WHOA: Epstein files deal FATAL blow to TOP TRUMP ALLY

Elon Musk gets bombshell bad news in the. latest Epstein file release and I have. three interviews. Jim Aosta, Congressman. Jim Heimmes, and Senator John Oaf. I'm. Brian Teller Cohen and you're watching. No Lie. [music]. Another Epstein drop means we've got. more insight into members of the Trump. administration and the Trump Orbit who. of course were involved in some way with. Jeffrey Epstein. like for example Steve. Bannon, Peter Teal, Howard Lutnik, who's. Trump's commerce secretary, and Kevin. Worsh, who's Trump's new pick for the.

Fed chair. And obviously, there were. even more accusations against Trump. himself in the files. One allegation was. that a woman was forced to perform oral. sex on him 35 years ago in New Jersey. Another allegation shows Trump is. accused of regularly paying a. 13-year-old to perform sex acts on him. in 1984. And in another, it states that. Trump and Epstein had calendar girl. parties at Mara Lago where girls were. auctioned off and then assaulted by. them. Now, also present in these files. was Elon Musk, which was especially. interesting considering Elon tweeted a.

few months back, "Time to drop the. really big bomb. Donald Trump is in the. Epstein files. That is the real reason. they have not yet been made public. Have. a nice day, DJT." Well, turns out so was. he. One email shows Epstein asking Elon. in 2012 how many people there will be. for the helicopter to the island. To. which Elon replies, "Probably just Tula. and me, what day will be the wildest. party on your island?" Remember that was. in 2012. It was already well known that. Epstein was engaged in pedophilia and.

his weird parties by 2006 when he was. arrested on charges of procuring a minor. for prostitution. And here was Elon. emailing with him six years after that. By the way, Tula was uh I I believe. either his girlfriend or his wife at the. time. Very weirdly, I had a tiny part in. a movie that Tula was in a few years. after that. So, I met Elon for a second. before I knew anything about him. Like, for example, that he had been planning. trips to a pedophile island. There's. another wild email. In 2013, Epstein.

wrote, "Any plans for New York? The. opening of the General Assembly has many. interesting people coming to the house.". Elon replies, "I run and lead product. design/engineering for two complicated. companies. Moreover, SpaceX is about to. launch what is arguably the most. advanced rocket in history. Flying to. New York to see UN diplomats do nothing. would be an unwise use of time." And. Epste replies, "Do you think I am. Just kidding. There is no one. over 25 and a very cute." So, I think. what happened here is that Epste was.

clearly trying to talk in code, trying. to be like, "Hey, the uh UN Assembly is. in town. want to come meet some. diplomats? Wink wink. And Elon thought. that he was being serious, so he. awkwardly listed off his resume and his. credentials and is like, "I'm too busy. to meet diplomats." At which point Epste. was like, "Yeah, dude. I know. They're a. bunch of young girls coming to my. house." A couple of months later, that. same year in 2013, on Christmas Day, so. this is what Elon is doing on Christmas. He was planning a trip to Epstein's.

island, writing to Epstein. Actually, I. could fly back early on the 3rd, meaning. January 3rd. We will be in St. Barts. When should we head to your island on. the 2nd? All of which is super. interesting considering Elon tweeted a. few months back, "Epstein tried to get. me to go to his island, and I refused. Yet, they named me even before Prince. Andrew, who did visit." And yet, now. we've got full access to the emails. where Elon was very clearly negotiating. dates to go to the island. And at no. point did he take some valiant righteous.

stand against the island. He was. literally coordinating helicopter. pickups. So look, I think I have to. offer an apology here because I scoffed. at the QAnon people for years while they. talked about a secret cabal of. pedophiles. Now they were a little bit. off base when they started pointing to. basement of pizza places that had no. basements, but they were right about the. pedophiles. Problem is the team of. people they supported to expose it are. the cabal. If you were wondering why. it's been so difficult to get any.

movement on these files, it's because it. is literally the richest, most. well-connected people on Earth who. frequented this guy's island and who. were connected to him. And we can see. how upset they are getting that they're. being exposed. So, look, Roana and. Thomas Massie deserve a ton of credit. here for doing this work because clearly. the richest and most powerful people on. the planet are doing their level best to. keep all of this under wraps. But where. there's smoke, there's fire. And there. is a shitload of smoke right now. Next. up are my interviews with Jim Aosta, Jim.

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backed by a 100% money back guarantee, so there's no risk. Subscriptions are. also available for maximum consistency. Remember to head to zbiotics.com/btc. and use the code BTC at checkout for 15%. off. I'm joined now by Jim Aosta. Thanks. so much for taking the time. >> You got it. >> So Jim, um your former CNN colleague, our friend Don Lemon um was arrested. yesterday. uh he's since been let out, but I I'm just curious, you know, having. worked with him for so long and now.

occupying the independent media space as. he does, have we crossed into a. different Rubicon? Have we crossed the. Rubicon here in terms of what you're. seeing from the Trump administration as. it relates to these attacks on the First. Amendment? >> Yeah, Brian, I I really think we have. I. mean, the first thing we have to say is. we support Don. We love Don. Uh we send. him all our our best wishes, and I I. think this case is going to get thrown. out. Uh there's there's no chance that. Don Lemon is going to go to jail over. this. He was just doing his job. I mean, if you just look at the video of when he.

went into that church, he says on on. video, he says, "I'm I'm not one of the. protesters. I'm here to cover this. I'm. a journalist." Um but I I think in terms. of the the precedent that has been set. here, I mean, we cannot go down this. road, Brian. We cannot go down the road. of jailing journalists in this country. for doing their job. And that's what I. think Donald Trump is trying to do in. his little evil dictator laboratory. He's trying to see he's trying to poke. and prod and see what he can do to harm. the press in this country. And we've. already seen him do that in going after.

