BOMBSHELL: Trump concedes DEFEAT in RARE concession

Trump issues a huge update on his. Greenland threats and I've got three. interviews. Rooney gives a major update. on the Epstein files in court. Wesmore. issues major redistricting news and. journalist Adam Classfeld discusses the. end of Lindseay Halagan's tenure as US. attorney. I'm Brian Teller Cohen and. you're watching No Lie. In a bombshell update, Donald Trump has. issued the following statement as it. relates to Greenland, which has been his. pet project as of the past week. He took. to true social writing, "Based upon a. very productive meeting that I've had.

with the secretary general of NATO, Mark. Ruddy, we have formed the framework of a. future deal with respect to Greenland. and in fact the entire Arctic region. This solution, if consummated, will be a. great one for the United States of. America and all NATO nations. Based upon. this understanding, I will not be. imposing the tariffs that were scheduled. to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held. concerning the Golden Dome as it. pertains to Greenland. Further. information will be made available as. discussions progress. Vice President JD. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witco, and various.

others, as needed, will be responsible. for the negotiations. They will report. directly to me. Thank you for your. attention to this matter. President. Donald J. Trump of the United States of. America. He was then asked about his. post, saying this. >> Does it still include the United States. having ownership of Greenland like. you've said you wanted? >> Uh, it's a long-term deal. It's the ultimate. long-term deal and I think it it puts. everybody in a really good position. especially as it pertains to security.

and minerals and EVERYTHING ELSE IS. >> HOW LONG how long is it Mr. President. >> infinite will there's. no time limit it's forever. >> and how would you ratify the deal. >> money it's signed forever. >> will you haven't signed anything yet. right. >> it's a deal that's forever. anyway Mr. Will there be an effect? >> People what happens is [music]. people are out there and they're working. it right now. They're working the.

details of the deal, but it's in it's. what's called an infinite deal. >> So, let's talk about what's actually. happening here because it's actually. pretty simple. Donald Trump ramps up. demands over the weekend that Greenland. become a part of the United States. The. market responds by plummeting. The Dow. drops about a,000 points. NASDAQ drops. about 600 points. S&P drops about 150. points from Friday to Tuesday. Trump is. super susceptible to the market crashing. as the direct result of his own words. and his own actions. And that was the. case here. So what did Trump do? Well, he is playing make believe that good.

news, we formed a framework for a future. deal. Now, does that mean that there's a. deal for the US to acquire Greenlands in. the future in the works? No, not at all. This is Donald Trump conceding defeat by. pretending to have won. The framework. for a future deal, quote unquote, means. nothing. It's fluff. It's empty. calories. It's some plausible. deniability for him to be able to. declare victory when all he's done is. lost. And if you're wondering how. seriously Donald Trump takes frameworks,

consider the fact that he said back in. 2024 that he had concepts of a plan to. replace the ACA. That was 2 years ago. To be clear, there is zero replacement. for the ACA. They've done a good job. destroying the ACA, but there is no. replacement and no plan. So when Trump. comes out and says that he's got. frameworks and says that he's got. concepts, he's bullshitting and hoping. that people can't see the blatantly. obvious reality that he's quite. literally got no framework. No concepts. In fact, if you needed proof of just how.

much there is no plan, just listen to. his explanation here. >> It looks like we have pretty much the. concept of a deal, >> a deal of of ownership, a deal. >> Well, it's a little bit complex, but. we'll explain it down the line. But the. secretary general of NATO and I and some. other people were talking and it's the. kind of a deal that I wanted to be able. to make. >> Where does Denmark did they weigh in on. on what they want, what they would agree. to? >> Well, I assume they did because he very. much represents he's a strong leader.

Mark, you know, Mark. >> and he uh I assume he's been speaking to. them. He's been speaking to all of them. >> Are mineral rights involved? Is. ownership involved? Did the Golden Dome. slay people? >> I don't want to say yet, but. >> the Golden Dome was very compelling. today when you talked about that. >> Yeah. Yeah. The Golden Dome. And they're. going to be involved in the Golden Dome. [snorts] and they're going to be. involved in mineral rights and so are. we. >> I have never been more convinced that. nothing will happen than by listening to. Donald Trump use all of those words to.

say exactly nothing. In fact, Al Gore. was asked about why Trump backed off. Here's what he had to say. >> Well, I I think it was a classic uh. Trump performance. I would I would hate. to be the fact checker that had to go. through that speech, but I think there. was one uh element of the speech that I. would interpret as a positive. I think. perhaps because of the stock market's. reaction yesterday, he appeared to back. down from his previous threat to use. military force to acquire Greenland. And.

I I I if I'm interpreting that. correctly, I think that's a good thing. It was of course crazy that he would do. such a thing in the first place, but I. think he backed down and that's good. >> So you directly tie him making the. clearest statement yet that the United. States is not going to use military. force to take Greenland. You think. that's because of what happened in the. stock market yesterday? >> Oh, I can only speculate. I can't I I. don't know what's inside his mind. It. would be quite something if I could see. inside his mind, but I but many people. have speculated that uh the bond market.

and the stock market really have a lot. of influence on him. And when it goes. down almost 900 points uh and people do. interpret it as a sell America trade. that may well have been the reason he. backed down. Uh it may have also been. that a lot of people who are close to. him who are more tethered to reality. convinced him that he had made a. mistake. >> And can I get your take on what the. president had to say about uh. essentially when Denmark was being. occupied by Nazi Germany and the United.

