OMG: Republicans pull stunt in DARK OF NIGHT

Of course, Republicans opted to pull one. of the most shameful acts of this. Congress in the dead of night. On. Saturday at 4:00 in the morning, Todd. Blanche was confirmed as permanent. attorney general. Importantly, the vote. was 50 to 49 with only Mitch McConnell. not voting because he's rock climbing or. or windsurfing somewhere according to. the latest statement that was put out by. his office insisting that he's. definitely not dead. Now, look, you. don't confirm somebody at 4:00 a.m. if. this is not something that you are in. any way proud of doing. And yet, doesn't.

surprise me at all that these are the. depths Republicans needed to stoop to to. get this guy over the finish line. This. is a man who, as deputy attorney. general, personally flew to Tallahassee. and spent 9 hours over 2 days privately. interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell, who is a. convicted child sex trafficker and. Jeffrey Epstein's closest accomplice. And what came out of those 9 hours? A. convenient little quote about how. Maxwell, quote, "never witnessed the. president in any appropriate setting in.

any way." End quote. And then, once. Maxwell offered up what I'm sure the. White House views as exculpatory. evidence, Maxwell was moved to a. low-security prison in Texas. And there. was never a single excuse given. And. that's on top of the fact that 3 million. Epstein files continue to be suppressed. And then, of course, the fact that Todd. Blanche is at the center of this $1.776. billion anti-weaponization fund, the. fund created as part of the illegal. settlement that Donald Trump struck with. Donald Trump over his own leak tax.

returns. That fund would have. compensated him, his kids, and his. businesses for supposedly being targeted. by federal tax enforcement. And of. course, Cornyn and Tillis held up this. nomination for weeks demanding written. proof that the fund was dead. And in. turn, they got a rescission of the. specific order, but not the underlying. settlement agreement that stood the fund. up, which remains that the fund itself. is still fully legally intact just. sitting there and waiting for a future. version of that exact same fund to be. created all over again whenever it's.

more politically convenient for Trump. and Blanche. Now, Blanche himself has already. admitted under oath that Trump's lawyers. could still try and enforce that. settlement. So, Republicans confirmed a. guy who oversaw a scheme to funnel. potentially billions of taxpayer dollars. into Trump's own pockets, accepted a. half measure that still leaves the door. wide open for it to happen again, and. they called that accountability. And. look, none of this is unexpected as far. as Trump and Blanche are concerned. We. know full well just how corrupt these. people are. But just as bad as Trump and.

Blanche are the 50 Republican senators. who voted to confirm them, especially. those who knew better. As I mentioned. before, Cornyn and Tillis pretended that. their red line was that slush fund. When. Blanche offered up a rescission of the. fund but kept in place the settlement. agreement that will let Todd Blanche. create a brand new fund tomorrow if he. wants, they allowed themselves to be. rolled. They knew better, but God forbid. they show some spine. Or how about Bill. Cassidy? That's the physician who voted. to confirm RFK Jr., who is an.

anti-science quack who's now overseeing. a record number of measles cases and a. cyclosporine outbreak. Apparently, that. wasn't enough for Cassidy to learn that. him trying to curry favor with the. lunatics in his party has consequences. for hundreds of millions of Americans. because here he is doing it all over. again. And by the way, doing it in. service of the guy who already literally. ended his career. There is no floor to. how much these people will debase. themselves for Donald Trump. And then. there's Susan Collins, who came out and.

heroically announced that she would be. voting against Todd Blanche. Only, she. did it because she knew she had cover. She knew that there would be just enough. Republicans to get him through. Lo and. behold, 50 to 49. Meaning, this wasn't. some courageous stand. It was a. manufactured decision between her and. her Republican colleagues to make her. seem courageous when in reality it was. the polar opposite. This is a senator. facing a brutal re-election fight in a. state that is trending against her party.

casting a vote that cost her absolutely. nothing because the outcome was already. locked in before she opened her mouth. It is the purest most distilled form of. consequence free performance art you. could possibly conjure up. This is Susan. Collins cos playing as some Maverick as. some independent while in reality. serving as just another run-of-the-mill. shameless maggot sick of it. Abject. contempt for her own voters who she. clearly thinks are too stupid to be able. to tell the difference. And look, I I could go on but the point. here is clear. Whether it is you know.