the the corporate media, the legacy. media, you know, with the lawsuits. against ABC and CBS and going after the. Associated Press and so on. And I I see. this as going after independent media. And that's what really worries me. because, you know, we're not bending the. knee over here in independent media, Brian. you know this all too well. Yeah. Um but if they can start to hurt people. over in our neck of the woods, then I. think people need to be worried. >> Do you have concern personally? I mean, you were a huge target for Trump in his. in his first term. Um obviously he.

hasn't forgotten that because his whole. life is predicated on seeking revenge. against his enemies. And so what's your. degree of concern? >> Yeah, I mean I guess I I would have to. be a little bit concerned given that, you know, he he does hold a grudge. I. mean, he's been going after Don Lemon. for what the better part of the last 10. years, and he just can't give this stuff. up. But at the same time, what we have. to say is we're not going to back down. We're not going to be afraid. We're. going to continue to do our jobs. We're. going to continue to call this.

administration out. I mean, this is this. has been a pretty authoritarian week in. in the presidency of Donald Trump. I. mean, look what's happened in just the. last week. They they shot and killed a. man in in Minneapolis and Alex Prey. Uh. the FBI raided an election headquarters. in Fulton County, Georgia. And then the. arrest of Don Lemon. I mean, all three. of those things to me stand out as. hallmarks of an authoritarian regime. And so it h we have to push back against. this stuff and we can't be afraid. >> Yeah. And I think I think that's that's.

an important part. And I think actually. I know that you you you noted that we. can't be afraid and I think that's. absolutely right. And I also think that. in fact independent media has a lot more. power um than I think Trump is willing. to admit although by his actions he's. kind of betraying as much because. independent media this space can't be. bought. Like we have seen the extent to. which it is so easy for Trump to buy off. Jeff Bezos. I'm sure that uh I'm sure. that you're going to be uh popping over. to the Melania documentary any any any. minute now. >> Um to buy offline now as a matter of.

[laughter] fact. >> Yeah. um to buy off Jeff Bezos, to buy. off CBS News, buy off ABC News with. these 16 million dollar lawsuits, to buy. off Meta and and so we've seen how easy. it is and and frankly not just legacy. media to buy off universities, to buy. off law firms, to buy off tech CEOs, to. buy off foreign countries and foreign. leaders, but independent media is not. overleveraged. Like we don't have any. business in front of the federal. government. We don't need approval from. the FCC or the or or the FTC or the FAA. or whatever or whatever it is to be able.

to do yeah to do anything. And so I. think Trump is able to wield weapons. when he knows he's got you bent over a. barrel. But legacy but independent media. doesn't have that problem because you. know it's just it's just people who are. who are beholden to the truth and and. and the subscribers and and viewers who. watch on a daily basis and that's it. And so there is a lot of power, I think, in this independent media space that. Trump hasn't figured out how to uh. hasn't figured out how to how to wield. his power against. And and frankly, Don. is a testament to exactly that.

>> Yeah. No, you're absolutely right. I. mean, we don't have corporate bosses, uh, you know, that we have to worry. about ringing their hands in some. boardroom saying, "Oh gosh, I wish Brian. and Jim would stop criticizing Donald. Trump or reporting on the things that. he's done.". >> Um, you're right. we don't have uh we. have we don't have those problems. The. the one thing that I do worry about. though is by going after Don Lemon, does. it send a chilling effect through. independent media and do people in our. neck of the woods start to say, "Well, you know, gosh, I better be careful. because they might come after me next.".

One of the things that um they they. tried to do to me when they took my. press pass away back in 2018 was not. just to send a message to me in my news. organization at that time, CNN, but to. send a message to people across the. corporate media world, across the legacy. media landscape to say like, "Hey, you. don't want to end up like Jim. You don't. want to end up getting your press pass. taken away. Look, look what's happened. to him." And they were celebrating. behind the scenes uh when they when they. did that. Um, you know, Miles Taylor can.

confirm that. Um, and they did the same. thing when they uh arrested Don Lemon. They were basically celebrating on. social media. And so, people need to. understand what this is. These are. intimidation tactics that are right out. of an authoritarian playbook uh being. carried out by people who act like. mobsters. And it's just not the American. way. Um, my sense of it is is that this. is going to backfire spectacularly. against Trump and it's going to embolden. uh people like us and independent media.

and we're going to find out that at the. end of this they can't do this. But in. the meantime, I mean, we're we're up. against it. I mean, they he is trying to. figure out a way to hurt us. He's trying. to figure out a way to get control of. the press. And that is what autocrats. have done in places like Russia and. Hungary and China and Saudi Arabia. I. mean, you look around the world. I I say. this to folks all the time. Um, look at. the countries around the world where. they don't have a free press and ask. yourself, is this somewhere you want to. live? You want to live in China or Saudi.

Arabia or Iran or North Korea? I don't. think so. Uh, but these are countries. that don't have a free press. And I. think it there's a direct correlation. between that and the quality of life. that the people have there. I I think. you're you're so right about um about. well everything you said but but but. especially this idea that independent. media is going to be kind of up against. it right now but I actually think this. is a good opportunity to redouble our. efforts because think about what happens. if he is successful at silencing. everybody basically think about what the.

what the natural conclusion of his. efforts is. It's basically I mean it's. it's a descent into full-blown autocracy. at which point we wouldn't have any. power anyway. And so what do we have to. lose by just going going like 10 toes in. and making sure to fight back? Because. like if we're trying to to curb what we. say or self-censor um in an attempt to. kind of preempt any action against us. Okay. So then we silence ourselves. We. you know he he ultimately is successful. in the end and then and then we're in a.

world where independent media or any. pro-democracy voices don't have power. anyway. And so that's no better. you. know, we're not ultimately going to help. ourselves in the end. We're just. delaying the inevitable. And so, I think. of these opportunities where we can. either, you know, lean forward and take. an aggressive posture and keep speaking. out against this administration. This is. this is our only option, frankly, because because the alternative, you. know, even in trying to protect. ourselves is ultimately just helping. Donald Trump in the future.

