BOMBSHELL: FBI announcement sends SHOCKWAVES through midterms

There is a stunning new story in the New. York Times that unto itself is dangerous. enough, but has pretty monumental. implications for the election that. nobody's talking about. So, according to. the New York Times, the FBI has quietly. told field offices around the country. that it will no longer investigate. certain confrontations involving ICE. agents, specifically assault on federal. officer cases, which is the exact. category of investigation that has. historically produced the evidence. needed to hold ICE agents accountable. when they shoot someone. And instead.

that responsibility shifts to Homeland. Security Investigations, which is a. division of ICE itself. Meaning ICE. would investigate ICE. In other words, the agency accused of killing people. would be the agency deciding whether the. agency did anything wrong. Can you see. the problem there? And that timing, by. the way, isn't a coincidence. This. guidance reportedly went out just days. after two fatal ICE shootings within a. single week. A Mexican man was killed in. Houston who officials claim tried to run. over an officer. That's a claim that. eyewitnesses dispute. And days later, a.

Colombian father of three killed in. Bifford, Maine. Um, by some accounts, this is at least the seventh, but maybe. as many as the 11th fatal ICE shooting. involving agents since Trump's second. inauguration. And that's not even. counting the 22 people uh who have died. in ICE detention this year, on top of 33. last year. So when the accountability. mechanism gets quietly hollowed out the. same week that the body count starts. spiking, you don't really have to be a.

conspiracy theorist to connect the dots. Now DHS and DOJ naturally are calling. this reporting false. They're insisting. that nothing has changed, but borders. are Tom Hman went on Face the Nation. this weekend and said this. >> Let's be clear. You know, you can attack. the men and women all you want. It comes. down to one simple fact. These people. fail to comply with law enforcement. Even some of the major chiefs in this. country who don't necess necessarily. agree with this administration says you. always comply with law enforcement. But.

the hateful rhetoric that ICE isn't a. real law enforcement agency. I see these. signs they resist. ICE are the you know. let's abolish them. They're fascist. When you keep that hateful reticle for a. year and a half, there's going to be. that that that that percentage of that. part that that left population that it's. going to be emboldening to take action. because they're not real law enforcement. agency. I should resist them. All they. had to do is simply comply with law. enforcement. If you don't like what law. enforcement did you, then go to the. courts, sue, call the ACLU, do whatever. you want to do. But you should always.

comply with law enforcement. If they. did, they'd be alive today. >> That if only these people had complied, they'd still be alive today. Meaning. there is zero introspection when it. comes to DHS and ICE. They will continue. to kill people and then retroactively. just pretend that they bear 0% of the. blame. But I want to zoom out here. beyond the depraved killings that we're. seeing at the hands of this rogue agency. because I actually don't think that this. is incompetence. I think ICE is doing. exactly what Trump wants it to do. And.

here's why. Trump has been asked. repeatedly on camera whether he would. rule out ICE agents at polling places. this fall. And every single time he and. his administration officials, they give. the exact same tell. They refuse to say. no. Caroline Levit literally told. reporters that she can't guarantee that. an ICE agent won't be around a polling. location in November. She doesn't say. that we won't do that. She doesn't say. that that's illegal. She just can't. guarantee it. Acting Attorney General. Todd Blanch went even further. He. publicly defended the idea asking why.

anybody would object to ICE agents at. the polls. And once you see that, this. FBI story starts to look less like a. discussion of the bureaucratic minations. and more like what it is, which I would. contend is preparation for November. Trump and Republicans want you to fear. ICE expressly because they will be able. to act with impunity and simultaneously. wants to be able to use them as a voter. suppression tactic at the polls. And.

fear only works as a voter suppression. tool if it's credible. So if ICE shoots. people and there are real consequences, if there are real investigations, real. prosecutions, then the threat of ICE at. the polls is just a threat. But if ICE. can shoot people and simply investigate. itself and clear itself, if there's no. accountability at all, then that fair. fear becomes real. It becomes rational. And a black voter or a brown voter. deciding whether it's safe to leave. their house on election day isn't just. operating on paranoia. They are.

operating on a documented pattern. That's not a side effect of what's. happening here. I think that is the. whole point. Trump doesn't need armed. agents at every polling place in America. to be able to suppress the vote. He just. needs enough fear in enough communities. that people who would otherwise vote. against him decide that it's just not. worth it to take the risk. And if that. fear occasionally turns lethal, meaning. if American citizens or immigrants end. up dead in the process, then that's not. just a bug in this administration's. plan, that is a feature they are.

counting on to make sure that the right. voters stay home in November. So, no, this isn't just a story about, you know, the the FBI's jurisdiction or some. internal memo. It is a story about what. a president is willing to let happen to. actual human beings in order to rig an. election without technically ever. touching a ballot. But here's what I. keep coming back to. Fear only works as. a strategy if it succeeds in making. people stay home. And every single time. this administration has tried that play,

whether it's January 6 or these raids or. the threats that we're talking about. right now, the response from ordinary. people has not been to retreat. It's. been resolved. For example, Virginia. lawmakers didn't wait around hoping that. this would just go away. They passed. legislation keeping federal agents 40. feet from the polls. Election officials. across the country are refusing to just. take the White House's word for it. Reporters are still digging. That's why. we know about this memo in the first. place. None of that happens if people. just quietly give in to the fear that.

this administration is counting on. So, if you take one thing from this. reporting, let it be this. The goal is. to make you feel like showing up isn't. safe. But the most powerful thing that. you can do in response is to show up. anyway and bring everyone you know with. you who are thinking about staying home. This is the No Lie podcast. Next up is. my discussion with Jim Acasta. No lie is. brought to you by Helix. So I will die. on this hill forever. The most important. part of getting healthy is rest. It's. not just going to the gym and. exercising, but sleeping and recovering.

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zooccdoc.com/btc. >> Look at this guy right here. [applause]. >> Thank you so much everybody. So, we. figured because we do breaking news so. often that we would jump in uh by. discussing a little bit of breaking. news. >> Yeah, I don't see Mitch McConnell in the. audience tonight. I was looking around. at the crowd. >> It's It's fine. I did talk to Scott. Jennings. He had a 20-minute. conversation with. >> Oh, very good. That's good. Excellent. And I don't know if you you saw this uh. Brian. First of all, Brian's brand new.

book is right here the day after. Very. cool. [applause] Very very cool. We'll. talk about that. But I don't know if you. saw this, but apparently Senator Ron. Johnson was on one of these talk shows. and said that he did not believe that. this was Mitch McConnell. So, we're now. faced with the prospect of who do we. believe? Scott Jennings or Ron Johnson? >> Let's have a round of applause. depending on which side you want to be. on. Do you do you agree with Scott. Jennings? >> No. >> I guess a lot of Ron Johnson fans in.

here, I guess. >> Wow. >> I never thought this kind of audience. would. >> I'll tell you what, I I saw that. picture. I am I am one of the least. conspiratorial people out there. >> I saw that picture and Mitch McConnell. looked really good for a guy who was. just in the hospital for like a month. >> Yeah. And Elaine was happy. She was, "Hey, this is great.". >> Apparently, apparently the hospital gown. is like a nice uh pressed shirt from. from the Gap. >> And then they had that little newspaper.

off to the side. >> I mean, how sad an a commentary on uh on. the state of things that you need proof. of life in a photo of Mitch McConnell, that he had to hold a proof of life. newspaper. >> It's so true. And you and I were having. this conversation the other day that. Democrats need to sort of find their. inner Mitch. Yes. that you know what. would Mitch McConnell do if we had this. Mitch McConnell situation going on? >> Yeah. >> And it's kind of true, right? >> It is true. I mean, look, >> I don't know. [applause].