States was putting military bases on. Greenland. He was essentially arguing. that the United States has a right to. Greenland. Is that how you see it as a. former vice president? >> No. Uh not at all. You know, when the. United States was attacked on 911, Denmark immediately responded as part of. NATO and had more per capita casualties. than any other member of NATO defending. the United States against an attack.

NATO has been a tremendous foreign. policy achievement for the United States. as our effort to build up other. alliances to establish the rule of law, a rules-based order, all of that has. benefited the United States enormously. And to try to take a wrecking ball to. these alliances, the way he took a. wrecking ball to the east wing, uh, is. literally insane. >> He argued that it would actually make. NATO more secure. Is that how you see. it? >> No, of course not. It's ridiculous.

Donald Trump is a onetrick pony. When. all you have is a hammer, everything. looks like a nail. So, look, who knows. whether or not Donald Trump will accept. the fact that the US is not going to. annex Greenland. He may use this moment. as an opportunity to cut his losses, pretend like he's some big winner and. then move on to the next item. on his list. Or, because he's unhinged. and unmed, he may wake up tomorrow, channel his inner Napoleon, and decide. to redouble his efforts. There is no way. to tell because Trump doesn't have any. long-standing values. He just has errant.

synapses firing in his brain and then. words fall out of his face and that's. what counts as policy in today's GOP. But this actually teaches us a really. important lesson because it shows that. despite his best efforts to convince us. otherwise, Trump is not immune to. pressure. He is still very much. responsive to external factors. The. stock market and bond markets are one. for sure, but the people, all of us are. another. So when Trump tries to chill. free speech, it's because he knows the. power of that speech. When he tries to. silence comedians, it's because he knows.

the power of those comedians. When he. tries to censor journalists, it's. because he knows the power of those. journalists. He is still susceptible to. public pressure, which is why he tries. so hard to misinform and censor the. public because he knows that it has a. massive impact. All of which is to say, do not resign yourself to this idea that. Donald Trump is some all powerful ruler. That is a pretense that he uses to. compensate for the fact that he's not, that he's actually weak. He's got a. dismal approval rating. He's losing. independence by massive margins. And. he's underwater on almost every single.

issue there is, from the economy to. immigration to inflation to Epstein to. Greenland. And in a few months, he will. lose his congressional majority, meaning. he'll be a lame duck president with a. neutered legislative agenda. If ever. there was a time not to take our feet. off the gas, it's right now. Next up are. my interviews with Roana, Wes Moore, and. Adam Classfeld. No lie is brought to you. by Shopify. When we were young, we used. to dream of being anything. I wanted to. be an actor, and I can assure you that. breaking into the entertainment industry. is anything but glamorous, like I.

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cells that cause visible signs of aging, helping you to unlock your healthiest. skin now and as you age. And for a. limited time, OnSkin is making it even. easier to stay consistent with 15% off. when you use code BTC at onskin.co/btc. That's up to 15% off with code BTC. After you purchase, they'll ask where. you heard about them. Please support our. show and tell them we sent you. I'm. joined now by Congressman Roana. Congressman, thanks for joining me. >> Thanks for having me back. >> So, I want to speak about this latest.

update uh on the Epstein files. You and. Thomas Massie have gone into court and. asked a judge to appoint a special. master. That effort was rebuffed. And so. my first question here, given the fact. that that there is uh no standing right. now to ask for a special master without. a lawsuit, is the next step here going. to be for you and Thomas Massie to bring. a lawsuit against the DOJ to actually. try and um give standing to the court to. be able to rule on this issue? >> There were two important facts in the. judge's finding. First, he said that.

Massie and I raised quote legitimate. concerns about DOJ's compliance and a. lack of producing documents. And second. said that there is an avenue to the. representatives to uh get involved. They. should consider bringing a lawsuit. Uh. and we are exploring the options of. motions and lawsuits to uh to enter. Uh. and I know some of the survivors are. exploring it as well. Uh so there's. definitely going to be further action.

>> so that there can be something of a belt. and suspenders approach. Would there be. any interest in including some of the. survivors as plaintiffs in a potential. case that you and Thomas Massie would. bring so that even if members of. Congress don't have standing, well. that's okay because we've also got. survivors who are plaintiffs. And if you. all don't have standing, they might. >> Well, as you saw, there were two. survivors who uh petitioned the court. uh Haley Robson and Lisa Phillips both.

showing extraordinary courage and we are. looking at possibly bringing a suit with. survivors possibly bringing a mo motion. with survivors we're also looking uh at. survivors possibly doing it uh on their. own initiative all options are on the. table and Massie and I are still looking. at our congressional power we may bring. uh inherent contempt or impeachment. against Bondi you had representative. Luna today in oversight uh talk about. how uh upset she is both with the the. judge but also with the DOJ. I believe.

