and one side is saying this and the other side saying that and they're each using rhetorical tricks to try to stump the other side.

1:05:10Ben Meiselas:To me, I just want to know what the truth is. Did the Trump regime actually say in prior filings that the bunker is separate from the ballroom? And now are they changing that opinion or changing that because Trump wants the ballroom so badly? Why do you think Trump loses all of these cases over and over again his entire life? Why do you think he was viewed by some judges as a vexatious and frivolous litigant. He's brought thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of lawsuits in his life, trying to bully people and bulldoze over people with bullshit, with lies, with fraud over and over again. And it's relentless.

1:05:51Ben Meiselas:It is nonstop. I mean, just think about this case right here. A judge rules against Trump. The National Trust for the Historic Preservation of D.C. wins. That's a win, right? But Donald Trump goes, you know what? My life is now in jeopardy by this ruling. So I'm going to make another argument right now that this is imperiling my life and that I, if I don't get my ballroom, my life is in jeopardy. Who would even think to make such a despicable argument? I mean, as much as I thought that George W. Bush had a disastrous presidency, he wouldn't make an argument like that. As much as I look back at Reagan and say, what a horrible presidency, in my opinion, that in my opinion, you can disagree with that opinion.

1:06:33Ben Meiselas:You know, when I go through the Reagan library right here in California, somewhere near where I live, and I see at least he respected the dignity of the office, he would never go and say things like this. I mean, Obama and Biden would never make arguments like this or advance the idea of ballrooms or go out and make these false statements about foreign policy. And going back to what I said at the beginning of this episode, saying that you've made deals with Iran when you haven't made deals and that the straight of her moves is open when it's not open. It's just a constant fire hose of lies that needs to be addressed and it needs to be stopped.

1:07:10Ben Meiselas:And I'm glad that you have someone like a judge Leon calling it out and saying, this is a lie. Here's what you previously said. I'm glad you have the national historic trust sticking in there and not giving up and saying, okay, you're going to make this argument. Well, we're going to just point out that you're a liar. We're going to keep on bringing this up to the judge. I'm glad that we have people who are courageous like Abrego Garcia. Give him credit when the Trump regime put all of their resources to try to destroy that guy's life. And frankly, in my opinion, kill him. Abrego Garcia got a great set of lawyers who rallied behind him.

1:07:46Ben Meiselas:And one person, Abrego Garcia, an immigrant able to stand up against the Trump regime and fight back and win in court. Think about the other cases too. E. Jean Carroll being able to prevail when Donald Trump threw everything at her and her legal team. She didn't win just one. She won twice, right? She won the initial sexual assault and defamation civil case. Then she won a second defamation case. Think about New York Attorney General Letitia James. Think about Alvin Bragg and their ability to succeed, despite Donald Trump throwing everything at them. You just have to be relentless and you have to just keep on fighting back with Donald Trump.

1:08:27Ben Meiselas:And when you look at it through the legal framework that I think we utilize here on Legal AF, I think it becomes very clear how you do that, why Trump hates the courts, why he hates our system, but it makes you pull back for a second beyond the gamification of politics, right? Beyond the horse race of politics. And actually think about that these systems are intended to derive at the truth and to get at the truth. Why do we have rules against hearsay? Why do we have rules of evidence? I taught evidence. I love teaching evidence in law school because we're trying to get good information in front of a jury.

1:09:10Ben Meiselas:Oftentimes, whenever there's good information in front of a jury, they unanimously rule against Donald Trump. What's the system that Donald Trump wants? He wants Putin's system, in my opinion. He wants the Belarus system. He wants Lukashenko's system. By the way, if you have Lukashenko saying that America showed how weak it was, that it can't even fight back against Iran, that Iran was able to take out America's military. So you think that China's afraid and Russia's afraid? I mean, these are people who Donald Trump's saying are their allies. By the way, while Donald Trump's out there, you know, doing all of these things, in the dead of night on Friday, he removed the sanctions yet again against Russian oil.