>> Yeah. >> I know that there are probably no fans. of Mitch McConnell in this room, but I. don't know that we would find anybody. who doubts his effectiveness um in terms. of what he's been able to do in the. Senate. And so, you know, that was in. large part a big impetus for writing. this book. I mean, the book really talks. about the way that Democrats need to. wield power. We have watched Republicans. abuse power for so long. Meanwhile, we. have the Democrats who who certainly.

mean well, but have become the party of. strongly worded letters. And. that ain't going to cut it. especially. in an era where we have somebody like. Mitch McConnell and the rest of these. Republicans who wield power so. aggressively, so shamelessly, and that. asymmetry has kind of landed us in the. position that we're in right now. >> Yeah. And I mean, this is a a great. segue to your book. Uh let's talk about. the book. Um why you decided to go down. this road. I mean, it's the question.

that everybody it's one of the questions. that I think everybody is asking, which. is what the hell do we do when this is. all over? How do we fix this? Can we fix. it? >> Yeah, I think it's important to have. this conversation now because you know. I've noticed that when Democrats have. full control of government to get. majorities in the House, the Senate, the. White House already a herculean feat. unto itself and we have those. opportunities that that we contend with. so infrequently. And so I want to use.

this opportunity right now having that. conversation and setting the stage so. that if and when we get into power, we're not wasting time and paneling. commissions that meet for 12 to 18. months and then come back and bring. their findings and then Democrats can. make a determination in 6 months based. on those findings and the and whatever. we determine will be put into place 6 to. 10 years into the future. I mean, like, you know, this is Democrats have.

>> uh a proclivity to do that. And I mean, an example of that is when we had uh. when Joe Biden was in office and we. finally had the ability to negotiate. lower drug prices for 10 drugs. And. first of all, it was a a limited group. and they said that that was going to. basically be uh the test group and then. we can broaden it to other drugs, but 10. drugs out of god knows how many. And I. don't think that it went into effect. until years out into the future. And and. meanwhile, if Trump wants to give.

everybody $10, he sends it out on. Tuesday, slaps his name on it, puts a. picture of his face on the check, and. everybody has it by the next week. And. so, I think there's a lot we can learn. from how to not only etch these wins, but do it in a timely manner so we get. credit for them and uh and make sure. that people know that you have Democrats. in power who are actually willing to. deliver. >> Yeah. Yeah. And speaking about stuff. that's in the news, I mean, it's just. been reported in the last couple of. weeks, Brian, that Trump made what, $2. billion.

in 2025, much of it on crypto. Yeah. And. and and on the backs of people who were. suckered by him, his own people. And I I. think it raises the question, you know, to to hell with this immunity thing that. the Supreme Court came up with. How do. we have accountability in this country. to clean up what's happening here in. Washington? [applause]. >> [applause]. >> And you know, I've spoken to a lot of. folks who have asked the question.

because this book focuses on a postTrump. world, but we're also contending with. midterms, which are just a few months. away. And so, more immediately, I've. been posed the question, what does it. look like if Democrats are able to take. control of one or two branches of. government after midterms? And for the. record, I absolutely believe the. Democrats are going to win the House and. I believe they're going to win the. Senate. [applause].

But I think what we can do and what we. have to do is use the power that we. have. I mean, this again lends itself to. what I wrote about to use the power that. we have uh to make sure at a bare. minimum, even though we're in a position. where we won't be able to pass. legislation, to use that power to. investigate all of the corruption that. we're contending with right now. I mean, [applause]. the fact that these people are using. foreign governments to funnel money into.

World Liberty financials, cryptocurrency, is insane. The fact that. we have Trump trading on foreign real. estate in exchange for relief on tariffs. is insane. And the fact that this is a. Republican party that sits idly by while. this happens when they clutch their. pearls about Hunter Biden selling. artwork is even more insane. Like this. is a political party that has groomed.

the country into believing and. rightfully I would add that any. corruption at the hands of a a president. or their family members is absolutely. disqualifying. but only up until the moment that it. happens at the hands of the Trump. family. only up until the moment that. they're making money hand over fist, adding billions of dollars to their bank. accounts and then suddenly it's just. crickets from these uh from these. defenders of uh of of the constitution. and anti-corruption. >> Yeah, I'm old enough to remember chance. of lock her up. I'm old enough to.

remember references to the Biden crime. family. Uh but. >> I I do have to ask on that. you know, there were um a lot of these rallies. that you attended, uh rallies at which. those chants would take place. What was. it like for you being in there? Did you. ever feel unsafe? Did you did you ever. feel like your life was in danger? >> Yeah, I mean it it was totally crazy. And you know what would happen is Trump. would go into these events and there. would be 10,000 people, 20,000 people.

and he would whip everybody up into a. frenzy. Uh not only against people like. Hillary Clinton, but against us. I mean, he before the term fake news and the. enemy of the people, he called us the. disgusting news media, the dishonest. news media, liars, scum. And it would. get so heated that we would have his. supporters coming up to us in our press. cage, as we lovingly called it, because. they put bike racks around us to protect. us. They would call us traitor and. everything else, and they would be. screaming at us as we were racing off to. our cars after the events were over. So, and and all of that has stayed kind of.

baked into our politics ever since that. time. And I guess that's the other part. of this is how do we drain that poison. out of our politics? >> You know, I've thought about that a lot. I I actually don't think we're going to. get into a world where the most diehard. MAGA supporters, you know, like in u. what was it? Uh Stranger Things when you. kill like the main um the main alien and. the other aliens just like die off. because now the spell is lifted. Like. that's not going to happen when Trump is.

out of office. But I do think for a lot. of people, you know, Trump was a vehicle. for not only anti-establishment, anti-at. status quo sentiment, but a vehicle for. and and not everybody because I do think. there are people who just liked the. toxic brand of politics and um you know. just the shitty things you would say and. and those people are going to be diehard. MAGA anyway. But I do think for another. portion of the population who voted for. him, he kind of rode on this. anti-establishment, anti- status quo.