the the vast majority of this Republican. conference the sheep [snorts] who voted. for this without a single inch of. pushback and yet would be apoplectic if. the tables were turned to those. quote-unquote moderates who orchestrated. some pretend opposition. They are all. responsible for empowering a man who. spent his career as Trump's personal. criminal defense attorney who ran. secretive interference on the Epstein. investigation to protect his boss and. who left a $1.8 billion self-enrichment. scheme structurally intact. Todd Blanche.

isn't going to oversee the Department of. Justice that answers to the American. people. He's overseeing a DOJ that. serves Donald Trump personally. All of which of course passed by one. vote. That's how little it took to. secure just enough cowardice to get it. across the finish line. You're watching the No Lie podcast. I've. got one quick request for those who are. watching right now. As you know, all of. my content is free. I never paywall any. of my content. But I'm going to ask for. a little bit of financial support this. once. If you haven't yet grabbed a copy. of my new book The Day After, this is.

what it looks like. It is available. right now. I'm going to put a link to. order it right here on the screen in the. post description in the comments. If you. enjoy this podcast and you appreciate my. work and you appreciate independent. media, I would ask that you please grab. a copy. Full disclosure, I'm going to try to see. this week if I can land at the top of. the New York Times bestseller list. Um. just one week to give it my all. So, any. help that you're able to give is really. appreciated. Thanks so much. Okay, here. are my interviews with Robert Garcia and.

Sam Stein. No Lies brought to you by. Factor. Now, I know we've all been there. where you're exhausted and starving and. probably hangry. You go into the fridge. and you can and probably should cook a. healthy meal, but you don't have it in. you, so you opt for the quick junk food. instead. For me, eating healthy isn't a. willpower problem. It is a setup. problem. Until I found Factor. Factor. solves your setup problem with fully. prepared meals designed by dieticians. and crafted by chefs delivered right to. your door. With Factor, I'm hitting my. nutrition goals this season without the. planning, grocery runs, or cooking.

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that you will, too. So, head to. factormeals.com/btc50off. and use code btc50off to get 50% off and. free daily greens per box with new. subscription only. While supplies last. until 9/27/26, see website for more details. We have a. new update on the prospect of Todd. Blanche becoming permanent AG with Bill. Cassidy's announcement that he will be. voting in favor of Todd Blanche. It. looks like the path is all but clear for. his permanent nomination. I'm joined now. by the ranking member of the House. Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia.

Congressman, can you speak to me about. because this is someone who you've dealt. with and especially as it relates to the. Epstein files, this is an office that. you deal with quite often. Your reaction. to the fact that not only. Todd Blanche will be will be likely. confirmed as the next Attorney General, but also your reaction to the fact that. there just so happened to be enough. Republican senators who are willing to. get him over the finish line. >> Yeah, I mean, look, this is. first of all, it's not surprising, but. still very disappointing. I mean, it's. shameful that they're going to vote to.

confirm. Donald Trump's former personal lawyer as. the next AG, the person that doc. survivors, the person that that all of. our. Epstein survivors have come out as you. know in a big way to oppose. So many of. them have been out so vocal about this. I mean, the person that's been in charge. of the weaponization fund and the. corruption that's been happening at the. DOJ and the White House. I mean, Todd. Blanche has been at the center of that. and for him to get confirmed, I mean, again, it's just they're just doing what. Donald Trump wants and they really don't.

care about any checks and balances. And. I think it's very of course convenient. that it basically essentially passes. with the exact number needed to get the. confirmation through. I mean, give me a. break. Susan Collins should get zero. credit. for opposing Todd Blanche. I mean, come. on. She could have tried to stop Todd. Blanche many times. She's not chosen to. do so. She's not been someone that's. fought for transparency for the Epstein. survivors and so. it's a sad day for the country. And now. we we have Todd Blanche who's basically.

his job is to protect Donald Trump as. the Attorney General. >> I also want to to dig into Bill Cassidy. a little bit here because it's not like. this is somebody who hasn't already been. rolled. I mean, he offered a vote for. RFK Jr. The guy is a physician. Uh. and paved the way for the nomination of. an anti-science quack to be in charge of. health and human services to the point. where now we have a cyclosporine. outbreak in this country. We have a. measles outbreak in this country. And. all the while, Bill Cassidy knows what.

the consequences are of putting somebody. who is. abjectly disqualified for his position. into office and yet didn't learn. anything from his past mistakes, didn't. even learn anything at the hands of a. guy who ended his own political career. and yet voted again to to. to confirm Todd Blanche. And so, why do. you presume it's so important here that. Bill Cassidy stay in the good graces of. MAGA even on his way out the door and. even with all the consequences of his. past votes along these same lines kind.