we would get Republicans on an. impeachment and that would be very. significant if the Republican House. voted to impeach a Pam body. >> Do you feel like Congress was conned by. virtue of the fact that Donald Trump. said that he was going to sign this. thing because he was going to offer some. good faith effort uh to actually release. these files? And now, you know, we're. more than a month past the deadline of. these files. And frankly, we haven't. seen any documents get released in in in. the last few weeks. And of the documents.

that they did dane to release, it's less. than 1% of what actually exists. I'm say, no, I don't think we were kind. I think Donald Trump was forced into. signing this. I mean, he didn't want to. sign this at any uh step. We basically. forced him to sign it because he knew he. would lose the Republican votes in the. House and the Senate. It was the most. significant uh Democratic bill that the. president was forced to sign. So I. didn't think Massie didn't think that. there would be Kumbaya after he signed. it. Uh we knew it would be a fight. Now.

there have been some significant. documents that have come out. One saying. that Maria had complained in 1996 to the. FBI and no one paid attention to her. proving that she was not lying uh and. that this whole thing could have been. prevented if law enforcement had acted. And we also know there are. co-conspirators from documents that came. out. Why does that matter? We now know. there were other rich and powerful men. part of the Epstein class who abused. these young girls. But this is going to. be a tooth and nail fight to get the. documents out that we want to see. Mainly the F the F302s, the FBI.

statements that the survivors made which. name these other men. And Massie and I. are prepared to fight this year to get. get as many documents out. At what. point, if there's no documents that are. being released, do the survivors just. come forward and say, "Look, we have a. we have our freedom of speech. If if the. Trump administration isn't going to. abide by the law, then we'll just come. out and name name the name the the. co-conspirators of this crime. ourselves.".

>> Well, they they are reluctant to do that. because they already are facing threats. Uh and uh you know, they could face. defamation suits. I mean look at Massie. and I am Massie is facing a a primary. challenge in Kentucky. Uh I have upset. some of the billionaires in Silicon. Valley not just because I've said they. should pay more tax but because uh I. have uh said that the Epstein class. needs to go and Cara Swisser has pointed. out that a number of people from Silicon. Valley were on uh Epstein's island. So.

we we've taken on uh very powerful. people and the survivors have. So, I. don't know if they will uh be wanting to. go uh publicly and be sued. One thing. though I should say is I know some of. these survivors. I know they're lawyers. They're in consultation today with the. Department of Justice about documents. that are going to be released and making. sure their names are redacted, which. gives me some confidence that more. documents are coming out. So, I think. you would see the survivors stand in. front of the steps of the capital again. if that process comes to a complete.

halt. But behind the scenes, there have. been conversations about uh further. documents coming out. >> Was it a mistake not to include some. some punishment in the event that the. Epstein files weren't released in the. actual legislation? Like right now. there's there's no there's no. enforcement mechanism other than the. fact that it's just a law, but there's. there's no deterrent effect. There's no. consequences for the DOJ for not doing. it. If you could go back, would that be. changed at all? Well, we did consider. this when we drafted the law and what we.

were told by council is that it would. constitute obstruction of justice to. violate the Epstein transparency act. punishable by imprisonment, punishable. by uh a huge fine. So, we haven't seen. that. I mean, the judge didn't rule that. the Epstein transparency act that you. could just violate it without. consequence. He ruled that Massie and I. didn't have standing and that he. couldn't in this criminal case enforce. the Epstein Transparency Act. Certainly. someone could sue under that Estan. transferency act who did have standing.

The survivors would uh and the the. consequences could be uh prosecution uh. in and holding these people in in uh. accountable and a future president uh. could do that. >> But would it be up to the DOJ to be the. entity that actually prosecutes or is. there some other entity that could. prosecute to enforce uh the Epstein. files transparency act? No, it would be. the DOJ. And that's why ultimately we. may have to wait for a Democratic. president both to have the full release. of these Epstein files uh and to to have.

prosecution of those who violated the. Epstein transparency act. And people. say, "Well, why does it matter? Why does. it matter? It's 20 years old. You know, this person's been dead. Why does it. matter?" Because it goes to trust. If. you want to do what I want to do, Medicare for all, free public college, a. living wage, a housing program, how can. you do that when people don't trust. government? And the reason the Epstein. uh act is front and center. The reason. that people are heckling the president. as a pedophile protector is it's a. symbol of a government that is. protecting corrupt rich and powerful men.

uh and that has lost the trust of the. American public. When we release the. files, when we prosecute those who have. committed grave harms or hiding files, then we will begin to restore trust with. the American public. >> I want to talk about Dan Bonino for a. moment. he has kind of swept back on to. the podcasting space a as if he's some. like white knight, some crusader coming. back from battle. What would your. message be to the folks who tune in to.