sentiment. And I think that may have. worked for a little while, but now when. you ran a campaign predicated on. reducing the cost of housing, reducing. the cost of rent, reducing the cost of. groceries, he got so granular, so faux. populace that he was talking about the. price of eggs only for him now to have. launched a trade war where he raised the. price of everything, where he engaged in. a foreign war that he swore he would. never engage in, where he failed to.

release the Epstein files, and instead. said engaged in a cover up of the. Epstein files where inflation's 30%. higher than public enemy number one of. inflation Joe Biden and even refused to. sign the housing bill that he campaigned. on. I think suddenly, you know, the veil. is lifted for a lot of people who viewed. him as their vehicle to usher in a new. kind of government that actually works. for workingclass Americans. And so, you. know, I think that we're going to have a. rare sliver of time here um if and when. Democrats take control in the aftermath.

of 2026 and 2028 where we can pick up. the mantle and and actually start. creating a government that delivers for. people and doesn't let institutions and. norms and traditions and the. parliamentarian and the filibuster and. any little speed bump stand in our way. from actually delivering for Americans. >> Yeah. And it seems to me, you know, if. and when the Democrats take over in. 2029, that feels a long way off. Um I'm. guessing that in your book there is no. ref no loving reference to Merrick. Garland. You're not calling for another.

appointment of Merrick Garland as. attorney general in this country. >> No. Shockingly, uh Merrick Garland, Merrick Garland's tenure did not age. well, at least in the uh at least in the. eyes of this book. Yeah. Yeah. Um, look, I think in large part the failure of. Merrick Garland to hold Donald Trump and. Republicans to account has kind of. created the atmosphere that we find. ourselves in right now. The only reason. Trump feels emboldened and the rest of. these Republicans by association, by. extension, feel emboldened to commit the.

commit the beh the the crimes, the the. actions that they commit right now is. because they have this idea that they. can do this with impunity. And frankly, they're right to feel that way because. there's been no reason not to feel that. way. Merrick Garland refused to to do. his job because he was more focused on. preventing the optics of politicization. God forbid we did anything to prosecute. to to properly prosecute any Republican. because then we might look politicized.

And I would argue there is nothing more. politicized than than a DOJ that refuses. to prosecute people because they have an. R next to their name. And obviously. Republicans got the message and and now. the corruption that we're living through. today, I think is a direct response to. Merrick Garland's DOJ's failure to hold. these officials to account when they had. the opportunity to do so. >> Yeah. [applause].

And and so I I have I have. two proposals in terms of who I think. might be a good replacement for the next. Democratic administration and I want. them to stand up and. >> ah. >> and we have them right here. So if. >> think we have some ideas. >> Mark Elias and Glenn Kersner. >> [applause]. [cheering].

[applause]. >> The Men in Black. >> Men in Black. >> Yeah. >> You know what? I'm [applause]. I think this moment calls for something. a little bit different. So, this will be. our first ever co- attorneys general. We'll go we'll go Mark Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Glenn [cheering]. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. >> And what do they do with those Trump. banners that are on the Department of.

Justice exterior? Do those stay up or do. they come down? What happens? Do those. go in a closet somewhere? >> Burn it. >> Yes. >> You guys are tough, man. I'll tell you. the first thing that I want to see done. is is have the ballroom renamed the. Barack Hussein Obama Presidential. [laughter] Ballroom. [cheering]. [applause]. >> You can even leave you can even leave in. the Hussein so that you have a little. nod to Donald Trump. That'll be our. homage to Donald Trump. >> That'll be his contribution.

>> That'll be his contribution. That's. right. And by the way, I know I had. these guys stand up, but uh a huge thank. you uh to to Glenn and Mark for for the. work that that you all do. I I am. >> Yeah. >> Beyond proud. [applause]. >> So cool. >> Yeah. [applause] Why not. [applause].

beyond proud to to to be partnered with. both of you. Beyond proud to be able to. call you guys my friends. and uh and you. know on behalf of everybody here and. everybody in this country, thank you for. the work that you do to protect this. democracy. So, thank you. [applause]. >> Yeah. And Glenn uh Glenn is is obviously. busy these days with his excellent uh. podcast, Justice Matters, and Mark Elias. with Democracy Docket. I feel like Mark. is going to be very busy potentially on.

Thursday night. I you heard about this prime time. address to the country that he wants to. give which I'm sure will be completely. factually accurate. >> as as it always is. >> And the fact checkers brains will not. explode. >> Yeah. Poor Daniel Dale. >> Poor Daniel Dale. My gosh. Let's. >> You think I think my Lexapro dose is. high. >> Crack crack open a cold one for him. But. but. >> let's talk about. >> We should talk about that because he's. you know, >> don't give him time. >> Don't give him time. Hey, he's not gonna.

be running on my show or or Brian's. That's for sure. But I mean, he wants to. talk about election integrity, which is. obviously election BS and conspiracy. theories. >> Yeah. >> So, I think that Thursday is going to be. the culmination of a lot of different um. exercises that Trump has been focused. on. For example, we've seen the director. of national intelligence now end up in. Fulton County, Georgia, where they uh. seize those ballots. The only reason for. the for the ODNI to be there is if there.

is some international implications. Meanwhile, we know that, you know, Donald Trump is engaged in all of this. uh uh scheming with Nicholas Maduro. who's now in the United States and his. replacement in Venezuela. And so there's. some concern that, you know, maybe they. cook up some deal, some agreement uh. with Nicholas Maduro or some other world. leader um and and basically come out and. say that there was election interference. in 2020. Now, we all know that that's. complete but the merits of.

this stuff don't matter. Trump just. needs some thin veneer of truth, some. pretense to be able to say that this is. what happened. Remember, in the. aftermath of the 2020 election, we now. found out thanks to the January 6. subcommittee that uh Donald Trump said, you know, just just say the election was. rigged and leave the rest to me and. these Republican congressmen. So, he. doesn't need it to be true. He just. needs a thin veneer of of pretext to be. able to say that it's true. And so. there's some concern that he's going to. do this by saying the 2020 election was.

in fact rigged and as a result we have. to take extraordinary measures to. prevent this from happening again. Again, the this is not a real thing but. doesn't matter. And so that could mean a. number of things. I mean we already know. that he's trying to to ban mail and. voting. Luckily uh uh that was blocked. in court. something that he does, >> some something that he himself takes he. himself takes advantage of. Um, we know. that the administration refuses to rule. out sending ICE to the polls. Uh, and of.

course, you know, as we continue to. watch uh these ICE agents kill Americans. with impunity and kill people in the. streets with impunity, um, that becomes. uh an increasingly dangerous prospect. It just happened in Maine uh uh days. ago. And I think that's in large part by. design. I I think that the. administration actually benefits from. having people feel afraid of what ICE. can do. And the fact that we don't see. um any accountability for those folks. also lends itself to this idea that you.