of showing the consequences in full. light of day? >> Yeah, it's a real shame that I was kind. of holding out that somehow Bill Cassidy. would do the right thing. I mean, come. on. You you just talked about RFK Jr. I. mean, truly a tinfoil hat conspiracy. theorist who's destroying HHS. And the. fact that, you know, that that Cassidy. has been largely also just absent from. doing the right thing on so many issues. And on this one, it started to seem when. Trump turned on him that he was actually. gaining a little bit of independence. And it's it's it's it's it's shameful. I. mean, he probably wants something else. Who knows if he's cut some sort of deal.

with Donald Trump or what he's going to. do after he's out of the Senate. But. there should have been there should have. been easy for a Cassidy or a Tillis to. do. They they should have or Cornyn. They they they should have voted to not. confirm Todd Blanche and done the right. thing and helped actually save the. country and put in checks and balances. And I think that these center at the end. of the day, all of these guys are. beholden to Donald Trump. And for being. as unpopular. and as big of a disaster as Donald Trump. is currently, he can barely crack what?

30, 33, 34% in a lot of these a lot of. these polls that are coming out. They. still They still do at the end of the. day whatever he wants, and that's a real. shame. >> Talk about what it looks like for these. politicians in the aftermath of their. careers. Why is it important to stay in. the good graces of MAGA? That would. would would a truly courageous stand by. Bill Cassidy or some of these other. Republicans mean that they would lose. job prospects, lobbying prospects in the. aftermath of their Senate careers?

>> Well, look. I mean, look. Donald Trump. is probably the most like spiteful, petty, vengeful person to ever serve in. public office. And so, it would not. surprise me that uh Donald Trump's wrath. uh and all the and the wrath of all. those he's put in across the government. and in the private sector um would haunt. some of these guys. And so, they're. they're probably feeling some of that. But, I I mean, I don't know. You're. someone like like Bill Cassidy who's had. a long career. I don't you want to be. able to sleep at night? I mean, don't. you want to be able to after your career.

be able to know that you did the right. thing for your family, your state, and. your country? And so, the fact that all. of these guys sell their souls to to. Donald Trump uh and to who's going to be. viewed, whether they want it or not, as. the worst president to ever serve in the. in the country, period. The man will. have no legacy. It will be a legacy of. destruction, of death, of of grift, of. enriching himself. That is going to be. how he will be remembered. And the fact. that they're all kind of hitching their. wagon to this, I just I think it just. hurts their legacy as well.

>> I think the only variable in terms of. someone like Bill Cassidy being able to. sleep at night is him being able to. afford sheets with a high enough thread. count. And so, that that's the only. thing that he's focused on here. I want. to move over to a little bit of a. different topic. Still still in the. ballpark of uh Todd Blanche as attorney. general, but more about the Epstein. files here. Can you speak about the. spate of interviews and depositions that. are going to be taking place in the. course of the next couple of weeks. >> Yeah, I mean look um.

one of the things that's important to. note that uh Chairman Comer has held no. public hearings on the Epstein files. still. And you know, they're they're. talking about oh, closing the. investigation and I'm like, what what. investigation are you talking about? You. don't put people under oath. You don't we have half of the evidence. of the Epstein files have not been. released to the public. Uh you won't. actually uh do interviews and collect. information from the. >> It's a it's 3 million files outstanding. and no actual subpoenas issued for. people that could give you any. information and James Comer is like, job. well done. We did it, folks. >> Exactly. So so so all of these things.

we're doing, you know, with uh. knowing that we're going to have to. really get this investigation started in. a big way obviously in the majority. But. you have someone like Alan Dershowitz. who's going to be coming in front of us. uh pretty soon who's I mean, give me a. break. I mean, the man has been. the fingers have pointed at him by by. survivors uh and some of the horrors. that he knew about or participated in. And so we're going to ask him the tough. questions, but the the issue with these. interviews, whether it's going to be. Dershowitz coming up, uh whether it's. going to be our conversation with uh.

with Leon Black and others, is they're. not putting them under oath. >> Right. >> They're bringing them in and allowing. them to basically lie and divert. We had. all of these people in the to interview. that were in Epstein's orbit like former. like personal secretaries, uh. assistants, um people with credible uh. accusations of knowing some really. serious crimes, and none of them were. being put under oath. And I I think the. question has to come back as to why. Like why aren't we putting these.