Dan Bangino or who believed him when he. when he built up his brand as this. champion for accountability and. transparency recognizing that he did an. entire stint as deputy FBI director did. not release any of the files. In fact, was part of an administration that is. right now continued to be engaged in a. coverup and yet still has the audacity. to present himself as some hero when he. goes back to podcasting. Well, I'd love to uh get on Dan Bonino's. podcast or have him come on yours and.

ask him some simple questions. Why. aren't they releasing the witness. memorandum where the survivors named. these rich and powerful men? Where where. are they? We know where they are. Why. aren't they being released? Dan Bono, why aren't they releasing Epstein's. emails and pictures that they took from. the computer? You are the one who called. for these files to be released. Uh and. now uh you've gone silent. Why don't you. speak up? and now that you're on the. outside and help us get these files. released. And the interesting thing to. me is I've not heard him answer those.

very simple questions. >> Yeah. Yeah. Um to what extent do you. think does the fact that you know we're. seeing all of this increased activity in. Venezuela, in Greenland, um with ICE, do. you is there any part of you that thinks. that that is intended to distract from, you know, what was a pretty devastating. story with regard to Epstein? And I and. I don't ask this question to say that. those things aren't important or that. they're just a distraction because I. think that Donald Trump's um desire to. invade and annex a sovereign country is.

unto itself a pretty clear testament of. just how depraved he is, just how. lawless he is. So I don't want to I. don't want to diminish uh the gravity of. what he's doing there. But do you think. to any degree that there that some. complimentary um benefit, some tertiary. benefit for him is that okay, every day. that we're talking about Greenland or. ICE or whatever it may be is a day that. we're not talking about the fact that. he's implicated in the largest pedophile. coverup in American history. >> I I believe what Trump is doing uh in.

Venezuela and Greenland is motivated out. of American arrogance. Uh he wants to. have wars not of liberation but wars of. conquest. He wants to uh literally take. land. He wants to take resources from. other people and he wants to uh rid this. country of uh immigrants who've come. from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala uh and Steven Miller and that. have that project. So that is an. ideological project of gunboat. diplomacy, of an imperial for foreign.

policy like the Monroe Doctrine uh and. of uh trying to rid us of uh immigrants. from uh what they believe are the wrong. countries. So I think it's something so. much more sinister and deeper than just. distracting uh from a terrible scandal. That said, uh the the Epstein scandal. isn't going away and it it's probably. the thing that gets under the. president's skin the most that it's the. only thing that you know a lot of people. don't understand Venezuela. They don't. understand candidly ICE. They don't.

understand the all the dispute about. Greenland. You know what they do. understand? Rich and powerful men raping. girls and they understand that they got. away with it and they hate pedophiles. And so you have people like a factory. worker in Michigan saying, "Mr. President, why are you protecting. pedophiles?" And this gets under Donald. Trump's skin because this is the one. thing that has broken through the common. culture. You go, you know, when the. Super Bowl comes, you talk to the folks. there watching the game and you you ask. them for their detailed views on Madero. or on uh on Greenland, they may not.

know, but they'll all have an opinion on. the Epstein files and who were on the. Epstein's Island and who was on that. plane and why they aren't being. prosecuted. And that's why Donald Trump. is so afraid of this. And finally, when. can we expect um some news with regard. to next steps in court? Again, we had. spoken at the top of this interview. about the fact that that there wasn't. standing for this particular um you know. uh court situation, but when can we ex. expect some next steps, be it a lawsuit. or something else?

>> Over the next two weeks, you will. probably hear what Massie and I are. going to do next legally. uh what we're. going to do in terms of inherent. contempt or impeachment and then the. upcoming uh testimony of Pam Bondi on. February 11th at judiciary and let's see. if she comes to oversight as well as. Maxwell's deposition uh in front of the. oversight committee. So like I said this. is uh not going away. Uh I expect more. documents to be coming out from what. I've been told by survivors lawyers or.

cons been consulted on some of the. release. So, we also will be monitoring. what they release next. >> Great. We'll leave it there. Uh, thank. you as always for your leadership on. this issue, for not letting this thing. slide by the wayside, and, uh, thanks. for taking the time today. >> Thank you, Brian. >> I'm joined now by the governor of. Maryland, Wes Moore. Thanks so much for. joining me. >> Of course, man. Great to be back with. you. >> So, you have a big announcement as far. as redistricting is concerned. This is. an issue that we've spoken about at. length, but now there is new news here. Can you explain what that news is? >> There is. I mean this has been a high.

priority for me where I I said in this. moment we are not just going to let. democracy die and we are not going to. let Donald Trump determine what our. democracy should look like. And as these. other states uh these Donald Trump. handpicked states are going through mid. decade redistricting. I said well. Maryland's not going to sit on our hands. while this is happening. So I said, you. know, I said uh and I called for a. governor's redistricting advisory. commission that has now spent the past. months listening to Marylanders all. across the state where every Marylander.

had a chance to have their their voice. heard to ensure that we can have the. type of maps maps that represent the. people. And just last night, the uh the. redistricing advisory commission came. back with their recommendations of what. new maps uh could look like. So, I'm. really excited because these maps are. are not just going to make it make it. more competitive, but it's going to make. sure that our voices are actually heard. and give us an opportunity to push back. against this this threat and this theft. of democracy that we are seeing from. Donald Trump right now.