know if they're at the polls and. goes sideways then you know there's not. going to be any accountability for that. Um we also know that they're trying to. get the voter roles and you know again a. big thanks to the work that Mark Elias's. law firm is doing. They're now uh 13. and0. 15 and0. [applause]. 15-0. 15-0 in court preventing states from.

from preventing the federal government. from being able to seize private voter. data from the states. And this is 15 out. of 31 cases so far. Um so so but that's. not for lack of trying by this DOJ. And. then of course the Save America Act is. another effort by the administration to. basically nationalize elections which. for the entirety of our history have. been run by the states and it would. basically um allow the federal. government to be the one to be the.

authority that uh uh offers up the. documents that you need to vote. Uh it. would force the states to hand the voter. roles to the Department of Homeland. Security. Uh and they would be the. arbiters of who gets to cast ballots. Um, and then of course it would. effectively eliminate mail-in voting. except for a narrow list of exceptions. So, not for lack of trying. I mean, there are a lot of things that this. administration is trying to do. And I. actually think just a few days ago, uh, Trump's refusal to sign the housing.

bill, a bill that he himself advocated. for on the campaign trail, a bill that. his own party passed, a bill that was so. popular that they had planned a whole. celebration uh, in advance of its. signing. I I think that his. unwillingness to sign that because he. was so hellbent on on instead using it. as a hostage to pass the Save America. Act is really instructive because people. saw that and they said, you know, this. guy is just giving up on the midterms. There's no way that you bail on your own.

housing bill if you care about the. midterms. But I disagree. I don't think. he's giving up on the midterms. Um I I. just don't think he's trying to win the. midterms on the merits anymore. I think. he's trying to win the midterms by the. Save America Act shows us by just. rigging the rules of the game before a. single vote is even cast. And so that is. his priority. He he he's so. ham-handed that he put it on full. display. And so instead of the housing. bill, which would have, you know, at. least offered him some some pretext of.

populism, he instead said, "No, I just. want to pass the Save America Act where. I can where I can rig the rules of the. game in my favor." So I think that. that's what they're looking to do. And. again, none of this none of his failures. are for lack of trying. >> Yeah, you would think if he cared about. housing that much, you know, you he put. Bill Py over at the director of national. intelligence. You know, one would think. he cares about housing a little bit. Um. but and I will say as an aside on the. prime time address, shame on the. networks, shame on the news networks in.

this country if they carry that horshit. Why? There is no way. And I I assume. what they're going to do. I assume what they're going to do. heading into Thursday is they're going. to say, "Oh, well, now he's going to. talk about Iran a little bit." They'll. put like a, you know, like a little. sheen of something that resembles. normaly at the beginning of the speech. and then he'll just, you know, dovetail. right into all of his crazy nonsense. But, you know, we talked about ICE for a.

little bit there. I I I did want to go. back to it for a second because I don't. see how you could have a future in the. Democratic party without talking about. abolishing ICE, without ending ICE as. you know it. [applause] I don't I don't see how you I. don't see how you get the nomination. >> No, you can't. And I think that having. the courage of your convictions and. being able to come right out and say it. is going to be absolutely essential. moving forward. I don't see how you are. a Democrat who can waffle on the idea of. abolishing an institution that is so.

broken, so beyond repair. Which is not. to say that you can't have immigration, you know, enforcement, but ICE ain't it. There is no way to salvage anything with. that agency. >> Yeah, that's it. That's [applause] it. >> By the way, I we were talking about the. housing bill just a moment ago. >> Yeah. What about the fact that Donald. Trump decided to come forward and say. that Lindsey Graham's last words were. that he really wanted the Save America. Act passed.

>> Yeah. >> He said he just he said, "Come closer, Donald." And I came closer to the I came. closer to the phone and he said, "A. little bit closer." And I came and he. said, "I really want you to pass the. Save America Act. That's my dying wish.". >> Yeah. I mean. >> I mean. >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, talk about a. heartfelt uh, you know, note that he, you know, left left for Lindsey Graham. and all of these different network. interviews. He made the rounds in all. these network interviews and each and. every one of those he would chastise the. anchor when they would try to go on to. other topics. But yet, he was bringing.

up the Save America Act. And I I think I. >> He's like, "How dare you leverage uh. exploit Lindsey Graham's death for your. own partisan gain. That's my job. >> That's my job. That's what I do." And I. seem to recall I I seem to recall one. network where he went on one network and. he said, "You know, we're trying to move. you in a normal direction." Did anybody. see that where he said that about CNN? Did you see that? So, >> did I see it? I was seated across from. Jake Tapper. >> Oh, you were you were there at that. moment. Okay. >> It was the first time I've ever I first. time I've ever done Jake Tapper show.

So, I'm I'm out here. I'm I'm based in. Los Angeles, but came out here obviously. for the book tour. And so I was on that. panel and we're supposed to have our hit. at, you know, 40 past the hour. I. actually can't remember what hour it. was, but 40 past the hour. And then all. of a sudden they said, "We have uh we. have the president calling in." And so. obviously, you know, you get you get. bumped for the president. And I was I. was kind of fascinated at the chitchat. because that's what I was you the the. regular conversation was going to happen.

on air and everybody would be able to. hear it, but I was really interested to. hear what he would say. uh to Jake, you. know, on the on the earpiece that that. everybody's wearing. And it wasn't much. He was just basically like, "Oh, we have. to get together one of these days.". [laughter]. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. He doesn't like those guys. And. and I I seem to recall some of that. Um. >> so, but then, you know, it was funny. because when he said that Lindsey Graham. not only wanted to pass the Save America. Act, but is starting to really think. about uh abolishing the filibuster, Lindsey Graham is like the ultimate.

institutionalist. And he's like, "You. know what? Even even abolishing the. filibuster was something that he told me. last night. Never said it publicly, but. he told me last night. Everybody at the. table just rolled their eyes to the back. of our heads. But. >> yeah, >> you're you're right. I mean, just like. fully fully exploited this dead man. before his body was even cold to advance. his political interests. >> Yeah. And and it's because he has. nothing to run on. I mean, this is what. you were, I think, alluding to earlier, Brian, is that what what is he supposed. to run on heading into the fall? Of.

course, he's going to try to turn the. midterm election cycle into a 52 car. pileup. Yeah. >> And. >> he's got the uh he's got the the. pedophile vote. So that. >> he's about as popular as Jeffrey Epstein. these days. So that. >> that goes hand in hand. But you know, to. me it does raise this question as to. what do we do about him, you know, when. this is all said and done. I mean, >> about Trump himself, >> about Trump himself. Look, so I actually. I I dealt with this question a lot. because while I was writing this book. and I wanted this to be a blueprint for. for what democratic governance looks.

