DOJ Opens Russiagate Grand Jury Investigation, TX Dems Flee, Secrets of Dem PAC Cash: AM Update 8/5

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0:44What Texas and Republican states are doing at the direction of Donald Trump, I say is nothing short of a legal insurrection. A battle over the Texas congressional map causes Democrats in the statehouse to flee their state, with other governors promising to retaliate in their states. A Stanford professor follows the money raised from those aggressive, obnoxious text message fundraising campaigns from the Dems. And guess where those donations have actually wound up? Please don't call it a ride. That is not a friggin' ride. Whenever a man goes up, you have never said to an astronaut, boy, what a ride.

1:20And CBS News' top astronaut, Gail King facing an uncertain future as new leadership prepares to take control of the network. Houston, we have a problem. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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3:24In mid-July, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sending a criminal referral to the DOJ, providing evidence that Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and members of his National Security Cabinet manufactured and politicized intelligence to subvert the incoming Trump administration. The criminal referral following the release of a declassified 2020 House Intel report that analyzed the tradecraft used to compile a 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, or ICA, at the direction of President Obama. The ICA infamously concluding, quote, We also assess Putin and the Russian government aspired to help President-elect Trump's election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him.

4:16The declassified 2020 House Intel report revealing serious flaws with the intelligence and methods used to craft the 2017 ICA, exposing that the only classified information cited to conclude Russian President Vladimir Putin aspired to help Mr. Trump's chances of victory was based on, quote, one scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from a single human report. A DOJ spokesperson telling Fox A.G. Bondi is taking the referral, quote, quote, very seriously. The charges at play and exactly whom the grand jury is expected to target not yet clear. Legal scholar Jonathan Turley on X providing more color, quote, while Obama enjoys immunity, others like Brennan remain exposed.

5:03Perjury, obstruction, and lying to federal investigators are obvious areas for exploration by prosecutors. Turley posting he expects the investigation to rest with a newly confirmed U.S. attorney for D.C. and his former Fox colleague, Jeanine Pirro. Dozens of Texas state House Democrats now facing removal from office and potentially felony charges after failing to meet Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Monday afternoon deadline to return to special session. The Dem lawmakers fleeing to New York and Illinois over the weekend to deny a quorum ahead of a state House vote on a new congressional map, which will add five, count them, five new GOP seats ahead of next year's midterm election.

5:49Texas state Dems accusing the GOP of gerrymandering at the behest of the Trump administration. In early July, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dillon, expressing concern to state leaders that five Texas congressional districts may be unconstitutional based on how race was the predominant factor in the past when drawing them. Governor Abbott then adding a redistricting bill to the special session to address those concerns. Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Representative Gene Wu, on CNN Monday morning, defending the decision to flee the state. We really didn't have a choice.

6:29We tried to negotiate Republicans. We tried to talk to them. We tried to reason with them. We tried to tell them that the public is very angry at what they're doing, and they simply wouldn't listen. This was the only way we could protect our constituents and protect the state. And frankly, Democrats say, come and take it. Texas rules impose a$500 per day fine for lawmakers leaving the state to prevent a quorum. Some Democrats using the penalty as a fundraising tactic. Governor Abbott on Fox Monday morning saying that is not OK. So very simply, it would be bribery if any lawmaker took money to perform or to refuse to perform an act in the legislature.

7:13And the reports are these legislators have been both they sought money and they offered money to skip the vote, to leave the legislature, to take a legislative act. That would be bribery. And so the facts will have to come out. But I think based upon comments made by legislators themselves, they face a possibility of facing bribery charges, which is a second degree felony in the state of Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton posting Sunday on X, quote, Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested and brought back to the Capitol immediately. We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.

7:57The governor does not have the ability to unilaterally declare a seat vacated. That battle will have to be argued in court. U.S. Congresswoman from Texas, Democrat Jasmine Crockett, weighing in on A.G. Paxton's proposal in her own special way. I am so very proud. Please, please, please look up these amazing state representatives. Show them some love. Encourage them because this is really hard to make the decision that you're going to leave your family behind as you go and hide out because we got a rogue bootleg criminal attorney general who absolutely is like wanting to be Trump 2.0 himself and he wants to put warrants out for people even though like he's the one that was under federal investigation for years and he's the one that had felony indictments pending for years and of course was avoiding prosecution for years yeah because like that's what makes you real maggot is like you got to be about this thug life you got to be like cheating on your wife.

