Elon gets brutal news in Epstein files

24:33There is a very bright line between what they do and the borders of the United States and the participation of a very high profile, the director of national intelligence, IC individual in a bizarre law enforcement action is, I'm not going to say unprecedented because there is the narrowest of areas where there might be a role for the intelligence community, but a very high profile figure is a very, very big deal. And so you asked, what do we do about it? The moment this broke and needless to say, nobody in the intelligence community felt like they had to inform either the chairman or the ranking member of the Senate and the House Intelligence Committee.

25:12But the moment we learned about it, we wrote a letter demanding answers on this issue. Now, I suspect I know the answer, right? Tulsi Gabbard has watched in the last three months as the administration of which she is a part has done everything that she spent a lifetime despising in terms of intervention abroad. And of course, the Oval Office knows that. And so she was sidelined, not a single presentation in which Tulsi Gabbard was present. That's an existential threat to Tulsi Gabbard's self-image. Right. And so I think this is partly an effort to get back on the president's good side, because we know that this president will be very, very happy to mess in an election if it if it doesn't go his way.

25:54But it is also just a remarkable showing of disdain for this bright line between the actions of the intelligence community and law enforcement actions. In terms of actually getting some answers here, I would presume there needs to be some degree of buy in from your Republican counterpart, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Does it does it seem based on your interactions with them that there's any interest from your Republican colleagues to get some answers on this issue? Look, I mean, you see the same thing that I see, which is that there is no limit to the rationalizations which Republicans will employ to avoid having conversations or doing things that might piss off Donald Trump.

26:40Right. So, you know, there'll be some story and I haven't spoken to either Tom Cotton or Rick Crawford, but there'll be some story that is consistent with what the deputy attorney general said, like, oh, well, we didn't know. We didn't see it. I don't know what the facts are. You know, if this, of course, had been Joe Biden's director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, you know, we would have already seen articles of impeachment. The building would be burning and, you know, right wing media would be going out of their minds over the fascist takeover of the United States. So, look, that's the reality in which I work.

27:16But we're we're going to get to the bottom of this. You had mentioned the deputy attorney general Todd Blanche earlier. He was actually asked about this issue and he was asked to explain Tulsi Gabbard's role in DOJ activity, given that she's not in the DOJ. She's the director of national intelligence. I'm going to throw to a clip right now of how Todd Blanche responded to that question. Could you please explain Tulsi Gabbard's role in DOJ activity regarding the Fulton County search? What do you mean her role? It was reported that... She happened to be present in Atlanta. I mean, yes, I saw the same photo as you did.

27:52I mean, she's not, she doesn't work for the Department of Justice or the FBI. She's an extraordinarily important part of this administration. This administration coordinates everything we do as a group. And so I think her presence shouldn't be, there shouldn't be questioned, of course. I mean, that's a big part of her job. And so the fact that she was present in Atlanta that day, you know, is something that shouldn't surprise anybody. Okay, so that was the Deputy Attorney General saying that Tulsi Gabbard just so happened to be present in Atlanta because who among us doesn't just find ourselves in the middle of an FBI search warrant being executed?

28:30Can I have your reaction to that statement from Todd Blanche? Yeah, I mean, it's just absurd, right? I mean, I think Todd Blanche is a lawyer, right? I mean, it used to be that if you were the number two at the Justice Department, you probably had some legal understanding. So Todd Blanche understands what is involved when an enormously powerful entity, a spy entity, the intelligence community, is operating inside the U.S. and how completely unacceptable that is. you know, again, the fact that he sort of a dab a dab did nothing to see here, you know, suggested me that he wasn't going to be the one you just asked me about Republicans.

29:04He wasn't going to be the one to say, yeah, that's a good question. We ought to look into that. Right. And but but it's not just let's let's back up a second here. The intelligence community does have a role in sussing out foreign interference in our elections. Now, by the way, the Trump administration is completely opposed to that notion because they're so allergic to the fact that Russia intervened twice to try to elect Donald Trump. Three times, actually, twice successfully. So, you know, we've seen people who do election integrity work, who monitor elections, who look for foreign efforts to alter our elections, fired, sidelined, taken out of the equation.