like in in a new era of democratic. politics, there was kind of what felt. like this these these conflicting um. ideals. One of which is like we just. have to look forward and have a. proactive agenda. And there are a lot of. people in this country who do not give a. flying what happens in the. political arena. They just want to make. sure that they can put food on their. table and afford their medical bills and. and and pay their rent and and and be. able to stay in their house and just. live their lives. And in large part, that's what fueled Trump and Republicans.

to victory in 2024. And I think that's. important. And at the same time, we have. all of this corruption that's happening. right now. And I think that there is a. lot of risk in ignoring it. And I just. explained how uh Merrick Garland's. unwillingness, his inability to confront. these things is what set the stage for. so much rampant corruption in Trump 2.0. But I think the answer, the only answer. is that you can and must do both. You. have to absolutely have a proactive. agenda and be willing to deliver for.

people on all of the issues that we. spend so much time talking about on. health care, on climate, on voting. rights, on making uh uh life more. affordable in this country, on making. sure we have a minimum wage that's. livable and on and on. But at the same. time, nobody can have faith in a. government that is so steeped in. corruption that you don't even know if. they're acting on your behalf or on. behalf of some foreign country or some. billionaire or some donor or some pack. [applause].

>> Yeah. No, it's so true. And I think. there's also the question, what do we do. with the Supreme Court? It's the Supreme. Court that gave Trump this immunity. decision that, you know, and you hear. the the experts will say, well, it's not. total immunity. there's a little bit of. this and a little and it's like Donald. Trump took that immunity decision and. said, "Yes, I have absolute and not only. does he want absolute immunity from the. Supreme Court, he tried to cut this. crooked deal with the IRS when he was. essentially suing himself." Yeah. And he. said, "You know, Trump, uh, you really.

screwed me on that IRS thing." You know, Trump, you're right. I did. So, how. about I just give you the whole bank? We. just open up the bank and you just start. loading gold bars into the back of a. truck. I think that sounds really good. I think I should do that. I mean, you. know, like the Supreme Court just. totally opened the floodgates to this, it seems to me. >> The answer, in my opinion, is you. absolutely must expand the Supreme. Court. That is the only answer. [applause]. Here's why. First of all, nine justices is not. sacrosanked. Nine justices is not in the.

Constitution. Throughout the entirety of. our history, the number of Supreme Court. justices has comported with the number. of federal court circuits. In the 1800s, I think 1837, there were six Supreme. Court justices and we had six federal. court circuits. Eventually, that number. went up to nine. Now we have nine. Supreme Court justices, nine federal. court circuits. Now we have 13. So, but. we still have nine Supreme Court. justices. So, it would make sense. It. would lend itself to reason that we can. raise the number of Supreme Court. justices up to 13. It's also so not.

sacrianked that even in modern times. that number has changed. Mitch McConnell. brought it from nine to eight when he. was holding that seat open for an entire. year to prevent Merrick Garland from. getting his seat on the US Supreme. Court. So, not only is there historical. precedent, there's precedent just in the. last few years in our lifetimes. But. then there is a moral imperative to do. so as well. And that is if Democrats are. able to win the House, which is. difficult, win the Senate, which is.

difficult, win the White House, which is. difficult, and actually pass progressive. legislation, which is difficult, all of. which tough to do, then if we decide not. to expand the Supreme Court, we are. making a conscious decision to leave in. place a veto on any and all legislation. that makes it up to them. And mark my. words, [applause]. they will 100%. shut down or strip or gut any. legislation that makes it in front of.

them. They did it with Row even after. all of those people swore up and down. that they uh respect precedent and star. decisis and row is precedent upon. precedent and we wouldn't possibly we. could we couldn't possibly do that. How. dare you even insist that we could do. such a thing? and as soon as they had. the opportunity to do so gutted 50 years. of precedent. They did it with the. Voting Rights Act, another thing that. was precedent upon precedent. And now. we're at a point where uh Republicans. immediately jumped off and started.

drawing uh black uh black members of. Congress out of these districts. And I. wouldn't be surprised if in the next few. years we see no black representation in. Republican le states in the South. Uh in. fact, not just the South. There are. going to be any Republican le states. that benefit from opportunity districts. uh who won't have any black. representation or bl or brown. representation. So again, if if we do. this, if we allow this 63 conservative. court to stand as it stands right now,

then we're basically saying, you know. what, we know everything is going to be. struck down, but hey, at least uh at. least we uh we tried, right? At least we. got caught trying. At least we have a. symbolic victory. And that's not good. enough. Like we have done symbolic. victories. We've done messaging wins in. the past and in an era where people are. already disillusioned with government. and its ability to deliver, it ain't. good enough for me to just say, "Hey, I. tried." So, if we want meaningful,

lasting change, change that's going to. uh persist even after a Supreme Court. gets its hands on it, then the only. option to do so is to expand the Supreme. Court. >> Yeah. [applause]. Yeah. And it and it takes me back to our. earlier conversation about Mitch. McConnell. I mean, it was I remember I. was at the White House when Ruth Bader. Ginsburg passed away and I had left for. the evening and I ran back so fast that. I dropped my tie outside in Lafayette. Park and I was on the air that evening.

without my tie on. And it was Mitch. McConnell who reportedly was the one who. was really pushing the White House. Let's get Amy Coney Barrett in as fast. as possible. the same Mitch McConnell. who said we can't do this during an. election year. We can't. So I mean to me. we're we're past the point of saying we. give you and I were talking about this. backstage giving the other side the. benefit of the doubt, >> right? And and you know that is I think. the most frustrating part is for so long. it feels like Lucy pulling the football. away from Charlie Brown. Like this idea.

that if only this time we confer. goodwill to the Republicans. Uh if only. we decide to compromise with these. people. If only we we offer up. something, then they'll reciprocate the. next time and the reciprocation never. comes. And we keep saying, let's just. keep being good governance partners with. the Republicans, but the Republicans. never are good governance partners back. And we're just in a position where not. only do we not get anything done, not. only is there this massive asymmetry, but frankly, you lose the support of.

your own base who fails to to view you. as an effective vehicle to get anything. done because only one side is. compromising. Yeah. And I think part of. the reason why they have packed the. court themselves is because uh they are. beholden to interests that are not in. line with with the Democratic Republic. They're they're they're beholden to. corporate interests. Uh you have people. like Clarence Thomas on the Supreme. Court who, you know, he might as well. have our We have some fans. >> Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, you know, the.

the point I'm making though that you can. feel free to chime in on is that I mean, listen, uh, you have a situation right. now where the interests of the people. are not being taken into consideration, it seems to me, over at the Supreme. Court right now. And so, how else are we. supposed to accomplish this? How else? And and when you have issues like dark. money flowing through our politics, pack. money, I mean, we mentioned Glenn and. Mark. We have another hero here tonight. Harry Dunn is here tonight. [cheering].

