Penn State Cocaine Ring Busted, Disney Sues Trump's FCC, Clancy Trial Day 15: AM Update 8/19

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0:32Good morning, everyone. I'm Mark Halperin, host of Next Up with Mark Halperin, filling in today for Megyn Kelly. It's Wednesday, August 19th, 2026, and this is your AM Update. Large amounts of cocaine, kilos, were brought from Philadelphia and New York, where they were cut and packaged for sale primarily to Penn State students. 14 people charged an alleged cocaine trafficking ring tied to two Penn State fraternities, Disney taking the Trump administration to court, accusing the FCC of illegally targeting ABC over its programming. The defense continuing to build its case that Lindsay Clancy was severely mentally ill at the time of her children's death as prosecutors challenge, which she reported to doctors before the killings.

1:16I'd still love to know who your pollster is. And that's when they told me it was a social experiment. And a mysterious company admitting its polling numbers were completely made up as questions swirl over what the fake operation was really trying to do. All that and more coming up on your AM Update.

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2:21Find out more at guardyourcard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. 14 people now facing charges in Pennsylvania accused of taking part in a sprawling cocaine trafficking operation allegedly run through two Penn State fraternities. 13 of the defendants were Penn State students at or around the time of the alleged crimes in 2023 and 2024. the 14th is the father of one of the accused students, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, detailing what investigators say they uncovered. What we learned during this investigation was that between 2023 and 2024, large amounts of cocaine kilos were brought from Philadelphia and New York to State College, where they were cut and packaged for sale primarily to Penn State students.

3:12The two main dealers were senior members of the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities. Agostino Abatiello was at the very top of the chain. Thomas Robinson was a rung below that on the ladder. The evidence showed that cocaine was primarily packaged at the fraternity houses and that packaging was done by fraternity brothers and oftentimes pledges. In fact, In fact, we found a pattern of events that showed cutting and bagging cocaine was for some pledges an indoctrination into the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities. At least four of the defendants are still Penn State students. AG Sunday also describing the alleged sales is largely taking place within the students' social circles between friends, fraternity brothers and acquaintances, including at fraternity houses and social events.

4:09asked whether the alleged use of pledges could eventually result in hazing charges, Sunday declining to answer citing an ongoing investigation. The defendants now facing charges ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies. AG Sunday announcing the breakdown. Agostino Abatiello, Thomas Robinson, and two others, Mohamed Harabi and Lars Zipfat, are charged with felony corrupt organizations because this was a coordinated and organized cocaine trafficking operation with regular trips to those source cities and large amounts of cocaine being brought back to these fraternities. They are also charged with conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and related offenses.

4:55A fifth person, Robert Zinola, is charged with felony conspiracy and criminal use of communication facility and related misdemeanors. These are the five primary dealers. The eight other student-age defendants in this case have been charged with misdemeanor counts of drug possession and paraphernalia. The only non-student charge is Thomas Robinson's father, Paul Robinson, who we allege took steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs in cash, and obstruct this investigation. several of the defendants appearing before a center county judge monday where they were released on unsecured bail ranging from 250 000 to 1.5 million dollars according to the center daily times one notable exception alleged ringleader agostino abattiello reportedly dubbed pablo pledged cabar the 24 year old failing to appear for a scheduled arraignment monday before surrendering to authorities yesterday morning.

5:58Abitiello then denied bail and taken to the Center County Prison, the grand jury alleging he continued distributing cocaine among friends as recently as February of this year, well after the broader operation described by prosecutors. According to court records cited by the Center Daily Times, when Abitiello later learned law enforcement was talking to people about drug dealing at Penn State, he allegedly begged them not to disclose his involvement abattiello now due back in court for a preliminary hearing on september 2nd it is unclear when the other defendants will be back in front of a judge penn state reacting to the charges by placing delta epsilon on interim suspension while the university conducts its own investigation sigma chi meanwhile is not recognized by penn state and operates outside the university's oversight penn state releasing a statement reading in part quote we are horrified by the serious allegations against current and former students.

6:57Disney and ABC taking the Trump administration to court asking a federal judge to stop the FCC from moving forward with an unusually early review of the broadcast licenses for eight Disney-owned ABC stations. The lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Washington accusing the FCC of violating the company's First Amendment rights, alleging the agency is using its regulatory authority to punish ABC over programming the administration does not like. Disney asking for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the license proceedings while the case plays out the dispute involving eight local stations owned directly by Disney whose broadcast licenses fall under FCC authority because the stations use the public airwaves.

7:42Their regular license renewals are not scheduled until 2028 with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ordering the accelerated review this spring. Reuters reporting the agency had not ordered an early review like this in more than 50 years. The legal showdown coming after nearly two years of escalating battles between ABC, President Trump and his administration. In December 2024, ABC agreed to pay$15 million towards President Trump's future presidential foundation and museum to settle his defamation lawsuit against the network. That case stemming from George Stephanopoulos claiming on air that President Trump had been found civilly liable for rape when the jury verdict found him liable for sexual abuse.