>> And I I've taken a look at at at the. maps. Uh it seems that the closest. district would actually be D plus 8. So, this would in in in theory be um an 8 to. nothing Democratic map. So, what are. next steps in this process? And do you. expect that it'll be in place by 2026's. midterm elections? >> Yes, I'm thankful because the work of. the of the commission uh put this in. place. So, there is time uh to be able. to have this in place by the November.

elections. And so, the next step is now. it's going to go in front of the. Maryland General Assembly. And so the. Maryland House and the Maryland Senate. will have a chance to debate, will have. a chance to make adjustments if they see. fit, but then they will have a chance to. vote and because any type of changes. need to happen with the, you know, with. the authorization of the Maryland. General Assembly. So the ask that I and. the ask that all of us have right now is. call a vote. If you believe uh that that. if you believe in democracy, it's not. just about preserving democracy from.

Donald Trump. show what that looks like. by having a vote in your own chamber. right now too. >> Does this go to the chambers before it. goes to the people of Maryland? Can you. explain a little bit of of the process. in terms of who actually gets a say on. this? >> Absolutely. So, the next step is. actually it's going to go in front of. the chambers. So, the Maryland House and. the Maryland Senate will have a chance. to have to have their debates. uh you. know depending on the legislation that. they will put forward on it uh we can. then have have legislation that is. accepted that is passed and then.

incorporated into the into the primary. and the general elections that we will. have later this year. So the next step. is the general assembly the ball is in. their court and uh and we're hoping that. they move accordingly. >> And can you give a little insight into. what you've heard from members of the. general assembly in terms of their uh. the likelihood that they'll adopt it? Well, the great thing is that when you. talk to the individual members, uh the. individual members that we've had a. chance to speak to, they want to see. democracy upheld. They respect the work.

that actually happened from the. redistricting advisory commission who. really put countless hours over these. past months to be able to hear from. Marylanders. and they now have a unique. opportunity to make sure that they can. put their stamp on history and their. push back against this absolutely brutal. uh takeover that we are watching Donald. Trump try to do on our democracy where. he's trying to alter the rules and rig. the rules all across the country in. order for him to win an election because. he can't win on fair terms. And so, so.

the the reason that I'm anxious for the. vote is regardless of what party bosses. might say, the people, even the members. of the delegation that I have spoken to, uh, they're excited for a vote and. they're excited to have their voice. heard. >> Are there any public holdouts, uh, for. this legislation? >> Well, no, I I think, you know, there. it's been, you know, publicly reported. some of the the challenge that, uh, that. the the Senate President uh, William. Ferguson uh, has has had on it. Um but. the the great thing that we know is the.

way democracy works is one person has. one vote. Uh and so what we're what. we're hoping for is that for the other. members of the Senate and the other. members of of the House uh that they. will be able to have their voice heard. and be able to make sure that our. democracy is sustained. You know, I'm. I'm you know, and I think even for for. for President Ferguson, you know, he. understands uh the threat that we are. seeing here. Uh, I just know that when. I'm thinking about this moment, there's. a certain measure of urgency. There's a.

se certain measure of of fearlessness. that we've got to move. And some of the. opponents that I have that I've heard. from, it just keeps it seems like that, you know, they keep moving the goalpost. as to why they can't do anything. And my. point is, stop spending energy on why. you can't do it and spend your energy on. why we must do it. I think that's. especially important in light of the. fact that it would have been that easy. for California Democrats to say, "Oh, we. can't do it because XYZ." It would have. been that easy for Virginia Democrats to.

say, "Oh, we can't we can't do. redistricting in our own state because. of XYZ." Which would be bad enough unto. itself. Uh this this idea of okay, how. do I get to know instead of how do I get. to yes, but especially to try and get to. know in light of the fact that. Republicans are not looking for ways to. get to know. Republicans have have. sparked off this process in Texas, in. North Carolina, in Ohio, uh in Florida. now. And so and so the asymmetry here is. is especially dangerous given the fact. that they're going, you know, full speed.

ahead with this effort that again was. sparked off by Donald Trump saying out. loud that he was entitled to five seats. in Texas and getting it done. And so in. light of that, that should be all the. reason that you actually fight fire with. fire and not just completely surrender. all of your power here to a Republican. party that's that's that's lawless in. theory, but also while we're watching. ICE agents uh um you know, this rogue. secret police agency uh shoot people, while we're watching uh the president of. the United States completely.

unencumbered, unburdened by his own. party try and invade uh sovereign. countries, NATO allies. if if that's not. the kick in the ass uh to go ahead and. and try and take some power back, I. don't know what is. >> And I'm telling in this moment, I I. refuse to be meek and I refuse to be. weak when we are watching this assault. that is taking place on all of our. communities. You know, in everything. that you mentioned about those. individual districts, this redistricing. process that Donald Trump has inspired.

and that Donald Trump and JD Vance are. leading, there's another thing, too. It's the Voting Rights Act. >> Yeah. The Voting Rights Act is going to. fundamentally be the biggest point of. political redlinining that this country. has seen in its history where black. leadership is being targeted. And so. when I think about this in in this. moment, I stand here as the nation's. only black governor. I stand as only the. third African-American ever elected. governor in the history of the United. States. And I stand here as someone who. understands the power of our voice, the.