Harry's here tonight. [applause]. We love Harry. [applause]. Ran for Congress. Ran for Congress twice. was, you know, met with an avalanche of. dark pack money. Yeah. >> That made it extremely difficult to win. those races. And so, how do we get folks. like Harry into Congress when you have. those kinds of forces aligned against. him and you have a Supreme Court who. will protect them? >> Right? And and I think that, you know,

it's going to require the courage of of. of our convictions of a new class of. Democratic politicians and the help of. an activist base who, you know, who who. has to demand it at this point. Um. because you know the reality is that we. have seen the extent to which the this. this flood of outside money and it's. only going to get worse with the. >> uh Mark help me out here. What is the. decision the FEC decision. >> NRSC versus.

that will basically open the floodgates. for even more uh and and this I I always. have bark around just to just to. >> wine. Yeah. >> Yeah. We have we'll fly back to LA. tomorrow and I just you know walk around. the house and just mark it mark grabs. grabs court names court uh case names. for me. >> Um. >> but no we've talked. >> Yes. Exactly. >> And we talked about legislative reform. We've talked about uh Supreme Court. reform the executive branch is kind of. the whole ball game and this and you.

know the Republicans MAGA their allies. on the Supreme Court. They really are. pushing this notion of a unitary. executive, an all powerful executive. branch of the government contrary to. what the founders envisioned to the. point where Trump thinks he can knock. down part of the white house and and do. whatever he wants. And how does that get. solved, do you think? >> I what what I think um would be a very. important place to start is uh reform of. the pardon power. I think that we have. seen the extent to which [applause].

>> totally out of control. >> It is so abused. I mean it it is uh you. know how can anybody have faith in in. what government does if you know that. everybody can commit as much criminal. behavior as they want and there is a. pardon waiting for them at the other. side of this thing. >> And do you do you think that Trump is. going to pardon everybody on his way. out? >> Yeah, I think he is. I think he's going. to try to imagine every possible person. I think he said something like whoever. is within 150 ft of the White House.

Yeah. >> You know, or is it 350 ft like the gash. in the reflecting pool? I don't know. It's it's one of those numbers. >> You know, my my concern for those people. is if he said anybody within 150 ft of. the White House, it's come to our. attention that he doesn't have a great. grasp on measurements. And so, >> yeah, that's right. >> It's only going to be like three people. at the end of the day. >> Yeah. But size matters. That's a. different part of that whole. conversation. Although I think Stormmy. Daniels put a put a gibbos. into that. >> She had something to say there. That's.

true. >> Had a couple things to say about that. >> Um but no, I I I think you're absolutely. right. I think he is going to try to I. think he's going to try to pardon. himself. I think he's going to pardon. his sons. I think he's going to pardon. any Steven Miller. Obviously, the. question becomes, you know, whether or. not Yeah. Exactly. Please should we just. take a moment of silence to piss at. Steven Miller? Um. >> yeah. Um they're not they're not saying. go Steven. They're not saying that. [laughter] No. Um. >> they're saying boos go boo.

>> But no, but it does raise the question. of whether states and state attorneys. general should be conducting these kinds. of investigations. I think there's one. happening in Wisconsin. There was a news. article that came out today that that. Wisconsin is looking at going at. somebody in the Trump circle. So maybe. that's where this heads. >> and they have to. And frankly, yeah. No, I mean we we should applaud for that. because. >> these state prosecutions are going to be. really the only avenue that we have in. the aftermath of this stuff and and. frankly the the the.

ways in which Trump benefited in in the. aftermath of. >> you know the whole uh the whole 2020. cycle where he was able to run out the. clock on the Georgia prosecution for. example the New York prosecution uh. because he became president and OLC. guidance suggests that you can't indict. a sitting president that won't apply. anymore because Trump will be term. limited and and I think it's going to be. incumbent upon these states to take. aggressive action to even if they've. pardoned themselves at a federal level.

um to for the states to step in in the. absence of the federal government and. actually seek some accountability for. what they're doing right now. >> Yeah. And this is all. >> and I do know that by the way I I've. I've spoken to Leticia James um and you. know there is so much corruption in the. stock market where you know we'll see. this big pop of short sales or whatever. it may be on the market and then all of. a sudden Trump comes out and makes some. announcement that sends the market. surging or crashing. You know that is.

all under the jurisdiction of the New. York Stock Exchange which is under the. jurisdiction of the New York Attorney. General. So Leticia James, she's. probably going to be pretty busy for the. next few years after Trump leaves. office. >> Yeah, because a lot of investors got. hosed. I mean, if you you weren't in on, you know, which stocks to buy and when. because, you know, Trump was limiting. that to his the people around him, uh, you probably lost some money and you got. defrauded in all of this. There's no. question about it. And the other the. other thing that I think will take place. in addition to what happens at the state.

level, we saw a glimmer of this is kind. of out of Glenn Kersner's wheelhouse. where the judge down in I think it was a. federal judge just recently said, was it. yesterday that this so-called slush fund. was just a a croc of crap. >> and that the attorney for Trump should. be referred to the local bar. Yes. >> And that, you know, that gets attorneys. attention. >> You know, that's another one. It's an. interesting point because Donald Trump. really is where law licenses go to die. and. >> so true. I mean, John Eastman, Jenna.

Ellis, Rudy Giuliani. >> So, but but I mean, you know, good on. good on these judges. That has been um. one surprising bright bright spot. Um. >> the lower court, >> the lower courts and the appellet. courts. Uh not so much the Supreme. Court, >> not so much there, >> but but the lower court judges. I mean, even Trump appointees are ruling against. him in in a raft of these cases. And so, that has been the one pillar of. government that's that's held up to uh a. lot of the the attacks that we're seeing. right now.

>> No question about it. Well, all right. So, we've reached the portion of the. program where we go into audience. questions and I have some questions that. have been submitted in advance from the. audience. And as the late John McCain. once said, questions, comments, and. insults. So, that they're all in here. No, just kidding. They're just questions. that are in here. And I got to get my. glasses out or else this is going to be. not good at all. Um, this is a good one. I thought this was a good one to get. into. This is from Douglas. Uh, what. messaging can sway people who voted for. Trump who were independents uh MAGA.

Republicans or the religious right? What. message could sway sway them back uh to. the real world? I guess. Yeah, I I think. that's a great question and it's. something that we're going to be. contending with over the next couple of. years because I think those people are. going to be getable and you know the the. question is just look at what you're. contending with right now. Are your food. bills cheaper? Are is your electricity. bills cheaper? Is healthare more. accessible or more affordable? Is your. are your rent payments, your mortgage. payments lower than they were before?