witnesses under oath? Well, it's because. they don't want the real truth. >> Right. >> And and so we're not going to allow that. when we win the majority and are running. this investigation. And a lot of the. folks that have already been to see us, they're going to be asked and then. brought back in under subpoena again, because they're going to be asked the. tough questions under oath and in some. cases in a public hearing for the public. to see themselves. >> So, is it basically that that James. Comer wants to do the bare minimum to. kind of notch these these symbolic. victories, these talking points, just.

get caught trying so that he has. plausible deniability if somebody were. to come and say, "You haven't done. anything on the Epstein files." He can. say, "No, no, no. How dare you say that? We had Alan Dershowitz come in." Without. saying that this is just a transcribed. interview, there's no obligation to be. able to tell the truth. This was not. under subpoena. It's not a a sworn. deposition. And so, again, this is just. the bare minimum to be able to claim. credit for something that you don't. actually care about getting to the. bottom of. >> That's exactly right. And I think that's. a big part of it.

And also, I definitely think their goal, I mean, from day one has been to protect. Donald Trump. Like, their whole goal in. the Epstein investigation has been to. exonerate Donald Trump, which that of. course is is the furthest from the. truth. I mean, you have Let's I I think. I I try to remind people, Donald Trump. was basically Jeffrey Epstein's best. friend for 10 years. They were pals. They hung out. Uh women were recruited. from Mar-a-Lago. Uh there they there's. clearly a relationship there. There was. a relationship with the first lady. What. what exactly was we're going to find.

out? I mean, there's a lot of questions. I mean, Donald Trump is in the files. almost more than any single person. The president is Donald Trump. And yet, there's no relationship. He tried to. kill the investigation. He called it a. hoax. I mean, no one believes. I mean, you No one, maybe except for like. Republicans in Congress, uh believes that there isn't more to the. Donald Trump-Jeffrey Epstein story. We're going to get to the truth. [clears throat]. >> He And then by the way, those people. know full well. They just decided to put. their political careers ahead of getting. to the truth. And so, whatever they have.

to do or say to stay in the good graces. of the god king is what they're going to. do. When these people are not dumb, they. know full well the implications for. Trump's name being listed in there. 38,000 times, they're just putting their. own, you know, political survival over. uh over accountability for the victims. >> That's right. >> Um I want your your reaction to the fact. that while James Comer and these. oversight Republicans may be doing. nothing to get to the bottom of the. truth as far as the Epstein files are. concerned, that Judge Sullivan in who.

who's presiding over the Katie Fang case. against Todd Blanche and the DOJ is. actually allowing this process to move. forward. Your general reaction to to. that whole process taking place kind of. in tandem with the the uh lack of action. happening at the hands of James Comer. >> I look I I'm I'm a huge I've I've been a. huge fan of of Katie's for a a long. time. Uh and she's just doing such a. great job. I mean, look, we this is the. kind of actions that are necessary so. that those in Congress are are are doing. what they need to do and if the courts. also have their own process. You know,

one thing that a lot of people don't. don't know that when you're in the. minority, you can't directly sue on. behalf of the house. Only the majority. can do that. And so we're limited even. to what we can do and what we can. actually sue for within the the. judiciary. And so we have outside groups. or people like like Katie taking these. cases to court on principle and doing. the right thing, they're incredibly. helpful. And so I'm really hopeful that. uh you know, the courts in this case. really move forward and get all these. documents released. And so if if we're.

successful there, a huge a huge amount. of credit is going to go to Katie, but I. think that more importantly survivors. are going to get a lot of justice here. So very supportive of her efforts and. I'm going to continue to push that. >> If Democrats retake the majority and you. have the gavel in the oversight. committee, is that something that you. would join on behalf of House Democrats. uh join Katie's fight to get full. release of these files? >> Yeah, I mean, look, when we're in the. majority, I mean, there's going to be. numerous numerous efforts that we're. going to take to the courts because we. will have the authority as the majority. to bring certain cases in front of the.

courts. Uh and so that 100%. I mean, there's the. there's a stack of things that we want. to do with the Epstein investigation. that we only have the power to do in the. majority. And so I think there's going. to be a it's going to be a brand new day. and for us is real focus on justice for. the survivors. >> Last question here. We have a new topic. of there is now. known to the public. a whole list of banks that saw a bunch. of red flags as it related to Epstein's. activities and yet didn't stop those.