>> No, I think that's right. And I mean the. other thing is is you know when I had my. press pass taken away we sued and we won. and they had to back down and they had. to give me my press pass back. I hope. that Don and his team that they sue the. hell out of Donald Trump and the Justice. Department and all of this because this. is this is trying to deprive him of his. constitutional rights to freedom of the. press, freedom of speech. And that is. that is the playbook. That is the way um. we we win in all of this. Uh we don't.

back down. we don't bend the knee, we. don't bow down. U look what happened um. in Davos recently where these countries. said to hell with us. We're not going to. be bullied by Donald Trump. We're going. to stand up to him. And I think the. lesson of from that experiences is that. flattery and and bending the knee and. bowing down doesn't work. Y. >> it just it just emboldens him. It makes. him want to do it even more. And so it's. just like the bully at the playground. He's not going to stop bullying you. until you punch him in the nose. Until. you until you tell him to shut the hell.

up. Yeah. And um that is what needs to. happen here. I I think Don needs to. fight back. We all need to fight back. We all need to have his back. Jim, when. you um you know, when you were in the. press corps back in the Obama. administration, for example, uh there. was an effort to prevent Fox News from. being in the press briefing room, if if. I'm remembering correctly, and all of. the other, you know, liberal media. outlets, if if we're talking everything.

but Fox News, basically, uh basically. banded together to make sure that Fox, uh that Fox would still be able to be. there. Do you think that how do you how. are you thinking about this in terms of. the fact in light of the fact that you. know more recently when we had the AP. the Associated Press get barred from the. press briefing room because they. wouldn't uh uh capitulate to Trump's. demands that everybody refer to the Gulf. of Mexico as Gulf of America and frankly. the same outlet Fox News that benefited. from um a collaborative effort from the.

other outlets you know they they weren't. there to help the AP and so how are you. kind of thinking about the relationships. between these news networks in light of. the fact that you had more liberal. outlets stick their neck outs to help a. conservative outlet, but when the tables. are turned, you know, obviously those. conservative outlets are nowhere to be. found. >> Yeah. I mean, I remember when this. happened during the Obama. administration, uh the folks over at. Fox, I think they wanted a front seat in. the briefing room when one opened up and. the other networks argued on their. behalf and said that Fox deserves to.

have this seat. And you know, I I mean, I I think at this point the networks. would still do that. Yeah. >> Um but, you know, it would be nice if it. were the other way around, quite. honestly. And I think what we've seen. lately is a lot of cowardice on the part. of legacy media. um when the Associated. Press was booted out of Air Force One. and out of the Oval Office because they. wouldn't call the Gulf of Mexico the. Gulf of America. Uh the other news. organizations just you know acted they. put out some tur tursly worded.

statements and so on but they didn't. they didn't stand united with the. Associated Press and I think it taught. Trump the lesson that hey he can play. divide and conquer with the press and. you know look what happened with the. bribes that were paid by CBS and ABC. Uh, look what's happened with the. Ellison's and Paramount taking over CBS. and the installation of Barry Weiss in. charge of that network. Yeah. I mean, this has been. >> there's a 75 a $75 million effort to. promote a documentary that that tens of. people are going to see right now.

>> That's right. And and in the tech and in. the big tech world, you're right. Jeff. Bezos basically paying a bribe to Donald. Trump um through this Bologania. documentary in order to curry favor with. the administration. It it makes you want. to puke and that is why independent. media is so damn important. But I think. the only way that this really ultimately. nips this in the butt and stops the. behavior is if there's collective. action. And it seems to me that we need. to we need to tell the the White House. uh and I wish the White House press.

corps would do this. Um say, "Listen, we're not going to go in there and take. your picture in the Oval Office. We're. not going to cover you in Air Force. You. want to have Fox and The Blaze and O and. all these sickopantic outlets following. you around and doing your thing, fine. Go h go do your thing. Pretend to be a. dictator. The emperor has no clothes and. so on. But the networks and the. mainstream news organizations should not. be on the plane with him or be in the. Oval Office with him if he's going to. act like a tyrant. And it seems to me. that, you know, that might start to curb. some of this behavior. He'll say, "Oh,

my favorite photographer is not here to. take my picture, the one that I like. say, you know, I love that guy over at. the New York Times. He really he takes. nice pictures of me. This is the kind of. stuff that Donald Trump actually cares. about. So, why not hit him where it. hurts and take take that away from him? Maybe it'll start to curb some of that. behavior. >> And I'm I'm so curious about that. because, you know, we we often hear that. Trump just wants to surround himself. with these right-wing outlets, but but. the reality is we know Trump wants to be. in in in these clubs. like when when he.

years and years and years ago he wanted. to own an NFL team and the owners agreed. not to allow him to to buy an NFL team. and he ended up buying um a USFL team. and basically ran not only his team but. the entire uh league into the ground. The the league was was I mean he he. bankrupted the entire correct it's the. same thing. >> Yeah. And so, and so I'm curious about. this because you're saying here that. that if the networks deprive him of the. oxygen that they can give him. Are you.