And the answer to all of this stuff is. no. There are no material conditions in. this country that are better right now. under Donald Trump than they were under. the previous administration. And the. previous administration was, according. to Republicans, so disqualifying that it. warranted voting for Republicans in the. first place. So if that was bad and this. is worse, what does that say about the. Republicans ability to be able to. campaign here? So I think you don't have. to talk about some theoretical ideas. All you have to do is ask people to look.

at what their own lives are like. And. the reality is Donald Trump has been so. singularly focused on himself that on on. on his ballroom and his reflecting pool. and his arch and encrusting the Oval. Office in gold and making money for. himself and World Liberty Financial and. opening up real estate ventures. overseas. He's done all of these things. that he hasn't done a single thing for. regular people. And even when it was. delivered to him on a silver platter, as. the housing bill was, he refused to sign. it because he was so focused on.

consolidating power and consolidating. control of government for himself. And. that is all an easy story to tell. people. And and especially given the. fact that we have been groomed, the. American people have been groomed to. recognize that that is the litmus test. issue. >> Yeah. No, I agree with you. It's so. true. And I this that leads me to this. question which I think is actually a. very important question and and and. something that is direly or very much. needed. Uh this is from Kelly. Uh are. the Democrats coming up with an action. plan that they can begin implementing in.

January assuming they flip the House and. or the Senate? Is there agreement on how. they will convince the American public. that they have solid plans to fix the. affordability crisis? And this I think. this is a great question. I don't think. we've heard enough of this from. Democrats and it sort of brings me back. to and the folks who are a little bit. older in the audience will remember. this. This was in the '9s when Nuke. Gingrich had his contract with America. Remember that whole thing and it's and. yeah, please. But uh I think they called. it a contract on America, I think is. what folks call it. But it sort of.

reminds me of this uh project 2025. uh question that comes up from time to. time. Why don't Democrats come up with. an array of policy proposals that they. can put out there to the American. people? And I don't think the Democrats. have done that up until this point. There's talk of this here and this. there, but not a hey, we're doing we. want to do all of these things. Vote on. this. >> Yeah. And and I think, look, in large. part, that's what I seek to do with with. the book. um by putting putting out into. the zeitgeist a lot of the stuff that I.

think Democrats should run on. I. understand why we haven't seen it yet. because I think in large part it is so. difficult to break through with a. forward-leaning agenda, a proactive. agenda when everybody is just contending. with the cavalcade of that is. falling on us on a daily basis from this. White House. But, you know, after. midterms, uh, I I do think that that. there Trump is so unpopular and. Republicans who let him do everything. he's doing um with by offering no check.

on his power, all of these people are so. unpopular that I think at least up until. midterms, that will be enough. But I. think after midterms, if there's no. proactive agenda, it's not going to be. enough for people for whom anti-Trump. has been the the prevailing theme. I. think 28. >> No. Well, I appreciate it, but I I don't. think so. [laughter]. >> I've I cover these people every day. They're they're out of their They're out. of their minds. I would never subject. myself to that cuz then I would have to.

deal with people like me. Um. >> Yeah. And me. >> And And you. Yeah. >> Yeah. Nobody wants that. >> Yeah. Um but I think I think, you know, in large part it's it's on on every. issue we there are things that Democrats. can and must do. I think on the issues. of democracy, I mean, I talked about. expanding the court. I talked about. passing a a new iteration of the Freedom. to Vote Act. We need election day to be. a national holiday. We need to ban. partisan gerrymandering nationwide.

[applause]. Uh we need to make sure that we have. automatic voter registration and we need. to make sure we get this done. because that is the foundation of our. democracy. On issues of healthcare, I. advocate in this book for Medicare for. all. I think it is crazy that in the. richest country in the world, we don't. have universal healthcare, but we have. $125 billion to to go to war with Iran. again in the aftermath of a campaign. where they campaigned expressly on. avoiding foreign wars, forever wars in.

the Middle East. I think just two days. ago, Trump posted on truth social that. we're going to be the guardians of the. Hormoo Strait. That's what he said. Okay, so we're going to be the guardians. of the Hormoo Strait. to be the. guardians that means you have to have a. presence there permanently and Iran is a. hostile nation compared to the United. States which means we are basically what. what he's saying is effectively that we. need to be in a forever war. So it is. just crazy that we have money for this. stuff. It's crazy that we have money for. a ballroom that by the way we were told.

we wouldn't have to pay for and lo and. behold we're paying for it. It's crazy. that we have money to pay for the. retrofitting of a Qatari jet that Donald. Trump gets to keep after he leaves. office. >> that he can't even fly in because it's. not safe. >> Yeah, >> we always have money for this. but we never have money to pay for the. thing that actually impacts regular. people. So, I think we are so far past. the point where we can say, "How do we. pay for it?" When the reality is, how. can we afford not to pay for something. like that? >> Yeah.

>> So, [applause]. >> yeah, I'm with you. I don't know how. anybody can argue that the health care. system in this country is working. I. mean, you get you get these these bills. from your doctor's office and it says. the insurance company took this part out. and this went out over here, but now you. owe $65.84. Does anybody know what what. that $65 none of it makes any sense. And. so I I and I think that's another one of. those issues where if Democrats are. getting out there on the campaign trail. and they're not talking about uh.

universal healthcare in this country, I. mean, what are you doing? Like and I. think actually. >> people are tired of the half loaf. >> 100%. And I think I think Trump has been. instructive in that sense because again. when you have somebody who has shown. zero difference to institutions um he's. shown how easy it is to blow through. this stuff. Now he does it again to get. what he wants but I think that there is. less adherence to any of our. institutions of which our health care. system is one. So I I I was in favor of.

and appreciated this getting into the. conversation into the national discourse. uh in the 2020 election. Um I think. Medicare for all I mean look also 2016. was was another instance in which we. were talking about it. But I think. that's an idea whose time has come and I. I I think we are in a moment where we. are going to see a major political. realignment um and uh and the. the rebuilding of our government and our. institutions and I think healthcare is a.

major component of that and so I do. think that that is a moment who who uh. an idea whose moment has come. >> Yeah. No, I agree with you 100%. Uh I. think this is another great question. This is from K. This gets into what. voters can do other than standard things. like campaign donations, voter. registration, phone banking, door. knockocking, letterw writing. What are. other things citizens can do to elevate. impact? I hear this question all the. time. >> What do you think? You take this one. >> Well, I I will tell you I you know and I. was thinking about this during our 250th. birthday in this country. I know people.

were down in the dumps because Donald. Trump was the president during our 250. like do we have to really have this guy. for our 250th birthday and so on. And. the thing that I came up with and and it. really is just the bare minimum uh that. we need to ask everybody and I I I would. love to see a commitment from everybody. in this audience that you just you just. say to yourself, I can outlast this. moment. You just say to yourself, we can. get through this. No more it's over. No.

more it's all going down the tubes. No. more are we actually going to get to the. other. No, you just say to yourself, "I. can outlast this moment. I can get. through this." I think that's a good. place to start. We can we can worry. about all the other stuff, bringing. people to the polls and driving a bus, you know, to make sure uh everybody at. the nursing home gets to the to the. polls and so on and all of the and. getting out on No King's Day and those. kinds of things. But can you just at. least at the very least not give up? Yeah, that's what I say. That's what I. say. [applause].