29:46But nonetheless, if you were going to give the benefit of the doubt to this administration, which you are not going to do, because we know that Donald Trump will pull out all the stops to alter the results of elections that he doesn't like, you would say, well, maybe Tulsi Gabbard and the and the intelligence community was looking for foreign interference. Well, you know, if you were doing that, you know, you'd be doing cyber work. You'd be talking about intelligence collection. You'd be talking to the NSA. You would not be physically showing up in Fulton County, Georgia. Sure. Is there some concern that by virtue of bringing Tulsi Gabbard in and trying to kind of shoehorn this idea that this is part of some broader international criminal conspiracy?

30:25I mean, Trump himself had amplified a tweet or a post on True Social. And I'm going to read a little bit of it to give you an idea of, you know, the mental gymnastics that they're jumping through to try and to try and manifest this into reality. Maria Zak testified about the stolen 2020 election operation connected to Obama when he diverted$400 million from the infamous pallets of cash sent to Iran, funneling through the Dubai embassy to operatives in Italy and Merrill Lynch in Geneva, Switzerland. In return, Italian officials at Leonardo SPA used military satellites to help hack U.S. voting machines, flipping votes from Trump to Biden using CIA-developed tools like Hammer and Scorecard, along with numerous other methods of fraud and manipulation.

31:05goes on to invoke China, the CIA, the FBI, Joe Biden. So this is the kind of stuff that they're dealing with. And that was amplified, not by some underling or lackey, that was amplified by Donald Trump himself, the president of the United States. And so is there some concern that Tulsi Gabbard being there is an effort to shoehorn into reality this idea that there was some foreign interference to try and prove election, you know, that the election was rigged in 2020. Also that as we head toward 2026, they can say, well, look, we were right about the election being rigged in 2020. And so now recognizing all of this crime that's happening right under our noses that was hidden by Joe Biden and the communist Marxist Democrats, we have to take extraordinary steps to really secure our elections.

31:55And that means we got to send the military and that means we need to seize voting machines. So all basically using this as a pretext to be able to to, you know, engage in these voter suppression efforts or efforts to undermine our elections. Yeah, I mean, exactly right. Right. I mean, all that was missing from that post was, you know, Elvis coming back from the dead, bring back Richard Nixon. Or I mean, you know, just the sheer insanity of the conspiracy theories. And that was like 15 conspiracy theories wrapped up in one. And remember, none of these conspiracy theories turned out to be anywhere close to accurate.

32:32In fact, some of the stuff that wasn't even crazy didn't turn out to be accurate. The 60 attempts, you know, lawsuits that Giuliani and his merry band of lunatics brought, every single one of them turned back. So what worries me here, and you put your finger on it, is that, you know, what the Trump administration does is they try to make us comfortable over time with outrageous things, right? So border patrol agents masked without insignia, kitted up as though they were about to fast rope into Fallujah to capture an al-Qaeda terrorist. You know, no, let's get used to the notion that these guys are just wandering around our city streets.

33:08Two years ago, we would have said that's not our country. That's Chile under Pinochet, right? But they get used to these things because, you know, folks are busy and they get comfortable with stuff they should never get comfortable with. So what's the next step? Now, are we going to be asked to get comfortable with the idea that the CIA is going to pay visits to the local registrars of voters. I mean, that directionally is where they want to take this. And yes, of course, it's in the service of these conspiracy theories, which more often than not come back to bite them in the ass, right? It's the Epstein syndrome.

33:38You know, let Tulsi Gabbard investigate the insane Italy theory. And, you know, at some point she bumps into the fact-based universe where it turns out that there's nothing there. And then she's got a choice, right? She can either say that there's nothing there, that in fact, you know, there's not a pizza place in Washington, D.C., where Hillary Clinton is coordinating the kidnapping of young children, they can either say that, oh, you know, we were just lying like Don Bongino basically did when he was deputy at the FBI, or they can continue to, you know, bump into a court of law where a judge is going to say, you people are out of your minds.

34:15So, you know, again, what really worries me here is that over time, they want us to get used to the idea that the vast surveillance powers and the capabilities and the authorities of the CIA and the NSA, well, maybe it's okay if they operate inside the United States because we're going to lose our country otherwise. Can you talk a little bit about what you would be able to do in Congress if the Democrats are able to regain a majority after November? Like what does the efforts to kind of quash Trump's overreach look like from, you know, from the actual majority? Right, right. So, I mean, a couple of things.