saying basically that even though he. will rail against these legacy outlets, New York Times, CNN, ABC, NBC, you know, until he's blew in the face, that in. reality he's really looking like it. wouldn't be enough for him to just get. attention from Breitbart and The Blaze. and O and Fox News? is even though he rails against them, does he actually crave the validation. from these networks that that he so. often complains about? >> He absolutely does. And you know, there. there's some some missing piece inside.

of his soul that that craves this. validation on the part of the mainstream. press. >> Yeah. >> Um and I think, you know, this is a. vulnerability on his part and it it. ought to be exploited quite frankly. Um. but on top of that, it's just the right. thing to do. It's just the right thing. to do to stand with our fellow. journalists. And this is not a time for. people in, you know, the networks and. the brandame news outlets to be petty. and vindictive and be like, well, I, you. know, this person might say, I don't. like uh Don Lemon and so on and so.

forth. That all has to be tossed to the. side. We have to stand on principle. here. And the principle is is that the. that the freedom of the press is not. negotiable. It is not something that can. be toyed with. that it's not once we go. down the slippery slope and say, "Well, you know, you know, I don't like the way. Don did this or that. So, I guess, you. know, maybe he should spend some time in. jail." That give me a break. We can't do. that in this country. And so, you know, I tell people all the time, if you want. to be liked, go be a veterinarian. Journalists are not supposed to be.

liked. We're not supposed to be. everybody's favorite person. We're here. to hold people accountable and hold. people's feet to the fire. That makes us. wildly unpopular and it pisses people. off. But that's a good thing. That's how. democracy works. That's how it should. work. And Trump has been trying to hurt. the press ever since I started covering. him back during the 2016 campaign. This. is this is what he's all about. And what. we have to do is work collectively to. stop this from getting any worse because. I mean it seems to me, Brian, we are at.

the jailing journalists uh chapter of uh. Donald Trump's authoritarian playbook. and we just can't let it continue. Well, look, uh, you know, you are stepping up. in a big way. I know that that, um, I'm. I can speak for myself and a lot of. people who are watching right now and. saying that we're very grateful for the. fact that your voice is out there right. now on Independent Media. Can you let. folks who are watching, listening right. now know where they can find you? >> Yeah, I mean, I'm doing the Jim Aosta. show on Substack, YouTube, Apple. Podcast, anywhere you can get your. podcasts. Uh, so so check me out there.

And, you know, we're we're not holding. back at this point, Brian, just like I. know you're not holding back. It's it's. just that kind of moment. It's the. stakes are too high and we've just got. to have Don's back in all of this. That's the way I feel. >> Yeah, I I second all of that. Jim, I. appreciate all the work that you're. doing and uh the time today. I'm joined. now by the ranking member of the House. Intelligence Committee, Jim Heims. Thanks so much for joining me. >> Great to be with you, Brian. >> So, Congressman, we watched as the FBI. executed a search warrant to seize. ballots from the 2020 election in.

Atlanta. Uh, curiously, Tulsi Gabber, the director of national intelligence, was there. First and foremost, can you. give us some indication of what Congress. is doing to get some answers on this. recognizing that the administration. isn't willing to give any? >> Yeah. Yeah. And let's start why this is. such a big deal because you know the. deputy attorney general of course uh you. know his his his approach to when asked. was uh well nothing to see here folks. This is just normal course of business. It is anything but normal course of. business. There is a very bright line uh.

between the intelligence community which. has massive uh surveillance power, operational capabilities, you know, guys. with guns. Um there there is a very. bright line between what they do uh and. the borders of the United States. um and. the participation of a very high-profile. the director of national intelligence uh. uh IC individual in a bizarre law. enforcement action um is I'm not going. to say unprecedented because there is.

the narrowest of areas where there there. might be a role for the intelligence. community but a very high high-profile. figure um is a very very big deal and so. you asked what do we do about it the. moment this broke and needless to say. nobody in the intelligence community. felt like they had to inform uh either. the chairman of the ranking member of. the Senate and the House Intelligence. Committee. But the moment we learned. about it, we wrote a letter and you know. demanding answers on this issue. Now, you know, I suspect I know the answer, right? Um Tulsi Gabbard has watched in. the last 3 months as the administration.

of which she is a part has done. everything that she spent a lifetime. despising in terms of intervention. abroad. And of course, the Oval Office. knows that. And so she was sidelined. Not a single presentation in which Tulsi. Gabbard was present. That's an. existential threat to Tulsi Gabbard's uh. uh uh self-image, right? Uh and so I. think this is partly an effort to get. back on the president's good side. because we know that this president will. be very very happy to mess in an. election uh if it go if it doesn't go.

his way. Um but it is also just a. remarkable showing of disdain for this. bright line between the actions of the. intelligence community and law. enforcement actions. In terms of. actually getting some answers here, I. would presume there needs to be some. degree of buyin from your Republican. counterpart, the chairman of the House. Intelligence Committee, does it does it. seem based on your your interactions. with them that there's any interest from. your Republican colleagues to get some. answers on this issue? Look, I I mean. you you know you you see the same thing.

that I see, which is that there is no. limit to the rationalizations. uh which Republicans will uh employ to. avoid having conversations or doing. things that might piss off Donald Trump, right? So, you know, there'll be some. story, and I haven't spoken to either. Tom Cotton uh or Rick Crawford, but. there'll be some story that is. consistent with what the deputy attorney. general said, like, "Oh, well, we didn't. know. We didn't see it. I don't know.

what the facts are." You know, if this. of course had been Joe Biden's uh. director of national intelligence, Ael. Lev um uh you know, Ael Haynes, uh you. know, uh we would have already seen. articles of impeachment and the building. would be burning and you know, right-wing media would be going out of. their minds over the fascist takeover of. the United States. So, look, that's the. reality in which I work. But we're um. we're going to get to the bottom of. this. >> You had mentioned uh the deputy attorney. general, Todd Blanch, earlier. He was. actually asked about this issue and he.