1:09:54Ben Meiselas:He extended the revocation of U.S. sanctions against Russia for yet another significant period. And remember when Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, what, middle of this week, said the U.S. will not be renewing its removal of sanctions against Russian oil? They just did it on Friday. They lie about everything, and their lies are so big and fanciful that lots of people are like, some of it has got to be true, right? Like, don't we meet in the middle? Because I get it. Maybe they exaggerate. No, no, no. They don't exaggerate. They create an entire fake world. Everything is a lie. And they want you to bend into their fake, fraudulent, dystopian world.

1:10:38Ben Meiselas:And you can't. You have to stay strong and recognize it and say, I'm not going there. Let's live in reality. So the system Trump wants is where he settles with himself, where there is no adversarial process, which brings me to the last topic we'll talk about on this episode, because a status conference brief was filed in federal court in Florida in a case that Donald Trump essentially filed against Donald Trump. Trump filed a$10 billion lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that his tax information was leaked publicly, even though in the past, all presidents voluntarily turned over their tax information.

1:11:16Ben Meiselas:And this is separate from when Congress during his first term subpoenaed his tax information and fought to make it public. And it turned out Trump almost paid no taxes or like$750 in taxes. He paid very little taxes from the relevant years in his first term when Congress was able to get the information. This is different. He said there was a data breach on lots of people's tax records, and he was in this data breach. So he says he should be paid$10 billion, that the federal government should pay him$10 billion, that you should pay him$10 billion. Because where's the money coming from taxpayers.

1:11:48Ben Meiselas:So Trump sues the IRS and the Treasury Department. Who's he suing? The guy I just showed you, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, the guy who just worked with Donald Trump to continue to remove the sanctions on Russian oil to inflict massive damage to Ukraine and to try to help Russia take over Ukraine and to destroy NATO. Trump did a lawsuit against Besson, his own cabinet member, basically, the Treasury Department and the IRS. And the IRS is within the Treasury Department. Trump's demanding that we taxpayers pay him$10 billion for the data breach. And in a filing that he just made in federal court, he said that he's working on a settlement right now with the Treasury Department and the IRS.

1:12:32Ben Meiselas:Now, Trump has publicly acknowledged as well that he intends to settle the case with himself for$10 billion. Now, what Trump says is, well, I'm going to give the money to charity. So if I get paid, I'm going to give it to charity. Let me tell you what, one, I don't think he's going to give it to charity. But two, if he does, you know what he's going to do? In my opinion, he's going to use it for a charitable deduction so that he'll never have to pay taxes ever again. Think about a$10 billion deduction that he'll try to carry over year over year over year for the rest of his life so that he never has to pay taxes.

1:13:06Ben Meiselas:Look, I did a$10 billion charitable thing. He'll probably divert the money, in my opinion, to some Trump charity or to the presidential library. Remember, he's building this library, which turns out isn't a library, but is actually like a hotel that he's building. It's like a skyscraper hotel and office complex that he's building in Miami. So we had Ron DeSantis give him state college property in Miami that belonged to a college there for him to build his so-called presidential library. Remember, Trump made all of these different media companies pay him these settlement agreements at the beginning of his term that would go to the presidential library.

1:13:48Ben Meiselas:So he's going to use a lot of those funds to now construct a skyscraper, a building, because we've seen the renderings and Trump has said it's like a hotel. So the library is a hotel. that's going to be tax, you know, he's not going to have to pay taxes on it because he's calling it a library. And I think he then puts billions of dollars that he's going to pay himself with your taxpayer dollars to projects like that. And then he's going to claim to the IRS that it's a deduction. So he'll never have to pay taxes ever again for the rest of his life. Or I don't know, could the claim refunds or whatever he's going to do, but it's part of, in my opinion, a tax gap, But just pull back for a second.

1:14:30Ben Meiselas:Could you even believe this is happening? Like, I wanted to start off talking about what's happening in Iran because it is so interconnected to what's happening domestically as well. Right. I mean, times are very grim. Let's just face it. American people are suffering. American people can't afford things. Donald Trump has taken a sledgehammer to the government, cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on the American people right now and people in the United States in general, right? While he's engaging in this unlawful and catastrophic war, demanding$1.5 trillion to fund, where is he going to go next?