34:55You know, number one, Mark Warner and I wrote a letter to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence asking for a specific explanation. I know what we're getting back. If anything, it's going to be something like what Todd Blanche said. Nothing to see here. Well, you know what? If we're in the majority and I have subpoena power or we have subpoena power, the Director of national intelligence is coming in for a hearing to be questioned by us and by our council, right? And, you know, lie to us, please lie to us, because lying to the Congress of the United States, you know, will first of all, indicate your character and, you know, really create a problem or don't lie to us, right, which is, of course, the preferable outcome.

35:38And in the majority, will have that much more control over the resources. And so call me crazy, but we might just say, hey, Tulsi, you can have a little bit more money if you're going after terrorists or spying on the Chinese or the Russians, but you get no more money for performative MAGA, make the president feel good about me theatrics. You know, when you were alluding to the idea of hauling these people in front of Congress and basically challenging them to lie to you, practically speaking, if they lie, I mean, yes, it's a crime lying to Congress, but it's up to the DOJ to be able to enforce it.

36:15And this DOJ isn't going to enforce it. And so in a way, don't they kind of have a get out of jail free card if they want to lie to Congress, recognizing that Pam Bondi is never going to hold them to account? Sure. And I mean, look, let's just be very straight and honest about this. Not only is it that, but, you know, thank you, John Roberts. Thank you, John Roberts, because I'll tell you what we're going to see over the course of the back half of the Trump administration, everyone from Tulsi Gabbard to the guy who, you know, arrested Don Lemon in Minneapolis, to the folks who shot the two people, every single one of them is getting a pardon, right?

36:51That is an unappealable thing. And thank you, John Roberts, for saying that the president himself in the performance of his official duties is completely unaccountable, you know, in the way Emperor Maximilian or Pinochet or Stalin would have dreamed of. So yeah, I mean, thank you to John Roberts and the Supreme Court for setting up a system where an unaccountable president can use an unappealable mechanism to basically create a Praetorian crime wing that is completely unaddressable. Now, we're going to try to do something about that because there will be a different Justice Department at some point down the line.

37:28And, you know, again, barring a full pardon, which I would expect for somebody like Tulsi Gabbard or anybody else involved in this stuff, you know, we will work for accountability. Last question here. And that is that that you had noted that you sent this letter in an effort to like push back against against the idea that a strongly worded letter is ever sufficient. Is there anything that that can be done beyond the letter, again, recognizing the limitations that we have by virtue of Democrats being in the minority, but also kind of, you know, pushing back against the idea that the only thing that we could ever do is just to send strongly worded letters.

38:07Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, I appreciate the question. And the answer is that even in the minority, I have tools, we have tools that are important, you know, to pass a budget, to get the Intelligence Authorization Act, which is what determines the authorities and the budget for, you know, the entire intelligence community. You basically need sign off from what they call the four corners, the chairman and the ranking members. That's an example. And you know what? If they keep showing the kind of disdain that they are showing, that will be involved. That will be there will be implications in their budget, much more so if we're in the majority than if we're in the minority.

38:42But they will be there. And secondarily, you know, they have goals. And I'll give you one example. Right. Eventually, the administration is going to wake up to the fact that they need to reauthorize FISA 702. Right. This is a surveillance authority targeted at foreigners, and we don't need to get into all the ins and outs of 702, but it's controversial, right? And at some point, they're going to wake up and realize, oh, my God, we have to reauthorize this authority that basically provides 60 percent, 60 percent of the intelligence that goes into the president's daily brief. We haven't done a damn thing, unlike the Biden administration, which mobilized people months in advance.

39:17And they're going to say, hey, Himes, we need your help reauthorizing this authority without which Donald Trump is going to get pinned with a terrorist attack. And at that point, I'm going to say, well, that's funny, you know, because you have shown me nothing but disdain for the last two years. So tell me again why why I should work in partnership with you after you have, you know, politicized and weaponized and shown Congress utter disdain. That also is a tool. All right. Well, we'll leave it there. Congressman Himes, thanks so much for taking the time. Thanks a lot, Brian.

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40:56You'll get 15 % off your first order when you use BTC at checkout. Plus, it's backed by a 100 % money-back guarantee, so there's no risk. Subscriptions are also available for maximum consistency. Remember to head to ZBiotics.com slash BTC and use the code BTC at checkout for 15 % off. I'm joined now by the co-host of Pod Save America, Tommy Vitor. Tommy, Thanks for joining me. Thanks for having me. Greg Bovino is out. Tom Homan is in. To what extent do you believe the Trump administration in their effort to try and convince people that this is a kinder, softer CBP and ICE operation that's happening now that Bovino is not in an email?