power of this moment. And when we are. watching everything taking place in our. neighborhoods that you've just correctly. laid out, how we're watching a an. administration who is using the. Constitution like it's a suggestion box, there is no way my response in this. moment, my responsibility to our. communities, to our state, to our. ancestors is going to be to sit in our. hands and watch this happen. It cannot. happen on our watch. In terms of legal scrutiny, uh that's.

obviously um an everpresent concern. Uh. I think Republicans have tried six times. right now to to to uh undermine the. California map. They've lost every. single time. They're they're at their. last ditch effort trying to elevate some. doomed case up to the Supreme Court. Um. what are your thoughts in terms of this. map uh with withstanding any scrutiny, legal scrutiny by Republicans? This map. stands on on solid legal ground. Uh it. was something that was fundamental in.

the process. It was something that was. fundamental with the redistricting. commission and and we should remind. people that not only was this a. bipartisan commission that was pulled. together, one of the members of the. commission is the former attorney. general, right? This process has all. been done with and in conjunction with. legal experts with some of the best. legal minds both in the state of. Maryland and around the country. And so. we know that any any argument that. somehow this will inevitably uh fall or. that you will have them come backing.

come back with new maps and other maps. and we'll lose seats uh it is just uh. it's it's scare tactics. Uh it's. fear-mongering. Uh there is no basis to. it. We know that what was pulled. together by the commission it stands on. legal grounds and that is that is why we. believe that they should also move. forward on this. Maryland has both the. authority and the responsibility to be. able to move on this. >> So, we have seen numerous instances. where this administration watches. Democrats fight fire with fire, watches. Democrats fight back and inevitably.

retaliates. And Trump will retaliate. with whatever tools he has at his. disposal. And right now, the the favored. tool at his disposal is obviously um. this this rogue ICE agency. Um, do you. have any concerns that Trump is going to. deploy ICE uh into into Baltimore, for. example, as a way to retaliate against. what's happening here in Maryland? >> I will never flinch when it comes to. defending my people, ever. And I think. that the president of the United States. has seen that and knows that. And. everybody who has ever interacted with.

me sees that and knows that. I will. never flinch when it comes to fighting. for my people. and our state will not. flinch inside this moment. And and for. people who have a fear of what Donald. Trump could do to the state of Maryland, I just want to remind them about what. he's already done. I want to remind them. in the past year that we've seen how. 25,000. Marylanders who are federal workers have. been fired by the Trump Bance. administration, which by the way is a. higher number than any other state in.

the entire country. I just want to. remind people that that not a single. state that did not vote for Donald Trump. has gotten a dollar in federal disaster. relief. And that includes my people out. in the state of Maryland, in western. Maryland who had historic floods and. have not seen a dollar in federal. disaster relief for people who think. that no, oh, he he'll be able to come. after us. What about the fact that he. tried to pull away food from people to. use it as a negotiation tool? >> Yeah. And we actually had to tap into. our fiscal responsibility fund, which is.

a fund that was built out with capital. gains taxes, and to say, I'm going to. deploy $63 million from our fiscal. responsibility fund to make sure that. people's SNAP benefits are not being. disrupted despite the fact that the. president of the United States has. decided to try to starve people to make. a make a political point. >> Yeah. >> So, so I just I do not understand the. argument of of oh, but what if he comes. after us? He already is, guys. >> Yeah. >> Our job now is to fight back. Perfectly. put. Uh well, look, there are not that. many Democratic governors who've.

actually seen this thing through to. fruition. So, I want to thank you on. behalf of myself and everybody watching. uh who has paid particularly close. attention to this issue for stepping up. and making this happen and actually. fighting fire with fire and ushering in. uh what I hope will be this new. democratic era of of meeting the moment. with the urgency that it deserves. So, thank you for uh for for your leadership. on this issue, for making this happen. And on a slightly different note, I also. have to thank you for one more thing. And I know that you know what I'm.

talking about here. So, uh, going to be. a great season with, uh, with Coach. Harbaugh next year. So, just want to. thank you from the bottom of my heart. for giving us at least one gift, uh, from the Baltimore Ravens to our to our. hapless New York Giants. >> Well, and listen, I love coach. Um. hopefully he can bring uh you know. something to you that that he wasn't. going to be able uh to bring to us. And. listen, every I have mad respect for. coach Harbaugh. I mean every NFL coach. would dream of having a career the like.

like John Harbaugh had right. I I just. know that in this window we have one of. the most unique talents in NFL history. under center. That window for Lamar. Jackson is a three to fiveyear window. uh we had to make an adjustment and make. a move to make sure that in that window. we need a ring and so I'm I'm happy for. y'all. Um but I'm but I'm also hoping. hoping and hoping that we don't have to. see Harbaugh in the Super Bowl. [laughter]. >> That's right. All right. Well, Gov, thanks so much for the time. I.

appreciate it. >> Thanks, man. >> I'm joined now by All Rise News's Adam. Klasfeld. Adam, we have a rare. concession of defeat by the Trump. administration, specifically his DOJ. Can you explain what just happened out. of the mouth of Pam Bondi? >> Pam Bondi has announced that Lindseay. Halligan, the former. masquerading US attorney for the Eastern. District of Virginia, is out. that this. follows a federal judge's ruling that. Halagan, remember, is the same person.