was asked to explain Tulsi Gabbard's. role in DOJ activity given that she's. not in the DOJ. She's the director of. national intelligence. I'm going to. throw to a clip right now of of how Todd. Blanch responded to that question. >> Could you please explain Tulsi Gabard's. role in DOJ activity regarding the. Fulton County search? >> What do you mean her role? >> Uh it was reported that um. >> she was she happened to be present in. Atlanta. I mean yes. I'm I I saw the same photos. you did. I mean, she's not she doesn't.

work for the Department of Justice or. the FBI. She's an extraordinarily. important part of this administration. Um this administration coordinates um. everything we do um as a group. And so I. think her presence shouldn't be um there. shouldn't be questioned, of course. I. that's that's a big part of her of her. job. And so the fact that she was um. present in Atlanta that day um you know. is is is something that shouldn't. surprise anybody. >> Okay. So that was the deputy attorney. general saying that Tulsi Gabber just so.

happened to be present in Atlanta. because who among us doesn't just find. ourselves in the middle of an FBI search. warrant being executed. Can I have your. reaction to that statement from Todd. Blanch? >> Yeah, I mean it's just absurd, right? I. mean I I I think Todd Blanch is a. lawyer, right? I mean it used to be that. if you were the number two at the. Justice Department, you probably had. some legal understanding. So Todd Blanch. understands what is involved when uh an. enormously powerful entity, a spy. entity, the intelligence community, uh. is operating inside the US and how.

completely unacceptable that is. Um you. know, again, the fact that he sort of. fidabaded it, nothing to see here, you. know, suggested to me that he wasn't. going to be the one, you just asked me. about Republicans, he wasn't going to be. the one to say, "Yeah, that's a good. question. We ought to we ought to look. into that." Right. Um and uh but but but. it's not just let's let's back up a. second here. Um the intelligence. community does have a role in sussing. out foreign interference in our. elections. Now, by the way, the Trump.

administration is completely opposed to. that notion because they're so allergic. to the fact that Russia intervened twice. to try to elect Donald Trump. Uh three. times actually, twice successfully. Um, so you know, we've seen people who do. election integrity work, who monitor. elections, who look for foreign efforts. to uh alter our elections, fired, sidelined, taken out of the equation. But nonetheless, if you were going to. give the benefit of the doubt to this. administration, which you are not going. to do because we know that Donald Trump.

will pull out all the stops to alter the. results of elections that he doesn't. like, you would say, well, maybe Telsey. Gabard and the uh and the intelligence. community was looking for foreign. interference. Well, you know, if you. were doing that, um, you know, you'd be. doing cyber work. You'd be talking about. intelligence collection. You'd be. talking to the NSA. You would not be. physically showing up in Fulton County, Georgia. Is there some concern that by. virtue of bringing Tulsi Gabbard in and. trying to kind of shoehorn this idea. that this is part of some broader. international criminal conspiracy? I.

mean, Trump himself had amplified a. tweet or a post on Truth Social and and. I'm going to read a little bit of it to. give you an idea of of, you know, the. the mental gymnastics that they're. jumping through to try and to try and. manifest this into reality. Maria Zach. testified about the stolen 2020 election. operation connected to Obama when he. diverted $400 million from the infamous. pallets of cash sent to Iran, funneling. through the Dubai embassy to operatives. in Italy and Meil Lynch in Geneva, Switzerland. In return, Italian. officials at Leonardo spa use military.

satellites to help hack US voting. machines, flipping votes from Trump to. Biden using CIA developed tools like. Hammer and Scorecard along with numer. numerous other methods of fraud and. manipulation. Goes on to invoke China, the CIA, the FBI, Joe Biden. So this is. the kind of stuff that they're dealing. with and that was amplified not by some. underling or lackey that was amplified. by Donald Trump himself, the president. of the United States. And so is there. some concern that that Tulsi Gabbard. being there is an effort to shoehorn.

into into reality this idea that um. there was some foreign interference to. try and and prove election, you know, that that the election was rigged in. 2020. All so that as we head toward. 2026, they can say, "Well, look, we were. right about the election being rigged in. 2020." And so now recognizing all of. this crime that's happening right under. our noses that was hidden by Joe Biden. and the and the communist Marxist. Democrats, we have to take extraordinary. steps to really secure our elections.

And that means we got to send the. military and that means we need to seize. voting machines. So all basically using. is this as a pretext to be able to to um. you know engage in these voter. suppression efforts or or efforts to. undermine our elections. >> Yeah. I mean exa exactly right. Right. I. mean, all that was missing from that. post was, you know, Elvis coming back. from the dead to bring back Richard. Nixon or I mean, you know, just the. sheer insanity uh of the conspiracy.

theories. And that was like 15. conspiracy theories wrapped up in one. Um, and remember, none of these. conspiracy theories turned out to be. anywhere close to accurate. In fact, some of the stuff that wasn't even crazy. didn't turn out to be accurate. the 60. attempts, you know, lawsuits that. Giuliani and his merry band of lunatics. brought, every single one of them turned. back. So, um, what worries me here, and. you put your finger on it, is that, you. know, what the Trump administration does. is they try to make us comfortable over. time with outrageous things, right? So,

border patrol agents masked without. insignia, um, kitted up as though they. were about to fast rope into Fallujah to. capture an al-Qaeda terrorist, you know. No, let's get used to the notion that. these guys are just wandering around our. city streets. Two years ago, we would. have said that's not our country. That's. Chile under Pinocha, right? Um, but they. get us used to these things because, you. know, folks are busy and they get they. get comfortable with stuff they should. never get comfortable with. So, what's. the next step now? Are we going to be. asked to get comfortable with the idea.