41:33Tom and Greg, weren't those the buddies from Succession? Yeah, yes. I bet they're not quite as fun of a pair. Look, I think that Bovino seems like he's a scapegoat so far. I mean, hopefully, Homan has taken the lesson that, you know, physically assaulting American citizens, murdering American citizens. Not only is it a horrible thing to do for a bunch of constitutional and moral reasons, but also Donald Trump didn't like how it looked on TV. And so they they rein that shit in a little bit. It sounds like they're under Homan. There will be more efforts just to, like, get individuals out of jails and prisons and not necessarily do these sort of a constant drive around broad sweeps and picking up everybody.

42:13But we'll see. I think ultimately, like, this is a policy driven by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. It's going to look like a policy driven by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. Greg Bovino sucks. CBP is reportedly responsible for a lot of the worst abuses that we've all been seeing on our screens. But I'm not hopeful that this will be a kind and gentle policy. And that's the part I want to dig into a little bit here, because my concern in all of this is that Trump will trot out Tom Homan and and make it look like accountability is being done by virtue of Greg Bovino being cast aside. But again, as as you as you alluded to, like this policy didn't come from Greg Bovino.

42:50He's not directing policy. It comes from Donald Trump. The only way he feels emboldened to act the way that he acted is because Donald Trump gave him the green light to know that he could act that way. And so Trump is still there, even if Bovino is not. And so, you know, my concern in all of this is that the broader media, the broader narrative, because that's what Trump cares about at the end of the day, they're going to see Bovino out home and in and be able to say, oh, well, well, Trump is being responsive to the needs of Americans. He understands how bad it was. And now we're going to get something different.

43:20Of course, I'm sure, you know, they'll feed legacy media a bunch of DHS, you know, boilerplate memos that have been sent out, lies that have been sent out. And that they'll kind of just regurgitate that to people because, you know, because either that's what they're accustomed to doing, which is just, you know, vomiting out whatever the administration fed them or because they're owned by the administration. I mean, Barry Weiss is there because she's going to be a mouthpiece for this administration. And so are you concerned that that the that the media narrative surrounding all of this is going to is going to kind of redound to Trump's benefit and that they're going to get what they want?

43:54Look, I think in Minnesota, it's going to be like a put up or shut up moment. You know, I think hopefully without Bovino and CBP running the show that it will reduce some of the most aggressive tactics on the margins. Now, if that doesn't happen, we're all going to see it. Right. Because these people in Minnesota are going to be on the streets are going to be recording. Regardless of whether Bovino's there or Tom Holman's there. Yeah, I mean, that's what's actually inspiring about this story is the way that everyone in the Twin Cities has stepped up to protect their community, has, you know, followed these ICE agents around and warned people.

44:26It's filmed these interactions. Like, that's why we know about all of this. So if that continues, we'll have a real-time reading on what's happening. But I agree with you. I mean, there's clearly an effort right now to, like, spin a narrative that this will be a kinder, gentler version of ICE. And, like, I'll believe it when I see it. But in terms of the future of ICE, I've spoken to a lot of elected officials over the course of the past week. I've asked almost all of them what their thoughts are about abolishing ICE entirely. And the reason I ask this is because, like, of course you can reform any agency.

44:58Like, any agency can be reformed. But I think the way ICE has kind of staffed that agency was with a very specific messaging. Like, I mean, they're using straight up, like, white nationalist. Like Nazi stuff. Correct. And so so I don't know that it's salvageable when the basis for bringing all of these people in was like straight up Nazi messaging. Like, how do you better training for people who are only in that agency because they believe in like a white ethnostate? And so I'm just curious. But at the same time, I mean, there is also I can I can see how there is like concern that Democrats don't want to fall into the same defund the police, defund the police trap from, you know, five, six years ago.

45:39So I'm just curious where you stand on this issue, because I've heard from most elected officials, at least progressives are pretty clear eyed in terms of coming out and saying abolish ICE. Yeah, it's a hard one. It's like, you know, I don't want to jump into a time warp and suddenly like make this about a debate from 2018. Right. Or a debate about semantics. Right. Yeah, exactly. And I think it's a general political rule. Like voters don't want to hear that you're going to abolish something. They're going to they want to hear what you're going to do about it. Yeah. I think in the near term, Schumer is going to approach these negotiations over funding with a reform message.