8:54You got to at least be going to get impeached if you ain't been impeached because he was impeached. He just wasn't convicted again. Kind of like, you know, the orange orangutan, you know, the Timber Hitler. He on the same nonsense, too. On Monday afternoon, Republican members of the Texas House voting to approve arrest warrants for all missing members, a symbolic gesture as the warrants are only valid inside state lines. Last night, a group of U.S. Congress members from Texas joining statehouse Dems on the run in Illinois for a press conference, saying they're not fleeing, they're fighting. They're focusing on pushing these racist, radical redistricting maps.

9:34It's not just Texas. It really is the United States of America, because if they succeed in Texas, they will take this to other states. but they'll do it if we only stand by and watch them. What is happening here is the most blatant, racist disregard for the voters of Texas. They expect Democrats to kind of be the nice guys that we are. They expect us to take the punch and say, thank you. Well, I am here to tell you not only are we going to punch back, but we about to beat you down. The Texas redistricting plan quickly becoming a national flashpoint as Democrat leaders in blue states promise retaliatory actions of their own.

10:15New York Governor Kathy Hochul at a Monday morning press conference with some of the Texas Democrats hiding out in her state. Well, Donald Trump and his co-conspirator, Greg Abbott, erode our democracy and drag us toward authoritarianism. Now, what Texas and Republican states are doing at the direction of Donald Trump, I say is nothing short of a legal insurrection against our Capitol. Legal meaning they're using the legal process. It does not mean it's legal, and it must be stopped. If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they're leaving us no choice.

10:58We must do the same. There's a phrase, you have to fight fire with fire. That is a true statement of how we're feeling right now. And as I've said, another overused but applicable phrase, all's fair in love and war. That's why I'm exploring with our leaders every option to redraw our state congressional lines as soon as possible. California Governor Gavin Newsom, too, considering calling a special election to redraw the maps in California in retaliation. The governor is saying that call would likely come in the first week of November. Coming up, following the money, who's behind the unhinged Democrat fundraising text message campaigns and how much of those donations actually make it to the candidate?

11:45And astronaut Gayle King's future at CBS hangs in the balance as new management promises an end to DEI and woke programming.

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12:37Order online and they will work with licensed doctors to provide the prescription for you. Then your medications get shipped right to your door. Visit allfamilypharmacy.com slash Megan. Okay. Allfamilypharmacy.com slash Megan. Use the code Megan10 to get 10 % off today. Again, go to allfamilypharmacy.com slash Megan. Remember to use my code Megan10 to get 10 % off today. Be prepared, be in control. This is healthcare that works for you. So many Americans are all too familiar with the flood of political text messages and emails, unsolicited and relentless. Both parties engage in digital fundraising, but those landing on a Democrat donor list will recognize a distinct and annoying tone, frantic, melodramatic, and at times, bizarre.

13:27One recent text reading, quote, where 3 ,539 votes from blocking Trump from winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Hurry, cast your vote. Another proclaiming, quote, Hakeem Jeffries just stonewalled Trump. Show overwhelming support for his bravery. Stand with Jeffries, followed by a donation link. Stanford University political science professor Adam Bonica, writing for his On Data and Democracy Substack, unearthing some hard truths about the Democratic fundraising scheme. Beginning, quote, the main rationale offered for this fundraising frenzy is that it's a necessary evil, that the tactics, while unpleasant, are brutally effective at raising the money needed to win.

14:14But an analysis of the official FEC filings tells a very different story. The fundraising model is not a brutally effective tool for the party. It is a financial vortex that consumes the vast majority of every dollar it raises. Bonnika combing through a web of packs, driving the chorus of alarming messages, uncovering what he calls, quote, a concentrated ecosystem built to serve the firm at its center, Mothership Strategies. The group, founded in 2014 by former senior operators of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is responsible for developing the strategy relying on the frantic and hyperbolic messaging.

14:56Bonica reporting, quote, they became the operational heart of a sprawling nexus of interconnected political action committees, many of which they helped create and which now serve as their primary clients. Bonica writing these groups, including Stop Republicans and End Citizens United, serve as part of a tightly integrated network that primarily funnels money to the mothership. Bonica conducting an analysis of FEC disbursements, finding that since 2018, mothership's network of PACs has raised a whopping$678 million from individual donors. Of that total, just$11 million was paid out to candidates, campaigns, or national party committees.

