Trump forced to make BOMBSHELL confession

0:01Brian Tyler Cohen:Trump's new budget says a lot of things that Trump probably would have liked to avoid saying. And I've got two interviews. Robert Garcia discusses the validity of Pambani's subpoena now that she's been fired. And Ro Khanna discusses the acting attorney general Todd Blanche's claim that the Epstein scandal is now behind us. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen and you're listening to No Lie. So I'm not sure that you could have had a worse timed announcement than the one that Donald Trump himself just put out. So he's proposed a$1.5 trillion defense budget. The current defense budget, just to give you an idea here, is about$875 billion.

0:36Brian Tyler Cohen:So this would be almost double. Global military spending in 2025 was$2.5 trillion, meaning the U.S. would be responsible for 60 % of the world's spending on the military. All at the hands of the guy who spent the year leading up to his election saying that his winning will mean no new wars. In fact, he's been singing this tune for years. Back in 2019, Trump tweeted, quote, The United States has spent$8 trillion fighting and policing in the Middle East. Thousands of our great soldiers have died or been badly wounded. Millions of people have died on the other side. Going into the Middle East is the worst decision ever made, end quote.

1:12Brian Tyler Cohen:And now that same guy is asking for$1.5 trillion per year to go back to the Middle East. And all of this would be bad enough unto itself, right? But worse is what Donald Trump is cutting in order to fund his forever war, to fund this new$1.5 trillion budget. So here's just a small sampling of what he would have to cut. He would cut the EPA budget by half, cut$10.7 billion for housing,$8.5 billion for K-12 programs,$15 billion for clean energy,$2.5 billion for clean drinking water,$1.6 billion for youth job training,$3.5 billion from the Labor Department,$395 million for senior employment. $775 million in food assistance grants, eliminate the National Endowment for Democracy, cut$5 billion from the National Institutes of Health, eliminate the Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program, and the list goes on and on and on.

2:05Brian Tyler Cohen:So just to make sure you're caught up, Trump ran a campaign against forever wars and in favor of America First policies. Then he got into office and immediately launched a trade war that raised the cost of everything. Then he cut Medicaid for 17 million Americans and food assistance for millions. Then they stripped ACA subsidies for 24 million Americans. Then they forced inflation to an expected 5.2 percent level, which is nearly double the rate it was when Biden left office. And now on top of all of that, they're looking to cut billions and billions of dollars from dozens of domestic programs to pay for bombs in the Middle East.

2:41Brian Tyler Cohen:A war that has cost the lives of more than a dozen Americans so far has no plan, no objective, seems to be creating more problems than it's solving, has resulted in a regime change from Comini to Comini and cost billions of dollars per day. I'm not sure how it would be physically possible to have a less America First agenda other than, I don't know, maybe just dropping our entire discretionary budget in unmarked bills right on top of Tehran. In fact, this isn't even a fluke. This anti-America First sentiment has become a recurring theme for Trump. This was him just days ago. Don't send any money for daycare.

3:19Because the United States can't take care of daycare. That has to be up to a state. We can't take care of daycare. We're a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We're fighting wars. We can't take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it, too. They should pay. They have to raise their taxes. But they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up. But it's not possible for us to take care of daycare. Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things, they can do it on a state basis. You can't do it on a federal.

3:55We have to take care of one thing, military protection. We have to guard the country. But all these little things, all these little scams that have taken place, you have to let states take care of them, Russell, and you have to do it.

4:09Brian Tyler Cohen:And something tells me that you're going to be hearing that a few more times between now and November. But here's whose shoulders all of this is going to fall on. Yes, of course, Donald Trump's. But the rest of his party is just as much to blame. Like, I want to make sure that that's absolutely clear. They have had the chance numerous times to rein him in. They never take it. Instead, they allow him to do whatever he wants at every turn, which means they own what's happening here just as much as he does. You don't get to give Trump a glide path to full government control for a year and a half and then pretend that you got a spine at the 11th hour when it comes time to campaign.

4:42Brian Tyler Cohen:And I think even Republicans are starting to recognize as much, which is why there are already a record number of retirements by Republicans in the House, even more than in 2018, when Democrats would win the House by the biggest margin in modern American history, pick up 40 seats. These people took the easy route. They didn't want to invite Trump's ire or, you know, be on the receiving end of a mean tweet, God forbid. And now they're entering a midterm cycle where anyone who's in a seat that Republicans won by 15 points or less in 2024 is suddenly at risk of losing. And that was before Trump's big budget announcement, before he decided that we need to double our military budget to drop endless bombs in the Middle East, even if it means cutting health care, cutting housing, cutting education and drinking water and food assistance and every other domestic priority that Americans rely on.