46:09And I think that's probably the smartest politically. And like given the very limited power that Democrats have the most likely path to getting some changes around the margins that obviously are not enough, but are maybe the best you can do during the Trump administration. I think long term, like if I had if I could do like a magic wand, I think you get rid of the Department of Homeland Security. It was created after 9-11. Yeah, fucking monstrous monstrosity of an agency makes absolutely no sense. Because the problem I have with abolish ice is one CBP, as we've been discussing and Bovino and all these, you know, cowboys at Border Patrol.

46:45Like they're just as much part of the problem, too. Like what happens with them to what the Department of Homeland Security did was it took all these these immigration focused. agencies and shove them under the rubric of counterterrorism. And that's sort of like not how I think we want to think about who we let in our country. Like, obviously, vetting is part of it. But like immigrants make great contributions and like the border, you know, there's tax issues involved. To immediately sort like CBP into counterterrorism, like already puts them on the back foot, like to like you're pre-assuming, you're pre-judging anybody who comes in under that lens.

47:18And it's like it's like military further militarizing our law enforcement. And that's a bad thing. We've seen a lot of that since the Iraq war, like all these local police departments and agencies have like stuff that was used on the battlefield in Iraq and like gear and kits and cars and shit. It's just like we got to get away from that. Tommy, we have a goodbye message from Greg Bovino that I want to show you and get your take on. Team, behind me are a few individuals there. That's the original. Turn and burn. The folks that helped make America. But you know what? I'm very proud of what you, the Mean Green Machine, are doing in Minneapolis right now, just like you've done it across the United States over these past tough nine months.

48:01And I want you to know that you're the modern day equivalent. Turn and burn. Makes me very proud. I also want you to know that I've got your back now and always. I love you. I support you. And I salute you. no Tommy stop saluting stop saluting Tommy it's so weird to say I love you I love you you're my boss the whole thing is so bizarre it's giving like 80's movie villain you know it's giving me a little bit of a Kevin Spacey American Beauty vibe he's about to kill you turn and burn what does that mean what he does when he crop dusts the office on chilly day what did you what did you say people were calling him online uh on twitter i saw one third reich one third reich which i think is i honestly genius yeah for an administration so focused on optics to let this guy go out in the street dress like a brown coat is just uh it's a choice just a little to see so little to see it's a big coat it's a big coat yeah in real life it's this He has kids extra large.

49:09Big coat. What a dickhead. Well, speaking of these officials and Trump administration aligned people who are absolute clowns, we have one more. A little bit rough on the transition here. I like that. It's good. Melania Trump has a big movie coming out this weekend. I know, Tommy, you brought a bunch of tickets to see Melania in theaters. Bringing my kids. Bringing your kids. Can't wait. What are your thoughts on the fact that this movie was paid for basically as a bribe by Jeff Bezos? I think he paid$40 million. $40 million. That's it. $40 million for a movie that nobody asked for and very likely nobody wants to see.

49:48There's been these tweets and posts all over the internet of major theaters. There was one, I'm sure you saw the one in Boston Commons, with literally zero seats having been sold for the opening night showing. When I see that image, I just see opportunity. you know to go see a great film that's right like it's hard to overstate how much money 40 million dollars is for a documentary like for a feature film it's still pretty expensive for a documentary that's like well it's especially expensive in an era where where the entertainment industry is is hurting so badly collapsing yeah i mean we're in los angeles the entertainment industry is on life support out here and to have any projects have the opportunity to be gifted 40 million dollars i mean you can you can green light god knows how many movies on that uh with that amount of money But instead, it was just basically handed to Melania Trump so that they can, you know, offer up the viewing pleasure to tens of viewers out there.