that the CIA is going to pay visits to. the local registars of voters? I mean, that directionally is where they want to. take this. And yes, of course, it's in. the service of these conspiracy theories. which more often than not come back to. bite him in the ass, right? It's the. Epstein syndrome. You know, let Tulsi. Gabbard investigate the insane Italy. theory and and you know, at some point. she bumps into the fact-based universe. where it turns out that there's nothing. there and then she's got a choice, right? She can either say that there's. nothing there that in fact, you know,

there's not a pizza place in Washington. DC where they're Hillary Clinton is. coordinating the kidnapping of young. children. They can either say that, oh, you know, we were just lying like Don. Bonino basically did when he was deputy. at the at the FBI. Um or uh they can. continue to, you know, bump into a court. of law where a judge is going to say, "You people are out of your minds." So, um, you know, again, it's what really. worries me here is that over time they. want us to get used to the idea that the. vast surveillance powers and the.

capabilities and the authorities of the. CIA and the NSA, well, maybe it's okay. if they operate inside the United States. because we're going to lose our country. otherwise. >> Can you talk a little bit about what you. would be able to do in Congress if the. Democrats are able to regain a majority. uh after November? like what what does. what does the the efforts to kind of. quash Trump's overreach look like um. from you know from the actual majority. >> right right so I mean a couple of things.

um you know number one Mark Warren and I. wrote a letter uh to the uh office of. the director of national intelligence. asking for a specific explanation I know. what we're getting back if anything it's. going to be something like what Todd. Blanch said nothing to see here um well. you know what if we're in the majority. and I have subpoena power or we have. subpoena power. The director of national. intelligence is coming in for a hearing. to be questioned by us and by our. council, right? And um you know uh lie.

to us. Please lie to us because lying to. the Congress of the United States uh you. know will first of all indicate your. character uh and and and and you know. really create a problem or don't lie to. us, right? which is of course the. preferable outcome and in the majority. we'll have that much more control over. the resources and so call me crazy but. we might just say hey Tulsi you can have. a little bit more money if you're going. after terrorists or spying on the. Chinese or the Russians but you get no.

more money for um performative MAGA make. the president feel good about me. theatrics. >> you know when when you were alluding to. the idea of hauling these people in. front of Congress and and basically. challenging them to lie to you. Practically speaking, if they lie, I. mean, yes, it's a crime lying to. Congress, but it's up to the DOJ to be. able to enforce it, and this DOJ isn't. going to enforce it. And so, in a way, don't they kind of have a get out of. jail free card if they want to lie to. Congress, recognizing that Pam Bondi is. never going to hold them to account?

>> Sure. And I mean, look, let's just be. very straight and honest about this. Not. only is it that, but um, you know, thank. you, John Roberts. Thank you, John. Roberts, because I'll tell you what. we're going to see over the course of. the back half of the Trump. administration. Everyone from Tulsi. Gabbard to the guy who, you know, arrested Don Lemon uh in uh in. Minneapolis to the folks who shot the. two people, every single one of them is. getting a pardon, right? That is a. unappealable thing. And thank you, John.

Roberts, for saying that the president. himself in the performance of his. official duties is completely. unaccountable. you know, in the way. Emperor Maxmleon or Pinocha or Stalin. would have dreamed of. So, yeah, I mean, thank you. Thank you to John Roberts and. the Supreme Court for setting up a. system where an unaccountable president. can use an unappealable mechanism to. basically create a Ptorian crime wing. that is completely uh unadressable. Now, we're going to try to do something about.

that because there will be a different. justice department at some point down. the line. And you know again barring a. full pardon which I would expect for. somebody like Tulsi Gabbard or anybody. else involved in this stuff you know we. will work for accountability. Last. question here and that is that that you. you had noted that you sent this letter. um in an effort to like push back. against against the [clears throat] idea. that a strongly worded letter is ever. sufficient. Is there anything that that. can be done beyond the letter? Again,

recognizing the limitations that we have. by virtue of Democrats being in the. minority, but also kind of, you know, pushing back against the idea that the. only thing that we could ever do is just. to send strongly worded letters. >> Yeah. Yeah. And and I mean, I I I. appreciate the question and the answer. is that even in the minority, um I have. tools. We have tools that are important. um you know to pass a budget to get the. intelligence authorization act which is. what determines the authorities and the.

budget for you know the entire. intelligence community you basically. need sign off from what they call the. four corners the chairman and the. ranking members that's an example and. you know what if they keep showing the. kind of disdain that they are showing. that will be invol that will be there. will be implications in their budget. much more so if we're in the majority. than if we're in the minority but they. will be there and secondarily you know. They have goals. Um, and I'll give you. one example, right? Eventually, the. administration is going to wake up to. the fact that they need to reauthorize. FISA 702, right? This is an a.

surveillance authority targeted at. foreigners. And we don't need to get. into all the ins and outs of 702, but. it's controversial, right? And um at. some point they're going to wake up and. realize, oh my god, we have to. reauthorize this authority that. basically provides 60% 60% of the. intelligence that goes into the. president's daily brief. we haven't done. a damn thing, unlike the Biden. administration which mobilized people. months in advance. And they're going to. say, "Hey, we need your help. reauthorizing this authority without. which Donald Trump is going to get. pinned with a terrorist attack." And at.

that point, I'm going to say, "Well, that's funny, you know, because you have. shown me nothing but disdain for the. last two years." So, tell me again why. uh why I should work in partnership with. you after you have done, you know, politicized and weaponized and shown. Congress utter disdain. That also is a. tool. >> All right. Well, we we'll leave it. there. Congressmans, thanks so much for. taking the time. >> Thanks a lot, Ryan. >> I'm joined now by the US Senator in. Georgia, John Oaf. Senator, thanks so. much for joining me. >> Brian, good to see you. Thank you. >> So, we have a lot of breaking news as it. relates to your position in the Senate.