activities from occurring. Didn't. investigate any of these activities. which we now know were linked to this. pedophile ring and and. all of these. all of this illegal behavior. Can you. speak a little bit about what you would. like to see in terms of. in terms of the relationship that these. banks had with the Epstein estate? >> Yeah, I mean first I want to thank you. mean Senator Wyden has been working on. this for years. And so he has been. locked in on the financial banks piece. of Senate has been taking the lead on. the financial piece.

on on Epstein. And so what they what. they put out was just really important. and just making it very clear that the. banks were part of the cover-up. And. there's a lot of questions that we now. have including on the Senate side for. these banks for the executives who. directed these this cover-up. Why did. this happen the way it did? And so with. that report that just came out really. does is it opens up a series of. questions for us that begins to piece a. lot more of the puzzles together. You. know, there's a lot that we're. investigating that for the sake of the.

investigation let's say is not public, right? >> Yeah. >> And so what we are doing is putting. together the financial web of who paid. who, where the money is coming from, how did Epstein get his money? And that. report the Senate put out is a big piece. of art. The staff of the Senate. on that committee and Senator Wyden and. our team on oversight have been talking. extensively for over the last year. So. there's a lot good happening there and. more to come.

>> Awesome. Well, thank you for taking the. time today. Thanks for the work that you. continue to do even in the face of all. of these suppression efforts by Todd. Blanche, Donald Trump, and the rest of. the Republicans in the House and Senate. Uh, appreciate you taking time here. >> Anytime. Thanks. >> It looks like we might have some MAGA. infiltration here where there absolutely. should not be some. I'm joined now by. Sam Stein who works at The Bulwark. Sam, you wrote a great article um, which is. titled I'm going to throw it right here. on the screen. Did MAGA infiltrate the. Green Party in Michigan? So, this caught.

my attention in a big way. The reporting. was outstanding. Talk about this. phenomenon that's otherwise completely. flying under the radar. >> Yeah, so um, what happened here was that. there was a piece I forget what it was. in. It might have been Punchbowl or. somewhere else where they noted that. there's this weird phenomenon where. Green Party candidates are popping up on. the ballot and there's some question. about whether they're actually Green. Party members. You know, they seem like. not. And so I I asked a colleague of. mine, Brendan Hartnett at at The Bulwark.

to start looking at other filings in. different states. Just sort of. suspicious like maybe if it's happening. in Pennsylvania, maybe it's happening. elsewhere. And Brendan comes back to me and he's. like, "I think I found a I think I found. a good one." I was like, "What are you. talking about?" He's like, "Well, there's this guy in Michigan. in the 7th Congressional District which. is like the tightest. House race this cycle. Decided by one. percentage point in 2024. or went for Trump by one percentage. point. He's like, "This guy, his name's. Shane Diederich. There's nothing on this.

guy. I I can't find anything on it. He. came out of nowhere." He's like, "I. looked into him a little bit.". And he's given two donations or. something like that. Both are to. Republicans. He has no social media. presence whatsoever. Like limited. There's a Twitter account but he doesn't. follow anyone. But the people he does. follow, one of them is looks like a. Republican operative. And so we started looked into it. Started digging around a little bit. And. and it just became like more and more. curious, right? So, Shane Diederich. 25, 26-year-old from Michigan in the. district does follow this one Republican.

operative who follows him back. Uh this. person in her name is Parker Maddock. She's the daughter of two very prominent. Republicans in the state, one of whom. was the state party chair for. Republicans in Michigan. She was. embroiled in the 2020 election scandal. there, but she went off. She got off. clean. Um and then we started calling. around and we started looking for more. breadcrumbs and it was just very weird. And then I got to I got to be honest, the craziest thing we found was we we we. managed to find the actual Green Party.

uh nomination process cuz, you know, you. sort of wonder how did he manage to get. on the ballot? And Brian, the brink this. this nomination process sort of blew my. mind at how. flimsy it was, how easy it was to just. get your name I had no clue you could. just get your name on a ballot this. easily, but I'm happy to explain to you. if you have any questions about that. That was part of the story. >> Talk to me about this this nomination. process. >> Okay. >> [laughter]. >> I'm not joking. Like this is how it. works.