8:25In March 2025, Chairman Carr opening an investigation into Disney's DEI practices, questioning whether the company had engaged in illegal discrimination through race and gender based employment policies. Detentions escalating again that September after Jimmy Kimmel responded to the murder of Charlie Kirk with this assessment. We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them. and doing everything they can to score political points from it. The remarks triggering widespread backlash with Chairman Carr warning during an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that local broadcasters carrying ABC could face scrutiny from the FCC, ABC pulling Jimmy Kimmel live from the air on September 17th before bringing the show back six days later.

9:16The FCC turning its attention to another ABC program early this year, the agency issuing new guidance in January warning that programs driven by partisan purposes may not qualify for an exemption from federal equal time rules for political candidates. Then, in February, the FCC opening an investigation on whether The View should continue receiving that exemption. After the program interviewed Democratic Senate candidate from Texas, James Tallarico, the question becoming whether ABC's daytime panel show qualifies as a bona fide news interview program or whether appearances by candidates trigger requirements to provide equal opportunities to their opponents.

9:56Kimmel, meanwhile, landing in another controversy in April after delivering this joke about First Lady Melania Trump during a mock White House Correspondents Dinner roast. Of course, our First Lady Melania is here. Look at Melania. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow. Two nights later, an armed man attempting to breach the actual White House Correspondents' Dinner while President Trump, the First Lady, and other senior administration officials were inside, Commissioner Carr then ordering the accelerated review of those eight ABC station licenses. Carr maintaining the timing was tied to the FCC's ongoing investigation into Disney's DEI policies rather than Kimmel's programming.

10:38The fight over the view continuing into the summer, Commissioner Carr posting a montage from the program to X, On July 30th, after Disney argued, the show qualifies for the news exemption. Carr writing, quote, Disney claims that its decisions are based on, quote, newsworthiness rather than partisan purposes and thus exempt from political equal time rules. Then, adding, quote, here's some of the show. As long as Republicans are in power in the majority, there will never be accountability. There will never be checks and balances. There will never be oversight. White women, Republicans, I just read a poll that the suburbans are now voting Republican.

11:18That is like roaches voting for raids. You're not voting for Republicans, you're voting for a cult. If people still follow this fascist pig, then I don't know what else to say. They are the Epstein file protection party. As a democratic party, we need to win. in abc reportedly telling the fcc that the investigation has already affected its booking decisions with the network becoming more cautious about inviting political candidates onto the view disney ceo josh tomorrow telling cnbc last week the company is standing by what he called abc's quote journalistic integrity adding quote we're not going to be told how to run that side of our business.

12:01The FCC responding in a statement to Reuters that broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest, adding, quote, Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC's proceedings. The FCC will follow the facts and law wherever they lead. Coming up, day 15 of the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, with the defense continuing its case that she was not criminally responsible for killing her three children and a mysterious company claiming it fabricated political polls in Los Angeles and Wisconsin after its bogus numbers began making headlines.

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14:48Prosecutors contending Clancy understood what she was doing and acted intentionally with the Commonwealth required to prove criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense beginning Tuesday with testimony from Clancy's former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, a registered nurse who spent nearly four decades working in labor and delivery. Susan describing Clancy as a loving and nurturing mother and telling jurors the family became increasingly concerned as clancy struggled with anxiety sadness and insomnia in the months after their youngest child's birth susan testifying she helped connect clancy with psychiatric nurse practitioner julie paul describing clancy as begging for help prosecutor shannon buckingham challenging parts of that account on cross examination pointing to statements clancy reportedly made to a therapist suggesting she was not particularly close with her in-laws and generally did not have them watch the children.

15:44Buckingham then attempting this line of questioning. In fact, the defendant, she told you that it was great and that she was glad she went to church that day on Christmas Day. Yes, she did. Now, are you an active member in the Catholic Church? Yes. So you're aware that murder is considered a mortal sin. Counsel, can I see you over here? Judge William Sullivan stopping the questioning before Susan could answer, later instructing jurors to disregard Buckingham's questions entirely. The defense next calling clinical and parental psychiatrist Dr. Donald Condi, who has never met or evaluated Clancy, but reviewed records from several of the providers who treated her before the killings.

16:27Judge Sullivan allowing Condi to testify over a prosecution objection dr condy criticizing some of those treatment records as sparse telling jurors they contain numerous check boxes but relatively little written detail about what occurred during clancy's appointments defense attorney kevin reddington highlighting a november 2022 record in which clancy reportedly described feeling disassociated and quote not in touch with reality dr condy testifying that disassociation can be associated with psychosis and can leave a person feeling as though the world around them is not real. Dr. Condi also questioning why providers did not order blood work that he said could have helped evaluate possible medical or hormonal contributors to Clancy's symptoms.