who brought the failed cases against. James Comey and Leticia James and was. brought on to the Eastern District of. Virginia specifically for that purpose. After fighting tooth and nail to keep a. firsttime unqualified prosecutor in that. position, they finally bit the bullet. They they they blinked and she is out. Why would the Trump administration do. this? This is an administration that has. staked so much of its credibility on. this idea that they're never going to.

accept defeat. Certainly never going to. concede defeat. And so in this instance, why was it so important to them to say, you know what, the court says that. Lindseay Halligan was improperly. appointed, so we're going to just kind. of lay down our arms and uh and take her. out of this position. Well, it's a laws. of gravity, Brian, because what we've. seen throughout Trump's second term is. that when the courts stand up to a. bully, the bully folds. And we've seen. that in the case of Kilar Briger Garcia, for example, Kilmar Ber Garcia, it took.

five court orders to get him out of an. El Salvador prison, CCOT. They said that. he would never ever step foot on US soil. after uh they brought him to US soil. They had him uh after he's in criminal. detention, he wins pre-trial release. After he wins pre-trial release, they. put him in immigration detention. And. after all of this noise, saying that.

we're going to that the courts cannot. control this. You cannot order us to let. him be on US soil. He's currently. awaiting trial on US soil. And why. Lindsay Hallan? Why give up the ghost in. that fight now? They ran out of options. her temporary tenure ran to a close. It's supposed to be a 120day interim. tenure even if she were legitimately. appointed, which she was not. There was. a binding court order disqualifying her.

They tried an interpretation of that. order that would allow her to remain in. that office after her humiliating. defeats for the entire purpose that. she's there to prosecute two of Trump's. enemies. And after that fails and after. a judge warns not only Halagan but Pam. Bondi and Todd Blanch that they can all. face professional discipline if they all. continue to insist that she is acting as.

a US attorney when she is not legally. allowed to serve on that basis. That's. when they give up the ghost because they. ran out of options. Gravity caught up to. them. they had to fold. >> Do you think that there was any sense. from Lindseay Halligan herself that. imperiling her own law license might not. be worth just this fool's errand of. continuing to serve in this position. where all of her prosecutions would get. swatted down anyway? I mean, the reality.

is we know that no judges were buying. anything with her name signed on it. And. so, so it it was symbolic as it was, but. now she was she was um she was dealing. with the the increasing threat of her. own law license for the rest of her life. uh getting taken away, and that's her. livelihood. I'm sure that she knew if she continued. in that position, she faced a virtual. certainty of a referral for disciplinary. proceedings because a federal judge told. her that that day. And on the same day,

just hours before that ruling, when a. federal judge said, "If you persist in. masquerading, I'm using his language. now, masquerading in this charade that. you are a US attorney, that you will be. referred for possible discipline, that. that he will initiate disciplinary. proceedings." That that happened today. And hours before then, the chief judge. of the district posted a job listing for. her replacement. So, I think that the.

double whammy of that, the writing. couldn't have been more clearly spelled. on the wall. And Pam Bondi gave her a. really lofty sendoff about the wonderful. job she did in that district in 120 days. when she blew their two most. high-profile cases. Humiliated herself. in court again and again. didn't know. basic grand jury procedure. To the. extent that she let most of the grand.

jury out of the room before they can. attest to the actual indictment, their. votes on the indictment, it's. humiliating defeat after humiliating. defeat followed by certain danger. So, I. want to talk about whoever is foolish. enough to take over her position. We. know that that position was was filled. solely because Lindsey Halligan would. present herself as some lackey perfectly. willing to cowtow to Pam Bondi and. Donald Trump and try to engage in these. vindictive prosecutions. There is a lot.

of risk for a prosecutor to engage in. this stuff knowing full well that even. if they were appointed properly, which. she was not, that they would that they. would face almost certain defeat because. the case for vindictive prosecution. against Leticia James and James Comey. and on and on and on, is so strong. And. so does that make it less likely that. there's going to be some hack prosecutor. who's willing to step up and fill this. void knowing that they're basically just. going to, you know, this is like the. equivalent of just putting yourself on.

the front lines in like World War I and. expecting to survive. So is it going to. be less likely that there's some. prosecutor who's going to be willing to. do that? Or on the flip side, do you. think based on what you've seen from. this administration that there's always. some hack prosecutor that's going to be. um drawn in drawn in by proximity to. power who's going to be perfectly. content to, you know, sacrifice their. own livelihood, their own reputation, their own law license so long as they. could spend a few minutes uh uh. graveling at the feet of dear leader.

Donald Trump. >> A moth always loves the flame until it's. too late. I mean, let's just look at the. history. And it's as old as Trump's. first term. You had Michael Cohen. You. had uh you know, you have Rudy Giuliani. How many people have incinerated their. careers? >> I mean, John John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, uh uh and and that's just, you know, that's the attorneys. Then you have. Gordon Sland, Kaylee Mcini, uh Marjorie. Taylor Green, um Mike Pence, Rex Rex.