Or this is how I discovered it at least. So, the Green Party actually of Michigan. actually sent us the the video of their. convention, which is what this what. happens. It's all taking place over. Zoom. There's one room with like, you. know, it seems like 30 people in it, all. Green Party members, but a lot of people. are dialed into Zoom. And about 2 hours into the convention. uh. Shane Diedrich, our guy. raises his hand, not like literally. because he's his camera's completely. off. He does the hand raise emoji. And they call on Shane and he never.

turns his camera on. I like never. He's. just in the dark. He's like, "Hi, I'd. like to be the Green Party candidate for. the 7th Congressional District.". And the Green Party people are like, "Okay, um. who are you?" And he's like, "Ah, you. know, I'm I'm just I'm from the area. Uh. you know, I do this, I do that. I. haven't really been involved in politics. that much." So, they're like, "Well, how. did you how did you hear about us?" He's. like, "You know, just started like looking around, felt. like Tom Barrett, the sitting. congressman, Republican is not doing a.

good job. Didn't like the two moderate. Democrats. There's actually a third. Democrat who won, not the moderate. >> Right. Who's Who's decidedly not. moderate. Who Who was one of the. co-founders of the Sunrise Movement. [laughter]. >> Well, that's the irony of this. And we. could talk about whether this all. matters in a bit. But so Deidrich says. he's like, I didn't like the moderate. I. don't think they're standing up to Trump. enough. And it's all going sort of weirdly. Like, you know, people are like, well, are you registered as a Green Party. member? He's like, nah, but I can get. the paperwork to. They're like, can you. authenticate your who you are? He's. like, yeah, I can get you an affidavit.

And at one point, like almost 15 minutes. in, someone just is like, all right. I I. I'll give you a I'll I'll forward your. nomination. And then someone seconds it. And then very very abruptly, someone's. like, wait a second. Hold on. >> [laughter]. >> Should we vet this guy a little bit. more? And then another guy's like, you. know, I'm a little bit nervous that this. is rushed. Like, what if this guy's a. MAGA plant? And Deidrich's like, >> [laughter]. >> you know, I guess that's probably a good. thing to, you know, consider. But he. never really denies it.

And then they keep going. They go back. and forth. They're debating the bylaws. At one point they're wondering if Tom. Barrett's even running, which he is. It's a whole It's a mess. It's like a. complete shambolic mess. And then honestly, I kid you not, someone's like Googling him in real. time. Woman says, it looks like you. played ice hockey. He's like, yes, I. did. And that's it. And then 33 minutes. after he first digitally raised his. hand, a woman's like, all right, it looks like. we have a consensus. And then two people. forward it and and confirm it.

And he is made the Green Party's. congressional nominee in one of the most. critical House races this cycle. It's. that It was that quick. That's it. >> All right. So, I think it's worth asking. here first and foremost, as the result. of your reporting, obviously there's. going to be looking into by by the Green. Party, actually some some real vetting. besides just we Googled you and it looks. like you played ice hockey. So, [laughter]. Is there any way to go back on on what. they've done or once they've they've.

allowed him to become the nominee under. their banner, that's it? >> So, we asked them So, what we did is we, you know, we did our reporting and we we. did our due diligence. We called all the. people. We called the, you know, before. we we called Parker Mactic. We called. her parents. We called Shane Diedrick. We called like everyone we could. Uh and obviously we talked to the Green. Party cuz they sent us the convention. video. But once we got everything or once. Brendan, I should say, got all the. reporting done, then we went back to the.

Green Party and we said, "Look, this is. what we discovered. What can you tell us like what happened. here? Like why why wasn't there more. vetting? Do you know anything about this. guy? Did you know that he had donated to. Republicans? Did you know he had this. connection. to this conservative operative? Like did. you know any of this?" And they're like, "Uh, you know, I They kind of were a. little bit caught off guard." Um the. communications manager, that's his. title, said, "Well, you know, if if it. I'm going to I'm going to probably reach. out to. to to Diedrick after this and have a.

one-on-one, which seemed a little bit. sort of after the fact, [laughter] you. know? It's like maybe we should. >> A good idea. >> Yeah, yeah. Uh maybe talk to him before. you nominate him. Yeah. Um. but he did say, um. I'll read the quote. "There's some possibility that he's a. Republican plant, but based on the uh. strength of that evidence, I would say. there's also, you know, some sort of. possibility that he's had an evolution. of his of his views and values. Maybe I'll try to call him and see if he. has any comment, maybe." They did raise.

the possibility that they could disavow. his candidacy, uh that they could pull. the endorsement. I don't know the. technicalities about getting him off the. ballot. He is on the ballot currently. He is listed on the ballot on the. Secretary of State's website. >> [snorts]. >> Um I have no idea what the legal or. political processes are for pulling. that. Um and maybe it happens and we are. certainly keeping tabs on whether or not. um. you know, the Green Party acts on this. >> So, talk to me a little bit about two.

things here in conjunction because I. think they're important. What does the. Green Party represent and what does it. represent that would be different from. the current Michigan 7 nominee on the. Democratic line because that is one of. the most progressive and dare I say it. green candidates that we've ever had? >> Right. So, I I think a lot of people. look at this and be like, "Okay, well, you know, he's not going to take that. many votes away if any from from this. guy who's been nominated because, you. know, this guy founded the Sunrise.