5:30Brian Tyler Cohen:So for the rest of his party, for the rest of the GOP, I suppose my message is that it felt like the path of least resistance hitching your wagon to Trump. How's it feeling right about now? Next up are my interviews with Robert Garcia and Ro Khanna. No Lie is brought to you by Z-Biotics Pre-Alcohol. Let me tell you, if there is a surefire way to wake up feeling fresh after drinks with friends, it's pre-alcohol. So I'm in my late 30s because I work in politics. I basically age in dog years, which is why it's really welcome to have a product like pre-alcohol that actually makes my life easier as everything else feels like it's getting more difficult.

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6:38Brian Tyler Cohen:Even after a night out, I can confidently plan on being on camera without worry, and trust me, you would notice if I had to go about this without any help. I am a pretty terrible liar. From the fairways in Augusta to the first pitch of baseball season to the start of festival circuits, April is a sprint of outdoor celebrations. Don't let a rough next day keep you on the sidelines. Drink pre-alcohol to stay ahead of the game and make the most of every sunny Saturday. Go to ZBiotics.com slash BTC to learn more and get 15 % off your first order when you use BTC at checkout. ZBiotics is backed with a 100 % money back guarantee.

7:11Brian Tyler Cohen:So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money. No questions asked. Remember to head to ZBiotics.com slash BTC and use code BTC at checkout for 15 % off. I'm joined now by the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia. Congressman, thanks for joining me. Sure thing. So the news today, obviously, is that Pam Bondi has been fired by Donald Trump. The question remains, though, that given the fact that she's out of her position now, will the subpoena compelling her to come testify for a closed door deposition with the House Oversight Committee still apply for April 14th?

7:44It does apply. First, the subpoena we put in place does not have any mention of whether the fact she's AG or not. The subpoena is for Pam Bondi. And so whether she is in the position or not, she legally is required to appear before the Oversight Committee on April 14th, which is a date that Comer set for her to come. We've checked this already out today with all the lawyers and the attorneys. And so she now has to come testify. She can come and do the right thing and finally be honest about actually what happened, why the cover-up, why 50 % of the files have not been released. And look, she no longer has to work for Donald Trump.

8:20So let's actually get to the truth. What happens in the event that she refuses to comply? If she refuses to comply, I'll be the first one to submit contempt charges against her because she would have to then be accountable to the entire Congress. I mean, look, we had Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton come testify. We had the former AG Bill Barr come testify about the Epstein files. There's no reason why the one person that probably knows more in the current government about this investigation shouldn't stand before us under oath and give full testimony.

8:53Brian Tyler Cohen:So the oversight Republicans released a statement saying, quote, quote, since Pam Bondi is no longer attorney general, Chairman Comer will speak with Republican members and the Department of Justice about the status of the deposition subpoena and confer on next steps. Does that sound to you like James Comer and Oversight Republicans are looking for an out? Well, what it didn't sound like to me was saying that she didn't have to come testify. I think that James Comer knows that the only way to reverse that subpoena is to come in front of the committee again and force a vote for us to actually remove the subpoena.

9:26And I think there's enough Republicans there that likely will keep their courage like they did last time and actually ensure the subpoena actually moves forward. And so Comer cannot somehow retract the subpoena on his own or even with him and Republicans because he was voted by the entire committee and done in a way that was bipartisan. And so she must come in to testify unless he tries to pull some type of major vote in the committee. And I'm not sure that all Republicans would go along with that.

9:53Brian Tyler Cohen:Well, it's worth asking too, what would the rationale be for wanting Pam Bondi there as attorney general and to get some answers as to what's going on, but suddenly not wanting to hear from her two weeks from now, even though she's not in that role? It's not like her, I mean, it's not like her mind is erased. And so any information that she has about the suppression of the Epstein files, for example, about why Ghislaine Maxwell was moved to a low security prison. She doesn't lose that information. She would still be able to answer those questions, whether she's attorney general or not. That's exactly right.

10:27And look, I think it's also pretty evident that Donald Trump probably doesn't want her to testify. He probably didn't want her to testify as AG. He certainly doesn't want her to testify as a private citizen, not as attorney general. I think that now, look, she's got to think about herself. She is not going to be working for Donald Trump. She's going to be under oath. She could be held in contempt. She certainly should not be lying to the Congress, certainly as a private citizen. She has no executive privilege. And so I think this is an opportunity for her to actually do the right thing and help us get to the truth and help us move this investigation forward.