50:38Yeah, but wait, it gets worse. They're spending an additional$35 million on global marketing. Amazon is. So this is a$75 million all in documentary. By the way, you know, it's not going to be interesting because Melania produced it. Like, I'm sure she has Final Cut. I hear it's going to be the best. the director is a guy named brett ratner who was basically like written out of hollywood because he'd sexually assaulted so many people but now this fucking film is airing in like 1500 theaters and also apparently trump is apparently reportedly forcing paramount to also make uh rush hour four which brett ratner directed brett ratner he's in my favorite director that you sound like we decided he sounded like either robin williams doing mork and mindy or andy kaufman and uh the sad part is this is the second video where i've now done that voice so i know i haven't watched the first video that we shot yet where i've where i did that voice impressive and now i'm gonna i will cringe when i watch that one and then be horrified to know that i have a second video coming out with the voice you know that's okay but i think i am the best at it because the movie brian just for folks who are wondering should i go see this will it be interesting it's about the 20 days leading up to trump's second inauguration sign me up so we follow melania like i guess flying from new york to see a bunch yeah we we follow melania not talking to not sleeping in the same bed as donald not looking donald in the eye not loving him yeah baron doing weird was it trying to trying to never mind tell me wait what you're saying i don't think i was just popping aspirins yeah i'll leave it there yeah aspirins that's what uh it's a bribe it's outrageous It's disgusting.

52:18It's like just one of these egregious, I guess, legalized bribes that we're seeing all over the place from big businesses. And we can't wait to tune in tonight in theaters. So I'll pick you up at six. I'm going to get you the commemorative Melania popcorn bucket for only$12.99. God knows I'll need it. God knows it's one of those things I'll be using in the future. What if it's just like a 15-minute documentary? That would actually be the best part of it. Yeah, it would be the best. Well, look, the reality is that we are seeing these big media conglomerates like Amazon heap fucking tons of money into the Trump administration.

52:51$75 million for a documentary that nobody wants to see and nobody asked for is a testament to exactly that. What we're seeing at CBS is a testament to that. The fact that CBS paid$16 million, ABC News paid$16 million to Donald Trump. So they own all of these different platforms. David Ellison, his consortium now owns the U.S. arm of TikTok. Yeah, it seems bad, huh? Seems bad. Elon has Twitter. And so, you know, we're seeing more and more right-wing voices, right-wing outlets continue to own the algorithms that control what people can see. So a small step that we can take to counteract that is to subscribe to progressive media outlets.

53:31There's no better one than Crooked Media. So I'm going to put the link to Pod Save America right here on the screen. I'll also put the link to this channel on the screen. Subscribe to Brian's channel. If you're not yet subscribed to both of them, go ahead to subscribe. It is completely free to do so and helps elevate our work a little bit. Tommy, as always, thanks for the time. Great to see you.

53:50I'm joined now by the U.S. Senator in Georgia, John Ossoff. Senator, thanks so much for joining me. Brian, good to see you. Thank you. So we have a lot of breaking news as it relates to your position in the Senate, as it relates to Georgia. So I want to first start off with the news that the FBI has executed a search warrant at the Fulton County Elections Office, and that's near Atlanta. We have seen so many instances of Donald Trump and his law enforcement agencies weaponizing the government. Is this just one more instance of exactly that? I suspect that's exactly what it is. And remember, Georgia has been at the center of Donald Trump's conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections and his schemes to overturn that election from the very beginning.

54:32The phone call where he pressured Georgia's state election officials to, quote, find him the votes he needed to win in a state he had lost. The conspiracy theories about what happened in Georgia that helped gin up the mob that sacked the United States Capitol on his behalf and tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Some of what he did trying to press the Department of Justice into improperly intervening in that election happened in Georgia, triggering the resignation at the time of DOJ officials in Georgia. So I don't know exactly the circumstances and details of this raid. I expect that we'll learn more very soon.

55:14But what I can tell you is that we are witnessing a president who is wielding the apparatus of state, who is using the entirety of the federal government and federal law enforcement as an instrument to pursue personal vendettas, to pursue vengeance and retribution against people he believes. are his enemies and to pursue conspiracy theories. To that end, I mean, as far as this presidency and the abuses are concerned, one area of particular focus obviously is ICE. Now, you're in the Senate right now. There is a lot of talk about whether this DHS funding bill is going to pass alongside the rest of the budget or if it's going to be spun out.

56:00Is there any update you can give in terms of where that whole process stands? And beyond that, is there a commitment by the Democratic Senate caucus to not fund DHS in light of the abuses that we're seeing right now? I can assure you that this measure does not have the votes to proceed this week unless that portion is removed or significant protections for civil liberties are added. And the American people are appalled by what they've seen in Minnesota. This is about our core civil liberties and our constitutional rights. Just read the Bill of Rights, the core guarantees at the founding of our republic that animated the American Revolution.