15:43What? Where's the remaining$667 million? Bonica writes, quote, For every dollar a grandmother in Iowa donates, believing she's saving democracy, 98 cents goes to consultants and operational costs. Just pennies reach actual campaigns. 282 million paid directly to mothership, 159 million of which went to consulting fees. 22.5 million paid a text message delivery service called Message Digital LLC. 70 million more paid to salaries and payroll. That's, I guess, on top of the 159 million in consulting fees. Bonnicka reporting, quote, most of the unclassifiable expenditures appear to be administrative costs or media buys that feed back into the fundraising machine itself.

16:38Bonnicka noting the practice does not appear to be illegal, but questions whether Democrats can tolerate what he calls a, quote, parasitic ecosystem. Results in 2024 certainly suggest not. If you listened to Monday's episode of AM Update, digging into fire aid and the LA wildfires and how the money is not getting to actual residents, you'll know the real lesson here is be very careful about where you send your donations. The New York Post reporting on the growing internal dilemma over inspirational astronaut Gayle King's future at CBS News. As the network undergoes a leadership transition, promising a crackdown on bias and wokeness.

17:22The$8.4 billion merger between CBS parent company Paramount and Skydance Media expected to close on Thursday following the FCC's approval in July. The merger placing CBS, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Plus, and several cable channels under the control of the independent film studio. In late May, King signing a one-year extension deal reportedly valued at around 15 million bucks. The multi-million dollar extension coming at a time when her show is bleeding viewers. Nielsen data showing a 20 to 30 percent drop in the already low key 25 to 54 demo over the last three weeks compared to this time last year and drawing in less than 2 million total viewers in recent months.

18:06Dreadful numbers for a network morning show. CBS Morning's consistently trailing behind its competitors, ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's The Today Show. That's nothing new. Paying$15 million to a failing Morning Star, however, isn't in line with CBS's history. The programming lineup leaning heavily into woke themes that many viewers have had enough of. A source telling The Post, King and her executive producer, Shauna Thomas, set the programming agenda on the show. In mid-April, the program going over the top with its coverage of King's extremely brief blink-and-you-missed-it trip to the edge of space on Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket ship.

18:50King insisting afterward she is an actual astronaut, not missing the chance to report on what an inspiration she is to everyone. Just ask her. I still have a hard time calling myself an astronaut, but please don't call it a ride. That is not a friggin' ride. Whenever a man goes up, you have never said to an astronaut, boy, what a ride. You know, we duplicated the same trajectory that Alan Shepard did back in the day, pretty much. No one called that a ride. It was called a flight. What it's doing to inspire other women and young girls, please don't ignore that. I've had so many women and young girls reach out to me, and men too, by the way, men too, that say, wow, I never thought I could do that.

19:32Every other week, King is in the trade rags on another billionaire's yacht or at one's party, not exactly relatable for the moms watching this show from home. The show's had other troubles, too. Last September, co-host Tony Dokopoul, who is Jewish, drawing fierce and widely publicized internal backlash from a mildly challenging interview with radical leftist author Ta-Nehisi Coates about a chapter in his new book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that Coates wrote after spending 10 days in the Middle East. But you write a book that delegitimizes the pillars of Israel. It seems like an effort to topple the whole building of it.

20:12So I come back to the question, and it's what I struggle with throughout this book. What is it that so particularly offends you about the existence of a Jewish state that is a Jewish safe place and not any of the other states out there. CBS leadership throwing Doka Pool under the bus in an editorial call, telling staffers the interview fell short of the network's standards. The standards don't allow any tough questions. Those executives have since left the network. A source telling the post, the audience doesn't want woke. It doesn't like progressive and provocative bookings. The morning show audience wants optimism and cheer and joy.

20:51And what they were producing is at odds with audience expectations. Despite several leadership changes in recent years, CBS struggling to turn around the notoriously low ratings. Now that resistance to change appears to be on a collision course with a mandate from the top, you know, from the people who pay the bills. Part of gaining FCC approval for the merger, reportedly involving a pledge by Skydance to eliminate DEI policies and hire an ombudsman to monitor for political bias at CBS News. Good luck with that. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash and on all podcast platforms.

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