as it relates to Georgia. So, I want to. first start off with the news that the. FBI has executed a search warrant at the. Fulton County Elections Office and. that's near Atlanta. Um, we have seen so. many instances of Donald Trump and his. law enforcement agencies weaponizing the. government. Is this just one more. instance of exactly that? >> I suspect that's exactly what it is. And. remember, Georgia has been at the center of Donald. Trump's conspiracy theories about the. 2020 elections and his schemes to.

overturn that election from the very. beginning. The phone call where he. pressured Georgia's state election. officials to quote, "Find him the votes. he needed to win in a state he had. lost." the conspiracy theories about. what happened in Georgia that helped jin. up the mob that sacked the United States. capital on his behalf and tried to. prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Some of what he did trying to press the. Department of Justice into improperly. intervening in that election happened in.

Georgia, triggering the resignation at. the time of DOJ officials in Georgia. So, I don't know exactly the. circumstances and details of this raid. I expect that we'll learn more very. soon. But what I can tell you is that we. are witnessing a president who is. wielding the apparatus of state who is. using the entirety of the federal. government and federal law enforcement. as an instrument to pursue personal.

vendettas. to pursue vengeance and retribution. against people he believes are his. enemies and to pursue conspiracy. theories. To that end, I mean, as far as. this presidency and the abuses are. concerned, one area of particular focus. obviously is ICE. Now, you're in the. Senate right now. There is a lot of uh a. lot of talk about whether this DHS. funding bill is going to pass alongside. the rest of the budget or if it's going.

to be spun out. Is there any update you. can give in terms of where where that. whole process stands? And and beyond. that, is there a commitment by the the. Democratic um Senate caucus to to not. fund DHS in light of the abuses that. we're seeing right now? >> I can assure you that this measure does. not have the votes to proceed this week. unless that portion is removed or. significant protections for civil. liberties are added. And the American.

people are appalled. by what they've seen in Minnesota. This. is about our core civil liberties and. our constitutional rights. Just read the. Bill of Rights, the core guarantees at the founding of. our republic that animated the American. Revolution. The rights to peaceibly. assemble and to dissent and to speak. the right to the sanctity of our bodies.

and our homes against searches without. warrants, equal justice under the law. what we've. seen in Minnesota, the lawless chaos, the beatings and. killings of Americans, American homes with doors beaten down. and masked agents raiding in without so. much as a judge's warrant.

the immediate slander of Americans. killed by federal agents with political. appointees in Washington calling those. dead Americans terrorists [snorts] and. immediately trying to cover up the facts. of their killings. This is the kind of. thing that you see in authoritarian. societies. and it is deeply corrosive to our. fundamental civil liberties. And look, here's the thing. We're hearing some of. that now. cautiously,

but some of it from even Republicans in. the Senate. And what we need to do is. persuade some of those Republicans to. join us in reforming and reigning in an. outofcrol federal agency. >> So, Senator, one of the options that you. gave, you know, if if there are to be. any Democrats who sign on to this effort. to fund DHS in any way is assurances. that there's going to be protections for. civil liberties. But I mean any. assurances that this federal government. gives are hardly worth the paper that.

they're printed on. And so how can you. even trust when you know that the the. same people who would commit these. atrocities in the first place and and. then have enough you know shame have. have no shame to the point where they. can lie about it in such a bald-faced. manner when they say, "Oh yeah, we're. totally definitely going to protect. civil liberties." How is that even. enough given the fact that that they. could, you know, that their word isn't. worth anything? Well, two points. First. of all, that's why we need to pursue. these protections for civil liberties in. the law and not merely promises and.

assurances. >> Yeah. >> From the executive branch. But look, here's the second point. This. administration is out of control. And even if we are able to make positive. changes to the law that better protect. American civil liberties, when you have. these kinds of people who are unbound by. any commitment to the truth, who act with alarming frequency outside.

of the law, who try to defy federal. judges, the only real solution here, the only. enduring solution is victory in the. midterm elections. The only real. solution is for the American people to. restore checks and balances. by voting in such overwhelming numbers. that we decisively rebuke this depth of.

corruption, these appalling abuses of. power. and by voting in such decisive. numbers that we deliver a landslide that. the schemes that they will inevitably. hatch to try to foil the will of the. people just like he did back in 2020. cannot silence us. >> So, I'm glad you brought up the. election. One of the Republicans running. in uh the primary for the US Senate seat. in Georgia, which will ultimately be. against you, is Mike Collins. And in.

response to a big walk out that happened. today, an anti-ICE walk out, which I. think the vast majority of this country. would think is certainly justified in. light of the fact that these rogue ICE. agents, the secret police force seems uh. seems to have taken a liking to just. executing people in the streets, unarmed. people in the streets, with obviously. the latest one being uh a nurse at the. VA, uh Alex Prey, who was brandishing. his cell phone. Apparently, that's a. crime in this country. Mike Collins took. to Twitter, and I'm going to put that. tweet right here on the screen. He said, "This Georgia high school staged a.

massive anti-ICE walk out. This school. has 6% math proficiency and 16% reading. proficiency. Our problem isn't ICE. Our. problem is woke indoctrination." So, he's basically suggesting, not exactly. subtle language here, that anybody. walking out to protest what's happening. uh against ICE is stupid. So, can I have. your reaction to Mike Collins tweet. here? >> Yeah. Well, look, I think it's. disgraceful. And look, none of my. opponents, none of my opponents will even call for. an independent and transparent.