But maybe you have more to offer on. that. I. >> I think I think another idea is, you. know, when I was uh during the pre-order. period of this book, I I um made a. decision along with Mark Elias that I. would donate a portion of the proceeds. to the free election fund. The free. election fund is Mark's 501c3 that. focuses on election litigation. We have, you were just speaking about the the. fact that the courts have have been the. last bull work for democracy. Uh, and in.

large part, these attorneys who are. showing up every day and fighting these. battles and winning, um, are why we're. still in a position where we can. succeed. Um, the work that Mark does, the work that somebody like Norm Eisen. does, um, these are these are folks who. are out there fighting these battles on. the front line right now. So, I think, you know, in terms of looking for places. to to offer up um uh you know, some some. contributions for those who are looking. to help, the free election fund is is. something that that I think is.

particularly important in this moment. Um especially as we get closer and. closer to uh to midterms where we see. that the Republicans are throwing. everything they have at these cases. >> Yeah, you know, you're so right. Mark's. group is terrific. And you mentioned. Norm Eisen, too. Norm Eisen defending. the the man who's been falsely accused. of vandalizing the reflecting pool. >> I I just went down there today. There is. no gash in the middle of the reflecting. I just hope everybody understand. I know. that comes as a surprise that Donald.

Trump was lying about this. >> But I went down I was like I should just. go the pool has been drained. I couldn't. first of all I couldn't believe they. drained the reflecting pool because I. was like if you drain the reflecting. pool we're all going to see that he's. been lying this whole time. [laughter]. >> And as it turns out he has been lying. this whole time. I wonder if driving a. 7,000 lb. >> cavalcade of SUVs over the not yet dry. reflecting pool had any impact on the. reflecting pool's inability to dry. properly. >> I tell you, >> if they're looking for the elusive.

vandals, I think we found them. >> Yeah. But no, the but it raises a good. point in that I mean we've seen up until. this point the Justice Department being. weaponized and going after people like. Jim Comey and Leticia James and so on, but now they're just going after people. like David Hearn. Now they're just going. after an Olympic canoist because they. have to prove that the deer leader is. right and that there there have been. people vandalizing the reflecting pool. when that's not the case. That doesn't. that piss you off? Doesn't that make you. mad? It makes me so mad. I mean, even uh. Kilargo Garcia, that that whole.

situation where they knew they. up. They even had a DOJ lawyer come and. say that that this was done as the. result of an administrative error, but. because they needed to make an example. of them because they are they are fueled. solely by ego. They continued to. prosecute this guy and make this guy's. life a living hell because it's not. about the merits. It's just about, you. know, making sure that the thin skinned. president has uh has his win. And so,

yeah, I mean, the the extent to which. the DOJ has been weaponized and this. this uh federal government has. weaponized even regular people. I mean, hell, if you go on whitehouse.gov, you'll find my name under the media. offenders list. >> Yeah. Oh, boy. [applause]. >> And I'll tell you what. >> Yeah. Welcome to being one of the enemy. of the people, you know. >> That's right. I'll tell you what, once. that happened, um, once that happened, I. promoted the everlasting out of.

that because [laughter] I was like, I'm. selling I'm selling shirts that say. media offender on my on my website if. anybody wants to buy them. >> I'm I wanted to make it so that that. would become such a a such a backfire. for this administration that it becomes. so toxic. I use that to promote the hell. out of myself because I wanted them to. know that if you're going to try and. chill content creators into silence in.

the same way that you've been effective. at doing so with law firms and. universities and tech CEOs and legacy. media companies and all of these people. who presumably have so much power and so. much money and so much influence and yet. they bend over backwards and capitulate. to Trump the second they have the. opportunity to do So because they are. leveraged by the financial uh by by the. federal government, we're not. independent media doesn't answer to. anybody. Like I don't need anything from.

the White House. [applause]. >> I know you don't need anything from the. White House. And so thank God. >> The question is what's the point of. having you money if you can't say. you to this administration? >> Good point. [applause]. And the interesting thing is in the. aftermath of of that moment um where I. just, you know, wore it as a badge of. honor publicly as much as I could and I. know my friend David Pacman did the. exact same thing. He was also on that. list. They didn't add anybody else to.

the list. There was no there was no, you. know, broader campaign to to create a. whole faction of content creators who. are they who they were going to target. because they realize that all we're. getting is free publicity. All they're. doing is giving free publicity to the. critics of this administration. So the. list just stands at like three people. right now. >> Yeah. As I as I used to say, where do I. send the check? [laughter] You know, where do I send the check? I mean, I'm. I'm They're not taking it down because I. think that would be an admission of.

defeat and the last thing this. administration is going to do. So now I. just have a living uh living memorial to. this administration's uh temporary. effort to target independent media. >> Man, oh man. Well, on that note, I just. want to say uh Brian, I it's been an. honor for me to be here with you this. evening, be all with all of you this. evening. And there there has been a an. expression that courage is contagious. Uh Brian, you bring so much passion to. the table to this subject to to rescuing. our democracy, saving this country,

saving this country from a very dark. moment that we're in the middle of right. now. I just I just hope that the passion. you bring to this is infectious, is. contagious, and that all of you have. picked up on some of this tonight. Uh. really appreciate [applause] it. Thank. you. And thank you and best of luck. >> Thank you. >> Um I I I want to thank you, Jim, for. being here and taking time out of your. schedule to to help me out tonight. And. uh you know, I know you have fans uh in. in every single person in this room. >> They're all paid. I pay them all. [applause]. >> Not not just not just for the work that.

you're doing right now, but also for. being a voice for so many people. throughout the entirety of this. administration. It was it it's an honor. to be able to sit here with somebody who. stood up to this administration when. they were uh uh fighting against media. figures in the early days and you were. you were chief among them. So, thank you. for the work that you've done. >> Thank you, man. Appreciate it. Brian. Tyler Cohen, buy his book, The Day. After. Yes, there will be a day after. Don't worry. And Brian's going to show. us how. >> Good to see you, man. >> Want to say one more thing if I can, and.

that is thank you. Thank you to the team. at 6 and I for making this happen. And. thank you to you all for being here. I. know that there are a million reasons to. check out with this the despair that I. think is is purposefully engineered uh. to make us feel. So the fact that you. all showed up, took time out of your. busy schedules, and are staying engaged. and involved in this stuff is the. singular thing that gives me hope for. the future of this country. So thank you. to everybody for being here. >> Thank you. Well said. Well said. Thanks,

guys. >> Thank you. >> Nice to see all of you. Nice to see all. of you. Thank you. >> Nice. Nice work. >> To listen to the audio version of this. episode, click the link right here on. the screen. And please make sure to. subscribe. And of course, to see more. video content, that subscribe button's. on the screen as well.