11:03There are too many survivors out there that need justice. And this is an opportunity for her to come in and actually tell us why there has been this White House cover-up, who directed it, who directed the move Ghislaine Maxwell to a less secure prison. These questions have to be answered. In terms of accountability for Pam

11:22Brian Tyler Cohen:Bondi, if indeed she does refuse to comply with this lawful subpoena, can you talk about the statute of limitations, even though during this administration, obviously there's nobody in the DOJ who would seek to hold her accountable, but what could it look like in subsequent administrations? Right. Well, look, all subpoenas are essentially active within that Congress, within that period of time. And so, you know, right now, obviously, we're here till the end of the year. She has to comply and we would move to hold her in contempt immediately if she didn't comply with the subpoena. And certainly as a private citizen, she doesn't have the Department of Justice or the president able to play games as it relates to her and her scheduling.

12:03I think she's going to be quite available here in the next couple of weeks.

12:07Brian Tyler Cohen:Yeah. In addition, we're going to we're our plan and certainly mine. We're going to win the Congress and we're going to win back the House. And if she thinks he's going to try to evade or distract, it's just not possible. It's better for her to get out in front of this now, give us the truth and tell us why they've docked survivors names. Why the cover up? Why is Donald Trump's name been removed, put back and then removed from the files? Why the president say this was a hoax and try to shut down the investigation? So there's a lot of questions to ask. And I think I think we're going to be hearing from her in the weeks ahead.

12:40Brian Tyler Cohen:You had mentioned that the subpoena is valid for for this Congress. But would defying a congressional subpoena, would would that crime only be valid during this Congress? Or is that something that could be prosecuted even after this Congress is over? We can we can we can take that to court and prosecute as long as necessary. I mean, I think at the end of the day, what's ironic here, and the attorney general knows this, I mean, she's going to be in front of us, whether it's now or in the future, because on day one of a Democratic-controlled Congress, I'll be sending out the subpoena to have Pam Bondi in.

13:16So there's not going to be a need for there to be any sort of limitations on that subpoena, because she either comes in now or she comes in when I chair the committee. And so I think that's going to be the important thing. I think she knows that. she is the AG, so she's going to understand that.

13:33Brian Tyler Cohen:I know that it's impossible for me to ask you to get into anybody's head on the right or within this administration, but recognizing that Pam Bondi knows where all the skeletons are buried, and clearly there are skeletons. You don't engage in a government-wide cover-up for fun, right? This administration has been beating its chest about how transparent they are, but on the Epstein files, they have played games since day one. And so recognizing the extent to which Pam Bondi knows where all the skeletons are buried, is there a world where Donald Trump has put himself at risk by virtue of, you know, discarding her given the fact that she knows what she knows?

14:11I think there is a world where that's possible. I think it's interesting that obviously Donald Trump has launched this war on Iran. It's been, I think he views it also as a distraction from all of his other problems, including the Epstein files. Last night, he gives this non-speech that is really no new information about the war or why we're actually there. And the day after, he now then, of course, removes Pam Bondi. And immediately, the Epstein files and his cover-up are back in the news. And so I think it's just ironic that he continues to try going to distract us from the story, but it won't go away.

14:50And it won't go away because the survivors are committed to justice and we're committed to justice. And he can continue to distract, continue to talk about other issues, but we're not going to let this go until there's actually closure, until there's prosecutions against many of the men that did the abuse. She knows who those men are. And she also knows why we haven't prosecuted them. So those are the questions that we're going to ask her.

15:12Brian Tyler Cohen:You know, in terms of the person who is expected to take over for Pam Bondi. First of all, Todd Blanche will be acting attorney general, and then it's expected that Lee Zeldin will take over. But prior to Lee Zeldin, I mean, Todd Blanche is also the person responsible for interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell, which resulted in the reward of moving her from the prison she was at in Florida to a low security prison in Texas. And so I think people look at Pam Bondi and say, well, thank God she's out. But do you have any confidence that the person who's replacing her, at least in the immediate future, is not just as bad or worse.

15:49Well, as we know, Todd Blanche was Donald Trump's former personal lawyer. I mean, literally his personal attorney. Now he's the deputy AG. He's the same one that went out of his way to visit Ghislaine Maxwell. And then all of a sudden she gets this move, right, to this less secure facility. And no one still will tell us how that happened or who directed that. It's insane that no one has admitted to who actually gave the orders to move Ghislaine Maxwell to a less secure prison. Pam Bondi knows who did it. Was it her? Was it the president? So I think that the public has a right to know, the right to transparency, and the survivors certainly have a right to know.