investigation. of Mr. Py's killing in Minnesota. This. is the killing of an American citizen by. federal agents. They are all, my opponents, so. desperately grasping for Donald Trump's. endorsement that they're afraid even to. call for an independent investigation of. the killing of an American by federal. law enforcement. And I want to return to.

the thing that you picked out there that. I think people have really found so. disgraceful, which is the way the White. House or Christy Gnome have slandered. these Americans in death. Americans. gunned down by federal agents who are. immediately branded as terrorists. by their own government. It it just demonstrates the complete. lack of integrity of this. administration, their total contempt for.

the American people and our fundamental. rights. Well, frankly, what Mike Collins. said is is relatively tame compared to. uh what another Republican running in. the primary said, and that is Buddy. Carter, who asked Donald Trump for ICE. to target Atlanta. So in light of what. we've seen at the hands of this rogue. agency where people again are executing. people on the streets executing innocent. Americans who are exercising their first. amendment right and frankly their second. amendment right because Alex Prey for.

example uh had a legal carry uh. concealed carry permit and and you know. uh and didn't even wasn't even holding. his gun. It was holstered. So, so in. light of that, in light of the fact that. we're seeing this death at the hands of. these ICE agents, for him to come out. and say we want that in our state of. Georgia, can I have your reaction to. that? >> Well, I think it says everything you. need to know about the congressman's. judgment that he would look at what's. unfolded in Minneapolis and want that to.

come to his state. In terms of hearing. from some of these people, whether it's. Pam Bondi, whether it's Christy Nome, do. you have any any update in terms of when. they're going to be coming uh in front. of the Senate or or whether we're going. to actually be able to get straight. answers from these people as opposed to, you know, obuscation efforts, which uh. which frankly this DOJ seems to be uh. the that seems to be the one area where. they're especially competent is uh. making sure that they don't give. answers, whether it's uh you know, responding to the atrocities committed.

at the hands of their law enforcement. agencies or ICE or you know on and on. >> My understanding is that Secretary Gnome. is uh scheduled to appear sometime. relatively soon in front of the. judiciary committee. She should be gone. She never should have been confirmed to. that role. She was obviously unqualified. when I met with her while she was. seeking confirmation. Uh she she needs. to be fired. Two Republican senators. called for her today to resign. So if. she survives in the role that long,

she's going to come and testify. But no, I do not expect cander from these folks. They have been cast by this president. precisely for. >> their performance on camera, their. ability to evade and lie and dissemble. under questioning. When you watch them. appear before the Congress, they show. complete contempt for Congress. They. just counterattack, dodge the question, and the the weak and irrelevant.

Republican committee chairs are. completely unwilling to use any power to. hold them to account to answer questions. before the people's elected. representatives. >> Were you surprised to see Tom Tillis and. Lisa Marowski call for Christine's. resignation? And do you presume that. there are going to be any more. Republicans uh who who follow in their. footsteps? Look, I think that Senator Tillis and. Senator Marowsky have both shown some. independence. uh over the last few months. But look, I'll tell you, Brian, we are so far past.

so many red lines that should have. triggered. >> Yeah. >> this Republican party and Republicans in. Congress uh to turn against this. president. Uh I mean, we've been talking. about his election conspiracy theories, right? the fact that the majority of. Republicans in Congress are still behind. the guy who jinned up the mob that. sacked the capital and then pardoned. everybody who engaged in that violence. and still they bend the knee and what do.

they get for it? I mean, look at Bill. Cassidy in Louisiana, right? This is a. guy who had the clarity at the time we. were trying President Trump over the. events before and leading up to January. 6th. He voted to convict Donald Trump. And then when Donald Trump was. reelected, Bill Cassidy, a medical. doctor, the head of the health committee. to try to avoid Trump's eye, helped despite his reservations, despite. knowing RFK was unqualified, put RFK in. charge of public health for the American. people. And what did Senator Cassidy get.

for it? Nothing. Donald Trump just. endorsed his opponent as a primary. So, you know, they all bend the knee. Uh, but they're all just tools for this. guy's plots and games. He has no loyalty. to them. Uh, and they're not going to. turn on him. The way that we are going. to constrain this president is by. winning these elections. We need to. focus on winning these elections. We.

need to recognize that victory in the. midterm elections is the only real. solution here. And in Georgia, I am the. only Democratic senator running for. reelection in a state the president won. You see what they're doing in Georgia. this week, right? They they are. absolutely determined. to take back this Senate seat by hook or. by crook. And I need folks to help me to. defend voting rights and to get out the.

vote like never before. And you can help. me at electjoh.com. That's electjn.com. >> Perfectly put. I'm going to put that. link to your website right here on the. screen and also in the post description. And I would just let everybody know. that, you know, there are going to be a. lot of competitive races. Georgia is. chief among them. And there is no path. to victory in the Senate without. Georgia. So that's going to be ground. zero in terms of this fight that's. coming up. and uh and every dollar spent. now, especially early, is going to help. make sure that uh that you know uh.

Senator Osaf can define himself before. Republicans are able to define him for. them. So, I'm going to put that link. again right here on the screen and also. in the post description of this video. >> Thank you. And and and you know, if. you're if you're looking at everything. happening in our country and your head. is spinning and you're overwhelmed and. you're having trouble getting oriented. and figuring out what to do, this is. something you can do right now that. actually makes a difference. send $5 or. $10 to support my campaign in Georgia. This will be the number one United. States Senate race in the country.

>> We'll leave it there. Senator Oaf, thanks so much for taking the time. >> Thank you, Brian. Take care. >> To listen to the audio version of this. episode, click that link right here on. the screen and make sure to subscribe. And of course, to see more of my video. content, that subscribe button's on the. screen as well. [music].