Tillerson, all of these people Trump has. thrown under the bus the moment they. lose their political usefulness. And. these are people who hitch their wagons. to the Trump train only to watch. themselves fall out of favor with him. the moment that they can no longer be of. use to him. The thing that I would think. I I would advise people to keep a close. eye on especially in light of uh today's. news and Pam Bondi and excuse me. Lindseay Halagan's replacement. Look at. what the judges of the Eastern District.

of Virginia did do in the coming days. because right now they're trying to fill. Lindseay Halligan's position and the. line prosecutors of the Eastern District. of Virginia. They could not find a. single person in the district to take. the cases of J against James Comey and. Leticia James. All of them didn't want. to touch this with a 10-ft pole. And. right now the judges are looking for her. replacement. Do they replace her with a. qualified person? And if they do that,

does Trump fire that person and start. the process again? So I think her. replacement, you know, maybe we'll see a. competent prosecutor in the Eastern. District of Virginia with the judges in. charge. and knowing the actual stable of. prosecutors who are not political. appointees but career civil servants who. have been there from across multiple. administrations. Will the judges have their say? And if.

so, will Trump try to muck it up? So, I. want you to dig into that a little bit. because I'm actually unfamiliar with. this process. Is it the judges who. choose US attorneys for each respective. district and then Trump has to either um. fire them or leave them in place or is. it Trump who appoints these US attorneys. and then the judges get to vote on. whether or not they want to keep those. people in place. So the most US. attorneys are appointed by the president. of the United States, but they need to. pass have the advice and consent of the.

Senate. Something that Trump could never. get for Lindseay Halligan and the other. US attorneys who have been disqualified. Now Trump likes to complain and claim. that, oh, he can't get the blue slip in. blue states like Virginia, that it's. Democratic senators who are holding this. up. But let's get real. In Trump's first. term, it was never a problem to get. bipartisan support across the Senate for.

qualified candidates because in other. administrations, we saw US attorneys as. people who would follow the law and not. be political hatchetmen. Trump's real. complaint, the reason why the advice and. consent of the Senate is so hard for him. is because he is trying to qu to appoint. the likes of Lindseay Halagan, his. former attorney, his former White House. aid who has no prosecutorial experience,

people who would not get support from. the Senate. And so why are the judges. stepping in? because that is essentially. the reserve uh manner in which you can. appoint a US attorney if the interim. appointment fails that you know the. interim appointment is supposed to la. it's interim for a reason it's supposed. to last 120 days and at at which time. either that candidate gets the approval. of the judges of the district or the.

advice and consent of the senate if. neither happens. Then the judges can decide. The judges. can appoint someone. But that is we're. only at this stage because Trump has. failed to put in qualified people in. offices that he is where he's installing. people to be his hatchet men and women. Adam, you know that if the Trump. administration had to swallow this loss. that they're going to fume about it. They're going to be irate about the fact.

that Lindsay Haligan wasn't allowed to. continue in her role. And it's not like. the Trump administration to just say, "Oh, well, them's the rules and so we'll. just have to, you know, abide by them. and hopefully the next time it works out. better." These are people for whom if. the rules don't work, then you change. the rules. You obliterate the rules. You, you know, flip the the rules on on. their head and you make up your own. rules. And so as we proceed into this. process, recognizing the importance that. the Eastern District of Virginia has, uh, especially as it relates to these.

vindictive prosecutions that Trump wants. to engage in, do you presume that Pam. Bondi and Trump will just kind of cross. their fingers and hope that it all works. out well next time, or do you think that. we're going to see some upending of the. rules here and and them try and shoehorn. in some prosecutor in some other way, even if they can't get what they want. through regular course of order. >> I think that they're going to try some. shenanigans. But I also talk about the. the law that I mentioned earlier, the.

law of gravity. There are there they. have tried their bag of tricks. They. have tried to a large extent to go on. the attack against the judge for whose. order led to the ouster of Lindseay. Halligan. uh uh basically writing a. legal brief that went on the full attack. against him said that he was leading an. inquisition said that he made. rudimentary and elementary uh uh errors.

in the law. As a matter of fact, in the. ruling that had warned Halagan about. disciplinary proceedings being opened up. against her if she kept masquerading as. a US attorney. He had mentioned that. this legal brief, which was co-signed by. Pam Bondi and Todd Blanch, this legal. brief, he said, was more fitting for a. cable news talk show that it was so full. of vitrial in his words, that it's not. something that he expects from litigants.

in his courtroom, let alone the. Department of Justice. So, to answer. your question, Brian, do I think that. [snorts] Todd Blanch and Pam Bondi are. going to see the error of their ways? No, but they are seeing that their. options are getting increasingly limited. in this particular fight. Well, look, we'll take the good news where we can. get it. Uh, and more good news is that. Adam covers all of this stuff on his. newsletter, All Rise News. So, I'm going. to put the link to All Rise News, right.

here on the screen and also in the post. description of this video. If you want. to hear more from him, stay up to date. on the most breaking legal news as it. breaks. I highly recommend that you. subscribe to All Rise News. Again, that. link is right here on the screen and. also in the post description of this. video. Adam, as always, thanks for the. time. >> Thanks, Brian. Always a pleasure. >> To listen to the audio version of this. episode, click the link right here on. the screen and make sure to subscribe. And of course, to see more video. content, that subscribe button's on the. screen as well.