16:28She's a monster. She's a liar. She herself abused women. She was Jeffrey Epstein's clearly not just partner, but her partner in creating this huge sex trafficking ring that went on to abuse, what, a thousand women and girls. So I think the idea that we still don't know why that move happened and that person that apparently was the one meeting with Colleen Maxwell and orchestrated this under whose direction we're not sure of yet is going to be the interim AG. Give me a break. I mean, this is all part of the same corruption. Todd Blanche needs to be nowhere near the DOJ. And it'll be interesting to see who Donald Trump actually puts in Pan Bondi's place permanently.

17:08Brian Tyler Cohen:Last question here. In the event that Todd Blanche takes over for Pan Bondi as acting attorney general, is that something that he would have to get confirmed for or is that automatic? And the reason I ask that is because there are these confirmation hearings where these nominees have to answer for their actions in front of Congress. And so that could be an opportunity for somebody to ask Todd Blanche what the deal was in terms of this this cushy new gig for Ghislaine Maxwell. Yeah, I mean, a lot of it depends on how long they're in office. But if it's going to be a short window, which it appears it's going to be, Todd Blanche will not be confirmed by the Senate likely.

17:44And of course, then then the process will start for whoever the actual permanent secretary is going to be, the attorney general in the case of Pan Bondi.

17:52Brian Tyler Cohen:We'll leave it there. Congressman, as always, thanks for the time. And thank you for staying on top of this issue. Thank you. No Lie is brought to you by Helix. So something that you may not know about me is that I was a personal trainer for about a decade before I got into politics. And I've spent a lot of my life learning how to be healthy. And there is no better place to start than with a good night's sleep. Now, I'm a pretty poor sleeper. I toss and turn. I wake up really easily. It's hard to get to sleep until I got a Helix mattress. Now, I have the Helix Midnight Elite. I'm getting uninterrupted seven to eight hours of sleep, which means I am completely set up for success the next day, as opposed to feeling exhausted before I even hit the halfway point of my day.

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19:04Brian Tyler Cohen:Go to helixsleep.com slash BTC for 20 % off site-wide. That's helixsleep.com slash BTC for 20 % off site-wide. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout so that they know we sent you. helixsleep.com slash BTC. I'm joined now by Congressman Ro Khanna. Congressman, thanks for joining me. Always a pleasure. Sure. So I want to play some sound right now of the acting attorney general, the new acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, as it relates to the Epstein files. The Epstein files, you'd agree not handled well. And I don't. First of all, I have never heard President Trump say that the attorney general was that anything that happened to her had anything to do with the Epstein files.

19:44And so, look, the Epstein files has been a saga that's lasted for the entire for the past year. And what happened when the president signed the Transparency Act is the Department of Justice has now released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga. And the Attorney General Bondi and I appeared in front of Congress voluntarily a couple weeks ago to answer any questions they had. We have made every single congressman, senator available to come and see any document redacted, unredacted that they want. And so I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward.

20:21Brian Tyler Cohen:So that was Todd Blanche saying two things that caught my attention. One was that the DOJ has now released all of the files with respect to the Epstein saga. And the second, he says, to the extent the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward. So basically, this is him trying to say that, you know, the the the whole Epstein scandal has just gone out the door with Pam Bondi. Nothing to see here. And the whole thing, you know, like my my my whole slate is is wiped clean. So do you accept that the DOJ is now has now kind of closed the door as it relates to the Epstein files?

20:55Well, Brian, you know it's bad when Jesse Waters from Fox News is saying the Epstein files didn't go well. Yeah. I mean, the reality is that this is Trump's own base that has turned on the administration because of the cover up. And Todd Blanch is going to realize what Pam Bondi very close, very soon realized that unless Todd Blanch releases the three million files, the remaining 50 percent of files that need to be released. And unless he starts investigations and prosecutions, he's going to face the same fate as Pam Bondi, as will any new attorney general. The American people want action. They want prosecutions and they want the rest of the files out.

21:39Brian Tyler Cohen:Do you think that Trump's tactic here, his strategy was to fire Pam Bondi and hope that Todd Blanche could do exactly what he did, which is to come in and say, you know, now that that the whole Epstein file thing, that was a Pam Bondi situation. And now that she's out, it goes with her. Do you think that that was the that was the thought process behind her firing? I do think that played a huge role. I mean, I think Trump has been trying to get this Epstein story to go away all year. He first thought he could do it by just having Pim Bondi say, oh, we're done. The files are there's nothing to see.