17:12Reddington then turning to another diagnosis that appears in Clancy's medical records. Some people with bipolar disorder, especially given the fact that depression is a prominent symptom in bipolar disorder, becomes suicidal and can even commit suicide. So that's a very serious possibility that has to be considered. Did any of the nurse practitioners consider that as a possible diagnosis? The records indicate that Ms. Clancy was frequently asked if she had a plan to kill herself, even after she reported having what was called passive suicidal ideation. but it was reported very very frequently in the records dr condy also pointing to what he characterizes an unusually intense exercise regimen including cansey reportedly running a road race on the day she gave birth to her youngest child the doctor testifying that if clancy had been suffering from bipolar disorder treatment with ssri antidepressants could potentially worsen manic symptoms without an accompanying mood stabilizer prosecutors emphasizing the limits of condi's conclusions on cross-examination establishing that he never interviewed clancy and was drawing his opinions from her medical records buckingham also pressing condi on the fact that those records do not show clancy reporting that she was hearing voices until after the killings later tuesday clinical and forensic psychologist dr paul zizel taking the stand dr zizel is the psychologist who met with clancy while she was hospitalized after the killings dr zeisel discussing psychological testing designed in part to detect whether a patient is exaggerating minimizing or fabricating symptoms testifying that clancy's results showed quote she was not faking the doctor accounted a phone call he allowed clancy to make to her husband patrick while she was hospitalized after the killings zeisel testifying clancy told patrick during that call that she had heard a male voice directing her to kill the children and herself The psychologist also denied that he had suggested the idea of hearing a voice to Clancy before she made that claim.

19:22Trial set to resume later today. A mysterious company claiming it fabricated a poll of the Los Angeles mayor's race after the bogus numbers were promoted by Mayor Karen Bass and picked up by at least one news outlet. according to the los angeles times a company calling itself median strategies claimed last week that bass was leading los angeles city council member nitya raman by nearly 12 points ahead of the november 3rd mayoral runoff median claim the result came from a survey of 560 los angeles voters conducted between july 30th and august 5th with a 4.1 margin of error none of it was real after repeated questions from la times city hall reporter noah goldberg median reportedly reportedly admitting Monday that it had not actually conducted the poll.

20:09The company instead telling the LA Times it had been created as a, quote, short-term social experiment designed to test how supposed polling data could spread through political media without being independently verified. Median refusing to identify the people behind the operation and declining interview requests. The fake poll, including one particularly eye-catching finding involving reality television star Spencer Pratt, who finished behind Bass and Rahman in the June mayoral primary. Median claimed 16 % of its supposed respondents had voted for Pratt and that roughly 85 % of those voters now planned to support Bass.

20:47The company portraying those voters is gravitating toward Bass as the more moderate choice over Rahman, who is aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. That finding becoming the basis of a California Post story suggesting Pratt voters could become the deciding factor in the runoff, bass herself then promoting the fake results from her campaign account writing quote doing the work showing up and gaining momentum let's do this la that post has since been deleted goldberg beginning to look more closely at median finding it only began posting on social media august 9th and had 20 followers in his first post the company promising to fix what it called polling's quote credibility problem by taking no money from campaigns or political parties median then releasing a poll in Wisconsin showing Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong leading the gubernatorial race by more than 20 points.

21:40Hong narrowly lost the race days later, meeting and acknowledging it had gotten Wisconsin or unquote by quite a margin before releasing its Los Angeles poll. The very next day, Goldberg telling CNN on Monday what happened when he tried to figure out exactly who was doing this polling. So I reached out to them first on Friday to see what was going on. I asked who their lead pollster was because they didn't have anyone referenced on their website. I asked who their lead pollster was and if I could get on the phone with that person. They didn't respond. I reached out again on Friday. And then on Monday, I said, hey, checking back in.

22:12That's when they said that they were discontinuing their polling operation. That's what they told me first. And I said, OK, that's fine. You can discontinue your polling operation, but I would still love to see the crosstabs of your poll. And I'd still love to know who your pollster is. And that's when they told me it was a social experiment. Bassett's campaign responding after the poll was exposed, telling the LA Times, quote, this poll was reported on by a news outlet. The campaign adding that any bad faith attempt to influence an election should be investigated and prosecuted. Exactly who created median strategies or whether its stated explanation was the real purpose remains unclear.

22:48Goldberg telling CNN there is now speculation online that the operation may instead have been designed to manipulate political prediction markets, though he stressed that theory has not been established. Here is more of him on CNN. Well, an interesting thing is also happening now, which is the prediction markets when it comes to politics. And by putting out a fake poll, you could potentially change the prediction markets and make or lose a lot of money, too. Yeah. So I think one of the theories that is circulating online is that maybe this wasn't a social experiment and really the goal was to affect the prediction market.

23:24So if you put out a poll that says Karen Bass is ahead, that's going to make the prediction market go in Karen Bass's favor. And then if you were to bet on Councilmember Rahman, you would get better odds and a better payout. So that's one of the theories that's circulating. I haven't heard back from Median Strategies since I last spoke with them, but I do want to know more. that'll do it for your am update i'm mark halperin host of next up find more at next up halperin.com and catch the megan kelly show today live on sirius xm's the megan kelly channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and all podcast platforms

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