56:51The rights to peaceably assemble and to dissent and to speak. the right to the sanctity of our bodies in our homes against searches without warrants, equal justice under the law. What we've seen in Minnesota, the lawless chaos, the beatings and killings of Americans, American homes with doors beaten down and masked agents raiding in without so much as a judge's warrant. The immediate slander of Americans killed by federal agents with political appointees in Washington calling those dead Americans terrorists and immediately trying to cover up the facts of their killings. This is the kind of thing that you see in authoritarian societies and it is deeply corrosive to our fundamental civil liberties.

57:54And look, here's the thing. We're hearing some of that now cautiously, but some of it from even Republicans in the Senate. And what we need to do is persuade some of those Republicans to join us in reforming and reigning in an out of control federal agency. So, Senator, one of the options that you gave, you know, if if there are to be any Democrats who sign on to this effort to fund DHS in any way, is assurances that there's going to be protections for civil liberties. But I mean, any assurances that this federal government gives are hardly worth the paper that they're printed on. And so how can you even trust when, you know, the same people who would commit these atrocities in the first place and and then have enough, you know, shame, have no shame to the point where they can lie about it in such a bald faced manner when they say, oh, yeah, we're totally definitely going to protect civil liberties.

58:47How is that even enough, given the fact that that they could, you know, that their word isn't worth anything? Well, two points. First of all, that's why we need to pursue these protections for civil liberties in the law and not merely promises and assurances from the executive branch. But look, here's the second point. This administration is out of control. And even if we are able to make positive changes to the law that better protect American civil liberties, When you have these kinds of people who are unbound by any commitment to the truth, who act with alarming frequency outside of the law, who try to defy federal judges.

59:36The only real solution here, the only enduring solution is victory in the midterm elections. The only real solution is for the American people to restore checks and balances by voting in such overwhelming numbers that we decisively rebuke this depth of corruption, these appalling abuses of power. and by voting in such decisive numbers that we deliver a landslide that the schemes that they will inevitably hatch to try to foil the will of the people, just like he did back in 2020, cannot silence us. So I'm glad you brought up the election. One of the Republicans running in the primary for the U.S.

1:00:24Senate seat in Georgia, which will ultimately be against you, is Mike Collins. And in response to a big walkout that happened today, an anti-ice walkout, which I think the vast majority of this country would think is certainly justified in light of the fact that these rogue ICE agents, the secret police force seems seems to have taken a liking to just executing people in the streets, unarmed people in the streets, with obviously the latest one being a nurse at the VA, Alex Preddy, who was brandishing his cell phone. Apparently, that's a crime in this country. Mike Collins took to Twitter and I'm going to put that tweet right here on the screen.

1:00:57He said this Georgia high school staged a massive anti-ICE walkout. This school has 6 % math proficiency and 16 % reading proficiency. Our problem isn't ICE. Our problem is woke indoctrination. So he's basically suggesting, not exactly subtle language here, that anybody walking out to protest what's happening against ICE is stupid. So can I have your reaction to Mike Collins' tweet here? Yeah, well, I think it's disgraceful. And look, none of my opponents, none of my opponents will even call for an independent and transparent investigation of Mr. Preddy's killing in Minnesota. This is the killing of an American citizen by federal agents.

1:01:41They are all my opponents so desperately grasping for Donald Trump's endorsement that they're afraid even to call for an independent investigation of the killing of an American by federal law enforcement. And I want to return to the thing that you picked out there that I think people have really found so disgraceful, which is the way the White House or Kristi Noem have slandered these Americans in death. Americans gunned down by federal agents who are immediately branded as terrorists by their own government. It just demonstrates the complete lack of integrity of this administration, their total contempt for the American people and our fundamental rights.

1:02:33Well, frankly, what Mike Collins said is relatively tame compared to what another Republican running in the primary said, and that is Buddy Carter, who asked Donald Trump for ICE to target Atlanta. So in light of what we've seen at the hands of this rogue agency where people, again, are executing people on the streets, executing innocent Americans who are exercising their First Amendment right and, frankly, their Second Amendment right because Alex Preddy, for example, had a legal carry, a concealed carry permit and, you know, and didn't even, wasn't even holding his gun. It was holstered. So in light of that, in light of the fact that we're seeing this death at the hands of these ICE agents.