Movement. He's obviously a progressive.". This is William Lawrence, who is the. Democratic Party nominee. Um and that's. probably true. It's probably true. Um the other reason. to not be um too worked up about it, although I am pretty worked up about. is that um traditionally people who. support the Green Party are not really. that gettable actually for Democrats. Even though there might be a lot of. overlap in the the Venn diagram on the. issues, one of the things that the Green Party. really does represent is this idea that.

the duopoly of our parties system needs. to go. And so they are voting not just. because they care about the environment, which is their one of the key pillars. They're voting because they believe. political parties as currently. constituted are. um need to be broken up uh and can't be. trusted. And so anyone who supports the. Green Party probably is not going to. cross over and vote for a Democrat. That. being said, um that's not true of every voter. There. are going to be some voters who look at. this and say, "Okay, you know, I might. go with the Green Party." And having.

someone on the ballot um does complicate. to a degree. the election. And in a district like. this where again Trump won the district. by one percentage point, at least. Slotkin. uh won in her Senate race, but obviously. Tom Barrett won in the congressional. race. It is like literally one of the. few. truly jump ball districts. >> Yeah. >> You know, we're talking about like a. couple hundred votes potentially. deciding thing. And I, you know, it it's it's it's kind of crazy to think. that the Green Party could be spoiler.

nominating a candidate that they vetted. for 33 minutes, barely at all. >> Well, I I think Look, I I appreciate, I. don't agree with, but I appreciate the. idea that the Green Party will exist for. people to have an outlet who don't like. the duopoly of the two-party system. I. get that, but but it undermines the. whole point of it if you have. a potential MAGA spoiler who's there to. actually entrench the two-party system, just to do it in in deference to. Republicans. >> Right. And and this was the point made. by other people when they were reporting. on the the Pennsylvania Green Party.

infiltration, things like that. What's going to happen is there's going. to be, and this is not true of everyone. in the Green Party. I don't want to. paint too broad a. brush here, but. the people who will go there are going. to do things like rail against data. centers. They're going to say this is. awful. We can't have data, you know, these data centers that you can't build. them. They're going to sap our. environment. They're going to waste our. energy. And they're going to end up electing. Republicans. who will be supportive of data centers. And look, I I've plenty I've plenty of.

experience talking to third party. candidates through the course of my time. in journalism and trying to have this. type of conversation with them. And it's. not persuasive to them. Um that it's. very rare that you actually get someone. who's committed third party candidate on. the environmental side, especially, who's like, "Yeah, you're right. Like, we have to play the long game. Uh we. have to work within the system." Because. to them it's the system that's the. problem, and they don't think the system. will ever change. unless, you know, you prove that a third party. is somewhat viable or something like.

that. So, I you know, it it is what it is to. degree, and I hate to say that, but rarely do we see them being so. susceptible to infiltration. That's the. story here. And I guess I had never. really actually. you know, done a deep dive into how they. nominate their candidates, and this was. just jaw-dropping to me. >> Yeah, could could could probably use. some reform. >> Maybe a little tinker here and there. >> What about people who are going to be. watching this and say, "Look, you know, Jill Stein served as a spoiler in the. most consequential election of our.

history, and so this isn't like a. one-off. This this may very well be par. for the course for the Green Party. And. so, what do you say to those folks?". >> They're right. I mean, this happens, right? Like, this happened with Jill. Stein. Obviously, Ralph Nader is the big. one from 2000. Um. they would say the margins don't really. tell the story, that the people who. voted for Jill Stein were never going to. vote for Hillary Clinton, and the people. who voted for Ralph Nader really were.

never going to vote for Al Gore. And I, you know, I'm not. I would say to that, sure, but that's not you don't have you can. also think differently through different. prisms about our politics, and that, you. know, electing George Bush in 2000 was. detrimental to the Green Party's other. key pillars beyond the duopoly and the. and the problems with it. That electing. Donald Trump obviously was detrimental. to the Green Party's key pillars beyond. the duopoly. And at some point, you have. to sort of be strategic about it.