1:15:09Ben Meiselas:He says he's going to invade Cuba next. So while he's doing all of this, harming America globally, harming America domestically, destroying the world globally, it is important that we hold this accountable, that we don't normalize this behavior. And our legal system here is supposed to hold people accountable. Now, Donald Trump has put a sledgehammer to our legal system, our right-wing Supreme Court, granting Trump absolute immunity. It's perhaps the worst ruling in the entire history of the Supreme Court. Our Constitution was founded on the idea of no kings. Even in the UK, where you have royalty and kings, you had Andrew Mountbatten being held liable and responsible and investigated.

1:15:57Ben Meiselas:They don't even have absolute immunity for royalty where they actually have royalty. But our Supreme Court granted an absolute immunity doctrine to Trump. And you're seeing the consequences of a rogue criminal presidency, a terrorist regime presidency. And we have to use the language that calls it out. That's what we do here on the Midas Touch Network. And as we start to think about what happens next, I mean, I think there should be Hague war crime trials. We're going to be covering that stuff here on the Midas Touch Network because this is a regime of war criminals who have blown up boats in Venezuela and have killed lots of people there and in the Pacific, who have blown up elementary schools in Iran who have worked with Israel to kill lots of innocent people in Gaza and Beirut.

1:16:42Ben Meiselas:This is a regime that's engaged in genocide. Let's call it what it is. And it is a regime that needs to be called out for its behavior and it needs to be held accountable for it. And we have to get back to like focusing on law and accountability, international law and truth and facts. And, you know, the game, all the gamification of politics and all of that, you know, is often a distraction from getting at the truth and getting at decency and empathy and accountability. And so that's what we're going to always focus on and fight for here at the Midas Touch Network. As I mentioned, the Supreme Court, one thing that's perhaps good news, although we'll be following it, there were two Supreme Court justices who we believed could potentially be resigning at the end of the Supreme Court term this summer.

1:17:29Ben Meiselas:One was Justice Alito, the other was Justice Thomas. And I've been talking about how a lot of right-wing circuit court justices and district court judges or circuit court judges and district court judges are positioning themselves to potentially get that Supreme Court role if Alito or Thomas were to resign. Alito is saying right now that he's not resigning. Thomas, we're still on Thomas watch to see if Thomas is going to be resigning or retiring rather, not resigning, I should say retiring. Justice Alito not retiring. Sources close to Alito told Fox, we'll see what happens with Justice Thomas and we'll keep you posted there because what Trump wants to be able to do is appoint two young right-wing extremist MAGA people to get on the Supreme Court to make these, horrific, unlawful rulings that are blessed by the Supreme Court, which become the law until the precedent is overturned.

1:18:26Ben Meiselas:So that's some good news to leave you with as well, even as we talk about Trump saying that he's involved in settlement conversations with Treasury Secretary Scott Besson to pay himself$10 billion to himself from your taxpayer money, which is absolutely ridiculous. We miss Popak today. I always love having him on the show. He'll be back next week. But everybody hit subscribe here. Let's get to 7 million subscribers here. Subscribe to Popak's YouTube channel. It's a Popak sub stack right now. Let's get those channels continue to be on top of the charts. And if you or somebody you know has been injured in a car accident, auto accident, trucking accident, whatever.

1:19:02Ben Meiselas:If you know someone who was killed in an accident and their family is looking for a lawyer. If you know someone who's the victim of sexual assault or harassment, reach out to the Popak firm. See if you have a case. See if a friend or somebody you know has a case. call or text 877-POPOC-AF or visit thepopocfirm.com. They've got lawyers all across the country who are available 24-7 and the consultation is free. In case you need to write it down, we'll put in the description below where you can reach out to POPOC as well if you think you have a case. All right, everybody, thanks so much for watching this weekend's Legal AF.

1:19:32Ben Meiselas:We appreciate you. We're grateful for you. We'll see you next time on Legal AF. Shout out Legal AF-ers and shout out my desire.

1:20:10Michael Popok:Thank you. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.

1:20:16Ben Meiselas:Breaking news for your home, Wayday. Wayfair's big sale is almost here, and you can score the best deals in home, like up to 80 % off everything home. Yes, you heard that right. 80 % off with free shipping on everything. Plus surprise flash deals all Wayday long. We're talking outdoor furniture and essentials, rugs, and more. All at Wayfair, and all up to 80 % off during Wayday. Shop Wayfair's Wayday from April 25th through 27th.