1:03:14For him to come out and say, we want that in our state of Georgia, can I have your reaction to that? Well, I think it says everything you need to know about the congressman's judgment, that he would look at what's unfolded in Minneapolis and want that to come to his state. In terms of hearing from some of these people, whether it's Pam Bondi, whether it's Kristi Noem, do you have any update in terms of when they're going to be coming in front of the Senate or whether we're going to actually be able to get straight answers from these people as opposed to, you know, obfuscation efforts, which frankly this DOJ seems to be, that seems to be the one area where they're especially competent is making sure that they don't give answers, whether it's, you know, responding to the atrocities committed at the hands of their law enforcement agencies or ICE or, you know, on and on.

1:04:04My understanding is that Secretary Noem is scheduled to appear sometime relatively soon in front of the Judiciary Committee, She should be gone. She never should have been confirmed to that role. She was obviously unqualified when I met with her while she was seeking confirmation. She needs to be fired. Two Republican senators called for her today to resign. So if she survives in the role that long, she's going to come and testify. But no, I do not expect candor from these folks. They have been cast by this president precisely for their performance on camera, their ability to evade and lie and dissemble under questioning.

1:04:48When you watch them appear before the Congress, they show complete contempt for Congress. They just counterattack, dodge the question. And the weak and irrelevant Republican committee chairs are completely unwilling to use any power to hold them to account to answer questions before the people's elected representatives. Were you surprised to see Tom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski call for Kristi Noem's resignation? And do you presume that there are going to be any more Republicans who follow in their footsteps? Look, I think that Senator Tillis and Senator Murkowski have both shown some independence over the last few months.

1:05:27But look, I'll tell you, Brian, we are so far past so many red lines that should have triggered this Republican Party and Republicans in Congress to turn against this president. I mean, we've been talking about his election conspiracy theories, right? The fact that the majority of Republicans in Congress are still behind the guy who ginned up the mob that sacked the Capitol and then pardoned everybody who engaged in that violence. And still they bend the knee. And what do they get for it? I mean, look at Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, right? This is a guy who had the clarity at the time we were trying President Trump over the events before leading up to January 6th.

1:06:09He voted to convict Donald Trump. And then when Donald Trump was reelected, Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor, the head of the health committee, to try to avoid Trump's ire. Helped, despite his reservations, despite knowing RFK was unqualified, put RFK in charge of public health for the American people. And what did Senator Cassidy get for it? Nothing. Donald Trump just endorsed his opponent as a primary. So, you know, they all bend the knee, but they're all just tools for this guy's plots and games. He has no loyalty to them and they're not going to turn on him. The way that we are going to constrain this president is by winning these elections.

1:06:56We need to focus on winning these elections. We need to recognize that victory in the midterm elections is the only real solution here. And in Georgia, I am the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state the president won. You see what they're doing in Georgia this week, right? They are absolutely determined to take back this Senate seat by hook or by crook. and I need folks to help me to defend voting rights and to get out the vote like never before. And you can help me at electjohn.com. That's electjohn.com. Perfectly put. I'm gonna put that link to your website right here on the screen and also in the post description.

1:07:39And I would just let everybody know that there are gonna be a lot of competitive races. Georgia is chief among them and there is no path to victory in the Senate without Georgia. So that's going to be ground zero in terms of this fight that's coming up And every dollar spent now, especially early, is going to help make sure that Senator Ossoff can define himself before Republicans are able to define him for them. So I'm going to put that link again right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video. Thank you. And, you know, if you're looking at everything happening in our country and your head is spinning and you're overwhelmed and you're having trouble getting oriented and figuring out what to do, this is something you can do right now that actually makes a difference.

1:08:21Send$5 or$10 to support my campaign in Georgia. This will be the number one United States Senate race in the country. We'll leave it there. Senator Ossoff, thanks so much for taking the time. Thank you, Brian. Take care. Thanks again to Jim Acosta, Jim Himes, Tommy Vitor, and John Ossoff. That's it for this episode. Talk to you Wednesday. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesley, and interviews edited for YouTube by Nicholas Nicotera. If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app and leave a five-star rating and a review.

1:08:55And as always, you can find me at Brian Tyler Cohen on all of my other channels, or you can go to briantylercohen.com to learn more.