Pick your races more responsibly. Maybe. even try to work within the system a. little bit more aggressively. But, that's not their MO, and and I don't. imagine that this exposé, as great as I. think it was, is going to change how. they think. >> It it And by the way, for those who are. watching right now, it was phenomenal. It was great reporting. Highly recommend. for anybody who's watching and listening. right now. I'm going to put the link to. that piece in the post description of. this video. Read the piece, sign up for.

the Bulwark, you will not regret it. Excellent job. I want to ask one last. question in the minute that we have here. at the end and that is for your reaction. to on a completely separate topic, your. reaction to the fact that we got a no. from Susan Collins on Todd Blanche. We. got a new no from Lisa Murkowski on Todd. Blanche, but wouldn't you know it, Bill. Cassidy came forward and said that he. would vote in favor of Todd Blanche, which means he just squeaks by by one. vote. So, let me get your your reaction.

to the fact that it just so happened. that Todd Blanche had exactly the amount. of votes that he needed to get through. and no extra votes, especially for. people who just so happen to be running. for re-election in a tough state this. year. >> Well, yeah, first let me take a point of. personal privilege cuz you brought it. up. Thank you for the compliments for. the reporting and for anyone who's not. familiar with the bullwork, would. encourage you to to sign up. You can. sign up for free if you just want to. take a gander and then you can sign up. to be paid member. It helps support. reporting like this, so we appreciate. that. As for Blanche, we're recording.

this like, what? Friday 11:45. Eastern. So, he just Todd Bill Cassidy. spoke like an hour ago. And. I you know, I was this is not a. non-surprise to me. This is how it. usually works. Um, I. at first of all, I never expected. Cassidy to really show much courage on. this vote. Um, I also expected that they. would line it up so the people they. needed to take those votes. against Blanche, the two, would take the. votes. So, I think Murkowski probably is.

the interesting one because in theory, I. guess, you know, she could have voted. yes, but she probably was like, "No, I'm. not going to do that." Um, here's my. thoughts on it. One is, you know, we. need to stop waiting for profiles and. courage from congressional Republicans. They don't come. Happened once in. McCain. That's it. You're not going to. get more. It is what it is. Two is, um, it's, you know, Collins gets to say she. voted against Blanche, but I don't sure. that Cassidy did her any favors. necessarily here because the MO and the. knock on Collins is that she only votes.

no when it's inconsequential and that's. exactly what happened here. I just got to throw out a third thing. here which is I don't think this gets. appreciated enough. I I wonder how much Cassidy did this. because he wants to help John Thune. And it's not a really about Trump. I. don't think I mean I don't think Cassidy. cares all that much about Trump at this. juncture. I think he cares about Thune and I think. he wants Thune to not have to deal with. Trump and have some success as majority. leader. And he looks around and he's. like, okay, like Thune's got to be able.

to show that he can get things through. And I'm guessing Thune leaned very. heavily on him to say, I need you to do. this so that I can get Trump off my back. and I can maintain my post and you don't. want like a Rick Scott in here, right? And I think that was probably more. persuasive to Cassidy than anything. Trump would have said. Cassidy made a. point in in in the hearing that I think. is. you know, I could see it a little bit. which is that, you know, Blanche is. going to be serving no matter what. But. here's my response to that. Like if. Blanche is serving as an acting attorney. general versus a confirmed attorney.

general, yeah, he's still serving, but. you're giving him the the stamp of. approval. Right. The authority of the. Senate. Yeah, a mandate to do what you. want to do and or what he wants to do. And. that means something. I mean that does. mean something and I found the whole I. found the whole thing to be just sort of. smoke and mirrors, right? Like this. whole oh, we're getting rid of the. weaponization fund. No, it's not dead. The immunity like the RS immunity deal. like it's still there. So it it we we. walk through these shows uh often and we. try to build up the drama, but to me.

this outcome was pretty pre-baked, honestly. >> We'll leave it there. Sam Stein from The. Bulwark. Again, for those who are. watching, please subscribe to The. Bulwark. That link is right here on the. screen and also in the post description. of this video. Sam, appreciate your. reporting. Thanks for taking the time. >> Hey Brian, thanks for having me on, man. Appreciate you. >> 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. >> [music].